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Helen Rankin, the first Black woman in the Ohio House, dies at 89

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Helen Rankin, the first Black woman in the Ohio House, dies at 89


L. Helen Rankin, the first Black woman to serve in the Ohio House of Representatives, died March 22 at age 89.

Rankin, a Democrat, served 16 years in the Ohio House, representing districts in Cincinnati from 1978 to 1994.

She was appointed to succeed her late husband, James W. Rankin, who died of pneumonia in June 1978 while in office. She completed his term, then won the seat outright in the general election later that year.

She was elected to seven terms representing the 25th Ohio House District, which included Evanston, Walnut Hills, Mount Adams and Hyde Park, then after re-districting, a term for the 30th District, covering Avondale, Bond Hill, Pleasant Ridge and Kennedy Heights.

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Who was Helen Rankin

Rankin, born in Georgia on Sept. 12, 1936, moved to Cincinnati to study business administration at the University of Cincinnati. Before taking office, she worked as an intake supervisor at the Cincinnati Community Action Commission.

She was a 41-year-old mother of three when she took over her husband’s House seat. She proceeded to earn her own legacy her own way, quietly behind the scenes.

She fought to preserve Medicaid reimbursement for health clinics and worked to reform Ohio’s Title XX program to provide services for low-income, elderly and disabled persons.

Her signature achievement was introducing a bill that made insurance companies cover the costs of mammograms. She introduced the bill four times before it finally passed and was signed into law by Gov. George Voinovich in 1992.

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“It was landmark legislation. She was very persistent and overcame a lot of obstacles on that,” the late Rep. William Mallory told the Cincinnati Post when Rankin retired in 1994.

“Representative Rankin didn’t just break barriers, she built pathways,” said Rep. Terrence Upchurch, D-Cleveland, president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, in a statement on Instagram. “Her legacy is reflected not only in the policies she passed, but in the lives she touched, the communities she strengthened, and the doors she opened for generations to come.”

Helen Rankin services April 10

After she retired, Rankin was co-chair of Shalom Habitat for Humanity Project, helping to build homes in Walnut Hills, and active with her church, New Vision United Methodist Church.

She was preceded in death by her first husband, James W. Rankin; her second husband, William B. Merritt; and her brothers, Thermon Key and Andrew Key. She is survived by her children, Sharon Moon, James W. Rankin Jr. and Connie Ross; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

A visitation will be held April 10 at 10 a.m., followed by a funeral service at noon, at New Vision United Methodist Church, 4400 Reading Road, Paddock Hills. She will be interred at Walnut Hills Cemetery.

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Ohio auditor describes how widespread Medicaid fraud affects taxpayers | Fox News Video

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Ohio auditor describes how widespread Medicaid fraud affects taxpayers | Fox News Video


Lawrence Jones questions Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber about the widespread Medicaid fraud affecting taxpayers. Faber explains that big government programs like Medicaid, operating on a trust-based system, are easily exploited. He highlights disproportionate home healthcare utilization by the Somali community in Columbus, emphasizing that inadequate controls allow people to lie, steal, and cheat the system.



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Ohio State reaches $100 million settlement with nearly 300 sex abuse survivors | CNN

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Ohio State reaches 0 million settlement with nearly 300 sex abuse survivors | CNN


Ohio State University has reached a $100 million settlement with nearly 300 former students who had accused the school’s campus doctor of sexually assaulting them decades ago, the school and a lawyer for the victims said on Wednesday.

The settlement with 279 of the 280 former students was ratified by the university’s board on Wednesday. It followed years of litigation overaccusations of decades of abuse by Richard Strauss.

The abuse occurred from 1978 to 1998, the year he retired from the faculty.

“The mediation and its confidentiality are continuing as the parties work to finalize the details of the settlements, and additional information will be shared as appropriate,” the school and a lawyer for the victims said in a joint statement.

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In February, the university reached eight additional settlements, bringing the total to 304 survivors and more than $60 million.

Strauss, who killed himself in 2005, was employed by Ohio State’s athletic department and medical staff for nearly two decades.

A 2019 report detailing the investigative findings said that Strauss had sexually abused at least 177 men, nearly all of whom were students, and that university staff who knew of the abuse failed to act. The abuse included groping and fondling of the students’ genitals and other acts under the guise of a medical examination.

News of the investigation and its findings prompted more than 500 plaintiffs to sue Ohio State, alleging they had been sexually abused by Strauss and that the school had shown deliberate indifference.

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The purge? Ohio moves to downgrade non-domiciled CDLs

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The purge? Ohio moves to downgrade non-domiciled CDLs


Another state is jumping into the fray to put the brakes on non-domiciled CDLs, with roughly 5,000 commercial drivers in Ohio facing the potential of having their licenses downgraded.

On Friday, May 29, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles announced it would be contacting approximately 5,000 non-domiciled CDL holders to verify the status of their credentials under updated rules from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

According to the Bureau, non-domiciled license holders in the state will receive one of two notices, depending on the type of documentation they initially used to obtain their CDL.

For drivers whose documentation meets current FMCSA standards, their licenses will remain valid until their expiration date. For those who do not meet current standards, the process is a bit more complicated.

As for CDL holders whose original documents do not meet current FMCSA guidelines, they will receive a notice of downgrade, and their CDLs will be downgraded to a Class D license 30 days after receiving the notice.

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Drivers who receive a downgrade notice can request a hearing with the BMV to dispute the downgrade, and can provide additional documentation to prove their eligibility. According to the Bureau, those documents include:

  • An unexpired Employment Authorization Document issued by USCIS, valid on the most recent CDL/CLP issuance date
  • An unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired USCIS I‑94 form, both of which must be valid on your most recent CDL/CLP issuance date

Officials said the Ohio BMV has not issued or renewed any non-domiciled CDLs since FMCSA put new standards in place in 2025, and that it does not intend to resume issuing non-domiciled CDLs in the future. Additionally, the BMV will not renew revalidated non-domiciled CDLs after they expire.

All notices will be sent by mail to the address listed on file with the Ohio BMV. The Bureau emphasized that the reverification process does not apply to full CDL holders or CDL holders with legally established permanent residence. LL



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