The Blade’s Thursday editorial, “Thrill rides and open records,” on the release of information about the Aug. 15 accident at Cedar Point, was spot on. The public has a right to know what happened.
I might add that it is quite disturbing that Cedar Point is in possession of the piece of metal that actually flew through the air and hit Ms. Hawes in the head. Why isn’t this flying piece of shrapnel at the lab under examination with the coaster car and other parts of the ride? What are they hiding?
The whole cloak-and-dagger routine smells like the cover-ups of the colleges and universities in regard to public safety. Cedar Point must 1) hand over the piece of metal that hit this woman and 2) retrain the staff — including their EMTs and law enforcement officers — to comply with open records and keep the best interest of their guests and the public in general in mind.
JOAN SCHOLL
Santa Fe
Capitol defense proper
Consider a group or mob beating your neighbors with various clubs. Then imagine the mob beating your door into pieces and attempting to come in.
Most people would agree that shooting anyone entering would be justified.
Well, surprise surprise, there are people on TV suggesting the officer who shot (Ashli) Babbitt as she led a mob breaking into the Capitol should be prosecuted.
And many radicals who are not on televison are suggesting the officer should be hunted and killed. Ironically, many of these vigilante types are those who support stand-your-ground laws.
I’m confused.
MIKE HARRINGTON
West Toledo
Where are the Dems?
Where is the Ohio Democratic Party? Commentators like myself address Ohio’s unusual severe gerrymandering and the outpouring of partisan, often dark-money and questionably legal campaign contributions for the right-wing Republican dominance in the state. This is certainly true.
But there is another reason: the seldom-discussed absence of the state Democratic Party. To speak for myself first: I am literally bombarded with emails and postal mailings (despite the failings of the United States Postal Service) for the national Democratic Party (in many different forms), progressive advocacy groups such as MoveOn and Common Cause, for example, and more traditional groups like the ACLU. I have never heard from the Democratic Party of Ohio.
I receive mailings, including personal notes, from only one elected Democrat, Sen. Sherrod Brown.
I have tried to contact the state party and reached out to candidates ranging from U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D., Youngstown), and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley to State Rep. Allison Russo (D., Upper Arlington.) I never receive a response.
Where is the Ohio Democratic Party?
HARVEY GRAFF
Columbus
First Published August 29, 2021, 4:00 a.m.
