Legislative redistricting

Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish has issued a county-wide mask advisory for indoor public spaces regardless of vaccination status; The Ohio Redistricting Commission has approved new state House and Senate maps that is likely to guarantee a Republican supermajority for the next four years; the Kent State University Board of Trustees has approved a merger between WKSU and Ideastream Public Media; and more stories.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission is working on creating new maps before Wednesday's deadline runs out.

Cleveland voters on Tuesday will decide the two mayoral candidates who will face off in November; The Cleveland Clinic is tightening visitation policies at all its hospitals as COVID surges in Ohio; Attorney General Dave Yost is looking into possible action against President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate for businesses with more than 100 employees; and more stories.

The League of Women Voters of Ohio says if the maps were to remain the same, they would consider a legal challenge.

The commission will likely make changes to the House and Senate district maps after holding three public hearings.

Thursday saw another huge jump in new COVID-19 cases in Ohio; the Ohio Redistricting Commission has selected a proposed map that details new state House and Senate district lines; Ohio’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base went into lockdown for several hours while security investigated reports of a shooter on the campus; and more stories.

New coronavirus cases hit an eight-month high in Ohio on Tuesday with nearly 6,000 positive tests; Gov. Mike DeWine has ordered the Ohio Department of Education to investigate a high school that claims to be based in Columbus but has no address listed on its website; Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine says he's dropping out of the race for chief justice of the court; and more stories.

COVID cases among children are increasing in Ohio; several Northeast Ohio school districts are closing or sending kids home early today due to extreme heat; House Republicans resume debate today on a bill that would prohibit public and private employers from requiring vaccinations or punishing workers who don't receive them; and more stories.

Fueled by the delta variant, cases of COVID-19 in Ohio have soared to a statewide average of 125 per 100,000 people according to the Ohio Department of Health; Summa Health is the first hospital in Akron to announce it is requiring that its employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine; the state health department continues to report strong numbers of vaccination this week; and more stories.

Voters approved changes to the mapmaking process through statewide ballot issues in 2015 and 2018.