The morning newsletter of the Ohio Capital Journal
Reporting for the People
Make a tax-deductible donation supporting our work.
By David DeWitt | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning Ohio!
An Ohio bill would require the state replace all lead service lines, but some statewide organizations worry about the costs associated with the bill.
Drinking water photo. Photo courtesy of the Ohio Governor’s Office.
By Megan Henry
Ohio state Reps. Dontavius Jarrells, D-Columbus, and Monica Robb Blasdel, R-New Waterford, introduced Ohio House Bill 307 last year, which would require local water providers to work with the state to identify lead services lines, develop a plan to replace these lines with safe alternatives, and execute this plan over a 15-year time period.
By Susan Tebben
Testifying at the Ohio Statehouse in favor of or in opposition to a new piece of legislation can be a daunting proposition. But veterans of the practice say it’s a vital component to democracy in the state.
By Ken Schneck, The Buckeye Flame
More than half of the 16 Ohioans who testified against regulations to drag and gender performances at a March hearing in the Ohio House were speaking at the Ohio Statehouse for the first time: taking a day off work and wages to speak out against a bill that they said targets not only drag performers, but also transgender Ohioans.
STATELINE
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
By Amanda Watford
While federal efforts to strengthen victim compensation are underway, states play a critical role in determining whether survivors of gun violence can actually access that support, according to a new report from Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit gun research and advocacy organization.
By Robbie Sequeira
Renters housed through the federal Emergency Housing Voucher program face a looming deadline to find alternative housing assistance, after the Trump administration announced that funding will run out earlier than expected.
By Kelcie Moseley-Morris
Three years after a miscarriage that caused a severe, nearly septic infection because a Tennessee hospital denied her an abortion, Katy Dulong was looking forward to telling her story in a trial that was scheduled to begin Monday. But this week, the state appealed to a higher court based on a new law passed by the legislature in March, and the court put the trial on hold indefinitely.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Christine Sexton
As the number of confirmed measles cases in Florida increases, so does Gov. Ron DeSantis' passion to pass legislation to make it easier for parents to turn down the required vaccines for public school students.
NATIONAL NEWS
By Ariana Figueroa
The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday will hear oral arguments on the Trump administration's efforts to strip temporary legal status from 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians, a move that could open them up to deportation.
By Ashley Murray
The California man said by federal prosecutors to have opened fire just outside the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, where President Donald Trump was in attendance alongside Cabinet members and lawmakers, was charged Monday with attempting to assassinate the president, administration officials said.
By Jonathan Shorman
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday appeared likely to allow law enforcement to continue seeking warrants for the location history of cellphones near crime scenes, even as the justices wrestled with how far the government must go to protect Americans’ privacy.
By Jacob Fischler
The U.S. Supreme Court could be ready to overturn a Missouri state court verdict that favored a man who sued the manufacturer of the popular herbicide Roundup for lacking any warning that the product carried a risk of cancer after oral arguments in the case Monday.
By Jacques Abou-Rizk/Medill News Service
Some time since President Donald Trump’s second term began, the White House removed a reference to April’s Arab American Heritage Month from its website.
CATCHING OUR EYE
Ohio’s forests. WOUB Public Media/Report For America’s Amanda Pirani is reporting, “The McArthur Research Station could shut down as part of national Forest Service reorganization.”
A U.S. Forest Service research station in McArthur is one of 57 “under evaluation” for possible closure as part of a national reorganization announced at the end of March.This month, the Trump administration released a Forest Service budget proposal asking to terminate forest and rangeland research entirely with plans to offload research onto universities and the private sector.
The closures are part of a plan that moves the USFS headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, Utah, in an effort to “streamline” the agency.
Critics of the plan have said it’s an effort to cut the agency’s staff and funding.
Education. WTOL’s Heather Schramm is reporting, “Toledo Public Schools administrative union approves pay freeze to combat $68 million deficit.”
Toledo Public Schools Superintendent Romules Durant announced to the district on Monday that its administrative union has voted to approve a pay freeze in order to help the district address a projected $68 million budget shortfall.The Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the matter Tuesday night.
The agreement with the Toledo Association of Administrative Personnel comes as the district is planning a restructuring plan to stabilize its finances. In an email to staff, Durant said the decision by the administrators shows a commitment to the long-term stability of the school system during a difficult financial period.Solar. ProPublica’s Anna Clark is reporting, ”Unfounded health concerns are powering a solar backlash”
Kevin Heath had hoped there would be solar panels by now on his family farm in southeastern Michigan, roughly 50 miles outside Detroit.About six years ago, he agreed to lease part of his land for a solar project. It would help him pay off debt and keep the farm in the family, he said. But the opportunity was thwarted when, in 2023, following pushback from some local residents, his township passed an ordinance that banned large solar projects from land zoned for agriculture.
In the fight over solar development, Heath said he was bombarded by just about every argument from critics — including claims that solar fields are a health hazard. “I’ve heard them say that, but I’ve never heard anybody prove that,” Heath said.
“The health and safety issue,” he added, “that is just a joke.”
THE POD
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS.
Mahalo!
Thanks for reading The Eye-Opener. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.