In the Disney movie Frozen, the snowman Olaf famously said: “Some people are worth melting for.” But as Disney itself has discovered, extremist legislators are definitely not. All of corporate America needs to learn that lesson. Like many companies, Disney made campaign contributions ...
With the budget bill speeding to the finish line, the Statehouse rumor mill is cranking into high gear. Among the rumblings is an effort by a few charter advocates to weaken the state’s sponsor evaluation system. One proposal making the rounds would move most sponsors to a “portfolio model,” whereby the academic performance of their schools is ignored and only sponsors’ ability to complete paperwork is taken into account. As a quick refresher, sponsors (a.k.a. “authorizers”) are directly responsible for holding public charter schools accountable for results. Various ...
The drug overdose crisis is about to get a lot worse, and northeast Ohio is unprepared. There’s a storm coming, and its name is xylazine. What is xylazine? Also called “tranq dope,” it’s an animal tranquilizer that’s commonly added to opioids like fentanyl to create a longer high. It can cause heart problems, respiratory depression and skin ulcers requiring amputation. Since it’s not an opioid, its effects cannot be reversed with naloxone (though naloxone should always be used for any suspected overdose, as it has no side effects). It’s been on the East Coast for a few ...
There’s much debate at the Statehouse over the 100-year-old law giving Ohioans freedom to amend our sacred Ohio Constitution. With help of out-of-state interest groups, like Save Our Constitution PAC, my Republican colleagues are publishing op-eds in newspapers everywhere hoping to influence public opinion on their proposals (House Joint Resolution 1 and Senate Joint Resolution 2). Their proposals make it harder for citizens to get amendment ideas on the ballot and raise voter approval threshold for those ideas from the majority of Ohioans (50 percent plus 1) to a supermajority (60 ...
As the chairman of the Portage County Republican Party, nothing is more important to me than protecting the integrity of our county’s primary elections. I have overseen Republican primary elections in our county for dozens of races over the years, from president to state legislature to school board. Giving Republican voters a chance to judge the candidates for themselves and decide who should represent our party in the general election is one of the most incredible processes of our democracy. It’s critical that we protect that process from outside interference, which is why I ...
This year, the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission is investing up to $226 million for capital improvement projects, which includes roadway safety improvements, such as pavement replacement, resurfacing, bridge renovations, and the continuation of the toll collection system modernization program, and more. The start of the roadway construction season, which occurs every spring, is an opportunity to remind motorists to drive cautiously through work zones on the Ohio Turnpike and elsewhere. In 2022, nearly 49.6 million motorists — both passenger car and commercial truck ...
