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“The number one reason is literally the lack of affordable housing,” Ben Sears, the executive director of Columbus Coalition for the Homeless, said in a phone call. “And this is the easiest data point across the country to show. Communities where rent goes up and vacancy goes down, you see the largest spikes of homelessness. So much of the work that this funding provides support to, like shelter, like outreach – those services get overwhelmed because the end result and the biggest need is housing. If you provide resources for shelter and for outreach, you’re not meeting that need of housing. If we’re not providing the resources to increase access to affordable housing, then this funding continues to hit that brick wall.”

Mike DeWine announced Wednesday that he will pause the state sales tax exemptions for data centers.

He fully supports data centers and believes they are good for business, but now that many folks aren’t interested in having a data center in their backyard he’s agreed to a temporary pause on state tax exemptions while the economic and environmental impact of data centers are studied.

A recent report by Signal Ohio also revealed that the data center tax exemptions cost Ohio more than $1 billion in lost revenue last year, much more than the estimate given to lawmakers by the Department of Taxation.

Before DeWine’s announcement, House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) was furious that such a big revenue loss went unnoticed and unreported.

Free meals for kids this summer at 19 locations. We have an awesome library system!

Also the summer reading program starts up. All ages can join and it’s a great way to keep kids engaged while school is out.

House Bill 854 would levy an income tax on Ohioans who make $500,000 or more each year to fund free college education for students. The program would offer free four-year tuition for in-state students to any state school.