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Ask Ohio senators a legit question and it might come back to bite you | Opinion

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Ask Ohio senators a legit question and it might come back to bite you | Opinion


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Thomas Suddes is a former legislative reporter with The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and writes from Ohio University. tsuddes@gmail.com.​

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The Ohio Senate’s leaders want Ohio’s voters to sit down and shut up when it comes to what’s in (and what isn’t) in the pending state budget bill.

That cat leaped out of the bag last week when Sen. Jerry Cirino, the suburban Cleveland Republican who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, told two women testifying on behalf of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials that they should support Senate Republicans’ proposed school funding plan, cleveland.com reported.

“I would suggest, for your members and for the two of you, that you do everything you can to support the Senate plan, because as we go into [a Senate-House budget] conference, there’s going to be other competing viewpoints on how to do this, and it only could get worse for you,” Cirino said — in Colums’, Ohi-a, Yew Ess Ay, not a puppet-show parliament in a Soviet-style “republic.”

So much for the Ohio Constitution, which guarantees everyone the right “to petition the General Assembly for the redress of grievances.” (BTW, that’s the Ohio Constitution that Cirino and every other member of the General Assembly swears she or he will uphold.)

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Cirino, of Kirtland, apparently first entered public service in 1992, when then-Gov. George V. Voinovich appointed him as a trustee of Lakeland Community College. Cirino resigned as a trustee in 1997. More recently, Cirino was a Lake County commissioner and is said to be aiming to succeed term-limited Sen. Rob McColley, a Napoleon Republican, as the state Senate’s president.

Statewide, McColley may be best known for co-sponsoring 2021’s Senate Bill 52, signed that July by Gov. Mike DeWine, to hamper Ohio solar- and wind energy projects. Since then, “Ohioans and their elected representatives have killed enough solar development to roughly power the state’s three largest cities,” Jake Zuckerman, then of cleveland.com, reported earlier this year.

Attack on the libraries

McColley demonstrates the deafness that selectively strikes key state senators when there’s something they don’t want to hear.

Henry is McColley’s home county. Of Henry County’s four public libraries, voters have most recently approved levies for three of them, with the “yes” margins ranging from 59% to 70%. (Data for a fourth library weren’t immediately available.) And you’d think someone with political ambitions — maybe to be GOP gubernatorial hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy’s running mate next year — might listen to his hometown constituents.

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Nah: State Senate Republicans’ proposed rewrite of the House-passed budget worsens the financial damage that House Speaker Matt Huffman’s budget rewrite does to Ohio’s nationally renowned public libraries, offer every Ohioan — rich, poor; black, brown, white; urban, suburban.

DeWine proposed allotting $531.7 million for the Public Library Fund for the year that’ll begin July 1, then $549.1 million for the year beginning July 1, 2026. Those represent a longstanding state law requirement that state aid to public libraries must equal 1.7% of annual state General Revenue Fund collections. For the year that’ll end June, the Public Library Fund will provide an estimated $504.6 million for public libraries statewide

Huffman’s House, and McColley’s Senate, junked the GRF earmark.

They instead directly allotted $490 million for Year 1, then $500 million for Year 2.  Those are steep reductions. This year, state Budget Office estimates, public libraries will have received $530 million from the Public Library fund.

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But the Senate additionally aims to deduct from its library allotment $10.3 million each fiscal year for items previously budgeted separately, such as the State Library of Ohio and the Ohio Public Library Information Network.

According to Ohio Library Council data, the Senate plan would reduce state aid to public libraries to $479.7 million on July 1 for the new fiscal year.

If they allow themselves to be questioned, President McColley and Speaker Huffman might admit that the games they’re playing with library funding (and other vital services) are schemes to scrounge money to (a) fund skyrocketing private-school tuition and (b) cut income taxes for the wealthy.

Trouble is, if state income-tax cuts are the medicine for what ails Ohio’s economy, why was 1969 the last year that Ohioans’ per capita personal income was at least 100% of the U.S. per capita?

But — to protect yourself — please don’t ask the Ohio Senate’s Finance Committee about that. Why?

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Because “things could get worse for you.”

Thomas Suddes is a former legislative reporter with The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and writes from Ohio University. tsuddes@gmail.com.​



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Ex-husband arrested in deaths of Ohio dentist and his wife | CNN

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Ex-husband arrested in deaths of Ohio dentist and his wife | CNN


The ex-husband of Monique Tepe has been arrested in connection with the killings of the mother and her husband Spencer Tepe, a respected dentist, in their Ohio home last week, Columbus police said Saturday.

Michael David McKee, 39, who court records identify as Monique Tepe’s ex-husband, is in custody in Winnebago County, Illinois, according to inmate records with the sheriff’s office.

McKee is scheduled to appear in court Monday, records show. He was arrested on two counts of murder in the killings on Saturday, an incident report shows, and was taken into custody “without incident” in Rockford, Illinois, police said.

Spencer Tepe, 37, and Monique Tepe, 39, were found dead with apparent gunshot wounds on December 30 in their house in Columbus. The couple’s two children, ages 4 and 1, were also inside but were not physically harmed, police said.

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The arrest marks a major development in the case after the suspect in the couple’s killings remained on the loose for more than 10 days, during which police released scant details on the investigation.

Police said Saturday they will release further information “as appropriate” to avoid compromising the “active and ongoing case progress” and urged people to contact them with any information related to the tragedy.

Authorities did not find any obvious signs of forced entry or any firearm at the scene, CNN affiliate WSYX reported.

Colleagues in Spencer Tepe’s dental practice called 911 after he uncharacteristically didn’t show up to work. One of Tepe’s friends went to the couple’s house, peered inside and saw a gruesome scene next to a bed, according to emergency dispatch audio.

“There’s … there’s a body,” the friend told 911. “Our friend wasn’t answering his phone. We just did a wellness check. We just came here. And he appears dead.”

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Asked if Tepe had been ill, the friend responded, “No, no. I was just with him yesterday.”

The couple’s two children and dog are now in the care of relatives, the Tepes’ brother-in-law said.



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Ohio high school girls basketball scores: Friday, Jan. 9, 2026

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Ohio high school girls basketball scores: Friday, Jan. 9, 2026


CLEVELAND, Ohio — OHSAA girls basketball scores from Friday in Ohio, as provided by The Associated Press.

Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, Mich. 43, Notre Dame Academy 35

Baltimore Liberty Union 47, Cols. Hamilton Twp. 34

Berlin Center Western Reserve 68, N. Jackson Jackson-Milton 46

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Blanchester 40, Bethel-Tate 37

Chagrin Falls 37, Burton Berkshire 32

Circleville 62, Amanda-Clearcreek 40

Cle. Hay 88, Cle. Glenville 2

Cols. Centennial 78, Columbus International 50

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Cols. Linden-McKinley 54, Cols. Whetstone 28

Cols. Walnut Ridge 73, Cols. Marion-Franklin 12

Delaware Buckeye Valley 50, CSG 43

Delta 48, Bryan 44

Dublin Coffman 47, Cols. Upper Arlington 39

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Hilliard Darby 43, Thomas Worthington 32

Johnstown 47, Johnstown Northridge 41

Mason 54, Cin. Colerain 32

Newark 56, Ashville Teays Valley 42

Oak Harbor 52, Millbury Lake 31

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Ohio Deaf 50, Ky. School for the Deaf, Ky. 9

Pemberville Eastwood 65, Rossford 35

Pickerington North 41, New Albany 33

Springboro 66, Centerville 33

Stryker 54, Montpelier 20

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W. Chester Lakota W. 76, Fairfield 24

Wauseon 55, Swanton 13

Western Reserve Academy 65, Lawrenceville School, N.J. 33

Westerville Cent. 57, Grove City Cent. Crossing 20

Worthington Christian 57, Tree of Life 16

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Zanesville 58, Newark Licking Valley 40



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Ohio State students hone academic, business skills through study abroad programs

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Ohio State students hone academic, business skills through study abroad programs


Students across various majors at The Ohio State University recently gathered at the Fisher College of Business to discuss how study abroad opportunities have helped them hone skills that will benefit their studies and chosen career paths.

Fisher’s Office of Global Business and its Office of Advancement hosted the inaugural Global Experience Luncheon. The event was held at the Blackwell Inn on the Columbus campus.

The luncheon brought together alumni who have donated to study abroad programs with students who have participated in them, said Dominic DiCamillo, senior director of the Office of Global Business.

“We were excited to partner with Advancement for the first time to facilitate this type of personal connection. The families that have created these endowments, oftentimes, they hoped it would have some sort of positive impact,” he said. “This is the first time for them to hear firsthand from the students who recently participated.”

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Xin Lin, a third-year finance student, shared her experiences studying abroad in Hamburg, Germany, and Chiang Mai, Thailand. While in Germany in summer 2024, Lin completed the Fisher Freshman Global Lab with Professor Michael Knemeyer and studied at the Kühne Logistics University.

During Lin’s semester in Germany, her cohort toured the facilities of several international companies, including the Mercedes-Benz auto manufacturer, Seven Senders logistics enterprise, and Jack Wolfskin outdoor apparel.

“This was my first time being in Europe,” she said. “It was a really eye-opening experience and taught me to be curious about exploring other cultures, which is why I made the decision to study abroad in Chiang Mai, Thailand.”

This past summer in Chiang Mai, Lin completed the competitive Fisher Global Consulting: Nonprofit program, which is funded by an endowment established by Chris Connor, a 1978 Ohio State alumnus, and his wife, Sara. The participating students, called Connor Scholars, gain firsthand insights into the cultures and business practices of countries in developing regions worldwide.

“We were there for two weeks working on the sustainability and the marketing for the local elephant foundation, as well as to support the villagers,” she said. “And my team and I, we worked on the sustainability curriculum for the local school.”

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Lin said participating in study abroad programs sharpened her decision-making and problem-solving skills.

“Leveraging these experiences has strengthened my understanding of international business and macroeconomics,” she said. “Most importantly, it is the growth mindset and the endless learning that these experiences have taught me, and I’m really excited to be carrying these values into my future career and my academic journey.”

Jacob Brodson, a fourth-year marketing major, said participating in the Fisher Global Marketing Lab in Taiwan this past summer was “a transformational, life-changing trip.”

Jacob Brodson (center) said he met more than 25 Ohio State alumni in Taiwan.“If you can go to someplace that’s so fundamentally different from what we experience here on a day-to-day basis, you should absolutely take the opportunity to,” he said. “And Taiwan is that opportunity.”

Brodson said studying marketing and visiting 10 companies in Taiwan gave him a broader perspective on business practices in different countries.

“We went to TSMC, which is the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. That’s the 10th largest company in the world that you probably have never heard of, but they make all the phone and computer chips that are in your cellphones,” he said. “It was an unbelievable experience to see that.”

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Brodson and his classmates also toured a Kenda Tire facility.

“They actually do a lot of marketing at Ohio State sporting events because their U.S. headquarters is out in Reynoldsburg,” Brodson said. “We got to see their entire manufacturing plant in Taiwan.”

Brodson said he was pleasantly surprised to discover a Buckeye community overseas. He met more than 25 Ohio State alumni throughout Taiwan.

“We are halfway across the world and yet the most beautiful thing is that there are still reminders of home. We’re halfway across the country and there are still Buckeyes there,” he said. “That is one of the coolest things – seeing the Ohio State alumni and the fact that this Buckeye tradition transcends countries.”

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