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.
Showing posts with label MNCO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MNCO. Show all posts
Thursday, April 26, 2012
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.
Ohio judges bristle at new sentencing reforms
Apr. 7, 2012, Port Clinton News Herald
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
John Elder pleaded guilty to six counts of theft, three counts of insurance fraud and three counts of forgery in February. He stole from his church and defrauded the insurance company he worked for.
The prosecutor wanted to send him to prison. Fairfield County Common Pleas Judge Richard Berens agreed. But first, the judge had to jump through another hoop.
Last year the Ohio General Assembly passed a sweeping sentencing reform designed to reduce the prison population and promote community corrections. House Bill 86 requires judges to first consult with the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction if they want to imprison a first-time, non-violent, low-level felony offender like Elder...
Read more in the Port Clinton News Herald.
By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com
John Elder pleaded guilty to six counts of theft, three counts of insurance fraud and three counts of forgery in February. He stole from his church and defrauded the insurance company he worked for.
The prosecutor wanted to send him to prison. Fairfield County Common Pleas Judge Richard Berens agreed. But first, the judge had to jump through another hoop.
Last year the Ohio General Assembly passed a sweeping sentencing reform designed to reduce the prison population and promote community corrections. House Bill 86 requires judges to first consult with the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction if they want to imprison a first-time, non-violent, low-level felony offender like Elder...
Read more in the Port Clinton News Herald.
Friday, April 6, 2012
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.
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.
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.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
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.
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.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
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.
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.
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.
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.
Monday, March 12, 2012
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.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
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.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
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.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
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.
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