Category: Ohio

Commentary: Pro-Market Reforms Lead to Fewer Chemical Spills

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East Palestine Train Wreck

The train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio has attracted the ire and attention of the public and government officials. Unfortunately, train disasters are just one of many contributors to the threat posed by environmental contamination. According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data analyzed by The Guardian, the U.S. is averaging one chemical accident every two days. Some of the top culprits are water treatment plants, which regularly use hazardous inputs such as chlorine and sulfur dioxide in their operations. (Mostly) government-owned plants fail to place proper safeguards on these chemicals, resulting in dangerous exposures to the public. Policymakers should consider alternative approaches that incentivize careful treatment operations at affordable prices for consumers.

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National Transportation Safety Board Chair: Norfolk Southern’s New Safety Goals ‘Not Robust Enough’

Hannah Poling

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair said on Sunday that Norfolk Southern’s proposed “six-point strategy” safety plan is “not robust enough,” following multiple mishaps from the railroad giant that included the derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio.

Norfolk Southern’s CEO, Alan Shaw, testified before the U.S. Senate last week over a month after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine creating a fiery catastrophe which jeopardized both the health of residents and the environment.

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Ohio Republicans Reintroduce Bill Prohibiting Cross-Sex Hormones for Minors

Hannah Poling

Ohio Republican lawmakers have reintroduced legislation that would ban providing minors puberty-blocking drugs and cross-sex hormones for “gender transitioning” which it’s sponsors postponed last November rather than rushing it through lame duck.

House Bill (HB) 68 known as the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act sponsored by State Representative Gary Click (R-Vickery) aims to prohibit certain procedures from altering a minor child’s sex.

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Ohio’s Yearly Gas Price Increase Among Nation’s Highest

The Center Square

A new report shows Ohioans have some of the highest gas price increases in the nation from 2022 to 2023.

Zutobi, an online drivers ed organization, analyzed fuel prices in every state and more than 170 countries to create its “Global Gas Prices Report” for 2023. The report shows the states with the cheapest and most expensive gas prices, along states that showed the most significant changes.

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Ohio Senate Bill Seeks to Reduce Police Officer Age Requirement to Address Police Shortage

Hannah Poling

A recently proposed law that is now making its way through the Ohio Statehouse would lower the age requirement for an Ohioan to join the police department.

In Ohio, applicants must currently be 21 years old to become police officers, but Senate Bill (SB) 53 would lower that age limit to 18. Senators Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester) and Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) have sponsored the legislation.

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Top Ohio Guard General Faces No Charges After Shoving Reporter at Public Press Conference

Hannah Poling

The two-star commander of the Ohio National Guard is not facing charges despite the outcry generated by police body camera video that appeared to show the general shoving a journalist during a news conference last month.

Captain Jenna Walton, State Public Affairs officer for the Ohio National Guard told The Ohio Star that “there have been no charges, either civilian or military, filed against MG John Harris, Jr.”

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Ohio Department of Agriculture Conducts Discussion with Concerned Farmers

Hannah Poling

Farmers from the East Palestine region met with officials from the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) on Thursday to discuss the potential effects of last month’s Norfolk Southern hazardous train crash on their crops and livestock.

The conference was held in order to address any worries local farmers might have regarding the forthcoming planting season, even though the ODA has stated it has no reason to believe crops cultivated in the area would be harmful.

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Republican Appeals Court Judge Assigned to Preside over Ohio Abortion Law Injunction

Hannah Poling

Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy assigned Matthew Byrne, a Twelfth District Court of Appeals judge, this week to preside over a state appeal of a preliminary injunction on Ohio’s abortion law.

Byrne takes over for newly appointed Ohio Justice Joe Deters, who recused himself after the abortion clinic plaintiffs argued that he couldn’t rule on the state’s heartbeat bill ban because he was an original defendant on the case when serving as Hamilton County Prosecutor.

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Norfolk Southern CEO Tells US Senate Committee Vinyl Chloride Controlled Burn Decision ‘Made by a Unified Command Under the Direction of the Incident Commander,’ East Palestine Fire Chief Drabick

Hannah Poling

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw faced questions about who authorized the controlled burn at a Senate hearing on Thursday as Washington lawmakers held their first hearing on railroad safety about a month after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio.

U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullins (R-OK) asked Shaw “when the vent and burn process was being made, who made those decisions and what were the considerations other than just burning it and letting the material burn off.”

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Emergency Personnel and Community Health Major Topics of Second Ohio Senate Rail Safety Hearing

Hannah Poling

On Wednesday, health was a major topic of conversation during the second Ohio Senate Select Committee Hearing on Rail Safety, especially the health of the East Palestine community and the emergency personnel that responded to the wreck there.

The East Palestine incident in early February served as the catalyst for the hearing, which featured testimony and questions from the departments of transportation, health, and mental health and addiction services in Ohio.

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Householder, Borges Guilty in Ohio’s Largest Public Corruption Trial

The Center Square

A federal jury found former Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder and former state Republican Party leader Matt Borges guilty of racketeering conspiracy in what federal prosecutors have called the largest public corruption case in state history.

The two each face up to 20 years in prison and will be sentenced in the coming months. Appeals could also be filed.

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Ohio Middle School Scrubs Fifth Grade Gender Identity Lesson After Exposé

Susan Berry, PhD

A middle school in Copley, Ohio, has eliminated a fifth-grade gender identity lesson from its health curriculum following exposure of the lesson at Libs of TikTok, a report Tuesday revealed.

At the outset of a letter sent to parents that was printed on the letterhead of Akron Children’s Hospital, Rachel O’Donnell, fifth-grade health teacher at Copley-Fairlawn Middle School, wrote the program would “cover the physical and emotional changes that can be expected during puberty” and would be taught in a way that was “age-appropriate, scientifically accurate, and non-judgmental.”

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National Transportation Safety Board to Investigate Norfolk Southern Following Train Derailments

Hannah Poling

After a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed last month in East Palestine, Ohio, and a number of other “significant accidents,” the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced Tuesday that it will begin an investigation into Norfolk Southern.

The organization declared that it would investigate the railroad’s safety procedures and culture.
Only a few hours earlier, the railroad had reported that a conductor had been fatally injured at a steel mill in Ohio.

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Norfolk Southern Agrees to Limited Relocation Plan in East Palestine, Activists Say It’s ‘Not Enough’

Hannah Poling

Local activists in East Palestine, Ohio claimed on Monday that their activism has persuaded Norfolk Southern to accept a restricted relocation plan for some residents impacted by the train derailment last month. However, they added that they have no intention of abandoning their demand for justice for the thousands of residents in the area who are struggling as a result of the accident.

The company’s proposal to offer financial help to residents who live within a one-mile radius of the accident site “is not enough,” said River Valley Organizing (RVO), which last week produced a list of five requests for the people of East Palestine and the surrounding area.

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Secretary of State LaRose Says Ohio May Drop Out of Voter Registration Initiative

Hannah Poling

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has alerted the chairman and board of a national bipartisan voter registration initiative that the state may withdraw, as three Republican-led states announced Monday.

Florida, Missouri, and West Virginia announced on Monday that they will no longer participate in the multi-state Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which election officials created to enable states to share voter registration information.

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Norfolk Southern Unveils New Safety Plan Following Second Ohio Train Derailment

Hannah Poling

After its second train derailment in Ohio within a matter of weeks, Norfolk Southern on Monday unveiled a “six-point strategy” to increase safety.

Although Norfolk Southern claimed there were no dangerous commodities on the train, around 20 of a 212-car train derailed on Saturday in Springfield, Ohio. The incident happened about a month after a derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which contained hazardous materials and required hundreds of nearby residents to evacuate for several days.

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Ohio GOP Chairman Triantafilou Rallies Allen County Republicans with New Party Vision

Hannah Poling

Alex Triantafilou, the newly elected head of the Ohio Republican Party, stopped in Lima for the Allen County Republican Party’s monthly luncheon to discuss his vision of what the party can anticipate this year.

According to Triantafilou, they will strive to keep Ohio a “red” state and will concentrate on removing U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and President Joe Biden from office.

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Ohio Think Tank Asks Court to Let States Deal with Water Pollution

Bradley Vasoli

On Friday, a Columbus, Ohio-based think tank submitted a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court asking justices to allow states to enforce against water pollution, pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). 

The 1972 law set up a permitting system for corporate or infrastructural projects that result in the discharge of pollutant materials into rivers, streams or other bodies of water. Under the act, states may undertake their own permitting programs. But last July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a ruling that South Carolina’s program is not strong enough to supersede the federal permit process and therefore citizen lawsuits can effectively nullify the state program. 

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Ohio House Bill Aims to Preserve the Second Amendment

Hannah Poling

Two Republican state Representatives have introduced a bill that aims to reduce firearms regulations and expand Second Amendment rights in Ohio.

House Bill (HB) 51 known as the “Second Amendment Preservation Act” sponsored by state Representatives Mike Loychik (R-Bazetta) and Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland) takes several steps to protect the Second Amendment by adding further protections to the right to bear arms, and removing federal firearms law references from the state firearms control law.

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House Bill Seeks to Reform Ohio’s Child Custody Laws to Support Equal Parenting

Hannah Poling

Two Republican Ohio State Representatives have re-introduced legislation to revise child custody laws to support equal shared parenting in Ohio.

House Bill (HB) 14, known as the “Children Need Both Parents” bill sponsored by State Representatives Rodney Creech (R-West Alexandria) and Marilyn John (R-Richland County), looks to strengthen Ohio families and ensure the best outcome for the children involved with parents who are separated.

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East Palestine Residents Furious as Norfolk Southern CEO Fails to Show Up at Community Town Hall Again

Hannah Poling

After Norfolk Southern CEO failed to appear once more at the town hall meeting and his representative told the audience that the firm “feels horrible” about the crash, East Palestine residents exploded in rage.

Residents of East Palestine were visibly upset at the town hall meeting on Thursday night as they yelled at an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) representative not to “lie to them” and asked, “Where’s Alan?” as railroad CEO Alan Shaw once again failed to appear in the little town.

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Pro-Life Activists Warn Ohio Ballot Initiative Would Eliminate Health and Safety Regulations and Parental Consent for Minor Abortions

Susan Berry, PhD

A ballot measure that would amend the Ohio state Constitution to remove current health and safety protections for women and girls seeking abortion and parental consent requirements for minors seeking the procedure has advanced following certification by the state attorney general’s office.

Pro-life organizations are rallying to oppose the “The Right to Reproductive Freedom With Protections for Health and Safety” initiative that they say will endanger the lives of women and girls seeking abortions.

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Ohio House Republicans Hit Breaks on Appointment of Norfolk Southern Engineer to Open House Seat

Hannah Poling

On Wednesday, the ongoing conflict among Ohio House Republicans emerged once more when they hastily decided not to schedule a vote on filling a House seat vacancy with a Norfolk Southern train engineer.

A screening committee of the House GOP selected Justin Pizzulli, of Franklin Furnace in Scioto County to represent Ohio House District 90 above seven other candidates. If chosen, Pizzulli would replace former state Representative Brian Baldridge (R-Winchester), who resigned after being designated director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture by Governor Mike DeWine.

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Ohio Senate Holds First Train Derailment Hearing on East Palestine Disaster

Hannah Poling

An Ohio Senate committee held its first hearing on the toxic train derailment in East Palestine. The Senate’s Special Committee on Rail Safety had a lot of questions for leaders of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency (OEMA).

On February 3rd, 50 train carriages, 10 of which were carrying hazardous materials, derailed as a result of a technical problem with a rail car axle, according to federal authorities. There was vinyl chloride in five of the vehicles. Hundreds of residents evacuated as a result of the controlled release of poisonous gasses that Norfolk Southern carried out on February 6th to stop an explosion.

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Union Rep Reports: Employees Are Sick After Working on Cleanup for East Palestine Train Disaster

Hannah Poling

According to a union spokesperson for workers who build and maintain railways for Norfolk Southern, those who assisted in the cleanup after the train derailed in Ohio have continued to have migraines and nausea.

In a letter to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Wednesday, Jonathan Long, a union representative for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, claimed that Norfolk Southern, the company that owns the train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, last month, had ordered about 40 workers to clear the wreckage.

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Opens Office Near Site of East Palestine Toxic Train Derailment

Hannah Poling

The head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated on Tuesday that he wants to push the railroad to quickly clean up the mess because he doesn’t want any stigmas associated with the Ohio community where a train crashed and released poisonous chemicals three weeks ago.

The organization on Tuesday opened a office where people may register for cleaning services for their homes and places of business as well as air monitoring within their residences. Also, locals can visit the office to ask officials other queries about the cleanup work.

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Ohio Representative Introduces Bill to Provide Tax Relief to East Palestine Residents

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Republican Ohio Rep. Bill Johnson introduced a bill on Wednesday to provide tax relief to residents affected by a train derailment that cast a toxic chemical plume over an eastern Ohio town.

The East Palestine Tax Relief Act would exempt residents and businesses from paying taxes on any relief payments received after a Norfolk Southern train derailed on Feb. 3, the bill reads. The train carried toxic chemicals including vinyl chloride which were released into the environment days after the derailment through a controlled burn ordered to prevent an explosion.

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Full Video Provides Context to Ohio Educators’ Critical Race Theory Strategy

Hannah Poling
classroom students

In January, a multi-part undercover investigation throughout the state of Ohio revealed that educators were preparing to skirt a potential law against Critical Race Theory (CRT) and are covertly introducing these divisive concepts to their students unbeknownst to their parents.

Following the release of Accuracy in Media’s (AIM) investigation that outraged parents and residents throughout the state some of the exposed school districts attempted to dismiss the investigation as “lacking context.”

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East Palestine Area Residents Living Under Cloud of Uncertainty Since Train Derailment

M.D. Kittle

Don Hauenstein is a Purple Heart Vietnam Veteran who spent a dozen years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He told The Ohio Star he’s never seen anything like the cloud of hazardous materials that hit his hometown nearly a month ago after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed. 

Worse, the retired East Palestine, Ohio, resident said he and many of his fellow community members believe their government isn’t telling the truth about the dangers that exist.

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Columbus City Council Tightens Gun Control on Gun Owners

Hannah Poling

The Columbus City Council approved legislation on Monday giving owners of gun magazines with 30 rounds or more until July 1st to move them out of the city, sell them to a licensed arms dealer outside of Columbus, or turn them over to the city Division of Police.

Although new legislation, Monday’s ordinance amends the gun control legislation passed by City Council on December 5th despite a judge’s order to cease any such action.

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The Wellness Company Pledges Free Medical Care for Victims of East Palestine Train Derailment

Susan Berry, PhD

A new virtual healthcare system that embraces both medical freedom and affordable services has announced its pledge to provide free medical care for the victims of the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment.

“It is clear at this point that the government is absolutely unwilling or unable to assist the men, women, and children of East Palestine, Ohio” said Foster Coulson, founder and chairman of The Wellness Company (TWC), in a press statement Monday.

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Ohio Senators Ask Federal Agencies to Monitor Health of East Palestine Residents over Long Term

Bradley Vasoli

U.S. Senators J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) this week sent a letter to heads of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  (CDC) urging long-term health monitoring of East Palestine, Ohio residents. 

Vance and Brown asked EPA Administrator Michael Regan and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky to guarantee baseline medical testing for those living near the site of the February 3 train derailment. The rail company Norfolk Southern followed the incident with what the company termed a “controlled burn” of five cars containing vinyl chloride. 

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Democrats Request Independent Audit of Ohio Voter Database ‘Purges’

Hannah Poling

Ohio House Democrats are requesting an independent audit of the recent update to the state’s voter registration database, which they claim initially disqualified 16,000 individuals from casting ballots.

State Representatives Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland) and Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) criticized the state’s voter “purges” in a letter to Secretary of State Frank LaRose and demanded transparency.

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Ohio Coalition Seeks to End Qualified Immunity for Government Employees

Hannah Poling

A group of Ohioans wants to try again to change the state’s Constitution to permit lawsuits against government employees.

By placing the proposed amendment on the general election ballot for 2024, the Ohio Coalition to Eliminate Qualified Immunity (OCEQI) aims to close what it refers to as a legal loophole – qualified immunity. Similar measures have been rejected twice before for various reasons.

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Source: Forestry Workers Find Animals Dying at Alarming Rates in Ohio Parks Following East Palestine Train Derailment

Hannah Poling

Although Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, the Environmental Protection Agency, and local officials continue to assure Ohioans that recent air monitoring and water sample tests have shown no concerns with air quality or water quality in East Palestine’s municipal water supply, following the catastrophic train derailment on February 3rd, forestry workers have found that animals are dying at alarming rates.

A source told The Ohio Star that her husband, a wildlife biologist and consultant for the federal forestry, received hundreds of calls on both Sunday and Monday from colleagues who say forestry workers have found hundreds of dead animals in Ohio’s parks.

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Ohio Senate to Hold Hearing on East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment

Hannah Poling

According to Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima), the Senate’s Special Committee on Rail Safety will have its initial hearing to examine the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

The committee will convene in the Senate Finance Hearing Room on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. If the Senate’s voting session runs past that time, the committee will convene immediately after the chamber adjourns.

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Ohio House Representatives Want to be Consulted by Federal and State Authorities on Issues Regarding East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment

Hannah Poling

In the wake of a railroad catastrophe that has continued to worry residents in East Palestine, Ohio, a group of Ohio House members want federal and state authorities to consult with them.

A bipartisan group of 26 state Representatives have sent a letter to the Ohio and United States Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA) on February 22nd requesting that the two organizations “consult and advise” them on any additional potentially needed resources.

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Nonprofit Law Firm Files Lawsuit Against EPA and Local Authorities, for Improper Handling of East Palestine, Ohio Train Disaster

Hannah Poling

A nonprofit public interest law firm called We The Patriots USA (WTP USA) held a press conference Monday, in Akron to discuss newly filed litigation against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local authorities over how they handled the East Palestine railway incident.

WTP USA filled a federal civil rights law suit on Monday at the John F. Seiberling Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Akron, on behalf of Courtney Miller against the United States, the EPA, EPA Administrator Michael Regan, Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel.

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East Palestine, Ohio Residents Urged to Document Health Concerns by Environmental Activist Erin Brockovich

Hannah Poling

There are growing reports of health concerns from residents following the chemical explosion and toxic train derailment that upended the community of East Palestine, Ohio over three weeks ago.

Some residents this month say they have been diagnosed with bronchitis, lung issues, and rashes that doctors and nurses suspect are linked to the chemical exposure.

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