Sen. Brown reacts to column; helping APS students read | Letters

Child tax credit worked

Michael Douglas is spot on. There is no downside to bettering the lives of Ohio children. In early 2021, Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan and expanded the Child Tax Credit, putting more money directly in the pockets of the families of two million of Ohio’s kids. We saw a 40 percent reduction in the child poverty rate, and I heard from parents all around Ohio: the tax credit helped them afford child care, groceries, rent, new school clothes, or summer camps for the first time ever.

We all know what a difference this made for families struggling to make ends meet. But when we fought to expand the Child Tax Credit at the end of 2022, Senate Republicans once again fought our efforts to help working families — even as they clamored for additional corporate tax cuts. I will continue fighting for Ohio families and pushing to expand the Child Tax Credit

Sen. Sherrod Brown, Cleveland

A plea to save more of Turkeyfoot Golf Course

An open letter to Tim Adkins, new owner of Turkeyfoot Golf Course.

I'm pleased that you have bought and intend to preserve at least part of the Turkeyfoot Golf Course. With a career in economic development behind me and having witnessed more than a dozen local golf courses being converted to upscale housing, I'm glad the course has local ownership.

However, redeveloping the Water 9 into housing makes me want to cry. I have played top courses in Northeast Ohio and around the country and there is no nine anywhere that matches it. So here are some unsolicited suggestions:

Option A: Instead of redeveloping the Water 9, do so with the second nine which has some elevation changes that would make an attractive neighborhood and would leave 18 holes on the same side of the main road.

Option B: If redeveloping the Water 9 is preferred, at least preserve holes 19, 20, 21, and 23. This would partially-retain 100 years of history, leave both water and golf vistas for the new homeowners, and provide some fun holes for adult practice and junior golf. The noted holes are the most picturesque of those on the Water 9 and still would leave plenty of room for new residential lots.

Thank you for your consideration. This year I will be playing the Water 9 (hopefully not for the last time) and taking some pictures of each hole and my golfing buddies.

Jim Kroeger, Fairlawn

Reading key to helping APS students

At the eleventh hour, Akron City Schools and the Akron Education Association representing the teachers hammered out a bargain that increases teacher pay, holds the line on health care costs and maintains the current definition of what constitutes assault on teachers. What didn’t get resolved was how to reduce these assaults that have increased in recent years.

Athletes who aren’t good at basketball will quit the team. Students who can’t sing will drop out of the school choir. Kids who can’t read at third grade level will resist reading, too young to fully understand how this could doom their futures.

Daniel L. Duke writing in the Educational Administration Quarterly reports that “students who become disciplinary problems in high school are distinguished as a group by the third grade.” Failure to read at grade level is the early warning system alerting educators and the community about what they can expect from students as they move into the upper grades. Successfully addressing the literacy challenges confronting these at risk students will improve behavior.

Steve France, Akron

Fighting America's oligarchy

According to former Secretary of the Treasury Robert Reich, the real battle for America isn’t between the left and right or Democrats and Republicans but between the oligarchy — corporate and Wall Street monied interests — and the rest of us. Unlike some extremist far-right Republicans, Reich notes that “the oligarchy doesn’t want to destroy government. It needs government subsidies, loan guarantees, bailouts, and contracts. It just wants lower taxes (which requires less government spending) and fewer regulations.”

The oligarchy’s main goal is to siphon off ever more of the economy’s total gains. To do that, it needs "MAGA" cultural warriors to keep America divided over non-economic issues (abortion, LGBTQ rights, immigration, voting rights, religious freedom) so people won’t notice where all the money has gone.

This was the coalition and the strategy Trump relied on. The oligarchy financed Trump Republicans. In return, the oligarchs got lower taxes and regulatory rollbacks, while Trump and his "MAGAs" distracted the public with culture wars and warriors. This will continue with or without Trump, until Americans wake up to the grievance machine that divides us and recognize that we should be united in stopping the oligarchs from fleecing us.

Sara Patrick, Strongsville

LaRose betrays Ohio voters

Frank LaRose said he was helping Ohioans vote, but eliminating curbside voting is not helping every Ohioan. It is hurting people who have mobility challenges, but can drive. This is harassment.

Restricting voting days is not helping working Ohioans who must clock in at their jobs. It infringes on an already packed timetable. This is harassment.

Assigning only one mail return ballot per county is not helping every Ohioan, especially Ohioans living in populated counties like mine (Summit), which is also a very Democratic and diversified county. This is harassment.

LaRose is masquerading as solving a non-existent voting problem at the expense of Ohio voters rights. He is treading on Ohioans’ democracy, our constitution and our voting rights.

Frank LaRose has betrayed Ohioans.

Cynthia Bechter Smith, Cuyahoga Falls

Jim Jordan hurts Ohio

President Biden recently met with Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman to celebrate the funds they brought to Ohio to help repair our crumbling infrastructure.

Altogether, Ohio looks to receive $10 billion to fix our 1,377 bridges and over 4,925 miles of highway that are in poor condition. That’s a testament to how bipartisanship has directly helped our state. Rep. Jim Jordan voted against that bill. The fact is, Jordan has never done much for Ohio, preferring to engage in circus antics that keep his name in the headlines.

It seems that Jordan is promising to continue pandering to his party’s extremists rather than to work for Ohio families. He’s telling every reporter who will put a microphone to his face that he’ll be using his considerable power in the new Congress to get revenge on the Democrats by starting up a wide variety of self-serving witch hunts.

Tell Jim Jordan that Ohio wants him to work for us, not to engage in these silly efforts that only help himself and his election denying friends.

Charlotte Onderick, Stow

Santos a disgrace

Dear Rep. (well, for now anyway) George Santos. While it may be common to pad one's resume and spread other lies in the circles you run in, it is also incredibly stupid. If discovered, these are grounds for immediate dismissal for cause, meaning no unemployment, and I hope in your case none of the perks that come from serving even a single term in Congress.

I spent many years teaching a 3-week job search skills course at a local nonprofit and honesty was a major theme. I knew of employers looking to trim their staffs who would go back through applications and resumes looking for lies so they could fire people without cost.

One would hope that those in leadership positions might set an example of behavior we could all aspire to. These days, it seems, we hope in vain.

Chris Walker, Fairlawn

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Sen. Sherrod Brown reacts to column; helping APS students read