Valley labor, peace activist Staughton Lynd dies at 92

Ohio Citizen Action extends condolences to Alice Lynd upon the death of her husband Staughton at the age of 92. Both Staughton and Alice are great examples of "principled tenacity", a characteristic among many that won them our highest recognition, the Howard M. Metzenbaum Award in 2012.

YOUNGSTOWN -- "Originally from Philadelphia, Lynd practiced law in Youngstown, including for several years with Northeast Ohio Legal Services, during the turbulent years of the local steel industry’s demise in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He worked closely with a variety of forces that tried to keep the steel mills open and operating....

In 1964, Lynd oversaw setting up Freedom Schools throughout Mississippi, which were the backbone of Freedom Summer, led by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Congress of Racial Equality, two major civil rights organizations that recruited hundreds of mostly white and young Northerners to come to the state to help blacks register to vote and receive a better education. He also worked with the late Bob Moses, an educator and activist who was the Freedom Summer’s main organizer...

Lynd was well known and revered in the Valley for his activism on behalf of workers and others."

--Sean Barron, The Youngstown Vindicator

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The Energy Policy Ohio Needs!

Ohio is one of the largest carbon emitters in the U.S. and 26th largest in the world. Sadly, corruption at a level previously unseen in Ohio was unveiled by the energy bill bribery scandal surrounding House Bill 6 (HB6) in 2020. Thus far, the legislative response to this scandal has focused almost exclusively on the bill’s individual policy provisions—nuclear subsidies, coal bailouts, renewable energy portfolio standards, energy efficiency, etc. Comparatively little attention has been given to Ohio’s regulatory framework for monopoly utilities and the necessary structural reforms and safeguards required for accountability, transparency, and equity.

In response, the Ohio Energy Jobs and Justice Act (EJJA) was developed as a comprehensive energy policy initiative that implements equitable, clean energy solutions and carbon reductions. It ensures much-needed accountability, transparency, and Public Utilities Commission (PUCO)reform. Passage of EJJA will require retail electric providers to submit to the PUCO detailed plans reducing carbon emissions 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050.

Ohio has potential to be a leader in renewable energy. About 20% of U.S. electricity comes from renewable sources (U.S. Energy Information Administration). Contrastingly, Ohio, gets around 3% of its energy from renewables. Women and Black workers are vastly underrepresented in the clean energy workforce, an industry paying higher-than-average wages and the fastest-growing source of jobs in the U.S., according to a new report by a coalition of energy organizations. True energy and manufacturing progress will be successful only when measured by future generations who can value its sustainability. Tell your legislator to support EJJA.

Marcia Schulz

Stow, OH

EJJA is One of the Most Important Pieces of Legislation

As a Father and Grandfather living in central Ohio, I feel the Energy Jobs & Justice act is one of the most important pieces of legislation in front of our elected officials. We have long put off changing the way we produce the energy we need to uphold our standard of living. The consequences of any action or inaction we take right now will exact a toll on our future generations exponentially greater than the problems we currently face. The bill will also address equity issues that keep disadvantaged people from becoming productive citizens -a problem that affects everyone. I ask that our representatives in state government please get behind this bill and keep our state healthy, beautiful and prosperous!

Peter Cary

Columbus, OH