Jim Provance
The Toledo Blade
Dublin, OH, United States
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Past articles by Jim:
Post election: Ohio moves further in the red
COLUMBUS — Ohio, the perennial swing state, moved more into the red state column Wednesday as Democrats again surrendered every statewide executive office to Republicans and handed them the pen to draw districts that will guide elections for the next decade. RELATED: 5 takeaways from 2018 midterm election While claiming wins in retaining U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and picking up two Ohio Supreme… → Read More
Parole Board again says Noe should stay behind bars
COLUMBUS—The Ohio Parole Board has recommended for a third time that Tom Noe should remain behind bars for stealing more some $13 million more than a decade ago from the state’s insurance fund for injured workers. Noe has served about 10 years of his 18-year state sentence related to his convictions for skimming money from a total of $50 million in investments he managed in rare coins for the… → Read More
State panel again puts off vote on Lake Erie watersheds
REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — A state panel on Thursday again opted to put off a decision on Gov. John Kasch's request that most of the Maumee River Basin be declared distressed in an attempt to address chronic toxic algae blooms on Lake Erie. The Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Commission voted 4-3 to shelve the matter until its next meeting on Feb. 15. Such a declaration would have triggered tighter… → Read More
Ego, power, grandiosity: Noe gets his day before parole board
COLUMBUS — “Ego,” “power”, and “grandiosity,” Tom Noe “had all that,” the former Toledo area coin dealer's ex-wife on Thursday told the Ohio Parole Board that could hold his fate in its hands. “He thought he could handle those coin funds,” Bernadette Restivo said. “He had no intention to steal from Ohio or even mismanage for the state of Ohio. He was too big for his britches, and got caught up… → Read More
Overdose data shows slight dip in Lucas County, 20 percent increase statewide
In a bleak tally of last year’s fatal drug overdoses for Ohio — showing a 20 percent increase in deaths over 2016 — there is small, local bright spot: a slight decrease of deaths in Lucas County. Potent and deadly synthetic opioids like fentanyl again contributed to a majority of fatalities locally and statewide, while heroin and prescription opioid deaths declined, according to a report… → Read More
Opioid deaths take center stage in governor race
COLUMBUS — With the state Department of Health expected to issue a report this week indicating overdose fatalities jumped nearly 20 percent last year, the battle against opioid addiction was again center stage Monday in the feud over who will be Ohio’s next governor. Democrat Richard Cordray used the numbers to argue that Republican Mike DeWine, attorney general for the last seven-plus years,… → Read More
Toledo lab licensed for medical marijuana testing
COLUMBUS — A laboratory to be located in a vacant East Toledo structure on Friday became the third privately run facility in Ohio to receive a provisional license to test the safety and potency of marijuana for medical use. ACT Laboratories, Inc. — based in Lansing, Mich., and operating in that state, Illinois, and Pennsylvania — plans to site its Ohio lab at 1706 Woodville Road, a two-story… → Read More
Shots by DeWine, Cordray make first debate far from dull
COLUMBUS — Gubernatorial candidates Mike DeWine and Richard Cordray defied expectations of a dull debate and largely succeeded in their goals of appealing to their political bases, observers said Wednesday. “I had expectations that it would be flat, wonky-ish, kind of boring. It certainly wasn’t that,” said Dan Birdsong, a University of Dayton political science lecturer who watched the debate… → Read More
DeWine, Cordray take the gloves off in first gubernatorial debate
DAYTON — Two major party candidates for Ohio governor not known for their fiery rhetoric on Wednesday aggressively went after each other in their first debate. Gubernatorial candidate Republican Mike DeWine speaks during a debate with his opponent Democrat Richard Cordray at the University of Dayton. ASSOCIATED PRESS Enlarge Democrat Richard Cordray compared Republican Mike DeWine to the… → Read More
Toledo pot cultivator in danger of losing license
COLUMBUS — A would-be growing operation proposed for Toledo is in danger of becoming the first cultivator to lose its provisional license under Ohio’s fledgling medical marijuana program. The Department of Commerce has denied OhiGrow LLC’s request for an extension from a state mandate that would require the planned growing facility at 367 E. State Line Rd., Toledo, to be built out within nine… → Read More
Tokes family's lawsuit against state dismissed
COLUMBUS — A lawsuit accusing the state of Ohio of playing a role in the death of Ohio State University student Reagan Tokes has been thrown out by a judge. In a decision issued last week, the Ohio Court of Claims determined the state is immune from liability in the case, even if all arguments in the lawsuit filed by Tokes’ family were accepted as true. Judge Patrick M. McGrath also found the… → Read More
Medical marijuana roll-out "sloppy," state auditor says
COLUMBUS — An audit on Thursday suggested the state overstepped its legal authority under Ohio’s medical marijuana law when it awarded two additional cultivator licenses to compensate for errors that wrongly denied licenses to qualified applicants. Auditor Dave Yost characterized the Department of Commerce’s roll-out of its share of the fledgling program as “sloppy” with dozens of errors and… → Read More
State likely to blow by medical marijuana start date ... with no marijuana
COLUMBUS — Saturday marks the legal start of Ohio’s nascent medical marijuana program. But there isn’t a single cannabis leaf legally available in the state to be tested; processed into the oils, tincture, patches, edibles, and other products that can be legally consumed under Ohio’s law; or sold on retail dispensary shelves. There are no legal seeds made available under what is supposed to be… → Read More
Ohio Democratic Party in labor dispute with campaign workers
OBJECTCOLUMBUS — The party of organized labor in this state has run into a little labor friction of its own as the Ohio Democratic Party negotiates its first contract with a fledgling union representing about 80 on-the-ground campaign workers. The Washington-based Campaign Workers Guild sent a letter to county party chairmen to express frustration that state party Chairman David Pepper and… → Read More
Justice DeGenaro doesn't toe the party line
COLUMBUS — When Ohio Supreme Court Justice Mary DeGenaro feels the need to clear her mind, she heads to her backyard to talk to “the girls.” The Republican in recent years has taken up beekeeping and finds it relaxing to watch the bees tackle their roles as part of the hive “The worker bees are all female ... and the queen runs the show,” the justice said. “All these colloquialisms about ‘busy… → Read More
Appeals court: Findlay Industries' successors can be sued for pensions
COLUMBUS — The successors to the now-closed Findlay Industries, Inc. can be sued to cover the company’s pension obligations to its former workers, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. In reversing a lower court ruling, a three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based U.S. 6th Circuit Court Appeals found that companies created by one of the sons of Findlay’s founder, Philip D. Gardner — essentially… → Read More
Ballot language set on drug crime question
COLUMBUS — A state panel Wednesday fashioned language that voters will see on the November ballot asking them to limit how Ohio prosecutes nonviolent drug charges. Proponents and opponents of the would-be constitutional amendment disagreed on how it would play out in practice and sought to influence the Ohio Ballot Board. The bipartisan panel, chaired by Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted,… → Read More
Panel appointed to study health of Lake Erie
COLUMBUS — After a state panel at least temporarily shelved Gov. John Kasich’s move to have nearly half of Lake Erie’s western basin watershed declared distressed, legislative leaders have appointed a panel to study the pollution problem. Half of the task force’s 14 members hail from northwest Ohio. “A healthy Lake Erie is directly tied to the success and health of our state,” said state Sen.… → Read More
Capital Care Network abortion clinic argues state fine is unwarranted
COLUMBUS — Toledo’s last abortion clinic on Friday argued that the state’s attempt to fine it $40,000 for alleged violations pertaining to the transfer of a patient to a local hospital last year is unreasonable and could lead to its closing. Friday marked the deadline for both sides to submit final arguments to Karl Schedler, a hearing examiner for the Ohio Department of Health. He will make a… → Read More
Audit: Cases of Medicaid overcharges for prescription drugs were worse in NW Ohio
COLUMBUS — Two days after Ohio announced plans to overhaul how the state pays for Medicaid prescription drugs, an audit revealed that the problem of pharmacy benefit managers being overpaid by taxpayers for prescriptions was worse in northwest Ohio. The Department of Medicaid uses five managed-care plans to control health-care costs within the system. Those managed-care companies, in turn,… → Read More