Articles by Julie Carr Smyth

Ohio Attorney General to Certify Proposed Ban on Police Immunity

Prompted by a stinging defeat at the U.S. Supreme Court, Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Tuesday said he was putting aside his objections and allowing a proposed constitutional amendment that would end qualified immunity for police and other …

Lawsuit Blames Deaths on Ohio Train Derailment

A lawsuit alleging for the first time that people died because of the disastrous 2023 East Palestine train derailment was announced on Monday’s second anniversary of the toxic crash near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border amid a flurry of new litigation. On …

Adults in Ohio Can Legally Possess and Grow Marijuana – But There’s Nowhere to Buy It

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohioans woke up Thursday in a land of recreational marijuana limbo, in which adults can legally grow and possess cannabis at home, but cannot legally buy it. That combination of factors related to a citizen-initiated statue …

Ohio Votes to Legalize Marijuana For Adult Recreational Use

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio voters approved a measure legalizing recreational marijuana on Tuesday, defying Republican legislative leaders who had failed to pass the proposed law. Passage of Issue 2 makes Ohio the 24th state to allow adult cannabis use …

Ohio to Vote on Legalizing Recreational Marijuana in November

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A proposal to legalize recreational adult use of marijuana in Ohio was cleared Wednesday to appear on statewide ballots this fall after the Republican-led state Legislature failed to act on it. The measure would allow adults …

Railroad Industry Sues to Block Limit on Crew Sizes That Ohio Imposed After Derailment

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – The railroad industry has sued to block a new minimum crew- size requirement that Ohio imposed after a fiery train derailment in East Palestine in February. The new rule was part of a $13.5 billion state …

Ohio Senators Prepare Rail Safety Bill After Norfolk Southern Crash

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Railroads like the one involved in this month’s fiery crash and toxic chemical release in Ohio would be subject to a series of new federal safety regulations and financial consequences under legislation being introduced Wednesday by …

Charter School Can’t Appeal Ohio School Board $60M Order, Court Says

The Ohio school board’s order requiring a giant, now-defunct online charter school to repay the state $60 million over inflated enrollment figures is final and cannot be appealed, the state Supreme Court ruled. In a 4-3 decision, the court delivered …

More Than 100 Dams in Ohio Rank as ‘High-Hazard’

Picturesque, and at times, worrisome. The Muskingum University dam in OHio holds back what locals call “College Lake” on the campus of the private liberal arts college. Perched directly over the inlet to the lake’s spillway is a wooden gazebo …

Ohio AG: Opioid Settlement Should Be Spent Locally

Any money Ohio might receive from a settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and other drugmakers should be spent at the local level, the state’s top lawyer said. Republican Attorney General Dave Yost told reporters that so many of the …