Today’s News
Churches throughout nation are having to adapt to higher insurance rates
The Rev. John Parks was taking his first sabbatical in 40 years of ministry when he got a call from his church's accountant with some bad news. Church Mutual, the church's insurance company, had dropped them. "This does not make sense," Parks, the pastor of Ashford Community Church in Houston, recalls thinking at the time. "We've never filed a claim." Five months and 13 insurance companies later, the church finally found replacement coverage for $80,000 [...]
Union officials say railcar inspections continue to be conducted hurriedly
Railroad unions say that inspections continue to be rushed and a new federal study reinforces that concern. At a House of Representatives hearing earlier this week the unions presented new evidence from federal inspectors that railcar checks are routinely less than two minutes per car. The unions have sounded the alarm often in recent years as the major railroad companies all adopted versions of the lean Precision Scheduled Railroading operating model and collectively cut roughly [...]
Proposal to create a new political mapmaking system in Ohio qualifies for November ballot
COLUMBUS — A proposal to change Ohio's troubled political mapmaking system has qualified for November's statewide ballot, the state's elections chief announced this week. Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the bipartisan Citizens Not Politicians had submitted 535,005 valid signatures in 58 counties, well over the roughly 414,000 needed to appear on ballots this fall. The campaign submitted more than 700,000 petition signatures on July 1. The constitutional amendment's next stop is the Ohio [...]
Regulators investigating Delta’s response to tech outage
Federal regulators are investigating why Delta Air Lines failed to recover as quickly as other airlines from a global technology breakdown and whether Delta’s treatment of passengers stranded by canceled and delayed flights violated federal rules. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the investigation into Delta’s response to the outage, which he said has affected more than half a million of the airline’s passengers. Delta and its Delta Connection partners canceled more than 500 flights Tuesday. [...]
Judge OKs referendum sought by slave descendants
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A judge this week approved a referendum sought by residents of one of the South’s last remaining Gullah-Geechee communities of slave descendants, ordering an Oct. 1 special election on whether to overturn zoning changes that black residents see as a threat to an island enclave founded by enslaved ancestors. McIntosh County Probate Court Judge Harold Webster said in his written order that local election officials have verified that referendum organizers had [...]
After 3 straight losses to rival Michigan, OSU coach Day finds himself on hot seat
INDIANAPOLIS — Ohio State coach Ryan Day sounds confident and comfortable discussing this year’s football team. Never mind the three Michigan banners hanging over his head and slightly behind the podium where he’s speaking at the first of three Big Ten media days in Indianapolis — or that it’s a not-so-subtle reminder about the looming stakes when he heads home. Yes, despite winning 39 league games since taking over one of college football’s most storied [...]
Supreme Court upholds lower court’s dismissal of jail-time credit petition
The Supreme Court of Ohio has affirmed an appellate court’s dismissal of a prison inmate’s petition to compel the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to adjust his jail-time credit. Justices held that the Tenth District Court of Appeals was correct in determining that John Boyle Jr., an inmate at the Marion Correctional Institution, had an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law to address any miscalculation of jail-time credit and that ODRC [...]
Many employers are instituting policies to safeguard workers from extreme heat
McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — At the start of every work day, construction worker Charles Smith puts on the essentials, including a hard hat, safety glasses, a reflective vest and a small, watch-like band for his wrist. Rather than track time, however, the band’s purpose is to ensure he doesn't overheat while working during sweltering summer days in Texas. The wristband monitors his heart rate, core body temperature, stress level and other statistics. If it detects [...]
Rural pharmacies face numerous challenges
Basin Pharmacy fills more than prescriptions in rural northern Wyoming. It's also the key health-care access point for the town of about 1,300 people and the surrounding area. It sells catheters, colostomy supplies and diabetic testing strips. The storage room contains things that people rely on to survive, such as a dozen boxes of food for patients who must eat through tubes. The pharmacy fills prescriptions in bulk for the county jail, state retirement center [...]
Bill would change pricing model used by pharmacy benefit managers
A Republican lawmaker duo last week explained the details of a bill they say will stanch the closure of small, independent pharmacies that struggle with the practices of pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. House Bill 505, known as the Community Pharmacy Protection Act, is intended to address what Ashville Rep. Brian Stewart characterized as “a market failure” that is bankrupting community and independent pharmacies throughout the state. He advised members during an Insurance Committee hearing [...]
Legal News
Supreme Court of Ohio orders sheriff’s office to address records request
The Supreme Court of Ohio determined that the Richland County Sheriff’s Office failed to support its denial of a public-records request by a Mansfield man [...]
Tenth District panel affirms murder conviction of Columbus man
A Franklin County appellate panel affirmed the conviction of an east side Columbus man on charges stemming from the shooting death of Alyse Sharrae Edwards [...]
Measure cracking down on fraudulent business filings awaits action by governor
State lawmakers have sent Gov. Mike DeWine legislation to crack down on fraudulent Ohio business filings in an effort to better protect consumers and legitimate [...]
Business News
Energy group: Mitsubishi chemical plant economically questionable
NEW ORLEANS — A $1.3 billion chemical production facility to be built in Louisiana by Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi is economically questionable and unnecessarily increases greenhouse [...]
Recent events show uneven progress of offshore wind in Northeast
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Three events last week highlighted the uneven progress of the offshore wind industry in the Northeast, including the start of [...]
Capital One offers $265B benefit plan to appease regulators
NEW YORK — Capital One said it plans to offer $265 billion in lending, investing and philanthropy projects as part of its pending $35 billion [...]
Real Estate
June home sales down 6. 5% compared with year earlier
The central Ohio residential real estate market stumbled last month with sales down 6.5 percent from a year earlier and 6.4 percent from May. There [...]
New England’s longest rail trail opens in Vermont a year after floods
HARDWICK, Vt. — A year after epic summer flooding delayed the official opening of New England’s longest rail trail, the 93-mile route across northern Vermont [...]
Slow spring homebuying season looks to continue 3-year housing slump
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The housing market shows few signs of busting out of its three-year funk after a disappointing spring season and amid a [...]
Politics
Homeland Security secretary names panel to review Trump assassination attempt
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has appointed a bipartisan, independent panel to review this month's assassination attempt on former President Donald [...]
EPA awards $4.3 billion for pollution reduction
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is awarding $4.3 billion in grants to fund projects in 30 states to reduce pollution. The money will [...]
Congress could vote on Kids Online Safety Act sometime this summer
The last time Congress passed a law designed to protect children on the internet was in 1998 — before Facebook, before the iPhone and long [...]