Vatican reportedly spares Youngstown-area church
Parishioners say the Vatican has overruled a second Northeast Ohio bishop and ordered a church reopened. Parishioners who appealed the closing of Immaculate Conception Church in Wellsville by the Youngstown Roman Catholic Diocese said Thursday they received word from the Vatican upholding their challenge. They say the parish had 150 families and sound finances. But Youngstown Bishop George Murry says he will appeal the decision to the Vatican. The Cleveland bishop decided against appealing a similar directive that cleared the way for 12 closed churches to reopen.

President to return to Ohio
President Barack Obama will return to Ohio on Tuesday. The Columbus Dispatch says he’s slated to visit the Columbus area, but a location and time have not yet been confirmed….Mr. Obama was last here August 1^st, making stops in Mansfield and Akron  

Bipartisan election group supports uniform early voting decision
A bipartisan association of Ohio election officials is praising the state's top elections chief for setting uniform early voting hours. The Ohio Association of Election Officials said the order accommodates the most voters possible while respecting the cost that counties incur to have extended voting hours. Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted ordered election boards in Ohio's 88 counties to have the same hours on weekdays and remain closed on weekends. Prior to the order, local officials could set their own hours. Husted's decision extends voting hours in some counties. But others that had intended to be open later and on Saturdays must now be closed, and that’s drawing critiscim from Democrats.

Teachers union and school board contract talks break
Negotiations between the Akron teachers union and the school have broken down. The Beacon Journal reports the contract dispute will head to a fact finder. The board has made about 22-million dollars in cuts, including teacher layoffs,  and faces another 23-million dollar budget shortfall next year. The contract for the more than 2-thousand union members expired at the end of June. 

Last Jeep Liberty rolls off Toledo assembly line
The last Jeep Liberty model has rolled off an Ohio assembly line. The Toledo Chrysler assembly plant finished building the 11-year-old small SUV on Thursday. That part of the plant will be retooled to build another Jeep product. The shutdown will mean temporary layoffs for about 800 hourly employees who will be called back after the plant is retooled, expected to be next year.

University of Akron to honor scholarships
The University of Akron says it will honor a commitment to offer full-tuition scholarships this fall to 28 graduates of Akron's public schools — even though it has yet to receive an almost vacant city high school in return. The university said it would establish the program in exchange for acquiring an old high school building next to its campus. But the necessary legislation clearing way for the transaction has stalled in Columbus.