Here are your morning headlines for Tuesday, Feb. 18:
- Last day to register for Ohio primary;
- LaRose asks Kent State to cancel Fonda's speech;
- Ex-fugitive broker in 1990s Ponzi scheme to be re-sentenced;
- University of Akron invites public to meet provst candidates;
- Northeast Ohio congresswomen endorse levy on March ballot;
- Televangelist, ex-pastor settle lawsuit alleging sex abuse;
- US judge dismisses lawsuit over transgender pronoun dispute;
- Authorities catch two of five escaped Stark County inmates;
- Speke's gazelle calf is Akron Zoo's first in 66 years;
Last day to register for Ohio primary
Tuesday is the last day to register to vote for Ohio's March 17 primary. You can register to vote online through the Ohio Secretary of State’s website. Residents must provide their name, date of birth, address, driver’s license or Ohio ID card number, and the last four digits of their Social Security number. You can also print out a paper form, fill it out and deliver it to your county board of elections. Early voting in Ohio kicks off Wednesday and ends March 16. You can either mail in your absentee ballot or vote in person at your county board of elections.
LaRose asks Kent State to cancel Fonda's speech
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is asking Kent State to cancel actress Jane Fonda's speech for the 50th commemoration of May 4. LaRose tweeted at the university Sunday saying Fonda betrayed service members and shouldn't be allowed to speak. He's referring to a photograph taken in 1970 of Fonda on top of an anti-aircraft gun during a visit to North Vietnam. In an emailed statement Monday, Kent State said speakers for the event were carefully chosen to honor the fallen and wounded students and to promote civil dialogue. The university is paying Fonda $83,000.
Ex-fugitive broker in 1990s Ponzi scheme to be re-sentenced
A former Northeast Ohio securities broker will be resentenced for a Ponzi scheme that victimized hundreds of investors in the 1990s. Prosecutors said Eric Bartoli, 65, and his co-conspirators swindled U.S. and Latin American investors out of tens of millions of dollars by selling unregistered securities. The ex-fugitive pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges in 2016 and was given 20 years in prison. A judge has vacated that sentence after prosecutors recently conceded that incorrect maximum penalties were considered in determining the punishment. It's unclear whether that will mean a shorter sentence.
University of Akron invites public to meet provost candidates
The University of Akron has invited three external candidates to its campus as it seeks to fill the open provost position. The finalists include chemistry professor Susan Stapleton from Western Michigan University, University of Idaho Provost John Wiencek and former Howard University Engineering Dean Achille Messac. The candidates will be on campus over the next two weeks and community members are being invited to conversations at the student union.
Northeast Ohio congresswomen endorse levy on March ballot
Two Northeast Ohio Decmoratic Congresswomen are endorsing Cuyahoga County’s health and human services tax levy on the March ballot. Marcia Fudge and Marcy Kaptur told Cleveland.com the levy would help combat the county's high infant mortality rate and help thousands in poverty. The Cuyahoga County Mayors and City Managers Association voiced its support for the levy earlier this month. Issue 33 is a replacement and increase that would generate more than $35 million each year to help people with mental illness, along with senior citizens and foster children. It would cost the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $41 per year.
Televangelist, ex-pastor settle lawsuit alleging sex abuse
A South Carolina man who claimed he was sexually abused and harassed by televangelist Ernest Angley at his Cuyahoga Falls Grace Cathedral has reached a confidential settlement with the megachurch. Brock Miller of Myrtle Beach alleged the abuse began in 2004 and continued over a decade. The Beacon Journal reports a counterclaim by the church contended those allegations were false. The confidential settlement includes a nondisparagement clause. The case against the Angley, 98, was to have started Monday.
US judge dismisses lawsuit over transgender pronoun dispute
A judge has dismissed a professor's lawsuit against a small, public university in Ohio that rebuked him for not addressing a transgender student using the student's preferred gender terms. Nicholas Meriwether's federal lawsuit alleged that Shawnee State University officials violated his rights by compelling him to speak in a way that contradicts his Christian beliefs. The school contended such language was part of his job responsibilities, not speech protected by the First Amendment. A federal judge agreed that the manner in which Meriwether addressed the student wasn't protected under the First Amendment.
Authorities catch two of five escaped Stark County inmates
Authorities have caught two of the five inmates who escaped from a Canton correctional facility last week. The inmates are accused of breaking a window and escaping the Stark County Regional Community Correction Center. Vincent Blanc of Canton, Jason Drake of Waynesburg and Michael Fisher of Massillon are still on the loose. Police are also searching for one other inmate who never returned from a supervised release Sunday. Helina Marie Roethel was reported missing by authorities Monday.
Speke's gazelle calf is Akron Zoo's first in 66 years
The Akron Zoo has welcomed a Speke's gazelle calf for the first time in 66 years. Cleveland.com reports the female calf Aluna was born last month. The zoo says she's doing great with her parents Gambella and Gondar. The gazelles are one of the latest additions that came with the Pride of Africa exhibit last year. The Speke's are the smallest species of gazelles and only 10 other zoos in North America have them. The zoos have been breeding them to save the species whose population has decreased by 50% since the 80s.
