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Experts say childcare cost in Ohio has increased 25% since 2019

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Experts say childcare cost in Ohio has increased 25% since 2019


COLUMBUS, Ohio — Playing games with her children and husband, Danielle Winters knows firsthand how difficult it can be to afford child care.


What You Need To Know

  • The Century Foundation says the cost of child care in Ohio has increased 25% since 2019 and that it cost over $12,000 for infant child care
  • Central Ohio mother, Danielle Winters, used to pay more than her mortgage for childcare when she used to have two kids in child care at the same time
  • Expert Julie Kashen says child care costs are increasing because of the lack of government attention and funding

“We had two children in child care full time and it costs about as much or more as our mortgage,” said Danielle Winters.   

As a mother of two, she tells me, along with paying for child care, another obstacle is finding quality child care. 

“Finding like either a daycare center or a school that aligns with your priorities and what you want for your family and for your child’s education. And oftentimes there are waitlists or it’s just hard to get in places because there aren’t enough spots for children. Combined with the cost to because you’re going to have to pay for that because it’s really expensive,” said Winters. 

According to the century foundation, the prices for child care in Ohio have increased 25% since 2019 and the average price for an infant in a center is over $12,000 a year. A researcher from The Century Foundation, Julie Kashen says rising child care costs are because of the lack of government attention and funding.

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“We should be treating it like a public good, like all of those other programs and services that we all benefit from because we all benefit from child care and early learning. It helps our children grow, it helps our parents work. It matters to everyone. But because we haven’t done that as a country, what that means is that paying for it is on the backs of parents,” said the Director of Women’s Economic Justice for The Century Foundation, Julie Kashen. 

Winters only has one child in child care at the moment and she tells me it’s a little bit more manageable to afford it. But she knows that’s not the case for a lot of mothers. She says a lot of mothers will have to be caregivers and put their careers on hold because they can’t afford child care. 

“I know several women who have had to put child care ahead of their career, and it they’ve either had to step away from their career during these years or they haven’t been able to be as active and maybe pursue the type of career they’d want to,” said Winters. 



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Ohio men previously involved with LifeWise Academy charged with sex crimes involving minors

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Ohio men previously involved with LifeWise Academy charged with sex crimes involving minors


Three Ohio men who either previously volunteered or worked for LifeWise Academy – a Christian instruction program for public school students – were either charged or pleaded guilty recently to sex crimes against minors, including rape, voyeurism, and sexual battery.



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Ohio blogger The Rooster arrested at Statehouse for online harassment

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Ohio blogger The Rooster arrested at Statehouse for online harassment


The Ohio State Highway Patrol arrested online political writer D.J. Byrnes, also known as The Rooster, at the statehouse on June 1 on a misdemeanor warrant.

A patrol spokesman said Byrnes, who posts his stories to his Substack subscribers, was arrested on an outstanding warrant. He was booked into the Franklin County Jail, records show. The patrol did not provide further details.

Byrnes’ colleague, Max Littman, said he believes the arrest is related to Byrnes texting photos of cartoon character Shrek’s penis to a state senator. “If that is in fact true, that he was arrested over that, then it’s blatant targeting a political opponent and journalist,” Littman said.

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The arrest warrant for telecommunications harassment came from the city of Kirtland in Lake County. The warrant alleges that Byrnes sent two photos on May 6 to “J.C.” with the intent to harass.

State Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, did not return messages seeking comment.

Byrnes routinely works the halls power at Columbus City Hall, Ohio State University and the Ohio Statehouse, looking for tips and ambushing officeholders for his Substack reports. He can be both charming and confrontational.

Recently, he posted a story based on one anonymous source who told him that Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy tried to get into the New York Knicks locker room after the Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA playoffs.

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The story, and its spread, so bothered Ramaswamy that he posted a lengthy refute on X, calling it 100% fake.

State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.



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Was a rare bird just spotted in Ohio for the first time?

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Was a rare bird just spotted in Ohio for the first time?


A bird rarely seen in North America was apparently spotted in Northeast Ohio of all places recently.

A lesser frigatebird was seen flying over Sippo Lake near Canton, according to several bird enthusiasts and photographers.

A photographer named Alex Eberts was kind enough to share his photos with ABC 6. You can see them at the top of this page.

Another photographer named Austin Rice posted this photo on Instagram and shared the details of what he saw on the night of May 23 in Stark County.

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If you don’t know much about the lesser frigatebird, a site called eBird.com offers this description:

The smallest of the frigatebirds, but note that the female is larger than the male. Adults are easier to identify than younger birds. Adult males are almost entirely black with a red throat and white spurs emanating outwards from the body onto the wing. Adult females have a black belly and throat, a white breast and hind collar, with similar white spurs on their sides. Juvenile and immature plumages are variable and are best separated from other frigatebirds by size when comparison is possible. Mostly silent except while breeding in oceanic islands. Strongly pelagic during non-breeding season but wind-blown or fatigued birds can be found from continental coasts.

Eberts said in his own Facebook post that the May 23 sighting in Stark County was only the seventh reported sighting of the lesser frigatebird in the contiguous United States. The bird is more likely to be seen near the Indian Ocean, the Southeast Asian seas, Northern Australia to Western and Central Pacific Ocean, according to birdsoftheworld.org.



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