Husted sets uniform early voting
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted has issued a directive telling all county boards of elections they must keep uniform hours. In the two weeks leading up to the elections, boards must allow voting between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. with the exception of the Friday before the election. They will close at 6 that day. The boards will also be closed on Columbus Day. Husted says there will NOT be any Saturday or Sundays hours for voting in the weeks before the election. Husted hopes this will put to rest the controversy created when some Republican boards of elections decided to have late night and weekend hours but some Democratic counties were not able to do the same thing. In the cases of the Democratic counties, Husted was forced to step in to break tie votes because the local boards, comprised of two democrats and two Republicans, had deadlocked on the issue.

Early voting lawsuit in court
A federal judge considering the legality of the state's early voting rules says he'll take some time before making a decision. He heard from attorneys Wednesday. The case focuses on a law cutting three days out of the early-voting period for everyone except members of the military and Ohio voters overseas. The lawsuit was brought by President Barack Obama's campaign and Democrats.

Crowds line up for Ryan rally in Stark
About 500 people lined up by 8 a.m. outside the auditorium at Walsh University where likely GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan is scheduled to speak at 9:30 this morning. Ryan drew thousands yesterday to his speech at his alma mater, Miami University of Ohio. Mitt Romney picked the Wisconsin congressman as his running mate last Saturday.

Portman gets top billing at GOP convention
Republican Party officials have announced that Ohio Sen. Rob Portman has been tapped to speak at the upcoming convention. that Portman will be among six "headliners" addressing the nominating convention in Tampa, Fla., Aug. 27-30. Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney had considered Portman a possible running mate before choosing Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan. Ohio Gov. John Kasich also has a speaking slot at the convention. 

Youngstown gets federal grant for tech hub
White House officials are announcing a $30 million investment to form a manufacturing hub in the Mahoning Valley aimed at boosting technology in a three-state region. President Barack Obama's administration will announce details today of a partnership between dozens of companies, universities and nonprofit organizations in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Its main hub in Youngstown is scheduled to launch by September. The consortium will develop additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, which will affect a range of industries including defense, aerospace and automotive. The partnering entities will add another $40 million to the pilot program, which beat out proposals from other regions in the country. 

BGSU, Toledo to disenroll students for nonpayment
Bowling Green State University and University of Toledo students who are behind on their bills may want to pay up. The schools say they will disenroll any student not in good financial standing or who lack payment plans for overdue bills before fall classes begin. In the past, the university waited until payment delinquencies stretched into spring semester to start penalizing students.

Nine counties qualify for federal drought assistance
Nine more western Ohio counties have been designated as primary natural disaster areas because of drought and heat. That makes them eligible for federal assistance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that farmers in counties including Butler, Hamilton, and Van Wert are now eligible for federal loans. Williams County in the Northwest corner of the state was the first in Ohio to receive the disaster designation last week. The nine Ohio counties were among 172 counties across the country that the government designated as primary natural disaster areas Wednesday.  

Holocaust memorial moves forward
A Holocaust memorial on the grounds of the Ohio Statehouse is one step closer to reality. A Board approved the location of the memorial Wednesday. It will be built on an open area of the southwest corner of Statehouse grounds. The $2 million project pushed by Gov. John Kasich will be paid for by private donations. It will be the first Holocaust memorial at any statehouse in the nation. The next step in the process is solicitation of proposals from artists. The field will be narrowed by a 19-member committee that includes a Holocaust survivor, a World War II veteran, educators and philanthropist Abigail Wexner. Ground breaking is expected to be next spring, with completion slated for 2014.