Teen drivers may soon have to prove that not only can they parallel park and obey road signs, but that they have basic first aid skills. A bill proposed by Rep. Cheryl Grossman, a Republican of Grove City, would require 16- and 17-year-olds to get certification in CPR and first aid to get their drivers' licenses. Grossman says her research has shown many teens don't know first-aid basics, and she's rather kids learn through a voluntary effort rather than a mandatory class.

"We're trying to be very considerate of unfunded mandates on schools. And by tying this into the requirement of receiving your training, your certification, prior to applying for your license it puts that responsibility on the driver and not on the schools, " says Grossman.

This week, the earth is wavering,
balancing at its midyear pause,
Vacillating between the high, excited birdsong

"Don't move. Stay still..." writes American poet, Gary Snyder. "Take a look at one place on earth, one circle of people, one realm of beings over time."

Infinite numbers, delicacies, smells,
With hues on hues expression cannot paint,
The breath of Nature and her endless bloom…
wrote the 18th century poet, James Thomson, describing the summer.

The more I try to landscape my yard, the more I find that the plants are following their own minds and their own way, some taking over, others being choked out. No garden space, even in a perennial garden, stays the same for long. Well, maybe it does for a year or two, but then it shifts gradually over three or four years so that I don't see it move, and then I come upon it and suddenly realize that it is nothing like I remember it.

State parks and other lands in Ohio will be opened to oil and gas drilling under a bill that has passed the state Senate on Wednesday.

The Senate voted 22-10 on the legislation that sets up a commission to oversee oil and gas leasing. It also requires state agencies to create property inventories that could yield potential drilling sites.

The House has passed the bill, but would have to agree to the Senate's changes before it could go to the governor's desk.

The bill's supporters say Ohio could get fees and royalties of up to 9 million. Some proceeds would go to habitat protection and wildlife preservation.