Local
A woman who over the weekend was reported to have entered the Hocking River near the West State Street Ball Fields was located safely following a day-long investigation. The woman exited the river on her own. (City of Athens)
Regional
Four measles cases have been reported in Meigs County. Officials are tracing exposures to identify additional potential cases of the highly contagious disease, preventable through vaccination. (Meigs County Health Department)
A judge last week ordered a competency evaluation for the mother of 16 children found living in unsafe conditions at a Vinton County home. The evaluation will determine whether she is competent to stand trial, or if she should be found not guilty by reason of insanity. (WOUB)
The Arc of Appalachia will open a new 60.5-acre preserve with an ADA-accessible trail in Hocking County. Big Cola Wetlands Preserve will require free permits, which can now be reserved. (Arc of Appalachia)
State
The Ohio Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Ashville, a village outside Columbus, must submit petitions for a fall vote on whether to allow two data centers and a natural gas plant to elections officials. The decision could set the stage for the state’s first voter referendum on a data-center project. (Statehouse News Bureau)
A lightning strike this week injured 16 inmates at Grafton Correctional Institution in Lorain County, with one airlifted to a hospital and seven still hospitalized as of the latest update. (BBC News)
Gov. Mike DeWine issued an emergency executive order this week for the state to begin directly vetting addiction recovery houses. The order is part of an effort to more strictly regulate recovery or substance-free residences. (Statehouse News Bureau)
The governor also delayed executions scheduled for three men incarcerated on death row in Ohio, each by three years. (Statehouse News Bureau)
