Program Directory

 
Feagler and Friends - Colt's Concussion; Ohio's Electoral Map
 
 
 
Redistricting Compromise

Months of partisan bickering came to an end Thursday when state lawmakers agreed on a series of adjustments in the new Congressional redistricting map. The compromise redrew the map and ensured the state will have one, not two, primaries in 2012. The map is drawn in such a way as to make likely the election of twelve Republican representatives and four Democrats.

Faint Heartbeat for Abortion Bill

State Senate president Bill Niehaus has suspended hearings on strict measure that would ban abortion after the first detectable fetal heartbeat. Niehaus acted after supporters offered more than 20 amendments to the House-passed measure. It's unclear when hearings will resume.

Concussion Discussion

Browns coaches and trainers have endured a week of bitter criticism for allowing quarterback Colt McCoy to re-enter last week's Steelers game after absorbing a helmet-to-helmet hit by linebacker James Harrison. McCoy was dazed after the hit and missed a play but Browns president Mike Holmgren says he appeared alert enough on the sideline that trainers didn't administer the usual concussion test. Symptoms did not emerge until after the game. The Pittsburgh linebacker was given a game suspension by the NFL.

Capital Punishment

One of the authors of Ohio's capital punishment law now says it should be repealed. Ohio Supreme Court justice Paul Pfeifer told a House committee that the penalty is not always applied to the worst of the worst, adding the presence of a law providing a penalty of life without possibility of parole is sufficient to punish even the most heinous of crimes. A House proposal, if passed, would end capital punishment in Ohio.

NTSB: Hang Up and Drive

The National Transportation Safety Board this week urged states to ban cell phone use and texting by all drivers. Dozens of states have imposed bans already, but Ohio is not among them. NTSB, which cannot impose the ban itself, pointed to a deadly accident in Missouri last year where the driver at fault received or sent almost a dozen texts in the minute leading up to the accident. The agency also said investigators increasingly find electronic gadgets were distractions that factored into accidents.
December 16, 2011