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 Attorney General Dave Yost announced Thursday he will resign and take a private-sector job with nonproft law firm Alliance Defending Freedom.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. (Photo by Rob Klein.)
By Morgan Trau and Joe Donatelli
Yost’s political dreams of being governor were dealt a blow in 2025 when the Ohio Republican Party endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy. Yost suspended his governor campaign soon after, and has since kept a low profile. He is the only statewide Republican besides Gov. Mike DeWine who is not currently running for office.
By Susan Tebben
Democratic judges have an uphill battle to make it onto the 6-1 Ohio Supreme Court, where Justice Jennifer Brunner is an island unto herself in a sea of Republican justices. But she and another judge making a run for a seat in November see reasons for optimism.
By Morgan Trau, WEWS
With the primary out of the way, the race is officially on to become Ohio's next governor. Republican candidate Vivek Ramasawmy will take on Democratic candidate Dr. Amy Acton in an already record-breaking expensive general election.
By Kathiann M. Kowalski, Canary Media
Residents in Richland County, Ohio, voted narrowly Tuesday to keep a ban on solar and wind across much of the community — a setback for those who hoped the referendum could serve as a blueprint for overcoming local restrictions on renewables nationwide.
COMMENTARY
A sign for an emergency room. (Photo by David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.)
By Hannah Vandertie
A report from the Health Policy Institute of Ohio found that rural residents are 15% more likely to die before the age of 75. Allowing Advanced Practice Registered Nurses to operate more independently could be a solution to allow better access to care.
STATELINE
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
By Kelcie Moseley-Morris and Sofia Resnick
Advocates and opponents of abortion access say they’re wondering what happens next in a critical telehealth medication case that created chaos over the past week after an appeals court blocked nationwide access and the US Supreme court restored it temporarily.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Peter Hall, Pennsylvania Capital-Star
The nation’s largest electricity grid operator, which serves Ohio, has called on power plant operators, investors, utilities and consumers to consider reforms to ensure the electricity market can supply enough power as it faces unprecedented demand from data centers.
NATIONAL NEWS
By Jonathan Shorman
A week after the U.S. Supreme Court crippled the Voting Rights Act, Republicans are rushing fresh gerrymanders through Southern statehouses in time for the November midterm elections in an effort to strengthen their control over the U.S. House.
By Medill News Service
Dozens of people gathered on a sandy lot in front of the White House construction zone Tuesday evening, carrying posters peppered with monarch butterflies and unfurling massive banners reading “Set kids free.”
SCIENCE FRIDAY
In Hawaii, researchers are literally paving the roads with good intentions. They have come up with an innovative method for putting the island’s plastic pollution to work, covering its roads with asphalt mixed with plastic waste and old fishing nets. Read more from ScienceNews.org
CATCHING OUR EYE
Ohio voters say no to public school levies. Signal Ohio’s Jake Zuckerman reports, “Ohio voters reject school levies, tax hikes around the state.”
Ohio voters around the state overwhelmingly rejected property and income tax hikes requested by local districts to fund K-12 public schools.
Only 24 of 66 local school district property and income tax levies passed, according to a count from the Ohio School Boards Association based on preliminary election results.
Restricting healthcare for transgender adults. WCMH’s David Rees reports, “Ohio bill would restrict public insurance coverage for transgender surgeries.”
A newly introduced bill in the Ohio House would restrict certain healthcare coverage tied to gender-affirming procedures, adding to an ongoing legislative focus on transgender-related policies.Doesn’t believe Jim Jordan. NBC News reports, “Former Ohio State official testified he doesn’t believe Rep. Jim Jordan’s denials about Strauss abuse.”
A former Ohio State University athletic director said in a deposition that, in his opinion, Rep. Jim Jordan “probably knew” that campus doctor Richard Strauss was abusing the wrestlers Jordan coached more than two decades ago.
“I believe that the conversation about Dr. Strauss was active — with the wrestlers,” Andy Geiger testified in a sworn deposition unsealed Monday by the Southern District of Ohio. “Particularly loud and clear, I heard all about the unhappiness with the showering situation.”
“For somebody who was part of the program, it doesn’t seem credible to me” that Jordan was unaware that Strauss allegedly preyed on male athletes, Geiger said in the deposition.
“I don’t know for sure,” Geiger added. “But my opinion is that he probably knew.”Financial ruin. In a Columbus Dispatch guest column, Bill Shkurti, Greg Browning, Tom Johnson, and Pari Sabety write, “Banning property taxes would blow a $21 billion hole in Ohio.”
As former Ohio budget directors for Republicans and Democrats alike, we don’t always agree on everything. But on one thing we are united: a proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate property taxes in Ohio is one of the most reckless proposals we have ever seen.
Ohioans are fed up with rising property taxes, and more must be done to help homeowners. But eliminating the largest local revenue source for local governments and schools would set Ohio on a collision course toward financial ruin.
THE POD
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS.
Mahalo!
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