Ohio News

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Ohio Immigrant Hotline has managed nearly 550 incidents about ICE and immigrant rights since January 2025, the Ohio Immigrant Alliance said. The hotline went live Jan. 26, 2025 shortly after President Donald Trump took office for his second term. Run by the Ohio Immigrant Alliance (OIA), the hotline allows Ohio [...]

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (WCMH) – A Columbus-based Tex-Mex chain will soon launch its latest restaurant in Pickerington. Local Cantina will begin welcoming customers at 4 E. Columbus St. on Friday, according to the brand’s Facebook page. The two-story location features indoor and outdoor seating, with both a street-level and rooftop patio for customers. It is located [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A global travel magazine recently named Columbus as the second best city in the United States for Gen X to live. Travel + Leisure released a list on March 22 of the 10 best places for Gen X to live, based on real estate experts’ opinions. Gen X, or the generation [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Republican Senators are considering roundabout solutions to pass the SAVE America Act's sweeping changes to voter ID laws that is currently blocked from passage by Senate Democrats. The SAVE America Act would impose stricter voting laws and require proof of citizenship before registering to vote or casting a ballot. The bill [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A longtime Columbus-area LGBTQ+ youth organization is reducing staff and pausing its planned expansion into northwest Ohio after a recent loss of funding, the group announced. In a statement shared on social media and its website, Kaleidoscope Youth Center said the funding loss led to the elimination of three staff positions [...]

LEWIS CENTER, Ohio (WCMH) -- Olentangy Local Schools broke ground Thursday on its 18th elementary school, just months after voters approved a bond issue to fund that project and a fifth high school. The new school, located on Bean-Oller Road, is expected to welcome more than 600 students when it opens in August 2027. “We [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A grassroots movement is trying to change how voters elect Columbus City Council members. The coalition behind the push says the current systems need to change. The group, “Our City, Our Say,” got approval to begin collecting signatures for a charter amendment that would require council members to be elected by only voters within their respective districts. Under Columbus’ [...]

MOUNT GILEAD, Ohio (WCMH) -- For more than a decade, families in one Central Ohio community believed they were working towards homeownership. That was taken away with just a letter on the door. One of those families was watching NBC4 when they realized it was happening to other people, too. So they reached out to [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- This week, House Democrats proposed a plan to put a 7% severance tax on the market value for all oil and natural gas extracted from the state, and to use that funding to offset the high cost of utilities. Under the proposal, revenue from the tax would go towards regulating and [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Columbus leaders said summer youth programming is an integral part of keeping kids productive and out of trouble. This week, the city announced a nearly $17.5 million investment into youth programming grants and other critical services.  However, this year's budget is notably less than last year, with one notable organization being [...]

HILLIARD, Ohio (WCMH) — Tens of thousands of rounds of unwanted ammunition are no longer in central Ohio homes following the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and Hilliard Division of Police's first ammunition take-back day. “We were very happy with it; people that showed up, they were happy we were there to help them out to [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A constitutional amendment to ban new data centers in Ohio is allowed to move forward, Attorney General Dave Yost said Thursday. A coalition of rural Ohioans submitted an initial petition to the state to start the amendment process on March 16. Thursday, Yost approved their ballot language, allowing the group to [...]

DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) -- Shawnee Hills Police Chief Russell Barton is bringing concerns to Dublin schools about possible student safety issues as the district starts fresh with its redistricting plans. Dublin City Schools reopened the conversation surrounding redistricting this week, listening to community feedback Monday night. The initial process was paused in fall 2025 after [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — After more than nine years of alleged repeated crime, code violations, and court orders, the City of Columbus is seeking to shut down a north Columbus hotel. According to the Columbus City Attorney’s Office, the Property Action Team is aiming to close down a Baymont Inn hotel on Morse Road in [...]