Got questions for CityBeat about, well, anything? Submit them here, and we’ll try to get back to you in our first Answers Issue. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved a Mill Creek sewer overhaul plan that includes bringing back a long-buried creek in the area. The unconventional strategy is the Metropolitan Sewer District’s (MSD) attempt at dealing with storm overflow in a green, sustainable manner that also saves taxpayers money — particularly in comparison to an expensive deep underground tunnel that the EPA originally suggested. CityBeat previously covered MSD’s green plans in further detail here. A law that would ban mandatory union membership is temporarily back on the Ohio House agenda, leaving union advocates worried that Republicans are trying to push the anti-union law, which supporters of the change call “right to work,” once again. Still, lawmakers say they’re only giving the law one hearing as required by House rules for legislation introduced early on in the session. Under current law, employers and unions are allowed to agree to mandating union membership for employees, but the anti-union law would bar that agreement. Many states have already taken up similar laws, and they’ve been linked to a significant decline of unions around the nation. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is partnering with Ohio State Board of Pharmacy Executive Director Kyle Parker to continue the fight against synthetic drugs. In a statement, DeWine’s office said the partnership will help state officials expedite the process of banning synthetic drugs as they are found. “Despite the success of House Bill 334, which outlawed a multitude of synthetic drugs in 2012, rogue chemists continue to create new, dangerous chemicals that fall outside of Ohio's controlled substances law,” DeWine said in a statement. Cost for vehicle registration in Ohio could go up under a plan being considered by state lawmakers. Two more alleged voter fraud cases were sent to the county prosecutor. So far, most of the Hamilton County voter fraud cases involve people voting twice — supposedly on accident — by first early voting and then voting on Election Day. A Gillette commercial is at the center of the most important question of our time: How does Superman shave? The “cutest couple” at a suburban New York school is two boys. Being from Ohio may have ruined Neil Armstrong’s most famous quote. In case you missed it, here is the news section for the latest issue of CityBeat: Cover story: “From the Inside: Inmates told CityBeat about violence, staff ineptitude and unsanitary conditions inside Ohio’s private prison. Then came the surprise inspections.”News: “What’s On the Books?: Northern Kentucky tea party-backed lawsuit threatens library funding across the state”Commentary: “Commissioners’ Proposed Streetcar Cut Ignores the Basics”

State Rep. Connie Pillich announced today that she will run for state treasurer, putting the Greater Cincinnati Democrat on a collision course with current Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, a Republican who ran for U.S. Senate last year. Before becoming state representative, Pillich was in the Air Force, a lawyer and a small business owner. “Whether as a captain in the Air Force, a lawyer and owner of a small business, or a representative in the legislature, I’ve dedicated my career to listening to concerns, creating a plan of action, and working hard to deliver real results,” she said in a statement. Attorney General Mike DeWine certified the ballot language for an amendment that would legalize medical marijuana in Ohio, opening the possibility that the issue will be on the ballot in 2013 or 2014. CityBeat wrote more about the amendment and the group behind it here. Supporters of the Medicaid expansion are hosting a public meeting and presentation today at 10 a.m. at the Red Cross headquarters at 2111 Dana Ave. CityBeat previously covered the Medicaid expansion, which supporters claim will save the state money and insure half a million Ohioans in the next decade, here. Ohio is one of many states preparing to adopt Common Core standards and other reforms in schools, but a recent survey by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute of the state’s superintendents declared that the state is not ready for all the changes being proposed. Terry Ryan of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute says Ohio should consider slowing down to give legislators and educators more time to work through the new requirements. A new Ohio bill would require only one license plate per vehicle, potentially saving the state $1 million a year. But critics say the bill would limit the amount of tools available to law enforcement to fight and prevent crime. Nearly two-thirds more suburban residents live below the poverty line in comparison to 2000, according to “Confronting Suburban Poverty in America,” a book by two Brookings Institution fellows. The book uses U.S. Census Bureau data to form a clearer picture on U.S. poverty trends. Previous analyses have correlated the U.S. rise in poverty with welfare reform, which former President Bill Clinton signed in 1996. Ohio and U.S. gas prices are spiking this week. It’s going to be hot today. A study found a correlation between fiscal conservatives and big biceps. The first American mission to sample an asteroid is moving forward.

The city’s Youth Job Fair needs more employers to reach the city’s goal of 100, says Mayor Mark Mallory. The fair offers young people a chance to seek out jobs. Employers can sign up for the free booths at www.mayormallory.com. The petition to stop the parking plan is at 4,000 signatures — nearly half of the 8,522 required before April 5. Under the plan, the city will lease its parking assets to the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority to help balance the 2014 and 2015 budgets and foster economic development, but opponents say the semi-privatization plan will cede too much control of the city’s parking assets and cause rates to skyrocket. Whether the plan is subject to referendum is currently being debated in court. JobsOhio, the privatized, nonprofit development agency, met the deadline on a subpoena issued by State Auditor Dave Yost to collect the agency’s full financial records, which include public and private funds. JobsOhio also said it will eventually pay back $1 million in public funds. Gov. John Kasich and other Republicans argued only public funds can be checked by the state auditor, but Yost says he’s allowed to seek a full audit. Kasich and the Republican-controlled legislature approved JobsOhio in part to replace the Ohio Department of Development, which can be fully audited.In a letter to the Latino Affairs Commission, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine wrote that the children of illegal immigrants should be eligible for driver’s licenses under President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, which allows the children of illegal immigrants to qualify for a social security number and work permit. DeWine’s letter is not legally binding, but since it’s coming from the state’s top legal adviser, it could put pressure on the Bureau of Motor Vehicles’ legal team as it continues reviewing Ohio’s driver’s license policy.Policy Matters Ohio, a left-leaning policy research group, is pushing an earned income tax credit (EITC) that could act as a progressive replacement for Gov. John Kasich’s tax plan. The tax credit benefits low- and middle-income people, particularly those with kids. The Policy Matters report says the federal EITC has been one of the most effective anti-poverty policies in the United States. A bill that will limit the referendum process was pushed through the Ohio House Policy and Oversight Committee, despite warnings from members of the League of Women Voters and Democrats that the bill might draw a constitutional challenge. The bill would give petitioners 10 days to collect additional signatures if their initial submission falls short. Under current law, members can continuously collect signatures while the secretary of state and boards of elections verify the initial batch. The Ohio Constitution gives petitioners 10 days to file, not collect, additional signatures. Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld unveiled his three-pronged strategy for reducing city blight. The plan would encourage the passage of a state law that would allow people to trespass abandoned properties to remediate them, focus demolition resources on hazardous buildings and expand the city’s vacant foreclosed property registry. A report from Catalyst for Payment Reform and Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute gave Ohio and six other states a D for health care transparency. Twenty-nine states got an F, and only New Hampshire and Massachusetts got A’s.Ohio lawmakers are poised to raise the speed limit on interstates in rural areas to 70 mph. When The Huffington Post asked Ohio Sen. Rob Portman if he wished it hadn't required a personal experience with gay marriage to alter his position to favor marriage equality, he responded, “Well, it did.” He added, “I'm more of an economic policy wonk. That's always been my background and focus: budget issues and economic growth issues. … That’s just where I was.” Portman came out in support of same-sex marriage two years after finding out his son is gay. T.J. Lane, the convicted Chardon High School shooter, will spend the rest of his life in prison after murdering three Ohio students. At hearings yesterday, Lane smiled and mocked the victims’ families. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital is looking to fill more than 1,000 jobs. NASA's advice for a near-term meteor strike: “Pray.” Due to a severe lack of funding, NASA does not have the proper technology to detect all the small asteroids in orbit that could level cities. If a deadly asteroid is detected, the current plan is to crash a spacecraft on it to slow it down or alter its course. Would you get a vampire facial?

The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles has been reviewing its driver’s license policy for the children of illegal immigrants for nearly two months now, but if it was up to Attorney General Mike DeWine, those people would already be eligible for driver’s licenses. In a letter to the Latino Affairs Commission dated to March 19, DeWine wrote, “It appears that the BMV would have to accept driver’s license applications from individuals that fall under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative because they can provide all of the information necessary.” DACA is an executive order signed by President Barack Obama that allows the children of illegal immigrants to qualify for a social security number and work permit. According to DeWine, that should be enough to qualify for an Ohio driver’s license: “With these documents and any other documents normally required by the BMV, an individual can provide the BMV with the information necessary to receive a driver’s license.” The BMV has been reviewing its driver’s license policy for DACA recipients for nearly two months. A previous CityBeat report found the BMV is granting driver’s licenses to some of the children of illegal immigrants, but what qualifies a few and disqualifies others is unclear. DeWine’s letter is not legally binding, but since it’s coming from the state’s top legal adviser, it could put pressure on the BMV’s legal team as it continues reviewing the Ohio’s driver’s license policy. “I encourage any citizen who is concerned about a law or policy to contact their legislators and voice that concern,” DeWine wrote. “As Attorney General, I do not have the authority to introduce or vote on legislation.” CityBeat originally broke the story regarding the BMV policy through the story of Ever Portillo, who was not able to receive a driver’s license despite being a DACA recipient (“Not Legal Enough,” issue of Feb. 6). CityBeat later heard stories and received documents showing what seemed to be internal confusion and conflict about the policy at the BMV. Between January and February, there was a noticeable shift in the BMV’s messaging from flat-out barring DACA recipients from obtaining driver’s licenses to reviewing the entire process — a change that might be attributable to the barrage of statewide media coverage on the issue after CityBeat's coverage.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is proposing training school staff and teachers to be first responders in the case of an attack. The news comes in the wake of the massacre in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., which caused the deaths of 20 children and six adults. CityBeat proposed its own solution in this week’s commentary: Make this time different by focusing on mental health services and gun control. Cincinnati will lease Music Hall for 75 years to the Music Hall Revitalization Company (MHRC). The lease is part of a plan to renovate the iconic building to include more comfortable seating, extra restroom capacity, heating, air conditioning, improved plumbing and new escalator models. During the renovations, Music Hall will be closed for 17 months. City Council passed a resolution promising not to use Metro bus money for the streetcar. The supposed conflict between the city of Cincinnati and the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) is being drummed up by the media, but it’s really much ado about nothing.  Metropolitan Sewer District rates will go up by 5 percent in early 2013. The Cincinnati Health Department is pushing recommendations from a lead hazard study. The recommendations would prohibit lead-based paint hazards and require all properties to be free of lead-based paint, dust and soil. City Council is asking the health department to carry out the regulations, and it expects from a plan and timetable from regulators within 60 days. One study found getting rid of lead would do wonders for school performance A Brookings Institute ranking placed Greater Cincinnati among the worst areas in the country due to falling home prices. Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank agreed to a $16 million settlement in a securities fraud case. The four-year-old lawsuit was brought in the onset of 2008’s financial crisis, when the bank’s stock plummeted as it took several large writedowns. Cincinnati’s Horseshoe Casino still needs to fill 450 positions in food and beverage, marketing, finance, security and more. A Washington Post analysis found casinos tend to bring jobs, but they also bring crime, bankruptcy and even suicide. As expected, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is helping Ohio’s economy. The state has 39,000 jobs attached to oil and gas this year, and the number is expected to triple by the end of the decade. To take advantage of the boom, Ohio Gov. John Kasich says he will push his oil-and-gas severance tax in 2013. But the plan faces opposition from liberals and conservatives. If Ohio Republicans tried to push “right-to-work” legislation, it would lead to a very nasty public fight, The Plain Dealer reports. Kasich and Republican lawmakers didn’t rule out using ballot initiatives to push conservative ideas like right-to-work in a press conference yesterday, but he did say he’s like a horse with blinders on, focusing on job creation. The animal and robot takeover have been merged in the BigDog robot. It can now obey voice commands, follow and roll over.

A Cincinnati-based company and one of its top executives have pleaded guilty to circumventing Ohio’s competitive bid process, a move the state’s top lawyer said cheated taxpayers out of tens of thousands of dollars. Attorney General Mike DeWine announced on Tuesday that Quattro Inc. pleaded guilty to two felonies while sales manager Timothy O’Brien pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors. The pleas were made in exchange for cooperation with the investigation. The company was charged with submitting multiple bids on road jobs under different company names, creating the illusion of a competitive process while really manipulating the price they’d be paid. They were supposed to provide traffic control devices, such as arrow signs, orange barrels and cones. The company pleaded guilty to one count of entering into an unlawful combination contract, and one count of attempting to engage in a pattern of corrupt behavior. It agreed to pay $42,796 in penalties and restitution. O’Brien pleaded guilty to three counts of engaging in a conspiracy against trade and agreed to pay $5,872 in penalties and restitution. The charges were the first in almost three decades brought under Ohio’s antitrust statute, the Valentine Act.

A federal judge ruled that in-person early voting in Ohio must be extended to include the weekend and Monday before Election Day for all voters. The ruling is a result of President Barack Obama’s campaign team and the Democrats filing a lawsuit against Secretary of State Jon Husted to extend early voting. Attorney General Mike DeWine has vowed to appeal the ruling. Republicans have consistently blocked all attempts to expand early voting in Ohio, citing costs and racial politics.Cincinnati manufacturing is on a big rebound, according to a new survey. The Cincinnati Purchasing Management Index, which is used to measure manufacturing in the area, showed some decline in July, but it is now bouncing back. The news could indicate a wider economic recovery.Presidential candidate Mitt Romney was in town Saturday. During his speech, Romney pointed fingers to “cheaters” like China, which Romney believes is unfairly manipulating its currency. (China has not been manipulating its currency for some time now.) Romney also rolled out his plan to restore America’s economy by emphasizing small businesses and cutting government spending. But the Brookings Institute says the unemployment rate would be at 7.1 percent if it wasn’t for government cuts passed by state and federal governments in the past few years. Romney also wants to cut back on the Environmental Protection Agency, which he says is hurting local jobs with too many regulations. Some Democrats are calling for Husted to resign. Dennis Lieberman and Tom Ritchie, both who were fired for attempting to expand in-person early voting to include weekends despite Husted’s uniform rules demanding no weekend hours, said in a press release Husted should resign for missing a critical deadline. The deadline was to establish the ballot language and argument against Issue 2, a ballot initiative supported by Ohio Voters First that would place redistricting in the hands of an independent citizens committee. If Issue 2 is not passed, politicians will continue drawing district boundaries, which typically leads to a process known as “gerrymandering” that politicians use to redraw districts in politically beneficial ways. In Cincinnati, gerrymandering has been used to de-emphasize the urban vote — or African-American vote, according to Doug Preisse, adviser to Gov. John Kasich — by redrawing district boundaries to include Warren County. CityBeat previously covered the redistricting issue here.Competition in the Greater Cincinnati area has allowed some cities to pay less for trash hauling services. Rumpke previously held a stranglehold on the business, but that seems to be changing with the arrival of legitimate competitors — such as CSI and Forest Green. The Obama campaign will open its offices in Cincinnati tomorrow. The Obama team promises to use the offices for a large ground game.The Ohio Board of Regents is calling on some Ohio colleges to continue enrolling military veterans despite a temporary disruption in federal benefits, which was caused by a loss of records.Former Gov. Ted Strickland might run again to knock Gov. John Kasich out of the spot. Strickland is expected to speak at the Democratic National Convention today.Rep. John Boehner of Ohio seems to have his geography confused. At a speech, he said he wants senatorial candidate Josh Mandel of Ohio to win to "run Harry Reid back to Nevada.” Reid is a U.S. senator for Nevada.U.S. home prices rose in July by the most in six years. The news could indicate a recovery in the housing market. The housing crash is generally attributed as the primary cause of the Great Recession.The Democratic National Convention is heading into day two today. The convention is touting the new Democratic platform, which now includes support for same-sex marriage. At the Ohio delegation in the convention, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who is often cited as a potential presidential candidate for the 2016 election, criticized Kasich.A cure for baldness could be in stores as soon as five years from now.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today that grant money will go to a local organization to help homeless youth. Some of the money, which is taken from the State Victims Assistance Act, will go to Cincinnati-based Lighthouse Youth Services (LYS) to help victims of domestic violence, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth, between the ages of 18 and 24. "These kids don't have to live on the streets and wonder every day where they'll be getting their next meal,” DeWine said in a statement. The grant money, which totals $430,000, will be shared between the Cincinnati organization and The Next Step, another homeless aid organization based in Geauga and Portage counties. LYS, which helps about 2,200 people in the Greater Cincinnati area each day, will get $137,500 year per year for two years. The money will primarily go to the Lighthouse on Highland facility, which is located in Clifton. Bob Mecum, CEO of LYS, says the facility helps youth between the ages of 16 and 24 that are typically victims of violence. During the day, Lighthouse on Highland provides nursing, showering, washing, food, shelter, computer and case-management services. At night, the organization acts as a 28-bed shelter. On the average day, the facility helps 10 to 30 people with its street outreach services and 40 to 60 people with its on-site services. On the typical night, 27 out of 28 beds are filled. “Through this grant from the attorney general offices, the services out of the Highland location will be funded,” Mecum says. On average, LGBT youth face greater homelessness rates. Even though LGBT youth makes up only about 10 percent of the general youth population, LGBT youth makes up about 20 percent of the homeless youth population, according to the National Coalition of Homelessness. LGBT youth are also twice as likely to experience sexual abuse by the age of 12, and they’re about 7.4 times more likely to experience acts of sexual violence than heterosexual youth.