More than 100 people were charged for trying to buy sex in a statewide human-trafficking operation conducted last week in Ohio.
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Lucas County and the city of Toledo, along with one of the city’s largest health care providers, reached an agreement to wipe out more than $222 million worth of medical debt for area patients.
State Rep. Michele Grim, D-Toledo, made the announcement that is expected to impact 108,737 residents. ProMedica is the second health care provider in the area to abolish debt.
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A study published this week by Center for Justice Research, a partnership between the office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Bowling Green State University, revealed gun crime decreased in six of Ohio’s eight largest cities following the implementation of the Constitutional Carry law.
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Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, the Ohio man who became known as “Joe the Plumber” after confronting then-candidate Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign, has died, his wife said. He was 49.
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With the midterm election, less than a week away Ohio voters are going to decide on bond measures, tax levies, charter amendments, bail considerations, and who is allowed to vote in local Ohio elections across the state.
With the large ballot at hand here is an overview of the state and city-wide ballot measures in Ohio.
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One Ohio city ranks in the top five of best places to retire in the nation, and four others rank among the best of the nation’s largest cities, according to a new report from WalletHub, a personal finance website.
Cincinnati ranked third – behind only Charleston, South Carolina and Orlando – in the report that compared the retiree-friendliness of more than 180 cities using 46 metrics, such as cost of living to retired taxpayers to the state’s health infrastructure.
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Of the $6.6 billion given to Ohio cities in federal pandemic relief funds, much of the money has been allotted for projects unrelated to COVID-19, or has not been allotted for spending at all.
The American Rescue Plan was signed into law in March, providing a total of $1.9 trillion in federal funds for pandemic relief. That money was spread around the country, and cities were supposed to report their expenditure plans to the federal government by Oct. 31.
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Michigan’s Governor wants to make life more difficult for Ohioans and Toledo is directly in her crosshairs.
On November 13th Governor Gretchen Whitmer, along with her Attorney General Dana Nessel, issued a cease-and-desist order against construction of a $500 million dollar infrastructure upgrade known as the Great Lakes Tunnel. The tunnel will replace the Mackinac Straits section of the Line 5 pipeline, a 647-mile pipeline that carries 540,000 barrels a day of light crude oil, light synthetic crude, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) to the refineries of Toledo, and the Midwest. The order would not only stop this next generation infrastructure improvement, it would also force the permanent closure of the Line 5 pipeline by May of 2021, devastating the 1,200 Ohioans that work in these petrochemical facilities.
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Toledo Officer Anthony Dia was shot in the chest just after midnight in the parking lot of a Home Depot, and later pronounced dead at a hospital, Police Chief George Kral said at a news conference.
Witnesses told police the man shot the officer with a handgun and then went into a wooded area. At some point, officers heard a single gunshot coming from the woods, Kral said. The gunman, only described as a 57-year-old white male, was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound to the head around 3:15 a.m.
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President Donald Trump is hitting the 2020 campaign trail with Toledo being his first stop in the New Year. Trump will visit Toledo’s Huntington Center on January 9. The registration form is here. You may only register up two (2) tickets per mobile number per event. All tickets are subject to first come, first serve basis. The campaign’s statement is here. It says, “@TeamTrump is coming to Toledo, Ohio for a @realDonaldTrump rally!” .@TeamTrump is coming to Toledo, Ohio for a @realDonaldTrump rally! pic.twitter.com/xVtYZuqsWU — Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) December 23, 2019 They said, “‘Ohio is booming thanks to President Trump and jobs are coming back to the state. Since President Trump’s election, Ohio has added 94,700 new jobs, including 14,700 manufacturing jobs,’ said Michael Glassner, Chief Operating Officer of Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. ‘President Trump is delivering on his promises, and he looks forward to celebrating those successes with the great men and women of Ohio.’” The campaign also said, “JUST ANNOUNCED: #KeepAmericaGreat rally in Toledo, Ohio on Thursday, January 9th!Join us at the Huntington Center with fellow patriots to celebrate America and @realDonaldTrump policies keeping it great. Register for tickets: https://donaldjtrump.com/events/toledo-oh-2020-jan-9”. JUST ANNOUNCED: #KeepAmericaGreat rally in…
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A federal judge in Ohio has dismissed a motion to name Lake Erie, a body of water, as a party in an ongoing lawsuit, calling the request “unusual” and “meritless.” As The Ohio Star previously reported, Toledo voters overwhelming approved of the controversial Lake Erie Bill of Rights in February, a ballot proposition that extended legal rights of the Ohio Constitution to an inanimate object. In response to its passage, Wood County farmer Mark Drewes filed suit, saying the Lake Erie Bill of Rights “violates federal constitutional rights, including equal protection, freedom of speech, and is unenforceable for its vagueness.” In that lawsuit, a nonprofit called Toledoans for Safe Water sought to have Lake Erie named as a party in the case, but U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary ruled against the motion last week. “This unusual request is meritless. The only source of domestic law cited in the motion supporting the ecosystem’s capacity to intervene is the amendment itself,” he wrote in his ruling, referring to the Lake Erie Bill of Rights. “The amendment, however, does not purport to allow intervention by the ecosystem in federal district courts,” he continued. “Some may believe the law should confer legal standing…
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Toledo voters overwhelmingly approved of the controversial Lake Erie Bill of Rights during a special election Tuesday night, but a local former has already filed a lawsuit against it. According to the Toledo Blade, voters approved of the referendum by a 61-39 margin. As The Ohio Star reported Tuesday, the measure extends legal rights guaranteed under the Ohio State Constitution to the body of water. “Since all power of governance is inherent in the people, we, the people of the City of Toledo, declare and enact this Lake Erie Bill of Rights, which establishes irrevocable rights for the Lake Erie Ecosystem to exist, flourish and naturally evolve,” the referendum states. University of Toledo law professor Ken Kilbert called the referendum “unprecedented,” but predicted that it “may well suffer the fate of defeat in the court.” On Wednesday morning, not even 24 hours after the referendum passed, Wood County farmer Mark Drewes filed suit against the Lake Erie Bill of Rights. The lawsuit argues that the Lake Erie Bill of Rights “violates federal constitutional rights, including equal protection, freedom of speech, and is unenforceable for its vagueness,” according to a press release from the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. “Mark’s farm is…
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Voters in Toledo, Ohio went to the polls Tuesday to decide the fate of a “Lake Erie Bill of Rights” ballot proposition, which would extend the legal rights of the Ohio Constitution to an inanimate object. The referendum is the result of a years-long effort to clean up Lake Erie that begin in 2014 after more than 400,000 Toledo residents were told to stop drinking their tap water. According to Michigan Public Radio, a “bright green mass” called cyanobacteria encircled portions of the lake and produced a toxin known as microcystin, which can cause rashes, liver damage, and vomiting if consumed. If passed, the referendum would likely be struck down in the courts, but its placement on the ballot marks an “unprecedented” development nonetheless, according to University of Toledo law professor Ken Kilbert. “This is pretty unprecedented in the U.S. with respect to providing standing or rights for an inanimate object,” Kilbert told ABC 13. “I think it does have some legal flaws and may well suffer the fate of defeat in the court.” Markie Miller of Toledoans for Safe Water said her group will rework the wording of the document and work to get it replaced on the ballot…
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On February 13th, the Citizens for Community Values will join with a group of concerned parents to hold a press conference, imploring the Ohio legislature to expand access to EDChoice Scholarships. Since 2005, EdChoice scholarships have existed been a statewide initiative that gives students the opportunity to receive scholarships to attend private schools, should their local public school perform poorly. The Ohio Department of Education rates each school and district on six components then assigns an overall grade. Overall, Toledo public high schools currently have an “F.” In four of six categories; Achievement, Gap Closing, Graduation Rate, and Prepared for Success, Toledo also has an F. In the remaining 2; Improving At-Risk K-3 Readers and Progress, the district received a “D.” Many local parents have reservations in sending their children to these schools. The concerned parents organizing the press conference all have children who attend private schools local to Toledo, many of which will be entering high school soon. Due to a provision within the law, these private school students, who are not currently receiving scholarships, are ineligible to receive these funds for high school. Therefore, they would have no choice to attend the local public schools or try to pay out-of-pocket, which is an unrealistic expense…
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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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