Bishop Sycamore is not a real high school.
That has now been confirmed by the “school’s” football coach, Tyren Jackson, after a wild saga that has played out over a number of weeks.
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Ohio businesses should profit as the state completes paying off nearly a $1.5 billion loan it needed to cover unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Mike DeWine said.
DeWine announced Ohio began the process of repaying the U.S. Treasury Department using federal money from the American Rescue Plan. The action is expected to be completed Thursday. If the loan is not paid by Monday, the federal government would have charged the state 2.777% interest, which would mean higher unemployment taxes for employers.
“I am not willing to let our employers bear the unemployment debt burden caused by the pandemic,” DeWine said Wednesday. “By repaying this loan in full, we ensure that Ohio businesses won’t see increases in their federal unemployment payroll taxes.”
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Ohio’s unemployment rate rose slightly in July, but the number of people in the workforce increased.
The state’s unemployment rate inched up from 5.2% in June to 5.4% in July, but the state’s labor force participation rose from 60.2% in June to 60.5% in July, a positive sign, said Rea Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center at The Buckeye Institute and vice president of policy.
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When a local school district decided not to require masks for students and staff, a small north central Ohio village decided to take matters into its own hands.
Gambier, a town of about 2,500 people about 60 miles northeast of Columbus, enacted a mask mandate during an emergency village council meeting Monday, encompassing nearly all public buildings, including an elementary school.
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Federal prosecutors now claim that the five men who allegedly plotted to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) also discussed doing the same to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R).
“The DeWine connection to a high-profile federal criminal case involving alleged violent extremism has not been previously disclosed and reveals accused plotters discussed a broader, bipartisan attack on politicians from several states,” The Detroit News reported. “Prosecutors leveled the new allegation in a court filing Monday while fighting what has emerged as a central defense strategy that involves accusing the FBI of entrapment.”
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State legislatures in six states limited their governors’ emergency powers wielded during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing executives have overextended their authority.
As of June 2021, lawmakers in 46 states have introduced legislation stripping governors of certain emergency powers, according to USA Today. Legislatures justified their actions as necessary to restore a balance between the branches of state government, pointing to examples of executive overreach and the centralization of power in the hands of governors.
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Ohio crossed a COVID-19 vaccine milestone over the weekend as more than 50% of the state’s eligible population reached partial or fully-vaccinated status while masking and social distancing requirements continued to vary throughout the state.
Gov. Mike DeWine announced over the weekend the state passed 50% of eligible Ohioans at least starting the vaccine process, along with the increase in vaccinations in 85 of the state’s 88 counties. At the same time, Ohio’s reported cases Friday rose to 1,666 new daily cases and 24 deaths.
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A Franklin County judge may reimplement Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefits in Ohio after they were ended by Gov. Mike DeWine (R) in June.
The extra $300 per week in unemployment benefits, part of a federal government program to help Americans survive the COVID-19 pandemic, officially ended in Ohio on June 26. DeWine cited a labor shortage in the state, as most businesses reopened as normal after pandemic restrictions were lifted.
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Ohio public schools, colleges and universities cannot require COVID-19 vaccines after Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill that originally was introduced to help military families.
The Ohio Senate amended House Bill 244, which passed in late June along party lines, to prohibit public schools from requiring any vaccine not fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and from discriminating against unvaccinated individuals. The FDA approved COVID-19 vaccines on an emergency basis.
The bill also allows military families moving into Ohio to enroll their children in school virtually or through advanced enrollments before they move into the state.
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Gov. Mike DeWine (R) Thursday signed HB 244 into law, a bill that disallows schools and universities from forcing their students to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Until the three COVID-19 vaccines, developed by Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer, respectively, receive full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), that law will stand, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.
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Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a bill Friday that would have permitted Ohioans to legally shoot off fireworks on several holidays.
When Senate Bill (SB) 113 was introduced by Ohio State Senators Michael Rulli (R-Salem) and Terry Johnson (R-McDermott), the bill wanted to allow Americans to celebrate certain holidays legally, according to the Rulli press release.
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GOP gubernatorial contender Jim Renacci has stepped up his campaign against incumbent Gov. Mike DeWine in a social media ad likening the governor’s language and actions during the COVID-19 pandemic to prominent Democrat governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gavin Newsome of California.
The Renacci for Governor campaign’s 30-second ad this week calls DeWine “Democrat DeWine” for the way the incumbent handled the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
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Governor Mike DeWine announced on Monday that he will send Ohio State Troopers to the southern border, fulfilling the request of Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
The law enforcement officers will spend two weeks in the border state in an attempt to assist with curbing the current increase in illegal immigration.
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Michigan has become the latest state to implement a plan to bribe its residents into receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
Following Ohio, which, led by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine encouraged people to get the vaccine and enter into vaccine lottery, Michigan’s Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has done the same.
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A provision Ohio’s latest budget bill, which was recently passed, gives doctors the right to refuse service to potential patients on religious and moral grounds.
“This simply puts in statute what the practice has been anyways,” Gov. Mike DeWine (R) reportedly said. “Let’s say the doctor is against abortion, the doctor is not doing abortion. If there’s other things that maybe a doctor has a conscience problem with, it gets worked out, somebody else does those things.”
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine will send 185 National Guard troops to the U.S. Southern border in an attempt to curb the dramatic increase in illegal immigration.
The members of the National Guard will assist border patrol agents in a non-law enforcement capacity during their time there.
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The Ohio House of Representatives passed an amendment, known as the Save Women’s Sports Act, which will ban transgender athletes from joining female teams in both high school and college sports.
Many Republicans celebrated the move and argued the amendment will protect the integrity of women’s sports throughout the state.
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As former President Donald J. Trump prepares for a highly-anticipated rally in Ohio this weekend, the state’s top two politicians announced that they will not be in attendance.
According to several reports, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has ““has previously scheduled family commitments” that disallow him from attending. Lt. Gov. John Husted (R) will also not attend. He has not given a reason for missing the event.
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Gov. Mike DeWine (R) will not support a bill that would essentially ban vaccine passports from the state of Ohio.
H.R. 248, called the “Vaccine Choice and Anti-discrimination Act,” would allow Ohioans to choose not to take the COVID-19 vaccine, and would allow parents to decide whether their children should take it. It would prevent the state or businesses from discriminating against those who have not taken the vaccine.
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Many of the restrictions put in place throughout Ohio in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will expire at midnight on Tuesday. Governor Mike DeWine has stated he will not renew the regulations.
However, DeWine has left the door open for some regulations to remain in place in certain settings. Gov. DeWine announced that the decisions to require masks and limit the total capacity of the number of guests or customers will be left up to individual businesses and other organizations.
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According to Brad Parscale, the ex-campaign manager to former President Donald J. Trump, at least one poll has Republican and Trump loyalist, former Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH-16), significantly ahead of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R).
Renacci has not officially declared a run for Governor, but Parscale is reported to be advising him.
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A new Ohio law aimed at expanding access to the healthcare workforce was put into effect late last week.
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Ohio Democrats continue to criticize the state’s new stand your ground law and unveiled a package of gun control legislation Monday that goes further than a proposal from Gov. Mike DeWine that has seen no movement in nearly two years.
Monday’s call comes 20 months since a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, and less than a week after another one in Indianapolis. It also comes nearly two weeks after a law that removes the duty to retreat from Ohioans to defend themselves with deadly force went into effect.
“Ohioans have spoken loudly and clearly that we need to do something to end gun violence. Democrats are listening to you, the people of Ohio who overwhelmingly support commonsense solutions to keep our kids and communities safe,” House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes, D-Akron, said Monday at a news conference. “In the 20 months since Dayton, shootings have gone up, not down. We need reform now to ensure the promise of safety and security for all Ohioans.”
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Senate Bill 175, which removes the duty to retreat in the event of a physical attack against a person or residence, will go into effect Tuesday.
“For purposes of determining the potential liability of a person in a tort action related to the person’s use of force alleged to be in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of the person’s residence, the person has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person’s residence,” the text of the bill says.
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A pro-abortion group is taking the state of Ohio to court over a law that limits telehealth abortions, according to Thursday reports.
“Planned Parenthood Federation of America and two of its Ohio affiliates on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Health and prosecutors in Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton counties to stop enforcement of a state ban on telemedicine abortion that was signed into law earlier this year,” The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is set to dole out thousands of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Cleveland, according to Friday reports.
“A mass coronavirus vaccination center will open on March 17 at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center, with the capability to vaccinate 6,000 people a day,” Cleveland.com reported.
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Ohio Congressman Warren Davidson (R-OH-08) said Saturday he is looking closely at either a run for the U.S. Senate or a bid for the Ohio Governor’s chair in ’22.
“I have considered the Ohio Senate, you know, senator for the state of Ohio. I was surprised that Senator Portman wasn’t running. And, look, it’s flattering to have my name come up in that race and frankly, in the governor’s race. So we’re taking a hard look at our options,” Davidson told FoxNews.
The Ohio Star interviewed one of Davidson’s top aides on Monday who confirmed the Congressman is looking at both races “he’s definitely looking at it; quite a few people have reached out and urged him to ‘please take a look at it,’ so he is.”
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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is encouraging nursing homes in the states to open for compassionate care visits for residents who have been struggling during the pandemic.
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by Harlan Hill Due to their Republican leadership, many great states like Florida are open for business while successfully managing and mitigating the COVID-19 crisis. The same cannot be said for Ohio: you’d be forgiven for mistaking its leadership as Liberal. Ohio is not open, as its Republican-in-name-only Governor Mike DeWine has shut the state to small businesses, restaurants, family celebrations, and more. In doing so, the already precarious state economy is faltering. And Republicans should especially worry: the GOP’s hold on the state looks likely to suffer as a result. Please don’t just take my word for it; look at the data. Recent polling reveals DeWine is massively underwater with Republican voters. This isn’t a new phenomenon for the “RINO,” but it’s remarkably worse than ever before. In this survey of likely Ohio Republican primary voters from December 2020, just 14 percent of voters say Ohio is on the right track, while an eye-watering 72 percent say Ohio is heading in the wrong direction. And who is to blame? Mike DeWine. A mere 16 percent of Ohio Republicans approve of DeWine’s handling of COVID-19. And his approval rating – an abysmal 17 percent is barely better. Therefore, less than one in five people approve of DeWine…
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has agreed to a settlement of nearly $25 million in a case with McKinsey & Co. for the company’s role in fueling and profiting from the opioid crisis in the state.
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The pace of coronavirus vaccinations is accelerating in Ohio, but Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday said it was still too early to say when non-priority Ohioans can expect to get a shot in the arm.
There was good news on the vaccine front, DeWine said during one of his regular coronavirus press conferences.
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At the end of January, Cleveland.com praised Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) for a “record fundraising haul,” but buried an important part of the story in the process.
“As of Friday, DeWine’s campaign reported having more than $3.6 million in the bank after receiving more than $1.6 million since July 9, 2020, according to a filing with the Ohio secretary of state’s office,” the site said in a January 29 report, which was updated on January 31.
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The Buckeye Institute has slammed the newly released Ohio budget for excess spending, saying that while it commends the governor for balancing the budget, the state missed an opportunity for reform.
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Saying immediate actions are necessary to keep the state’s budget balanced, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to state agencies.
“In the springtime, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, and Ohio’s revenue, was dire. With this, reductions were made to the state biennial budget,” DeWine said. “With this executive order, we are finalizing current year budget reductions at $390 million across all agencies, which is less than the cuts implemented last year.”
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Ohio businesses no longer have to ask voters to be allowed to sell alcohol on Sundays. Now, they only need the General Assembly’s permission.
Thanks to a bill recently signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine, businesses can get the ok from the state legislature for Sunday sales, and Friday and Saturday alcohol sales can continue until 4 a.m. the next day with a specific liquor permit.
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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine plans to offer vaccines to all schools in the state that want it by mid-January in an effort to get children back to in-person learning in districts that want to return.
At his regular news conference Wednesday, DeWine announced new phases of vaccine distribution that included adults in school districts, those 64 years old and older, along with those with severe medical conditions.
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If Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signs a new bill into law, Ohioans will no longer be required to retreat first before using deadly force to defend themselves. Where they can defend themselves with deadly force would also expand.
DeWine, who has repeatedly over the past year asked the legislature to pass several pieces of his gun legislation, has not indicted if he would sign the bill.
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Vaccines for the novel coronavirus have arrived and are being administered in Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Monday.
The vaccine was first delivered to the Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, where it was administered to healthcare workers. It was also delivered to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Each hospital received 975 doses.
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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said during a Monday press conference that the curfew currently placed on the state will need to be extended, although he did not reveal more details.
DeWine imposed a 21-day curfew on Ohio from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. running from November 19 to December 10. The curfew was meant as a “slow down” aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus and applied to retail and indoor seating at restaurants. The curfew exempted businesses like restaurants operating on take-out only, pharmacies and grocery stores.
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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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A second business shutdown in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus would be more harmful than helpful, according to a Central Ohio think tank.
The Buckeye Institute, responding to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s new orders as record COVID-19 cases cover the state, believes persuading businesses, rather than penalizing them, would be more beneficial.
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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said during a press conference on Monday that he is not planning to impose a second full lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, instead calling for a “slow down” in the state.
Ohio is currently seeing thousands of new cases of COVID-19 each day, with nearly 8,000 new cases added on Monday, according to data from the Covid Tracking Project.
“Instead of shutting down, we have to slow down,” DeWine said at a conference from the Tri-State Airport in West Virginia, according to Fox8. “We have to slow down in our individual lives and our decisions in what we are doing.”
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Two days before the Election Day 2020, Governor Mike DeWine delivered an open letter to Ohioans. In it, he called for unity and for the people of the Buckeye State to renew their commitment to “fight the coronavirus.”
“On this Sunday before Election Day, I encourage you to vote if you have not already done so. Exercise and enjoy this sacred right that we, as Americans, hold so dear,” the letter begins.
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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine did not hesitate when asked if the Ohio National Guard would be used on election day to help keep the peace. Troops will provide support, although DeWine hopes a need doesn’t arise.
Speaking this week at a news conference to announce $5 billion of help for businesses across the state during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, DeWine said guard troops could be used in the same roles as during summer protests in some cities, as support for local law enforcement.
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Small businesses, bars and restaurants, low-income renters, arts groups, and colleges and universities are among those eligible for $429 million in federal pandemic dollars being released by the state next week, Gov. Mike DeWine and his fellow Republican legislative leaders announced Friday.
The aid package, which the governor has promised for several weeks, is scheduled to go before a bipartisan state legislative spending panel Monday. Its passage is assured with the backing of House Speaker Bob Cupp and Senate President Larry Obhof, who joined the governor at Friday’s virtual news conference.
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Governor Mike DeWine discussed programs Wednesday aimed at helping Ohio deal with COVID.
In an emailed press release, DeWine’s office announced the creation of a new demographic dashboard which will allow those interested to break down COVID cases by race and ethnicity, as well as age and county. DeWine said the “dashboard will help better track health inequities and disparities” and that “this data will also help put critical decisions into context for policymakers.”
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Governor Mike DeWine’s office released a review of the state’s COVID-19 status and response as well as a list of actions taken by the state.
The governor updated this week’s coronavirus numbers, which saw 69 counties remain at their current level of exposure, and Preble County being downgraded from a level 3 to a level 2. In other COVID-19 news, the state has it’s own dashboard for COVID tracking of children and schools in conjunction with the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association and local health departments.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine sent a letter to President Donald Trump Thursday asking that the new Space Force headquarters be located in Dayton.
“We are proud that Ohio is the birthplace, home, and future of aerospace,” Dewine stated, noting that “Ohio possesses a strong track record in populating science-rich jobs with a superior workforce.”
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Has Ohio’s statewide mask mandate affected the coronavirus case counts in counties? Data show 40 percent of counties saw a net increase during a 21-day period, despite claims by Gov. Mike DeWine and the CDC.
The Ohio Star examined the state health department’s historic case counts. The summary data is available in a CSV file from a link on the Ohio Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard here.
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Ohio’s COVID numbers were updated yesterday, revealing a downward trend across the major COVID indicators.
778 cases of COVID were reported Sunday, which is well below the 21 day reported average of 1061 cases. Deaths and hospitalizations are also down, with a drop from an average of 21 to 17 deaths yesterday, and 29 fewer people being hospitalized than the average of 75.
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