Rotunda rumble
Calling up the cavalry: U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is set to join Governor Mike DeWine in Cleveland next Tuesday to headline a fundraiser for the campaign to reject Issue 1, the November redistricting amendment. Andrew Tobias said Johnson’s presence underscores the potential impact of the measure, as it could make some of Ohio’s 10 Republican-leaning congressional districts more competitive in a national environment where very few congressional districts are contested nationwide. Proceeds from the event will benefit Ohio Works, the official “no” campaign to reject the amendment.
Dirty talk: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stay an Environmental Protection Agency emissions rule on coal-fired power plants. The attorneys general argue that the EPA does not have the authority to enforce the rule under the Clean Air Act and that it puts states and power plants in a bind because they must buy technology to capture and store 90% of carbon emissions by 2047 or close within eight years, Laura Hancock reports.
Steel money: Cleveland-Cliffs Steel Corporation is receiving more than $19 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to electrify the furnaces used to make specialty steel at its Butler Works plant in Pennsylvania, reports Sabrina Eaton. The federal money will be used to install electric furnaces that use induction heat – a highly energy-efficient heating method that minimizes energy loss and allows for precise temperature control, according to the Energy Department.
Beer Festival: A woman received nine stitches Monday after she was struck in the face by a flying beer can at an event in Medina promoting former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan’s new brand of beer. According to Lucas Daprile, the woman told police she was unsure if Hogan or his associates threw the can, as both threw the cans into the crowd and witnesses gave conflicting information about who was responsible. Hogan is not a political figure per se, although he recently appeared at the Republican National Convention to promote former President Donald Trump, and TMZ reported that Hogan said during the event that he would like to throw Vice President Kamala Harris to the ground.
Drinks are on us: Ohio taxpayers will support the state’s wine industry, according to an item approved by the Ohio Controlling Board earlier this week. Tobias said the board approved spending $55,000 on behalf of the Ohio Grape Industries Council, a promotional group affiliated with state government, to fund a digital advertising campaign. A Controlling Board agenda item formally requesting the money says 8,000 people work in Ohio’s wine industry and 1.2 million people visit Ohio’s wineries each year.
Grand Finale: The 2024 Democratic Convention in Chicago ended on Thursday. Vice President Kamala Harris accepted her party’s nomination as presidential candidate. The speech sparked cheers, but also tears, among the Ohio delegates. Jeremy Pelzer was with the delegates at the convention to hear their immediate reactions to Harris’ speech and the four-day convention as a whole.
Dance party: Making fun of dancing at conventions is a time-honored tradition. Social media was abuzz with jokes about Republican National Convention attendees dancing during a Kid Rock performance in Milwaukee last month. Delegates grooving to “Macarena” at the 1996 Democratic Convention may be the benchmark for embarrassing dancing. And now, Pelzer writes, an Ohio delegate at this year’s convention is the latest dancer to draw the ire of the opposition.
In a nutshell: Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge of Warrensville Heights praised Harris’ housing policies during her speech to the Democratic Caucus on Thursday. Pelzer has more information on what Harris and Trump are proposing to promote affordable and available housing.
Buckeye Puzzle Game
Ask: Which once popular national talk show began on local television on what is now WDTN in Dayton?
Send your answer by email to [email protected]The first person to answer correctly will be featured in next week’s newsletter. Plus, you’ll be so much prouder if you win and don’t have to google the answer!
Thank you to everyone who answered last week’s quiz question:
In which Ohio city was the oldest known continuously functioning lightbulb, known as the Centennial Light, manufactured?
Last week’s answer: According to The Columbus Dispatch, the Centennial Light was manufactured by the Shelby Electric Co. in Shelby, Ohio.
Readers of the Capitol Letter Pam Manges of Wooster, the state’s ambassador emeritus for the American Cancer Society Action Network, was the first to give the correct answer.
Birthdays
Friday, 23.8.; Joella Franzen, parliamentary assistant to Rep. Angela White; Lisa Harris, parliamentary coordinator for the Ohio House of Representatives; Torri Sholl, parliamentary director for the Office of State Auditor Keith Faber; Laura Lanese, CEO/President of the Inter-University Council and former state legislator; Jessica Miranda, Hamilton County Auditor and former state legislator; Justin Nigro, director of operations and public relations for the Ohio Arts Council
Saturday, 24.8.: Nathan Kolenda, parliamentary aide to Rep. Elgin Rogers; Kyle Miller, parliamentary aide to Rep. Adam Holmes; Adam Schwiebert, policy analyst for the County Commissioners Association of Ohio; Tom Stickrath, former director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety; former Rep. Nino Vitale
Sunday, 25.8.: Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted
Directly from the source
“We intend to bring them here. That is our plan. That is our goal.”
Cincinnati Vice Mayor Lemon Kearney describes to Scott Wartman of the Cincinnati Enquirer the efforts of a group of local Democrats to bring Vice President Kamala Harris to Ohio. Harris’ representatives have told the group they need to raise $1.5 million for her campaign to make that happen, Kearney said. A fundraiser would likely be accompanied by a public event, according to Kearney – something Harris has not done yet this election cycle.
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