They’re making billions and they’ve gotten hefty subsidies from ratepayers. Yet three big energy companies doing business in Ohio haven’t paid federal income tax since the 2017 Trump tax cuts, according to a new report.In fact, Akron-based FirstEnergy, Columbus-based AEP and Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy had negative effective tax rates, according to the report by the , a nonprofit, non-partisan think tank.The paper, which analyzed tax disclosures in the corporations’ annual reports, found that 55 profitable companies didn’t pay any federal income tax in 2020, and 26 hadn’t paid...…They’re making billions and they’ve gotten hefty subsidies from ratepayers. Yet three big energy companies doing business in Ohio haven’t paid federal income tax since the 2017 Trump tax cuts, according to a new report.In fact, Akron-based FirstEnergy, Columbus-based AEP and Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy had negative effective tax rates, according to the report by the , a nonprofit, non-partisan think tank.The paper, which analyzed tax disclosures in the corporations’ annual reports, found that 55 profitable companies didn’t pay any federal income tax in 2020, and 26 hadn’t paid...WW…

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost last week used an annual report to draw attention to the fact that 140 people are languishing on death row because Ohio’s death penalty machinery “has grown increasingly time consuming, costly and lethargic.”Yost, a former prosecutor, might be expected to call for ways to speed up executions. But in an interview Monday, he said he’s not doing that.“I’m saying that (the system is) broken,” he said. “Anytime that you have a law that is not fairly and equally enforced — and promptly enforced — it demeans all law and breeds disrespect for law.”Ohio has...…Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost last week used an annual report to draw attention to the fact that 140 people are languishing on death row because Ohio’s death penalty machinery “has grown increasingly time consuming, costly and lethargic.”Yost, a former prosecutor, might be expected to call for ways to speed up executions. But in an interview Monday, he said he’s not doing that.“I’m saying that (the system is) broken,” he said. “Anytime that you have a law that is not fairly and equally enforced — and promptly enforced — it demeans all law and breeds disrespect for law.”Ohio has...WW…

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted on Thursday continued to insist that in calling it the “Wuhan virus,” he was only raising questions about the Chinese government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic — not blaming the disease on Asians.At the same time Husted, a Trump supporter, wouldn’t address the former president’s handling of the pandemic in the United States — the country with  from the disease.Amid a wave of , Husted came under fire for his last week of an article about baseless claims by Robert Redfield, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and...…Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted on Thursday continued to insist that in calling it the “Wuhan virus,” he was only raising questions about the Chinese government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic — not blaming the disease on Asians.At the same time Husted, a Trump supporter, wouldn’t address the former president’s handling of the pandemic in the United States — the country with  from the disease.Amid a wave of , Husted came under fire for his last week of an article about baseless claims by Robert Redfield, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and...WW…

If you asked most people to start up a dark money group and then funnel , they’d probably want to know what it was going to be used for.But now that the second 501(c)(4) dark-money group, Generation Now, has pleaded guilty to being at the heart of one of the biggest bribery and money laundering scandals in Ohio history, Gov. Mike DeWine is refusing to discuss what one of his top aides was told when he formed the first dark money group, Partners for Progress.Generation Now pleaded guilty earlier this month to being the major conduit of money between Akron-based FirstEnergy and related...…If you asked most people to start up a dark money group and then funnel , they’d probably want to know what it was going to be used for.But now that the second 501(c)(4) dark-money group, Generation Now, has pleaded guilty to being at the heart of one of the biggest bribery and money laundering scandals in Ohio history, Gov. Mike DeWine is refusing to discuss what one of his top aides was told when he formed the first dark money group, Partners for Progress.Generation Now pleaded guilty earlier this month to being the major conduit of money between Akron-based FirstEnergy and related...WW…

Dan McCarthy, a top aide to Gov. Mike DeWine, hasn’t explained what he thought the point was of the millions funneling through a dark money group he founded and into another at the heart of a huge corruption scandal that has rocked Ohio. He did say, however, that he had no reason to believe it was anything improper.But the fact that the other dark money group has now pleaded guilty to its role in the corrupt scheme raises questions about what McCarthy did believe the purpose was, if not to conceal the fact that an Ohio utility was financing a scheme to make ratepayers bail out two nuclear...…Dan McCarthy, a top aide to Gov. Mike DeWine, hasn’t explained what he thought the point was of the millions funneling through a dark money group he founded and into another at the heart of a huge corruption scandal that has rocked Ohio. He did say, however, that he had no reason to believe it was anything improper.But the fact that the other dark money group has now pleaded guilty to its role in the corrupt scheme raises questions about what McCarthy did believe the purpose was, if not to conceal the fact that an Ohio utility was financing a scheme to make ratepayers bail out two nuclear...WW…

As he called up the National Guard Tuesday to prepare for a possible attack on the Statehouse, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday said he didn’t anticipate President Donald Trump’s unprecedented attack on a peaceful transition of power.DeWine said he was activating 500 members of the Ohio Guard to protect the Statehouse and the U.S. Capitol amid threats that Sunday and the Jan. 20 inauguration could see a reprise of last Wednesday’s calamity.That’s when Trump incited a mob to attack the Capitol as Vice President Mike Pence and Congress were inside, certifying an election that Trump lost. Five...…As he called up the National Guard Tuesday to prepare for a possible attack on the Statehouse, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday said he didn’t anticipate President Donald Trump’s unprecedented attack on a peaceful transition of power.DeWine said he was activating 500 members of the Ohio Guard to protect the Statehouse and the U.S. Capitol amid threats that Sunday and the Jan. 20 inauguration could see a reprise of last Wednesday’s calamity.That’s when Trump incited a mob to attack the Capitol as Vice President Mike Pence and Congress were inside, certifying an election that Trump lost. Five...WW…

As the coronavirus vaccine dribbles out far more slowly than promised, many of the people who can get it are refusing to do so.Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday said that a whopping 60% of nursing home workers who have been offered the vaccine have refused it.The news comes amid disappointing vaccination numbers across Ohio, which was told by the Trump administration that it would receive more than 530,000 doses of the vaccines by the end of December.  have been administered.“I am not satisfied with where we are in Ohio,” DeWine said during a coronavirus press conference. “We’re not...…As the coronavirus vaccine dribbles out far more slowly than promised, many of the people who can get it are refusing to do so.Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday said that a whopping 60% of nursing home workers who have been offered the vaccine have refused it.The news comes amid disappointing vaccination numbers across Ohio, which was told by the Trump administration that it would receive more than 530,000 doses of the vaccines by the end of December.  have been administered.“I am not satisfied with where we are in Ohio,” DeWine said during a coronavirus press conference. “We’re not...WW…

When it comes to billions of ratepayer dollars for bailouts and other add-ons, Ohio utilities are in a no-lose situation.In the case of the scandal-plagued, billion-dollar bailout of two Northern Ohio nuclear reactors, their owner is poised to keep any money they collect even if the legislature repeals the bailout.State Rep. Mark Romanchuk, R-Ontario, said that would only continue what already is a disturbing trend in the Buckeye State.“Do you know that there’s been over a billion dollars — that’s with a ‘B’ for boy — collected from ratepayers over the years that have later been ruled...…When it comes to billions of ratepayer dollars for bailouts and other add-ons, Ohio utilities are in a no-lose situation.In the case of the scandal-plagued, billion-dollar bailout of two Northern Ohio nuclear reactors, their owner is poised to keep any money they collect even if the legislature repeals the bailout.State Rep. Mark Romanchuk, R-Ontario, said that would only continue what already is a disturbing trend in the Buckeye State.“Do you know that there’s been over a billion dollars — that’s with a ‘B’ for boy — collected from ratepayers over the years that have later been ruled...WW…

Under growing national pressure, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman on Monday conceded that former Vice President Joe Biden is “likely” to be the next president of the United States.But Portman’s office continued to ignore questions about President Donald Trump’s attempts to get Republican-controlled legislatures to throw out votes and reverse the results of the Nov. 3 election, and he suggested that Trump’s spurious legal challenges have actually been good for democracy.“Donald Trump is our president until Jan. 20, 2021, but in the likely event that Joe Biden becomes our next president, it is in the...…Under growing national pressure, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman on Monday conceded that former Vice President Joe Biden is “likely” to be the next president of the United States.But Portman’s office continued to ignore questions about President Donald Trump’s attempts to get Republican-controlled legislatures to throw out votes and reverse the results of the Nov. 3 election, and he suggested that Trump’s spurious legal challenges have actually been good for democracy.“Donald Trump is our president until Jan. 20, 2021, but in the likely event that Joe Biden becomes our next president, it is in the...WW…

After months of increasing vaccination rates and declining coronavirus cases, infections are again going up in Ohio.Gov. Mike Dewine and health officials on Thursday said the increase has put the state in a race against more-contagious variants that evolve from the “mutant swarm” that thrives so long as the virus has plenty of hosts to infect. However, limiting the number of hosts by getting Ohioans immunized might be hitting a ceiling.Despite more than a third of Ohioans receiving at least a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, the 2,742 new cases in the state on Thursday...…After months of increasing vaccination rates and declining coronavirus cases, infections are again going up in Ohio.Gov. Mike Dewine and health officials on Thursday said the increase has put the state in a race against more-contagious variants that evolve from the “mutant swarm” that thrives so long as the virus has plenty of hosts to infect. However, limiting the number of hosts by getting Ohioans immunized might be hitting a ceiling.Despite more than a third of Ohioans receiving at least a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, the 2,742 new cases in the state on Thursday...WW…