Tag: Ohio

Ohio Medical Board Tightens Rules for Opioid Prescriptions

Andrew Shirley

Long overdue limits on opioid prescriptions are finally being introduced to the Buckeye State. As of Wednesday, the State Medical Board of Ohio has enacted new requirements that must be met for the prescribing and continuing use of opioids. The rules will affect both short term and long term prescriptions. How stringent the rules are depend on the current dosage. MED or “Morphine Equivalent Daily Dose” is the unit of measurement by which all opioids are measured for effectiveness. For prescriptions of up to 50 MED: prescribers are required to re-evaluate the status of the patient’s underlying condition causing pain, assess functioning, look for signs of prescription misuse, consider consultation with a specialist and obtain written informed consent from the patient. For up to 80 MED, prescribers will do all of the above and consider prescribing naloxone, a drug that functions as an incredibly effective treatment for opioid overdoses. Though it can be administered in a myriad of ways, naloxone is most commonly prescribed as a nasal spray. Lastly, for prescriptions of 120 MED and above, “there must be a recommendation from a board-certified pain medicine physician or board certified hospice and palliative care physician that is based upon a face-to-face visit…

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As Many as 34 Deaths in Ohio Now Attributed to Doctor Husel’s Lethal Opioid Dosing

Andrew Shirley

Thursday, the Mount Carmel Hospital released a shocking report that revealed the crimes of Doctor William Husel were far more extensive and well known than previously noted. As first reported on January 18th, the Mount Carmel Hospital confirmed that Dr. Husel was being investigated for malpractice. The young doctor had allegedly prescribed dangerous – and in some cases fatal – doses of fentanyl to at least 27 patients. All the victims were in a “near death” state when the doses were administered. In some cases, the doctor was prescribing 50 times the recommended dose. No motive had yet been established and the doctor was suspended from service until the investigation is complete. Thursday’s report revealed that a “formal report” about the questionable methods of Dr. Husel was first filed on October 25th, 2018. However, he was not removed from providing patient care until November 21st, almost a month later. During this time, three of his victims were administered the lethal doses and all three died shortly after. The hospital conceded that “we should have begun a more expedited process to investigate and consider immediate removal of Dr. Husel from patient care.” There is no clear answer as to why the waited so long to remove the doctor…

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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine States He Will ‘Absolutely’ Sign ‘Heartbeat Bill’

Andrew Shirley

Newly elected Governor Mike DeWine said Wednesday that he will “absolutely” sign the “Heartbeat Abortion” bill, should it come before his desk. The bill would ban all abortions following the first detection of a heartbeat in an unborn child. His predecessor, former Republican Governor John Kasich had twice vetoed the bill. The issue came up during an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show, a nationally syndicated radio show hosted by Hugh Hewitt. While he praised Kasich for his many conservative accomplishments he said that he was “genuinely disappointed” that the governor refused to sign House Bill 258 which would have banned all abortions once a heartbeat is detected. Kasich did not agree with the substance of the bill but he felt that the ensuing legal battle would, not only fail but cost the state millions of dollars in legal fees. The issue with such a ban is that the detection of a heartbeat is deeply dependent on available technology. With a general stethoscope, a doctor can confirm a heartbeat at nine weeks. With a transvaginal ultrasound, heartbeats can be detected within the first month. The generally agreed upon time, however, is six weeks. In spite of this, the proposed bill has found national…

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Ohio Tea Party Group Invites President Trump to Give State of the Union Address in Columbus

Jason M. Reynolds

An Ohio Tea Party organization has invited President Donald Trump to visit the state Tuesday and deliver his State of the Union address to residents and the rest of America in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi canceling the event during the government shutdown. We the People Convention Inc. sent the letter to Trump to invite him to the “excellent facility” of the Celeste Center of the Ohio State Fair Grounds in Columbus, where he would receive “a very warm welcome,” the group’s president, Thomas R. Zawistowski, said in the letter, which is available here. We the People’s invitation joins that of other invitations. Speaker of the North Carolina House Tim Moore last week invited President Trump to deliver his State of the Union (SOTU) remarks in Raleigh. Also last week, Michigan’s GOP House Speaker Rep. Lee Chatfield (R-MI-107) invited President Donald Trump to deliver his State of the Union address in the state legislature. The president may have other ideas, however, as he said, “I look forward to seeing you on the evening on January 29th,” he wrote, according to Breitbart. “It would be so very sad for our country if the State of the Union were not delivered…

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Former Congressman Jim Renacci Set to Launch ‘Ohio’s Future Foundation,’ a Non-Profit Focused on ‘Ohio First’ Policies

Andrew Shirley

Former Congressman Jim Renacci, of Ohio’s 16th district, has announced that he will chair a new organization aimed at advancing Ohio forward. The group is called Ohio’s Future Foundation. Their goal, according to their announcement package is to launch “large scale and highly targeted voter education and advocacy campaign(s)” that are intended to marshall public support for their key goals; “vocational education, energy growth advocacy, municipal income tax reform, healthcare reform, and infrastructure funding.” These issues, though diverse, are all key areas that are desperately underserved in Ohio. Skilled labor represents some of the most well paying and secure jobs in America that don’t require a college education. However, after years of diminishing vocational training in k-12 education (in favor of focusing on college attendance), there is a well documented “Skilled Labor Gap” in America. In states like Ohio, that skilled labor gap hits the hardest. Many state industry leaders feel note that a lack of skilled labor os one of the leading causes of Ohio’s failure to keep up with the economic growth of the country. Ohio’s Future Foundation aims to counter this with a twofold approach. Their first aim is to remove the stigma often associated with vocational training, presumably through a…

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Ohio Department of Health Confirms Investigation of Doctor Who Prescribed Lethal Opioid Doses to 27 Patients

Andrew Shirley

In most major surgeries, a doctor will prescribe, at most, 20 micrograms of fentanyl, a powerful opioid pain killer. At most, as an “adjunct to general anesthesia,” 20-50 micrograms are used. Doctor William Husel of Columbus was administering, in some cases, 1,000 micrograms. After prescribing these lethal doses to at least 27 patients, justice may finally be coming for him. The Ohio Department of Department of Health confirmed Friday that it was launching an investigation into the shocking revelations regarding Dr. Husel. The investigation came after a Monday report that the critical care physician had prescribed these unprecedented doses of fentanyl to 27 patients. The earliest death, as discovered, appears to have taken place in March 2015. Jan Thomas, a near-death patient, was prescribed 800 micrograms of the opioid. Thirty-one minutes after the lethal prescription was administered, she was declared dead. As of reporting, the doctor faces at least four lawsuits, representing more than a dozen of the affected families. While the prescribing doctor is at fault in every one of these instances, the nature in which the deaths occurred raises additional and serious questions. Whenever a doctor requests a large amount of a controlled substance, like fentanyl, there is an extensive process of approval that…

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Ohio Jobs Report: A Strong Year Ends on a Dismal Note

Andrew Shirley

While 2018 was, overall, steady for job growth, the year ended on a sour note for the Buckeye State. The Ohio jobs report for December 2018 has been released and it appears to have been a disappointing month. While unemployment remained at an unchanged 4.6 percent from November to December, the number of unemployed increased by over 2,000. This is in contrast to an overall gain of more than 16,000 jobs in 2018. Some business sectors were hit harder than others. The private sector lost 500 jobs and, surprisingly, 4,300 jobs were lust in the retail market during the Christmas season. While the aggregate numbers still represent an improvement, they’re frustrating for many as the U.S. unemployment rate was 3.9 percent during that same time period. The disappointing numbers also pointed to a greater issue. Andrew J. Kidd, Ph.D., an economist with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center noted: Of continuing concern is Ohio’s labor force. The unemployment rate only fell slightly this year from 4.9 percent to 4.6 percent, while the labor force actually shrunk. This comes after United Van Lines released their annual report, which found more Ohioans had moved out of the state than moved into the state. If…

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Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown Makes Early Moves for 2020 Presidential Bid

Andrew Shirley

The only Ohio Democrat to hold or win office in the 2018 midterm elections appears to have his sights set on the White House. Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown announced that he will tour four early, and key, presidential primary states. His team refers to the trip as the “Dignity of Work” tour and will travel to Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. Concurrent with this announcement was the launch of his new website, “DignityOfWork.com.” The website is funded by America Works PAC, the senator’s personal political action committee. As of now the site only lists some of his key issues, an email registration link, and a donation page. The crux of this early campaign appears to be an appeal to the blue-collar working class that largely abandoned the Democratic party in the 2016 election in favor of President Donald Trump. He emphasizes that “dignity of work means hard work should pay off for everyone, no matter who you are or what kind of work you do.” The campaign revolves around the point that it’s not enough to have a job, but rather a well-paying job. This is a clever messaging manipulation that both emphasizes the bipartisan call for a strong…

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Ohio Officially Opens Three Marijuana Dispensaries, But Most Doctors Aren’t Prescribing Just Yet

Andrew Shirley

After being delayed by more than a year, legal medicinal marijuana will finally be available in Ohio. Medicinal marijuana prescriptions, however, will be much harder to come by. 80 percent of doctors who are eligible to prescribe the drug have yet to register in the program. Of the few that did register, many only did so to stay abreast of new developments and not necessarily to prescribe. In addition, the overwhelming majority of hospitals have refused to participate in the program and have barred their physicians from prescribing the controversial drug. A majority of the 300 physicians who are registered to prescribe the drug operate private practices and are not attached to hospitals. Marijuana is still a Schedule I drug in the eyes of the federal government. This classification means, as far as the government is concerned: There is no accepted medical use, It has a high potential for abuse, It is among “the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence.” For all the success medicinal marijuana has found with state legalization, this classification makes many hospitals fearful that, should laws change or the federal government crackdown on state legalization, they could find themselves facing severe fines, prison, and even the loss of…

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In Unique Midnight Ceremony, Mike DeWine Sworn in as Governor of Ohio

Andrew Shirley

If his first day in office is any gauge of his coming term of office, Governor DeWine will have an unprecedented tenure. DeWine is not the first executive to be sworn in on more than one Bible. As recently as 2017, President Donald Trump was sworn in on two; a common practice. When Mike DeWine was sworn in as Governor of Ohio, he was sworn in on nine. Nine Bibles. At 12:01 A.M., Mike DeWine took his oath of office at his family home in Cedarville. Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine, his son, administered the oath with all nine Bibles. When asked why nine, a spokesperson stated that the family wanted one for each of their eight children, in addition to theirs. Immediately following the ceremony, the 72-year-old Ohioan, signed six separate Executive Orders, crossing a wide array of issues. They are: E.O. 2019-01D: Creating the Governor’s RecoveryOhio Initiative, This creates a special task force that will oversee the statewide battle against the Opioid Epidemic. Leading the group as his “Drug-Czar” is  Alisha Nelson, who has served in the capacity under DeWine when he was Attorney General, E.O. 2019-02D: Creating the Governor’s Children’s Initiative, Ohio has one of the highest childhood…

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Ohio School Voucher Program Doubles as More Public Schools Fail to Make The Grade

Andrew Shirley

After a staggering number of Ohio public schools failed to make the grade, the state’s voucher and charter school system is poised for tremendous expansion. In Ohio, if the public school test scores of a student’s home district fall below a certain level, calculated by the Ohio Department of Education, a number of the students are automatically granted vouchers to attend private school and charter schools are permitted to establish themselves. This is intended to both give children from every country access to quality schools and alleviate the student burden on the lagging school.  The public schools performed so poorly that charter schools will have 600 times more areas to expand into, and student access to vouchers will more than double. Teacher unions and many in the progressive activist community have aggressively opposed both school voucher programs and charter schools. They argue that these programs siphon off funding from the already financially strained school system. In addition, a number of private schools in Ohio were founded as religious institutions. While none can legally force children to engage in religious activity against their will, progressives maintain that as they are still religiously-oriented, it is a violation of the ‘separation church and state.’ Ironically, it was an…

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275,000 Inactive Voters in Ohio Sent ‘Last Chance’ Notice to Confirm Eligibility Before Being Purged

Andrew Shirley

This week, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted has triggered one of the most consequential and controversial “voter integrity” measures in the country. 275,000 inactive voters, registered in Ohio, have been sent “last chance” letters, informing them that if they do not confirm their current address and voting status, they will be purged from the voter rolls. Voters are considered inactive if they have not participated in two consecutive elections. They are then sent a series of letters, requesting that they up update their addresses. Should they fail to respond, they are then ruled inactive. In effect, an individual would have to not vote and ignore every letter sent over the course of almost half a decade to be ruled inactive. Eighteen other states use a similar practice. However, the process was challenged in the United States Supreme Court by the A. Philip Randolph Institute (Husted v. Randolph Institute). They alleged that the real purpose of these measures is to deny voting rights to racial minorities and the poor who are disproportionately affected by the measure. In a 5-4 decision on June 11, 2018, the court upheld the practice. In spite of this, progressives still alleged the mechanism is a violation of civil rights…

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In Final Days as Attorney General, DeWine Files Motion to Dismiss Ohio Redistricting Lawsuit

Andrew Shirley

Gov.-elect Mike DeWine (R-OH) appears to be making every last day of his tenure as Attorney General count. This week, DeWine filed a motion to have an upcoming gerrymandering lawsuit tossed out. The suit would mandate the redrawing of all of Ohio’s 16 congressional districts before the 2020 election. In May of 2018, a group of plaintiffs, including one Democratic constituent from all 16 districts, filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the current congressional districts were: an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander that violates the First Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, and Article I of the United States Constitution….the most egregious gerrymanders in recent history. The primary force behind the legal challenge is the Ohio League of Women Voters. Should the suit be successful, the state would be required to redraw the congressional districts before the 2020 election with new procedures that would be a radical departure from the current standard. DeWine seeks to have the suit thrown out on the grounds that the plaintiffs cannot prove harm and that there is no legal standing for the case. In May, Ohioans overwhelmingly voted to reform the current system of redistricting. Traditionally, following each census, the party in power would control the redistricting process. Issue 1 will…

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Ohio State Board Considers Approving More Conditions for Marijuana Treatment

Andrew Shirley

With medicinal marijuana sales imminent in the Buckeye state, the Ohio State Medical Board is currently considering a slew of additional medical conditions for medicinal marijuana treatment. Currently, 21 conditions are approved for the controversial treatment. A number of the conditions cover a wide swathe of ailments. For example, cancer is an approved condition but it does not specify which of the more than 100 known forms of cancer that occur in humans are covered and which aren’t, so, presumably, all of them could be. It would ultimately be at the mercy of the prescribing doctor, though any doctor found overprescribing could be fined, lose their medical license, and even face jail time. Per Ohio Administrative Code 4731-32-05, every year the state is required to give citizens the opportunity to submit petitions for new conditions to be approved for marijuana treatment. Thus far, the Ohio State Medical Board has received 110 petitions. Forty-four of these documents were asking treaments that are already included in the Code. Fifty-four did not meet the final requirements or number of signatures but may be resubmitted. Among the new conditions being considered are anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Per a recent medical study, there is very little research on the…

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Kasich Launches Broadside Against Trump After President’s Prime-Time Speech

Andrew Shirley

Following President Donald Trump’s prime-time address to the nation Tuesday, Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) issued a blistering rebuttal of the president over his handling of the current government shutdown.  Though he was also critical of Democrats and Republicans, he specifically stated the problem was the result of a lack of “leadership.” The President needs to put the country ahead of politics. pic.twitter.com/ZyXZilJdfs — John Kasich (@JohnKasich) January 9, 2019 Kasich began by noting: The President and the Democrats need to learn how to compromise and put the American people first. It starts with the President putting the country ahead of his politics and being more flexible with his goals. The majority of media outlets have interpreted these comments as a direct attack on Trump. Though Kasich does go on to reaffirm his commitment to having “a secure border,” he ends his statement by saying that “our country needs real leadership to solve our problems. Right now it doesn’t look like that leadership exists in Washington, DC.” The president’s Tuesday night address was a brief and direct appeal to the American people to support his effort to secure funding for a border wall. He outlined the many lives that have been affected by illegal…

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As US Economy Swells, Ohio Gets Left Behind

Andrew Shirley

2018 was one of the best economic years for America in decades. The coup de grâce came in December with a jobs report that shattered the most generous expectations by more than double. 312,000 new jobs were added to the US economy. While unemployment rose slightly, this was primarily due to more people getting back into the job market after giving up hope of finding work. In total, more than 2.6 million jobs were added in 2018; the fastest job growth in decades. So how did Ohio fare? Not great. Ohio undoubtedly had some noteworthy achievements. 2018 was Ohio’s ninth consecutive year of record-breaking new business filings with 125,000 new businesses created. In July, Ohio’s jobs growth pace actually exceeded the national pace. Overall, Ohio added jobs and employment grew. Sadly, in some of the most key indicators, Ohio continued to lag behind the nation. In November, while the national unemployment rate rested at 3.7% (its lowest rate in 2018), Ohio’s unemployment rate was 4.6%. Ohio’s best month for unemployment (4.3%) didn’t even beat the nation’s worst month (4.1%). From January to November of 2018, Ohio’s total number of unemployed went from 271,269 to 263,197, a net employment of only 8,072 jobs. While some…

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Drug Companies Seek Gag Order Against Republican Gov.-Elect Mike DeWine for Speaking Out on Opioid Crisis

Andrew Shirley

Friday, lawyers representing some of the nation’s largest drug manufacturers began an attempt to sanction and silence Governor-elect Mike DeWine, stemming from his involvement in a lawsuit he initiated as Ohio Attorney General. The motion, filed by an amalgamation Big Pharma attorneys, accuse DeWine, along with lawyers Mike Moore and Burton LeBlanc of engaging in “a concerted campaign to taint potential jury polls in this district-and across the country-through misleading, inflammatory, and improper public statements.” According to the motion, the attempt came as a direct result of an explosive 60 Minutes episode that aired on December 16th featuring attorney Moore. The program detailed the massive lawsuit DeWitt and others are pursuing against the opioid industry. The 13-minute segment that aired on CBS focused primarily on Moore’s association with the case. The veteran lawyer was directly involved in two of the largest legal settlements in history. On May 1994, while serving as Attorney General of Mississippi, the Magnolia state became the first state to officially file suit against the tobacco industry. Forty-six other states eventually joined the suit. The Tobacco Master Settlement was agreed to in November 1998. Among many concessions, the tobacco industry would be required to pay over $200 billion dollars to the states…

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Ohio Proves Resilient as the Partial Government Shutdown Marks Its Second Week

Andrew Shirley

With no end in sight to the partial-government shutdown, federal workers nationwide are adjusting to the possibility of an extended shutdown. While many areas of the country are heavily impacted, Ohio is poised to weather this storm. In a new report published Thursday, Ohio was revealed to be one of the states least affected by the government shutdown. Of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, The District was the most negatively affected with Minnesota as the least. Ohio came in at 42nd. The report was executed by WalletHub, a financial services company based in Washington DC. The rankings were the result of combining measurements for; Share of Federal Jobs Share of Federal Contract Dollars Per Capita Percentage of Families Recieving SNAP Real Estate as Percentage of Gross State Product Access to National Parks The report also found states which voted Democrat in 2016 were slightly more affected than states that voted Republican. According to the Labor Department numbers, as of June 2017, Ohio has 78,575 federal employees. While many of these Ohio residents have been affected by the government shutdown, almost half of these employees are military personnel, Department of Defense employees, of Veterans Affairs employees. This partial shutdown…

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With Legal Marijuana Sales Imminent in Ohio, Demand Skyrockets

Andrew Shirley

In as early as the coming days, the first legal marijuana dispensary will open for business in Ohio. Fifty-six sites have received approval for sale and several others are only waiting to receive the product before beginning distribution. However, many Ohioans are concerned that, even with legal certification, they won’t be able to obtain marijuana anytime soon. An estimated 3.5 million Ohioans have medical conditions that would permit the use of the controversial drug. In addition, more than 350 doctors are now qualified to approve marijuana prescriptions across the state. There a plethora of conditions that qualify for marijuana use ranging from chronic pain and PTSD to AIDS and most forms of cancer. In spite of this, only a fraction will be able to obtain marijuana following the first sales. In a recent interview Ohio Department of Commerce Senior Policy Advisor Mark Hamlin revealed that, though there will be product available soon, “we know the initial product will be very small.” In addition, he conceded that supply will absolutely not reach initial demand. The 56 dispensaries that have been approved are not equally distributed throughout the state. Some Ohioans will have to drive as much as three and a half hours just to reach…

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Coal Fund Raid Could Cost Ohioans Millions

Andrew Shirley

In a rare display of unity, members of the coal lobby joined with environmental advocacy leaders to raise concerns following Gov. John Kasich’s (R-OH) decision to raid the state’s coal mining reclamation fund. In 2017, the state of Ohio was facing a heavy tax shortfall as a result of decreased tax revenues. In response, Kasich withdrew over $114 million dollars from 16 separate state agencies in order to fund more essential government functions. The Ohio coal mining reclamation fund was among these and lost more than $5 million. Currently, there are no plans or provisions in place to replace the funds. The fund is paid for by taxes collected from state coal mining companies, intended to reverse the damage done by mining over the past two centuries. For over 200 years, Ohio has been a major center of coal mining in America. Mining was essential to the development of Ohio’s economy. While surface mining can be done responsibly, the depleted land often requires significant investment to repair. Should this not occur, environmental damage can extend well past the intended areas. According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’s Division of Mineral Resources, as of 1972, the problems included: 1,300 miles of streams polluted by…

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Ten Laws That Spell Major Changes for Ohio in 2019

Andrew Shirley

In terms of legislation, 2018 may be considered one of Ohio’s most impactful years in recent history. From the approval of the first medicinal marijuana dispensary to new abortion limitations, 2019 will see a dramatic change for many Ohioans. Compiled below are ten of the most significant changes coming to the Buckeye State. Expanded Gun Ownership Rights – House Bill 228 Through an override of Ohio Governor John Kasich’s veto, the Ohio congress passed HB 228, expanding a citizen’s right to self-defense. The bill was originally intended to be a ‘stand your ground’ law but shifted following the significant public controversy. As passed,  the law shifts the burden of proof in self-defense cases to the prosecution. Before passage, Ohio was the only state in America in which a defender had to prove that they were acting in self-defense. Dismemberment Abortion Ban – Senate Bill 145 While Governor Kasich’s received widespread conservative criticism for his veto of the “Heartbeat Abortion Bill,” the Governor did sign one of the most extensive abortion limits in the country. SB 145, signed into law in late December, has banned one of the most commonly used second-trimester abortion procedures currently practiced nationwide. Governor Kasich has signed more than 20 abortion limitations during…

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Ohio Legislation Sets Age Requirement for Marriage

Andrew Shirley

On Thursday, the Ohio Senate unanimously passed a bill that would effectively end child marriage in the state of Ohio. House Bill 511 (HB 511), introduced on February 14th, 2018, would establish eighteen as the minimum age to get married, regardless of gender, with few exceptions. As the law currently stand, under Ohio Revised Code 3101.01, the minimum age of marriage is eighteen for men and sixteen for women. However, if certain conditions are met, marriage can be legal at almost any age, should the parent and judge consent. In addition, Ohio is one of only seven states that permits the minimum age to be lowered when a woman is pregnant. The other six are Arkansas, Indiana, Maryland, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. In early September 2017, the Dayton Daily News published their findings of an investigation into the practice of child marriage in the state of Ohio. The report revealed a shocking litany of statistics, most notably that: 4,443 girls age 17 or younger were married in Ohio between 2000 and 2015, including 59 who were 15 or younger. Ohio saw statewide, bipartisan, outrage over the practice and two bills were introduced addressing the issue, one in the Senate and…

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Commentary: Can Ohio’s Sherrod Brown Return the Dems to Blue-Collar Roots?

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by Henry Olsen   Senator Sherrod Brown is one of many Democrats considering a run for the White House. His name likely does not ring a bell, as he has not garnered the national attention that other potential rivals have. Many observers think he could be a formidable opponent for President Trump should he gain the Democratic nomination. The evidence, however, suggests that might be easier said than done. The case for Brown starts—and often stops—with his long courting of Ohio’s working-class voters, usually with favorable results. He has doggedly opposed free trade deals throughout his Senate career, even leading the effort to defeat the Central American Free Trade Association (CAFTA) during the Bush Administration. A consistent ally of Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the Senate, Brown’s economic populism nevertheless stems from a labor union rather than a doctrinaire social democratic outlook. That viewpoint, the argument goes, makes him a solid choice to battle Trump for the loyalties of the white working-class voter whose defection from the Democrats made Trump president. That argument overlooks, however, Brown’s distinctly non-working-class views on nearly every other issue. Brown has one of the most progressive records in the Senate on a raft of issues, not…

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Ohio Minimum Wage to Increase at Start of New Year

Andrew Shirley

The Ohio hourly minimum wage will be increasing on January 1, 2019. For non-tipped employees, hourly earnings will increase to $8.55 per hour, from $8.30. For tipped employees, hourly earnings will increase to $4.30 per hour, from $4.15. In addition, working longer than 40 hours will be considered overtime and employers will be required to pay one and a half times their normal wage, unless the employer grosses less than $150,000 a year. In 2006, Ohio passed the Ohio Minimum Wage Increase Amendment commonly referred to as Amendment 2 (II.34a Minimum Wage). The amendment increased the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.85 and stipulated that the: state minimum wage rate shall be increased effective the first day of the following January by the rate of inflation for the twelve month period prior to that September according to the consumer price index. From June 2017 to June 2018 the Consumer Price index increased by 2.9 percent. However, there are notable exceptions to the wage increase. Employers whose gross income is less than $314,000 will still be required to adhere to the federal minimum wage standard. The minimum wage for employees 16 and younger will also remain at the federal minimum wage level, which…

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Outgoing Ohio Governor John Kasich Asks Tesla CEO Elon Musk to Save Lordstown Auto Plant by Tweet

Andrew Shirley

Thursday, December 20th, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, gave his first public response to Governor John Kasich’s multiple attempts to reach him in the hope of saving the Lordstown Assembly complex in Warren, Ohio. On November 26th, General Motors announced that the 6.2 million square foot auto manufacturing facility, along with four additional plants nationwide, will be closing in 2019. The plant currently employs over 1,500 Ohioans who would all be laid off, should the factory cease operations. Following the decision, a coalition of union leaders, factory workers, and community members, known as Drive it Home, formed almost immediately to challenge the move. In 1998, when GM announced plans the close the plant, a similar coalition called Bring it Home successfully arranged for GM to keep the plant open, albeit at a more modest production level. While many are hopeful that GM can be convinced once again, in a November 29th statement (copied below) Governor Kasich announced that he, the GM Team, and JobsOhio would “explore alternatives” for the plant’s future, implying that GM  was not likely to reopen the plant and if the plant had a future, it would be with another company. In a December 7th teaser for a full segment…

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Kasich Vetoes Bill Expanding Benefits for Families of Fallen First Responders

Anthony Gockowski

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) vetoed a bill Friday that would expand benefits for widows and children of deceased first responders because it also included legislative pay raises. According to The Dayton Daily News, Senate Bill 296 included a provision that would increase pay for lawmakers by 4 percent in 2020, 3 percent in 2021, and then 1.75 percent each subsequent year until 2028. That provision, however, was tacked on at the list minute, and provided Kasich with reason to veto the legislation. The main intention of the bill was to increase benefits for families of first responders killed while on duty, which could be passed again next session and signed into law by Gov.-elect Mike DeWine (R-OH). “I would have signed such a bill into law,” Kasich told The Cincinnati Enquirer. “Unfortunately, I cannot support or condone the last-minute rush to include a controversial pay raise for elected officials into what was an otherwise commendable bill.” State Sen. Jay Hottinger (R-Newark) believes Kasich vetoed the bill out of frustration with the General Assembly for failing to pass a “red flag” law. “What I find ironic is there have been a heck of a lot of lawmakers doing work while…

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Ohio Gov. Kasich Signs a Bill Outlawing Abortion Method That Dismembers Unborn Babies

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by Grace Carr   Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed a bill Friday banning dilation and evacuation abortions, common second-trimester abortion methods. Senate Bill 145 prohibits doctors from performing dilation and evacuation abortions, an abortion method used when women are between 13 and 24 weeks pregnant. Dilation abortion involves tearing the fetus apart limb by limb so that the body parts can be extracted from the womb. The law makes exceptions for cases where the mother’s life is in danger. No exceptions for rape, incest or fetal abnormalities are included in the bill, Fox31 reported Saturday. “The method ban dangerously limits people’s options, undermines patients’ constitutional right to access safe, legal abortion, and compromises medical providers’ decision making,” Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio president Iris Harvey said in a statement, according to Fox31. Pro-life Ohioans applaud the new law. “Ohioans can sleep easier tonight, knowing that the horrendous practice of dismemberment abortions is behind us,” said Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis, Fox31 reported. Thank you Governor @JohnKasich for passing this law which will protect Ohio’s babies from being barbarically dismembered in the womb. #EndDismemberment — Ohio Right to Life (@ohiolife) December 21, 2018 The ban on dismemberment abortions comes after Kasich vetoed…

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Ohio Ranks 38th in Economic Freedom, New Report Finds

Anthony Gockowski

The Buckeye Institute’s annual Economic Freedom of North America report conducted in partnership with Canada’s Fraser Institute found that Ohio ranks number 38 among the 50 states in economic freedom. The report measured each state’s government spending, taxation, and labor market restrictions as indicators of economic freedom. “The measure of a state’s economic freedom is how well it allows its citizens to reach their fullest economic potential and how well the state creates an environment where families can experience true economic prosperity,” Buckeye Institute economist Dr. Andrew Kidd explains in the report. States that “limit economic freedom,” the report explains, are ones that “spend more taxpayer money than is needed, restrict people from pursuing their careers and dreams, discourage new business start-ups and businesses from coming to their state, and limit the ability of people to provide for their families.” States with “greater economic freedom,” on the other hand, “provide their citizens with the opportunity for greater prosperity.” Ohio was joined by other battleground states such as New Mexico and Minnesota in the “least free” category. States like Florida, Arizona, Colorado, and Virginia were ranked among the most economically free. To improve its ranking, the Buckeye Institute recommends that Ohio…

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Ohio Gov. Kasich Faces Potential Conservative Revolt After Vetoing Pro-Life ‘Heartbeat’ Bill

Andrew Shirley
John Kasich

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) ignited a conservative firestorm Friday after vetoing one of the most comprehensive pro-life bills ever proposed since the passage of Roe v. Wade. House Bill 258 would ban any abortion after a child’s first heartbeat is detected. Since fetal heartbeats, in some cases, can be detected as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, this would limit abortions to well within the first trimester. This is the second time that Kasich has vetoed this bill. Additionally, Kasich passed Senate Bill 145, an act that restricts one of the most common methods in which second-trimester abortions are performed.  The Dismemberment Abortion Ban, as the bill is known, restricts doctors from performing procedures in which dismemberment of the fetus occurs. Mike Gonidakis, President of Ohio Right to Life, hailed the decision, stating: Ohioans can sleep easier tonight, knowing that the horrendous practice of dismemberment abortions is behind us…Pro-Life Ohio will not stop until the Abortion Report reads: Zero. Nothing to report In spite of this success, many Ohio conservatives are furious that Kasich has once again vetoed the fetal heartbeat bill. Conservative lawmakers are already looking at methods by which to override the governor’s veto as early as December 27.…

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Gun Rights Bill Kasich Vetoed is Law in Every Other State

Anthony Gockowski

Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) vetoed the Ohio General Assembly’s gun-rights legislation Wednesday, even though the bill was removed of most of its substantial provisions before passage. As The Ohio Star reported last week, House Bill 228 was stripped of its “stand your ground” measure, which would free gun owners from abiding by a “duty to retreat” law that requires them to stand down in life threatening situations. After it was removed, the Ohio Gun Owners organization said it was “looking at this thing as a big ‘nothing burger’ now.” The bill did, however, still include a provision that would shift the burden of proof from defendants to the prosecution in self-defense cases—the current law in all 49 other states. But Kasich was upset that the bill didn’t include a “red flag” law, which allows the government to seize guns from people who are mentally ill or are considered a danger to others. “We can’t get it done over there. This really infuriates me,” he said this week, according to The Columbus Dispatch. “Why would I sign a bill that gives more power to gun advocates?” “For the first time in my lifetime, the possibility of somebody coming through that door…

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Make Halloween Spooky Again with a Visit to These Real-Life Haunts

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As we come to the end of summer and begin the season of winter, one hundred and seventy-nine million Americans will celebrate the season with urban legends, scary bonfire stories, and armies of children carrying candy up and down the streets of in what was once referred to as Samhain, All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day in the early Middle Ages and marks itself as a “cross-quarter” day acknowledging the end of the harvesting season and the beginning of winter. Early civilizations were big observers of the sky.  A cross-quarter day is a day more or less a midway marker between an equinox (when the sun sets due west) and a solstice (when the sun sets at its most northern or southern point on the horizon). October thirty-first is an approximately middle point between the autumn equinox and winter solstice, for those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere. The United States is home to many haunted farms, abandoned insane asylums, historic mansions now turned museums, and old spirit infested bridges.  We’ve found a few that may very well be hidden in your own backyard. Whether you believe in ghosts, goblins, demonic possessions and or spirits, one thing is for…

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Ohio Gov. Kasich: ‘The Lord’ Doesn’t Want Americans to Oppose Migrant Caravan

Anthony Accardi

Ohio Gov. John Kasich told CNN Thursday that “the Lord” doesn’t want Americans to build walls and oppose the migrant caravan heading to the United States from Central America. “We’ve got to start putting ourselves in the shoes of other people,” Kasich told CNN’s Newsroom. Kasich, the grandson of Catholic immigrants from Eastern Europe who became an Anglican Christian as an adult, said he believes most Americans would welcome the caravan. We’ve got to start thinking about the consequences that others suffer. And if we have been spared those by the grace of God, let us be appreciative, let us count our blessings, and let us reach out to those who have less. Let’s stop putting up walls around ourselves and not understanding the plight, the trouble, and the problems of others. It is not right. And the Lord doesn’t want it, and our people at their hearts want to reach out to others. Look at what they do in these storms. They go and they rescue people they don’t know. They put them in their homes. They feed them. That’s America. Not all this garbage and this division and yelling and screaming and hatred on all sides.” But not all…

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Georgia Lawsuit Latest Blow in US Fight Over Voting Rights

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U.S. voting rights advocacy groups Thursday sued Georgia’s top election official, Secretary of State Brian Kemp, accusing him of putting more than 50,000 voter registration applications on hold to boost his gubernatorial campaign. Kemp is the Republican nominee for governor in one of this year’s highest-profile state races, in which Democrat Stacey Abrams is seeking to become the state’s first black governor. The lawsuit brought by a coalition of state civil rights groups accused Kemp of attempting to depress minority turnout to improve his chances of victory. It was the latest legal development this week involving voting rights that could influence the Nov. 6 elections in states, including North Dakota, Arkansas and Ohio. Stakes high In addition to governor’s races, control of Congress hangs in the balance in next month’s elections, when Democrats hope to claw back enough seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate to regain some power in Washington. Backers of voter ID laws say they are intended to combat voter fraud. But voter rights advocates say the number of documented cases of voter fraud in the United States is extremely small and that restrictions disproportionately affect poor and minority voters. “A lot of states’ laws…

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‘Don’t Screw Us Over,’ Ohio Workers Warn Candidates

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by Ramon Taylor   Brandy Corwin likes that she can now wear makeup and nice clothes to work. That is because she is no longer working on the assembly line at the General Motors plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. “I was laid off multiple times, and having a family, you can’t rely on that,” she said. For the past five months, Corwin, 28, has been working at Credit Adjustments, Inc. (CAI), a debt collection agency headquartered in her hometown of Defiance, Ohio, an hour outside the city of Toledo. Corwin was a third-generation manufacturing worker and thought the assembly line was her fate. But now, she no longer has to work overtime and weekends to make ends meet. “I finally have a good work-to-home life balance,” she said, “and I didn’t have that before.” Her two children “love seeing me come home dressed up,” Corwin said. “My son, he compliments me all the time: Wow, Mommy, your hair looks really nice,’ or ‘Wow, Mom, I love your dress,’ because I’m not walking home in dirty jeans and steel-toe boots.” CAI opened its first area call center in downtown Toledo last January, providing 60 new job opportunities, with the goal of adding…

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Ohio Diocese To Publicly Name Up To 20 Reported Predatory Priests

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by Joshua Gill   The bishop of the Steubenville diocese declared that his diocese will release a list of predatory priests, becoming the second Ohio diocese to do so. Dino Orsatti, spokesman for the diocese, made the announcement Tuesday that Bishop Jeffrey Monforton called for the list of alleged sexually predatory priests to be released as a show of greater transparency in the wake of revelations like Pennsylvania’s grand jury report on sexual abuse in six of the state’s dioceses. The list will name between 12 and 20 priests who, according to church documentation dating back as far as 1944, were alleged to have committed sexual abuses against parishioners. “He would welcome any investigation like the one in Pennsylvania,” Orsatti said of Monforton, according to The Associated Press. The Steubenville announcement followed a similar one from the diocese of Youngstown, which announced earlier in September that the church there would also release a list of accused predatory priests, echoing Pennsylvania bishops who chose to release lists of such priests from their respective dioceses during legal battles over the release of the grand jury report. Monsignor John Zuraw  said the diocese of Youngstown hopes that the release of their list will not only foster transparency,…

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No Bigger Fish to Fry? Ohio Investigative Unit Focuses on Small Dollar Misuse of Food Stamps

Julie Carr
Steve Gill

On Friday’s Gill Report – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 1510 WLAC weekdays at 7:30 am – Star News National Political Editor Steve Gill talked about the recent liquor license revocation at a small lounge called Sharky’s in Harrison Township Ohio.  He was perplexed about the Ohio Investigative Unit’s focus on a small two thousand dollar misuse of food stamps instead of perhaps bigger fish to fry. Gill said: Well some bad news for those who live in Harrison Township in Ohio, well maybe it’s not sad news for everybody just those who want to use their food stamps to go buy liquor, drugs, and well an occasional lap dance at a strip club. Sharky’s lounge is in Harrison Township in Ohio and they lost their liquor license yesterday. The Ohio liquor control commission revoked the adult entertainment clubs license, according to the Ohio Investigative Unit. Now they had begun investigating the club, known as Sharky’s back in May of 2017. So, it was a long investigation. It takes a lot to find out what these are up to sometimes. Anyway, during the investigation agents say they were able to buy drugs and lap dances from strippers by using food…

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Jim Jordan Tells Republicans How They Can Keep House Majority: ‘Build The Wall’

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by Nick Givas   GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said Republicans must fund and build a southern border wall if they hope to maintain their congressional majority this November. “We should do what we said. What was probably the single biggest promise Republicans made to the voters in 2016? It was the border security wall,” Jordan said on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday. “So let’s get that done here before the end of the fiscal year. Let’s do what we said and let’s head into the election and let’s keep the majority,” he said. Jordan said the midterms are expected to have many close races, but claimed Republicans could increase their chances if they kept their promise to reform the immigration system. “Everyone’s talking about how tight this election is going to be. I think that’s accurate. I think we can keep the majority but I think we increase our chances of keeping the majority if we do a simple thing,” he said. “Do what we promised the voters we were going to do.” “Again, this was probably the central thing that the people elected Republicans to do is secure our border. Build the border security wall,” Jordan concluded. “So let’s get it done on the…

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This Ohio County Swung From Obama to Trump in 2016, Here’s What Eight Fair Attendees Think Two Years Later

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Donald Trump

by Rachel del Guidice   Attendees of this 169-year-old Ohio county fair don’t come out to see politicians and politics aren’t on the forefront of their minds, but a large portion of the folks at the Stark County Fair had strong opinions on both when asked. The political climate of this county, known for its rural, farming areas and also home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, housed in Canton, has flipped in recent years. In 2008, than-candidate Barack Obama won 51.59 percent of the vote in Stark County and and former Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who died last month, won 46.14 percent of the vote. Obama won the county again in 2012 with 49.21percent of the vote, inching past presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, who received 48.74 percent. But in 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received 38.68 percent of the vote, while Donald Trump received 55.85 percent of the vote. Some cities in Stark County such as Alliance, Massillon, Canton Township, East Canton, Navarre and Perry Township all went for former President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. These cities flipped to Trump in the 2016 and support for the president was strong among the attendees roaming around the fairgrounds. While harness racing, baking contests, and pavilion concerts were vastly more…

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Thirteen Illegal Immigrants Indicted After ICE Detained Over 100 at Ohio Company

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ICE arrest

by Neetu Chandak   Thirteen illegal immigrants were indicted for immigration-related offenses Wednesday as a result of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arresting more than 100 workers at a Ohio food company in June. The 13 were indicted on charges of providing false statements of citizenship and presenting fake forms of identification, like driver’s licenses and social security cards, according to Cleveland.com on Thursday. The individuals allegedly provided false information to be eligible for employment opportunities in the U.S. Eleven were from Guatemala and two were from Mexico with ages ranging between 18 and 46 years old, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio reported Thursday. ICE arrested 146 people at Fresh Mark, a meat supplier, in the Salem and Massillon locations, according to Cleveland.com. Those arrested primarily originated from Guatemala and were arrested because authorities believed them to be in the U.S. illegally. Over “80 were detained for immigration proceedings and about 40 remain in custody, according to an ICE spokeswoman,” reported The Vindicator. The ICE spokeswoman added that many of the detainees were released for health and family concerns while volunteers said some entered the U.S. legally, but did not have proper documentation at the time of arrest, according to The…

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Republican Dave Joyce Releases Bizarre Campaign Ad Distancing Himself from Trump

Anthony Gockowski
David Joyce

In a risky political move, Rep. Dave Joyce recently tried to distance himself from President Trump in a congressional district that the president won by 12 percentage points in the 2016 Election. Joyce, who is seeking reelection in Ohio’s 14th Congressional District, recently released an ad in which he touts his vote against repealing the Affordable Care Act. “When Republican leaders in Congress tried to take away protections for pre-existing conditions, I said no,” Joyce states. “I won the the fight to fund the Great Lakes restoration, and when President Trump tried to take it away, I said no again.” “I’m Dave Joyce, and I approve this message, because I’ll do what’s right for northeastern Ohio, even if it means standing up to my own party,” the ad concludes. Joyce, however, regularly voted to repeal Obamacare before Trump took office, and his campaign website used to tout a record of voting for repeal more than 30 times, Cleveland.com reports. In a state that Trump won by by 8 points, the ad seems out of place, leaving Joyce’s spokesman, Dino DiSanto to explain that “Joyce will do what is right for his district, no ifs and or buts—doesn’t matter party affiliation…

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Trump To Spend Day In Ohio While Governor Kasich Sits On the Sidelines

Anthony Gockowski

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are heading to Columbus, Ohio Friday for a series of charity events and fundraisers, but one familiar face will be noticeably absent. Trump will headline the Ohio Republican Party state dinner Friday night, but Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has been at odds with the president ever since he first laid eyes on him, will not be attending. “I don’t need to be going to that dinner,” Kasich told the press Tuesday, saying that he will instead spend time with his college-bound daughter. Kasich skipped the same dinner last year when it was announced that Vice President Mike Pence would be speaking. Most recently, the two butted-heads over Republican Troy Balderson’s slim primary victory in his bid to lead Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, with Trump placing the blame on Kasich. “The very unpopular Governor of Ohio (and failed presidential candidate) John Kasich hurt Troy Balderson’s recent win by tamping down enthusiasm for an otherwise great candidate. Even Kasich’s Lt. Governor lost Gov. race because of his unpopularity. Credit to Troy on the big win!” Trump tweeted. Prior to Friday’s dinner, Trump will attend a fundraiser for Republican Senate candidate Jim Renacci, who…

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Tom Zawistowki Commentary: Building a Dam to Stop the Blue Wave

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

By Tom Zawistowki   While many in Washington were aghast at the thought that President Trump would even suggest shutting down the federal government in September over funding for the border wall and immigration reform, those of us in the heartland see the logic. If there is even a chance of a Democrat blue wave in November that would allow them to take control of the House, does it not make sense to get the funding for the wall before the election? Why would we, or the President, take a chance on never getting the border wall we all know is essential to controlling the illegal immigration problem? After all, building the border wall and reforming our corrupt immigration laws is what Trump, and nearly all the Republicans in the House and Senate, ran on in 2016 and are running on again in 2018. If they want Trump voters to come out in November to re-elect them, they need to deliver on that fundamental promise before the election. The problem is that powerful establishment Republicans, led by Speaker Paul Ryan, pay lip service to the cause because they really want open borders and cheap labor. They almost certainly won’t move on…

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RNC Co-Chair Blasts ‘Lame-Duck Governor’ of Ohio John Kasich

Anthony Gockowski
John Kasich, Bob Paduchik

Republican National Committee (RNC) Co-Chair Bob Paduchik recently blasted Ohio Gov. John Kasich for his inability to move on from his defeat in the 2016 presidential election. Kasich recently gave a controversial interview with “ABC’s This Week” when he claimed that congressional candidate Troy Balderson did not invite President Trump to an early-August campaign rally. During the interview, Kasich claimed that Balderson told him he “didn’t” invite the president to a campaign rally after Kasich pressed him on why he chose to get the president involved in his campaign. Both Trump and Kasich backed Balderson, who is still fighting for a victory in the special election that was held early August, but reignited their 2016 rivalry. According to Bloomberg, Trump attributed the closeness of the race to Kasich’s unpopularity, while the Ohio governor responded on Twitter with an image of Vladimir Putin. Balderson has stated that he was “honored” to receive the president’s support and “welcomed” Trump to campaign with him. In response to the drama, Paduchik wrote a withering editorial that mocked Kasich as a “sore-loser” and the “antagonist-in-chief.” The RNC co-chair rebutted Kasich’s assertions by noting that “thousands of Ohio voters at the rally and millions of Americans…

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Richard Cordray, Dem Candidate for Ohio Governor, Hopes to Continue Monitoring Consumers Just Like He Did at CFPB

Anthony Gockowski
Richard Cordray

Democratic-hopeful Richard Cordray recently announced in his bid for Ohio’s governor seat that he intends to enact failed policies from his time at the Obama administration’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In April, it was revealed that under Cordray’s direction the CFPB allegedly faced at least 1,000 different hacks, including 240 data breaches, while the bureau was in the process of gathering 991 million American credit card accounts, The Daily Caller reported. During a 2014 hearing, Cordray explained that his agency was “collecting aggregated information,” and was unable to guarantee that “consumer information is 100 percent secure.” Acting Director Mick Mulvaney confirmed Cordray’s comments while testifying before Congress in April, saying that “everything” the CFPB collects is “subject to being lost.” The CFPB has been at the center of controversy ever since its 2011 founding, and was criticized in November by President Trump’s Treasury Department as having an “unaccountable structure.” “The CFPB was created to pursue an important mission, but its unaccountable structure and unduly broad regulatory powers have led to regulatory abuses and excesses,” the Treasury stated in a report, according to USA Today. “The CFPB’s approach to enforcement and rulemaking has hindered consumer choice and access to credit,…

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Republican Governor’s Association Comes Out Swinging Against Richard Cordray, Ex-Obama Official Running for Ohio Governor

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anti-Richard-Cordray ad

Three months after Richard Cordray soundly beat Ohio mainstay, former congressman Dennis Kucinich for the chance for the Buckeye State’s top executive, the Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) launched a withering attack ad impugning Cordray’s performance as President Barack Obama’s first Director of the constitutionally dubious Consumer Bureau of Financial Protection – or CBFP. From 2012 through 2017, the empowered progressive stripped over $12 billion from Wall Street, as reported by Vox. In the same time period, however, the newly created bureau was hacked hundreds of times, exposing the financial records of Americans, sticking them with years of risk from identity theft and other financial crimes. In a statement, the RGA said the new television ad launched Thursday highlights “Washington D.C. Bureaucrat Richard Cordray’s secret collection of financial information from millions of Americans that he then failed to protect from hacking.” “After collecting personal financial data from millions of American consumers without their knowledge, Richard Cordray failed to safeguard their information, leaving it vulnerable to be hacked over 200 times,” said RGA Communications Director Jon Thompson. “When Americans needed Cordray to protect them, he failed. Cordray’s record of incompetence as a Washington D.C. bureaucrat shows that Ohioans can’t trust him to…

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Former Ohio State Wrestler Recants Claim That Jim Jordan Knew Of Sexual Abuse

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Jim Jordan

by Chuck Ross   A former Ohio State University wrestler is recanting his claims that Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan knew of sexual abuse allegations against a university physician when he coached wrestling at the school over 20 years ago. “At no time did I ever say or have any direct knowledge that Jim Jordan knew of Dr. Richard Strauss’s inappropriate behavior,” Mark Coleman, a former MMA fighter who wrestled at Ohio State when Jordan coached there, said in a statement. “I have nothing but respect for Jim Jordan as I have known him for more than 30 years and know him to be of impeccable character.” Coleman is the first former OSU wrestler to recant his claims that Jordan knew about sexual abuse at the hands of Dr. Richard Strauss, an OSU physician accused of molesting dozens of student-athletes. Jordan, who was an assistant coach at OSU from 1986 to 1994, was first linked to the allegations against Strauss in an NBC News article published July 3. A former wrestler named Mike DiSabato led the push to accuse Jordan of turning a blind eye to Strauss’s behavior. Jordan, who is mounting a bid for Speaker of the House, has vehemently denied…

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Kasich Warns Of Widespread Fentanyl, Warns Users They Are ‘Playing With The Devil’

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John Kasich

by Steve Birr   Authorities in Ohio are cracking down on drug dealers trafficking in the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl with harsher legal penalties as synthetic overdose deaths continue rising. Republican Gov. John Kasich signed a bill Wednesday that reclassifies fentanyl from a Schedule II to a Schedule I substance and makes it a felony for dealing the potent painkiller. Major drug offenders caught selling fentanyl will now face mandatory minimum sentences ranging from between three to eight years, reports Cincinnati.com. The bill also prevents charges from being combined, meaning a dealer tied to a fentanyl death would face charges for both the fatality and for the initial sale to the victim. Fentanyl is implicated in the majority of drug deaths in the state. In Hamilton County, more than 90 percent of drugs tested between January and April 2018 contained a synthetic opioid. “It ain’t the way it used to be with street drugs,” said Kasich, according Cincinnati.com. “You’re playing with the devil.” Data released by officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on July 11 reveals the majority of opioid-linked deaths throughout the U.S. are now the result of synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The report shows synthetic opioids killed roughly 27,000 people across…

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Autopsy Finds Ohio Police Chief Died of a Fentanyl Overdose

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by Steve Birr   The recent death of an Ohio police chief was the result of a fentanyl overdose, an autopsy report released Friday by a local coroner determined. Authorities in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, found Kirkersville Police Chief James Hughes Jr. dead in the bathroom of his home on May 25, along with a plastic sandwich bag containing cocaine residue and two syringes that later tested positive for fentanyl, a synthetic opioid roughly 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine. Hughes was police chief for little more than two months before his death, reported WCMH. The autopsy report, issued by the Franklin County Coroner’s Office, said Hughes died from “acute intoxication by fentanyl,” which they found to be the result of an accidental overdose. Hughes’s death is the second tragedy to befall the Kirkersville Police Department in the past year. The community lost Chief Steven Eric DiSario in May 2017 after he was fatally shot while responding to a hostage situation. The coroner’s report underscores the dire nature of the opioid crisis spreading across the state. Ohio currently has the second largest drug overdose death rate in the country, trailing only West Virginia. Nearly 40 in 100,000 people die from drug-related overdoses in Ohio. The state lost 4,329 residents to drug overdoses in 2016, a 24 percent increase…

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Uncovering the Shady Law Firm Behind the Attacks on Jim Jordan

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Jim Jordan

by Printus LeBlanc   Over the 4th of July holiday, NBC News published a disturbing article alleging sexual abuse at Ohio State University. The story went out if its way to implicate a high-profile member of the Republican Party, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). The story alleges Jordan knew or should have known about the abuse at the university. The real oddity about this case is the timing and law firm at the center of the case. For anyone that pays attention to Capitol Hill, Jim Jordan is a name on the rise. He is a member of the Freedom Caucus and has been mentioned by several conservative groups for the next Speaker of the House. Jordan is also at the tip of the spear in uncovering corruption at the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Just last week, he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein got into a heated debate over the DOJ and FBI’s role in Russiagate. If the timing wasn’t suspicious enough, the law firm involved in the matter is raising eyebrows. Perkins Coie is the counsel of record for the much of the Democrat Party, including the Democratic National Committee, both Congressional Democrat committees (DSCC &…

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Over One Hundred Suspected Undocumented Workers Arrested in Ohio

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ICE arrest

U.S. immigration agents raided two Ohio garden stores Tuesday and arrested 114 workers believed to be undocumented immigrants for alleged identity theft. It was the largest such sting by Homeland Security and immigration agents in recent years. The agents carried out raids at two separate locations of Corso’s Flower and Garden Center — one in Sandusky and the other in Castalia. Along with the arrests, agents carried out boxes of what a spokesman called “a lot of documentary evidence” from one of the stores. The investigation into Corso’s began in October when agents arrested a woman that they called a “document vendor” — someone who sells stolen identity documents to legal and illegal would-be workers. The suspected vendor led investigators to Corso’s. Immigration investigator Steve Francis said some of the documents in Corso’s files included the Social Security numbers of dead people. Corso’s is not facing any criminal charges but is still under investigation. Francis said the garden center chain was obviously unaware it was hiring workers with falsified documents. “If you are a legitimate business, you have nothing to be concerned about,” Francis said. “But if you are harboring or hiring illegal aliens, you will be identified, arrested and…

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