Eight individuals were arrested for attempting to buy sex during an anti-human trafficking operation that took place in the northeastern region of the state, according to Attorney General Dave Yost.
The mission, Operation Fouled Out, involved the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission and focused on Cleveland, leading up to the National Basketball Association’s All-Star Game.
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With midterm elections this year, Ohio’s 2022 congressional redistricting plans are under scrutiny. The state lost one congressional district last year, bringing the total number down to 15.
The Ohio Supreme Court recently struck down new redistricted maps and gave the Ohio Redistricting Commission until Feb. 17 to draw new maps. As the deadline approached, the Commission decided they were at an “impasse” and negotiations came to a halt as of this writing.
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City leaders from Bexley, Whitehall, Worthington, and Columbus met with Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts and Franklin County Health Commissioner Joe Mazzola recently to receive an update on the status of the spread of COVID-19 in the community, according to a statement by the city of Columbus.
Currently, each city has local orders in place requiring the wearing of face coverings indoors, however, Dr. Roberts reported that both COVID-19 transmission rates and hospitalizations have continued to decline dramatically. If current trends continue, each city expects to consider lifting local face covering requirements in the coming weeks, according to the press release.
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On Friday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Expo Center & State Fair General Manager Virgil Strickler announced that the 2022 Ohio State Fair will run from July 27th to August 7th.
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Ohio businesses that sell guns and ammunition have moved closer to being allowed to operate under a declared emergency, even though those businesses were not shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ohio Senate now gets House Bill 325 after it passed the House earlier this week. It would prohibit government from using an emergency declaration to close firearms dealers or restrict the lawful ownership of guns. The bill was in response to other states that declared those businesses nonessential during the pandemic.
“Lawful gun owners should never be restricted of their second amendment right as a result of an emergency declaration,” Rep. Mark Fraizer, R-Newark, said.
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According to a U.S. congresswoman from Ohio, the United States Postal Service (USPS) will conduct audits of its policies and procedures after a massive uptick in mail theft and violence against mail carriers has the public up in arms.
“For years now, Central Ohioans have struggled with slow and unreliable USPS deliveries, particularly in the Northland area serviced by the Innis Road branch and Southeast Columbus,” Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03) reportedly said. “These audits are the first step to restoring the rapid, reliable deliveries Americans should expect from their Postal Service. We expect to receive full reports from the USPS following the completion of the audits in the coming weeks, and I will work with local officials to ensure the necessary investments and solutions are put in place.”
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Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released a study Thursday and suggested there is a link between the distribution of COVID-19 pandemic-related stimulus checks and high rates of opioid-related overdoses in his state.
The pandemic and the epidemic of drug overdoses in the U.S. have created a “perfect storm” for high rates of overdose deaths, the authors of the study wrote.
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The embattled chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, Robert A. Paduchik, successfully oversaw a contentious 3.5-hour meeting Friday of the state party’s central committee held at the Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center here, culminating in the committee voting 36-26 in a secret ballot to endorse Gov. R. Michael DeWine, along with the other statewide Republicans incumbents as a slate.
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As President Joe Biden visited and spoke in Ohio Thursday, notable Democratic elected officials from around the state were not in attendance.
According to the Ohio Republican Party (ORP), Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, also a U.S. Senate candidate, was not in attendance for Biden’s speech. Neither was Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) or Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH-13). Ryan, too, is running for U.S. Senate.
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The conservative activist whose tagline is “Make Kindness Great Again” is bringing his #ThePersistence vibe to his tour of Ohio in support of Republican James B. “Jim” Renacci’s gubernatorial campaign.
“Well, I’m not on a bus tour, but I am in a rental vehicle traveling this state of Ohio, and I’m driving myself. I’m not living a fancy life with a chauffeur,” said Scott Presler, who worked as a dog walker and also for a Northern Virginia school system before he dedicated himself to electing Donald J. Trump president in 2016. “I take care of my own business, but I started in Medina, Ohio, doing a Super Bowl, anti-Woke party with Jim Renacci running for governor.”
Presler said he is traveling all over the state to get the word out before the May 3 primary, when Renacci faces Gov. R. Michael DeWine.
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Allowing law enforcement officers to sue for injuries or false claims suffered during riots became closer to becoming law in Ohio.
Democrats and other groups called the bill passed by the Ohio House an attack on free speech, however.
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The Ohio Redistricting Commission announced it will meet Thursday, the same day as a court-ordered deadline to submit its third effort at state legislative maps.
The meeting comes as the two Democrats on the commission have spent the past two weeks calling for meetings and after Republican State Auditor Keith Faber criticized Democrats for not calling a meeting themselves, despite commission rules that require both co-chairs to make the call.
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The Ohio Republican Party’s vice chairman announced Tuesday in an email to all members of the state party’s executive council and the central committee that he intends to block an endorsement of Secretary of State Frank LaRose at Friday’s central committee meeting at Lewis Center’s Nationwide Conference Center.
“Dear Fellow Ohio State Republican Central & Executive Committee members: At our state committee meeting Friday, I plan to move to block the endorsement of Frank LaRose,” wrote Bryan C. Williams, who is also the chairman of the Summit County Republican.
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A controversy over the financial records of the Ohio Republican Party (ORP) erupted in the days leading up to Friday’s meeting of the ORP State Central Committee (ORPSCC), the party’s 66 member governing body, at Lewis Center’s Nationwide Conference Center.The committee is widely expected to endorse Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) at that meeting in his bid for re-election in the contested May GOP primary.
Fork truck billionaire James F. Dicke II (pictured above), one of Ohio’s two National Committeemen on the Republican National Committee, ignited the controversy last month when he sent a message to all 66 members of the ORPSCC. Critics on the ORPCC, led by retired Ernst & Young partner Mark A. Bainbridge , say Dicke’s message materially misrepresents the nature of the financial report, known as an Agreed Upon Procedures report, produced for the ORP by Compass Pointe, a small Indiana accounting firm.
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Ohio lawmakers held the first hearing Tuesday on a bill that would open the state’s school voucher system to all students, offering universal school choice throughout the state.
Currently, school vouchers are available only if a student meets certain criteria regarding disability, family income or school performance. Around 90% of state students attend public schools.
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Former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken’s campaign for U.S. Senate has gained momentum, as Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and former Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway have endorsed the candidate.
Portman, whose seat Timken is running for, detailed that she was the best candidate to win the general election in November, a crucial seat for Republicans to gain control of the chamber.
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The chairman of the Ohio Republican Party denied press credentials to The Ohio Star and its national political editor Neil W. McCabe for Friday’s Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee meeting at Lewis Center’s Nationwide Conference Center.
“I sent your request to Chairman Paduchik, and he asked me to send you this response on the record: ‘Your request for credentials to attend the meeting as a journalist have been denied because The Ohio Star is fake news and you’re not a journalist,’” said Daniel J. Lusheck, the 30-year-old party spokesman and Marine Reserve veteran.
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The mayor of Hudson, Ohio, resigned Monday after saying that allowing ice fishing with shanties could result in prostitution, multiple sources reported
Hudson, Ohio, Mayor Craig Shubert, submitted his resignation Monday morning after saying ice fishing in a shelter could lead to prostitution at a city council meeting in early February, NBC News reported.
“If you then allow ice fishing with shanties, then that leads to another problem — prostitution,” Shubert said, NBC News reported.
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An Ohio lawmaker wants the state to follow several others across the country and have school districts post its curriculum and instruction materials online to give parents better access to what is being taught in classrooms.
The state teacher’s union, however, believes the idea creates distrust between parents and teachers, while adding to the workload of its members.
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Ohio gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci pledged to take action on the drug crisis that has ravaged Ohio and other states throughout the country.
According to Renacci, incumbent Governor Mike DeWine has not taken proper action to limit the spread.
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Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler announced that a federal grand jury returned an eighteen-count superseding indictment charging 13 individuals as part of a drug trafficking conspiracy that sought to distribute illegal drugs in the Akron area.
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Law Enforcement Appreciation Day was celebrated this year on January 9, 2022. The day is dedicated to recognizing and honoring all law enforcement officers who unselfishly serve and protect our communities, often at great risk to themselves and their families.
Unfortunately, there is pervasive negative political and activist rhetoric in American society that undermines support for law enforcement by recasting our men and women in blue as the enemy of an orderly society.
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Governor Mike DeWine on Tuesday announced a round of grants to law enforcement agencies across the state to help with recruitment efforts.
The funds will be awarded to organizations in Clark, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton, Logan, Lucas, Mahoning, Medina, Montgomery, Shelby, and Summit counties.
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The Ohio House has passed a bill that would give employers $25,000 in tax credits to train new drivers in an effort to help companies across the state alleviate a growing truck driving shortage.
House Bill 197, backed by trucking and business organizations, now heads to the Senate. It passed the House, 97-0, this week.
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Ohio State University’s annual “Sex Week,” which begins Sunday, will feature two days for students to meet and thank abortion providers.
“Meet [Student Advocates for Sexual Health Awareness] (SASHA) in the Union on the 1st floor on to help thank abortion providers in Ohio and Texas for the valuable work they do for reproductive rights! We will be creating valentines,” the group’s schedule says.
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Two surveys, conducted by the Harris Poll and commissioned by the Committee for a Better Ohio, showed Republican Jim Renacci leading incumbent Mike DeWine and potential Democratic opponent John Cranley.
The first poll analyzed each Republican candidate’s odds against John Cranley, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the position against Nan Whaley. Renacci has the largest lead of any GOP contender, leading the Democrat by 10 points. DeWine’s lead was only 2 points.
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Ohio’s issues with mail theft and violence against postal workers do not appear to be slowing, as postal workers in Cleveland are taking extraordinary measures to keep thieves from stealing mail.
Just a week after The Ohio Star reported on a string of robberies of postal workers in the Columbus area, Cleveland’s United State Postal Service (USPS) employees have been forced to tape shut their ubiquitous blue mailboxes to prevent thieves from breaking in and stealing mail, according to reports.
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A newly-released poll from candidate Mike Gibbons showed the Republican businessman comfortably ahead of his opponents in the Ohio U.S. Senate race.
According to the survey, Gibbons holds roughly 23 percent of the support in the crowded primary. The closest competitors, Josh Mandel and J.D. Vance, hold 10.8 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively.
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Attorney General Dave Yost (R) is holding a series of forums to spread awareness about elder abuse in the state.
In a press release announcing the next event in the series of forums, called “Responding to Financial Exploitation, Scams and Fraud in Facility Settings,” Yost told the following story of an Ohio senior who was bilked out of his own money:
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Peloton’s plan to build the company’s first U.S. factory in the Toledo area has been scrapped, and the company’s CEO is stepping down, the company announced in a news release.
Peloton also announced it was cutting 2,800 jobs, with the bulk of those coming at its headquarters in New York City. The announcements are part of a cost-saving effort the company expects will save around $800 million.
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The Ohio Supreme Court again sided with the League of Women Voters and tossed out new state legislative district maps for a second time, saying Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission disregarded its initial ruling.
The court ruled, 4-3, the commission’s second attempt that preserved Republican majorities was unconstitutional and ordered the commission to adopt a new plan, saying if the commission would have used its time more wisely and been committed to working together to find a map that met court guidelines, it could have been accomplished.
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Ohio gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci, a Republican primary challenger to incumbent Governor Mike DeWine, promised to appoint an administration official to serve as a pro-life advocate, if he were elected.
According to the candidate, the individual, who would be given the title “Unborn Child Advocate,” would play a key role in his administration.
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Outgoing Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) spoke Monday on the floor of the U.S. Senate on behalf of his bipartisan bill that would rename the Avondale area of Cincinnati.
“I’m pleased to come to the Senate floor today to speak in support of a bill sponsored by the entire Ohio delegation naming the post office in Avondale of Cincinnati, Ohio for two World War II veterans, John Leahr and Herbert Heilbrun,” Portman said. “These two remarkable men, one black and one white, grew up in Avondale, which is a neighborhood [that is] part of Cincinnati, Ohio.”
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The Ohio Supreme Court agreed with two Democrats on the Ohio Redistricting Commission and denied a motion from Attorney General Dave Yost to relegate the two to “friend of the court” status in ongoing legal challenges to new state legislative districts.
Commission co-chair Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, and House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, called Yost’s motion an attempt to silence the two, who had voted against the original maps and ones reconfigured by order of the court.
“I am relieved to see that a fair process is continuing in the courts,” Russo said. “We spoke up for the people against unconstitutional maps, while the Attorney General tried to silence us. AG Yost should not have tried to put his thumb on the scale in this process. Now, we wait the court’s decision on the submitted maps and let the process play out with greater transparency.”
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Director Mary Mertz temporarily renamed three Ohio State Parks to honor current and past players of the Super-Bowl-bound Cincinnati Bengals.
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An Ohio man, Grant Rose, has been convicted on 15 different charges relating to his role in a human trafficking scheme with his girlfriend, according to a release from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
Rose and his girlfriend, Susan Walendzik, trafficked a minor and controlled her by getting her addicted to narcotics and fueling her addiction.
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A new poll of 626 likely Republican primary voters conducted by Public Policy Polling, and commissioned by the Democratic Governors Association, has brutal implications for Ohio Gov. R. Michael “Mike” DeWine, showing his Favorable/Unfavorable rating six points underwater.
The poll shows Republican primary voters are divided over DeWine’s job performance, with 40 percent approving of the job he is doing and 41 percent disapproving,” wrote Minami Yoshizawa, a PPP polling associate, in her analysis memorandum for the DGA.
“His approval rating when it comes to handling the Covid-19 pandemic is also underwater by four points, 40-44,” she said of the poll that was conducted Jan. 25 and Jan. 26. The poll carries a 3.9 percent margin of error.
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An Ohio woman pleaded guilty to charges related to her role in a fraudulent adoption scheme, according to a release from the Department of Justice.
According to the original indictment, Margaret Cole, a 74-year-old woman, ran an international adoption agency based in Strongsville, Ohio.
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Of the nearly 6 million votes cast in Ohio during the November 2020 general election, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose says 27 potentially were illegal and have been referred to local prosecutors.
LaRose sent 62 referrals of potential election fraud to either Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost or other prosecutors. Of those, 31 were noncitizens who registered to vote but did not cast a ballot. The others may have cast a ballot in the 2020 general election or illegally in an earlier election.
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wants to hear from Ohioans impacted by GoFundMe’s initial decision to refund or redirect donations given to demonstrators protesting COVID-19 restrictions in Canada, according to a press release by Yosts’s office.
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Another attempt by a grassroots group to create an Ohio law that would ban vaccination mandates was turned away by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
Yost rejected the summary of a petition for the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Choice and Anti-Discrimination Act, a proposed statue that would require the state to protect the privacy and freedom of Ohioans to abstain from vaccinations or gene therapy without being discriminated against.
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Ohio’s seven-day COVID-19 case rate has now fallen to about the same level of seven-day cases as the state saw in mid-September, when the more deadly Delta variant was the virus’ prominent strain.
As of February 2, Ohio had an average seven-day case rate of 7,806, a drastic drop in that average over a period of just two weeks, according to publicly available data. On January 19, the seven-day average caseload was 27,462 cases.
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The new episode of The Ohio Star Podcast, hosted by Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor for The Star News Network, dropped Thursday.
McCabe interviewed Star reporter Peter D’Abrosca about his interview with Mount Vernon attorney Scott A. Pullins, who is now a candidate for state representative. Pullins is also the attorney for Blystone campaign whistleblower Sarah Chambers.
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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine wants state lawmakers to put the brakes on lowering the state gas tax, saying infrastructure upgrades are needed around the state and those projects create jobs.
A state senator pushing to scale back the tax to pre-2019 levels for at least five years believes now is the right time, however.
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Bernie Moreno, a businessman and Republican running for U.S. Senate, on Thursday suspended his campaign for the GOP nomination.
After meeting with former President Trump, Moreno and Trump cited too many “Trump candidates” as reason to exit the race.
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Mike Pompeo, a former Secretary of State and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency under former President Donald Trump, will be the keynote speaker at events for the Center for Christian Virtue.
According to a release from the group, Pompeo will address the crowd at two separate gatherings: the Spring Celebration Galas in Columbus and Cincinnati.
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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a bill into law that creates more options for telehealth patients and more protections for providers.
The law, in the works for nearly a year, drew praise from The American Cancer Society Action Network and The Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based policy group that has pushed for expanded services since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Ohio investment banker endorsed Monday by Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul in his campaign for U.S. Senate just launched a new commercial with Paul in a $2 million ad buy across the state. In the ad, which is part of a $10 million ad push, the senator said that he believes that Mike Gibbons will be an ally in the fight against President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony S. Fauci. “I’ve stood strong against the mandates of Dr. Fauci, but I need help. That’s why I’m endorsing Mike Gibbons for Senate,” the senator said. “I’m Rand Paul. I know Mike Gibbons will join me in demanding that Fauci is immediately fired and removed from office. Mike’s a tough businessman, not a politician. Mike Gibbons has the courage to stand with me to defeat the Washington machine.” A conservative operative familiar with the Gibbons campaign and its strategy told The Star News Network, while President Donald J. Trump hasn’t gotten involved in Ohio’s GOP Senate primary, Gibbons scored the next best thing. “What makes this such an effective ad is that Paul is the second-most popular politician in Ohio, behind President Trump,” he said. “Mike…
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On Wednesday, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Alison Hatheway blocked an Ohio law for the second time in one year that would require fetal remains from surgical abortions to be cremated or buried.
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Columbus is facing a United States Postal Service (USPS) challenge as several mail carriers have now been robbed at gunpoint and their universal mailbox keys stolen.
“A gunman held up a letter carrier on Partridge Place in north Columbus on Jan. 27 when he was in the middle of his delivery route,” WTTE reported.
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