Statewide News

Thousands of jobless Ohioans are in danger of running out of their unemployment benefits early next year, if Congress doesn't renew a federal extension of benefits. Ben Johnson is with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

"70,000 people will exhaust their unemployment compensation in January, another 36, 000, almost 37,000 in February, about 58,000 in March and more than 10,000 between March and June but the numbers are smaller," says Johnson.

New monitoring equipment will help determine whether earthquakes in northeast Ohio are resulting from
the disposal of brine used in natural gas drilling.

Deputy director Andy Ware of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources tells The Vindicator that four new seismographs have been set up in the Youngstown area, which has seen eight minor earthquakes this year. The latest was a 2.1-magnitude quake that occurred Nov. 25 just a few blocks from a brine injection well.

A key state lawmaker isn't comfortable with a proposal to let the State Highway Patrol investigate crimes
within Ohio's new casinos.

Republican state Rep. Matt Huffman, of Lima, said during a hearing Tuesday that he has concerns about extending the patrol's turf to private property. The Columbus Dispatch reports Huffman chairs a House panel overseeing legislation related to gambling.

Ohio's government watchdog has found wrongdoing in the way the development department handled federal grant money meant to help low-income people weatherize their homes.

The report from the office of the inspector general says state Department of Development was given $266 million as part of the federal stimulus to help poor Ohioans weather-proof their homes.

The report finds that the department didn't do enough inspections to make sure that groups weatherizing homes actually did the work they were paid for.