Today’s News
Bill would provide firms refundable tax credit for health-plan premiums
An Ohio senator has proposed legislation that would offset the costs of health-insurance mandates imposed on businesses operating in the Buckeye State. Sen. Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield, said his measure, Senate Bill 129, completes work begun in 2016 with the passage of House Bill 463 during the 131st session of the General Assembly of the Ohio Legislature. In addition to implementing a two-year moratorium on new health-care mandates, HB 463 promised that the lawmakers develop tax [...]
Columbus metro population grew by 4% from 2020-24; fastest-growing in the state
Central Ohio is the fastest-growing large metro area in the state, according to new figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The number of people living in the Columbus metro area grew 4 percent from 2020 to 2024. The Cincinnati metro area grew by 2.3 percent over the same time period while the Cleveland region’s population fell by 0.6 percent, according to the Census Bureau. The Columbus area’s population as of last year is 2,225,377, [...]
Movie theater trade group changes name as industry faces declining revenue
In hindsight, NATO was an unnecessarily confusing acronym for a trade organization representing movie theater owners. For 60 years, the National Association of Theatre Owners has promoted interests of movie theaters, from the biggest chains to the one screen mom-and-pop shops. They’ve also regularly received mail and phone calls intended for the other NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The theater owner’s organization is looking to the future, however, with a new name and a [...]
Divided Democratic Party searches for unified political strategy, messaging
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats have been sniping at each other in public since Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer helped pass a Republican spending bill that prevented a government shutdown, but the divisions in their party hardly began there. For months, Democrats have been struggling to coalesce behind a political strategy as they confront President Donald Trump and the Republican majorities in the House and the Senate. Behind closed doors at party retreats, think tank meetings [...]
Social Security to require some in-person ID verification
WASHINGTON (AP) — In an effort to limit fraudulent claims, the Social Security Administration will impose tighter identity-proofing measures, which will require millions of recipients and applicants to visit agency field offices rather than interact with the agency over the phone. Beginning March 31, people will no longer be able to verify their identity to the SSA over the phone and those who cannot properly verify their identity over the agency’s “my Social Security” online [...]
Appeals court blocks Ohio ban on care for trans minors
COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors is unconstitutional and must be permanently blocked from being enforced, a three-judge panel of appellate judges ruled this week. The law also banned trans women and girls from participating in female sports. The state attorney general vowed an immediate appeal. The state’s 10th District Court of Appeals reversed the decision made last summer to allow the law to go into effect after a judge found [...]
Purdue Pharma submits plan for settlement of opioid lawsuits
Purdue Pharma asked a bankruptcy judge this week to consider the latest version of its plan to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of the powerful prescription painkiller OxyContin, a deal that would have members of the Sackler family who own the company pay up to $7 billion. The filing is a milestone in a legal saga that has gone on for more than five years. Under the deal, the family members — estimated [...]
Bill may keep Delaware as corporate capital
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Delaware is trying to protect its status as the corporate capital of the world amid fallout from a judge’s rejection of billionaire Elon Musk ‘s landmark Tesla compensation package, although critics say fast-tracked legislation will tilt the playing field against investors, including pensioners and middle-class savers. A Delaware House committee is considering the bill, which is backed by Democratic Gov. Matt Meyer, who says it will ensure the state remains the [...]
President of Taiwan hails investment in Arizona project
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te said that a Taiwanese semiconductor company’s massive investment in Arizona is the “best model” for the island’s effort to build computer chips supply lines that don’t rely on Chinese producers, in remarks to the state’s visiting governor, Katie Hobbs. Taiwan’s leading chipmaker TSMC has committed $100 billion to build three chip foundries, a research and development center and two packaging facilities in Arizona, on top of [...]
MORPC announces $52 million for projects
The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission has approved more than $52 million in new funding commitments for infrastructure projects in the Columbus area. “MORPC received approximately $160 million in funding requests for new transportation projects from across the region,” said Tom Graham, principal planner at MORPC. “The Attributable Funding Committee worked collaboratively to identify the projects with the greatest regional impact for these limited resources.” MORPC has committed funding to the following seven projects: $9,328,863 for [...]
Legal News
Appellate panel upholds appeal denial in fracking case
A Tenth District Court of Appeals panel recently affirmed a lower court ruling to dismiss the appeal of a state Oil & Gas Land Management [...]
FBI issues fresh warning about road-toll scam
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is warning Americans not to respond to scam road toll collection texts after receiving more than 2,000 complaints this month. [...]
FTC asks judge to delay Amazon trial
The Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal judge to delay a trial in a case accusing Amazon of using deceptive practices in its Prime [...]
Business News
Citrus industry faces threats from disease, development
LAKE WALES, Fla. (AP) — As Trevor Murphy pulls up to his dad’s 20-acre grove in one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, he [...]
Corn, soybean yields in Ohio down last year
Ohio farmers reported lower corn and soybean yields in 2024 than they did in 2023 due to abnormally dry conditions during the growing season, according [...]
OSU receives $1 million for workforce program
The Ohio State University Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence has received $1 million for a metal casting workforce development and upskilling program from the [...]
Real Estate
Mortgage rate edges higher to 6.65 percent
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose last week, ending a seven-week slide that helped lower borrowing costs for home shoppers leading into the [...]
Declining mortgage rates are encouraging for potential home buyers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mortgage rates have been mostly declining in recent weeks, helping to encourage prospective home shoppers just as the spring homebuying season [...]
Architect from China wins Pritzker Prize
The annual Pritzker Architecture Prize has been awarded to Liu Jiakun of China, who earned the field’s highest honor for “affirming architecture that celebrates the [...]
Politics
After statewide defeats last year, few Ohio Democrats have yet to enter 2026 races
COLUMBUS (AP) — The first television ads dropped last week in the Ohio governor’s race that’s still more than a year off. The early onslaught [...]
Bill would impose penalties for illegally passing stopped school buses
A bipartisan bill that incorporates and builds upon the recommendations of Gov. Mike DeWine’s School Bus Safety Working Group recently debuted in the Transportation Committee [...]
$1B program to preserve affordable housing halted
The Trump administration is halting a $1 billion program that helps preserve affordable housing, threatening projects that keep tens of thousands of units livable for [...]