At FirstEnergy bribery trial, a picture of a cocky CEO and a regulator under his thumb
The state officially rested its case in the biggest public corruption trial in living memory. It was driven by ex-FirstEnergy employees describing a lucrative and cozy relationship between a CEO and the state’s most powerful regulator overseeing the industry.
LATEST NEWS FROM SIGNAL STATEWIDE
Election 2026
Ohio Libertarians seek to disqualify U.S. Senate candidate, suspecting Republican political shenanigans
A complaint alleges Jeffrey Kanter submitted hundreds of invalid signatures with his candidate petition. Kanter and the party’s preferred candidate, Bill Redpath, both have filed to run for U.S. Senate in the May primary election.
Ohio legislative Democrats show signs of life in campaign fundraising
Democrats say stronger fundraising ahead of 2026 puts them in position to challenge the GOP’s legislative supermajority, even as Republicans reported far more cash.
Amy Acton’s fundraising surges after potential Democratic rivals bow out of Ohio’s governor’s race
Acton’s campaign will report having $3 million in campaign cash heading into the May 5 primary election. That’s stronger than recent Ohio Democratic governor candidates, although it significantly trails the $12.9 million in cash reported by Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.
GOVERNMENT
As local backlash grows over data centers, Ohio House panel advances study
House Bill 646 would create a commission to study the environmental, energy and economic impacts as development accelerates across the state.
EDUCATION
Ohio lawmakers call for tying some of public colleges’ state funding to Senate Bill 1 compliance
House Bill 698 looks to double down on the sweeping higher education overhaul law passed last year.
HEALTH
Recovery homes face tighter rules under bill advanced by Ohio House
If approved by the Senate, the bill would require state certification for recovery homes and strengthen local enforcement tools.
STATE SIGNALS NEWSLETTER
Ranked-choice voting ban advances; Ohio recovery homes may face new limits
Ohio politics news and insights from the State Signals newsletter. Plus, reading between the lines of last week’s Ohio Republican Party endorsements.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Springfield prepares for an ICE raid it can’t confirm: ‘You become powerless in a situation like this’
Temporary legal status for 12,000-plus Haitian immigrants in the city was set to expire on Wednesday until a federal judge intervened. The expectation that federal enforcement was looming upended daily life for some.
NEWS FROM NOTUS
Trans People Have Had Enough of Democrats’ Waffling on LGBTQ+ Issues
“I want to put a face to the oppression. I want to be a person instead of a concept,” one 17-year-old transgender girl from Ohio told NOTUS.
Local Newsrooms
Signal Ohio is a nonprofit statewide network of local newsrooms.
Why Local News
Local news is in crisis. Across the country, including here in Ohio, the commercial news industry has been on the decline, leading to the loss of nearly three-quarters of journalism jobs since 2005, leading to less accountability, more polarization, and more government waste. With the volume of original reporting in Ohio communities reduced to a small fraction of what it once was, nonprofit news offers a path forward