July 28, 2019

State probe appears to be why Athens medical pot outlet still hasn't opened

One of the enduring mysteries over this past year in Athens has been why the medical marijuana dispensary – called Harvest – on West Union Street in Athens has yet to open for business despite a company spokesperson suggesting in late 2018 that the business would open as early as January 2019.

It turns out that the Ohio Board of Pharmacy has been investigating the company behind the dispensary, Harvest of Ohio LLC, on allegations of fraud and misrepresentation, according to documents obtained by the Cincinnati Enquirer as reported in a July 10 article, which means the business hasn't been granted its license to operate yet.

As it stands now, residents of Athens County with medical-marijuana cards must travel to out-of-county dispensaries. The closest is in Jackson, around a 35-40 minute drive and Grandview Heights (Columbus) around an hour and 20 minutes.

Some 20 dispensaries are currently active in Ohio according to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control website, with many more having provisional licenses but awaiting their certificates of operation.

Read more: https://www.athensnews.com/news/local/state-probe-appears-to-be-why-athens-medical-pot-outlet/article_9e348ba0-af07-11e9-9480-73a876a71db1.html

July 28, 2019

Former Judge Hunter Ordered to Pay $34,000 in Court Costs

Former Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Tracie Hunter began a six-month stint in jail this week for a 2014 felony conviction after a nearly five-year battle in county, state and federal courts.

But time won't be her only penalty: She'll also have to pay $34,000 in court costs related to her case, according to documents from the courts.

Hunter, a Democrat who won a hotly-contested 2010 election to the Republican-dominated court after suing the Hamilton County Board of Elections for a recount, was indicted in 2014 on nine felony counts related to allegedly backdating court records, improperly using a court credit card and other charges. In the end, jurors agreed on one of those counts — a fourth-degree felony for supplying her brother with confidential documents related to a juvenile inmate he struck while working as a juvenile court employee. Three jurors asked to change their votes after the verdict was read, but courts denied a motion for a retrial.

Then-Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Norbert Nadel ordered Hunter to pay the court fees during her sentencing. The court says Hunter owes $23,000 in transcript costs, more than $6,400 in jury fees and more than $3,500 in clerk fees. Court records show almost 200 subpoenas were issued in the case by both sides. Each cost $4, plus various fees for delivery of the documents.

Overall, Hunter's case cost $650,000 in legal fees by private special prosecutors, according to the county.

Read more: https://www.citybeat.com/news/blog/21079615/former-hamilton-county-judge-hunter-ordered-to-pay-34000-in-court-costs

July 28, 2019

Afghan peace talks put on hold by Taliban

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan government on Saturday announced that it was preparing for direct negotiations with the Taliban in the next two weeks, a major step in efforts to end the war.

But the Taliban rejected it.

The militant group’s spokesman said the Taliban was steadfast in its refusal to directly negotiate with the Afghan side until the United States announces a schedule for withdrawing its 14,000 troops in the country.

The episode was the latest confusion in the process.

The insurgents and the Americans are nearing a deal after seven rounds of protracted negotiations in Qatar — talks that have excluded the Afghan government.

Read more: https://www.toledoblade.com/news/World/2019/07/28/afghanistan-peace-talks-put-on-hold-by-taliban/stories/20190728116

July 28, 2019

Small colleges around Toledo area brainstorm ideas to increase enrollment

Private, smaller universities and colleges in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan are turning to innovative programming and tuition cuts to maintain viability in an ever-changing academic climate.

Market changes and economic pressures are causing some colleges nationwide to deeply discount their true tuition rates. Among an estimated 1,700 private, nonprofit colleges, smaller ones are overstretched.

According to the National Association of Colleges and University Business Officers, the tuition discount rate — meaning how much in tuition and fee revenue is returned to students — among private colleges nationally is nearly 50 percent.

Siena Heights University in Adrian has managed to increase enrollment, in part through attempts to stabilize tuition rates.

Read more: https://www.toledoblade.com/local/education/2019/07/27/small-private-universities-rise-nationwide-fight-viability-enrollment-lourdes-siena-heights/stories/20190725158

July 28, 2019

Small colleges teetering as they fight for dollars, students

by BILL SCHACKNER
Block News Alliance
JUL 27, 2019 1:06 PM


WHEELING, W. Va. — For seven decades, West Virginia’s only Catholic university has educated young adults in this corner of Appalachia, but despite that proud tradition, it entered the summer with an unlikely task.

It had to find a new name.

The words Wheeling Jesuit University no longer fit the struggling institution in this city after cutting every liberal arts major, 21 of its 53 full-time faculty and most Jesuit positions.

A campus that once touted ambitious growth plans lost more than a quarter of its 1,600 students in six years, even as it wooed them with steep price discounts.

“We truly feel deep sorrow that this institution is no longer a member,” said Deanna Howes Spiro, a spokeswoman for the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.

Read more: https://www.toledoblade.com/news/nation/2019/07/27/small-colleges-struggle-to-keep-students-in-their-doors/stories/20190727016

July 28, 2019

The story behind the scheduled state plane trip before HB 6 vote

“I think the speaker is arranging for the state plane to fly to Chicago to pick up the 3 Reps. who are here. However, I’d rather not spread that around.”

Rep. Bob Cupp, R-Lima, didn’t want it broadcast he might be winging back to Columbus aboard a state plane dispatched at taxpayers’ expense to Chicago only hours before a critical vote on House Bill 6.

The flight, designed to ensure enough “yes” votes were on hand for Tuesday’s House session in which a $1 billion nuclear plant bailout for FirstEnergy Solutions was narrowly approved, ultimately was canceled 10 hours later. The measure was passed with only one vote over a majority.

Records obtained by The Dispatch show the State Highway Patrol flight was in place less than an hour after Cupp sent an email to his legislative aide.

Read more: https://www.ohio.com/news/20190726/story-behind-scheduled-state-plane-trip-before-hb-6-vote/1

July 28, 2019

Court orders state to pay $400,000 in attorney fees from 2004 abortion lawsuit

COLUMBUS — A federal appeals court Thursday upheld a lower court ruling ordering the state of Ohio to pay Planned Parenthood nearly $400,000 in attorney fees from a 2004 lawsuit challenging a state law that unsuccessfully tried to limit use of the morning-after pill for inducing abortions.

Planned Parenthood won a preliminary injunction preventing the law from being enforced during more than a decade of litigation. The parties ultimately agreed to dismiss the lawsuit in 2016, after the Food and Drug Administration changed prescription guidelines for physicians, rendering the dispute moot.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati agreed with District Court Judge Susan J. Dlott, who found Planned Parenthood met the criteria of “prevailing party” that are needed to collect attorney fees from its opponent.

“Planned Parenthood easily meets this court’s requirement ... that a preliminary injunction warrants the award of attorneys’ fees only if it ‘represents an unambiguous indication of probable success on the merits’,” Circuit Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey wrote in a 19-page ruling released Thursday.

Read more: https://www.ohio.com/news/20190725/court-orders-state-to-pay-400000-in-attorney-fees-from-2004-abortion-lawsuit

July 28, 2019

New budget earmarks $7.5M of Ohio taxpayers' money for pregnancy centers

A big bump in funding for crisis pregnancy centers in Ohio’s new state budget is fueling a fight around the controversial facilities that supporters say help needy women while critics decry them as “fake health clinics” meant to steer women away from abortions.

The final budget sets aside $7.5 million over the next two years for the Ohio Parenting and Pregnancy Program, which funds several crisis pregnancy centers throughout the state. That’s up from $1 million in the last biennial budget, and an increase of $2.5 million over earlier versions of the Republican-controlled General Assembly’s budget bill.

The centers generally are religiously affiliated nonprofits that offer parenting classes, assistance with prenatal care and other services related to early parenting.

They also counsel women against abortions and, in some cases, conduct ultrasounds. Often, the centers have licensed medical professionals who are opposed to abortion serving as their medical directors.

Read more: https://www.ohio.com/news/20190726/new-budget-earmarks-75m-of-ohio-taxpayers-money-for-pregnancy-centers/1

July 28, 2019

Poll Shows Ohioans Favor Legalized Abortion And Gun Restrictions

A new Quinnipiac University poll shows a majority of Ohioans support background checks for gun sales, favor legalized abortion and oppose one of the most recent state restrictions on it.

The poll shows just over half of Ohio voters oppose a ban on abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. It is on a court ordered hold. And 61 percent say they back the Roe vs Wade decision that legalized abortion. On guns, the poll shows 90 percent want background checks for gun sales. Yet Gov. Mike DeWine, who signed that abortion ban and has supported gun rights, still enjoys a 44 percent approval rating. But pollster Peter Brown says Democratic U.S. Senator has support from 51% of those surveyed.

“Sherrod Brown is the most popular politician in the state of Ohio currently," Brown says.

Ohio’s Republican Senator Rob Portman got a 43 percent approval rating.

https://www.statenews.org/post/poll-shows-ohioans-favor-legalized-abortion-and-gun-restrictions
(no more at link)

July 28, 2019

Speaker Says He's Concerned About Funding For Group Opposing Nuke Bailout

The Ohio House Speaker said opponents of the new law that will give $150 million a year in subsidies to Ohio’s two nuclear power plants owned by FirstEnergy Solutions will need big money to overturn it.

Natural gas provides a third of Ohio’s electricity generation.

Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) said three of the four natural gas powered plants in Ohio are funded by Chinese interests. In an interview, he said overturning House Bill 6 by the group Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts will be “vastly expensive”.

“The only folks that have a tremendous interest in closing down our nuclear power plants, where Ohio generates its energy and where there are Ohio jobs, are people from outside the state of Ohio who want to monopolize our grid. And who are they? They’re foreign nationals from China," Householder said.

Householder said potential Chinese involvement is a security issue as well.

Read more: https://www.statenews.org/post/speaker-says-hes-concerned-about-funding-group-opposing-nuke-bailout