Your WYSO Morning News Update for May 13, 2022, with Mike Frazier:
- Baby formula shortage
(Statehouse News Bureau) — The nationwide shortage of baby formula is stressing families out, including those that depend on public assistance to pay for it. Statehouse News Bureau correspondent Jo Ingles reports Delaware County resident Kate Yonkura is a foster mom to an 8 month old infant. He is enrolled in a public assistance program that pays for his formula but Yonkura has had to drive to several places out of her county to find it. “I actually found my formula that I needed. I filled my shopping cart up and when I got to the check out counter, I was not allowed to buy everything that I had in my cart," Yonkura said. Yonkura also said many low-income moms can’t drive around or spend extra money. The Ohio Department of Health says it will be flexible on its rules on number of and size of formula containers that can be purchased in the WIC program.
- Ohio mapmakers spar over contempt threat
(AP) — Partisan mapmakers in Ohio are making emotional pleas to the Ohio Supreme Court as justices again weigh whether to hold the state’s redistricting commission in contempt. The commission sent five different plans for state legislative districts to the court. Four were invalidated as gerrymandered, and the panel's fifth submission was its third unconstitutional map. Republicans defended their actions and, on Thursday, challenged Democratic and voting-rights groups' calls for court sanctions. Republican Auditor Keith Faber said that sanctions by the court are beyond what it should do. Democrats recommended contempt and called Republicans' arguments “nonsense.”
- Bail reform measures in motion
(Statehouse News Bureau) — A proposed statewide ballot issue to change Ohio's constitutional laws on bail is gaining momentum. The resolution is moving as lawmakers consider other changes to the pre-trial detentions system. Statehouse correspondent Andy Chow reports a House committee passed a resolution that would amend the state constitution to say judges must consider public safety when setting cash bail. Supporters say this will keep dangerous people behind bars. But opponents, which includes a coalition of liberal and conservative groups, say public safety should instead be assessed through a pre-trial hearing. Democratic Representative David Leland has a bipartisan bill to expand that process for judges. "Additional authority and additional tools to protect the public from people who may be a threat to an individual person or the community," Leland said. Republican lawmakers in favor of the ballot issue say it's in response to a recent supreme court ruling that said public safety must not be considered when setting bail.
- Opioid settlement
(AP) — A hearing began this week at a federal court in Cleveland to help a judge determine how much CVS, Walgreens and Walmart should pay two northeast Ohio counties to help fight the opioid crisis. A jury in November concluded that the three pharmacy chains were responsible for damage from the opioid epidemic in Lake and Trumbull counties. Attorneys say the cost to abate the crisis is around $1 billion for each county. Attorneys for the pharmacy chains say the amount is far lower.
- Cicada Stragglers
(Dayton Daily News) — Don’t be surprised if you spot a pair of red eyes or hear a cicada’s song this year. That’s because some stragglers from last year’s Brood X are expected to make an appearance in the Miami Valley. And they could be spotted in the area as early as next week. But instead of the billions that showed up last year, the number of cicadas this year will probably be in the hundreds. The Brood X group that was around last summer comes every 17 years.
