Emergency crews were dispatched shortly before 1 p.m. to the intersection of West U.S. 224 and South County Road 7 for a two-vehicle crash with initially unknown injuries, according to Seneca County dispatch records.

Responders arriving at the scene reported finding a woman in a field with a large laceration to her leg and immediately requested that Life Flight availability be checked. The roadway was closed while emergency crews worked at the scene.

Multiple fire and EMS agencies responded, including Bascom Joint Fire & EMS and New Riegel Fire & EMS. The Ohio State Highway Patrol also responded to the scene, and the Ohio Department of Transportation was contacted to assist with the road closure.

Read the full story at https://tiffinohio.net/posts/woman-airlifted-seneca-county-crash-us-224/.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The confrontation came during the Tiffin Area League of Women Voters Candidates Night at Tiffin Middle School, where Click and Jones faced voters ahead of the November election for Ohio House District 88, which covers Seneca and Sandusky counties.

Click, a Vickery Republican first elected to the Ohio House in 2020, is serving his third term. A former Baptist pastor and community theater actor, Click quietly stepped down as lead pastor of Fremont Baptist Temple in March 2025 after 19 years and became pastor emeritus. No contemporaneous public announcement of the transition has been identified, despite Click later insisting the change had been “very public.”

Jones, a Tiffin Democrat, is a U.S. Army veteran, longtime factory supervisor and member of Tiffin City Council. He served four years as an Airborne Infantryman with the Army’s 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard, before building a manufacturing career of more than two decades. He currently represents Tiffin’s 1st Ward on City Council.

The League had established at the beginning of Wednesday’s forum that candidates were expected to focus on issues rather than personal attacks.

Asked how he would help LGBTQ residents in the district feel safe and welcome, Jones said an elected official has a responsibility to represent everyone.

“First of all, I won’t publicly attack them or anyone for that matter,” Jones said.

Jones said he would represent residents “without prejudice, without discrimination” and argued that state government should spend less time on culture-war legislation.

“There will be no culture wars because there’s more important things that this state needs done rather than focusing on culture wars and singling out groups of people for who they love or what they worship or how they worship,” Jones said.

“If elected, everyone in Aaron Jones’ district has a fair shot no matter who you are.”

When the same question went to Click, the incumbent did not initially explain how he would make LGBTQ residents feel safe or welcome. Instead, he accused Jones of misrepresenting his record and then attributed two positions to Jones that Jones had not stated.

“So for the record, what you’re saying is that you would vote to keep men in women’s sports, and you’d vote to continue pediatric sex change procedures,” Click said.

Audience members immediately booed and groaned.

“Oh, you can moan and groan all you want,” Click responded.

A woman in the crowd reminded Click: “No attacks.”

Click objected, asking whether Jones’ earlier remark had also constituted an attack, before complaining that the interruption was using up his allotted time.

“Thanks for using up my time,” Click said to the crowd.

He then said he had “shown respect to every single person” and defended his record on legislation restricting gender-affirming care for minors and transgender participation in girls’ sports.

Nothing in Jones’ answer to the LGBTQ question said he supported either of the positions Click attributed to him.

Click also did not point to a previous vote, public statement or policy proposal from Jones supporting either position during the exchange.

And one portion of Click’s attack concerned conduct already prohibited under Ohio law.

Ohio Revised Code Section 3129.02 prohibits a physician from performing gender-reassignment surgery on a minor. The law also generally prohibits prescribing cross-sex hormones or puberty-blocking drugs to minors for gender transition, with a limited exception allowing certain treatment that began before the law took effect to continue.

Those restrictions took effect April 24, 2024, through House Bill 68 — legislation for which Click was the primary sponsor.

The same legislation established Ohio’s restrictions on transgender participation in school sports. State law prohibits schools and organizations governing interscholastic athletics from knowingly allowing individuals of the male sex to compete on teams designated only for female participants.

Jones returned to Click’s accusation during the next question, which dealt with school vouchers.

“And on the last question, Gary, and you should know this, in the state of Ohio, it’s illegal to perform any gender affirming surgeries under the age of 18,” Jones said.

“Thanks to the SAFE Act,” Click interjected.

Jones finished his sentence, after which Click repeated: “Thanks to the SAFE Act.”

Click pivots from campaign finance question

The LGBTQ exchange was not the only point during the forum when Click moved away from the question he had been asked.

Earlier, the candidates were asked whether Ohio should limit or require greater disclosure of PAC and out-of-district contributions in Statehouse races and whether they would commit to raising money only from people living within the district.

Instead of initially addressing those questions, Click used much of his one-minute response to complain about reporting by TiffinOhio.net.

He eventually gave a direct answer: He would not support restricting candidates to contributions from inside the district.

“Nobody’s gonna limit that to just the district, and I would not support that as well,” Click said.

Jones said voters should examine the candidates’ publicly available campaign-finance reports and said roughly 75% to 80% of his campaign contributions came from within the district.

“None of it, none of it is coming from a corporate PAC,” Jones said. “Not one dime.”

Jones said he supported campaign-finance limits and questioned why people outside Seneca and Sandusky counties should be able to pour money into a legislative race affecting residents who live there.

“My dad always told me, ‘Follow the money,’” Jones said. “Why would you want someone from a different community pouring money into this community that they don’t live in and it doesn’t affect them?”

Data centers bring rare agreement

Click and Jones found considerably more common ground when the candidates were asked about the rapid expansion of data centers in Ohio.

Jones called data center growth in the state “out of control” and said local communities should retain authority over whether the facilities are built.

“The state has an obligation to give communities the right to decide, meaning all of you as citizens of Seneca and Sandusky County, the right to choose whether you want a data center in your backyard,” Jones said.

Jones also criticized the tax treatment of data centers and raised concerns about their effects on water, electricity and farmland.

Click responded by saying he agreed with “about 80%, if not more” of Jones’ answer.

He pointed to House Bill 646, his legislation establishing a state study commission on data centers, and said he supports maintaining local control over development decisions.

Click also said he had initially wanted a statewide moratorium before being advised that such an approach presented home-rule concerns.

School funding fight spills across questions

The candidates repeatedly clashed over public school funding.

Jones argued that continuing local levy requests demonstrate that the state is not adequately funding public schools, pointing specifically to Tiffin City Schools and its projected revenue shortfall.

“If we were funding schools, then we wouldn’t have asked for a levy in the city of Tiffin,” Jones said.

Click rejected that argument, saying public schools receive more funding than ever and pointing to increases in state education spending.

The disagreement resurfaced when the candidates were asked about school vouchers.

Click defended the voucher system, arguing that parents who choose schools such as Calvert Catholic Schools should not effectively have to pay once through taxes and again through tuition. He said the state share of education funding follows the student while locally generated money remains with the public district.

Jones argued that private and charter schools receiving public money should face stronger public accountability requirements.

“If you’re receiving taxpayer money, you ought to be held accountable to that,” Jones said.

Gas tax proposal raises questions about road funding

Click and Jones also addressed a proposed temporary suspension of Ohio’s gas tax after the moderator asked how the state would continue paying for road paving, bridge repairs and snow removal if gas tax revenue stopped flowing.

Click said he supported providing relief while ensuring transportation infrastructure remained funded, but acknowledged that he had not yet seen the legislative language and had only recently learned details of the proposal.

“I’ve just found out about this about the same time you — just shortly before you did,” Click said.

Jones said he was open to gas tax relief but cautioned against creating another hole in the state budget.

“I don’t like paying the gas tax any more than anybody else, but we can’t underfund the state,” Jones said.

He then pointed to Ohio’s public funding for the Cleveland Browns’ planned stadium project.

“There must be enough money because we gave $600 million to a billionaire to build a football stadium,” Jones said. “Maybe we should’ve used that to give you all a break.”

Click is seeking a fourth term representing House District 88. Jones is making his first run for the Ohio House after serving on Tiffin City Council.

The general election is Nov. 3.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The contrast emerged during the Tiffin Area League of Women Voters Candidates Night at Tiffin Middle School, where Frankart and Ziegler faced questions on data centers, the county jail’s use for ICE detention, the landfill, large poultry operations, solar development, property taxes and county spending.

Frankart, a grain farmer and former Adams Township trustee, was elected to the Seneca County Board of Commissioners in 2022 and is seeking a second term.

Ziegler, a lifelong Seneca County resident and Eden Township trustee, is challenging Frankart as an independent. He said during his opening statement that party politics should be left “at the door” in local government.

Ziegler gives blunt answer on data centers

The candidates were first asked what they thought about data centers coming to Seneca County and whether they would support prohibiting them.

Ziegler gave one of the most direct answers of the evening.

“We’re here to be honest, correct? I don’t like them,” Ziegler said. “I don’t think they belong in small communities like that or like we live in.”

He continued:

“I really don’t have anything else to say about it. I don’t think that we need to be involved with that type of industry in Seneca County, period.”

Frankart did not give a similarly direct answer when asked the same question.

Instead, he said the issue “falls back to the townships,” referenced Tiffin’s moratorium on data centers, discussed his own decision to enroll farmland in a preservation program and pointed to ongoing discussions in Columbus.

“As far as data centers, I think the Legislature’s really looking hard at them,” Frankart said. “And I think that in time we’re gonna see, you know, where they end up at.”

Frankart did not say whether he personally supports or opposes data center development in Seneca County, whether he would support a data center proposed in the county or what restrictions he believes county government should pursue.

His comments about townships suggested a preference for decisions being made at a local level, but he did not spell out what role he believes the Board of Commissioners should take if a major data center project comes to Seneca County.

Candidates questioned about ICE detention at county jail

The candidates were also asked directly whether they support the Seneca County Jail being used as a detention facility for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Frankart noted that the arrangement has existed for years but largely deferred questions about its operation to the sheriff.

“It’s been an ICE detention facility for quite a while,” Frankart said.

He said there are fewer people moving through the jail under the arrangement than in the past and described much of the issue as contractual.

“As far as getting into all the details, it’s all contractual and stuff on that,” Frankart said, adding that he would “yield to the sheriff” for a more detailed explanation of how the agreement works.

Frankart did not explicitly say whether he supports or opposes continuing the arrangement.

Ziegler was more direct, describing the federal detainees as a source of county revenue and saying he did not object as long as the program is being operated properly.

“It is a revenue source,” Ziegler said.

“As long as it’s being used properly, it’s bringing money in the community,” he continued. “I really can’t be negative about bringing money into our community.”

Ziegler acknowledged the political controversy surrounding ICE.

“I know ICE is a touchy situation,” he said. “Some people like it. Some people think it’s great. It’s something that we have and hopefully we use it for our best interests.”

Landfill remains major issue

The WIN Waste landfill near Fostoria again emerged as a major issue in the commissioner race.

The candidates were asked about both the landfill and large poultry operations, including how county officials should respond when residents believe companies are not complying with promises or regulations.

Ziegler said residents deserve straight answers.

“The people, they need straight answers when it comes to these,” Ziegler said.

He said communities should not be told one thing before a facility is developed only to later discover that requirements or commitments are not being followed.

“We have these facilities. We have the landfill. We have the chicken farms. They’re not going anywhere,” Ziegler said. “But we do need to keep the regulation.”

Ziegler said the Seneca County General Health District should ensure the landfill is held accountable and said officials should examine whether setbacks for large poultry operations need to be changed to provide greater separation from neighboring homes.

Frankart pointed to Seneca County’s ongoing effort to withdraw from the Ottawa-Sandusky-Seneca Joint Solid Waste Management District and establish its own district.

He said the county has also established additional landfill oversight through the health department.

“Now we do have, again, more local control and more activity with boots on the ground working with the Ohio EPA,” Frankart said.

Frankart later returned to the solid waste issue when asked specifically whether leaving the three-county district was the right move.

He said Seneca County is the largest contributor among the three counties and argued it has struggled to get enough money back for local landfill oversight.

“We get crumbs back, and we get a lot of pushback there,” Frankart said.

He said that was one reason commissioners decided to pursue a separate Seneca County solid waste district.

“At the end of the day … we decided to bring it back to our county so that way we can assist our health department with more help to be able to have oversight out there,” Frankart said.

State lawmakers last year enacted Senate Bill 147, which created a process allowing an individual county to withdraw from a joint solid waste management district without securing approval from the other counties in the district.

Frankart testified in favor of that legislation during its consideration in Columbus.

Frankart says poultry operation is ‘out of compliance’

Frankart also made a notable statement about a large poultry operation while answering the combined landfill and poultry question.

He said siting of the poultry facility was handled at the state level because of its size.

“To this day … I think that they are — they’re out of compliance,” Frankart said.

Frankart did not identify during the forum what requirement he believed the operation was violating or provide additional details about the alleged noncompliance.

“We will keep on them,” he said, before adding that he believed “everything’s okay there at this point.”

The seemingly conflicting remarks were not explored further before the moderator moved to the next question.

Ziegler: Showing up would be ‘my job’

The candidates were also asked how they would manage their schedules to ensure they remain available at public events and forums where residents can raise concerns.

Ziegler gave another pointed answer.

“Well, it’s gonna be my job,” he said. “I’m gonna be there.”

Ziegler said he does not view accessibility as something a commissioner should have to fit around other responsibilities.

“It’s not balancing your time,” he said. “It’s showing up to your job.”

Frankart defended his own accessibility, saying residents regularly contact him outside traditional business hours.

“My phone’s on at five in the morning,” Frankart said, describing receiving calls late at night and early in the morning about county issues.

“I’ve always told everybody, ‘Give me a call.’ I’m always around,” he said.

Frankart said he spends considerable time attending events throughout the county and working with residents, townships and villages.

Both point to local authority on solar

The candidates found more agreement when asked about large solar projects.

Frankart discussed Senate Bill 52, the state law enacted in 2021 that expanded county authority over certain large wind and solar developments and established procedures for local review and, under some circumstances, a referendum.

Frankart said he worked with opponents of large wind projects while serving as a township trustee and testified in Columbus during debate over the legislation.

He said he supports the framework that is now in place.

Ziegler agreed with Frankart’s general position.

“I agree with Bill on that and with the SB 52,” Ziegler said.

He said residents should have a say over whether large solar developments move forward in their communities.

Foster care costs strain county budget

Asked whether they would make significant changes to the Seneca County budget, Ziegler said he would first need to examine county programs and finances rather than enter office with a predetermined list of cuts.

“I’m not coming into this position acting like I know … or I have all the answers on day one,” Ziegler said.

He said programs that are working should continue to receive support, while programs that are not working should be changed or eliminated.

Frankart identified foster care costs as a significant and growing pressure on county finances.

He said some children with more complicated needs must be placed in specialized facilities, sometimes outside Ohio.

“It can be up to eight, nine hundred dollars a day to take care of kids,” Frankart said.

He described the costs as an unfunded mandate placing increasing pressure on counties and said local officials are working with state lawmakers on the issue.

Property tax changes worry both candidates

Property taxes also drew concern from both candidates.

Asked about state legislation affecting property taxes and local government revenue, Frankart said the county can tighten its own spending but ultimately has to wait to see what lawmakers in Columbus enact and how those changes affect future county budgets.

He said county officials are already looking ahead to the 2027 and 2028 budgets as the state considers changes.

Ziegler said he personally wants lower property taxes and worries that continued increases could eventually make it difficult for some homeowners to remain in their homes.

But he also cautioned that major changes can affect services funded through property taxes, including schools, parks, libraries, mental health services, developmental disability programs, fire departments and EMS.

“I have a concern that in years to come, I could possibly be taxed out of my home,” Ziegler said.

He said county leaders should examine the actual financial consequences of any changes before deciding how to respond.

“I wanna look at the actual numbers and find out the most responsible path forward to protect our taxpayers, but make sure that essential services … are still available when the people that need them most need them,” Ziegler said.

Different pitches for the commissioner’s office

The candidates used their closing statements to offer different arguments for how they would approach the office.

Frankart highlighted his work on solid waste policy, county government operations and his effort to remain active throughout Seneca County.

“My responsibility is to listen, ask questions, make fact-based decisions and keep working,” Frankart said.

Ziegler emphasized his experience as an Eden Township trustee and his decision to run without a party label.

“I don’t believe party labels should determine whether somebody gets heard by their local government,” Ziegler said.

He said he would not claim to have all the answers or make promises about issues beyond a county commissioner’s authority.

“What I can promise is that I’m willing to listen. I can ask questions. I will tell you the truth, and I will be careful with your money,” Ziegler said.

Frankart is seeking a second four-year term on the Seneca County Board of Commissioners. Ziegler is challenging him as an independent after serving as an Eden Township trustee.

The general election is Nov. 3.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

It comes less than two weeks before Ohio’s voter registration deadline.

The case

Under 2025’s Ohio House Bill 54, BMV clerks offer clients the opportunity register to vote, but only after completing a driver’s license application which requires documentary proof of citizenship.

Two civic organizations, The Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans and Red Wine & Blue, challenged those provisions.

The National Voter Registration Act, commonly known as the motor voter law, requires vehicle registration agencies to offer the opportunity to register when someone submits a driver’s license application. It also directs states to require the “only the minimum amount of information necessary.”

Voter registration forms — including those available at many other public agencies around Ohio — have no proof of citizenship requirement. Instead, applicants declare under penalty of perjury that they are eligible to vote.

Red Wine & Blue and the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans argued the BMV conditioning access to voter registration services on proof of citizenship violates the minimum information standard.

The groups presented two members who were initially barred from registering, both women, whose documents didn’t reflect their name change after marriage.

In one case, Margaret Dutcher showed up with a valid U.S. Passport — documentary proof of her citizenship — but was still unable to register because she did not have all the documents necessary to get a license.

Research from the University of Maryland indicates 21 million Americans don’t have readily available, up-to-date citizenship documents.

The district judge attempted to cut a middle path. He ordered state officials to stop requiring BMV visitors produce proof of citizenship to register. He added that his order applied to those whose license applications are “ultimately unsuccessful” over lack of documents, but not those who affirmatively indicate they are not a citizen.

The Circuit Court majority opinion

Circuit Judges John Nalbandian and Whitney Hermandorfer, both Trump appointees, downplayed Ohio’s policy and the alleged injury the plaintiffs suffered.

The BMV’s electronic system walks applicants through their license application and once it’s accepted, moves forward to a prompt asking the applicant if they’d like to use their information to register to vote. That’s a reasonable arrangement, the majority opinion concludes, because the universe of eligible license holders is includes minors and non-citizens — neither of whom can vote.

The majority also noted the BMV has paper forms available, and clerks are required to process applications. The state argued a more proactive effort to offer registration would require “wholesale retraining and restructuring of the BMV application process.” The majority bought that argument.

But the majority’s central problem with the case was the underlying harm.

The majority didn’t buy the idea that the individuals identified in the case had suffered an injury, and without injury, there’s no standing to sue.

“Neither Dutcher nor Fazio ever encountered anything having to do with the Associations’ H.B. 54 voter-registration challenge,” the majority wrote, “Instead, BMV officials rejected their driver’s-license applications based on independent paperwork defects.”

The majority contends the challengers aren’t so much finding fault with Ohio’s new law as its administration of drivers licenses, and so enjoining the law wouldn’t address their concerns.

The majority also determined the case is moot because the women in the case have since gotten their licenses and registered to vote.

The dissent

Circuit Judge Kevin Ritz, a Biden appointee, sees the case differently. He brushed aside the majority’s questions of standing and mootness. Two people who wanted to register weren’t afforded that opportunity when they applied for a license. “That is enough,” he said.

The plaintiffs later getting registered, doesn’t mean the case is moot, he added, because that injury could happen again to others.

“A contrary ruling as to rnootness would mean that potential voters who challenge an unlawful state law governing voter registration would have to forgo their registration and right to vote for as long as it took to litigate their challenge to the law,” he wrote. “I am reluctant to construct a Catch-22 that would require a litigant to renounce a ‘fundamental’ right in order to bring suit.”

Like the district court judge, Ritz focused on the importance of “submission.” Under the motor voter law, BMV clerks have to offer registration to people who “submit” a driver’s license application.

To Ritz and the district court, that happens when a person seeks a license, not when the BMV agrees to accept their application. So even people who don’t have all the documents necessary for a license should still be afforded an opportunity to register.

Ritz also said “there’s nothing in the record” to support the state’s argument that a more proactive approach to registration could create voter confusion.

“There is no proof, for instance,” he wrote, “that voters will be confused by a deputy registrar offering them a paper form that is already available elsewhere at the BMV.”

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Then taxpayers paid for a radio ad telling Ohioans how Max Miller helped a constituent.

On Aug. 28, Miller’s congressional office aired an advertisement featuring a woman recounting how the Republican congressman helped resolve an immigration case after her husband died.

“Congressman Miller stepped in and never gave up,” the woman says in the ad. “He helped me locate my paperwork and follow it up on my behalf.”

The testimonial continues by telling listeners that Miller’s persistence helped get the case approved.

Miller then comes on himself.

“I’m Congressman Max Miller,” he says. “When our constituents need help navigating federal agencies, my office is here to help you every step of the way.”

Then comes the part taxpayers might want to hear most:

“Paid for by official funds authorized by the House of Representatives.”

In other words, it was not a Miller campaign advertisement paid for by campaign donors.

Taxpayers paid for it.

Seven days before the cutoff

The timing makes the ad especially notable.

The House Communications Standards Commission reviewed Miller’s proposed radio advertisement Aug. 19 and deemed it permissible under congressional communications rules.

Miller’s office then ran the ad Aug. 28.

The House’s official 2026 blackout calendar shows that members seeking reelection were barred from sending unsolicited mass communications beginning Sept. 4 — 60 days before the Nov. 3 general election.

Miller’s taxpayer-funded radio ad ran seven days before that blackout began.

Nothing in the available record indicates Miller violated the House’s franking rules. In fact, the House commission specifically approved the material as “Frankable.”

But legality is not the same question as whether taxpayers should be paying for it.

The congressional franking system allows lawmakers to use official funds to communicate with constituents about their work. What began as a way for members of Congress to keep constituents informed now includes mail, digital advertisements, television, radio, texts and other communications.

Axios reported in April that House members had already spent nearly $1.4 million in official congressional funds on advertisements during the 2026 election cycle, describing the practice as incumbents using taxpayer dollars to give their reelection campaigns a “thinly veiled boost.”

The House’s own communications rules make the distinction on paper: official resources cannot be used for campaign content or electioneering. But lawmakers are still permitted to advertise their official work and constituent services — including with their own names and voices — until the pre-election blackout takes effect.

Miller had just promised to put $1 million of his own money into the race

The taxpayer-funded ad came only weeks after Miller publicly said he was prepared to spend heavily to keep his seat.

On Aug. 6, The Wall Street Journal reported that Miller planned to loan his reelection campaign $1 million, split into two $500,000 installments.

“I am invested in this election in every way and I will invest the resources into my campaign to win,” Miller told the newspaper.

“I am in this for the long haul,” he added.

Twenty-two days later, a radio advertisement featuring a constituent praising Miller was being paid for not by Miller’s campaign account, but by official congressional funds.

The distinction is important: the advertisement was legally classified as an official constituent communication, not campaign spending.

For taxpayers listening to it, however, the ad still repeatedly told them what Congressman Max Miller had done for a constituent weeks before a competitive election.

‘Cutting the fat’

That use of taxpayer money collides directly with the fiscal message Miller has spent years cultivating.

In February 2023, Miller was asked on Fox Business where Republicans intended to cut federal spending.

“We’re going to be looking over every single aspect of where we can be in cutting the fat out of the federal government,” Miller said.

He complained about trillions of dollars in federal spending and warned that continued spending would put the country “into an oblivion.”

The message continued into his reelection campaign.

In October 2024, Miller told Ohioans that inflation was hurting families and promised to address rising costs by “prioritizing responsible spending.”

And earlier this year, he again presented himself as a defender of taxpayers while promoting legislation targeting remaining COVID-era unemployment funds.

“Trying to distribute COVID-era funds years later is not relief, it’s an invitation for fraud,” Miller wrote in February. He said his legislation would “protect taxpayers” and “close the door on waste and abuse.”

Six months later, taxpayers were footing the bill for an advertisement centered on a constituent describing how Miller had helped her.

A taxpayer-funded advantage available only to the incumbent

Miller is running for a third term in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District against Democrat Brian Poindexter.

Poindexter cannot use congressional funds to buy radio advertisements describing people his campaign has helped. Miller can use official funds to advertise constituent services because he already holds the seat.

That is the advantage built into the franking system.

The practice is not unique to Miller and is used by incumbents of both parties.

But the amounts have become substantial.

Axios found that House offices spent a combined $44 million on franked mail during the 2024 election cycle, plus another $19 million on other official communications. About $5 million went toward television and digital advertising, according to advertising tracker AdImpact.

The spending has continued in 2026 as control of the House hangs in the balance.

And Miller is now running in a race that has drawn national attention after allegations of domestic abuse triggered calls from members of his own party for him to step aside. Miller has denied the allegations. The House Ethics Committee announced Aug. 4 that it was reviewing allegations involving Miller.

Miller refused to leave the race and instead announced plans to put $1 million of his own money behind his campaign.

But when it came time to tell Ohioans on the radio about the work of Congressman Max Miller, he did not need to reach into that campaign account.

Taxpayers picked up the bill.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

About six and a half hours later, Vivek Ramaswamy announced essentially the same core policy.

The chronology is straightforward: Acton went first. Ramaswamy went second.

Yet when Ramaswamy’s campaign unveiled its 90-day gas tax suspension Monday evening, its announcement carried a remarkable headline: “Vivek Leads and Delivers Real Solutions, While Acton Offers Tweets.”

By then, Acton had already publicly called for the state to suspend the tax.

The Statehouse News Bureau reported Monday evening that Ramaswamy’s announcement came “a few hours” after Acton’s proposal. Subsequent reporting put the gap at about six and a half hours.

It is the second time in less than two months that Ramaswamy has rolled out a major cost-related proposal after Acton had already moved on the issue.

Roughly 7 hours later

Acton announced Monday morning that she wanted lawmakers to approve an emergency gas tax holiday as gasoline and diesel prices remained elevated.

“I am immediately calling for an emergency gas tax holiday to offer Ohioans some relief,” Acton said. “We are facing an affordability crisis in Ohio.”

Hours later, Ramaswamy announced a 90-day suspension of Ohio’s 38.5-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax and 47-cent diesel tax.

His proposal went further on implementation. Ramaswamy enlisted Republican House Speaker Matt Huffman and Senate President Rob McColley, his running mate, and proposed replacing hundreds of millions of dollars in lost transportation revenue with state funds while lawmakers return to Columbus for a special session.

Those are substantive differences in the mechanics of the two proposals.

They do not change who proposed suspending the gas tax first.

Acton did.

Ramaswamy’s campaign nevertheless presented the Republican candidate as the one leading on the issue and dismissed Acton’s earlier proposal as an “empty statement.”

That posture also contrasts sharply with Ramaswamy’s own comments about affordability earlier in the campaign.

In April, The New York Times reported that Ramaswamy dismissed Democrats’ emphasis on affordability as a “buzzword,” arguing instead for an economic vision based on growth and technological development.

Five months later, his own gas tax announcement repeatedly invoked affordability, saying that “every trip to the grocery store, every fill-up at the pump, every monthly bill costs too much.”

Then there are the data centers

The gas tax sequence is not an isolated example.

On July 27, Acton announced a conditional moratorium on new data centers.

Her proposal said new projects should not proceed unless developers covered their utility costs, used union labor, operated transparently, met environmental standards, supported host communities and directed development toward former industrial areas.

“If you do not meet these conditions, we do not want you in Ohio,” Acton said.

Ten days later, on Aug. 6, Ramaswamy released his own data center plan.

He proposed requiring future data centers to provide free electricity or compensation to nearby households, pay full property taxes and comply with environmental and farmland protections.

And despite rejecting Acton’s terminology, Ramaswamy proposed a halt of his own.

He promised that on his first day as governor he would issue an executive order to “immediately halt the approval of any new data center project announcements in Ohio” until his proposed legislation took effect.

Then Ramaswamy accused Acton of copying him.

“My Democrat opponent recently announced that data centers must not contribute to higher electric bills for ratepayers, a concept that I advocated for in early 2025 long before she started parroting the same,” Ramaswamy wrote in his Aug. 6 announcement.

But his public record from early 2025 tells a very different story about how he was talking about the industry.

Ten times calling the boom ‘good’

TiffinOhio.net previously reviewed Ramaswamy’s recorded statements from March 27 through April 26, 2025.

In at least 10 separate appearances or posts during that one-month period, Ramaswamy described Ohio’s data center boom as “good,” “great” or something he strongly supported.

“We’ve got AI data centers moving to our state. That’s a good thing. It’s a good thing. I want the sectors of the future to come here,” he said March 27.

Days later, he said: “The AI data center boom is good for our region.”

On April 5, he was even more explicit: “We have an AI data center boom in the state of Ohio, which is great. I’m all for it, I’m strongly in favor of it.”

The documented March and April record contained no proposal to stop approvals, no conditional moratorium, no free electricity requirement and no farmland condition.

Ramaswamy’s argument at the time was that Ohio should build more electricity generation quickly enough to accommodate the new demand.

By Aug. 6 — after Acton had made data center restrictions a central campaign issue — Ramaswamy was promising to halt new approvals.

Experts tore into the centerpiece of his plan

Ramaswamy’s most attention-grabbing promise was that families living near new data centers would pay nothing for electricity.

Ashley Brown, a former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio commissioner and former executive director of the Harvard Electricity Policy Group, told The Blade the proposal was a “politically convenient stunt.”

“They’re not even remotely serious,” Brown said. “It’s just a gimmick to get them through the election.”

The problem is fundamental: electricity generation represents only part of a residential electric bill. Customers also pay transmission and distribution charges for the grid infrastructure that delivers electricity to their homes.

Ramaswamy’s campaign has argued that data centers could build excess generation and either credit that electricity to surrounding households or reimburse residents directly. But the proposal depends on legislation that does not yet exist and leaves significant questions about who would qualify and how utility charges would actually be eliminated.

Ramaswamy has money tied to the industry

There is another complication surrounding Ramaswamy’s evolution on data centers: his investment portfolio.

His April 2026 Ohio financial disclosure lists holdings in companies central to the data center economy, including NVIDIA, Microsoft and Amazon.

A May analysis by Innovation Ohio identified holdings throughout the data center supply chain, including semiconductor companies, cloud operators, industrial real estate and digital infrastructure investments.

His 2023 federal financial disclosure valued his position in the Strive U.S. Semiconductor ETF — a fund he helped launch — at between $1 million and $5 million. NVIDIA was the fund’s largest holding when Innovation Ohio reviewed it.

Ramaswamy also directly disclosed stock in NVIDIA, Microsoft and Amazon, companies whose businesses are deeply tied to the construction and operation of AI and cloud computing data centers.

Those investments do not mean Ramaswamy owns an Ohio data center, and diversified holdings do not rise or fall based on any single Ohio project. But they give Ramaswamy a personal financial stake in companies participating in the same broader industry whose growth, infrastructure demands and regulation have become major issues in the governor’s race.

As governor, Ramaswamy would make appointments affecting JobsOhio, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, the Ohio Power Siting Board and other state bodies with authority over energy infrastructure, incentives and regulation.

He has not announced that he will divest those holdings.

The timeline keeps pointing the same direction

On two of the biggest cost-related policy shifts of Ramaswamy’s general election campaign, the order of events is documented.

Acton called for an emergency gas tax holiday Monday morning. Roughly six and a half hours later, Ramaswamy announced a 90-day gas tax holiday and released it under a headline proclaiming that “Vivek Leads.”

Acton called for a conditional moratorium on data centers July 27. Ten days later, Ramaswamy announced a temporary halt on new approvals and a package of conditions of his own — while accusing Acton of “parroting” him.

And before either of those moves, Ramaswamy had spent weeks publicly praising the data center boom and had dismissed Democrats’ focus on affordability as a “buzzword.”

The Republican nominee is now campaigning as a candidate focused on bringing down Ohioans’ costs.

But on gas taxes and data centers, the chronology is clear: Amy Acton put the proposals on the table first. Ramaswamy followed.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Nationwide Energy Partners suffered major political losses this year at the Statehouse and the Ohio Supreme Court amid accusations of gouging customers on their electric bills. But the submetering company’s CEO has found the ear of a powerful politician on the team hoping to win the keys to the governor’s mansion on Election Day. 

The Columbus company’s CEO, TJ Harper, and Maria Haberman, a senior vice president and lobbyist, scheduled a 30-minute call in July followed by another in early August with Senate President Rob McColley, who is already one of the three most powerful Republicans in the Statehouse and is running to become lieutenant governor under Vivek Ramaswamy.

The Ohio Supreme Court this summer had ordered state regulators to consider Nationwide Energy Partners and other submeterers – which buy electricity at a wholesale rate and resell it to apartment renters at a retail price – as public utilities. Such a designation would apply strict regulations and transparency requirements not previously required of such companies. Nationwide Energy Partners mounted its legislative push to avoid this fate, which was thwarted by Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto pen. 

Neither the company nor McColley would say what the three discussed on their calls, but Haberman’s name appears on at least two other entries in McColley’s official calendar, obtained by Signal Statewide through a public records request. 

Haberman was just one of the 38 registered lobbyists who appeared on McColley’s calendar this year for calls, meetings and lunches. And she was one of a small subset of lobbyists to have appeared in four separate entries. 

The extensive list of government affairs professionals taking up McColley’s time in an election year highlights the endless number of interests seeking allies holding powerful jobs both today and tomorrow. 

The Senate presidency**,** McColley’s current role, is by nature one of the three top jobs in state politics, with the governor and speaker of the House as counterparts. Victory in November could boost McColley’s clout, depending on one’s viewpoint. He currently holds a lower profile but wields more explicit power shaping state budgets and laws. He might be more recognizable as lieutenant governor, but the role is less defined and seen as more of a sidekick than a superhero. 

Sitting lawmaker, future executive?

Only a few lobbyists matched Haberman’s four appearances on the Senate president’s calendar: They include Kevin Schmidt, of Strategic Public Partners, and Mariah Field, of the CJR Group. 

Some lobbyists helped broker meetings between McColley and their clients, the calendar shows. Bill Byers, of Byers Minton, helped arrange a March 4 call between McColley and Palmer Luckey, CEO of Anduril, a company building an advanced weapons facility in central Ohio. It is set to receive hundreds of millions in tax breaks if it meets certain performance standards. 

The calendar entries don’t include any details on subject matter. Determining as much is complicated by the fact that many contract lobbyists juggle dozens of clients. Byers, who didn’t return a phone call or email, is currently registered on behalf of more than 60 entities ranging from the Cleveland Browns to the City of Columbus to DaVita Healthcare. 

Other CEOs made appearances. One entry on April 15 notes a meeting with the “CEO of SoftBank” and Schmidt, who’s registered to lobby for the company. 

Neither the CEOs of SoftBank nor SBEnergy attended, per company spokeswoman Ally Copple. The company and McColley discussed the scope and details of the company’s planned data center in Piketon and accompanying natural gas-fired power plant, which end user OpenAI has called the largest data center in America. 

Other data center developers appeared in the calendar. Amazon Web Services, the company’s data center arm, set up a March 4 meeting with McColley and its lobbyist, Kurt Leib. 

Some lobbyists are campaign donors

In some cases, the lobbyists and the clients McColley met with were also current or to-be donors to Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial campaign. 

For instance, Byers has given more than $33,000 to Ramaswamy’s campaign, state records show. Luckey, Anduril’s CEO and Byers’ client, gave $16,600, the legal maximum for the cycle. 

Bobby Kovey, a lobbyist with the Credo Co., met with McColley in January before writing a $10,000 check in June. 

Will Hinman and Andy Bowers are listed as having met with McColley in February, several months before the two Hinman Bowers partners each wrote $10,000 checks to the Ramaswamy-McColley campaign in July. 

Hinman, in an interview, said he didn’t remember the specific meeting but it probably occurred. He said there’s nothing shocking about lobbyists meeting with lawmakers – it’s a standard and “unsensational” part of the job. He said it would be inappropriate to discuss contributions in an official (meaning nonpolitical) context. 

“I don’t think that it’s front of mind,” he said. “When we’re meeting with officials, we’re talking about issues that are pending and of importance to our clients and not discussing political activity at all.”

Along with contract lobbyists, some single-focus advocates appeared in McColley’s calendars. These include Rob Sexton, a consultant for the Buckeye Firearms Association, Chris Dorr, of the Ohio Gun Owners, and Pat Tiberi of the Ohio Business Roundtable, among others. 

There’s nothing illegal or unusual about a legislative leader meeting with lobbyists – lawmakers want to hear from businesses, and lobbyists want their clients’ issues in lawmakers’ ears. 

A problem arises, however, when the corporate world has open channels to political power that the public lacks, according to Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, which advocates for open government and stronger transparency laws.

Turcer (who is herself a lobbyist) said data centers are a telling example. The calendars reflect several lobbyists representing data centers among other clients who managed to lock down time with McColley. She compared that to a shared feeling of disenfranchisement from Ohioans around the state who have felt unheard and unable to stop data centers from coming to town. 

“So often, these folks facing real problems in their community have a hard time getting the ear of the senate president and other elected officials,” Turcer said. 

“It’s business as usual in some ways, but the problem is business as usual means Ohio voters don’t have the same kinds of access, and their needs may not get a fair hearing.”

Signal Ohio is a nonprofit news organization covering government, education, health, economy and public safety.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Ramaswamy insisted his proposal is different because he’s working with the legislature “to lead through action rather than through tweets and statements.”

“The level of detail from her gas tax proposal? Non-existent,” Ramaswamy said. “This is why this woman, I think, is disqualified from leading the state. I mean, the answer is if she can’t offer specifics, if she can’t stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us on a debate stage, she doesn’t have what it takes to lead the state.”

In a statement, Acton campaign spokesperson Addie Bullock said, “Dr. Acton has been clear throughout her campaign; she will work with anyone, Republican or Democrat, to deliver for Ohioans.”

She emphasized Acton raised the idea of a gas tax holiday first and added, “Vivek Ramaswamy is following Dr. Acton’s bold leadership with emergency relief at the gas pump.”

The legislature is embracing Ramaswamy’s plan with Ohio Senate President Rob McColley as his running mate. Amid the rising cost of gas and diesel fuel, polls show frustration with Republican leadership ahead of the midterm election.

What’s the plan for the gas tax?

Gas taxes fund work on roads and bridges around Ohio. Drivers pay 38.5 cents per gallon on gas and 47 cents per gallon for diesel. In the past several years, gas taxes have generated about $2.6 billion annually.

The Ohio Contractors Association, which represents the highway and utility construction industry was quick to warn against lost tax revenue.

“Any temporary suspension must include replacement funding that makes the state and local transportation programs whole,” Association President Chris Runyan said, “and ensures that no transportation project is delayed, deferred or canceled as a result.”

Runyan said Ohio’s transportation investments are “vital to our economy.”

“Relief for Ohio families and businesses and continued investment in the transportation system they rely on can — and should — go hand in hand.”

Ramaswamy’s plan would replace three months of lost revenue with cash from state transportation balances, then the general revenue fund, and potentially even the rainy-day fund. But McColley expressed confidence that “due to good fiscal stewardship,” the state could absorb the tax break without dipping into its reserves.

After the event, Ohio’s Office of Management and Budget clarified that the Ohio Department of Transportation has no cash balance left in its current budget.

The Highway Operating Fund has a cash balance “just under $1.6 billion and the balance fluctuates daily,” OBM Spokesman Pete LuPiba explained. “It supports $5 billion open purchase orders for operations, maintenance, and capital improvements. There is no money in the account that is not planned for future projects.”

Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman said the total cost would likely land somewhere between $640 and $700 million.

“This is eminently achievable. It’s fiscally achievable,” Ramaswamy said. “Ohio, under Republican leadership, has thankfully been on a good fiscal trajectory that we can do this, and if we can do it, that, in this moment, means that we should.”

Huffman and Senate President McColley committed to calling their members back to the Statehouse to vote on legislation. They’re planning to have both chambers in session next Wednesday, Sept. 30.

Even if their legislation passes, lawmakers could have trouble getting Gov. Mike DeWine on board. Back in 2019, he negotiated a gas tax increase, and earlier this year he shot down a proposed gas tax holiday.

McColley said he’s had conversations with DeWine and believes the governor remains open minded about their plan.

The Ohio Capital Journal reached out to the governor’s office for comment. A spokesman said “we have not yet issued any statements on these proposals.”

Why now?

Ramaswamy, Huffman, and McColley all dismissed suggestions that their proposal is yet another bid to juice turnout for Republicans in an unfavorable political environment.

Ohio’s Republican supermajority has already advanced an amendment writing existing photo voter ID laws into the state constitution. Earlier this month President Donald Trump promised voters $5,000 checks if the GOP holds the U.S. House and Senate.

Huffman repeatedly said “this is not a radical proposal” and pointed back to the Republican gas tax holiday measure DeWine dismissed earlier this year.

“We’ve been talking about this for months,” he said. “It’s not like, hey, there’s an election coming up here. Why don’t we do something?”

The legislation Huffman referenced, however, hasn’t gotten a single hearing.

“Frankly,” McColley said, “for us to sit by idly during a time of fiscal emergency for our families, for Ohioans, simply because there’s an election coming up, that would be an abdication of our duties.”

All three men stressed that a sharp uptick in fuel costs, particularly diesel, pushed them to act. The primary drivers of that increase are ongoing wars in Ukraine and Iran.

The former, President Donald Trump promised to end “even before becoming president,” and the latter, Trump promised would conclude “very shortly” almost six months ago.

Ramaswamy referenced “Russian refinery issues” but not the war in Iran. Pressed on whether President Trump, whose endorsement helped him clear the Republican field, needs to end the war, Ramaswamy said foreign policy is out of his hands.

“Would (I) rather not have that war? Absolutely,” Ramaswamy said. “I certainly — we’re all in that camp, right? Every American is probably in that camp.”

Democratic buy in?

Huffman promised a vote and an emergency clause to ensure the tax cut takes effect immediately. To clear that bar, however, Huffman acknowledged Republicans will need buy-in from Democrats.

“I think Democrats who vote against this are doing it at their peril,” he said. “This is a very easily understood issue: should you not have to pay gas tax for the next 90 days without interruption in roads (funding)?”

With Acton’s campaign claiming credit for putting the conversation front and center, some Democrats might support the idea, but some had critiques.

In a press release, Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn agreed that Ohioans “desperately need relief from the costs of the failed war in the Middle East,” but he said Ramaswamy’s “knee-jerk response to Dr. Acton’s plan has demonstrated no understanding of how the state government works, how the budget is structured, or how taxpayer dollars should be spent.”

Isaacsohn noted the Ohio Department of Transportation doesn’t have surplus funding and Ramaswamy’s reliance on it as a source for the tax break demonstrates “confusion” or “recklessness.”

But there’s plenty of money readily available, Isaacsohn said.

“We can enact Dr. Acton’s Gas Tax Holiday, but it has to be paid for in a way that makes sense for Ohioans,” Isaacsohn said. “A gas tax holiday could be paid for with the $600 million the Republican legislature has tried to allocate to billionaire Jimmy Haslam for his NFL team.”

Asked if he had a comment about Isaacsohn’s suggestion, Huffman laughed and said no.

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, the chair of the Crime and Counterterrorism Subcommittee, said the point of the hearing was to find out “what is going on with the expanding surveillance network that appears to be going coast to coast in this country.”

Hawley said he invited the CEO of Flock Safety to testify, but he did not appear. 

Senators heard from a woman wrongly arrested over a fatal car crash after a Flock camera captured a photo of her vehicle three miles from the crash site.

They speculated that more people could be falsely accused based on inaccurate information gathered by the devices. They also said Fourth Amendment violations were likely because the law enforcement agencies that use the service are able to use the data to track movements without a warrant.  

“If you haven’t heard of Flock, all I have to say is Flock’s probably heard of you,” Hawley said. “I’m sure we’re all in the database.”

Flock did not respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment. 

What is Flock?

Flock cameras track and record every motor vehicle that comes into view, including its license plate number, make, model, bumper stickers and color. They can also capture images of people.  

The information is then uploaded to a database that any law enforcement agency that contracts with the company can access without a warrant. 

There are more than 120,000 Flock cameras installed across the country from highways to outside grocery stores, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. The only U.S. state that does not have a Flock camera is Hawaii.

Media outlets such as The Washington Post have documented abuses of the service, including law enforcement officers using the devices to stalk ex-girlfriends.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also tapped into Flock data through local law enforcement officials to read license plates for immigration-related searches, even though Flock denies having a contract with ICE. 

The backlash to the possibility of mass surveillance has been strong, with NPR reporting vandalization of Flock cameras.

Arizona sheriff brushed off, he says

One of the witnesses at Wednesday’s hearing, Ross Teeple, the sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona, said he ultimately decided to end a contract with Flock because he had raised privacy concerns the company did not adequately address. 

Some of his constituents said they were worried that people could be identified in images taken by Flock cameras. He said when he asked the company about how people could be clearly seen in the images, he felt the company brushed aside his concerns and told him the image resolution was not good enough to recognize a person.

“I’m looking at camera pictures where I could recognize the person on the camera, but that was their claim …, and there was just too much disinformation from them and dishonesty,” he said. “I was trying to get answers from them, and they would not give me answers… and there were too many concerns. So we just decided not to continue our contract.”

False accusation

Hawley said his main worries were personal privacy and that people have the right to be treated as innocent until proven guilty. 

He pointed to one of the witnesses, Lindsey Isaacs of Florida, who was wrongly accused of being involved in a car accident that killed three people because a Flock automated license plate recognition camera saw her vehicle about three miles west of the crash scene. 

The car involved in the crash was a Dodge Durango, the same make and model as Isaacs’. But hers was black, while the car in the crash was maroon, as described by a witness. 

Law enforcement still arrested her at her home. 

She spent three days in solitary confinement and then moved to another maximum-security unit for 10 days before she was released and state prosecutors dropped charges, she told the panel.

“In my case, a Flock camera captured my vehicle a few miles from the scene of a terrible crash,” she said. “That piece of information became part of an investigation that ultimately led to my arrest on three counts of vehicular homicide and 13 days in jail for a crash I had nothing to do with.”

Hawley said what he finds “so troubling” is that many drivers or people walking by are being surveilled and they’ve done nothing wrong. 

“It sounds as if, based on the reports we’ve heard, it’s treating every citizen in America, I mean, by now, surely almost all of us have been scanned and logged as if we are criminals, yet without any due process, without any reasonable suspicion, without any articulable suspicion whatsoever,” he said. “This just seems very, very strange, to put it mildly, and something I think this committee really needs to hear about.”

Abortion tracking

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker asked if Flock cameras could be used to track women in states with strict abortion laws.

ACLU’s Chad Marlow, senior policy counsel, said that it would be easy to track people searching for those services. 

Hawley agreed with Booker and also questioned how easy it would be to create a database of certain people, such as those who attend gun shows.

“When you have this amount of data available, the temptations to use it are going to be absolutely incredible, if not irresistible,” he said. 

Marlow said the scenarios that Booker and Hawley cited are closer than they think. 

“If you build it, they will come,” he said. “I so much appreciate that you’re bringing (up) abortion care seekers and gun owners because they are part of the same community when it comes to the threat of mass surveillance. This is something we need to be worried about because when you create the temptation, when you create the option for population control, at some point someone’s going to use it.”

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Kelly, in the eight-page order, said that the White House must “immediately return, reinstate, and restore the White House ‘hard pass’ press credentials held by employees of CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO that were revoked” Friday and over the weekend.

The White House, however, didn’t appear to be following the ruling as of 10 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, when attorneys representing the news organizations filed a brief asking the court to hold a videoconference meeting as soon as possible. 

“This morning journalists from each of CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO attempted to enter the White House and were turned away. A Secret Service agent confiscated the hard pass of journalists from all three organizations,” they wrote. 

Micah Stopperich, director of White House press operations, declared in a court filing just before 12:30 p.m. Eastern that his team delivered the press badges to the entry gate at 9:55 a.m. Eastern to be distributed to members of the media who had them confiscated. 

Kelly’s order will continue for 14 days while the case continues to be fought in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Trump is scheduled to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House Thursday.

Although Trump has indicated he will appeal any court ruling on the matter, Kelly noted that temporary restraining orders are “generally unappealable.” He said he would schedule a hearing for motions for a preliminary injunction, which would last until the final outcome of the suit and could be appealed.

The case began Monday when the three news outlets sued the Trump administration for barring their reporters from entering the White House grounds. 

The news organizations asked the district court to grant them either a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction that would require the White House to return the press passes, allowing the journalists to work from the complex once again. 

Kelly, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, had heard arguments in the case on Wednesday and appeared skeptical at the time of Department of Justice arguments. In his ruling, he said it appeared likely that the news outlets would succeed with their claim that journalists were denied their due process rights before their passes were confiscated.

While the Department of Justice argued that earlier cases dealing with press access to the White House were wrongly decided in journalists’ favor, Kelly said that he was “bound by D.C. Circuit precedent, full stop,” referring to earlier rulings by the appeals court.

Kelly in his order also expressed doubt about Department of Justice arguments that the ban was in response to concerns about articles that dealt with national security or classified information, saying DOJ “offered little” to back up that contention. 

Some news articles cited by the administration as endangering national security were written by reporters who didn’t even have White House passes, he noted.

Trump did not mention national security in announcing the ban and “instead, he focused on the alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity of Plaintiffs’ reporting,” Kelly said. 

“For another—and simply put—the record lacks factual support for Defendants’ contention that the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the Court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds,” Kelly said. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from States Newsroom. 

Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., the lawyer for the news outlets, praised the decision. “This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law,” he said in a statement. “We greatly appreciate the court’s swift action.”

Jennifer Shutt and Ashley Murray contributed to this report. 

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Republicans, vying to defend their majority in the House and Senate in the midterm elections less than six weeks away, have pursued a broad anti-trans agenda alongside President Donald Trump’s administration. Republicans on  Wednesday framed the issue as protecting women’s sports. 

“Biological women should not be asked to accommodate men who, for reasons of identity or otherwise, choose to compete in (the) women’s category instead of (the) men’s or co-ed category,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, chair of the Judiciary panel. 

“Women were last to get the vote, to participate in professions, to serve on juries, get credit cards in their own names and so much more,” the Iowa Republican said. “Women should not again be asked to cede their opportunities just to make men comfortable.” 

The GOP-led panel brought in advocates, who spoke out against transgender athletes’ participation in sports that align with their gender identity. 

Dems absent

Democrats on the panel largely sat the hearing out, drawing the ire of GOP members.

In the only statement by a Democrat during the hearing, the panel’s ranking member, Sen. Dick Durbin, used his opening remarks to question his GOP counterparts’ priorities amid Americans’ affordability concerns. 

“If you ask the American people, ‘What are the priority issues you hope Congress will address as soon as possible?’ the issue of this hearing would not be in the top 10, maybe not the top 20,” the Illinois Democrat said. 

“People are concerned about the cost of living, they’re concerned about the ability to pay for the college education of their kids, they’re concerned about their utility bills, they’re concerned about their grocery bills — they want to know what we’re doing about it,” he added. 

Republicans on the panel noted Democrats’ absence.

“Not one member on the other side of the aisle has had the respect for women to come in here and ask questions, to figure out how we get this right, how we stand up for fairness, for safety, for an opportunity for young women across the country,” GOP Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama said at the hearing. “It’s absolutely absurd.”

But Durbin pointed to a similar 2024 hearing that saw NCAA President Charlie Baker tell senators that of the more than half-million total athletes in NCAA schools, he knew of fewer than 10 who were transgender. 

“We can all agree that we want to be fair and safe in women’s athletics, but this vendetta against a small number of people in the trans community affects everyone, including cisgender girls who can be subject to inappropriate gender verification checks,” Durbin said. 

At a press conference after the hearing, GOP Sens. Ashley Moody of Florida, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Darline Graham of South Carolina and Britt, along with several athletes and advocates, continued to blast the inclusion of trans athletes on women’s sports teams. 

“It shouldn’t be complicated,” Moody said. “Men do not belong in women’s sports. Women’s sports exist for a reason, and if we’re going to have women’s sports, we must protect women’s sports.”

Hot topic

The issue has been the subject of intense debate in recent years.

The House passed a bill in January 2025 that would bar trans students’ participation in women’s school sports teams consistent with their gender identity. 

But Senate Democrats blocked an effort in March of that year aimed at imposing such a ban and codifying Trump’s 2025 executive order on the issue. 

The U.S. Supreme Court in June upheld state laws banning transgender athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.

The court’s decision — which has no impact on states without such bans — marked a major setback for transgender rights across the nation. 

Meanwhile, a major bipartisan bill to regulate college athletes’ compensation and establish additional protections for women’s and Olympic sports continues to advance in the Senate.

Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Republicans have made clear that the bill would not preempt state laws regarding the participation of trans athletes in women’s sports.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Ohio Democratic candidate Dr. Amy Acton recently announced she would impose a “three-year moratorium on issuing additional permits for the drilling of wastewater injection wells and on the further injection of fracking wastewater in Washington County while the state conducts a thorough investigation on the impacts of wastewater migration.”

Ohio Libertarian candidate Don Kissick also supports a temporary pause on more wastewater injection activity in Washington County while the state conducts an investigation. 

“That should include aggressive groundwater and drinking-water monitoring, transparency around migration data, and accountability when an operator causes contamination or damage,” Kissick’s running mate James Mills said in an email. 

“Washington County residents should not have to choose between supporting an important local industry and confidence in the safety of their drinking water.” 

Washington County residents have been raising concerns that injection wells leaking brine waste could contaminate Marietta’s drinking water. Fracking is the process of injecting liquid into the ground at a high pressure to extract oil or gas.

“To take a break and have a study done is in the interest of everybody in this county, not Democrats, not Republicans, everyone alike, and so it’s a bipartisan issue down here, and it’s a reasonable ask,” said Marietta City Council President Susan Vessels. 

“We’re asking for the simple rule: don’t allow oil field waste injection near public drinking water aquifers. So that should be simple.”

Vessels, who is a Republican, endorsed Acton. 

“It’s very encouraging that her campaign heard about this problem, and studied it, and then thought that it was something that they could help with,” she said. 

In making her announcement, Acton said that in Washington County, injection wells are leaking fracking wastewater, flooding conventional oil and gas wells, leaving folks without heat, destroying local businesses, and potentially contaminating Marietta’s drinking water.

“This poses a serious threat to the safety and quality of life of Washington County residents,” Acton said. “That is why I support imposing a three-year moratorium on issuing additional permits for the drilling of wastewater injection wells and on the further injection of fracking wastewater in Washington County while the state conducts a thorough investigation on the impacts of wastewater migration.”

She said Ohioans deserve reliable heat, clean water, and to feel safe and secure in their community.

“I will always put the health and safety of Ohio families and communities above corporations and special interests,” she said.

Ohio Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign did not respond to questions sent by the Ohio Capital Journal. He has consistently expressed his support for oil and gas extraction in the past.

“Yeah, this isn’t that complicated, guys. Unlock American energy, drill, frack, burn coal, embrace nuclear,” he said during a 2024 Presidential debate.

While Ramaswamy has declined to respond to the Capital Journal and other local Ohio media about the issues of fracking and fracking waste injection, his campaign did provide comment to the New York Times on Acton’s proposal.

“A campaign spokesman for Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Dr. Acton’s position is ‘hollow and can’t withstand scrutiny,’” the Times reported.

Washington County has 17 injection wells with permits to inject, but only six are active, Vessels said. 

Ohio Oil and Gas Association President Rob Brundrett said a moratorium is not a solution. 

“Science, facts, and sound regulation, not politics and campaign rhetoric, are what will ensure both safe operations and a strong future for Ohio’s oil and natural gas industry,” he said in a statement. 

“The path forward is to allow Ohio’s regulatory process to work as designed while protecting the conventional production and supporting infrastructure that provide significant benefits to communities across our state.”

Acton wants to end fracking under Ohio’s state parks and wildlife areas.

“She believes that we can invest in a robust energy plan for Ohio without sacrificing Ohio’s forests, wildlife, or treasured natural resources — which is why she does not support fracking beneath Ohio state parks or wildlife areas,” according to her campaign.

Ramaswamy said it was “good news” when the state approved to frack more than 15,000 acres of Ohio’s public land over the summer. 

“Energy abundance is the foundation of a manufacturing boom in Ohio,” he said in a June 30 post on X. “We have unparalleled natural resources & now it’s time to get the red tape out of the way.”

Ohio law allows the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to lease Ohio state parks and public lands for fracking. 

Since this law took effect in 2023, fracking has been approved in Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County, Egypt Valley Wildlife Area in Belmont and Guernsey counties, Jockey Hollow Wildlife Area in Harrison County, Leesville Wildlife Area in Carroll County, and Keen Wildlife Area in Harrison County. 

Ohio law requires at least 30% of the money goes towards improvements at the state parks where drilling is happening. 

“It’s great for nature. It’s great for our ability to enjoy our natural gifts, enjoy our state parks, while also enjoying the fruits of the natural resources that are underneath them,” Ramaswamy said in a June 7 video posted to Facebook.  

Kissick opposes fracking in state parks. 

“They belong to the people of Ohio, and the short-term revenue from extraction does not fully account for the value of preserving an irreplaceable public asset for future generations,” Mills said in an email.

Kissick is in favor of fracking on private property “where property rights are respected and strong environmental and safety standards are met,” Mills said in an email. 

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on X or on Bluesky.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

At the same time, many billionaire contributors are doing little to oppose laws that shred the social safety net, it said. Nor are many speaking out against attacks on democracy, it added.

But some charitable foundations are showing solidarity with groups that have found themselves under attack — including an Ohio voting-rights group that was subject to a statewide FBI search earlier this year, it said. 

Overall, the report says, much of modern American philanthropy isn’t helping the poor, it’s really helping the rich entrench their wealth, the report, Gilded Giving 2026, by the Institute for Policy Studies says.

“For many extremely wealthy Americans, philanthropy — ostensibly a form of generosity — has become part of that defense of extreme wealth,” it said. 

“Philanthropy is definitionally a phenomenon of wealth inequality: Someone with resources to spare chooses how and where to deploy them,” it said. “But whatever good charity, voluntarism, or institutional giving can do is undercut by our tax code, which turns philanthropy into a vehicle for defending wealth and status.”

More billions

Assets of the 144 charitable foundations with $1 billion or more grew from $420 billion in 2020 to $597 billion in 2024 — a 42% increase, the report’s analysis of IRS data said. 

Meanwhile, charitable grants grew from $25 billion to $34 billion over the same period — a comparable, 36% increase, it said.

However, the report said, the median annual payout by the foundations was 5.1% — barely above the IRS requirement that the foundations’ annual payouts and administrative costs total more than 5% of their assets.

Also, the Institute for Policy Studies analysis said, the rules allow foundations that pay more than 5% in a given year to pay less than others. Some foundations connected with booming corporations seem focused on giving just the bare minimum, it said.

“The nation’s now-largest foundation, the Lilly Endowment, reached a 5% payout in 2025 for the first time since 2009,” the report said. “Their payout was just 3% in 2024 and 3.4% in 2023. Their assets have more than doubled in value since 2022 due to the popularity and proliferation of GLP-1 drugs.” 

It’s important to note that the GLP-1 maker, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co., and the Lilly Endowment are separate legal entities, but they are connected.

“The Lilly Endowment was created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his two sons, J.K. Lilly Jr. and Eli Lilly, who also headed the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company,” Influence Watch reports. “Although the endowment and the company are legally separate, the endowment remains a substantial shareholder in the company.”

The Lilly Endowment said it didn’t agree with the Institute for Policy Studies’ characterization of its giving.

“A private foundation such as Lilly Endowment is required under federal tax law to make eligible charitable expenditures that equal or exceed 5% of the average fair market value of the foundation’s investment assets during a given year, subject to adjustments as provided in that law,” Judith Cebula, the endowment’s communications director, said in an email.

“This amount, which is determined by a complex calculation, must be paid over a two-year period including the year of the calculation and the following 12 months. The amount varies each year based on the value of Lilly Endowment’s investment assets. Lilly Endowment has always exceeded its required payout.”

Strong tax incentives, mild courage

Others note that as the extremely wealthy sock money into foundations, they get big tax breaks for doing so — a de-facto tax subsidy.

“Higher-income individuals generally save more taxes by giving to charity than those with lower incomes for two reasons: they have higher marginal tax rates, and they are more likely to itemize deductions and take advantage of the tax savings,” the Tax Policy Center reports.

A 2019 academic paper by two tax experts said those subsidies can be big — as high as 74%.

As tax-exempt contributions accumulated in billion-dollar foundations, a critical mass of rich-and-powerful givers did little to stop President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the report said. 

That law gave $1 trillion in tax breaks to the wealthiest 1% of Americans while slashing a similar amount from Medicaid and federal food assistance. In other words, it gave additional cuts to billionaires giving tax-free donations to charitable organizations while slashing resources to a group that would seem the most likely object of their charity.

Not only does it accuse many billionaire philanthropists of failing to protect struggling Americans, the Institute for Policy Studies report said they capitulated to authoritarian attacks on charitable organizations that fight hate and promote democracy.

For example, charitable organizations affiliated with financial services giants Fidelity, Vanguard, and Charles Schwab earlier this year blocked contributions to the Southern Poverty Law Center after the Trump Justice Department indicted the anti-hate watchdog on charges of committing financial crimes.

Criticized by independent organizations as politically motivated, the poverty law center has asked that the charges be dropped on grounds of vindictive prosecution.

“The administration has continued to ramp up pressure on funders and nonprofits to curtail activities it now defines as ‘illegal’, even absent any new statutes,” the report said.

“This has the effect of instilling fear among funders, and caution in supporting groups and programs targeted by the executive branch and fiery Congressional hearings.”

Some foundations fight back

The Institute for Policy Studies report said that some foundations have come to the defense of groups it sees saw as victims of Trump’s anti-democratic attacks.

FBI agents in June conducted a statewide sweep targeting the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a group that promotes voting rights — particularly those of historically disenfranchised groups.

When it did, the head of one foundation, Democracy Fund President Joe Goldman, put it in the context of the administration’s other actions.

“They are a coordinated effort to raise the cost of every part of the democratic process, from running a nonprofit to registering a neighbor to showing up on Election Day,” the report quoted him as saying.

“President Trump (has) raised the specter of widespread election fraud and manipulation, while his administration dismantles the institutions responsible for identifying and preventing threats. The only reasonable conclusion is that manufactured fears of fraud are being used to expand political control over elections.”

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Invoices released recently show that Eastern Airlines, Global X and Air Wisconsin owe a combined $46,513 for 148 landings since the end of April, $33,927 of which is past due for landings in May, June and July. Airport vice president Lisa Dalpiaz said the charter companies have not communicated with the airport about the late fees.

Not included in the billing is the long week from Friday of Labor Day weekend to the following Friday, which may have been the busiest period so far.

Through Sept. 17, the total landings had risen to 167 since ICE moved deportation flights to Akron-Canton from Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, which partially closed its longest runway for repairs. 

The flights

Akron-Canton has become a Great Lakes hub, with planes landing here in the evening, often from a major ICE prison and deportation center in Alexandria, Louisiana, and on occasion directly from Tapachula, Mexico, the end point for many of the deportees.

The flights can be tracked on the website FlightAware.com which maintains a robust database of commercial and private plane fights.

The plane rests on the tarmac of a private contractor, Avflight, at the northwest corner of the airport on West Airport Drive. Avflight is a Michigan-based company that provides flight services to aircraft owners — a service known as Fixed Base Operator.

On the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 9 alone, three prison buses, transport vans from the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio west of Toledo and Butler County Jail near Dayton, federally licensed vehicles and privately licensed black SUVs arrived to load an Eastern Air Express Boeing 737.

The jet would make a short stop in Indianapolis before heading to Alexandria, Louisiana, according to FlightAware.com. 

Three hours earlier, a Global X jet departed for Alexandria from the same Avflight facility.

The Boeing 737s operated by Eastern Air Express and Airbus A320 and A319 range in capacity from 125 to about 180 passengers. 

Sept. 9 was one of the most active days in at least the last six weeks and was watched by a small group of protesters near the site.

Erin Bracken-Sanchez of Canton said that as one of the buses turned onto West Airport Drive she could see the silhouettes of the prisoners looking  through the smoked glass.

“It was ominous. We may be the last people they see on this side who support them,” she said.

Bracken-Sanchez said she is a member of the Buckeye Veterans Coalition and former member of the Army and Ohio Air National Guard. She said she’s in disbelief as she watches deportation activities across the street from the Air National Guard station where she previously was assigned.

The Labor Day week’s heavy activity began with a Global X Airbus A320 arriving early Sept. 5 from Alexandria. Within two hours of landing, the plane was back in the air to Alexandria.

This was unusual because to date almost every flight by Global X, Eastern Air Express and Air Wisconsin arrived in the evening, sat on the tarmac overnight and then left the next morning.

Since Labor Day week, traffic has lightened. A Global X Airbus that arrived Sunday directly from Tapachula, Mexico, remained idle on the tarmac through Wednesday and Eastern Air skipped two days.

Most of the information for this story was obtained by observations by a reporter, sometimes several times a day at the airport, and the use of the FlightAware.

Only the Akron-Canton Regional Airport Authority has been forthcoming with prompt answers to questions and records requests — and the airport has no direct involvement in the deportation operations.

Observations suggest a routine for departures, which most frequently occur between 8 and 11 a.m. A flight plan is filed several hours before planned takeoff, workers arrive at Avflight and begin preparations, then prison vehicles, ICE cars and black SUVs with tinted glass arrive about 90 minutes before departure.

Vehicles line up outside the gate until all have arrived, then the gate is opened to move all vehicles onto the tarmac. Every detainee’s wrist and ankle binders are checked before boarding. Buses then move outside and stay until the plane rolls away — too late for a lawyer to extract a client from the plane.

A variety of vehicles have been observed, among them transport vehicles operated by the private prison company CoreCivic, a white unmarked turtle top bus from Butler County, and black Ford transit vans from Mahoning County.

Though the turtle top and transit vans are unmarked, ownership of the county vehicles was confirmed by license plate checks through the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Ohio agency plates are public record.

U.S. government vehicles, including a transport van, also have been observed in the past two weeks.

Weeks of records requests and questions directed to government agencies and private contractors have been largely unanswered except with a common refrain: Talk to ICE. 

Butler County

On Aug. 12, the Butler County sheriff acknowledged receipt of a reporter’s questions about the logistics of transporting ICE prisoners to Akron-Canton, a nearly four-hour trip.

The Butler County Sheriff has been a major collaborator with ICE and the county jail is used to temporarily house Haitian immigrants captured in the Springfield, Ohio, area.

The sheriff was asked to explain how deputies on a Butler County prison bus received instructions for an Aug. 6 trip to the airport. The sheriff was asked where prisoners were picked up and how many were eventually delivered to the airport. There also was a request for financial information on payments from the federal government.

After no response for two weeks, the sheriff’s office was asked about the status of the records request.

Jonathan Davidson, a lawyer for the sheriff, responded: “The only information that I would be able to provide in response to your request is the financials that were submitted to ICE for transportation. All of your other requests would need to be directed to ICE.”  

Arrests

Emails to ICE media relations have been unanswered for more than two weeks. However, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin traveled to Ohio Labor Day weekend for a meeting with police, ICE and other federal authorities and announced the arrest of 50,925 people across the country in August.

The Springfield Sun-News reported that Mullin also disclosed that 380 were arrested in Springfield, but there was no timeframe for the arrests. Cleveland.com reported a one-day sweep of 51 people in Lorain County. Transporting the arrestees from just those two cities could require three jets.

The Ohio Immigrant Alliance recently released a report showing that 448 people were booked into four publicly owned county jails on behalf of ICE between July 27 and Aug. 31. The numbers came from the jails and other federal booking data. 

The jails are in Butler County, which the report shows accounts for more than two-thirds of all immigrant detentions, Mahoning County, the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio and the Seneca County Jail. The Geauga County jail doesn’t publish data online and a privately run prison in Youngstown, a major immigrant detention facility operated by CoreCivic, does not disclose numbers. 

Landing fees

The Akron-Canton Airport is still waiting to get paid its landing fees for the ICE transports in recent months.

Vice President James Krum provided copies of invoices showing that Eastern Airlines owed $41,900 for 136 landings of three versions of the Boeing 737 during the first four months of operations. 

Global X owed $2,657 for 13 landings in July and August by two versions of an Airbus. 

Air Wisconsin, which was added to the flights in July, owed $921 for 18 landings by a much smaller jet, a CRJ200.  

The total for three months of landings is $46,513 – an amount that’s equal to roughly 4% of the airport’s total land-fee revenues of $1.1 million in 2025. 

The airport is a public agency bound by public records laws. While ICE is obliged to disclose contracts and provide arrest and deportation data – and is dragging its feet at that – the federal agency  has turned over the daily business of deportations to private contractors who are not required to discuss details of their work.  

None of the airlines — Eastern Airlines, Global X and Air Wisconsin — responded to emails to their media portals submitted on Sept. 1. 

Avflight, the private contractor that services the deportation planes and provides access to the West Airport Drive tarmac for ground transportation, was twice asked a series of questions, beginning in July,  about how it coordinates with the charter companies and prison buses. 

On Sept. 4 the company emailed this response from company senior vice president Joe Meszaros:

“Avflight does not publicly disclose non-public commercial, billing, contractual or operational information regarding the aircraft and operators it services. This includes information regarding invoices and payment arrangements, service coordination, passenger activity and specific flight-handling details.

“As a fixed-base operator at Akron-Canton Airport, Avflight provides aviation services on a non-discriminatory basis in accordance with applicable FAA and airport requirements. Questions regarding flight operations or government activities are best directed to the appropriate aircraft operator.”

Return to Youngstown?

When the deportation flights were relocated to Akron-Canton from Youngstown there was an understanding at the airport authorities that the traffic would return to Youngstown. The construction was completed in the last week of August.

Neither airport has heard whether ICE will return to Youngstown Warren, which is in a more remote location and only about 15 minutes from the CoreCivic private prison in Youngstown, which is a major ICE contractor. Youngstown Warren also is in a far more remote location than Akron-Canton, which is on a major interstate between two large cities.

Youngstown-Warren airport director of engineering and construction Randy Partika said on Sept. 1, “The runway re-opened last week. Any Homeland security flights would be handled thru JETS FBO and though we know their intent is to maybe return, you should reach out to them for any details.” 

An email to JETS has not yet been answered.

Doug Oplinger is a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and former reporter and editor at the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be emailed at oplingerdoug@gmail.com

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Chances are you’re thinking about how much more you’re paying this week than last. I’ve got bad news for you. Energy experts and prediction markets are forecasting an even bigger jump in gas prices soon — maybe breaching the $5.00 threshold nationwide as Donald Trump’s war of choice with Iran drags on and on.

Diesel, which powers trucks, farm machinery, construction equipment and other parts of the economy responsible for producing and moving goods, hit a record national average of $6.51 per gallon Monday — the highest level ever recorded in the United States.

The prospect of paying higher fuel costs for longer — on households that can’t break even now with ballooning expenses — is what keeps folks up at night.

What doesn’t is whether literally a handful of transgender athletes (out of hundreds of thousands of athletes) can participate in women’s sports, or whether the government should decide what’s best for a transgender minor (not a doctor with parents and child), or whether the tiny fraction of transgender Americans in the U.S. should be subject to bathroom bans, etc.

None of those manufactured political crises has any connection to the real-life financial crises affecting millions of households in the country. But Republicans are still recycling their ugly anti-trans ads from the 2024 election in the final stretch of the 2026 midterm campaigns.

Forget about the disastrous war nobody wanted, or your wallet drained by crippling expenses. Instead, be afraid of a small, defenseless community the GOP has scapegoated as the “Other” and reject as extremist any candidate who dares acknowledge its humanity. 

Fear is powerful motivator and the party used it effectively two years ago in a deluge of hateful attacks on transgender people to motivate voters to the polls on hostility and dread.

The same strategy is being replicated to hammer Democratic candidates in the lead up to the Nov. 3 election.

A ton of Republican aligned money has been poured into smarmy TV ads to remind voters how scared they should be about transgender issues and how radical Democrats are about transgender rights.

It is a desperate attempt to divert the electorate’s attention from the dismal state of the union under a government controlled by Republicans.

But the old playbook, to dehumanize a marginalized group of human beings, may not work as well this time. T

rans bashing and wild claims about Democrats supporting sex-change surgeries for children seems irrelevant to the struggle at hand of millions of Americans.

Why would transgender policy be top of list for voters who are seething every time they fill up their tank, who are maxing out credit cards, cutting back on groceries, forgoing healthcare that could bankrupt them? 

When you’re anxious about another rent hike, or monthly bills that overwhelm take-home pay, or medical premiums going through the roof, or $5.00 gas because of a never-ending war, do you care about trans issues that affect less than 1% of the populace and have no  bearing on your life?

Most folks are focused on their paychecks vanishing in a blink.

But instead of recognizing their pain, those running the American ship of state into the ground dismiss it.

They brush off the compounding hardships of the people who elected them as “temporary” or no big deal.

Trump said the financial distress of Americans did not concern him. His Republican rubber-stamps in Congress insist their Dear Leader has made America great — in an alternate universe — and argue voters should give them “another chance” to keep making it so great.

But the reality-based world is suffering. The country is mired in a Middle East war actively spreading to new fronts. The costly military entanglement, with no exit strategy, continues to wreak severe economic havoc at home and globally.

Yet Republicans have settled on the anti-trans card as their ace in the hole distraction to win the midterms. 

To blunt the insidious attacks, several Democratic candidates in tight races have recalibrated their approach to transgender issues and pointedly distanced themselves from their party’s unflinching support for the transgender community.

There is a definite shift on this divisive culture war by battleground Democrats in key races. They’ve moved to moderate or conservative anti-trans messaging to appeal to swing voters.

Some, like Ohio’s Democratic nominee for governor Amy Acton, have come out in support of policies — aligned with a clear majority or Americans — that would bar transgender female athletes from competing in women’s and girls’ sports.

Others, like Ohio’s 9th District congresswoman, incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, actually co-opted right wing propaganda: “I voted with Republicans to keep transgender ideology out of our schools” and “boys should not play in girls’ sports.” 

While many in the Democratic base are dismayed by their party’s candidates embracing anti-trans rhetoric to win difficult seats, some rank-and-file Democrats view the tack to center-right on trans issues as politically smart. 

But what about the transgender community exploited by Republicans and betrayed by Democrats to make voters forget about the cost-of-living?

What about the lasting harm to people cruelly portrayed as something to be feared and/or erased?

“Transgender constituents are stuck between a rock and a hard place,” wrote one transgender activist, “and left wondering what the point of their vote is if both candidates view them as disposable and subhuman.”

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The shadow hearing, which was held in Washington, D.C., underscored that despite new leadership at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, little has changed. 

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who serves as ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said that when Markwayne Mullin was tapped to replace Kristi Noem as DHS secretary, “There was hope that (ICE) would abandon the physical brutality and inhumanity of its tactics on the streets, there was hope that there would be accountability.”

That hope has been dashed, he said, most recently with the weekend shooting of a Venezuelan man in Austin, Texas.

California U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, ranking member of the U.S. House Oversight Committee, said that as of September 2026, Democrats on the committee have documented over 1,000 “credible and verified instances and abuses” under President Donald Trump’s second administration. According to the lawmakers, 20 people have been shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while 58 have died in ICE custody.

With a lack of subpoena power, Democrats do not have the ability to compel officials from the administration to testify. Instead, they’ve used this sort of forum, including one in Biddeford last month, to hear from willing witnesses. 

‘Dual assassinations’

Family members and other representatives of Ruben Ray Martinez and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo of Texas, Renée Good and Alex Pretti of Minnesota, and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero of Maine all testified.

The witnesses all described how, in addition to a complete lack of information and oversight after the shootings, the federal government spread falsehoods about the people killed. 

Sean Murphy, an attorney representing the Guerrero family, told the panel, “the dehumanization of the victims of these crimes is despicable.” 

“The patterns of dual assassinations — one of the body and then of the character — is disgusting, and there’s a pattern that if you’re not seeing it, it’s because you have your eyes closed,” Murphy said. 

Ronaldo Salgado and Lorenzo Salgado Jr., whose father was shot and killed in July while driving to work, said the feds provided little information about what led to the shooting but instead made repeated false claims that were later walked back, including that their father had been the target of the operation and had weaponized his vehicle.

“DHS also claimed there may have been drugs in the vehicle, which, if anyone who knew my father would tell you, is absurd, and which testing later proved to be false, as we all knew it would,” Lorenzo Salgado Jr. said.

Stella Carlson, a community activist who filmed the shooting of Pretti in Minneapolis, told the lawmakers that she felt like she “witnessed two assassinations, the first was the literal assasination of Alex and the second was the attempted assassination of his character.” 

Pretti, an ICU nurse for the Department of Veterans Affairs who was observing ICE activities in his community, was described by the Trump administration as a “domestic terrorist.” He had come to the aid of a woman pushed down by a federal officer before he was disarmed and shot in the back.

“We observed his murder with our own eyes, and the truth does not become less true because someone with great power tells a louder lie,” Carlson said. “When people are killed, and when the public is given false accounts of what happened, there must be accountability.” 

ICE shot 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez in March 2025, making him the first U.S. citizen killed by ICE during the second Trump administration. As Blumenthal noted, however, “that fact was not disclosed to his family or to the public for nearly a year.”

His mother, Rachel Reyes, also told the panel about how video evidence and testimony from his lifelong best friend, who had been a passenger in the car at the time, contradicted the official account of the events that led to the shooting.

“Though the circumstances surrounding his death and these other victims are distinctly different, the pattern is the same: lives cut short by the same agency, agents without body cameras, no warnings, no attempt to de-escalate, excessive force followed by deflection and a lack of accountability after the fact,” Reyes said. “Other similarities are that these victims, despite being nonviolent community members with no criminal background, were disparaged and blamed to shift focus away from the officer’s misconduct.”

“What happened to my son is personal, but it should be a concern for us all,” she added. 

As in the other instances, the government repeatedly changed the official narrative of Guerrero’s shooting.

At first, Mullin told independent U.S. Sen. Angus King that Guerrero “weaponized” his vehicle before being shot by an ICE agent. But ICE later said he attempted to flee and “fearing for public safety” an agent shot him.

‘Radio silence’ on Biddeford shooting

Murphy also said that he recently learned from the Maine Attorney General’s Office, which is currently investigating the deadly use of force in the shooting, that bullets fired by federal agents “struck and pierced” the carseat of Guerrero’s 3-year-old daughter, who was not in the car at the time, though initial reports said she was. 

“The only justification given for Johan’s death was that it was in the interest of public safety. You know what actually keeps the public safe? Not shooting innocent and law-abiding fathers whose only dream is to build a better life for his family,” Murphy said. 

Murphy added that there’s been “radio silence” from the federal government and that “DHS has still refused to even identify the name of the shooter” as well as any of the other federal agents present at the shooting.

Pingree said, “So many questions remain, and his family deserves to know how this happened. His family, his community, and the state of Maine need to know who will be held accountable.”

This story was originally produced by Maine Morning Star, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Ohio Capital Journal, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

A July 2020 Revere Board of Education resolution says Kahoe engaged in conduct with other Revere students on or about May 31 that resulted in individuals being cited for underage consumption of alcohol.

Kahoe denied consuming alcohol himself but acknowledged that he was present while other minors were drinking, according to the board’s censure resolution.

The board called Kahoe’s conduct “inappropriate,” said it did not reflect positively on the board and found it inconsistent with the conduct expected of an elected member of the Revere Board of Education.

The resolution formally censured Kahoe for “conduct unbecoming a member of this Board” and for “failing to uphold the standards of ethical, civil and responsible conduct” expected of a board member and representative of the school district.

Censure came months after Kahoe won office

Kahoe was 18 and still a Revere High School student when voters elected him to the school board in November 2019.

Months later, his fellow board members said they had become aware of the Vermilion incident and had already raised concerns with Kahoe about his conduct before moving to publicly censure him.

The board’s resolution says members told Kahoe that his conduct “does not reflect positively on the Board as a whole” and was inconsistent with both the expectations of a Revere school board member and the district’s stated philosophy.

The board placed the formal censure on its July 14, 2020 work-session agenda as an action item.

Kahoe now highlights school board record

Kahoe is now running for the Ohio House and prominently features his Revere school board tenure in his campaign biography.

His campaign website describes him as a “dedicated public servant” and says he “pushed for greater transparency” while serving on the Revere board.

The biography highlights his work on reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, recording school board meetings and later serving on the Cuyahoga Valley Career Center Board of Education.

It does not mention the 2020 public censure.

No police or court record found under Kahoe’s name

TiffinOhio.net sought records from the Vermilion Police Department and Vermilion Municipal Court concerning Kahoe and the May 2020 incident.

Vermilion police said the department had “nothing in file on this subject.”

Vermilion Municipal Court Clerk Danelle Supeck said the court searched its records using Kahoe’s name and date of birth and found no responsive records for the period requested.

The school board’s own resolution does not say Kahoe was cited for underage drinking. It says the incident resulted in individuals being cited, while Kahoe denied consuming alcohol and acknowledged being present while other minors drank.

The board still took formal action against him.

Its resolution says Kahoe’s conduct was inappropriate, failed to reflect positively on the board and fell short of the “ethical, civil and responsible conduct” expected of an elected Revere school board member.

Kahoe faces Democratic candidate J. Noah Spinner in the November 2026 general election.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono convened a Democratic-led panel to sound the alarm on the sweeping program, which marks a key pillar of President Donald Trump’s and congressional Republicans’ efforts surrounding school choice. 

The Hawaii Democrat blasted the federal initiative, set to launch in early 2027, as a “tax break for wealthy families whose children are already enrolled in private schools, disguised as support for education.” 

At least 30 states have already opted in to the program, which allocates up to $1,700 in federal tax credits for people donating to organizations that provide K-12 scholarships for education-related services at private or public schools. 

The program is baked into the GOP’s “big, beautiful” bill that Trump signed into law in 2025. The U.S. Treasury Department is slated to release proposed regulations by the end of this month. 

Repeal attempts

Hirono and Arizona Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, joined by more than two dozen of their colleagues, introduced legislation in April to repeal the program. 

Wisconsin Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore introduced a companion bill in June with Reps. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Adelita Grijalva of Arizona, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and dozens more original cosponsors. 

But any measure to roll back the program faces a dismal path in the GOP-controlled House and Senate.

The umbrella term “school choice” centers on alternative programs to a student’s assigned public school. Opponents say these efforts drain critical funds and resources from school districts, while advocates argue the initiatives are necessary for parents who are dissatisfied with their local public schools.

Augustus Mays, vice president of partnerships and engagement at the nonprofit policy and advocacy group EdTrust, said “our conclusion is clear: This is not free money or a targeted investment in students with the greatest needs.” 

“It is an uncapped federal tax subsidy that steers public resources toward private education with few safeguards,” he added. 

Mays pointed out that “a voucher does not guarantee access or quality,” noting that private schools are not bound by the same civil rights protections and obligations extended under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. 

Diverting funds?

The Education and Treasury departments have said that the credit “does not divert money from local or state taxes, which make up the large majority of school funding,” according to a fact sheet. 

The agencies have also pointed to examples of education expenses the scholarships can be used for, such as “tuition for students to attend private schools of choice, tutoring at public schools, and support services for students with disabilities.” 

But Jessica Levin, litigation director at the advocacy group Education Law Center, said it’s a “major misconception” that “this is free money without cost to public schools” or that “currently underfunded public schools will benefit from the voucher program.” 

“Tax credit voucher programs are funded with public dollars because the money sent to scholarship granting organizations is money that would otherwise have been paid in state or federal taxes and gone into the state or federal treasury,” Levin said.

Trump administration defends tax credit

Meanwhile, Savannah Newhouse, a spokesperson for the Education Department, defended the tax credit, saying opponents of the program are “resorting to fearmongering by falsely labeling it a voucher because the phrase ‘we don’t want families to have more options to succeed in education’ isn’t a winning message,” in a statement shared with States Newsroom.  

“The truth is that this provision does not take a single dollar away from public schools because it is funded by the generosity of private donors that supplement — not supplant — existing education dollars,” she added. 

“A word of advice: resisting change to the failed status quo in education makes you part of the problem, not the solution.” 

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Policies at the state and federal level play a significant role, as do decisions by PJM Interconnect, the 13-state electric grid operator serving Ohio. Data centers, in particular, have become the physical embodiment of ratepayers’ frustrations — gobbling up tax incentives in exchange for higher energy costs and sprawling, bland buildings.

Politicians have a long list of fixes. They’ve proposed a range of restrictions for data centers, new requirements for state regulators, expanded assistance programs and streamlined permitting.

Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy has even promised free electricity for residents living near data centers, though experts are unsure how this can be accomplished legally and constitutionally.

No matter how big the promises get, Ohio’s leaders can’t wave a magic wand and ‘solve’ rising utility costs, but their decisions over the next several years could have a significant influence on what your bills look like.

What’s in my bill?

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio maintains an online dashboard detailing utility costs by city. Last month, 15 of the 16 metro areas listed reported higher year-over-year electric bills. Cleveland and Ashtabula led the pack with a 28.1% increase; Cincinnati was the lone exception, more or less holding steady with a decline of .4%.

A recent report from state Auditor Keith Faber noted statewide average energy prices have more than doubled since 2001, and in the past five years alone, they’ve climbed 34%.

The array of charges on to residents’ bills varies around the state, but generally speaking, utility bills break down into three categories: generation, transmission, and distribution.

Generation is the cost of power itself, including the price of electricity we actually use as well as reserve capacity. Transmission is the cost of high voltage power lines — think the tall steel lattice type structures — while distribution covers the cost of the “last-mile” power network typically strung along wooden utility poles.

Because demand is high, generation costs have grown, and Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Maureen Willis said it has happened in two ways.

First, imagine all the power plants in the 13-state PJM footprint stacked up based on price. As PJM contracts energy to meet demand, it moves up that energy stack to higher bids. The bid it eventually lands on sets the overall market price.

PJM compares the pricing model to a taxi ride. When demand is low, it’s like hailing a ride in light traffic, “you can expect a consistent and predictable taxi fare.” But as traffic grows — or demand for electricity grows — the fare climbs higher.

Second, PJM runs an annual auction for reserve power when demand peaks. Naturally, that auction relies on forecasts to determine future demand, and data centers have had a significant impact.

Willis pointed to a report from PJM’s independent market monitor, which found data centers accounted for $29.4 billion in higher capacity costs over the past four auctions.

At the transmission level, oversight gets shared among PJM, state regulators, and the federal government. Even with all that attention, Willis said, there’s a problem.

“No one is reviewing those (projects) for prudence, need, or cost effectiveness,” she said. “There’s a gap — what we call regulatory gap.”

A utility generally has to demonstrate its investments are “prudent and reasonable” and “used and useful” to pass costs on to customers. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has final authority over transmission rates, but many projects follow a less onerous “supplemental” process overseen by PJM.

“PJM’s analysis is a do no harm analysis,” Willis explained. “All it says is we’ll allow this project to go on as long as it doesn’t harm existing transmission.”

Without more rigorous review, Willis contends, utilities have an incentive to invest in projects that are profitable for them, but expensive for consumers.

In 2023, Willis’ office filed a complaint about that lack of oversight FERC. The commission has yet to take action.

And the price tag for transmission projects isn’t small change. Between 2017 and 2025, Willis said, Ohio utilities passed along $16 billion in new transmission expenses to consumers.

According to reporting from Cleveland.com, more than $10 billion of that total went through PJM’s supplemental process. Many of those projects are high voltage lines built to serve data centers.

The phenomenon isn’t limited to Ohio. Nationwide, utilities are planning $1.4 trillion in new transmission projects by 2030. Those projects will eventually land on ratepayers’ monthly bills.

“We could end up with stranded costs,” Willis warned, “where you build a system for a customer — huge transmission line, hundreds of millions of dollars, perhaps even billions — and then that customer leaves early, or the business doesn’t pan out.”

Oversight for distribution rates falls to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. While the dollar figures are often smaller, Willis still worries about utilities billing for upgrades that don’t make enough of a difference.

Willis brought up FirstEnergy’s Distribution Modernization Rider. The company collected almost half a billion dollars from customers, but couldn’t account for how it actually spent the money. The Ohio Supreme Court struck down that fee in 2019.

More recently, FirstEnergy asked state regulators to reduce its reliability standards — allowing for more and longer outages to occur. This came after the utility billed ratepayers nearly $1 billion for grid modernization projects, Willis said, “based on the assumption that reliability would get better.”

Willis’ office along with the cities of Lakewood and Barberton challenged FirstEnergy, and in June the PUCO rejected the proposed changes. FirstEnergy has appealed.

To Willis, it’s too easy for utilities to get an idea greenlit and start charging customers.

“We have not seen the benefits,” she said, “but we pay for the benefits ahead of time.”

Ramaswamy’s promises

Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy promises to bring electric bills down by increasing the supply of energy.

To do that, he’ll “expand natural gas and deploy innovative energy technologies,” in addition to streamlining Ohio’s permitting process “so projects get built on time and on budget,” he’s said.

Ramaswamy also announced an “Ohioans-first” data center pledge including free power for nearby residents and reduced property taxes.

Data centers would be held to all air and water quality standards “without exception,” he said. Those changes would require legislation, but Ramaswamy promised an executive order banning data centers until that law can take effect.

“Eliminating electricity costs is the right objective,” Ramaswamy’s pledge asserts.

He contends that if the governor sets that goal and “negotiates accordingly,” hyperscale data center developers will “fully cover the cost of power for Ohioans who reside near a data center.”

Ramaswamy suggested data center developers will build power plants behind-the-meter and then contribute excess power to grid. He’s banking on the surplus being enough that “most of Ohio’s counties would fit entirely within a benefit zone” meaning the entire county would get free power.

The Ohio Capital Journal sent Ramaswamy’s campaign multiple emails requesting details — how do we determine how many neighbors get free power? And for how long? — but the campaign didn’t respond.

In an interview with the Statehouse News Bureau, Ramaswamy clarified his plan would cover the power generation portion of residents’ bills, but not distribution and transmission charges.

Ashley Brown is a former PUCO commissioner and former executive director of the Harvard Electricity Policy Group at the Kennedy School. He dismissed Ramaswamy’s proposals as misguided and said the data center pledge was “doomed to fail.”

Ohio already has “incredible” access to natural gas, Brown said. Increasing supply won’t make rates worse, he said, but it probably won’t make a huge difference.

Remember the energy stack that sets the price of power? Brown explained that renewable energy sources like wind and solar can bid close to zero, and that helps hold down the price of energy generation overall.

“I’m laughing because (Ramaswamy’s) running mate, (Ohio state) Sen. (Rob) McColley, sponsored the bill that makes it almost impossible to site solar farms in Ohio,” Brown said, “and makes it difficult — not quite impossible, but very difficult — to site wind farms.”

That bill, Ohio Senate Bill 52, allows local officials to intervene in the Ohio Power Siting Board process to block solar or wind farms. They have no similar authority when it comes to other power sources.

According to OPSB data, since the bill became law in 2022, eight solar projects representing 1.29 gigawatts of power have been denied. For context, that’s 45% of the 2.84 gigawatts in new generation Ohio installed between 2022 and 2025.

Despite Ramaswamy’s confidence, Brown has doubts about data center developers signing on to provide free power, and he warned it would actually hurt the market if they did.

“The generation (market) is very competitive,” Brown said. “And now he’s going to give a monopoly in communities — however that’s defined — to a data center to be a monopoly utility, but it’s required to give away all of its product. What is that? That completely destroys the market.”

The arrangement would lead to higher prices and volatility in the supply of power, Brown said.

“It’s not a serious plan,” Brown said. “It’s so obviously doomed to fail that it just makes no sense.”

Acton’s promises

Races, deadlines, and the tools you need to cast your vote.

2026 Ohio General Election Voter Guide

Democratic candidate for governor Amy Acton proposes more energy production, too. Unlike Ramaswamy, she emphasized “incorporating the lowest-cost and cleanest sources of energy.”

She said she’d also overhaul PUCO membership with an eye toward closing the “revolving door,” and expand access to lifeline programs like Ohio’s Percent of Income Payment Plan and the Home Energy Assistance Program.

In an email, a campaign spokeswoman said Acton would push eligibility from 175% to 200% of the federal poverty level.

Ohio’s PIPP program is the oldest of its kind in the country, and Brown helped come up with the idea. He said Acton is right to propose expanded eligibility.

“Is that important overall to the state’s economy? Yeah, but it’s extremely important to low-income people and to maintaining their quality of life but also health,” Brown said.

Acton promised to make data centers to pay their own way “so the burden doesn’t fall onto Ohio families or businesses,” and rein in their tax incentives.

She’s talked about issuing a conditional moratorium on data centers.

In addition to covering utility costs, Acton’s rubric would require data centers build with union labor on brownfields. Developers would also have to abandon nondisclosure agreements and meet existing environmental standards.

“If companies cannot meet these rigorous standards,” Acton’s campaign said, “they have no business working in Ohio.”

It’s a set of demands popular across the political spectrum.

A bipartisan data center overhaul that stalled out in the statehouse this summer ticked many of those boxes, and Libertarian candidate for Don Kissick raises very similar critiques. Ramaswamy has even accused Acton of “parroting” positions he took before expanding his plan to include free power.

To Brown, ensuring data centers actually pay for new infrastructure is a more realistic goal than promising free power.

“What she’s proposing is a commonsense remedy that’s been there all along,” he said, “and for a lot of reasons, political and otherwise, they haven’t really been applied. Ohio is not unique. What I’m talking about is (happening) nationally.”

What should officials do?

The Ohio Consumers’ Counsel is a nonpartisan agency working on behalf of all the state’s ratepayers. So, Counsel Willis declined to weigh in on the candidates’ plans. But she did offer a handful of recommendations that policymakers at the state, regional, and federal level could do that she believes would help Ohioans.

Last year, state regulators approved a data center tariff for AEP Ohio. That billing arrangement requires data centers to cover new infrastructure and pay an exit fee if they back out early.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are backing legislation to extend those requirements statewide and Willis thinks that would be a good idea.

Willis also praised a bipartisan measure requiring an independent review of utilities’ demand forecasts.

“If you’re over-forecasting, you’re over-procuring,” she said, and usually consumers wind up with the bill.

When the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio sets rates, commissioners have to determine what is “just and reasonable.”

Willis contends affordability needs to be a central part of that discussion, but it often isn’t. It’s a similar story at PJM, Willis said, where the guiding principle is reliability.

“No one will say no to that one, but reliability should be a given,” Willis said. “It should be yes, we’re going to be reliable, but we also have to keep our eye on affordability and what’s in the public interest, and that is not written into their charter.”

When it comes to FERC, Willis’ ask is simple — do something about their transmission complaint.

“FERC has an obligation to establish just and reasonable rates,” she said, “and when no one’s looking at $10 billion worth of investment that’s just not right.”

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

But looking at other Ohio rankings, the results can be different, very different. 

Examining state rankings over time can give us an idea of how standards of living have changed. The Republican party of Ohio has dominated state government for the past thirty years. Let’s look at the job they have done in managing the state. The results may shock you.  

Except for a brief period from 2007 to 2011, when Democrat Ted Strickland was governor and two years of Democratic leadership of the Ohio House, since around 1995 Republicans have had a lock on all three branches of state government, often with supermajorities in the Ohio House and Ohio Senate.

For that thirty-year period Republicans have controlled state taxing and spending, and many other policies. To a significant extent they are responsible for our current situation, and they can and should be held to account. 

The truth is that compared to other U.S. states, Ohio has fallen well behind economically under Republican leadership.

In 1999, near the beginning of the GOP’s dominance of the state’s politics, the Census Bureau reported the Buckeye State’s median household income was $40,956. Adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars, that figure was a record high of about $77,568. 

Since then, Ohio has failed to recover from income losses suffered during both the 2001 and 2007-2009 recessions.

Last year the Census Bureau reported the state’s median household income in the previous year was $72,212 – more than $5,000 short of the record set a quarter century earlier. 

Ohio also hasn’t kept pace with other states. In 1999, the state ranked 23rd in median household income. By 2024, it had fallen to 39th.

As a result, the gap between Ohio’s median income and the national median has grown over more than four decades.

The 1980 census found the state’s median household income was more than 5% higher than the nation as a whole. By 2024, the typical Ohio household was earning 11.5% less than the national median of $81,604.

Think about that: if Ohio today were in line with the nation, our households would be earning more than $9,000 a year more. While few were paying attention, Ohio has been transformed into a low-wage state.

Is it fair to hold the Ohio Republican party responsible for the relative decline of our living standards?

Yes, and this is why: To be sure the Ohio economy was badly hit by the twin crises of the housing banking collapse in 2008, and the COVID pandemic in 2020. But other states suffered through those crises as well, and came out the other side in better shape than Ohio.

And Ohio lost industries and jobs during those years, but of course other states did as well. In general, much of Ohio’s relative decline can be laid at the feet of the state Republican party.  

But wait, there is more. In fact, other indicators, not just income, show Ohio’s decline in recent decades. 

In areas of well being other than income Ohio has also failed to make improvements as other states have moved forward. One of these is child poverty.

According to the Children’ Defense Fund, in 1995 Ohio’s percentage of children living below the federal poverty line was 18% which ranked the state at 29th worst.

In 2025, the rate was still stuck at 18%, but the rank had fallen to 35th worst. Other states have made progress in reducing child poverty, but not Ohio.

Children are not able to do much for themselves, so they depend on family and the government for help. Ohio Republicans have let them down.  

In education too Ohio has gone into reverse. According to the U.S. News & World Report, from a high of 5th place among the states in K-12 schooling in 2010, by 2023 the state dropped to 21st.

Ohio has given billions to private charter and religious schools in recent years, has greatly increased funding for education vouchers, and has reduced support to local public schools to the point that many of them face financial crises.

Higher education is doing even worse, and is now in 41st place.

Healthcare in Ohio is now facing a severe crisis.

In recent years the Republican party and the Trump administration have implemented drastic cuts to Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies and Medicaid.

Over 200,000 Ohioans have already lost coverage with a predicted 290,000 more to follow by 2034, according to Protect Our Care.

Ohio leads the nation in the decline of ACA enrollment.

The Ohio Republican Party has raised no objection to these federal cuts, and Ohio GOP U.S. Sens. Husted and Moreno voted for them. Gov. DeWine has been silent. 

Because we do not have good information about Ohio’s ranks for corruption and gerrymandering from 1995, we cannot determine whether they have changed.

But Governing has Ohio in 11th place among states with the highest conviction rates per 10,000 employed by the government.

Furthermore, Independent Voter News in 2025 had Ohio as the 9th most gerrymandered state.

Gerrymandering and corruption feed off one another, and are mutually reinforcing — and not in a good way

Well, there you have it — a summary of what 30 years of Republican rule in Ohio has produced.

Arnold Oliver is professor emeritus of Political Science at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio. He lives in Sandusky, Ohio. Independent journalist David Knox, former computer-assisted reporting manager at the Akron Beacon Journal, contributed to this article.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The broad tax and spending law that President Donald Trump signed last summer, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, established work, school or community service requirements for low-income adults who receive Medicaid under expansion provisions and waiver programs across 44 states. The law exempts people who are medically frail from work requirements, but the lawsuit argues a new administration rule severely restricts who qualifies.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland include Medicaid enrollees from five states — Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and North Carolina. 

They also include the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, Doctors for America, the New Hampshire Medical Society, the New Hampshire Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the city of Columbus. The National Health Law Program and the Democracy Forward Foundation are representing the plaintiffs.

“Creating barriers to healthcare coverage for the most vulnerable needlessly puts people’s lives at risk and inevitably drives up the cost of care for everyone,” Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said in a news release. “These are folks who should be focused on getting the help and care they desperately need, not overcoming even more obstacles.”

The federal government in June issued a rule that specifies “medical frailty” exemptions from the work requirements. Those include people who are blind or disabled, or have any physical or developmental disability that interferes with daily living; people with substance use disorders or disabling mental disorders; or those with “serious or complex” medical conditions. People who fall in these categories still must prove that their conditions hinder their ability to work or participate in community engagement.

Republicans argue that work requirements would push people into the workforce and allow them to come off government aid. Research shows the majority of Medicaid recipients already work or are in school.

The plaintiffs argue that the new designations are narrow and that work or exemption verification processes will create red tape that threatens Medicaid coverage for people with serious or chronic health conditions. Those who could be harmed under the new rule include people with cancer, diabetes, HIV, substance use disorders and other behavioral health conditions, the lawsuit argues. 

Individuals represented in the lawsuit have health conditions ranging from autism spectrum disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, severe vision impairments, HIV and narcolepsy.

Work requirements will be costly for cities and localities that provide public health and emergency care services, the plaintiffs argue, as many people may lose coverage.

“When they (cities and localities) provide services for residents who lose their Medicaid coverage, they do so without compensation,” the lawsuit reads.

Medical groups are concerned the reporting burdens will cause interruptions in care and coverage for low-income, vulnerable adults.

“We should not and must not be implementing policies that place this already vulnerable population at increased risk of interrupted treatment, disrupted coverage, or losing healthcare access altogether,” said Dr. Jan K. Carney, president of the American College of Physicians.

Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org.

This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Ohio Capital Journal, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The remarks appear in Nation of Victims, published Sept. 13, 2022, during a year in which falling markets wiped billions of dollars in value from Ohio’s public pension systems.

Ramaswamy was explicit about how he viewed the economic downturn.

“A market crash serves as a much-needed shock to the new culture of laziness that has permeated the American economy,” Ramaswamy wrote.

He blamed workers who had “grown accustomed to staying home,” investors accustomed to rising stock prices, monopolies accustomed to easy profits and young founders accustomed to plentiful capital.

“I think a market crash is the medicine that we need,” Ramaswamy wrote, saying it could help recreate a national identity based on “excellence rather than entitlement.”

He went further when discussing the downturn already underway in 2022.

“My view is that the market crash of 2022 will ultimately be a good thing for the country,” Ramaswamy wrote.

His argument was not limited to inflation or monetary policy. Ramaswamy wrote that tighter fiscal and monetary policy was necessary to fight inflation, but said the crash would also combat what he called the “cultural lethargy” produced by years of easy money.

Ramaswamy wrote that poor and middle-class Americans would bear more of the cost

Elsewhere in the same book, Ramaswamy acknowledged how unevenly the consequences of a market crash could fall.

Writing about a wealth tax that he said would “undoubtedly cause a market crash,” Ramaswamy said the resulting crash “would cost the middle class and poor far more than the wealthy.”

Two pages later, he described what a crash would mean for him personally.

“My own life would remain mostly the same if the market crashed,” Ramaswamy wrote.

He then identified the people who would not be insulated from the consequences: retirees who had counted on investment income, workers fired after their employers lost access to capital and prospective homeowners who could no longer obtain the same mortgage financing.

Ramaswamy therefore acknowledged in his own book that severe market losses could threaten jobs, retirement security and access to homeownership even as he argued that a crash was the “medicine” the country needed.

Ohio public pensions lost $32 billion in 2022

In Ohio, the losses during the 2022 market downturn reached tens of billions of dollars.

The state’s five public pension systems collectively lost about $32 billion in investment value that year.

The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System lost about $19.7 billion, roughly 12% of its portfolio. The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio lost $9.5 billion, or 9.64%. The Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund lost $1.74 billion, or 9.04%. The School Employees Retirement System lost $949 million, or 4.89%, and the Ohio Highway Patrol Retirement System lost $109.9 million, or 10.1%.

Those systems cover workers and retirees across Ohio government, public schools, police and fire departments and the Ohio State Highway Patrol. OPERS alone served approximately 1.2 million workers and retirees at the time, while STRS served roughly 465,000 active and retired teachers.

For scale, Ohio’s five retirement systems paid approximately $17.1 billion in pension benefits in 2022, according to an Ohio Retirement Study Council report. The roughly $32 billion in investment losses that year were nearly twice the amount the systems distributed in pension benefits.

The $32 billion figure represents investment losses, not $32 billion taken directly out of retirees’ benefit checks. But the downturn had consequences for the financial position of the pension systems.

At OPERS, for example, the estimated remaining solvency period of its health care plan fell from 29 years at the end of 2021 to 21 years at the end of 2022. OPERS said it had recognized only one-fourth of its 2022 investment loss for pension funding purposes in the first year and would have to recognize approximately $14.8 billion more over the following three years.

Ramaswamy is now campaigning on lowering costs

The comments are resurfacing four years later as Ramaswamy campaigns for Ohio governor with affordability at the center of his message.

His campaign website currently leads with the slogan “Lower Costs. Bigger Paychecks.” The campaign says its mission is to make Ohio “the most affordable, opportunity-rich state in America” and promises lower taxes and lower energy bills.

Affordability is also a major concern among Ohio voters. A statewide poll conducted Aug. 3-6 by UpONE Insights for Groundwork Ohio and the First Five Years Fund found that 64% of 600 registered Ohio voters identified lowering the cost of living as one of the two most important issues facing their families. The survey reported a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Ramaswamy’s own 2022 writing puts his comments about market crashes alongside his acknowledgment of who could suffer when markets collapse.

He called a crash “the medicine that we need.” He said the 2022 crash would “ultimately be a good thing for the country.” And elsewhere in the same book, discussing a crash he believed a wealth tax would cause, he wrote that it would cost middle-class and poor Americans “far more than the wealthy” while his own life would remain “mostly the same.”

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Already House Republicans locked in tight races as the November midterms approach have distanced themselves from the president’s conflict and his administration’s stagnant negotiations with Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passage for global petroleum products. Another major vote on Iran support is expected later this week in the U.S. Senate.

The cost of diesel, which fuels the movement of goods through the United States, is up nearly $1 since last month, and up from just over $3.69 a year ago, according to AAA. 

The national average cost for a gallon of gasoline landed at just over $4.47 Monday, up more than a dollar from last year’s average at $3.18, according to the motor club’s daily monitor.

Trump has an opportunity this week to potentially meet with Iranian officials, as leaders head to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Trump told Fox News on Sunday he is “open” to meeting with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Trump said he is in “deciding mode” about next steps in Iran, and that “big things” will happen in the “not so distant future,” he told the network’s Trey Yingst. 

Grassley wants diesel embargo

Longtime Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley urged Trump throughout the weekend to embargo diesel fuel exports as costs impact farmers in his largely agricultural state. 

“W(ith) diesel $6.57 in Iowa why doesn’t Pres Trump put an embargo on diesel exports like presidents in the 70s put embargoes on (agricultural) products bc food prices were inflated. High diesel prices ARE KILLING FARMERS INCOME,” Grassley wrote Saturday on X, followed by two more posts on Sunday urging the president to put “AMERICA FIRST.”

The administration does not have plans at this time to ban or restrict diesel exports, according to a White House official Monday. 

Seven House Republicans broke ranks last week and voted in support of stopping Trump’s war with Iran unless Congress approved further action. 

The Republicans included two vulnerable Iowa representatives, Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who are facing tough reelection bids in the fast-approaching midterm elections.

Democratic senators are expected to move on a War Powers Resolution vote this week. 

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said Wednesday he will force the vote to continue applying pressure on Trump to stop the military campaign that has not been authorized by Congress.

“We’re gonna force a vote to end this illegal war every week until we succeed,” Kaine said in a video posted to X. 

Two Republicans who will not serve in Congress next year, largely due to Trump’s public opposition to them, have also spoken out against the Pentagon leadership.

House Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who has consistently supported War Powers Resolutions on Iran, unexpectedly introduced articles of impeachment last week against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, citing his leadership during the Iran conflict. 

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina told reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday that Hegseth “needs to go.” Tillis has voted no on multiple War Powers Resolutions aimed at ending hostilities in Iran.

Energy commodities up 16.3%

Inflation continued a steady march upwards in August, with fuel leading the way, according to the government’s latest consumer price index. 

The cost of all types of gasoline and fuel oil rose 3.9% from July to August. All energy commodities and services, like electricity, shot up 16.3% over the past 12 months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Trump and his administration officials have downplayed the squeeze on Americans at the pump, and Trump has promised fuel prices will drop “quickly” once the conflict ends.

On Monday he shifted the blame for skyrocketing diesel prices on to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“Russia has unfortunately lost control of its Diesel Oil Industry due to its War with Ukraine. A large number of their Diesel refineries have been blown up and are, at least temporarily, out of commission. This ridiculous and never ending War with Ukraine must be ended,” he wrote on his platform Truth Social.

Vice President JD Vance told reporters Monday that the administration “is doing everything we can” to reduce energy prices, and suggested that states should suspend gas taxes.

“We’re very cognizant of the fact that because the Iranians are terrorizing international shipping, energy prices are elevated,” he said.

Meanwhile the conflict has expanded in the Middle East as Iran -backed Houthi rebels in Yemen fight for control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key route for Saudi Arabian oil exports. 

The State Department issued a safety alert Saturday to U.S. citizens in the Middle East, warning “the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation.”

“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions,” according to the warning, which instructs American travelers to make sure cell phones are charged at all times and to “keep a low profile.”

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

CNN, MS Now and Politico wrote in a joint statement the suit is intended “to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.”

“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” the statement continued. “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”

Trump announced last week on social media that he intended to bar journalists from those three news organizations, airing a years-running grievance that he doesn’t believe their reporting is accurate.

“I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility!), and Politico (The recipients of an illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription, an All Time Record, directly from the United States Government, under Crooked Joe Biden, in order to keep them “alive.” Seems like corruption to me!), from the White House as a result of their constant “reporting” FAKE NEWS!” he wrote. “Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America. Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP”

First Amendment cited

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argued the “ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles.” 

The lawsuit says White House reporters from those news organizations had their press passes, which must be scanned to get through a Secret Service screening, deactivated. 

The news organizations say the ban violates the due process clause, “retaliates against protected newsgathering and speech in violation of the First Amendment” and that it bars journalists “from a nonpublic forum for unlawful reasons.”

The president’s decision to exclude those reporters from the White House “inflicts irreparable harm to these news organizations,” according to the lawsuit.

“The organizations, whose very purpose is to report national news, depend on individual reporters to gather information firsthand at the White House,” it states. “As a result of the ban, they have lost the ability to perform essential newsgathering at the seat of the Executive Branch, where critically important newsworthy events occur every day. 

“The ban irreparably curtails the organizations’ speech—preventing them from being able to publish stories they otherwise would—each day it remains in effect. The ban also impermissibly chills the speech of other news organizations and journalists, who must now balance conducting their constitutionally protected and vitally important work of reporting on the White House against the risk that coverage the President ‘dislike[s]’ will condemn them to the same fate.” 

The case was assigned to Judge Timothy J. Kelly, who was nominated by Trump during his first term and confirmed by the Senate in September 2017 following a vote of 94-2.

Kelly scheduled a videoconference hearing for Wednesday to hear arguments over whether to issue a temporary restraining order in the case. 

TV network coverage of Trump

Trump wrote on social media on Monday morning that the “White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish.” 

“It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America,” he wrote. “It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP”

Major television networks don’t plan to fill in for CNN as the television pool covering Trump on Monday, according to an email the network obtained from Fox News Washington Bureau Chief Bryan Boughton, who chairs the TV pool.

“This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties,” Boughton wrote, according to the CNN article. “There will be no replacement pool put in place.”

The White House pool rotation includes reporters from the country’s major news organizations, who attend the president’s public events as well as other events that administration staff restrict to only journalists in the pool. 

The television pool provides video footage of those events, while the print pooler’s reports about the president’s comments are emailed to reporters at newspapers and online news outlets. 

The limited number of reporters from within the White House press corps who participate in the pool are able to ask the president questions during Oval Office events or other restricted appearances. 

States Newsroom’s Washington, D.C. Bureau participates in the print pool rotation as part of its membership in the Regional Reporters Association, which represents local news outlets covering the nation’s capital.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Springfield ICE Watch reported 74 people detained by ICE from Aug. 7 to Sept. 17, according to a new report by Ohio Immigrant Alliance.  

“Only 8% of the Haitians being detained in Springfield have had removal orders,”  Springfield ICE Watch said in a statement. 

“ICE has been most often seen in Springfield doing traffic stops in the middle of the road while people are on their way to or from work, or in the parking lots of apartment complexes with high immigrant populations, grocery stores, and gas stations.” 

The report looked at the roster of four ICE detention facilities in Ohio: Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Mahoning County Justice Center in Youngstown, Seneca County Jail in Tiffin, and Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio in Stryker.   

There are two ICE detention facilities in Ohio — the Geauga County Safety Center in Chardon and the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, but they do not publish their rosters publicly and therefore weren’t included in Ohio Immigrant Alliance’s report.  

There were 26 Haitians booked in Butler County Jail, Mahoning County Justice Center, Seneca County Jail, and Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio prior to TPS ending, from Jan. 1 to July 26, according to the report. 

At least 445 people were booked into those four ICE detention facilities between July 27 and Aug. 31, according to the report. Of those, 239 were Latin American and 62 were Haitian. 

More Haitians are now being detained by ICE after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled at the end of June that President Donald Trump could end temporary protected status for the 330,000 Haitians who’ve fled the violence in their home country. Legal protected status officially ended for Haitians on July 27. 

About 15,000 Haitians live in Springfield, with a mixture of temporary protected status, citizenship, and other legal status. 

Butler County Jail, which had 1,078 people as of Friday morning, held 44 Haitian people between July 27 and Aug. 31. 

The general housing capacity for Butler County Jail is 844, even though the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction recommends 756 as the housing capacity, according to a 2025 ODRC inspection report.  

Erik Crew, a staff attorney at Haitian Bridge Alliance, said he interviewed 15 Haitians who were detained by ICE and held at the Butler County Jail. 

“None had criminal records,” he said in a statement. “All entered the U.S. with its authorization, all had active and valid work authorization, and all had done everything the U.S. had asked.”

Springfield Pastor Gilbert Joubert Adrien was recently released from Butler County Jail after being detained by ICE in August.

Haitian Support Center Executive Director Viles Dorsainvil said Adrien used his time detained to minister to other people in jail. 

“He told us that he was a source of consolation for other detainees,” Dorsainvil said.  

ICE is starting to use the smartphone app SmartLINK to track Haitian in Springfield and seems to be phasing out ankle monitors, Dorsainvil said.  

Haitians living in Springfield have been receiving letters requiring them to report to the ICE offices in Blue Ash or Westerville to accept ankle monitors after TPS ended.

There are hundreds of Haitians in Springfield with ankle monitors, Dorsainvil said. 

“We don’t know what is going to happen, but what we’ve seen so far is the relief of the ankle monitors,” Dorsainvil said. 

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said ICE evaluates those enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program on a “case-by-case basis to determine the appropriate level of supervision and technology.”

“Decisions about enrollment, electronic monitoring, and any escalation or de-escalation of supervision are made by career law enforcement officers after reviewing relevant factors, including immigration status, criminal history, compliance history, and humanitarian or medical considerations,” the spokesperson said in an email.

“(Alternatives to Detention) uses a continuum of technology and case management tools, including SmartLINK and GPS monitoring, to provide varying levels of supervision based on the alien’s individual circumstances. ATD technology is not assigned based on nationality.”

Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Wright State University student, died in an apparent suicide last month, which his family said happened after he was forced to wear an ankle monitor by ICE.

Many advocates have been calling on to ICE to stop using the ankle monitors. 

“We don’t know if (the ankle monitors) will come back,” Dorsainvil said. “What we all have to do is to continue to raise our concerns.” 

ICE raids are continuing to happen in Springfield and a doctor recently told Dorsainvil that ICE picked up two people in his parking lot.

“They don’t have the freedom even to seek medical help,” Dorsainvil said.

Dorsainvil shared how a Haitian woman recently went to an ICE check-in with her two-month-old baby and they kept the mother, but ICE gave the baby back to the woman’s driver. 

“The woman didn’t even know the driver very well,” Dorsainvil said. “The driver came back to the (Haitian Support) Center with the baby, and we were able to locate the father.”

The Ohio Immigrant Alliance report also said more than 90 immigrant students from preschool to high school have missed school for weeks “due to ICE’s presence and parents’ concerns for safety.”

“Some parents we know are keeping their children at home,” Dorsainvil said.

“We’re having a conversation with some parents who received letters already because the kids are not showing up at school. So we are asking them to start a conversation with the school just to tell them about the situation.”

Springfield City Schools did not respond to the Ohio Capital Journal’s request for comment.

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on X or on Bluesky.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families announced $225 million in “supplemental awards” for Head Start programs.

A release from the department said the grants were to “strengthen nutrition services, improve facilities, and help programs address critical one-time needs to better serve children and families across the nation.”

“The supplemental investments build on our broader efforts to strengthen Head Start by putting nutrition, health development, and program flexibility back at the center of how we serve children and families,” said Administration for Children and Families Assistant Secretary Alex J. Adams in a statement.

Of the total grant monies, $89 million is going to more than 400 Head Start grant recipients, with a total of $2.05 million to be distributed among 17 programs in Ohio.

More than 33,000 children were in enrolled in Head Start programs according to 2024 federal data, with 1,741 children in foster care being served, along with 1,660 homeless children.

Julie Stone, executive director of the Ohio Head Start Association, Inc., said programs in the state had to prove “community need” and demonstrate the funding wouldn’t duplicate existing support.

The funds will go toward things like new kitchen and facility equipment, nutrition curricula, and cooking classes.

“The reinvestment of these funds congressionally allocated to Head Start for the current federal fiscal year are what flexibility is really about – giving Head Start programs the resources and room to meet the real needs of the children and families they serve, built on federal quality guardrails that set a floor while leaving room for local innovation,” Stone said.

The grant amounts range from the largest, more than $400,000 in two grants to the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency, to the smallest, $11,800 going to the Celina City Board of Education.

The money comes while Head Start programs have been struggling after the longest federal government shutdown in American history back in 2025.

During that period, funding lapsed as Congress hit a stalemate on federal spending.

The shutdown affected 65,000 children in 140 programs across the country, including in Ohio. Programs in Scioto County and Highland County had already closed when the shutdown hit.

The payments to U.S. Head Start programs were already behind schedule in 2025, when a government watchdog reported that the Department of Health & Human Services withheld payments from Head Start as the second Trump administration began.

The withholding was a violation of a law regarding the president’s duty to spend congressionally appropriated funds, according to the Government Accountability Office.

The federal government is currently in the process of deciding on proposed changes that would reduce the “federal burden” for Head Start programs, according to the department.

The federal agency estimated the proposed changes would save the government $2.2 billion based on caps to “administrative overhead” and reductions in “compliance-driven activities.”

The changes would eliminate federal requirements regarding curricula, parent committees, “family engagement procedures, and service delivery structures,” the draft rule states.

The proposal is still in its public comment period until Oct. 6.

Advocates have said the changes would also take away things like developmental screenings, teacher qualifications, and mental health services, as well as increasing teacher-child ratios in classrooms.

A letter from national childhood education advocacy groups to the Trump administration said the changes would “gut” the program and remove high-quality standards.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The methodology allocates a projected $268.9 billion federal cost according to each state’s share of federal income taxes. Ohio’s share is nearly $6.9 billion through the remainder of Trump’s term.

That is an allocation of projected federal spending, not a new charge on an Ohio tax return. But Ohioans will pay again if enforcement removes workers and destabilizes the families, businesses and tax base Ohio needs to grow.

The administration says its enforcement targets the “worst of the worst.” The available Ohio data show a broader reach.

A review of federal records found that ICE detained 7,756 people in Ohio between January 2025 and March 2026. Fewer than 5% had been convicted of a violent offense; 47% had no criminal history. Some had pending charges or nonviolent convictions, including traffic-related offenses such as driving without a license.

People who present genuine threats should remain enforcement priorities, but these figures do not describe a narrowly targeted public-safety operation.

Detention is not deportation, but it often becomes the route to removal.

A Deportation Data Project analysis found that, among people with no criminal conviction or preexisting final removal order, the share deported within the first 60 days after being booked into detention roughly doubled during the administration’s first year.

People may also be detained for immigration-status violations — such as a visa overstay or the expiration of temporary protection — that are not criminal convictions.

Families separated, children losing parents, and neighbors disappearing are the human costs. The economic costs are also measurable.

A May 2026 OhioMeansJobs snapshot listed 126,739 online job postings, including 4,596 for registered nurses. The report cautions that postings are not a complete count of unique vacancies, but they show employer demand.

Ohio’s workforce already depends on immigrants. They make up 15.7% of personal-care aides, 9.1% of transportation and warehousing workers, 7.6% of manufacturing workers, 6.9% of agricultural workers and 6.2% of construction workers, compared with 6.2% of Ohio’s workforce overall, according to an American Immigration Council analysis.

The American Immigration Council’s definition includes naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, temporary visa holders, refugees, asylees and undocumented immigrants. Not every worker is subject to deportation.

The point is how deeply immigration is woven into Ohio’s workforce. Removing or stripping work authorization from even a fraction of these workers can mean longer waits for home care, delayed construction and production, higher business costs and higher prices for consumers.

Established companies are unlikely to move a factory overnight. The more realistic risk is lost work and lost investment.

A 2026 National Bureau of Economic Research working paper found that for every six likely undocumented men who lost employment after increased ICE activity, one U.S.-born man without a college degree also lost employment.

When employers cannot find workers, they may cut production, turn down work or place the next expansion where labor is easier to find.

Immigrant households also support Ohio’s public finances. In 2023, they paid $7.3 billion in federal, state, and local taxes and retained $20 billion in spending power, according to the American Immigration Council.

Entrepreneurs are a separate economic asset. More than 38,200 immigrant entrepreneurs — 8.2% of Ohio’s entrepreneurs — generated $1 billion in business income in 2023.

They create jobs, fill storefronts and strengthen local tax bases. A state that makes immigrant families feel unwelcome risks losing not only current workers, but also the next generation of business owners.

Ohio’s population story is uneven. JobsOhio’s summary of new Census estimates says the state added 101,065 residents since 2020, with net migration contributing 146,471.

Census estimates put Cleveland’s 2025 population at 363,608, 2.4% below its 2020 base. Older cities and rural communities need residents to occupy homes, support schools and sustain local businesses.

I helped found Global Cleveland because a region that had lost population could not afford to treat newcomers as a threat. That was economic self-preservation.

JobsOhio understands the competition. It offers up to $15,000 for each qualifying out-of-state STEM or technical hire above an employer’s three-year baseline.

Paying companies to recruit workers while spending billions to drive other workers away is not a coherent development strategy.

Immigration is not a substitute for better wages, safer workplaces or serious training for Ohioans.

Ohio should invest in all three while enforcing against genuine threats. But Gov. Mike DeWine has acknowledged that Ohio needs immigrants. He and JobsOhio should say plainly that broad removal undermines Ohio’s workforce strategy.

The state’s congressional delegation should press for legal employment channels that match workforce needs, dependable seasonal-worker programs and a workable legal-status process for long-settled residents without serious criminal records.

Ohio cannot recruit workers, attract investment, and repopulate communities while paying nearly $6.9 billion to make itself smaller.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

At the same time, JobsOhio — the state’s private economic development corporation — is committing $300 million over 10 years to a new Experiential Learning Initiative supporting on-the-job training in roles paying at least $20 an hour.

Before JobsOhio spends another $300 million, Ohio should ask a bigger question: Could some of those resources do substantially more if JobsOhio stopped deciding how all of them were spent?

That matters because Ohio is allowing JobsOhio to create a parallel workforce system while powerful opportunities elsewhere remain underused.

This didn’t start with $300 million.

During COVID, JobsOhio launched Ohio to Work. There was no competitive RFP. Organizations were selected across Ohio to execute the initiative — including organizations recommended by people advising on its creation — with funding flowing through JobsOhio’s regional partners.

Significant outcomes were reported, but there has been no independent evaluation and no clear way to separate those results from work participating organizations would have done anyway.

Ohio to Work did not disappear when the pandemic ended. Its infrastructure and relationships helped shape WorkOhio. This time there was an RFP for regional hubs, although the turnaround was short and relatively little funding for the role.

Now, with $300 million behind an initiative announced with the governor and lieutenant governor, there is still no publicly available record of an RFP or competitive selection process on Ohio’s procurement website, grants management website, or multiple individual agency websites.

In fact, I obtained a copy of the RFP and it states — in red — “This document is to be kept confidential and only shared within direct recipient firms.”

That should matter.

The Ohio Department of Development is already under scrutiny for its management of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, and the Office of Workforce Transformation’s TechCred program has documented incidents of fraud. Both use regional or intermediary structures to provide direct support to businesses.

A $300 million workforce investment could be transformational for Ohioans. But major workforce decisions continue to be made through relatively closed processes, then embedded in successive initiatives without broad co-design, transparent accountability, meaningful stakeholder input or independent evaluation.

And the opportunity costs are significant.

Ohio’s Benefit Bridge pilot was launched with just $8 million in state funds. Current data from one county projects $21 million in taxpayer savings over a decade and $6.8 million in lifetime state tax revenue from participants.

Ohio H.B. 484 seeks just $20 million over the next biennium to address Ohio’s child-care crisis — a workforce challenge shared by employers across sectors, regions, and political lines.

Federal SNAP Employment and Training rules allow states to receive 50% reimbursement for eligible nonfederal spending on employment, training and supportive services for SNAP recipients.

Properly structured investments can bring additional federal dollars into Ohio for training, career navigation, transportation, childcare and other supports.

And under 23 U.S.C. §504(e), states can use certain federal highway funds for workforce development, including apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, recruitment, community-college partnerships and supportive services.

None is a gold-ticket solution. Together, they illustrate what Ohio badly needs: a workforce strategy that looks across systems and asks how every available dollar can work harder.

Instead, JobsOhio has steadily built its own strategy, largely from an economic-development and employer perspective.

While announcements say workforce partners and state agencies provided input, it is difficult to see how such a rapid process could include meaningful engagement of the full workforce ecosystem.

JobsOhio’s new models can be valuable. Employers should be workforce partners.

But workforce development is not the same as economic development.

Economic development asks what companies need to invest and grow in Ohio. Workforce development must also ask what Ohio’s learners and workers need to enter the workforce, build skills, navigate career transitions, advance in wages and build economic security.

Those goals overlap. They are not identical.

Ohio should require 50% of JobsOhio’s talent investments to flow into a separate, independently governed workforce development fund, accessible through competitive, transparent, and accountable processes.

Workforce boards, community colleges, career-technical schools, community organizations, labor-management partnerships, public agencies and regional collaborations should be able to propose strategies based on the needs they see — not simply participate in programs JobsOhio has already designed.

Those investments should leverage federal resources like SNAP E&T and transportation funding wherever possible and meet the needs of Ohioans — not just Ohio businesses.

The fund should have transparent criteria, independent governance and representation from workforce, education, human services, employers, community organizations, labor and workers.

Success should be measured through wage growth, advancement, portable credentials, access for underserved workers, and federal dollars leveraged.

JobsOhio could continue using the other half of its talent resources to respond quickly to employer needs and economic-development projects.

Ohio would gain something it does not have today: a pool of flexible workforce funding capable of supporting ideas originating outside JobsOhio’s network.

JobsOhio was built to move quickly for businesses.

Ohio also needs resources that allow its workforce system to move boldly for workers.

We can have both.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Individuals and industries may kill endangered animals in the course of logging projects, developments and other activities, it said — so long as the activity’s purpose isn’t killing species.

The memo issued by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik is the most drastic move yet in the Trump administration’s campaign to limit the scope of the Endangered Species Act. 

Wildlife advocates and experts said the nation’s bedrock wildlife conservation law would offer few safeguards under the new federal guidelines. 

“Unless you’re wearing a T-shirt that says, ‘I’m here to draw the blood of endangered species,’ you’re basically off the hook,” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director with the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation nonprofit. “Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, go crazy, we’re not gonna prosecute you.”

Chris Servheen, who served as grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 35 years, said the agency’s current approach to the endangered species law is “ridiculously extreme.”

“It’s essentially going to be a meaningless law, and it will have no protection whatsoever for species,” he said. “It’s like taking the four wheels off your car and saying it’s still your car.”

Earlier this year, the Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal agencies finalized a rule excluding the destruction of habitat from the definition of “harm” covered by the law. As long as chopping trees or draining a wetland didn’t directly kill animals, the feds said, those actions were legal even if they led to a species’ demise. 

Now, Nesvik is instructing wildlife officials that even the direct killing of endangered animals does not constitute an illegal “take” as long the action was not “intentionally directed at a particular animal or animals.” Its instructions to staff on how to implement the new rule take effect immediately. 

“A vessel that inadvertently strikes a whale has not taken it, because the vessel’s course was not set against the whale,” he wrote. “Felling a tree is not a take of the bats roosting in it unless the tree is felled for the purpose of killing or capturing them.”

The memo could unravel a longstanding framework in which developers and other industries undergo an environmental analysis for their projects’ impacts to endangered species, and obtain permits accounting for that harm. Wildlife advocates warned that industries using the agency’s new directive to forgo permits may still face citizen lawsuits, and a new administration could reinstate the previous interpretation of the law.

The Fish and Wildlife Service forwarded a Stateline request for comment to the Department of the Interior, which did not grant an interview request.

The memo, sent last Monday to agency staff across the country, quickly raised alarms after it was leaked to the public. 

“This is an incredibly sneaky and disingenuous way of going about things,” said Ben Levitan, senior attorney with the biodiversity defense program at Earthjustice, a legal conservation nonprofit. “They led everyone to believe they were doing one thing with the rescission of the definition of harm, and now they’ve issued a memo saying, ‘What we actually meant was this.’”

A coalition of attorneys general, tribes and environmental groups have filed lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s rollbacks to the Endangered Species Act. Advocates said the Nesvik memo will open up a new battle ground in the ongoing legal fight, but it’s too early to say if that will come in the form of separate lawsuits. 

Jane Davenport, senior attorney at Defenders of Wildlife, a conservation nonprofit, noted that the “harm” rule and Nesvik’s memo draw heavily from the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissent in a landmark 1995 case. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that habitat destruction constitutes harm to wildlife under the Endangered Species Act. But Scalia disagreed, saying that the “take” of wildlife describes actions “done directly and intentionally (not indirectly and by accident) to particular animals (not populations of animals).”

“(Nesvik’s) decision in every aspect of it entirely relies on Scalia’s dissent,” she said. “It’s reducing the scope of (endangered species protections) to an absurdly narrow interpretation that is inconsistent with what Congress intended.”   

While some industry groups supported the “harm” rule in public comments, few of the organizations or lawmakers who backed that change have made public statements on Nesvik’s memo about how it will be applied. But some conservatives praised the decision.

“It will shield innocent people from litigation by the country’s largest law firm, the Department of Justice,” William Perry Pendley, who served as acting director of the Bureau of Land Management during Trump’s first term, told Cowboy State Daily.

Wildlife advocates said the memo could allow developers or logging companies to knowingly chop down a forest filled with endangered owls or bats, so long as the purpose of their action was timber harvest. 

“(The memo) says you can knowingly kill an endangered species as long as you’re not killing it for the sake of killing it,” said Kate Groetzinger, communications director with the Center for Western Priorities, a conservation group. “This basically is a blank check to companies, landowners, developers, loggers — anyone operating in endangered species habitat — to both destroy that habitat and kill the animals and literally face no consequences.”   

Servheen, the former grizzly bear recovery coordinator, said the memo will allow hunters to gun down endangered species, as long as they later claim they mistook a grizzly bear for a black bear or a similar failure of species identification. 

“This tells law enforcement that they have no ability to prosecute somebody who kills a grizzly bear,” he said. “(Hunters) are basically relieved of any responsibility of what they’re shooting, you can do whatever you want and say ‘I didn’t mean to.’ It makes the outdoors a pretty dangerous place now.”

The memo could also limit environmental reviews of potentially harmful projects, some advocates warned. For instance, a new road through Florida panther territory may no longer need an environmental analysis if increased vehicle collisions with panthers are no longer considered “take” by federal wildlife officials, Davenport said. 

During the rulemaking process for the “harm” definition, federal officials argued that the change would empower states to protect wildlife under their own laws. But experts say state wildlife agencies lack the authority, resources and expertise to replace federal oversight. 

Wildlife officials in Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, New Jersey, Vermont and Wyoming submitted public comments expressing concern with the proposal, as did the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, a nonprofit that represents state wildlife managers. 

Stateline reporter Alex Brown can be reached at abrown@stateline.org. 

This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Ohio Capital Journal, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The study was conducted by researchers at Truveta, a health data and analytics company owned and governed by 30 health systems across the nation. Researchers compared pain-management prescriptions from more than 540,000 C-sections between January 2018 and July 2026.

While hospital pain medication use was consistent across groups, the researchers said it varied after patients were discharged from hospitals: For every 100 women who underwent a C-section, roughly 10 more women living in rural communities received an opioid prescription than women in urban communities. Women in rural communities were also more likely to receive prescriptions for acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen. 

About 1 in 3 births across the nation is delivered by C-section. Typically, several types of pain medications are used together. 

The researchers evaluated three groups of pain medications including acetaminophen (Tylenol), NSAIDs and opioids, such as oxycodone and fentanyl.

While managing pain for recovery after a C-section is crucial, some hospital systems have been trying to curb opioid prescriptions amid the nation’s opioid epidemic to lessen addiction risks. Opioid medications also come with many side effects.

Substance use disorder and mental health conditions are leading underlying causes of maternal death, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They contributed to more than 1 in 5 pregnancy-related deaths, according to CDC data from 38 state maternal mortality review committees.

The Truveta researchers also examined prescribing by race, ethnicity and documented history of substance use disorder. Unadjusted findings showed somewhat higher opioid prescribing after discharge among Black or African American women and among women with a documented history of substance use disorder. However, the team didn’t determine whether these differences were statistically significant or account for other factors that might help explain them.

“The fact that we’re seeing kind of more opioid prescriptions upon discharge … especially within the context of substance use disorder in maternal health specifically — it does raise a very important question about what’s driving that difference in prescribing, and what happens after women are going home,” said Madhura Vachon, lead researcher of the analysis and a former epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org.

This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Ohio Capital Journal, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

County officials identified the potential shortfall over the summer and put the spending and hiring freeze into effect Sept. 1, County Administrator Marc Glotzbecker told WTOL. Commissioner Scott Miller said officials have since been meeting with elected officials and department heads to reduce the projected gap, which he said has already been brought down substantially.

But county records reviewed by TiffinOhio.net show financial warning signs were surfacing before the freeze.

At an Aug. 13 commissioners meeting, Sandusky County Department of Job and Family Services officials discussed the significant number of children in county custody, reimbursement eligibility and what the meeting minutes described as the strain those placement costs were putting on the department’s budget.

Two weeks later, County Auditor Jerri Miller appeared before commissioners during their Aug. 27 regular session for a discussion that included transfers to Job and Family Services dating back to 2023 and their effect on the county’s General Fund.

The Aug. 27 meeting minutes describe officials searching for ways to reduce the amount being taken from the General Fund and say those involved understood the “gravity of the situation.”

The minutes state that an “immediate fix to county budgets needs to be found.”

The discussion continued with officials agreeing that they needed to find common ground and be “as fiscally responsible as possible” while addressing problems with the county’s current budget.

An attachment included with the Aug. 27 meeting packet shows one concrete piece of the financial pressure.

A county document titled “JFS payment out of General Fund” shows Sandusky County budgeted $900,000 for those payments in 2026. By Aug. 27, the county had paid $1,304,132.36 — $404,132.36 more than had been budgeted with four months still remaining in the year.

The document does not establish that the JFS overage caused the countywide $4.3 million projected shortfall. County officials have not publicly released a detailed accounting showing how much of the $4.3 million is attributable to Job and Family Services, revenue coming in below projections, other spending, unforeseen expenses or other factors.

Glotzbecker offered a broad explanation to WTOL.

“I think there were a lot of factors that led to it. Some of it may be revenue versus expenses; it may be just shortfalls in the budget, unforeseen expenses. Just a lot of little things kind of built up,” Glotzbecker said.

Three days after the freeze reportedly took effect, Miller, Russ Zimmerman and Justin Smith signed a Sept. 4 public statement saying the county needed to monitor revenues and expenditures to ensure officials were acting as “responsible stewards of the public’s trust.”

The statement described the county’s action only as a “pause on various areas of spending” while officials conducted what they called an “in depth review” of county finances entering the fourth quarter.

It did not disclose that county officials were confronting a projected $4.3 million shortfall.

It also did not say that hiring had been frozen.

The statement was signed by all three commissioners.

Republicans currently hold all three seats on the Sandusky County Board of Commissioners. Miller, Zimmerman and Smith are all Republicans, according to the County Commissioners Association of Ohio.

TiffinOhio.net also reviewed the commissioners’ written meeting records surrounding the freeze. The approximately $4.3 million figure does not appear in the Aug. 25, Aug. 27, Sept. 1, Sept. 3, Sept. 8, Sept. 10 or Sept. 15 regular-session minutes reviewed by this publication.

Those records do show mounting financial concerns before September, including the Aug. 27 discussion over the “gravity” of the county’s budget situation and the need for an “immediate fix.”

The absence of the $4.3 million figure from the written minutes does not establish that commissioners did not discuss it elsewhere or that the estimate had already been calculated at each of those meetings. It leaves unanswered when the projection was developed, when each commissioner learned of it and exactly what produced the figure.

Sandusky County says the written transcribed minutes of commissioners meetings are the permanent record of public sessions. Audio recordings are retained for at least 30 days and can be obtained through a public-records request while they remain available, according to the commissioners’ office.

The commissioners also have direct responsibility for the county budgeting process.

The county describes the Board of Commissioners as Sandusky County’s administrators and says its responsibilities include “the formulation of a multi-million dollar budget” and approval of purchase vouchers. Budget requests involving personnel, supplies and equipment are reviewed annually and “reviewed and managed on a daily basis,” according to the county.

The financial problems are surfacing less than two months before voters decide two seats on the commission.

Smith, who was appointed to the commission in April, is asking voters to keep him in office against Democratic challenger Jill Simpson for the remainder of the term ending Jan. 2, 2029.

Smith joined the commission April 20 and therefore was not a member of the board when the original 2026 budget was adopted. He has, however, served on the commission during the period when county officials say the projected shortfall was identified and when the spending and hiring freeze was imposed.

His campaign is also making fiscal management part of its case to voters.

Smith’s campaign website says his record as commissioner includes “protecting taxpayer dollars through responsible budgeting.” Under a section titled “Fiscal Responsibility,” the campaign promises “balanced budgets, responsible spending, and efficient government that delivers results.”

Smith faces Simpson, a Democrat, in the Nov. 3 general election. TiffinOhio.net previously reported that Smith holds the seat through a Republican Party appointment and is now seeking voter approval to remain in office.

A second commissioner seat is also on the ballot. Republican Richard J. Farmer II faces Democratic challenger Kurtis A. Kuhl for the term beginning Jan. 1, 2027. Zimmerman is leaving the commission at the end of his term.

Farmer is not currently a commissioner and did not administer the 2026 county budget.

The Nov. 3 election will determine whether Republicans maintain complete control of the three-member commission.

Miller told WTOL that county services have not been interrupted and said EMS services remain unaffected.

He said officials have been meeting weekly with department heads and elected officials and estimated that the projected gap had been reduced to “well, well close to half,” although he said the precise reduction was not yet clear.

County officials expect to have a clearer picture of the 2026 budget within the next several weeks as they prepare for 2027.

The spending freeze remains in effect with no announced end date.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Council President Bridget Boyle cast the deciding vote to table Ordinance 2026-61, delaying a proposal that would reimburse property owners for 50% of the cost of installing a backflow-prevention device, including labor, up to $2,000.

The ordinance was scheduled for its second reading Monday after first coming before council Sept. 8. Councilmember Kevin Roessner instead moved to table it and laid out a lengthy list of financial and technical concerns. Councilmember John Hays later raised a separate question about potential city liability.

Roessner, who chairs council’s Finance Committee, said he was particularly concerned about using sewer utility revenue for the program while the city remains committed to years of major sewer-system work.

“I’m very suspicious of any program that’s gonna take away from the sewer’s bottom line,” Roessner said.

The proposed assistance would expand an existing city grant program that helps property owners remove downspouts, sump pumps and other clean-water connections from the sanitary sewer system.

As TiffinOhio.net previously reported, the proposal emerged after recent heavy rainfall generated reports of sewage backing up into residential and commercial properties. City officials described the grants as an interim way to help individual property owners while Tiffin continues implementing its broader long-term sewer improvements.

Roessner questioned whether installing a backflow-prevention device at one property could affect another property during a sewer surcharge.

He argued that when a valve closes and prevents sewage from backing into one building, the sewage remains in the sewer system and could instead seek another unprotected opening.

“Blocking one outlet redirects surcharging sewage to the lowest unsealed opening in the system,” Roessner told council. “That is your neighboring property.”

Read the full story at https://tiffinohio.net/posts/tiffin-council-tables-2000-sewer-backflow-grant/.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The encounter later reached Tiffin City Council, where resident Kelly Digby asked city officials to consider strengthening local ordinances and council members discussed whether additional camping restrictions could address similar situations.

According to a Tiffin Police Department media summary, Digby contacted police at about 11:10 a.m. Monday after walking near the former Big Lots property on West Market Street.

The police summary says Digby reported that people had been sleeping in the parking lot and that a man in a black Dodge Durango with North Carolina plates approached her and asked whether she walked there every morning before making comments about her “disappearing.”

Read the full story at https://tiffinohio.net/posts/tiffin-police-issue-trespass-warning-big-lots-disappearing-comments/.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

State Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, and Democratic challenger Aaron Jones, of Tiffin, who are competing for Ohio House District 88, are confirmed to attend alongside Seneca County Commissioner Bill Frankart and challenger David Ziegler.

The League of Women Voters of the Tiffin Area will host the forum beginning at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 at Tiffin Middle School, 103 Shepard Drive. Doors open at 6 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public and will also be streamed live on the League’s Facebook page.

Unopposed Juvenile and Probate Court Judge Jay Meyer and Seneca County Auditor Julie Adkins will also speak and answer questions. Mircea Handru is scheduled to discuss the county’s mental health levy renewal.

Public can submit questions

Candidates will receive two minutes for opening remarks, two minutes for closing remarks and one minute to answer each question.

Questions must be issue-based and phrased so each candidate in a race can answer the same question. Attendees can submit questions through the moderator during the forum or send them in advance to tiffinleagueofwomenvoters@gmail.com.

Audrey Naegele will moderate the event.

Candidates are also being encouraged to meet individually with residents before and after the forum. Tables will be available for campaign literature and yard signs, while voter registration and absentee ballot request forms will be available to attendees.

The forum will mark another appearance before the League for Jones and another opportunity for Click to appear before its audience after the two candidates’ unusual primary-season history with the organization.

Click did not attend the League’s March candidates night, where Jones and Republican primary challenger Eric Watson appeared. Click later said he had been “boxed out” of the event, prompting the League to publicly dispute his account and say he had been invited multiple times, as TiffinOhio.net previously reported.

The League describes itself as a nonpartisan organization and says its local voter services include candidate forums, public-issue forums, voter registration and voter guides.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The Sept. 25 event is being coordinated by local residents Charlene Thomas, Michelle Tuite and Susan Wilkinson, with businesses and organizations across Tiffin participating throughout the day.

Participating businesses will offer Dolly-inspired specials, activities and experiences, while attendees are encouraged to dress for the occasion.

The main festivities begin at 4 p.m. in City Lot 6.

Activities will include Dolly karaoke, children’s activities, photo opportunities and a large community “Coat of Many Colors” banner that attendees can help color.

Mayor Lee Wilkinson is also scheduled to issue a Dolly Day proclamation.

A live horse will be available for petting and brushing, and The Bagel Buggy, Sargent Oinks and Scoops of Joy will serve food during the event.

The evening will conclude with a community showing of “Steel Magnolias.” Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

Event will support local children’s literacy

Dolly Day will also raise money for the Gase Literacy Fund, which supports Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library for children living in Tiffin’s 44883 ZIP code.

More than 1,000 local children receive a free book each month through the program, according to event organizers.

The Tiffin Community Foundation will match donations collected during Dolly Day, doubling the impact of contributions made during the event.

Attendees can also bring gently used books for “Trunk to Read,” an effort sponsored by the Ritz Players. Donated books will be distributed to organizations in need.

Dolly Day organizers said the celebration is intended to highlight kindness, creativity, literacy and giving back — themes associated with Parton’s decades of charitable work.

The event begins at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, at City Lot 6 in Tiffin.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

“I am calling for an emergency gas tax holiday to offer Ohio’s working families some relief,” Acton said in a statement released Sunday.

AAA reported Monday that regular gasoline was averaging $4.52 per gallon across Ohio, while diesel had climbed to $6.77 — the highest statewide diesel average AAA has recorded.

Those prices are being felt in Northwest Ohio as well. AAA’s Ohio data showed the Toledo-area average at about $4.52 for regular gasoline and $6.76 for diesel on Monday.

A year ago, Ohio’s statewide averages were about $3.04 for regular gasoline and $3.70 for diesel, according to AAA.

“Ohioans are hurting,” Acton said. “I’m hearing stories of folks who are unable to get to work or go to the doctor because they can’t afford to fill up their tank.”

Ohio charges 38.5 cents per gallon

Ohio currently imposes a state tax of 38.5 cents on every gallon of gasoline and 47 cents on diesel and most other motor fuels, according to state law.

That means a 15-gallon gasoline purchase includes $5.78 in Ohio gasoline taxes before accounting for the separate federal gas tax.

The current state rates date to 2019, when Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 62. The transportation budget increased Ohio’s gasoline tax by 10.5 cents per gallon and its diesel tax by 19 cents.

The additional revenue was projected at the time to generate roughly $865 million annually for state and local transportation infrastructure, according to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.

State law dedicates motor-fuel tax revenue to roads, bridges and related transportation expenses.

Acton said Ohio could provide temporary relief “without compromising on investing in our infrastructure.”

Fuel prices have climbed rapidly

The proposal comes as Ohio fuel prices have risen rapidly in recent weeks amid turmoil in global oil markets and regional refinery issues.

AAA’s statewide gasoline average stood at $4.16 just one week ago before climbing to about $4.52 Monday. Diesel rose from about $6.11 to $6.77 over the same period.

Prices are also moving in the opposite direction from their usual seasonal pattern. Gasoline demand typically falls and prices ease after the summer driving season, but international oil-market disruptions have kept upward pressure on fuel costs.

The gas tax proposal adds another piece to Acton’s broader campaign focus on household expenses. As TiffinOhio.net previously reported, Acton has proposed refundable tax credits and other measures as part of an affordability agenda aimed at working Ohio households.

Acton faces Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the Nov. 3 election for governor.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Fairshake, the powerful crypto-backed super PAC, has committed $30 million to opposing Brown in his race against Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, according to Punchbowl News and CoinDesk.

The spending is Fairshake’s largest commitment against any single candidate in the 2026 midterms.

It also marks the second time in two elections that the crypto industry has poured tens of millions of dollars into keeping Brown out of the Senate.

In 2024, Fairshake’s network spent roughly $40 million helping Republican Bernie Moreno defeat Brown, who was then chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and one of the industry’s most prominent critics.

Now Brown is attempting a comeback against Husted — and the crypto money is back.

The new $30 million commitment comes just six days after the Senate dealt the industry a major defeat by refusing to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the crypto industry’s biggest legislative priority.

Crypto bill dies in Senate

On Sept. 15, senators voted 49-50 against invoking cloture on the motion to proceed to the CLARITY Act, according to the official Senate roll call.

The legislation needed 60 votes to advance.

Every Democrat who voted opposed moving forward with the bill. Four Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — also voted no. Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware did not vote.

Democrats had demanded stronger restrictions surrounding President Donald Trump’s extensive financial interests in cryptocurrency, while some Republicans also raised objections to provisions involving banks and stablecoins.

The bill would have established a broad federal framework governing digital assets and divided regulatory authority between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The vote was a major setback for an industry that has spent heavily in federal elections trying to elect lawmakers favorable to its policy agenda.

Fairshake’s move against Brown followed less than a week later.

Crypto industry already spent $40M against Brown

This is familiar territory in Ohio.

As TiffinOhio.net previously reported, cryptocurrency interests spent roughly $40 million in 2024 to help Moreno defeat Brown.

The ads funded by the crypto network largely focused on conventional political issues rather than cryptocurrency itself.

The strategy worked. Moreno defeated Brown 50% to 47%, ending Brown’s three terms in the Senate.

Brown had chaired the Senate Banking Committee, putting him in a powerful position over cryptocurrency regulation. The industry viewed him as a major obstacle to legislation it wanted passed.

Brown has taken a more conciliatory position toward cryptocurrency during his 2026 comeback campaign.

Earlier this year, Brown campaign manager Patrick Eisenhauer told TiffinOhio.net that Brown “recognizes that cryptocurrency is a part of America’s economy” and would “keep an open mind” while seeking protections for consumers.

That shift has not stopped the industry from targeting him again.

Fairshake still has a massive war chest

Fairshake is backed by some of the biggest names in cryptocurrency, including Coinbase, Ripple Labs and venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

Federal Election Commission records show Fairshake had raised more than $137 million during the current election cycle through July 31 and had nearly $113 million in cash on hand at the end of that reporting period.

Even after committing $30 million against Brown, a Fairshake spokesman told CoinDesk that the group still has more than $90 million available for the final weeks of the election.

Brown’s campaign responded Monday by tying the spending directly to Husted.

“Jon Husted’s for sale and the billionaires and corporations pouring millions into this race know it,” Eisenhauer said.

The $30 million arrives as outside money is already flooding Ohio’s Senate race.

Reuters reported last week that the Husted-Brown contest had already attracted about $298 million in advertising spending, putting it on track to rank among the most expensive Senate races of the midterm cycle.

The winner of the Nov. 3 special election will serve the remainder of the Senate term vacated when JD Vance became vice president.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The money came from Richard Iott, the former Republican congressional candidate whose 2010 campaign was rocked after photographs surfaced showing him dressed in the uniform of Nazi Germany’s Waffen-SS.

Ohio campaign-finance records show Iott gave $5,000 to Jon Husted for Ohio on March 20, 2017, while Husted was running for governor.

After Husted ended that campaign and joined Mike DeWine’s ticket as his candidate for lieutenant governor, Iott gave another $5,000 to Mike DeWine for Ohio on May 30, 2018.

Both contributions came years after Iott’s Nazi SS reenactments had become national news.

The contributions take on new relevance after Husted’s current U.S. Senate campaign fired political director Stephen Woytek earlier this month when The Washington Post uncovered Nazi-related material in his publicly accessible social media history.

As TiffinOhio.net previously reported, Woytek had used a photograph of actual Nazi SS soldiers as his Facebook profile picture. The Post also found photographs appearing to show Woytek wearing an SS uniform during a 2018 reenactment.

The newspaper also found a Spotify account bearing Woytek’s name and photograph with a playlist celebrating Rhodesia, the former white-minority-ruled state that has become a symbol among white supremacists. Songs had been added to the playlist as recently as August.

Husted’s campaign fired Woytek after The Post contacted it about the material. The campaign did not answer the newspaper’s questions about whether or how Woytek’s social media history had been vetted before he was hired.

Woytek denied racist or antisemitic beliefs and said his interest in Nazi Germany was related to historical reenactment.

Days later, Husted addressed the controversy himself.

In a Sept. 16 interview, Husted said Woytek had been “highly recommended” and emphasized his military service before describing the Nazi-related images as part of Woytek’s reenactment hobby.

“He’s a lieutenant in the National Guard, and he does war reenactments,” Husted said, adding that some of the photos “gave a very bad impression of where he might have been ideologically.”

Iott’s Nazi SS reenactments were already national news

Iott offered a similar historical-reenactment explanation when his own participation in Nazi SS reenactments became public in 2010.

Iott was then the Republican nominee for Congress against U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur in Northwest Ohio’s 9th District.

CBS News reported that Iott had participated in a group called Wiking, which reenacted the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking, an actual Waffen-SS division that fought on Nazi Germany’s Eastern Front.

Iott confirmed his involvement with the group and denied believing in Nazi ideology, calling it “purely historical interest in World War II.”

But Iott also defended wearing the uniform. Asked whether it was wrong to dress as a Nazi soldier, he told the Associated Press that he saw nothing wrong with doing so in the context of historical reenactment.

The controversy became serious enough that prominent Republicans publicly distanced themselves from Iott. The Republican Jewish Coalition said he lacked the judgment expected of lawmakers, the National Republican Congressional Committee removed him from its Young Guns program and then-House Republican Whip Eric Cantor publicly repudiated his conduct, according to CBS News. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

That was in October 2010.

Husted’s gubernatorial campaign accepted Iott’s $5,000 contribution in March 2017.

The DeWine-Husted campaign accepted another $5,000 from him the following year.

Husted now serves on Senate antisemitism task force

Husted is now a member of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism.

When he joined the task force in April, Husted said, “Antisemitism has no place in our country or anywhere in the world.” :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

Five months later, journalists uncovered the Nazi-related material tied to his political director, and Husted fired him after The Washington Post contacted the campaign.

And years before that, campaigns supporting Husted had accepted $10,000 from Iott after his own Nazi SS reenactments were already a matter of national public record.

Iott has continued contributing to Republican candidates. In February, TiffinOhio.net reported that Vivek Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial campaign accepted a $500 contribution from Iott. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The House has overwhelmingly passed legislation forcing state regulators to consider requirements that data centers absorb the cost of the electricity they use. 

But there’s more to be done, say data center critics, and they’re finding there is no easy or even obvious answer about what to do next.

Leave it to state and local governments to decide whether and how the centers should function? Should their size be restricted? Should they be banned altogether?

The future of data centers has become a flashpoint in this year’s congressional races. It’s woven into the debate about affordability, artificial intelligence and corporate influence on government.

“People see big energy cost increases and say data centers must be the reason,” said Daniel Birdsong, senior lecturer in political science at the University of Dayton.

Before leaving Washington for an extended recess not due to end until after the election, the House voted Wednesday 417-3 on a bill that requires states to consider having data centers using large amounts of electricity pay the full additional cost of that generation, as well as transmission and distribution upgrades that are needed.

Obstacles to action

The vote was only a prologue for action. There’s no clear next chapter, as skepticism is coming from critics at the White House and among progressives.

The biggest obstacle appears to be President Donald Trump.

“The people that say AI is going to destroy the World, and that Data Centers are bad for your neighborhood, are the same people that said, just a short time ago, that the World would be extinguished by ‘Climate Change,’” he said on his Truth Social site Monday.

“That HOAX never worked out for them, and now they’re on to the next one. These people are Revolutionaries, but Revolutionaries for a Bad and Evil Cause. Soon you’ll find out they’re working for people that do not have the best interests of the United States in mind!”

Senate leaders have not said how or if they’ll take up the House bill, or any other data center legislation.

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., the Senate’s second-ranking Democrat, was not optimistic.

“There aren’t many alternatives to a president who thinks this is a wonderful asset and communities who think just the opposite,” he said.

The lawmakers know this much: Their constituents don’t like data centers. 

“I’ve never seen people come together across the political spectrum like I have the last few months on concerns about big tech, concerns around AI, concerns around data center development,” said Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H.

A national University of Massachusetts Amherst Poll released this week showed just 11% said they backed the construction of the data centers in their local area. Sixty-five percent were opposed, and about half said they were strongly opposed.

“Opposition to AI data centers has emerged as one of these rare areas of consensus,” said poll director Tatishe Nteta.

The political divide

Solutions tend to fall along three very general lines: A complete ban or moratorium; giving state and local governments more tools to regulate the centers; and withdrawing federal support.

Putting pressure on utility companies appears to have the most legislative traction. Rep. Rob Latta, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Energy Subcommittee, found the House-passed legislation would protect consumers from runaway center-inspired utility rates.

The bill, he said, “protects American ratepayers from being forced to cover the cost of energy infrastructure upgrades needed to support data centers.”

Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., one of the bill’s lead sponsors, saw the measure as help for constituents facing affordability issues. “Data centers cannot come at a cost to neighbors who are already facing high grocery, gas, utility, health care and housing costs,” she said.

At the Edison Electric Institute, which represents the nation’s investor-owned electric companies, Drew Maloney, president and CEO, said in a statement that he appreciated Congress’ work and that EEI’s members “will continue working in lockstep to ensure large customers cover the costs of the energy infrastructure they use, and communities have a strong voice from the beginning of the planning process.”  

But some environmental activists saw big flaws in the bill.

“With only a weak directive to states to voluntarily consider adopting cost protections against the energy costs of data centers for ratepayers, state regulators could ultimately choose to ignore this bill,” said Sara Chieffo, senior vice president for government affairs at the League of Conservation Voters. 

A report last year from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that in 2023, data centers used roughly 4.4% of total electricity in this country. It forecast that the figure could double or triple by 2028 to meet the needs of more data, notably from artificial intelligence.

Consumers’ costs are generally figured by how much it costs to generate and deliver electricity. State and local regulators usually set those rates.

Looking ahead 

While the House bill had strong Democratic support, many in the party wanted to go further.

“It’s a step forward,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, told reporters when asked about the House bill. “But more needs to be done.”

That could include some sort of ban, or at least a moratorium, on building more centers, an approach favored by many Democratic progressives.

“Communities should have the right to say ‘no’ to a data center being shoved down their throats,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., told colleagues in a floor speech. 

In the Senate, some Democrats sent a strong signal that they wanted to do more than the House bill provided.

The bill “does nothing to meaningfully address the rising costs of AI data center development. Instead, it relies on a voluntary framework that does not require AI data centers to pay the full cost of the energy they consume or the strain they place on the grid,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“We need legislation that makes AI data centers pay their fair share and actually protects families,” he said. 

Among this week’s efforts was new legislation from a group of House Democrats to end certain currently available federal tax incentives available to data centers.

“Tax cuts need to go to families, not data centers. We absolutely should not cut healthcare and food assistance for children and seniors to pay for tax giveaways to corporations,” said Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Mich., one of the bill’s lead sponsors, at a Capitol Hill press conference.

“Why incentivize this right now?” asked Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., another top sponsor.

Political fallout

Find a close House or Senate race and chances are good there’s a brawl between candidates over who can best deal with the data center issue.

In Ohio, Sen. Jon Husted, a Republican, is in a close battle with former Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat.

Husted is the lead sponsor of the Senate ratepayer protection bill. Husted tried to get the Senate to consider the measure Thursday but it was blocked by Heinrich.

Asked why he doesn’t support a ban, Husted said, “Whether you want a data center should be a local decision. What we should do is protect the ratepayers from bearing the burden of the cost of building the electricity those data centers use.”

Husted is in a difficult position, Birdsong said, because his call for limits on data centers “puts him at odds with Trump.”

Close House races have similar fights. In Michigan, Rep. Tom Barrett, a Republican, is campaigning as the voice of the consumer.

One way to deal with data centers, he said, is by “stopping federal overreach and preventing the secrecy pledges that have plagued Michigan and undermined the power of local residents.”

The House, though, left Washington and won’t be back voting until a lame-duck session starting Nov. 8, sparking outrage from Democrats.

“That means ZERO votes on lowering costs, ending corruption, addressing AI, or responding to the Iran war before Election Day,” tweeted Rep. Johnny Olszewski Jr., D-Md. 

The Senate’s scheduled to be around through September, but there’s no sign it will take a close look at the data center issue. The big hope is that it will continue to be discussed back home and lawmakers will return ready to act or at least debate.

“We have to understand, ‘What’s the real implication here?’” Davis said.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The administration sought to dismiss the case brought against President Donald Trump’s negotiated settlement terms to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service for a years-old grievance over leaked tax returns. 

The settlement, brokered by the DOJ and Department of Treasury and met by heated opposition even from Republicans, established a massive taxpayer-funded settlement fund to pay “victims of lawfare.” It also included retroactive relief from tax audits and enforcement for Trump, his sons Don Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization.

Critics of the fund asserted the likelihood that violent participants who assaulted police during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol could reap a reward from the pot of money.

The administration maintains the fund never became operational and that the case is moot, though it refused to provide a sworn statement requested by the court saying as much.  Attorney General Todd Blanche testified at his July 15 confirmation hearing that the fund is “dead” and “never started.”

30 days to produce documents

On Friday, Judge Leonie Brinkema at the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia overruled the government’s objection to producing evidence and gave DOJ 30 days to produce documents potentially revealing who structured the deal. 

The “real concern,” she said is “this concept of taxpayer money being used to promote political viewpoints.”

“I think the fund now is gone, but is there a functional equivalent?” she asked, noting violators of federal laws that the administration opposes, like protections for abortion clinic clients, could be paid from a DOJ judgment fund.

Plaintiffs, including individuals and interest groups, sued the DOJ, Blanche and Treasury officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano.

Among the numerous plaintiffs are Andrew Floyd, a former assistant U.S. attorney who alleges he was fired for prosecuting Jan. 6 defendants, and the nonprofit National Abortion Federation, which represents abortion providers and advocates for abortion access.

Pooja Boisture, counsel for the plaintiffs, argued Friday the fund is “discriminatory.”

“This fund was designed to reward and give credence to election deniers and violators of the FACE Act,” she said, referring to the 1994 law that penalizes violence or threats from protesters against those entering to abortion clinics.

In response to a request for comment on Friday’s hearing, a DOJ spokesperson said, “The Department is confident that the court lacks jurisdiction over this lawsuit against the (anti-weaponization fund), which never started and isn’t moving forward.”

Constitutional question

The plaintiffs also allege the tax immunity arrangement for Trump, his sons and private conglomerate amounts to an unfair gain or advantage for the president, therefore violating the Constitution’s emoluments clause.

The National Treasury Employees Union is also party to the suit and brought the claim of an emoluments violation, as well as allegations of injury to tax auditors who may have been told to stop any audits of Trump.

“These members have no good options: If they comply with a request to terminate audits, they violate their oath of office; and if they refuse to comply, they will likely face retaliation for insubordination,” the union argued in a court filing.

The plaintiffs allege the president has ongoing audits that will be terminated under the immunity deal. 

Lisa Newman, attorney for the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward that is representing the plaintiffs, also told Brinkema, “We do plead that the president was participating in negotiation of the settlement.”

Newman referred to public reporting by The New York Times on May 19 that a loss in an IRS audit of Trump’s previous tax returns could cost him roughly $100 million.

Andrew Block, senior counsel for the Justice Department, told Brinkema he’s “not aware there are or (are) not” audits of the president’s tax returns from that period of time.

“It is speculation to say … that there was an improper request,” he said.

Brinkema shot back that Trump’s underlying $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS is “unique.”

“The plaintiff is absolutely controlling the defendants” who are at risk of being fired by the president on “a whim,” she said.

Settlement ‘castrated’ by judge

Brinkema said the Florida federal judge in Trump’s IRS case “castrated” the settlement in a July 13 order, adding the president’s underlying lawsuit against the nation’s tax enforcement agency is “extraordinarily relevant” to the lawsuit before her.

Judge Kathleen Williams for the  U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where Trump filed his lawsuit, wrote in a 56-page order that “No sitting President has ever sued federal agencies completely subject to his control for monetary benefits, or any benefits that inure to him, his family, and associates.” 

“The failure of any attorney in this case to address, on this docket, the relationship of this Article II proscription with the benefits conferred by the ‘settlement’ is a glaring omission that speaks to the control of the Lead Plaintiff,” Williams wrote.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

The suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is the second this month, following comments from top Trump officials citing a federal policy to allow ICE officers to enter polling locations in certain circumstances to conduct immigration enforcement.

The groups argue the policy violates the federal law that prohibits “armed men” at election sites, and also causes voter intimidation, which is barred under the Voting Rights Act.

Under federal law, “troops” or “armed men” are allowed at polling locations only if “such force be necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States.” And the section of the Voting Rights Act the groups cite prohibits “intimidation,” “threats,” or “coercion” against a person for voting or attempting to vote.

“The result is predictable: voters across the country—particularly Black, Latino, and Asian voters, naturalized citizens, and members of mixed-status families—are afraid to vote, help others vote, and participate in civic life,” according to the suit. 

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin earlier this month noted that agents could conduct immigration enforcement at polling places. And before U.S. senators this week, FBI Director Kash Patel did not rule out sending FBI agents to polling locations, but said officers would “follow the law.”

The Department of Justice dismissed the idea that officers would be sent to polling locations. 

“The DOJ has never said it would send federal law enforcement to polling locations,” a DOJ spokesperson said in a statement to States Newsroom. “Any suggestion otherwise is fearmongering.”

In a statement to States Newsroom, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said those “who are here legally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear.”

“Allegations that DHS law enforcement engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE,” the spokesperson said. “What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S.—NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity.”

The DHS spokesperson added that ICE was not planning any operations that targeted polling locations. 

NAACP among groups suing

“We reject this administration’s attempt to desecrate our polling sites by converting them into militarized zones through the unlawful deployment of ICE or any other federal agent,” Kristen Clarke, the NAACP’s general counsel, said in a statement. 

NAACP is one of nine groups that filed suit. The rest are Mi Familia en Accion, Asian Pacific American Advocates, the National Urban League, Minnesota 8, the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of Teachers, the International Union of Painters and the United Food and Commercial Workers International.

“Turning the fundamental right of exercising our vote into a high-stakes encounter with the militarized strong arm of the current administration isn’t protection and it isn’t oversight; it’s disenfranchisement, period,” Clarke said. “The NAACP calls on the court to reject this blatant attempt by federal officials to obstruct our elections through tactics pulled straight from the Jim Crow playbook.” 

The nine groups are represented by the Legal Defense Fund, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the National Immigration Law Center, Protect Democracy and the Democracy Defenders Fund. 

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Childcare is among the issues Ohioans have seen as a struggle for years when it comes to access and cost, and something the legislature has been attempting to navigate as well.

“When families are talking about the cost of living, we can’t separate childcare from groceries, housing, transportation, utilities, even gas,” said Tami Lunan, director of the childcare-focused Caring Economy Organizing Project within the Ohio Organizing Collaborative.

“When you start to layer in all those costs, you create a harsher reality for parents who are trying to stay in the workforce.”

Researchers and advocates in Ohio and the U.S. have been watching the childcare industry as it’s developed, and the cracks in the system brought on by funding gaps and workforce shortages. They recognize the immense need for a childcare system that works for families and for the businesses themselves.

Ohio-specific polling commissioned by advocacy group Groundwork Ohio and the national early childhood advocacy group First Five Years Fund, showed “significant agreement across party lines about the problem.”

The polling, released at the end of August, showed 64% of Ohio voters saw lowering the cost of living as one of the most important issues facing the state.

“Ohio’s next governor and legislature cannot control every cost putting pressure on working families,” the polling report stated. “Childcare is different. State policy can make a difference in what families pay, whether they can find care and whether parents can work.”

Ohio voters of all parties agree that quality childcare “is a crisis or a major problem,” with 76% of all voters agreeing to that statement.

Of those polled, 62% of Republicans found the childcare crisis to be a major problem, along with 78% of independents, and 94% of Democrats.

Of the voters who were parents paying for childcare, half of them said childcare costs “prevent them from saving money or getting ahead financially,” according to the polling, with more than a third of parents polled cutting back on other “household essentials” to afford childcare.

One in five Ohioans said they are delaying having children because of the cost.

The economic strength of a sturdy childcare industry was appealing to most voters polled, with 74% of voters agreeing that “increasing access to high-quality childcare will strengthen Ohio’s economy and workforce.”

“Ohio is working hard to attract employers, grow its economy, and fill available jobs,” the researchers stated. “Workers need somewhere safe and reliable for their children to go while they work. Childcare has to be part of that economic strategy.”

First Five Years Fund also recently released national polling taken in July of this year, which showed 82% of voters listed childcare as part of the “affordability crisis,” with nearly 40% saying their ability to work is impacted by decisions related to childcare.

The polling was consistent with previous surveys done by the group in January, when 80% of voters said the “inability of working parents to find affordable childcare is a ‘state of crisis’ or a ‘major problem.’”

The issue spanned partisan groups nationwide similar to the Ohio numbers, with 94% of Democrats agreeing childcare was in crisis, along with 81% of independent voters, and 65% who identified as Republicans.

The fund found a 29% increase in childcare prices between 2020 and 2024 “due to increased operational costs and competing wages from other service sectors,” an increase of more than 7% over the the prices of other goods and services.

The average cost of childcare in the U.S. is $13,000 per year, or more than $1,000 a month, according to the First Five Years Fund research.

Ohio’s average was similar to the national average, according to the research, at $13,780 per year.

Eligibility for the Publicly Funded Child Care program in Ohio currently goes up to 145% of the federal poverty line, a level the state has maintained in the state operating budget despite calls from childcare advocates to raise the line to 160%, if not 200% for all Ohio children.

With the level staying at 145%, Ohio has one of the lowest eligibility limits in the country.

The state budget did include other options, like the Child Care Cred Program, a measure to share the costs of childcare between participating businesses, its employees in need of childcare, and the state.

The Child Care Choice Voucher Program was also funded with $50 million from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant, allowing for more access to childcare to those who fall outside the Publicly Funded Child Care limits.

In Ohio, First Five Years Fund identified a 13% gap in supply of childcare services, with decreases in the number of licensed childcare centers and family childcare homes in the state.

The gap exists as Ohio has more than 800,000 children aged five and under, with 67% of those children in households where all parents are working.

The fact that Ohio changed how Publicly Funded Child Care providers are paid is having a major impact on the ability for parents to get childcare and for facilities to stay afloat, according to Lunan.

Payment by the state for PFCC providers is dependent on the number of hours of childcare they provide in a week, from the lower “hourly” category, to the highest, full-time childcare.

In the most recent state operating budget, the Ohio General Assembly changed the payment categories for PFCC providers, so payment made in the “hourly” category comes from 10 hours or less of childcare.

The change raised the threshold of payments in that category from the previous state threshold of seven hours or less.

Budget documents said the modified categories meant there  “would likely be a reduction in payments,” something Lunan and other childcare advocates agreed with, saying it would “negatively impact an entire industry.”

Part-time childcare is now considered any time between 10 and 33 hours per week, and full-time childcare is considered 33 hours or more of weekly childcare.

“That one change has had such a huge impact on who has access to care, is it affordable, and then it’s also really impacting the providers, because there are a lot of centers who are closing,” Lunan said.

Statewide research group Policy Matters Ohio said with nearly one in three Ohioans living in a childcare desert, workforce shortages are the difference between access to childcare and closed doors.

“Even where childcare centers are easy to access, many are operating at less than their full capacity because of this workforce shortage,” Heather Smith, researcher for the organization, wrote in a report.

The First Five Years Fund report recommended prioritizing federal funding to the Child Care & Development Block Grant, and also to Head Start programs and childcare tax credits nationwide to bring much needed support.

Groundwork Ohio, Lunan and Smith see other things the state can be doing, including support from the newest governor, whoever that may be, to increase eligibility for Publicly Funded Child Care and push to fill childcare funding gaps.

There’s also a bill currently active in the Ohio General Assembly that would give free childcare to those who work in the childcare sector.

Ohio House Bill 484 is a Republican-sponsored bill that would establish a pilot program under the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, providing Publicly Funded Child Care to employees of childcare facilities, regardless of income level.

The bill would use $20 million in state funds toward the pilot.

“Passing this legislation would not only provide current childcare workers with necessary financial relief … it would also draw more workers to the sector,” Smith said in a Policy Matters report on the bill.

H.B. 484 was introduced nearly a year ago, and has since been referred and re-referred to House committees. It currently sits in the House Finance Committee.

While the bill is led by members of the supermajority GOP in the General Assembly, it’s unclear whether the bill will be brought up before the end of the year.

After the November election, the legislature will start its “lame duck” session, in which the General Assembly must wrap up any priority business by the end of December.

Any measures not passed before that date will have to be reintroduced and start the process again in the new year, with a new General Assembly.

Lunan sees all the options as part of the values the state should hold to develop a new generation of Ohioans.

“We actually are responsible for children developing into good citizens, and good stewards of our state, and when we invest in those dollars up front, we know that the impact will be felt years down the line,” Lunan said.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Six contractors from Monroe Drilling Operations LLC were plugging an abandoned well in Washington County inside Wayne National Forest when natural gas and crude oil ignited at the site on Aug 25, 2025. 

Chris Pinkerton and Chris Starkey later died from injuries they sustained in the explosion. Pinkerton died Dec. 14 and Starkey died Oct. 3. 

Chazz Bates filed a lawsuit last month in the Washington County Court of Common Pleas against Monroe Drilling Operations LLC and Formation Cementing Inc. in Zanesville, “alleging their safety failures caused the blast,” according to Bates’ attorneys from Cooper Elliott.

Bates “suffered serious burn injuries” and was treated at the Ohio State Medical Center Burn Unit, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources investigation report. 

The well the workers were trying to plug was through the Ohio’s Orphan Well program and ODNR’s investigation concluded there were “several site safety issues” and “several well control issues.” 

“Upon review of the facts surrounding the incident, the Division (of Oil and Gas Resources Management) has determined the cause of the explosion to be improper implementation of primary and secondary well control barriers by Monroe Drilling on an orphan well with unknown casing integrity and wellbore conditions,” according to ODNR’s investigation report. 

Orphan wells 

An orphan well is an abandoned oil and gas well that has no owner, meaning no one is able to properly plug the well. Many of these wells are more than 100 years old and the original owner has died, companies have gone out of business or records are incomplete. Orphan wells are scored on a risk basis and the highest risk wells are plugged first. 

Ohio’s Orphan Well Program has plugged more than 4,100 abandoned wells since launching in 1977. 

The number of wells plugged in Ohio in recent years, according to the ODNR. 

• 2025: 480

• 2024: 412

• 2023: 323 

• 2022: 176

• 2021: 144 

• 2020: 150 

• 2019: 92

• 2018: 51 

• 2017: 19

• 2016: 7 

• 2015: 7 

Columbiana County had the most wells plugged last year with 63, followed by Washington County with 42, according to ODNR.

An Ohio law was enacted in 2018 that requires the state department of natural resources to spend 30% of the state’s Oil and Gas Well Fund on plugging orphan wells. 

Prior to the law going into effect, ODNR had to spend only 14% of their budget on plugging wells. 

The Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management spent $55.43 million in state funds and $6.7 million in federal funds to plug orphan wells in 2025, according to ODNR. 

ODNR will sometimes uses drones to help locate orphan wells. 

“The drone program is supported by multiple, contracted well-locating consultants that fly drone-based magnetometers to locate and verify unknown wells,” said Rural Action Watersheds Program Director Matt Ledford. 

Rural Action has worked with ODNR’s Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management since 2024 as a landowner liaison between the division and property owners where orphan wells are located, Ledford said. 

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on X or on Bluesky.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Indeed, his two terms of transferring state wealth to private companies may, in retrospect, define his time in office. In addition to the tech deals that limit the state from reining in the data centers that a growing majority of Ohioans hate, Kasich’s legacy is a litany of pro-corporate/anti-taxpayer blunders:

• Offering $400 million Ohio dollars in 2011 to lure the dying Sears retail giant from a massive suburban campus in the distant Chicago suburbs to a new, sprawling rural campus somewhere in Ohio. This was unlikely to happen, but its shows intellectual bankruptcy of Kasich’s economic strategy. (The $400 million offer, incidentally, equaled the amount of federal funding Kasich rejected for a Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati passenger rail system.)  

• Selling off farms, equipment, facilities, and livestock at 11 Ohio prisons in 2017 – when the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction was in the middle of a $9 million expansion and improvement of those facilities. Among the assets auctioned off at “fire-sale” prices were 12,500 acres of farmland, 2,300 head of beef cattle and 1,000 dairy cows.

• Creating JobsOhio and funding it with the taxpayer dollars that had supported the wildly popular Clean Ohio program.

In fact, the ham-handed and foolish Sears and prison-farm plans pale in comparison to the one-two punch of creating JobsOhio and gutting the Clean Ohio Fund in 2011.

Through creation of JobsOhio and putting state liquor proceeds into the hands of a private company, the Kasich administration did more than an end-run around the state constitution and privatizing public assets. The arguably worst facet of privatizing economic development was, ironically, Kasich’s dismantling of what was perhaps the greatest economic-development program in the state’s history – Clean Ohio.

For about 10 years, Ohio’s liquor proceeds funded the brownfield-cleanup portion of Clean Ohio – a popular urban and rural environmental cleanup program created through a constitutional ballot issue overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2000 and renewed and revised in 2008. The Clean Ohio program was a four-pronged, bipartisan, urban and rural, multifaceted statewide environmental program that sold $400 million in bonds to: 

• expand and support parks, open space, wetlands, and natural areas facing threats; 

• provide grants to farm owners who place easements on fields to perpetually preserve farmland through an Ohio Department of Agriculture program; 

• maintain and expand recreational trails throughout the state;

• and, in the biggest part of the program, clean up urban brownfields and turn them back into profitable, tax-generating properties in Ohio cities. 

Originally proposed by former Republican Gov. Robert Taft in 1999, the program was created in 2000 upon passage of Issue 1, with 57.4 percent support by Ohio voters. In 2008, Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland led the campaign to renew Clean Ohio – and it was overwhelmingly passed in all 88 counties by 70 percent of Ohio voters in a big-turnout presidential-election year.

But after Kasich became governor in 2011 and hatched his JobsOhio scheme, Clean Ohio was disemboweled.

The $100 million each year over four years was split evenly between urban brownfields ($50 million) and rural greenfields ($50 million, broken into $25 million for open space and $12.5 million each for farmland and trails). Bonds for the projects on the green side were repaid through general state revenues; the brownfield bonds were backed by state liquor profits.

The key to the brownfield remediation was a laser focus on cleanup of contaminated industrial sites rather than pointing fingers and assessing blame. Typically, developers with new plans for defunct industrial sites would seek a Clean Ohio grant and then work with environmental specialists on the long process of remediation and eventual redevelopment in Ohio’s cities. 

This came at a time when industrial sites across the country were tied up in courts for decades. The sites typically had changed hands several times over the decades, and contamination often went back a century or more. In many cases, the dumping of toxic waste began well before laws were enacted to prevent such dumping. Every dollar spent on litigation to assign blame for the pollution was a dollar less to clean up the mess.

The liquor-backed bonds allowed for sites to be cleaned and redeveloped into profitable and tax-generating properties without waiting on the courts. The program was recognized nationally for its scope and innovation.

Clean Ohio thus thrived through three administrations, two governors and two political parties. It led to hundreds of millions of dollars for projects in all 88 Ohio counties and won bipartisan support at the local and state levels. The $400 million for the Brownfields program alone led to cleanup of 7,600 acres of contaminated sites, and, according to the Greater Ohio Policy Center, “placed Ohio as a national leader in brownfields redevelopment.”

Greater Ohio analyzed 21 brownfield projects between 2003 and 2012, and found they “resulted in a net positive value for the state’s investment, producing $1.16 billion in one-time contributions and $1.4 billion in annual contributions to the state GDP.” They also added $55 million state and local taxes. And that doesn’t include the number of jobs for the remediation itself and the new neighborhoods and buildings that were constructed on former brownfield sites.

It wasn’t until 2021 that Clean Ohio got back to some semblance of its original self and re-established the grant program. But that came after almost a decade uncertainty and a significant decline in grants while JobsOhio runs around ready to offer subsidies and take credit for companies making a footprint in Ohio.

Brian Williams is a freelance writer.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Across Ohio and the country, thousands of adults are also preparing for the start of a new academic year. Many are balancing full-time jobs, raising families, or changing careers. Others are taking the next step toward becoming teachers, answering a need that extends well beyond the classroom and into the future of our communities.

Back-to-school season is a reminder that learning doesn’t end with high school or college graduation. In today’s workforce, education has become a lifelong endeavor, with adults returning to school to build new skills, pursue meaningful careers and create better opportunities for themselves and their families.

For many, that journey begins with a desire to make a difference. Teacher shortages continue to affect schools in Ohio and across the country, leaving districts searching for qualified educators while student needs continue to grow. At the same time, many working adults are looking for careers that offer purpose, stability and the chance to have a lasting impact. Taken together, those two realities create an important opportunity: supporting more adults as they pursue careers in education.

Of course, becoming a teacher isn’t always a straightforward decision. Many aspiring educators already have careers, mortgages, children or other responsibilities that make returning to a traditional college campus difficult. Those would-be educators have what it takes in terms of personal motivation and ability. The challenge, more often than not, is finding an education model that fits into an already-full life.

That’s why flexibility has become one of the most important ingredients in expanding our future educator pipeline. Online, competency-based education has helped make earning a degree more accessible for working adults by allowing students to learn when and where it works best for them while progressing at a pace that reflects what they already know. Removing barriers like rigid schedules or geographic limitations can make the difference between someone putting their career aspirations on hold and taking the next step toward the classroom.

And as we work to fill the pipeline, the more inspired educators of different backgrounds we can bring into the classroom, the better. When students see themselves reflected in their teachers, it shapes how they experience school. It can influence their sense of belonging, their confidence, and how they envision their own futures. For some students, feeling understood by their teacher can be the difference between disengaging and leaning in. It can also shape whether they ever consider teaching as a possible career themselves.

Just as importantly, today’s educators are entering a profession that continues to evolve. Teachers are expected to integrate new technologies, personalize instruction and prepare students for careers that may not even exist yet. The ability to learn flexibly and continuously is just as important for educators as it is for the students they teach.

While children are preparing for a new year of learning, adults across Ohio are making the equally important decision to invest in themselves, and to become the teachers who will inspire the next generation. By expanding access to practical, career-connected pathways, we can help more aspiring educators turn their goals into reality and ensure that tomorrow’s classrooms are led by the skilled, passionate teachers our students deserve.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

“This is the most consequential election of our lifetime,” said U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat. “So the message is: If you’re concerned about the Supreme Court, get out and vote. If you’re concerned about making sure we’re taking care of the poor and the children, get out and vote.”

Meeks was part of a panel that assessed the last 18 months, finding that “Black America” hangs in the balance against the Trump administration’s push to limit voting by mail, changing who and what counts in the U.S. Census and dismantling various federal agencies.  

President Donald Trump has demanded that Congress pass the SAVE America Act, which would require additional documents, such as passports and birth certificates, to register to vote and cast a ballot. Trump also issued an executive order pushing limits on vote-by-mail that would have required specific designs for ballots and mandated that states collect certain information from voters.

Democratic-led states and voting rights groups sued, warning the change could disenfranchise 50 million voters set to receive ballots for this fall’s midterm elections. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Trump’s plan.

Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said one necessary change is Supreme Court reform.

Earlier this year, the nation’s highest court ruled 6-3 in Callais v. Louisiana that the state’s use of race-based redistricting amounted to an “unconstitutional racial gerrymander.”

State lawmakers had drawn maps that created a second majority-Black congressional district represented by Cleo Fields, a Baton Rouge Democrat who is not seeking re-election. After the court decision, the GOP-controlled legislature revised Fields’ district to favor a Republican, leaving Louisiana with one Black-majority district out of six. The state’s Black population is around 30%.

“For the longest time, people who want to advance the extremist agenda have had their eyes on the Supreme Court,” said Nelson, who argued the Callais case before the Supreme Court, in support of Black representation. “The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. It dictates the law. It can strike down legislation. It is a powerful arm of government.”

Fallout from the Callais decision prompted Republican majorities in several Southern states to reshape congressional districts to make them less favorable to minority voters in the midterm elections. Analysts have said possibly 20 of the Congressional Black Caucus’ 62 members could lose their seats this fall.

Among those affected is Rep. Shomari Figures, an Alabama Democrat. The Alabama Legislature redrew Figures’ district to decrease the Black voting age population from nearly 49% to 39%.

Figures talked about the real-life  impact on Black communities without representation.

He said 88% of people in his state graduate from a public high school. But a school voucher program called the CHOOSE Act grants $7,000 tax credits that can be used for private school tuition. Nearly 14,000 of the 24,000 granted awards planned to enroll in private school last year.

Figures said he represents one of the worst congressional districts in the country when it comes to healthcare: 1 in 5 people is diabetic.

“That’s why it is vital that we continue to push back against these redistricting efforts, against the gerrymandering efforts that we’re seeing across the country,” he said.

Black policy playbook

Conference attendees also received a copy or a digital version of  “Forward Together: The Black Policy Playbook for An Equitable America.”

The report, developed by the caucus foundation and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, covers eight policy areas from voting rights and civic engagement to education, immigration and technology.

Recommendations included: Requiring federal funding to states to modernize voter registration systems, voter education and protections against discriminatory election practices; and requiring the U.S. Treasury Department to develop a fair lending oversight program that’s consistent with other federal financial regulators.

“When we talk about economic mobility, when we talk about creating sustainability, we have to shift from the politics of the self [and] back to the politics of the community. That is the only way we survive,” said Alphonso David, president & CEO of Global Black Economic Forum.

This story was originally produced by Maryland Matters, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Ohio Capital Journal, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Police identified the man Monday as Gaspar G. Hinojosa, a Fremont resident.

Norfolk Southern reported Sunday that a pedestrian had been struck by a train on the railroad trestle adjacent to the Miles Newton Bridge. Emergency crews responded to the area and began searching for the person.

Responders located Hinojosa deceased in the Sandusky River at approximately 3 p.m.

“Preliminary findings indicate that Mr. Hinojosa was struck by the train while walking on the trestle,” Fremont Police Chief Derek Wensinger said in an updated media release Monday.

The Fremont Police and Fire departments, Sandusky County Sheriff’s Office, Ballville Township Fire Department, Harris-Elmore Fire Department hovercraft, Sandusky Township Fire Department and Sandusky County Drone Team were involved in the response.

The Ottawa County Water Rescue/Dive Team and Toledo Fire Department Special Operations team were also dispatched but were canceled while en route, according to police.

The incident remains under investigation while authorities await reports from the Sandusky County Coroner.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

As a South-Western City Schools board member, D’Angelo voted in 2024 to give attorney Omar Tarazi a $9,000-a-month contract one week after he publicly touted the value of helping school boards through privileged advice “without necessarily being in the public sphere.”

By then, Tarazi had already billed the district $78,016.18 for legal work. Another $39,130 in superintendent-search expenses had been invoiced through him on behalf of K-12 Business Consulting.

D’Angelo, now the Republican candidate for Ohio House District 10, has made government transparency part of her Statehouse campaign.

Under a section of her website titled “State Transparency,” D’Angelo promises to bring a “mom’s eye” to the state budget and demand that “every dollar spent is visible and every legislative decision is made in the light of day.”

Tarazi touted advice outside ‘the public sphere’

Tarazi made his comments July 15, 2024, while seeking legal work from another Ohio school district.

During a presentation to the Big Walnut Local Schools Board of Education, Tarazi explained what he considered one of the principal benefits of having an attorney work directly with a school board.

“The main value that lawyers provide is being able to give attorney-client privileged, clear advice,” Tarazi said, according to NBC4 reporting, adding that counsel could “really help guide a board without necessarily being in the public sphere.”

Tarazi also told Big Walnut board members they could contact him “day or night” for independent, confidential guidance.

Seven days later, South-Western’s board held a special meeting to vote on a formal contract with Tarazi.

D’Angelo joined board members Chris Boso and Julie Liskany in approving the agreement. Camille Peterson voted no. Kelli Martindale was absent.

The contract paid Tarazi a flat $9,000 per month for routine services from July 22 through the end of 2024, with an option for a one-year renewal. It also allowed him to bill $300 per hour for non-routine work.

The Westside Messenger reported that Peterson cited her “lack of involvement in a board decision to solicit the legal services of Tarazi” as one reason she opposed the contract.

Peterson also questioned the cost.

“I do question if we are honestly being financially responsible with the district and taxpayers’ funds when we are voting on a contract for this purpose or expense,” she said.

More than $78,000 in legal bills before contract

Tarazi’s relationship with South-Western did not begin with the $9,000 monthly contract.

Before the July 22 vote, NBC4 reported three periods of legal billing from Tarazi:

• $23,823 from Jan. 22 through March 1;

• $22,932 from March 2 through March 25; and

• $31,261.18 from March 26 through July 3.

Combined, Tarazi billed $78,016.18 for legal work before receiving the monthly contract.

The descriptions of Tarazi’s work on itemized invoices released to NBC4 were completely redacted. Tarazi cited attorney-client privilege when declining to describe the legal services he provided.

The money flowing through Tarazi’s invoices went beyond his own legal work.

NBC4 reported that South-Western also received two superintendent-search charges through Tarazi: $22,980 on March 26 and $16,150 on May 24.

Those charges totaled $39,130 and were invoiced through Tarazi on behalf of K-12 Business Consulting, the company conducting the district’s superintendent search.

Combined with Tarazi’s legal billing, more than $117,000 in charges had been associated with his invoices before D’Angelo and two other board members approved his $9,000 monthly contract.

D’Angelo now campaigns on transparency

Two years later, D’Angelo is running for the Ohio House with transparency as part of her campaign platform.

Her pledge that “every dollar spent is visible” comes after her vote to formalize Tarazi’s contract following more than $78,000 in legal bills whose descriptions were redacted when released by the district.

Her pledge that government decisions be made “in the light of day” also comes after she voted for Tarazi’s contract seven days after he publicly described the ability to provide privileged guidance outside the public sphere as a benefit of school-board counsel.

D’Angelo is challenging Democratic state Rep. Mark Sigrist in Ohio House District 10 this November.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Coalition of Patriots II, a northwest Ohio group that identifies as constitutional conservative, accused Click Saturday of being “vindictive” and attempting to undermine an Oct. 1 event the group says it arranged with Ramaswamy for approximately 110 people.

Click has now announced his own Ramaswamy event in Tiffin on the same evening — beginning just one hour earlier.

“Please join us and help spread the word! I’m looking forward to bringing Vivek Ramaswamy to the 88th District for a Tiffin Town Hall!” Click wrote in a Facebook post promoting the event.

The accompanying advertisement lists the town hall for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 1 at the Marion Center at Tiffin University, 155 Miami St. It says the event is sponsored by Click and the Seneca County Republican Central Committee.

Coalition of Patriots II says its invitation-only question-and-answer event with Ramaswamy begins at 6:30 p.m. — exactly one hour after Click’s town hall is scheduled to begin.

The group says its event was arranged first, that Click was not invited and that Click sought his own Ramaswamy appearance after learning about the gathering.

Group says Click tried to undermine its event

Coalition of Patriots II tied the dispute directly to the bitter Republican primary that nearly cost Click his seat earlier this year.

“During the primary season several constitutional conservative groups didn’t agree with Rep. Click’s recent voting record and supported his Republican opponent Eric Watson,” the group said in a statement provided to TiffinOhio.net. “These individuals worked hard to get Mr. Watson’s message out and nearly upset Rep. Click’s third term efforts.”

The group accused Click of responding to those disagreements with personal attacks rather than attempting to repair relationships with conservatives who opposed him.

“Instead of trying to understand and address the differences Rep. Click followed his past antics of name calling, which seems to be a strategy of his,” the group wrote. “He tries to publicly tarnish the reputations of those who disagree with him.”

That fight, the group says, has now spilled into the fall campaign.

Coalition of Patriots II said a constitutional conservative grassroots group arranged for Ramaswamy to attend the Oct. 1 question-and-answer session with approximately 110 voters.

Click was not invited, according to the group.

“When Rep. Click learned he was not one of the invited, he then attempted to undermine the conservative groups meeting by trying to schedule his own meeting with the candidate the same evening,” the group wrote.

Click subsequently announced the 5:30 p.m. Ramaswamy town hall at Tiffin University.

The Coalition’s event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

“So a constitutional conservative group of people who wanted to hear Mr. Ramaswamy speak, scheduled an event and because of the vindictiveness of Rep. Click he tried to sabotage that event,” the group wrote.

The group said the approximately 110 people invited to its gathering were prepared to become active Ramaswamy supporters if they liked what they heard.

“What Rep. Click did was not done to move the Republican Party or its candidates forward, but was to satisfy a grudge he holds against those who oppose him,” the group wrote. “That is how he wields the power of politics.”

Despite Click’s newly announced town hall, the Coalition says Ramaswamy is still attending its event.

“Despite all of Rep. Click’s efforts, Mr. Ramaswamy is still attending the conservative groups event,” it wrote.

The two announced appearances are scheduled only an hour apart. Click’s advertisement lists a 5:30 p.m. start time but does not give an ending time.

Click escaped his primary by 599 votes

The fight follows a Republican primary in which Click came within 599 votes of losing the nomination to first-time challenger Eric Watson.

Click defeated Watson 6,859 to 6,260 — 52.28% to 47.72% — out of 13,119 Republican votes cast across Seneca and Sandusky counties.

Click also lost Seneca County to Watson, surviving only after a stronger showing in his home county of Sandusky.

Nearly 48% of Republican primary voters in the district voted for Watson instead of the three-term incumbent.

The primary also exposed a wider rupture between Click and organizations on his political right.

Ohio Gun Owners backed Watson and initially gave Click a C-minus rating before later downgrading him to an F. End Abortion Ohio also endorsed Watson after Click declined to complete its candidate survey.

Click did not quietly disagree with the groups.

In March, Click called End Abortion Ohio “clowns” after the organization endorsed Watson and said he would refuse its endorsement “under any condition.”

Click also called Ohio Gun Owners leader Chris Dorr a “fraud” amid their fight over gun legislation.

The primary did not end the feud.

Watson later refused to endorse Click, even after the two met following the election. Watson said their meeting failed to resolve disagreements over issues including data centers and digital identification.

The same conservative rupture that nearly cost Click the Republican nomination is still visible months later.

Ramaswamy has been pulled into the feud before

This is not the first time Ramaswamy has become part of the fight between Click and conservatives challenging him from the right.

During the primary, Click temporarily disappeared from a list of legislative endorsements on Ramaswamy’s campaign website.

Watson seized on the removal, calling Click “a liability” to the Republican ticket. Click was later restored to the endorsement page.

Now Ramaswamy is again at the center of a dispute involving Click and conservative activists who remain angry months after the primary.

Coalition of Patriots II closed its Saturday statement with a direct attack on Click’s representation of the district.

“Because of this and similar past behavior is Rep. Click suitable or worthy to represent the people of Seneca and Sandusky Counties?” the group wrote. “Clearly he is not!!”

Click is seeking a fourth and final term representing Ohio House District 88, which includes all of Seneca and Sandusky counties. He faces Democrat Aaron Jones of Tiffin in the Nov. 3 general election.

Five months after Click escaped the Republican primary by 599 votes, the conservative revolt that nearly cost him the nomination has not gone away.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.

Campaign-finance records reviewed by TiffinOhio.net show Conrad Geis, president of Geis Companies, contributed $6,588.89 to Workman’s campaign on May 5.

Transparency USA lists Geis as Workman’s second-largest contributor in the current campaign cycle, behind only Howard Rich.

Before making the contribution, Geis Construction had already asked Shalersville Township trustees to lift the township’s data center moratorium so vacant land at the company’s Turnpike Commerce Center could be marketed for data center development. Trustees rejected the request and extended the moratorium.

Shalersville is part of Workman’s 72nd Ohio House District.

Eight days after Geis contributed to Workman, she announced her appointment to the newly created Joint Data Center Committee on May 13.

The panel was created to examine the economic, environmental, energy and security impacts of Ohio’s expanding data center industry and hear from industry representatives, local governments and affected communities.

Workman was already sponsoring legislation regulating new data centers.

She and Republican state Rep. Steve Demetriou introduced House Bill 710 on Feb. 24.

The bill would prohibit state and local governments from awarding economic-development assistance to new data centers, restrict construction on certain properties, prohibit eminent domain for new data centers and require developers to bear electricity-system costs attributable to their projects rather than shifting those costs to other customers.

The Legislative Service Commission analysis says the bill would require developers to cover generation, transmission, distribution, capacity, congestion and other electricity costs attributable to new data centers.

When announcing the legislation, Workman said Ohio should not pursue development that “increases utility costs, or shifts infrastructure expenses onto working families and small businesses.”

Geis also gave money to Workman’s HB 710 co-sponsor.

Campaign-finance records reviewed by TiffinOhio.net show Geis contributed $16,615.66 to Demetriou on May 5 — the same day he gave $6,588.89 to Workman.

Together, Geis gave the two primary sponsors of HB 710 $23,204.55 in a single day.

On May 19, Workman and Demetriou testified in favor of HB 710 before the House General Government Committee.

Geis-backed project could include 15 buildings

On May 27, News 5 Cleveland reported that Singapore-based Bitdeer had a contract to purchase roughly 257 acres at the Geis-developed Turnpike Commerce Center in Shalersville.

The proposed campus could include 15 buildings, begin with approximately 150 megawatts of power capacity and eventually grow to as much as 750 megawatts. Bitdeer estimated construction costs exceeding $300 million before equipment.

Workman attended a May 29 informational event on the project where hundreds of Portage County residents gathered and protesters demonstrated outside.

At the event, Workman told News 5 she had not taken a position on the Bitdeer proposal and said questions involving water, electricity, cost shifting and tax benefits deserved scrutiny.

Geis told the outlet that “responsible data center development can be done.”

Bitdeer has said it is not seeking tax breaks for the Shalersville project. The project also remains subject to the township’s data center moratorium and had not received local approval when developers presented it publicly.

Geis is Workman’s second-largest campaign contributor. His company is pursuing a major data center development in her district, while Workman co-sponsors legislation regulating new data centers and serves on the General Assembly’s data center panel.

Workman is seeking reelection this November against Democrat Jeff Clapper and Libertarian Michael Fricke.

Originally published on TiffinOhio.net.