The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals this week revived a class action lawsuit against Kia and Hyundai, overturning a lower court decision involving their theft-prone cars.
The lawsuit stems from the rampant theft of the vehicles after their manufacturers failed to install industry-standard anti-theft devices in the cars’ steering columns and fix flimsy ignition assemblies. The social media platform TikTok became a host of viral how-to videos showing how to steal the cars, which led to reels of teens joyriding in stolen vehicles.
The plaintiffs in the case are a person severely injured and the family of a man who died after being hit by stolen Kias in separate incidents, one driven by a 15-year-old and one by a 16-year-old.
A district judge previously dismissed the lawsuits, emphasizing that the role of the teenage drivers bore the blame, not the vehicles. But appellate judges ruled that the teenagers’ actions were a predictable enough outcome of cars that are so easy to steal that the manufacturers shouldn’t be let off the hook.
Treatment tensions in Portsmouth
Portsmouth, in Southern Ohio, first drew national attention earlier this century as an epicenter of the opioid epidemic. Today, it has become an epicenter of addiction recovery — and that shift is sparking new tensions in the community.
This week, Andrew reported how Scioto County now has among the most recovery homes of any county in Ohio, outranking some of Ohio’s largest counties, despite having a population of only about 72,000. These homes, often set up in converted single-family houses, provide temporary housing for people in recovery.
The growth has brought classic “Not in My Backyard” concerns — but also deeper worries. Local officials say the rapid expansion is fueling speculation in the housing market, making homes unaffordable and in some cases contributing to homelessness and leaving vulnerable residents in unsafe conditions. At the Statehouse, a pending bill aims to rein in the problem, though advocates warn it could end up choking off recovery efforts instead.
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Activists and others call for unbiased congressional maps
It was a familiar sight for Ohio politics watchers: A left-leaning coalition of redistricting advocates held a rally outside the Statehouse on Wednesday and urged Republicans to approve a fair congressional map later this year. They also announced they’re resubmitting a map they developed earlier this decade for state leaders to consider.
A longtime redistricting reform advocate who’s a leader in the group isn’t optimistic that lawmakers will heed the call.
Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, said redistricting has gotten even more political this year after President Donald Trump openly called on Republican states to help the GOP expand its slim congressional majority by redrawing their congressional lines early. Democratic-controlled states have responded by doing the same.
“It’s really hard going into this feeling hopeful,” Turcer said in an interview. “But there are good rules in the Ohio Constitution, and elected officials should live up to what is in the Ohio Constitution.”
The event was held ahead of the first public redistricting hearing set for Monday. Republicans have until the end of November to come up with a new map and are expected to tweak the state’s lines to help them win a larger share of Ohio’s congressional districts. Currently, Republicans hold 10 of the state’s 15 districts.
Groups that participated in Wednesday’s rally included organized labor organizations, including the AFL-CIO Federation of Labor and the Ohio Education Association. Good-government and political advocacy groups and civil rights organizations also participated, including the League of Women Voters, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative and the A. Philip Randolph Institute. Some elected Democrats milled around the event but didn’t take the stage.
Millions for disaster relief
The Ohio Controlling Board this week released $13.4 million to cover costs due this year from increasingly frequent extreme weather events in the state.
Flooding and severe storms in Jackson County cost the Emergency Management Agency more than $600,000. Severe flooding in 13 Southeast Ohio counties in late March and early April cost $10 million. Flash flooding in Fairfield County in late July cost $2.8 million.
EMA officials estimate they’ll owe another $6.6 million in disaster relief spending.
