Associated Press

Ohio gas prices are more than a dollar higher than they were a year ago just ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Today’s survey from auto club AAA and its partners shows regular-grade gasoline is averaging $3.64 a gallon statewide, compared to $2.62 last year at this time. Still, the cost of gasoline in the state has dropped since early May, when regular hit a record $4.16 per gallon.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Companies drilling for oil and natural gas in shale formations in Ohio might soon face new air pollution limits.

The new practice of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," in pursuit of gas can require multiple wells on a single site, creating a concentration of equipment that can leak hazardous airborne compounds. An Ohio Environmental Protection Agency spokesman tells The Columbus Dispatch that's causing concern about the pollutants the drilling operations might be releasing into the air.

CLEVELAND (AP) - Some Ohio teachers are missing the first days of classes in August to avoid penalties to their retirement payments.

The Plain Dealer in Cleveland reports state law requires full-time teachers who retire and are rehired to forfeit retirement payments for the month if they return less than 60 days after retiring. If an employee works in June, the Ohio's State Teacher Retirement System considers the retirement date to be July.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio is providing shelter and support as Hurricane Irene aims toward the East Coast hundreds of miles away.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton is taking in military planes pulled out of the storm's expected path. The Dayton Daily News reports six twin-engine warplanes have arrived from North Carolina and dozens more aircraft are expected before tomorrow.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Energy Department says it will reduce its estimate of undiscovered natural gas in New York, Pennsylvania and other states following a new report by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The USGS report, released Tuesday, estimates that the Marcellus Shale region contains some 84 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, recoverable natural gas. That is far more than geologists had thought nearly a decade ago, but far below a recent projection by the Energy Department.