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DeWine might use former president of dark money group to lobby for another nuclear bailout
Not only does he intend to keep Dan McCarthy in his administration, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine might use McCarthy to lobby the legislature for another nuclear bailout. McCarthy, DeWine’s legislative affairs director, is a former lobbyist for FirstEnergy who set up a dark money group that funneled millions of corporate dollars into a second dark-money […]
Records: Ohio Medicaid leaders showed little enthusiasm to support coronavirus testing at pharmacies
The Ohio Department of Medicaid is struggling to implement a system to reimburse community pharmacists to test millions of the state’s poorest people for coronavirus. While the reasons for the problems have not been fully explained, difficulty getting supplies appears to be one. But another cause might be that at least into June, senior leaders […]
Former Dem leader says he failed to stop massive corruption scandal
Anybody in the know about Ohio politics has a perspective on what federal law enforcement is calling the biggest bribery scandal in state history. But nobody could have had the same perspective that Fred Strahorn did when news broke on July 21 that Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder had been arrested on charges that he […]
As lawmakers squabble over unemployment, jobless workers face a big hit
Congress is continuing to squabble over whether to extend a federal supplement to unemployment insurance and if they do, by how much. But as they argue over whether to continue the supplement at $600-a-week level or some fraction of that, out-of-work Americans are left to worry whether they can survive on state benefits that often […]
DeWine reverses on alleged corrupt bailout, won’t condemn aide’s dark money group
Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine on Thursday reversed a position he’d taken a day earlier. He said that although he still supported a ratepayer bailout of two Northern Ohio nuclear plants, the state legislature should “repeal and replace” an existing law that federal prosecutors say is the product of a criminal conspiracy. But although DeWine said […]
Ohio House speaker, four others arrested amid massive dark-money, pay-to-play allegations
An ugly campaign for a taxpayer-funded corporate bailout was itself funded by an even uglier criminal conspiracy, federal law enforcement officials said Tuesday. Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, four political operatives and a dark-money group were charged Tuesday in a criminal complaint that an Ohio energy company paid them $61 million to get a $1.3 […]
Feds said to be investigating largest Medicaid provider in the U.S.
Federal officials are probing actions taken in Ohio in 2017 by the largest Medicaid managed care provider in the United States, a source familiar with the investigation has told Ohio Capital Journal. The U.S. Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services declined to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. But the source said the […]
Ohio arrests thousands of drunken drivers in the face of far fewer deaths. Why not bust people for not following mask orders?
After weeks of reluctance, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday said that at least on a limited basis, he’d start enforcing mask-wearing orders in the Ohio counties hardest hit by coronavirus. The governor also hinted that he might skip the Republican National Convention scheduled next month in Florida, which currently is the nation’s worst coronavirus […]
DeWine seeks to rally Ohioans, offers no new orders in response to coronavirus surge
In the face of an alarming rise in the number of coronavirus cases, Gov. Mike DeWine took to the airwaves Wednesday evening to make an impassioned plea for Ohioans to do what they can to slow the spread of the disease. However, the governor didn’t issue any new health orders intended to bring that about. […]
Ohio attorney general sues second drug middleman
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is taking a second pharmacy benefit manager doing business with the state to court. Yost on Monday announced that his office had filed suit in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas against St. Louis-based Express Scripts over work the company had done since 2010 on behalf of the Ohio […]
Ohio Republicans slammed over coronavirus enforcement
The coronavirus is raging in Ohio, but the state’s Republican leaders seem disinclined to enforce rules intended to protect against it. Attorney General Dave Yost won’t say whether he’ll support enforcement of new orders to wear masks in the state’s hardest-hit counties. And the official who issued them, Gov. Mike DeWine, has made several statements […]
Divided party saps DeWine response to spreading coronavirus
The spread of coronavirus continued across Ohio Thursday as Gov. Mike Dewine also continued his struggle to communicate the seriousness of the crisis over the din of influential voices in his own party. Another 1,150 cases were reported Thursday, continuing a steep, upward trend over the past three weeks. Five new counties were added to […]