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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - Residents along Wolford Road in Licking County's Hanover Township are "trapped" after a temporary access bridge collapsed Tuesday. 

Licking County Engineer Jared Knerr told NBC4 there are about 10 to 15 homes that do not have road access right now.

Woman calls on Ticketmaster to make changes after concert rescheduled multiple times

The temporary bridge was put in place while the county replaced the previous truss bridge that spanned Rocky Fork Creek on Wolford Road. The previous bridge had a five-ton weight limit and was decades old.

The temporary bridge collapsed after heavy rain caused the water level on Rocky Fork Creek to rise above the level of the bridge, slamming it with debris carried from upstream. The ground around the temporary bridge as well as underneath the asphalt on the temporary road gave way as water flooded the area.

"We had about six or eight inches of water flowing over it. And I came back down and checked on it again. And then we had, you know, trees up against it. And I knew we were done for. We've been stuck here since Monday, finally got out today to get some groceries, you know," said Wolford Road resident Vito Rosato. "We've been stuck here, ran out of supplies, everything. I mean, what do you do? We're on a dead-end road.”

Hanover Township Volunteer Fire Department and EMS along with township Commissioners created a temporary path through private property so that Emergency services would have a way to gain access to Wolford Road while the bridge is out. 

"This isn't our first rodeo and having to figure out ways to get around and get through places and even staff different stations," said Steven Gregory the Fire Captain and EMS Coordinator for Hanover Township. "We worked with the county commissioners, and they dropped a lot of stone back air for us to be able to get our apparatus back in through there. So there's a separate path.”

Gregory estimates the Hanover Volunteer Fire and EMS respond to around 20 calls per year to Wolford Road. Gregory hopes the bridge will be back up soon. 

"Hopefully not too awfully long. I project, maybe at least a week? Depends on how long the rain keeps up. So, if it stops, then Lord willing it shouldn't be too, too much more than maybe a few days," he said.

Rosato lives with his mother who has health issues. He's pleased the EMS have a way to access their road, if necessary, but he'd like the people who live there to have access to the service road too. 

"They got a little service road there that the fire department set up, so they could at least come in and out. They won't let us use it to get in and out," he said.

Many residents who have vehicles on the other side of the bridge are parking along Wolford Road and walking across the collapsed bridge. Starting Friday morning, Licking County is asking for those vehicles to be moved so contractors can have access to the bridge for repairs.

More than a dozen residents spoke with NBC4 Thursday afternoon and evening. Many, like Rosato,  expressed their frustration with the situation, wanting more swift action to repair the bridge. 

"It's easy to forget about us back here because we're on a dead end road. Honestly, you know, who can we contact? Who can we get a hold of?" he said.

Microsoft has unveiled Visual Studio Code 1.88, also known as the March 2024 release of the company’s popular code editor. The update brings capabilities such as a test coverage API, custom editor labels, and locked scrolling.

Introduced on April 4, Visual Studio Code 1.88 can be downloaded for Windows, Linux, or Mac from the project website.

In this release, Microsoft has finalized its Test Coverage API, bringing native coverage support to VS Code. If a developer’s testing system supports it, coverage can be accessed using the new Run With Coverage button. Using test coverage requires that your VS Code extension implements the new API.

To read this article in full, please click here

LOGAN COUNTY, Ohio (WCMH) – With the solar eclipse just days away, the Indian Lake area is getting ready to welcome visitors while also still recovering from the tornado in March.

The Depot, a souvenir and gift shop in downtown Lakeview, has been ready for the eclipse for a while. Eclipse cookies, glasses, and T-shirts are available to purchase.

Columbus leaders propose changes to city’s zoning code

"We have tons of eclipse stuff," said Brenda Moots, owner of the store. "We’ve been talking eclipse for the last year and a half, but certainly the last nine months solid and selling gear for several months.”

After the tornado hit, the focus changed for Moots and others in the area.

“There's a lot of aspects that are hard, none of us have ever done this before, we've never been through it, there’s no manual," Moots said. 

Moots also lives in the community. The shop had been closed since the storm hit about three weeks ago. It just got power back earlier this week and on Thursday reopened.

“Oh my gosh, to be open is like everything I strived for the last 21 days with my husband," Moots said. "It’s hope, it shows people we are going to rebuild, we’re in this community together."

Along with the eclipse gear there is all kinds of merchandise with the message, "Indian Lake, Stronger than the Storm." Proceeds go to tornado relief, according to Moots.

"It's just so important to recognize you have this inner strength in you regardless if you know it or not and you have to let that shine and we are all going to come through this storm together because we’re strong people, we’re a strong community," Moots said.

Sheriff Randall Dodds with the Logan County Sheriff's Office said the area is expecting several thousand visitors for the eclipse. He encouraged those people to still come, support local businesses, and be mindful of devastation many in the area are still dealing with.

"Just be respectful of property and persons up there, but come, have a good time," he said. "I know there will be people coming here not only to see the eclipse but also they’ll want to go to Indian Lake to see the tornado damage. Be respectful of other peoples' property, understand there’s been a lot of pain up here."

He also reminded visitors to only park where parking is allowed. The Depot is usually closed on Sundays and Mondays. It will open April 7 and 8 because of the eclipse.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Musical acts and artists from all over the world have announced show stops in Columbus recently.

One of them in 2023 was rapper and hip-hop artist Drake. When tickets went on sale for his show, Jenn Dilver and five of her friends made the purchase to make sure they'd be in the crowd.

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But in the weeks leading up to the concert, which was initially scheduled for early July, Dilver said she received notification that the date had moved slightly, still within July. Dilver said that wasn't a problem for the group, until a few weeks later.

"We found out that the date had moved a second time, this time to October, on a Monday," Dilver said. "So, at that time, a couple of us had reached out to understand what our options were, in terms of getting a refund or someone reselling their ticket. We were told that it was up to the event holder. In this case, that would be Drake and his company, to cancel the concert. Then, we would receive our refund. Because the concert had not been canceled, it had been rescheduled."

At the time, rumors started swirling that the concert would be rescheduled again. So, Dilver and her friends waited.

"Our money was still in limbo," said Dilver.

That's when Dilver called Better Call 4.

"The ultimate accountability, I do think, goes to Ticketmaster," Dilver said. "They're a big company. They should make their experience more clear when a concert is inevitably going to change, be delayed. This is not the last time something like this happens with a big concert."

Better Call 4 reached out to Ticketmaster. A representative told NBC4, "Consumer support will reach out to [Dilver]."

Then, NBC4 did some digging for information about refunds. On its website, the company stated that "all sales are final and refunds are only allowed in limited circumstances," adding that, "policies set forth by event organizers generally prohibit us from issuing exchanges or refunds after a ticket has been purchased."

However, Dilver said that not long after she spoke with NBC4, she did get her money back. Unfortunately, she did not get to see Drake when he did finally come to Columbus in February.

Now, she has a message for other ticket buyers as we head into a busy concert season.

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"Really, understand what you're signing up for which is the concert itself, and for hopefully a fun time, but also for the possibility that, just like flights... it feels like that's what's happening now, there will be changes and those changes will likely be out of your control."

Before you buy, make sure you're aware of every possibility and how that could affect you financially. Ticket insurance is always an option, but make sure it's the right option for you. The Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio has more information about that here.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Columbus is one of the fastest growing cities in the Midwest. In order to keep up with that growth, city leaders are proposing changes to the city’s zoning code.

This will be the first time changes are made to the code in 70 years. City leaders said these changes will help address the current housing crisis – specifically affordability and demand.

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Mayor Andrew Ginther said this proposal will change the trajectory of the city. He said if we keep on the track we are now, the city will only create 6,000 new homes in the next 10 years. This new plan will bring that number to 88,000.

“Growth is coming. We have to embrace it,” Ginther said.

The proposed changes would create six districts. It is starting 12,300 thousand parcels of land.

It gives developers clearer building guidelines for each district.

“These standards will make buildings more attractive, create more room for housing and businesses, and make neighborhoods more walkable and transit more accessible,” Ginther said.

Ginther said another priority is height. There will be housing incentives. For example, builders will be allowed to build two to four stories taller than the base code allows if 20 to 30 percent of their units are for low income qualified housing.

“We need more workforce housing. We need more market rate housing. This supply crisis is affecting everybody, but it's affecting seniors, folks on fixed incomes and lower wage earners more. Now, it will continue to affect all of us in the future unless we act. And that's why this is so important,” Ginther said.

City leaders said cities like Charlotte and Atlanta have been successful with this initiative.

They say not only does this help the developer but it is also giving equal opportunities to people who otherwise would not live in that area.

“We want our kids to be able to live in the communities that we've raised them in, and we want our elders to be able to retire in the communities that they helped build,” said Carly Boos, the Director of the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio.

There will also be less of a focus on parking. This is to promote more walkable neighborhoods as well as rid the cost of parking for residents.

“So we know that a big change is going to be eliminating parking minimums, you know, allowing a more market driven approach to parking. We think we need to prioritize people over parking in this situation to make more housing happen. As we know, parking is one of the biggest drivers of housing costs in central Ohio," said Rob Dorans, the Columbus City Council President Pro Tempore.

Before this proposal moves any further, city leaders want to hear from residents. There will be options to do that in person or at the new “zone-in gallery” that is located at 141 N. Front Street in Downtown Columbus.

“The whole idea here is to make sure that this allows folks to have this conversation on the front end,” Dorans said. “We're going have public hearings. You know, we're going to have different events across town. This gallery here, you know, downtown is going to have the ability for sit down with the city planner and really understand the potential changes for their specific parcel that they own or that they live by.”

Monday city council is expected to adopt a resolution putting this into at least a 60 day discussion period.

The “zone in gallery” will open on Tuesday. It will be open six days a week. Residents can make an appointment to come in and talk with the city planner. They will also host events at the gallery. Once they’ve gathered all the knowledge they need, the council is hoping to vote on this plan in the summertime.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- April can be a fickle month, especially in the first few weeks, when winter often lingers into the lap of spring. The contrast of seasons often leads to severe weather in the form of flooding downpours, high winds and tornadoes, as we experienced Tuesday.

On Apr. 2, 1987, an area low pressure blossomed in the western Gulf of Mexico, bringing the latest trace of snow on record at Mobile, Alabama, the next morning. Two inches of snow accumulated at Meridian, Mississippi, 6 inches at Birmingham, Alabama, 8 inches at Nashville, Tennessee, and 12 inches at Asheville, North Carolina, as the storm moved northeast on Saturday, Apr. 3.

The late winter storm system continued to gain intensity marching up the western side of the Appalachians, drawing on enough cold air to generate a full-blown April blizzard in many parts of Ohio by late afternoon, as the surface pressure deepened rapidly.

The snow fell at the rate of one to two inches an hour, whipped by wind gusts between 30 to 40 miles per hour, causing blizzard conditions near and east of the Interstate 71 corridor. Blowing and drifting made travel hazardous in the blinding snow, eventually halting most transportation where roads became impassable.

By the time the snow tapered off shortly after midnight on Sunday, April 5, the final measurement at Port Columbus International Airport totaled 12.6 inches (12.3 inches fell in 24 hours on Apr. 4), smashing all modern April records for a snowstorm so late in the season in the city.

Areas east of Columbus received even more; 15 to 20 inches of snow piled up between Newark and Zanesville. Canton-Akron tallied 20.6 inches, setting a 24-hour snowfall record. Additional stunning spring totals included 22 inches at New Lexington and 21 inches at Coshocton. Charleston, W.V., recorded 20 inches.

Remarkably, this was the second snow storm that week, after up to eight inches fell on March 30-31, 1987, in northeastern Franklin County, and 5.7 inches in Columbus. Cleveland received 16.5 inches, a March record at the time.

An extending snowfall, likely several storms, from April 2-7, 1886, totaled 16.9 inches in Columbus, but the intensity was not nearly as heavy at any time during that period.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and organizations in central Ohio and across the nation are teaming up to raise awareness and build stronger community partnerships.

Franklin County Children’s Services is doing multiple things to raise awareness this month, including participating in Wear Blue for Child Abuse Prevention Day and lighting up the Leveque Tower, city hall and the children’s services buildings in bright blue.

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In 2023, the Franklin County Child Abuse Hotline received around 28,000 calls and nearly half of the calls raised concerns about a child being physically abused.

“Child abuse is something that affects every zip code in Franklin County, every part of our community no matter income, no matter, zip code, no matter neighborhood,” said Scott Varner, the spokesperson for Franklin County Children’s Services.

That’s why Varner said his team is working to spread awareness in Franklin County by lighting up those buildings blue and putting up six billboards across the county.

“So, this month we want to try to give attention to that, to make sure that our community is still aware that child abuse is something that is a challenge still in this community," Varner said. "But as a community we can also work together to provide our families those supports."

The theme for this year’s Child Abuse Prevention Month is building a hopeful future together. Varner said that means providing resources to families who are struggling and creating a supportive environment for children.

“When there are challenges, instead of reporting them to a child abuse hotline, how can we not only report but also support?” said Varner.

Varner said in those situations, people should try to help rather than judge.

“If you ever suspect a child is being abused or neglected we do have the Franklin County Child Abuse Hotline that they can call, but I would also say find those ways in which we can provide those families information about community support,” said Varner.

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Wear Blue for Child Abuse Prevention Day is Wednesday, April 20th here in Ohio. You are encouraged to post a picture of yourself, friends, family and others and use the hashtag #OhioWearsBlue2024.

Visit https://fccs.us/ to learn more about Child Abuse Prevention Month.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Fun and festivities are in store at a Columbus park, where a seasonal event lineup has been unveiled.

Columbus Commons is a six-acre park with plenty of green space in the downtown area. The park can be used for dates, family time, outdoor fun and more. On Thursday, Downtown Columbus Inc. revealed a list of events coming to the park soon.

Activities and events at Columbus Commons this year include food trucks from local vendors, free yoga and cardio classes, a free Family Fun Day, live music, free family movies or a Sunset Cinema series for adults, kickball leagues, and more. The announcement from Downtown Columbus Inc. highlighted some of the top events coming up.

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Here are events to enjoy at Columbus Commons soon.

Food trucks

Columbus Commons has a long-lasting tradition of food truck favorites appearing on its lawn every week. This will be the park's 14th year offering a selection of local vendors.

Food truck events include Breakfast at the Commons and Food Truck Food Court. The breakfast themed series will take place on Wednesdays from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. between May 1 and Oct. 30. The food truck series will take place on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. between May 2 and Oct. 31.

Free fitness classes

On a weekly basis between May 1 and Sept. 25, Columbus Commons will hold free cardio and yoga classes facilitated by RawYoga614 and Seven Studios. The classes will take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays on the following schedule:

• Cardio on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m.
• Yoga on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m.
• Yoga on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m.
• Yoga on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.

Free family fun

A variety of free outdoor events designed for the family will be held in Columbus Commons' wide-open greenspace. Family events will include Family Fun Day on Saturday, May 25, multiple family movie nights, and a Harvest Fair on Saturday, Sept. 7.

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Live music on the Columbus Commons lawn will take place on certain summer nights. The Navigators will play a concert on May 24, a local and live concert series will be every Thursday in August, and A Song Remains and The Dead Revival Band will perform "A Night of Led Zeppelin" and a Grateful Dead tribute.

Columbus Downtown Inc. said to stay tuned for more announcements.

Free Commons for kids

Columbus Commons' event lineup stated that Fridays are for the kids. Weekly events will feature a different theme each week, with fun for little and big kids alike. Activities will include balloon twisting, face painting, lawn games, carousel rides and more.

The weekly event for kids will take place on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. between June 7 and Aug. 9.

Brews in the Bosque + Sunset Cinema Series

A family-friendly event described as a "backyard-meets-beer garden happy hour" will offer a chance to enjoy a beverage and participate in a cornhole tournament will be available on Thursdays in September.

The weekly event will feature a new addition this year, a film series of adult-only movies. The event will be an outdoor spin on the CAPA Summer Movie Series, and offer a more mature counterpart to the family movie nights.

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Events that can be featured on a daily basis at Columbus Commons include a free carousel, operating from April 19 to Sept. 30, and Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream and Tortilla Mexican Street Food cafes.

Other events

Columbus Commons is hosting a variety of other events, which include:

• Cap City Half Marathon, Quarter Marathon and 5K
• Girls on the Run Spring 5K
• SUMMER614 Concert
• WoCO Summer Market
• Picnic with the Pops Concerts
• Stevie: Life in the Key of Wonder
• Comedy at the Commons
• 614 Funk Fest Concert
• World's Largest Sound Bath & Wellness Fair

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A prolific campaign treasurer for more than 100 Ohio political candidates, including many Republicans, has been federally charged with stealing almost $1 million in campaign funds.

William Curlis, 76, was charged with wire fraud Thursday for allegedly stealing more than $995,000 from various candidates' funds and a political action committee for which he was treasurer. Court documents show a proposed plea agreement, suggesting Curlis plans to plead guilty.

According to court documents, from 2008 until June 2023, Curlis wrote himself multiple checks from candidates' campaign funds and one PAC's fund while serving as treasurer. To conceal the theft, he allegedly transferred funds between accounts without candidates' knowledge and falsified corresponding campaign finance reports.

“As the campaign treasurer and only signatory on numerous bank accounts, Curlis took advantage of his trusted position and wrote checks to himself from the accounts of multiple candidates and one PAC,” U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker said in a news release. “I urge candidates, PACs, and businesses alike to protect themselves from future fraud by examining their accounting processes for vulnerabilities and other blind spots."

The court documents do not disclose which candidates Curlis defrauded. Multiple Republican politicians have filed complaints against Curlis with the Ohio Elections Commission, including Hilliard-area State Sen. Stephanie Kunze and former Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien.

The bill of information alleges that Curlis sold his residence in 2016 to cover the cost of campaign expenses and conceal account deficits caused by his theft.

JetBrains has added full-line code autocompletion to its family of IDEs (integrated development environments), powered by locally run AI models. Full line code complеtion is available for Java, Kotlin, Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, CSS, PHP, Go, and Ruby with the 2024.1 versions of the respective IDEs.

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BYESVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) -- A man drowned after apparently driving on a flooded roadway on Wednesday, according to the Guernsey County Sheriff.

Sheriff Jeffrey Paden said emergency responders found a 56-year-old man dead in his vehicle after extracting it from a flooded roadway in Jackson Township. His family had reported him missing on Wednesday afternoon after he didn't show up to work and was not answering his phone.

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After several hours of searching, Byesville volunteer firefighters found the man's vehicle completely submerged, the sheriff said. When the vehicle was removed from the water, the Guernsey County coroner pronounced the man dead and ruled his death an accident by drowning. The sheriff's office has not released the man's name because the family has not yet been notified.

Multiple roadways across central Ohio flooded after Tuesday's storms. On Wednesday morning, a man's Maserati SUV was towed to dry land after he drove past road closure signs and ended up in flood waters on U.S. 23 in south Columbus. Ohio Department of Transportation cameras caught the man wading through knee-high water toward Franklin County Sheriff's deputies.

Paden urged drivers to avoid flooded roadways, regardless of their depth, because water currents can often be stronger than they appear.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The total solar eclipse on Monday afternoon, April 8, will darken skies along the path of totality, which will average 115 miles from Texas to Maine across 13 states.

In Ohio, the path of totality will cover a corridor from Dayton to the northern suburbs of Columbus, Marion and Cleveland. The longer length of time that parts of Ohio will experience darkness is because the moon is closer to Earth than in a previous total solar eclipse observed in western Kentucky in August 2017.

The amount of time any region in the path spends when the moon completely blocks out the sun will determine how much the air cools at the surface.

Other factors include the time of day, existing cloud cover, and daylight which determine how much the temperature drops when the sun is briefly masked by the moon in the path of totality.

Current indications are that a band of cloud cover will overspread much of the Ohio Valley late Sunday, with a few showers, but begin to thin out on Monday afternoon. Although cloud forecast model data is based on probabilities that will be refined in the coming days, coverage will likely range from 40 to 80 percent of the sky in most areas by 3:15 p.m.

How much the air cools when sunlight disappears on Monday afternoon will also be affected by the type of local cloud cover present. The loss of sunlight will result in a decrease in winds, briefly, due to less vertical mixing of the atmosphere.

Thicker low clouds composed of water droplets will make the change in air temperature much less apparent. Patchy mid-level clouds prior to totality will allow much more sunshine to filter through, which creates a more dramatic cooling when the sun is covered by the moon's shadow for several minutes.

At that time, skies will grow dark like evening dusk, and animals are apt to grow quiet, reflecting their response to nightfall.

During the last total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017, the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tenn., looked at weather stations that had experienced several minutes of totality, which revealed a quick drop in temperature of 5 to 10 degrees.

Total solar eclipse viewed in Wyoming on Aug. 21, 2017. (Photo courtesy Don Stevens)

During an annular eclipse on May 10, 1994, the National Weather Service office at Capital Airport in Springfield, Ill., witnessed a dip of 4 degrees in the forenoon, under clear skies within the period of maximum eclipse, when a thin ring of outer sunlight was visible. (An annular eclipse does not fully cover the sun because the moon is farther away from Earth than in a total solar eclipse.

Columbus and Central Ohio Weather

A large storm system over the eastern Great Lakes and Northeast will combine to drive gusty winds and frequent rain showers, mixed with graupel, for another 24 hours, before moving away in time for the weekend.

Temperatures will dip into the 30s in the morning hours and only recover to the mid-40s, with gusty west-northwest winds creating an unpleasant April wind chill.

Skies will clear up this weekend as high pressure slides across the region. Clouds will increase later on Sunday, as the latest in a series of storm systems in the West causes low pressure to develop in the southern Plains.

Moisture will spread northward in the form of clouds and scattered showers, which will affect viewing of the total solar eclipse on Monday over portions of the path of totality.

Ideally, there will be some periods of sunshine in the Ohio Valley region Monday afternoon, with more precise forecasts regarding cloud cover not until the end of the weekend as a couple of upper-level disturbances move east.

Forecast

• Thursday: Showers, breezy, chilly. High 43
• Tonight: Spotty rain, wintry mix, cold. Low 35
• Friday: Cloudy, breezy, stray shower/flurry. High 46
• Saturday: Clouds linger. High 50 (32)
• Sunday: Partly cloudy. High 57 (31)
• Monday: Mix clouds and sun, isolated showers. High 66 (45)
• Tuesday: Mostly cloudy. High 70 (50)
• Wednesday: Showers. High 68 (52)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – While the total solar eclipse on April 8 will only last a few minutes, drivers could feel the effects for hours after the once-in-a-lifetime event ends.

The 124-mile-wide path of totality, where the sun will be 100% blocked by the moon, will span from the southwest to the northeast portion of the state. Everyone outside this coverage area will have a different view of the occurrence, but all of Ohio falls in at least a 95% coverage zone. 

Central Ohio forecast for the total solar eclipse

“We are treating it sort of as a major travel holiday, so Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, those are among the major travel holidays,” said Matt Bruning, press secretary for the Ohio Department of Transportation. “So what we do around those travel holidays is we will limit any unnecessary maintenance work.”

Limiting construction is not possible on all roadways in the state – Bruning said drivers could face additional congestion in the following areas on eclipse day due to construction:

• Interstate 70 and Interstate 71 in downtown Columbus
• Interstate 70 in Zanesville
• Interstate 75 through Cincinnati and Dayton
• Interstate 475 on the southwest side of Toledo
• Interstate 76,  Interstate 77 and State Route 8 in Akron

ODOT also created an interactive map to display an hour-by-hour look at four potential traffic scenarios based on the number of visitors the state sees: 150,000, 350,000, 575,000 and 625,000. The department created the map by combining data on Ohio’s typical traffic patterns with Kentucky and Tennessee's travel data from the 2017 solar eclipse. 

“What we tried to do is to mash up that data and make some predictions based on roadway type and see where we thought maybe some of the heavier congestion points would be,” Bruning said. “This was intended really for [emergency management and law enforcement] to determine where they wanted to deploy their resources … but certainly the public can use it as a good gauge for what we think the travel patterns are going to look like.”

Total solar eclipse has potential for business boom around Columbus

Bruning expects weather in Ohio to play a role in the amount of visitors the state sees. He said if April 8 is a sunny day, the state will likely see more visitors, especially in northwest Ohio where he predicts people will travel from Michigan. If it’s cloudy, he said people will likely head to another state if they can. 

As for what time of day traffic will be the worst, Bruning said ODOT expects to see the worst traffic immediately after the eclipse. He compared the event to a fireworks display. All morning, afternoon and evening, people trickle in to see the display, but when the grand finale goes off and the fireworks are done, everyone leaves at the same time. 

“We’re telling people come early, stay late, have a plan for maybe doing something nearby that you could just walk to, or maybe you’re viewing from a place where there’s attractions like the zoo or an amusement park,” Bruning said. “Hopefully you can have something to do after the eclipse so that you can avoid immediately getting on the road.”

In Columbus, the eclipse will begin at 1:55 p.m. and achieve peak coverage at about 3:15 p.m., before ending at 4:27 p.m. ODOT’s traffic prediction map shows multiple parts of the state could face the worst traffic in the hours after the eclipse.

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“This is not going to be something where you’re going to be able to zip home,” Bruning said. “If, on a normal day, if going from point A to point B takes you an hour, I would probably double, triple, maybe even quadruple that just depending on how many people come into the state of Ohio.”

For the safety of eclipse viewers, motorists and first responders, Bruning urges the importance of not watching the eclipse from the side of the road. 

“Make sure you’re going to an approved place, that you have permission to be there or it's a public spot but the side of the roadway or the side of the highway is certainly not the spot to watch,” Bruning said.

In Bruning’s overall advice to drivers, he says to “plan, prepare and be patient.” He advises drivers to top off their fuel tank before leaving the spot where they watched the eclipse in case they get stuck in hours of traffic. 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Connecticut-based and family-owned restaurant serving Asian comfort food is set to open its doors this month in a building that once housed a White Castle.

Mecha Noodle Bar is opening a Short North restaurant located inside the former White Castle on 965 N. High St. The Asian-themed spot is set to open on April 12.

Central Ohio restaurant openings and closings so far this year

Food served at Mecha includes pho, ramen and cocktails, riffing on food that can be found in the streets of Southeast Asia. Dishes include some of Asia's most comforting dishes.

According to a news release from Mecha, the noodle bar tries to be more than a dining destination, but an immersive journey into the heart of Southeast Asian culture. The restaurant offers an experience for everyone, whether its a Sunday lunch with family or a late-night cocktail with a date.

The family-founded and family-owned restaurant now has seven locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts, with more to come in Washington, D.C.; Colorado, and Ohio.

A cybercrook who has been setting up websites that mimic the self-destructing message service privnote.com accidentally exposed the breadth of their operations recently when they threatened to sue a software company. The disclosure revealed a profitable network of phishing sites that behave and look like the real Privnote, except that any messages containing cryptocurrency addresses will be automatically altered to include a different payment address controlled by the scammers.

The real Privnote, at privnote.com.

Launched in 2008, privnote.com employs technology that encrypts each message so that even Privnote itself cannot read its contents. And it doesn’t send or receive messages. Creating a message merely generates a link. When that link is clicked or visited, the service warns that the message will be gone forever after it is read.

Privnote’s ease-of-use and popularity among cryptocurrency enthusiasts has made it a perennial target of phishers, who erect Privnote clones that function more or less as advertised but also quietly inject their own cryptocurrency payment addresses when a note is created that contains crypto wallets.

Last month, a new user on GitHub named fory66399 lodged a complaint on the “issues” page for MetaMask, a software cryptocurrency wallet used to interact with the Ethereum blockchain. Fory66399 insisted that their website — privnote[.]co — was being wrongly flagged by MetaMask’s “eth-phishing-detect” list as malicious.

“We filed a lawsuit with a lawyer for dishonestly adding a site to the block list, damaging reputation, as well as ignoring the moderation department and ignoring answers!” fory66399 threatened. “Provide evidence or I will demand compensation!”

MetaMask’s lead product manager Taylor Monahan replied by posting several screenshots of privnote[.]co showing the site did indeed swap out any cryptocurrency addresses.

After being told where they could send a copy of their lawsuit, Fory66399 appeared to become flustered, and proceeded to mention a number of other interesting domain names:

You sent me screenshots from some other site! It’s red!!!!
The tornote.io website has a different color altogether
The privatenote,io website also has a different color! What’s wrong?????

A search at DomainTools.com for privatenote[.]io shows it has been registered to two names over as many years, including Andrey Sokol from Moscow and Alexandr Ermakov from Kiev. There is no indication these are the real names of the phishers, but the names are useful in pointing to other sites targeting Privnote since 2020.

DomainTools says other domains registered to Alexandr Ermakov include pirvnota[.]com, privatemessage[.]net, privatenote[.]io, and tornote[.]io.

A screenshot of the phishing domain privatemessage dot net.

The registration records for pirvnota[.]com at one point were updated from Andrey Sokol to “BPW” as the registrant organization, and “Tambov district” in the registrant state/province field. Searching DomainTools for domains that include both of these terms reveals pirwnote[.]com.

Other Privnote phishing domains that also phoned home to the same Internet address as pirwnote[.]com include privnode[.]com, privnate[.]com, and prevnóte[.]com. Pirwnote[.]com is currently selling security cameras made by the Chinese manufacturer Hikvision, via an Internet address based in Hong Kong.

It appears someone has gone to great lengths to make tornote[.]io seem like a legitimate website. For example, this account at Medium has authored more than a dozen blog posts in the past year singing the praises of Tornote as a secure, self-destructing messaging service. However, testing shows tornote[.]io will also replace any cryptocurrency addresses in messages with their own payment address.

These malicious note sites attract visitors by gaming search engine results to make the phishing domains appear prominently in search results for “privnote.” A search in Google for “privnote” currently returns tornote[.]io as the fifth result. Like other phishing sites tied to this network, Tornote will use the same cryptocurrency addresses for roughly 5 days, and then rotate in new payment addresses.

Tornote changed the cryptocurrency address entered into a test note to this address controlled by the phishers.

Throughout 2023, Tornote was hosted with the Russian provider DDoS-Guard, at the Internet address 186.2.163[.]216. A review of the passive DNS records tied to this address shows that apart from subdomains dedicated to tornote[.]io, the main other domain at this address was hkleaks[.]ml.

In August 2019, a slew of websites and social media channels dubbed “HKLEAKS” began doxing the identities and personal information of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. According to a report (PDF) from Citizen Lab, hkleaks[.]ml was the second domain that appeared as the perpetrators began to expand the list of those doxed.

HKleaks, as indexed by The Wayback Machine.

The address 186.2.163[.]216 also is home to the website rustraitor[.]info, a website erected after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022 that doxed Russians perceived to have helped the Ukrainian cause.

An archive.org copy of Rustraitor.

DomainTools shows there are more than 1,000 other domains whose registration records include the organization name “BPW” and “Tambov District” as the location. Virtually all of those domains were registered through one of two registrars — Hong Kong-based Nicenic and Singapore-based WebCC — and almost all appear to be phishing or pill-spam related.

In keeping with the overall theme, these phishing domains appear focused on stealing usernames and passwords to some of the cybercrime underground’s busiest shops, including Brian’s Club. What do all the phished sites have in common? They all accept payment via virtual currencies.

It appears MetaMask’s Monahan made the correct decision in forcing these phishers to tip their hand: Among the websites at that DDoS-Guard address are multiple MetaMask phishing domains, including metarrnask[.]com, meternask[.]com, and rnetamask[.]com.

How profitable are these private note phishing sites? Reviewing the four malicious cryptocurrency payment addresses that the attackers swapped into notes passed through privnote[.]co (as pictured in Monahan’s screenshot above) shows that between March 15 and March 19, 2024, those address raked in and transferred out nearly $18,000 in cryptocurrencies. And that’s just one of their phishing websites.

View the double rainbow that appeared during Tuesday's severe storms in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A tornado touched down in central Ohio during Tuesday's strong line of thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service.

The "brief and weak" EFO tornado spanned 150 yards in Licking Country and developed in Franklin Township near Sand Hollow, then moving northeast causing mainly tree and minor structural damage, the weather service said. Minor damage to barns and outbuildings was also noted on Poplar Forks Road SE and Fairview Road.

Damage along the entire path was estimated to be caused by 70 to 75 mph winds, NWS said. Tree damage was seen in the path from Sand Hollow Road SE, then northeast along Fairview Road, Brownsville Road SE and across Popular Forks Road SE before the tornado dissipated.

The NWS confirmed on Wednesday that an EF1 tornado hit Adams County near West Union. The tornado started near the intersection of Brier Ridge Road and Robinson Hollow Road and lifted near Adams Lake State Park.

A lightning bolt is seen intersecting with a double rainbow in Clintonville during Tuesday's severe storms. (NBC4 Photo/Adam Conn)

Tuesday began with a strong line of storms that affected the morning commute. After the midday sun, scattered showers and storms came again during the late afternoon. But then came the double rainbow.

Dave Mazza, chief meteorologist of Storm Team 4, said the timing was perfect for a double rainbow, which is more common than a single rainbow when the conditions are right just before sunset.

“Behind the line of strong thunderstorms, we’re seeing a bit of clearing before sunset,” he said, “and that’s allowing us to see the scattering of the light that’s producing the rainbows.”

The NWS said further assessments in other areas for possible tornadoes and damage will continue on Thursday.

Stay weather aware with Storm Team 4 through live radar, weather alerts, closings and delays, live road conditions and push notifications from our apps.

Database and related services provider DataStax is acquiring Logspace, creator of the open source package Langflow, for an undisclosed sum, in order to help developers build generative AI applications faster, it said Thursday.

Langflow is an open-source, web-based no-code graphical user interface (GUI) that allows developers to visually prototype LangChain flows and iterate them to develop applications faster. LangChain is a modular framework for Python and JavaScript that simplifies the development of applications that are powered by generative AI language models or LLMs.  

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