Here are your morning headlines for Wednesday, June 23:
- Ohio vaccine bill lacks votes
- DeWine, Husted won’t attend Trump rally
- Republican reps clashed at eatery over Householder expulsion
- Prosecutor drops appeal of man wrongly imprisoned for years
- Hiram College names Haney as president
- Ohio home sales up nearly 20%
- Cleveland Metroparks opens new 25-acre Brighton Park
Ohio vaccine bill lacks votes
The controversial bill in the Ohio House that would ban businesses and employers from requiring vaccines is now on hold because it lacks the votes to proceed. Lawmakers were aiming for a committee vote this week on the legislation that would also require schools to tell parents vaccines are not mandatory. But business groups that often back Republicans have come out against the bill, saying employers should have the freedom to operate their businesses and to make decisions about protecting their workforce. The committee chair says the legislation will likely be changed.
DeWine, Husted won’t attend Trump rally
Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted say they won’t be attending former President Donald Trump’s rally in Lorain on Saturday. Cleveland.com reports DeWine has a family conflict and Husted didn't elaborate on why he won't be in attendance. Trump will be joined by Max Miller who is challenging GOP Congressman Anthony Gonzalez of Rocky River. Gonzalez voted in favor of impeaching Trump following the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Trump has also hinted that he may not support DeWine’s re-election bid in 2022, after DeWine said President Joe Biden’s victory was legitimate.
Republican reps clashed at eatery over Householder expulsion
Two Republican lawmakers got into a tense confrontation at an upscale Columbus restaurant two weeks ago over the now-historic vote to expel Larry Householder from the Ohio House. The Toledo Blade reports Rep. Bill Seitz confronted Rep. Jon Cross at Lindey’s restaurant a week before the June 16 vote to oust Householder. Seitz approached Cross as they were both leaving the restaurant and began to argue about Cross’ decision to vote yes on the expulsion resolution. Both men confirmed to The Blade that the altercation happened. It remains unclear if the encounter between the two men was physical or strictly verbal.
Prosecutor drops appeal of man wrongly imprisoned for years
Cuyahoga County’s prosecutor has dropped an appeal opposing a judge’s ruling that a former death row man was wrongly imprisoned for two decades. Joe D’Ambrosio was released in 2010 after a judge determined that prosecutors withheld evidence that could have exonerated him in the 1988 murder of Anthony Klann. D’Ambrosio is entitled to receive compensation for wrongful imprisonment. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley says he opposes the payout.
Hiram College names Haney as president
Hiram College has named its 23rd president. David P. Haney has served as interim president since 2020. Before that, he was the president of the private liberal arts college Centenary University in New Jersey. Hiram’s board of trustees praised Haney for his leadership during the pandemic.
Ohio home sales up nearly 20%
Home sales in Ohio were up nearly 20% in May compared to the same month last year. More than 14,000 homes sold in Ohio last month, according to the Ohio REALTORS trade association. The average home sales price statewide last month was just under $245,000. That’s up nearly $40,000 from May 2020.
Cleveland Metroparks opens new 25-acre Brighton Park
Cleveland Metroparks is celebrating the opening of the new, 25-acre park dubbed Brighton Park in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood on the West Side. It connects the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail and Cleveland Metroparks Zoo to Brookside. The area is the site of the former Henninger landfill, which the nonprofit Western Reserve Land Conservancy bought. The Metroparks says it got funding from local, state, and federal environmental and remediation programs to turn the land into a park.
