Gov. John Kasich is making his way back to Ohio before his big announcement next week – and after the launch of his first TV ad of his soon-to-be official presidential campaign. The Republican field now numbers 15, with the addition of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker this week. Kasich is, of course, hoping to make the list of top 10 candidates who will be on stage for the first televised Republican presidential candidate debate on August 6 in Cleveland. After years of fighting against the death penalty, Rep. Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) is finding new allies in her fight to abolish it - freshman Rep. Niraj Antani R-Miamisburg). But conservatives including Rep. John Becker (R-Cincinnati) want to keep the death penalty in Ohio. The group hoping to put a measure to legalize marijuana along with 10 official growing sites on the fall ballot took another proposal to the ballot board this week - it would allow people convicted of marijuana possession and other violations to clear their records of convictions that would be made obsolete if pot is permitted in Ohio.
Now that the budget is signed and in place, the experts can go over the big numbers in that huge document – especially the school funding figures. Overall, there are well over a hundred districts that will see cuts in this budget. All told, it’s a cut of around $90 million in funding for the state’s public schools. Talking about it are two school finance veterans. Damon Asbury is the director of legislative services for the Ohio School Boards Association, and was the superintendent of the Worthington City Schools and an associate superintendent in the Columbus City Schools. George Wood is the longtime superintendent of the Federal Hocking Local Schools in southeast Ohio, and joins the discussion the facilities of WOUB in Athens.