Rotunda Rumblings
Looking presidential: Ohio State University’s next president, State University of New York Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson, is an accomplished researcher, engineer and renewable-energy advocate, Emily Bamforth reports. Johnson also brings an athletics background and Buckeye football roots to the job, per Nathan Baird.
Reading, writing and (COVID) research: Gov. Mike DeWine tells Laura Hancock that he had a conversation with Johnson and described being impressed with her career. He said he hopes OSU will work even closer with the state, an idea welcomed by Johnson.
Fallback plan: Bamforth also has a report on OSU’s basic framework for returning students to classes this fall, which will include reduced density in housing and initial contact tracing for some groups.
Counting up: The number of Ohioans who have died with coronavirus is just about 2,300, Hancock reports. Cases continue to climb as well.
Rollback rolled back: “Ohio lawmakers dramatically overhauled an elections bill on Wednesday, stripping controversial language that would have rolled back early voting for the November election,” Andrew Tobias writes. A House committee also removed language that would have prohibited Secretary of State Frank LaRose from sending unsolicited mail-in ballot applications to every registered voter for the upcoming election, and they authorized him to use federal funding to pay for the mailing. The bill now goes to the full House.
Here’s the poop: A plan to study raw sewage in Ohio for early warnings of possible future coronavirus outbreaks is moving along, Tobias reports. But there’s still no definitive date on when the wastewater testing will be fully up and running throughout the state.
With you in spirit: While the Ohio House has passed a number of bills to limit the DeWine administration’s coronavirus orders, the Ohio Senate has been noticeably less eager to move against the governor’s authority. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, the Senate on Wednesday approved a non-binding resolution rebuking the governor’s actions, but it voted down a House measure that would require local health officials to get written approval from contact-tracing participants.
Re-appropriate answer: The House will likely vote Thursday to pass the Senate’s version of a $1.2 billion capital reappropriations bill. House members previously sought to defund about $500 million in projects, including $325.2 million for state colleges and universities and $25 million to help build soccer stadiums in Columbus and Cincinnati. But on Wednesday, the House Finance Committee adopted the Senate’s plan to fund the projects.
High-occupancy vehicle: Senate Bill 310, which would allow federal coronavirus funding to be distributed to local governments, is now the vehicle for the House’s capital reappropriations budget, the House Finance Committee voted Wednesday. The panel also added DeWine’s pay-freeze proposal to the bill, according to Hannah News Service’s Noah Blundo.
Bets off in Ohio: While Ohio casinos have been shuttered by coronavirus closings, one segment of the gambling industry has taken off next door in Pennsylvania, even during casino closings there. It’s online wagering with casino-style games. Revenue was up 73% in April over March for online gambling for anything from slot machines to poker games against other players, coordinated by eight casinos in Pennsylvania. This type of wagering started in Pennsylvania in July and is likely coming soon to Michigan, reports Rich Exner.
Conventional wisdom: DeWine, a Republican, said Wednesday during an appearance on “Fox and Friends” -- a regular in President Donald Trump’s daily viewing diet – that Ohio would not volunteer to host the Republican National Convention, Seth Richardson reports. Republican National Committee officials and Trump are looking for a new spot after failing to come to an agreement with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, over the planned location of Charlotte.
Worried about Ohio? President Donald Trump’s campaign has spent about $1.7 million on ads the past few weeks in three states – much of it in Ohio. As Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman of the New York Times write, “The spending in Ohio startled many Republicans, given that four years ago Mr. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton there by eight percentage points.”
Keep your Guard up: The Ohio National Guard has been heavily involved in the coronavirus and protest responses over the past several months, including being sent to Washington, D.C., at the request of the secretary of defense. Richardson compiled a Q&A on who the Guard is, their history and what they’re doing right now.
Declaring an emergency: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown wants the U.S. Senate to approve a resolution to declare racism a public health emergency that would be similar to resolutions that the City of Cleveland and Franklin County have already adopted. Sabrina Eaton has details.
It’s a SNAP: Ohioans receiving food assistance can now use their electronic benefits cards to buy food online at Walmart and Amazon, Eaton reports. The change follows last month’s U.S. Department of Agriculture decision to expand the number of states where online SNAP benefit use is permitted to enable social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unfriended: The Richland County Democratic Party has disavowed Sam Grady, the Democratic nominee for House District 2, for a number of social-media posts he made, according to Monroe Trombly of the Mansfield News Journal. Grady, a student at Ohio State University-Mansfield, wrote “oink” under a photo of a policeman injured during a New York protest, stated he thinks the South should be “nuked,” and posted the hashtag #IamAntifa on Facebook. Republican Marilyn John has already been expected to beat Grady in the solidly GOP district.
Full Disclosure
Five things we learned from the Feb. 13, 2020 financial disclosure statement of state Rep. Jeff LaRe, a Fairfield County Republican:
1. Last year, he earned more than $100,000 as executive vice president of The Whitestone Group, a security business. He also reported being paid less than $1,000 working as a marathon course captain for M3S Sports.
2. He’s licensed in Ohio as an armed security guard and private investigator.
3. At some point in 2019, he owed more than $1,000 to Discover, Bank of America and Park National Bank.
4. His only investment worth more than $1,000 was a mutual fund with the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System.
5. He listed receiving a gift worth more than $75 (or between $25 and $75 if it came from a lobbyist) from the law firm of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease.
On The Move
Dan Tokaji, a longtime elections-law professor at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, has been named the next dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Birthdays
State Sen. Terry Johnson
State Sen. Stephanie Kunze
Straight From The Source
“Even though Cleveland’s perceived to be the butthole of the world sometimes...When you look at gross domestic product and gross domestic capital, Cleveland -- and the Cleveland region -- is a pretty wealthy area.”
- Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, during an interview with The Appeal posted on Wednesday.
Editor’s note: The item on the capital re-appropriations bill has been corrected. It originally stated that the Senate had agreed to the House’s plan.
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