Morning News and Stuff

The Ohio primary is less than two weeks away. Are you ready for it? Because it looks like Hamilton County isn’t. The Hamilton County Board of Elections is looking for 300 extra poll workers for the election on March 15. This primary is expected to draw in a higher turnout than in previous election due to the increasingly tense bloody battle between Democrats Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton and the six remaining GOP candidates, one of which is Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Elections director Sherry Poland said the extra workers help to cover for any last minute cancellations from other workers. They could also be useful if last-minute issues arise, as they did during the November 2015 election. During the last election, tablets used for check-in malfunctioned, leaving some registered voters off the log. A judge ordered Hamilton County polls to remain open longer causing unexpected extended hours for workers. 

• The multi-million dollar transformation of Covington’s former city hall into a boutique hotel called Hotel Covington is nearly complete. The building is located on Madison Avenue and was also the former home of Coppin’s department store. It is set to open this summer as a 114 room hotel with 4,700 square feet of meeting space, a ballroom, boardroom, library and restaurant. Rooms will feature touches like vintage-style clothing racks instead of an enclosed closet as a nod to the building’s previous occupant. 

• U.S. News and World Report ranked Cincinnati at number 37 on its list of the top 100 places to live. The magazine creates the list based on the amount of individuals who want to live there, the strength of the job market, the quality of life and the overall value. Cincinnati was the highest ranked Ohio city, beating Columbus (50), Dayton (69) Toledo (75) and rival Cleveland, which barely made the list at number 87. 

• The Supreme Court heard the oral arguments yesterday in a major case that could affect Ohio abortion laws. The case is based off of a 2013 Texas law passed by a mostly Republican legislature requiring doctors performing abortions to have hospital admitting privileges and for abortion clinics to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers. Republicans behind the law say its about improving the clinics’ health standards. The clinics the are challenging the law say its strict requirements are medically unnecessary and have forced half of the state’s abortion clinics to close. The Supreme Court is ruling on whether Texas’ requirements violates the ruling from a 1992 case that says states cannot impose medically unnecessary rules imposing an “undue” burden on a women’s right to access abortion.

Under Ohio Governor and GOP presidential candidate John Kasich, Ohio has passed similar abortion restrictions that could be overturned by the Supreme Court’s ruling expected in June. In 2013, Kasich signed a provision prohibiting clinics requiring to secure patient-transfer agreement with a private hospital no further than 30 miles away. The provision has nearly forced the two last remaining abortion providers in southwest Ohio to lose their licenses, which would make Cincinnati the largest metropolitan area without access to abortion.