Power slowly returns to cental Ohio
Power has been restored to about two thirds of the Ohio homes and businesses that lost it over the weekend. Still, close to 300,000 people – mostly in central Ohio – remain without electricity, some for the fourth straight day. The hardest hit area of the state, Franklin County, still has close to 100,000 AEP customers who have no power.

Obama campaign stop in Ohio include ice cream and autos
President Obama’s campaign bus tour through the swing states of Ohio and Pennsylvania will include an ice cream social in Sandusky and a stop in Parma on Thursday. He’ll be focusing on the recovery of the auto industry with his tour titled “Betting on America.”

Parma is home to a GM stamping plant that employs more than a thousand people. The plant recently underwent a $60 million upgrade, and Mr. Obama is expected to emphasize what the auto industry bailout did to restore the industry in Ohio.

Increasingly, his campaign has been contrasting his economic efforts with Republican challenger Mitt Romney’s role as a buyout specialist at Bain Capital. Mr. Romney says his private business experience is what the nation needs.

Race track moves
The state has gotten a formal request from Penn National Gaming to move a racetrack from suburban Columbus to just outside Youngstown, where Penn plans to build a new track near the Ohio Turnpike. It also wants to move a track in Toledo to a closed auto plant in Dayton.

Meanwhile, Rock Ohio Ceasars has applied for a license to set up video slot machines at Thistledown race track in suburban Cleveland. Rock Ohio has a deal with the state that would allow it to move Thistledown to the Akron-Canton area.

Victim becomes thief
A woman defrauded by ex-Ohio State and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Art Schlichter in a million-dollar sports ticket fraud has pleaded guilty to her own involvement in the scheme.

70-year-old Anita Barney pleaded guilty to two felony theft charges Monday. She's been sentenced to probation and community service and ordered to repay $427,000 to 19 victims.

Authorities say the she loaned money to Schlichter, then recruited friends to participate in a scheme in which he took thousands of dollars for college and NFL game tickets he never delivered. He’s serving an 11-year prison sentence.

Larry Doby celebration
The Indians will celebrate the 65^th anniversary of the integration of the American League this weekend.

Larry Doby became the first black player in the league in 1947, just months after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The ceremony after Friday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays will include a video tribute, the dedication of a U.S. postage stamp and appearance by Doby’s daughters.

Kent coach up for top national honors
Kent State baseball coach Scott Stricklin has made the list of finalists for CollegeBaseballInsider’s Coach of the Year. Stricklin took the Golden Flashes to their first appearance in the College World Series this year, and recently signed a new contract with Kent. The national coaching winner will be announced Thursday.