The Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge No. 69 elected Ken Kober as its new president this week.
Kober succeeds Dan Hils, who has served as president of the Cincinnati FOP since 2016.
Read the full story
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Ohio businessman Bernie Moreno for U.S. Senate on Tuesday.
Read the full story
Higher rents and a reduction in pandemic assistance caused a spike in homelessness in Ohio over the past year, according to a group advocating for more affordable housing around the state.
The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio pointed to U.S. Department of House and Urban Development data that showed more than 11,000 Ohioans homeless on one January night in 2023. That number was a 6.9% increase from the previous year’s count.
Read the full story
Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) slammed the recent sale of U.S. Steel Corporation to Japan’s largest steelmaker, Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC), in a statement Monday.
Read the full story
Anheuser-Busch employees part of the Teamsters labor union have voted to authorize a strike.
Read the full story
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Friday the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has agreed to terms that would allow college athletes who have transferred more than once to be immediately eligible to play with “no retaliation” as part of an antitrust lawsuit filed by Yost.
Read the full story
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine plans to include the health of the state’s large rivers in the ongoing H2Ohio program aimed at water efforts.
Since 2019, H2Ohio has predominantly worked on water infrastructure in low-income areas, wetland creation and reducing algal blooms. Now the program will expand to research PFAS contamination, remove eroding dams, conserve forest buffers and more.
Read the full story
For nearly a year, Ohio lawmakers have been trying to stop the state from using driver’s license suspension as a punishment for things unrelated to driving.
The idea has support from Republicans, Democrats and countless other professional, policy and social groups. Still, despite four hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee, it has yet to move to a full vote in the Senate.
Read the full story
Former Ohio U.S. Representative Bob Gibbs endorsed Kevin Coughlin’s campaign for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District this week.
“I served with Kevin Coughlin in the Ohio Senate. He is a proven, dependable conservative who can be counted on in Congress to stand up for taxpayers. Kevin knows how to get things done and will quickly become an effective voice for the 13th District,” Gibbs said in a statement.
Read the full story
The Ohio General Assembly has passed and sent a bill that would protect women in sports and ban gender-affirming procedures from being performed on minors to Governor Mike DeWine’s desk.
Read the full story
The state of Ohio wants local governments to buy, rehabilitate, or build residential properties to improve affordable access.
The state will give local landbanks $100 million over the next 16 months to create housing for income-eligible Ohioans. It is also establishing another $50 million in nonrefundable tax credits to landbanks and developers for rehabs and new construction when the property is sold.
Read the full story
U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) sent a letter to Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason on Tuesday expressing his concern over a bill in the Irish parliament.
The bill, introduced last year, would combat “hate speech” by amending Irish law “relating to the prohibition of incitement to violence or hatred against a person or a group of persons on account of certain characteristics (referred to as protected characteristics) of the person or the group of persons.”
Read the full story
A new Morning Consult poll released on Monday shows former President Donald Trump leading the 2024 GOP presidential primary field in 26 states, including Ohio.
Read the full story
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce believes the state should spend more than $1 million to create a special task force to combat the growing trend of organized retail theft.
Almost six months after the chamber formed a Crime Task Force, the group focused on organized retail theft as it issued its findings report and legislative recommendations.
Read the full story
Ohio plans to build two dozen fast electric vehicle charging stations after it became the first state to open a charger funded by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program.
The announcements come as car dealers across the country told President Joe Biden electric vehicles continue to stack up on car lots, as previously reported by The Center Square.
Read the full story
Kent State University has embedded DEI efforts throughout its academics and programming in recent years, creating a new Division of People, Culture and Belonging and adding administrators, faculty, and projects centered around the ideology, a College Fix analysis found.
The new division, established in September, merged the Human Resources department and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices. The rebranding came as Buckeye State lawmakers considered legislation to ban mandatory DEI in higher education.
Read the full story
Ohio plans to give another $175 million in taxpayer money to communities around the state to clean up contaminated properties and get them ready for use again.
The new money adds to the $350 million the state handed out for 313 projects in 83 counties earlier this year. Gov. Mike DeWine says it gives sites a second chance at life.
Read the full story
The Ohio House of Representatives isn’t giving up on making daylight saving time permanent.
After passing a resolution 69-20 that urges Congress to stop the time change twice yearly, the House sent it to the Senate for consideration.
Read the full story
A federal grand jury has charged the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), Samuel Randazzo, 74, with crimes related to bribery and embezzlement, according to the Southern District of Ohio U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Read the full story
Despite objections from teacher organizations, the NAACP, the ACLU, physicians and social workers, an Ohio House committee passed a bill to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion training at Ohio colleges and universities.
Senate Bill 83, which has passed the Senate and heads to a full House vote after an 8-7 vote Wednesday in the House Workforce and Higher Education Committee, also bans what it calls “controversial beliefs or policies,” including issues like climate change, electoral politics, foreign policy, immigration policy, marriage or abortion.”
Read the full story
Less than two days from recreational marijuana use becoming legal in Ohio, lawmakers want to make some changes.
Senate Republicans added the changes to a bill that passed the House in June and would revise some of the state’s liquor laws.
Read the full story
Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday in response to a recent column in The Washington Post appearing to encourage an insurrection against a potential Donald Trump presidency.
Read the full story
After the COVID-19 pandemic moved nearly all public government meetings online, Ohio lawmakers believe allowing public bodies to meet virtually will increase public participation.
Rep. Jim Hoops, R-Napoleon, said he was skeptical of allowing boards to do public business virtually, but that changed following the pandemic.
Read the full story
U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) introduced a bill to ensure colleges and universities comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
In June, SCOTUS determined that affirmative action violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, overruling a 2003 opinion that race could be a determining factor in the college admissions process.
Read the full story
A law legalizing recreational marijuana will take effect in Ohio beginning Thursday, meaning adults over 21 will be allowed to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and up to 15 grams of marijuana concentrate.
Read the full story
Replacing property taxes with a land value tax could spur development in Ohio, according to several state economists.
Under a land value tax, property taxes would be levied based on the value of the underlying land and not on any buildings or other improvements at the site.
Read the full story
Moody’s Investor Services has upgraded Ohio’s credit issuer rating to “Aaa” from “Aa1” and revised the state’s financial outlook from “stable” to “positive.”
Read the full story
Two men from Columbus have pleaded guilty in a case involving the armed robbery of a United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier, according to the Southern District of Ohio U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Read the full story
Penguin Random House, authors and teachers with the Iowa State Education Association filed a lawsuit against Iowa State Board of Education officials on Thursday, claiming that a law banning pornographic books in schools is unconstitutional, according to court documents.
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the law, SF496, in May, which bars books discussing gender identity in kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms and requires educators to keep parents informed if their child expresses a desire to change their gender identity, according to the Associated Press. The plaintiffs, however, argued in the lawsuit that the ban is “unconstitutionally vague.”
Read the full story
The process to remove abortion restrictions in Ohio is under way after voters enshrined abortion rights in the state’s constitution in November.
Reps. Anita Somani, D-Dublin, and Beth Liston, D-Dubin, formally introduced legislation to ease the restrictions but no hearings have been set in the House.
Read the full story
Morgan Keller was a gender-dysphoric female when she was sold a bill of goods wholly different than what she received when she was given synthetic testosterone treatment and weeks later had both of her breasts carved off her chest.
Keller shared her story at the Ohio Statehouse talking in support of Ohio House Bill 68 (HB 68) – legislation aimed at both protecting women’s sports from males and barring drugs and surgeries for minors who begin transitioning to a sex opposite that of their birth.
Read the full story
Five Ohio public employees appealed a ruling that allowed union dues to be taken from their paychecks for months.
A lower court ruling said the issue is an unfair labor practice, giving jurisdiction to the State Employment Relations Board rather than a court.
Read the full story
The Ohio Republican Party released a statement denouncing the Ohio Democratic Party’s announcement of its full slate of candidates for the 2024 state Supreme Court race.
Read the full story
Ohio voters moved closer to removing redistricting from the General Assembly.
A potential constitutional amendment received approval from the Ohio Ballot Board, and now organizers begin the process of gathering enough valid signatures for the questions to appear on the ballot next year.
Read the full story
Ohio gun owners moved a step closer to guarantees that federal laws could not be used to take away those guns.
The Ohio House Government Oversight Committee recently advanced the Second Amendment Preservation Act, which would stop Ohio law enforcement agencies from enforcing what the act calls unconstitutional federal gun control laws, executive orders or agency rule interpretations.
Read the full story
The state of Ohio’s consultant for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is facing a state investigation after publishing a Forbes column on “decentering whiteness.”
Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance announced he would pursue an investigation into BWG Business Solutions, which was founded and headed by Janice Gassam Asare, who wrote the Forbes article.
Read the full story
Ohio plans to spend $500,000 in taxpayer funds to reimburse colleges and universities across the state for K-12 teacher continuing education programs called “Teacher Bootcamps.”
The program puts teachers in local businesses to expose them to in-demand career skills specific communities need. According to Gov. Mike DeWine, that will help teachers better prepare students for a career after graduation.
Read the full story
Ohioans will pay less for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner this year than the rest of the nation.
The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation released its survey of prices for a shopping basket filled with a turkey, milk, pumpkin pie mix and the rest of the items that make a traditional Thanksgiving table to feed 10.
Read the full story
Despite remaining below the national average, Ohio’s job market dipped in October.
According to figures released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the state’s unemployment average increased from 3.4% to 3.6%, while the labor force participation rate fell from 62.1% to 62%.
Read the full story
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has analyzed historical traffic data to determine the worst times for travel in Ohio’s major metro areas this Thanksgiving.
Read the full story
As the push continues to transition to electric vehicles around Ohio and the country, state lawmakers want consumers to have a choice.
Senate passage and a signature from Gov. Mike DeWine are all that’s needed to stop the state from signing on to or taking steps to mandate emissions standards through emergency protocols established in the Clean Air Act of 1970.
Read the full story
A plan Ohio lawmakers say would guarantee free speech for students and staff at the state’s public K-12 schools is now in the hands of the Senate.
Specifically, the legislation requires school districts, community schools and STEM schools to have a policy against using statements of commitment to or soliciting or requiring specified individuals to affirmatively ascribe to specific beliefs, affiliations, ideals or principles concerning political movements or ideology.
Read the full story
Emerson College Polling and WJW-TV Fox 8 Cleveland published results of a poll on Thursday revealing how likely voters in Ohio would vote in the 2024 presidential and Senate race.
In the 2024 presidential election, the poll shows former President Donald Trump with a 12-point lead (50 percent-38 percent) over incumbent President Joe Biden in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup in the Buckeye State while 12 percent of voters remain undecided.
Read the full story
Local governments in Ohio could soon expand concealed carry laws and allow citizens to carry guns in courtrooms.
House Bill 272, which recently had its fourth hearing before the House Government Oversight Committee but has yet to be voted on, would allow local governments to create an exception to carry a deadline weapon into a building that contains a courtroom when court is not in session.
Read the full story
Contractors and larger employers in Ohio could soon be required to verify the immigration status of employers based on a proposed new law.
Reps. Scott Wiggam, R-Wayne County, and D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, recently introduced legislation that would make contractors and subcontractors verify the immigration status of employees to work on public works construction projects.
Read the full story
Former Ohio state lawmaker and current business owner Kevin Coughlin launched his campaign for Ohio’s 13th congressional district on Monday. Coughlin, a Republican, is a fourth-generation resident of Summit County.
Read the full story
An Ohio lawmaker already has plans for an expected boost to state revenues following voter approval of recreational marijuana.
State Rep. Cindy Abrams, R-Harrison, plans a Tuesday news conference to outline her proposed legislation that would use $80 million of marijuana tax money over the next two years as a permanent funding source for training the state’s law enforcement officers.
Read the full story
The left-wing think tank, polling firm, and political advocacy group Data for Progress recently published results of its poll revealing how likely voters in Ohio would vote in the 2024 presidential and senate race.
Read the full story
The U.S. Census Bureau is under fire for embracing progressive ideology around gender and sexuality and pushing for taxpayer dollars to fund it.
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and JD Vance, R-Ohio, sent a letter to the U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos calling on him to rescind its plan to incorporate a gender identity and sexuality questions to the American Community Survey, which goes to more than 3.5 million Americans each year.
Read the full story
Changes are expected to come to Ohio’s newly passed legalization of recreational marijuana.
Lawmakers have 30 days to make amendments to the law that easily passed Tuesday night as an initiated statute rather than a constitutional amendment.
Read the full story