Tag: Mike DeWine

Ohio Secretary of State Announces Board of Education Districts; Democrats Object

Bradley Vasoli

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) announced this week that the state Board of Education district boundaries will conform to the plan Gov. Mike DeWine (R) issued in January, spurring objections from Democratic lawmakers.

Nineteen individuals sit on the state Board of Education, with 11 of them standing for election. Five of the elected seats are up in this fall’s general election and those wishing to run must file by August 10.

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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost: No Evidence of Raped and Pregnant 10-Year-Old Girl Traveling to Indiana for Abortion

Susan Berry, PhD

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told Fox News Monday night there is no evidence of a 10-year-old girl in his state who was raped, became pregnant, and traveled to Indiana for an abortion, as Joe Biden claimed during his remarks justifying his executive order that attempts to undermine the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

“Not a whisper,” Yost told Fox News’ Jesse Watters on Primetime. “We have a decentralized law enforcement system in Ohio, but we have regular contact with prosecutors and local police and sheriffs. Not a whisper anywhere.”

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‘Personhood Act’ to Prohibit Abortion Introduced in Ohio

Bradley Vasoli

Ohio state Representative Gary Click (R-Vickery) this week introduced a bill to protect pre-born human life from abortion.

Titled “The Personhood Act,” Click’s legislation stipulates that the state “shall recognize the personhood, and protect the constitutional rights, of all unborn human individuals from the moment of conception.” The measure would not prohibit abortion in any case where doing so would “endanger the life of a mother.” 

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Asked to Verify Police Report of Biden Claim of 10-Year-Old Raped Girl Who Allegedly Left Ohio for Indiana to Obtain Abortion

Susan Berry, PhD

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) apparently continues to have little to say about the claim made by Joe Biden Friday that a 10-year-old girl who was allegedly raped and became pregnant traveled from Ohio to Indiana to obtain an abortion.

On Friday the Ohio Capital Journal led with the headline, “DeWine: No Comment on Abortion Ban that Forced a Child to Indiana,” and added, “Ohio governor signed ban, but will only say rape is wrong.”

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Ohio Democrats Seek Preservation of Records in Connection with FirstEnergy

Bradley Vasoli

Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) Chairwoman Elizabeth Walters last week filed a preliminary injunction seeking assurance that Gov. Mike DeWine (R) will preserve all records pertaining to House Bill 6 as an ODP lawsuit goes forward.

The legislation, which DeWine signed into law in July 2019, created a $1.3 billion bailout for the Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear-power plants operated by FirstEnergy Corp. Federal prosecutors have alleged that GOP former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and numerous other individuals, including erstwhile Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, participated in a $61 million bribery scheme to effect the subsidies.

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$500 Million Heading to Ohio’s Appalachian Region

The Center Square

Ohioans in the state’s Appalachian region can expect a half billion-dollar investment after Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill that dedicates federal funds to infrastructure, health care and work force development.

The $500 million, which is on top of more than $645 million sent to the region since 2019, is twice as much as this year’s entire Appalachian Regional Commission budget. The commission covers 13 states.

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Ohio Prosecutors in Columbus and Cuyahoga County Will Not Prosecute Illegal Abortions

Bradley Vasoli

Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley announced this week they will not prosecute abortionists who violate Ohio’s “heartbeat law.”

Signed three years ago by Gov. Mike DeWine (R), the act disallows abortions to be performed once a fetal heartbeat is detectable, which becomes the case about six weeks into a pregnancy. With last week’s overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, the heartbeat law is now in effect.

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Abortion Issue Moves to the Forefront of the Ohio Governor’s Race

Bradley Vasoli

Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nan Whaley is highlighting her opposition to unborn children’s right to life, castigating Gov. Mike DeWine’s (R) anti-abortion record and promising more permissive policy if she gets elected.

Her reprehensions of her opponent come days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion across America irrespective of the wishes of each state’s residents. The original decision rested on Justice Harry Blackmun’s insistence that a right to privacy implicitly contained in the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed a woman’s right to abort her pre-born child. Blackmun’s reasoning has since elicited disapproval from legal scholars of various political stripes insofar as the Constitution never actually refers to abortion.

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Survey: 66 Percent of Ohioans Say They Won’t Bet on Sports

The Center Square

Legal sports betting is still more than six months away, but more than two-thirds of Ohio adults say they don’t plan to place any wagers when it becomes legal, according to a new survey.

Legal sports wagers can be placed Jan. 1, but the survey by BetOhio.com shows 21% of Ohio adults are very or somewhat likely to bet. The survey also showed potential preferred brands for those who expect to wager.

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DeWine Tells Ohio School Leaders Arming Teachers Remains Optional

The Center Square

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, in a letter to school superintendents around the state, called arming teachers in classrooms a serious local decision that remains optional after he signed a new law that reduces training needed for guns in schools.

DeWine, who recently signed House Bill 99, also told school leaders he would rather districts use school resource officers than armed teachers.

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National Integrated Ballistic Information Network Aids ATF-led Operation United Front in Multiple Convictions

Addison Basurto

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia announced on Thursday that The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) has aided the undercover law enforcement effort, dubbed “Operation United Front,” in the indictment of a third person that was involved in narcotics distribution and the illegal possession of weapons.

“Addressing violent crime in Middle Georgia means utilizing every asset at our disposal, including high-level ballistics technology like ATF’s NIBIN,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary.

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DeWine Authorizes Nearly $4 Million for Local Law Enforcement Across Ohio

Bradley Vasoli

At a visit to Springfield this week, Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) announced his authorization of nearly $4 million in grants to 16 police and sheriff departments across the Buckeye State.

The allotments come as the third round of DeWine’s Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program. Springfield’s police department itself gets a grant of $305,206.94. Those funds will go toward video-recording systems and automated license-plate readers to gather intelligence pertaining to gun-related violations. 

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Ohio’s Capital Budget Riddled with Incentives, Pork Projects

The Center Square

Working late into the night this week, the Ohio General Assembly passed its traditional capital budget, spending billions on statewide initiatives, business and industry incentives and pet projects for lawmakers.

House Bill 687 included money for state parks and the incentives for Intel’s planned $20 billion investment in two chip-making plants in central Ohio. Gov. Mike DeWine called the bill an historic investment.

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Ohio Redistricting GOP Say They Had No Options for State Maps

The Center Square

Republican members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission say they did everything the state Supreme Court ordered them to do. Still, they say independent map makers ran out of time, leaving tweaks to a previously unconstitutional GOP plan as the only option for new state legislative districts.

The responses from Gov. Mike DeWine, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, State Auditor Keith Faber, Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, and House Speaker Robert Cupp, R-Lima, came at the 9 a.m. deadline on Monday the court gave to show cause why the group should not be held in contempt.

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State Legislative Races Removed from Ohio’s May 3 Primary

Admin

Ohio voters will not be able to decide on candidates for the state Legislature during the May 3 primary after the state Supreme Court struck down new district maps for the third time.

In a letter to House and Senate leadership and Gov. Mike DeWine, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said it was no longer logistically possible to include district-specific legislative races on the ballots.

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Ohio National Guard Called to Help with Hospital Staffing Shortages

The Center Square
Military men in uniform, on the steps of the National Mall in Washington D.C.

More than 1,000 Ohio National Guard members began working in hospitals across the state Monday to help combat what Gov. Mike DeWine called a growing strain caused by the rising number of COVID-19 hospitalizations.

The Ohio Department of Health also has begun working with a staffing company to bring more nurses and other providers from out of state to help ease pressure on current hospital staffs as the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has reached its highest level of the year.

“While the staff will be concentrated in the places where they are most needed, the entire state will feel relief as the arrangement supports the coordination of patient care that has been happening really since the beginning of this pandemic,” DeWine said at a news conference.

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Ohio GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Jim Renacci Backs Bill to Block Vaccine Mandates

Cooper Moran

Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci on Tuesday backed a measure by Ohio lawmakers to block vaccine mandates in the state.

House Bill 218, which was approved by the House of Representatives earlier this month, would provide broad exemptions to any vaccine mandate.

For example, individuals would not have to receive the coronavirus because of religious beliefs, medical conditions, or if they have natural immunity. Schools and employers would also be prohibited from requiring a student or employee to receive a vaccine if it has not been granted full approval by the FDA.

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Ohio GOP State Committeeman, a CPA, Calls on DeWine to Force Out Party Chairman Bob Paduchik

Neil W. McCabe

A retired partner from Ernst and Young, one of the Big Four international accounting firms, sent a November 24 letter to Republican Ohio Gov. R. Michael DeWine requesting the governor pressure Ohio Republican Party (ORP) Chairman Robert A. Paduchik to resign for his failure to respond to Ohio Republican State Central Committee member questions regarding missing funds from the party’s balance sheet.

“As a follow-up to my letter to you of November 8, 2021, enclosed is a letter I sent to members of the Ohio Republican State Central Committee related to unexplained ORP Net Worth Decrease of $270,600 in 2021,” wrote Mark A. Banbridge, who left Ernst and Young in 2009, before establishing his business advisory firm in Columbus.

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Ohio Supreme Court Accepts Appeal of DeWine Move to Cut Off $300 Unemployment Bonus Early

Brian Ball

The Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to take up the appeal of Governor Michael DeWine’s decision to cut off the $300 bonus unemployment checks funded by the federal government.

The court announced it will take up the case from the 10 District Court of Appeals but has yet to schedule a hearing date or indicate if the appeal warrants oral arguments.

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Nearly 2,500 New Ohio Jobs Expected from Development Projects

The Center Square
Gabriel Brother's store with a woman holding Gabe's bags

A dozen new economic development projects are expected to create nearly 2,500 new jobs across Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine said Monday.

The largest is a new distribution center in Springfield for West Virginia-based Gabriel Brothers. The company expects to start construction later this month on 114 acres of land. The facility should create 833 new jobs and mean $27.8 million in annual payroll.

Gabe’s is a discount department store chain that sells clothes, shoes, home décor, kitchen items and other goods.

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Other GOP Governors to Gather at Border to Pressure Biden on Illegal Immigration

The Center Square

Republican Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Doug Ducey of Arizona are hosting nine governors in Mission, Texas, Wednesday to denounce President Joe Biden’s policies leading to a surge in illegal immigration at the southern border.

“Texas and Arizona have stepped up to secure the border in the federal government’s absence, and now the Emergency Management Assistance Compact gives your state a chance to stand strong with us,” Ducey and Abbott said in a joint statement this summer. Both governors issued disaster and emergency declarations in their states earlier this year, citing increased crime and financial strains on county governments and law enforcement because of the surge in illegal immigration due to Biden’s policies.

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DeWine: Ohio’s Unemployment Loan Repayment Helpful for Businesses

The Center Square
Mike DeWine

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 Technology Internship Program Focusing on ‘Diversity and Inclusion’

Hayley Feland
Woman on laptop

The Ohio government-sponsored Diversity and Inclusion Technology Internship Program is looking to help companies hire “diverse, young talent.” The program is sponsored by Ohio’s Department of Development and Tech Ohio, working with Ohio’s Third Frontier, that “works with innovative startup companies across the state, making Ohio the destination for technology entrepreneurs.”

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Ex-PUCO Chairman Randazzo Added to Ohio AG’s Racketeering Lawsuit in FirstEnergy Case

Brian Ball

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has expanded a civil racketeering lawsuit tied to the federal FirstEnergy Corp. public corruption case to include the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and two fired executives of the Akron, Ohio-based electric utility.

The addition of energy consultant and attorney Sam Randazzo, former FirstEnergy CEO Charles Jones, and Vice President Michael Dowling comes just a few weeks after the utility cut a deal with federal prosecutors where it admitted its role in the scandal and paid a $230 million fine in a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice.

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Ohio State Employees to Be Paid to Get Vaccinated

The Center Square
Doctor giving vaccination to patient

Ohio plans to spend more federal tax dollars to convince more people to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Gov. Mike DeWine recently announced the state plans to pay $100 to each state employee for getting the vaccine. Their spouses would receive $25.

For spouses and employees enrolled in the state medical plan, the money will come from funds dedicated to state employee health and wellness, which is funded through state employee payroll deductions and state agency contributions. For those not enrolled, the state will use coronavirus relief funds. That is a small number of employees, according to Molly O’Reilly McGhee, public information officer for the Administrative Support Division.

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Renacci Calls for Full Investigation of All Sources of FirstEnergy Contributions to DeWine Campaign, Including Ohio Republican Party

Brian Ball

  MEDINA, Ohio – Republican gubernatorial challenger Jim Renacci has asked for a full investigation of the flow of FirstEnergy Corp.’s political contributions into the 2018 campaign of Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) in the wake of the Akron-based electric utility’s $230 million settlement of public bribery charges with the Department of Justice last week. That probe, he said, should include a full investigation of the financial records of the Ohio Republican Party. Renacci held a press conference early Tuesday afternoon on the public square in Medina to call for DeWine to fully disclose any direct and indirect contributions made to his campaign by FirstEnergy as part of the electric utility’s bid to get the House Bill 6 legislation DeWine signed two years ago. That legislation, now mostly rescinded, would have charged electric utility customers statewide for the upkeep of the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear power plants along the Lake Erie shoreline owned by a former FirstEnergy subsidiary. Renacci charged DeWine’s campaign coffers may have benefitted as much as $5 million from FirstEnergy, which was named as the central player in the $60 million bribery case still under investigation. “DeWine has contributed to a culture of corruption where sweetheart deals and…

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Ohio Will Not Mandate Masks in Schools

The Center Square

Saying he does not believe he has the authority to mandate masks in Ohio public schools, Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday turned that decision over to local school boards and parents.

DeWine, along with other state health officials and physicians, almost pleaded with parents to either have their children vaccinated or wear masks as the beginning of the school year draws near and a new COVID-19 variant is causing increased infections.

“I do not believe I have the ability today to mandate [masks in schools]. There is not the appetite in this state for that kind of a mandate,” DeWine said. “We are at a point in the pandemic where information is out there but these decisions must be left to the local community and must be left to the parents.”

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Ohio Communities Gain Control of Wind, Solar Projects

The Center Square
Three wind turbines

Local communities in Ohio got a little more power regarding renewable energy projects after Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill into law that addresses wind and solar projects.

DeWine made Senate Bill 52 law and gave power to county boards on whether to allow or prevent certification of wind and solar projects. The legislation also establishes decommissioning requirements for certain wind and solar facilities.

“One of the most important things we can do as state legislators is to listen to the input of our fellow constituents,” Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, said Monday after DeWine signed the bill. “I can confidently tell you that Ohioans within Seneca County vehemently spoke out against a wind project being built within their communities – Senate Bill 52 being signed into law solidifies their right to local control over these types of projects.”

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Ohio Abortion Clinic Threw Dismembered Baby in Dumpster, Pro-Life Group Claims

Admin
Ohio Abortion Clinic

A pro-life group has accused an Ohio abortion facility of throwing a dismembered, aborted baby away in a dumpster.

Ohio Right to Life said Wednesday it found the remains of an aborted baby at about 17 weeks gestation discarded in dumpster behind Ohio Women’s Center (NEOWC) abortion clinic. The clinic, which has not responded to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation, denied that it improperly disposed of fetal remains.

“Ohio Right to Life is heartbroken and appalled by the abortion industry’s utter disregard for human life,” Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, said in a statement. “This child suffered doubly at the hands of the abortion industry: first, by being subjected to a brutal death by dismemberment and second by the degradation of his or her broken body being dumped into the trash like garbage.”

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Study: Ohio COVID-19 Vaccine Lottery Failed to Increase Rates

The Center Square

Giving away millions of federal tax dollars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in college scholarships did nothing to improve Ohio’s COVID-19 vaccination rate, a recent study concluded.

Those results have Democratic leaders saying the state needs to do more to address vaccine hesitancy and deal with what they call root causes of Ohio’s stagnant vaccination rate.

The study, conducted by the Boston University School of Medicine using information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, concluded reports that the state’s Vax-a-Million lottery program increased rates failed to factor in vaccinations expanded to ages 12-15.

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Renacci Encourages DeWine to ‘Come Clean’ on Knowledge of Ohio’s Corruption Scheme

Cooper Moran

Former U.S. Representative and GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci called on Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to “come clean” to voters on his knowledge of and potential involvement in corruption allegations that have become national news.

“What did DeWine know about the nuclear plant bailout scheme, and when did he know it?” Renacci questioned in his opinion piece published in The Columbus Dispatch.

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Signs Executive Order to Allow College Athletes to Earn Compensation

Cooper Moran

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed an executive order on Monday that will allow college athletes within Ohio to profit off their name, image and likeness.

The executive order comes in response to a bill in the state legislature stalling after the Ohio House of Representatives added an amendment to the bill that would ban transgender athletes from joining female teams in both high school and college sports.

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Primary Challenger Jim Renacci Accuses Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine of ‘Defending’ Violent Protesters

Cooper Moran
Mike DeWine in a political ad

Jim Renacci, former U.S. Representative and GOP gubernatorial candidate, released an ad on Tuesday, accusing Governor Mike DeWine of defending violent protestors and placing them ahead of small businesses throughout Ohio.

“While mobs and violent protesters were burning our state down, Mike DeWine defended them and did nothing to protect us from their looting and destruction. Instead, he implemented Andrew Cuomo’s playbook and put the mob first at the expense of Ohioans who were being terrorized,” Renacci said in a statement detailing the new ad.

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Report: Vax-A-Million Lottery Not Spurring Vaccinations Growth

The Center Square

Millions of dollars, college scholarships and other cash and prize incentives may not be enough to encourage more people around the country to get the COVID-19 vaccination, at least if numbers in Ohio are any indication.

The Associated Press reported the number of new Ohioans receiving at least the first dose of a vaccine fell by nearly half after the state announced its first $1 million and college scholarship winners. After Gov. Mike DeWine’s announcement of the vaccine lottery in early May, the report said vaccination numbers increased by 43% over the previous week.

The report said the number of people receiving the vaccine from May 27 through June 2 dropped about 43%. March and April were the state’s highest months for the number of vaccines, according to The AP.

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Former Congressman Jim Renacci Officially Launches Campaign for Ohio Governor

Cooper Moran

Jim Renacci, former Congressman and successful Ohio businessman, officially launched his campaign for Governor of Ohio in what promises to be a bruising 2022 GOP primary battle against incumbent Mike DeWine.

“This election, we have a choice to make. Do we want to become an economic powerhouse again and attract jobs and opportunity? Or do we keep going down the devastating DeWine route?” Renacci asked in a video explaining his motivation for launching the campaign.

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Renacci Blasts DeWine’s Ohio Vaccine Lottery

Cooper Moran

Former U.S. Representative Jim Renacci blasted Governor Mike DeWine’s vaccine initiative to giveaway $1 million to 5 random, vaccinated Ohioans. 

Renacci’s criticism was fueled by the announcement that New York’s controversial Governor Andrew Cuomo will be following DeWine’s trend. In New York, people who receive a dose of one of the available coronavirus vaccines will be given a free, scratch off lottery ticket. Individuals can win money ranging from $20 to $5 million. 

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