View From The Pugh

View From The Pugh

By Chris PughComedy
Download on the App Store

View From The Pugh episodes

  • First Senate votes of 2022 are rescheduled by bad weather

    First Senate votes of 2022 are rescheduled by bad weather; President Biden meets with ranchers about the meatpacking industry; Devin Nunes exits Congress, and FDA backs Pfizer boosters for 12-to-15-year-olds.

    ---

    Thanks for listening to the podcast. Help us out by sharing the episode, subscribing to the podcast, supporting our sponsors and joining our listener support program. You can also leave a voice mail for our show here.

    Check out previous shows and enter to win contests.

    4 min
  • Ohio's minimum-wage increase largest in 15 years

    An annual pay raise has kicked-in for Ohio's minimum-wage workers, who will now earn $9.30 per hour, about $2 more than the federal minimum wage.


    The $0.50 hourly increase is the largest since 2006, when a ballot initiative indexed the minimum wage to inflation.

    Hannah Halbert, executive director of Policy Matters Ohio, noted had Congress done the same when it set the federal minimum wage in 1968, it would now be worth about $13 an hour, and she pointed out $9.30 amounts to just over $19,000 annually for a full-time worker.

    "That's still more than $2,000 under the poverty guidelines for a family of three," Halbert explained. "Even if they're working full time, playing by the rules, doing what they can, they're still not going to be able to break that poverty threshold."

    Ohio is among nine states where a 2022 minimum-wage increase is tied to the cost of living. California's hit $15 Jan. 1, as part of an incremental increase. Eight other states are also in the process of incrementally raising their minimum-wage amounts to $15 an hour.

    According to Policy Matters Ohio, raising Ohio's minimum hourly wage to $15 by 2026 would benefit 1.6 million workers. Halbert is convinced it would help the overall economy and reduce income inequality.

    "Thirty-six percent of working women in Ohio would see a pay increase, and 44% of Black working Ohioans would also see an increase," Halbert outlined. "Raising the wage really does help clear up some of these drivers of inequality in the low-wage system."

    Halbert emphasized the impact of the pandemic on job market data makes it difficult to determine just how many Ohioans are affected by the 2022 increase. Some 84,000 workers benefited from a $0.15 minimum-wage adjustment in 2019.

    Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.

    3 min
  • Data reveals promising drop in Ohio child poverty

    Ohio News Connection

    New data reveals a promising trend in the well-being of Ohio's kids.


    In 2020, 16.8% of Ohio children lived in poverty, nearly 423,000 children, the lowest percentage reported since 2000.

    Emily Campbell, associate director of the Center for Community Solutions, noted the data is a one-year estimate from the Census Bureau's 2020 American Community Survey, which carries some uncertainty because of disruptions caused by the pandemic.

    "These are the best estimates that we have and the best data collection that we could hope for in those circumstances," Campbell explained. "So we're cautious with how we're interpreting it and waiting to see if it's an anomaly, but we see a lot of reasons for hope in this new data."

    The 2020 data found a 12.4% poverty rate for Ohio adults ages 18 to 24, which is unchanged from 2019, and a slightly higher poverty rate for older adults. Campbell noted the changes are not as statistically significant as the drop in child poverty.

    Considering the fact unemployment reached record levels in 2020, Campbell added the drop in child poverty is likely the result of government interventions.

    "Economic stimulus payments, additional unemployment compensation for parents," Campbell outlined. "We think that these are the things that pulled a lot of Ohio's children out of poverty, when the situation could have been much worse."

    Campbell pointed out the actual impact of policy interventions could be much bigger, because the poverty data only takes income and monetary benefits into account.

    "It doesn't show the impact of additional food assistance including SNAP and pandemic EBT that was helping children address hunger issues that may have come up," Campbell emphasized. "Or additional Medicaid coverage to help people maintain their health coverage during this pandemic."

    Two stimulus payments in 2020 lifted an estimated 3.2 million children out of poverty. Campbell maintained the 2020 child poverty data reveals the real-world impact of policies putting additional resources into the hands of families with children.

    Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.

    3 min
  • Mine reclamation funding: A "game changer for eastern Ohio"
    Ohio News Connection

    Efforts to rectify the lingering environmental legacy of coal mining in Ohio are getting a big financial boost.


    The new federal infrastructure law includes $11.3 billion to fund abandoned mine cleanup in 25 states.

    In Ohio, there are more than 3,400 abandoned mines, according to the Department of Natural Resources, posing health and safety risks to people and the environment.

    Marissa Lautzenheiser, director of northern programs for the group Rural Action, cited lists of potential projects where the estimated $550 million Ohio will receive would be well-spent.

    "This is a game changer," Lautzenheiser asserted. "The landscape of eastern Ohio is going to look a lot different in five years, let alone in ten years, than it would have without this investment."

    She pointed out the funding is especially important for Ohio communities hit hard by the coal industry decline, because it will create 730 jobs, nearly $2 billion in economic output and $660 million in labor income.

    Since the federal Abandoned Mine Lands Program was created in 1977, roughly 978,000 acres and $8 billion worth of damage has been cleaned up in the region. But it represents only about one-fourth of the total damage.

    Lautzenheiser noted the thousands of remaining unclaimed sites have continual issues.

    "If you build your home adjacent to or on an underground mine, you can find your basement floor collapsing into air shafts," Lautzenheiser outlined. "You can have acid mine drainage, where the water in the stream in your backyard is actually orange because of iron and other heavy metals."

    Dana Kuhnline, legislative coordinator for the group Appalachian Voices, said with a large influx of money, the goal is to address the environmental hazards.

    "State agencies and the local reclamation partners have all been pretty strapped," Kuhnline acknowledged. "They've been doing a lot of what I've heard described as 'chasing landslides.' So, they're only able to address the most severe or dangerous incidences of abandoned mine lands that are in communities."

    The full cost of reclaiming all remaining abandoned mine land nationwide is expected to exceed $20 billion, according to the Ohio Valley River Institute.

    ---

    Thanks for listening to the podcast. Help us out by sharing the episode, subscribing to the podcast, supporting our sponsors and joining our listener support program. You can also leave a voice mail for our show here.

    Check out previous shows and enter to win contests.

    3 min
  • Obesity, smoking among Ohio's top health challenges
    Ohio News Connection

    A new report provides insight on measures of health in Ohio needing improvement in the new year and beyond.


    The "America's Health Rankings 2021" report from UnitedHealthcare puts Ohio at 38th among states for health outcomes, with notable challenges including a high prevalence of cigarette smoking, insufficient sleep and the number of people with multiple chronic conditions.

    The findings also noted a 13% increase in obesity in the Buckeye State between 2016 and 2020.

    Dr. Lisa Bohman Egbert, president of the Ohio State Medical Association, said it is not a surprise.

    "There's a certain amount of personal responsibility, but I think there's also a normalization of a heavier weight as a greater and greater percentage of people become obese," Bohman Egbert asserted.

    Ohio's obesity rate is 35.5% compared with about 32% nationally. The state received positive marks for the measures of low-birthweight racial disparities, nonmedical drug use, and the suicide rate. About 80% of Ohioans reported having a dedicated health-care provider and just 9% reported avoiding care due to the cost.

    Nutrition and physical activity are also areas of concern. Just over 6% of Ohio adults reported eating two or more fruits and three or more vegetables daily, and only one in five said they have met the federal guidelines for physical activity in the last month.

    Bohman Egbert suggested inactivity is the downside of modern conveniences.

    "We can drive everywhere; we can go through a drive-through; everything we do we can do online," Bohman Egbert outlined. "We've made it so easy to be sedentary that to get up and move is a challenge."

    The research also found an uptick in deaths between 2019 and 2020 nationwide.

    Dr. Ravi Johar, chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare, said the pandemic contributed about 70% of the death-rate increase, but more people died from causes such as stroke or cancer as well.

    "We had a 17% increase in the death rate, and that 17% doesn't even reflect some populations," Johar explained. "We know Hispanics and African Americans, the death rate was even higher than that."

    Ohio ranks 32nd nationally for its mortality rate.

    ---

    Thanks for listening to the podcast. Help us out by sharing the episode, subscribing to the podcast, supporting our sponsors and joining our listener support program. You can also leave a voice mail for our show here.

    Check out previous shows and enter to win contests.

    3 min
  • Who needs Alexa? We sure don't

    Chris Pugh and Paul Yanchek talk about Alexa telling a 10-year-old girl to touch a live plug with a penny. a homeowner who said God told him to burn his house down and move to Kentucky and the Iowa man who has eaten Wheaties daily since 1942,

    ---

    Thanks for listening to the podcast. Help us out by sharing the episode, subscribing to the podcast, supporting our sponsors and joining our listener support program. You can also leave a voice mail for our show here.

    Check out previous shows and enter to win contests.

    43 min
  • The YouTube end-of-the-year show

    Craig Shoup, Joe Castle and I get together to end 2021 with a podcast full of special guests and talk about football, Christmas and speeding on the highway. 

    ---

    Thanks for listening to the podcast. Help us out by sharing the episode, subscribing to the podcast, supporting our sponsors and joining our listener support program. You can also leave a voice mail for our show here.

    Check out previous shows and enter to win contests.


    1 hr 32 min
  • A closer look at Gordon Ramsay's Christmas food

    Craig Shoup, Joe Castle and I take a closer look at what Gordon Ramsay is serving up at Christmas. We also discuss next week's celebrity contest. 

    ---

    Thanks for listening to the podcast. Help us out by sharing the episode, subscribing to the podcast, supporting our sponsors and joining our listener support program. You can also leave a voice mail for our show here.

    Check out previous shows and enter to win contests.

    48 min
  • Prevention called key to heading off COVID, cold, flu
    Ohio News Connection

    Whether it's COVID-19, the seasonal flu or a cold, health-care professionals say reducing your risk of illness starts with prevention.


    All three respiratory diseases are caused by viruses and share similar symptoms including a cough, sore throat and runny nose.

    Elena Roach, a certified pediatric nurse practitioner for The Healthcare Connection, a Cincinnati-area federally qualified health center, said actions we take to prevent the spread of COVID can reduce the risk of getting a cold or the flu.

    "Flu is spread from respiratory secretions, kind of like COVID," Roach explained. "And you sneeze and cough and eat and drink and talk, flu can spread that way as well."

    Roach pointed out last year's mild flu season was the result of precautions taken during the pandemic. Those steps include avoiding close contact with people outside your household, frequent handwashing, and wearing a face mask while in indoor public places.

    Ohio's daily COVID case count has nearly doubled in two months, now at roughly 7,200. Influenza activity still is low, but starting to rise.

    COVID spreads more easily than the flu and common cold and causes more serious illnesses, but Roach noted much like COVID, an infected person can spread the flu before they feel sick.

    "The flu is contagious even before symptoms start for about four days," Roach emphasized. "And then for people who have been around somebody with the flu, like living in close quarters or close contact, symptoms can usually start within a week after contact."

    A test can determine whether an illness is COVID or the seasonal flu, and Roach recommended calling a health-care provider if you are experiencing fever, body chills and other respiratory symptoms.

    "The good thing about the flu is that there is a treatment for the flu called Tamaflu," Roach advised. "And as long as you start that within 72 hours of the onset of symptoms, it reduces your symptoms and the longevity of the course of the illness. "

    She said you can boost your protection from both illnesses by getting vaccinated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who are vaccinated and become infected with flu or COVID experience fewer symptoms and are much less likely to be hospitalized.

    3 min

About View From The Pugh

From the publisher's feed

Podcast from Chris Pugh, Craig Shoup, Joe Frost and Paul Yanchek with regular guest appearances from Robert McCune, George Thomas and Bob Garver that discusses pop culture and sports.