January 2, 2017

Former Ohio lawmaker may not have escaped convictions after all

The state is asking an appeals court to reconsider a decision overturning 10 of 13 criminal convictions for a former Ohio lawmaker from suburban Cincinnati.

Republican Pete Beck was accused of misleading investors about a company's financial status and using their money for personal gain. He was convicted of perjury, theft and securities-related charges.

A state appeals court in mid-December overturned all but three theft counts, which carry a total prison term of one year. Beck had served 16 months of his four-year sentence and a Hamilton County judge granted his request for early release.

The attorney general filed for reconsideration Tuesday. He argues that testimony and evidence supported a perjury count and that the appeals court wrongly concluded Beck was charged with securities fraud outside the statute of limitations.

Source: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2016/12/29/state-asks-court-reconsider-decision-beckss-case/95956270/

January 2, 2017

Columbus police illegally withheld public records, Ohio Supreme Court rules

Columbus police have illegally withheld some public records by refusing to release files on closed criminal cases, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled this morning.

The ruling overturns the police division’s practice since 2010 to refuse to release records in homicide and other high-profile cases to private investigators, reporters at The Dispatch and others.

The justices found that the city improperly relied on prior court rulings, with city officials arguing records could not be released as long as defendants still had potential appeals, which generally can be filed at any time. Such a practice, critics said, meant records were secret until defendants died or were freed from prison.

A lawyer for an Ohio Innocence Project attorney who filed the lawsuit against the city had argued that Columbus’ stance could keep the innocent in prison and true killers walking the streets since police case files could not be examined by third parties.

Read more: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/28/Supreme-Court-rules-against-Columbus.html

January 2, 2017

Ohio lawmakers won't attempt to override veto of 'heartbeat' bill

The Ohio House has adjourned for the year, eliminating the possibility that lawmakers would try to override Gov. John Kasich's vetoes of abortion and renewable energy bills.

Lawmakers had until midnight Saturday, the last two days of the Legislature's two-year term, for possible veto override votes.

At issue before Wednesday's adjournment were potential overrides of bills banning abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected and making renewable energy mandates optional for the next three years.

Kasich, a Republican, also vetoed a measure backed by fellow GOP lawmakers that expanded a tangible property tax exemption for Ohio's oil-and-gas industry and a bill expanding legislators' power to abolish state agencies and departments.

Read more: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/28/ohio-lawmakers-attempt-to-override-veto-of-heartbeat-bill.html

January 2, 2017

Report cites gains from Ohio's Medicaid expansion

With President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans planning to repeal Obamacare, Gov. John Kasich’s administration released a report Friday saying that Ohio’s 2014 Medicaid expansion has improved the health and reduced financial hardships for hundreds of thousands of poor Ohioans.

The analysis, requested by the General Assembly, found that among the 702,000 who gained coverage as of May 2016:

• 75 percent were uninsured before becoming eligible for Medicaid

• More than 1 in 4 has been diagnosed with at least one chronic condition, most commonly high blood pressure or high cholesterol, and including 2 percent with cancer

Read more: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/31/report-cites-gains-from-ohios-medicaid-expansion.html

January 2, 2017

3 leaving office after infighting in Democratic Party

Next week will see the results of a battle between factions of the Franklin County Democratic Party that included a failed takeover attempt and revenge exacted on three incumbent Democratic officeholders who opposed Andrew J. Ginther’s bid for Columbus mayor.

“I don’t recall an instance where the party didn’t endorse an incumbent, let alone three,” said outgoing Recorder Terry “T.J.” Brown, who, along with Sheriff Zach Scott and Commissioner Paula Brooks, lost his March Democratic primary and, at the end of 2016, his job.

The fight within the fight featured the sheriff vs. Commissioner John O’Grady, son of a former chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party. And it got personal. Very personal.

“John O’Grady picked a fight with me because he’s a bully,” Scott said. “He’s just a back-stabber.”

Read more: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/31/infighting-changed-offices.html

January 2, 2017

So when do we start posting that Trump is playing too much golf?

Remember the right wingers saying that President Obama took too much time away from the office and he needs to be working more?

January 2, 2017

Texas state representative hit in head by stray bullet on New Year's Eve

HARLINGEN, Texas -- A stray bullet struck a Texas state representative in the head during a New Year’s Eve celebration early Sunday, he told CBS affiliate KGBT.

State Rep. Armando “Mando” Martinez, D-Weslaco was struck by the stray bullet while welcoming the New Year with his family.

“It felt like a sledgehammer hit me over the head,” said Martinez, who called KGBT from the hospital.

Martinez was rushed to Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco. Doctors later transferred him to Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, where surgeons removed the bullet.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/armando-martinez-texas-state-representative-hit-in-head-stray-bullet-new-years-eve/

January 2, 2017

Vandalized Hollywood sign briefly reads 'HOLLYWeeD'

LOS ANGELES -- No, Los Angeles residents, it wasn't your hangovers playing tricks on you. The Hollywood sign really did read "HOLLYWeeD" for a few hours on New Year's Day.

Police were investigating Sunday after a prankster used giant tarps to turn two of the iconic sign's white Os into Es sometime overnight.

The vandal, dressed in all black, was recorded by security cameras and could face a misdemeanor trespassing charge, said Sgt. Robert Payan.

The person scaled a protective fence surrounding the sign above Griffith Park and then clambered up each giant letter to drape the coverings, Payan said.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/article124058624.html

January 2, 2017

Federal Transit Administration Demands $12 Million from Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

FTA Demands $12 Million from RTA; Mayor Jackson's Public Square Nightmare Scenario Arrives

In the most striking and authoritative corrective to Frank Jackson's Public Square decision-making to date, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has issued a letter demanding $12 million in 30 days from the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA).

So egregious is the city's ongoing violation of a previous contract that the FTA didn't even wait for Mayor Frank Jackson and RTA CEO Joe Calabrese to make their case. The FTA letter, dated Dec. 20, came to light Thursday evening after WKYC broke the story.

The letter is a condemnation of Jackson himself and of the city's arrogance throughout the process. It echoes the grim forecast of city councilman Brian Cummins, who decried the outrageous premise of the current Public Square conversation in a council hearing about the matter on Nov. 30 — the only public hearing to date.

If Jackson insisted on having this conversation after the fact, Cummins shouted, then the city and RTA were legally obliged to keep Superior open while the discussion played out, lest they breach the 2004 agreement tied to the Euclid Corridor Project. Specific federal funds in that grant were premised on ridership numbers in a "carefully designed" Downtown Transit Zone with "high levels of patronage" at Public Square.

Read more: http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2016/12/30/fta-demands-12-million-from-rta-mayor-jacksons-public-square-nightmare-scenario-arrives

January 2, 2017

Former Employee Charged With Embezzling $2 Million From Cleveland Catholic Charities

A former Cleveland Catholic Charities employee who worked at various times as the non-profit's comptroller and business manager was charged today with embezzling $2 million from the organization.

58-year-old Michelle Medrick of North Royalton allegedly used her position to steal millions between 2008 and March of this year.

In a statement last month when the allegations (but not the employee's name) came to light, CEO Patrick Gareau said in a statement, "We are shocked and disappointed that this occurred. Stewardship is one of the core values of our organization and we take the trust granted to us by our supporters, clients and community very seriously. We are working closely with our audit committee and board of directors and have taken steps to strengthen and improve our internal controls and oversight of systems within the organization."

An independent forensic audit was conducted by an outside firm and the FBI investigated. Medrick allegedly altered checks and used donor checks for personal income, among other nefarious acts of embezzlement.

Read more: http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2016/12/28/former-employee-charged-with-embezzling-2-million-from-cleveland-catholic-charities