State budget cuts hit small-town Ohio

State budget cuts hit small-town Ohio: "Residents in Uniopolis wanted a balanced budget, and voted in Republican Gov. John Kasich to get the job done. But now the village is facing disincorporation because it can't stay afloat.

Reporting from Uniopolis, Ohio—
Residents here were all for balancing Ohio's budget. They didn't expect that to mean their town would cease to exist.

This small village of low-slung houses and squeaky swing sets in western Ohio's farm country has already laid off its part-time police officer and decided not to replace its maintenance worker, who recently retired. To save cash, Mayor William Rolston will propose Monday that the town turn off the street lights, and that Uniopolis disincorporate after more than a century in existence...."

Ohio Becomes First American State To Sell Prison To Private Company

Ohio Becomes First American State To Sell Prison To Private Company: "COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A lockup along the shores of Lake Erie has become the first state prison in the nation to be sold to a private company.

Lake Erie Correctional Institution in northeastern Ohio's Ashtabula County is the only one of five state prisons up for sale that will be sold, state officials said Thursday. Corrections Corporation of America will buy it for $72.7 million, more than the $50 million needed from the privatization effort to balance the state's prison budget.

The four other prisons for sale didn't generate offers advantageous to taxpayers, state officials said.

CCA, the nation's largest prison operator, takes control of the Lake Erie facility in Conneaut on Dec. 31, pending the outcome of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the move....."

The Ohio jobs puzzle

The Ohio jobs puzzle: "Ohio Governor John Kasich says his reforms should be judged on whether they create jobs. The last while hasn't been kind to him on that score. In July, the state now reports, unemployment rose for the second consecutive month. It's now at 9 percent, up from 8.8 percent in June. The rate had been falling -- it was 10 percent a year ago, before Mr. Kasich took office -- and now it's rising again.

From the start, Governor Kasich has made a point of shifting resources from the public sector to the private one, stripping rights from unions because he said it would save the state money, and cutting the overall budget...."

The Buckeye State Gives the Koch Agenda A Big Black Eye

The Buckeye State Gives the Koch Agenda A Big Black Eye: "Today, Ohioans served Republican Governor John Kasich some of his own medicine, rejecting his offer to negotiate with them on Senate Bill 5 (the bill that killed collective bargaining rights). They told him the time for talking was over.

We Are Ohio has taken the people’s fight all the way back to the ballot box to the chagrin of Governor Kasich. The anti-union bill (S.B. 5) that he rammed down the throats of Ohioans in spite of daily protests (hello, Scott Walker) is being put on the November ballot after 1.3 million Ohioans signed petitions to put the vote before the people. Kasich is now begging for “compromise” from the legislature in order to avoid the harsh judgment of the actual people he serves...."

Latest assault by SB5 supporters: sue Ohio teachers’ unions

Latest assault by SB5 supporters: sue Ohio teachers’ unions: "In their latest attempt to disguise their failed efforts at convincing us that a majority of Ohioans support the union-busting legislation in Ohio, John Kasich’s agent group, Building a Better Ohio has teamed up with some unhappy Tea Party teachers and filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court against the Ohio Education Association and some of its affiliates, including a local association to which they have absolutely no connection..."

Where’s the beef in Kasich’s Wendy’s corporate giveaway?

Where’s the beef in Kasich’s Wendy’s corporate giveaway?: "Columbus Business First again lives up to their name today being the first to report on Kasich’s latest corporate handout: a $4 million package of state incentives to bring 50 jobs back to Ohio.

Just to be clear – these are 50 people who already have jobs. Not out-of-work Ohioans are going to benefit from this deal. And it’s costing us $80K per job. (I don’t think I need to tell you how many NEW teacher, police or fire jobs $4 million would create.)..."