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Community leaders and Columbus officials hope that a widened Hamilton Road, new streetlights and the addition of bike lanes will help revive the area near Eastland Mall. The city is prepared to sink more than $20 million into the corridor between Interstate 70 and Refugee Road to find out.adcelannotate = {"mobilepaywallcategory" : "MOBILE_PREM-LOCAL","nativepaywallcategory" : "NATIVE_PREM-LOCAL"};

Former deputy sheriff Joel Jenkins turned Friday and looked at the jurors who soon must decide if he is guilty of murder. And told them that before he fired nine times and shot and killed a man one night almost two years ago, he begged the suspect to let it all end peacefully.adcelannotate = {"mobilepaywallcategory" : "MOBILE_PREM-LOCAL","nativepaywallcategory" : "NATIVE_PREM-LOCAL"};

One week after taking over the Ohio Republican Party, Chairman Jane Timken says the state GOP needs money — and needs it fast. In an email to party leaders today, she said, "It is clear to me after getting into the weeds going through the ORP’s finances that fiscal stability must be the focus of the Central Committee and my chairmanship. ... Coming off of such a significant election cycle we face operating deficits and debts that must be addressed immediately and party coffers that need to be replenished.

The high-pitched calls for help came from the pond behind the Norwich Township firehouse near Hilliard. Floating in bright orange cold-water suits on Thursday were two medical residents acting out the part of victims who had fallen into the cold water.adcelannotate = {"mobilepaywallcategory" : "MOBILE_PREM-LOCAL","nativepaywallcategory" : "NATIVE_PREM-LOCAL"};

Carol Igo was concerned about the prevalence of violence against children and wondered how her church could help, but she didn’t know where to start. That’s when she heard of the Center for Family Safety and Healing, a Columbus organization focused on addressing family violence.adcelannotate = {"mobilepaywallcategory" : "MOBILE_PREM-FAITH_VALUES","nativepaywallcategory" : "NATIVE_PREM-FAITH_VALUES"};

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio plans to regulate submeter companies, but the state's largest electricity utilities say that regulators are not going far enough to rein in abusive practices by these companies.adcelannotate = {"mobilepaywallcategory" : "MOBILE_PREM-BUSINESS","nativepaywallcategory" : "NATIVE_PREM-BUSINESS"};

Priests, pastors and ministers nationwide are spreading the gospel of climate change — as are imams and rabbis. In recent years, faith-based advocacy has emerged as a powerful tool in the environmental movement. By reframing climate change and sustainability as moral issues, religious leaders hope to advance environmentalism by elevating it above the political fray.adcelannotate = {"mobilepaywallcategory" : "MOBILE_PREM-LOCAL","nativepaywallcategory" : "NATIVE_PREM-LOCAL"};

Ten-year-old Mackenzie Lewis sang, spoke and smiled wide Thursday as she received the Governor’s Humanitarian Award at the 32nd annual Ohio Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration at Trinity Episcopal Church.adcelannotate = {"mobilepaywallcategory" : "MOBILE_PREM-LOCAL","nativepaywallcategory" : "NATIVE_PREM-LOCAL"};

WAVERLY — Robert A. Rooker has sat, mostly alone, on the back bench in Pike County Common Pleas Court to watch the murder trial of the former deputy sheriff accused of killing Rooker's son. But when a state prosecutor put photos on a big screen Thursday afternoon and went through them one by one to describe in detail the seven gunshot wounds to 26-year-old Robert C. Rooker's body, the elder Rooker walked out. He had had enough.adcelannotate = {"mobilepaywallcategory" : "MOBILE_PREM-LOCAL","nativepaywallcategory" : "NATIVE_PREM-LOCAL"};

Despite a Statehouse protest by Ohio superintendents two months ago, Gov. John Kasich said Thursday that he won’t back down from tough new state high-school graduation requirements. “A diploma has to mean something,” he told Columbus business leaders. “We don’t want to lower our graduation requirements.”adcelannotate = {"mobilepaywallcategory" : "MOBILE_PREM-LOCAL","nativepaywallcategory" : "NATIVE_PREM-LOCAL"};