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Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Chris Celeste backs Brunner over Fisher for U.S. Senate
Christopher Celeste, son of former Ohio Gov. Dick Celeste, is backing Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner over Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in 2010.
Celeste had considered entering the Senate race himself but in a statement released on Wednesday, July 1, said he “ultimately decided entering this particular race, at this particular time, would not be in my party’s, or my, best interest.”
He said both Fisher and Brunner were “formidable politicians.”
“….I have decided to support, invest in and personally work of behalf of Jennifer Brunner….,” he said.
“Jennifer’s public leadership demonstrates an impressive mix of creativity, collaboration and courage.”
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Portman expected to raise more than $1.5 million
Tuesday was the deadline for quarterly filing for the candidates for U.S. Senate, and while Democrats Jennifer Brunner and Lee Fisher aren’t revealing what they’ve raised - some of the checks are still coming in - Republican Rob Portman expects to raise more than $1.5 million, according to sources close to the campaign.
Portman raised $1.7 million last quarter, and the source said he would not be surprised if Portman, a former Cincinnati-area congressman and budget director for the Bush administration, raised that much again.
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House to hear from budget cut casualties
With no end in sight to Ohio’s budget crisis, the House Finance Committee on Thursday, July 2, will begin hearings on what harm an additional $933 million in budget cuts would do to Ohio’s needy.
House Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood, said the hearings are needed because the Republican-controlled Senate apparently is unwilling to authorize video slots at Ohio racetracks to raise the $933 million.
Budish said the committee wants to hear from “real people” about the pain more cuts would cause. Finance Committee Chairman Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, said the hearings will focus on “people who need food, people who need housing.”
The House hearings will start just as a new five-member Senate panel begins its hearings on Strickland’s slots proposal. Sen. Mark Wagoner, R-Toledo, said the hearings will explore legal issues surrounding the slots plan and revenue estimates.
“I think Ohioans are tired of legislation by crisis,” said Wagoner, who will chair the hearings.
Also Wednesday, the House voted 84-11 for a second seven-day budget lasting from July 8-14. The current seven-day budget started Wednesday.
Talks on a permanent two-year budget have broken down over the slots’ proposal. Strickland says he needs legislative authority to proceed. Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, says Strickland already has the authority to expand the Ohio Lottery to include the slots.
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Senate President schedules hearings on Guv’s gambling plan
Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, announced on Wednesday, July 1,that he’s setting up a five-member Senate panel to examine whether Gov. Ted Strickland needs legislative authority to authorize video slot machines at Ohio racetracks.
“I continue to believe that the voters of Ohio should have the say,” Harris said in a press release. “The governor demands that legislators vote to allow him to expand gambling. How can the governor expect anyone to support him if we don’t even know what his plan actually is?”
Hearings will begin Thursday, July 2, said Harris.
The hearings could further delay efforts to agree on a new two-year budget. The state is operating on a seven-day temporary budget. The new fiscal year began on Wednesday.
A dispute between Strickland and Harris over the slots’ proposal has left negotiations on a new state budget in a stalemate. Strickland says he need legislative authority for the slots; Harris says Strickland already has the authority so expand the Ohio Lottery to include the slots.
The plan would bring in $933 million over two years to help fill a $3.2 billion budget hole, Strickland has said.
Sen. Mark Wagoner, R-Toledo, will chair the task force holding the hearings.
Harris said he wants these questions answered:
*How did Strickland arrive at the $933 million figure?
*What happens to school funding if revenue projections don’t pan out? Lottery profits go to schools.
*Would the state and schools get more money if licenses for the slots were competitively bid?
*Is the Ohio Lottery Commission prepared to immediately take on new duties?
“Up until eleven days ago, the governor and I shared the same concerns about expanded gambling n Ohio,” Harris said. “Legislative hearings will help senators better understand the specifics of the gambling proposal the governor now say she supports.”
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Minors’ abortion records off limits, court says
In a split decision released Wednesday, July 1, the Ohio Supreme Court said the parents of a Cincinnati teen who had an abortion at a Planned Parenthood clinic do not have the right to other minors’ medical records.
The parents of “Jane Roe,” who had an abortion in March 2004 as a 14-year-old, filed suit against Planned Parenthood, alleging the clinic didn’t properly get parental consent for the abortion or notify authorities of suspected sexual abuse of a minor. Although the clinic staff called a man who Jane said was her father and received consent, it turned out that it was her 21-year-old soccer coach, John Haller, on the other end. Later police found that Jane had been sexually abused and impregnated by Haller.
The lawsuit claimed Planned Parenthood’s handling of Jane’s case was part of a pattern involving minors who had obtained abortions.
As part of their lawsuit, the Roe family wanted copies of all medical records and child abuse reports for every minor who sought an abortion from the clinic in the last 10 years.
The court found that state law in effect at the time of the suit did not create a right to confidential medical records of people not involved in the lawsuit, even if the records redacted personal identifying information. The justices also said the earlier version of the law did not allow for civil damages for the clinic’s alleged failure to report the suspected abuse of Jane.
The court issued a separate opinion Wednesday in another case involving abortion. An appeals court handling a lawsuit over the constitutionality of Ohio’s law governing the prescription of RU-486 asked the Supreme Court for an interpretation of the 2004 law. The court said the law requires physicians prescribing RU-486 to follow U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations and treatment protocols.
Doctors are usually permitted to prescribe different doses and protocols once the FDA has approved a drug. Ohio’s law prohibits such “off-label” uses for RU-486. The FDA regulations call for administering the drug up to 49 days into a pregnancy while a common off-label protocol is to give it up to 63 days into a pregnancy.
