Bad tornado season not a given

Tornado season in Ohio and across the country got off to a nasty, early start, but that isn't an indication of a bad season to come, weather experts say.

The early spurt of tornadoes during the unseasonably warm weather this year is unusual but not unprecedented, said Mike Kurz, a National Weather Service forecaster in Wilmington.

Of the 75 tornadoes that raged through the Midwest March 2, seven touched down in Ohio.

Read more in the Marion Star. 

Ohio mulls 'Stand Your Ground' law

A man wearing a hoodie lurking across the street may not be a threat. A man standing 10 feet away wielding a knife may very well be.

Somewhere between those two extremes is a murky gray area that lawmakers and law enforcement attempt to draw a line through.

When is a "threat" legitimate enough to justify deadly force in protecting oneself?

Read more in the Port Clinton News Herald. 

Common Core Standards aim to transform education in state of Ohio

The U.S. economy could grow at a "remarkable increment" if its students were just a little better at math, a group of Harvard researchers recently concluded.

That's one reason Ohio teachers already are learning a new set of curriculum standards that will be in place by 2014 -- the Common Core State Standards.

These standards call for educators to tackle fewer subjects in class, but with more depth. They encourage long-form answers on tests, and teachers using material beyond the textbook. Students will be asked to stop memorizing and start explaining.

Read more in the Zanesville Times Recorder.

Common Core setting a new education standard for Ohio

Place three rectangles of varying shapes and sizes in front of a group of third-graders.

In today's classes, a teacher might ask what the length of one side is, or what the area is. In a year or two, however, the broader question might just be: "What size are these?"

Educators are being asked to teach differently, thanks to the new Common Core State Standards. This means the classroom could operate much differently come 2014 -- although some districts are implementing them sooner.

Read more in the Zanesville Times Recorder.

Argument preferred form of combat for Democrat Jim Reese

COLUMBUS -- There was one more speaker waiting his turn at a February congressional forum in Newark when the crowd began to leave.

The event was sponsored by the Licking County Tea Party in a Republican county, with two GOP contenders debating first.

Disheartened, Democrat Jim Reese, of Gahanna, took the stage alone. His primary opponent was a no-show.

Read more in the Newark Advocate.

Is it a man’s world? Men dominate in Ohio’s legislative elections

Mar. 12, 2012, Coshocton Tribune

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

Politics continues to be a man’s game.

For every one woman seeking a congressional or legislative seat this year in Ohio, three men are running.

Experts give two main reasons for this void. First, not enough women have the right background and experience to run. Second, when they see the increasing polarization and nastiness of today’s political environment, they simply say “no thanks.”

But if fewer women run, fewer women win, and advocacy groups say this affects the debates and policies that come out of Washington and Columbus.

USDA offers job-creation grants to rural areas

Mar. 10, 2012, Coshocton Tribune

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is promoting a grant program that officials hope will spur job creation in rural areas.

The department will hand out $15 million to about 20 entities for marketing and planning efforts through the Jobs and Innovation Accelerator challenge, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in an interview Friday.

Vilsack said development in rural areas is a priority for President Barack Obama’s administration. He said many rural areas struggle with coordinating job creation efforts.

Who will chair GOP's state central committee?

Mar. 8, 2012, Marion Star

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

Even though there were 120 names on ballots Tuesday across the state, the Republican Party’s state central committee races were about only two men — Gov. John Kasich and state party chairman Kevin DeWine.

In that contest, we still don’t know who won, and we won’t for quite some time.

The intra-party dispute goes back to when Kasich first took office and asked DeWine to resign, DeWine told the Ohio News Network in December. When DeWine refused, Kasich backed his own slate of candidates to run for state central committee.

The 66-member committee wields a lot of power within the party. They decide which candidates to endorse, and how to spend party resources. They also pick the state chairman.

Kasich wanted candidates who would support DeWine’s ouster. As of Wednesday afternoon, however, spokesmen for DeWine and Kasich wouldn’t say which candidates were on their respective sides they both declared victory.

Ohio GOP divides between Romney, Santorum

Mar. 7, 2012, Zanesville Times-Recorder

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

A collective opposition to President Barack Obama trumped excitement about any individual hopeful as the reason Republican voters cast primary votes for president Tuesday.

Voters interviewed by Central Ohio.com were divided fairly evenly between GOP presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, with a few Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul supporters thrown in the mix.

However, news reports from across the state suggested voter turnout was low.

For many Ohioans who did vote, they did so strategically.

Tea partiers not as noisy, but still hope to be heard

Mar. 4, 2012, Newark Advocate

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

In 2012, they’ve spent less time chanting “don’t tread on me,” less time painting the words “socialism” and “communism” on signs adorned with Barack Obama’s face, and less time organizing bus trips to Washington.

Some political observers say the tea party is fading into the background, but its members say the movement merely has grown up.

“We’ve changed because we’ve become more sophisticated, more educated,” said Tom Zawistowski, president of the Ohio Liberty Council, a coalition of tea party groups across the state. “We’ve spent two years going to school about how our democracy really works.

“People are confused because they don’t see us standing outside with signs yelling and shouting.”

The main reason for laying down the protest signs, said Chris Littleton, former president of the Ohio Liberty Council, was that the members didn’t think they were having much influence.

“We were naive to think that they (incumbent politicians) cared about our voices,” Littleton said. “They didn’t care about our voices, they cared about how it (the movement) would affect their election.”

So, Littleton said, tea party members stopped protesting, and started campaigning.

Super PACs flood Ohio with cash, negative ads

Mar. 3, 2012, Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

Rick Santorum, despite being outspent by chief rival Mitt Romney, enjoys a lead in the GOP presidential race in Ohio.

But a poll released Friday shows Romney has closed the gap, and one expert says this is because of the barrage of political ads flooding Ohio’s airwaves.

There’s a whole new animal in the 2012 presidential race: the super PAC. These organizations can spend unlimited amounts of money to influence an election, and do not have to disclose their donors.

While these committees existed before, a 2010 Supreme Court decision allowed them to directly support or oppose candidates.

Dispute in GOP adds to drama of local races

Mar. 1, 2012, Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

Residents in certain state Senate districts are getting phone calls, mailers and visits from people seeking a seat on the Republican Party’s State Central Committee.

It’s an oft-overlooked part of the primary ballot. On the 2008 ballot, 37 percent of GOP primary voters left the field blank. In 2010, 28 percent of voters didn’t bother making a choice.

But this year some GOP State Central Committee races are generating a lot of heat, thanks to a spat between Republican Gov. John Kasich and Ohio GOP chairman Kevin DeWine.

DeWine said in December that Kasich asked him to resign after he became governor. DeWine refused.

Kasich then started recruiting candidates to challenge sitting committee members, DeWine told Ohio News Network. The committee selects the party chairman.