On Wednesday The Ohio Star reported that Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost was taking a “deep dive into the legal theories” of the lawsuit Texas filed in the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) against Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin.
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During the Thursday COVID briefing, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said that he “took an oath to do everything to protect the lives and wellbeing of fellow Ohioans” and that the next three weeks will be the most critical in battling COVID.
DeWine then stressed the importance of Ohioans understanding and keeping an eye on hospital capacity in their respective communities.
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On December 3 the Board of Directors of the Ohio Education Association (OEA), Ohio’s largest labor union for educators, voted unanimously to adopt the position to immediately suspend all in-person learning in the state until January 11.
The OEA released the statement on December 7.
The position statement calls for state leaders and educational institutions to “reset”, “restart”, “re-prioritize” and “resource” in order to “ensure that the needs of Ohio’s students, educators and communities are met,” according to the union’s statement.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the United States Supreme Court, according to the AG’s December 8 press release.
The Lone Star State’s top legal advisor alleges that the four states broke federal election laws by ignoring the role of the legislature in each state to choose electors and make election laws.
The Center Square reported Attorneys General from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina and South Dakota are also expected to join Texas in the lawsuit.
The Ohio Star contacted Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to find out if Ohio will join.
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Embattled Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, whose party is considering impeachment and overriding his veto of a recent dually-passed bill to limit the pandemic powers of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), called a COVID briefing on Monday to update Ohioans on the state’s response to the virus.
The most significant announcement was that beginning on Tuesday, November 8 the state will no longer trace people who test positive from antigen tests to confirm results.
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A statewide survey conducted by the Strongsville, Ohio GOP asked respondents “If a qualified Republican ran against Governor DeWine in the Republican primary, for whom would you vote?”
Only 23.8% said they would vote for DeWine, while an unnamed “qualified Republican” would get 39.2% of the vote. Thirty-six percent were not sure and 1% would support an “other” candidate.
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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose officially certified the results on Friday of the 2020 presidential election.
In a press release, the top election officer’s Press Secretary Maggie Sheehan, the office called the election “record-setting,” proof that voting “was most secure and more accessible than ever before.”
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The Ohio Star reported that Ohio Governor Mike DeWine called a special press conference on Monday, November 23 alongside the Ohio Hospital Association leaders to address the state’s COVID hospitalization rise.
As reported, during the briefing doctors who lead each of Ohio’s three zones (the state is segmented into three areas) disclosed staffing shortages due to COVID quarantine orders, which had further depleted caregiving capacity already run thin by upticks in COVID hospital cases around the state.
The Star has received inquiries from readers describing their situations. One woman told the story of her husband who was alerted that he had been exposed to COVID and within days began exhibiting symptoms. When he called his doctor seeking preventative therapies, he was denied. The man was later admitted to a hospital for days, where he received therapeutic treatments that aided his recovery.
Consequently, The Star took the opportunity during Governor DeWine’s twice-weekly COVID presser on Tuesday to ask the following question:
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine called a special briefing Monday to update Ohioans on the record number of COVID hospital admissions statewide. He was joined by members of the Ohio Hospital Association – Robert Wyllie, Cleveland Clinic; Andrew Thomas, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center; Richard Lofgren, UC Health; Ronda Lehman, Mercy Health.
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Senate Bill 311 (SB311), a bill to limit the Director of Health order-issuing authority, will be vetoed by Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine. The Governor has 10 days with which to exercise that right – speculation is he will take all 10.
However, SB311 is not dead.
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Sustained increase in ICU bed occupancy is the most relevant of the bunch comprising the Ohio Public Health Advisory System indicators because it measures overall ICU capacity and specifically looks at COVID patients in intensive care.
Ohio logged 2,092 COVID cases by onset date on October 15. One month later that number grew to 6,087 according to the Ohio COVID dashboard. Despite the run-up in cases and a spike in hospitalizations – which have not correlated to a matching percentage of deaths (which continue to hold well below peaks from April) no county in Ohio has tripped indicator seven.
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In a video that ends with a plea from Ohio State Representative Jon Cross (R-Kenton) to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Cross asks for Ohio to be opened and his district to be relieved from measures that are choking out businesses and workers.
Cross represents Ohio’s 83rd District, comprised of Findlay, Kenton and an area with over 119,000 Ohioans.
“This is not an attack on the Governor. This is my artistic way of drawing attention to the situation.”
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The Ohio House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that originated in the Ohio Senate – Senate Bill 311 (SB311) – by a vote of 58 – “yea,” 30 – “nay,” with 11 representatives not voting.
SB311 limits the Ohio Department of Health Director’s order-issuing authority and was sent to Governor DeWine’s desk – he has already vowed to veto the bill.
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An Ohio mom organized a rally within earshot of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s home in Cedarville, Ohio to protest his recent orders.
Over 300 Ohioans showed up between 8pm and midnight on Friday, November 20. People came “from Canton, Portsmouth, Cincinnati and Dayton,” said the event organizer, Misty Murphy.
On November 11, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced not only a revamped masking order, but also a social distancing order. The social distancing order prohibited people congregating in open areas. The order outlawed dancing.
“After all of his absolutely nonsensical orders, when he said ‘no dancing’ at his Wednesday night presser and took it to that level of stupidity, moms were done,” wrote Murphy, an Ohio mother of two.
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Troy Fire Chief Matt Simmons has watched Ohio’s COVID response and the statewide statistics since Ohio began responding to the virus.
“We had the local health department come in and talk with us back in the beginning. What they were saying was pretty grim,” said Simmons.
Fast-forward to November and according to the state cite, COVID cases have gone up exponentially in previous weeks and hospitalizations for COVID patients have climbed to all-time highs.
But the statistics that Chief Simmons keeps mulling over are that Miami County (where Troy is located) has seen overdose calls increase by 137%, while suicide calls have spiked an alarming 500%.
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During Tuesday’s COVID update, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued a statewide 21-day curfew. Ohio businesses are expected to close at 10:00 p.m. and residents mandated to be in their homes until 5:00 a.m.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said Thursday “we need to consider the former vice president as the President-elect.”
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Governor Mike DeWine made time during Wednesday night’s special broadcast to laud Pfizer and their progress on a coronavirus vaccine before effectively re-instating a mandatory mask mandate across the state. “On Monday, our country received some very promising news regarding a Coronavirus vaccine that Pfizer is developing. The first results from phase three, the final research phase on their vaccine, show it to be very effective in preventing COVID 19. That’s great news. This should give us all great hope,” said DeWine. He continued “it could be here as early as December. And we will be ready.” The rest of the address covered what the state plans to do before Ohio receives vaccine doses and reaches the governor’s desired level of immunity from significant vaccination uptake. Back in March, DeWine declared a state of emergency in Ohio and on Wednesday night he made it clear Ohio is still under an emergency and intends to extend the order – “today, I was asked by our hospital leaders to confirm that Ohio remains in a state of emergency. I’m telling you tonight it most certainly does.” On Monday, during a specially-called press conference with doctors who lead Ohio’s…
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The Pennsylvania Legislature passed Act 77 in October 2019 to make voting “more convenient and more secure” according to Governor Tom Wolf (D).
Major features of the act include:
extending voter registration from 30 days before an election to 15 days;
allowing mail-in voting without an excuse to vote mail-in versus in-person;
extending mail-in request (online and by mail) and submission up to 50 days before an election;
extending the mail-in and absentee submission deadline from 5:00 p.m. the Friday before the election to 8:00 p.m. the day of the election.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, leaders of the Ohio Hospital Association and Ohio’s incoming Medical Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff (formerly Chief Medical Officer at Ohio Health) conducted a 2:00 p.m. briefing.
The press conference was set to address the recent increase in hospitalizations and how the state plans to handle the matter.
“We are seeing in this state an unprecedented spike in hospital utilization,” said Dr. Vanderhoff.
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A poll worker who checked in voters at the Radnor Municipal Building located in Delaware County, Pennsylvania’s Sixth Ward – about 13 miles outside of Philadelphia – said Tuesday was “total chaos.”
The worker, who we will call Sue (to protect her identity and safety), said that she worked the greater Philly area polling precinct in 2016 and never saw what she witnessed in droves on election day 2020.
People were angry, according to the election volunteer.
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Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. issued an Order on Friday evening requiring all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties to keep all ballots received after 8:00 p.m. on November 3 “in a secure, safe, sealed container separated from other voted ballots” and that “if counted, be counted separately.”
The Order was issued in a case already before the SCOTUS – Pennsylvania Republican Party v. Kathy Boockvar, Secretary of Pennsylvania, et.al.
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Republicans in Antrim County, Michigan knew something wasn’t right.
In 2016, President Donald Trump received 64% of the vote there to Hillary Clinton’s 32%.
However, on Wednesday morning Antrim polls showed Joe Biden with a 3,000 vote lead.
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Democrats in Philadelphia were denying Republicans the right to observe and validate the hand counting of mail-in ballots but a judge ruled Thursday in favor of the republican petitioners, saying that they could be in the room to observe and verify if they stayed six feet away. Democrats immediately demanded a conference with the judge to plea for reversal of the order. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany posted on Facebook “Democrats are arguing that at Philadelphia ballot counting locations they do not want Republicans watching what they’re doing. Why? Absolute INSANITY!!” The Federalist reported that Wisconsin and Michigan saw Biden vote surges in the wee hours of Wednesday morning similar to what happened in Pennsylvania. On Wednesday, President Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani went to Pennsylvania and the onslaught of lawsuits began there. Giuliani lambasted the Democratic-controlled city of Philadelphia for their history of corruption, signaling that it is illegal for observers to not be able to actually observe – to verify signatures, postmark and validity of a ballot. Giuliani also hinted there may be a national lawsuit filed to uncover what he claims is a concerted effort by the Democratic party to steal the election. This chaos was…
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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) held a press briefing at the Ohio State House on Tuesday to discuss the 2020 US Election.
“Way back in March and April we started to roll up our sleeves and figure out how are we going to run a Presidential Election in the midst of a pandemic. Obviously, this is an historic election. One unlike anything we’ve ever seen,” said LaRose.
Ohio boasts 4,000 poll locations and 56,000 poll volunteers and to handle the estimated 6 million voters – which would break a record according to LaRose.
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Ohio has only twice swung in favor of a losing candidate during a presidential election – in 1944 and 1960. Otherwise, as Ohio goes so goes America.
According to The State of the Nation, a 50-state survey, Ohio voters are concerned about racism, the economy and healthcare.
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OHIO “REPORTED” COVID data for Monday, November 2, 2020:
Cases: 2,909
Hospitalizations: 182
ICU: 23
Deaths: 37
*Reported numbers reach as far back as the beginning of the pandemic (which the state officially recognizes as 1/2020, despite contact tracing data that indicate the virus was here in 11/2019). Example: the deaths number is likely double-to-triple the actual number of deaths today.
Hospital utilization, per the Ohio key metric hospitalization page, continues to drop – with the exception being ventilator usage which has plateaued.
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During his twice-weekly COVID presser, Governor DeWine was asked on Thursday who he thought was best equipped to deal with the COVID problem, Donald Trump or Joe Biden.
DeWine responded, “Look, I think the president has not gotten enough credit for what he has done in regard to making the decision very, very early to invest real big money into the drug companies for them to do the research they need to do. We don’t know when that’s coming but we hope it’s coming soon. And that will make a huge, huge difference.”
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The Ohio Star received a tip that Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was calling on larger businesses in Ohio’s red counties (according to the Ohio Public Health Advisory System) to keep their employees at home.
During a special news briefing held on Wednesday announcing a Bureau of Workers Compensation dividend giveback of $5 billion to Ohio businesses, The Star asked the governor about the tip and whether he was urging businesses to keep employees at home.
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On Monday Ohio State Representative John Becker (R-Union Township, Clermont County) filed a motion with the Ohio Twelfth District Court of Appeals to strike down a brief Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed with the court.
AG Yost filed the amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief on behalf of Clermont County Prosecutor D. Vincent Faris who Becker is attempting to make investigate charges Becker made against Ohio’s governor.
Becker and Faris ended up in the district appellate court after Becker filed a Private Citizen Affidavit (PCA) on September 28 in Clermont County. As The Ohio Star reported, in the PCA Becker alleged Ohio Governor DeWine committed 7 felonies and 3 misdemeanors as a result of his managing the state’s COVID response.
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Governor Mike DeWine said on Tuesday that “all Ohioans should be alarmed” with the trajectory of the state’s COVID numbers.
DeWine reported 2,509 cases, 198 hospitalizations, 20 ICU visits and 22 deaths.
However, reported numbers are always higher than the actual numbers for the day – reported numbers can go as far back as the beginning of the epidemic.
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With just 10 days before the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election and President Donald Trump’s approval numbers increasing, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris toured northern Ohio on Saturday to rally voter turnout in the battleground state.
One of the stops the Vice Presidential candidate made was to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections in downtown Cleveland – on the first day of early voting in one of Ohio’s largest counties.
The visit was criticized on social media – some claiming that Harris violated Ohio election law by campaigning at a poll location.
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The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) reported Friday the following COVID numbers on their Daily Dashboard:
New “reported” cases: 1,180
COVID-confirmed hospitalizations: 702
COVID-pending hospitalizations: 310
COVID-confirmed and -pending intensive care unit (ICU) patients: 233
COVID-confirmed and -pending patients on ventilators: 113
COVID confirmed and probable patients in intensive care units (ICU): 233
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, affiliated with the Republican party, has made no bones about the fact that masks, distancing, testing and tracing (a mantra driven deeply into the minds of Ohioans over the past eight months) will be the norm until there is a vaccine – with a significant uptake.
On Tuesday The Ohio Star asked the governor if it was his position to mandate vaccines and immunity certificates in order for buckeyes to return to normal life. The Star also asked if he intended to use backdoor mandates to force compliance with his wish for Ohioans to vaccinate.
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An email from Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Interim Director Lance Himes riled-up Ohioans. The email was sent Tuesday to prospective attendees of an ODH webinar on the state’s vaccine plan.
In the email, Himes wrote, “It is important to note that the Ohio COVID-19 Vaccination Program strategy is a draft framework outlining how to implement mandatory requirements once more details of a vaccine are known.”
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With just 15 days remaining before the 2020 presidential election, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was delivering a stump speech on Monday – “there is a red tide going through Ohio.” However, DeWine wasn’t talking about, and stumping for, Republican President Donald J. Trump. Instead, he was campaigning for COVID.
DeWine was referring to the rising case numbers in rural areas and “just about everywhere,” in Ohio – which has led to counties throughout the state reaching code red on Ohio’s public health advisory system.
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This is the seventh story in an eight-part series on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System (OPHAS). OPHAS is a tool created to supplement the state’s reporting on cases, hospitalizations and deaths. The color-coded map assigns each of Ohio’s 88 counties a color determined by how many of the seven indicators comprising OPHAS are triggered by each county. The colors: yellow (0-1 indicator), orange (2-3 indicators), red (4-5 indicators) and purple (6-7 indicators). The seven indicators making up OPHAS are: 1)-new cases per capita, 2)-sustained increase in new cases, 3)-proportion of cases not in a congregate setting, 4)-sustained increase in emergency department (ED) visits for COVID-like illness, 5)-sustained increase in outpatient visits for COVID-like illness, 6)-sustained increase in new COVID hospital admissions, 7)-intensive care unit (ICU) bed occupancy. Indicator 6, sustained increase in new COVID hospitalizations, is flagged if there is an increasing trend of at least 5 consecutive days in the number of new hospitalizations due to COVID over the last 3 weeks. According to the Ohio COVID website, indicator six is an “important indicator of hospital burden and disease severity.” However, the measure does not give respect to the population size of the county, it simply flags…
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Ohio now has 29 counties colored red by the Ohio Public Health Advisory System, according to remarks made by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine during his press briefing on Thursday.
That total represents 65% of Ohio’s population of just under 11.7 million, according to the Governor.
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A Troy High School football player tested positive for COVID, the school announced Tuesday.
Regardless of any COVID test outcomes, the entire team was asked to quarantine for 14-days, forcing the school to forfeit their Division II regional playoff game scheduled for Friday.
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This is the sixth story in and eight-part series on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System (OPHAS). The system assigns one of four colors to each of Ohio’s 88 counties based on the level of COVID exposure and spread.
OPHAS is a supplement to the numerous statewide COVID mandates and is supposed to be a data-driven framework that gives local leaders a tool for use in deciding local and county school, business and other public policies.
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Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine made his rounds in Ohio on Friday – among other spots, stopping near Toledo and Youngstown to talk about COVID “spread.”
The Ohio Star covered one of the briefings, during which DeWine said if Ohioans don’t mask, distance and follow mandates then schools and colleges will inevitably go remote and businesses will likely shutter because people will be afraid.
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Ohio state Representative John Becker (R-Union Township/Clermont County) on Tuesday filed a writ of mandamus with the Twelfth District Court of Appeals in Middletown, Ohio – as a private citizen, using his own resources.
This comes after Becker turned in a Private Client Affidavit (PCA) on September 28 that was rejected by Clermont County Prosecuting Attorney D. Vincent Faris.
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Richland County is teetering on the verge of becoming the first Ohio county to reach code purple on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System (OPHAS). According to OPHAS, purple means that the county is experiencing “severe exposure and spread” and residents are to leave home for only “supplies and services.” The Ohio Star discussed the county’s numbers with Richland Public Health Commissioner Sarah Humphrey. The health commissioner anticipates that five of seven indicators will be triggered – technically keeping Richland County in code red. During the phone interview with The Star, Humphries anticipates that Richland County will trigger indicators: 1,2,3,4 and 6 – and not triggering indicators 5 and 7. Whether staying in red or moving to purple matters from a policy perspective is now in question. During a press conference on Tuesday, Governor Mike DeWine said “going purple has no consequences or sanctions from the state of Ohio. And that’s the same way as being red.” Consequently, Humphrey said, “Knowing that he will give some latitude will give us some workarounds. Let’s see how we can continue in-person learning.” “Given what the governor said today during the press conference – businesses, schools, everyone can stay open. Richland County…
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Lauren Bevins made school history.
The senior golfer was the first female from Eastern High School (Beaver, Ohio) to qualify for the district golf tournament.
On Tuesday morning Bevins would have not only been the first to qualify, she would have been the first to compete.
Lauren never got the chance to pull a club from her golf bag.
The senior golfer was named in a COVID case and contacted by public health officials who told her to quarantine for 14 days. The district golf tournament fell on day 10 of Lauren’s quarantine.
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According to the Ohio Department of Higher Education’s website College Credit Plus (CCP) “ is Ohio’s dual enrollment program that provides students in grades 7-12 the opportunity to earn college and high school credits at the same time by taking courses from Ohio colleges or universities.”
A 17-year-old high school student enrolled in Ohio’s CCP program signed up for College Writing I: Social Issues Through Anime at Kent State University (KSU).
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OPHAS has seven indicators and each of Ohio’s 88 counties is assigned a color based on the number of indicators that are triggered.
Indicator five measures the sustained increase in outpatient visits for COVID-like illness.
According to the state website, the indicator “provides information on the health care seeking behavior of the population and a sense of how concerned residents are about their current health status and the virus.”
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During the twice-weekly COVID presser, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine invited Dr. Abigail Norris-Turner on Thursday to speak to Ohioans. Norris-Turner revealed the results of a random statewide antibody study former Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton mentioned in April and promised May 11.
Regarding the 1,200-person study, Acton said during a press conference on May 11 “[t]hey’re volunteering to help us learn more about the prevalence of this disease, many of whom may not know they have had it.”
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Last week The Ohio Star broke the story of Alecia Kitts. She is the Ohio mom who was tased, arrested and escorted from a football stadium because she refused to wear a mask at her son’s middle school football game – consequently, Kitts was charged with criminal trespass, resisting arrest and obstructing official business. Kitts refused to comply with the request to put on a mask claiming an exemption for her asthma. She was also seated away from other fans. At the heart of the controversy is whether schools are required to honor mask exemptions written into the statewide mask order and the Ohio sports order, the latter which gives schools guidelines for conducting sports contests. The July 23 statewide mask order contains a list of exemptions: Those with a medical condition or a disability or those communicating with someone with a disability; Those who are actively exercising or playing sports; Those who are officiants at religious services; Those who are actively involved in public safety; or Those who are actively eating or drinking. The sports order released by the Ohio Department of Health Interim Director Lance Himes includes the same exemptions from the statewide mask order. The order…
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Ohio State Representative John Becker (R-Union Township, Clermont County) filed a Private Citizen Affidavit announcing 10 criminal charges against Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine Monday.
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Since The Ohio Star broke the story about Alecia Kitts, the Marietta mom who was tased and arrested for not wearing a mask, the incident got the attention of Breitbart, TheBlaze, HuffPost, Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro, and Covington Catholic High student Nick Sandmann’s attorney Lin Wood.
The Ohio Department of Health has issued a plethora of orders since march, including a statewide mask mandate announced by Governor Mike DeWine on July 22 – effective July 23, with exemptions. The mask mandate was the catalyst to the situation involving Kitts that unfolded in Logan, Ohio on Wednesday, September 23.
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