Mayor from Ohio. (Getty image file photo.)
Each morning in the Ohio Capital Journal’s free newsletter, The Eye-Opener, we round up the news and commentary from across Ohio, the country and the world that catches our attention. We call this feature Catching Our Eye and have published it here.
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Catching our eyes
The future of Ohio women. Jo Ingles of the Statehouse News Bureau reports: “The president of the Women’s Rights Group says she worries about the future in Ohio“
Construction begins this week on a modern monument at the Ohio Statehouse, and it is the first monument on the state capitol grounds honoring women.
The event comes 105 years after women gained the right to vote in the United States and March was designated nationally as Women’s History Month.
Ohio League of Women Voters Executive Director Jen Miller said women have made a lot of progress since gaining the right to vote in 1920. But she said there is still a lot of work to be done.
Killing the sun. Jake Zuckerman of Signal Ohio reports: “Ohio officials vote to dismantle solar farm in Morrow County. The developer said Ohio “is no longer a good business proposition” for renewables.
State officials rejected an application for a $98 million solar farm in Morrow County last week, making it the seventh huge solar plant rejected in Ohio since 2020.
As is typical with such rejections, members of the Ohio Power Siting Board reported no technical, environmental or engineering failures with the project. Rather, they found that the 726-acre site did not meet the requirement that it serve the “public interest, convenience and necessity,” given the opposition of some local municipal managers and county commissioners.
Cuts to aid LGBTQ youth. WOSU’s Katie Geniusz reports, “An LGBTQ+ youth center in Columbus is experiencing layoffs and halts expansion after funding cuts“
Kaleidoscope Youth Center, a Columbus-based LGBTQ+ nonprofit, said the loss of funding led to layoffs and halted the organization’s planned expansion in northwest Ohio.
Parental rights to provide care prescribed by a doctor? Mary Frances McGowan of Cleveland.com reports: “The Ohio Supreme Court will hear a challenge to state bans on treatment for transgender youth“
The Ohio Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case challenging the constitutionality of a state law that prohibits doctors from prescribing hormone therapy and puberty-blocking drugs to transgender youth.
Madeline Moe et al. v. Dave Yost et al. concerns House Bill 68, which passed the General Assembly in 2023. Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, was the first to veto the bill, saying these decisions “should be made by the people who love these children the most, and that’s the parents.” His veto was later overridden by the legislature and the law entered into force in 2024.
ICE at the Cleveland airport. Abbey Marshall of Ideastream reports: “Trump sends ICE agents to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport amid Department of Homeland Security shutdown“
Due to the partial government shutdown, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are currently staffing the Cleveland International Airport in a non-enforcement capacity.
Ohio cities dealing with ICE. Kendall Crawford of Ohio Newsroom reports: “Ohio cities are reconsidering cooperation with ICE as law enforcement surges“
As federal immigration efforts ramp up across the country, Ohio city councils are preparing for an increased ICE presence.
Many cities have passed laws limiting local law enforcement cooperation with the federal immigration agency.
‘Agony’ in ICE custody. Patricia Gallagher Newberry of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports: “A former Venezuelan mayor held here by ICE in “agony” wants to return home“
Former Venezuelan Mayor Carlos Garcia Odón doesn’t know why ICE booked him into the Butler County Jail two months ago.
He fears for his safety if deported to Ecuador, claiming that the Venezuelan government has influence there. During his detention, his family struggles with financial problems, and his children pray for his return.
Trump Nature Preserve? Chad Murphy of the Columbus Dispatch reports: “Ohio’s Trump Wildlife Preserve proposal is drawing fire on social media“
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ proposal to rename a wildlife refuge is drawing criticism on social media. The proposal would shorten the name “Charles O. Trump Wildlife Refuge” to “Trump Wildlife Refuge.”
The reservation was originally named for Charles O. Trump, the farmer who donated the land, rather than President Donald Trump. Critics say the change is partisan, while the public can comment on the proposal until April 1.
Postal vote for me, but not for you. The Washington Post reports: “Trump Just Voted Using a Method He Calls “Mail Cheating”“
President Donald Trump, who has been pressuring senators to restrict mail-in voting, voted by mail in Tuesday’s special election in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Home of the Whopper. CNN fact checker Daniel Dale reports: “Fact check: The lies Trump is using to sell his latest attack on mail-in voting“
President Donald Trump is pushing for modern restrictions on mail-in voting. To sell his proposition, he lies.
Trump has been giving false information about mail-in voting since the 2020 campaign, which took place amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, as he asks Congress to pass a bill banning absentee voting in federal elections except for reasons related to disability, illness, travel or military service, he is repeating some of the same false claims that have been debunked over the past six years.
Here’s a fact sheet on some of the president’s recent lies on the subject.
Saudi Arabia. The New York Times reports: “In recent talks, the leader of Saudi Arabia is said to have encouraged Trump to continue the war with Iran“
Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is pressing President Trump to continue the war with Iran, arguing that the U.S.-Israeli military campaign presents a “historic opportunity” to transform the Middle East, according to people briefed by U.S. officials during the talks.
People familiar with the talks said that in a series of conversations over the past week, Prince Mohammed told Trump he must press for the destruction of the hard-line Iranian government.
Soldiers on the ground? “Polityka” reports: “The Pentagon is preparing to send another 3,000 troops to the Middle East“
The decision to transfer the army’s 82nd Airborne Division to this region increases the risk of American troops entering Iran.
Lawsuit. The Associated Press reports: “Minnesota is suing the Trump administration over shootings including the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good“
Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration on Tuesday for access to evidence they say must independently investigate three shootings by federal officers, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Student loans. The Independent reports: “More than 9 million student loan borrowers are in default due to record number of tardy payments“
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Thursday that nearly 25 percent of student loan borrowers are in default. According to NPR, a senior agency official recently told reporters that as of early March, a total of 9.2 million borrowers were in default and 2.4 million were in late-term delinquencies.
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