mike
State regulators made ‘utility-friendly’ edits to audit of coal plant bailout, emails show
Documents show state utility regulators sought edits to draft versions of an audit they commissioned, prompting the removal of declarations that a ratepayer-funded bailout of two uneconomic coal plants was a bad deal for Ohio electric customers. Staff at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which sets customers’ water and electric rates, asked an auditor […]
Fewer than 1 in 2 vaccinated against COVID-19 in most Ohio counties
In 66 of Ohio’s 88 counties, fewer than 1 in 2 residents have received at least one dose of vaccination against COVID-19, which has killed more than 661,000 Americans since the pandemic began. The low vaccination coverage, found via an analysis of state data from Sunday, indicates vast swaths of the state remain vulnerable to […]
FirstEnergy said it bribed a regulator for $4.3 million. Here’s how it worked.
FirstEnergy admitted in court documents last week it paid the state’s top utility regulator $4.3 million to use his perch to save the company hundreds of millions via friendly administrative rulings. The company’s allegation against Sam Randazzo, former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, came in a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. […]
DeWine says he didn’t know about alleged $4.3m bribe of utility regulator he appointed
Gov. Mike DeWine distanced himself Monday from a utility regulator he appointed who was accused last week of accepting millions in bribes from FirstEnergy Corp. FirstEnergy said in a court filing last week that it paid Sam Randazzo $22 million in consulting fees in the decade leading up to his appointment as chairman of the […]
DeWine signs bill blocking Ohio cities from banning natural gas
Gov. Mike DeWine signed into state law Thursday legislation that blocks cities or counties from banning natural gas or propane hookups to decarbonize new buildings. This makes Ohio one of 19 states that have either passed what’s known as a natural gas “preemption” bill into law or will do so soon upon gubernatorial approval, according […]
DeWine, top lawmakers met with national anti-vax leader in 2019
Gov. Mike DeWine and legislative leaders in the Statehouse met in 2019 with Robert Kennedy Jr., a scion of the American political dynasty and a leading voice of anti-vaccination politics. Kennedy, son of U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, came to the Statehouse to speak in support of legislation […]
GOP governor and lawmakers clash over vaccine policy
Through PSAs, press appearances with doctors, and even launching an unheard of $1 million lottery for immunized residents, GOP Gov. Mike DeWine wants to persuade Ohioans to choose to get vaccinated against COVID-19. He said the facts on vaccines, which are credited with saving millions of lives and eradicating smallpox from the face of the […]
Governor’s vaccine lottery rankles state lawmakers
Ohio lawmakers from both parties have rebuked Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s plan to incentivize vaccination against COVID-19 via five $1 million lottery drawings from the pool of vaccinated Ohioans. Republicans, who have repeatedly clashed with DeWine on pandemic policy culminating in their override of his veto of an overhaul of public health laws, bristled at […]
After bailing out AEP’s plants, lawmakers returned its campaign checks, records show
Records show Ohio state politicians refunded nearly $50,000 in recent months to a political action committee of American Electric Power, a beneficiary of a massive coal-fired power plant bailout via scandal-tainted legislation enacted last year. Nine state senators and two House representatives, all Republican, returned a total of $19,500 in campaign contributions to an AEP […]
Ohio’s COVID-19 vaccination slows ‘dramatically’
One month ago, nearly 475,000 Ohioans over seven days marched into small pharmacies and mass clinics alike around the state to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Each week since, the number of newly “vaccine-started” Ohioans has tumbled. Just 152,000 Ohioans were vaccinated during the week ending April 25, according to data from the Ohio Department of […]
Nursing homes spent at least $6 million on Ohio politics in five years
Ohio’s nursing home industry poured at least $6.1 million into state politics and an array of dark money political groups between 2016 and 2020, an Ohio Capital Journal investigation has found. The surge in spending comes as the state has steadily increased its payments to nursing homes through Medicaid, a state and federally funded insurance […]
How a powerful state law blocks Ohio cities from gun regulation
The Ohio Supreme Court declined Wednesday to review an appellate court’s decision, letting stand a ruling that the city of Cincinnati cannot ban “bump stocks” on assault weapons. Cincinnati tried to ban use of the mechanical attachments, designed to increase rifles’ rates of fire, in 2018 after a shooter used one during a 2017 massacre […]