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Rumblings of the rotunda
Dismissal of redistribution: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to launch a lawsuit filed by a national anti-gerrymandering group over congressional redistribution maps approved by the state legislature and promulgated by Governor Mike DeWine. Andrew Tobias reports that the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, led by former United States Attorney General Eric Holder, filed a lawsuit shortly after DeWine signed the cards. In his motion to dismiss the case, Yost argues that the Holder-aligned group failed to build their case properly and unfairly sued members of the Ohio Redistribution Commission instead of the General Assembly , who approved the card.
Which Omicron? : The announcement of an emerging variant of COVID-19 does not stop Ohio lawmakers from trying again to ban employer vaccination mandates. Laura Hancock writes that an Ohio Senate committee has scheduled its first hearing this afternoon on House Bill 218, legislation that would ban schools and employers from requiring vaccines. The House bill, which passed on Nov. 18, provides broad exemptions from vaccine requirements, including health, religion, and natural immunity claims.
Vax-2-School: In stark contrast to the spectrum of dealing with COVID-19, the Ohio Department of Health announced the first batch of recipients of the $ 10,000 Vax-2-School scholarship on Monday. There will be 150 recipients in total in the coming days, and five people will win $ 100,000, reports Hancock. The state designed the raffle to encourage young Ohioans to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Power movement: The right-wing lobby group, The Center for Christian Virtue, has bought part of the real estate in downtown Columbus. Laura Bischoff from Columbus Dispatch writes that the nonprofit spent $ 1.25 million to purchase the 15,000 square foot building at 60 E. Broad Street, which overlooks the Ohio Statehouse. He plans to ask donors to foot the bill for an additional $ 3.75 million to renovate the building. CCV’s four decades of warfare include promoting policies related to critical race theory, vouchers for private schools, and LGBTQ issues.
Hamer verified: More details have emerged about a Lake County commissioner associated with an investigation into an attempted election violation. Cory Shaffer reports that Commissioner John Hamercheck previously worked as a radio technician in the county telecommunications department until his conviction in 1995 for stealing an electric drill from a local hardware store, court records show. He said at the time that he forgot to pay for the exercise and cited a head injury he suffered in a helicopter crash in 1989 which also occurred while he worked for the county, according to court records. He was convicted of petty theft after a trial in Mentor City Court, but an appeals court later dismissed his conviction based on a technicality.
New feed head: Mark S. Meder, executive vice president of technology and operations at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, will become its new senior vice president and chief operating officer in February. Meder will succeed Gregory L. Stefani, who is retiring, reports Sean McDonnell.
Pharmaceuticals: After six days of deliberation, a jury found out last week that CVS, Walmart and Walgreens had created a public nuisance in Trumbull and Lake counties by providing an oversupply of opioid pills. John Caniglia reports that the verdict is the first in the country regarding the dispensing of prescription pain relievers.
Imagine this: By next May, all soldiers in the Ohio State Highway Patrol will wear body cameras that will automatically begin recording when soldiers activate lights and sirens on their cars. As Pelzer explains, the $ 15 million effort was one of the police reforms proposed by Governor Mike DeWine in the wake of George Floyd’s protests last year.
Another challenge of the mandate: A few weeks ago, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost challenged parts of President Joe Biden’s coronavirus vaccine tenure dealing with large employers and federal contractors. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, Yost has now joined another multi-state lawsuit challenging the third part of Biden’s tenure: a requirement that health workers be fully immunized by early January.
Life goes on’: To help deal with ongoing supply chain disruptions, DeWine has re-launched a pandemic-era order allowing oversized trucks carrying up to 90,000 pounds to drive in Ohio without first obtaining permission. , although drivers will still need to notify the state after the end of their trip. As Pelzer writes, DeWine also joined with other Republican governors in calling on the Biden administration to take action they believe would improve the transportation and distribution of goods, allowing 18-year-olds to drive trucks across state borders at the end of the vaccination mandate.
Computer upgrade: State unemployment officials have rolled out the first part of their new computer system, replacing a 2004 system that created many headaches during the soaring unemployment claims during the pandemic. Part one of the new system, which is slated to go live on Dec.6, is a new unemployment insurance income reporting system for employers called SOURCE (Ohio State Unemployment Resource for Claimants and employers). The most anticipated upgrade to the state’s unemployment computer system – the part the public uses to apply for unemployment benefits – is not expected to be ready until the end of next year, according to the Ministry of Education. Ohio Job and Family.
Don’t miss a thing: A NASA spacecraft launched into space to collide with an asteroid as part of a planetary defense test will feature technology developed in part at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. As Tobias writes, the double asteroid redirection test will include flexible solar sheets containing higher output solar cells with roots in the center. The craft will also test a new thruster system that was developed in part by researchers at the Glenn Center.
Expanding field: Max Miller, the Trump-backed candidate who announced last Friday that he plans to run for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District, could face additional Republican competition in the race. As Tobias writes, Shay Hawkins, a local Republican who narrowly lost a race in the United States in 2020, is considering entering the race. Miller last year announced plans to challenge Rep. Anthony Gonzalez in a district that gives Republicans a 14 percentage point advantage. But under Congress’ new map, the neighborhood leans slightly Democratic. Gonzalez has announced that he is not running for re-election.
More challengers: Two other Republicans have taken action to challenge longtime Democratic Representative Marcy Kaptur in the redesigned district of Toledo which now leans slightly towards the Republican. As Trevor Hubert reports for the Toledo BladeSenator Theresa Gavarone of Bowling Green filed federal documents on Monday. Canton media personality and lawyer Madison Gesiotto Gilbert filed documents last week. It should be noted that the story points out that Gesiotto and her husband closed a $ 3 million home in North Canton, well outside the Northwestern Ohio District, the day before the nomination was filed. by Gesiotto. (Bowling Green is also outside the district, but it is considerably closer than North Canton.)
Musical chairs: The clarification of the Ohio Congressional constituency lines in 2022 has prompted new candidates to mount campaigns and former candidates to shift their attention to different districts. List of a Sandusky address, conservative commentator Madison Gesiotto Gilbert filed documents from the Federal Election Commission last week to run as a Republican in the 9th congressional district where Toledo Democrat Marcy Kaptur holds. Independent candidate Youseff Baddar from Toledo filed FEC documents Monday to move to the 9th district after previously campaigning in the 5th Congressional District represented by Bowling Green Republican Bob Latta. Republican Jill Eaton Simms from Canton Nord spent last week running in the soon-to-be eliminated Congressional District, represented by Niles-area Democratic Representative Tim Ryan, in the 14th Congressional District, currently held by Bainbridge Township Republican Representative Dave Joyce.
Lobbying range
Five groups lobbying Bill 69, a Democrat-sponsored bill that would raise the Ohio minimum wage to $ 15 an hour by Jan. 1, 2027. The bill, introduced on Feb. 9, has had no hearing. State lobbying forms do not require people to disclose which side of the bill they are on.
1. Amazon Corp.
2. City of Columbus
3. Marathon Petroleum Corp. and its grants and affiliates
4. Ohio Federation of Agriculture Bureau
5. Ohio Housing Council
Moving
Secretary of State Frank LaRose was backed for re-election by former Secretary of State and former Treasurer of State Ken Blackwell, LaRose’s campaign announced Monday.
Ohio Meaning. Sandra Williams, a Democrat from Cleveland, and Kenny Yuko, a Democrat from Richmond Heights, are the first two recipients of the Jane B. Sheats Community Impact Award, named after the first African-American woman in the United States to chair a council of county elections. State Representative Kent Smith, a Democrat of Euclid, created the award to recognize the selfless efforts and hard work of people who give back to their community. He said he received the blessing of Sheats, who is now 89, and his family to name the award.
Birthdays
State Senator Tina Maharath
Straight from the source
“The last time inflation was this high, Michael Jordan won championships and Michael Jackson topped the charts.”
-Josh Mandel, Republican candidate for the US Senate, discuss inflation on Fox News. The consumer price index rose 6.2% in October compared to October 2020 – the highest level since 1990.
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