Rotunda Rumblings
Bad sports: According to Sabrina Eaton, U.S. Representative Jim Jordan is investigating the antitrust exemptions enjoyed by professional baseball, basketball, hockey, and football teams in sports broadcasting agreements that include home-market blackouts. The House Judiciary Committee’s head, a Republican from Champaign County, addressed letters on Monday asking why, in spite of advancements in technology, it is still so costly and difficult for supporters to see their home teams. The letters request briefings on their sports broadcasting markets and blackout exemptions from the leaders of the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, and National Basketball Association.
Money crunch: According to Eaton, the vigorous federal drive of the 1950s has been replaced by funding speed bumps in the construction of interstate highways, forcing states today to negotiate difficult finance issues and demonstrate that projects are worth billions of dollars before construction begins.Planners in six states have been working for decades to build a new interstate highway that would connect Michigan to South Carolina via Ohio. The task is made more difficult by the reduced funding picture. These planners are tying together planned construction and existing roads to create a transportation corridor that has the potential to transform regional economic development.
New digs: Early voting for the Sept. 9 primary in a number of contests throughout the county will start on Tuesday, according to Mary Frances McGowan, when the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections conducts its first election from its new offices. During a press conference on Monday, director Anthony Perlatti stated that the move is a major improvement over its prior facilities, which included a larger voting area and more parking. Located on Superior Avenue between East 18th and East 21st streets, the building was once home to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.
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On the ballot: On September 9, a number of Cuyahoga County cities will have nonpartisan primaries for local government positions. There are seven City Council races in Cleveland, according to Kaitlin Durbin. In addition to the mayoral recall question in Cleveland Heights, the ballot also included mayoral primaries in Garfield Heights, East Cleveland, and Cleveland Heights. There is also a District 7 City Council race in Maple Heights.
Criminal case criticism: One year after being charged with attempted murder and rape, Bobby George, a member of the George family and a major donor to both Democrats and Republicans in the state, is still unable to defend himself, according to Adam Ferrise. The state withdrew $3.5 million in response to the allegations in order to fund the Georges’ $35 million, three-building restaurant and entertainment complex in Cleveland’s Flats. However, the length of the special prosecutor’s inquiry has drawn criticism from the legal community. George disputes the accusations.
Moreno’s Homecoming: As part of a three-nation Latin American tour, U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno, who was born in Colombia, is returning home this week.According to the Associated Press, Moreno has become a conduit for conservatives in Latin America who want to establish ties with the Trump administration. Moreno intends to meet with local officials, business executives, and national legislators while in Colombia.
Federal crackdown: President Donald Trump used the 2024 murder of Mike Gillas as justification for his actions during a press conference on Monday to declare that federal law enforcement would be entering Washington, D.C. A carjacking claimed the life of Gill, a University of Dayton alumnus who had previously worked as press secretary for former GOP U.S. Representative Paul Gillmor of Old Fort. As he declared that he was sending troops to tackle crime and remove the homeless from Washington, D.C., Trump called Gill a “fantastic person.” According to The Washington Post, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser has frequently stated that violent crime has decreased for the past two years following a sharp post-pandemic surge in 2023, despite Trump’s portrayal of crime in the nation’s capital as rising. According to Trump, “if our capital is dirty, our entire country is dirty and they don’t respect us.”
The New York Times, “Homemade” The Warren County town of Aberlin Springs, which emphasizes organic farming and a mindset reminiscent of the Make Healthy Great Again movement, was highlighted by Caroline Kitchener. All of the upper-middle class families in the development have mothers who remain at home. The founder of the agri-community aims to draw in crunchy families from both political extremes, although the majority are white, conservative, and some are anti-vaccine.
Campaign funds: According to Politico’s Adam Wren, the Teamsters are supporting Republican races this year, continuing the union’s previous trend of growing GOP support and shifting away from Democrats. U.S. Representatives Bob Latta, Michael Rulli, Dave Joyce, and Dave Taylor are among those in Ohio.
Vacation break: Vice President JD Vance and his family came on vacation Monday, putting a quiet hamlet in Cotswalds, England, under lockdown, according to The Daily Mail.The Cincinnati Republican and his family are staying at Dean Manor, an 18th-century country home in the hamlet of Dean, where police have blocked all roads and walkways. While the Vances are there, officers are using sniffer dogs to scan cars, verifying the identities of locals attempting to enter the security perimeter, and telling walkers to leave.
Lobbying Lineup
Five IT firms lobbied on the two-year state budget plan, House plan 96.
1. Microsoft Corporation.
2. The affiliates of Google LLC
3. Apple Inc.
4. Alibaba
5. United States Lenovo Inc.
On the Move
The new leadership of the Ohio Democratic Party’s Rural Caucus includes Troy Scott, a candidate for the Ironton County Council and supporter of public education, as caucus secretary; Jordan Horstman of Miami County, a legislative aide to state Rep. Karen Brownlee, as caucus vice chair; and Christopher Gibbs, a farmer and Shelby County Democratic Party chair, as caucus chair.
U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi appointed Dominick S. Gerace II as interim United States Attorney, and on Monday, he took the oath of office as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. The Senate has not voted to confirm Gerace, despite Trump’s July nomination.
Birthdays
Former Representative Anne Gonzales
State Senator Michele Reynolds’s top legislative assistant is Chloe Green.
Jake Neff, assistant financial director for the Ohio Senate Republicans
Kim Zianno, director of human resources and chief administrative officer of the Ohio House
Straight from the Source
We’re discussing a highly intelligent individual, not one with strong moral convictions. He went from likening Trump to Hitler, which he did, to claiming that he should be in charge of the free world in a matter of years.
-According to Areport in The Hill, former US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg talked about JD Vance on the Pod Save America program.
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