Ohio
Ohio taxpayers sent families $966 million for private school tuition: Capitol Letter
Rotunda Rumblings
School work: The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce said that as of Aug. 7, the state has shelled out $966.2 million for private school scholarships for the school year that just ended. The General Assembly expanded one of the five voucher programs to include upper-income Ohioans and its participation has ballooned from 23,272 participating students in the 2022-2023 school year to 89,770 students last year. Numbers will be finalized in October, Laura Hancock reports.
Let’s make a deal: FirstEnergy on Monday signed an agreement with Attorney General Dave Yost’s office on Monday to pay $20 million to avoid prosecution on state charges over the House Bill 6 scandal, as well as to drop FirstEnergy from Yost’s HB6-related civil lawsuit. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, the agreement means the Akron-based utility will pay a total of just $250 million, plus an expected $100 million regulatory fine, to skirt charges for its role in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history; consultants previously warned the company it could face up to $3.8 billion in fines if it was indicted.
Job qualifications: U.S. Sen Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland Democrat, has introduced legislation that would make it easier for workers who lack four-year college degrees to get federal government jobs, Sabrina Eaton reports. The “Federal Jobs for STARs Act” that he introduced with U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, would remove unnecessary educational requirements from federal civil job postings on USAJOBS.com.
Failed investment: An indoor agriculture startup called AppHarvest that U.S. Sen. JD Vance invested in and publicly pitched “not only failed as a business after pursuing rapid growth, but also provided a grim job experience for many of the working-class Kentuckians” the Cincinnati Republican vowed to help, CNN reports. The rise and fall of the company, which declared bankruptcy last year, and Vance’s role in it, cuts against his image as a champion for the working class — an image that helped catapult him to the top of the Republican ticket as Donald Trump’s running mate.
Red meat: Although the speech Vance’s wife, Usha, delivered to last month’s GOP convention praised her husband for adapting to her vegetarian diet despite being a “meat and potatoes kind of guy,” the vice-presidential candidate is not a vegetarian and has frequently appears in photos “alongside all manner of plated flesh”, the Los Angeles Times clarifies. Only 4% of Americans identify as vegetarians, according to a recent Gallup poll. And these days, there’s little doubt: In popular American culture, vegetarianism often is perceived as “liberal, wimpy and feminine,” a food studies professor told the publication.
Speaking of red meat: A Washington Post fact check has evaluated a trio of claims that Vance made about Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, including a claim that she “wants to take away your ability to eat red meat,” and found them to be false. Other false claims it examines are Vance’s contention that Harris wants to take away gas stoves and his insistence that Harris has said it’s reasonable not to have children over climate change.
It pays to advertise: The National Republican Senatorial Committee canceled its fall cable ad reservations totaling more than $700,000 in the Ohio Senate race between Brown, the Democratic incumbent, and GOP challenger Bernie Moreno, Washington Examiner reports. According to AdImpact, NRSC canceled its full cable reservation in one of the most competitive races in the country in which ads were set to run between Aug. 31 and Election Day. In a social media post, the GOP Senate campaign arm said it still regards Ohio as a top pickup opportunity but believes its money can be more efficiently spent on hybrid ads.
Delayed again: For those anticipating an order over whether the state’s six-week “heartbeat” abortion ban is constitutional, the wait goes on. First, Hamilton County District Court Judge Christian Jenkins gave himself a deadline for the order on May 20. Then he pushed it to June 25. Then he pushed it to Tuesday. And on Tuesday, he pushed his deadline to Aug. 29. The state has been prohibited from enforcing the heartbeat law for 22 months, meaning women can obtain abortions past six weeks. But abortion clinics and doctors want Jenkins to weigh the law against the new abortion rights amendment that voters passed last November and strike down the law for good. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost agrees the ban is no longer constitutional but thinks other parts of the law should stand.
New job: Lee Strang, a University of Toledo law professor who was a driving force behind the legislature creating five new “intellectual diversity centers” at a handful of universities, was hired to lead one of them. Strang will be executive director of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society at Ohio State University. Strang was also the leader of the University of Toledo’s intellectual diversity center, and has testified to the legislature on a number of issues, including in favor of the special election last year that was intended to foil the abortion rights amendment, Ohio Capital Journal’s Megan Henry reports.
Lobbying Lineup
Five organizations lobbying on House Bill 103, which would establish a K-12 social studies task force to implement the American Birthright standards by the conservative Civics Alliance. The bill hasn’t had any hearings since June 13, 2023.
1. Cleveland Metropolitan School District
2. Ohio Council of Churches
3. Ohio Federation of Teachers
4. Buckeye Association of School Administrators
5. Warren City Schools
Birthdays
State Rep. Thomas Hall
Grace Flajnik, legislative aide to state Rep. Justin Pizzulli
Straight From The Source
“Any application question or line item requesting an applicant’s race or ethnicity was removed from all materials provided to application readers or other individuals participating in admissions decisions.”
-A section of Ohio State University’s website, as reported by Ohio Capital Journal’s Megan Henry, who looked at how Ohio’s universities are treating affirmative action after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race-based admissions policies last summer.
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Where do bed bugs come from? How they get could get into your home
Does the thought of bed bugs keep you up at night? Here’s what to know.
Columbus remains one of the nation’s top cities for bed bug treatments, according to Orkin’s latest annual rankings, while Ohio continues to dominate the list more than any other state.
Orkin ranked Columbus eighth on its 2026 list of U.S. cities with the most bed bug treatments, the same position the city held last year. Cleveland ranked even higher at No. 4. Cincinnati came in at No. 15.
Overall, six Ohio cities made the Top 50, more than any other state: Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Youngstown, Dayton and Toledo. The rankings are based on residential and commercial bed bug treatments Orkin performed between May 2025 and May 2026.
Chicago claimed the top spot for the sixth consecutive year, followed by Los Angeles, Detroit, Cleveland and Indianapolis.
Ohio continues to rank high for bed bugs
Ohio’s strong showing on the list comes as the state has repeatedly appeared near the top of national pest rankings.
A recent USA TODAY report, citing an analysis by Casino.ca, estimated Ohio has the second-highest bed bug risk for travelers in the country, behind only Michigan.
The Orkin rankings do not measure the total number of bed bugs in a city. Instead, they reflect where the company performed the greatest number of residential and commercial treatments over the past year.
Columbus has dealt with bed bug sightings before
The rankings also follow several high-profile bed bug incidents in downtown Columbus government offices.
Last fall, The Dispatch reported a bed bug was discovered inside the Ohio Department of Medicaid’s downtown office, prompting treatment of the affected area.
The Dispatch also reported that employees at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation had reported bed bug sightings, leading to inspections and pest-control efforts.
Those incidents highlighted the challenges large office buildings face when dealing with pests that can hitch rides on clothing, backpacks and luggage rather than originating inside the buildings themselves.
It’s not just bed bugs
Bed bugs aren’t the only pests putting Columbus on Orkin’s radar.
In October 2025, Orkin ranked Columbus No. 21 on its annual “Rattiest Cities” list, a slight improvement from previous years but still among the nation’s leading metro areas for rodent treatments.
Taken together, the rankings suggest central Ohio remains a busy market for pest-control companies as the city holds steady on this year’s bed bug list.
Which Ohio cities made Orkin’s 2026 list?
Among Ohio cities, the rankings were:
- Cleveland– No. 4
- Columbus– No. 8
- Cincinnati– No. 15
- Youngstown– No. 32
- Dayton– No. 38
- Toledo– No. 42
Trending reporter Amani Bayo can be reached at abayo@dispatch.com.
After years of unchecked dominance from the SEC, the Big Ten Conference cemented its place as the best in college football in the 2025-2026 season.
The Indiana Hoosiers completed a remarkable 16-0 season by winning a National Championship, beating Ohio State in the conference championship game, dominating Alabama in the Rose Bowl, then blowing out Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
That completed a Big Ten trifecta, with the Michigan Wolverines winning a championship in 2024, then the Buckeyes following it up by beating Notre Dame to win the title in 2025. While the SEC might have better depth overall, it’s no question that the top of the Big Ten is as good or better than anyone.
SEC, BIG TEN ARE DOMINATING COLLEGE FOOTBALL THANKS TO MASSIVE ADVANTAGES OVER OTHER CONFERENCES
Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti after defeating the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Jan. 19, 2026. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
And a new program might be ready to take their turn at the top of the Big Ten: those same Oregon Ducks.
One of the most predictive measures of a team’s strength from year to year is how much production they return from the previous season. It makes sense; the more key players that stay with the team, the better it is for continuity and development.
The Big Ten, oddly enough, has several teams that return much of their production on both sides of the ball. ESPN’s Bill Connelly ran the numbers, finding that teams like Maryland, Nebraska, Minnesota and UCLA all ranked in the top 10 nationally in returning value. Though given how these teams played in 2025, that’s less important. Number 12, though? The Oregon Ducks.
And that carryover production is coming from a team that lost just two games all season, both to Indiana. They handled a very good USC team, 42-27, overcame miserable conditions to outlast the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road, beat the rival Washington Huskies, and most impressively, shut out an elite Texas Tech team 23-0 in the College Football Playoff. And they bring back the players responsible for 66% of their overall production, including star quarterback Dante Moore.
Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore (5) warms up prior to the 2025 Orange Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
Just behind them at 65%? USC, heading into a pivotal season under Lincoln Riley.
Here’s where Oregon has the advantage, however. They bring that percentage back from a team that was significantly better than USC. It’s no surprise then, that per Connelly’s SP+ projections, Oregon is expected to be the No. 2 team in the country, by efficiency on offense, defense and special teams.
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A BIG 12 WINNER NOT NAMED TEXAS TECH OR BYU, CONSIDER THE HOUSTON COUGARS
What about the other Big Ten schools, though?
USC is the biggest wildcard. They sit at No. 13 in the SP+ projections, thanks to an elite offense and a defense that’s expected to be solid, if unspectacular. But their special teams projections are all the way down at No. 100 in the country, thanks to a series of disastrous mistakes in 2025. Special teams, though, should be the easiest area to improve upon. So if the Trojans can make some adjustments, they could exceed the eight game win expectancy.
Ohio State and Indiana, the two most recent champions, have a bit of a tougher hill to climb, though their roster composition is far from disastrous. The Buckeyes bring back 60% of their production, while Indiana is at 56%, even with several huge departures. That ranks at No. 31 and No. 52, respectively. Important, but not enough to push either team out of the top 5 in the national projections. And Ohio State sits at No. 1, thanks to consistently elite recruiting and key players like Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith returning.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning attends Oregon Pro Day on March 17, 2026, at the Moshofsky Center in Eugene, Oregon. (Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
But if there is an upset brewing at the top of the conference, Oregon might be the place to look. The question then becomes, can they put it all together against a difficult schedule? The Ducks play USC on the road, host Nebraska, travel to Illinois, play Ohio State on the road, host Michigan and have their rivalry game against Washington at Autzen.
OUTKICK IS NOW ON THE FOX APP: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
It won’t be easy, but don’t be surprised if at the end of the season, Dan Lanning and the Ducks are right back in the mix.
A Kentucky woman who had been missing for more than two weeks was found dead in her vehicle in Ohio, authorities said.
The body of Debra Wireman was found in her vehicle on July 3 in Clermont County, Ohio, the Flemingsburg Police Department in Kentucky said on Facebook on Wednesday. Investigators were called to the scene after a report identifying the vehicle as belonging to a missing person, police said. The remains were identified as Wireman’s by the Clermont County Coroner’s Office on July 7, according to law enforcement.
Police in Kentucky said the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio is investigating the woman’s death. No additional information will be released by Flemingsburg police “out of respect for Debra’s family and the integrity of that investigation.”
“While this is not the outcome any of us hoped and prayed for, we are thankful that Debra has been found and that her family can now begin to receive the closure they deserve,” police added on Facebook.
Wireman, according to police, was last seen on June 17 at around 4:30 p.m. in Aberdeen, Ohio, while traveling toward Maysville, Kentucky. She was driving a white 2020 Kia Forte with front-end damage. Police said family and friends were “concerned for her welfare.”
“The overwhelming response from our community, neighboring agencies, the media, and countless individuals across the region demonstrated the very best of people coming together in the hope of bringing someone home safely,” Flemingsburg police said.
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