Saturday Stats
Posted October 08, 2022 in eNews
$500 million: House Bill 377 created the Appalachian Community Grant Program that will send $500 million in federal resources Ohio’s Appalachian region. Amanda Woodrum writes that the law tasks the Ohio Department of Development with using those federal resources to support development of “sustainable, transformational” infrastructure projects across Ohio’s 32 Appalachian counties. It’s one of the high points in DeWine’s plans for using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. Check out Amanda’s blog for more.
12,000: On any given day, more than 12,000 Ohioans are incarcerated before their trials, the majority not because they pose a threat to anyone but because they can't afford to pay their way out of jail. Last year, Piet van Lier and Tanisha Pruitt, Ph.D. wrote a paper explaining how the cash bail system harms Ohioans’ health. That’s why we’ve come out against Issue 1, which will double down on the unjust and ineffective cash bail system. Read Piet’s statement here and check out Caitlin Johnson’s TikTok.
$650 million: Last week, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a tax credit that could be worth up to $650 million for Intel Corporation’s semiconductor plants in New Albany. (Though in a misstep, it approved the wrong amount, so the authority will be making a correction.) Zach Schiller said when policymakers give a wealthy corporation like Intel hundreds of millions of the public’s dollars, they should make sure the public knows what the deal will actually cost and how it will increase prosperity and expand opportunity for everyone. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority went in another direction.
11 years: Ron Browder co-founded the Ohio Federation for Health Equity and Social Justice with the late Cheryl Boyce 11 years ago. Since then, the organization has been a key partner in our work to secure fair treatment and support for Ohio kinship families. The Federation works with partners to make sure that the people most harmed by unjust policies are part of the solution. As part of our “Doing the Work” series, Will Petrik spotlighted the Federation. Read his blog to learn more, and please consider donating to support the Federation’s work.
$1 billion: Earlier this year Guillermo Bervejillo, Ph.D. explained how the LLC loophole takes about $1 billion per year from Ohio communities. He also penned an op-ed about the ineffective and expensive tax break for the wealthy in the Columbus Dispatch. You can check out his TikTok, too.
Coming up:
The deadline to register to vote is Tuesday, October 11! Make sure you’re registered here! If you’re not, this article has a lot of great info on how to register.
We’re part of a group that is studying how narrative can help us advance better public policies and push back against the toxic ideas behind many of the policies we oppose. We call ourselves the Narrative Avengers! On October 13 at 1p.m., we will host the first installment of our series, “Avengers Assemble: Go Vote!” Hosted by James Hayes, Co-Director of Ohio Voice, we’ll be joined by Amanda Kiger, Executive Director of River Valley Organizing, Isbel Mari Alvarado of the Central Ohio Worker Center and our own Michael Shields. They will each talk about why voting is so important to the issues they’re working on. It will stream on our Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram. Please join us!
The Ohio Board of Education is considering two important resolutions having to do with the health and well-being of Ohio’s children. One is the Resolution to Recommend to the General Assembly the use of American Rescue Plan Act (federal covid-relief) funds to provide 100% free breakfast and lunch to all Ohio students. Will Petrik provided testimony in support. You can join him and submit testimony by Monday at 5 p.m. Email it to Alex.Goodman@Education.Ohio.gov and SBOE@Education.Ohio.gov.
We oppose the other resolution, which targets kids based on their gender identify and threatens vital federal funding for school meal programs. Honesty for Ohio Education has instructions for how to submit opposition testimony, which must be done by Monday at 5 p.m.
Join Honesty for Ohio Education for their virtual “Beloved Community Teach-In” on October 18, 4 to 6 p.m. They’ll be joined by award-winning writer and educator Ashley Hope Pérez, author of Out of Darkness. Register here to join them on Zoom.