Morning News and Stuff

In-person early voting begins in Ohio today. Find your nearest polling booth here.  Cincinnati could change how it gathers trash in the future. City officials, under the request of City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr., are looking for a way to make trash collection more automated and reduce the amount of manual labor required to pick up trash. Michael Robinson, director of public services, described the possible changes to WVXU: “Implement a new cart system using semi-automated trucks as well as automated units to reduce our workers compensation claims.” The changes would save the city money.For the second year in a row, statewide college enrollment declined. The two-year drop is the first time college enrollment has dropped since the 1990s. Casinos are popping up around Ohio — including the Horseshoe Casino in Cincinnati — but Ohioans do not have a gambling problem. A new survey, which seeks to establish a baseline to find out the impact of new casinos around the state, found problematic gambling is fairly uncommon in Ohio with about 250,000 Ohio adults, or nearly 3 percent of Ohioans, reporting problems.Cincinnati-based Macy’s will be hiring 80,000 new employees for the holidays. Several Ohio testing centers will be partnering up with the GED Testing Service to allow taking GED tests online. The GED test, which is accepted by most U.S. employers and colleges, gives a second chance to adults who did not get a high school diploma. JobsOhio, Gov. John Kasich’s privatized economic development program, suffered a serious setback Friday when an Ohio Supreme Court ruling dismissed efforts to clarify the program’s legal status. Critics of JobsOhio say the program is unconstitutional and illegal, and their complaints have often been legitimized by lower courts. State officials hoped the Ohio Supreme Court would put the issue to rest, but the court said a decision would have to be given by lower courts first. Josh Mandel, state treasurer and Republican U.S. senatorial candidate, doesn’t seem to be handling the stress of the campaign very well. In a newly released video, Mandel is seen on an elevator in an awkward confrontation that gets a little physical with a campaign tracker. The tracker’s story was confirmed by a reporter at The Columbus Dispatch, who was also on the elevator and can be seen and heard in the video. The amount of abortions in Ohio is down 12 percent, according to a new report by the Ohio Department of Health. A Xavier study found trust in government and business is on the rise. The increase is typical in a growing economy. About 60 percent of doctors would quit their jobs today if given the chance. Not a good sign for a health-care system that was expecting a doctor shortage even before Obamacare was passed.  U.S. home prices rose the most they have in six years. The year-over-year increase of 4.6 percent is a potential sign of a recovering economy. Want to increase your productivity? Look at cute kitties.