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By David DeWitt | Editor-in-Chief
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Now, the news.
Despite being up against a tight deadline, a group of southern Ohioans are confident they will get enough signatures to get a data center ban on the November ballot.
Construction of a data center. (File photo from Getty Images.)
By Megan Henry
The proposed constitutional amendment would prohibit building data centers with a peak load of more than 25 megawatts per month, but the amendment will need more than 413,000 signatures from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties by July 1.
By Morgan Trau, WEWS
There are more than 70 school levies on Ohio's May primary ballot, with districts saying that their proposed tax increases are due to state lawmakers slashing their expected budgets.
By Reilly Ackermann
As Primary Election Day this upcoming Tuesday inches closer, Democratic governor candidate Dr. Amy Acton hosted an affordability roundtable in Cincinnati last week to discuss housing, health care, and energy.
By Kathiann M. Kowalski, Canary Media
Elected officials in Richland County, Ohio blocked large-scale renewable energy projects in most townships. Voters now have a rare opportunity to overturn that policy at the ballot box.
By Marty Schladen
A huge copy of the preamble to the U.S. Constitution is coming to several Ohio cities. People will be able to sign panels accompanying it before it's displayed in Washington, D.C. on July 4 — the 250th anniversary of the nation's independence.
By Jolie Peal, Nebraska Public Media News
Former University of Nebraska and Ohio State President Ted Carter tried to get a job at NU for a woman he later admitted he was having an "inappropriate relationship” with, according to a records request obtained by Nebraska Public Media News.
EDITOR COMMENTARY
Ohio Republican state Sen. Jerry Cirino of Kirtland. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original story.)
By David DeWitt
Ohio Republican lawmakers want to try again to rob voters of our fundamental power over the Ohio Constitution. They haven't learned. In their phenomenal arrogance, they once again want to spit in the face of Ohio voters and try to convince us it's raining.
STATELINE
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
By Kevin Hardy
With working- and middle-class households paying effective state income tax rates similar to or higher than the highest earners, a Maine lawmaker characterized her state’s new special tax on millionaires as a modest and reasonable step toward fairness.
By Robbie Sequeira
A Trump administration proposal would end gender identity protections for people in federally funded housing and shelters.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Andrew Roth, Michigan Advance
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer could face a federal investigation into an “86 45” emblem visible in an appearance she made several years ago, after indicting former FBI Director James Comey over a photo of seashells arranged to read “86 47.”
NATIONAL NEWS
By Ariana Figueroa
The U.S. Supreme Court appeared poised Wednesday to uphold the Trump administration's efforts to end temporary legal protections for 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians.
By Jacob Fischler
The suspect in the attack at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night was prepared for a mass casualty event, prosecutors said in a document filed in federal court early Wednesday.
By Ashley Murray
President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve was one step closer to the job Wednesday after North Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis cast the deciding vote to advance Kevin Warsh’s nomination to the full Senate.
By Jonathan Shorman
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office on Monday invoked an upcoming landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision on the role of race in drawing congressional districts to justify the Republican’s proposed gerrymander to take 24 of 28 seats.
By Jennifer Shutt
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson wants to make changes to a Senate-passed bill that would end the shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security, a move that will further delay funding and prolong the stalemate that began in mid-February.
By Ashley Murray
King Charles III did not name President Trump Tuesday when he acknowledged before Congress the transatlantic tension between the U.S. and the United Kingdom, but stressed “America's words carry weight and meaning” as he reflected on decades of diplomatic ties.
By Jonathan Shorman
The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday obtained a second grand jury indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, long a target of President Donald Trump’s anger for overseeing an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
By Shauneen Miranda
U.S. senators across the aisle pushed back Tuesday against President Donald Trump’s proposal to eliminate funding for programs serving disadvantaged students.
HISTORY THURSDAY
On this day, April 30, in 1789, George Washington, the first president of the United States, was inaugurated in Federal Hall in New York City. Learn more.
CATCHING OUR EYE
Ohio Republican lawmakers want to attack Ohio voter power again. The Statehouse News Bureau’s Karen Kasler reports, “There may be another effort to make it harder for Ohio residents to change the state’s constitution, according to a Republican senate leader.”
There may be another effort to make it harder for Ohio residents to change the state’s constitution, according to a Republican senate leader. This comes as volunteer groups are rushing to gather 413,487 valid signatures by July 1 to get amendments to abolish property taxes and to ban large data centers onto this fall’s ballot.Only 25? WVXU’s Howard Wilkinson writes, “Analysis: Ramaswamy throws $25M of his own money into the Ohio governor race.”
Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, raised $5.2 million in the first quarter of this year, bringing her total to $10 million. A record showing for a Democratic candidate for governor in Ohio. No Democrat has ever raised more.
But to the biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, her Republican opponent, that’s chump change, the kind of money you find between the cushions of a couch. Ramaswamy — who moved his business interests from Ohio to Texas just before announcing his candidacy — just unloaded $25 million of his own money as a loan to his campaign.Drop boxes. The Youngstown Vindicator/Tribune Chronicle’s David Skolnick reports, “Sprague takes aim at election drop boxes.”
Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague, who is running in the Republican primary for secretary of state, said he wants to eliminate drop boxes and limit those who can vote absentee.Front row. The Columbus Dispatch’s Amani Bayo reports, “DeWines seated front row as Trump welcomes King Charles at White House.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and first lady Fran DeWine were seated in the front row on the South Lawn of the White House on April 28 as Donald Trump welcomed King Charles III and Queen Camilla during their U.S. visit.
THE POD
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS.
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