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Though it’s a lot to wade through, Ohio lawmakers appear to have their hearts in the right place with the number of child care-related bills being churned through Columbus. A report by the Ohio Capital Journal detailed a few. There’s House Bill 576, supplementing federal tax credits “associated with acquiring, constructing, rehabilitating or expanding property used as the employer taxpayer’s qualified child care facility,” operating expenses for child care workers and “qualified resource and referral expenditures,” which can include contracts with child care ...

Please be mindful of animals stuck in parked, hot vehicles

Have a hard time dealing with the sudden oppressive heat after getting into your parked car over the past few days? You immediately either rolled down all the windows completely or cranked the A/C as high as it would go, didn’t you? Now, think about those few moments of discomfort and imagine how very much worse it is for animals who are left in parked cars for an extended period of time on days like these. “A parked car can become an oven under the sun, even in mild temperatures,” said Dr. Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of American Humane. “When it’s a comfortable 70 ...

Grants will make our local fairs even better

Each year, Ohio’s communities host fairs and festivals that unite generations in summer fun. Among the resources that allow them to do that are the funds provided by Ohio’s County and Independent Fair Grant Program. This year, it distributed $10 million in grant funding to “support county and independent agricultural societies with improvements …” The money is expected to be used for projects such as new grandstands, fixing or replacing old buildings, restroom facilities, parking and camping sites, electrical upgrades, lighting, signs and ADA accessibility improvements. ...

Is the state of Ohio holding money that belongs to you?

Looking for a few extra dollars? The state of Ohio might be holding on to some that belongs to you. The Ohio Department of Commerce announced recently its list of the top counties in terms of the amount of money being “safeguarded by the state” that belongs to residents and businesses there. Cuyahoga came out on top, with $477 million in unclaimed funds. Money being held by the state Division of Unclaimed Funds is “lost or forgotten money that businesses and banks report to the Division of Unclaimed Funds after accounts become inactive, typically between 3-5 years. The money ...

Use common sense when dealing with the heat dome

Now what forecasters and weather geeks alike call a heat dome is firmly in place above us, let’s go over some dealing-with-extreme-heat pointers courtesy of ready.gov. — Recognize signs of heat-related illness. Heat stroke symptoms include: extremely high body temperature (above 103 degrees F) taken orally; red, hot and dry skin with no sweat; rapid, strong pulse; dizziness, confusion or unconsciousness. Heat stroke is serious. If you suspect it in yourself or a family member of friend, call 9-1-1 or get the to a hospital immediately. Cool down with whatever methods are available ...

Ohio lagging in overall racial economic equality

As Juneteenth approaches, it is important to take a look in the mirror and look at how far we have come (or not) since the end of slavery in 1865. There are plenty of measures to examine. WalletHub’s “State Economies with the Most Racial Equality (2024)” takes a look at the matter from an economic perspective. Based on the numbers, Ohio does not fare very well. In fact, our state is 44th in the country for overall racial equality in the state economy. (Alaska is best, the District of Columbia is worst.) According to WalletHub, nationwide for every $100 of wealth in white ...