Gov. John Kasich
Billionaire backing effort to raise Ohio amendment threshold funded election deniers, Jan. 6 rally
An out-of-state donor who wants to make it a lot harder for voters to amend the Ohio Constitution has a history of supporting candidates who falsely deny the results of the 2020 presidential election — and he's a major supporter of a group that helped organize the rally on Jan. 6, 2021 that led to a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of five former attorneys general on Monday added their names to a swelling group that is opposed to the move. They join four former governors — two Republicans and two Democrats — more than 200 groups of all political stripes, and a group representing the state's election workers have all come out in opposition to the plan.
Even according to its metrics, JobsOhio gets a middling grade
JobsOhio insists on grading itself according to its chosen criteria. But when it eventually shared parts of its own analysis, even that put Ohio in the middle of the pack relative to the six states JobsOhio compares itself to. The economic-development agency has spent more than $1 billion since 2015, but last month it said […]
How does JobsOhio stack up? Don’t ask them
The group that sued to stop the creation of JobsOhio was ProgressOhio, not Policy Matters Ohio. This story has been updated with the correct information. Since 2015, JobsOhio has spent more than a billion dollars in an effort to revive the state’s lagging economy. That’s money that would have gone into the state treasury if […]
Newly revealed texts suggest regulator knew rate hike was improper
More evidence emerged Friday that Ohioans for years have faced questionable utility increases that were granted out of possibly dubious motives. On June 19, 2019, FirstEnergy’s leaders were furiously pushing what would later be called one of the biggest bribery and money laundering schemes in Ohio history. The same day, the Ohio Supreme Court struck […]
JobsOhio says it’s not a public entity, but is that true?
Ohio’s economic developer, JobsOhio, is quick to say it’s a private, non-profit corporation and it’s quick to add that its hundreds of millions of dollars are private as well. “JobsOhio is a private nonprofit corporation wholly funded by an independent private source — the profits from the JobsOhio Beverage System (JOBS) liquor enterprise — that […]
DeWine reappoints utility commissioner who didn’t do much to protect FirstEnergy customers
Regulatory reform? DeWine reappoints utility commissioner who didn't do much to protect FirstEnergy customers.
How info likely leading to massive settlement almost stayed hidden
It seems to be an object lesson in the importance of government transparency. Revelations that quite possibly led to a lawsuit and a billion-dollar settlement by the nation’s largest Medicaid managed-care provider almost never came to light, according to court documents filed last month. Meanwhile, huge drug middlemen are fighting to keep sealed damning information […]
Ohio takes first steps toward big Medicaid overhaul
Ohio Medicaid, which provides health care to more than a quarter of the state's population is poised to take a big step in a major overhaul of the program.
Mailbag: Ohio trails other states in funding public transit. Here’s why.
It’s illegal to vote twice in Ohio, but it’s recommended you read each Ohio Capital Journal article twice. It’s time for this week’s mailbag: Got a question about Ohio politics? Send them to [email protected] or tweet them to @tylerjoelb. Why don’t we invest in sustainable transportation (rail, bike, public transportation) at rates comparable to our […]
Will Kasich be the only Ohioan to speak at the Democratic National Convention?
The news of former Republican Gov. John Kasich being invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention turned quite a few heads. It now appears Kasich will be the only Ohio politician to speak at the virtual convention — at least, during the prime-time hours. The DNC is scheduled for Aug. 17-20, with a slate […]
Kasich at DNC? Former rival Strickland embraces effort to beat Trump
Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland admits he “wasn’t particularly excited” to hear the news about his once-rival being invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention. Then again, Strickland considers himself to be a utilitarian. He also believes a second term for President Donald Trump would “change the country, maybe forever.” “If this is what […]
Ohio House Dem Leader: ‘Willful ignorance’ only reason for lack of action on racism
The Ohio House Minority Leader says it is up to white people to address the societies and legislation that they built to be discriminatory. On day five of protests surrounding the Ohio Statehouse, Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes said the state’s government needs to “lead the nation” in passing a resolution declaring racism a public […]