Letters to the Editor: November 12, 2026

Dear Editor, As to Elon Musk … Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Sign Up Log In Purchase a Subscription Your trillionaire’s trinkets Your three-hundred million, Your Texas dark-money dough, Did not buy American democracy. Oligarchs and citizens will remember your Alamo. As to Vivek Ramaswamy … Do not start a fight With a woman, A doctor, Who is bright, Who is right. As to Vladimir Putin … Do not complain; Your Waterloo, Your “Last Stand” Is not a refrain, But a tenacious Ukraine. As to Donald J. Trump … Your beloved retribution, Your over-weaning ego, Your genuflecting camp-followers Cannot even the mid-term score. Of you, less is more. Sheldon Firem Chardon Editor, Here is the problem, and Elon Musk is saying it loudly. The United States is rapidly going bankrupt.  We let Republicans ignore the debt ceiling and run the national credit card up to $41 trillion and climbing.  Starting a war with Iran did not help.  Trump angering most of the world’s large countries which used to buy our treasury bonds did not help. Now the only way to keep up the interest payments on the debt is to print more money. That will make the US dollar worthless over time. Are you willing to kick in your savings to pay your share of the debt? Neither will Donald Trump and his billionaire friends pay their share of the debt or any taxes. Treasury Secretary Bessent says we will grow our way out of the problem, but I see recession looming. Canadians used to buy a lot of cars from Detroit but they are refusing because of the way Trump is treating them. We let low IQ leaders raid the candy jar of federal funds and this is what they left us. John Suffron Bainbridge Twp. Editor, On Wednesday, November 4,  Orange Village Mayor Jud Kline designated part of a regular council meeting a Public Hearing to consider Tax Increment Financing (TIF) on the Pulte Canyons development project currently underway on Harvard Road. This development is commonly referred to as the “senior housing project” though plans changed from what was originally submitted to allow some units to be occupied by younger residents. TIFs are a development tool that are typically used to promote development of “blighted” areas where future development might not otherwise happen. There are actually two TIFs being pursued under two different sections of Ohio Law. Under this TIF agreement Orange would see projected financial gains while Cuyahoga County would lose future revenue from voter approved non-school levies. The TIF agreement includes a contractually negotiated direct payment of $800,000 from Orange to Pulte. It is now the policy of Cuyahoga County to formally oppose all TIF efforts. At this meeting Council was not in possession of the copy of the ordinance for the TIF that was the subject of the Public Hearing. The first portion of the meeting was spent debating if this was a legal under Ohio law. There was also a question if appropriate notice of the Public Hearing was provided to residents. Since I can only speculate why this happened and what this means, I urge all residents to visit the Village website and stream the entire meeting, both the public portion and the regular work session that followed, including audience comments. This TIF agreement is not a “done deal” and the authority to adopt or reject it rests exclusively with the Mayor and Council. Please share your thoughts with Village Officials so they may get a better sense of what residents think. Angela Ugran-Zetzer Orange Village Resident Clarion Call The mid-term election results were in part a clarion call for decency and democracy. It was a rejection of horseface in favor of person; a rejection of mocking in favor of respect; and a rejection of unchecked authority in favor of accountability. In the age of political extremism, it was a call for moderation and common sense. Our founding fathers would cheer the rejection of hate and fear in favor of empathy and hope. Let us not slip back into the MAGA darkness with the new leadership but seek the light of decency and democracy. Michael J. Finn Moreland Hills Keep Free Choice for Munson Munson Township Trustees are seeking resident input on mandating a single trash hauler for the township. I hope Munson residents will join me in opposing such a mandate. Supporters of the mandate cite road wear and tear, price and taxes, and recycling. All three deserve detailed discussion, but with limited space I address recycling here. For more information on the other two, please visit www.freechoiceformunson.org . Newspaper articles report that Ms. Jen Jones, director of the Geauga-Trumbull Solid Waste Management District (GTSWMD), has warned communities about the dire financial position of the district’s recycling program. She has reportedly said curbside recycling is a fix, and that a mandated single-hauler system is the only way to make curbside recycling manageable. I question that assertion. For several years I have seen curbside recycling bins in Munson Township. So curbside recycling is already available to Munson residents who choose to contract for it, without any government mandate. I also find it interesting that while the GTSWMD reports financial hardship operating recycling centers, it is making grants to communities it is trying to persuade to mandate single haulers. The Munson Township website even thanked the GTSWMD for a grant for picnic tables. The GTSWMD has also offered resources to help communities transition to a mandated hauler. So the GTSWMD has resources for some things, but not for recycling? If the GTSWMD’s financial position is really as dire as Ms. Jones has indicated, then this is a serious matter that should be discussed at the county level. Recycling is important to many Geauga County residents and should be funded openly, not by pressuring each community to impose more mandates on residents. The county has allocated funds, and approved grants applications, for the fairgrounds, the courthouse expansion, the Opera House, the Burton Library, senior center construction, and other projects. So the county can fund what its commissioners consider priorities. I hope you agree that recycling is a priority worth funding. However, if the county is unable or unwilling to fund a recycling program, then each resident may choose an alternative, which may include a curbside recycling service. But that will be each resident’s choice... as it should be. I urge Munson Township residents to tell the trustees that we choose free choice over government mandates. Please say no to a single trash hauler mandate. D. Wynne Munson Township On Election Night 2026 the Ohio people Have Spoken: Moderate is Out – Left is In Vote Yes for more taxes We need more/bigger government to help the job market More/bigger salary and pension benefits for those state and federal workers who work so hard. They should also be able to take their pension and get another public sector job with more/bigger salary and benefit. Mass Migration needs to resume We need price controls so we can have shortages Wealth taxes of unrealized gains on all assets of the Rich so the Rich can leave the country and make the rest of Us pay. It’s okay if you don’t have the money – we have efficient payment plans and easy plans to sell your assets if you can’t make payments. (BTW that is how the IRS began…as a tax on “the Rich”) Increase property taxes for all to have well-funded schools– the people who lose their homes can find taxpayer funded homeless shelters to live in. We have a used car lot with a wide selection of vehicles to live in. Medicare for All including migrants – they need medical care too! Increase payroll taxes to fund Medicare for All. Increase income taxes so the high earners pay their fair share! Define High Earner - $50K per annum Socialism for All! Those with two or more homes/ve