There is good news and bad news for Ohioans coming from ODOT - this will be the biggest construction season ever, with 30% percent more money being spend on Ohio’s roads, bridges, bike and walking paths and other byways than in any other year. Gov. Ted Strickland signed a law that gives nearly half of Ohio's counties a new financial tool – a land bank – to combat the negative fall-out from abandoned and foreclosed properties. And the state is fighting back against prescription drug abuse – the governor wants lawmakers to require pain clinics to be licensed, and for doctors and pharmacies to be more diligent about using a statewide database to track drugs that are prescribed in Ohio.
The biggest story this week in state government was clearly the death of Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer. Reaction came from all corners, from current Supreme Court justices to lawmakers. Democratic Attorney General Richard Cordray and Republican former Franklin County prosecutor Michael Miller remember Moyer. And Ohio State’s Moritz College of Law is also remembering Moyer as a graduate and friend. Dean Alan Michaels talks about Moyer.
Moyer was promoting the concept of merit selection of judges in what turned out to be his final years. He worked on that idea with election watchdog groups such as Ohio Citizen Action, and its legislative director, Catherine Turcer.