Local
Local philanthropists Jeff Chaddock and Mark Morrow have pledged a $1 million planned gift to support the Athens Conservancy, a local nonprofit land trust. (Athens Conservancy)
At its meeting last week, the Ohio University Board of Trustees approved a nearly $16 million increase in its budget for a South Green student housing development; increased various fees; and heard updates on the university’s Student Spaceflight Experiments Program. (The Post)
Hocking College will host a night of boxing on April 20 to support scholarships for 2024 Trimble Local Schools graduates to attend any program at the trade school for free. (Hocking College)
The college will also host a fashion show fundraiser on April 19. The show will highlight original student creations and support its Fashion Design & Retail Merchandising Scholarship Fund. (Hocking College)
Grant awards:
- NASA awarded OU a $6 million grant for research on pilotless planes. (The Post)
- The Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council received a nearly $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for planning to support energy efficient water infrastructure. (Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council)
- The city of Athens will replace playground equipment at the Richland Avenue park after receiving a $20,000 grant from the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association Foundation. (City of Athens)
Regional
A fire chief in Jackson County pleaded guilty to embezzling $200,000 in fire department funds. (WOUB)
State
Norfolk Southern agreed to a $600 million settlement in a class action lawsuit over the 2023 East Palestine train derailment. The settlement will see class action payments to residents within a 20 mile radius of the disaster and payments for personal injury claims to residents within a 10 mile radius. Some fear that after the money is divided up, it won’t be nearly enough. (Associated Press)
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost acknowledged in a court filing that the state’s 2019 law banning most abortions is unconstitutional, after voters approved an amendment to the state constitution last year. (Associated Press)
Yost also recently issued a report on the state’s “unworkable” death penalty system. The state has 119 people on death row and hasn’t carried out an execution since 2018. Yost supports a bill allowing nitrogen hypoxia for executions. (Ohio Capital Journal)
A state commission approved a plan by AEP Ohio that will allow it to increase customer rates by $8 a month. A consumer watchdog group says the hike is improper. (Ohio Capital Journal)
Ohio’s infant mortality rate varies dramatically by race, at 14.2% for Black babies compared to 5.4% for white babies. (Ohio Capital Journal)
Rejection of provision ballots has more than tripled since Ohio implemented strict new voter ID laws last year. (Ohio Capital Journal)
Bird flu is spreading among cows in northwest Ohio. The risk to humans is low. (Global Center for Health Security)
