Columbus
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 […]
How some Columbus prosecutors got vaccinated before health care workers and the elderly
A 29-year-old Columbus prosecutor received a COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday despite officials limiting the scarce doses to nursing home residents, health care workers and certain emergency responders. Brandon Edwards, a lead prosecutor for Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, posted a photograph of his CDC-issued COVID-19 vaccination record card on Instagram. He is one of about 175,000 […]
Homelessness already a struggle, but curfew could add complications
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine emphasized the fact that a new curfew order seeking to stop the spread of COVID-19 would not be perfect. But advocates for the homeless say the order could complicate things for the unsheltered people without homes across the state. The order itself, signed by Ohio Department of Health director Stephanie McCloud […]
Columbus, Dayton allege ‘dangerous failure’ in state gun background check system
Two of Ohio’s largest cities have accused the state government of a “continuing and dangerous failure” to report criminal convictions to the federal background check system, leaving the door open for felons to procure firearms. Attorneys for the cities of Columbus and Dayton filed the lawsuit in Franklin County court Monday morning. They’re asking a […]
Columbus-area driver of the rich and famous wants leaders to relate
A typical week for Amy Pache includes a trip to the golf course, a run to the airport, and maybe an event or a visit to Ohio Stadium. She gets invited backstage to a concert from time to time, and politicians talk to her regularly. But mostly, she stays in the car. She waits on […]
Pence, Biden visit Ohio in late battleground push
Flanked by dump trucks and construction equipment, some adorned with flags and campaign signs, Vice President Mike Pence told hundreds of supporters about the need to “Make America Great Again, again.” Meanwhile, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden also made his case to Buckeye State voters Monday in back-to-back events in Toledo and Cincinnati. The two […]
Why aren’t Ohio’s city budgets collapsing under COVID-19?
In March of this year, the Brookings Institution had a blog post that pegged four Ohio cities — Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, and Cleveland — in the top five “cities with the most immediate fiscal impacts from COVID-19” in the entire country. Yet this gloom and doom about Ohio fiscal prospects did not materialize. Columbus cut […]
Hey, look, a pandemic positive! Neighborhoods emerge as vital social oases
If one is rooting around for a positive about the ongoing pandemic, anecdotal evidence suggests that neighborhoods may be just what the doctor ordered. Face it. Most of us have only limited time and tolerance for in-person contact with our fellow human beings. Pre-pandemic, what with working all day, visiting friends, going shopping, going out, […]