Jo Ingles

Opponents of commercial dog breeding facilities known as puppy mills say the state’s current laws don’t protect animals enough. So they are trying to put an issue before Ohio voters to let them decide. 

Many Ohioans are not happy about the state’s new report cards after seeing grades for their school districts drop. Some state lawmakers are not happy about the change either.

A bill that would prohibit employers, including hospitals, from requiring workers to get a flu vaccine has passed out of an Ohio House committee. But there are signs that it won’t make it to the full House floor in its current form. 

Though Republican state lawmakers claim to have cut taxes by $5 billion in the last six years, a new group has been set up to fight for lower taxes in Ohio. It's part of the national group Americans for Tax Reform- best known for the anti-tax pledge it asks politicians to sign. 

The state’s highest court has heard arguments about whether to keep open Toledo's only abortion clinic. And the case could affect Ohio's seven other clinics as well. 

Some companies, especially those in the health care fields, require their employees to get flu shots each year. A newly released bill would make it illegal for employers to require employees to get flu shots.  

State lawmakers are once again considering changing regulations on cosmetologists, after eliminating a manager’s license last year. Now, there’s a bill that would reduce the amount of training needed to get a cosmetology license while focusing on developing apprenticeships instead. 

Ohio’s top law enforcement official will serve as co-chair for a campaign to pass Issue 1, a proposed constitutional amendment for crime victims on the statewide ballot this fall. 

Gov. John Kasich has formally signed what’s become known as “Judy’s Law.” It is legislation named for a Columbus woman that imposes longer prison sentences on attackers who intentionally disfigure their victims by using accelerants to set them on fire.  And this law might not be the last to crack down on domestic violence.

It appears the state’s new medical marijuana bill has cleared a hurdle. A public university has stepped forward to volunteer to serve as the state’s medical marijuana testing laboratory. 

After joining the House in voting to override six of Gov. John Kasich’s budget vetoes last month, the state Senate was expected to come back this week to consider overriding more. But the Senate has canceled its planned session. 

There’s a new scam that is prompting Ohioans to give personal information, thinking they are providing it to the health department. But that’s not the case.

A new bipartisan health care reform proposal meant to stabilize the Affordable Care Act urges President Trump and Congressional leaders to take immediate action. The plan put forth by Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich and Colorado’s Democratic Governor, John Hickenlooper, is drawing praise from some other governors too. 

A nationally syndicated tabloid talk show host whose roots are in Ohio could be entering the race for Governor next year. Jerry Springer has talked about politics before but there are now signs that he is seriously considering jumping into the race. 

If you need to fill up your car, you had better do it soon. Gas prices in Ohio are ready to spike up because of flooding caused by what was Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

With the school year starting and many controversial issues on the left and the right to discuss, debate and protest, people have been talking a lot about free speech on college campuses. Two conservative Republican state lawmakers have come up with a new bill that they say will ensure all points of view are represented at Ohio’s public universities. 

Rising sales of booze in the Buckeye State are leaving the state agency that oversees liquor thirsting for more operators. 

When elected office holders run a campaign, they are required by law to keep their campaign staff and messages separate from their official communications. Elected officials who are running for governor next year are handling their social media in different ways – some creating totally new accounts, but some aren’t separating them at all. 

The last county in the nation that didn’t have a private insurance company to choose from on the Affordable Care Act exchange was in Ohio. But now people in that northwest Ohio county have an option. 

Just last year, Ohio replaced one of the two statues representing the state in Congress’ Statuary Hall because of its subject’s views on slavery. The statue of Gov. William Allen, who served from 1874 to 1876, was replaced with one of Thomas Edison. But what happened to the Allen statue? That question is especially relevant now that monuments to historical people whose views are now considered controversial have been the focus of debate and even vandalism. 

The number of children in Ohio who are placed in foster care continues to increase as the opioid crisis worsens. There’s a shortage of foster care families to meet the need.

Some state lawmakers say current law allows those convicted of importuning or soliciting a minor for sex over the internet, to escape serious penalties. Now there's a bill to toughen those punishments.

Two bills that would permit dogs on restaurant patios statewide are being introduced in the House and Senate. The bill is as much about business as it is about dogs.

The House bill to allow dogs on restaurant patios in Ohio is getting a boost. There’s now a version of the bill being introduced in the Senate. 

Child enticement charges against a convicted sex offender in central Ohio were recently dropped because an Ohio Supreme Court ruling had thrown out part of the statute. Now state lawmakers are trying to fix that part of the law.

Democrats in the state Legislature are supporting a new bill that would officially denounce white nationalists and neo-Nazis. 

Facebook plans to build its tenth data center in New Albany in Central Ohio, to open in 2019. The huge $750 million project in Central Ohio comes with a mixture of local and state funding incentives. 

Starting next month, the Ohio Democratic Party will hold as many as six debates in the upcoming months to introduce voters its candidates for governor next year. 

Investors who want a license to grow medical marijuana for Ohio’s new program will have to wait until November to find out whether they will receive one. 

A social media giant is developing a huge data center in Central Ohio.