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Cities, groups aim to stop Ohio’s push to receive early census data

A coalition of cities, counties and civil rights groups sued the U.S. Census Bureau last year to stop it from ending the 2020 census early out of fear a premature finish would undercount minority communities. Now, that coalition is attempting to block the state of Ohio from trying to force the statistical agency, under a new administration, into releasing data used for drawing congressional and legislative districts earlier than planned. The coalition over the weekend asked a judge to let it oppose a lawsuit Ohio filed last month in federal court. Ohio became the first state to ...

Arrest warrant issued after woman rejects mask at Texas bank

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — An arrest warrant was issued for a woman who refused to wear a mask at a Texas bank, saying to a police officer: “What are you going to do, arrest me?” Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of Terry Wright, 65, of Grants Pass, Oregon. The incident on Thursday at a Bank of America in Galveston was captured by the officer’s body camera, The Galveston County Daily News reports. Police say they’ve obtained an arrest warrant on resisting arrest and criminal trespassing charges. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday ended statewide orders requiring ...

As COVID begins to wane, public events ramping up

MARTINS FERRY — At this time last year organizers of craft fairs, concerts and many other public events were forced to cancel their plans because of COVID-19 concerns and related mandates handed down by the state. Now a year later with virus cases becoming fewer and more people getting ...

Pandemic redefines ‘public’ access to government meetings

It wasn’t long ago when a “public meeting” of the city council or state legislature meant the general public could show up to watch and, quite often, speak about proposals and perceived problems. The coronavirus pandemic has put an end to that in many places, perhaps permanently ...

Governments delay access to public records during pandemic

As states prepared to reopen their economies following coronavirus shutdowns last spring, The Associated Press asked governors across the U.S. for records that could shed light on how businesses and health officials influenced their decisions. Nine months later, after several more COVID-19 ...

‘The State of Minority Health’

STEUBENVILLE — The theme for April’s observance of Minority Health Month in Jefferson County was intended to be “Healthy Together” as organizers remained hopeful that hosting normal in-person activities would be possible this year. But with COVID-19 precautionary measures remaining ...