Ohio

Tenants in a number of Ohio cities, ranging from Akron to Yellow Springs, have something that their counterparts in Cleveland lack: renter protection rights.

Tuesday’s tally of more than 9,900 new COVID cases in Ohio includes a backlog of positive tests dating back to September; the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says it has fired its executive and legal director citing what it says is evidence he'd been spying on the organization for years; investigators say skeletal remains found nearly 40 years ago in Twinsburg have been identified as those of a guitarist who once played with the R&B group, The O’Jays; and more stories.

The omicron variant of the coronavirus has been officially detected in Cleveland; Ohio currently ranks in the top three in hospitalizations per 100,000 people nationwide; Justin Bibb raised and spent nearly $1.6 million in his successful campaign for the Cleveland mayor’s office; and more stories.

Akron-based FirstEnergy is selling a nearly 20% stake in its transmission business for $2.4 billion; COVID-19 cases in Ohio spiked to above average on Sunday to more than 4,300; the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium says it has filed its formal appeal of the loss of its most important accreditation; and more stories.

The Ohio Health Department has issued new guidelines for what to do if a student comes in contact with someone who’s tested positive for COVID; Ohio’s top lawyer has filed suit against the Biden administration over a rule allowing family planning clinics that provide abortion referrals to receive federal funds; a city council in a Cincinnati suburb has voted to ban abortion; and more stories.

The National Weather Service on Thursday issued 11 tornado warnings throughout Northeast Ohio yesterday, the most during a single event since 2005; Ohio’s coronavirus case rate is at 420 case per 100,000 residents; a newly surfaced text exchange between then-FirstEnergy executives give a new peek into the favors the company got from Ohio’s top utility regulator; and more stories.

Akron’s arts and culture newspaper The Devil Strip has laid off its staff, citing insufficient funds; Christian Aid Ministries isn’t saying much about the 17 members who were abducted over the weekend in Haiti; Foxconn, which is purchasing the Lordstown Motors factory, has announced its new line of electric vehicles; and more stories.

A House Republican has announced plans to introduce a bill legalizing recreational marijuana in Ohio; A pair of Republican-backed bills in the Ohio House would restrict how the topic of racism is taught in K-12 schools; Online retail giant Amazon is building a new $87 million warehouse on a former golf course in Canton; and more stories.

Northeast Ohio has so far avoided the worst as the latest surge in new coronavirus cases slowly wanes; groups suing over Ohio’s new state House and Senate district maps will be allowed to question Gov. Mike DeWine and other members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission; a new report says Cleveland’s $511 million in federal relief funding could be transformational for the city; and more stories.

Ohio House Republicans have put the brakes on a fast-tracked bill limiting employers' ability to require that workers receive the coronavirus vaccine as a condition of employment; two friends from Ohio have been sentenced to 45 days in jail for storming the U.S. Capitol together in January; an Ohio fish is one of 23 species The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is set to declare extinct; and more stories.