Federal charges filed against Youngstown fracking waste hauler
Federal prosecutors are today announcing charges related to the alleged dumping of up to 20,000 gallons of gas-drilling wastewater into a Northeast Ohio river.  The U.S. Attorney's Office will announce the charges at a 1pm news conference in Youngstown, where the dumping allegedly occurred Jan. 31. The operating permits of two companies — D&L Energy and brine hauler Hardrock Excavating — have already been revoked amid the investigation. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said the action was taken after workers were allegedly seen dumping the brine and drilling mud into a storm sewer that empties into the Mahoning River watershed. Ohio EPA Director Scott Nally dismisses any claim by D&L owner Ben Lupo that he thought the dumping was legal.  Nally says, "There is absolutely no way he could have even though for a second that that would have been an appropriate means of disposal.”  Clean-up crews remain on the site.

 
Task force tackles Ohio death penalty issues
A state Supreme Court task force today is analyzing the effectiveness of Ohio's capital punishment law. Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor has convened the task force while making clear it won't debate whether the state should have the death penalty. The committee is looking at a variety of issues, from how the law affects minorities to the role of clemency. O'Connor says the committee's goal is to produce a fair, impartial and balanced analysis of the state's 30-year-old law.

Students protest Oberlin 'no trespass' list 
Students are speaking out against a secret "no trespass" list maintained by Oberlin college. People who get on the list find themselves barred from campus, but many don't know they are on the list or what they did to get there. The Plain Dealer reports that a campaign by students is seeking to modify the college's trespassing policy, which dates to the early 1970s.

Budget cuts leave Toledo homeless out in the cold
Some homeless people in Toledo will be out in the cold for the rest of the winter because the city's emergency shelter is out of money. The executive director of the shelter at St. Paul's Community Center said the "winter crisis" overnight shelter will close Sunday because funding has run out. Shelter funding has been cut by cash-strapped social service agencies this year.  Donations to extend the program never materialized. More than 900 people stayed overnight at the 50-bed shelter last month, far outpacing demands of previous winters.

Woody Hayes immortalized in bronze at OSU
An 8-foot-tall bronze statue of legendary football coach Woody Hayes is going up outside the Ohio State University athletic center that bears his name. The 800-pound likeness of the longtime coach has been in the works for five years.  It's scheduled to be affixed to a granite base outside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on campus. The statue and other tributes come in recognition of the 100th anniversary of Hayes' birth on Thursday. The bronze likeness was done by artist Alan Cottrill of Zanesville. Hayes coached at Ohio State for 28 seasons. He died in 1987.