Here are your morning headlines for Thursday, July 1:
- DeWine signs new two-year budget with 14 vetoes
- Nursing home care standards closer to being on statewide ballot
- Akron Beacon Journal building among historic preservation tax credit recipients
- Another mild algae bloom forecast for Lake Erie this summer
- Masks or proof of vaccination required at Stark County Courthouse
- DeWine expected to sign judicial party affiliation bill
- Aultman CEO Roth steps down
DeWine signs new two-year budget
(Statehouse News Bureau) -- At around 2 a.m. on the day it goes into effect, Gov. Mike DeWine signed Ohio's new two-year state budget bill into law. He issued 14 line-item vetoes, including the erasing of bars’ COVID-19 violations and the refunding of their fines to them. He also struck the proposal to allow only the House Speaker and Senate President to hire private attorneys in potential lawsuits over new Congressional and Statehouse district maps. He also vetoed a re-do of the Medicaid procurement process, which advocates said would have caused delays and could have endangered kids in the new OhioRISE program for children with complex and costly behavioral and mental health issues. The main elements – a 3% income tax cut and a new school funding plan – stay.
Nursing home care standards closer to being on statewide ballot
(Statehouse News Bureau) -- A proposed constitutional amendment that would establish minimum staffing levels for care for Ohio’s nursing homes is one step closer to making the ballot. The Attorney General’s office has approved the petition summary of the “Nursing Facility Patients’ Bill of Rights.” It would require the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Board of Nursing to establish minimum care standards for patients at skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers. If the ballot board gives its blessing, backers must collect nearly 443,000 signatures from half of Ohio’s counties. There wouldn’t be enough time for it to be on this fall’s ballot but it could be on the ballot next year.
Akron Beacon Journal building among historic preservation tax credit recipients
(WKSU) -- A project that will turn the Akron Beacon Journal Building in downtown Akron into more than 100 residential units is among those receiving historic preservation state tax credits. Seven projects in Northeast Ohio are receiving a total of $14 million, including renovations to the complex attached to the Agora Theatre in Cleveland’s Midtown neighborhood and renovations to 55 Public Square downtown, the former Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. headquarters. And Canton’s first skyscraper, the Renkert Building will be renovated into a hotel.
Another mild algae bloom forecast for Lake Erie this summer
(AP) — Researchers are expecting another mild algae outbreak on Lake Erie this summer. They expect it to be the first time in more than a decade that the lake will see back-to-back years of mild algae blooms. That’s the good news. But scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say it doesn’t mean the shallowest of the Great Lakes is turning the corner just yet. The rosy outlook this year is mainly due to a lack of heavy rains this spring. Ohio’s leaders have been under pressure to combat the blooms since algae toxins in 2014 left more than 400,000 people unable to drink their tap water.
Masks or proof of vaccination required at Stark County Courthouse
(Canton Repository) -- While lawmakers are fighting vaccine requirements at schools and businesses, one place that will require proof of vaccine if you want to enter without a mask is the Stark County Courthouse. The Canton Repository reports that those entering the building will need to produce a completed vaccination card or wear a mask. Canton Municipal Court in is not enforcing the proof of vaccination.
DeWine expected to sign judicial party affiliation bill
(WKSU) -- The long tradition in Ohio of shielding the political affiliations of top judicial candidates on the general election ballot will soon end. Gov. Mike DeWine says he will sign legislation that would list whether Supreme Court candidates are Democrats or Republicans. The new law will also apply to state appellate court seats, but not in local judicial races. Ohio is the only U.S. state to require judicial candidates to run in partisan primaries, but then appear without party labels on the November ballot.
Aultman CEO Roth steps down
(Canton Repository) – The longtime president and CEO of Aultman Health Foundation is stepping down. Ed Roth has been with Aultman since 1981 and became president and CEO in 2001. He’ll stay with the foundation to help with his successor’s transition, Aultcare insurance president and CEO, Rick Haines.
