All information is current as of The Scoop’s production on Tuesday morning. Click the links for the most up-to-date information. The Athens County Independent believes the cited sources of information are reliable; however, these sources are responsible for the accuracy of their own reporting.
Submit news and information to info@athensindependent.com by noon on Mondays for inclusion in Tuesday’s issue of The Scoop.
Local
An Athens County jury on Friday convicted Brian Keith Hart, 35, on two charges stemming from the 2022 death of his father. Hart will be sentenced this week for murder and having weapons under disability; he was found not guilty of aggravated murder and gross abuse of a corpse. (The Logan Daily News)
Ohio University will retire 11 programs to comply with Ohio Senate Bill 1, which requires public universities to eliminate undergraduate degree programs that graduate fewer than five students a year over a three-year period. The university will additionally merge 18 programs, and has asked the state for a waiver to retain eight programs that would otherwise change. (WOUB)
Athens County’s Shannon Stewart has been honored with the 2025 Jenco Award for their community service and visionary leadership. The award recognizes Stewart’s commitment to provide food and companionship to those in need, contributions at United Campus Ministry, and work at Rural Action attending to the needs of hundreds of AmeriCorps members on and off the clock with “hope, care and support.” (Foundation for Appalachian Ohio)
WOUB Public Media will cut nearly $1 million from its budget, including through layoffs, after losing federal funding. NPR and PBS programming will continue for now through pre-paid contracts, but more financial strain is expected as state support declines. (WOUB)
Regional
Norfolk Southern, the railroad company responsible for the 2023 East Palestine train derailment, has yet to fully join the federal Confidential Close Call Reporting System, a program that allows employees to report safety issues and close calls without facing discipline. (Marietta Times)
State
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost last week found county jails may hold Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees beyond 48 hours and provide services like transportation, but only if the agreements are authorized by county commissioners. In response, the ACLU of Ohio argues that eight counties lack proper legal contracts with ICE and therefore must release detainees they currently hold. (Ohio Capital Journal)
Ohio has become the first state in the country to require K–12 public schools to adopt artificial intelligence technology policies, including standards for fair use, privacy and data quality, ethical uses and academic honesty. (EdWeek)
Gov. Mike DeWine has asked the Ohio Pharmacy Board to schedule kratom in any form as an illegal drug. Kratom, an Asian botanical herb often reproduced synthetically, can cause stimulant and sedative effects. If DeWine’s call is met, Ohio would be the first state to classify kratom as a Schedule I drug. (The Statehouse News Bureau)
A new bipartisan bill would allow (but not require) school districts to pay student teachers an hourly wage and offer them healthcare benefits, while also enabling federal cost-of-living stipends and test-fee waivers. If passed, the bill also would allow state universities to waive tuition for student teachers. (The Statehouse News Bureau)
Lawsuits:
- A woman criminally charged in Warren, Ohio, after suffering a miscarriage has added additional hospital staff members as defendants in her ongoing federal lawsuit, alleging they played roles in violating her rights. Her attorneys say she waited hours for treatment at St. Joseph Warren Hospital before miscarrying, and that staff reported her situation to law enforcement. (Ohio Capital Journal)
- Women’s political organization Red, Wine and Blue filed a lawsuit challenging Ohio’s new rule requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote or update registration at the BMV, arguing that the rule creates extra hurdles for eligible voters, including seniors, rural residents and people who have changed their names. (Ohio Capital Journal)
- A whistleblower lawsuit filed by the founder of Harm Reduction Ohio claims the nonprofitretaliated after he reported that an employee responsible for procuring overdose reversal drugs for HRO wassimultaneouslyworking for a pharmaceuticalcompanylinked to one of the drugs being purchased. (Signal Ohio)
