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Errors, deception preceded deadly nursing home covid outbreaks, inspections show
Regulators found infection control violations in at least three dozen Ohio nursing homes placed the health and safety of patients in “immediate jeopardy” during the COVID pandemic, an Ohio Capital Journal investigation has found. Between allowing nurses with active COVID-19 infections to report for their care duties, placing infected residents in shared rooms with uninfected […]
Ohio’s pandemic politics cast long shadow over omicron surge
After a severe bout of COVID-19 put him in the ICU and left him with significant respiratory systems, Dr. Emily Amin’s patient had questions about getting vaccinated. Most of the COVID-19 patients Amin treats at the Wexner Medical Center are either vaccinated but manage an immune-compromising condition, or unvaccinated. In an interview, Amin recounted how […]
FirstEnergy collected $460 million from customers; auditor unsure if it was spent on bribes
There’s no clear evidence to show the $460 million FirstEnergy Corp. charged its customers went to its stated purpose of modernizing the electric grid, a state-commissioned audit found. After three years of FirstEnergy collecting hundreds of millions via the “Distribution Modernization Rider,” a 2019 Ohio Supreme Court ruling blocked the company from continuing to apply […]
Meet the anti-vax doctor who just won a local school board race
For most the pandemic, Dr. Elizabeth Laffay, a licensed doctor of osteopathic medicine, worked from the outside in. She told state lawmakers that vaccines kill; she touted dubious COVID-19 treatments like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine on talk radio; she stormed a Big Lots with a small and barefaced crowd to protest its mask requirement; and she […]
Ohioans spent $211 million subsidizing two coal plants over last two years
Electric customers across Ohio collectively spent an estimated $211 million via add-on bill charges over the last two years to cover for losses from two coal-fired power plants that continue to bleed millions annually, according to new data from state regulators. The money to the Ohio Valley Electric Corp. (OVEC) — an entity comprised of […]
Ohio is 2nd in nation for COVID-19 deaths over last week
Ohio is second in the nation per capita in terms of the reported COVID-19 death rate over the last seven days, according to a database from The New York Times. Only Wyoming experienced a higher rate of COVID-19 deaths over the past week, the data shows. Nearly 30,000 Ohioans have died of COVID-19, including some […]
Hitting cops, roaming the Senate, smoking pot: DOJ says Ohioans were everywhere Jan. 6
In the big picture of the insurrection, the criminal charges against Alexander Sheppard are unremarkable. Federal prosecutors say Sheppard arrived in Washington D.C. from Powell, Ohio after posting on Facebook that the election was “RIGGED.” He faces five charges, including disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. He wasn’t accused of violence or destruction, but of […]
Dayton utility asks regulators to make electric shutoffs easier
A Dayton area utility company has asked state regulators to relax the rules around shutting off power to customers who are behind on their electric bills. State regulations require utility companies, after filing written notices with customers who owe them money, to send an employee to make a final house call before cutting their power. […]
Election lies get standing ovation at Jim Jordan Q&A
A crowd rose to its feet in applause at a forum last month when a man questioned GOP Congressman Jim Jordan about what he would do about the untrue assertion that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump. Jordan was speaking at a December event hosted by the Lima Community for Medical Freedom […]
Report calls on medical boards to go after COVID “disinformation doctors;” Ohio’s has not
In June, Sherri Tenpenny, a state-licensed doctor of osteopathic medicine and notorious COVID-19 disinformer, baselessly claimed in a televised, government meeting that COVID-19 vaccines “magnetize” recipients and “interface” with cell towers. The comment wasn’t an aberration from Tenpenny, who has in the past described vaccines as a tool of “depopulation.” The Ohio State Medical Board, […]
Ohio Supreme Court dismisses lawsuit targeting vaccine lottery
The Ohio Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit Thursday that alleged the state’s COVID-19 vaccine lottery program was an illegal spend and that mask mandates violate a Holocaust-era ethics doctrine around experiments with human subjects. The court dismissed the suit on legal grounds like standing and jurisdiction and left alone the vaccine conspiracy theories that undergirded […]
Senate votes to allow concealed carry of guns without training or background checks
The Ohio Senate passed legislation Wednesday that will allow any Ohioans 21 and older to carry a concealed weapon, so long as they’re allowed to possess it under state and federal law. Currently, Ohioans must pass a background check and demonstrate proof of eight hours of training to obtain a concealed carry license. Senate Bill […]