Category: BG-TN

Sixteen Men Arrested Trying to Sexually Exploit Children in Ohio

Zachery Schmidt

  An undercover task force in Ohio arrested 16 men (pictured above) for trying to sexually exploit children. This is the second successful undercover operation this year. In March, a task force targeting human trafficking arrested eight people. One person was also charged with felony drug possession. “This trap will be laid time and time again until the message reverberates – don’t buy sex in Ohio,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement announcing the arrests. Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene had a warning for child predators who are looking to do similar crimes in Northeast Ohio. “We are very pleased with the outcome of the operation. This task force is not going to give up or let up on these types of crimes,” Greene said. “If you are someone using the internet to exploit underage children, we want you to know you may be talking to us.” The Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force was created three years ago when Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was the state’s attorney general. Youngstown is Mahoning County’s biggest city and a little less than 230,000 people live in the areas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “Human trafficking is a horrific crime, and…

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Former Minneapolis Police Officer and Convicted Murderer Mohamed Noor Sued for Pulling Gun on Man During Routine Traffic Stop

Anthony Gockowski

  Former Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor is now being sued by a man who claims Noor pulled a gun on him during a routine traffic stop just months before the murder of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. The lawsuit, which was obtained by KSTP, was filed by Minneapolis resident Brian Oman, and lists Noor, Officer Justin Schmidt, and the City of Minneapolis as defendants. Dash-cam video of the May 2017 incident was first released in February and does, in fact, show Noor pointing a gun at Oman’s head while he approaches the vehicle. The prosecution in Noor’s murder trial asked to use the video to show that he had a history of “unnecessarily escalating force,” according to KARE 11. Noor’s attorneys claimed at the time that the prosecution’s description was “grossly misleading” and that Noor was justified in pulling his gun. In any event, Noor, who was found guilty of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the shooting of Damond, is now being sued by Oman in response to the incident. The lawsuit claims that Noor and his partner violated Oman’s Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. It goes on to state that the officers “assaulted, maliciously prosecuted and…

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Group of ’10-12 Somali Teens’ Allegedly Chased Light Rail Patrons With Hammers

Anthony Gockowski

  Minnesota Crime Watch and Information reported for Alpha News Monday that an alleged mob of Somali teens were chasing Light Rail patrons with hammers at the East Bank station Friday night. Alpha News notes that a post from the Minneapolis Scanner Facebook page reported Friday night at 9:49 p.m. that the University of Minnesota Police Department, Metro Transit Police, and the Minneapolis Police Department were “responding to multiple calls of [a] group of 10-12 Somali teen males armed with hammers chasing people.” “Several injuries reported,” the Minneapolis Scanner page, which posts summaries of police scanner audio, reported. The Second Precinct Minneapolis Crime Watch and Information Facebook page posted a similar report just minutes earlier. “UMPD requesting assist from MPD and Metro Transit police at the East Bank LRT station for a group of 8-10 males chasing people with hammers. Some people have been injured,” the page reported. Minnesota Crime Watch and Information obtained police dispatch audio from Friday evening confirming the incident did occur. “The U of M PD is asking for assistance from Metro Transit and Minneapolis for a group of 8-10 males at the East Bank Light Rail station chasing people around with hammers. They do have…

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New Ohio Employment Numbers Offer ‘Warning Sign’ to Enact Pro-Growth Policies, Cut Government Spending

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by Bethany Blankley   State government must reduce or hold its spending to match the growth in inflation and population to reverse employment plight and economic stagnation, The Buckeye Institute says in its updated brief, “Sustaining Economic Growth: Tax and Budget Principles for Ohio.” It argues, “Policymakers must be wary about increasing government spending to dangerous levels and choosing to reduce taxes for only a few rather than adopting across the board tax cuts that would help grow the economy.” The institute urges the Legislature to return $658 million in surplus to taxpayers “through permanent lower taxes,” which it argues “would lead to 6,600 more jobs annually while encouraging more economic activity and business investment.” The report comes after newly released employment data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (JFS), which shows slowed job growth. Ohio’s unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in April 2019, down by 0.1 percent in March, and by 0.3 percent from April 2018. Statewide, there were 11,000 less people filing unemployment claims in April than in March. Over the last 12 months, 15,000 less people filed unemployment claims. The U.S. unemployment rate for April was 3.6 percent, down from 3.8 percent in March and down…

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DeWine Opens Up Investigation, Calls for Lifting Statute of Limitations in Response to ‘Monster’ Richard Strauss

Anthony Gockowski

  Gov. Mike DeWine called for lifting the statute of limitations in cases of rape and sexual abuse in response to the report surrounding former Ohio State University team doctor Richard Strauss. According to a report released Friday by the university, Strauss, who killed himself in 2005, abused at least 177 male students over his two-decade career at the state’s flagship university, where he worked from 1978 to 1998. The report describes Strauss’ sexual abuse as an “open secret” among coaches, trainers, and other doctors, The Ohio Star reported last week. DeWine was particularly concerned about what the State Medical Board of Ohio knew, when they knew it, and what they did about it. “The question that we are faced with is this: did the State Medical Board of Ohio take appropriate action regarding Richard Strauss? What did they know? When did they know that? What did they do about it?” DeWine said during a Monday press conference. “We should all be disgusted. Every Ohioan should be disgusted and should be angered by what has happened. Not only by the horrific and vile acts perpetrated by Richard Strauss, but also they should be angered that complaints and reports about this…

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Minneapolis Wants to Ban New Drive-Thru Windows to Reduce Carbon Emissions

Anthony Gockowski

  Minneapolis wants to ban all new drive-thru windows citywide in order to cut down on carbon emissions produced by idling cars. The City Planning Commission has been considering a drive-thru ban since 2017, but the idea didn’t really start to come to fruition until the 2018 conversations surrounding the “Minneapolis 2040” comprehensive city plan. Now, according to a report prepared by the planning commission, a new ordinance wants to take language included in the comprehensive city plan and “expand the prohibition of new drive-through facilities to all zoning districts citywide.” “A text amendment that specifically addresses regulations is timely given the number of proposals for new drive-through facilities that have been considered by the City Planning Commission in the last few years and the undesirable impacts these uses have,” the report states. “Said impacts include noise, extended idling, proliferation of curb cuts, conflicts with pedestrians, and traffic generation.” The report lists seven pending proposals to build new drive-thru windows within city limits for businesses such as banks, pharmacies, coffee shops, and fast-food restaurants. Some, however, think the ban would have an adverse impact on the most vulnerable residents, such as the elderly and disabled, or even parents with young…

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Two Ohio Congressmen Cosponsor Bill to End Tax Deductions for Abortions

Anthony Gockowski

  Two Republican members of Ohio’s congressional delegation have signed on as cosponsors of a bill that would end tax deductions for abortions. The IRS currently allows residents to deduct medical and dental expenses from their taxes if they exceed 7.5 percent of a person’s adjusted gross income. Legal abortions and birth control pills are both treated as tax-deductible expenses, but a bill introduced by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) seeks to change that. His bill, H.R. 2742, would amend the federal tax code to “provide that amounts paid for an abortion are not taken into account for purposes of the deduction for medical expenses.” The bill currently has 22 Republican cosponsors, including Reps. Bob Gibbs (R-OH-07) (pictured, right) and Bob Latta (R-OH-05) (pictured, left). “The ending of a human life should not be a part of a taxpayer’s money-saving strategy when they file their taxes each April,” Latta said in a press release. “I’m proud to support legislation to remove financial incentives for abortions, and will continue to work with the pro-life caucus to end all federal funding streams for them.” Biggs, in a statement provided to The Daily Signal, said that the “Abortion Is Not Health Care Act” is…

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Ohio Lawmakers Urged to Eliminate ‘Redundant’ and Costly Motor Vehicle Repair Board

Maggie Leigh Thurber

  Since The Buckeye Institute first started publishing its Piglet Book in 2005, it’s recommended eliminating Ohio’s Motor Vehicle Repair Board. The Buckeye Institute, an independent think tank whose mission is to advance free-market public policy, issues a regular Piglet Book that analyzes “Ohio’s proposed biennial budget and offers savings for policymakers to consider as they debate the state’s two-year budget.” This year’s book again lists the Motor Vehicle Repair Board, saying ending it will save Ohio taxpayers about $1.2 million. “The Motor Vehicle Repair Board performs functions that the private sector already performs admirably,” the book states. “Consumers have adequate access to information on the quality of facilities from various sources, including the Better Business Bureau to Angie’s List, which make this state board redundant and unnecessary.” When it was first created in 1997, it was called the Motor Vehicle Collision Repair Registration Board. It was supposed to oversee a new registration process for businesses in the state that did five or more collision repairs within a 12-month period. Unlike some government regulations, it was businesses in the state who asked for the board and registration in order to address “chop shops” and “fly-by-night” operators. According to the Automotive Services…

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Ellison Joins Amicus Brief in Support of Non-Binary Colorado Resident Who Had Passport Denied

Anthony Gockowski

  Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Wednesday that he has joined a “coalition of attorneys general” in defending the “rights of gender non-binary individuals.” According to a press release from Ellison’s office, he is joined in the amicus brief by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. The case, Zzyym v. Pompeo, centers around Colorado resident Dana Zzyym, who applied for a passport that would “reflect an undisputed fact—that Zzyym was born intersex and is neither male nor female.” “The U.S. Department of State denied the application for the sole reason that Zzyym did not designate ‘M’ or ‘F’ in the field asking for the applicant’s gender and instead identified as ‘intersex.’ Although the Department stated that it would provide a passport listing Zzyym’s gender as ‘M’ or ‘F,’ the Department refused to provide a passport with an ‘X,’ the marker recognized internationally for individuals whose gender is neither male nor female,” the amicus brief explains. The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado found in a September 2018 ruling that the U.S. Department of State’s gender policy was “arbitrary and capricious and that the passport application denial was in excess…

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Ohio Senate Asked to Reconsider $550 Million Increase in Spending on Education

Anthony Gockowski

  The Ohio Senate Finance Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education was asked to reconsider spending an additional $550 million on public education in the state’s biennial budget, House Bill 166. Testifying before the committee Wednesday, Greg Lawson, a senior research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, pointed out that “Ohio’s spending on K-12 public education has grown faster than inflation even as Ohio’s achievement gap between African American and white students remains stubbornly high.” “Spending more state money on education has not proven a viable solution to this persistent problem,” Lawson argued. However, as Lawson reveals, House Bill 166 does just that. Over the course of Fiscal Year 2020 and Fiscal Year 2021, the budget proposes spending an additional $550 million on primary and secondary education. “Even though Ohio ranks among the top 10 states with the largest projected enrollment declines over the rest of the decade according to the National Center for Education Statistics,” he added. “More concerning still is that more state funds will be spent just as Ohio considers watering down state report cards, reducing accountability by eliminating academic distress commissions, and weakening graduation requirements,” he continued. While the controversial academic distress commissions have flaws, Lawson does…

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Mother of Minneapolis Man Who Threw Boy from Mall of America Balcony Says Her Son Doesn’t Belong in Jail

Anthony Gockowski

  Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, the 24-year-old man who was “looking for someone to kill” when he threw a five-year-old boy from a balcony at the Mall of America, entered a guilty plea Tuesday that will send him to prison for 19 years. Aranda’s mother, Becky Aranda, however, told reporters outside the courtroom that her son doesn’t belong in jail and that he “needs mental help.” “He don’t belong in jail. He needs mental help. That’s what he needs. He don’t need to be in jail. He’s really sick,” she said. Aranda’s mom Becky Aranda said her son has mental health issues and should not be in jail, but he refused to see family to challenge case pic.twitter.com/klKpgHZ57i — Chao Xiong (@_ChaoXiong) May 14, 2019 Mrs. Aranda also revealed that her son showed up at his sister’s house three nights before the incident and shoved her. “When she called me after midnight, she told me that he had shoved her, which is something he had never done before. She immediately called the police and explained to the police about his mental situation and that they needed to locate him immediately before he did something else drastic to somebody else,” she said…

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Conservative-Backed Ohio House Bill Would Clear Hurdles for Military Spouses Seeking Employment

Anthony Gockowski

  A bill making its way through the Ohio House would make it easier for military spouses living in the state to obtain professional licenses, a policy championed by the conservative Buckeye Institute. House Bill 133, sponsored by Rep. Rick Perales (R-Beavercreek), would grant full professional licenses to military spouses who hold a license from a different state, so long as the requirements of the other state are similar to or stricter than the requirements in Ohio. If the out-of-state license doesn’t meet Ohio’s standards, then spouses would qualify for a temporary license in Ohio. While testifying Wednesday in support of the bill, The Buckeye Institute research fellow Greg Lawson told the story of Brianna McKinnon, who was a certified teacher living in Washington state before her husband was stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. “When Brianna and her husband got settled in Ohio, she learned that the state makes it very difficult for military spouses to get an Ohio job license so they can quickly begin working in their chosen professions,” Lawson said. “To get an Ohio teaching certificate Brianna would have to take numerous college courses, take a number of exams and she would have had to pay…

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Ohio Middle School Forced to Close After Refined Uranium Found Inside

Mitch Shirley

  Zahn’s Corner Middle School was forced to close early for the summer due to high concentrations of uranium found inside. Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a nuclear plant in Pike County, Ohio, is the only known source of the high levels of uranium and neptunium-237 found in the school and air. The high levels were discovered by a U.S. Department of Energy air monitor detection building directly adjacent to the middle school. The closure has left parents and teachers in the Scioto Valley Local School District extremely concerned. Earlier this week, Ashley Day, a parent in the school district, was met at home by her son Kendon with some interesting news. Kendon informed his mother that the school will be closed for the rest of the academic year. “I felt anxiety, anger, and paranoia all at once,” she told NBC News. “It’s so scary that my child has been exposed to this because I have no idea how it’s going to affect him.” The now out-of-operation Portsmouth plant was built as part of the United States’ nuclear build up against the Soviet Union in the Cold War. It had been active for almost 50 years, from 1954 to 2001. Following the end…

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Ohio House Dems and Republicans Continue Unusual Bipartisan Push

Anthony Gockowski

  Ohio House Democrats and Republicans unveiled a set of bills Monday at a joint press conference, continuing an unusual bipartisan push in the Ohio Legislature after successfully passing a state budget bill. “By working together, we can strengthen Ohio families, give our children a brighter future and create a strong foundation for economic growth,” said House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) during Monday’s press conference. Two of the bills unveiled Monday focus on strengthening the state’s foster care system. House Bill 8, sponsored by a Democrat and a Republican, seeks to improve foster caregiver training so foster parents can be trained more effectively. House Bill 14 would establish the Kinship Navigator Program, a new program that would help caregivers locate support services that are available to them. “The state’s done a lot to help those struggling with addiction. What we’re trying to do is make sure we’re also helping others who have been impacted by the addiction crisis,” House Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) said. Ohio’s foster care system is “being stretched to the limit” as a result of the opioid epidemic. In Ohio alone, the number of kids in foster care has surpassed 15,000 and increased by 25…

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Ilhan Omar Comes to Rashida Tlaib’s Defense in Backlash Over Holocaust Comments

Anthony Gockowski

  Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) has repeatedly defended her colleague Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13) against criticisms related to comments she made about the Holocaust on a podcast over the weekend. “There’s always kind of a calming feeling I tell folks when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors, Palestinians, who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence in many ways have been wiped out, and some people’s passports,” Tlaib said on a Saturday episode of the podcast “Skullduggery.” “And just all of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews post the Holocaust, post the tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time,” she continued. Tlaib immediately faced backlash for the comments, and was accused of engaging in revisionist history. “She ignored the fact that Palestinian leaders at the time allied themselves with Hitler and that total war is how the Arab world reacted to the declaration of Israeli independence,” CNN anchor John King said on his Monday show. Writing for The New York Post, Lahav Harkov, contributing editor…

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New House Bills Seek More Limits on Ohio Traffic Cameras

Maggie Leigh Thurber

  The use of photo-enforcement devices – also known as traffic cameras – has a contentious history in Ohio. Cities first started using them in 1999 when the Toledo City Council passed an ordinance authorizing their use. They made it a civil violation with a fine, but no points on a driver’s license like a police-issued ticket. Other cities followed and citizens often attempted ballot initiatives to eliminate them. Not having much success at the local level, citizens turned to the state legislature which responded with various limits and laws. First, the legislature tried to ban the use of cameras, but that was overruled by the Ohio Supreme Court under the state constitution’s “home rule” authority. Home rule basically means that cities and certain townships have the power to govern themselves and they have the power to adopt and enforce certain regulations that don’t conflict with the state’s general laws. This includes the power to adopt and enforce local police regulations and the Supreme Court rulings have said traffic photo-monitoring devices fall under those police regulations. Then the legislature said that if traffic cameras can’t be banned, a police officer must be present in order for any ticket from the camera…

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Senator Portman and Senator Cardin Reach Across the Aisle for Senior Retirement Reform

Mitch Shirley

  U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) introduced a bill in the Senate Finance Committee containing several reforms to reinforce Americans’ retirement plans on Monday. The Retirement Security & Savings Act (S. 1431) introduced by the two senators addresses four ongoing issues with retirement plans. Portman has made the issue of retirement a mainstay of his office tenure. As The Ohio Star reported last month, he worked with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to give Ohioans a say in the pension plans set up by their employers. “As a matter of basic fairness, they deserve a role in determining how to bring these pensions to solvency, and this bill ensures they have a voice in this process,” said Portman. Now Portman is working with Cardin to bring these same reforms to the national stage. “Half of the baby-boomers have no retirement nest egg at all,” Portman said on Fox Business yesterday. In a press release from Cardin’s office, he had this to say on the retirement bill: “Ensuring that families and workers can retire with dignity and stability is an ongoing, and strongly bipartisan, effort. There have been many recent efforts acknowledging this need, yet more work needs to be done to make…

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Ohio Manufacturer Says Tariffs Have Brought ‘Growth’ and ‘Opportunities’ to Businesses

Anthony Gockowski

  MSNBC went to Ohio over the weekend to examine the impact of tariffs (separate from the Chinese tariffs) on businesses and retailers in the area. Glen Fish, CEO of Revere Plastic Systems, said that “since the tariff activities have kicked in, it has been a benefit for us.” “We’ve seen investments from our customers. We’ve also, in terms of capacity enhancements and additional volume, which has helped stabilize and strengthen our workforce. And we’ve seen opportunities arise with other companies moving to the U.S. as a result of some of this,” he continued. Fish said that the tariffs have provided “stability and predictability in terms of volumes and continued investment and growth” for his company. Fish’s business is based out of Clyde, Ohio and provides plastic parts to Whirlpool, which has a factory in the town. The tariffs have brought roughly 1,800 new jobs to America, but have also resulted in an increase to the cost of washers and dryers. Tom Phillips, an appliance retailer from Tiffin, Ohio, said the tariffs “have hurt us because of the price increase.” “You know, for 38 years or whatever I’ve never had this much of a price increase over two or three…

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Just Half of Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Patients Are Actually Buying the Product

Anthony Gockowski

  Only 49 percent of Ohioans registered with the state’s medical marijuana program are actually purchasing the product, according to the latest numbers released by the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program. As of April 30, there were 31,075 registered patients in the program with recommendations from a doctor, but only 15,339 of them purchased medical marijuana. That’s a nine percent increase, however, from the 40 percent of patients who were purchasing the product as of March. In total, 750 pounds of the product have been sold thus far in Ohio, generating $5.8 million in product sales. There are a number of factors that contribute to the relatively low purchasing numbers, one of which is the cost of medical marijuana in Ohio. According to The Cleveland Plain Dealer, medical marijuana costs an average of $450 per ounce in Ohio. That’s higher than the neighboring state of Pennsylvania, where marijuana can be purchased for as low as $280 per ounce. In Michigan, the cost is even lower. Another factor at play is the low number of dispensaries that have received a certificate of operation from the state. The Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program notes that just 16 of 56 dispensaries have received a…

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Ohio’s Largest Christian Public Policy Team Is Expanding

Mitch Shirley

  Ohio’s Family Policy Council, Citizens for Community Values (CCV), added a new member to its public policy team. CCV announced on Monday the hiring of University of Cincinnati Law School graduate Rachel Citak, who will serve as CCV’s legislative liaison out of the Columbus office. The CCV has been extremely active in Ohio since its founding in 1986. Most recently, the group was a proponent of the “heartbeat bill” in a fight that’s been ongoing in Ohio for over a decade. “Gov. Mike DeWine is the strongest pro-life governor in the nation. With a stroke of a pen, he’s saved countless lives in the state of Ohio,” said Aaron Baer, president of CCV.  Citak, an active voice in the Ohio community, is now the CCV’s fourth registered lobbyist, making it the largest Christian public policy team in the state. She will join CCV President Aaron Baer, Barry Sheets, and Averel Meden. Baer has expressed his enthusiasm about the new addition to the team. “Ohioans elected one of the most pro-life, pro-family General Assembly’s in our state’s history,” said Baer. “The heartbeat bill has passed, but our work to protect life, build up families, and defend religious freedom is only…

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Ohio and Minnesota Join Lawsuit Against ‘Corporate Drug Cartel’

Anthony Gockowski

  Attorneys General from 44 different states announced their participation Monday in a lawsuit against 20 of the nation’s leading generic drug manufactures. Both Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison have joined the lawsuit, highlighting the bipartisan nature of the issue. “Ohioans who need medicine might think generic drugs would be their cheapest option, but some manufacturers have rigged the system to avoid competition,” Yost said Monday. “That’s not how a free market works, and the conspiracy to avoid competition makes prices higher – and it’s against the law. This lawsuit is the prescription for lower medicine prices in a free market.” The lawsuit, led by the state of Connecticut, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut and explicitly names 15 defendants who are senior level executives responsible for sales and marketing. The lawsuit alleges that they “engaged in a broad, coordinated and systematic campaign to conspire with each other to fix prices, allocate markets and rig bids for more than 100 different generic drugs.” The complaint also details an “interconnected web” of top executives who frequently met with each other and communicated via text messages to sow “the seeds…

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Vice President Pence Calls for Omar to be Removed from House Foreign Affairs Committee

Anthony Gockowski

  Vice President Mike Pence said during his visit to Minnesota last week that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) has “no place” on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In early April, the GOP pushed for Omar’s removal from the Foreign Affairs Committee in response to her description of the 9/11 terror attacks as “some people did something.” Pence was in Minnesota Thursday to urge Congress to pass the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and spoke with Fox News about Omar’s comments. “Look, Ilhan Omar has made statements, anti-Semitic comments, statements against our most cherished ally, Israel, that ought to be rejected by every American,” Pence said. “And frankly, the fact that very recently she’s been trying to blame the United States of America for the deprivation and the poverty brought on by the dictatorship in Venezuela, it tells me—look, the people of Minnesota will decide whether or not she remains in Congress, but Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has no place on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Democratic leadership ought to remove her,” he continued. Pence recently criticized Omar for her comments on the political situation in Venezuela. Omar said in early May that America has “helped lead the devastation in Venezuela.”…

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Federal Judge Calls Motion to Have Lake Erie Named as Party in Lawsuit ‘Unusual’ and ‘Meritless’

Anthony Gockowski

  A federal judge in Ohio has dismissed a motion to name Lake Erie, a body of water, as a party in an ongoing lawsuit, calling the request “unusual” and “meritless.” As The Ohio Star previously reported, Toledo voters overwhelming approved of the controversial Lake Erie Bill of Rights in February, a ballot proposition that extended legal rights of the Ohio Constitution to an inanimate object. In response to its passage, Wood County farmer Mark Drewes filed suit, saying the Lake Erie Bill of Rights “violates federal constitutional rights, including equal protection, freedom of speech, and is unenforceable for its vagueness.” In that lawsuit, a nonprofit called Toledoans for Safe Water sought to have Lake Erie named as a party in the case, but U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary ruled against the motion last week. “This unusual request is meritless. The only source of domestic law cited in the motion supporting the ecosystem’s capacity to intervene is the amendment itself,” he wrote in his ruling, referring to the Lake Erie Bill of Rights. “The amendment, however, does not purport to allow intervention by the ecosystem in federal district courts,” he continued. “Some may believe the law should confer legal standing…

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Ohio’s Attorney General Dave Yost Joins Coalition Urging Congress to Allow Marijuana-Related Businesses to Access Banking System

Mitch Shirley

  Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost joined a coalition of 38 states urging Congress to grant federal banking system access to marijuana-related businesses. The coalition is working on getting Congress to pass the Federal Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act (H.R. 1595). Although many states have legalized medical marijuana, the federal government has regulations that block the federal bank and related banks from lending to cannabis-related institutions. Under the existing ruling, many legitimate marijuana-related businesses are forced to function as cash-only operations. Back in 2018 while Yost was a state auditor, he found an excess of flaws with Ohio’s medical marijuana system. “If you wrote a book about how not to roll out a government program, this would be exhibit A,” Yost said at the time. Now Yost is taking a firmer hand in fixing the ongoing issues in the growing medical cannabis market. In a press release from the Attorney General’s Office, Yost had this to say: “When a business is dealing strictly in cash, they’re inviting a whole host of problems. No legal business should have to operate in a manner that provides little to no security in their financial transactions.” H.R. 1595 seeks to change that and…

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Illegal Immigrant Raped, Impregnated 11-Year-Old Ohio Girl Before Hiding Her in Closet

Anthony Gockowski

  Illegal immigrant Juan Leon-Gomez is being held on a $1 million bond in Stark County Jail on charges of raping and impregnating an 11-year-old Ohio girl. News quickly spread of the tragic story after Leon-Gomez’s May 1 arrest, but his immigration status went unreported until Friday, when police confirmed with Cleveland 19 News that he is in the country illegally. Leon-Gomez, 26, was arrested at his residency in Massillon after the 11-year-old’s mother reported her missing. When police arrived at the scene, Leon-Gomez turned off the lights and hid the girl in an upstairs bedroom closet, according to the police report. According to The Canton Repository, he now faces charges of felony rape and obstructing official business. He could face life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years. When asked during his May 3 court appearance if he speaks English, Leon-Gomez responded “no,” saying he speaks Spanish and is from Guatemala. The judge also placed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hold on Leon-Gomez, meaning he’d be handed over to ICE if he were to post bail. Several news outlets used the story to criticize Ohio’s recently-passed “heartbeat bill,” which bans abortions in the state after…

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Warren Promises Free College, Canceling of Student Loan Debt and More at Columbus Rally

Anthony Gockowski

  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a 2020 contender, hosted a campaign rally in Columbus, Ohio Friday night where she received thunderous applause while discussing her controversial wealth tax. “I’m tired of freeloading billionaires,” Warren said Friday night after campaigning across West Virginia earlier in the day. In January, Warren floated the idea of introducing a two percent incremental wealth tax on those who are worth more than $50 million. A Forbes analysis found that the tax would cost the country’s wealthiest $85 billion a year. Warren discussed the proposal Friday night and provided a laundry list of the kinds of programs she would pay for with the new taxes. “Here’s what you can get: universal child care every baby age zero to five. But that’s not all. Universal pre-k for every three-year-old and four-year-old in this country. Raise the wages of every child care worker and pre-school worker to a professional wage level like they’re entitled to. But I’m not through yet,” she said. “We can do all of that and we can make every technical school, two-year college, and four-year college tuition and fee free in America.” “Tuition and fee free on all of our public colleges and universities—think…

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‘Stealth Newspaper Campaign’ Exposes ‘Jew Hatred’ at the University of Minnesota

Anthony Gockowski

  A self-described “stealth newspaper campaign” is seeking to expose “Jew hatred” on campuses with a history of anti-Semitic activity, including the University of Minnesota. “Stop University Support for Terrorists,” a project of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, distributed 1,000 copies of its new report on the University of Minnesota campus. The report is titled: “An Epidemic of Jew Hatred on Campus: the Top Ten Neo-Nazi Incidents,” and highlights a March 2018 incident that occurred at the University of Minnesota. At the time, the university’s Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies held an event dedicated to promoting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement as part of the school’s “Divest Week,” organized by Students for Justice in Palestine. “This rampant support for the anti-Semitic and genocidal BDS movement on the part of an official university academic department is a flagrant violation of the proper role of an academic institution and reveals the depths of Jew hatred on the University of Minnesota campus,” the report states. According to a press release from the David Horowitz Freedom Center, printed newspapers were “placed in public locations such as student centers, dining halls, classroom buildings and elsewhere where students would encounter them.” “So…

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Jim Jordan Says Democrats Are ‘Nervous’ That Barr Will ‘Get to the Bottom of Everything’

Anthony Gockowski

  Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH-04) slammed his Democratic colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday for voting to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress. “Bill Barr is following the law, and what’s his reward? Democrats are going to hold him in contempt,” Jordan began his remarks. “I don’t think today’s actually about getting information. I don’t think it’s about getting the unredacted Mueller report. I don’t think last week’s hearing was actually about having staff question the attorney general. I think it’s, as my colleague said earlier—I think it’s all about trying to destroy Bill Barr because Democrats are nervous he’s going to get to the bottom of everything.” As The Minnesota Sun reported, the House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines Wednesday to hold Barr in contempt of Congress for failing to hand over Mueller’s full, unredacted report. Twenty-four Democrats on the committee voted in favor of the motion. Jordan suggested before the vote that Democrats are nervous Barr will discover “how and why this investigation started in the first place.” Jordan noted that during his testimony before the Senate Finance Committee Barr said there was “a failure of leadership at the upper echelons of the…

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Ohio House Passes Tax Increases on Small Businesses During Small Business Week

Anthony Gockowski

  The Ohio House passed House Bill 166 Thursday, its version of the state’s biennial budget. While the bill includes substantial income tax reductions, some groups aren’t pleased with the impact it will have on small businesses. Under the bill, Ohio’s Business Investment Income Deduction would be lowered to $100,000. As of now, small businesses don’t pay taxes on the first $250,000 of income, but that would be lowered to $100,000 under House Bill 166, which passed Thursday in a 85-9 vote. Eight Republicans and one Democrat voted against the budget proposal. “We had some really good debates and good ideas, and I think this budget will make a difference for Ohioans,” House Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) said in a press release. “Some of the ideas we talked about are going to become separate bills in order to build them out a bit more. We’re just getting started.” The Ohio Chamber of Commerce was disappointed the bill passed, saying it “includes a $1.1 billion tax hike on small business owners, reducing their ability to reinvest in their businesses.” The bill “means less money for worker training, increased wages, new technology or equipment, or expanded operations,” the Ohio Chamber said. “Tax…

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Ohio Bill Would End ‘Right of First Refusal’ for Schools of Choice

Maggie Leigh Thurber

  For nearly eight years, charter and community schools in Ohio have had an advantage: first dibs on any public school property that was for sale. It’s a process called a right of first refusal. House Bill 43 will eliminate that advantage. Right now, if a school district wants to sell or lease unused real property, like a school building that hasn’t been used in at least two years, it has to first offer that property to schools of choice in the district. Community or charter schools, STEM schools, and college preparatory boarding schools are schools of choice in Ohio. The school district is required to let all the schools know that the property is available and then give them 60 days to respond. If no school of choice is interested, the district can sell the property at a public auction and anyone can bid on it. The law was created in 2011 in order to give educational entities first priority in the sale of educational buildings, something public school districts had been reluctant to do. But even with the law, schools of choice encountered problems. In a 2016 study of Ohio’s top-performing charter schools, “about half (49 percent) report that local…

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Pence Calls on Congress to Pass USMCA During Visit to Minnesota

Anthony Gockowski

  Vice President Mike Pence called on Congress to pass the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) during his visit to Minnesota Thursday. Pence made two stops during his Minnesota visit, first talking with farmers at R & J Johnson Farms in Glyndon before making his way down to St. Paul to talk with steelworkers at Gerdau Ameristeel. While visiting with farmers on the Minnesota-North Dakota border, Pence was informed of the importance of exports to China for Minnesota’s soybean farmers. “30 percent of our U.S. production hopefully goes to China. That hasn’t been the case, and that’s why we’re hurting,” one farmer told Pence. “One of the things we wanted to show you as far as importance of trade. In Minnesota, 60 percent of all of our soybeans are exported. Every six rows of every 10 are exported. So exports are a huge, huge factor in agriculture for this state,” another added, noting that the “biggest export market is China.” Minnesota’s DFL Party highlighted the exchange on Twitter, saying the Trump administration’s “trade wars are doing serious damage to soybean farmers across Minnesota.” “Farmers are hurting, they said it to Mike Pence’s face. Farmers in the bottom 20 percent lost an…

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Ohio Senate Passes Bill Requiring State Agencies to Cut Regulations By 30 Percent

Anthony Gockowski

  The Ohio Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would require every state agency to cut its rules and regulations by 30 percent over three years in order to encourage economic growth. Senate Bill 1, sponsored by State Sens. Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) and Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson), requires that state agencies “amend or rescind rules identified in its inventory of regulatory restrictions as necessary to reduce the total number of regulatory restrictions by thirty percent.” “When a reduction of any percentage in regulatory restrictions, whether or not as specified in this section, has been achieved, the state agency may not adopt or maintain regulatory restrictions that would negate the reduction,” the bill adds. During Wednesday’s Senate session, Roegner noted that there are more than 246,000 restrictions on Ohio’s businesses, making Ohio third worst in the county for regulatory restrictions. “Although passed with the best of intentions, the accumulation of new laws and new regulations, over time, will slow economic growth. I’m guilty of it as well. We see a need in our district or in the state and we pass a law and then the rules promulgate and over the years it is like sludge in our economic engine,” she said.…

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Trump Announces New Occupant for Lordstown Plant

Mitch Shirley

  President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that he spoke with General Motors CEO Mary Barra, who said GM will sell the vacant Lordstown factory to Workhorse, an electric truck manufacturer. The president also mentioned that GM is going to invest $700 million into three separate locations in Ohio. Trump expressed his support for Ohio’s “great governor, and Senator Rob Portman” for their work in filling the GM void. Gov. Mike DeWine, although proud of the achievement, warned that it could be a year before the Cincinnati-based firm Workhorse has the plant up and running. ….in 3 separate locations, creating another 450 jobs. I have been working nicely with GM to get this done. Thank you to Mary B, your GREAT Governor, and Senator Rob Portman. With all the car companies coming back, and much more, THE USA IS BOOMING! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2019 “This is probably not yet a day to celebrate … a lot has to happen,” said DeWine. But it would bring “hundreds of jobs” back to the region after the GM closure left more 1,400 people out of work since closing over two months ago. Workhorse is in the process of obtaining a contract to…

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2018 Ohio Attorney General Candidate Signs Letter Saying Trump Should Be Prosecuted

Anthony Gockowski

  Steven Dettelbach, former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio and 2018 Democratic attorney general candidate, joined nearly 800 U.S. Department of Justice alumni in suggesting that President Donald Trump obstructed justice in a Monday letter. “Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting president, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice,” the letter begins. It goes on to state that the “Mueller report describes several acts that satisfy all of the elements for an obstruction charge.” These acts include, according to the letter, conduct “that obstructed or attempted to obstruct the truth-finding process.” The letter claims that the “evidence of corrupt intent and connection to pending proceeding is overwhelming.” It discusses in detail the “attempts to fire Mueller and then create false evidence,” the “attempts to limit the Mueller investigation,” and the evidence of “witness tampering and intimidation.” “As former federal prosecutors, we recognize that prosecuting obstruction of justice cases is critical because unchecked obstructions—which allows intentional interference with criminal investigations to go unpunished—puts our…

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Ilhan Omar Scheduled to Headline Another CAIR Fundraiser

Anthony Gockowski

  Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) is scheduled to headline another fundraiser for the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR’s Washington state chapter announced last week that Omar would be speaking at its May 25 fundraiser along with Motiva Johnson-Harrell, a state representative from Pennsylvania and the first Muslim woman in its State Legislature. TICKETS ARE HERE! 🎟️ https://t.co/rr2d40XKSm#IlhanOmar #Muslim2020 #Ramadan2019 pic.twitter.com/r59xRUcirx — CAIR Washington (@CAIRWashington) May 2, 2019 The fundraiser is titled “Unapologetically Us: Building Muslim Power for 2020 and Beyond.” “The coming year will be pivotal for our community and for the nation as a whole. There are many challenges from violent Islamophobia to xenophobic policies, but there’s also hope,” an event description states. “American Muslims have seen political representation like never before, including the election of Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American and one of two American Muslim women elected to Congress.” CAIR goes on to invite its supporters to “join us for an evening of conversation, inspiration, and strategizing on how we can best defend our community everyday while building power for 2020.” In March, Omar headlined CAIR’s Fourth Annual Valley Banquet in Los Angeles and faced widespread backlash for comments she made during her speech. At…

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Conservatives Warn Ohio Lawmakers to Take Steps to Avoid ‘Disastrous Recession’ During Budget Talks

Anthony Gockowski

  The Buckeye Institute, an Ohio-based conservative think tank, warned lawmakers Tuesday that state government spending “has outpaced inflation and population growth for years,” meaning the “day of reckoning will be painful for families and businesses” if they don’t cut down on spending. Greg Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, testified before the Ohio House Finance Committee on House Bill 166, the House version of the state’s biennial budget. Lawson began his testimony by noting that the budget decisions arrive “during an economic expansion of historic duration.” In fact, if current economic growth continues until July, it will be “the longest economic expansion in U.S. history.” “Now is the time to pursue meaningful, sustainable reform and take full advantage of this biennial opportunity to make Ohio more prosperous, while avoiding missteps that could lead to a disastrous recession,” Lawson said, suggesting changes to the proposed budget in the areas of government spending, public education, Medicaid, and taxes. He argued that “spending ever-greater sums of taxpayer dollars every fiscal year establishes higher budget baselines that make economic downturns more painful and policy choices more difficult.” “Setting those higher baselines forces future policymakers to choose between painfully increasing taxes during…

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DFL Chairman Slams Pence for ‘Legacy of Homophobia’ Ahead of Minnesota Visit

Anthony Gockowski

  Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to visit Minnesota Thursday to promote the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and discuss its impact on farmers and steel workers. Pence will stop at R & J Johnson Farms in Glyndon before heading to Gerdau Ameristeel, a steel mill in St. Paul. A White House official told The Star Tribune that he will talk with workers about the benefits of the USMCA. DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin issued a statement Tuesday in response to Pence’s upcoming visit. “I’d like to remind Vice President Pence that the majority of Minnesotans did not vote for him and do not support his tariffs that are devastating to our farmers, his massive giveaway to the rich disguised as a tax bill, or his efforts to take away our health care,” Martin said. “Minnesotans pride ourselves on being open, welcoming, and hospitable,” he continued. “Pence’s recklessness and cruelty are anathema to our values, as is his legacy of homophobia and discrimination. DFLers will continue working around the clock to ensure that Mike Pence is a one-term Vice President.” Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan said she is “pleased to welcome Vice President Mike Pence to the great state of…

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Cleveland Councilman Introduces Resolution to Change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Anthony Gockowski

  Cleveland Councilman Basheer Jones introduced an “emergency resolution” Monday to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The resolution calls on the City of Cleveland to recognize “the annexation of indigenous homelands for the building of our nation.” “Citizens have a responsibility to oppose the systematic racism towards indigenous people in the United States, which perpetuates high rates of poverty and income inequality, exacerbating disproportionate health, education, and social crises,” the resolution states. If passed, the second Monday in October would officially be recognized as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the City of Cleveland. Jones promoted the resolution during a Monday evening press conference on the front steps of Cleveland City Hall, where he said that “anyone has the right to celebrate whoever they want to celebrate,” but noted that “as a city we should not support that.” “Everybody is free to support who they want to support, but as an institution we should not back that,” he continued. pic.twitter.com/bK6BbGAdmy — Basheer Jones (@basheerj) May 6, 2019 “I want to make this clear: this is not about diminishing anyone’s culture. It’s about opening up and saying that indigenous people also have a right because this was their country before it…

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Ohio Dem Chair Thinks the State Could ‘End the Trump Presidency’

Anthony Gockowski

  Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper recently claimed that “Ohio could very well be the state that ends the Trump presidency.” The comment was made during an interview on “The State of Ohio,” Statehouse News Bureau’s television program. He appeared on the show with Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken. The two discussed everything from Ohio’s Congressional map to the recent Lordstown plant closure, but they focused much of their attention on President Donald Trump’s chances of winning the state in 2020. “No, not at all,” Timken said in response to whether she thinks a Democrat can beat Trump in Ohio. “Donald Trump’s popularity is very high in Ohio. You think about the booming economy we’ve had. Ohio’s unemployment rate, I think it’s 4.4 percent. I travel around the state of Ohio and the biggest complaint from small and big businesses is not that they need to layoff workers—it’s that they can’t find enough workers.” “I think Ohio is doing very well under President Trump’s leadership,” she said, while arguing that the Democrats are “lurching further and further to the left” with policy initiatives like the Green New Deal and Medicare for All. “All of those things are not what…

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Shocking Report Finds Minnesota Taxpayers Foot the Bill While State Employees Are Placed on Leave for Crimes and Misconduct

Anthony Gockowski

  A shocking new report found that state employees who are under investigation for crimes and misconduct are paid millions in taxpayers dollars while they are on administrative or investigative leave. KARE 11, who uncovered the scandal, is dubbing the controversy “stay away pay,” since state employees are effectively paid to stay away from their place of work. A.J. Lagoe of KARE 11 found that Ramsey County Correctional Officer Travis VanDeWiele, for instance, received $121,555 in pay over a two year period while he was on administrative leave. VanDeWiele was placed on leave for using excessive force, and continued to receive pay for a year after he plead guilty to disorderly conduct. Former Minneapolis Police Officer Thomas Tichich, meanwhile, was paid $65,000 over a 13 month period while awaiting trial for sexually assaulting a passed out woman. Tichich was convicted and is now in prison. In total, the investigation found that between January 1, 2015 and May 31, 2018, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Ramsey County, and Hennepin County paid out $3.7 million in “stay away pay.” “Well I think it’s a scandal. I think people are rightly outraged when they find out that many public employees in this state have been…

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Report: Minimum Wage Hike Could Cost Wisconsin at Least 350,000 Jobs

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by Bethany Blankley   Increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour could cost Wisconsin at least 350,000 jobs, according to a new report published by the conservative think tank, the Badger Institute. According to the analysis, “a high proportion of the state’s workers – fully 38 percent – earn less than $15 an hour. Our modeling suggests that almost one-third of this group would be at risk of losing their jobs were Wisconsin to quickly increase the minimum wage – which amounts to 350,000 workers.” Increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour is “tantamount to an hourly pay increase of 107 percent for workers currently earning the minimum wage,” which is unsustainable for employers, the analysis argues. Half of all job losses would come from the bottom ten percent of the income distribution, and 90 percent would come from the bottom quartile of the income distribution, the report states. The authors estimate that 50 percent of all affected workers in food preparation and service would lose their jobs. Other major job losses would occur in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance, personal care and service, sales, office and administrative support, production occupations and transportation and material-moving industries. Supporters of…

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Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Council Expected to Pass Countywide Ban on Plastic Bags

Anthony Gockowski

  The Cuyahoga County Council is showing signs of supporting an ordinance that would ban the use of single-use plastic bags in the county. The council’s Education, Environment, and Sustainability Committee discussed the ban during a meeting last week, and all members expressed support. Council President Dan Brady told The Cleveland Plain Dealer that he supports the ban, meaning the measure now has the six votes necessary to secure a majority of the 11-member council. “We as a council dealt with this issue for quite a while some time ago. We’ve learned a lot, we’ve worked it through. I believe we’ve got a proposal with broad consensus, and so I just wanted to indicate that I’m certainly in support and I would like my name to be added as a cosponsor,” Brady said to applause during Wednesday’s committee meeting. If passed, the ban wouldn’t go into effect until October 1 so that retailers have time to adjust to the ban. For each day a retailer fails to comply, they would be subjected to a written warning, followed by a $100 fine and a $500 fine. “We’ve heard from the community, there’s broad support and I think it’s time to move…

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Minnesota House DFL Voted Down Amendments to Make Sure Financial Aid Goes Only to Legal Residents

Anthony Gockowski

  The DFL-controlled Minnesota House voted down two amendments to its omnibus higher education finance bill last week that would have ensured state financial aid goes only to legal residents. One of those amendments was introduced by Rep. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria) and would have made sure that only legal residents qualify for in-state tuition rates. “Members, citizenship is under assault,” Franson said on the House floor. “There are perks to being a citizen to the state of Minnesota, one of which is state grant dollars and in-state tuition. Taxpayers, though, should not be burdened with extra benefits that go to non-citizens.” Franson argued that “student citizens are hurt by the preference given to those here in this country illegally.” Her amendment was ultimately voted down, as was one introduced by Rep. Eric Lucero (R-Dayton). Lucero’s amendment would have guaranteed that, in the event of funding cuts, illegal immigrants would lose state financial aid before the family members of wounded or deceased first responders and veterans. The language surrounding financial aid for illegal immigrants stems from a bill introduced earlier this session by Rep. Carlos Mariani (DFL-St. Paul). His bill, which was incorporated into the omnibus higher education finance bill, would…

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Recording of Cleveland Speech Reveals Young Joe Biden Making Sexist Jokes, Using Word ‘Negro,’ Defending Republicans Against Watergate Criticisms

Anthony Gockowski

  The City Club of Cleveland recently released an archived recording of a May 1973 address then Sen. Joe Biden gave to the city’s popular free speech forum. The recording reveals Biden, who was then a 30-year-old, first-term senator from Delaware, making sexist jokes, using the word “Negro,” and defending his Republican colleagues against criticisms surrounding the Watergate scandal. According to the City Club of Cleveland, the remarks were delivered on May 18, 1973, just as the Senate was beginning its televised hearings on Watergate. An audio clip of Biden’s address is now available on City Club’s website. Biden began his speech with several self-deprecating jokes about his lowly position in the U.S. Senate since he was then the youngest senator in office. “It should be noted and I hope you all are duly impressed with the fact that I am one of the most powerful men in the United States. And you ladies, are you aware of that, just how powerful I am? I am number 100 in seniority and don’t forget it,” Biden said. “This young lady knows I’m so powerful she wants to get close to me. She just moved right up front here. She probably has…

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Ohio’s Revised Budget Proposal Makes Tax Code ‘Fairer’ But Punishes Small Businesses Retroactively, Conservatives Say

Anthony Gockowski

  A revised state budget proposal unveiled Thursday by House Republican leadership would introduce substantial income tax cuts for Ohioans but would do so by eliminating tax breaks for small businesses. The budget plan, House Bill 166, builds off of the budget proposal put forward by Gov. Mike DeWine, who said Friday that the bill sticks to the “essential principles” of his proposal. Under the proposal, Ohio’s lowest tax brackets would be completely eliminated, such that earners who make $22,250 or less annually wouldn’t pay any state income taxes. The state’s middle two brackets would also see significant reductions in income taxes. But these income tax reductions would be partially paid for by cutting down on the state’s small business tax deduction. Currently, small businesses don’t pay taxes on the first $250,000 of income, but that would be lowered to $100,000 under the new budget proposal. “We shouldn’t try to pick winners and losers. What we should try to do is set a balanced field out there and let people compete in business,” House Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) said when unveiling the proposal. The Buckeye Institute, an Ohio-based conservative think tank, believes that Republicans are making a mistake in not…

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Polling Continues to Show Strong Opposition to 20-Cent Gas Tax Increase

Anthony Gockowski

  Veteran political reporter Tom Hauser was chastised in December by at least one state representative when he correctly pointed out that all but one recent poll showed opposition to a gas tax increase. Hauser said at the time that “nearly ever poll,” with the exception of one Star Tribune poll, showed that a majority or plurality of Minnesotans opposed an increase in the state’s gas tax, as The Minnesota Sun reported. He noted that “every KSTP/SurveyUSA poll in the last 15 years” found opposition to an increase. Polling has continued to confirm Hauser’s analysis. A late April poll from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota Business Partnership found that 65 percent of Minnesotans oppose Gov. Tim Walz’s proposed 20-cent gas tax hike. Now, a new poll conducted for the Center of the American Experiment by Meeting Street Research has found similar results. The poll, published in the latest issue of Thinking Minnesota, found that 60 percent of Minnesotans oppose the 20-cent increase, and 45 percent are strongly opposed. Just 35 percent of respondents said they support the increase, and an even smaller 17 percent “strongly” support it. The 20-cent increase, which was approved Monday by the Minnesota…

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’60 Minutes’ Discovers Opioid Silk-Road From China to Akron

Mitch Shirley

  The CBS weekly show 60 Minutes recently discovered a drug route leading into Ohio. The CBS team found that fentanyl plants in Shanghai have been trafficking their product through Akron. Guanghua Zheng, a free citizen of Shanghai, is a wanted man in America. Zheng illegally imported fentanyl and other related narcotics into the U.S, which led to two known deaths. Tom Rauh and Carrie Dobbins were two Ohioans who overdosed and died on substances from Zheng’s supply. 60 Minutes producer Bob Anderson located Zheng outside a grocery store in Shanghai to question him about his illegal operation. “Are you still selling fentanyl in the U.S?” Anderson asked Zheng, who responded, “No, no.” “Will the Chinese Government ever arrest you?” Anderson then asked. “The Chinese government has nothing to do with this,” Zheng replied. Anderson continued to question Zheng, but the woman standing with him outside the grocer was emphatic that he not answer any more questions. “Don’t speak, don’t speak,” she repeated to Zheng. She then turned her attention to the CBS crew. “Don’t come back,” the woman said. Matt Cronin, an Ohio assistant U.S. attorney, notified U.S. authorities of Zheng’s trafficking scheme, known as the Gordon Jin drug trafficking organization,…

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Minnesota House Approves 20 Cent Gas Tax Hike, Likely DOA in Senate

Anthony Gockowski

  The Minnesota House approved a 20-cent gas tax increase Monday in a vote along party lines, but the proposal is likely dead-on-arrival in the Republican-controlled Senate. “We’re not going to do a gas tax. I’ve made it very clear that is not a direction we’re going to go,” Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa) said Monday, according to The Star Tribune. The transportation bill passed the House in a 74 to 58 vote. Under the bill, the state’s gas tax would jump from 28.5 cents per gallon to 48.5 cents, which is a 70 percent increase. The bill also included a metro-wide sales tax to help fund Light Rail, a vehicle registration tax increase, and a new vehicle tax increase. “The House DFL’s plan to raise excessive tax and fees, including a 70 percent gas tax increase, a metro area sales tax, and more expensive tab fees is reckless and will cause serious financial harm to Minnesota families,” Rep. Jon Koznick (R-Lakeville) said. “Their plan puts Minnesota drivers in reverse.” DFL legislators staunchly defended the tax increases during a Monday press conference held before the vote. “This morning we are joining Gov. [Tim] Walz in offering Minnesotans a choice.…

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Cleveland Heights City Council Calls Heartbeat Bill ‘Intrusion’ on ‘Liberty’ in Letter to DeWine

Anthony Gockowski

  Cleveland Heights Mayor Carol Roe and members of the city council have issued a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine to warn that “all options” are on the table in response to the controversial heartbeat bill. The letter begins by expressing “concern and disappointment” with DeWine for signing the heartbeat bill, which bans abortions in the state after a fetal heartbeat is detectable in unborn children. “This law, known as the ‘heartbeat bill,’ amounts to a virtual ban on abortion. As you know, this bill would go into effect prior to when most women realize they are pregnant,” the letter states. The letter was signed by Roe, Vice Mayor Melissa Yasinow, and Council Members Craig Cobb, Michael Ungar, and Kahlil Seren. They argue that the restrictions imposed by the heartbeat bill wouldn’t allow “anywhere near a sufficient amount of time” to overcome the state’s current barriers to abortion, such as its “24 hour, two-visit requirement.” “That is why this law is an effective ban on any safe and legal abortion in Ohio. This law’s intrusion into a person’s right to liberty, bodily autonomy, and privacy is unacceptable,” they write. The letter takes issue with the heartbeat bill for not providing…

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Angie Craig Facing Criticism for Impeachment Comments

Anthony Gockowski

  Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN-02) hosted her fourth town hall last week and received several questions from constituents on moving forward with impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump. Up until Tuesday’s town hall, Craig had taken a relatively moderate position on the issue of impeachment and believed it shouldn’t be discussed until Mueller completed his investigation. “I believe the next step is for the Congress to request the unredacted version of the report. I believe the next step is for the committee chairmen to call a number of folks forward to testify, to fill in the facts for the American people,” Craig told her constituents Tuesday. “I am very troubled by the number of the potential areas of obstruction of justice that are mentioned in the report.” Some took the comments to mean that Craig supports moving forward with the impeachment process, including the National Republican Congressional Committee. “Yesterday Craig laid out for her constituents how exactly Congress should waste more of Minnesotans’ taxpayer money on baseless impeachment claims,” NRCC spokeswoman Carly Atchison said. “It is bizarre that Angie Craig now decides to pursue baseless impeachment, but regardless, she should stop peddling conspiracy theories and focus on Minnesotans.” Former Congressman…

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