Carbon dioxide emissions fell to a 20-year low this year, largely thanks to natural gas that was made cheaper and more plentiful due to the fracking boom in Ohio and other states. The news is a surprising turnaround for climate change activists, but critics worry that methane — a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide — emitted from natural gas operations could still pose a significant climate threat. Environmental groups are generally opposed to fracking, but supporters, like Gov. John Kasich, insist it can be made safe with enough regulations. CityBeat previously covered the concerns and questions behind fracking here.The Ohio Department of Education has had a rough year, and in a few ways, it’s back to square one. On top of the search for a new superintendent of public instruction, the Department of Education has had to deal with budget cuts and layoffs, a new Board of Education member with no college degree or known resume, and the department is now being investigated by the state auditor.  The White House has announced a $30 million manufacturing hub for Ohio that will act as a model for the rest of the United States. The hub will bring together universities and businesses in order to increase growth and collaboration and decrease risk.Ohio has seen an uptick of businesses requesting to work in the state, according to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted. Estimates show 6,137 new entities applied to work in the state during July, up from 5,472 during July 2011. The state has also seen 52,728 new business requests so far in 2012, up from 49,460 during the same January-to-July period in 2011. The news shows some signs of strengthening economic growth in Ohio.But Ohio’s unemployment rate barely moved in July. The unemployment rate remained at 7.2 percent, the same as June’s unemployment rate, even though 2,000 jobs were added.The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. EPA, Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and energy companies met yesterday to work out how Ohio will enforce new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. The new standards will greatly reduce toxic pollutants given off by power plants, according to the National Resources Defense Council.Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor claims there’s a funding shortage for courts. The shortage could make it difficult for some cases and people to see their day in the courtroom.Environmental groups are asking for more rules for wastewater injection wells, the wells used to dump wastewater produced during fracking. But state regulators aren’t sure more rules are necessary.Fifty-eight state Republican lawmakers have never broken from the very conservative Ohio Chamber of Commerce in a vote.Sen. Rob Portman will be speaking at the Republican national convention. The convention will make Mitt Romney’s nomination as the Republican presidential candidate official. Conventions are also a time for political parties to show off their new party platforms.President Barack Obama is coming back to Ohio next Tuesday. The president will be staying in Columbus this time around.Tax Policy Center to conservative critics: No matter what you say, Romney’s tax plan is still mathematically impossible.Americans love computers, but they hate the oil and gas industry.It’s taking more than three days, but the famous Jesus statue is rising again.

Hamilton County commissioners will vote on levies today. If commissioners do not increase the money levies generate, mental health services could be severely cut in Hamilton County. On Aug. 1, Thomas Gableman, Mental Health and Recovery Services Board Chairman, told the commissioners, “I cannot tell you we can do more with less. We cannot do the same with less. We will do less with less.”Republicans, including local state representative candidate Mike Wilson, have been pushing false information regarding a lawsuit filed by President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party to restore early voting. After releasing a misleading press release, Wilson clarified his position to CityBeat. Politifact rated Mitt Romney’s accusations “False.”Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is calling for new regulations on internet cafes. Internet cafes have been taking advantage of legal loopholes to hold contests, according to a press release from DeWine’s offices.Ohio could finish the 2013 fiscal year with a $408 million surplus. The surplus could give more ground to Gov. John Kasich’s call for an income tax cut.The swine flu outbreak in Ohio is being watched carefully by CDC officials. The CDC is worried the virus could mutate, making it deadlier or more contagious.Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted has a big announcement about elections tomorrow. One reason for high health-care costs may be the fee-for-service model. The model encourages doctors to provide as many medical procedures as possible, even when they might not be necessary.Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra saw attendance and subscriptions rise in the 2011-2012 season.There are super PACs for everything. Even time travel.The public may be excited about NASA’s current mission, but future missions could be in jeopardy due to funding reductions.

Petitions for the redistricting amendment being pushed by Voters First are about to reach their Friday deadline. If Voters First does not obtain enough signatures, the redistricting amendment will not be on the November ballot. CityBeat has previously covered the petition issue here and the GOP attempt to redraw state districts to its advantage here.The Beach landed a new operator for the 2013 season: Adventure Holdings LLC. The new operator is expected to make more than $1 million in investments in the park.An Ohio Department of Education investigation found Lockland School District has been reporting false attendance data. The district’s rating has been bumped down to adjust for the real data.Some political pundits are saying Cincinnati will play a pivotal role in the 2012 presidential election.The 2012 Kids Count report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found Ohio has the sixteenth highest child poverty rate in the United States with nearly 1 in 4 children in poverty.The Obama campaign will be setting up headquarters at the Hanke Building in Over-the-Rhine.County officials across Ohio are complaining casino tax money is not making up for losses in state funds.Forty economists of varying political and ideological beliefs have concluded that the Republican Party has abandoned economic reality.Mayors Against Illegal Guns has put together a website that demands Barack Obama and Mitt Romney release a plan to end gun violence.Eye scanners may not be all they’re cracked up to be in movies and TV shows. New research has found a way to completely fool them.

During a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado last night, a gunman walked into a theater, threw tear gas, and opened fire. Police identified James Holmes as the suspect in the shooting. Twelve were killed and at least 50 were wounded. On Twitter, one witness lamented that “there is no dark knight, no hero, that could save us from anything like this.”Cincinnati Police Chief James Craig will learn later this summer if he'll be required to undergo additional training and take the state police exam. Craig and his attorneys yesterday told the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission about his 36 years of policing experience. This summer, Ohio families will receive health insurance rebates as part of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. The average family will receive $139. In total, Ohioans will be getting back $11.3 million.  Ohio’s unemployment rate dropped to 7.2 percent in June, down from 7.3 percent in May. That’s the lowest unemployment has been since 2008. An Ohio Supreme Court task force approved changes that will help prevent racial bias in death penalty cases. Gov. John Kasich can’t get even his own people to agree with him on his tax plan. An Ohio Tea Party group came out against the plan yesterday. Speaker of the House John Boehner called the issue of Mitt Romney’s tax returns a “sideshow” and said that Americans don’t care about it. But Romney apparently disagreed with Boehner’s perspective in 1994 when he asked then-Senator Ted Kennedy to release his tax returns. First giant mirrors, then volcanoes. Now, scientists want to use plankton to help fight global warming.

A new survey by the Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati found that local teenage marijuana use is up slightly. Mary Haag, president and CEO of the coalition, says it’s the organization’s biggest concern — makes sense considering the organization is dedicated to creating a drug-free Cincinnati, but shouldn’t someone be concerned about this, too? Cincinnati police will stop using a certain breathalyzer machine due to a recent court ruling that the machine must be cleared after each use. City Prosecutor Charlie Rubenstein says attorneys are consistently questioning in court the Intoxilyzer 8000’s use, causing a backload of cases.   President Obama will visit Cincinnati on Monday, though no details have been released.  Mitt Romney might not like running as a potential Bush third term, but he’ll take whatever money Dick Cheney can raise for him at an event in Wyoming.  In response to heated negotiations over the price of Viacom networks such as Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central, DirecTV this week told its users where to find Viacom content online for free (Viacom's website). Viacom yesterday shut down the free streaming shows, replacing them with a video explaining how to complain to DirecTV that SpongeBob SquarePants isn’t available and your kids are pissed. Former FBI Director Louis Freeh said a report released today that Penn State and Joe Paterno concealed critical facts about Jerry Sandusky and showed a total disregard for the safety of his victims.  A new drug has been found to protect healthy people exposed to HIV, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the first time is considering approving a drug which could prevent individuals from acquiring the virus. Hackers released 453,000 Yahoo! passwords, potentially helping many log into their accounts after forgetting their passwords years after switching to Gmail. The Hubble telescope found a fifth moon orbiting Pluto, which is still not a planet anymore. 

Local subscribers to Time Warner and Insight cable woke up today without access to WLWT-TV (Channel 5) after the station and companies failed to reach a new retransmission agreement. Instead, the cable companies offered Channel 2 from NBC affiliate Terre Haute, Ind. The Enquirer is all over the story, reporting that Todd Dykes and Lisa Cooney in the morning were replaced by someone named Dada Winklepleck in Wabash Valley, Ind. Don’t worry: 30 Rock will still be on your new local Indiana station. Visit mywabashvalley.com for further details about additional programming. Or you can just hook up an antennae and get WLWT in hi-def for free.  Anyone in the market for a school building? Cincinnati Public Schools is adding four closed buildings to a for-sale list in an attempt to raise the capital necessary to complete an overhaul of its in-use buildings as part of its Facilities Master Plan. The new buildings on the list are Central Fairmount, Kirby Road, North Fairmount and Old Shroder schools.  Ohio brought in $23.5 million during the first seven weeks of legalized gambling in the state.  Mitt Romney says he’s not hiding anything in his offshore accounts. The proof: He doesn’t even know where they are, so they’re technically hidden from him, too. Barack Obama is in Iowa apparently setting up an issue on which to debate Romney later this fall. Obama is pitching an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for households earning less than $250,000, while Romney wants to extend them for rich people, too.  The FDA went against the advice of an expert panel, deciding not to require mandatory training for doctors prescribing long-acting narcotic painkillers that can lead to addiction.  Three-hundred-square-foot apartments in New York City? Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked developers yesterday to try to make them work. City planners envision a future in which the young, the cash-poor and empty nesters flock to such small dwellings — each not much bigger than a dorm room. In a pricey real estate market where about one-third of renter households spend more than half their income on rent, it could make housing more affordable. Droughts in 18 states have made the price of corn go up, and the soybeans are hurting a little bit, too. Sitting less adds two years to U.S. life expectancy.  A new study found that babies are healthier when there are dogs in their homes.The Major League Baseball All-Star Game will take place tonight in Kansas City. The Reds’ Joey Votto is a starter, while Jay Bruce and Aroldis Chapman are also likely to play. 

The World Choir Games kicked off last night with an opening ceremony that CityBeat’s Anne Arenstein thoroughly enjoyed. Arenstein in a blog described choirs from West Chester, Loveland and Pleasant Ridge mingling with groups from Japan, Colombia, Canada and Australia, along with “spontaneous singing and dancing.” The event takes place at various venues through July 17. More info here. Kentucky has a higher rate of women who smoke while pregnant than other parts of the country. The state health department has apparently felt the need to remind people that when you inhale cancerous chemicals with a baby inside your body, the baby gets some too.  Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is willing to offer the full strength of his office should any knuckleheads try to rip off the state’s new casinos. In a joint statement with Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, DeWine articulated his dedication to stopping cheaters  in casinos. The state charged seven people for increasing bet sizes or removing bets when you’re not allowed to anymore.  President Obama has begun a two-day bus tour through northern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. The tour is called ”Betting on America” and will include a defense of Obama’s economic policies while pointing out that the auto bailout worked and Mitt Romney outsourced mass jobs.  Mitt Romney is reportedly considering choosing a woman as a running mate, and Romney’s wife says “I don’t have a problem with that.” London built a new skyscraper called “The Shard.” It’s 95 [expletive] stories high. Reuters says there are positive signs for the struggling job market.  Veteran NBA point guard Steve Nash is joining the L.A. Lakers, and Pau Gasol says it will be a huge honor to play with the dude. Kobe says, "Meh."