The Statehouse News Bureau

1 week ago | statenews.org | Jo Ingles

A Republican-backed bill making its way through the Ohio Legislature would require schools to display of certain historical documents - and that could include the Ten Commandments. The Ohio Senate Education Committee has held multiple hearings but hasn’t yet voted on the bill from Sen. Terry Johnson (R-McDermott), which would require one of nine historical documents to be displayed in classrooms of public schools.

4 weeks ago | statenews.org | Sarah Donaldson

Ohio House legislators voted Wednesday to advance their own version of lengthy energy generation legislation, which—like the Senate’s—includes an immediate rollback of controversial subsidies to two aging power plants. House Bill 15 got nearly unanimous backing on the floor, but first saw some fierce debate in committee over how best to eliminate bailouts that have cost Ohioans more than $450 million, according to the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel.

4 weeks ago | statenews.org | Tana Weingartner

Librarians at the Westwood and Price Hill branches of the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library got quite a surprise late last year. A copy of "Wild West" by Bertrand W. Sinclair was returned after 98 years. "I've been here a while, and I've seen books come back that were due in the '80s and the '90s and even the '70s, but this is the first time I've come across a book that was almost a century overdue," Christopher Smith, genealogy and research services reference librarian, tells WVXU.

1 month ago | statenews.org | Erin Gottsacker

Brian Ames has spent the last decade filing upwards of 160 lawsuits against local governments. “I go find public bodies that are not following the Open Meetings Act, and I bring cases against them that require them to comply with the law,” he explained. He’s sued school boards, budget commissions, boards of elections and village councils — everywhere from Hamilton County to Ashtabula — for failing to comply with the state’s sunshine laws, which are meant to ensure government transparency.

1 month ago | statenews.org | Sarah Donaldson

Fewer and fewer children statewide are being immunized against preventable diseases, such as polio or measles, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Between the 2023-2024 academic year and the 2024-2025 one, department of health data shows vaccination rates again slid among Ohio kindergarteners. The percentage of students entering school with all their recommended shots fell from 86.2% to 85.4%. Just prior to the pandemic, that figure hovered at nearly 90%.