June 15, 2012, Marion Star
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
NEWARK - U.S. Sen. Rob Portman's appearances around Ohio with GOP
presidential candidate Mitt Romney are, in a way, an audition for the
vice presidency.
The Romney campaign will be watching Portman's campaign style, and critiquing his ability to stay on message.
The pair will stop in Newark Sunday for a rally on the Licking County Courthouse Square, among other stops.
Read more in the Marion Star.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Health care law ruling a concern for Fairfield County hospitals
June 10, 2012, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Ohio's community hospitals eagerly are awaiting the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and its insurance mandate.
If the court affirms the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and mandate, hospitals expect to be paid for more patients, although lower government reimbursement rates will cut into those revenues.
If justices rule against the mandate, hospitals face continued demand for uncompensated care to the uninsured, lower reimbursements and a renewed political fight over how to care for their communities at a time of rapid change, increasing costs and, in some markets, more competition.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Ohio's community hospitals eagerly are awaiting the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and its insurance mandate.
If the court affirms the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and mandate, hospitals expect to be paid for more patients, although lower government reimbursement rates will cut into those revenues.
If justices rule against the mandate, hospitals face continued demand for uncompensated care to the uninsured, lower reimbursements and a renewed political fight over how to care for their communities at a time of rapid change, increasing costs and, in some markets, more competition.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Coming soon: grades for teachers
June 3, 2012, Chillicothe Gazette
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
The education community has known teacher evaluations were coming for quite some time.
Even so, many fear the deadline for establishing an evaluation system is coming up too quickly and amid too many other changes.
All school districts must have teacher evaluation systems in place by the 2013-14 school year.
The teacher evaluations come as other major education reforms also are being implemented. These include new curriculum standards and new assessments, which are expected to be in place by the 2014-15 school year.
Read more in the Chillicothe Gazette.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
The education community has known teacher evaluations were coming for quite some time.
Even so, many fear the deadline for establishing an evaluation system is coming up too quickly and amid too many other changes.
All school districts must have teacher evaluation systems in place by the 2013-14 school year.
The teacher evaluations come as other major education reforms also are being implemented. These include new curriculum standards and new assessments, which are expected to be in place by the 2014-15 school year.
Read more in the Chillicothe Gazette.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Protecting officers goal of Blue Alert
June 2, 2012, Port Clinton News Herald
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
If a police officer goes missing, or if one has been injured with a suspect at large, Ohio now has a tool to alert the public.
It's called a Blue Alert, and after a test showed no issues with it Friday, it is now live.
Managed by the Ohio Department of Public Safety and the Ohio Amber Alert Steering Committee, it works like this: Once an officer is missing or injured, public safety officials enter the details into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System.
Read more in the Port Clinton News Herald.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
If a police officer goes missing, or if one has been injured with a suspect at large, Ohio now has a tool to alert the public.
It's called a Blue Alert, and after a test showed no issues with it Friday, it is now live.
Managed by the Ohio Department of Public Safety and the Ohio Amber Alert Steering Committee, it works like this: Once an officer is missing or injured, public safety officials enter the details into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System.
Read more in the Port Clinton News Herald.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Concealed carry law variations create confusion
May 29, 2012, Chillicothe Gazette
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
If an Ohio concealed carry permit holder drives to Pennsylvania and gets out of his or her car with a weapon, that's breaking the law. Or vice versa.
If a sportsman preloads his rifle magazines and then drives to the shooting range with the matching weapon, he's also breaking the law.
These are all issues state Rep. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, is trying to address in House Bill 495, which is in front of the Ohio House State Government and Elections Committee.
Read more in the Chillicothe Gazette.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
If an Ohio concealed carry permit holder drives to Pennsylvania and gets out of his or her car with a weapon, that's breaking the law. Or vice versa.
If a sportsman preloads his rifle magazines and then drives to the shooting range with the matching weapon, he's also breaking the law.
These are all issues state Rep. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, is trying to address in House Bill 495, which is in front of the Ohio House State Government and Elections Committee.
Read more in the Chillicothe Gazette.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Deer forcing park leaders to protect trees
May 27, 2012, Lancaster Eagle Gazette
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
With 4,500 unique types of trees, Dawes Arboretum is like a Vegas-style all-you-can-eat buffet for the state's increased deer population.
Director of horticulture Mike Ecker has tried a number of tactics to keep them away. But here's the thing about the four-legged herbivores: They're smart little buggers. Ecker, who has been at the Newark arboretum since 1983, has tried a number of tactics. He tried putting garlic cloves around the plants. That didn't work. He tried baiting an electric fence with peanut butter. After some trial and error, the deer ignored the peanut butter and hopped the fence.
He hung deodorant soap on the plants, hoping the strange scent would throw them off. A couple years later, not only did the deer come back to the plants, but they realized the soap itself didn't taste that bad.
Two things have worked, Ecker said: Placing physical barriers around the trees, and allowing a limited number of people around the grounds each year for a bow hunt.
As a whole, Ohio's recreational areas are dealing with an increased deer population. The population peaked in the late 2000s. While it has since decreased in many counties, it is still much higher than the goal population, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Read more in the Lancaster Eagle Gazette.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
With 4,500 unique types of trees, Dawes Arboretum is like a Vegas-style all-you-can-eat buffet for the state's increased deer population.
Director of horticulture Mike Ecker has tried a number of tactics to keep them away. But here's the thing about the four-legged herbivores: They're smart little buggers. Ecker, who has been at the Newark arboretum since 1983, has tried a number of tactics. He tried putting garlic cloves around the plants. That didn't work. He tried baiting an electric fence with peanut butter. After some trial and error, the deer ignored the peanut butter and hopped the fence.
He hung deodorant soap on the plants, hoping the strange scent would throw them off. A couple years later, not only did the deer come back to the plants, but they realized the soap itself didn't taste that bad.
Two things have worked, Ecker said: Placing physical barriers around the trees, and allowing a limited number of people around the grounds each year for a bow hunt.
As a whole, Ohio's recreational areas are dealing with an increased deer population. The population peaked in the late 2000s. While it has since decreased in many counties, it is still much higher than the goal population, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Read more in the Lancaster Eagle Gazette.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Sponsor still pushing for drug tests tied to benefits
May 17, 2012, Bucyrus Telegraph Forum
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
COLUMBUS -- Two courts in other states have struck down similar measures and, here in Ohio, Gov. John Kasich has reservations.
Yet state Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, still is plugging away at a proposal to require drug tests for some welfare recipients.
Schaffer introduced the measure more than a year ago. It was thrust back into the spotlight this week after lawmakers put it in the midterm budget bill, but then pulled it after Kasich had concerns and indicated he would rather work them out through separate legislation.
Schaffer will pursue the proposal as a separate piece of legislation, but what he is asking for now is significantly watered down from his original intent.
Read more in the Bucyrus Telegraph Forum.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
COLUMBUS -- Two courts in other states have struck down similar measures and, here in Ohio, Gov. John Kasich has reservations.
Yet state Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, still is plugging away at a proposal to require drug tests for some welfare recipients.
Schaffer introduced the measure more than a year ago. It was thrust back into the spotlight this week after lawmakers put it in the midterm budget bill, but then pulled it after Kasich had concerns and indicated he would rather work them out through separate legislation.
Schaffer will pursue the proposal as a separate piece of legislation, but what he is asking for now is significantly watered down from his original intent.
Read more in the Bucyrus Telegraph Forum.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Higher number of premature babies has doctors scrambling for answers
May 14, 2012, Chillicothe Gazette
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Fertility drugs and procedures have caused more babies to be born prematurely in recent years, experts say.
Other factors are in play, too -- ones that doctors are struggling to define and prove.
In 2011, 12 percent of babies were born premature, according to data from the Ohio Department of Health.
Although down slightly from 2010, the number has increased from 9 percent in 1990.
Mark Klebanoff, director of the Ohio Perinatal Research Network at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, said it's a reason for concern because other developed countries have a much lower rate of premature births.
Read more in the Chillicothe Gazette.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Fertility drugs and procedures have caused more babies to be born prematurely in recent years, experts say.
Other factors are in play, too -- ones that doctors are struggling to define and prove.
In 2011, 12 percent of babies were born premature, according to data from the Ohio Department of Health.
Although down slightly from 2010, the number has increased from 9 percent in 1990.
Mark Klebanoff, director of the Ohio Perinatal Research Network at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, said it's a reason for concern because other developed countries have a much lower rate of premature births.
Read more in the Chillicothe Gazette.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Zanesville area teachers use technology to flip classroom
May 9, 2012, Zanesville Times-Recorder
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Tami Fitzgerald spends virtually no time lecturing to her Advanced Placement physics class.
At least, not in person.
Instead, she comes into the students' study halls and living rooms by way of videocast. Students watch her lectures instead of the usual homework.
When they come to class the next day, they work on assignments that traditionally would have been assigned as homework.
It's called a flipped classroom, and as technology continues to advance it's emerging in kindergarten- through-12th-grade schools.
Read more in the Zanesville Times-Recorder.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Tami Fitzgerald spends virtually no time lecturing to her Advanced Placement physics class.
At least, not in person.
Instead, she comes into the students' study halls and living rooms by way of videocast. Students watch her lectures instead of the usual homework.
When they come to class the next day, they work on assignments that traditionally would have been assigned as homework.
It's called a flipped classroom, and as technology continues to advance it's emerging in kindergarten- through-12th-grade schools.
Read more in the Zanesville Times-Recorder.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Schools look for solutions to challenges of new technology
May 7, 2012, Chillicothe Gazette
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Back in the good ol' days when a cellphone could only call and text, defining on and off school grounds was as simple as drawing a line.
But now, in the age of smartphones and Facebook, school districts are struggling with how to address use of these technologies.
This year, school districts are rewriting policies to comply with two new rules. The first is the Jessica Logan Act, signed into law in February, which requires school districts to address cyberbullying.
The second is a Federal Communications Commission regulation that requires any school getting federal technology funding to educate students about online identity and education.
These two new rules, plus a growing reliance on social media for communication and organization, is causing school districts to rethink their policies.
Read more in the Chillicothe Gazette.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Back in the good ol' days when a cellphone could only call and text, defining on and off school grounds was as simple as drawing a line.
But now, in the age of smartphones and Facebook, school districts are struggling with how to address use of these technologies.
This year, school districts are rewriting policies to comply with two new rules. The first is the Jessica Logan Act, signed into law in February, which requires school districts to address cyberbullying.
The second is a Federal Communications Commission regulation that requires any school getting federal technology funding to educate students about online identity and education.
These two new rules, plus a growing reliance on social media for communication and organization, is causing school districts to rethink their policies.
Read more in the Chillicothe Gazette.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Lawmakers could impose Internet café moratorium
Apr. 30, 2012, Chillicothe Gazette
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
As lawmakers wade through the murky waters of regulating Internet cafés, they could impose a moratorium on any new ones opening in the state until July 2013.
The Ohio Senate might add this measure into an existing bill that establishes regulations for the Casino Control Commission, House Bill 386, which already passed the Ohio House without the moratorium.
Read more in the Chillicothe Gazette.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
As lawmakers wade through the murky waters of regulating Internet cafés, they could impose a moratorium on any new ones opening in the state until July 2013.
The Ohio Senate might add this measure into an existing bill that establishes regulations for the Casino Control Commission, House Bill 386, which already passed the Ohio House without the moratorium.
Read more in the Chillicothe Gazette.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Association challenges Ohio residents to get by on $4.60 per day for food
Apr. 29, 2012, Chillicothe Gazette
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
How much food can $23 buy one person? Five days worth, perhaps?
The Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies is challenging Ohioans to live off this meager grocery budget this Monday through Friday to boost understanding about those living in poverty.
Read more in the Chillicothe Gazette.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
How much food can $23 buy one person? Five days worth, perhaps?
The Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies is challenging Ohioans to live off this meager grocery budget this Monday through Friday to boost understanding about those living in poverty.
Read more in the Chillicothe Gazette.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
State may change pension requirements for teachers
Apr. 26, 2012, Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Teachers may have to work longer and pay more into their pension system if a proposal to the Ohio Legislature is accepted.
The Legislature is moving on public pension reform, and three of the funds have updated their proposals. The most significant updates are in the State Teachers Retirement System, or STRS.
These reforms are happening because three of the five pension systems don't meet the state-required obligation of being able to pay off all their benchmarks within 30 years. All funds recognize changes need to be made for long-term stability.
Read more in the Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Teachers may have to work longer and pay more into their pension system if a proposal to the Ohio Legislature is accepted.
The Legislature is moving on public pension reform, and three of the funds have updated their proposals. The most significant updates are in the State Teachers Retirement System, or STRS.
These reforms are happening because three of the five pension systems don't meet the state-required obligation of being able to pay off all their benchmarks within 30 years. All funds recognize changes need to be made for long-term stability.
Read more in the Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Program helps older adults find work
Rick Morrison's idea of retirement means taking classes and eventually starting a new career.
It's a path many people older than 50 are taking. Either by choice or by force, they've ended one professional chapter in their lives, but they're either unable or unwilling to just kick back on a Florida beach.
For many such as Morrison, the first step in starting a new life after retirement means going back to school.
Ohio campuses report that the older than-50 student population has increased, so colleges have had to adapt to the changing demographics.
On Thursday, Morrison sat on a bench outside Zane State College in Zanesville, enjoying the warm weather. Morrison, 58, of New Concord, retired from the banking industry several years ago, but not working isn't an option.
Read more in the Chillicothe Gazette.
It's a path many people older than 50 are taking. Either by choice or by force, they've ended one professional chapter in their lives, but they're either unable or unwilling to just kick back on a Florida beach.
For many such as Morrison, the first step in starting a new life after retirement means going back to school.
Ohio campuses report that the older than-50 student population has increased, so colleges have had to adapt to the changing demographics.
On Thursday, Morrison sat on a bench outside Zane State College in Zanesville, enjoying the warm weather. Morrison, 58, of New Concord, retired from the banking industry several years ago, but not working isn't an option.
Read more in the Chillicothe Gazette.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Ohio considering workers' comp reform
Apr. 19, 2012, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Ohio lawmakers want to attract more employers to the state, and one key to doing so is improving the state's workers' compensation system.
State Rep. Jay Hottinger, R-Newark, is overseeing hearings on three bills that would do just that. Hottinger is chairman of the House Insurance Committee.
The bills do not involve privatization of or competition for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation.
The state's main goal is to make sure injured employees get access to better medical care so they can go back to work sooner, Hottinger said.
Read more in the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Ohio lawmakers want to attract more employers to the state, and one key to doing so is improving the state's workers' compensation system.
State Rep. Jay Hottinger, R-Newark, is overseeing hearings on three bills that would do just that. Hottinger is chairman of the House Insurance Committee.
The bills do not involve privatization of or competition for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation.
The state's main goal is to make sure injured employees get access to better medical care so they can go back to work sooner, Hottinger said.
Read more in the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Parole getting harder to come by
Apr. 16, 2012, Port Clinton News Herald
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Ohio's longest-serving prisoners are finding it increasingly difficult to get out on parole, an opportunity not even afforded most of those sent to prison since 1996.
In 2011, just 7 percent of the 1,918 inmates getting release consideration hearings were paroled. This compares to 20 percent of the 2,121 inmates getting hearings the previous year. In years before that, the number was closer to 50 percent.
The drop in release rates comes as Ohio officials strive to decrease the prison population despite the 1996 sentencing law which ended parole for any future sentence.
Columbus defense attorney Barry Wilford said these are the toughest times he's known to be an inmate facing the board, because the board has gotten tougher. Wilford is also the Public Policy Director for the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
But JoEllen Smith, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said that after 16 years all the inmates likely to be paroled have been released already, leaving behind 3,200 of the state's worst inmates to cycle through the process again and again.
Read more in the Port Clinton News Herald.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Ohio's longest-serving prisoners are finding it increasingly difficult to get out on parole, an opportunity not even afforded most of those sent to prison since 1996.
In 2011, just 7 percent of the 1,918 inmates getting release consideration hearings were paroled. This compares to 20 percent of the 2,121 inmates getting hearings the previous year. In years before that, the number was closer to 50 percent.
The drop in release rates comes as Ohio officials strive to decrease the prison population despite the 1996 sentencing law which ended parole for any future sentence.
Columbus defense attorney Barry Wilford said these are the toughest times he's known to be an inmate facing the board, because the board has gotten tougher. Wilford is also the Public Policy Director for the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
But JoEllen Smith, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said that after 16 years all the inmates likely to be paroled have been released already, leaving behind 3,200 of the state's worst inmates to cycle through the process again and again.
Read more in the Port Clinton News Herald.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Eyes on secured units after man's escape
Apr. 13, 2012, Newark Advocate
By JESSICA ALAIMO
CentralOhio.com
HEATH -- Ohio nursing homes don't have to accept potentially dangerous and violent patients like the man who escaped from a secured unit in a Heath facility Thursday, forcing schools to close and putting residents on edge.
John J. Stroud, 53, was found in Heath and taken into custody Thursday night.
The Heath Nursing Care Center could have refused care for Stroud if staff didn't think they could provide the necessary level of security, said Jane Straker, a senior research scholar at Miami University's Gerontology Center.
Locked units are common in nursing homes across the state, but they are not for prisoners. They're for people who need specialized care in a secure setting, and those living there are free to sign out -- either on their own or with permission of a family member -- at any time.
Read more in the Newark Advocate.
By JESSICA ALAIMO
CentralOhio.com
HEATH -- Ohio nursing homes don't have to accept potentially dangerous and violent patients like the man who escaped from a secured unit in a Heath facility Thursday, forcing schools to close and putting residents on edge.
John J. Stroud, 53, was found in Heath and taken into custody Thursday night.
The Heath Nursing Care Center could have refused care for Stroud if staff didn't think they could provide the necessary level of security, said Jane Straker, a senior research scholar at Miami University's Gerontology Center.
Locked units are common in nursing homes across the state, but they are not for prisoners. They're for people who need specialized care in a secure setting, and those living there are free to sign out -- either on their own or with permission of a family member -- at any time.
Read more in the Newark Advocate.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Legislators take shot at regulating Internet cafes
Apr. 11, 2012, Fremont News-Messenger
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Lawmakers are taking yet another spin at regulating Internet cafes and their sweepstakes.
Sen. Joe Schiavoni, D-Canfield, has introduced a bill that would require licensing of Internet cafes, which have popped up across Ohio, and allow municipalities to regulate them within city limits.
Other bills to regulate these cafes have fallen short because lawmakers couldn't agree on the extent of the regulation, or if the cafes should even be allowed to exist in the first place...
Read more in the Fremont News Messenger.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Lawmakers are taking yet another spin at regulating Internet cafes and their sweepstakes.
Sen. Joe Schiavoni, D-Canfield, has introduced a bill that would require licensing of Internet cafes, which have popped up across Ohio, and allow municipalities to regulate them within city limits.
Other bills to regulate these cafes have fallen short because lawmakers couldn't agree on the extent of the regulation, or if the cafes should even be allowed to exist in the first place...
Read more in the Fremont News Messenger.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Texting-while-driving ban stalls in the Ohio Senate
Apr. 9, 2012, Mansfield News Journal
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Most House members backed it. Key advocacy groups are calling for it. Yet a bill to ban texting while driving in Ohio is sitting at a very long red light.
The Ohio House passed the measure 88-10 last June, but it has since stalled in a Senate committee.
There are two reasons for the holdup...
Read more in the Mansfield News Journal.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Most House members backed it. Key advocacy groups are calling for it. Yet a bill to ban texting while driving in Ohio is sitting at a very long red light.
The Ohio House passed the measure 88-10 last June, but it has since stalled in a Senate committee.
There are two reasons for the holdup...
Read more in the Mansfield News Journal.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Ohio college students save money by working quickly
Apr. 7, 2012, Port Clinton News Herald
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Kaytlyn Tracy hasn't had a lot of time to be a college student.
Instead of partying, going out on Thursday nights and joining a sorority, Tracy has kept her head down and focused on getting her college career done in three years instead of four.
She's eager to graduate early from Kent State University with a psychology degree so she can move to North Carolina to be with her husband, who is in the Marines...
Read more in the Port Clinton News Herald.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
Kaytlyn Tracy hasn't had a lot of time to be a college student.
Instead of partying, going out on Thursday nights and joining a sorority, Tracy has kept her head down and focused on getting her college career done in three years instead of four.
She's eager to graduate early from Kent State University with a psychology degree so she can move to North Carolina to be with her husband, who is in the Marines...
Read more in the Port Clinton News Herald.
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