Ohio
Green Party leader changes story in court hearing over Jill Stein’s Ohio ballot disqualification
COLUMBUS, Ohio—An Ohio Green Party leader testified in federal court Tuesday that she turned in a letter to withdraw Anita Rios, presidential hopeful Jill Stein’s running mate, from this year’s statewide ballot without Rios’ knowledge or permission,
The letter, which Ohio Green Party Co-Chair Philena Farley previously insisted that Rios knew about and supported, led Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office to order that any votes for Stein and Rios in this year’s Nov. 5 general election should not be counted.
Stein and Rios have asked U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Watson for an injunction to overrule that order, claiming Farley went behind Rios’ back and that LaRose’s office shouldn’t have accepted the letter as genuine. Watson said after a court hearing Tuesday afternoon that he will issue a written decision on whether to grant that request.
During interviews last month with an investigator with LaRose’s office, as well as with cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, Farley said she and Rios agreed that Farley would write and deliver the letter because Rios had COVID-19 at the time. Farley also asserted that Rios was on the phone with her while she delivered the letter to LaRose’s office in downtown Columbus.
However, Farley said Tuesday that Rios didn’t specifically know that Farley was going to submit a letter in her name, and that she didn’t talk to Rios on the phone until after she handed the letter over to a staffer with LaRose’s office.
Rios, who also testified during Tuesday‘s hearing, said she didn’t understand what Farley had done until after the letter was turned in.
Stein, a Massachusetts physician and environmental activist, is one of six presidential candidates on the ballot this year in Ohio. As the Green Party’s presidential nominee in 2016, Stein got 46,271 votes in Ohio, or 0.84% of the statewide vote.
Stein is running as an independent candidate in Ohio this year because the Ohio Green Party lost state recognition several years ago.
Jeremy Pelzer covers state politics and policy for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.
LICKING COUNTY, Ohio (WCMH) — When you think of wild animals in central Ohio, a black bear likely isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. That’s why one Licking County family said they couldn’t believe their eyes.
It was an average afternoon drive home for father and son, Justin and Aaron Rhodes, when something walked into the road in front of them.
“I didn’t even think it was real at first, so that’s why I had to do the double take,” Justin said.
Aaron said he thought it was “just a weird looking dog”.
To their disbelief, it was a bear. The sighting comes just one year after the animal was spotted in Licking County for the first time in more than two decades.
“It’s kind of hard to believe that they’re even around this area,” Justin said. “I’ve lived in this area for about 24 years now, so it’s been quite a while, and I’ve never seen one before.”
These sightings are becoming more common. The Ohio Division of Wildlife said the black bear population is growing in the state, and they expect those trends to continue. Ohio saw a record number of confirmed sightings in 2025.
Lindsey Krusling, a wildlife communications specialist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said they are seeing more breeding females establish homes in the state, signaling the species is returning. Experts said the work restoring natural forest land is a big reason why.
“We’re starting to get some black bears coming in from neighboring states like Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky,” Krusling said. “They’re naturally crossing those state borders and coming back to Ohio because we have more of that habitat available to them, especially those forested areas.”
As the black bear population grows, the Division of Wildlife is expanding its research. They are putting radio collars on some bears they find in the state to help track data, such as if the bears are staying here, how far they’ve traveled and if they’re successfully having cubs.
“We’re trying to get quite a bit of data from these bears, and we’re super excited to see where this takes us,” Krusling said.
The research is in the beginning stages, but they expect population growth to continue, Krusling said.
Sighting reports can be submitted here to help the Division of Wildlife track black bear populations throughout the state.
`
const PAYWALL_HTML2 = `
Subscribe For Unlimited Access
You have exceeded the number of free articles available each month.
Thank you for supporting quality local journalism
Our award-winning coverage would not be possible without you.
Sign in here
if you are already a subscriber for unlimited access to breaking news, sports, photos, videos and our e-edition on your phone, tablet or desktop.
Click here
for our new subscriber specials.
*Read more about digital access.
`.trim();
const PAYWALL_HTML3 = `
Already a subscriber? LOG IN.
`
const PAYWALL_HTML4 = “
function ensureCss() {
if (!document.head) return;
const existing = document.querySelector(‘link[data-paywall-css=”1″]’);
if (existing) return;
const link = document.createElement(‘link’);
link.rel=”stylesheet”;
link.type=”text/css”;
link.href = CSS_HREF;
link.setAttribute(‘data-paywall-css’, ‘1’);
document.head.appendChild(link);
}
function hasSubInfo(el) {
// Only replace once the widget already contains .subInfo
return !!(el && el.querySelector(‘.subInfo’));
}
function applyTo(el) {
if (!el || el.dataset.paywallReplaced === ‘1’) return;
if (!hasSubInfo(el)) return; //
Real estate transfers in Licking County, Ohio, range from $85,000 to $865,000
The following are property transfers recorded in Licking County from June 1-5, 2026.
First name indicates the seller; second name represents the buyer
Buckeye Lake
- 502 Providence Lane; Cohagen, Christopher C and Lori A; Adams, Jeffrey L and Boyce-Adams, Jo Anna; 6/1/2026; $511,000
- 131 Cranberry Lane; Smart, Amy and Kidwell, Kevin K; Sew and Minor, Christian; 6/1/2026; $262,000
Etna Township
- 116 Cameron Drive SW; Ray, Erica L; Darjee, Sanjay and Laxmi and Dil; 6/2/2026; $412,000
- 119 Kraner St. SW; Adkins, Zane and Amy; Culbertson, Brenton Howard; 6/1/2026; $368,500
- 160 Dusky Willow Drive; Willow Reserve LLC; Martin, Alaina K; 6/2/2026; $290,940
Granville
- 119 Derwyn Del Way; Lifer, David C and Julia H; Martin, Michael and Lisa; 6/1/2026; $865,000
- 39 Victoria Drive; Acton, Wendy S and Paul J; Cannon, Matthew Evan and Zywica, Natalie Nicole; 6/2/2026; $835,000
Granville Township
- 49 Alberry Drive; Halliday, Lucas and Breayne; Howe, Jason and Kathryn; 6/2/2026; $570,000
Harrison Township
- 102 Whirlaway Loop; Rice, Dawn (Trustee); Bope, Maria and Shane; 6/2/2026; $420,000
Heath
- 1306 Kacey Court; Fischer Homes Columbus II LLC; Owens, Blake Andrew and Taylor Marie; 6/2/2026; $437,779
- 805 Fieldson Drive; Flowers, Ingrit; Harder, Noah C; 6/2/2026; $250,000
Hebron
- 802 Cumberland Meadows Circle; Lines, Marlene S; Gerhart, Jamie A and Ralph W Jr; 6/2/2026; $232,000
Johnstown
- 101 Bigelow Drive; McGovern, Matthew S and Jennifer L; Sanford, Jessica; 6/2/2026; $442,500
Liberty Township
- 5844 Nichols Lane Road NW; La Jeunesse, Garth E and Debra; Nesselroad, William Heath and Annie; 6/1/2026; $629,000
- 7211 Northridge Road NW; Devault, Robert E Jr and Joann; Esbenshade, Travis M and Lowe, Shelby M; 6/1/2026; $495,000
Newark
- 2110 Overlook Way; D.R. Horton-Indiana LLC; Tarsha, Michele A; 6/1/2026; $433,335
- 1162 Taylor Ave.; Heath Fluid LLC; Anglada, Gabriel P and Salina T; 6/1/2026; $200,000
- 32 Postal Ave. W.; Palmisano, Phil; Moore, Dominic Michael and Miksich, Paige Elizabeth; 6/1/2026; $198,900
- 75 Gay St.; Velez, Marcos A; Camell, Campbell; 6/1/2026; $155,000
- 655 Evans St.; TNL; McRada Properties LLC; 6/1/2026; $145,000
- 63 Wallace St.; FDA Peachtree LLC; Burns, Amber L; 6/2/2026; $86,500
- 404 10th St.; Synergy Group Properties LLC; Busy Boys Restoration LLC; 6/2/2026; $85,000
Reynoldsburg
- 8447 Rodebaugh Road; Collins, Carol J; Thorpe, Kimberley Lynn and Henry, Steven; 6/2/2026; $340,000
-
Alabama4 minutes agoTwo Alabama bridges rank among longest in U.S. Have you crossed them?
-
Alaska11 minutes agoPilot dies in small plane crash southeast of Cordova
-
Arizona14 minutes agoArizona’s Rugged Wilderness Area Has Gorgeous Mountain Trails And Scenic Camping Spots – Islands
-
Arkansas19 minutes agoTulsa downs Northwest Arkansas | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
-
California26 minutes agoCalifornia man arrested for alleged lewd acts, exploitation involving juveniles
-
Colorado29 minutes agoColorado neighbors lament likely closure of Roxborough library; $22 million regional library breaks ground nearby
-
Connecticut34 minutes agoDiesel fuel spill shuts two lanes on I-91 north in Wethersfield
-
Delaware41 minutes agoDelaware history in News Journal archives June 21-27: Sussex flood
