TOLEDO, Ohio — Wednesday, July 22 was stacked with major updates in Ohio news.
From a statewide mask mandate, to what US attorneys are calling the biggest bribery scheme in the state's history, Ohioans had their fill of hard-hitting news.
Here's a breakdown the biggest stories of the day, from the July 22 episode of Afternoon Tea.
OHIO MASK MANDATE
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine bit the bullet and issued a mask order for the entire state on Wednesday. The order officially goes into effect Thursday, July 23 at 6 p.m., but the rules are nothing new for many Ohioans.
Here’s when you need to wear a mask:
- In any indoor setting that’s not a residence
- When you’re outside and unable to keep six feet away from people who don’t live with you
- And while waiting for or riding/driving in any shared transportation like a bus, an uber or while hitching a ride in a 99 dodge neon.. especially then.
But, as always, there are a number of exemptions.
Here’s when you DON’T have to wear a mask
- If you’re a child under 10
- If you’re someone who has a medical condition or disability that makes it unsafe to wear a mask
- If you’re communicating with someone who relies on lip reading
- While actively exercising or playing sports
- Those who officiate at religious services
- Those who are actively involved in public safety
- Those who are actively eating or drinking
DeWine is set to give another update on the state's response to COVID-19 Thursday at 2 p.m. While he did say a number of new counties will move into Level 3 of the state's public health advisory system, it is unclear if any additional orders will be issued.
OHIO HOUSE SPEAKER BRIBERY SCANDAL
DeWine moved his regular Tuesday presser to Wednesday because – get this – another public official is facing federal bribery charges. This is just getting repetitive.
On Tuesday, Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder and four others were accused in what could be – as one US attorney put it – the largest bribery case ever in Ohio. Shoot for the moon, I guess.
RELATED: Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, 4 others arrested in $60 million federal bribery case
So, what exactly are they all accused of?
Well, the 80-age complaint claims that Householder and his cronies received more than $60 million dollars to get him his job, pass House Bill 6 – a bailout for FirstEnergy-owned Davis Besse and Perry nuclear power plants – and to make sure they don’t let that bill get repealed.
That money was coming from what the attorneys are referring to as “Company A” which was identified as a nuclear power company (I wonder who that could be) and given to Generation Now, a political operative group and somehow not an afterschool program that your mom made you join so colleges think you are “involved."
But, in reference to Generation Now, a US attorney said:
"Make no mistake, this is Larry Householder's 501(c4), as alleged in the charges."
But, what’s the story behind H.B. 6?
Through HB 6, the plants were getting a $1 billion bailout, and the legislation slowly dialed back on requirements for utilities to generate power from solar and wind, with the goal of eventually getting rid of those requirements entirely.
And the House Democrats haven't wasted any time. They are already working on legislation that would repeal the controversial bill.
TOLEDO CITY COUNCIL
In case you missed it, four Toledo council members - Tyrone Riley, Yvonne Harper, Gary Johnson and Larry Sykes, as well as local attorney Keith Mitchell - were arrested for allegedly taking bribes from local businesses for their votes. Many of these bribes came from internet cafes.
Internet cafes allow customers to log onto a computer to play games like slots, for much smaller stakes. The state of Ohio actually banned these businesses in 2013, but a bunch of loopholes allowed a lot of them to keep on keepin’ on.
In 2018, a number of council members were getting worried about the number of internet cafes that seemed to be operating illegally in Toledo, at the time only a handful out of 14 or 15 had a license.
So, Tyrone Riley came up with an idea, allow these illegally operating businesses to operate legally by applying for a special use permit (SUP).
The lawsuit claims that the accused councilmembers started receiving bribes from these internet cafes to vote to approve their permits.
Eventually, some of them bribed council members to introduce a moratorium on new Internet cafes, in an effort to thwart additional competition.
The case seems to be moving along swiftly as all four councilmembers and the local attorney have been indicted by a grand jury but the charges look a bit different than they did before; because why not make things more confusing?
Let's break down the indictment:
- Tyrone Riley: one count of conspiracy and five counts of extortion
- Yvonne Harper: one count of conspiracy, two counts of extortion, and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion
- Gary Johnson: one count of conspiracy and two counts of extortion
- Larry Sykes: one count of conspiracy and two counts of extortion
- And Attorney Keith Mitchell: one count of conspiracy and two counts of extortion
On Wednesday, three of the four councilmembers were “voluntarily suspended” from their positions after repeatedly ignoring calls for resignation from Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz and council president Matt Cherry. The only who has yet to sign on to that idea is councilmember Gary Johnson.
So, with three councilmembers officially out of the loop, what happens next?
Well, those seats need to be filled, at least temporarily.
The Lucas County probate judge, Jack R. Puffenberger is now in charge of filling the suspended seats. People who are interested in temporarily filling the seats Have until July 31 to send a resume to his e-mail at judgepuff@lucas-co-probate-ct.org.
It’s important to note that these will not be replacements. People will only fill the seats until the council members resign, are found innocent or convicted, or there’s an election.
RELATED: 3 Toledo City Council members accused of conspiracy, extortion voluntarily suspend their positions
CABINET COOKIES
I call these "cabinet cookies" because I made up this recipe from items I found in my cabinet and they somehow turned out incredible.
If you love chocolate and hate taking a lot of time to make things, this is for you, my friend.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter (you're always supposed to use no salt in baking, but I love the extra sodium and hate buying two types of butter so I use regular, salted butter.)
- 1/2 cup coconut milk (or any kind of milk, really)
- 1 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 packet of Swiss Miss hot chocolate powder (if it has marshmallows, even better!)
- 1/2 cup of sunflower seed butter (or peanut butter, almond butter, any kind of nutty butter)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla (optional)
- 3 cups of rolled oats
- However many chocolate chips look good to you.
Assembly
Dump your butter, coconut milk, Swiss Miss and sugar and melt over medium high heat, stirring once the butter melts a bit. Once it starts to boil, let it go for about two minutes, then take it off the heat.
Add vanilla, sunflower seed (or whatever) butter, chocolate chips and oats and mix it all up until it is thoroughly combined.
Using a cookie scoop (or a spoon, you don't have to be fancy) plop the dough onto a lined sheet pan. Flatten them to your desired shape and thickness.
Let cool at room temperature or pop them in the fridge until they become more solid.
And boom! That is it. You have a delicious treat from the random items I found in my cupboard. This is great recipe to experiment with so add whatever sounds good to you.
Do you have a story idea you'd like me to dive into? Let me know! Send an e-mail to jstrock@wtol.com.
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