Screw Ohio Students, Pay a Pittance
Justice for baby abandoned 26 years ago, Ohio passes on medical marijuana expansion, and more.
My body is ready to watch the Golden State Warriors crumble into dust tonight (9 p.m., ABC). People really thought 6ā10ā Draymond Green could guard Shaq in his prime. Iām embarrassed for them.
DAVE YOST GAVE ECOT AN ACCOUNTING AWARD
As Ohio Auditor, Dave Yost gave the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow an accounting award. That would be fine if it didnāt turn out ECOT stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the state and displaced thousands of students as soon as their scheme was discovered.
In a normal state, Yost would have been tossed on his ass in the next election. This, however, is Ohio, where we promptly promoted him to Attorney General in the 2018 election.
Apparently Yost doesnāt have the heart to hold grifters that once donated to his campaign responsible.
From Andy Chow of wosu.org:
An educational service center is paying the state back for money it received while sponsoring the now-closed Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow. The settlement is part of a larger lawsuit targeting about $80 million in overpayments to ECOT.Ā
The Educational Service Center of Lake Erie West will repay the state of Ohio $879,000. Thatās the amount it received as a sponsor of ECOT.
The online charter school was given state money for students it couldnāt prove it had, to the tune of about $80 million.
Sherrod Brown already said it best:
You almost canāt fault Yost for his smugness. I too would be smug if I turned a blind eye to the largest swindle in state history and earned a promotion. If they can screw over studentsā educations, what canāt they get away with?
ABANDONED BABY GETS JUSTICE 26 YEARS LATER
Wild story out of northern Ohio ā the woman who abandoned her baby in the middle of a road 26 years ago has been brought to justice.
From Benjamin Peters of cleveland.com:
CHARDON, Ohio -- The woman Geauga County investigators say abandoned her newborn baby in the woods to die made her court appearance Monday on murder charges.
Gail Eastwood-Ritchey, 49, is charged with aggravated murder in the long-dormant death of the baby who became known as āGeaugaās Child.ā She was arrested Thursday after nearly 26 years after the childās remains were discovered.
Geauga County Common Pleas judge set Eastwood-Ritcheyās bond at $250,000. She entered a not-gulity plea and only spoke when Judge Carolyn Paschke asked cursory questions. Geauga County Judge David Ondrey will oversee the case.
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Investigators used relatively new developments in DNA technology to identify a list of potential family members of the child. This process involved the creation of a family tree consisting of over 1,400 people from around the world who were possible relatives of the baby boy.
The list was narrowed by using an online database that collects voluntarily submitted DNA samples. The method of using family DNA to solve dormant criminal cases rose in prominence after the 2018 arrest of Californiaās notorious Golden State Killer.
I sold my DNA to Ancestery.com like a dumb ass, so it appears me and 1,4000 of my relatives can no longer do crime. The worst part was it said I was 98% British, which is provably false. (Viva los Irish, baby!)
Not that Iām planning on abandoning a baby in the middle of the road or anything, but good lord, Iām sure that Gail Eastwood-Ritchey thought she had gotten away with it all those years. I can only imagine the shock on her face when the police knocked on her door to take her to jail.
Not sure I understand her thought process, either. Why abandon a baby in the middle of a road when abortion and adoption are two legal avenues that accomplish the same goal?
OHIO NOT LEADING THE WAY ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA AFTER ALL
Well, the dream of Ohio leading the country in medical marijuana expansion was fun while it lasted. The cowards at the Ohio Medical Board struck down adding three diagnoses while tabling two others.
From Marlene Harris-Taylor of wosu.org:
The State Medical Board of Ohio has delayedĀ adding autism spectrum disorder and anxiety to the list of qualifying conditions for the medical marijuana program.
The board met June 12Ā in Columbus to consider adding several new medical conditions to the program.
The 12-member board rejected petitions to include depression, insomnia and opioid use disorder in Ohioās medical cannabis program, said board spokesman Tessie Pollack. However, the board tabled the vote on anxiety and autism spectrum disorder, Pollack said.
āThe board said that they would like some additional time to consider the materials," she said. "We also have two new board members so that would allow more time for them to review, not only the petitions, but also the expert reports."
Yeah, I would hate for opioid users have access to legal marijuana, especially after opioid deaths went down in Colorado when it legalized recreational weed.
The Medical Board acts like weed isnāt available in every corner of all 88 counties in Ohio. The Flinstone mindset continues to befuddle me.
JIM JORDAN TO BE NAMED IN LAWSUIT AGAINST OHIO STATE (THOUGH NOT AS A DEFENDANT)
Jim Jordan, a good man from a great family as Urbana voters tell it, will soon be named in a lawsuit against Ohio State for failing to report abuse by wrestling physician Dr. Strauss.
From Corky Siemaszko of nbcnews.com:
A former Ohio State University wrestler who publicly claimed that his then assistant coach, Rep. Jim Jordan, knew the team doctor molested himĀ but failed to actĀ has sued the school for unspecified damages.
Dunyasha Yetts, who is named in the complaint obtained by NBC News and filed Wednesday, is joined in the federal lawsuit by 15 other former Ohio State students who allege that the school ignored victimsā complaints of abuse at the hands of Dr. Richard Strauss. They are seeking a jury trial.
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While Jordan is not named in this lawsuit, Yetts told NBC News he expects the powerful Republican congressman, as well as former head coach Russ Hellickson, will be identified in filings to come but will not be named as a defendants. He said the decision not to do so right now was strategic and that the athletes wanted to keep the focus on Ohio Stateās failure to stop Strauss.
āI told Rocky that I wanted to name Jordan and Russ in my lawsuit,ā Yetts said. āThey will be held accountable.ā
Will this matter to voters in Jordanās gerrymandered district? Absolutely not. Props to Yetts for putting Jordanās negligence into the record nonetheless.
LEBANON SCHOOLS SOUND RACIST AS HELL
Some Americans see racism as a problem that only exists in the backwards South. Ohio doesnāt usually catch that rap because we fought on the right side of the Civil War.
But make no mistake, Ohio is a very racist state. Hereās one example from Lebanon.
From Keith BieryGolick of cincinnati.com:
There were swastikas and notes that said, āgo home n*****s and Jews.ā One student took a picture of a message carved into the bathroom wall. School officials appeared to paint over it but the slur, āNo N*****s," was still visible.
In spring 2015, high school teachers were asked to check bathrooms before the beginning and end of each class.
It is 2019 now. And although the school districtās superintendent said addressing racism is a priority, a parent said officials went years without telling the community what they were actually doing about it.
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The incidents included:
a first-grader telling his mom another student said he couldnāt be someoneās boyfriend because of his skin color.
a fifth-grade student singing āduck, duck, n*****rā during math and science class.
a seventh-grade student who was called the N-word at football practice telling officials that happens a lot.
an eighth-grade student asking a teaching assistant to āplease pick up my book, slave.ā
Whatās most depressing about this is kids arenāt born racist. Theyāre indoctrinated that way, and the expansion of the alt-right online makes it easier than ever for kids to become racist pigs.
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