Death becomes him
The Other Paper • Christopher Hitchens died a couple weeks ago and that's a good thing. Not just because the man was in misery, esophageal cancer (which is even worse than it sounds) robbing him of everything that make
Dad indicted on misdemeanor in alleged caging
Columbus Dispatch • CINCINNATI (AP) — A misdemeanor indictment has been returned against a Cincinnati-area man accused of restraining his 12-year-old daughter with duct tape, putting her in a dog cage and threatening to electrify it.
Fatal crash closes eastbound I-70 near Brice Road
Columbus Dispatch • A portion of I-70 eastbound is closed down after a fatal crash. Columbus police and other law enforcement have closed I-70 eastbound between I-270 and the Brice Road exit. At least one person is dead.
Regular Blog Post
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Some Music Audio
Best of Columbus
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YouTube Video
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Another Photo Gallery
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Vimeo Video
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A Photo Gallery
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Another Vimeo Video
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Hello world!
Best of Columbus • Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
Photo: Ready for the weather
Columbus Dispatch • Anisha Liesner walks her beagle-mix, Summer, at Carriage Place Recrea...more
Photo: Suppertime
Columbus Dispatch • Tom Quinn of the Black Diamond Alpaca Farm feeds his herd of 29 alpacas at his barn in Pataskala. Quinn raised cattle before switching to alpacas nine years ago. He said raising the small animals...more
Photo: Sex charges can wait
Columbus Dispatch • Richard Beasley, left, charged in the...more
Turtle cloggs sewer in Akron suburb
Columbus Dispatch • CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — The call started out as routine.
Tax hike tossed due to ballot error; cost is $4.50, not ‘45 cents’
Columbus Dispatch • An error on the ballot has led a northeastern Ohio judge to throw out a tax increase voters approved to raise money for police.
Ohio city stops salt giveaway after contractors hog it
Columbus Dispatch • A northeastern Ohio community has stopped giving away rock salt to residents because private contractors were hogging the de-icer.
Local man in Haiti to build orphanage is shot; flown to Miami hospital in critical condition
Columbus Dispatch • A Columbus man who had been visiting Haiti to help build an orphanage was flown to a Miami hospital in critical condition last night after being shot dur...more
Chillicothe mulls exotic-animal ban
Columbus Dispatch • In Chillicothe, you can’t have a cow in the backyard, but you can keep a cougar.
OSU summit seeks solutions to Somalia’s woes
Columbus Dispatch • Somalia, which hasn’t had a national government in more than two decades, faces a host of complex problems including famine, religious extremism, piracy and a flood of refugees.
Scotts to pay $4.5M in fines
Columbus Dispatch • Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. has agreed to plead guilty to charges in federal court and pay $4.5 million in fines in two incidents that date to 2008.
FirstEnergy to close six coal-burning power plants
Columbus Dispatch • AKRON — FirstEnergy Corp. said yesterday that new environmental regulations led to a decision to shut down six older, coal-fired power plants in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland, affecting more than 500 employees.
Election-law repeal request angers Niehaus
Columbus Dispatch • Tom Niehaus rarely shows aggravation. But the Senate president didn’t even try to hide his displeasure yesterday. The target of his agitation was a fellow Republican: Secretary of State Jon Husted, who a day earlier had called for the repeal of an elections-law overhaul approved last year by the House and Senate.
GOP hopefuls stress their ‘family values’
Columbus Dispatch • The Republican presidential candidates want you to look past the stiff suits and debate rhetoric and see that they’re good guys — husbands, fathers, Christians.
2nd execution put off in fight over process
Columbus Dispatch • Executions in Ohio may be on hold again as state prison officials refine their lethal-injection protocol to meet a federal judge’s requirements.
Principal honored at White House
Columbus Dispatch • A Columbus Catholic elementary school’s principal was honored at the White House this week for increasing enrollment and diversity at the North Linden school.
Mid-Ohio Foodbank opens on-site store to public
Columbus Dispatch • The Mid-Ohio Foodbank supplies the makings of more than 51,000 meals every day, a super-size task that involves the collection and distribution of 40 million pounds of meat, produce, dairy and other food items each year.
‘Friend’ admits donations theft from cancer fund
Columbus Dispatch • Maria Herren was struggling with stage-four breast cancer that had spread to her bones when she learned last year that a friend had embezzled from a fund established to help pay her medical bills.
I-71 closing nightly Downtown for bridge work
Columbus Dispatch • Drivers using I-71 along Downtown will face major detours over the next two weeks as the Ohio Department of Transportation tears down the “flyover” bridge that carries eastbound I-670 bridge over I-71.
Duck with zip-tied beak on the mend
Columbus Dispatch • Gayl Weiser said she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the emaciated mallard pacing in the parking lot of the Reynoldsburg Home Depot.
Mandel skips board’s meetings
Columbus Dispatch • Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel hasn’t attended a single monthly meeting of the powerful but mundane state board that decides which banks will hold billions in state dep...more
Charters’ treasurer owes Ohio $617,260
Columbus Dispatch • A New Albany man owes the state more than $600,000 because he mismanaged taxpayer dollars meant for kids at several charter schools, the state auditor said yesterday. At least two schools closed in financial ruin, including Montessori Renaissance Experience in Columbus.
New AEP rates stun small businesses
Columbus Dispatch • Some small-business owners are furious about a sudden rise in electricity costs, the result of a new American Electric Power rate plan that took effect this mo...more
Restaurant-supply thief sentenced to 1 year
Columbus Dispatch • A former employee of a Franklinton restaurant-supply company has been sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay restitution for stealing more than $275,000 from the business.
Former principal in school-lunch controversy placed in diversion program
Columbus Dispatch • A former Columbus school principal who resigned amid allegations that she improperly signed her two children up for federal school-lunch subsidies for needy children has been placed in the Franklin County prosecutor’s diversion program.
Woman who drugged girl is sentenced to 5 years
Columbus Dispatch • A woman who gave a near-fatal dose of methadone to a friend’s 4-year-old daughter last year on the South Side has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Automatic toilets flush with metal thieves want
Columbus Dispatch • Upper Arlington police said yesterday that thieves have been targeting automatic flushers in bathrooms of restaurants.
Schlichter wants drug counseling while in prison
Columbus Dispatch • A former Ohio State and NFL quarterback facing 10 years in prison on fraud charges is requesting drug-abuse counseling while behind bars.
One person killed on Hilltop
Columbus Dispatch • One person was killed late last night on the Hilltop.
Columbus Mileposts | Jan. 27, 1844: Medical ads promised extraordinary cures
Columbus Dispatch • The mid-19th century was a wondrous time in the history of mankind, if the medical advertisements in the Jan. 27, 1844, issue of The Ohio State Journal are to believed.
Bloom-Carroll board selects schools chief
Columbus Dispatch • A new superintendent is scheduled to begin work next week at the Bloom-Carroll school district in Fairfield County.
Prisons must face issues of aging inmates
Columbus Dispatch • The prison population is graying at a rapid rate, bringing with it increased taxpayer costs for medical care and housing, a new national report from Human Rights Watch concludes.
SUV-train crash kills driver
Columbus Dispatch • A Worthington woman who drove around lowered railroad-crossing gates and was struck by a train on the North Side on Monday died Wednesday night.
OSU summit seeks solutions to Somalia’s woes
Columbus Dispatch • Somalia, which hasn’t had a national government in more than two decades, faces a host of complex problems including famine, religious extremism, piracy and a flood of refugees. Friday and Saturday, local Somali leaders and academics and State Department representatives will meet at Ohio State University to discuss these problems and how they affect the U.S. and Somalis who h...more
Scotts to pay $4.5 million in fines over false paperwork, toxic birdseed
Columbus Dispatch • Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. has agreed to plead guilty to charges in federal court and pay $4.5 million in fines in two incidents that date to 2008. That year, the company recalled packages of wild birdseed coated with pesticides that were toxic to birds.
Duck with zip-tied beak on the mend
Columbus Dispatch • Gayl Weiser said she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the emaciated mallard pacing in the parking lot of the Reynoldsburg Home Depot. A zip tie was clamped tightly around the duck’s orange beak and had become imbedded.
New AEP rates stun small businesses
Columbus Dispatch • Some small-business owners are furious about a sudden rise in electricity costs, the result of a new American Electric Power rate plan that took effect this month. With immediate increases of up to 40 percent, business owners said they are faced with cutting workers, reducing investment and making other changes as they struggle to deal with an increased expense that many of them did not see c...more
New Website Provides Local Resources for Single Parents
Columbus Underground • The internet is full of all types of information, but there are always challenges in finding very specific types of in...more
Feature: Freddie Gibbs at Skully’s
Columbus Alive • To hear Freddie Gibbs tell it, he’s spent more than a few days on street corners living the kind of life middle-class audiences know only from “The Wire....more
New store: Thread on Grandview
Columbus Alive • Shoppers looking to discover unique labels will be happy that the eldest siblings of the McEnery family play nice.
Pairings: Pizza and wine at Yellow Brick
Columbus Alive • Pizza and beer go together like peanut butter and jelly, right? Well, yes. But pizza and wine is an underappreciated, surprisingly great combo — basically the equivalent of peanut butter and honey.
Staff Pick: Dr. Dog at the Newport
Columbus Alive • One of the last shows I saw at Little Brother’s was by Philadelphia retro pop practitioners Dr. Dog. It was a cold February Wednesday — I remember because I w...more
Traffic ticket inspires fine art
The Other Paper
• The email hit my inbox Monday, looking not unlike the dozens of
other emails that show up daily. According to the subject line, it
was generated by someone who had used the "Submit News" button on
our
Wards and rewards
The Other Paper • Columbus City Council did what Columbus City Council does on Monday nights; it kept its eye on the big picture, what's best for the whole city.
Longtime Ohio State SID D.C. Koehl Passes Away
The Other Paper • COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State University and the Department of Athletics lost longtime administrator D.C. Koehl today from complications of a fall he had in late November. He was 61.
Columbus Mega Weekend – Winter 2012 – Vol. 8
Columbus Underground • I’m probably sounding like a broken record here, but man(!) where did the week go! It is already Thursday and that means your weekend is here. Let’s tally up what’s going on. Hope to see you at the CU Meetup... [Read More]
Mid-Ohio Foodbank opens pantry at Grove City site
Columbus Dispatch • The Mid-Ohio Foodbank doesn’t just supply the 550 emergency feeding sites and food pantries in its service area. It’s now a colleague trying to do the same work. With the opening today of the Kroger Community Pantry at the food bank’s Grove City site, Mid-Ohio becomes the first food bank in the state to operate a pantry out of its building, officials said.
Woman sentenced to jail for stealing from friend's cancer fund
Columbus Dispatch • A Worthington woman was sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution today for stealing from a friend’s cancer fund. Kimberly J. Richeson, 44, of Evening Street pleaded guilt...more
Bloom-Carroll hires new superintendent
Columbus Dispatch • A new superintendent will begin work next week at the Bloom-Carroll school district in Fairfield County.
Execution postponed for Ohio man in arson death
Columbus Dispatch • Ohio officials have agreed to a judge’s order postponing next month’s scheduled execution of Michael Webb, of Clermont County. U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost issued an order this morning stopping Webb’s Feb. 2...more
T Murray’s Bar and Kitchen - New in the Brewery District
Experience Columbus • There’s a lot of new energy in the Brewery District these days, with Shadowbox Live moving in and new restaurants and nightlife spots popping up! One standout...more
GCAC Presents: Celebrating Columbus’ Bicentennial Through Art
Columbus Underground • Roy Lichtenstein, Stanley Twardowicz, George Bellows. You’ve certainly heard of them, but d...more
Worthington woman injured in train crash dies
Columbus Dispatch • A Worthington woman who was struck by a train on the North Side Monday has died as a result of her injuries.
The Sports Page: Buckeyes Tame Lions, Remain Unbeaten at Home
Columbus Underground • You know how sometimes an underdog team comes into hostile territory, plays beyond their ability, and wins to the delight of “the little guy” everywhere? This was not one...more
Husted: Repeal elections bill now
Columbus Dispatch • Secretary of State Jon Husted is calling on Republican lawmakers to repeal the controversial elections bill they passed last year and head off a referendum that would coincide with the 2012 presidential election.
Lawmakers may consider stricter timber-theft law
Columbus Dispatch • Lawmakers might reconsider the criminal penalties for timber theft after a southeastern Ohio man complained that no one was prosecuted for harvesting more than $4,000 worth of trees from his property.
Feds increase county’s grants
Columbus Dispatch • Because Franklin County’s population grew — and grew poorer — the federal government is sending more money for safety-net and community-development programs than local officials had expected.
Columbus native: Syrian authorities free American, 21
Columbus Dispatch • FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — A 21-year-old who disappeared for three weeks after returning to Syria from suburban Detroit was released by Syrian authorities yesterday, his family said.
Obama’s ‘spilled milk’ joke touched on a real issue
Columbus Dispatch • The most-painful moment of Tuesday night’s State of the Union address — painful to both political parties and the independents watching — might have been the joke that fell flat when President Barack Obama told it. “We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago that could have forced some dairy farmers to spend $10,000 per year proving that they could contain a spill — because milk was somehow classified as oil,”...more
In Ohio, dropout law hard to enforce
Columbus Dispatch • During Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama urged states to require students to stay in school until they graduate or turn 18 — a law already in effect in Ohio and 19 other states. Still, at least 23,000 Ohio teens dropped out in the 2010-11 school year. And only a small number of those kids took advantage of an Ohio provision that lets them “ officially” leave school if they’re at least 16, have a full-time job an...more
Protesters: Landlord should face homicide counts
Columbus Dispatch • Franklinton activists are demanding that reckless-homicide charges be brought against the owner of a house where three tenants died in a Christmas Eve fire.
6 accused of IRS fraud via names of the dead
Columbus Dispatch • Six people have been indicted in an alleged scheme to file tax returns in the names of dead taxpayers to defraud the Internal Revenue Service of at least $1.7 million, federal authorities said yesterday.
Former Death Row inmate back in jail
Columbus Dispatch • OTTAWA, Ohio — Former Death Row inmate Kenneth Richey was arraigned yesterday in Putnam County Common Pleas Court on charges of threatening a local judge.
Craigslist suspect pleads not guilty
Columbus Dispatch • Accused Craigslist killer Richard J. Beasley pleaded not guilty yesterday to a 27-count indictment.
2 groups push medical marijuana
Columbus Dispatch • Two proposed medical-marijuana issues potentially headed for Ohio’s Nov. 6 ballot seem similar at first glance but are quite different in terms of specifics and supporters.
A guitar-maker’s original
Columbus Dispatch • Staff Sgt. Brian Nagy of Columbus got a real military discount: a free car. Nagy, 33, won a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze, the grand prize in Chevrolet's national Red, White and Cruze sweepstakes. The contest received more than 48,000 entries from active-duty military members and reservists. Nagy, his wife, Meghan, and two sons picked up the prize last week at Dave Gill Chevrolet. Their black Cruze LTZ is valued...more
DUI charge dismissed against GOP lawmaker
Columbus Dispatch • Six people have been indicted in an alleged scheme to file tax returns in the names of dead taxpayers to defraud the Internal Revenue Service of at least $1.7 million, federal authorities said yesterday.
Magicians gather at Downtown convention
Columbus Dispatch • At her high-school talent shows, Kelly Spangler is always the lone magician among dozens of dancers, singers and musicians. But while most of her classmat...more
It was a day for the little guy as Ohio town shows love for local hardware store
Columbus Dispatch • CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio — It began quietly, as an email to 40 friends. But when a steady stream of custo...more
Scioto Downs gets temporary slot-machine license
Columbus Dispatch
• A local horse-racing track appears well on its way to being the first in Ohio where patrons can play electronic slot machines. MTR Gaming Group Inc., owner of Scioto Downs in ...more
Columbus Mileposts | Jan. 26, 1978: Snow, ice and wind shut down entire city
Columbus Dispatch • One of the worst storms of the 20th century to hit Columbus roared through the city on the morning of Thursday, Jan. 26, 1978, shutting schools, government offices and the airport and cutting power to thousands.
Sparks fly over asbestos bill
Columbus Dispatch • Republicans called the bill a way to reduce fraudulent asbestos lawsuits and ensure that bankruptcy trusts can support future legitimate claims from victims of the toxic substance.
29-year-old bald eagle, mom to 16 eaglets, dies
Columbus Dispatch • A 29-year-old bald eagle that raised 16 eaglets at the Columbus Zoo and Aqu...more
New chief vows to continue COTA’s turnaround
Columbus Dispatch
• W. Curtis Stitt had a summer job aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald, the Great Lakes freighte...more
Fairfield County park district to manage preserve for historical society
Columbus Dispatch • The Ohio Historical Society has handed over management of its Wahkeena Nature Preserve to the Fairfield County Historical Parks.
Westerville, Blendon Township study development zones
Columbus Dispatch • Blendon Township is considering an agreement with Westerville to set up joint economic-development zones. Development Director Bryan Rhoads said the agreement could generate up to $2 million a year for the township.
Pickerington city manager gets contract extension
Columbus Dispatch • City Manager Bill Vance has received a two-year contract extension with options that could keep him in Pickerington through 2016.
Reynoldsburg ex-superintendent to become Kasich’s education czar
Columbus Dispatch • Gov. John Kasich has tapped former Reynoldsburg school Superintendent Richard A. Ross to head the Governor’s Office of 21st Century Education.
