Hannah News Sign Up Information

The Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee has scheduled a special meeting Thursday night to reconsider its endorsement of 65th House District candidate Joe Dills, who admitted to having an account on a dating website that helps people cheat on their spouses. While Dills said he created the Ashley Madison account in 2013 when he was single, Ohio GOP leaders received information linking Dills to another account in 2015, after he was married, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

A total of 717,740 children -- 2,400 more than last school year -- are receiving publicly-funded free or reduced price school lunches during the 2019-2020 school year, the Columbus Dispatch reports. The statistics, considered a particularly reliable indicator of the economy's health, represent the first uptick in National School Lunch Program participation after three years of declines, according to the newspaper.

While U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) explained in his New York Times op-ed why he voted to acquit President Donald Trump despite his "improper" effort to withhold military aid to Ukraine until the foreign country opened an investigation into Trump's political rivals, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) wrote in a separate op-ed that many of his Republican colleagues privately admit Trump is "reckless and unfit" for office but chose to vote "not guilty" out of fear of dealing with new nicknames, mean tweets and Trump-backed primary opponents.

Gov. Mike DeWine Wednesday released a preliminary report summarizing the state's efforts around foster care reform since he took office. It includes an overview of the feedback from the 10 community forums on foster care held across the state. To learn more, see Wednesday's Hannah Report.

Giving an update on county boards of elections' efforts to meet his election security directive Wednesday, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said 80 of 88 counties are 100 percent compliant and seven more have a plan to become complaint within the next 13 days before early voting starts. However, he said because it has not come up with a plan to become compliant, his office is putting the Van Wert County Board of Elections under administrative oversight. Read more in Wednesday's

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has a new interactive database updated each month to provide information on the number of suspected overdoses in each county, along with state- and county-level trend and demographic data, the Akron Beacon Journal reports. Gov. Mike DeWine said the effort will provide more timely information on emergency department treatment of suspected overdoses.

JobsOhio executed a $20 million revitalization grant for further site work as part of the state's efforts to land a proposed $5 billion ethane cracker plant in Belmont County, Columbus Business First reports. PTT Global Chemical America is expected to make a decision in the first half of the year, and the project would provide thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of full-time positions.

President Donald Trump's re-election campaign has demanded Ohio Senate candidate Melissa Ackison remove photos of her with Trump from campaign materials as they suggest an endorsement, the Toledo Blade reports, but Ackison said she has no plans to do so. She is running for the 26th Senate seat against current Rep. Bill Reineke (R-Tiffin).

As the House and Senate moved toward setting up a conference committee on school voucher legislation, House Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) indicated a fair amount of work remains to bridge their differences. Householder said his chamber is eyeing changes that would result in fewer than 200 schools on the EdChoice eligibility list, versus the 400-plus slated under the Senate-passed plan. Read more in Wednesday's Hannah Report.

A new 501(c)(4), Standing By Ohio, is running Facebook ads calling on Ohioans to encourage a number of senators to support Gov. Mike DeWine's gun proposal. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the nonprofit has ties to groups backing DeWine and his daughter Alice DeWine's campaign for Greene County prosecutor, but little other information is available about it.

After a delay, the Ohio Department of Agriculture has sent out labels with information on the state's gas tax increase that will be placed on gas pumps by county and city officials around the state. The Columbus Dispatch reports the labels were required as a transparency measure; they list how much customers pay in state and federal taxes and how that money is distributed.

Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) Director Maureen Corcoran told the Columbus Dispatch the state does not plan to pursue a Trump administration offer for greater flexibility in Medicaid spending in exchange for limits on how much the federal government contributes. She said the proposal, criticized by Democrats, is directed more toward states that have not expanded Medicaid programs.

Construction on an electric vehicle battery-cell plant in the Lordstown area, part of a joint venture between General Motors and South Korean company LG Chem, Ltd., has been delayed from April to July, the Youngstown Vindicator reports. The delay is due to timing issues with state and federal environmental permits, as well as work on gas wells at the site. U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Niles) said he remains "1,000 percent" in support of the project.

While the exact settlement amount was not specified, the Dayton Daily News reports a proposed resolution to lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies would include 11 percent for attorney's fees, while the remainder would be divided with 30 percent for local governments, 55 percent to a new foundation and 15 percent to the attorney general's office. The foundation would spend its share to address the opioid epidemic, and the 25 board members would be appointed by state, legislative and local leaders.

As the state's execution backlog grows, the Columbus Dispatch reports a conservative group "concerned" about the death penalty will officially form Tuesday and includes former Gov. Bob Taft. Gov. Mike DeWine has been "tight-lipped" on the subject, while House Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) has raised questions and Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina) opposes repealing the death penalty, citing examples such as serial killers.

While he referenced protecting the Great Lakes from Asian carp and other fish at a recent campaign event in Michigan, President Donald Trump's proposed budget does not include needed funding for two projects to help keep the invasive species from entering the Great Lakes, the Columbus Dispatch reports. U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Toledo) said she is working to correct that.

A new series of articles from Cleveland.com, Building from Strength, looks at the economy of the Cleveland area and of the state, noting that Ohio needs to view Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati jointly as an economic force as they account for 40 percent of Ohio's gross domestic product (GDP). Cuyahoga's GDP of $87.7 billion is the largest in Ohio, ahead of Franklin County's $86.5 billion.