More details are coming out about Chris Monzel and Todd Portune working a behind-the-scenes deal to sell Drake Hospital for way less than it was worth in order to save rich people money on their property taxes for one year. Critics have called it a “fire sale” and questioned the legality of ...  

A new study has found high levels of arsenic in fruit juices that millions of kids are drinking because there's pictures of actual food on the label. Too bad government regulation is just a big waste of money that hurts the economy. A full 10 percent of the juices tested by the magazine had arsenic levels higher than what is allowed in water by the Food and Drug Administration. “What we’re talking about here is not acute affects,” Urvashi Rangan, director of safety and sustainability at Consumer Reports, told TODAY. “We’re talking about chronic effects. We’re talking about cancer risk. And so, the fact that 10 percent of our samples exceeded the drinking water standard underscores the need for a standard to be set in juices.”Consumer Reports tested 88 samples of apple and grape juices sold around the country. Included among those tested were popular juices like Minute Maid, Welch’s and Tropicana.  

If you know anything about integral calculus, then you know that the area under a curve represents volume, while the slope is the acceleration at any given point (on a different type of curve, ha!). But if you think you know enough about integral calculus to prove these statements wrong then, sorry, but you don’t have any credibility because you’re probably drunk, as two new studies have found a correlation between intelligence and a thirst for alcohol.   

Headline: "Stadium tax rebate favors wealthy." Analysis: "No shit." Owners of the county's most-expensive homes reportedly receive more savings from the property tax rollback than they pay in the sales tax increase that was supposed to pay for the sports stadiums. An Enquirer analysis of last year's property tax payout found that the half-cent sales tax increase amounts to a maximum of $192 annually, while some high-value homeowners received tax rebates of $1,175 or more. • Million-dollar homes account for less than 1 percent of households, yet they received nearly 5 percent of the total rebates — or one out of every $20 paid out. • One out of four homeowners - those with a home worth $200,000 or more - got $8.8 million in rebates - more than half the total rollback. • The median Hamilton County homeowner with a property worth $106,700 is eligible to get a $50.15 rebate under the rollback. • The 132 Hamilton County homeowners with houses worth $2.5 million or more get at least $1,175 apiece. • Property owners with homes worth $150,000 or less account for nearly six out of 10 households, but collectively they received less than 23 percent of the benefits. County commissioners have four days to tell the auditor to go ahead and tax homeowners at the previous rate, but Chris Monzel and Todd Portune are up for reelection this year and won't dare change take it away from the powerful rich people.
[Correction: Monzel is not up for reelection.]
Said former commissioner David Pepper:"At its core, the property tax rollback creates a reverse-Robin Hood scheme, where middle-class homeowners and renters are not only the ones paying for the stadium, but also footing the bill for a tax break for high-value property owners. Those high-end property owners are not paying for the stadium at all."  

Some Ohio anti-abortion groups apparently didn't learn their lesson from Gov. John Kasich's SB 5 failure, as at least one has broken away from Ohio Right to Life for refusing to endorse HB 125, the “heartbeat bill.” Ohio Right to Life believes HB 125 won't withstand a challenge under Roe v. Wade, but Warren County Right to Life wants to spend a lot of time and resources pursuing it anyway. Ohio Right to Life says a successful legal challenge could strengthen the women's choice side, but other groups are expected to join Warren County Right to Life anyway.  

The Hamilton County Commissioners' stadium funding failures have caused County Auditor Dusty Rhodes to describe a “dream world” where politicians think their inaction doesn't affect anybody. Today's news that the stadium fund will be bankrupt by March without additional funding has not deterred Republican Chris Monzel and Democrat Todd Portune from giving property owners the tax credit that convinced them to vote for the 1996 sales tax increase."It would be the height of irresponsibly to commit funds they knew were not there," Rhodes said. "I've long criticized various governments for living in dream world. "This takes it to a whole new level," Rhodes said.