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New guidance for schools on COVID-19 won’t include mask mandate
The Ohio Department of Health said new COVID-19 guidance for schools as they plan for a new school year will include safety recommendations, but no mandate for mask-wearing, even for the unvaccinated. In a press call on Monday, Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, chief medical officer for the ODH, said guidelines would be released on the state’s […]
OSU study: Young adult mental health worsened during pandemic
A study led by researchers at Ohio State University showed adolescent males had worsened mental health during the pandemic. “It made my whole life weird,” said one participant in response to a question about how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted them. In the study, recently published in the Journal of Adolescent Health and co-led by researchers […]
Cuyahoga County man’s death sentence reversed due to court error
A death sentence was vacated by the Ohio Supreme Court because a trial court lacked “diligence” in reading the defendant his constitutional rights. George Brinkman pleaded guilty in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court to aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, kidnapping and abuse of a corpse in the death of a woman and her two daughters. He […]
Abortion providers press on as state regulations grow
Ohio’s largest abortion clinic says it will continuing seeing patients and providing care as it awaits the impact of the most recent wave of regulations by the state, and further efforts in the state legislature. The non-profit Preterm in Cleveland has been open for 47 years, through legal barriers galore, on the state, federal and […]
Study: Central Ohio housing stabilization project improved health outcomes for women, infants
A new study found that a Columbus project to help maternal and infant birth outcomes should be used more broadly to improve health access and housing. The Health Policy Institute of Ohio was commissioned to study Health Beginning at Home, a project from 2018 to 2021 meant to “test the impact of providing rental assistance […]
Redistricting fights in Ohio begin, this time with an open records request
The redistricting process still has a long way to go, but a battle to keep track of public records during the process has already begun in a court case between the ACLU and the Ohio House of Representatives. The ACLU asked the Ohio Supreme Court to compel employees within the Ohio House and the offices […]
Ohio lawmakers reintroduce medically unproven ‘abortion reversal’ bill
Ohio lawmakers are once again proposing that patients be made aware of a controversial and unproven “abortion reversal” method. State Reps. Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield, and Sarah Fowler Arthur, R-Ashtabula, are the main sponsors of a bill they are calling the “Abortion Pill Reversal Information Act.” Two-dozen Republicans in the Ohio House of Representatives have signed […]
State school board to ask AG for opinion on anti-racism resolution
In the weeks after the death of George Floyd spurred a nationwide movement against racism and police brutality, members of the Ohio Board of Education passed a resolution to acknowledge racial inequities and urge school officials to drive out racism in the education system. The state school board is now pushing back against the resolution […]
State school board member asks Ohio supt.: ‘Are you paid by Bill Gates?’
During a recent state school board discussion of student vaccinations, a board member offered a question to the Ohio superintendent of public instruction. “I’m just wondering what kind of influence Bill Gates does have on you … “Are you paid by Bill Gates?” board member Diana Fessler asked Supt. Paolo DeMaria. The comments came during […]
State Board of Ed to consider allowing race theory discussion
Ohio’s State Board of Education is being asked to remove a “limitation on verbal public participation” on the topics of “critical race theory” and the “1619 project” at a meeting Tuesday. The term “critical race theory” has been used, typically by academics but more recently by conservatives, to discuss how supposedly race-neutral public policy can […]
Water and wastewater infrastructure projects across the state awarded grants
Water and wastewater infrastructure programs across the state are getting $9 million in funding boosts from the state’s H2Ohio program. The state awarded the money based on economic need and project readiness, and acknowledged while awarding the money that Ohio has significant infrastructure issues that span many communities. “It is estimated that approximately 31% of […]
Advocates: Pandemic, unemployment impact women on many levels
The loss of $300 in extra unemployment assistance has hampered recovery from the pandemic for many Ohioans, including women, advocates say. Leah Haenszel was a respiratory therapist before COVID caused her to leave her job to take care of her three kids, something she couldn’t afford to do, even with a full-time job. “The excessive […]