Statewide News

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Lawmakers pushing to ban capital punishment in Ohio have asked the governor for a moratorium on executions while a committee studies the death penalty.

Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor recently announced that a court committee will study Ohio's death penalty law to make sure it is working as well as it should.

O'Connor has emphasized that the committee will not examine whether to ban capital punishment.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Groups on both sides of the push to repeal Ohio's collective bargaining law are taking shots at each other over a great-grandmother and a firefighter appearing in separate ads.

Union-backed We Are Ohio on Tuesday noted their ad featuring Marlene Quinn of Cincinnati thanking firefighters for saving her great-granddaughter. In the ad, Quinn asks voters to repeal the law. An ad by Republican- and business-backed Building a Better Ohio used the same footage cutting out Quinn's repeal request.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Data shows the number of crashes and the amount of commercial traffic reported along the Ohio Turnpike rose slightly during the first six months of its higher 70 mph speed limit compared with the same period last year.

The speed limit for the 241-mile toll road in northern Ohio increased from 65 mph to 70 mph in April. Supporters of the change hoped it would lure trucks back to the toll road from parallel routes that are less suited for large vehicle traffic. The Ohio Trucking Association opposed the change and said it might lead to more crashes.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The Ohio Department of Commerce says increased efforts to return unclaimed funds are working, with about 40 percent more claims paid at the start of this budget year than over the same period in 2010.

Unclaimed funds are dormant or forgotten monies reported to the state until owners can be found, such as uncollected rent or utility deposits, unused bank accounts or uncashed insurance policies.