State & Regional politics
States urged to lower DUI limit
A federal agency on Tuesday asked states to toughen the standard to declare when someone is legally too drunk to drive. Among a series of recommendations, the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates traffic crashes, said states should reduce the DUI standard from 0.08 blood alcohol content to 0.05. While ...
Civil lawsuits cost local governments millions
More than 100 lawsuits against city, township and county governments in Butler and Warren counties have resulted in almost $10 million in payouts over the past five years, a Middletown Journal/Hamilton JournalNews analysis of city and court records found.But because the majority of those civil cases were settled by governments’ ...
VIDEO: Speaker Boehner shows reporter how to tie his tie properly
Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., is known on Capitol Hill for his dapper look and perfectly tied neckwear.Recently after an interview with Peter Cook of Bloomberg News, Boehner gave the reporter a lesson in how to tie the perfect knot.“You don’t have a dimple. You’ve got ...
New assistant secretary of state is Miami grad
COLUMBUS – Halle Pelger, a 2004 Miami University graduate, has been promoted to assistant secretary of state and chief of staff to Secretary of State Jon Husted.Pelger, who had been serving as deputy chief of staff, was promoted by Husted this week, according to a press release. She will oversee ...
Cell phone, laptop, tablet theft could be felony offenses
Ohio lawmakers are considering legislation that would make stealing a cell phone, computer, laptop or tablet a felony offense.Many Ohioans carry laptops, tablets or smart phones that contain banking information, health data, extensive contact lists and other sensitive data that if stolen could wreak havoc in short order.This legislation comes ...
Ohio lawmakers to push right-to-work legislation
Ohio could follow in the footsteps of neighboring Michigan and Indiana to enact right-to-work legislation.Republican state Reps. Ron Maag of Lebanon and Kristina Roegner of Hudson plan to introduce two bills — one for the public sector and one for the private sector — that would end mandatory membership and ...
Wright-Patt employees want greater say on when to take furloughs
Air Force Materiel Command employees want a greater say in when and how they take mandatory unpaid furlough days, union leaders said Friday. The American Federation of Government Employees Council 214 and the AFMC, headquartered at Wright-Patterson, were back in contract negotiations over 14-day furloughs after an agreement on 22-day ...
Beer brewers upset with Ohio lawmakers
Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, says it was blindsided by Ohio lawmakers who approved an amendment “in the space of four hours” that will prohibit breweries from buying wholesale distributorships in the future. The beer giant is now publicly pleading with legislative leaders to reverse course or even take ...
Race to lead state GOP getting bumpy
The front-runner to be the next leader of the Ohio Republican Party is facing an eleventh-hour call from within his own party to step aside. In a Monday letter to state GOP central committee members, Ashtabula County Republican Party Chair Charlie Frye asked Matt Borges to withdraw his candidacy. Frye ...
State representative says he’ll take on Portman in 2016 over gun vote
and Joe HallettThe Columbus DispatchWASHINGTON - Sen. Rob Portman’s vote opposing a bipartisan amendment to expand background checks for gun purchases drew him his first opponent for 2016 – a state senator who said Portman’s vote reflected a lack of “courage.”State Rep. Bob Hagan, a Youngstown Democrat and 26-year member ...
Former Hamilton County commissioner to run for attorney general
Ohio Democrats have their first statewide candidate for 2014. David Pepper of Cincinnati announced Monday he will challenge Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine for his position. Pepper, a former Hamilton County commissioner and Cincinnati city councilman, ran unsuccessfully against David Yost for Ohio auditor in 2010. Pepper had about $6,000 ...
Ohio GOP director’s tax bill reduced, still owes $168,161
Ohio Republican Party Executive Director Matt Borges learned Friday that his federal tax bill was reduced to $168,161, down from $493,624. Bob Onda, Borges’ newly retained tax attorney, said the IRS adjusted the bill in October but Borges’ old attorney did not deliver the news to him. Onda said he ...
Ohio lawmakers debating funding cut for Planned Parenthood
For the third time in a year, Ohio lawmakers are debating legislation to decrease federal funding to Planned Parenthood in Ohio and centers that perform or counsel about abortive services. House Republicans revived the push this week in revisions to Gov. John Kasich’s state budget bill. The provisions added to ...
Ohio Sen. Brown introduces bill to raise minimum wage to $10.10
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has introduced a bill that would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour in three steps.The bill would provide the first minimum wage increase to tipped employees in more than 20 years.“Working full-time in a minimum wage job in Ohio pays about $16,000 per ...
Fallout continues over Hawaii trip for school retirement board trustees
There is mounting concern that some trustees of the School Employees Retirement System are preparing to remove SERS Executive Director Lisa Morris, who publicly advised them not to attend a pension conference in Hawaii next month. SERS is expected to foot the bill for the trip. Our Columbus bureau first ...
Ohio House set to strip Medicaid expansion from Kasich budget
By Ann Sanner and Julie Carr Smyth Associated Press COLUMBUS - A state house committee will unveil its version of the Ohio two-year budget on Tuesday, and Gov. John Kasich’s plans to expand Medicaid under the federal health law won’t be included, The Associated Press has learned. A person with ...
State leaders look to reform foster care system
Sen. Peggy Lehner is sponsoring legislation to improve Ohio’s foster care system, based on recommendations released Monday from the state attorney general’s office. The Kettering Republican said she’s heard from several foster parents who thought a child was returned prematurely to the birth parents and the changes she’s proposing are ...
Former Ohio mayor convicted of rape, other charges
A Morgan County Common Pleas jury has convicted former Stockport Mayor Michael Shane Shuster on 21 felony counts including eight counts of gross sexual imposition, seven counts of sexual battery and six counts of rape. A special prosecutor from the Ohio Attorney General’s Crimes Against Children Unit was assigned to ...
Bipartisan support growing for Brown plan to breakup large banks
During the final days of intense debate in 2010 over a bill aimed at preventing another financial meltdown such as the one in 2008, Sen. Sherrod Brown pressed for an amendment that would break up the biggest banks in country. Brown won the backing of 32 other senators for the ...
Monday is deadline to register to vote in May 7 election
The deadline to register to vote for the May 7th election is Monday April 8. Voter registration forms are available at MyOhioVote.com or from local boards of elections and other designated agencies, such as libraries and BMVs. If you have moved since the last election, you should visit the site ...
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