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Q & A: Why is Lake Erie’s algae bloom growing again?
GIBRALTAR ISLAND, Ohio — Four years ago, Lake Erie algae wreaked havoc on the Toledo water system, affecting 400,000 residents in Ohio and Southeast Michigan. Known as harmful algal blooms, the deep green ooze grows by the mile each year, fed by phosphorus-rich runoff from farm fields. Though not always toxic, the eyesores gunk up…
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Ohio Attorney General faces legal action after Eye on Ohio story
Columbus— A new complaint before the Ohio Elections Commission alleges that the Ohio Attorney General’s practice of hiring debt subcontractors violates state law. J. Whitfield Larrabee, a left-leaning activist, filed the complaint Thursday, citing a recent article by the Ohio Center for Investigative Journalism as exhibit A. The article noted that under current Republican Attorney…
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Where did ~$250 million go? Rate hike funds still unaccounted for in FirstEnergy Bankruptcy
By Kathiann M. Kowalski Ohio ratepayers have paid FirstEnergy’s utilities roughly a quarter of a billion dollars since January 2017 under a distribution modernization rider. Now, critics say FirstEnergy is stalling on saying just what it’s doing with that money, which regulators approved without any requirements that it pay for specific projects. The mandate for…
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Ohio nuclear plants get stricter scrutiny after safety system problems
By Kathiann M. Kowalski Federal regulators are watching the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear plants in Ohio more closely after problems with backup systems surfaced at both sites within the last year. Speaking at a meeting about the Davis-Besse plant last month, Nuclear Regulatory Commission representatives seemed satisfied that appropriate measures had been taken and said…
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Sidebar: The Lobbyist Impact
The Ohio Attorney General’s office disputes the notion that campaign contributions influence how it awards debt collection work. But another factor – hiring a lobbyist – has had a big impact.
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Unlike Neighboring States, Ohio Lacks Transparent, Merit Process For Debt Collection Outsourcing; Campaign Contributors Much More Likely To Get Contracts
An Eye On Ohio review of public records for the past 10 years, however, found a strong correlation between the amount of campaign contributions and the revenue received by law firms doing collection work for the attorney general’s office.
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Could stepping up disclosure of drug data help state citizens? Some Ohio cities opt to make overdose information public
By Lucia Walinchus The most dangerous time for Cincinnati heroin addicts is not a typical party time: 3 p.m. on Wednesdays. For Columbus, it’s 6 p.m. on Thursdays, and in Akron, 7 p.m. on Tuesdays. In a few Ohio cities, online interactive databases now let anyone with a browser track the strange course of opiates,…
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Ohio Schools Start Thinking out of the Box to Stem School Shootings: Expanded Teacher Training Versus the 22 Safes With Loaded Guns
By Lucia Walinchus Licking Valley Schools Superintendent David Hile shuddered when he saw the Facebook image of the boy with a menacing stare and a gleaming assault rifle. It was the same boy who, after threatening students, had been expelled from school for 80 days, the maximum time allowed under state law. And now, two…
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Eye on Ohio hires new Executive Director; Announces Major Changes
Letter From the Editor Dear Readers, We are excited to announce that the Ohio Center for Investigative Journalism will begin regularly publishing again. In January, Eye On Ohio hired Lucia Walinchus as its new Executive Director. Walinchus moved to Ohio from Oklahoma where she freelanced for the New York Times, the Journal Record, and a…
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Type of Work: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.