Latest news with #OhioGovernor'sOffice
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Ohio lawmakers want to replace all of the state's lead water lines
Drinking water photo from the Ohio Governor's Office. Ohio lawmakers are introducing a bipartisan bill they are hoping will not only improve the state's water quality, but also save lives. Ohio state Reps. Dontavius Jarrells, D-Columbus, and Monica Robb Blasdel, R-Columbiana, are introducing the Lead Line Replacement Act. 'This legislation aims to keep our community safe and healthy by implementing a comprehensive regulatory framework to plan, execute, and assist in the replacement of all lead water lines in the state of Ohio,' Robb Blasdel said. 'Lead water lines are a relic of the past. However, despite the danger, we know these are still in use all across our state.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Ohio has 745,000 lead service lines and nearly 4,000 Ohio children are tested for high levels of lead poisoning, said Jarrells, who is a survivor of lead poisoning. 'Ohio is in a crisis,' he said. 'The number (of lead poisoning) is likely higher because of the reality that not every child in this state is tested.' The use of lead pipes was banned by Congress in 1986. In 2021, Ohio ranked third in the nation for the most lead pipes, according to the EPA. Lead is able to enter drinking water through the corrosion of lead or lead-contaminated water service lines. No amount of lead exposure is safe for children, the lawmakers said. 'Replacing each of these (lead lines) will be a challenging task, but one we firmly believe is attainable,' Robb Blasdel said. 'This bill would mandate local water providers to work with the state to identify these lines, develop a plan to replace these lines with safe alternatives, and execute this plan over a 15 year time period.' The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency would be responsible for overseeing enacting this mandate if the legislation passes. 'This bill also prohibits partial replacements that can make contamination worse,' Jarrells said. It would cost nearly $5 billion to remediate every single lead line in Ohio, he said. 'I didn't introduce this in the budget because I wanted to do the work to make it bipartisan,' Jarrells said. He put forth a similar bill during the last General Assembly, but it only had sponsor testimony in committee. 'This is necessary,' Jarrells said. 'This is a human issue, and to introduce this bill with bipartisan support, that's how we're going to ultimately see this bill become law.' Lawmakers say replacing Ohio's lead lines would lead to fewer cases of dementia, depression, anemia, coronary heart disease, cardiovascular mortality, infant mortality, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Lead poisoning poses a threat not just to children. Adults exposed to lead are more likely to experience increased risks of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, kidney and nervous system problems, said Annalisa Rocca, the drinking water manager for the Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund. 'I grew up turning on the kitchen tap without a second thought, and most Ohioans still do the same, unaware that an unseen lead service line may be supplying their water,' she said. Archie Beasley, lead program director of the Junction Coalition, serves a Toledo neighborhood that has 100-year-old homes with lead lines underneath them that are transporting lead into kitchens and bathrooms. 'We're going to make sure that no child goes to their kitchen sink, that no child goes to their grandmother's kitchen sink and gets water out of the refrigerator, and they're going to be drinking lead water that is going to impact their health,' he said. Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
144K jobs available in Ohio; Over half pay $50K+
(WKBN) — Are you in the market for a new job? The eighth-annual In-Demand Jobs Week could be your solution. A release from the Ohio Governor's Office announced next week from May 5-9 is In-Demand Jobs Week, a celebration of Ohio's top jobs, industries and skills. A map for events across the state can be found here. The Governor's office says Ohio has added more than 81,000 private sector jobs in the past six years and at least another 15,000 jobs are coming to the state through projects currently in development. 'Whether you are preparing for your first job, exploring a career change, or looking to advance in your field, there are countless opportunities in The Heart of It All,' said Governor Mike DeWine. 'This In-Demand Jobs Week, I encourage schools, businesses, and community organizations to get involved – host a job event in your region to let our workforce of the future know about all of the options at their fingertips in Ohio.' Right now, there are over 144,000 jobs posted on — 92,000 of which pay over $50,000 per year. There are also 2,287 internships available. To ensure the state's workforce is trained and ready to fill these jobs, Governor DeWine announced in his recent State of the State Address that Lt. Governor Tressel would lead the administration's effort to create Ohio's Workforce Playbook. As part of this work, Lt. Governor Tressel has traveled across Ohio, hosting a series of roundtable discussions with local business and education leaders to identify in-demand job opportunities in each region Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Ohio Republican lawmakers want to ban adding fluoride — which prevents tooth decay — to water
Drinking water photo from the Ohio Governor's Office. A group of Ohio Republican lawmakers is moving to ban the state and public water systems from adding fluoride, which prevents tooth decay and cavities, to water. The Buckeye State is known for its water benefits, dentist Dr. Matthew Messina said. 'We've had that kind of a profound increase in public health that comes from modern dentistry and fluoride is a part of that,' Messina said. Naturally occurring in water, fluoride is a mineral that years of research has shown strengthens teeth and prevents cavities and tooth decay. As the four-decade-long serving dentist explains, most public water systems add fluoride. 'It's hailed as one of the top public health measures in the last century, because really, for a very low cost and very low amount of effort, the massive benefit that this produces for the community is tremendous,' he said. He has worked in communities that didn't have fluoride, he said, and the difference between children from cities and ones from rural areas that didn't have public water fluoridation was night and day. 'We got a chance to see rampant dental decay in children,' he said. 'It was like going back to the dark ages, so I really hope we'd never go back there again.' There has always been a back-and-forth for decades on fluoride, much like vaccines. In recent years, there has been a campaign to push back on the mineral in water. Although U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not a doctor, he has claimed that the mineral is toxic. 'Fluoride is an industrial waste,' he wrote on X. The effort has trickled down to Ohio. State Rep. Levi Dean, R-Xenia, has proposed House Bill 182, which would ban public water systems from adding fluoride. 'It just says that individuals can then choose whether they want to ingest it or not — it's not forced on them,' Dean told me. Current law requires water systems to fluoridate water if the natural content is less than .8 milligrams per liter. 'It's just for some people for health reasons or just even for individual freedom reasons, they don't want the local governments to force this into their drinking water,' he said. Dean and his GOP cosponsors want to prohibit this. He argued that fluoride is bad for you. We asked him where he got this idea from since dozens upon dozens of research papers for decades disagree. He cited a recent research study sharing that fluoride may be linked to lower IQ in children. A study published by JAMA Pediatrics in January did a review and meta-analysis of whether exposure to fluoride was associated with kids' IQ scores. The authors found that there is a link between slightly lower IQ in children that have more exposure to the mineral. But Messina explained that this research article is being taken out of context. 'It brings up a study of parts of the world where naturally occurring fluoride levels are much higher than in most of the United States, and they're higher than the target levels that we have set,' the dentist said. Looking into the paper, the authors acknowledged that a majority of the studies they looked at were considered 'highly biased,' none of the data is from the United States, and that there was 'uncertainty in the dose-response association.' When the fluoride in the water was less than 1.5 mg/L, the link wasn't apparent. As mentioned, Ohio has a cap of .8 mg/L. 'Now, there's disagreement on the concentration of where that starts and how, but that's why I think it should be up to the individual to choose what levels they engage with fluoride at,' Dean said. The lawmaker argued that if people really want fluoride, they can buy toothpaste, tablets, or drops. 'I'm not arguing with the fact that it could be beneficial to some people for dental health,' he said. 'I'm arguing with the fact that should we be ingesting it, if the benefit is for your teeth, shouldn't you be applying it just to the teeth and not consuming it?' Toothpaste has significantly more fluoride than water does, which is why you are told to spit it out, according to the CDC. The Republican continued that this is about Ohioans having a choice — just like he does, as he uses fluoride-free toothpaste. 'What kind of concerns do you have with Ohio considering to remove fluoride from all public water?' we asked Messina. 'Well, if Ohio did that, we would be stepping back in time,' he responded. 'We have a known beneficial, preventative part of our tool kit, and for us to continue to go forward without that — we're really leaving one of our best weapons behind.' Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, seemed interested in the proposal because when asked if the state should keep fluoride in public water, he acknowledged that he 'didn't know.' 'Fluoride naturally occurs in water, I just found that out this week,' he said. 'They started adding it.' He said that people over the past few years have been 'dismissed.' 'Now there appears to be some science that says too much fluoride, including adding fluoride, is bad for folks,' he said. 'I'm not a scientist, I'm not a chemist… We're going to sort of litigate that question… in the legislature here over the next couple of months. I don't know the answer to your question.' House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, whose background is in public health, was not thrilled to hear about the bill. 'I entirely support fluoride in water,' she said, noting that the benefits are clear in dental health. We asked her if she saw this as an effort to privatize water. 'I see this as a basic human right,' she continued. 'I think the expectation of every household in this country is that you have access to clean tap water in your households.' Gov. Mike DeWine, who is routinely against non-doctors making health decisions, is not commenting on this bill yet. Knowing the governor, this would not be out of the realm of a possible veto. He consistently states that he supports science, vaccines, best practices of doctors in gender-affirming care, prevention of tobacco for kids and the stopping of medical WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
