The Ohio Republican Party has given an excuse for Franklin County Republican Party Chairman Doug Preisse’s racist comment: Preisse thought he was off the record. The defense solidifies that Preisse, who is also a top adviser to Gov. John Kasich, was being honest — just not public — when he wrote in an email to The Columbus Dispatch, “I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban — read African-American — voter-turnout machine.” The comment was supposed to defend the Ohio Republican Party’s position against expanding in-person early voting, but it only revealed that racial politics play a pivotal role in the Republican Party’s opposition to expanded voting.Cincinnati has revealed the first master plan for the city since 1980. The plan seeks to put back an emphasis on urban living with policies that are friendlier to the environment and non-automotive transportation.President Barack Obama’s campaign will host an open house at the campaign’s new offices at Over-the-Rhine tomorrow. John Legend will be there. Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank is facing a class action lawsuit for what the plaintiff calls “payday loans.” The plaintiff alleges that the bank was charging illegally high interest rates.University of Cincinnati President Greg Williams is stepping down, citing personal reasons. Santa Onos, who previously served as provost, will take over temporarily as interim president.Greater Cincinnati’s unemployment rate, which is not adjusted for seasonal factors, remained at 7.2 percent in July. The number is lower than the state’s unadjusted rate of 7.4 percent and the federal unadjusted rate of 8.6 percent. Governments typically give numbers that are seasonally adjusted, which is why in July a 7.2 percent unemployment rate was reported for Ohio and an 8.3 percent unemployment rate was reported for the United States.The Ohio Hospital Association is backing the Medicaid expansion. The expansion is an optional part of Obamacare. The Dispatch blog calls the expansion “costly,” but Medicaid expansions can actually save the state money by eliminating uncompensated hospital visits — on top of possibly saving lives. The Ohio Board of Education will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow. The meeting will set the “process and criteria” for the Board’s search for a new superintendent of public instruction.The Horseshoe Casino will begin hiring today. The casino is looking to fill more than 750 positions. Forty-one Greater Cincinnati companies made it on the latest Inc. 5000 list.Obama was in Columbus yesterday. During the trip, the president talked mostly about young people and education in an attempt to rally the youth vote.U.S. spending on health care is set to rise by 50 percent by 2020, a new report says. As part of Obamacare and other programs, the federal government is trying to bring health-care costs down, which have risen faster than the rate of inflation in recent history.Scientists have caught a glimpse of a red giant — an expanding star in its final stages — devouring one of its own planets. The same will happen to our galaxy someday, painting a fairly grim future for Earth. Fortunately, humanity has a few billion years to find a solution.

Update: This blog incorrectly said Doug Preisse is the chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party. He is the chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party.“I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban — read African-American — voter-turnout machine,” Doug Preisse, chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party, told The Columbus Dispatch in an email over the weekend. The admission to outright racism came at the height of a controversy regarding weekend voting in Montgomery County. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted is trying to enforce uniform in-person early voting hours with no weekend voting across the state to avoid any discrepancies that caused a previous controversy, but county Democrats in Dayton wanted to have weekend voting anyway. When county Democrats refused to back down in a Board of Elections meeting, Husted, the state official who is supposed to empower voters as much as possible, suspended them from the Board. The move sparked criticism from state Democrats, which eventually led to Preisse’s admission to playing racial politics. The Ohio Board of Education is meeting today and is expected to discuss its search for a new superintendent of public instruction. Former Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Stan Heffner had to leave after an investigation found he had been misusing state resources and encouraging legislation that benefited an employer.Taxpayers could be paying $300,000 so county officials can avoid a tough decision. The move would preserve the property tax rollback and let the county hold off on making a payment on the stadiums this fiscal year. Two out of three county commissioners told the Enquirer they like the idea.Schools in the Greater Cincinnati area seem to be using different grading scales. The disparity could put some students in a worse spot when applying to college.Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is suing a Cincinnati man over a Craigslist scam.The Greater Cincinnati area could soon host more film, television and video game production thanks to new tax incentives.Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland could be making an appearance at the Democratic national convention. The convention is a time for parties to show off their new candidates and party platforms.Republican senatorial candidate Todd Akin of Missouri told KTVI-TV, “First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” The extremely offensive, factually incorrect comment was quickly picked up by media outlets, and the senatorial candidate is now saying he “misspoke.” But misspeaking typically means messing up one or two words. Misspeaking does not mean making a clearly spoken argument with a very clear point.Lack of funding could be hurting national parks.Here is a spider with claws.

In-person early voting in Hamilton County has been given a minimum price tag: $18,676. That’s how much The Cincinnati Enquirer says it will cost to staff polling booths in downtown Cincinnati during the early voting hours directed by Secretary of State Jon Husted. Unfortunately, in an effort to appear as if the early voting issue has two sides, the Enquirer never bothered putting the number in context. The article reads as if that number, which amounts to $406 an hour, is a big expense for Hamilton County. In reality, the additional cost would amount to about 0.009 percent of the 2012 county budget — a rounding error in the $206 million budget. Meanwhile, the Enquirer downplayed a new $300,000 cost to county taxpayers in the top story for today's paper. The article pointed out the unnecessary cost is due to county commissioners refusing to make a tough decision, but the headline made it seem like the county is getting away with little-to-no trouble. The number is important because costs are the top non-racist concern Republicans bring up when opposing more early voting hours. The other concerns are empowering military voters above normal citizens, which contradicts the entire point of civilian control of the military and ignores mail-in absentee ballots, and voter fraud, which is completely overblown by Republicans. Over the weekend, Ohio’s early voting battle caught national headlines again when Doug Preisse, chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party, told The Columbus Dispatch in an email, “I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban — read African-American — voter-turnout machine.” The statement echoed earlier statements from former Florida Republican Chairman Jim Greer, who told MSNBC that voting restrictions are an attempt to limit voting from minorities and younger voters.The admission to racial politics confirmed suspicions from Democrats that limiting early voting hours is at least partly about suppressing the vote among demographics that typically vote Democrat. The estimate comes in the middle of an ongoing controversy regarding in-person early voting hours. Husted said Wednesday that counties must all follow the same early voting hours. But the hours excluded early voting during the weekend, much to the dismay of state Democrats. In response, Democrats in Montgomery County, which is where Dayton is, decided to try having weekend voting anyway, and Husted suspended and threatened to fire the Democrats on the Montgomery County Board of Elections. Democrats were not happy with the threats.“It's outrageous and borderline criminal,” said Chris Redfern, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, in a statement. Ohio Democrats held a rally in Columbus this morning in support of Montgomery County Democrats. The Dayton-area Democrats appeared in a hearing with Husted today to see if they will be fired from the Montgomery County Board of Elections. A decision will be given later in the week. At the hearing, Dennis Lieberman, one of the Democrats on the Montgomery County Board of Elections, said he “was not put on the board of elections to be a puppet.” Lieberman also pointed out that Montgomery County saved $200,000 in the 2008 elections by lowering the amount of precincts required with weekend voting. The controversy is following up an earlier controversy about county-by-county discrepancies in early voting hours — an issue Hamilton County barely avoided when Husted directed county boards to invoke uniform in-person early voting hours across the state a day before Hamilton County Board of Election hearings.

In-person early voting in Hamilton County has a minimum cost estimate: $18,676. The number represents about 0.009 percent of the county’s 2012 budget. Unfortunately, The Cincinnati Enquirer never bothered putting the number in any context, so its story read like the $18,676, or $406 an hour, will be a big expense for Hamilton County.Ohio is a “middle-of-the-road” state when it comes to early voting. Several states — including New York, a fairly liberal state — have more restrictive voting rules.Money Magazine named West Chester, a Greater Cincinnati suburb, in its top 100 list for best small cities to live in the United States. West Chester was No. 97 on the list.The Washington Post has a good analysis on why natural gas produced from fracking could help combat global warming. The big concern for environmentalists is methane leaks during the fracking process. If methane leaks are too high and can’t be contained, natural gas could be worse for the environment than coal, at least in the short term. The analysis concludes that natural gas could be positive by itself in fighting climate change, but a much broader plan that includes more than natural gas will be necessary to reach scientifically suggested goals. It also points out there’s a lot of uncertainty behind natural gas and fracking, echoing CityBeat’s recent in-depth look at the issue.The Ohio Board of Education made two big decisions at its meeting yesterday. First, it will delay the 2011-2012 report card, which grades different schools and school districts, until the state auditor finishes an investigation looking into school attendance reports. The attendance report scandal, which involves schools doctoring attendance reports to earn better grades, began at Lockland schools in Hamilton County. Second, the Board has officially launched its national search for a new superintendent of public instruction. The previous superintendent — Stan Heffner — resigned after a state auditor report found he was misusing state resources and advocating for legislation that benefited his other employer.An auto manufacturer is laying off 173 workers in Blanchester, Ohio.But Kings Island is looking to hire more than 500 workers for its Halloween season.President Barack Obama has cleared some Ohio counties for federal disaster funding. Ohio lawmakers had previously asked for federal support after a wave of severe storms hit the state earlier in the summer. The storms were estimated to be the worst in Ohio since 2008, when the remnants of Hurricane Ike caused more than $1 billion in damage.Miami University has been ranked a top 10 party school.Newsweek is getting a ton of criticism for running a cover story this week filled with factual inaccuracies. Among many claims, the story makes the false implication that the Affordable Care Act increases the federal budget deficit. The story was written by Niall Ferguson, a conservative Harvard professor known for being consistently wrong.NASA has already planned its next interplanetary mission: a robot drill for Mars.

New details regarding the Blue Ash Airport deal have found that Blue Ash will gain $2.25 million from the deal. The new details means both Blue Ash and Cincinnati benefit from the deal by having extra funds, potentially benefiting budgets without having to make cuts or running to taxpayers for more money. The number also puts a damper on COAST’s campaign to stop the new deal, which is spurred by their extreme disapproval of all things streetcar. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted yesterday directed county boards of election to set uniform in-person early voting hours. Before the decision, Democrats were accusing state Republicans of extending early voting hours in predominantly Republican districts and keeping early voting hours shorter in predominantly Democratic districts. However, Democrats are still not pleased by the new directive because they claim it’s limiting voting hours.Supporters of redistricting reform now have a ballot issue to get behind: Issue 2. Issue 2 is the redistricting amendment supported by Voters First. If voters accept Issue 2, the redistricting process will be placed in the hands of an independent citizens commission that will be void of lobbyists and politicians. If voters reject Issue 2, the process will continue being placed in the hands of politicians, who have abused the system in a process known as “gerrymandering” to redraw districts in politically beneficial ways. In the latest redistricting process, the Republican-controlled committee redrew Cincinnati’s district to include Warren County, giving Republicans more voters in the district. CityBeat previously covered the redistricting issue at length here.Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) are adjusting to new, tougher academic standards. CPS Superintendent Mary Ronan says schools will have to develop new methods of teaching and learning to comply with the academic standards. Democrats and Republicans clashed in court yesterday as they argued over Ohio’s early voting rules. The debate focused on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday before Election Day. Under current law, only military personnel and their families are allowed to vote on those days. The Democrats and President Barack Obama want everyone to be allowed to vote on those days, and Republicans do not. The judge said he will hold off on a decision.Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney’s vice presidential pick, was at Miami University yesterday. During his speech, Ryan did not shy away from bringing up the Medicare issue, and he claimed Obamacare will cut $716 billion. However, Ryan included the same cuts in his own budget plan, and they’re actually savings, not cuts. The architect of Obamacare also said recently that repealing Obamacare, which Romney and Ryan advocate, would cut benefits to seniors.Two Hamilton County commissioners are running unopposed in what some suspect was part of a deal between Republicans and Democrats. Hamilton County Democratic Chairman Tim Burke says there was no deal.U.S. House Republicans are freaking out over the Ryan pick. Apparently, they’re worried Democrats will bring up the fact Ryan’s budget plan tried to end Medicare as most Americans know it. House Speaker John Boehner tried to calm Republicans.Scientists have discovered a galaxy that gives birth to more stars in a day than our galaxy does in a year.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced today he will direct Ohio’s county boards of election to adopt standardized early voting hours. In-person early voting begins on Oct. 2. In a directive, Husted said he wants the first three weeks to be kept to standard voting hours, or 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. An exception is made for Oct. 9, which will have voting hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., to make up for polls being closed on Oct. 8 in observance of a state holiday.  For the final two weeks of early voting, Husted said he wants hours extended to 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Another exception is made for the final day of early voting — Nov. 2 — that has voting hours last from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. because state law requires all early voting ends at 6 p.m. on Nov. 2. The polls will still not be open on weekends throughout the entire process, however. The news comes amid a state issue that has gained national attention in recent weeks. Democrats have been accusing state Republicans of suppressing Democratic votes by extending in-person early voting hours in predominantly Republican counties and keeping shorter hours in predominantly Democratic counties. Ohio Democrats are not pleased with the call to uniform rules. Jerid Kurtz, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party, told CityBeat yesterday that the call for uniform rules is “pure silliness.” He said counties have differences, so they need different voting rules. He called on Husted to stop worrying about uniformity and county budgets and instead worry about managing elections and “empowering people to vote.” Today, Democrats released another statement lashing out at the uniform rules. In a statement released shortly after Husted's press conference, Chris Redfern, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, said the new directive was limiting voting access by eliminating weekend voting and slashing hours. However, the directive will actually extend early voting hours in the predominantly Democratic counties of Lucas, Cuyahoga, Summit and Franklin that were bound to the old hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the entire early voting process.

In a letter to the Hamilton County Board of Elections, City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld today asked the Board to extend in-person early voting hours in the county. Council members Roxanne Qualls, Chris Seelbach, Cecil Thomas, Laure Quinlivan, Yvette Simpson and Wendell Young also signed the letter. Council members Christopher Smitherman, an Independent, and Charlie Winburn, a Republican, were notified of the letter Thursday, but they did not agree to sign. In-person early voting will begin on Oct. 2 and run until Nov. 2. If hours are not extended, polls in Hamilton County will only be open on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. If the Board agrees to Sittenfeld's recommendations, early voting will be extended to 8 p.m. on weekdays and Saturday mornings. The letter brings home a political controversy that has recently gained national attention. In recent weeks, Democrats have accused state Republicans of extending in-person early voting in predominantly Republican counties and keeping shorter in-person early voting hours in predominantly Democratic counties. Democrats typically point to Warren County and Butler County — two predominantly Republican counties with extended in-person early voting — and the recent actions of Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted. In the predominantly Democratic counties of Lucas, Cuyahoga, Summit and Franklin, Husted had to break ties in Boards of Election on the issue of in-person early voting hours. In every case, Husted voted against extending in-person early voting hours. Jerid Kurtz, spokesperson for Ohio Democratic Party, says the move follows a clear Republican trend: "Every opportunity that presents itself, Republicans take away the right to vote." Kurtz is referring to Republicans' initial push to end in-person early voting in Ohio. In 2011, Republicans passed two laws — H.B. 194 and H.B. 224 — that ended in-person early voting in the state. After Democrats managed to get enough petition signatures to put the early voting issue on the November ballot, Republicans repealed H.B. 194. However, by not repealing H.B. 224, Republicans have made it so all non-military voters are still disallowed to vote the Saturday, Sunday and Monday before Election Day. Democrats and President Barack Obama have filed a lawsuit to restore those early voting days for all voters, including military personnel and families.Democrats like Kurtz argue that in-person early voting is necessary to maintain reliable, efficient elections. In 2004, Ohio did not have in-person early voting in place, and the state drew national attention when its long voting lines forced some people to wait as long as 10 hours to vote. After the debacle, a Republican-controlled legislature and Gov. Bob Taft, also a Republican, passed laws allowing in-person early voting.But now Republicans seem skeptical of their own laws. Republicans say the measures are meant to cut costs and stop voter fraud, but Democrats say the measures are all about suppressing the vote. In a moment of honesty, former Florida Republican Chairman Jim Greer told MSNBC that the measures are about disenfranchising demographics that typically side with Democrats. Even Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin has stepped in to criticize Republicans for what he sees as disenfranchisement.Husted told reporters at Cleveland's The Plain Dealer that he is considering establishing uniform rules. With such rules, every county would have the same in-person early voting hours.But Kurtz says the talk about a uniform rule is "pure silliness." He says counties have differences, so they need different voting times. Instead of worrying about uniformity or what counties can afford, Kurtz says Husted should worry managing elections and "empowering people to vote." The calls for extended early voting come a time when Hamilton County is facing budget issues. With a $20 million budget shortfall projected for next year, affording more early voting hours might be difficult. No official estimate has been released on how much the extended hours would cost.The Hamilton County Board of Elections will meet Thursday at 9 a.m. to discuss extending in-person early voting hours.

Former Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Stan Heffner, who was forced to resign amid controversy, has cashed out with $160,428.17. The money comes from saved-up vacation time, sick days and personal time. Heffner will get all this money, even though he had to resign in shame after an investigation from the Ohio inspector general found Heffner had been misusing state resources and used his political position to benefit his other employer. The Horseshoe Casino is kicking off its hiring process for a new batch of employees. In total, the casino is seeking to fill 750 new positions. New employees must be 21 and have a high school diploma or GED, among other requirements. The casino says it’s committed to keeping at least 90 percent of its workforce from the Greater Cincinnati area. It’s currently estimated to open in spring 2013.The early voting controversy has reached Hamilton County. The Democrats in City Council are pushing for extended in-person early voting hours as Democrats around the state accuse Republicans of voter suppression. The Hamilton County Board of Elections will decide on the voting hours issue tomorrow at 9 a.m.Four Greater Cincinnati companies ranked in the 2012 Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing businesses nationwide, up from one last year. This year, NorAm International Partners, Tiger Fitness, Graybach and Integrity Express Logistics made the list.The Brent Spence Bridge passed a major regulatory hurdle Tuesday. The Federal Highway Administration declared that the bridge has no significant environmental impact, which will allow bridge operators to skip filing an environmental impact statement.Ohio Democrats are suing Gov. John Kasich over his public schedule. Democrats say Kasich is breaking the law by not being more transparent about his public schedule. They also suspect Kasich is campaigning on the behalf of presidential candidate Mitt Romney.The Ohio endangered species list has been updated. The bobcat is no longer listed as endangered, although it is still considered threatened. The list’s updates can be seen here.The Cincinnati Archdiocese debuted a plan to improve Catholic schools in the Greater Cincinnati area. The plan will also make the schools more affordable.Paul Ryan will be at Miami University today. The visit was organized by the university's campus Republicans. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m., and the event will start at 5:30 p.m. Instructions for tickets can be found on the Miami Republicans' Facebook page.Much to the dismay one of Romney’s surrogates, CNN’s Soledad O’Brien called out the Romney campaign for propagating an impossible budget and spreading lies about Obamacare. John Sununu, who was on O’Brien’s show on behalf of Romney, did not appreciate the lecture in reality, and he said O’Brien should wear an Obama bumper sticker on her forehead. Unfortunately for Sununu and the rest of the Romney team, it is true that Obamacare does not cut Medicare benefits to seniors, and it’s also true Romney’s plan is impossible without similar cuts to entitlement programs.It seems like Mother Teresa may have died an atheist. At the very least, her faith in Catholicism was greatly diminished before death.A new study has found that antibacterial soap could cause muscle function impairment.Behold, the Pizzabon.