Local
Athens-Hocking Recycling Centers will transfer all operations, owned assets and employees to Southeast Ohio Recycling Terminal Council of Governments on Sept. 21. (Athens-Hocking Recycling Centers)
- Indy context: Area officials have been working toward this event since December 2023, when the city of Athens awarded its solid waste contract to Rumpke, jeopardizing AHRC’s 40-year existence.
Fewer than half of women experiencing postpartum depression receive the healthcare they need. Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine and College of Health Sciences and Professions researchers will convene focus groups to learn more about connecting rural communities to this care. The research team seeks focus group participants. (Ohio University)
The Nelsonville Community Foundation received a “transformative” $575,000 donation from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation. The donation will increase the annual grants awarded by the Nelsonville Community Foundation and add to its endowment fund. (Foundation for Appalachian Ohio)
The Alexander Local School District opened a new playground last week featuring inclusive structures and wheelchair accessible spaces. (WOUB)
At the Ohio University Board of Trustees meeting yesterday, the board voted to rename OU’s College of Fine Arts and approved several capital projects. (Ohio University)
Regional
Integrated Services for Behavioral Health will expand services across southeast Ohio after receiving $2 million in the biennial state budget. The funding also will support two research projects involving youth respite care and substance use disorder treatment. (Integrated Services for Behavioral Health)
- Indy context: Ohio’s 2024-25 state budget allotted $7.5 million to Athens County projects.
State
The prehistoric Octagon Earthworks in Newark will be opened to full public access effective Jan. 1, 2025, following a settlement between the Ohio History Connection and Moundbuilders Country Club. (Ohio History Connection)
Nearly 600 school districts in Ohio face school bus driver shortages. Many school districts are now offering higher wages and more flexible hours. (Statehouse News Bureau)
A largely Republican panel of lawmakers met last week to decide the wording of a proposed state constitutional amendment that would reform Ohio’s redistricting guidelines to prevent gerrymandering. In response to the new wording, Democrats are threatening legal action and claiming the wording is “unconstitutional” and “deceptive.” (Ohio Capital Journal)
The 2024 election cycle now includes more than $1 billion in outside spending. That’s nearly twice as much as outside spending at this point in the 2020 election. In Ohio, the Brown v Moreno race has received upwards of $12 million from Super PACs. (Open Secrets)
A Southern Methodist University study of wastewater injection wells in West Texas found that the wells contaminated groundwater, increased earthquakes and caused the resurgence of contaminated saltwater from previously plugged wells. Similar consequences could be on the way in Ohio. (Inside Climate News)
- Indy context: Torch injection wells in Southeastern Ohio present a threat to groundwater and drinking water.
Ohio Attorney General David Yost settled with FirstEnergy for $20 million following Ohio’s largest bribery and money laundering scandal. (Ohio Capital Journal)
Ohio legal experts offer clarity and explanation for Ohio recreational marijuana laws. (Ohio Capital Journal)
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita dropped a case involving a 10-year-old Ohio girl who traveled to Indiana for an abortion. The state had claimed the Indiana University hospital system violated privacy laws when a doctor told news sources about the 10-year-old patient. (Associated Press)
