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Report: Central Ohio gained 9,400 jobs in Q1

Published: 05/17/2012

The number of jobs in Central Ohio surged in the first quarter of the year with the region adding 9,400 jobs, according to new data released by Columbus 2020.

That 1 percent increase in employment is larger than the state and national increases of 0.8 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

Growth for the year is now estimated at 13,600 jobs, or 1.5 percent rather than the previous 0.7 percent, and better than the revised employment gains of 1.1 percent for the U.S. and 1 percent for Ohio.

Legislation would make more military medals available

Published: 05/17/2012

State Reps. Casey Kozlowski and Anne Gonzales are leading the way on a bill that would expand the ability for more family members of fallen soldiers to obtain the Ohio Military Medal of Distinction.

Kozlowski, R-Pierpont, said the proposal, House Bill 532, was born out of discussions he had with a few constituents.

Justices void Stark County's Issue 6 in which voters were misinformed about tax levy

Published: 05/17/2012

Because wording on a November 2011 ballot included a miscalculation for a Stark County tax levy, that election result must be set aside, Supreme Court of Ohio justices ruled yesterday.

In the 7-0 decision, the high court held that because the ballot listed the tax as 10 times less than it actually was and because the election contestors provided testimony from several voters who said the error influenced their votes, the result must be set aside.

Pace of new credit card accounts picked up in Q1

Published: 05/17/2012

LOS ANGELES — U.S. credit card users are getting better about making more timely payments, even as banks are increasingly issuing cards to borrowers with less-than-stellar credit.

The rate of payments at least 90 days overdue dipped in the first three months of the year to 0.73 percent, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion.

That’s down from 0.78 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 and 0.74 percent in the first quarter of last year.

Death as bargaining chip? Cleveland prosecutor criticized for technique

Published: 05/17/2012

Within days of a drug-related slaying in suburban Cleveland, six men were indicted on charges that carried the possibility of a death sentence. Six months later, all had been allowed to plead to lesser charges, including four who received probation and never went to prison.

In short, the men quickly went from facing the possibility of being strapped to a gurney and having 5 grams of pentobarbital injected into their veins, to prison sentences more typical for robbers and thieves.

Housing starts rose to 717,000 in April

Published: 05/17/2012

WASHINGTON — U.S. builders started work on more homes and apartments last month and requested more permits to build single-family homes. The increases suggest the battered housing market is healing.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that builders broke ground in April at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 717,000 homes. That’s a 2.6 percent increase from an upwardly revised March figure and near January’s three-year high of 720,000. Construction rose for both single-family homes and apartments.

Role unlikely for George W. Bush in Romney bid

Published: 05/17/2012

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After months of silence, George W. Bush finally weighed on the presidential race — with four short words.

“I’m for Mitt Romney,” the former president said Tuesday in Washington as the doors of his elevator shut, perhaps his only public statement on the race before the Nov. 6 election.

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