Columbus Dispatch

Timken will expand plant in Canton after union vote

CANTON (AP) — A United Steelworkers union has approved a five-year contract that will allow a $225 million expansion of an Ohio manufacturing plant to proceed.

Ash Wednesday marks beginning of Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday, when Christians receive ashes on their forehead and steel their resolve to keep a Lenten promise to give up a bad habit or take on a good one. The six weeks of Lent will culminate on Easter Sunday, April 8.

Justices quiet critic of excessive noise law

A Wayne County man was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct during his Halloween party in 2009, after neighbors repeatedly complained about the booming music and sheriffs deputies made repeated trips to his building. An appeals court upheld the conviction, but noted that it was in conflict with a separate appeals court ruling.

Twice nearly deported, Nigerian man becomes U.S. citizen today

A Nigerian immigrant and chef who was almost deported twice took the oath of American citizenship Downtown this morning.

VITAL STATISTICS

The local American Red Cross Blood Services constantly needs donors of all blood types and has a critical need for O negative.

Boy brings unloaded gun to day care

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- Police say a 5-year-old boy in Ohio brought an unloaded handgun to the day care he attends after finding it in the grass at his apartment complex. Police say the child thought it was a cigarette lighter and was showing it to friends at My First Days Day Care in Toledo when administrators saw the weapon.

Columbus schools panel will consider levy options

Members of a Columbus City Schools committee said they will recommend by early June whether the district should pursue a November levy and whether to include a bond issue. The 14-member group of business and community leaders met for the first time yesterday to be briefed on their task, learn about state and district education issues, and set a schedule.

Couple gets 12 years in boys’ deaths

A Zanesville couple said they lost everything this summer when their children drowned in the Muskingum River. Now, they’l...more

Pit bulls not automatically ‘vicious’ under new law

Pit bulls no longer will be automatically classified as vicious dogs under a bill signed into law yesterday by Gov. John Kasich.

Stivers: Obama objection to coastal drilling stalls highway funding

Washington’s inability to figure out a way to pay for the nation’s roadwork probably will result in a three- or four-year temporary fix, U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers said yesterday. The Upper Arl...more

Authorities still seek escapee from Fairfield County jail

LANCASTER, Ohio — Authorities continued the search for a Fairfield County jail inmate who escaped on Monday night by scaling a fence topped with razor wire.

Paul’s volunteers in Ohio see success attained in small steps

A donations box sits just inside the door, next to a sign on the wall inviting people to the “Rock for the Revolution” concert in Columbus the night before the primary. Of the dozens of people i...more

Paulâ��s volunteers in Ohio see success attained in small steps

School board fires Indianola architect

The Columbus Board of Education yesterday fired the architect in charge of a historic-school renovation in the University District and signed off on a three-month study period to decide how to go forward.

Meeting puts Husted in GOP feud

The intraparty feud splitting Ohio Republicans between those loyal to party Chairman Kevin DeWine and those backing Gov. John Kasich might have another prominent player: Secretary of State Jon Husted.

Alexandria goes from speed trap to welcome mat

ALEXANDRIA, Ohio — Meredith Martin likes to use the word renaissance. Martin said she moved her newly opened Sunbear Studio & Gallery to Alexan...more

Clean-energy ballot initiative has its quirks

A proposed Ohio renewable-energy ballot issue has some strange quirks: $13 billion in investments in wind, solar, geothermal and other energy projects over 10 years would be solely controlled by a secretive Ohio commission incorporated in the state of Delaware; the General Assembly would be strictly prohibited from influencing project selection and investments, or any operation of the Ohio Energy Commission Initiative; the spokeswoman for the energy issue, Evonne Richardson of Columbus, is a model, actress and burlesque dancer who al...more

Anti-fur advocate sought to hire killer, FBI says

CLEVELAND -- Federal authorities have charged an Ohio woman who calls herself an animal-welfare activist with soliciting murder in a plot to kill a random fur-wearer. Meredith Lowell, 27, of Cleveland Heights, appeared yesterday in federal court, where she was ordered held pending a hearing next week.

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An Upper Arlington man was sentenced yesterday to two years in prison for robbing a Short North bank last year.

Columbus Mileposts | Feb. 22, 1833: Letter tells of hypocritical, gambling lawmakers

Apparently, the denizens of the Statehouse came up short in the morals department in the early 1800s. ...more

Paving samples need monitoring, ODOT told

The state watchdog flagged “significant deficiencies” yesterday in how the Ohio Department of Transportation collects asphalt samples to ensure road crews are repaving highways effectively.

Husted backs GOP panelists in ballot feud

Ohio’s elections chief has sided with fellow Republicans in breaking a tie vote over counting ballots in a disputed 2010 juvenile court election.

Man gets 2 years in robbery of Chase bank

An Upper Arlington man was sentenced yesterday to two years in prison for robbing a Short North bank last year.

Policeman not indicted in fatal shooting of suspect

A Franklin County grand jury did not indict a Columbus police officer who shot and killed an armed man on the South Side last summer.

Trying to bail out a flood zone

Trying to bail out a flood zone Franklin County is buying and demolishing 15 houses near a ditch in Franklin Township that floods after heavy rai...more

Columbus State partnering with Reynoldsburg schools

Reynoldsburg students will soon be able to take Columbus State Community College courses at their high school and possibly earn a two-year associate degree along with thei...more

Justices: Law can’t retroactively affect sex offender

A Columbus man who pleaded guilty to sexual battery in 1995 does not have to tell authorities his whereabouts because he left prison before sex-offender registration...more

Meeting puts Husted in GOP feud

The intraparty feud splitting Ohio Republicans between those loyal to party Chairman Kevin DeWine and those backing Gov. John Kasich might have another prominent player: Secretary of State Jon Husted.

Paul’s Ohio supporters see success in small steps

A donations box sits just inside the door, next to a sign on the wall inviting people to the “Rock for the Revolution” concert in Columbus the night before the primary. Of the dozens of people in the office, not one is getting paid, and the volunteers move around at a casual pace, rather than like energy-drink-infused balls of stress. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas isn’t your average preside...more

School board fires Indianola architect

The Columbus Board of Education today fired the architect in charge of a historic-school renovation in the University District and signed off on a three-month study period to decide how to go forward.

Pit bulls not automatically ‘vicious’ under new law

Pit bulls no longer will be automatically classified as vicious dogs under a bill signed into law today by Gov. John Kasich.

Stivers: Coastal-drilling fight with Obama stalling highway funding

Washington’s inability to figure out a way to pay for the nation’s roadwork probably will result in a three- or four-year temporary fix, U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers said today.

Grand jury declines to indict officer in fatal shooting

A Franklin County grand jury did not indict a Columbus police officer who shot and killed an armed man on the South Side last summer. The officer was cleared Thursday after a grand jury reviewed the Aug. 26 death of Obbie Shepard.

Bank robber receives two-year prison sentence

An Upper Arlington man was sentenced to two years in prison today for robbing a Short North bank last year. Abdalla Hashim Thrower, 32, of North Star Road, pleaded guilty on Feb. 8 to one count of robbery for the Aug.9 incident at Chase Bank, 677 N. High St.

Old Ohio River bridge in Steubenville demolished with explosives

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Authorities have successfully brought down the remainder of an Ohio River bridge with a series of planned explosions.

Renewable-energy issue advances toward fall ballot

A group is a step closer to getting the OK to collect signatures for an Ohio ballot measure that would pump $1.3 billion a year into renewable energy.

Panel plans recommendation on school levy by early June

A Columbus City Schools committee plans to recommend by early June whether the district should pursue a November levy and whether it would include a bond issue. The 14-member committee of business and community leaders met for the first time this morning to be briefed on their task and lay ...more

Fairfield County inmate climbs over razor wire to escape

LANCASTER, Ohio — Authorities are searching today for a Fairfield County jail inmate who escaped last night by scaling a fence topped with razor wire. Jeremiah Searles, 31, escaped from the county jail annex, a building located at the Southeastern Correctional Institution that the county leases from the state.

Sex-offender list isn't retroactive, Ohio Supreme Court rules

Ohio’s sex-offender registration requirements do not apply to a Columbus man who pleaded guilty to sexual battery in 1995 and was released from prison before new laws took effect, the state Supreme Court ruled 7-0 today.

Parents sentenced to 12 years each for drowning deaths of toddlers

The parents of two toddlers who drowned in the Muskingu...more

Motorcycle crash kills woman, 18, in Tennessee

Motorcycle crash kills woman, 18, in Tennessee Services will be held at 10 a.m. today in the Jerry Spears Funeral Home...more

Powerball lures fewer Ohioans but more money at $2 cost

About a month after lottery organizers doubled the price to play Powerball, Ohioans are playing less than before but responding to sizable jackpots just ...more

Odor-free Westland High reopens today

Westland High School will reopen today, but experts still have not figured out the strong odor that caused dizziness and nausea in some people and closed the school for five days.

Quiet Gahanna creek now ‘raging torrent’ threatening subdivision

The main draw of a Gahanna subdivision — a scenic creek — has become its greatest danger, threatening trees, fences and backyards. The banks of Souder Ditch are eroding as its flow increases, and city officials want to fix it before it causes any more damage. That c...more

Quiet Gahanna creek now â��raging torrentâ�� threatening subdivision

Santorum drills Obama in energy-themed Ohio visit

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — Burn coal. Drill for oil. Strengthen the church. Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum’s message yesterday seemed tailored to Steubenville, a community with a strong Roman Catholic presence that was raised on coal and is seeking an economic rebirth through shale drilling.

Romney, in Ohio, tries to swing back in the lead

NEWTOWN, Ohio —When it comes to electing presidents, “Ohio has a special place,” Mitt Romney told an audience yesterday in this Cincinnati suburb. And that’s why he came to this place, desperate to stem Rick Santorum’s wild ride to the top of the Republican presidential heap.

Seven die in weekend assaults in Cleveland