Pumpkin cats, dumping rats, Slider congrats
Forget pumpkin-spiced lattes; you need a pumpkin-colored cat! And the Humane Society of Summit County has more than 80 adult kitties, all orange or orange-spotted and “very social,” who were rescued from a single house. It might be worth the drive north to share some love with one of these little survivors. View them at summmithumane.org/cats or call 234-212-9843 to start the adoption process.
High-poverty neighborhoods such as Franklinton, Linden, the Hilltop and the South Side have enough problems without having to deal with illegally dumped trash. We're glad Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein's office is dedicating more resources to prosecute dumpers, but here's another thought: A lot of the debris is construction materials. Franklin County doesn't have an easy way for residents to dispose of debris from remodeling projects. Perhaps a more convenient method than existing private construction landfills would help.
We're sorry for anyone who suffered an unfulfilled Crave Case jones, but we have to salute White Castle's decision to close on Election Day morning to give employees time — paid time off — to vote. CEO Lisa Ingram says it will be a new tradition for presidential election years. Other employers made similar accommodations, sending a powerful message for democracy.
Anyone can sympathize with Abel Porter, who transferred from Utah State to Ohio State to play his final year of college basketball, only to have his career ended by the discovery that he suffers from a rare genetic heart condition. Thankfully, coming to OSU — with the benefit of its vast medical diagnostic resources when he passed out in practice — may have saved his life. We wish the best for him and his young family.
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Better communication and/or awareness could have prevented a beautiful historic home at West Broad Street and West Park Avenue in Franklinton from becoming a candidate for training — including possibly being burned down — for the Columbus Division of Fire. A local church that owns the 1920 Queen Anne-style house donated it to the fire department. It's not an uncommon way to dispose of an unwanted structure and it helps the fire department, but in this case it comes at the cost of destroying a significant piece of history. Hopefully other property owners will check with preservationists first for potential buyers of such a gem.
We celebrate the hard work of those bipartisan elections employees who spent days counting millions of mail-in ballots — especially those who had ignorant mobs outside their doors chanting “stop the counting” — as if there is any conceivable reason why legally cast absentee ballots shouldn't be counted. But, if elections are going to continue to see mail-in voting in these large numbers, we hope new systems are developed to modernize and speed up the process.
Franklin County voters' approval on Tuesday of a tax levy increase for the county Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board is especially welcome, given that pandemic stresses have multiplied mental-health and addiction problems. Plans to open a crisis center for those who need immediate care — a much-needed alternative to hospital emergency rooms — are especially important.