Census: Population in Ohio, area counties grows, but only slightly

Apr. 6, 2012, Lancaster Eagle Gazette

By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com

Central Ohio continues to grow.

Franklin County and surrounding communities in Licking, Fairfield, Knox and Delaware counties all saw population increases between 2010 and 2011, according to estimates released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Officials in Fairfield and Licking counties say Columbus commuters are driving the growth, and the population hikes are a boon to the local economies.

Read more in the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. 

Census: Crawford County lost 366 people

The jobs left the area. And now the population is leaving too.

Crawford and Richland counties lost the third- and fourth-largest percentages of their population between 2010 and 2011 of all Ohio counties, estimates released Thursday from the U.S. Census Bureau show.

Crawford County lost 366 people. Richland County lost 753 people, and Marion County lost 265 people...

Read more in the Bucyrus Telegraph Forum. 

High school harder than it used to be

May 11, 2011, Newark Advocate

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

High school is more difficult than it was in 1990.

Students have to take more classes and more difficult classes.

Some students no longer wait to have a diploma in hand before college begins.

The National Center for Education Statistics examined the transcripts of 2009 high school graduates across the country.

According to the report, students averaged 420 more hours of instruction than those in 1990, with more emphasis on math and science courses.

Sweet home far away from work

Mar. 6, 2011, Marion Star

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

MARION — Jessica Abrams has a job she enjoys.

But to maintain gainful employment, she spends two hours in her car each day. She doesn’t want to move from Marion to Columbus.

The cost of living is lower where she lives, and she prefers the school system. But it puts a strain on her family.

“I don’t think I could find a job here making the kind of money that I do now, but I hope to eventually,” said Abrams, 31.

The average commute for Ohio workers has increased from 20 minutes in 1990 to 22.6 minutes in the past five years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

It doesn’t sound like much on the surface, but that amounts to an additional 21 hours in the car each year.

Child obesity rates stay steady

Mar. 3, 2011, Fremont News-Messenger

By JESSICA ALAIMO

Special to the News-Messenger

Obesity rates among children statewide have stayed relatively steady, a new study from the Ohio Department of Health shows.

About 30 percent of Ohio's third-graders are either overweight or obese, according to the study, conducted during the current school year. This is the same rate found in a 2004 study.

However, some counties have seen great fluctuations. Sandusky and Coshocton counties, for example, had decreases of about 10 percent in overweight and obese children. Butler and Champaign counties had increases of about 15 percent.

Unmarried men outnumber unhitched women

Dec. 18, 2010, Port Clinton News Herald

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

Special to the News Herald

Guys, a word of advice: If you like it, put a ring on it. Because in Ohio, women can be picky — especially those with a college education.

According to data just released in the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, there are more unmarried men than women in Ohio. Statewide, there are 11 unhitched men ages 15 to 44 to every 10 available women.

More men than women have never been married. Only 50 percent of households have a married couple. Only 20 percent of households have a married couple and a child younger than 18, according to the census data.

Pensions lurk over state, local governments

July 24, 2010, Fremont News-Messenger

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

Special to the News-Messenger

The good news first: We’re all living longer.

The bad: It’s costing the state and local governments a ton of money.

Since the average person spends many more years in retirement than in years past, there is a looming question of how to pay for it.

Most private sector employers have responded by dropping the traditional pension plan in favor of a 401(k) system, in addition to Social Security benefits. However, public employees still pay a determined amount into one of Ohio’s five public pension funds throughout their working careers. Then, they are guaranteed a pension for the rest of their life, the amount based on their earnings and years in public service.

That guarantee comes at a price — one that cash-poor state and local governments are struggling to pay for. Unless substantial changes aren’t made to Ohio’s pension systems, the funds will need to come from somewhere.

For taxpayers, that could mean fewer government services, higher taxes or both. For retirees, it could mean working longer before they are eligible to retire, and lower payouts when they do.

Travel is pricey for public workers

Apr. 11, 2010, Marion Star

By Jessica Alaimo and Russ Zimmer

CentralOhio.com

While some money-crunched Ohioans enjoyed the full “staycation” experience in 2008 and 2009, many public employees took business trips.

However, some of these business trips were to Disney World, Palm Springs and points in between, and frequently involved stays at luxury hotels and meals at top-notch restaurants.

It was all on your dime.

Ohioans have a choice to make: Fit or fat?

Jan. 7, 2010, Newark Advocate

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

It’s time to shape up, Ohio. The Buckeye State is tied for 10th in obesity among the 50 states.

Ohio has an obesity rate of 28.7 percent, and Licking County has a rate of 30.1 percent, according to the most recent data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The rate keeps going up, and it is causing medical professionals to worry what the lasting health consequences will be.

In Licking County, the obesity rate has increased four percentage points in three years. It’s an epidemic Dr. James Bacon at the Mid-Ohio Heart Clinic in Mansfield calls distressing.

“It’s a problem that really turns your stomach a bit,” Bacon said.

Fewer Ohioans lighting up than in past

Nov. 20, 2009, Port Clinton News Herald

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

Special to the News Herald

Confronted with a public smoking ban, higher sin taxes and more anti-smoking efforts, fewer Ohioans are lighting up.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 20.2 percent of Ohioans smoked in 2008, a 7.5 percent decline from 2001, when Ohio ranked fourth in the country for smokers. The CDC data goes back to 1998, when the smoking rate was 26.2.

Ohio now has the 17th-highest rate of smokers, according to the study. The CDC reports that 21.5 percent of men in Ohio smoked and 19 percent of women.