As it is now autumn, Ohio is bustling with fall festivals and activities for the whole family to participate in.
Fall in Ohio is an autumnal wonderland of foliage, festivals, and all things pumpkin no matter what area of the state you are visiting. Outside of classic apple picking, hayrides, and pumpkin patches Ohio is full of unique activities to make the season memorable.
Read the full story
A Columbus, Ohio-based think tank this week prevailed in an administrative case on behalf of a Washington, D.C. tavern owner against D.C.’s since-rescinded mandate forcing indoor establishments to require that patrons wear masks and submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
The Buckeye Institute handled the matter for Eric Flannery, a Navy veteran and co-proprietor of The Big Board, a bar and grill operating three blocks east of Washington’s Union Station. Despite the city’s mask and vaccine-card rules, Flannery announced that “everyone is welcome” at his restaurant. This winter, the D.C. Department of Health (DOH) officials responded by suspending the tavern’s operating and liquor licenses, ordering the place to temporarily shutter and slapping Flannery with a $2,000 fine.
Read the full story
A four-month-long operation led by federal prosecutors and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) resulted in the seizure of 4,766,788 deadly doses of fentanyl in northern Ohio.
The agencies announced on Tuesday that the operation was part of the nationwide initiative “One Pill Can Kill.”
Read the full story
A new Ohio law HB30 that went into effect at the end of August is requiring Amish buggies and other animal-drawn vehicles to display a new type of high visibility tape and a yellow flashing light when on public streets.
As law enforcement in Northeast Ohio begins to enforce this law they have strived to educate the Amish community about the new requirements.
Read the full story
Ohio Democrat Senate nominee Rep. Tim Ryan says he has been “very clear” that President Joe Biden should not run for reelection in 2024.
Ryan made the comment Monday night in a debate with GOP rival J.D. Vance.
Read the full story
A new event in the forum series American Greatness PAC is hosting throughout the Buckeye State will take place in the Cincinnati area on Tuesday, November 1, one week before Election Day.
The forum is the third the conservative political action committee is hosting, having already held an event in the Cleveland-Akron-Canton region and planning a forum that will occur east of Columbus on October 25 but for which tickets are no longer being sold online.
Read the full story
House Bill 497 sponsored by Representatives Gayle Manning (R- North Ridgeville) and Phil Robinson (D- Solon) would eliminate student retention under Ohio’s Third-Grade Reading Guarantee.
Ohio’s Third-Grade Reading Guarantee is a program utilized to identify students who are behind in reading from kindergarten through third grade. Since the 2013-14 school year, third graders must obtain a 685 score or higher on a standardized reading test or they will be held back a grade.
Read the full story
On Columbus Day 2022, the disconnect between institutions over whether to commemorate Christopher Columbus persisted, with many organizations aligned with progressives and the Democratic Party making no mention of America’s discoverer and celebrating “Indigenous People’s Day” instead.
Conservative politicians and candidates happily celebrated the holiday.
Read the full story
House Bill 496, sponsored by State Representative J. Kyle Koehler (R-Springfield), seeks to regulate the practice of certified midwives and certified professional midwives.
“Currently, non-nurse midwives in Ohio are legally prohibited from administering lifesaving pharmaceuticals, despite their extensive training. By licensing midwives, we are allowing midwives the opportunity to legally practice at the top of their scope and provide the safest care possible,” Rep. Koehler told The Ohio Star.
Read the full story
Several counties in Ohio are looking to use drones to respond to calls for critical injury, surveillance, security, accident reconstruction and measuring, evidence gathering, and fatal crashes.
Drone Pilot, Helicopter Pilot, and Supervisor of the Traffic Unit, Sargent Steven Poff with Butler County Sheriff’s Office, told The Ohio Star that there is a time and place to use a drone.
Read the full story
by Debra Heine Republican author and lawyer J.D. Vance leads Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan 46 percent to 44 percent in the U.S. Senate race in Ohio, according to GOP polling firm Cygnal. The survey of likely general election voters in Ohio also gave Republican Governor Mike DeWine a strong lead in the gubernatorial race, and Ohio Republicans leading in the races for Secretary of State, and Attorney General. Additionally, the poll showed that a near majority of Ohio voters (49.2) have a very unfavorably opinion of the job Joe Biden is doing. Overall, 57.2 percent of Ohioans disapproved of Biden’s job performance, the survey found. Vance did best among male voters, while Ryan performed best among female voters. Republican Governor Mike DeWine has a powerful +22 lead over Lt. Governor Jon Husted on the Gubernatorial ballot (56.9 percent to 34.6 percent) in the Cygnal poll. The survey also found that Republicans have a +6 advantage over Democrats (49.9 percent to 43.8 percent) on the generic congressional ballot in the state. Another 6.3 percent of likely voters were unsure of which party they preferred. Significantly, the poll found that most Ohioans are pessimistic about the direction of the country, with 63.8 percent…
Read the full story
On Friday, the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas sided with Ohio abortionists in granting a preliminary injunction against a law forbidding termination of pregnancies in cases when the unborn child has a detectible heartbeat.
Governor Mike DeWine (R) signed the Heartbeat Act in 2019, though the statute could only take effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision this June. Judge Christian Jenkins (D) placed a freeze on the law pending a determination. The state of Ohio is expected to appeal the injunction.
Read the full story
A new bill in the Ohio Senate, Senate Bill 360, aims to increase paid parental leave for state employees.
State Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) introduced the bill which would extend paid parental leave for state employees from six weeks to twelve weeks for parents of newborn or adopted children. This bill would also eliminate the waiting period of two- weeks which is required prior to accessing paid parental leave.
Read the full story
Ohio’s teachers union believes a bill in the General Assembly that would reduce requirements for veterans to become teachers would also reduce the quality of education in the state.
A bill introduced in the state Senate would allow school boards across the state to hire military veterans as teachers and be deemed to hold a teaching certificate.
Read the full story
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wants a judge to cut attorneys’ fees by $10 million as ratepayers near a settlement in a class action lawsuit with FirstEnergy.
Yost filed an objection in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Ohio against the lawyers’ plan to receive a third of the $49 million settlement that still needs final approval from Judge Edmund Sargus.
Read the full story
In a new television advertisement, Ohio Democratic congressional candidate Greg Landsman, who is challenging longtime Cincinnati-area incumbent Steve Chabot (R-OH-1), suggests in contrast to his actual record that he consistently supported robustly funding police.
The spot, which features Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey (D) and Cincinnati City Councilman Scotty Johnson (D), posits that Landsman actually backed substantially increased funding for law enforcement in his tenure as a Cincinnati City Council member. These officials blast Republicans for insisting that Landsman wanted to defund city police.
Read the full story
Pro-abortion Ohio state representatives are following up the anti-abortion Ohio March for Life that occurred earlier this week by championing a bill to codify rights established by the obsolete Roe v. Wade decision.
Representatives Michele Lepore-Hagan (D-Youngstown) and Jessica Miranda (D-Forest Park) introduced the policy in May and it has yet to receive committee consideration, let alone a vote of the House chamber. The bill lacks sufficient time for passage and both the GOP-controlled legislature and pro-life Governor Mike DeWine (R) are poised to reject it if they remain in power. But in a year when Democrats face an uphill fight in the Buckeye State, the party is investing much hope in abortion advocacy to better its electoral fortunes.
Read the full story
Global Media Company, Forbes, announced Wednesday that Ohio will be the host of the Under 30 Summit from 2023 through 2025.
The annual Summit, presented by JobsOhio will occur in three different Ohio cities over the next three years. It will first be held in Cleveland in 2023 and will then be followed by Cincinnati and Columbus in the following two years.
Read the full story
A new bill in the Ohio Senate, Senate Bill 361, aims to address the current teacher shortage by allowing veterans to become teachers without having a background in education provided they pass a particular set of criteria set forth in the bill.
State Senator Frank Hoagland (R-Mingo Junction) sponsored the bill, which allows a veteran to become an educator by completing four years of service, being honorably discharged, or receiving a medical separation.
Read the full story
Three local school districts in Ohio are teaching students about where the food they eat at school is grown, as well as adding to the overall menu variety, as part of a pilot program through Feed Our Future’s Local Menu Takeover.
This pilot program started last year in Northeast Ohio, and this year, three Cincinnati school districts have committed to serving only locally sourced meals this week as part of Farm to School Month.
Read the full story
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio March for Life – together with the Center for Christian Virtue – held the first of what they hope to be a new tradition of annual gatherings to March for Life on the Capital Square in front of the state house on Wednesday.
“So many people in our lives said that Roe v Wade would never be overturned. Now we have the opportunity to say no more holding us back. The fight in Ohio is just beginning. All of us together using our voices to ensure abortion will no longer happen here in Ohio. We need pro-life, pro-family policies where families flourish and children are protected. We need to be able to say that not only is abortion illegal in Ohio it’s unthinkable. We want to make Ohio the most pro-life state in the nation,” State Representative Jena Powell (R-Arcanum) told the exuberant crowd.
Read the full story
Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced Wednesday the establishment of the Public Integrity Division. The newly-formed office, he said, will be dedicated to maintaining secure, accurate, and accessible elections in the state of Ohio.
“It’s time that we have it. We are consolidating several things that already exist. All of those are existing functions in our office but by putting them all under one roof with trained professionals we can do this work much better,” LaRose told The Ohio Star.
Read the full story
Pro-lifers who marched on Ohio State Capitol Square in Columbus on Wednesday had some cause for celebration in light of the June Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. But marchers also had much to lament, including an increase in the number of abortions performed in the Buckeye State.
According to the Ohio Department of Health’s recent report titled “Induced Abortions in Ohio, 2021,” deliberate killing of unborn children via surgery or medication rose seven percent from 2020 to the following year. In total, 21,813 pregnancies were so terminated in the state in 2021, 95 percent of those terminations obtained by women who reside in Ohio.
Read the full story
Governor Mike DeWine (R) announced this week that a new $12.3 million funding package would go to local law enforcement agencies to address violent crime, with Cleveland and Cuyahoga County getting two-thirds of those funds.
Nearly $1 million will go to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office, mainly to hire three new staff attorneys to help the jurisdiction make headway in its backlog of sexual and domestic violence cases. The Cleveland Division of police, the Cleveland State University Police Department and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office will meanwhile receive an approximate total of $6.5 million, largely to enhance police-officer pay. Euclid’s Police Department will also get $107,000, for technological improvements.
Read the full story
State Representative Tom Patton (R-OH-Strongsville) is spearheading an effort to end property taxation for fully disabled military veterans and their surviving spouses in the Buckeye State.
According to the legislature’s official analysis of Patton’s bill, Ohio presently exempts $50,000 of the assessed value of homes owned by honorably discharged veterans who the federal Department of Veterans Affairs has given a 100-percent disability rating. Individuals so designated are considered severely impaired and unable to function professionally. A deceased veteran’s surviving wife or husband can access the exemption if the veteran received the benefit the year he or she died, lived at the residence during the veteran’s passing and continues to own that home.
Read the full story
Several Ohio public libraries are implementing toy lending where families can use their library cards to check out not only books but also developmental toys and educational materials.
Toys can be expensive to purchase which can be difficult for some parents and it’s hard to know which toys a child will connect with, enjoy, and want to play with over and over again.
Read the full story
Ohioans will vote on allowing judges to consider public safety when setting bail and on local governments allowing only U.S.citizens to vote in local elections during the upcoming election on November 8th.
Both statewide issues have made their way through the Ohio House and Senate to be voted on in the Ohio General Election. They are State Issue 1 known as the Community Safety Amendment and State Issue 2 known as the Citizenship Voting Requirement Amendment.
Read the full story
Governor Mike DeWine (R) on Friday announced a plan to expand a number of social services in Ohio, including an increase in eligibility for Medicaid for pregnant women and children whose families make up to three times the federal poverty level.
The policy enlarges upon his Bold Beginning Initiative, which has already spent about $1 billion on services to expectant families. The broadening of Medicaid would make the program available to single expectant mothers earning up to $54,930 annually and to families of three earning as much as $69,090 per year. Legislative approval would need to occur for this measure to take effect.
Read the full story
According to state reports, many Northeast Ohio school district buses are not passing their state inspections.
The Ohio Star viewed numerous reports of state bus inspections from Northeast Ohio school districts from June 2021 through August 2022. These reports update monthly, and the reports obtained only reflect percentages from June 2021 to last month.
Read the full story
Ohio school districts would not be able to discourage or prohibit parental involvement in decisions about their child’s mental health if the General Assembly passes a recently-introduced Parents Bill of Rights Act.
House Bill 722 would require schools to draft a policy that promotes parental involvement in their child’s education in honor of that policy.
Read the full story
An Ohio nonprofit policy research group criticized state approval of up to $650 million in tax breaks for Intel’s $20 billion project in central Ohio, saying the money could be used for schools or seniors rather than large corporations.
Policy Matters Ohio, a Cleveland-based research group, called the Ohio Tax Credit Authority’s approval earlier this week of the incentives a missed opportunity and challenged the state’s openness and accountability.
Read the full story
Over two years removed from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio students are still struggling to succeed in the classroom, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
The latest release of state test scores shows that 51% of students were unable to pass high school algebra in 2022, compared to 39% before the pandemic, according to state test data reported by the Dispatch. In addition to math scores, reading scores fell below pre-pandemic levels at a 33.5% proficiency.
Read the full story
Ohioans will be going to the polls for early voting beginning in October.
Starting on October 12th, Ohio residents who are registered to vote can either physically go to the polls or can participate through absentee voting by mail.
Read the full story
U.S. Representative Tim Ryan (D-Ohio-13) spurred a firestorm of Republican reprehension this week after he declared himself unable to attend House proceedings “due to the ongoing public emergency” and then went to Los Angeles, California for a fundraiser.
Ryan reportedly traveled to the Hollywood home of Jay Sures, currently the vice chair of United Talent Agency, for a campaign event expected to bring $100,000 into the congressman’s coffers. The candidate, who faces Republican attorney, venture capitalist and author J.D. Vance on November 8, permitted Representative Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4) to cast proxy votes in his absence. Later on Ryan’s agenda during his Golden-State visit was a Thursday-morning event featuring numerous Hollywood celebrities, including actors Brian Tyler Cohen and Howie Mandel.
Read the full story
In response to 8 Ohio schools going into lock down on Friday, due to an internet hoax that sent false reports about active shooters on their campuses, additional support has been gathered for Senator Andrew Brenner’s (R-Delaware) bill (SB292) to stop ‘swatting’ and making fake emergency calls a felony in the state.
According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, ‘swatting’ is: to make a false report of an ongoing serious crime in order to elicit a response from law enforcement (such as the dispatch of a SWAT unit)
Read the full story
Ohio Task Force 1 along with Ohio First Responders and American Electric Power “AEP” are deployed to Florida for Hurricane Ian relief. Hurricane Ian is anticipated to make landfall between Wednesday and Thursday and preparations are being made.
As a result of Hurricane Ian strengthening to a Category 4, on Saturday morning at 7:00 am the Federal Emergency Management Agency known as “FEMA” deployed Ohio Task Force 1.
Read the full story
Ohio officials are expected to return to court in Hamilton County for a hearing Oct. 7 after a judge extended a ban on the state’s fetal heartbeat bill for another 14 days.
The decision continues to allow abortions in the state through 20 weeks, pausing a state law that stopped most abortions after the first fetal heartbeat is detected, which is usually around six weeks. The law, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine in April 2019, went into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this year.
Read the full story
Ohio plans to spend more than $2 million worth of federal COVID-19 relief funds on more than two dozen local drug task forces around the state, Gov. Mike DeWine announced.
The money, DeWine said, would be used to disrupt drug trafficking and promote substance use awareness, prevention and recovery.
Read the full story
Democratic Ohio Senate nominee Tim Ryan previously called for a ban on gas cars; however, in one of his campaign ads Ryan was featured driving a large, gas-guzzling SUV.
Ryan, who is also a congressman, indicated that Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont’s plan to ban gas vehicles by 2040 did not go far enough during a 2019 interview after a Democratic primary presidential debate. However, in a campaign video, Ryan drove around his hometown in a 2020 GMC Yukon, which has a fuel efficiency of roughly 13 miles per gallon, according to the Department of Energy.
Read the full story
Ohio congressional candidate J.R. Majewski appeared on the War Room with Stephen K. Bannon and Always Right Radio with Bob Frantz this week to corroborate Majewski’s record of military service, something political opponents and media figures have recently assailed.
Majewski is a Republican Air Force veteran running to unseat 40-year U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9) in a district that encompasses many of the state’s northwestern and north-central communities including Toledo. The newly redrawn House district is one of five that former President Donald Trump won in 2020 but to which a Democratic incumbent seeks reelection.
Read the full story
Wednesday morning on Always Right with Bob Frantz, host Frantz welcomed Republican candidate for Congress in District Nine, J.R. Majewski to the show to set the record straight on his combat veteran status amidst character assassinations on his record.
Read the full story
A source inside J.R. Majewski’s campaign for U.S. Congress told The Ohio Press Network (OPN) that the Associated Press (AP) unearthed a document involving the candidate driving drunk in 2001, the incident refutes a statement the Republican candidate’s campaign made and that the outlet intends to release the new information today.
Read the full story
A group of Ohio economists disagree over moves by the state and the country as a whole toward electric vehicles and whether government investment in electric vehicle infrastructure is cost-effective.
Nearly half of the 19 economists at Ohio colleges and universities surveyed by Scioto Analysis said the state’s current $200 annual fee for registering electric vehicles is progressive, while a little more than half believed spending tax dollars on EV infrastructure is likely to be more cost-effective than providing the same amount in tax credits.
Read the full story
A Cuyahoga County, OH court this week ruled in favor of a Pennsylvania resident employed in Cleveland who argued she did not need to pay taxes to that city for work she did from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plaintiff, Dr. Manal Morsy, executive vice president at the Athersys biotechnology company who lives in the southeastern Pennsylvania town of Blue Bell, would commute to Cleveland and stay through her workweeks before COVID hit in 2020. Whenever she worked outside of Cleveland previously, she would receive income-tax refunds from the municipality. Pursuant to a state law passed in March 2020 which stated that work from home during the public emergency would be deemed to take place “at the employees principal place of work,” the city collect the municipal income tax from her employer without refunding it.
Read the full story
Ohio residents on October 5 can participate in the first Statewide Ohio March for Life at the State Capitol in Columbus.
Ohio Right to Life, in partnership with the national March for Life Organization and Center for Christian Virtue, has organized this pro-life advocacy event.
Read the full story
Cities throughout the state have been responding to safety concerns from residents about online purchases by creating monitored safe zones at police stations for transfers of goods.
There are several online platforms such as online auctions, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace, where buyers and sellers will need to meet in person to make a transaction.
Read the full story
House Bill (HB) 371 “The Breast Cancer Bill” was signed into law Friday by Governor Mike DeWine. The new legislation brings more access to additional breast cancer screenings for all women throughout the state.
“The bill originally passed the Ohio House with zero opposition testimony, and 89 representatives voting in favor and only two against – a rarity for politics, even in Ohio. With bipartisan support, and unanimous support from Ohio’s medical community, HB 371 is a powerful example of what laws can accomplish,” the bill’s joint sponsor and State Representative Sedrick Denson (D-Cincinnati) said.
Read the full story
The Columbus, OH-based Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday defending Minnesota widow Geraldine Tyler’s right to the profit from the forced sale of her home.
Tyler’s one-bedroom Minneapolis condominium was taken and sold by Hennepin County after the elderly resident could no longer afford her real-estate taxes. She quickly moved out of the condo in 2010, determining she could not safely stay in light of rising violent crime. For five years she incurred tax debt on the original residence while paying rent on a new apartment.
Read the full story
PLAIN CITY, Ohio – The Ohio Republican Council of Clubs along with Turning Point Action held the second of what they hope will many Ohio Freedom Rallies on the Scheiderer Farm in Plain City, Ohio Sunday.
Read the full story
Ohio new business startups broke a downward trend in August, but not enough to return to levels from a year ago.
The state registered 15,815 new business filings in August, slightly higher than July, which represented a six-month low and four consecutive month of declines, Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced.
Read the full story