Columbus
Ohio Attorney General and Columbus locked in court dispute over extent of local firearm authority
A Fairfield County judge has allowed a handful of local gun control and safety measures to take effect in Columbus. It’s the latest twist in a long-running case over the extent of home rule authority in Ohio. Columbus’ ordinances prohibit magazines with 30 or more bullets, criminalizes straw sales, and requires gun owners store firearms […]
Voters embraced affordable housing initiatives. Advocates say Congress should do the same.
Voters in Colorado approved a statewide affordable housing initiative in November; while voters in nine cities across the country OK’d measures to finance the construction of affordable housing, preserve existing rental properties and support renters. But as housing costs soar, analysts and advocates say more needs to be done and argue that federal action is […]
Inconsistencies in Ohio’s home rule authority highlighted by tobacco legislation
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. State lawmakers in Ohio have been able to pick and choose which local […]
Columbus engages Central Ohio residents in the zoning code update with new exhibit
The city of Columbus has announced plans to go back to the drawing board with new updates to the city’s zoning map after 70 years. City partners and officials attribute the long wait to bureaucracy and systemic racism and hope to involve the community in the process. In a presentation on Nov.10, the City of […]
Major Ohio cities stand against abortion law
Officials in two of Ohio’s major cities officials say a six-week abortion ban in the state “willfully jeopardizes the health and safety of millions of Ohioans,” and therefore should be rescinded by the Ohio Supreme Court. The cities, Cincinnati and Columbus, further joined by Dayton, Toledo and Cleveland Heights, wrote to the state’s highest court […]
Energy efficiency scorecard shows slight improvement and notable drops for large Ohio cities
A recent scorecard tracking energy policies among 100 of the country’s biggest cities offers a mixed bag for Ohio. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy reviewed six cities — the three Cs plus Dayton, Toledo and Akron. Columbus and Toledo improved slightly, but the others held steady or slipped. The ACEEE formed in […]
How are Ohio cities spending their American Rescue Plan dollars?
When the American Rescue Plan was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden last March, the U.S. Department of the Treasury wanted the cities who were getting part of the $1.9 trillion national relief package to submit their first project and expenditure reports to them by Oct. 31. Ohio cities got […]
Reliance on community block grants formula leads to uneven rescue plan funds for cities
During the past few decades in Ohio, as the population of Columbus has surpassed Cleveland as the largest city in the state, there have been comparisons made between the two cities on many levels. Which is better, which is worse, which is moving up, which is moving down. Many of those questions surfaced when the […]
With ‘Amtrak Joe’ in the White House, states hope for a passenger rail renaissance
Stu Nicholson has been trying for decades without success to get Amtrak — or any other passenger rail service — to come to Columbus, Ohio. As director of All Aboard Ohio, a passenger rail advocacy group, Nicholson helped explore possibilities, like creating a new route from Chicago to Pittsburgh, with Columbus in the middle. But […]
Columbus schools’ fight for taxes on affordable housing spurs state legislation
Both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly unanimously passed legislation that would exempt providers of affordable housing for people with substance abuse or mental health disorders from property taxes. Senate Bill 57 comes in response to two rulings from the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals. The board recently sided with Columbus City Schools, which argued […]
Biden touts rescue plan, tours Ohio State cancer facility in Columbus
Reporting from pool reports President Joe Biden touted the recently passed COVID-19 rescue package during a visit to Columbus Tuesday evening, highlighting the child tax credit and earned income tax credit included in the American Rescue Plan. Biden said the U.S. will have, by the end of May, roughly 600 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, […]
The last Statehouse protests ended in fistfights. Now officials worry for inauguration violence.
It was a peaceful protest outside the Ohio Statehouse. Then it was a crowd of Proud Boys wailing on Dejuan Sharp. The brawl came a few hours later. Sharp, a Black man, attended the Jan. 6 protest along with other Black Lives Matter activists when, by his account, a Proud Boy in a baseball helmet […]