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!
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce is suing UnitedHealth, alleging that the conglomerate abandoned its contract to administer a Chamber-backed health plan. This comes a year after the Chamber sided with United over small pharmacies on proposed legislation.
UnitedHealth Group headquarters. Photo from UHG media kit.
By Marty Schladen
UnitedHealth used inside information to trick employers into thinking the Chamber plan was being terminated, the lawsuit alleges. And then the company wouldn't allow the Chamber access to its own information, it said.
By Megan Henry
About 6% of Ohio school districts need support to meet state standards, according to the new state report cards the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce released Tuesday.
By Morgan Trau, WEWS
Not only are local Ohio television stations required to air campaign ads, even if they are misleading or contain lies, but candidates can also clip news reports for their own agenda.
COMMENTARY
Getty Photos
By Marilou Johanek
Ohio used to be an important swing state. That ended with Trumpism. Ohio went from purple to firmly in the GOP gerrymandered camp. In 2026, with skyrocketing health, food, and gas costs, Ohio voters are mad as hell. But will they do anything about it?
By Denis Smith
The Ohio legislature is in recess. Maybe this entity hell-bent on wrecking public education can use the recess time for some needed reflection amid the havoc they’ve wreaked on Ohio public schools.
STATELINE
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
By Nada Hassanein
Four in 10 pediatricians reported kids in immigrant families are avoiding coming in for healthcare out of concerns around immigration status, according to a new survey published Tuesday.
By Shalina Chatlani
The official poverty rate in the United States dipped slightly by half a percentage point last year to a historic low of 10.2%. Some experts cautioned that the data doesn’t reflect the effects of new federal policy changes that will be hitting households hard this year.
By Anna Claire Vollers
A growing number of GOP states are making an equal split between parents the default child custody option in divorce cases. Louisiana and Mississippi this year joined at least five other states that have adopted the 50-50 standard — four of them since 2021.
By Robbie Sequeira
In its latest effort to overhaul federal homelessness funding, the Trump administration is proposing to provide more money to localities that prioritize policies such as sober living, more cooperation with law enforcement, and more temporary and transitional housing.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Rudi Keller, Missouri Independent
Missouri Sec. of State Denny Hoskins wants an appeals court to remove a redistricting referendum from the Missouri ballot and order the state to hold the November election under the gerrymandered map Republicans muscled through the Legislature last year.
NATIONAL NEWS
By Jennifer Shutt
The cost of U.S. military operations in Iran has exceeded $40 billion and the war will continue to cost taxpayers between $2 billion and $3 billion per month, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
By Ashley Murray
FBI Director Kash Patel sidestepped questions about FBI agents at polling places in the midterm elections at a U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday that also featured a tense exchange between GOP Chairman Chuck Grassley and Democratic Sen. Cory Booker.
By Jacob Fischler
The Trump administration will comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s order this week blocking new restrictions on mail voting for this year’s elections, but Trump was right to attack the ruling, U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday.
By Jennifer Shutt
Voters are much more likely to support U.S. Senate candidates in the November midterm elections if they have a plan to avoid an automatic cut to Social Security benefits in 2032, according to a poll released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
By Shauneen Miranda
Three former U.S. Education Department secretaries and the union representing agency workers on Tuesday urged the department’s top watchdog to investigate the cost and impact of mass firings last year.
By Shauneen Miranda
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday moved forward on a sweeping bipartisan bill that would set national standards for college athletes’ compensation.
HISTORY THURSDAY
From The Conversation:
CATCHING OUR EYE
Ohio craft beer. The Statehouse News Bureau’s Sarah Donaldson reports, “Facing industry woes, craft brewers seek Ohio franchise law overhaul.”
In the state and across the country, stakeholders have said that craft brewers are facing an increasingly hard business climate. The Ohio Craft Brewers Association has been trying to kickstart Senate Bill 23 during the legislature’s recess.
Reintroduced last January by Sen. Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware), SB 23 rewrites a five-decade old law regulating the franchise agreements between beer and wine manufacturers and their distributors by excluding many smaller breweries from the requirements for those often strict agreements.Automating trucking. Signal Ohio’s Jake Zuckerman reports, “Self-driving trucks are cruising Ohio roads.”
Trucks that drive themselves are whizzing between Indianapolis and Columbus, with human backups at the ready. The fully driverless vehicles are confined to a corporate park — for now.Federal v. State levels. The Dayton Daily News’ Avery Kreemer reports, “DeWine: AI regulation ‘has to’ come from the federal government, not states.”
Term-limited Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told reporters Tuesday, Sept. 15 that he would not encourage his successor to pursue state-level regulations on artificial intelligence despite his belief that the government needs to get a handle on the emerging technology.
“Look, as far as AI, this really needs to come from the federal government,” DeWine said at a New Albany event. “We need to have uniformity, not just in this country; we need to have uniformity in the world. So, I would certainly hope we can see some uniformity coming out of Washington.”New polls. The Toledo Blade’s Danny Eldredge reports, “BGSU poll shows Ohio Dems hold slight leads in races for governor, Senate.”
Dr. Amy Acton and Sherrod Brown are both leading their Republican opponents by 3 percentage points as the November election approaches, according to a Bowling Green State University poll released Wednesday.
Dr. Acton holds a 48-45 percent advantage over Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy among likely Ohio voters, while Mr. Brown also has a 48-45 percent lead over incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Husted (R., Ohio).
However, 62 percent of those same voters believe Mr. Ramaswamy will end up winning the race for governor, while 36 percent think Dr. Acton will prevail. Similarly, 53 percent of voters think Mr. Husted will keep his seat in the U.S. Senate, and 45 percent believe Mr. Brown will win.Waymo coming to Cincy? Spectrum News’ Javari Burnett reports, “Waymo maps Cincinnati streets as it explores expansion of self-driving technology.”
Drivers around Cincinnati may notice some unfamiliar vehicles navigating local roads over the next several weeks.
Waymo, the autonomous driving technology company, is mapping streets across Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky as it gathers information about the region's roadways.
But don't expect to catch a driverless ride just yet. Waymo says trained specialists are manually driving the vehicles during the mapping process. Cameras and sensors on the vehicles collect information used to build detailed maps that can help the company's autonomous driving technology navigate roads.
THE POD
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS.
Mahalo!
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