This week, the most compelling debate to take place on Capitol Square this week was over this question: Should undocumented workers have the right to receive workers’ compensation. The House version of the budget make some big changes to Gov. John Kasich's spending plan, but it also included some surprises, such as a cut to the state’s food banks.
With the budget potentially hundreds of millions of dollars short, lawmaker and Gov. John Kasich have said everything is on the table to make sure it’s balanced. Two experts from think tanks that follow state policy – Greg Lawson from the conservative Buckeye Institute and Zach Schiller with the progressive Policy Matters Ohio - have thoughts on what should be changed to balance the budget and ensure stability going forward.
Gov. Kasich has ended the tour promoting his new book, but he’s not done talking about the campaign or the issues that concern him – including the actions of President Trump and some of his fellow Republicans in Congress. This week, he was on CNN, at the City Club of Cleveland, and at the Columbus Metropolitan Club.
Kasich has been talking quite a bit about bipartisanship and bringing the country together. But the wounds suffered from last fall’s election are still open and raw for many on both sides. A group that tried to forestall some of that incivility and nastiness that pervaded the rhetoric in the 2016 election now wants to take on trying to heal that pain. Carolyn Lukensmeyer is the Executive Director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse talks about what her group is doing in Ohio and three other states to push that along.
This week also featured a historic color guard drill from the U.S. Marine Corps Battle Color Detachment performing at the Statehouse. This unit, 8th and I, is the oldest military post in the country. This was the first performance at the Ohio capitol for this highly skilled unit, which rarely performs outside Washington, D.C.