News

John Scalzi is one of our bright young talents in science fiction today.  Scalzi is prolific and hard working. He just published his latest novel, "The Human Division," the latest installment in his "Old Man's War" universe of books. This book is classic Scalzi; witty, entertaining, and wildly imaginative.

In this wide ranging interview the author talks about this series, his influences and inspirations. And he describes the amusing chain of events that transplanted this city boy from southern California into a tiny community in rural SW Ohio.

Now the the days are the longest of the year and the pieces of summer are fitting together like a puzzle solving itself.

Mulberries and black raspberries are sweetest. Milkweed beetles look for milkweed flowers on the longest days; giant cecropia moths emerge. The first monarch butterfly caterpillars eat the carrot tops.

Damselflies and daddy longlegs are everywhere when black raspberries come in. Mosquitoes, chiggers, and ticks have reached their summer strength their presence fitting tightly with that of giant black cricket hunters .

An Ohio legislative committee is scheduled to hear two Medicaid proposals today as lawmakers try to find common ground on changes to the health program.

One bill is aimed at curbing Medicaid costs and making the program more efficient while neither expanding it or cutting beneficiaries. The bipartisan bill's sponsors have described the legislation as a starting point for discussions.

A newspaper analysis shows that Ohio may be starting to turn around its "brain drain."

The Dayton Daily News reports that an analysis of census data shows that Ohio may finally have seen the end of a decades-long trend of losing young adults to other states.

Beginning in 2010, the numbers show, Ohio actually showed an increase in the population of people ages 20 to 34.

Women seeking an abortion in Ohio would have to wait longer to undergo the procedure and listen to their doctors describe all of the fetus' "relevant features" under a measure being considered by state lawmakers.

The Republican-led Legislature's most recent attempt at curbing abortions would also require doctors to tell women that the procedure increases the risk of breast cancer and may cause pain to the fetus.

The bill will be presented Wednesday at a House committee hearing.