Today From The Ohio Newsroom

Why is Hamilton County getting so much opioid settlement money?

Over the course of 18 years, Ohio and its communities are receiving nearly $2 billion from pharmaceutical companies to compensate for harm caused by opioids. The Ohio Newsroom is following the money. This is our settlement story of the month.

Sweet harmony rings as Ohio singers hone their barbershop performances

Barbershop harmony had its heyday over 100 years ago, but enthusiastic performers keep the tradition thriving in Ohio. Singers from around the state find camaraderie and healthy competition through participation in the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS).

The BHS is the chief governing organization for international competitions and has over 16,000 members all over the world.

A tiny Ohio town is honoring its Black history for the first time

On a snowy December day, Terry and Gwen Shavers are putting the final touches on a small home in Braceville, cleaning up the kitchen and arranging black and white photos along the home’s bright yellow walls.

Ohio drivers face wait times as auto shops search for mechanics

It’s hard to jam all the cars into the lot at Weber Road Auto Service on a busy day.

And they’re basically all busy days.

The local auto shop has been serving Columbus’ North Linden neighborhood for 23 years. With four technicians, including shop owner Eric Easley, and four service bays, the automotive technicians fix between 15 and 25 cars a day.

Garrett Morgan’s long road to inventing the modern-day traffic light

Garrett Morgan was born in 1877 in Paris, Kentucky. His parents were Sydney Morgan and Elizabeth Reed, who were both formerly enslaved.

Quitting vaping is hard. New research shows quitline coaching helps

In an effort to identify ways to help young people quit vaping, researchers at Ohio State University launched a study.

They recruited more than 500 participants between the ages of 18 and 24, most of whom vaped every day, and offered them up to two quitline coaching calls.

How some Ohio cities are bringing new life to old malls

Just off Interstate 75 at exit 68 north of Dayton, the Tipp City Plaza once bustled with businesses, offering a convenient spot to pick up groceries, dry cleaning and lunch all in one stop.

These days, though, about half the storefronts are vacant.

An “AVAILABLE” sign leans against a window so dirty people have drawn shapes into the dust.

Painting Dayton’s skyscrapers: how local artists are using their craft to inspire youth

Inside Willis Bing Davis’s studio, a series of portraits hung on the wall: a charcoal drawing of basketball coach Troy Pearson, an oil painting of Judge Mia Wortham Spells, a digital photo ren

Recreational marijuana sales remain high, six months since legalization

In November of 2023, Ohio became the 24th state to vote to legalize adult-use cannabis. In August of 2024, dispensaries across the state opened their doors.

How Aminah Robinson changed the world — and Ohio — with her art

Off of Sunbury Road on Columbus’s northeast side, the two-story home of Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson stands apart from its neighbors. The front doors have painted images of smiling Black women surrounded by boldly colored sections of red, orange, blue, green and white. Instead of a grassy lawn, there’s bricks and rocks.