Gov. Mike DeWine
Court battle over Randazzo docs gets nasty
Sam Randazzo, the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, isn’t even a defendant in a massive class-action lawsuit against Akron-based FirstEnergy. But a battle is growing bitter over documents regarding $4.3 million FirstEnergy paid a group controlled by Randazzo just as Gov. Mike DeWine nominated him in 2019. The dispute arises from […]
Ohio House’s version of budget cuts back on proposed funding to science of reading
The science of reading remains in Ohio’s proposed operating budget, but the House cut back on the amount of money that would be allocated toward funding the implementation. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s budget — which was introduced earlier this year — included $64 million for science of reading curricula, $43 million each year for the […]
Just as dissidents achieve majority on pension fund board, DeWine removes one
Gov. Mike DeWine is being accused of pulling “a switcheroo” on Ohio’s retired teachers by terminating a change-minded member of the pension board just as that faction was achieving a majority. But the governor’s spokesman said all the governor wants is a member of the State Teachers Retirement System Board who will faithfully attend its […]
Ohio needs more action than lowered flags in gun tragedies
“In remembrance of the victims.” That’s the template phrase routinely inserted in statements from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine whenever he orders flags flown at half-staff after a mass shooting. He did the same Sunday after the latest slaughter in Texas over the weekend – the second deadliest shooting in a year already filled with victims […]
Google is building two more data centers in central Ohio
Google is adding two new data centers in Columbus and Lancaster, bringing the tech company’s total investment in Ohio to more than $2 billion. This will bring Ohio’s total to three Google data centers, joining the one in New Albany that broke ground in 2019. “This is great news,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said. “Google making […]
Ohio Governor’s Holocaust Commemoration honored victims and survivors
Louise Gips received a standing ovation in the Statehouse atrium after she recounted her family’s story of surviving Siberian labor camps during the Holocaust. “Of course there was disease, starvation — a lot of starvation because we were hungry,” Gips, of Cleveland, said during the 43rd Annual Ohio Governor’s Holocaust Commemoration. She also shared her […]
“Reading is a basic right.” Ohio parents of dyslexic students see benefits of science of reading
Joy Palmer remembers how her daughter Dey’Leana used to memorize books when she was in elementary school in an attempt to hide the fact that she couldn’t read. Dey’Leana, now 18, reads at a fourth grade reading level. The junior at South High School in Columbus City Schools was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was […]
95% of Ohio schools offered prevention-focused programs and supports, according to new ODE report
Almost all Ohio schools offered prevention-focused programs and supports during the 2020-21 school year. Ninety-five percent of Ohio schools, to be exact, offered these programs and supports, according to the Ohio Department of Education’s 2020-21 Prevention Services Data Report that was released Tuesday. “Providing students with the tools they need to better cope with life […]
DeWine visits Columbus City Schools elementary school to observe science of reading
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine nodded along and smiled as the second grade students in Bernadette Monroe’s Southwood Elementary School classroom sounded out words like whistle, sketch and chuckle by emphasizing each letter Thursday morning. Across the hall, in Robin Thalgott’s third grade classroom, students were practicing their syllables and studying words such as define, apron, […]
Gov. Mike DeWine keeps talking about the ‘science of reading,’ but what does that really mean?
A chunk of Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed budget zeroes in on what’s called the science of reading method. Specifically, it includes $64 million for science of reading curricula, $43 million each year for the next two years to offer science of reading instruction for educators, and $12 million to support 100 literacy coaches in schools […]
22 Ohio school districts have staff members authorized to carry weapons on school grounds
Twenty-two Ohio school districts and one Christian school have staff members who are either authorized or in the training process to carry weapons on school grounds as of Wednesday, according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 99 — which grants local boards of education authority to decide […]
Death penalty opponents take another run at repeal
A group of Ohio lawmakers is again trying to kill the death penalty. As she has since 2011, Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, on Tuesday announced that she and some colleagues were introducing legislation abolishing it. It might seem like a shot in the dark. But amid exonerations and shifting sentiment about the ultimate punishment, Antonio […]