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.
Monday, April 30, 2012
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.
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