The Ohio redistricting amendment campaign is gaining momentum as it prepares for the November election. Citizens Not Politicians have raised and spent nearly $25 million, with most donations coming from out-of-state contributors, according to campaign finance reports filed Wednesday. The amendment seeks to overhaul how Ohio’s legislative and congressional districts are drawn, promoting fairer and more-balanced representation by replacing a politician-controlled redistricting process with a 15-member, nonpartisan citizens' commission. Meanwhile, Gov. Mike DeWine said Wednesday that he would fight to defeat the amendment. He says the proposal is but another form of gerrymandering, because it favors proportionality over other factors, such as compactness of each district. DeWine proposed an alternative redistricting plan, based on one used in Iowa, that he says he would pitch to state legislators and voters in 2025. — Laura |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
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Gov. Mike DeWine stands near a conceptual Ohio House district map he used as a visual aide to represent what he views as the hazards of emphasizing political proportionality when drawing state district maps. (Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland.com) |
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Redistricting reform: Gov. Mike DeWine has said Ohio needs to change how it handles redistricting. He announced Wednesday he opposes the citizen-initiated redistricting-reform amendment that voters will decide this November, Andrew Tobias reports. Campaign funds: The group backing Ohio’s redistricting-reform amendment has spent nearly $25 million in its campaign to qualify for the ballot and sway voters to approve it this November, Andrew Tobias reports. Today in Ohio: Ohio Right to Life’s chief executive Peter Range has abruptly stepped down from his position with the anti-abortion agency because “circumstances” have prevented him from serving as he hoped “for the sake of the preborn,” he posted on X. On Today in Ohio, we’re talking about Range’s mysterious resignation. |
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Ohio jobs: Billions of federal dollars coming to Ohio from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and CHIPS and Science Act will provide thousands of well-paid jobs in the state, with potential to deliver lasting economic recovery in Ohio’s struggling towns, a top Ohio construction union official told a Senate committee on Wednesday, Sabrina Eaton reports. FirstEnergy payment: FirstEnergy Corp. indicated Tuesday it expects to soon pay nearly $120 million in total to resolve pending federal and state investigations into the company’s role in the House Bill 6 bribery scandal, the largest such scheme in Ohio history, Jeremy Pelzer reports. Digital license: Ohio is the fifth state in the country to allow Ohioans to add driver’s licenses to their digital Apple Wallet, Jake Zuckerman reports. |
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County Council: The temporary rules limiting public comment at Cuyahoga County Council meetings to 20 speakers will continue through Sept. 30, but changes are on the horizon, Kaitlin Durbin reports. Lead dangers: Two weeks after a federal inspector general went public with a slew of failings by Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority related to lead dangers in Cleveland public housing, top brass from CMHA appeared before a City Council committee on Wednesday to plead their case, Courtney Astolfi reports. Safety posts: Former Cuyahoga County Sheriff Christopher Viland and outgoing Lakewood City Council Vice President Jason Shachner have been tapped as assistant directors of Cleveland Department of Public Safety, Cory Shaffer reports. RTA expansion: Starting Sunday, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority will be adding Waterfront Line service to its holiday and Saturday and Sunday schedules from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to a news release. Implosion video: Two of the Avon Lake power plant’s boilers underwent a controlled explosion before sunrise on Wednesday, Megan Sims reports. |
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Marcum acquired: CBIZ announced Wednesday that it will acquire Marcum in a $2.3 billion deal, which would make Independence-based CBIZ the seventh-largest accounting and financial services firm in the U.S., Sean McDonnell reports. |
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Suspect search: Authorities continue to search for a third suspect in the shooting death of a 10-year-old girl, Olivia Mitchell reports. Church shooting: St. Malachi Catholic Church in Cleveland has been the site of major shootings in back-to-back months, John Tucker reports. Ecstasy seized: Federal agents on Monday seized 154 pounds of ecstasy from a suspected drug dealer’s apartment in Cleveland’s North Shore-Collinwood neighborhood, Adam Ferrise reports. |
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Mariemount: Mariemont, Ohio, population about 3,500, was founded in 1923 -- a beautifully designed planned community that’s close to everything, but also a world away, Susan Glaser reports. It may be a stretch to call Mariemont, about 10 miles east of Cincinnati, a small town. But it’s not exactly a typical suburb either, with a lovely downtown and one of the region’s most interesting hotels. Stadium Tour: This year’s “The Summer Stadium Tour” featuring Def Leppard, Journey and Cheap Trick course-corrected in impressive fashion from 2022. The (nearly?) sold-out show at Progressive Field was head and shoulders better than two years ago, Peter Chakerian reports. Arts Prize winners: Photographers Amber N. Ford and Barbara Bosworth and composer Clint Needham will be recognized by the prestigious Cleveland Arts Prize, which honors outstanding artistic talent and significant contributions to the arts community in Northeast Ohio, Paris Wolfe reports. Restaurant opening: Aladdin’s Eatery has opened its Medina location, marking 35 locations in total serving its Lebanese-Mediterranean cuisine, Alex Darus reports. Cleveland Market: The Cleveland Market is bringing a large-scale local market back to Cleveland’s AsiaTown neighborhood, years after the Cleveland Flea’s final market at the same location, Alex Darus reports. Miller time: Former Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller is now a brand ambassador for Urban Meyer’s Pint House, the Columbus bar-restaurant owned by Cleveland-based Saucy Brew Works, Marc Bona reports. |
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Joy-riding boys crash car into Heinen’s Read more Authorities locate missing 5-year-old from Virginia in Cleveland Read more Elyria man dies in crash on Ohio Turnpike Read more Mayfield City Schools to ask voters for 5-mill levy increase in November Read more Cleveland police and fire to face off in charity softball game benefiting St. Herman’s House Read more Orange Schools superintendent honored by Martha Holden Jennings Foundation Read more Medina Personal Care Pantry to receive local charitable group's funds Read more North Olmsted unveils new city alert system Read more Parma Police Department adding new tasers, radios and mobile data terminals Read more Parma continues buying and demolishing homes to alleviate flooding Read more |
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