Free Republic

Afish long believed to be extinct in Ohio for 82 years has been rediscovered in the state, government wildlife officials proudly declared. The small longhead darter was thought to have been last captured in the Buckeye State in 1939. For decades the species was considered extirpated in Ohio, meaning the fish was extinct locally but could be found in other locations. In a Facebook post shared on January 6, the ODW said: "Who dis [this]? Believe it or not it's a longhead darter. "Why are we so excited? This striking creature, native to Ohio, was thought to be extirpated from...

The Ohio Supreme Court struck down the state's congressional district map, saying Republicans violated the Ohio Constitution by drawing districts that favored GOP candidates. Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor was, once again, a key vote in the 4-3 decision to reject the map, which would have given Republicans a 12-3 advantage in a state that leans Republican.

Authorities have released body camera footage from a deadly shooting involving a Canton police officer that took place early Saturday morning. The footage begins with an officer outside of a home in the 2300 block of 10th Street Southwest shortly after midnight. He can be heard relaying information about his location when rapid gunshots ring out from a fenced-in area nearby. “The officer, who was outside of his vehicle, confronted a subject that began shooting a firearm,” Canton police said in a press release that was issued Saturday. “The officer, in fear for his safety, fired his duty weapon at...

The Obama administration targeted sole proprietors and small businesses in the real estate industry after the crash of 2008, while letting the big banks off the hook with bailouts. One of most horrific cases involved Republican real estate broker Tony Viola, who served nine and a half years in prison as a juicy target of Ohio Democratic prosecutor Dan Kasaris. He was convicted of supposedly tricking banks into offering mortgages with no money down. But in reality, the banks were knowingly offering those loans — evidence the prosecution withheld from him. Viola only got out of prison due to an...

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) formally replied on Sunday to the January 6 select committee’s request to meet with him as part of its investigation, denouncing the request as “outside the bounds of any legitimate inquiry.” Jordan gave his reply in a letter obtained by Breitbart News and addressed to committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) after weeks of reviewing the committee’s request, which was made December 22. “This request is far outside the bounds of any legitimate inquiry, violates core Constitutional principles, and would serve to further erode legislative norms,” Jordan wrote. Read a copy of the letter below: The...

I am ANGRY!!!! I just got up to the local news and hearing about a young police officer (off duty) car jacked and shot twice in the back. He's DOA at the hospital in Lorain Oh. The shooter is in custody and there's NO news either about HIM or the dead officer!!! Every local chanel has blacked it out and instead are telling me when to take down Christmas ornamets and wall to wall eulogy for Betty White.... The media makes me SICK!

Video of Dr. Terry Johnson on the floor of the Ohio Senate speaking about Second Amendment rights. Dr. Terry Johnson, Ohio State Senator representing District 14, has long been a proponent of restoring Second Amendment rights in Ohio. He served over 20 years in the Ohio National Guard, attaining the rank of Colonel. Dr. Johnson first served in the Ohio House, and now serves in the Senate.I was able to speak with Dr. Johnson about the effort to pass Constitutional Carry in Ohio.Dr. Johnson has had several achievements in Ohio politics. He says he is more concerned with obtaining results...

Conley stated, “The general concept is to eliminate some, or all, of the district’s property taxes used for operations of the district, and at the same time institute a new SDIT that would replace the revenue currently generated by the property taxes.” Conley’s presentation to the school board comes after board members and Superintendent Renee Willis earlier this month objected to City Council approving tax abatement for the Belle Oaks Marketplace project at the Richmond Town Square mall property. Included in the $260-million mixed-use Belle Oaks project will be residential and retail uses. Only the northern portion of the mall...

For Ukraine oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, the Westin hotel in Cleveland that he owns with partners became the center of the most powerful Republican gathering in the nation during the 2016 convention. Then-candidate Donald Trump set up his headquarters in the downtown luxury hotel. His family members and top advisers stayed in the penthouse presidential suite. In the lobby that showcases modern, eclectic art, the future president met with a crush of reporters the morning after he delivered his acceptance speech at the convention, gushing over the local hospitality. “The lobby of the Westin Hotel is a palace for insiders,” wrote...

Representative Madeleine Dean (D-PA) said Thursday on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut” that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) was “not a serious American” who is “running very, very scared” from the congressional probe of the January 6 Capitol riot. Dean said, “He is not a serious legislator. He is a serious performer, but he’s not a serious legislator, and he’s not a serious American. He doesn’t care about democracy. He doesn’t care what happened on January 6 and the lies that led up to it that he participated in. And he’s running quite scared. That is what we are actually seeing with Jim...

Carlos Maldonado was delivering a specimen his physician wanted him to take to Cleveland Clinic’s Lutheran Hospital location on West 25th Street for testing on Saturday, December 18, 2021. When he arrived at 10:30 a.m. Maldonado learned the laboratory had closed two hours earlier due to a worker shortage. The Lutheran Hospital employee who turned Maldonado away explained that only one person showed up for work though four were scheduled. The single employee who did arrive for work was sent back home. The normal Saturday workload was too much for one worker to handle....

In a 29-page order, U.S. district judge Gregory Van Tatenhove actually got it right on vaccine mandates — but not for reasons cited by either side of this contentious issue. The George W. Bush nominee wrote, "This is not a case about whether vaccines are effective. They are. Nor is this a case about whether the government, at some level and in some circumstances, can require citizens to obtain vaccines. It can." Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove further made his case, writing, "The question presented here is narrow. Can the president use congressionally delegated authority to manage the federal procurement of...

An Ohio man was arrested this week after taking things a bridge too far. David Bramley, 63, was charged with felony theft for allegedly stealing a 58-foot bridge last month from a park in Akron, Ohio. The bridge was sitting in a field on the outskirts of Middlebury Run Park when the community noticed that its deck boards were removed on Nov. 3. About a week later, someone had taken the entire structure. Bramley, who used to work in the Akron area, allegedly hired a crane service company to place the bridge on and off a vehicle, then drove it...

House Democrats passed a massive legislative budget this week that allows for members of Congress to hire illegal immigrants to work for them on Capitol Hill. The legislative funding bill "includes language to permit DACA recipients, Dreamers, to be able to work for Congress and other legislative branch agencies," Democratic Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan noted on the House floor Wednesday. In the U.S., there are an estimated 800,000 "Dreamers" – children brought to the U.S. illegally who were protected from deportation under an Obama-era program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). A federal judge earlier this month ruled that DACA...

There are now 23 Democrats who won't seek reelection in the 2022 midterms as Representative Albio Sires from New Jersey plans to retire and party leadership desperately grips their slim majority in the House.... ...With a series of upcoming retirements, Democrats' majority in the House looks increasingly vulnerable, and Pelosi can only afford to lose three seats in order to keep her party in power.... [list of the 23 at link]

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) has announced he will not cooperate with the “illegitimate” House January 6 committee after he was asked to answer questions about the “Stop the Steal” rally that took place at the Capitol. Perry is the first member of Congress to be pursued by the Jan. 6 committee, but the committee has sent out dozens of subpoenas to President Donald Trump’s former White House staff. Over the course of its months-long investigation, the committee has yet to turn up any significant evidence to back up allegations that the Jan. 6 rally was the result of a premeditated...

Ohio HB227 passed the Ohio House, 60 to 32, on November 23, 2021. Now, less than a month later, on December 15, the Senate passed a very similar bill. SB 215. From cleveland.com: COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Senate could vote as soon as Wednesday on legislation to allow people to carry a concealed handgun without a permit and no longer require them to notify law enforcement during proactively traffic stops that they’re armed.Senate Bill 215 cleared a Senate committee on Tuesday after hours of testimony, mostly in opposition to the measure. The Republican-sponsored bill comes after the Ohio House...

The traitor ten Anthony Gonzales (Ohio) - FIRED Jamie Herrera (Washington) - 8/2 (challenged by Joe Kent) John Katko (New York) - 6/28 (challenged by Tim Ko) Adam Kinzinger (Illinois) - FIRED Peter Meijer (Michigan) - 8/2 (challenged by John Gibbs) Dan Newhouse (Washington) - 8/2 (challenged by Loren Culp) Tom Rice (South Carolina) - 6/14 (challenged by Russell Fry) Fred Upton (Michigan) - 8/2 (challenged by Steve Carra) David Valadao (California) - 6/7 (challenged by Chris Mathys) Liz Cheney (Wyoming) - 8/16 (challenged by Harriet Hageman) A list of the traitor 10 house members that voted to be Pelosi...

The Ohio Department of Education said Bishop Sycamore High School is "a scam" and was a way for students to play football in hopes of increasing their chances of playing at the college level. The department detailed its findings in a 41-page report released Friday. It began investigating the school in August at the request of Gov. Mike DeWine after concerns were raised over a blowout football game between Bishop Sycamore's team and Florida powerhouse IMG Academy. IMG Academy beat the school 58-0.... ...At one point, Bishop Sycamore said it was located at 3599 Chiller Lane, which is the location...

A federal appeals court has reinstated the Biden administration’s vaccine and testing requirement for private businesses that covers about 80 million American workers. The ruling by the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati lifted a November injunction that had blocked the rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which applies to businesses with at least 100 workers. In the decision Friday, the 6th Circuit noted that OSHA has historical precedent for using wide discretion to ensure worker safety and “demonstrated the pervasive danger that COVID-19 poses to workers—unvaccinated workers in particular—in their workplaces.”