The morning newsletter of the Ohio Capital Journal
Reporting for the People
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By David DeWitt | Editor in Chief
Good morning Ohio!
Ohio special education advocates fear recent changes to the U.S. Department of Education will cause confusion, delays, and a loss of service to students.
Ohio school children in a classroom. (Photo by Morgan Trau.)
By Megan Henry
The Trump administration announced in June it will move the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office for Civil Rights to the U.S. Department of Justice.
By Marty Schladen
Republican governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said consolidating public universities would make higher education better and more affordable. A strong consensus of Ohio economists said it would reduce the number of graduates and reduce economic output.
By Kathiann M. Kowalski, Canary Media
More and more Ohioans are struggling to pay their utility bills. That’s one clear takeaway from the latest utility reports showing how many customers had their power shut off because of unpaid bills.
COMMENTARY
An electricity meter. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current).
By Rob Moore
The residential price of electricity per kilowatt hour in Ohio grew 29% from 2019 to 2024. Earlier this month, Ohio state Rep. Desiree Tim introduced a bill to freeze utility rate increases in Ohio for the next year. Here’s a look at what that could mean.
STATELINE
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
By Robbie Sequeira
Championed as one of the most consequential and bipartisan federal housing laws in decades, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act enacted this month makes significant changes across federal housing policy.
By Robbie Sequeira
After school cellphone bans passed many statehouses with bipartisan support in recent legislative sessions, state lawmakers are turning to legislation governing how long students should spend looking at screens.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Michelle Griffith, Minnesota Reformer
The man who murdered former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in a shocking act of political violence last year was sentenced last week to two consecutive life sentences as well as an additional 40 years.
NATIONAL NEWS
By Ashley Murray
One day after President Trump attended the dignified transfer of the remains of four U.S. service members killed in the Iran conflict, the two chambers of Congress were at odds over whether to rein in the president’s military powers in the monthslong war.
By Ashley Murray
Members of the U.S. Senate tasked with advancing acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to be the nation’s top law enforcer on Thursday pushed the vote one week.
CATCHING OUR EYE
Ohio House. Signal Ohio’s Andrew Tobias reports, “Cincinnati-area Republican’s abrupt exit from Ohio House race leaves GOP scrambling.”
Hamilton County Republicans are scrambling to find a replacement candidate for one of Ohio’s more competitive state legislative districts after the party’s nominee for the November ballot abruptly quit this week.
Elizabeth Maier surprised Republicans and Democrats on Wednesday when she announced on her campaign website that she was ending her campaign for Ohio’s 27th House District.Americans left and right see a rigged game. CNN’s Aaron Blake writes, “Americans — including many Republicans — are losing faith in capitalism, polling shows.”
President Donald Trump has indicated that his main strategy for the 2026 midterm elections is to call Democrats “socialists” and even “communists” at every turn. And there is evidence that democratic socialism is gaining somewhat more of a foothold in recent Democratic primaries.
But the larger story in American politics right now might be less the rise of socialism than the decline of faith in capitalism and economic fairness.
And new polling reinforces that even the right is growing more disillusioned.Cruelty for the sake of cruelty. TiffinOhio.net’s Bob Ballard writes, “Trump’s cruel deportation campaign will devastate Springfield, Ohio and endanger its Haitian neighbors.”
Cruelty is the cheapest thing a government can produce. It needs no budget, no legislation, no argument that survives ten seconds of contact with evidence. It needs a date on a calendar and somebody else’s neighbors.
Springfield’s date (was) Friday.
That is when Temporary Protected Status runs out and somewhere between 12,000 and 15,000 people in a Clark County city of fewer than 60,000 stop being lawfully present and start being cargo.
THE POD
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS.
Mahalo!
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