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!
By 2030, utilities around the country plan to spend $1.4 trillion building out the power grid, according to a study by the energy research group Powerlines. Eventually, much of that expense will likely show up on consumers’ monthly utility bills.
By Nick Evans
The five-year forecast represents a sharp increase compared with projections from just a year ago, and it comes as utilities around the country requested $31 billion in consumers rate increases in 2025.
By Marty Schladen
Ohio lost 5,400 jobs in February, yet somehow the unemployment rate went down.
By Morgan Trau, WEWS
Multiple branches of the Cleveland Public Library will start handing out free gun safety devices in May.
COMMENTARY
Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance
By Robert Forran
An early 1900s strike and massacre in Colorado prompted Congress to take a hard look at labor reform. But significant changes in labor relations and unionization didn’t come until the mid-1930s.
STATELINE
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
By Shalina Chatlani
In three conservative states — Missouri, Oklahoma and South Dakota — residents in recent years voted to amend their state constitutions to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Jessica Holdman
Nuclear watchdogs received a rare tour of a partially built plutonium recycling facility at South Carolina’s federal nuclear site this week.
NATIONAL NEWS
By Shauneen Miranda
Congressional Democrats, advocates, students and leaders on Wednesday blasted attempts by President Donald Trump’s administration to do away with funding for minority-serving institutions in higher education.
By Jennifer Shutt
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that Democrats will use the unlimited number of amendment votes they are allowed on Republicans’ budget resolution to illustrate policy differences on cost-of-living issues and immigration activities.
By Jennifer Shutt
U.S. Senate Republican leaders Tuesday defended the secretive process used in that chamber to investigate allegations of wrongdoing, though they did confirm referring a complaint made against Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego to the Ethics Committee.
By Jonathan Shorman
A dozen Republican state attorneys general are moving to defend President Donald Trump’s executive order on mail ballots from legal challenges mounted by Democrats.
By Ashley Murray
President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, vowed Tuesday the central bank would remain “strictly independent” if he’s confirmed to the top spot, even as the president has broadcast his demand for the new Fed chair to lower interest rates.
By Jennifer Shutt
Republican leaders in Congress appeared to be on the same page Tuesday about how to fund immigration activities for the next three years as they released a party-line measure that will pave the way for a special process known as budget reconciliation.
CATCHING OUR EYE
Farming education. WYSO’s Shay Frank is reporting, “'Funding changed, but the need didn't,' Yellow Springs center halts farming classes after USDA cuts.”
Nearly 50 community projects aimed at helping young, beginner and underserved farmers lost close to $300 million in federal funding last month.This includes the Agraria Center for Regenerative Practice in Yellow Springs. It received $3 million from this grant pool under the USDA’s Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access projects.
Agraria's BIPOC initiative director Tia Stuart said their George Washington Carver Project for Equity and Access focused on helping BIPOC underserved and regenerative farmers expanding access to farmland with support from local land banks and trusts, offering assistance with grants and loans to fund land acquisition and farmer education.
Electric savings. The Columbus Dispatch’s Jessie Balmert is reporting, “Ohio Supreme Court deals blow to industry some blame for price gouging.”
The Ohio Supreme Court dealt a blow to submetering companies by ruling that the middlemen should be regulated like utilities.The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has the authority to regulate third-party companies that provide electricity to tenants across the state.
"No company gets to sell essential electric service in Ohio without playing by the rules. The Court’s ruling enforces that," Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Maureen Willis said.
How about them apples? The Ohio Newsroom’s Kendall Crawford is reporting, “An Ohio apple grove with rare varieties could soon be uprooted.”
More than twenty years ago, an Ohio researcher brought wild apple tree seeds from Central Asia to Central Ohio.Dr. Diane Miller, a fruit specialist at Ohio State University, planted these seeds at The Dawes Arboretum in Newark, with the aim of breeding more resilient apples and unlocking new varieties.
But, the future of that work is uncertain. The arboretum has given researchers until the spring of 2027 to remove the trees, citing concerns over invasive species and pests.
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.