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
Athens City Council has formed a new housing committee to strengthen rental code enforcement and increase accountability for negligent landlords. About 75% of the city’s housing is rental — more than double the national average — and the city does not have enough inspectors to assess each rental annually. (WOUB)
Athens attorney Caitlyn McDaniel has been awarded the Ohio State Bar Foundation’s District and Regional 2025 Community Service Award, which honors attorneys under 40 or with less than 15 years of practice. McDaniel is a staff attorney at Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio. (Ohio State Bar Foundation)
Mount Zion Black Cultural Center in Athens has been awarded $60,000 in grants to upgrade its entrance. Funding came from the National Endowment for the Arts ‘OurTown’ Fund and the Athens Noon Rotary Foundation, and will bolster the center’s documentary and archival work. (Mount Zion Black Cultural Center)
Regional
Logan City Council heard a report this week regarding sexual harassment allegations against Logan City Auditor Britny Keeton. (Logan Daily News)
Two mobile opioid treatment units will soon travel across southern Ohio. Operated by Anchor Addiction and Wellness Center, the treatment units will expand access to addiction care and reduce overdose deaths by bringing treatment to high-need communities, including in Vinton County. (The Athens Messenger)
Former coal mining sites in Central Appalachia, including in Kentucky and West Virginia, have been transformed into grasslands that now sustain large elk herds. The shift has turned former industrial land into wildlife habitat and boosted ecotourism. (Garden & Gun)
State
Ohio will use $25 million in state tax funds to support food assistance as the federal government shutdown continues. The funding includes $7 million for food banks and up to $18 million in emergency relief for those in the Ohio Works First program. (Statehouse News Bureau)
The Ohio Redistricting Commission reached a deal on a new congressional map after months of negotiation. The map gives Republicans a greater advantage in several districts but is not expected to definitively flip any current Democratic districts. (The Statehouse News Bureau)
Schools in Ohio are urging voters to approve local levies in this week’s election amid cuts to funding and legislative changes. The state cut nearly $3 billion in expected public education spending over the next two years, and rules passed by lawmakers will prevent districts from putting new emergency levies or increases on the ballot after this election. (Ohio Capital Journal)
- Indy context: Amid its fiscal emergency, the Trimble Local School District is seeking a five-year, 1% earned income tax effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Sales of “intoxicating” hemp products are permitted in Ohio through at least early December unless the legislature enacts new regulations. A Franklin County judge extended a pause on the state’s temporary ban of the products in late October. (Statehouse News Bureau)
Statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Equality Ohio dramatically reduced its staff last week, citing threats to funding. The nonprofit announced a “bold” new strategic plan to its supporters within minutes of notifying affected staff members they had been laid off. (Buckeye Flame)
