Dozens submit proposals for Ohio’s government data effort
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Dozens of companies have submitted proposals to help Ohio with an effort to restructure its vast stores of government data so they can be mined for possible solutions to complex problems.
The administration of Republican Gov. John Kasich wants to use data analytics to tackle stubborn challenges including infant mortality, opiate addiction, hunger, dropout rates and unemployment. The idea is for personal identifying information to be stripped before cross-referencing the data to spot useful patterns.
Roughly 120 Ohio agencies, boards and commissions currently collect data stored in about 1,600 separate electronic information systems.
Kasich’s office says 129 businesses have combined to submit 82 proposals. One in three applicants is based in Ohio. The state’s Administrative Services department is evaluating the proposals.
County GOP asks Ohio lawmaker to resign after his arrest
HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — Republicans in southwest Ohio’s Butler County are asking a GOP state lawmaker to resign after he was accused of impaired driving and mishandling a gun and missed legislative work this week.
Rep. Wes Retherford, of Hamilton, was arrested early Sunday after a caller reported someone passed-out at a McDonald’s restaurant drive-thru. He’s charged with driving under the influence and improper handling of a firearm in a vehicle.
He hasn’t publicly commented on the circumstances of his arrest.
The head of the Butler County Republican Party tells the Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News that Retherford has shown he’s “unreliable and unfit” to serve as a legislator, citing his arrest and his history of multiple traffic violations and crashes.
A House GOP spokesman says no decision has been made on potential discipline for Retherford.
Zoo: Country’s oldest gorilla probably died of heart attack
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio zoo says necropsy results for Colo the gorilla, who was the world’s first gorilla born in a zoo, indicate she probably died of a heart attack.
The 60-year-old Colo had been the country’s oldest known living gorilla, having surpassed captive gorillas’ usual life expectancy by two decades. She died in her sleep at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in mid-January.
The zoo’s vice president of animal health tells The Columbus Dispatch that age takes its toll on gorillas, as it does with human bodies. Veterinarians had removed a malignant tumor from Colo, but the necropsy found no indication that the problem returned.
Colo was born at the zoo in 1956. She eventually became a mother of three, grandmother of 16, great-grandmother of 12 and great-great-grandmother of three.
Police: Woman drove herself to hospital after being shot
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Authorities in Columbus say a woman who was shot in the head drove herself to the hospital.
Police say a suspect fired several shots at a group and then fled around 9:10 p.m. Wednesday. Authorities say 27-year-old Jeanna Jackson was struck in the head.
Officials say Jackson drove herself to a nearby hospital where she was treated.
Police have not made any arrests. An investigation is ongoing.
Cleveland cops to use cameras at off-duty security jobs
CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland wants to experiment with having police officers wear body cameras while working off-duty security details.
Those officers currently wear their full uniforms and carry standard-issued equipment — including a gun — but aren’t required to wear cameras.
Cleveland.com reports a plan for a pilot program requiring them to wear cameras must be submitted to a judge overseeing police reform by late April.
A settlement with the federal Justice Department requires Cleveland to create protocols outlining training guidelines and policies for storing recordings and using them in subsequent investigations.
The pilot program deadline was part of a plan filed Tuesday by monitors overseeing the city’s progress.
The city’s coordinator for the settlement says there are many unanswered questions the pilot program would answer.
