Ohio News Notebook

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Renacci ad calls GOP rivals ‘fat cats’

COLUMBUS — A Republican congressman running for Ohio governor is using his first TV ads to position himself as a political outsider against three “Columbus fat cats.”

U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, of Wadsworth, launched the ads on statewide digital and television platforms Thursday.

Borrowing from President Donald Trump’s successful 2016 campaign, the spots present the “combined 70 years” in elective office of Renacci’s Republican primary opponents as a negative.

It’s a key message in Renacci’s campaign against three better known competitors: Attorney General Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor and Secretary of State Jon Husted.

The ads suggest each would continue the approach of Republican Gov. John Kasich, a Trump critic, if elected.

Renacci spent 30 years in business before being elected to Congress, where he’s served since 2011.

Township to reinstall Confederate monument

FRANKLIN — Officials in a Warren County township say a marker honoring Confederate General Robert E. Lee will be reinstalled and re-dedicated.

Some Franklin Township residents became angry when they learned the 90-year-old marker had been removed in August after deadly violence during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, over a statue honoring Lee.

The marker was removed by a city crew in neighboring Franklin, which controlled the location near an intersection. The city subsequently returned the marker to Franklin Township, located about 40 miles north of Cincinnati.

Township Trustee Brian Morris said at a meeting Wednesday that it hasn’t been decided where the small stone marker would be placed.

The city of Franklin paid $2,000 to repair the marker’s plaque after it was damaged during removal.

Coroner: Toddler killed by family dog

MOUNT VERNON — A coroner has determined that a 1-month-old boy who died at his home was killed by a family dog.

Authorities say the baby was found dead Sept. 20 in his bassinet at the Knox County home about 60 miles northeast of Columbus. County Coroner Dr. Jennifer Ogle said Wednesday that the baby suffered extensive injuries, including puncture wounds to his head.

Ogle’s news release said the autopsy revealed no trauma from any source other than a dog. The release said the infant was healthy and well cared for prior to his death.

The family’s two dogs, described as “pit bull, or a pit bull mix,” have been euthanized.

Knox County’s prosecutor has said the baby’s 25-year-old father apparently woke up to find the infant dead.

Energy chief to visit Piketon site cleanup

PIKETON — U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry plans to visit the southern Ohio site of a former Cold War-era uranium plant on Friday.

Perry originally was scheduled to visit the cleanup site of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon in July. He postponed that to attend a Cabinet meeting in Washington.

The Department of Energy says Perry will tour the site with Republican Sen. Rob Portman.

Portman and Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown had urged Perry to get a firsthand look at the cleanup work and its role in the region’s economy. It produces some of the best paid jobs in an area of high unemployment.

Commissioners from four counties have asked Perry for continued funding for the cleanup. However, a plan to store contaminated waste on-site has drawn local opposition.

Cleveland cops to file crime reports from field

CLEVELAND — Cleveland police say they hope to have all officers trained by the end of the year to file reports from their in-car computers in an effort to increase the time spent patrolling streets and decrease time filling out paperwork at the station.

Cleveland.com reports the field-based reporting system is a mandated part of a 2015 settlement that the city reached with the Justice Department to reform the police force.

In a video posted to Facebook on Wednesday, police officials say about 120 of the city’s 1,400 officers are currently trained to use the system.

Officials say the system will also improve crime tracking.

Trial for teen moved to 2018

LEBANON — The trial for an 18-year-old charged in the death of her newborn found buried at her Ohio home has been moved to 2018.

Brooke Skylar Richardson has pleaded not guilty to charges including aggravated murder in the May death of the infant. The remains were found July 14 in Carlisle, about 40 miles north of Cincinnati.

Richardson’s trial was scheduled for this November. A Warren County judge on Wednesday granted the defense’s motion to push the trial to next year. The judge didn’t set a specific date.

Warren County’s prosecutor has said Richardson “purposely caused” the death, then burned and buried the baby. Richardson’s attorney has said she “didn’t kill her baby.”

Prosecutors said Wednesday that they didn’t object to moving the trial to next year.

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Associated Press

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