Morning News and Stuff

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?