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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A judge temporarily blocked Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's executive order banning intoxicating hemp products and relief is being felt at shops across central Ohio that sell these products.

"We can take a deep breath, a sigh of relief, for just a minute at least," Hedz Up Head Shop employee Kelly Parker said. "It might not be a deep sigh of relief that we can keep, but it's one we can take for now."

Employees at Hedz Up Head Shop in Columbus said they've been on an emotional rollercoaster. Just Monday night, they were covering up some of the most popular products on their shelves; now they're back to selling them, at least for now. 

"There's been so many customers that walk through the door and say how this stuff, you know CBD and hemp, it helps them out," Hedz Up Head Shop employee Victoria Fleming said. 

Fleming said many of their customers left empty-handed Tuesday morning when the ban was set to take effect. 

"I don't think it's harming anyone," customer Seth Jackson said. "I don't see really the big deal with it."

Fleming kept a running tally since opening up shop at 10 a.m.

"Twenty-four customers that just walked in and walked out, and then we had calls," Fleming said. "We had 12 calls that people were just calling, asking, and we were like, 'No, sorry.'"

Hemp products make up 60 to 70% of their business. 

"It's something I've been doing for a while," customer James Crossen said. "I use it recreationally and I use it for pain and all the other good benefits it has."

The shop's sales for the first half of Tuesday were down more than 65%, reflecting a huge hit for the family-owned business. 

"I believe it's unconstitutional what the governor is doing, just banning another freedom that we have, a freedom to choose what we want to do, want to use," Hedz Up Head Shop Owner Terry Johnson said.

But when the news of the temporary block on the ban broke Tuesday afternoon, and hemp products were put back on their shelves, most of their customers returned. 

"I ran out the door after a customer, I was like, 'Hey, wait, come back, we can sell again' and she was so excited, she was, like, 'Yay,'" Fleming said.

As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, Johnson shared their updated sales with NBC4. They were down by just more than 5%, marking a big recovery from that morning. He said he wants lawmakers to find a way to regulate -- not eliminate -- hemp products.

"I do believe that it's mainly for adults," Johnson said. "Children should not have access to it. You know, they say the same thing about alcohol or whatever, but children have a lot more access to alcohol than they do this, and that's at home in the fridge. That's more accessible than our products are. We at least keep them behind the counters."

The ruling gives shop owners like Johnson a chance to breathe for the time being. But if the ban goes through, he's concerned about the trickle-down effect. 

"These stores like us are probably going to have to go out of business," Johnson said. "I mean, I'm looking to where if this actually goes into effect, half my employees are gone. I'm going to have to change my hours and everything."

Johnson is calling this a small victory, but also a reminder of the uncertainty that still lies ahead.

"Hopefully, this new 14-day stay will help us be able to get the word out there better and get more people out there to fight for this because that's what we need," Parker said. 

Texas is on the brink of forcing Apple and Google to overhaul app downloads with strict age verification laws—are tech giants ready, or is your privacy about to get caught in the crossfire?

• The EU aborted their Chat Control vote knowing it would fail.
• Salesforce says it's not going to pay; customer data is released.
• Hackers claim Discord breach netted 70,000 government IDs.
• Microsoft to move Github to Azure. What could possibly go wrong.
• New California law allows universal data sharing opt-out.
• OpenAI reports that it's blocking foreign abuse. Who cares.
• IE Mode refuses to die, so Microsoft is burying it deeper.
• The massive mess created by Texas legislation SB2420.
• The BreachForums website gets a makeover.
• 100,000 strong global botnet attacking U.S. RDP services.
• UI experts weigh in on Apple's iOS 26 user-interface.
• 330,000 publicly exposed REDIS servers are RCE-vulnerable

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Columbus food scene may be getting some more bragging rights as the owner of two local restaurants competed on the Food Network’s "Bobby’s Triple Threat".

“Do I feel like there's pressure to perform? 100% but you know, we're in Buckeye Nation, so we're used to being competitive,” said Avishar Barua, owner of Agni and Joyas.

Barua has a full plate. Along with owning two restaurants, his cooking skills have gotten him on "Top Chef", "Guy’s Grocery Games", "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives" and "Beat Bobby Flay", where he did in fact beat him.

“It's Bobby Flay, this guy’s got an over 75% win rate on things that he doesn't have any idea about,” Barua said.

Now we will see if Barua can take down a group of chefs in three rounds on Bobby’s Triple Threat. “The coolest thing about actually being in the place with the people that you watch is you get to see them as people and get to talk to them and they had a lot of inspirational words, good advice and are fierce competitors,” he said.

No matter how many shows he goes on, he said the experience never gets any less exciting.

“I think every time you sign up to do a competition, you're putting yourself out there for the entire world. It's very, very scary and nerve-racking, but I want to represent Columbus,” said Barua.

He said he’s hoping to bring more attention to the food scene that the capital city has to offer. “If I get a chance or a platform, it's always to bring more awareness to what Columbus already is,” he said.

The episode airs Tuesday night on Food Network. If Barua wins, he will take home $25,000.

UPDATE: Chef Barua lost on Tuesday's show, 34-27, but did put up a good fight.

Microsoft today released software updates to plug a whopping 172 security holes in its Windows operating systems, including at least two vulnerabilities that are already being actively exploited. October’s Patch Tuesday also marks the final month that Microsoft will ship security updates for Windows 10 systems. If you’re running a Windows 10 PC and you’re unable or unwilling to migrate to Windows 11, read on for other options.

The first zero-day bug addressed this month (CVE-2025-24990) involves a third-party modem driver called Agere Modem that’s been bundled with Windows for the past two decades. Microsoft responded to active attacks on this flaw by completely removing the vulnerable driver from Windows.

The other zero-day is CVE-2025-59230, an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Windows Remote Access Connection Manager (also known as RasMan), a service used to manage remote network connections through virtual private networks (VPNs) and dial-up networks.

“While RasMan is a frequent flyer on Patch Tuesday, appearing more than 20 times since January 2022, this is the first time we’ve seen it exploited in the wild as a zero day,” said Satnam Narang, senior staff research engineer at Tenable.

Narang notes that Microsoft Office users should also take note of CVE-2025-59227 and CVE-2025-59234, a pair of remote code execution bugs that take advantage of “Preview Pane,” meaning that the target doesn’t even need to open the file for exploitation to occur. To execute these flaws, an attacker would social engineer a target into previewing an email with a malicious Microsoft Office document.

Speaking of Office, Microsoft quietly announced this week that Microsoft Word will now automatically save documents to OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud platform. Users who are uncomfortable saving all of their documents to Microsoft’s cloud can change this in Word’s settings; ZDNet has a useful how-to on disabling this feature.

Kev Breen, senior director of threat research at Immersive, called attention to CVE-2025-59287, a critical remote code execution bug in the Windows Server Update Service  (WSUS) — the very same Windows service responsible for downloading security patches for Windows Server versions. Microsoft says there are no signs this weakness is being exploited yet. But with a threat score of 9.8 out of possible 10 and marked “exploitation more likely,” CVE-2025-59287 can be exploited without authentication and is an easy “patch now” candidate.

“Microsoft provides limited information, stating that an unauthenticated attacker with network access can send untrusted data to the WSUS server, resulting in deserialization and code execution,” Breen wrote. “As WSUS is a trusted Windows service that is designed to update privileged files across the file system, an attacker would have free rein over the operating system and could potentially bypass some EDR detections that ignore or exclude the WSUS service.”

For more on other fixes from Redmond today, check out the SANS Internet Storm Center monthly roundup, which indexes all of the updates by severity and urgency.

Windows 10 isn’t the only Microsoft OS that is reaching end-of-life today; Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019, Skype for Business 2016, Windows 11 IoT Enterprise Version 22H2, and Outlook 2016 are some of the other products that Microsoft is sunsetting today.

If you’re running any Windows 10 systems, you’ve probably already determined whether your PC meets the technical hardware specs recommended for the Windows 11 OS. If you’re reluctant or unable to migrate a Windows 10 system to Windows 11, there are alternatives to simply continuing to use Windows 10 without ongoing security updates.

One option is to pay for another year’s worth of security updates through Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates (ESU) program. The cost is just $30 if you don’t have a Microsoft account, and apparently free if you register the PC to a Microsoft account. This video breakdown from Ask Your Computer Guy does a good job of walking Windows 10 users through this process. Microsoft emphasizes that ESU enrollment does not provide other types of fixes, feature improvements or product enhancements. It also does not come with technical support.

If your Windows 10 system is associated with a Microsoft account and signed in when you visit Windows Update, you should see an option to enroll in extended updates. Image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZH7MlvOoPM

Windows 10 users also have the option of installing some flavor of Linux instead. Anyone seriously considering this option should check out the website endof10.org, which includes a plethora of tips and a DIY installation guide.

Linux Mint is a great option for Linux newbies. Like most modern Linux versions, Mint will run on anything with a 64-bit CPU that has at least 2GB of memory, although 4GB is recommended. In other words, it will run on almost any computer produced in the last decade.

Linux Mint also is likely to be the most intuitive interface for regular Windows users, and it is largely configurable without any fuss at the text-only command-line prompt. Mint and other flavors of Linux come with LibreOffice, which is an open source suite of tools that includes applications similar to Microsoft Office, and it can open, edit and save documents as Microsoft Office files.

If you’d prefer to give Linux a test drive before installing it on a Windows PC, you can always just download it to a removable USB drive. From there, reboot the computer (with the removable drive plugged in) and select the option at startup to run the operating system from the external USB drive. If you don’t see an option for that after restarting, try restarting again and hitting the F8 button, which should open a list of bootable drives. Here’s a fairly thorough tutorial that walks through exactly how to do all this.

And if this is your first time trying out Linux, relax and have fun: The nice thing about a “live” version of Linux (as it’s called when the operating system is run from a removable drive such as a CD or a USB stick) is that none of your changes persist after a reboot. Even if you somehow manage to break something, a restart will return the system back to its original state.

As ever, if you experience any difficulties during or after applying this month’s batch of patches, please leave a note about it in the comments below.

CANAL WINCHESTER, Ohio (WCMH) -- A man is facing a murder charge after a 5-month-old girl died Monday.

According to Columbus police, Madison Township medics responded to a call for a child who was having difficulty breathing on the 400 block of Willard Brook Road on Monday at approximately 10:50 a.m.

The girl was taken to the hospital in critical condition. During the examination of the child, doctors said her injuries were inconsistent with what police were told. The girl died at 6:32 p.m. due to "severe blunt force trauma to the head," according to court records.

Glenn McIntosh, 32, of Canal Winchester, was in charge of the infant's care at the time of her injuries, police said. He has been charged with murder and is being held in Franklin County Jail.

Online court records have yet to list a hearing date for McIntosh.

CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) -- The popular Circleville Pumpkin Show returns Wednesday for its 118th year, an event that organizers, vendors and local businesses prepare for all year.

Downtown Circleville will be shut down for four days to make room for the roughly 400,000 people expected to attend.

The giant pumpkins, pie-eating contest, vendors and more are all back this year.

Pumpkin show president Marc Rogols said people will see something pumpkin-themed just about everywhere they look.

“Back in 1903, it was started for agriculture," he said. "They basically wanted a place, a showcase for agriculture in Pickaway County. That really hasn't changed. Pumpkin Show is still agriculture."

Rogols said the exposure Circleville gets from the show each year is unmatched.

“It’s a local support of businesses, agriculture, nonprofits," he said. "I mean, that's why we do this, but it really is for family memories."

Businesses all around town have also been preparing for the influx of people. Scioto Valley Coffee is located on the main road downtown, just steps away from the amusement rides.

Owner Jennifer Koenig said a lot of preparation goes into this one week.

“Lots of inventory," she said. "We almost quadruple what we normally order for a week just with the expectation of the crowds. We run about five to six people per shift and we are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. So extended hours throughout the week as well.”

Every Pumpkin Show week, Scioto Valley Coffee sees a big increase in sales.

“It’s going to be packed shoulder to shoulder," shop manager Angie Banks said. "The weather is going to be amazing. So it's going to be a busy pumpkin show."

With everything starting Wednesday morning, Circleville is prepped and ready to welcome everyone to the annual Pumpkin Show.

“There’s no place else you can go and hear so many people laughing and having a good time, and that says a lot,” Rogols said.

While the show is free, attendees may end up having to pay for parking. Rogols said they added two shuttles this year from lots at Amvets in Circleville and at Ohio Christian University, so there is more parking for attendees.

The Circleville Pumpkin Show runs 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Learn more about the show by clicking here.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — When thousands of runners take to the starting line for the Columbus Marathon, some will be running the 26.2 miles for the first time. Others, maybe their second or third time.

But Columbus's own Steve Salopek stands alone, as he will lace it up for his 100th career marathon.

"I just want to go out and enjoy it and have fun," Salopek said. "I mean, they're all the same, you know? They all hurt, but you know what you figure out as you go on? You know what's coming. You always know what's coming and, you know, it's a little bit of pain for a lot of pleasure. So, I'm really looking forward to it."

Salopek ran his first marathon when he was 24 years old in 1987. Never did he imagine he would be running his 100th marathon 38 years later.

"Oh, absolutely not," Salopek said. "After the first one, I went home and laid down, took a shower, which is exactly what you shouldn't do, is get into hot water. And I thought, 'I'm never doing that again,' and about a week later, I started to think, 'You know what? That was actually that was kind of fun.'”

This 100th race is actually one year delayed. While on a training run, Salopek was attacked by three dogs off their leash, just five weeks before the 2024 race.

"You take something like 30,000 steps in a marathon and with the damage to my leg, it was tough," Salopek said. "The damage that it did, it impacted my leg strength, and it was hard to get back both the strength and the flexibility.

“It's one thing to go for a walk,” he said. “It's another thing to pound your body for 30,000 steps. And it was just a matter of whether my body was going to be able to take it or not. And so far, so good."

So, the man who has raced across the country, from Hawaii to New York to Boston, is back pounding the pavement. But there's no place like home for this milestone marathon.

"My wife and I were talking about where I wanted to do my hundredth," Salopek said. "You know, we gave some consideration to a destination, and we just decided, you know what? This is where we're from. It's where we're from. It's where we live. And there's no other place that I'd rather do this."

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Columbus police and the Franklin County Coroner's Office have identified the man who was fatally shot by an officer Sunday in north Columbus after an alleged robbery attempt.

Officers patrolling at North High Street and East 8th Avenue in the University District responded to a robbery call at 3:26 a.m. Two people told officers that a man approached them with a firearm.

Police saw a man, who was identified Tuesday as 18-year-old TaShawn Davis, on North High Street and as they attempted to stop him, he began to run away, per police.

An officer fired at Davis several times during the brief chase and hit him. A Columbus police spokesperson said that during the chase, the officer who fired gunshots was told the suspect was carrying a firearm.

Davis was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Police said he was pronounced dead at 3:56 a.m. CPD said a gun was recovered from the suspect at the scene, and preliminary investigations state there is no indication the suspect discharged his firearm.

The sergeant involved is a 14-year veteran with the Columbus police, and his identity will not be released due to Marsy's Law. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation, with body-camera video expected to be released.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — This weekend in Columbus, the city will close dozens of streets in preparation for the thousands of runners and volunteers who will be participating in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Marathon & Half Marathon.

Beginning on Friday, various roads in the North Bank Park area will be closed to road traffic in advance of the race. On Sunday, 26.2 miles of the marathon course will be subject to rolling closures, based upon the expected time the first and last athlete passes each mile of the course.

Below is the schedule for the annual event and accompanying road closures, according to a spokesperson in association with the marathon.

Friday and Saturday, Noon-7 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. respectively: Heath & Fitness EXPO, Greater Columbus Convention Center.

Saturday, Oct. 18: 5K and 1 mile start race at North Bank Park, 9 a.m.

Saturday, Oct. 18: Kids Run 2025 at McFerson Commons, 11 a.m.

Sunday, Oct. 19: Columbus Marathon. Corrals open, 6 a.m.; Wheelchair Division start, 7:25 a.m.; Marathon & ½ Marathon run and walk start, 7:30 a.m.

Friday, October 17

9 a.m.: Long St. closes, Hocking St. to Neil Ave., remains closed until 6 p.m. Sunday. (except 5-7 p.m. Saturday for Blue Jackets and Columbus Crew fan arrivals)

11:59 p.m.: Spring St. between West St. and Neil Ave. closes until 6 p.m. Sunday 

11:59 p.m.: Hanover and Cozzins Streets closed except to local traffic until 6 p.m. Sunday

11:59 p.m.: West St. from Nationwide to Marconi and John McConnell from New Public Way to Spring St. close until Sunday at 6 p.m.

Saturday, October 18

11:59 p.m.: Spring St. from Neil Avenue to Hocking St. closes until 6 p.m. Sunday

11:59 p.m.: Neil Ave. south from Nationwide Blvd. goes down to one lane for condo traffic only until 6 p.m. Sunday 

Sunday, Oct. 19

7:30 a.m.: Starting at the start line on Long Street and for the 26.2 miles of the marathon course and the 13.1 miles of the 1/2 marathon course, roads will be subject to partial or full closure based upon the expected arrival times of the first and last athlete.

6 p.m.: Spring Street, Long Street and Neil Ave. will open back up to traffic 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked Gov. Mike DeWine from banning intoxicating hemp products while a lawsuit plays out in court.

Last week, DeWine signed an executive order requiring businesses to remove intoxicating hemp products from shelves by Tuesday, citing harm to children.

Three businesses sued DeWine and the Ohio Department of Agriculture, saying the order was unlawful and would put them out of business.

The judge heard arguments on the request for a restraining order on Tuesday, the same day the ban went into effect. The restraining order lasts for 14 days.

When making his ruling, Judge Carl Aveni said he feels DeWine is adding new definitions that do not exist in the Ohio Revised Code and that he agrees the plaintiffs would face irreparable harm.

"Every decision is different, said Kevin Shimp, an attorney representing the businesses. "It stands on its own two feet, but at the end of the day, the legislature has spoken. It's created a definition of hemp and hemp product. This intoxicating hemp term does not exist in the Ohio Revised Code."

DeWine's team argued that because they are seeing an increase in children being poisoned from hemp products, they need to take action.

"Ohio voters approved a highly-regulated market; they did not approve sales in these other venues," DeWine said in a statement. "Ohio voters also mandated that products not target children and be tested for safety. While we continue to fight in court, today's developments underscore our continued desire to work with the General Assembly to pass permanent legislation regarding intoxicating hemp."

Lawmakers have been considering changes to intoxicating hemp for some time, but efforts have repeatedly stalled.

These cannabinoid products are not controlled by the FDA and are considered less intoxicating than other cannabis-derived products. Intoxicating hemp can be sold to any age, raising concerns about minors using the products to get a high similar to marijuana.

It is often found for sale at places like convenience stores and can come in packaging that looks similar to candy.

A preliminary hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled for Oct. 28.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Edward F. “Ed” Hare, Jr., W1RFI, who spent decades as an employee of the ARRL Laboratory, has become a Silent Key. He died on October 10, 2025, at the age of 74 after an illness.

Hare was first licensed as a teenager in 1963 as KN1CV (later KA1CV) and was an active ham throughout his life. He was an avid QRP operator, earning his Worked All States certificate with 250 milliwatts on CW. In his pr...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Charlie Kirk would have turned 32 on Tuesday, and Ohio supporters of the conservative activist are planning events in his honor.

Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at a Utah university on Sept. 10. He was known for appearing on college campuses and debating political topics, and for his prominent conservative youth organization, Turning Point USA. From local coffee shops to President Donald Trump, supporters are marking Kirk's birthday as a day to honor him.

There are two nationwide movements to honor Kirk in small ways, with supporters encouraged to wear red on Tuesday and purchase Kirk's favorite Starbucks order. In July, Kirk said he ordered "Mint Majesty tea with two honey" from Starbucks, and supporters have ordered the drink since his death in his honor.

In recognition of his birthday, Coffeology in Delaware is offering "Charlie's Tea," a mint and lemon verbena green tea with two honeys. The coffee shop posted a photo of the drink, which included a quote from Kirk and two Bible verses, honoring Kirk's faith.

Trump, who was the first to announce Kirk's death, is expected to posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom Tuesday at 4 p.m. Turning Point USA chapters at Ohio University and the University of Cincinnati are hosting viewing parties for the award ceremony. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor in the U.S. and has been awarded 673 times since 1963.

Turning Point chapters at Ohio State and Otterbein are collaborating to host a prayer vigil in Kirk's honor in Alum Creek Park North at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Delaware County residents organized a similar event in Sunbury, also at 6 p.m.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- With school funding concerns and high property taxes, viewers asked NBC4 to look into Ohio Lottery payments for schools.

Voters amended the Ohio Constitution in 1987 to ensure all lottery profits go to funding Ohio schools, a guarantee that is still in place today. From 2016 to 2025, the lottery has provided more than $1 billion annually to education funding. However, higher lottery profits do not inherently mean more money for school districts. See previous coverage of school funding in the video player above.

The Ohio Lottery transfers 100% of its profits to a state education fund, but Ohio legislators and the Department of Education and Workforce are responsible for distributing the funding. The state uses a few other revenue sources, pulling most heavily from the General Reserve Fund, to pay for schools. Lottery revenue supplies about 12% of total state funding for schools.

In June, the General Assembly allocated just under $3 billion in lottery funding to schools over the next two years through the biennial state budget. If the lottery provides more revenue than anticipated, it could help schools. The state could also use it to keep school funding the same, freeing up some general fund dollars for other uses.

"Lottery funds are also touted as benefiting schools directly," Olentangy Schools said on its website. "While this is accurate, the Ohio General Assembly generally uses Lottery profits to offset other general funding that would be provided to Ohio school districts."

Lottery profits are also not guaranteed to help public schools. For fiscal year 2026, which began on July 1, Ohio's Lottery Profits Education Fund has already given more than $205 million to schools, 16% of which went directly to charter schools.

Charter schools -- called community schools in Ohio -- are public, nonprofit, nonreligious schools that receive public funding but are independent from public school districts. Charter schools are authorized by approved educational sponsors and adhere to fewer state standards than traditional districts.

So far in FY26, 83% of lottery funds have gone to general state support for public and charter schools. Lottery profits also supported literacy coaches at four educational service centers, which cost the state $1.5 million. More than $33 million went to grants for facility improvements at various charter schools.

No public schools received individualized payments from lottery funds, but many Ohio charter schools did. KIPP Columbus, a charter school that serves about 2,200 students, has received a lottery fund payment from the state each of the past four months. In all, KIPP Columbus has been paid more than $735,000 this fiscal year for facility improvements.

Ohio casinos also provide some funding for schools, but it is minimal. According to the Department of Taxation, 34% of casino tax dollars go to a state fund and are distributed among districts based on student population size. Remaining casino revenue is used to support counties, law enforcement and other state projects.

Sports betting works similarly to lottery funds, where money may go to schools but does not guarantee increased funding from the state. Olentangy schools said casino money only supplied about $66 per student in Fiscal Year 2024. Educational policy expert Howard Fleeter said sports betting would bring a statewide average of $75 per pupil, using FY 2024 numbers.

"Unless the legislature chooses to explicitly allocate this funding to school districts on top of the foundation funding formula amounts that each district is already slated to receive, sports betting will not provide a single additional cent to Ohio school district coffers," Fleeter said.

DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) -- A central Ohio chef who is set lead a new Columbus restaurant replacing Milestone 229 has closed two of his Delaware restaurants as he shifts focus to the upcoming concept.

Chef Josh Dalton announced earlier this month that both 1808 American Bistro and Rosebud's, which sit just steps apart on East Winter Street, would permanently close Oct. 11. In separate social media posts, Dalton expressed gratitude to patrons, staff and the Delaware community, calling the closures a "bittersweet" decision tied to the next chapter in his restaurant career.

"After 17 wonderful years … I am writing with a heavy but grateful heart," Dalton wrote about 1808, which opened in 2008. Known for its bistro fare and community-focused atmosphere, the restaurant became a downtown Delaware staple.

• Chef Josh Dalton announced earlier this month that both 1808 American Bistro and Rosebud's would permanently close Oct. 11. (Courtesy Photo/1808 American Bistro)
• Chef Josh Dalton announced earlier this month that both 1808 American Bistro and Rosebud's would permanently close Oct. 11. (Courtesy Photo/Rosebud's)

Rosebud, which opened in 2023 in a space previously home to several of Dalton's other ventures -- including Veritas Tavern and Speck Italian Eatery -- was described by the chef as "a home for ideas" and "an incubator for dreams."

"I carry nothing but gratitude," he wrote of the Delaware community. "Whether you came in once for dinner, worked a shift on the line, or followed along as we tried something new, you've been part of the story."

The closures come as Dalton prepares to open a new Mediterranean restaurant in the former Milestone 229 space at 229 S. Civic Center Drive in Columbus' Bicentennial Park.

Set to open in spring 2026, the yet-to-be-named concept will focus on cuisine inspired by coastal regions from Barcelona to Lebanon. The menu is expected to feature small plates, handhelds, dips, spreads, reimagined entrees and a curated beverage program, according to a press release.

The restaurant will seat around 100 guests indoors, with lounge and patio seating available during warmer months. It will also offer drinks designed for the City Center's designated outdoor refreshment area.

Milestone 229 operated in the same riverfront location for 14 years before closing at the end of 2024, after lease negotiations with the city ended without a new agreement.

"Thank you for letting us feed you, host you, laugh with you, and -- sometimes -- cry with you," Dalton wrote. "Thank you for trusting us with your evenings, your special moments, your quiet Sundays, and for being patient when kitchens were busy or changes were made."

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Top-ranked and on a roll, Ohio State next plays an opponent that is anything but that.

The Buckeyes play at Wisconsin at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Coach Ryan Day will address the media at noon Tuesday. You can watch Day live in the video player above.

The Badgers (2-4) have lost four straight games under Luke Fickell, a Columbus native who coached Ohio State for one season between Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer in 2011. Their latest loss came Saturday, 37-0 to Iowa.

Ohio State (6-0) is coming off a 34-16 win that knocked Illinois out of the Top 25.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohio is one of the best states in the country for trick-or-treating, according to a recent study. 

Kuru Footwear analyzed five factors – walkability, child population, Google search interest in trick-or-treating, pedestrian safety and average Halloween temperatures – across all 50 states to determine which offer the ideal conditions for trick-or-treating. 

The shoe company named Ohio as the second-best state for trick-or-treaters, thanks to “its strong mix of Halloween spirit and family presence.” The Buckeye State boasts a high search interest in trick-or-treating and a relatively low pedestrian fatality rate of 1.08 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the study.

Ohio also experiences “comfortable” temperatures of around 50 degrees on All Hallows' Eve, and an average population of residents under 18 (21.7%), who keep “neighborhoods lively on Halloween night.” However, Ohio could improve in its walkability, the company noted. 

The best state to be in on Beggars’ Night is Illinois, according to the analysis. Illinois leads the states in walkability and sees a “steady” search interest in trick-or-treating. Residents can also expect “crisp” Halloween evenings, with average temperatures around 51 degrees.

The full top 10 included:

1. Illinois
2. Ohio
3. Wisconsin
4. Indiana
5. Utah
6. Pennsylvania
7. Iowa
8. New Hampshire
9. Michigan 
10. Minnesota 

Kuru Footwear’s full study can be found on its website, and trick-or-treat times in central Ohio can be viewed here.