Ohio sues gas pipeline developer over pollution violations
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit against the builders of a natural gas pipeline that stretches across the state and into West Virginia and Michigan.
The lawsuit filed Friday says the builders of the Rover Pipeline have polluted Ohio’s wetlands and waterways.
It also seeks to force the company to pay civil penalties of $10,000 per day for each violation.
Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency last month proposed $2.3 million in fines over what it says are numerous water and air pollution violations.
Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners is developing the $4.2 billion Rover Pipeline to carry natural gas to Canada and states in the Midwest and South.
It’s the same company that was behind the Dakota Access oil pipeline
A message seeking comment with Energy Transfer Partners wasn’t immediately returned.
Ohio picks 11 smaller growers for medical marijuana program
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio has chosen its first 11 growers for its medical marijuana program, but it could be months before they can start their first crop.
The smaller growers announced Friday by the Department of Commerce would cultivate up to 3,000 square feet. That’s a small portion of the anticipated cultivation. Up to a dozen larger growers for sites up to 25,000 square feet are expected to be announced later this month.
The 11 chosen growers applied for sites in Butler, Clinton, Fairfield, Franklin, Lorain, Lucas, Meigs, Montgomery, Portage, Stark and Summit counties. Two companies applied for multiple locations and must decide on one.
These companies will get provisional licenses but can’t immediately begin growing marijuana. They must first get their businesses operational and have a state team visit their facilities.
Court justice seeking Ohio governor’s seat recuses himself
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio Supreme Court justice who has announced a Democratic bid for governor has recused himself from all future cases.
The court issued a statement Friday that says Justice William O’Neill has filed “a blanket notice” of recusal.
Questions about potential ethical conflicts arose after O’Neill formally announced his candidacy Sunday. O’Neill said then that he would step down from the bench by the Feb. 7 candidate filing deadline.
Friday’s statement says Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor will appoint judges from state courts of appeals to sit in place of O’Neill. O’Connor on Sunday urged O’Neill “to use caution” in performing his duties after he announced his bid.
The 70-year-old O’Neill is required to retire as a justice when his term ends in January 2019 because of age limits.
Inquiry blames speed, wet runway for Thunderbirds crash
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — The U.S. Air Force says a Thunderbirds pilot was going too fast and without enough stopping distance when he landed on a wet runway, causing a crash that destroyed a $29 million F-16D jet during practice for the Dayton air show in Ohio.
The pilot and crew member were treated at a hospital June 23 after their plane ran off the runway and flipped over at Dayton International Airport. An Air Force report released Friday states that the pilot suffered multiple injuries, but no details were released.
The report also cites failure to follow procedures.
The Thunderbirds air demonstration team canceled their scheduled appearances at the two-day air show, and organizers said attendance fell.
The Thunderbirds are assigned to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
Waitress says model Chrissy Teigen left $1,000 tip
CENTERVILLE, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio waitress says model Chrissy Teigen left her the largest tip of her life.
Mikayla Scott says she was working at a Centerville Outback Steakhouse Oct. 27 when Teigen, her daughter and several others came in.
The 21-year-old says she was nervous serving the model, but at the end she found Teigen left a $1,000 tip. Scott says, “I was like, ‘Oh my god, praise the Lord.”
Teigen’s husband, singer John Legend, is from Springfield. He had returned to his hometown that night to see the football game between local high schools Kettering Fairmont and Springfield.
Scott says she used the extra money to fix her family’s car, and she shared some of it with her co-workers.
Plan to add photo ID on food stamp cards OK’d by Ohio House
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Lawmakers in the Ohio House are backing a plan to require identification photos on food stamp cards.
The measure easily passed in the House Wednesday.
Supporters of the bill say adding a photo ID will help eliminate fraud by people using food stamp cards for illegal cash exchanges.
Critics say photos won’t help if stores aren’t required to check the cards. And they point to an analysis of the bill by the nonpartisan Legislative Service Commission that says it won’t result in savings by reducing fraud.
Another concern is that the measure would present problems for families that share cards or for people who rely on caretakers to shop for them.
