A new monitor's report released this week shows that more than 7,000 Ohioans have gotten more than $280 million from the national mortgage settlement a year ago.

The report released this week by the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight summarizes data provided by the five mortgage servicers involved in the settlement: Ally, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorganChase, and Wells Fargo.

Settlement benefits included loan modifications, forgiveness and deficiency waivers.

The report says 2,528 Ohioans completed mortgage refinances, with an average rate reduction of just over 3 percent. The providers sent refinancing solicitations to more than 4,700 Ohioans.    

There is one week left to avoid sequestration, or the automatic spending cuts that will take effect March 1 if President Obama and Congress cannot reach a deal. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, area business and those in the defense industry are bracing for furloughs that could impact the 13,000  civilian employees, which could have a ripple effect on the local economy. Jessica Wehrman joins Emily McCord for this week's PoliticsOhio. She's a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch based in Washington, D.C., and her stories appear in the Dayton Dailys News. Wehrman tells McCord that there isn't the same sense of urgency on Capital Hill to reach a deal and it's likely the cuts will take effect next week.

Business owners and officials of cities surrounding Wright Patterson Air Force Base say they are increasingly uneasy about possible furloughs brought on by sequestration.

Wright-Patterson Air could furlough up to 13,000 civilian employees for 22 days beginning in April if Congress and President Barack Obama fail to avert sequestration, or automatic defense and domestic spending reductions set to begin March 1st.

The Pentagon said Wednesday that those civilian employees could be notified by mid-March.

The Dayton Daily News reports increasing nervousness among business owners and city officials in the neighboring cities of Fairborn and Riverside. They say it would have a huge impact.

An annual Dayton festival planned around the start of the NCAA men's basketball tournament has been canceled this year.

Organizers said it was necessary because the NCAA is no longer permitting local sponsorships of public events surrounding the tournament.

The Dayton Daily News reports that the First Four Festival in the city's historic Oregon District was planned for March 17. The University of Dayton Arena is the annual site of the tournament's opening game, a "play-in" contest between the two lowest-seeded teams.

Organizers say they are working on other events that will allow the local economy to benefit from the game. They say St. Patrick's Day crowds expected in the entertainment district will ease the blow of losing the festival.


 

The United States Postal Service announced  Wednesday it will suspend mail delivery on Saturdays. WYSO’s Emily McCord reports the decision is expected to save 2 billion dollars a year.

Gov. John Kasich's budget proposal suggests that revenue from Ohio's four voter-approved casinos could be about half of what officials had predicted years ago.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that state officials estimated four years ago that the casinos could take in as much as $1.9 billion a year after all were in operation.

But Kasich's budget proposal issued Tuesday projects that gross casino revenue will be $957.7 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1. It could rise to just over $1 billion in the following fiscal year.

The figure is significant because smaller revenues mean fewer tax dollars for the state.