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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2010 > May > 26
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Teen sexting bill passed by Ohio House
By Laura A. Bischoff Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS - Teens who send and receive nude photos of one another could be prosecuted for “sexting” but wouldn’t risk being labeled sex offenders for the rest of their lives, according to a bill passed Wednesday, May 26, by the Ohio House.
Currently, such exchange of nude photos of minors - even among hormone-charged teens - falls under the statutes that ban adults from trafficking in child pornography.
House members voted 86-12 in favor of the bill that attempts to deal with the increasingly popular practice among teens of sending out sexually explicit photos of themselves via cell phones or computer. An Associated Press-MTV poll last year found more than a quarter of teens surveyed said they had engaged in sexting. When teens break up, often the photos then make the cyber rounds, which can lead to harassment and tragedy.
Jessica Logan, 18, of Cincinnati, hanged herself in 2008 after enduring weeks of ridicule at school because her ex-boyfriend forwarded a nude picture she had sent him to other girls. In Kettering, 10 Alter High School students were suspended for forwarding sexually explicit photos of an Alter freshman girl to other students via cell phones.
Bill sponsor Connie Pillich, D-Cincinnati, said Ohio is among 15 states that have passed or are considering similar bills.
The Ohio Association of Prosecuting Attorneys opposes the bill. The bill now moves to the Ohio Senate for consideration.
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TweetHuntington loans $465 million to small businesses
Gov. Ted Strickland and Huntington Bank Chief Executive Steve Steinour stood shoulder to shoulder last year during the height of the credit crunch to announce the plan to loan $1 billion to small businesses in Ohio.
They joined together on Wednesday, May 26, to announce the bank has loaned $465 million to more than 2,000 small- and medium-sized businesses in Ohio over the last year.
“It is a program that is, in fact, working,” Strickland said.
The Ohio Huntington Business Loan Program, which runs for three years, includes a variety of state and federal loan programs. Steinour said the loans are going to companies that employ a handful to hundreds of workers.
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TweetStrickland names new public safety director - updated with Senate President Harris reaction
Moving quickly, Gov. Ted Strickland on Wednesday, May 26, named Tom Stickrath, 55, director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, effective immediately.
Stickrath replaces Cathy Collins-Taylor whose appointment was rejected by the Ohio Senate, 18-15, on Tuesday. Stickrath had been director of the Ohio Department of Youth Services.
The Senate rejected Collins-Taylor’s appointment in the wake of her role in a controversy surrounding a canceled contraband sting operation at the governor’s residence in suburban Columbus
Stickrath’s salary is $128,544, the governor’s office said in a press release. His appointment also will require Senate confirmation.
Current DYS Deputy Director for the Division of Facility Programs and Operations, Christine Money, will serve as interim director of the Department of Youth Services until the governor appoints a director, a press release said.
“I know that Tom’s thoughtful leadership, personal integrity and deep commitment to public safety will ensure the department continues its important mission to protect the safety and security of Ohioans,” Strickland said in the release.
Strickland picked a director who is widely-known around the Statehouse. Stickrath has served as youth services director since December 2004.
Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, who voted against Collins-Taylor, said that he always has worked well with Stickrath, Maggie Ostrowski, Harris’ spokeswoman, said in an email.
Before taking over at DYS, Stickrath was assistant director of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC).
Also, Stickrath served as interim director of the Governor’s Office of Criminal Justice Services in 1991 and 1998, and as the interim director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety in 2002, the release said.
Stickrath also served as a regional director, warden and chief inspector for the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, the release added.
The release said that as DYS director Stickrath “instituted an aggressive agenda of reform that improved all aspects of the agency including facility operations, assessments of when youths were ready to be released, and consistency in parole decisions.”
Stickrath received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ohio State University in 1976 and a law degree from Ohio State University in 1979, said the release.
“I’ve spent a lengthy career in state government working to protect the public safety of Ohioans. I’m looking forward to using the knowledge I’ve gained over the years to meet the challenges and opportunities at the Ohio Department of Public Safety,” Stickrath said in the release.
“As director, I’ll work to further the critical mission of the department to keep Ohioans and their communities safe and secure.”
Stickrath resides in Westerville; he and his wife have two children, the release said.
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TweetObama approval up but hope for economy lags in new poll
For the first time this year, more voters approve of President Barack Obama’s performance than disapprove in a national Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday, May 26.
Voters approve the president’s job performance, 48-43 percent, up from April 21 when 44 percent approved and 46 percent disapproved.
Still, voters say, 74-21 percent that the U.S. economy is in a recession and disapprove 50-44 percent how the president is handling the economy.
“The fact that three out of four American voters still see the nation in recession, despite the claims from the so-called experts, highlights the disconnect between Wall Street, Washington D.C.’s K St. and Main Street,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the independent Quinnipiac Poll, said in a press release..
“For Obama to get his job approval back over 50 percent, where the White House would like to be, he needs to convince Joe and Jill Six-pack that his programs are helping them.”
Other findings in the poll:
*Voters say 29-16 percent that Obama’s policies have hurt rather than helped their personal financial situation, while 54 percent say the policies have made no difference.
*American voters trust Obama 45 - 36 percent over Congressional Republicans to handle the economy.
*Voters approve, 48-30 percent with 22 percent undecided, Obama’s nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court.
*Voters say 42-36 percent that they would vote for a Democrat rather than a Republican in this year’s Congressional elections, reversing a 44-39 percent Republican lead on March 24.
The poll interviewed 1,914 registered voters across the country from Wednesday, May 19 to Monday, May 24, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
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