Local
The city of Athens may change its interest allocation process to help replenish its general fund; its cash reserves have fallen below the required threshold. (WOUB)
- Indy context: The city is holding off on its $90,000 membership fee to the Baileys Trail System, due to the city’s precarious financial situation.
In a speech during an end-of-year banquet, the director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University slammed the university’s decision to pause awarding of diversity scholarships based on the Ohio Attorney General’s interpretation of a U.S. Supreme Court decision on race-based admissions. That decision will cost journalism students $46,000 in scholarships endowed by donors to the school, Eddith Dashiell said. (The Columbus Dispatch)
Students from Tri-County Career Center are building a “community engagement tiny home” for the Athens County Sheriff’s Office to use for crowd monitoring at fairs, festivals and other events. (360 Tri-County)
Grant awards:
- The village of Amesville is one of 90 local government entities selected to participate in the READY Local Governments initiative from the Appalachian Regional Commission. (ARC)
- Hocking College will receive $69,686 for outreach and education and recycling drop-off programs from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. (Ohio EPA)
- Rural Action will partner with six agencies to help private landowners conserve habitat and ecosystems while generating revenue using a $6 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service. (U.S. Forest Service)
- Nelsonville-York High School received a grant from the Dale Hileman Legacy Fund to purchase a new oscillating spindle sander for its workshop. (Foundation for Appalachian Ohio)
Region
Area residents have a little more time to comment on an environmental assessment of the potential effects of fracking in the Wayne National Forest. The Bureau of Land Management announced Monday that it was extending the comment period to May 17. (Bureau of Land Management)
State
Ohio law will no longer have a loophole for spousal rape. House Bill 161 passed unanimously in the Ohio Senate last week, sending it to Gov. Mike DeWine for signature. The bill passed the Ohio House in November 2023 with a single no vote. (Statehouse News Bureau)
The foreign aid package recently passed by Congress incorporated the FEND Off Fentanyl Act developed by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Tim Scott (R-SC). The measure allows the federal government to seize assets of international fentanyl traffickers and expand anti-money laundering actions related to trafficking. (Ohio Capital Journal)
Emails show that the co-sponsor of a proposed “bathroom bill” before the Ohio Legislature worked closely with a self-described “radical feminist” group to develop the legislation. The Women’s Liberation Front, which has received funding from designated hate groups, has influenced anti-trans legislation nationwide. (Ohio Capital Journal)
A Cincinnati-area legislator has proposed a bill that would require road crews to try to identify the owners of deceased pets. Lassie’s Law, proposed by Rep. Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton), would require crews to scan bodies for microchips and notify owners before disposing of the bodies. (Statehouse News Bureau)
