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Senate bill would allow all-mail voting
COLUMBUS (AP) - Voting by mail is easy, increases turnout and removes the drudgery of waiting in long lines at polling places, backers say.
However, it also invites increased voter error, fraud and it works against groups such as frequent movers and the homeless, critics fire back.
The Senate is debating a bill that would authorize mail-only voting in elections that have ballot issues but no candidates for office. The last such statewide election was in 2005, when there were five issues on the ballot.
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Ohio's chief elections officer, sought the mail-only elections shortly after taking office in 2007. She says she wanted to use it as an experiment that could possibly be expanded to include candidates if it was successful.
She had the backing of the state's boards of elections, which see the move as a way to save money. Sen. Gary Cates, a West Chester Republican, introduced a bill last year and it is currently undergoing hearings.
(Refer to page 8 of today's Daily Chief-Union) |
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Cleveland judge unhappy over sex activity at mental hospital
CLEVELAND (AP) - A judge in Cleveland is unhappy about reports of sex between patients at a state-run mental hospital where she sent a woman for treatment.
Judge Nancy Margaret Russo in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court pressed Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare officials on Thursday on their handling of a mentally ill woman sent for treatment last year.
Russo said she was shocked to learn the 33-year-old woman received birth-control pills and counseling after she was caught having sex three times with two other patients.
Northcoast psychiatrist Joy Stankowski said some patients are mentally competent to engage in sexual relationships. Northcoast policy says sexual behavior between patients is discouraged but not always harmful or preventable.
(Refer to page 8 of today's Daily Chief-Union) |
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Coaster closed after accident injures 10
SANDUSKY (AP) - On the verge of the busy Memorial Day weekend, one of Cedar Point's roller coasters remains closed while officials investigate an accident from a week ago.
Late last Friday, one train on the WildCat did not make it up a hill and then rolled backward, smacking into another train.
Cedar Point says nine people were treated for bruises and sprains at the amusement park's first aid station, and one was taken to a hospital to be looked at.
Park spokesman Bryan Edwards says the WildCat will not run again until the cause of the problem has been determined.
The state Department of Agriculture inspects amusement park rides. A spokeswoman there says inspectors suspect a problem with the ride's track.
(Refer to page 8 of today's Daily Chief-Union) |
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| THURSDAY MAY 22, 2008 |
Sen. McCain to host possible veeps at Arizona home
CLEVELAND (AP) - The Memorial Day weekend guest list at Sen. John McCain's Arizona retreat runs to at least three Republicans mentioned as potential vice presidential running mates, but a top aide said Wednesday that vetting possible veeps is not on the agenda.
"It's purely social," said Mark Salter, a senior adviser to McCain.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a McCain rival in the primary, were invited to a weekend gathering at the senator's place in Sedona.
They were among the estimated two dozen people - including some 10 couples - invited. McCain often hosts friends and political acquaintances at his compound.
The Republican nominee-in-waiting said more than a month ago that he was in the "embryonic stages" of selecting a running mate for the fall campaign, but neither he nor aides have disclosed additional information in the weeks since.
It will be the first visit to Sedona, Ariz., for all three.
Romney dropped out of the race in February after it became apparent it would be near impossible to topple McCain in the convention delegate race. He endorsed McCain a week later and pledged to help him win the nomination.
(Refer to page 7 of today's Daily Chief-Union) |
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Cleveland firefighter apologizes before jury weighing fate
CLEVELAND (AP) - A city firefighter apologized Wednesday for killing three people over Fourth of July fireworks and told jurors considering his sentence that some might think only his execution would be a sufficient apology.
"Regardless of what happens, I will have to answer to the highest court of all. That apology may be my very soul," Terrance Hough Jr., 36, of Cleveland, said in a prepared, unsworn statement that exempted him from cross-examination by prosecutors.
Hough, dressed in a dark jacket and striped tie and swallowing hard to maintain his strong voice, apologized to his family, the community, the fire department and victims and their families.
"What can I possibly say to help ease the pain? I can only try," Hough said in the statement read in front of the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court jury that convicted him and also must decide whether to recommend the death sentence.
The final sentence will be up to Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold.
Hough was convicted of three counts of aggravated murder for the shooting deaths of next-door neighbor Jacob Feichtner and two of Feichtner's friends just after midnight last July 5.
(Refer to page 5 of today's Daily Chief-Union) |
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