Franklin County officials are proposing a 2021 budget that calls for no tax or fee increases while cutting some expenses and maintaining support for human service organizations.
County Administrator Kenneth Wilson will recommend a general fund budget of about $492 million in the spending plan he introduces to the county commissioners at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
Read MoreTo end practices, policies or legislation that harm Black and Latino residents, the Franklin County Commissioners are expected Tuesday to approve a resolution to add racial equity to the county's list of core principles.
The resolution legally codifies racial equity as a sixth core principle and identifies racism as a root cause of poverty, constricted economic mobility and health disparities.
Read MoreAcross Franklin County, dozens of nonprofit organizations work diligently to ensure the city's neighborhoods are supplemented with the resources they need.
Whether supplying meals through local food banks, forming out-of-school programs for students or establishing centers for those struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, these organizations serve as difference-makers in the capital city.
Read MoreFranklin County voters overwhelmingly approved a tax levy Tuesday to help fund soaring demand for mental-health services and addiction treatment.
The issue on the ballot was a renewal of the existing five-year, 2.2-mill levy for the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County, also known simply as ADAMH. It passed with 70.4% of the vote, according to official returns.
Read MoreMia Lewis said anxiety and confusion loom over this year's general election, but her organization and others are increasing efforts to assure voter protection in Franklin County and across Ohio through Election Day.
Lewis, associate director of Common Cause Ohio, helps lead a nonpartisan group that educates voters and ensures residents can cast their ballots safely. The statewide group is part of a national organization, which forms the Election Protection coalition.
Read MoreTo better meet the needs of local residents, Franklin County commissioners appointed Joy Bivens as a new deputy county administrator Monday to oversee and integrate county human services systems.
The board announced that Bivens, who currently serves as the director of the county Job and Family Services agency, will take on the administrative role for health and human services to better support traditionally underserved community members.
Read MoreTo thwart public misconceptions about drug and alcohol addiction and recovery, Franklin County Public Health launched the "Recover For Life" campaign Wednesday.
This anti-stigma initiative is part of the federal Centers for Disease Control's Overdose to Action grant awarded to the county health department in September 2019. The three-year CDC grant provides over $3 million annually to fight the opioid crisis and confront the disease of addiction.
Read MoreWith a shortage of coins in circulation because of the coronavirus shutdowns, local businesses have sought new ways to create a flow of pocket change to keep operations afloat.
For nearly a month, Whitehall Turkey Hill store manager Dustin Anderson said the store was short-handed on coins, prompting employees to hang signs on doors and cash registers notifying customers.
Read MoreA collaboration among several Franklin County agencies received a $900,000 award for a new safety model to combat domestic violence and protect victims.
The 2020 Improving Criminal Justice Responses to Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking grant from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office for Violence Against Women, will establish the Blueprint for Safety model through September 2023, Franklin County and Columbus officials announced Tuesday morning.
Read MoreThe Franklin County Board of Elections and local Republican Party are pushing for more GOP poll workers needed for the November election.
The Board of Elections, requiring 5,600 poll workers, has filled 4,833 positions, with 1,044 Republicans occupying those roles as of Thursday. There are 2,297 and1,492 Democratic and unaffiliated poll workers, respectively.
Read MoreFranklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce led another in a series of virtual town hall discussions Wednesday on issues affecting the local community, and guests Congresswoman Joyce Beatty and City Council President Shannon Hardin were asked to describe 2020 in one word.
Beatty, whose 3rd Congressional District encompasses a large sector of Columbus, described 2020 as "explosive."
Read MoreBefore greeting his co-workers and beginning a workday at Ohio State Cancer University's James Cancer Hospital, Abood Sohub is met with a thermometer "gun" just inches from his head, a procedure now commonplace in a world wrestling with the effects of COVID-19.
Across area hospitals, grocery stores, dental offices and local gyms, these devices, known as non-contact infrared thermometers, are used as an initial defense against potential COVID-19 carriers who have a fever. The thermometer gun measures a person’s surface temperature without making contact with their skin.
Read MoreAfter two years of contention, the Franklin County commissioners signed off Tuesday on a plan to support early voter outreach efforts for the general election.
The $420,000 allocation was approved by two of the three members of the Board of Commissioners, John O’Grady and Marilyn Brown. Commissioner Kevin Boyce voted against the resolution, expressing concerns over outreach to minority publications and senior residents.
Read MoreThe Franklin County Auditor’s Office has partnered with the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity to help eliminate inequalities in the housing appraisal process.
On Monday, Auditor Michael Stinziano and researchers from the Columbus-based Kirwan Institute held the Making of Metropolitan Inequality conference, the first of a two-part series aimed at discussing the policies that created redlined communities and suggestions on what’s next.
Read MoreFranklin County commissioners have approved a $5.4 million grant to help nonprofit organizations suffering from revenue losses and unanticipated expenses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Resiliency Grants, funded by federal CARES Act dollars, will serve as a lifeline for nonprofit groups throughout the county, said Jodi Andes, county board spokeswoman.
Read MoreCentral Ohio businesses, restaurants, bars and sports fans have suffered a long and difficult year in the midst of the pandemic. Fortunately, the return of Big Ten football this fall offers new opportunities and a more hopeful future.
Varsity Club general manager Tony Mollica, who describes his business as a football restaurant, said that the good news will have a big impact on restaurant owners, customer and sports fans alike.
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