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!
Around Ohio, utility bills are climbing and the strain families are feeling could help decide November’s election. To voters, utility bills are a straightforward problem: higher is bad. Although that equation is simple, untangling the forces driving bills higher is anything but.
Democratic candidate for governor Dr. Amy Acton, left, and Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy, right. (Photo by WEWS.)
By Nick Evans
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio maintains an online dashboard detailing utility costs by city. Last month, 15 of the 16 metro areas listed reported higher year-over-year electric bills. Cleveland and Ashtabula led the pack with a 28.1% increase; Cincinnati was the lone exception, more or less holding steady with a decline of .4%.
By Marty Schladen
The Bulwark, a media organization made up largely of former Republicans who oppose President Donald Trump, is holding a live event in Dayton, Ohio on Friday. Proceeds will benefit the Haitian Support Center in nearby Springfield.
By Morgan Trau, WEWS
The race to represent Ohio's 7th Congressional District is only getting more combative. Now, Ohio Republican U.S. Rep. Max Miller has threatened to sue TV stations for airing an attack ad put out by his opponent.
COMMENTARY
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer is pictured during an enforcement operation. (Photo by Nicole Neri, States Newsroom.)
By Steven Volk
With lawlessness and human rights abuses, Trump has placed the U.S. in the company of some of the most authoritarian regimes of the late 20th century such as dictatorships of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile from the 1960s through the 1980s.
By Arnold Oliver
The Republican party of Ohio has dominated state government for the past thirty years. Let's look at the job they have done in managing the state. The results may shock you.
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
STATELINE
By Nada Hassanein
Medicaid enrollees from five states and leading medical organizations filed a lawsuit Friday challenging new Medicaid work requirements.
By Sofia Resnick
The mistrial in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial places her future in doubt, three years after she killed her three children in Duxbury, Massachusetts. But one potential outcome is a state legislative push to boost mental health support for new mothers.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Rudi Keller, Missouri Independent
A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Missouri must use the gerrymandered congressional map passed by Republicans in 2025 for the Nov. 3 election, but the decision was put on hold for a week.
NATIONAL NEWS
By Ashley Murray
Diesel prices hit a record average of $6.51 a gallon Monday, and some in President Donald Trump’s own party are breaking their support for the ongoing war in Iran that has driven fuel prices to staggering levels in the United States and across the globe.
By Jennifer Shutt
CNN, MS Now, and Politico have sued after Trump banned them from the White House, writing that the suit is intended “to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.”
WEDNESDAY WISDOM
“All mortals are equal; it is not their birth, but virtue itself that makes the difference.”
-Voltaire
CATCHING OUR EYE
Public corruption running rampant. ProPublica reports, “The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way.”
Probe: In 2024, the FBI sought to launch a sweeping pay-to-play investigation examining interactions between Sen. Susan Collins and a top donor, records and emails show.
Confession: The donor, an ex-defense contractor, told agents his company won millions in federal contracts by bankrolling campaigns of powerful politicians.
Shutdown: After Donald Trump returned to office, the investigation died, a casualty of his purge of the FBI. Its closure shut a potential window into how Washington works.Gas tax holiday? The Statehouse News Bureau’s Jo Ingles and Karen Kasler report, “Lawmakers could suspend Ohio's gas tax soon, in plan announced by GOP candidate for governor.”
State lawmakers are apparently planning to interrupt their election-season recess to come back to Columbus and pass a bill to suspend Ohio's gas tax. The announcement came from Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy, whose running mate is the president of the Ohio Senate.
News of this plan came a few hours after Democratic candidate Amy Acton issued a call for a gas tax holiday on social media. The state's current tax is 38.5 cents on gas and 47 cents on diesel. AAA reports the average price in Ohio is $4.49 for a gallon of regular gasoline and $6.82 for a gallon of diesel.JD Vance kicks 750,000 people off their health insurance. The New York Times reports, “Trump Officials Eject 750,000 From Obamacare Markets, Claiming Fraud.”
The Trump administration has ejected more than 750,000 enrollees from the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces, Vice President JD Vance announced on Tuesday, claiming that many were receiving premium subsidies they did not qualify for and that some were not even real people.Failing to understand Ohio education policy. In a Columbus Dispatch opinion column, Mike Curtin writes, “Vivek Ramaswamy gets no more than an 'F' when it comes to education. Here's why.”
Any candidate who proclaims “a world-class education is your birthright as an Ohioan” is mouthing worthless platitudes absent a promise and a plan for fully funding high-quality, universal pre-K.The Paper. The Ohio Newsroom’s Erin Gottsacker reports, “In a landscape of local news loss, the Toledo Blade is looking for a buyer.”
If the Toledo Blade isn’t sold by the end of this year, the 190-year-old newspaper will stop publishing.
Block Communications, the paper’s owner, announced the decision to staff in an email earlier this month, according to the newspaper.
“Unfortunately, an extremely difficult decision has been made,” wrote Block Communications’ president and chief operating officer Jodi Miehls. “The Block Family’s continued investment to keep the Blade open is no longer an option. The financial losses the Blade has endured for years are simply not sustainable.”HIV decriminalization. The Buckeye Flame’s Ken Schneck reports, “HIV decriminalization supporters to hold first-ever Advocacy Day at Ohio Statehouse.”
Ohio still has six laws on the books that criminalize living with HIV. And the laws are actively enforced.
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.