President Barack Obama delivered the State of the Union speech yesterday, outlining an ambitious progressive agenda that will be largely ignored and rebuked by Congress. But Obama promised at least seven major policies that he can pursue without legislators, including a $10.10-per-hour minimum wage for federal contractors and some action on global warming. Obama’s full speech is viewable here, and the Republican response is available here. The Associated Press fact checked the speech here.
Ky. Gov. Steve Beshear says tolls are necessary to fund the $2.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge project. Officials and executives claim the bridge replacement is necessary to improve safety, traffic and economic development through a key connector between Kentucky and Ohio, but many Kentucky officials refuse to accept tolls to fund the new bridge. But without federal funding to pay for the entire project, leading Ohio and Kentucky officials say they have no other option.
There is a 32-point achievement gap in reading between Ohio’s lower-income and higher-income fourth-graders, with higher-income students coming out on top. The massive gap speaks to some of the challenges brought on by income inequality as Ohio officials implement the Third-Grade Reading Guarantee, which requires most Ohio third-graders to test as “proficient” before they advance to the fourth grade. Previous studies also found Ohio’s urban schools might be unfairly evaluated and under-funded because the state doesn’t properly account for poverty levels.
Attempting to move the Hamilton County Board of Elections offices from downtown to Mount Airy, where only one bus line runs, could provoke a lawsuit from the NAACP, Board Chairman Tim Burke, a Democrat who opposes the move, warned in an email to county commissioners. With the Board of Elections split along party lines on the issue, the final decision to move or not to move could come down to county commissioners or Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted. CityBeat covered the issue in further detail here.
Greater Cincinnati added 6,600 jobs between December and December 2012.
Temperatures could hit the 30s and 40s this weekend, offering a reprieve to the extreme cold.
Ohio’s auditor of state found a “top-down culture of data manipulation and employee intimidation” at Columbus City School District.
Cincinnati-based Kroger plans to add 227 stores with its acquisition of Harris Teeter.
The University of Cincinnati expects to demolish its Campus Services Building at Reading Road and Lincoln Avenue — formerly a Sears department store — this summer.
A Republican congressman from New York City physically threatened a reporter after an interview.
Birmingham, Ala., really can’t handle snow.
A lawsuit alleges NASA is failing to investigate alien life.
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