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Rotunda Rumblings Fed start: Head Start providers across the U.S. have had to temporarily close their doors due to a lack of funding from the federal government shutdown. More than 8,000 children nationwide, including 600 in Ohio, are not getting services. Additional children may soon be affected if there isn’t a budget soon, because other Head Start providers on a Nov. 1 funding cycle have scraped together money to continue running but run out in a matter of weeks, Laura Hancock reports. Feeding families: Ohio families who rely on SNAP benefits won’t receive them this week as the federal government shutdown continues. Gov. Mike DeWine says the state is working through a federal directive that covers about half of normal payments. In the meantime, Ohio is sending out $25 million in food aid, including $7 million for regional food banks and extra help for low-income families. Anna Staver reports the shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history, hasn’t delayed WIC benefits, which remain funded through November. Read more Ohio politics stories Why the federal government can’t spend money during a shutdown Is Emilia Sykes right that GOP arrogance could cost them Ohio seats in Congress? The secretive billionaire network that put JD Vance in power wants to end American democracy Off air: All nine Cleveland State University trustees attended a closed-door meeting in which the transfer of the student radio station to Ideastream Public Media was discussed. The Aug. 7 Board of Trustees meeting went into executive session – potentially an illegal move – to discuss the matter with Ideastream CEO Kevin Martin. Hancock lists who was there and their biographical information. A little creepy: A routine Senate nomination hearing erupted into a confrontation Wednesday when U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno revealed he had obtained the vehicle identification numbers of his Democratic colleagues’ cars, prompting Nevada Democrat Jacky Rosen to accuse him of violating their privacy, Sabrina Eaton writes. “That seems a little creepy,” said Rosen. The Westlake Republican also used the hearing to press a transportation department nominee to visit Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport, which city officials would like to redevelop. Right to refuse: Years after Gov. Mike DeWine faced pushback from the right-wing of his party for his administration’s pandemic-era public health orders, two Ohio Republican state lawmakers have introduced a bill to protect those who object to health policy, Mary Frances McGowan reports. State Reps. Jennifer Gross and Beth Lear provided sponsor testimony this week for state House Bill 112, which would prohibit discrimination against individuals who refuse vaccines, masks, or other medical interventions based on their religious or conscientious objections. Planned cuts: Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio plans to eliminate up to 15 staff positions after losing Medicaid patients and $10 million in federal funding since Trump’s second term began. CEO Erica Wilson-Domer said all 14 centers will stay open, but many will operate with reduced clinical staff. The Ohio Capital Journal reports the unionized workforce will begin negotiations over the planned cuts, which leaders say will further limit preventive care access for low-income Ohioans. Buckeye Brain Tease Question: Ohio’s slogan may be “The Heart of It All,” but on your visit, you can also see the Center of the World. Where would you go to see it? Email your response to capitolletter@cleveland.com. The first correct respondent will be mentioned in next week’s newsletter. Thanks to everyone who answered our last trivia question: Where is Philip K. Clover, the inventor of the coffin torpedo, buried? Answer: Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbus. Capitol Letter reader Steven Denker was the first to email with the correct response. We also have an honorable mention for Sen. Kyle Kohler’s dad joke response that Clover is buried in the ground. On the Move Scott Cameron has been hired as bureau chief of Signal Statewide. Cameron, who most recently served as managing editor at Indiana Public Broadcasting News, will oversee the nonprofit news outlet’s statewide team, including its Ohio Statehouse bureau. Birthdays Friday, Nov. 7: Beth Ford, Ohio Senate Republicans’ assistant director of communications; Tyler Klick, legislative aide to state Rep. Scott Lipps Saturday, Nov. 8: Milan Tropf, public policy manager, Western Reserve Land Conservancy Sunday, Nov. 9: Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown; former Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp Straight from the Source “I think it’s really important that Democrats learn a lesson here and come to understand what people want. They were rewarded for reaching into the middle.” Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaking in a Facebook video about what he sees as the lessons from Tuesday’s elections.
