Local
Executive Director Tami Collins said Athens County Job and Family Services is seeing early financial progress after reducing costs and selling one agency building. (Athens Messenger)
A group in Nelsonville wants to develop a pocket park at the current site of Athens County Community Cares Resource Center. Bidding for the building is currently underway; a spokesperson for the group said it has hopes that if a buyer is not found after the round ends on Aug. 4, the Athens County Board of Commissioners will agree to split the lot and create the park. (The Athens Messenger)
Over a year after Ohio University faculty voted to unionize, the university’s lawsuit challenging the election remains pending. OU faculty still do not have a contract. (WOUB)
Indy context: From March 2024 to October 2025, OU spent over $325,000 on the labor counsel it retained to contend with its faculty union. Spending has continued amid ongoing contract negotiations.
Regional
The public has until Aug. 17 to give feedback to the Bureau of Land Management on a proposal to lease 41 oil and gas parcels in Wayne National Forest, totaling 2,840 acres. The lease sale is scheduled for Sept. 15. (Bureau of Land Management)
Construction is expected to begin this summer on Ohio’s first mountain roller coaster in the Hocking Hills. The coaster will include more than 3,600 feet of track through a wooded site. A visitor center will also be developed on the 55-acre property, expected to open in 2027. (Jake Ryan)
State
More than 1,200 cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported in Ohio this year, according to the Ohio Department of Health. That’s up from just 75 cases last year. There have so far been 116 cases reported in Athens County this year. (DataOhio)
Ohio’s homeless population increased 3.7% in 2025, to 12,196 people, according to an annual homelessness report. (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development)
Organizations in the state report that they will distribute fewer fentanyl test strips after the federal government ended grant funding for the overdose prevention tool. (Statehouse News Bureau)
Secretary of State Frank LaRose has said there was “not a breach of any kind” to Ohio’s voter rolls after President Donald Trump claimed last week that they were compromised by China. (Statehouse News Bureau)
The Ohio Democratic Party required its progressive caucus to remove a statement criticizing Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for governor, over her anti-trans stance. (Erin in the Morning)
