Could Jordan lose district in debt fight?

July 30, 2011, Mansfield News Journal

By Jessica Alaimo and Bryan Bullock

News Journal

MANSFIELD — Some believe there could be backlash against Republican Party leadership if U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan loses his seat in the redistricting process.

Jordan, R-Urbana, is at odds with U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, also of Ohio, over raising the federal debt ceiling.

Jordan, who leads the 176-member Republican Study Committee, urged the more conservative GOP members to oppose Boehner’s plan.

10 changes coming to Ohio elections

June 26, 2011, Coshocton Tribune

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

When you vote next year, you’ll likely see some notable changes. Ohioans might be voting in different precincts or even in different districts for Congress and the Ohio General Assembly.

The rules could change for voting early, by absentee ballot, or casting a provisional ballot.

The Ohio Senate passed sweeping changes to Ohio’s election laws Thursday evening. A similar version of the bill passed the House in May. The bill now will go back to the House for concurrence, then to Gov. John Kasich for his signature.

Rep. Robert Mecklenborg, R-Green Township, sponsored the overhaul, and fellow Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted supports many — but not all — of the measures. Republicans tout the bil as “incorporating 21^st Century technology and establishing much needed uniformity throughout all 88 counties in Ohio.”

Any voting law changes will be in addition to the redistricting that is done every 10 years.

Advocacy groups have grave concerns about some of the proposals, saying they might keep minorities and those in poverty from voting and increase voter confusion.

Some AEP clients may see rate hike

June 19, 2011, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

American Electric Power wants to raise its rates on customers and decrease rates for small businesses.

The utility has submitted a plan for approval by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which will make a decision by the end of the year.

AEP said an increase in costs and new environmental mandates are behind the increase. A consumer watchdog agency said unnecessary additional costs might be in the plan.

Fewer train crashes in Ohio in the 2000s

June 8, 2011, Port Clinton News Herald

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

There were half as many rail-car crashes in Ohio last year compared with a decade ago, despite an increase in train traffic. State officials say this is because of better warning systems at crossings.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio released its 2010 railroad statistics, which showed 64 car-rail crashes in 2010, down from 123 in 2001. Fatal crashes statewide fell from 13 in 2001 to four in 2010.

Gasoline costs more in Midwest

June 7, 2011, Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum

By Greg Gardner and Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

Gas prices in the Midwest are higher than those in the rest of the country.

Late Monday afternoon, the average for Ohio was $3.86 – 10 cents per gallon above the national average, according to GasBuddy.com.

At this time last year, gas prices were about $2.60 per gallon in the Buckeye State.

There's no one factor contributing to the spiking prices, other than a whole lot of bad luck at the refineries that supply the oil, said Kimberly Schwind, a spokeswoman for the AAA Ohio Auto Club.

GOP moving too fast on union bill, some Republicans complain

June 6, 2011, Newark Advocate

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

A measure to overhaul Ohio’s collective bargaining laws is being rushed through the Legislature too fast, some Republican state senators say.

The bill, which would limit the scope of issues public employees could bargain on and prohibit strikes, was approved by the Ohio Senate three weeks after it was introduced by state Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Springboro.

It passed through committee and the full Senate on Wednesday despite requests for additional hearings. The bill now before the Ohio House.

State Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chesterland, said Senate Republicans didn’t even meet in caucus to discuss the final version of the bill before it hit the floor. Grendell was one of six Republicans opposing the bill.

With no state mandate, Ohio’s gifted children may see services cut

June 4, 2011, Port Clinton News Herald

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

Rayne Wilson hid behind his mom on the couch, scared to talk to the company in the room.

His younger brother explained a computer game where players build a world around four basic elements. It requires math. It requires logic.

“I only made it to Level 2,” 6-year-old Brayson said.

The urge to brag finally was enough to break his silence.

“I made it to Level 11,” Rayne said.

When it comes to anything numerical or measurable, Rayne is brilliant. At age 7, he knows the full multiplication table. Give him a date two years out, he’ll tell you what day of the week it falls on — even accounting for the leap year. One day he visited his brother’s karate studio. His mother saved the map of the room that he drew from memory — done to scale.

Rayne is fortunate. Next year, a gifted specialist at Bucyrus Elementary School will work with him and his teachers to accommodate his skills. He’ll be in second grade, but move up to a third-grade math class.

Across the state, however, budget-crunched school districts are cutting their gifted staff, and the proposed state budget could eliminate dedicated gifted students.