Your WYSO Daily News Update: October 31, 2022, with Mike Frazier:
- Precincts can't take absentee ballot: Ohio's elections chief is cautioning that state law does not permit voters to return absentee ballots at their precincts on Election Day. Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose's warning comes amid a misinformation campaign around the security of voting machines that’s urging voters to do just that. A group of Republican election deniers are telling absentee ballot voters that they should hold onto their paper ballots until Nov. 8 and bring them to their local voting location. LaRose told The Associated Press that absentee ballots must be dropped off to their county board of elections main office if they are not mailed by election day. He says poll workers at precinct-level voting locations cannot accept them. With less than two weeks until the November 8 election, 1,076,049 Ohioans have requested an absentee ballot or voted early in-person, which is a 1.8% increase over the same point in the 2018 election, according to LaRose's office. So far, 135,889 Ohioans have now voted early in person and 940,160 have requested an absentee ballot by mail.
- RSV up at Dayton Children's: Dayton Children's hospital's intensive care unit has been full recently as hospitals across the state are seeing a surge in respiratory illnesses. WYSO's Chris Welter reports the hospital said the surge is especially affecting children who are less than two years old. Experts said part of the problem is respiratory syncytial virus or RSV. That's a common virus this time of year that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. But RSV can be serious for infants. Dr. Adam Mezoff is chief medical officer at Dayton Children's. "We sort of have the triple whammy of also having flu season starting up and still having COVID issues," he said. Mezoff says caregivers and parents should make sure their children's nasal passages are clean and that they are getting plenty of fluids. And if your child is struggling to breathe, they need to be seen by a doctor.
- UNESCO World Heritage Update: The end is in sight for a decades-long effort to get Ohio's Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. WVXU's Tana Weingartner has an update for the Ohio Newsroom.
- Groundbreaking new Dayton health and wellness center: Local leaders gathered Friday afternoon for the groundbreaking of the new YMCA of Greater Dayton health and wellness center. It’s located on the former site of Good Samaritan Hospital. WYSO’s Garrett Reese was there as Phase One of the $17.8 million project was completed with the ceremonial groundbreaking on Friday. The new campus will have healthcare, education, and housing services. Premier Health, CareSource, and Goodwill will have healthcare services; Wright State will offer classes; and County Corp will help people with housing. US Senator Sherrod Brown was at the groundbreaking. "This new campus will help to resource the community in ways that I don't think we can quite imagine yet," he said. The new campus is controversial. The site used to be a full-service hospital and some locals have expressed frustration with the new health and wellness center, saying the neighborhood needs a hospital, not just a clinic. Two protestors interrupted the groundbreaking ceremony saying just that. The campus is expected to open in December 2023.
