Jobs in Ohio cities, free speech on college campuses, and History Thursday on impeachment

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Catching Our Eye:

History Thursday. Did you know that Steubenville’s Edwin Stanton, Lancaster’s William Tecumseh Sherman, Point Pleasant’s Ulysses S. Grant, and former Ohio Gov. Salmon P. Chase all played a role in America’s first impeachment, that of Andrew Johnson? Read some more about it in Editor David C. DeWitt’s History Thursday column on impeachment.

Jobs in the city. The Columbus Dispatch’s Mark Williams is reporting on Cincinnati.com, “Ohio’s big cities lead state’s job gains in 2019; others lose ground.”

“When it came to job creation in Ohio last year among the state’s metro areas, there was Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati and then everyone else.

“The three metro areas added 40,200 jobs from December 2018 through last month, according to Ohio Department of Job and Family Services data released Tuesday.

“The remaining metro areas lost 7,600 jobs among them during the period, led by a loss of 6,400 jobs in Akron and 4,400 jobs in Youngstown. Dayton posted a gain of 3,400 jobs while most other metro areas had small gains or losses.

“Cincinnati’s metro area, which extends to Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana, posted the best gains, adding 24,000 jobs over the period, a growth rate of a solid 2.1%.

“Columbus added 13,800 jobs and Cleveland 12,400, growth rates of about 1.2%.”

Free speech on campus. The Columbus Dispatch’s Cole Behrens is reporting, “Ohio colleges could no longer ban controversial speakers, set up free speech zones under bill.”

“A state senator says a bill he’s sponsoring, which was approved 33-0 by the Senate on Tuesday evening, would create a more robust environment for free speech on state college and university campuses.

“Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Powell, said Senate Bill 40 was inspired by events like the violent protests surrounding ultra-conservative speaker Milo Yiannopoulos’ visit to the University of California, Berkeley, which resulted in his speech being canceled.

“The legislation would prevent protests like that from happening, Brenner said. The measure would prohibit state institutions from encouraging behavior that prevents speakers from lawfully expressing their viewpoints in an area expressly reserved for a speaker or group…

“The bill also would prohibit state universities and colleges from establishing “free speech zones” on campus. Those are designated areas where public demonstrations and protests are permissible.”