Here are your morning headlines for Tuesday, February 15:
- Hudson mayor quits amid controversies
- House and Senate district maps remain in limbo
- Latest inmate removed from death row via mental illness law
- COVID cases, hospitalizations are the lowest in six months
- Coast guard cautions people to stay off Lake Erie ice
Hudson mayor quits amid controversies
(AP) — Hudson Mayor Craig Shubert has resigned following comments he made that have drawn national attention. During last week’s council meeting, Shubert said allowing ice fishing shanties on a lake could lead to prostitution. In his resignation letter, Shubert said it was an attempt at humor that was misinterpreted. He had previously told local media that the statement was based on stories he had covered as a news reporter. The mayor also made national headlines last fall when he threatened prosecution of school board members over a book in an optional, college-level class that the mayor deemed “child pornography.”
House and Senate district maps remain in limbo
(Statehouse News Bureau) -- State lawmakers that make up the Ohio Redistricting Commission have until Thursday to approve new maps for the state’s Ohio House and Senate districts. The Ohio Supreme Court has twice ruled that the maps approved by Republicans are unconstitutionally gerrymandered. A spokesperson says Gov. Mike DeWine believes the commission should meet and do all they can to follow the constitution and the recent court decision. Democratic commissioners say they should meet as soon as possible. However, there has been no word from Republican House Speaker Bob Cupp, who would have to call a meeting.
Latest inmate removed from death row via mental illness law
(AP) — A new Ohio law prohibiting the execution of people severely mentally ill at the time of their crime has led to the removal of another prisoner from death row. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bill into law last year covering killers diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or delusional disorder. Last month a Stark County judge found that death row inmate David Sneed had schizoaffective disorder when he fatally shot a man in 1984. Sneed was resentenced to life without parole. Last year, judges removed inmates in Butler and Franklin counties from death row after their attorneys successfully argued they met the mental illness criteria.
COVID cases, hospitalizations are the lowest in six months
(WKSU) -- COVID cases in Ohio continue to decline with just 1,300 reported Monday statewide. That’s the lowest daily total in six months. The Beacon Journal reports the number of COVID-19 patients in the four major Akron-area hospitals dropped 44% over the weekend, reaching the lowest number since last July. There were just 35 COVID patients in the four hospitals on Monday. Hospitalizations also decreased statewide.
Coast guard cautions people to stay off Lake Erie ice
(WKSU) -- With warmer weather on the way this week, the Coast Guard is urging people to stay off the ice on Lake Erie. Temperatures will be in the mid-50s on Wednesday and Thursday with rain. The National Weather Service says that means the lake will begin to thaw quickly. In the last couple of weeks, more than a dozen people were rescued from ice floes on Lake Erie.
