Today’s News
Report cites Ohio for high number of puppy mills
Ohio has the fourth highest number of problematic puppy mills, according to a report The Humane Society of the United States released this month. Eight puppy mills are featured in the Humane Society’s seventh “Horrible Hundred” report, which publishes a list of 100 problem puppy mills and dog sellers in the nation. The list is published annually to “warn consumers about common problems at puppy mills, and to urge government oversight agencies, such as the [...]
Bernie Sanders zeros in on Joe Biden as his favorite foil
WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders is quick to slam Joe Biden’s past support of free trade deals and the Iraq War. He is warning him against a “middle ground” approach to addressing climate change. His campaign sends fundraising appeals with a simple, foreboding subject line: “Joe Biden.” In his three weeks as a presidential candidate, Biden has become Sanders’ favorite foil. No one seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination has been as aggressive as the Vermont [...]
Farmers who sell to China feel pain of Beijing’s tariffs
DES MOINES, Iowa — China’s announcement Monday of higher tariffs on $60 billion of American exports — retaliation for President Donald Trump’s latest penalties on Chinese goods — hit particularly hard in the farm belt. China’s vast consumer market has been a vital source of revenue for American farmers. Since December, when U.S. and China negotiators called a truce to tariffs and began signaling that an agreement might be reached, soybean farmers had been holding [...]
Columbus firm finds success after building a better wallet
A wallet store located on Gay Street in downtown Columbus creates unique items that are on the small side. Paul Westrick, the founder of zerOz wallets, said the idea happened with the frustration of a fat wallet. Being an active cyclist, Westrick used rubber bands to hold his items instead of a traditional wallet, an idea that has grown the past eight years. Using his experience in the design industry, he created a new wallet [...]
Lawmaker takes aim at municipalities that abuse traffic camera citations
A suburban Cleveland Republican’s plan to squelch what he considers a misuse of local authority by municipalities and townships that operate traffic cameras within their jurisdictions attacks the issue from multiple angles. Earlier this week, Strongsville Rep. Tom Patton championed a quartet of bills in the Ohio House of Representatives that would end local authorities’ so-called abuse of issuing citations originating from traffic cameras. The lawmaker offered the following brief descriptions of his plan to [...]
Time for businesses to set up employee retirement plans?
NEW YORK — With 2019 more than one-third over, small business owners without employee retirement plans may want to consider starting one before more time passes. Businesses get tax deductions for the contributions they make to employee plans, and contributions can be as high as $56,000 per employee for 2019. Plans vary in terms of their complexity and cost to set up. And the IRS offers flexibility for when contributions must be made — it’s [...]
Heating up: Investors’ green targets go beyond just big oil
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s not just big oil and power companies that investors are pushing to do better on the environment. In the next few weeks, Amazon shareholders will vote on a proposal made by one of their own to push the company to describe how it’s curbing its use of fossil fuels. In California, investors of Ross Stores are asking the retailer of off-price clothing to set goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. [...]
Looking for climate change materials, teachers find mostly propaganda
When science teacher Diana Allen set out to teach climate change, a subject she’d never learned in school, she fell into a rabbit’s hole of misinformation: Many resources presented online as educational material were actually junk. “It is a pretty scary topic to take on,” said Allen, a teacher at Sanford Junior High School, in southern Maine. “There are some pretty tricky websites out there. You kind of have to be an expert to be [...]
More grocers are offering delivery
DETROIT — Want to ditch the shopping cart? Grocery delivery services are growing rapidly, but shoppers need to decide if the convenience is worth the higher cost. Big companies like Amazon and Walmart are expanding grocery delivery, as are regional players like FreshDirect. Grocery chains like Kroger and Safeway are working with third party delivery services like Instacart or developing their own services. Groceries have been slower to migrate online than books, clothing and other [...]
Legal News
State Republicans offer new plan to lure more ‘megaprojects’ to Ohio
A Republican plan to make the state even more competitive for businesses looking to site the next large-scale development within the state proposes doubling the [...]
Christian school appeal continues despite effort by U.A., school board to dismiss
The state high court last week delivered a setback to the city of Upper Arlington, which had sought to dismiss a Christian school’s appeal of [...]
Oregon, only state that allows nonunanimous convictions, may change that provision
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — After a jury convicted an Oregon man of having sex with a passed-out partygoer, one of the jurors left the courthouse [...]
Business News
Green Scoop not only collects pet waste, but turns it into energy
It wasn’t the company founder’s original plan, but pet waste removal company The Green Scoop has evolved into a firm that helps generate energy. “My [...]
New Franklinton business caters to canine customers
A woman’s love of animals and a desire to work with them was catalyst enough to drive Casie Goldstein to start one of the area’s [...]
Trade row deepens as China ups tariffs on $60 billion in American goods
BEIJING (AP) — Deepening its trade battle with the U.S. and sending financial markets spinning, China announced tariff hikes Monday on $60 billion of American [...]
Real Estate
As Israeli group expands its presence, Palestinian houses face demolition
JERUSALEM — For 20 years, Hala Kashour has lived with her husband in what she called “paradise,” a bucolic meadow that rolls through a Palestinian [...]
Report: Costs for selling a home in central Ohio are below national average
Central Ohio’s hidden costs for selling a home is below the national average, according to a new report. Local homeowners spend about $16,813 to sell [...]
Indianapolis’ historic downtown White Castle building sells
INDIANAPOLIS — The visually unavoidable but itty-bitty historic White Castle building at the corner of Fort Wayne Avenue and Delaware Street here finally sold after [...]
Politics
Washington to offer first ‘public option’ insurance
SEATTLE (AP) — Washington is set to become the first state to enter the private health insurance market with a universally available public option. A [...]
Warren finds 2020 footing selling policy with personal touch
OSAGE, Iowa (AP) — Before Elizabeth Warren pitches voters on her tax plan, she talks about her memories of her mom’s struggle to pay the [...]
Biden surge fueled by electability advantage, but many wonder if it will last
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Twenty of his rivals have lined up to run for president, believing the race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination was [...]
