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After two rejections, is Ohio attorney general slow-walking anti-gerrymandering amendment?
One might think that a movement associated with a former state Supreme Court chief justice could draft a petition summary that passes legal muster. But twice already, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has rejected summaries of a petition to put an anti-gerrymandering amendment on Ohio’s November 2024 ballot. So far, nobody’s explicitly accusing Yost of […]
Deportation proceedings at a record clip, but far outstrip court capacity
The number of deportation proceedings against undocumented immigrants set a record for August, but the increases only highlighted the fact that backlogged immigration courts are unable to handle them, according to an analysis released last week. Despite dystopian claims about the southwestern border made by some politicians, many undocumented immigrants are not in the United […]
Attorneys dig up thousands of new documents in case against FirstEnergy
Lawyers for pension and investment funds suing Akron-based FirstEnergy report that as they press the company for documents relating to alleged bribery, the company is finding thousands more. Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department isn’t commenting on rumors that further charges might be filed next month in the biggest bribery and money-laundering scandal in Ohio history. […]
Economists: Suing energy companies for concealing climate change would correct market, help society
More than 40 years ago, internal research at Exxon led the company’s scientists to predict that burning fossil fuels would warm the environment in a way that would have “dramatic environmental effects before the year 2050,” internal company memos said. But after the energy company’s executives decided that public knowledge of the research might crimp […]
Analysis: Paying to warm the planet. Corrupt utility law forces Ohioans to make climate worse
It seems crazy that people would be forced to pay to make themselves and their planet sicker. But thanks to a crooked utility law that the Ohio General Assembly refuses to repeal, that’s just what’s happening in the Buckeye State. The notion that rising greenhouse gasses could warm the planet goes back at least to […]
Ohio Sec. of State LaRose’s office move amid U.S. Senate candidacy raises ethical questions
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has decided it’s a good idea to both oversee Ohio’s U.S. Senate election as the state’s chief elections officer and house part of his campaign for the seat in the same building. But the arrangement, which LaRose has done little to explain, raises serious questions about potential conflicts of […]
Former U.S. attorney general warns of Ohio legislative attempts to cut court power
Some state legislatures are working to diminish the power of courts, imperiling the American system of checks and balances, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder wrote Tuesday. He used Ohio as exhibit A. Holder, attorney general under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2015, warned of an “alarming pattern” in an op-ed published by the […]
Congressional watchdog: Rebates increase drug costs for seniors
A system of kickbacks between drugmakers and drug middlemen is increasing costs for seniors on Medicare, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a fact sheet that was released Tuesday. The report by the congressional watchdog casts doubt on claims by the middlemen — known as pharmacy benefit managers or PBMs — that they save […]
State Supreme Court dismisses congressional redistricting cases
The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed two cases over congressional districts in Ohio. The decision isn’t a complete surprise because the groups filing the complaints asked for the dismissals earlier this week. But struggles over partisan gerrymandering in Ohio and elsewhere are far from over. The complainants continue to maintain that Ohio’s congressional districts […]
Study: Rural counties are hemorrhaging population. Immigration can fix that
In Ohio and across the country, 77% of rural counties have been losing working-age people since the Great Recession of 2008-2009, a new demographic analysis says. And if nothing changes, the problem will get much worse, it projects. However, the study proposes a solution — immigration reform. The analysis of Census Bureau and other data […]
Ohio utilities’ efficiency programs among the worst in wake of corrupt utility law, report says
Ohio-based AEP responded last week to questions for this story, which incorrectly said it didn’t. It’s been updated. House Bill 6 wasn’t only a bad law because it involved $61 million in bribes in exchange for a $1.3 billion utility bailout. Most of the bailout payments have been repealed, but somehow the law — the […]
It’s not just CVS. Other big pharmacy chains cut hours, close stores
Walmart is cutting hours at its busy pharmacies, while Rite Aid — which is already selling off stores — is expected to file for bankruptcy protection, news organizations have reported over the past week. The news comes after inspectors have found that CVS’s understaffed stores in Ohio have in some instances lacked controls to protect […]