Here are your morning headlines for Friday, February 25:
- Ohio Redistricting Commission adopts third set of state legislative maps
- Ohio high court hears lawsuit over company's COVID losses
- Ohio's health leader warns against complacency as COVID situation improves
- Ideastream Public Media announces next phase of merger with WKSU
- Man sentenced for fraudulently obtaining COVID relief funds
Ohio Redistricting Commission adopts third set of state legislative maps
(AP) — Ohio’s political map-making panel has voted to approve legislative maps they hope can pass constitutional muster at the state's high court. GOP members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission released a new plan Thursday giving Republicans a 54-45 Ohio House majority and an 18-15 Ohio Senate majority, by GOP calculations. That comes the closest yet of any GOP-drawn plan matching Ohio’s political breakdown. Democrats disagreed with their calculations. Two previous plans were invalidated as gerrymandered. The commission has been ordered to appear before the Ohio Supreme Court for a hearing on March 1 to explain why it violated a court order to approve new state legislative maps by late last week.
Ohio high court hears lawsuit over company's COVID losses
(AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court is considering whether a Northeast Ohio company that suffered financial losses as a result of a COVID-driven business shutdown can be compensated for those losses by its insurance company. Lawyers for audiology company Neuro-Communication Services argue the company's policy should cover it for losses sustained when Gov. Mike DeWine shut down businesses in the early days of the pandemic. Lawyers for Cincinnati Insurance say the policy covers only accidental physical loss to property, not financial setbacks caused by closing.
Ohio's health leader warns against complacency as COVID situation improves
(Ideastream Public Media) -- As COVID-19 case numbers continue to drop, state health officials say the public should consider the levels of virus transmission in their area when making decisions about going out and masking up. Cuyahoga County is still at a substantial rate of spread, while seven counties – all in Northeast Ohio – have fallen to moderate transmission rates: Summit, Stark, Geauga, Holmes, Lake, Ottawa, and Sandusky. But Ohio health director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff says the rest of the state is still seeing substantial and high levels of transmission and there are no counties in Ohio that currently meet the CDC’s criteria for low levels of COVID-19 transmission.
Ideastream Public Media announces next phase of merger with WKSU
(WKSU) -- The next phase of WKSU’s merger with Ideastream Public Media has been set, and that’s going to mean some important changes on the radio dial for listeners. Ideastream has announced that March 28 will be the date that WKSU becomes the sole provider of NPR news and information for Northeast Ohio. On that day, Ideastream’s classical station, WCLV, will move to 90.3 FM giving the classical station a much broader reach in the region. WCPN will move to 104.9 and join WKSU’s network of transmitters providing coverage of local, national, and global news for listeners in Ideastream’s 22-county broadcast area in Northeast Ohio. In a press release yesterday, Ideastream said the move will create a regional newsroom including a news hub in Akron/Canton and allow for an expansion of newscasts during the week and on the weekends.
Man sentenced for fraudulently obtaining COVID relief funds
(WKSU) -- A Geauga County man has been sentenced to one year in prison for scheming to obtain $60,000 in COVID relief funds. Prosecutors say Robert Bearden, 49, of Chester Township, received the funds by submitting fraudulent disaster loan applications through the U.S. Small Business Administration in 2020. He also used personal information of people interested in the loan assistance program to submit applications on their behalf but directed the funds into his own account. The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS. Bearden was also ordered to pay restitution.
