Editorial: Apologies from Bevin and Young are too little, too late

In this weekly column, The Enquirer editorial board celebrates successes across our region and calls out those who stand in the way of progress.

Thumbs up

• Sen. Rob Portman's fight against sex traffickers such as Backpage.com bore fruit this week when President Donald Trump signed a sex trafficking bill, co-authored by the Terrace Park Republican, into law. The bill establishes fines and prison terms for operators of websites that engage in online sex trafficking. It makes it a crime for someone to use a website “with the intent to promote or facilitate the prostitution of another person.” Passage of the law is a big and hard-fought victory for Portman and for the victims and survivors of online sex trafficking.

• Kudos to everyone who donated money to aid an Anderson Township animal shelter that had its bank account hacked electronically and drained of all its money ($1,000). Concerned citizens and animal lovers stepped up to help the Ohio Pet Sanctuary on Beechmont Avenue pay its bills in the wake of the theft. Shelter officials said they raised enough money to cover their utilities and other expenses for the next couple of months. Donors as well as the Boone County Animal Shelter and Paws of Dearborn County also brought large quantities of food and toys for the animals. 

• Homeowners and businesses still recovering from the Ohio River flooding in February got some good news this week when it was announced that federal flood relief funds are coming to Ohio. Hamilton County is among 18 counties in the state eligible for federal funds to help repair flood damage. A preliminary damage assessment conducted by local, state and federal emergency-management officials in mid-March documented damages to roads, bridges and public buildings in Ohio totaling $44 million, according to the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. 

• Thumbs up to the University of Cincinnati and its efforts to keep college affordable. The college announced this week that it would be keeping its tuition at $11,000 a year for in-state students and $27,334 for out-of-state. UC hasn't raised undergraduate, graduate or law school tuition for Ohio residents or out-of-state students in five years. In an era of exploding student loan debt and questions about the affordability of higher education, its refreshing to see UC listening to students and their parents and being mindful of their pocketbooks.

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• City Councilman Wendell Young has apologized to the family of Kyle Plush, the 16-year-old Seven Hills student who died in his minivan last week, for his huge public blunder. But his words will resonate for a long time. They were shameful. Plush family members attended a Tuesday hearing seeking answers. Even though Kyle called 911 twice, police were unable to locate him in time. Young insulted the family by insinuating that they would seek legal redress and that “no amount of money” would make the situation better. That seemed heartless two days after the family held a memorial service for Kyle. Losing any family member is tough. Losing a child ranks among the worst. Having a sitting councilman pour salt in that open wound seems unbearable. It’s great that Young apologized to the family. It was the least he could do. But the reality is it’s too little, too late.

• Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin put his foot in his mouth last week when he said that children were sexually assaulted, exposed to drugs, ingested poison and physically hurt because teachers were protesting in Frankfort instead of in school. Bevin even managed to flub his apology over the comments, which came off as insincere at best. The governor claims he was misinterpreted and that he could have used better words. But there is no way to properly articulate crude, offensive and inappropriate remarks. Suggesting that children were abused or harmed because teachers exercised their First Amendment right to assemble is a pretty low blow and smacks of a politically desperate move. Bevin needs to take another crack at an apology, and this time he needs to own his poor judgment and stop hiding behind the excuse of poor wording.

• Mason City Schools owes some answers to the mother of an 8-year-old boy who was left unattended for more than five hours on a school bus. Camdyn Peters fell asleep on the way to school and the bus driver didn't see him, parked the bus at the garage and left. The school district fired the bus driver immediately for not following procedure and checking to make sure the bus was clear before leaving. The school attendance secretary also failed to call Camdyn's mother, Colleen, when he failed to show up at school. She was given a letter of reprimand. It's good to see the district holding employees accountable, but so many breakdowns in policy and procedure are concerning. Mason schools owe it the Peters and other families in the district to fully investigate this situation and fix the flaws in their system so no other child is put at risk again like Camdyn.

• Text messages among five members of Cincinnati City Council – P.G. Sittenfeld, Wendell Young, Chris Seelbach, Tamaya Dennard and Greg Landsman – that were released this week are disturbing on many levels. First, the texts demonstrate that a quorum of council conducted a prearranged meeting to discuss council business – a violation of the Ohio Open Meetings Act. They came to light only when Mark Miller, treasurer of the anti-tax group COAST, sued. Second, they exposed the depths of the dysfunction, political back-biting and pettiness that exists among the current council members. No wonder City Hall is in such a state of disarray. It's time for council members to put aside their personal vendettas and agendas and get to work for the people of Cincinnati. Citizens are dying – both literally and figuratively – while those elected to serve them wallow in trivial politics. No, taxpayers don't expect everybody on council to be best buds, but they do expect them to work together on what's best for this city. 

• Thumbs down to the bandit who stole a rare butterfly from Krohn Conservatory this week. The suspect entered the Butterfly Exhibit and stole a rare Blue Morpho Butterfly, which is native to Central and South American rainforests. Shame on the thief for stealing this spectacular specimen and depriving the rest of us of the opportunity to witness its beauty.

Opinion Editor Kevin S. Aldridge writes this on behalf of the editorial board which includes, President Eddie Tyner, Executive Editor Beryl Love, Senior News Director Michael McCarter, Audience Engagement Editor Katie Vogel and Columnist Byron McCauley. He can be reached at kaldridge@enquirer.com. Twitter: @kevaldrid.