Latest news with #GrahamStokes
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
All five of Ohio's intellectual diversity centers have named executive directors
On the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for the Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original story.) It's been nearly two years since Ohio's five intellectual diversity centers were signed into law and one has already begun offering classes. All five independent academic centers have named their executive directors and the University of Toledo Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership started classes this past school year. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Ohio's 2023 two-year state budget allocated $24 million for the centers — $5 million each fiscal year to Ohio State University, $1 million each fiscal year to the University of Toledo and $2 million each fiscal year for each center at Miami University, Cleveland State University and Wright State University. The centers at Ohio State, Miami, Cleveland State and Wright State 'shall conduct teaching and research in the historical ideas, traditions, and texts that have shaped the American constitutional order and society,' according to the law. The University of Toledo's institute is 'established for the purpose of creating and disseminating knowledge about American constitutional thought and to form future leaders of the legal profession through research, scholarship, teaching, collaboration, and mentorship,' according to the law. The Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society will start offering classes in the fall semester including three versions of an American Civic Tradition Class, said university spokesperson Chris Booker. The Chase Center is housed in the John Glenn College of Public Affairs. Lee Strang was named the executive director of the Chase Center last summer. He previously was the director at the University of Toledo Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership. The Chase Center — which will have at least 15 tenure-track faculty members — is in the process of hiring faculty, Booker said. The center has already hosted several events, including a conversation with Ohio State President Ted Carter. Ohio State's University Senate voted against a proposal to formally establish the Chase Center back in January, according to The Columbus Dispatch. 'While we respect the voice of the senate, we were disappointed in the vote,' Booker said in an email. 'The Chase Center was established in 2023 by the state of Ohio via statute, and Ohio State must develop and operate the center in line with those legal requirements.' Nine courses have been offered through Toledo's institute since the 2024 summer semester including the art of statesmanship, the art of rhetoric, civic discourse, competing theories of justice, and model U.S. Senate, said university spokesperson Nicki Gorny. The institute plans on adding a couple American civics courses this upcoming school year and has hosted more than a dozen public lectures and debates since January 2024, Gorny said. Jonathan Culp from the University of Dallas will become the institute's new director in July. Michael Gonzalez is currently the institute's interim director. Flagg Taylor was recently named the executive director of Miami's Center for Civics, Culture, and Society. He was approved as the director in April and he previously was a political science professor at Skidmore University in New York. Miami's center will be in the College of Arts and Science and will operate alongside the university's Menard Family Center for Democracy. The university is planning to offer classes through the center this fall, university spokesperson Seth Bauguess said. Wright State hopes to start offering classes through the university's Center for Civics, Culture and Workforce Development in fall 2026, said university spokesperson Bob Mihalek. Proposed courses could include American civic literacy, from idea to law: an experiential journey through the legislative process and upholding the constitution: exploring your oath, Mihalek said. Jason Anderson was chosen as the center's executive director. He is a retired Air Force veteran and a former faculty member with the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Peter Koritansky was picked to be the director of the university's Center for Civics, Culture and Society and his first day will be June 1, said university spokesperson Kristin Broka. He is currently a professor at the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada. The center will be housed in the Levin College of Public Affairs and Education. Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio Elections Commission urges state senators to restore funding in budget
The Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original story.) The future is far from certain for the Ohio Elections Commission after House budget drafters moved to eliminate the agency. Now the state Senate gets its turn to tweak the two-year spending plan. OEC executive director Phil Richter went before a Senate committee last week to make the case for his agency. The Ohio Elections Commission is a seven-member body that operates as an independent agency with oversight of campaign finance laws. The governor appoints three Democrats and three Republicans who in turn select the unaffiliated seventh member of the commission. Richter warned state senators that turning campaign finance laws over to an official appointed by the secretary of state or the county board of elections will create chaos. 'Instead of one statewide decision-making body, there will be 89 separate applications of Ohio's campaign finance laws,' he said. 'Instead of one bipartisan, collegial panel, there could be 89 separate decisions made along party lines.' Richter added the new responsibilities could create an 'unfunded mandate' for the offices that would begin handling campaign finance cases. He also noted the Ohio House version of the budget zeroes out funding for the commission starting in July, but doesn't actually abolish the agency until Jan. 1 next year. 'It is unconscionable to me,' Richter said, 'that the current budget would expect the commission and its staff to work for six months without any funding.' Critics argue the commission process is too slow and too burdensome for many of the people that come before it. They contend the process itself — driving multiple times to Columbus to sit for hearings — is more punitive than the OEC's eventual fines. State Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, who's leading the House budget process has been on the receiving end of a long-running campaign finance complaint. 'I've had a four-year front row seat to how inept this process is,' he said in an interview last month. Far from seeing that as a conflict of interest, he argued 'those who have spent years being drug through the mud' are the best ones to reform an agency. Lawmakers' questions State Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson, D-Toledo, asked if the House's plan would lead to a 'patchwork of decisions.' 'That's a very real possibility,' Richter said, adding that it would be 'challenge' to have the same office running elections and judging campaign finance violations and still deal in an 'independent, nonpartisan, unbiased way.' The committee chairman, state Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, wondered what was so bad about the House's plan. He described serving on a board that got advice from the county prosecutor. 'What's the problem with that model, as long as they have an assistant prosecutor who has knowledge of election laws?' he asked. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Richter argued the commission would be putting itself 'into a situation where that partisan factor is always there.' Without an independent voice to break a potential tie between the two Democrats and two Republicans on a board, he said, decisions could easily break along partisan lines. State Sen. Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield, complained about candidates putting up untruthful signs. As a hypothetical, he described hearing complaints about a candidate using a sign describing themselves as a commissioner when they haven't yet won office. 'The commission is not going to look at it for 45 to 60 days — that person is either going to be elected or lose their election by the time it happens,' Koehler said. 'It's almost as if, again, I've said these words: There's really nothing you can do.' Richter acknowledged his frustration but explained there's little the commission can do following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that invalidated Ohio's law against false campaign statements. Koehler pressed Richter to ensure the commission holds people accountable. He argued too many candidates get fines that amount to a slap on the wrist for significant violations. 'I don't know what the Senate is going to do,' Koehler said about the possibility of restoring funding for the Ohio Elections Commission. 'If that happens, I'm just going to say that I hope the election commission uses more teeth.' Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio Senate passes bill that would require hemp products to only be sold at marijuana dispensaries
Flowers of hemp plants that contain less that 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) the primary psychoactive substance in marijuana, to be used for student instruction at the Cleveland School of Cannabis, October 30, 2023, in Independence, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original article.) The Ohio Senate unanimously passed a bill that would regulate intoxicating hemp and drinkable cannabinoid products. Ohio Senate Bill 86 would require intoxicating hemp products to be sold only at adult-use marijuana dispensaries instead of allowing them to be sold at CBD stores, convenience stores, smoke shops, or gas stations. The bill now moves to the Ohio House for consideration. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'Current intoxicated hemp products are untested and unregulated,' said Ohio state Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City. 'The bill protects buyers from gaining access to these intoxicating products and ensures adults can still purchase them from existing regulated operators.' Huffman introduced the bill with state Sen. Shane Wilkin, R-Hillsboro. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has implored lawmakers to regulate or ban delta-8 THC products. The bill would also impose a 10% tax on intoxicating hemp products, ban sales to anyone under 21, and would only allow intoxicating hemp products to be sold at dispensaries if the products have been tested and comply with standards for packaging, labeling, and advertising. During discussion on the bill on Wednesday, senators talked primarily about how the bill would protect Ohio kids. 'This bill regulates intoxicating hemp products and removes the untested, unsafe items that are marketed toward children from corner stores and vape shops and gas stations,' said state Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus. 'It includes requirements for product testing, safe packaging, age verification. These are all common sense measures.' Wilkin spoke about how a health commissioner in his district came across an intoxicating hemp product that looked like Rice Krispies cereal box. 'That is marketed to kids,' he said. 'We don't know what's in them and unfortunately they are, without question, ending up in our kids' hands and that's not right.' Children's safety and standardization got the Senate Democrats on board with the bill as well, according to Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood. 'The more we can narrow in the standardization and some oversight … and the safety of them, the better we are,' she said. 'Is it perfect? No, but does it really get to some of the positive changes for safety's sake? I think so.' CBD store owners previously testified against the bill, arguing this could potentially put them out of business. During testimony in March, Bellefontaine business owner Jaimee Courtney said the bill would eliminate 90% of the 'non-intoxicating full-spectrum hemp products' her business offers, and that the bill would 'drive consumers to unregulated online markets.' 'I don't have a lot of sympathy for some of those businesses that are now being forced to not offer a product that was very clearly dangerous and targeted towards children,' said Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon. 'I still think if (shops) were operating before (intoxicating hemp), they're going to be able to operate after.' Members of the marijuana business, poison control workers, and religious organizations testified in support of the bill. The 2018 U.S. Farm Bill says hemp can be legally grown if it contains less than 0.3% THC. Ohio is one of about 20 states that does not have any regulations around intoxicating hemp products, according to an Ohio State University Drug Enforcement and Policy Center study from November 2024. Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's tariffs could increase the price of Ohio craft beer
A flight of four craft beers on the bar, June 8, 2023, at Restoration Brew Worx in Delaware, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original story.) Ohio craft brewers are worried how new tariffs on aluminum, steel and malted barley could raise the price of a pint of beer or a six-pack. President Donald Trump imposed 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel imported into the United States, and a 25% tariff on Canadian barley — three things that are vital to the craft beer industry. A tariff is a tax on imported goods. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'The tariffs in general have been chaotic and disruptive to our supply chain,' said Collin Castore, co-founder of Seventh Son Brewery in Columbus. 'It's just … kind of pointless.' Seventh Son produces 5,000 barrels of beer annually — 3,500 is roughly its wholesale volume and about 70% of that is packaged in aluminum cans, he said. The brewery uses roughly 750,000 cans per year. 'Breweries are facing potential tariffs on malted barley, aluminum cans, stainless steel equipment, and energy, all required in the manufacturing of beer,' according to the Ohio Craft Brewers Association. 'The increased prices that importers charge to their business customers to offset tariffs are likely to cause consumer price inflation in the best case scenario and closure of small businesses in the worst.' The U.S. relies on Canadian imports for barley, aluminum, and steel — the three key resources in brewing beer. Barley is the base grain for beer, aluminum is used for packaging beer in cans, and stainless steel is used to brew beer. 'There simply is not enough domestic cultivation of barley or production of primary aluminum to sustain the industries that rely on these products without imports from Canada and elsewhere,' according to the brewers association. Seventh Son bought four months worth of aluminum cans earlier this year, which has helped it keep prices the same, Castore said. 'We take raising prices very seriously,' he said. 'And it's also not really a switch that you can toggle on and off terribly easily. … It's not quite as easy as somebody just signing a blanket tariff order.' Just like in any other industry, some people are going to buy less craft beer if prices go up, Castore said. 'If this kind of chaotic environment continues, general consumer sentiment and spending at some point is going to take a hit, and that affects taprooms and six-pack purchases and everything in between,' he said. During Trump's first term in office in 2018, he slapped a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports. For the first time since 2005, the number of craft breweries decreased nationwide in 2024, according to the Brewers Association. There were 9,612 operating U.S. craft breweries in 2024. During that same year, 434 breweries opened while 501 closed. Craft brewers produced 23.1 million barrels of beer in 2024, a 4% decrease from 2023. There were only about 70 breweries in Ohio when Seventh Son opened in 2013 and today there are more than 440, according to the Ohio Craft Brewers Association. Forty-six breweries opened in Ohio last year and 53 breweries are in planning. Ohio craft breweries' economic impact was $1.27 billion in 2022 and more than 12,000 people were employed by Ohio craft breweries that year. Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
International students infuse tens of millions of dollars into local economies across the U.S.
On the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for the Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original story.) The Trump administration has recently revoked the visas of more than 1,300 foreign college students – detaining some – and launched immigration enforcement actions on college campuses across the country. This has raised concerns among the more than 1.1 million international students studying at U.S. universities. Headlines are filled with perspectives from immigration and civil rights experts, but one aspect of the story often goes overlooked: the tremendous economic impact international students have on local communities. Although the actual impact on enrollment won't be known until the next academic year, interest from foreign students in pursuing graduate-level education in the U.S. fell sharply in the early days of the Trump administration, one analysis showed. If these global scholars stay home, that's bad economic news for cities and towns across the United States. Higher education is America's 10th-largest export, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. (Yes, even though students are coming into the U.S. for their education, economists consider it an export.) Last year, U.S. colleges and universities attracted international students from 217 nations and territories, including one student from the island nation of Niue in the South Pacific. Their economic contributions added up to more than the value of U.S. telecommunications, computer and information services exports combined. While the national impact is impressive, the effects at the local level are even more important. After all, nearly every city across the U.S. has at least one institution of higher learning. The average international student brings a wallet stuffed with about $29,000 to spend on everything from tuition to pizza. As these students rent apartments, buy books and order DoorDash delivery to fuel all-nighters, they're pumping money into the local community. This money translates into American jobs. On average, a new job is created for every four international students enrolled in a U.S. college or university. In the 2023-24 academic year, about 378,175 jobs were created. And that's just counting jobs that are directly supported by international students, such as local business hiring to staff retail shops and restaurants. If you count those jobs indirectly supported by international students, such as employees at a distribution center, the number is even higher. In any of the 50 largest American cities, you'll find at least one college or university with international students on campus. For these communities, global learners bring a most welcome financial aid package. Consider Boston. Greater Boston hosts more than 50 colleges and universities, including Boston University, where I teach multinational finance and trade. The city's economic gains from the more than 63,000 international students attending these schools are huge: about $3 billion. Prestigious private schools are a draw, but hands down the biggest pull for international students are state universities and colleges. Of the nation's top schools enrolling these students last year, 29 were state colleges and universities, attracting over 251,300 students. In the top three of those public institutions alone − Arizona State University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of California, Berkeley − international students contributed nearly $1.7 billion, supporting over 16,800 jobs. Expand that to the top 10 − the University of California system takes four of those spots − and the numbers pop up to $4.68 billion and 47,136 jobs. Yet international students aren't just boosting the economies of major university towns. Consider Mankato, a small city of 45,000 about 80 miles from Minneapolis that hosts a Minnesota State University campus. In the 2023-24 academic year, about 1,716 international students called Mankato their home away from home. Those students brought an infusion of $45.9 million into that community, supporting around 190 jobs. There are dozens of similar campuses in cities and towns like Mankato across the country. It adds up quickly. !function(){'use strict'; 0!== e= t in r=0;r< i= In addition to private and public universities, community colleges attract thousands of global scholars. Although their international enrollment declined during Covid-19, community colleges are resurgent, attracting some 59,315 international students in 2024, with China, Vietnam and Nepal leading the countries-of-origin list. Generating about $2 billion and supporting 8,472 jobs, they have a major economic impact − particularly in Texas, California and Florida, where the majority of these students come to learn. Texas leads the nation with the three community colleges with the largest international enrollment: Houston Community College, Lone Star College and Dallas College. Of the $256.7 million and 1,096 jobs international students brought into those institutions, Lone Star led the pack with $102.3 million and 438 jobs, nearly one job created for every two international students − double the national average. Due to changing demographics, American colleges enroll 2.3 million fewer domestic students than they did a decade ago − a decline of 10.7%. Colleges and universities are increasingly looking to international students to fill the gap. What's more, universities tend to see international students as subsidizing domestic students, particularly since international students are generally ineligible for need-blind admissions. Moreover, the vast majority of international students are funded by family or foreign sponsors. Few require student aid packages. In fact, less than 20% of all international students receive grant funding from a federal source, and most of that goes to postgraduates doing advanced research. If you look at undergraduate exchange students alone, just 0.1% receive any sort of public funding. One thing's for sure: Whether they're attending small-town community colleges or the Ivies in big cities, international students bring a 'high degree' of economic impact with them. This is an updated version of a story originally published Aug. 13, 2024. Barnet Sherman, Professor, Multinational Finance and Trade, Boston University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
