UHS alum to appear on TV
COLUMBUS – Michael Kent, a Columbus area magician and 1997 graduate from Urbana High School, will appear on the season premiere of The CW’s “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” on Wednesday, July 13 at 8 p.m.
On the show, aspiring magicians are invited to perform their best trick to try and fool the world-famous team of Penn & Teller, who will get to see the trick only once and have to immediately try to work it out. Anyone who succeeds wins the right to perform with Penn & Teller in their celebrated show at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Kasich signs executive orders to aid low-income families
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. John Kasich has signed executive orders to help low-income families, fund after-school programs and expand access to addiction treatment.
The Columbus Dispatch reports Kasich authorized spending $1 million on a statewide program providing after school programs for low-income children.
The governor also issued an order including licensed independent chemical dependency counselors in Medicaid coverage to increase access to addiction treatment. It will allow about 100 agencies in the state to offer chemical dependency counseling.
His moves also allocate more money for a program that works to reduce the problem of low-birth-weight babies.
Funding also is going to an Akron-based prisoner re-entry program and an early childhood parenting program in Toledo.
Columbus airport plans to add more parking
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Columbus’ airport is planning to add more parking as passenger numbers are at near-record levels.
The Columbus Regional Airport Authority is considering adding a 325-space lot on the west side of the terminal.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that the board may vote on the proposal on Tuesday.
The new parking area would be the closest surface lot to the terminal’s entrance.
The project would cost about $1.2 million and come from the airport’s general reserve fund.
Officials: John Legend Theater in Ohio nears completion
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio school district is determining how its new John Legend Theater will be shared with the community as it prepares to unveil the newly renovated facility.
The Springfield News-Sun reports meeting rooms have been made available to community groups since last summer the opening the Springfield Center of Innovation: The Dome.
But the Springfield School District will begin charging for their use as well as the use of the theater once renovations are complete.
Superintendent Bob Hill says they’re working to find the right balance between the costs of operating the theater and what users can afford to pay.
Springfield district graduate and Oscar, Golden Globe, and Grammy winning artist John Legend gave $500,000 for the project.
The $2.5 million project is expected to be completed by September.
Ohio State men’s soccer player from Mississippi drowns
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State’s men’s soccer coach says one of his players drowned while swimming with some of his teammates at a lake outside Columbus.
Nineteen-year-old Fikayo Idowu died Friday. He was from Madison, Mississippi, and had been on the Ohio State soccer team since 2014.
He was a defender and majoring in health and rehabilitation sciences, He wanted to attend medical school. He also was a two-time Ohio State scholar-athlete award winner.
Soccer coach John Bluem told The Columbus Dispatch that the drowning happened at Apple Valley Lake in Knox County, about 40 miles northeast of the campus.
Friends and teammates gathered Saturday night to remember Idowu at the university’s soccer stadium.
College’s gerontology center in Ohio gets $1.4M for research
OXFORD, Ohio (AP) — The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a $1.4 million research grant to a university’s gerontology center in southwestern Ohio.
Miami University in Oxford says the money awarded to its Scripps Gerontology Center will be used for research on older learners and their ability to complete college programs.
The center’s senior research scholar says the focus will be on community college students, ages 40 through 64. Scholar Phyllis Cummins says that group is an important segment of Ohio’s labor force.
About 15 percent of students at Ohio’s 23 community colleges are older learners.
Cummins says the overall goal of the research is to identify factors that are easily influenced to improve the educational and labor market outcomes for those students.
