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TexasTowelie's JournalOhio State researchers to study how social media affects democracy
Researchers at Ohio State University will be among the first to examine private Facebook data to study the effect of social media on democracy.
The university is among 12 recipients of research grants from Social Science One and the Social Science Research Council, Facebook and Ohio State announced Monday.
Ohio State’s research team will focus on “problematic” sharing on Facebook. They’ll use the data to examine behaviors that “may pose harmful influences on what people learn about science, politics and their community,” Ohio State said in a news release Monday.
“We know that rumors and misinformation spread on social media platforms like Facebook can undermine citizens’ ability to make thoughtful decisions that affect their lives,” Kelly Garrett, associate professor of communication at Ohio State and principal investigator for the project, said in the release. “But we can’t stem these problematic behaviors if we don’t understand them. That’s what this study is all about.”
Read more: https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190429/ohio-state-researchers-to-study-how-social-media-affects-democracy
(Columbus Dispatch)
Feds confirm a compromised email resulted in $1.75M hack at Brunswick's St. Ambrose Catholic Parish
BRUNSWICK, Ohio -- The FBI confirmed Tuesday that St. Ambrose Catholic Parish in Brunswick lost $1.75 million through an email scam whose origin was a compromised business email.
The church released a letter Saturday acknowledging the missing money, but the federal agency remained mum about its investigation until Tuesday when it confirmed that hackers tricked the church into believing that the construction firm hired to repair the church had changed its bank account. The church wired the money to a fraudulent bank account, Father Bob Stec said in his letter.
The FBI, which is working in conjunction with investigators with the Brunswick Police Department, are still investigating and have made no arrest in the case as of Tuesday afternoon. FBI spokeswoman Vicki Anderson said she could not provide any additional information about the case.
The FBI says the church fell victim to what it calls a “business email compromise,” or a BEC, where scammers spoof email accounts and websites, utilize phishing emails that appear to come from trusted sources and malware to gain access to the company’s networks and obtain sensitive billing information.
Read more: https://www.cleveland.com/crime/2019/04/feds-confirm-a-compromised-email-resulted-in-175-million-hack-at-brunswicks-st-ambrose-catholic-parish.html
North Royalton woman sentenced to prison for embezzling $1.1 million from company
CLEVELAND, Ohio — A North Royalton woman who embezzled $1.1 million from her former employer was sentenced Tuesday to more than three years in federal prison.
Tammy Lacqua, 54, took money from C.C. Mitchell Supply Company in Broadview Heights between December 2013 and March 2017, while working as the appliance distributor’s chief financial officer.
She transferred money from the business’ operating account to her credit cards 71 times, forged company owner Jerry Mitchell’s signature on checks and embezzled money through other unauthorized transactions.
Lacqua pleaded guilty in January to six counts of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Christopher Boyko imposed the 41-month sentence and ordered her to pay back the money she stole.
Read more: https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2019/04/north-royalton-woman-sentenced-to-prison-for-embezzling-11-million-from-company.html
Baldwin Wallace University ends 174-year Methodist affiliation
BEREA, Ohio -- After 174 years, Baldwin Wallace University is no longer affiliated with the Methodist Church.
Trustees voted April 26 to sever ties, in reaction to a February church vote against allowing same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy. The “Traditional Plan” angered Methodist churches and schools nationwide, with many debating whether or not to leave the church.
“BW’s Methodist founders were committed to inclusion 174 years ago,” Charles Rotuno, the chair of BW’s board of trustees, said in a press release.
“While we value the relationship that we have had with the United Methodist Church, we’ve concluded that becoming an independent university will allow the BW community to continue to fully embrace and embody the values of diversity and inclusion today and always.”
Read more: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/04/baldwin-wallace-university-ends-174-year-methodist-affiliation.html
Dayton police request Toledo's help as it faces Klan-affiliated rally
Dayton police are requesting assistance from Toledo as officers from the department in southwest Ohio prepare for a rally at the end of May being planned by a group affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan.
On Tuesday, Toledo City Council unanimously approved a mutual-aid agreement between the two cities’ law enforcement departments that stipulates each will assist the other when requested.
Toledo police Lt. Kevan Toney said the agreement stemmed from an upcoming rally planned in Dayton organized by the Honorable Sacred Knights of Indiana, for which Montgomery County approved a permit in February to rally May 25 at Courthouse Square.
The group will be engaged in “education and public speaking,” according to the activity description on the group’s permit application.
Read more: https://www.toledoblade.com/local/police-fire/2019/04/30/dayton-police-request-help-toledo-upcoming-racist-klan-sacred-knights-indiana-rally/stories/20190430123
New Bill Aims To Help Ohioans Save Money For Their First Home
A third of Ohioans are not homeowners. Two lawmakers want to change that with a bill they say will help first-time homebuyers.
Republican Senators Bob Peterson (R-Washington Court House) and Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) say too many millennials are saddled with student debt and can’t save enough for down payments on homes. So they are sponsoring a bill that would allow first time homebuyers to create special savings accounts to help put back money for that purpose.
“The account holders would simply create a savings account as you would right now and once it is open, they can begin depositing funds. Contributions of up to $5000 for single filers and $10,000 for joint filers, plus accrued interest, are tax deductible each year," Gavarone says.
The bill would also allow people to contribute to accounts for others. The program mimics those already in place in a handful of other states.
Read more: https://www.statenews.org/post/new-bill-aims-help-ohioans-save-money-their-first-home
New Bill Would Require Elected Officials To Work A Minimum Amount Of Time To Keep Their Positions
A new bill in the Ohio House would crack down on elected officials at all levels who fail to show up to do those jobs.
Republican John Becker’s (R-Cincinnati) bill would require elected officials to be present in their office at least five days out of 30 in a month or they could lose those positions.
“The elected officials that go to Florida and they are there all winter, they go to Mackinaw or someplace and they are there all summer, and they are simply gone for months at a time, that’s what it is going to prevent," Becker says.
Becker says there would be exceptions for those who are absent due to legitimate illness. He says this bill could include elected officials at local and state levels. Becker says his bill could be passed as a stand-alone measure or could be included into the state budget bill.
Read more: https://www.statenews.org/post/new-bill-would-require-elected-officials-work-minimum-amount-time-keep-their-positions
Former State Lawmaker Is Indicted.....Again
A former state lawmaker is among those facing new federal corruption and fraud charges for their dealings with the city of Dayton.
The indictment says former state Rep. Clayton Luckie (D) was part of a scheme to deceive and scam the city of Dayton. Also charged are former Dayton City Commissioner Joey Williams and former Huber Heights Council member and current Dayton City Employee Roshawn Winburn.
The indictment states Luckie formed a company in the summer of 2016 – months after he was released from a three-year prison term for spending campaign money at casinos, at a jewelry store and other places.
This time, Luckie faces wire and mail fraud charges that could, if convicted, land him in jail for a maximum of 40 years.
Read more: https://www.statenews.org/post/former-state-lawmaker-indictedagain
Ohio Still Lagging In Turnout Among Younger Voters
The US Census Bureau says more people under 24 voted in Ohio last year than in the last few midterm elections. But younger Ohioans still aren’t voting in numbers as big as their counterparts in nearby states.
Ohio’s midterm elections have gone overwhelmingly Republican over the last decade. Last year, 22 percent of 18 to 24-year-old registered Ohio voters did so.
That’s more than twice the figure from 2014 – which had record low overall turnout. And it’s up from just over 20 percent in 2010.
But elections statistician Mike Dawson says that 22 percent figure is still lower than nearby states.
Read more: https://www.statenews.org/post/ohio-still-lagging-turnout-among-younger-voters
Ohio University expels fraternity chapter after student's death
ATHENS -- Ohio University announced today (Tuesday) that the local chapter of the Sigma Pi fraternity is now permanently "expelled" from campus, for multiple violations of OU's policies regarding hazing and alcohol use.
This news comes after the university kicked off a Student Code of Conduct investigation into the Epsilon chapter of the Sigma Pi fraternity early last November after news broke of an OU student dying at an off-campus residence that, the university is alleging, was an unofficial annex of the fraternity.
The student, Collin Wiant, 18, who allegedly was a pledge of the fraternity chapter at the time, was found unresponsive at 45 Mill St. on Nov. 12, 2018, The NEWS previously reported. OU initiated a cease-and-desist order for all organizational activities for the fraternity chapter a day later.
According to documents of the Student Code of Conduct violation hearings provided Tuesday by the university, the fraternity was found, through a preponderance of evidence standard, to have violated 10 different statutes in the Student Code of Conduct. Those include:
Read more: https://www.athensnews.com/news/campus/ohio-university-expels-fraternity-chapter-after-student-s-death/article_d22dde74-6b79-11e9-8c56-f7f982531c1e.html
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