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!
While Ohioans are worrying over the cost of living and getting pummeled with campaign ads in the waning weeks of the midterm election, outside groups are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into Ohio's races for governor and U.S. Senate.
Getty Images.
By Nick Evans
A recent report from the advertising tracking firm AdImpact has Ohio as the most expensive U.S. Senate race in the country, with outside groups spending more than $325 million.
By Megan Henry
The public school coalition Vouchers Hurt Ohio is confident the 6-1 Republican-controlled Ohio Supreme Court will find the state’s Education Choice private school voucher program unconstitutional.
By Morgan Trau, WEWS
The nation's largest prediction market platforms are all ignoring Ohio's legal threats to shut down their sports trading sections.
COMMENTARY
A young woman asks AI companion ChatGPT for help. (Photo by Shalina Chatlani/Stateline)
By Ryan D. King and Stephen M. Gavazzi
“Our survey shows that the Ohio public is willing to embrace AI, but not at any cost. They want innovation accompanied by accountability, transparency, and human oversight,” write Ohio State University researchers Ryan D. King and Stephen M. Gavazzi.
STATELINE
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
By Kevin Hardy
Party control is up for grabs in 15 state legislative chambers across the country as Republicans are increasingly on the defensive this midterm election cycle, a new analysis found. It does not include Ohio where Republicans now hold a supermajority.
By Alex Brown
A warm winter and persistent drought have decimated the natural foods black and brown bears rely on. Wildlife officers have received a record number of calls, working overtime to deter bears, put out traps and euthanize animals who pose persistent problems.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Michael Lyle, Nevada Current
No place illustrates the affordability crisis quite like an eviction court, say advocates seeking reform of Nevada’s notoriously fast and landlord-friendly eviction laws.
NATIONAL NEWS
By Shauneen Miranda
Analysts say Democrats remain heavily favored to win back the majority in the U.S. House, and U.S. Senate races continue to shift in the Democratic Party’s favor.
By Ariana Figueroa
Immigrants living in the United States with humanitarian status from Ukraine and Sudan will retain their deportation protections and work authorizations for now, the Department of Homeland Security said over the weekend.
By Jonathan Shorman
After the Justice Department sued California over its refusal to remove voters the federal government alleges are noncitizens, voting rights advocates fear Trump is violating a court order blocking it from rooting through states’ voter data.
CATCHING OUR EYE
Special interest money floods the Ohio election. Signal Ohio’s Jake Zuckerman reports, “Ohio insurers, utilities drop millions on governors races.”
Investor-owned electric utilities and insurers that help run Ohio Medicaid gave millions of dollars to groups trying to influence Ohio’s governor’s race and similarly close contests in other states. One Democratic group received $75,000 from the scandal-plagued FirstEnergy Corp. and $10,000 from its CEO.NCAA v. DeWine. The Statehouse News Bureau’s Jo Ingles reports, “NCAA files lawsuit over DeWine executive order on college athlete eligibility.”
The NCAA has filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Mike DeWine over an executive order he signed earlier this week on college athletic eligibility.
DeWine’s order allows students from the high school class of 2022 to have a fifth year of eligibility. It’s something he said is necessary, but the NCAA said it gives Ohio’s schools an unfair advantage.
DeWine’s executive order told the state’s colleges and universities to disregard the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility rule. He said it unfairly denies a fifth season of competition to a small number of students who graduated from high school in 2022, while granting five seasons to others currently playing on college sports teams.Lobbyists. The Toledo Blade’s Danny Eldredge reports, “Ohio governor candidates weigh new restrictions on lobbyists.”
As Ohioans continue to name government corruption as a top issue ahead of the November election, all three candidates for governor have discussed ideas to clean up the Ohio Statehouse.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said he is open to prohibiting lobbyists from serving on state boards and commissions…
Dr. Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for governor, said she would issue an executive order addressing corruption on her first day in office.Ohioans v. Flock cameras. The Dayton Daily News’ Cornelius Frolik reports, “Ohioans hitting, shooting, stealing and chopping down Flock cameras.”
Some of the backlash against controversial Flock Automated License Plate Readers has crossed the line into criminal territory, as people across Ohio have intentionally damaged, vandalized and stolen cameras that are used by many police departments.
More than 30 Ohio police agencies conducted Flock network searches over the summer related to ALPR cameras that were moved, removed, dismantled, struck, chopped down, rammed with automobiles and covered over with spray paint and bags, according to search audit records and other documents obtained by the Dayton Daily News.Ukraine. The AP reports, “Zelenskyy says Ukraine got no early warning from partners as Russia hits the power grid again.”
Russia used ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to launch more attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, noting that Kyiv again received no early warning of the attack from partner countries who in the past have shared that intelligence.
Zelenskyy is grappling with the implications of recent Washington moves benefiting Russian President Vladimir Putin, including waiving U.S. sanctions on Moscow and signing a deal to import Russian diesel.
THE POD
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS.
Mahalo!
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