http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ This is the blog of the Dayton Daily News editorial page. Regular contributors include the journalists who work on the two-page section labeled "Opinions" in the paper. But the blog is also a forum for readers. We comment on subjects that are being written about in the newspaper, but other subjects are fair game, too. Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton. Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues. Scott Elliott is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. 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Sign up en-us edletter@coxohio.com 2009-11-09T17:52:04-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/09/editorial_literary_peace_prize.html Ever since the Dayton peace talks of 1995, civic-minded and outward-looking Daytonians have struggled to sustain the connection between the word “Dayton” and the word “peace.” That connection was in much of the world in the decade after the talks.... 15635603@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ Dayton Peace Accords and Other Peace Initiatives 2009-11-09T17:52:04-04:00 edletter@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/09/paul_leonard_3_obstacles_rhine.html This commentary is written by Paul R. Leonard, a former mayor of Dayton who teaches in the political science department at the University of Dayton. Rhine McLin now knows what it feels like to be blind-sided by a 260-pound linebacker... 15634803@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ City of Dayton 2009-11-09T16:52:49-04:00 edletter@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/09/editorial_incumbents_struggled.html Tuesday’s election generally went well for schools, but not for every incumbent school board member. The majority of the school levies on the ballot passed, including some that supporters were worried about. Xenia passed a slimmed down bond issue to... 15592403@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ Editorials 2009-11-09T06:04:36-04:00 edletter@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/08/martin_gottlieb_did_mclin_loss.html A couple of post-election notes: • Among election watchers, much attention has focused on the fact that fewer voters turned out Tuesday in some west-Dayton wards than in previous mayoral elections. Specifically, turnout was down from 2005 by twice as... 15594303@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ Elections 2009-11-08T07:49:43-04:00 mgottlieb@daytondailynews.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/08/editorial_dayton_region_cant_a.html Gary Leitzell, Dayton’s mayor-elect, and the city commission have to come together in the face of Rhine McLin’s upset. If they don’t, Dayton risks having a smaller place in the region and the state. What does coming together look like?... 15593703@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ City of Dayton 2009-11-08T00:00:00-04:00 edletter@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/07/editorial_2nd_regs_on_stripper.html Last week’s election, as it applied to Harrison Twp., brought back into the headlines a sexy statewide flap from 2007 — the one that saw strippers going to Columbus to lobby elected officials. To refresh memories: A Cincinnati-based group of... 15593903@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ Law Enforcement and Public Safety 2009-11-07T08:43:12-04:00 edletter@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/06/editorial_pay_raises_sent_all.html The dust-up in Dayton about managers getting a pay raise — even as the city faces a stunning $15 million to $20 million deficit next year — is much ado about something. Labor contracts — at the city and in... 15594003@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ City of Dayton 2009-11-06T17:45:54-04:00 edletter@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/06/kevin_riley_a_browns_fan_final.html When the time comes to end a long-term relationship, maybe it’s best to think about how it started. I became a loyal Cleveland Browns fan when I was 9, on Christmas Day of 1971. The Browns were playing the Baltimore... 15589003@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ 2009-11-06T14:26:37-04:00 kriley@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/05/martin_gottlieb_political_ligh.html What were the odds Dayton would elect as mayor a British-raised, home-schooling, earring-wearing, figurine-painting, political novice, stay-at-home dad as mayor? That list is not meant to suggest that those characteristics make Gary Leitzell unfit to be mayor. Most of them... 15563303@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ 2009-11-05T12:40:48-04:00 mgottlieb@daytondailynews.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/05/editorial_voters_offer_lessons.html Kettering City Council candidate Ashley Webb had loads of signs around the city, his supporters gave out leaflets at polling places, and he had backing from Republican Party activists. He was the second-highest vote-getter in his race, defeating an incumbent.... 15570603@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ Editorials 2009-11-05T00:19:38-04:00 edletter@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/04/editorial_leitzells_first_move.html Gary Leitzell’s education about the work ahead — and efforts to reach out to him — can’t start too soon. His request to start sitting in on the city’s budget discussions is a good sign. Of course, he’ll be welcomed.... 15551203@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ City of Dayton 2009-11-04T17:31:43-04:00 edletter@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/03/editorial_mclin_couldnt_beat_t.html The mayoral election in Dayton looks like one of those that comes along once a decade or so to put the so-called experts in their place and show just how unpredictable democracy can be. From the beginning, even the experts... 15536903@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ City of Dayton 2009-11-03T23:39:09-04:00 edletter@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/03/editorial_get_ready_to_be_disa.html The casinos are coming. Voters on Tuesday reversed the decision they made on four earlier occasions and said they’d allow casino gambling in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo. The vote was a reflection of just how receptive people have become... 15536803@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ Editorials 2009-11-03T23:36:46-04:00 edletter@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/03/editorial_ohio_can_end_acornli.html Voter registration has long been a fairly odd, largely American custom. It is all about letting authorities who run elections know where you live, even though the people who give you your driver’s license already know. As do tax and... 15507603@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ Elections 2009-11-03T05:58:53-04:00 edletter@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/entries/2009/11/02/editorial_climatechange_regs_c.html The debate about climate change has developed civil war elements. People claiming to speak for the Heartland are saying: Whatever impact pending legislation might have on the two coasts — where most of the political support comes from — it... 15478503@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/opinion/ Energy 2009-11-02T07:08:51-04:00 edletter@coxohio.com