The purchase order was placed on April 10, 2026, by city recreation coordinator Chris Mehling. It includes treadmills, exercise bikes, ellipticals, weight machines, free weights, delivery, professional installation, and extended service warranties.

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COLUMBUS — The race for Ohio’s 9th U.S. Congressional district is one of the state’s most closely contested, and the candidates have contrasting records and positions when it comes to data center development.

Derek Merrin, the Republican nominee and former state representative who is facing long-time Ohio Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur in the November election, voted for Ohio’s data center tax breaks when he was an Ohio state representative in 2017. Kaptur has spoken out against data centers for draining power and water from local communities, saying the companies should pay for that, not the citizens.

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Ohio’s data centers have received $2.5 billion in state and local tax incentives between 2017 and 2024, according to a 2025 report by SRC EvalMetrics on behalf of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

Merrin, who served four terms as an Ohio state representative for the Toledo district from 2016 to 2024, did not respond to the Ohio Capital Journal’s questions for this story.

Merrin received a $1,000 political donation from the American Electric Power Ohio Committee for Responsible Government in 2021. AEP had received more than $6 million in data center tax breaks in Ohio as of September 2024, according to Policy Matters Ohio.

Merrin received a $500 political donation from Windstream Holdings’ PAC in 2022. That same year, Windstream Holdings listed eight “key data center locations” in Ohio.

One of the data center locations was operated by Cologix, which received more than $6 million in data center tax breaks as of September 2024, according to Policy Matters Ohio.

Another one of Windstream’s Ohio data centers location was operated by CyrusOne, which received more than $5 million in data center break breaks as of September 2024, according to Policy Matters Ohio.

Ohio has more than 200 data centers, the sixth-highest state in the country, according to Pew Research Center. Most of the data centers are in central Ohio. Cincinnati has 26 and Cleveland has 22, according to the Data Center Map.

Ohioans are seeing increased electric bills. The average Ohio residential utility bills are projected to be about $800 for the summer — a 17% increase compared to last summer, according to a report by Third Way.

Merrin lost a close race to Kaptur during the 2024 election and the Cook Political Report says Ohio’s 9th Congressional District race is a toss-up.

Kaptur raised concerns over data centers at the end of last year.

“How much more will our citizens be forced to pay for power and water?” Kaptur asked, speaking on the U.S. House floor.

“They have a right to know. Will our building trades be true partners in economic growth or just temporary labor while facing higher utility bills at home? And how many permanent jobs will these largely opaque facilities actually provide? … The American people deserve to know how AI data centers will affect their communities.”

When the Ohio Capital Journal asked if Kaptur supports bringing more data centers to Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, Kaptur’s campaign spokesperson Kylie Blitzer responded.

“Economic development should strengthen our communities, not drain their resources, and put added burdens on our people.

“If data center companies want to do business here, they should pay their fair share — not force hardworking people and local municipalities to subsidize billions in tax breaks for wealthy CEOs and shareholders who can easily afford to pay their own way,” Blitzer said in an email.

Ohio Democratic candidate for governor Amy Acton recently announced she supports a conditional moratorium on data centers “if requirements on costs, union labor, transparency, environmental standards, community benefit agreements, and development are not met,” she said in a statement.

Ohio Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy’s data center plan is three-fold.

“If a data center is built in your community, then (1) you will no longer have to pay for your home’s electricity, (2) you will pay lower property taxes, and (3) the data center will be required to abide by all air and water quality standards without exception, and we will take the necessary steps to protect Ohio’s fertile farmland,” he said in a statement.

Neither candidate has laid out exactly how they intend to accomplish their promises, whether that be using the limited powers of the governor’s office or some combination of working with the legislature, data center operators, utilities, or utility regulators.

Lawmakers at the Ohio Statehouse have yet to pass any data center legislation.

Conserve Ohio, the grassroots organization behind a proposed constitutional amendment to ban new data centers, are collecting signatures to make the 2027 ballot.

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on X or on Bluesky.

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SANDUSKY — Shoreline Park could soon bear the name of one of Sandusky’s most distinguished military figures.

At tonight’s meeting, the Sandusky City Commission will consider a resolution to officially rename the waterfront park to “Leonard J. Thom Shoreline Park.”

Who was Leonard J. Thom?

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COLUMBUS — As data centers continue to grow both in numbers and unpopularity, the candidates in Ohio’s U.S. Senate race are calling for more oversight. While they offer contrasting visions for data centers, neither has embraced a full halt in construction desired by advocates.

Incumbent Republican Ohio U.S. Sen. Jon Husted played a pivotal role in bringing several billion-dollar data center projects to Ohio as lieutenant governor from 2019 to 2025. He backed tens of millions of dollars in tax breaks for past projects and consistently defends new data center development, arguing that they create construction jobs and broaden the tax base for rural communities.

“If you’re connected to a wire, you’re using the data center,” Husted said in a July 22 appearance on a conservative podcast. “So, understand that when we look in the mirror, we are the problem.”

Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown slammedHusted’s record of supporting tax breaks for data center developers in two July ads. In a third ad,he promised to make data centers pay the full cost of their electricity use.

He has also said companies should safely process water used to run data systems and that local communities deserve more transparency when making decisions about new projects. Brown has strong support from construction unions, including many that support data center projectsbecause of the jobs they provide. Brown has called to end the data center tax breaks and says that local communities should have a say on whether to allow data center construction.

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“Ohioans shouldn’t be forced to subsidize these costs and Ohioans — not Jon Husted and his billionaire friends — should get to decide if data centers are built in their community,” Brown said in a statement for this story.

Husted did not respond when asked to comment for this story.

One day after Brown’s ad was released, Husted introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act, a U.S. Senate billthat would ask states to consider measures to make data centers pay for their electricity usage. Husted has otherwise said the federal government should not get involved, calling data centers a “local issue.”

Husted and Brown are part of a laundry list of politicians — including President Donald Trump, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, and both parties’ nominees to replace him — who have expressed support for “ratepayer protection” policies. The proposals are also backed by a major data center lobbying group and tech companies like Microsoft that own data centers.

Multiple experts said most of the power to lower utility bills lies with regional brokers and state commissions, and federal legislation would do little to move the needle. Even so, Case Western Reserve University energy policy professor Joshua Basseches said the symbolic unity on the issue is encouraging.

“There’s so much partisanship in this country right now that if this could be a bipartisan issue, I think that would be great,” he said.

A full 71% of Ohioans are in favor of a temporary ban, also known as a moratorium, on new data center construction, according to a Bowling Green State University poll.

The Libertarian candidate for governor, Don Kissick, has called for a moratorium. Republican governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said this week that if elected he wants to halt new projects until lawmakers require data centers to offer free electricity to nearby residents. Last month, Democratic candidate Dr. Amy Acton announced her support for a conditional moratorium on data centers if requirements on costs, union labor, transparency, environmental standards, community benefit agreements, and development are not met.

Austin Baurichter is a lawyer and volunteer for anti-data center advocacy group Conserve Ohio, which is gathering signatures to put a moratorium on data centers on the 2027 ballot. He compared Brown and Husted’s promises to regulate data centers to a politician handing an umbrella to someone drowning in a flood.

“Anything less than a full, 12-month moratorium on any advancement of any kind of a data center development falls short of what the people of this state are asking for,” he said.

Husted’s record on data centers

One month into Husted’s tenure as lieutenant governor, Google announced its first major data center in Ohio: a $600 million project in New Albany.

“Google investing in Ohio to open a new data center is great news for our state,” Husted said in a press release at the time. “Ohio is establishing itself as a premier destination for technology investment, and it further strengthens our case that Ohio is becoming the tech capital of the Midwest.”

The deal came with a reported 15-year, $43.5 million sales tax break from the state. Amazon got $81 million in state tax incentives for a data center in Hilliard in 2014, and Meta’s first data center in New Albany came with a 40-year, $37 million tax break in 2017.

The exemption on new equipment for large data centers flew under the radar when it was passed by the Ohio legislature in 2011.

Hyperscale data centers, or facilities that use more than 40 to 50 megawatts of power, were a small percentage of total data center electricity use at that time, according to an environmental advocacy group. Total electricity consumption across the U.S. grew at a slow 0.1% per year from 2005 to 2020.

A June 2023 press release by Husted touting a $7.8 billion investment by Amazon in the state cited a new use for data centers’ computing power: artificial intelligence.

The number of hyperscale data centers doubled worldwide between 2019 and 2024. Data centers could rise from accounting for 4% of total U.S. electricity consumption right now to 9% by 2030, according to projections by the Electric Power Research Institute.

Tech companies poured tens of billions of dollars into Ohio to build new data centers and expand existing campuses. That $600 million Google data center in 2019 has since ballooned into a project spanning sites in New Albany, Columbus, and Lancaster.

“Data centers are essential to our digital lives, and Google’s additional multibillion-dollar investment further establishes central Ohio as an important tech hub in America,” Husted said in June 2024 as Google announced another $2.3 billion investment in central Ohio.

His time as lieutenant governor ended when he was appointed to the U.S. Senate in January 2025, reducing his public appearances at data center groundbreakings and his say in Ohio’s tax code.

“If Ohio wants to be a leader, a leading edge tech state in the Midwest, having those kinds of investments in the state is important,” he said in an interview with Signal Ohio in 2025.

Signal Ohio later reported that the state lost out on $1.6 billion in taxes from data centers in 2025, more than 11 times what they expected. Gov. Mike DeWine has since paused applications for new tax exemptions for data centers.

Meanwhile, U.S. electricity consumption rose 1.7% per year from 2020 to 2026. The average Ohio electricity bill grew by more than 53% from June 2021 to June 2026, far more than the national average, according to the Electricity Price Hub from Heatmap and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Brown’s record on data centers

Brown’s record on data centers started before Ohio had a sales tax exemption for them. As a first-term U.S. senator in 2010, Brown secured $2.8 million in funding for a Dayton-area research center to develop water cooling technology for large data centers.

Today, water cooling systems make large data centers more energy efficient, but they created another problem: A large data center can use up to five million gallons of water per day, according to a 2025 report by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

That water must be cooled before it is put back in the environment, Case Western Reserve University environmental law professor Victor Flatt explained, or it can affect local wildlife.

Brown acknowledged this in a June interview with Spectrum News, saying, “They’ve got to make sure that they process the water right and recirculate it.”

Brown did not specify any stance on environmental regulations for data centers in a statement for this story. As a congressman from 1993 to 2025, his only public statement on data centers was a press release welcoming Amazon Web Services to New Albany in 2015.

On the campaign trail 11 years later, Brown has repeatedly criticized the “out-of-control” tax breaks under Husted’s watch and labeled him “the face of data centers” in ads.

Would the Ratepayer Protection Act protect ratepayers?

Both candidates promise to make data centers pay the full cost of their electricity usage.

The White House’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which asks data center developers to pay for their utility usage, received commitments from about 200 entities and endorsements from several sitting governors, including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

A companion bill to Husted’s Ratepayer Protection Act passed out of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce by a unanimous vote in July.

Even so, experts say relief from the federal government in the near future is unlikely.

Public utilities are generally regulated by state commissions like the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, consultant David M. Klaus said. Klaus worked in the U.S. Department of Energy under three Democratic administrations and wrote a report about the limits of federal action to regulate data centers’ utility bills.

Case Western energy policy professor Basseches said that this is why Congressional legislation like Husted’s Ratepayer Protection Act is narrow in scope.

“The federal government has never been involved in this way, certainly not in a legislative capacity,” Basseches said. “If this thing were to ever cross the finish line and become law, I expect there would be a lot of legal challenges and a lot of fights over authority between different states and the feds.”

PUCO allowed major utility provider AEP Ohio to treat data centers differently in 2025, but a June bill in the state legislature that would have extended the practice across the state didn’t reach the finish line before the legislature’s summer recess.

Other concerns about data centers: the environment and transparency

More power demand from data centers means more power plants, Flatt said. PJM Interconnection, a regional broker that makes sure there is enough power supply to meet demand in Ohio and 12 other states, came up 6.8 gigawatts short in its most recent auction. It warned that data centers may face involuntary outages as a result.

Flatt said new plants in Ohio are likely to be powered by fossil fuels. A 10-gigawatt data center project in Piketon — expected to be the largest data center in the world — will be powered by a new $33.3 billion natural gas plant.

Husted has expressed support for fossil fuels and nuclear energy to power data centers since 2023. He has also criticized wind and solar energy, saying they are “inadequate” to meet increased demand.

In most places, Flatt said solar energy with battery power backup is the cheapest, easiest, fastest form of energy production to build and permit.

“But some states like Ohio and the federal government have put some roadblocks in front of developing solar and certainly in front of developing wind, which would be the second-cheapest,” he added. “That’s going to lead to increased air pollution.”

Chevron donated $200,000 to a super PAC supporting Husted’s election bid in June, and a super PAC that backs nuclear energy spent almost $75,000 on ads supporting him in the second quarter. He also has deep ties to Ohio’s utility lobby.

While Brown has not directly addressed the intersection of data centers and energy production, he consistently supported clean energy initiatives while in the Senate.

Both candidates have otherwise said they see data centers as a local issue. At a July 11 stop in Ironton, Brown said the approval process should be “a local decision with everyone knowing what is at stake.”

The failed June bill included a provision stating that public records requests can supersede nondisclosure agreements, a common tactic used by data center developers to keep plans secret.

While Husted backs data centers, Brown is silent on the prospect of a moratorium

Hyperscale data centers bring jobs to local communities, leading many prominent Ohio labor unions to support them.

Dorsey Hager, the executive secretary-treasurer of the Columbus-Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, estimated in May that data centers make up at least 40% of work hours by union members.

The Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council endorsed Brown in March. The president of the Ohio AFL-CIO, another large union backing Brown’s election campaign, also defended data centersbecause of the jobs they create.

Democratic nominee for Ohio governor Amy Acton said she would not allow data centers into the state if they do not meet several requirements, including stipulations on union labor, environmental standards, and more. Brown did not respond to a question for this story asking for his reaction to the policy.

Andrew Gula, a volunteer who gathers signatures for Conserve Ohio’s proposed data center moratorium, said he hears a variety of opinions from people who work on building and powering AI data centers. Some have told him they feel like they’re helping automate others’ jobs, and for others, “it is what it is,” he said.

Baurichter, another volunteer for Conserve Ohio, lives in Higginsport, a small village on the Ohio River. He said support for data centers because of the jobs they create in rural Ohio reflects a “corporate-centric” mindset that puts people second.

The lack of support among top Ohio politicians for a moratorium has made him increasingly disillusioned with the political system, he said, adding that Conserve Ohio aims to “take things into our own hands” by collecting signatures for its 2027 ballot initiative.

Baurichter estimated that around 65% of Conserve Ohio’s members are conservative or voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. In Ohio’s U.S. Senate election this November, he said “any reasonable person” opposed to data centers would vote for the “lesser of two evils.”

“But that misses altogether that this is nothing but a perpetuation of the same dysfunction that this government has exhibited for decades, that people are waking up to,” he said.

Reporting for the People

The Ohio Capital Journal isn’t here to report for lobbyists or political insiders. We are here to report for the people. We are here to be the eyes and ears of the people in the halls of power, holding elected officials accountable. If you support holding politicians accountable to the people, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Ohio Capital Journal today.

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The new center, which is under construction near the new tennis courts at Rockwell Street and Hayes Avenue near the underpass, is on target for completion and on budget, community development director Colleen Gilson told commissioners.

But the report offered no insight to any information about how the kids programming at Mills School will be transitioned there when construction is finished and the center is ready to open next year. It’s not clear that the city intends to continue the programming as it now exists.

One former city employee who recently retired from the rec department said city officials making decisions about the new center haven’t reviewed the program or talked with staff about the move, or made staff members feel involved in the process.

“You heard what she said. She called it a ‘fitness center.’ That’s what it is,” Patricia “Granny Pat” Marshall told StayTunedSandusky.com, referring to Gilson’s project update to commission. “This is a fitness center. It’s not a kids center.”

Gilson did refer to it that way during her presentation.

“The open fitness area will be constructed with an 8 millimeter target drop zone, rolled rubber athletic floor, and the cardio equipment is, I believe, under purchase order,” she told commissioners, ticking off the building’s features, “two basketball courts, with four volleyball courts, and an option for pickleball.”

She did not mention the kids programming during the presentation. Marshall said she’s concerned about the city’s commitment to the kids programming. Other city staff who were approached declined comment. The city has contracted its communications with the community since the vote, limiting the number of committee meetings and failing to followup on questions that haven’t been answered.

StayTunedSandusky.com Live invited Gilson, Sandusky city manager John Orzech, youth program supervisor Tondra Frisby and fitness center coordinator Chris Mehling to be guests on the program this week to find out more about how programming at Mills will fit at the new fitness center.

Stay tuned Sandusky… for updates and a time/date when program will be LIVE.

Coming soon

MILAN TWP. — Her ex-husband’s credit and name have been involuntarily attached to a mortgage on the Mason Road home where Ashli Ford’s been living for the last seven years with her current husband.

“Her name is not even on the sheriff’s sale notice,” one critic of the convicted podcaster and accused fraudster scoffed. “It’s his name. It’s the ex-’s name on it because she financed her free house using his credit. He’s still on the hook.”

Indeed, Ashli Ford’s name is not on the court-ordered sheriff’s sale notice; her ex-husband’s name is on it. It’s unclear whether Ford and her current husband, Ezekiel Ford, ever made any mortgage payments since her ex-husband left Ford on Christmas Day 2019 after discovering she was having an affair with Ezekiel, according to court testimony.

Ford is accused of scamming $30,000 in COVID relief money using her ex-husband’s credit, lying about his income, pretending she was still married to him and forging loan documents to secure a $120,000 mortgage loan modification.

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NORWALK — A federal judge in Toledo will decide later this month how much longer Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson can maintain a blackout over state records detailing Amanda Dean’s murder—and why the Huron County Sheriff’s Office spent 5½ years covering it up.

Until that file is produced, depositions in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the Dean family against Sheriff Todd Corbin and 10 deputies remain stalled, delaying full disclosure of how Dean was murdered in 2017 and why local law enforcement refused to investigate.

The family filed their lawsuit in December 2024, accusing Corbin and his deputies of flagrantly violating their civil rights. The civil litigation was initially paused while the state built a criminal murder case against Fred Reer, Dean’s live-in boyfriend.

A state inquiry conducted by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) was launched in January 2023 following public outrage sparked by investigative reporting in the Sandusky Register. Reer was indicted a year later, convicted via a plea deal in December, and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

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The Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Sandusky Police unconstitutionally barged into a local residence without a search warrant back in December 2020.

Here is what went down, why it matters, and the twist that leaves the whole case hanging in the balance.

Circle K bust kicks off raid

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The post’s narrative aligns with an active law enforcement investigation in Erie and Huron counties that previously led to the arrest of Robert Stein, former owner of Adventure Play Game Center in Perkins Township.

In the August 3 post, a local resident shared her personal account alleging she was groomed and sexually abused as a minor by a local deejay that police previously identified as a person of interest. He’s being investigated alongside Stein.

Stein, a former member of a local band, is currently facing serious felony criminal charges in Erie County.

M.B.’s account

The woman who posted about the local deejay, identified for this article as M.B., detailed a sequence of events beginning when she was 13 and attended a concert at The Chapel in Sandusky:

• Initial Contact & Boundary Violations: M.B. describes early interactions where the deejay allegedly built trust through regular phone calls, invitations to merch tables, and unannounced appearances, including an instance where he parked a trailer outside her home.

• Physical Contact Allegations: She states that when she was 14 and the deejay was 19, he drove her home from a church service and engaged in unsolicited physical contact and kissing.

• Network Connection: M.B. stated that Robert Stein, then involved with the band Remembering Venice, was regularly present within the same social and musical network during that timeframe, though she noted Stein had no physical contact with her.

• Prior Silence and Legal Warnings: The woman stated she previously attempted to speak publicly about her experience six to seven years ago following separate public claims against the deejay, but subsequently received a cease-and-desist notice from legal counsel on his behalf.

Going to police

M.B.’s public statement coincides with ongoing criminal proceedings and police scrutiny involving both named individuals:

Robert L. Stein

• Initial Snapchat Investigation: Stein, 42, was previously investigated and charged following allegations that he exchanged sexually explicit media with a minor via Snapchat. Detectives executed search warrants on Stein’s home, seizing electronic devices, cell phones, and computers. Following public outcry and police scrutiny, Stein announced the permanent closure of Adventure Play on Milan Road.

• Felony Rape & Gross Sexual Imposition Complaints: Certified court records from Sandusky Municipal Court show that on April 17, 2026, Detective Dylan R. Smith of the Perkins Township Police Department filed two major felony complaints against Stein (PPD Report #26-1098) regarding alleged acts between 1996 and 1999:

  • Rape (F1 - ORC 2907.02(A)(2)) | Case # CRA 2600746A: Complaining that Stein engaged in sexual conduct by force or threat of force, specifically alleging the anal penetration of a minor, “K.C.,” between the ages of 7 and 9, in Perkins Township.

  • Gross Sexual Imposition (F3 - ORC 2907.05(A)(4)) | Case # CRA 2600746B: Complaining that Stein engaged in sexual contact with the same minor, “K.C.,” between the ages of 7 and 9, by touching the outside of her vagina with his hands.

• Arrest, Custody, & Grand Jury Bindover: Stein was arrested on April 17, 2026, and held in the Erie County Jail. On April 20, 2026, bond was posted at $40,000 via Valli Bail Bonds with a strict court-ordered condition of no contact with the victim. Following a preliminary hearing on May 1, 2026, Judge Michael D. Kaufman ruled that probable cause exists and officially bound both felony cases over to the Erie County Grand Jury.

Interview with Sandusky police Chief Jared Oliver was April 23

Local Deejay

The deejay, whose name is not being disclosed in this article, has faced mounting public scrutiny and inquiries from local authorities following separate reports and digital communication complaints involving minors and young adult women in the Sandusky area. Police have confirmed this status, and social media commentary reflects the ongoing community concerns.

Legal Notice

This report summarizes claims made in a public social media post alongside official law enforcement filings and court records.

There is a presumption of innocence for all individuals charged or referenced in ongoing investigations. They are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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With the federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund facing projected insolvency within six years—triggering an automatic ~22% benefit cut if Congress fails to act—proposals ranging from independent expert commissions to direct legislative action are taking center stage in Capitol Hill hearings and local union halls alike.

Senate considers fast-track Commission

In Washington, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing examining procedural mechanisms to fix Social Security’s long-term financing gap.

In a formal statement submitted for the record, Romina Boccia, Director of Budget and Entitlements Policy at the Cato Institute, urged Congress to create an independent, non-partisan commission modeled after the Cold War-era Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process:

• Insulating Reform from Politics: The proposal would task independent experts—excluding sitting members of Congress—with drafting a comprehensive reform package.

• Fast-Track Authority: The commission’s recommendations would automatically become law unless Congress actively passes a joint resolution of disapproval, preventing lawmakers from stalling on tough decisions.

• Public Support: Boccia cited Cato polling showing that 71% of Americans (including 78% of Democrats and 68% of Republicans) favor an independent commission to fix the program’s funding shortfall.

While Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) signaled interest in bipartisan frameworks, Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and advocacy groups like AARP strongly opposed fast-track commissions, arguing they serve as a shortcut to force through benefit cuts or raise the retirement age outside standard legislative scrutiny.

Serving Our Seniors Aug. 20 Forum in Sandusky

While policy experts spar in Capitol Hill hearing rooms, the issue moves to Sandusky on Thursday, August 20.

Local advocacy organization Serving Our Seniors will host a public community forum titled “The Future of Social Security and Medicare” to address looming trust fund depletion and what it means for Erie County residents. StayTunedSandusky.com is a cosponsor of the forum.

• When: Thursday, August 20, 2026 | 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

• Where: Local 913 UAW Hall, 3114 Hayes Ave., Sandusky

• Invited Speakers: U.S. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, U.S. Senator Jon *Husted, U.S. Senator Bernie *Moreno, Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and representatives from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

  *Declined to participate

What’s at stake for Erie County

With tens of thousands of North Coast retirees relying on monthly Social Security benefits, the choice facing lawmakers—whether to delegate reforms to an independent commission or negotiate directly in Congress—will directly impact local household budgets.

StayTunedSandusky will provide full on-the-ground coverage of the August 20 forum at the UAW Hall.

Chris Mehling, city staff coordinator for the new center, is not involved with the kids programming. About 70 families with 137 children registered this summer during summer break camp, eight weeks through July 31 at the former Mills Elementary School. The city does not charge residents for the out-of-school programming.

The city recreation department has provided summer camp and year round out-of-school programming at Mills since the recreation department was relocated there in April 2022. It’s unknown to what extent the recreation department staff has been involved in the process of developing services at the new rec center. Unlike at Mills, kids at the center will have limited access inside the facilities.

Planning for the center was stalled immediately after city voters approved an operating levy in November 2023 for a rec center when some city leaders sought to limit services for children. A committee appointed by city commission struggled for weeks with whether the kids programming could be included in the new center’s programming, and some argued that establishing membership fees for families was a top priority. Others argued against prioritizing fees since the center is already publicly funded.

The committee met more than a half-dozen times, and there was some concession afterward on city commission that the current kids programming would be wholly incorporated at the new center, but there’s no followup to suggest that’s what’s occurring.

The city has not announced any programming changes from current offerings, nor have there been any announcements about future employment opportunities at the center, or equipment purchases. Gilson’s focus during the city commission meeting was a construction update for the city’s fitness center.

“The kids got that levy approved,” said Patrica “Granny Pat” Marshall, a city resident and retired rec department employee. “Kids don’t need a fitness center.”

The families and kids enrolled in the current programming were part of the successful campaign to convince voters to support the operating levy, which has been the subject of a community conversation for decades always centered on providing kids programming. The kids were featured in campaign ads for the levy, which was approved by a 52-vote margin.

The operating levy generates $672,000 annually and by year’s end it will already have collected more than $2 million to pay future operating expenses. The estimated $12 million in construction cost for the new center is funded from visitor tax money.

City staff, when approached with questions, made it clear they were not comfortable talking about the new center and declined to say whether they were excited about the progress that’s been made.

City manager John Orzech referred a reporter to Gilson’s report to city commission and updates at the city’s website for more information.

“We are up to 175 cases,” Taylor Kula, an epic with the Health Department said. “There has been a slight decrease in the amount of cases coming in this week so we are hopeful but it can take up to two weeks for symptoms to show up so we are still monitoring closely.”

Cases of Cyclospora cayetanensis reached 51 reported as of July 20.

• The Transmission: You get it by consuming fresh produce or water contaminated with microscopic amounts of human feces.

• The Good News: You cannot catch it directly from another person. The parasite requires 1 to 2 weeks in the environment outside the body before it becomes infectious, so brief interactions with an infected person won’t spread it.

• The Culprits: No single food source has been identified yet, but past outbreaks have been heavily tied to raw, imported fresh produce like pre-washed bagged salads, cilantro, basil, green onions, raspberries, and snow peas.

⚠️ What to Look For: Symptoms usually hit about a week after eating contaminated food. If left untreated, they can drag on for weeks or even months, frequently disappearing only to return in miserable waves.

The Tell-Tale Symptoms:

• Watery, frequent, or explosive diarrhea (the most common symptom)

• Severe abdominal cramps and bloating

• Prolonged fatigue and body aches

• Loss of appetite and subsequent weight loss

• Nausea and low-grade fever

The boards of the Erie County Visitors and Convention Bureau and Ottawa County Visitors Bureau have officially approved management agreements with the Greater Sandusky Partnership (GSP), clearing the runway for a planned integration between GSP and Shores & Islands Ohio.

Under the new agreements, GSP will take over management of destination marketing operations across Erie and Ottawa counties on behalf of both visitors bureaus. A final multi-party agreement between GSP, Shores & Islands Ohio, and the two county visitor bureaus is slated for final approval by September 1.

Wobser takes helm; Fletcher steps into new role

Starting September 1, GSP Chief Executive Officer Eric Wobser will assume the dual role of CEO for both the Greater Sandusky Partnership and Shores & Islands Ohio as the two entities merge operations.

The transition marks a pivotal handoff in regional leadership:

• Larry Fletcher Transition: After more than 20 years heading Shores & Islands Ohio and its predecessor organizations, Larry Fletcher will step down as President and CEO on September 1. He will serve as Director of Strategic Alignment through December 31, 2026, helping guide the integration before expanding his leadership role with the Lake Erie Foundation. Fletcher will also retain a seat on the GSP Board of Directors.

• The “Super-Agency” Blueprint: For Wobser—the former Sandusky City Manager who oversaw downtown Sandusky’s revitalization before launching GSP—the move solidifies a multi-year effort to centralize regional economic tools, chambers of commerce, and now tourism marketing under one unified umbrella.

Why integration matters

For over two decades, Erie and Ottawa counties have pooled resources through Shores & Islands Ohio to market the region as a cohesive travel destination. However, tourism marketing and local economic development traditionally operated in separate silos.

The integration combines the region’s massive tourism engine—driven by lodging tax revenues from millions of annual visitors—with GSP’s economic development, business attraction, and workforce initiatives.

“This is about bringing together two organizations that already share a common goal to make this region a great place to visit, live and do business,” said Eric Wobser. “Working together allows us to better coordinate those efforts for the benefit of the entire region.”

Local leaders across both counties praised Fletcher’s two-decade legacy while expressing optimism for the unified model:

“Larry has had a tremendous impact on both this region and the destination marketing industry,” added Wobser. “His leadership has built a strong foundation for the future, and we’re grateful for his continued support throughout the transition.”

Erie County Commissioner Matt Old noted the broader momentum: “It’s good to see continued implementation of the grand agreement between the county and visitor bureaus. I’m excited to see the new arrangement be fully implemented early next year.”

What’s next

With management agreements approved, staff and leadership teams will work through the fall to align operations ahead of full structural completion early next year.

Once fully integrated, a single administrative team will oversee business development, workforce attraction, regional advocacy, and destination marketing across Erie and Ottawa counties.

COLUMBUS — Last week, a group of legislators in the Ohio House of Representatives introduced a far-reaching bill to regulate data center development across the state of Ohio.

In the face of concerns about the environmental, aesthetic, and public finance ramifications of Ohio’s rapid growth in data center development, Ohio House Bill 983 introduces a range of interventions designed to insert the public into data center development decisions.

The bill will require voter approval for every new construction or expansion of a data center with peak electric load over one megawatt for every municipality and township within five miles of the project.

Permits issued without voter approval would be considered void.

It would also impose new air emission and water discharge standards on a range of substances including PFAS, glycols, metals, and other organic compounds. These standards would apply to existing data centers after eighteen months.

Owners of data centers would also be held financially responsible for water supply and water pressure impacts associated with their centers.

On the fiscal side, the legislation would ban local governments from offering property tax incentives for data centers and power plants associated with them. It would also require public disclosure of all data center agreements associated with development and supply.

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This legislation would significantly slow down the development of data centers in Ohio, if not stop it altogether.

The voter approval requirement in particular could lead to dozens of required communitywide votes across the country to authorize data center developments.

This would have a substantial impact on Ohio’s economy.

Developers are set to invest $40 billion in data centers across the state of Ohio over the next four years. While this legislation would prevent some wasteful incentive spending, it would also likely cost the state economy tens of billions of dollars in investment.

One of the major concerns people have with data center development in Ohio is strain on public utilities, particularly electricity and water.

If data center development drives up demand for each of these, it could drive prices for electricity and water up for local residents.

This could fall more heavily on low-income residents because they spend more of their income on utilities than high-income residents. This bill’s proposed interventions could mitigate some of these cost concerns.

There are other spillover effects people worry about with data center developments.

Will incentives leave less money available for schools? Will data centers lead to wastewater, air emissions, and noise pollution?

These are concerns that could be bluntly dealt with through bans on incentives and community votes, which are likely to torpedo most projects.

Overall, though, it seems like this bill is a hammer for an issue that likely needs a scalpel.

Communitywide votes to authorize new developments would likely be tantamount to a total ban of data center development across the state. This could slow Ohio’s economy to the tune of tens of billions of dollars over the next few years.

Making sure that Ohio’s electricity and water systems keep up with new development could probably be achieved with less economic pain than a de facto permanent ban on development would create.

DAYTON — Few nonresidents of nursing homes know more about what they’re like than Dorothy Valentine. For decades, she worked in them, caring for “her” residents.

Despite the hard work, weird hours, and low pay, it was her favorite job, she said.

“I loved my residents,” Valentine said. “I always spoiled them. I almost got fired for spoiling my residents. I love people.”

Valentine, 80, spoke last week surrounded by medicines and medical devices in the living room of her modest duplex just west of downtown Dayton.

She said that as much as she loved caring for people in nursing homes in Ohio and Texas, she dreads being in one herself because she knows how the quality of care can slip.

So, suffering from several serious infirmities, Valentine hopes to spend the rest of her days at home, with a son caring for her full-time and receiving other services as needed.

But, along with the rest of the nearly 140,000 Ohioans getting Medicaid-supported community care, she faces uncertainty.

Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid over 10 years.

The most drastic provisions take effect Jan. 1. Before they do, Republican officials are highlighting what they say is rampant fraud in Medicaid-supported home care programs.

So, forced to find savings, those programs might seem a likely place for state Medicaid officials to start, which is what is worrying residents of their own homes like Valentine.

Polling shows that 62% of Americans think Medicare, the federal retirement program, pays for long-term nursing-home care, but it doesn’t. Medicaid does.

That’s why millions of American families with loved ones in the nursing home are forced to spend down their wealth until they qualify for Medicaid and then the federal-state health program foots the bill.

The University of Pennsylvania’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics in July reported that it is mandatory for states receiving Medicaid dollars to finance nursing-home care, but not in-home care.

Home-based care has become increasingly popular in recent decades. In 2022 it represented 65% of all Medicaid expenditures on long-term care, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported.

“Either more people are going to go into nursing homes, which may not be consistent with their preferences, or people who stay at home may have to get their needs met by their family members or close friends who don’t get paid to do it,” the University of Pennsylvania quoted Rachel M. Werner, executive director of its Institute for Health Economics, as saying.

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In addition to not being preferred by some seniors, nursing-home care is significantly more expensive than home-based care.

A Place for Mom, a care-referral company based in New York, estimates that a semi-private room in a nursing home is 48% more expensive than the median cost of full-time, home-based care.

Even if it is more expensive and she doesn’t want to be there, nursing homes might be where people like Valentine are headed.

“I don’t want to be in no nursing home because of the way they treat you,” she said. “They don’t change you. I used to change my patients every two hours whether they needed it or not. I always cleaned them up.”

As it is now, her 63-year-old son Clifford lives with her and provides around-the-clock care. His mother’s respiratory and heart problems are acute enough that even trips to the store have to be kept brief as possible because he doesn’t want his mother to be alone, he said.

Ohio provides support through Medicaid waivers for family members who care for their loved ones. But Clifford hasn’t applied for it out of fear that household income will exceed limits for other benefits such as his mother’s Social Security or federal food assistance.

The Roosevelt Institute in April published a report saying that such unpaid caregivers provided $600 billion worth of services in 2021 and stunted their own economic prospects in the process.

Clifford Valentine said he nursed his wife through a terminal illness before caring for his mother.

“It’s kind of rough, but I’ve always done it,” he said.

Some Republican political leaders say Medicaid programs for home care are the object of rampant fraud. In June, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and other cabinet officials came to Ohio to highlight what they said was massive fraud in Medicaid generally.

And in a May radio interview, Ohio Auditor and state AG nominee Keith Faber said massive Medicaid home-care fraud isn’t being detected because “grandma’s never going to rat out” relatives who are being paid to care for her but are neglecting her instead. His campaign didn’t respond when asked to document an instance in which that actually happened.

With all the politics around the issue, people receiving and providing Medicaid support for home-based care are keeping their heads down.

In Dorothy Valentine’s case, she has Cityblock coordinating care on behalf of Molina Healthcare, which operates managed-care programs for Medicaid patients and those who, like Valentine, are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare.

Cityblock is paid a flat, per-member fee to coordinate services with an eye toward limiting costs through things like keeping them healthy enough to avoid hospital stays. The more savings it creates, the more money it makes.

Jenny Edelston, a spokeswoman, said policymakers should think hard about what might be lost by cutting funding for such programs. They help keep people out of hospitals and nursing homes, she said.

“Without particular attention to the impact of cuts on high-value (home-and community-based) health services, reduced funding can lead to short term pressure on Medicaid (managed-care organizations) — which may in turn cause (the care organizations) to pull back on investing in partnerships that leverage (home-and-community-based services) to avoid acute care down the line,” Edelston said in an email.

For Valentine, it’s a question of where she’ll spend her remaining days.

“This is where I want to be,” she said. “If it wasn’t for Cityblock, I don’t know what I’d do.”

While Kraus argues he is the “safe choice” with unmatched name recognition, his memo conspicuously leaves out the very events that cut his legislative career short—and the fact that voters in the 89th District previously rejected his comeback bid.

The Pitch: A Giant-Killer and Grassroots Favorite

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The Health Center has once again placed among the elite safety-net providers in the United States, securing the prestigious Health Center Quality Leader – Gold award from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration for the third consecutive year.

The national recognition places the center in the top 10% of more than 1,400 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) operating across the nation for overall clinical quality performance.

Out of 1,400+ FQHCs nationwide, our local center is one of only 139 health centers across the country—and one of just five in the state of Ohio—to achieve Gold status this year.

Honoring comprehensive care

In addition to the top Gold designation, the Erie County Community Health Center earned national quality badges recognizing clinical performance, preventative medicine, and technology adoption:

• Health Center Quality Leader – Gold: Awarded to health centers achieving the top 10% in overall clinical quality performance nationwide.

• National Quality Leader – Cancer Screening: Recognizes excellence in life-saving preventative screening rates for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers.

• National Quality Leader – Diabetes: Highlights exceptional clinical management and blood sugar control outcomes for diabetic patients.

• National Quality Leader – Heart Health: Honors top performance in cardiovascular care, blood pressure management, and cholesterol tracking.

• Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT): Celebrates advanced technology adoption to optimize electronic records, patient portals, and telehealth access.

• Improving Healthcare Access: Recognizes centers expanding patient volume, clinical services, and comprehensive care access year-over-year.

• Preventive Health Badge: Highlights outstanding delivery of routine adult immunizations, childhood vaccinations, and early wellness screenings.

Reaction

The recognition validates the health center’s efforts to expand affordable, top-tier healthcare access throughout Erie, Huron, and Ottawa counties.

“Achieving national Gold status for three consecutive years reflects the incredible dedication, skill, and heart our entire clinical team brings to work every day,” said Troy Chaffin, Chief Executive Officer of the Erie County Community Health Center. “Earning three distinct National Quality Leader awards in Cancer Screening, Diabetes, and Heart Health validates that our patients receive top-tier primary and preventative care right here in their home community, regardless of their ability to pay.”

Erie County Health Commissioner Peter T. Schade echoed those sentiments, pointing to ongoing investments in clinical infrastructure and regional access.

“Being recognized as one of only five FQHCs in Ohio to earn this level of recognition is a testament to our organization’s relentless commitment to public health excellence,” added Health Commissioner Peter T. Schade. “We continuously invest in expanding access, updating medical and health IT infrastructure, and removing barriers to care across Erie County. These national awards prove that safety-net healthcare in our region is delivering some of the absolute highest clinical quality in the nation.”

How to Access Services

As a Federally Qualified Health Center, the Erie County Community Health Center operates nine locations across Erie, Huron, and Ottawa counties. Services include comprehensive primary care, dental care, behavioral health, and preventative care for all area residents.

The Health Center accepts Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial insurance, and offers a sliding-fee discount scale based on family size and household income.

• Website: eriecohealthohio.com

• Phone / Appointments: (419) 626-5623

• Media Contact: Pete Schade, Health Commissioner | pschade@echdohio.org | (567) 867-5112.