Today’s News
Cities aiming to reclaim once-polluted rivers for swimming following clean-ups
BOSTON — They dove in, splashed around and blissfully floated in the murky river water. Intrepid swimmers got a once-a-year chance to beat the summer heat with a dip in the once-notorious dirty water of Boston’s Charles River. The annual “City Splash” is one of the few days the state permits public swimming on the city’s stretch of the 80-mile river, which gained notoriety in the Standells’ 1960s hit “Dirty Water.” The event, now in [...]
In the driver’s seat: Vermont’s governor is also one of its top stock car racers
BARRE, Vt. (AP) — Gov. Phil Scott ducks into a trailer, trades his business suit for a racing jumpsuit, climbs into his modified Chevrolet and heads for Thunder Road. When his security detail drives him into the pits at the banked, quarter-mile track, he is no longer Phil Scott, the chief executive of Vermont. He is Phil Scott, long one of the state’s most popular stock car racers. “It’s something that’s in my blood, something [...]
Death of boy, 10, in Miami shows powerful opioid’s chilling potential
MIAMI (AP) — A 10-year-old boy from a drug-ridden Miami neighborhood apparently died of a fentanyl overdose last month, becoming one of Florida’s littlest victims of the opioid crisis, authorities say. But how he came into contact with the powerful painkiller is a mystery. Fifth-grader Alton Banks died June 23 after a visit to the pool in the city’s Overtown section. He began vomiting at home, was found unconscious that evening and was pronounced dead [...]
Some food manufacturers say sugar deal with Mexico could turn sour
NEW YORK (AP) — Are Americans getting a raw deal on sugar prices? President Donald Trump called a recent agreement on sugar with Mexico a “very good one” for both countries. But companies that make candy, cakes and other foods containing the sweetener say it will lead to Americans paying more than they already do. The split perspectives underscore how U.S. policies have long put sugar producers at odds with the rest of the food [...]
Retailers, brands see green for back-to-school shopping
NEW YORK (AP) — For the back-to-school season, many parents and their kids are thinking green. Concerns about the environment have them looking for secondhand clothing or fashions made from reused material — but price still rules. Shoppers want quality and style in backpacks, jeans and the like without spending a lot more money. Retailers like H&M, Target and J.C. Penney are coming out with more clothes that use waste from all sorts of sources, [...]
Companies offer quirky perks like guitar lessons, tattoos to keep best workers
NEW YORK — Sabbaticals, massages or a home maid service? Bike maintenance, tattoos or guitar lessons? Some small and medium-sized companies are offering quirky and enviable perks to try to attract and keep the best workers. The hundred staffers at marketing firm Velvet Media can periodically spend a month working at any of its offices — Denver, Tokyo, Bangkok or Venice, Italy — with the company paying their expenses, co-CEO Daniele Gatti says. Many businesses [...]
Five ways to avoid overpaying on your car loan
When people go car shopping, they usually focus on the vehicle they want — not the loan that will pay for it. But good financing is the bedrock of a solid car deal, and missteps could cost you thousands. “Once you shake hands with the car salesman, you are not done,” says Oren Weintraub, president of Authority Auto in Tarzana, Calif. As a car-buying concierge, Weintraub identifies cars for clients and negotiates the deals. Getting [...]
Proposal would allow medical first responders to carry firearms
A Cincinnati emergency room physician has joined first responders from around the Buckeye State to back a proposed bill that would provide for firearms training for tactical medical professionals, who would be allowed to carry a firearm in a concealed manner while on duty. Dr. Dustin Calhoun, assistant professor of Emergency Medicine, associate director of the Division of EMS and medical director for Emergency Management at University of Cincinnati, explained to members of the House [...]
Wall Street’s Goldman Sachs moves quietly into Main Street
NEW YORK — More homeowner, less hedge fund titan. Goldman Sachs, long known for its super-rich clients and well-connected executives, is starting to act a lot more like a neighborhood bank. The most Wall Street of Wall Street firms really wants people to start thinking about it the next time they need to open a bank account or borrow money. It’s paying above-average rates on online savings accounts and offering that stodgiest of investments, good [...]
Cohousing developments put the emphasis on neighborhood
When Joanna Vander Plaats moved with her two young daughters to Grand Rapids, Mich., nearly eight years ago, she wanted to find a friendly and welcoming neighborhood. The family’s move from Kalamazoo, a home they’d always known, was nerve-wracking. They didn’t know a single person in their new city — much less a friend who might watch the kids or come over for dinner. As Vander Plaats, 30, was researching Grand Rapids, she came across [...]
Legal News
Powell lawmaker pitches school-funding revamp
A Powell lawmaker has outlined an ambitious plan to fix the state’s method of funding public schools, which was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court [...]
Stalled bill seeks to license roofers
A measure that seeks to license commercial roofers just as commercial plumbers, HVAC specialists and electricians are licensed has made little progress in the Ohio [...]
Legislation designed to update Ohio’s self-defense standards
A bill proposing to shift the burden of proof to a prosecutor challenging an individual’s self-defense claim recently secured a first hearing before committee members [...]
Business News
Get started: Summer is a good time to check a company’s to-do list
With business slower at many companies during the summer with customers and employees on vacation, owners might want to tackle that list of tasks they [...]
NAWBO names Warnick national board chair
The National Association of Women Business Owners appointed Columbus businesswoman and entrepreneur Kathleen Warnick of Warnick Consultants to chair the national organization’s 2017-18 board of [...]
Investors: ‘Pharma Bro’ Shkreli was shady – and profitable
NEW YORK — The jury at the securities fraud trial of “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli has heard investors accuse the quirky former biotech CEO of [...]
Real Estate
Detroit at crossroads 50 years after riots devastated city
DETROIT — Deborah Chenault Green is 62, a writer. But 50 years ago she was a pre-teen, sleeping on the porch to escape the oppressive [...]
Black homeowners struggle as housing market makes recovery
SAN FRANCISCO — Graciano and Buena de la Cruz bought their two-bedroom house in San Francisco two decades ago when the neighborhood teemed with drug [...]
Central Ohio home prices have risen 16% this year
The cost to buy a home in central Ohio continues to go up and up. Last month the average price for a home sold in [...]
Politics
Border patrol officers expected to play key role in enforcing revised travel ban
SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers will be key players in putting President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban that went into [...]
Gun rights advocates had high hopes, but now initiatives are stalled
ATLANTA (AP) — Gun rights advocates entered the Trump era with high hopes. After years of frustration they thought a gun-friendly president and Congress would [...]
Mayors: Look to us, not Washington, for results
Think Washington, D.C., and your statehouse are irredeemable and unproductive? Look to city hall for answers. That’s the message from the nation’s mayors six months [...]
