Just how important is the political endorsement process? We read often of this or that organization making a pledge of its members' vote.

Recently at the 20th annual retirees picnic of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 18 Ohio Operating Engineers, those present were told “Dewine over Sherrod Brown for Senator.”

The bile rose in many and some took the floor in protest. We are 16,000 rank and file, but the decision was made at the international headquarters in Washington, D.C., not our local union.

I traveled to Akron in August to discuss the issue at the district meeting. I live in Columbus; it's not an easy feat to drive that far. In unions, members are supposed to have freedom of speech, but not that night. I was given 10 seconds. The head agent counted down the seconds. A talk took place in the parking lot after the meeting with just a few.

So, maybe all should question this political endorsement process.

David Jenkinson

Columbus, Ohio

Local man says WSAZ may be hampering exposure of other stations

I have known since August that WSAZ, a West Virginia TV station, has been in negotiations with Time Warner Cable. What I understand of the FCC laws, any station has a right to be on your cable system if it is within a 50-mile radius of your cable company's coverage and is a full power station. Stations that fit have two options. They can go with “must carry” where they ask no money to retransmit their signal, or they can negotiate with a cable company for money or for whatever the station is seeking.

I know a lot of people like watching WSAZ news in this county, but I'm not one of them. I really had no problem with WSAZ until they decided in their last contract negotiations with Adelphia, back around January 2004, to ask for partial block out of WLWT. Both WSAZ and WLWT are NBC affiliates and the local station that is within the 50-mile radius (WSAZ) has a right to ask that.

WSAZ may have the right, but viewers lose when a TV station such as this exercises that right against another TV station we get on our cable system. If WSAZ only was interested in being on our cable system without asking anything in return and did not request partial block out of any TV station we pick up here, then it would be a done deal, I believe.

I know this is asking too much, but my wish list would be to have Time Warner negotiate with WCPO-TV9 (ABC) and WXIX-19 (FOX), both from Cincinnati. We used to have three Cincinnati TV stations 22 years ago. We lost WCPO in July 1984 and lost WXIX in Dec. 1991. My concern is that WSAZ may be wanting our cable system in these negotiations to drop our only Cincinnati TV station left here so it can be our only NBC station. Whatever the reason may be why these negotiations are not going well, Time Warner needs to protect our interest in keeping Ohio stations. If WSAZ is asking too much to be on our cable system, then they should be dropped. I won't miss them. I wouldn't have a problem if they dropped a few more TV stations from West Virginia. Give us a few more Ohio stations, preferably from Cincinnati.

Shawn Thoroughman

Portsmouth

New Wal-Mart seen as the more things change, the more they stay the same

I would like to congratulate New Boston Mayor Jim Warren and the Southern Ohio Port Authority for bringing 500 new minimum wage jobs to the area. Good job guys.

How pathetic is it that these people pat themselves on the back for spending millions of dollars to bring jobs to the area that don't even pay enough to allow people to provide for their families. Do these people understand the problems faced by the average person in Scioto County? Do they realize how hard it is to find a job here that pays more than $6 an hour? Why are they not focused on higher-paying jobs in Scioto County? The only possible reasons that I can see is either sheer incompetence or the fact that the members of Southern Ohio Port Authority and the politicians in this county already have high-paying jobs - a fact that has left them apathetic to the needs of their constituents living either at or below the poverty line.

There already is a Wal-Mart just a quarter-mile away from the proposed new site. Why do they insist on going down the same road again? And why is there not more outrage from the citizens of New Boston and Scioto County at SOPA for wasting money and time on another failing idea?

Eric Parlin

Portsmouth