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3 days ago
- General
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3 Greater Cincinnati areas on Trump administration 'sanctuary jurisdictions' list
Three Greater Cincinnati areas are defying federal immigration law, according to a new list published by the Trump administration. President Donald Trump issued an executive order April 28 directing U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to release a list of "sanctuary jurisdictions" obstructing "the enforcement of federal immigration laws." These jurisdictions made the list in Ohio: Cincinnati Columbus Franklin County Lorain County Warren County These made the list in Kentucky: Campbell County (misspelled as Cambell County) Franklin County Jefferson County Scott County Louisville The executive order calls for federal funds going toward these jurisdictions to be suspended or terminated, and for Homeland Security to "pursue all necessary legal remedies and enforcement measures" to make them compliant with federal immigration law. Officials in Republican-leaning Warren and Campbell counties told The Enquirer their inclusion on the list was a mistake. The Cincinnati City Council in 2017 declared Cincinnati a "sanctuary city," but the label was symbolic and didn't lead to any concrete policies. The declaration occurred before the current city council and Mayor Aftab Pureval entered office. Though the label doesn't carry any specific policies, the current council is aware it could jeopardize federal funding to the city. Pureval previously told The Enquirer Cincinnati would remain a "welcoming community," but that the city would follow federal immigration laws. "If the president of the United States, backed by the Senate and the House of Representatives, wants to do something as it relates to immigration, then they're going to do it," Pureval said on The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast in January. "And there's no mayor in the country, particularly a mayor of a blue city in a red state that's going to be able to do anything about it." City officials did not immediately return The Enquirer's request for comment. This story was updated to include all Ohio and Kentucky jurisdictions on the list. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 3 Greater Cincinnati areas make DHS 'sanctuary jurisdictions' list
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
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Newport school system under scrutiny for response to budget crunch
NEWPORT, KY. – The Newport Board of Education went over details of next school year's budget Wednesday night. But not before community members reamed the board for slashing jobs and reducing student services to dig the district out of a $3.9 million deficit. "There is a school board and superintendents that fail us," Tricia Tobergte, a former Newport student and teacher, said during public comment. She was one of several people at the meeting wearing a red T-shirt with "I am Fiona" written on the front. FIONA, which stands for Fiscal Integrity of Newport Administration, is a movement created by a group of local people who want better oversight and an audit of district spending. Those in T-shirts were among dozens at the Newport High School auditorium for the meeting, some offering applause or shouts of agreement as others spoke. Many wanted to know why the district was surprised by news of the shortfall earlier this year. Newport Independent Schools is home to almost 1,400 students at about five schools in the district, according to U.S. News & World Report. The board of education has announced a slew of cost-cutting measures in response to its budget crunch. Cuts include: The nonrenewal of more than dozen employee contracts, including teachers. Elimination of seven administrative positions. Retirement of at least a dozen people. Termination of a contract with TANK buses to take children to school. Elimination of non-mandatory out-of-state travel. A mutual agreement to end the contract of Superintendent Tony Watts at the end of the 2025 school year. Watts did not respond to a request for comment from The Enquirer. He told LINK nky at the time, 'We just made a mutual agreement that we thought it was best for the district at this time that we part our ways." Andrea Janovic, a former Newport Board of Education member, said she blames a lack of oversight for the budget shortfall. She said she's requested public records that allegedly reveal fraudulent charges on credit cards and overbudgeting with an excess of COVID-19 pandemic-related funding, neither of which The Enquirer could immediately verify independently. "We have to ask very difficult questions of the people who are responsible for advising us on our financial positions and whether or not a year prior we could have known (about the deficit)," she said. "Surprise should never be a word used by a school board in terms of finances." Board Chair Ramona Malone said at the end of the meeting, "I do want to say that it has been brought to our attention to consider doing a forensic audit on our finances. So, that's something that is a conversation with the board." This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What will Newport schools cut?
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
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Republicans and Democrats both didn't want to talk about Sittenfeld's political future
President Donald Trump's pardon of former Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld means he could run again for office now that his rights have been restored after his felony bribery conviction. If he wanted to, of course. Sittenfeld didn't say anything publicly on Thursday about his future plans now that his federal corruption case is behind him. Those close to him also weren't talking. Does the man who people once saw as the frontrunner for Cincinnati mayor and one of the region's rising Democratic stars now have a political future again? Republicans and Democrats in Cincinnati seemed united in not wanting to say much about Sittenfeld or his political future, if there is any. The pardon by a Republican president of a Democratic politician has put both parties in an awkward position. As for Sittenfeld himself, he did not respond to messages from The Enquirer seeking comment. In a letter he wrote to the judge in 2023 before he was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison, Sittenfeld said his focus was no longer on his personal ambition but "now about my family life, my faith and about helping others who are enduring life's crucibles.' He still had $850,493 in his campaign committee's coffers as of his last filing in January 2025, according to records with the Hamilton County Board of Elections. His past conviction and Trump endorsement doesn't disqualify him from a future run a public office, even in a city where Trump lost by a three-to-one margin, said David Niven, the University of Cincinnati political professor. But Niven doesn't think you'll see Sittenfeld campaign signs anytime soon based on his past statements and the fact that his previous political life almost cost him everything. "I think he could if he wanted it," Niven said. "People love a redemption story. He obviously demonstrated a capacity to connect with people. But I don't see him on the comeback trail." Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, who served with Sittenfeld on city council for less than a year in 2020 before Sittenfeld was suspended from council, had more to say than most. In a texted statement to The Enquirer, she saw some future for Sittenfeld in the city but didn't specify what. "There is more work to do, and with his legal matters behind him, P.G is now able to get back to work in some way for the people of Cincinnati," Kearney said. She praised Sittenfeld's past contributions including to the "underserved communities" and pushing for affordable housing. She said Sittenfeld was working to establish a civil rights commission when he resigned from city council. Many people who knew Sittenfeld and worked alongside him didn't publicly celebrate or condemn the pardon. Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman, who served on Cincinnati City Council with Sittenfeld, released a statement saying he didn't know much about the pardon. "I know what you all know, which is what I'm reading," Landsman said. "I'll wait to learn more, and may have more to say then. In the meantime, I don't know much, other than what I'm reading in the news." One of the region's more prominent Democratic funders and Sittenfeld supporter, philanthropist Richard Rosenthal, told The Enquirer it was better not to say anything. "There's stuff that I'm thinking about, but I don't think that it would be helpful to your readers, or to P.G. or to my family for me to comment on the pardon," Rosenthal said. Republicans who were not sympathetic to Sittenfeld during his political career were reticent to say much about Trump's decision to pardon Sittenfeld. Hamilton County GOP Chairman Russ Mock sent a statement to The Enquirer that gave Trump credit but also expressed concerns about the pardon. "President Trump certainly knows about how federal and state corruption prosecutions can be wielded as political weapons, but it could undermine anti-corruption efforts locally, especially as the original conviction was based on a jury trial with substantial evidence," Mock said. When asked for an interview to elaborate, Mock said he didn't have time. Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou, who was the Hamilton County chair when Sittenfeld was on city council, did not respond to a message seeking comment. Few of the all-Democratic, nine-member Cincinnati City Council had much to say. The nine members were elected with the pledge of rebuilding public trust in the wake of the corruption scandals that led to the arrest of Sittenfeld and two others Democratic members, Jeff Pastor and Tamaya Dennard. "There's no upside to commenting on that thing," said Cincinnati Councilman Mark Jeffreys, one of nine Democratic city council members. City council members Scotty Johnson, Anna Albi, Meeka Owens and Cincinnati's Democratic Mayor Aftab Pureval declined to comment when asked by The Enquirer on Thursday about Sittenfeld. Councilman Seth Walsh wouldn't speculate on Sittenfeld's future. "The corruption scandal that happened is an incredible black mark that happened on Cincinnati, period," Walsh said. "Whether he has a political future, whether any of the individuals that are involved in it have any future with Cincinnati, is less relevant to me than the work that needs to happen to rebuild the public trust." This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: PG Sittenfeld's political future uncertain with Trump's pardon
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
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Department of Education yanks back $5.6M from JD Vance's hometown school district
Middletown's school district ‒ where Vice President JD Vance was a student ‒ stands to lose millions of promised federal dollars after a funding recall from the U.S. Department of Education, the district said. The Department of Education is recalling roughly $15 million across 18 Ohio school districts, Dan Wohler, the Middletown City Schools spokesperson, told The Enquirer. The funds were previously awarded to districts through two COVID-era relief programs: the American Rescue Plan, and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief. Middletown City Schools stands to lose $5.6 million in funds, which the district planned to use to build a new transportation center. The district was approved to receive $6.76 million toward the project in February, and had already received $1.2 million. The total cost is $10 million. The Enquirer called the U.S. Department of Education, which President Donald Trump has vowed to dismantle, but its media relations phone line was temporarily closed. The spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce did not immediately return The Enquirer's call. Construction on Middletown schools' transportation center is almost half-done. The new facility will house an updated school bus garage, fueling station and space to perform bus maintenance. School buses are currently being parked at a temporary facility, the lease for which expires this fall, Wohler said. "The new facility is designed to address aging transportation infrastructure and consolidate maintenance operations to better serve MCSD students and families," a statement from the district read. "A $5.6 million shortfall would stall construction indefinitely and risk losing the investments already made." Three local Republican lawmakers wrote letters to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. Middletown schools provided the content of them to The Enquirer, in support of the district. "As a fiscal conservative, I fully understand the need to cut unnecessary funding and applaud the efforts to eliminate excessive covid-era spending. However, there are certain projects, such as Middletown School's transportation construction project, that deserve flexibility given the investment they have made," U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson wrote. Davidson co-sponsored a bill that would terminate the Department of Education at the end of next year. But the letter to McMahon signals the second time Davidson has gone against the Trump administration in recent weeks. The congressman, who is a staunch Trump supporter, was one of two House Republicans to vote against a major tax and immigration bill, prompting White House officials to say Trump would like to see Davidson primaried. Ohio Rep. Thomas Hall and state Sen. George Lang also wrote letters to McMahon asking the department to release the funds to Middletown schools. "I strongly believe it is unfair for a school to receive approval, begin construction after receiving a portion of the funds, and then be notified they will not be receiving the remainder ‒ nobody can conduct business in this manner," Lang wrote. Wohler, the district spokesperson, said Middletown schools also reached out to Vance. The Middletown native held his first rally as a vice presidential candidate at Middletown High School, his alma mater, last July. The Enquirer also asked Vance's spokesperson for comment, but has not yet received a response. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: School district in JD Vance's hometown to lose $5.6M in federal funds
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4 days ago
- Business
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Gabelman: We got the new Bengals stadium lease deal 90 percent done
Tom Gabelman is not bitter. But when he learned Hamilton County was firing him and his former law firm, Frost Brown Todd, as outside counsel handling riverfront development and negotiations with the Bengals for a new stadium lease, he was stunned. 'Within the last year and a half, we probably have had 12 executive sessions, and that's how we meet with the (Hamilton County Board of Commissioners) to advise them,' Gabelman said on this week's episode of The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast. 'And in none of those executive sessions did we ever hear, oh, well, I don't think you're going in the right direction, or there's some issue with performance. 'We've been counsel for almost 30 years, and we've demonstrated our record.' Gabelman reflected on those three decades working to secure property transfers, political deals and lease modifications – which he said benefitted the county – after voters in 1996 approved the half-cent sales tax increase that funded Paycor Stadium (formerly Paul Brown Stadium) and Great American Ball Park. He was on the front lines in 1998 when the late Todd Portune, then a Cincinnati City Council member, literally turned back the hands of time to meet a property transfer deadline. 'We're going into this midnight deadline … and we were running behind. So (Portune) moved the clock,' Gabelman said. Gabelman left city hall in the wee hours that morning with the deed in hand. Gabelman did not hold back when rebutting critics who suggested he and his firm were profiting at the expense of taxpayers without bringing value, pointing to millions of dollars acquired in grants, tax savings and investments on the riverfront. 'Gabelman's charging them a million dollars a year. Well, yeah, at a severely discounted rate that is probably a negative margin with my own firm,' Gabelman said. 'But we put public good over profit because we saw the change that had been happening and the change that continues to happen.' Despite the turn of events, Gabelman said the announcement of a new lease agreement is imminent. "I am very optimistic," he said. "I think we left the county well positioned to get the deal done with the Bengals. They should get the deal done with the Bengals because we had 90 percent of it done." That's So Cincinnati, The Enquirer's weekly podcast on what's making news in our community, features a who's who of special guests. Listen to it at Audioboom, Apple or your favorite podcast platform. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Fired county lawyer Tom Gabelman defends work on Bengals stadium deal
