By The Associated Press
Toledo Blade. February 27, 2024.
Editorial: Betting ban correct
The Ohio Casino Control Commission has made the right call in banning player performance bets on college athletes. (“Ohio: No bets on how college athletes play,” Saturday).
As of Friday, sports betting operators in Ohio will be barred from taking what are known as prop bets that wager on a player’s performance.
It’s far better that Ohio go without the small tax take of $2.5 million on $104.6 million in college athlete performance wagers rather than afflict the university athletic programs throughout the state with a security and integrity threat.
It was just a few weeks into the legalization of sports gambling in Ohio before basketball players at the University of Dayton were threatened via social media over their performance by angry bettors.
It caused a provision in Ohio sports-betting rules allowing for a ban on gamblers who would make such a threat.
The NCAA reports the harassment experienced in Ohio is not unique. The college athletics governing body requested Ohio’s ban on player performance bets in all 38 states where sports gambling is legal because of the harassment of athletes.
Just as serious is the NCAA fear over prop bets’ potential to undermine the integrity of the competition.
As The Blade Editorial Board pointed out in our Feb. 9 editorial supporting the ban on so-called player-specific proposition bets, the University of Toledo football and basketball programs were tarnished by a gambling scandal made much easier by the practice of prop betting.
___
Youngtown Vindicator. February 28, 2024.
Editorial: Do your research and find your unclaimed funds
As we approach the end of February, Unclaimed Funds Month may be wrapping up, but that does not end the opportunity to check with the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Unclaimed Funds about whether there is money being held in your name.
Department of Commerce data shows approximately one in seven people in the United States has unclaimed funds. And in the Buckeye State the department is “safeguarding more than $4 billion in unclaimed funds.”
“Many unclaimed funds belong to individuals who are over the age of 50, as well as some individuals who have passed away,” Ohio Department of Commerce Superintendent Akil Hardy said. “To ensure these funds get to the appropriate individuals, it’s important that Ohioans, in addition to searching their own names, take a moment to search the names of any parents, grandparents, or other older loved ones. It’s possible there could be a substantial amount of funds waiting for them.”
There are three steps to the search: go to unclaimedfunds.ohio.gov; gather the required supporting documents; and send the information to the division either online or through the mail.
If $139 million in lost or forgotten money was returned to Ohioans last year, imagine how much more might go back if there is another concerted effort to seek out the money.
For those who are reluctant to try the online option, the Division of Unclaimed Funds can be reached at 614-466-4433, too.
Maybe there is nothing, maybe there is a little, maybe there is a lot. Whatever the case, Ohioans are better off knowing and being able to take action, if necessary. Take advantage of the available means to contact the division now. You never know what might be waiting.
___
Sandusky Register. February 27, 2024.
Editorial: Sheriffs, prosecutors keep secrets
We’re disappointed and concerned about certain public agencies — the Huron County Sheriff’s Office and the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office — and their ability to follow the law.
Huron County Sheriff Todd Corbin, chief Deputy David Ditz and county prosecutor James Sitterly either don’t seem to understand their obligations under the law or aren’t concerned about them enough to make sure they’re meeting them.
Corbin is required under Ohio Revised Code 149.43, the state’s Public Records Act, to maintain certain records and make those records available to the public upon request.
But county records — employment documents, criminal complaints, internal investigations — all have not been released when requested, as the law requires. Requests have been ignored, mostly, but, in some instances, Corbin has written back stating he’s unable to find records.
When the questions get difficult, the sheriff’s office refers them to Sitterly, who simply does not respond. And Sitterly has his own problems properly maintaining records and providing them as required under the law.
A newspaper must be resourceful. That was the idea of turning to another county sheriff, a different chief deputy and another county prosecutor: Ashland County Sheriff E. Wayne Risner, chief Deputy David Blake and prosecutor Christopher Tunnell.
Hope springs eternal?
Of the three, only Blake responded. The first time he stated in an email that the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office was asked to conduct an investigation of a Huron County deputy. It did that, filed a report and sent it to Corbin, Blake said.
If we wanted that report, we would have to get it from them, Blake said, again, ignoring what the law requires. When that was pointed out — that we were requesting a copy of the report in the possession of the Ashland County sheriff — Blake shifted his giddyup.
“When we were ready to interview the employee (the Huron County Sheriff’s Office) asked us to stop. All the documents we had were turned over to them,” Blake wrote back. “We are not holding any records related to this case.”
Still a problem. Blake’s first response was improper, and his second response, reversing what he said, also doesn’t even look like an attempt at following the law. Public offices aren’t authorized to purge records in that manner.
There is cause for concern when public agencies charged with enforcing the law don’t have to follow it.
