journal
Gas, electric companies cut off 270,000 Ohioans amid pandemic and billions in profit
Seven gas and electric companies in Ohio shut off service due to nonpayment more than 270,000 times over one year during the pandemic as their corporate parents reported billions in profits, according to an analysis of regulatory and financial flings. After prohibiting gas and electric shutoffs for the early months of the pandemic, the Public […]
Lawmaker proposed $300m handout to nursing homes; then raised $52,000 from their liaisons
An Ohio lawmaker last year proposed allocating $300 million of federal COVID-19 relief funds, divvied up among Ohio’s nursing homes with no strings attached. Ten days later, Rep. Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton, received a $13,200 campaign contribution from the CEO of a chain of 59 nursing homes, $13,200 from his business partner, and another $13,200 from […]
House committee passes bill to block cities from regulating Airbnbs, other short-term rentals
An Ohio House committee passed legislation Tuesday that would block local governments from banning or directly regulating short-term rentals like Airbnb within their borders. The legislation blocks towns and counties from enacting ordinances that prohibit businesses or people from renting property for less than 30 days at a time. Additionally, it blocks them from passing […]
Committee passes bill to block social media from ‘censoring’ users
An Ohio House committee passed legislation Tuesday prohibiting social media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube from “censoring” their users. The legislation would block the companies from removing posts or expelling people from their platforms based on the “viewpoint” of users or ideas expressed in their posts. It wouldn’t apply to speech already illegal under […]
Ohio man who painted Trump’s face in front yard wins GOP primary
A Port Clinton man who built a national media profile by splaying President Donald Trump’s iconography across his 19,000 square-foot front yard won a congressional primary Tuesday. J.R. Majewski, an Air Force veteran who says he works in the nuclear industry, will face off against Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who first won the seat in […]
Propelled by Trump endorsement, Vance wins GOP Senate primary
CINCINNATI — J.D. Vance, transformed from Trump-critic to Trump-candidate, will represent the GOP in Ohio’s election for an open seat in the U.S. Senate. The Yale Law grad turned venture capitalist won 31% of the vote, according to preliminary results late Tuesday from the Ohio Secretary of State, beating out his nearest of six competitors, […]
GOP gubernatorial candidate shares photo of self in front of swastika
Update, 1:40 p.m.: After this article was published, Blystone removed the photo in question from social media. Also, a union depicted in the photo said it did not endorse Blystone and doesn’t know who’s holding the swastika. A longshot candidate challenging Ohio’s incumbent governor in a Republican primary shared a photo of himself in front […]
Before bribery scandal, JobsOhio forgave a $12m loan to FirstEnergy to clean up a coal plant
JobsOhio gave FirstEnergy Corp., which later admitted to paying millions in bribes to a ranking politician and the state’s top utility regulator, a nearly $12 million loan in 2015 that was forgiven two years later. The Akron based company used the money to clean up a coal fired power plant in Belmont County that it […]
Clean energy future? Fossil fuel boondoggle? Chamber pushes for hydrogen hub in Ohio
An association of natural gas, transportation and tech businesses are pushing for a piece of an $8 billion federal investment to create a “clean hydrogen hub” in Ohio. Hydrogen, the most abundant chemical element in the universe, could overtake coal, oil, and gas as America’s predominant source of energy, its proponents say. It’s lightweight and […]
Senate Republicans seek to eliminate Ohio’s income tax over 10 years
Eight Senate Republicans introduced legislation Tuesday seeking to zero out Ohio’s income tax by the year 2032. If passed, Ohio would become the 10th state nationally without an income tax, which was first levied in 1972. In fiscal year 2020, personal income taxes were the state’s No. 2 tax revenue source, driving in $8.3 billion, […]
Pew: Ohio one of 17 states to shrink in population last year
Ohio is among the roughly one in three American states whose population shrank last year, according to research from Pew Charitable Trusts. Between July 2020 and July 2021, Ohio’s population decreased by about 0.1% (approximately 11,800 people). The median state grew by 0.14% during this period. Looking at the last 10 years, Ohio grew more […]
FirstEnergy deposition looms in shareholder lawsuit for bribery, misleading investors
It has been nine months since FirstEnergy Corp. admitted to federal prosecutors that it bribed Ohio’s top utility regulator and the speaker of the Ohio House. Investors in the electric utility may soon get the chance to ask a few follow-up questions about how the $64 million operation came together. Besides the criminal allegations against […]