Rotunda Rumblings
Solar slump: Since a restrictive new law giving local veto power over wind and solar projects took effect in Ohio, more than 2,000 megawatts of solar – enough to power all homes in Ohio’s largest cities – has been blocked or preempted from the grid. As Jake Zuckerman reports, interest from solar developers, meanwhile, has plummeted. The dynamic is unfurling as lawmakers and regional grid operators warn of a looming shortage of electricity to support the needs of power-intensive data centers fueling the AI boom.
When you’ve gotta go: Kenyon College has revised its bathroom policy after talking with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a 2026 candidate for governor. The school had put up male- and female-only signage on some (but not all) gender-neutral bathrooms to comply with a new state law. America First Legal, a law center that calls itself conservatives’ answer to the ACLU, had written letters to Yost and the U.S. Department of Education saying this wasn’t enough to comply with state and federal law. Now all restrooms and locker rooms have gender designations, Laura Hancock reports.
College material: Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati again are under federal investigation, the U.S. Department of Education announced, for participating in a program that seeks to steer diverse people into business doctorate programs. The schools are among 45 being investigated for their association with The PhD Project, which said it has broadened the students it recruits. The schools also are being investigated for alleged antisemitism by the Trump administration, which wants to rid the academy of progressiveness or “woke” movements, Hancock reports.
Are you experienced? A new lawsuit claims that none of the three members of the Ohio Industrial Commission, the state’s top workers' compensation board, have the expertise required by state law to hold their jobs. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, North Royalton resident Suzane Duke, a Frito Lay worker seeking compensation for a back injury, is asking a Franklin County court to block commission members Cheri Hottinger, Jim Hughes, and Daniel Massey from conducting business until a judge rules on whether they have the necessary six years’ experience with workers’ comp issues. Spokesmen for Gov. Mike DeWine and both Senate party caucuses – who appointed and confirmed each of the three commission members, respectively – disputed Duke’s claims that the members aren’t qualified.
Wait, it’s all Lake Ohio? Ohio gubernatorial hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy on Friday said that just as President Donald Trump ordered the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed the “Gulf of America,” there should be a similar move to create a “Lake Ohio.” As Pelzer reports, while the Columbus-area Republican didn’t say which body of water he wants to rename, he made the comments at a GOP fundraiser near Lake Erie and noted that another Great Lake is already named Lake Michigan. A spokesperson for Ramaswamy said that he, unlike Trump, was just making a joke.
The end of that: An Ohio appellate court last week tossed out an appeal by environmental organizers seeking to block leases issued to oil and gas companies planning to drill on public lands, including Salt Fork State Park. As Zuckerman reports, unless the environmental groups appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court, the ruling marks the end of the line.
Chiming in: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday urged President Donald Trump to move NASA’s headquarters to Northeast Ohio, an appeal that closely mirrors a request by Ohio’s congressional members earlier this week, Cleveland.com reports. In a letter sent to Trump, DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel lobbied for a move to the NASA Glenn Research Center, and they cited the region’s low cost of living and Trump’s push to decentralize government.
Breakfast of champions: Vice President JD Vance shared Sunday breakfast with United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his family at the official VP residence on Sunday, Politico reports. The two families also took part in mass and had several hours of conversations.
Say what? Ohio Sen. George Lang, a Cincinnati area Republican, said during a recent committee hearing that students with special needs cost more per pupil to educate than “a student who comes from a family with a loving mom and a loving dad who put education at a high level.” Chelsea Sick of WKRC reports Lang later clarified that “I did not say – or did not intend to say – that children with disabilities do not come from loving homes.”
Voting record: Republican Cincinnati mayoral candidate and Vice President JD Vance’s half-brother Cory Bowman voted in the elections Vance ran for and won – but he’s never voted in a city election, The Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Bowman, who moved to Cincinnati in 2020, says he didn’t even know when the city elections were and that plenty of other people don’t either. It’s something he wants to change this election year. The city held elections for mayor and council in 2021, and then city council in 2023, with all nine seats open.
New CEO: Intel has a new leader, and he plans to consider significant changes to the company’s chip manufacturing methods. According to Reuters, Lip-Bu Tan told employees that Intel will need to make “tough decisions” and potentially restart plans to produce chips for AI servers.
What we’re watching this week
While budget debate simmers, a few major pieces of legislation are on the move this week.
- The House scheduled a committee vote on a higher education overhaul – including anti-labor provisions and diversity equity and inclusion prohibitions – Wednesday morning
- The Senate scheduled a committee vote on sweeping legislation reshaping Ohio’s energy markets. The House has been working on similar legislation and will introduce its latest rewrite that same day
- The Senate Transportation Committee could vote out the state’s two-year transportation budget this week
- Committee work continues on other legislation about pseudo-cannabis products; age verification requirements for internet porn; tax cuts for natural gas pipeline owners; nuisance lawsuits against links in the opioid supply chain and others
- Both the House and Senate are in for floor sessions Wednesday. The Senate is also scheduled to convene Thursday
On the Move
Vance will address the third American Dynamism Summitt in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday morning. The Cincinnati Republican’s remarks will focus on supporting American industry and workers.
U.S. Reps. Emilia Sykes of Akron and Marcy Kaptur of Toledo are among 26 Democratic Congress members that the National Republican Congressional Committee will target for defeat in 2026, the organization announced Monday.
Sykes and state Senator Casey Weinstein will have a Community Conversation from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m on Tuesday at Second Baptist Church, 690 S. Main St. in Akron.
U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown will host town hall-style Coffee with Your Congresswoman events in Cleveland and Cleveland Heights on Tuesday. The Cleveland event will be at 1:30 p.m., at the Gunning Park Recreation Center, 16700 Puritas Ave. To register, click on this link. The 6 p.m. Cleveland Heights event will be at Cleveland Heights Community Center, 1 Monticello Blvd. To register for the Cleveland Heights event, click on this link.
Kwafo Adarkwa has been hired by Pappas & Associates as a lobbyist to work at the firm’s Columbus office. Adarkwa previously worked as director of public affairs at ITC Holdings, a Michigan-based electric transmission company.
Birthdays
State Rep. Richard Brown
Straight From The Source
“A number of statements made in that letter are misrepresentations as to statements or decisions that have not been made by the Board, and it is disappointing that you would send a distorted representation of this situation.”
State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio Interim Director Aaron Hood in a letter amid a squabble involving the pension fund, its investments in Target Corp., and Target’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies, as chronicled by the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau.
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