News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area
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Loveland, Ohio – These Loveland High School seniors earned a Governor’s Merit Scholarship. Only the top 5% of Ohio high school students are eligible for this scholarship, worth up to $5,000 toward tuition at an Ohio college or university.
Loveland, Ohio – For the second year in a row, The Jack Quehl Foundation is raffling off a one-week stay at a stunning vacation home in Seagrove Beach along Florida’s scenic 30A. The beachfront property sleeps up to 18 guests and offers the perfect getaway for families or groups of friends.
Raffle tickets are $100 each and limited to just 250 entries. Proceeds directly support the Foundation’s mission to educate communities about the dangers of fentanyl and prevent future tragedies.
“We’re incredibly grateful to our supporters for making this fundraiser such a success last year,” said Stephanie Quehl from the Foundation. “It’s not just a chance to win a dream vacation, it’s an opportunity to help save lives.”
Tickets are selling fast. For more information or to purchase a ticket, visit https://donorbox.org/events/762041/steps/choose_tickets
Ballot petition signature collection. Photo by WEWS.
In a short meeting, the Ohio Ballot Board signed off on a proposed constitutional amendment abolishing property taxes in the state. The only question before the board was whether the proposal contains one or multiple amendments.
Supporters contend lawmakers have been unwilling or unable to make significant enough changes as property taxes climb. But critics warn eliminating that revenue stream could cripple important services like schools and first responders.
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The day after the ballot board meeting, Beth Blackmarr described her mood as ‘busy.’
“Busy, busy, busy,” she said, “I mean, here we go — we’ve got to hit the ground running.”
Blackmarr is part of the organization Citizens for Property Tax Reform which is leading the repeal campaign. With the ballot board’s decision, the group is now able to start gathering signatures to appear on the ballot.
To go before voters, they’ll need 10% of the electoral turnout from the last governor’s race (just shy of 415,000). Additionally, in 44 of Ohio’s counties, they’ll need signatures from at least 5% of the governor’s race turnout. In practice, campaigns turn in hundreds of thousands more signatures than necessary to make up for any rejections.
Blackmarr said they want to start collecting “as soon as humanly possible,” and work could begin as early as next week. Asked whether they’d work with paid circulators, she just laughed.
“Many of us are youthful at heart, but senior citizens that are just really working out of our pockets,” she said. “There’s no big money backing this at all. It’s all volunteer.”
Blackmarr argued Ohio’s current property tax system is broken. She points to other states like New Jersey and Texas that have far more generous initiatives to keep seniors, vets and the disabled in their homes.
“You can’t have senior citizens who have paid for their homes — fully paid for — having to move out because they can’t afford property tax,” she insisted.
Blackmarr contends those kinds of protections are low-hanging fruit. Lawmakers have had continual warnings and “ample opportunity” to act. Instead, she argued, they’ve dithered with changes at the margins.
“I suspect it’s because they built a wobbly tower of property tax law over these decades,” she said, “and they’re afraid to pull one of the blocks out, because they’re afraid the whole thing’s gonna come tumbling down.”
That ‘tumbling down’ is exactly the concern many critics voice about the plan. The most recent annual report from the Ohio Department of Taxation puts 2023 property tax collections at about $18.5 billion. That’s an enormous amount of funding to just disappear. It’s roughly double the amount reported for state income taxes, and a billion more than Ohio’s sales and use tax.
Spread evenly, it would cost every single Ohioan more than $1,500 to make up that gap in funding.
Blackmarr argued repeal will just force lawmakers “to come up with an alternative.” But that’s a big ask — particularly for Republicans allergic to tax increases.
Still she’s right about dramatic increases in property taxes. The same Department of Taxation report shows assessed values climbing almost 40% in five years while tax collections have risen more than 21%.
In a statement following the ballot board decision, House minority leader Allison Russo said the proposal “clearly demonstrates frustration by Ohioans on this issue” and blamed lawmakers for failing to act.
“However, this particular initiative concerns me because while it eliminates the property tax, it doesn’t explain how we’ll replace the funds that support police, fire departments, public education, and other critical services,” she said.
Russo argued Democrats have signed on to bipartisan legislation providing direct relief but Republican leaders haven’t prioritized those bills.
Blackmarr acknowledged that as their campaign gains steam, pressure will grow on lawmakers to pass legislation or propose their own ballot measure to undercut their efforts.
“At the end of the day it goes to the voters,” she said. “They have to make the decision for themselves.”
And if lawmakers’ intervention means voters have to choose between competing visions, that’s just fine with Blackmarr.
“Wouldn’t that be nice, you know?” she said.
Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.
Loveland, Ohio – DVD Brew is calling all kayakers to come in on May 20th for a special event.
Be part of sending Eric Bartl to the world championship in Germany this summer. Team USA members must raise much of their own money and most of the expenses for representing Team USA at the World Championships will come directly out of Eric’s own pocket.
Thanks to the generosity of Whitewater Warehouse, attendees will receive 20% off paddling accessories discount.
Morrow, Ohio – On Wednesday, May 28 at 7:30 EST on FOX 19, Little Miami alumnus and current Academic Team assistant coach Thomas Sweeney, will be appearing on an upcoming episode of Jeopardy.
Loveland, Ohio – “Project Adam” Heart Safe Schools have now been established at Loveland Early Childhood Center, Loveland Primary School, and Loveland Elementary School. This certification indicates that the campuses have the procedures, tools, and training necessary to guarantee a prompt reaction in the event of an unexpected cardiac attack.
The whole Loveland City School District now holds the classification, joining previously certified Loveland Intermediate School, Loveland Middle School, and Loveland High School.
According to the district, Loveland is just the second district in the region to get district-wide Project Adam certification. Loveland said it was made possible by the building leadership and nursing staff. They also said they are lucky to have a great relationship with the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
In July of 2024, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 47. The law required automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to be placed in every public and chartered nonpublic school in Ohio, as well as all municipally owned or operated sports and recreation locations.
It also required schools to adopt emergency action plans for the use of automated external defibrillator devices (AEDs) and practice these plans quarterly, among other provisions.
At the time Dewine signed the bill, Loveland High School Athletic Director Jayson Bruce told Loveland Magazine, “We have been extremely blessed to have been way ahead of this for many years here in Loveland. As a matter of fact, Loveland High, Middle and Intermediate schools are all certified as Heart Safe schools through Project ADAM. And as part of this certification, we had to create and execute plans to respond to heart emergencies. A huge part of these plans are the AED’s. Our High School and Middle/Intermediate school campuses are extremely well equipped with AED’s for not only the school day, but all of our athletic teams. The number one priority is and always will be safety. We are blessed to be able to provide access to AED’s to all of our sports teams.”
Bruce said that on the High School campus their trainers have an AED with them at all times. There is also an AED mounted on the outside of the team room at Loveland High School Stadium. At Loveland High School, they have AED’s mounted outside of the gyms and the workout facility. Bruce added, “We also have backpack units that go along with our teams that train or participate off campus, like cross country, etc.”
The Loveland Middle and Intermediate school campus is very similar to the High School. “We have AED’s mounted directly outside of each gym. The trainer, who is at football practices and games, always has an AED with them. Since we have teams that practice off campus as well, we send them with AED’s,” Bruce said.
Loveland City Manager Dave Kennedy told Loveland Magazine at the time that there is an AED at the Loveland Bike Trail next to the town clock at West Loveland Avenue and Railroad Avenue, Phillips Park, and McCoy Park. “We have cameras protecting the AED’s and if the alarms go off when accessed, the communication center will see them first hand.”
Photos by Loveland Schools
Project ADAM began in 1999 after the death of Adam Lemel, a 17-year-old Whitefish Bay, WI, high school student who collapsed and died while playing basketball. Adam suffered a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), in which ventricular fibrillation occurred, a condition in which the ventricles cannot pump blood into the body. Defibrillation, or an AED, could have saved his life. Adam’s parents, Patty Lemel and Joe Lemel, collaborated with Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin to create this program in Adam’s memory.
In this video, learn a father’s perspective on the journey and importance of Project ADAM and the program mission to save lives.
Project ADAM began in 1999 after the death of Adam Lemel, a 17-year-old Whitefish Bay, WI, high school student who collapsed and died while playing basketball after he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Project ADAM (Automated Defibrillators in Adam’s Memory) aims to prevent sudden cardiac death through helping schools and communities implement life-saving programs to maintain a practiced CPR/AED program and people confident to take action.
State Sen. Louis Blessing, III, R-Colerain Township (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original article.)
Ohio senators heard from supporters Wednesday of a proposal establishing guardrails around media produced with artificial intelligence. The proposal would prohibit the use of AI to create deepfake porn — particularly involving minors. But with provisions requiring watermarks and punishing identity fraud, the bill’s impact could extend far beyond the creation of pornography.
The bill’s sponsors, state Sens. Louis Blessing, R-Colerain Twp., and Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, argue the restrictions will “prevent potentially harmful uses” of an emerging technology while protecting Ohioans “safety and privacy.”
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The bill goes after AI-generated child porn by expanding the definition of obscenity to include an “artificially generated depiction.” Blessing explained “current laws against child sexual abuse material require an actual real photo of a child to be able to prosecute someone.”
“With AI not being a real photo,” he added, “this leads to issues of prosecuting someone generating these photos. Senate bill 163 will give attorneys the ability to prosecute these people.”
The sponsors argue AI can also be used to engage in fraud for financial, political and reputational purposes. So, the proposal extends identity fraud statutes to include a “replica” of an individual’s voice or likeness. It prohibits the use of a replica persona to defraud, damage a person’s reputation, or depict a person in a state of nudity or engaged in a sexual act.
Beyond its prohibitions, the bill aims to get ahead of deceptive uses by requiring any media created with artificial intelligence to include a watermark identifying it as such. Removal of a watermark is subject to a civil lawsuit for damages, and anyone who removes a watermark faces the presumption that they caused the alleged harm.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost praised the measure’s “three-pronged approach.” He argued the watermark requirement “would provide a minimum level of transparency and notice” when an individual encounters AI-generated content.
Speaking about the bill’s identity fraud provisions, Yost brought up a case from his time as state auditor. A scammer successfully mimicked a school district’s email system and then sent a fake funds transfer request to the accounts payable department posing as the district’s financial controller. Best practice, Yost said, would be to call the sender for confirmation.
“But now, in the era of deepfakes with audio,” Yost explained, “you can send that fake email, call up (accounts payable) using the controller’s voice and say, ‘Hey, I just sent you an email asking you to do a wire transfer. This is really important. We need to move it. I wanted to follow up with phone calls so you didn’t have any questions.’”
As for the restrictions on child sexual abuse material, Yost urged lawmakers ensure “these powerful tools are not used for evil,” and added that “these are the kinds of things that keep me up at night.”
Sen. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, pressed Yost on how useful state legislation can be when it comes to addressing a “borderless” crime.
Yost acknowledged he’d prefer to see federals laws and even international treaties governing the use of AI-generated images. But “possession or use within Ohio can still be proscribed by this body and it ought to be.” He added that one way to push Congress to act is for states to pass an array of legislation.
Lou Tobin, speaking on behalf of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, noted many states have passed bills to prohibit AI-generated child sexual abuse material or CSAM.
“As of last month,” he said, “Thirty-eight states, including every state surrounding Ohio, have enacted laws that criminalize the creation, possession and distribution of artificially generated CSAM.”
But while many states have taken action, it’s not clear those laws will hold up in court.
“I think a federal district court has found one of these statutes to be in violation of the Ashcroft decision,” Tobin told lawmakers. “The Ashcroft decision was a U.S. Supreme Court decision from the early 2000s that said you could not criminalize artificially generated images of child pornography because there wasn’t a real victim.”
In February, a federal judge in Wisconsin threw out one charge related to possession of “virtual child pornography,” but allowed three others to go forward. Prosecutors in that case have appealed the decision to dismiss the charge.
Tobin explained his office and the AG’s worked with state lawmakers to narrowly tailor S.B. 163 bill to avoid problems with the First Amendment. Regardless of how the case in Wisconsin or others play out, Tobin agued, “We think that’s a fight worth having.”
Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.
Loveland, Ohio – The City of Loveland’s Veterans Committee will hold the 2025 Memorial Day Program on Monday, May 26. The guest speaker will be Judge Gary A. Loxley, a member of the 2021 class of the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.
Judge Gary A. Loxley has served as a judge of the Warren County Court since 2013. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Loxley worked for four years in private practice and nearly 15 years as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office. Judge Loxley first joined the military as an 18-year-old combat engineer in the Ohio Army National Guard. After he was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1987, he received a direct commission as an officer in the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. After 36 years of service, he retired from the Army Reserve at the rank of Colonel. His experience includes two tours of duty as a Commander, two tours of duty as a Staff Judge Advocate, and service as a Military Judge in the Army’s 1st and 2nd Judicial Circuits. While he was an assistant prosecutor, he was mobilized onto active duty three times in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
The event will start with a parade at 9 AM from the Loveland Elementary School at 600 Loveland Madeira Road. If you or your organization would like to be in the parade, register online.
Parade Route:
Roads will be closed approx. 8:45 AM until 10:15 AM. for the parade.
– Leaves from the Loveland Elementary School
– Travels Loveland-Madeira Road (toward Quilter’s Studio)
– Turns right on West Loveland Avenue (toward Historic Downtown)
– Turns left on Riverside Drive to Veterans Memorial
Parking:
– No parking at Tufts Schildermeyer and Schutte’s Cleaners
– Veterans Memorial parking lot will be handicap parking only
– No parking along Riverside Avenue
– View city’s parking map to see public lots in the area.
Immediately following the parade, a ceremony will be held at the Loveland Veterans’ Memorial, located at the intersection of West Loveland Avenue and Riverside Drive.
The community is invited to cemetery visits:
– Maineville Cemetery: 11:15 AM
– Union Cemetery: Noon
– Kerr Cemetery: 12:30 PM
The community is invited to a picnic at the American Legion Post 256, 897 Oakland Road.
Ohio is among five states whose economies will be most harmed if huge proposed Medicaid cuts become reality, the Commonwealth Fund said in an explainer this week.
Medicaid, the federal-state health insurer for low-income Americans, covers nearly 3 million Ohioans. That’s about a quarter of the state’s population.
Particularly in states such as Ohio, Medicaid covers large numbers of working people. That’s because in 2014 the state opted to expand eligibility to people making 138% or less of federal poverty guidelines. For a family of four, that’s $43,000 a year.
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About 770,000 Ohioans are covered by expanded Medicaid — a group for which rates of uninsurance have dropped by 62% since 2012, according to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio.
A draft budget making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives would cut federal spending — the primary source of Medicaid money — by $880 billion over 10 years. KFF reported that such a move would require a 29% increase in state spending to maintain the same level of coverage.
The federal government currently covers 90% of the cost of Ohio’s expended Medicaid. In his draft of the state budget, Gov. Mike DeWine included a provision saying that if the feds cut that, the state would end coverage of the 770,000 Ohioans in the expansion group.
In the report it released this week, the Commonwealth Fund said such cuts would harm state economies, with Ohio’s high among them. It said “the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) would decrease by $95 billion and tax revenue would decrease by $7 billion. The states likely to face the most significant economic losses include California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.”
One reason for the losses, the explainer said, is that each dollar in Medicaid spending creates a greater value to the overall economy.
“Medicaid investment is shown to have a “multiplier effect,” meaning that every dollar spent generates over a dollar’s worth of economic activity,” it said. “Medicaid drives employment in the health care sector; generates state and local tax revenue; and saves money for enrollees, allowing them to spend more on items other than health care.”
Medicaid spending also bolsters the economy by making more people healthy enough to work. Research in Ohio and across the country has shown that workforce participation is greater in states that expanded Medicaid, the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy reported in 2023.
The economic benefits of Medicaid spending are manifold, the Commonwealth Fund report said.
“Medicaid coverage helps lift enrollees out of poverty — more effectively, in fact, than federal tax credits,” it said. “In states that have expanded Medicaid, enrollees have benefited from reductions in income inequality, evictions, and bankruptcies, as well as improvements in credit scores. One study found that less than two years after Michigan expanded Medicaid, the average amount of medical bills in collections for enrollees had dropped by over $500, enrollees were 11% less likely to be evicted, and they were 13% less likely to overdraw their credit cards than before expansion.”
Miami Township, Ohio – At ScoopAble Ice Cream, they believe that employing individuals with disAbilities has an incredibly positive impact on our business and the community at large. By offering meaningful job opportunities, individuals not only gain access to a diverse range of skills and perspectives, but also play a role in building a more inclusive community.
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The MissionProvide valuable employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities while creating an enjoyable experience for all the senses.
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