Budget will benefit students and employers

Gov. Mike Dewine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and members of the Ohio General Assembly should be commended for adopting a state budget that makes workforce training a top priority.

In a state where our economic strength has greatly increased the demand for skilled workers, the forward-thinking approach of policymakers in ensuring that adult learners have multiple innovative pathways to gain the skills and knowledge they need to succeed is commendable.

The opportunities for job seekers and businesses created by Ohio’s ongoing economic growth are exciting. We all want this to continue. At the same time, however, that growth has created a demand for workers with advanced skills that continues to exceed the supply. WGU Ohio is proud to be among the higher education providers in Ohio helping adult learners pursue in-demand jobs in business, information technology, education and health care.

Our state’s leaders should be applauded for a budget focused on Ohio’s future that will have a lasting impact for students and employers. Rebecca Watts, chancellor, Western Governors University Ohio, Columbus

State keeps charter schools in business

Deja vu again? Legislators evidently learned nothing from the ECOT (and others) charter school financial fiasco as they once again have created easier “rules” for charters to continue being funded while failing many of our state’s students.

After robbing the public blind for so many past years, our elected representatives have again succeeded to plunders taxpayers’ purses over the next several years. Bill Vangieson, Westerville

Millennials can vote for change they want

I respond to Stephen Pruchnicki’s Thursday letter “Don’t let baby boomers shape our nation’s future” about voting. It’s your American right to have freedom of speech to blame whomever you want for the way things are.

I have three adult children — millennials who all have jobs and own homes. As a baby boomer who now has the opportunity to work the elections, I also suggest millennials use their American right and get out and vote. Everyone from 18 years old and up can register to vote.

My grandmother voted up until her last year being 102 years old. It was very important to her that she had that right. Millennials, get involved in your community and do something if you feel a change should be made. We baby boomers are leaving this country to you and hoping you’ll do something good with it and not destroy it. Vote!

Julie Frost, Grove City

Agency directs funding to ease opiate crisis

The Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County would like to recognize The Dispatch for Tuesday’s editorial about efforts by Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague and Ohio Auditor Keith Faber to apply new approaches and ways of thinking to government. Like private companies, government agencies should use business analytics to drive their decision making. Both elected officials are applying this approach as it relates to mental health and substance use disorder investments.

Government must constantly evolve to keep up with the dynamic changes in our community, especially as it relates to population migration and growth. ADAMH is fully supportive of the auditor’s recommendation to make shifts in funding based on a community’s need. Population changes in each of our local communities affect the prevalence of mental illness and substance use disorders, impacting the services and funding needed to support the population shift.

At a local level, ADAMH employs a data-driven process through our annual business plan, identifying key metrics to measure our progress throughout the year and identify any gaps and challenges.

ADAMH began funding the Mobile Opiate Crisis Team in 2016. This connected clinicians at the Southeast mental health center with Columbus Division of Fire EMS when responding to overdoses. After monitoring the program, we funded an expansion in 2018 to include all of the emergency departments in Franklin County. The program had better results after making this enhancement, giving Southeast the opportunity to engage with 1,522 individuals and link 770 of them with follow up services last year.

What gets measured, gets done.

David A. Royer, chief executive officer, ADAMH Board of Franklin County, Columbus

Dispensaries challenged by marijuana street sales

I’m not surprised that Columbus City Council lowered the penalties for marijuana users, especially now that there are legal dispensaries for marijuana for medical purposes (Dispatch article, Tuesday). What I don’t understand is why it would lower the penalties to marijuana dealers.

The only reason that any individual would have 5 or 6 ounces of marijuana is to sell it. These newly emboldened street dealers don’t have to follow the same legal protocols as the state licensed marijuana dispensaries. Unfortunately, there won’t be any sales or income taxes collected from these illegal street transactions or from the dealers.

Of course, due to these changes, there will certainly be increased marijuana sales from street dealers to minors, existing drug addicts and drivers of automobiles. I mean, why not be a dealer? It’s like getting a parking ticket if you’re caught with your inventory. Joel Buck, Columbus

Columnist espoused nonpartisan nonsense

I was expecting reasoned logic from Richard Rogovin for his arguments to label judicial candidates as Democrat or Republican (Monday op-ed). Instead, I find them repetitious and specious. His main argument repeated often is that voter turnout is reduced with no partisan labels. A large voter turnout is desirable, but only if the voters are actually informed.

It is not reasonable to expect all of the voters to be knowledgeable about all of the potential judges. To me, not labeling the candidates serves to elevate the effect of voters like myself that take the time to do at least a little research about the candidates.

Rogovin said that not labeling the candidates is a charade. This is not quite accurate. There is no misrepresentation. There is only avoiding the presentation of the candidate’s qualifications expressed in a single word.

His final argument is that labeling the candidates

makes them more accountable to the voters because the resultant higher turnouts will make the judges have the impression that the voters really care. Say what? My impression is that labeling the candidates will only convince the judges that the only thing that matters is their party affiliation.

Rod Carroll, Columbus

President is betting public is uninformed

Regarding Wednesday’s congressional testimony by Robert Mueller, President Trump said that he “probably (wouldn’t) be watching the coverage, or maybe a little of it, because, as we all know, there was no collusion.”

After all we have heard, seen and read since the Mueller report was released, how can he actually believe the public is so misinformed and gullible to believe his cover story and that of his complicit attorney general? He shouldn’t underestimate our understanding that Attorney General William Barr, acting as the president’s personal attorney, continues to mislead the American people.

If there was no collusion, there is no honesty, morals, integrity, intelligence or empathy from the president and his advisers. Those advisers are wealthy, self-seeking, unqualified, inexperienced cronies who are undoing everything we have accomplished in recent years.

Our country has lost worldwide respect. Regarding foreign diplomacy, we don’t need a leader who can say he could kill 10 million people in a week.

As a former elementary school teacher, it greatly grieves me to see that the young immigrant children are still being abused at our border.

Julie Hood, Upper Arlington