Here are your morning headlines for Friday, July 2:
- Fines to remain for COVID rule-breaking businesses
- Akron’s Summit Lake Nature Center opens
- 'Hillbilly Elegy' author JD Vance joins US Senate campaign
- DeWine insists docs won't discriminate due to provision in new budget
- Akron-Canton Foodbank opens Stark campus
- Shot that injured Cleveland officer came from her partner
- Ohio schools chief announces he'll step down in September
- Summit County makes Juneteenth an official holiday
Fines to remain for COVID rule-breaking businesses
(AP) — Gov. Mike DeWine has vetoed a proposal by fellow Republicans to repay fines to companies cited for violating public health orders during the coronavirus pandemic. The governor says such a move sends a “horrible” message to the vast majority of businesses that did the right thing in following state efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. The measure was included in the two-year, $75 billion state budget which DeWine signed into law early Thursday morning. The governor also vetoed a Republican proposal to allow legislative leaders to intervene in lawsuits over the state's redistricting process.
Akron’s Summit Lake Nature Center opens
(WKSU) — Summit MetroParks’ new Nature Center is officially open at Akron’s Summit Lake. The nature center offers a panoramic view of the lake, as well as exhibits that highlight the area’s history and ecology. At the grand opening, city and county officials lauded the MetroParks’ efforts to refurbish the building, which was used to pump water to the city’s rubber factories until the 1960s. The Summit Lake pump house was built in 1911. Funding for the four-year project came from a $1.5 million grant from Reimagining the Civic Commons.
'Hillbilly Elegy' author JD Vance joins US Senate campaign
(AP) -- The venture capitalist and author of “Hillbilly Elegy” has joined the crowded Republican race for the Ohio U.S. Senate seat being left by Rob Portman. JD Vance made the announcement at the steel fabricator Middletown Tube Works in his Ohio hometown Thursday. His book was widely seen in 2016 as helping explain Republican Donald Trump’s appeal to struggling white, working-class voters. Vance would face former state GOP chair Jane Timken, former state Treasurer Josh Mandel and two Cleveland businesspeople, Mike Gibbons and Bernie Moreno, in next year’s primary. The Republican Portman decided in January not to seek a third term.
DeWine insists docs won't discriminate due to provision in new budget
(Statehouse News Bureau) -- Despite pleas from women and minority groups, Gov. Mike DeWine didn’t veto a clause in the new state budget that allows medical professionals to use their “conscience” to refuse to provide treatment to a person. DeWine said on Thursday that it won’t be a problem. He said, for instance, doctors opposed to abortion are not performing those procedures. So, this, he says, would just put what’s happening now into law. But some representatives of groups that represent women and minorities, including fear if a doctor is discriminating against a patient now because of their skin color, gender, or choice of treatment, this would make it legal to continue to do so. They say the language in the measure is too vague and open to interpretation.
Akron-Canton Foodbank opens Stark campus
(The Canton Repository) -- The Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank has opened its new, nearly $7 million Stark County Campus. It features a warehouse, food pantry, and resource center. The food bank launched a fundraising campaign to construct the facility. Canton Mayor Tom Bernabei proclaimed Thursday "food security day" in Canton. The Stark County Stark Community Foundation says that around 15% of Stark County residents and nearly 24% of children are food insecure, meaning they lack reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.
Shot that injured Cleveland officer came from her partner
(AP) -- A prosecutor says a Cleveland police officer wounded in a shootout a year ago was hit by her partner, not the man charged with shooting her. Ballistics tests showed a bullet that hit officer Jennifer Kilnapp came from her partner’s gun in a case of friendly fire. But a prosecutor said Wednesday that Daryl Borden fired at least two shots at the officers last July and bears responsibility because he pulled the gun on them. Borden pleaded guilty and was sentenced Wednesday to 7-10 years in prison.
Ohio schools chief announces he'll step down in September
(AP) -- The state superintendent plans to resign in September after more than five years of leading the Ohio Department of Education. Paolo DeMaria has been superintendent of public instruction since 2016, when the Ohio board of education approved him for the job in a striking unanimous vote. The department says the 58-year-old DeMaria notified the board president on Thursday that he plans to retire from state service, effective Sept. 24. His message included a commitment to support a smooth transition and help ensure continued progress on the strategic education plan that was developed for the state while he was superintendent.
Summit County makes Juneteenth an official holiday
(WKSU) -- Summit County Council this week officially approved legislation making Juneteenth an observed holiday for non-bargaining employees. Juneteenth commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States on June 19. President Joe Biden approved legislation last month declaring it a federal holiday, and Gov. Mike DeWine followed by making it a state holiday. Summit County is giving all non-bargaining county employees a floating holiday to take this year. It will be observed on June 19 starting next year.
