Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed The Ohio Star Managing Editor Jack Windsor to the program to talk about his recent story regarding Partners in Health’s contact tracing contract with Ohio.
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During a Tuesday COVID press conference Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine was asked by WMFD-TV:
“Governor, Five Texas Republicans sued Texas Republican Governor Abbott over a $295 million contact tracing deal signed during the early months of Coronavirus pandemic. Legislators say the Governor skirted separation of powers , agreeing to a contract without following state statutes.
As you know, I’ve been waiting for months now for information on our contract with the company assisting Ohio with contact tracing – Partners in Health. I have to assume that is a multimillion dollar contract and our audience is interested in understanding the length and value of the deal.
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Speaker of the House Bob Cupp (R-Lima) was voted into the Speaker role by the Republican Caucus.
The Speaker seat was open after former Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) was relieved of his role following an FBI criminal complaint.
Before Speaker Cupp ascended to the top role in the House, he had to battle Representative Jim Butler (R-Dayton) for the spot.
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On July 2, Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine introduced the Ohio Public Health Advisory System (OPHAS). The color-coded map assigns a color to each of Ohio’s 88 counties that is supposed to be indicative of each county’s COVID spread.
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This is the second story in an eight-part series on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System
Early in the battle with COVID Ohioans were implored to heed recommended measures from Republican Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton to “flatten the curve and ramp hospital capacity.”
Experts displayed epidemiological curves showing as many as 62,000 new cases a day, while county and local health departments received epidemiological reports highlighting the projected death toll on each age group within the locale or county.
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This is the first story in an eight-part series on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System
On July 2, Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine introduced the Ohio Public Health Advisory System (OPHAS). The color-coded map assigns a color to each of Ohio’s 88 counties that is supposed to be indicative of each county’s COVID spread.
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John Zeiger is a partner at Zeiger, Tigges & Little LLP, the law firm the Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office hired to defend the State of Ohio in litigation popping up around the state as a consequence of Ohio’s COVID orders, mandates and policies – lawsuits naming as defendants Governor Michael DeWine, Ohio Department of Health Interim Director Lance Himes, former Director of Health Amy Acton, and certain health districts.
John Zeiger is also Leslie Wexner’s family lawyer. Leslie Wexner is a billionaire business titan, founder and chairman emeritus of L Brands, the parent company of, among other notable brands, Victoria’s Secret.
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Dr. Amy Acton stepped down from her role as Governor Mike DeWine’s Chief Health Advisor, the Ohio Department of Health announced Wednesday.
DeWine called Acton a “friend and advisor” on Twitter, saying that “she has assured [him] that she is just a phone call away and will be available to continuing advising [his administration] as [they] move through this pandemic.”
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More than 500 complaints about mask compliance were made over the weekend on a new hotline and online submission form meant to encourage in Cuyahoga County. A week ago, Governor Mike DeWine mandated face masks in the seven counties, including Cuyahoga, where the Wuhan virus infections have spiked recently.
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In June, Ohio House Republicans attached a systemically racist amendment to SB 4. The provision of union-backed law is known as prevailing wage. By doing so, they rewarded donors and reversed a 25-year trend of dismantling the racist policy. Only the Governor has the ability to stop it.
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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine admitted during a Sunday interview that his policy requiring retail customers to wear a face mask was “a bridge too far.”
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Alice DeWine, the daughter of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, was defeated Tuesday in the Republican primary for Greene County prosecutor.
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Urbana University, a branch campus of Franklin University, say they will close their campus at the end of the semester in May due to the combination of challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and years of low enrollment.
The school’s CEO Dr. Christopher Washington took to Facebook Monday to discuss the closure personally.
“I don’t think anyone seen this coming as fast as it did . The calamity of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is affecting our entire nation and in fact our whole world has caused tremendous disruption and uncertainty in higher education,” he said in a video he made in his home.
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Two state prisons in Ohio are now the largest reported sources of coronavirus infections in the United States, a New York Times database revealed this week.
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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine plans to begin reopening Ohio on May 1 provided the state has demonstrated the proper protocol during the pandemic. However, he added the working environments may never be the same.
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The execution of three death row inmates was delayed Monday by Governor Mike DeWine, who said the reprieve was due to “ongoing problems involving the willingness of pharmaceutical suppliers to provide drugs to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC), pursuant to DRC protocol, without endangering other Ohioans.”
The move follows a decision in January, 2019 to delay the execution of Warren Henness, after a federal judge suggested that Ohio’s current three-drug execution cocktail was unconstitutional, which lead DeWine to postpone execution dates for other men and order a review of the state’s death-penalty method.
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State Rep. Nino Vitale (R-Urbana) issued a call to action in the form of an open letter Friday to ease restrictions and reopen hospitals and medical centers to elective surgeries in Ohio.
“My request is we allow the doctors and nurses in these fields to immediately open back up and treat Ohioans that need medical care, which is getting more and more critical by the day because of these restrictions,” Vitale wrote.
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Kentucky Democratic Governor Andy Beshear urged Kentuckians living on the border of Tennessee to not go to the Volunteer State for anything other than work, helping a loved one or maybe the grocery shopping.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said during Thursday’s COVID-19 press briefing that an investigation is ongoing relative to abortion clinics in violation of the Department of Health order that cancelled all elective surgeries.
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In his daily press briefing Monday, Governor Mike DeWine declared a hiring freeze for State of Ohio employees to, in part, deal with the revenues shortfall caused by the statewide “Stay at Home” shutdown due to the Chinese Virus outbreak.
“State revenue will continue to go down dramatically and it’s important as governor that we take action now and not wait,” DeWine said.
In addition to new hires, the governor halted pay increases and promotions for state of Ohio unclassified and exempt staff and a freeze on new contract services for the state of Ohio – with the exception for those services that are necessary for the emergency response.
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Gov. Mike DeWine’s Christmas gift to Ohio residents was a letter to the U.S. Department of State inviting refugees to keep on coming in, including from countries with “high burdens” of tuberculosis.
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Bryan St. John lives near and frequents the Oregon District, a quaint neighborhood in Dayton where the shooting took place. A journalist from The Washington Post asked St. John for his opinion on the various sides of the gun debate.
“Well, when people say you should ban guns, to me it goes back to 1991 and the Killeen Luby shooting there where the lady was under the table and had to watch her parents get shot and followed the law and left her gun in the car,” St. John replied to one question.
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DAYTON, Ohio — The beautiful tree-lined, brick-paved streets of the Historic Oregon District were eerily quiet Sunday following a mass shooting outside Ned Peppers Bar on East 5th Street earlier that morning. Nine victims have been confirmed dead thus far and more than two dozen injured. Police, who were on the scene within one minute, shot and killed the suspect. Praise for their fast response is coming in from all around the city, and state including from the Oregon District itself.
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NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio – Janet Folger Porter hosted a raucous victory party for the Heartbeat Bill on Friday, May 31st. After more than eight long years, obstructionism by some ‘Republicans’ and many heartbreakingly close calls, the Heartbeat Bill, Senate Bill 23, became law on April 11, 2019. Janet Porter began pushing for the law, which prohibits abortions once a baby’s heartbeat can be detected, in Ohio in 2010. The first bill was introduced in 2011. Since then, 9 states have adopted some version of the bill: Arkansas (2013), North Dakota (2013), Iowa (2018), Mississippi (2019), Kentucky (2019), Ohio (2019), Georgia (2019), Missouri (2019) and Louisiana (2019). Through her organization, Faith2Action, Janet motivated a nation to respect life once again. A tireless juggernaut for the unborn, the adjectives describing Porter never stopped. Relentless, courageous, fearless were just a few of them. But she made it clear this night was not about her. Friday’s victory party was all about the heroes behind the Heartbeat Bill, and there were dozens. Awards were handed out to interns, key players behind the scenes, an intern’s mother (who dropped everything to drive a State Representative to the House because just one more vote was needed),…
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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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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced the formation of a permanent Distracted Driving Advisory Council Thursday. The council is aimed at changing the atmosphere surrounding safe driving in acknowledgment of safe driving month. “Driving while texting, or eating, or dialing a phone should be as culturally unacceptable as drunk driving is today,” said Governor DeWine; adding: When drivers choose to do anything that distracts them from paying full attention to the road, they choose to risk their own lives, the lives of their passengers, and the lives of everyone else around them. Prior to the announcement, the task force released a 22-page pamphlet to inform drivers about the risks they are taking while driving distracted. The pamphlet contained detailed statistics surrounding the causes of incidents. The study was conducted by the Ohio Department of transportation. “Now is the time to create a long-term, comprehensive plan that educates drivers, promotes changes in behavior, and strengthens Ohio’s distracted driving laws,” said DeWine. According to the study, the state recorded around 14,000 distracted driving crashes in 2017. Of those incidents 58 people were killed, 493 seriously injured and over 7,000 people were injured statewide. The study concluded the majority of crashes happen during evening…
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – After more than an hour and a half delay waiting for the substitute bill to be prepared, House Finance Chairman Scott Oelslager (R-District 48) called the meeting to order and presented the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 proposed Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Budget under HB 62. The Transportation Budget, as presented by Oelslager (pictured above), would include an increase of 10.7 cents per gallon on gasoline and 20 cents per gallon on diesel. There would be a three-year phase-in on both increases as follows: Gasoline 5 cents in October 1, 2019 3 cents on October 1, 2020 2.7 cent on October 1, 2021 Diesel 10 cents on October 1, 2019 6 cents on October 1, 2020 4 cents on October 1, 2021 And, it was noted, “This increase will not be indexed,” with the emphasis included in the hard-copy document distributed to the Finance Committee members. The document also reported that the increases in the state motor fuel taxes, once fully phased in, will yield approximately $872 million. The current split of 60/40 between ODOT and local governments will be maintained. The proposal includes new registration fees for electric and hybrid vehicles, at $200 and $100, respectively. Compressed…
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At an annual forum sponsored by the Associated Press, Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday he intends to formally recommend raising the current gas tax. The recommendation will come as he introduces his first two-year transportation budget Friday. Despite appointing an Advisory Committee on Transportation Infrastructure Issues specifically to explore alternative solutions to simply raising the gas tax, the governor made it clear he felt there was no real alternative. He did make a point to say the hike is “just to keep us where we are today and with the ability to do some safety projects that absolutely need to be done.” It can be inferred from this statement that his intention is to raise the gas tax enough to not let the state’s road and bridge repair funding deficit get worse than it currently is. This suggests that the tax hike would be more modest relative to addressing the full scope of road and bridge repair needed in Ohio. Currently, there is a $1 billion gap in funding. The current state tax on gas in Ohio is 28 cents per gallon. However, when combined with federal and local taxes, the total amount climbs to just about 46.5 cents per gallon.…
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