Catching Our Eye News Roundup, July 30, 2026

Every morning in the Ohio Capital Journal’s free newsletter, The Eye-Opener, we round up the news and commentary from across Ohio and around the country and world that is catching our attention. We call this feature Catching Our Eye, republished here.

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Catching Our Eye

• Another school levy. The Toledo Blade’s Melissa Burden reports, “TPS Board of Education votes to send levy to the November ballot.”

The Toledo Board of Education voted unanimously to submit paperwork to the Lucas County Board of Elections to certify a proposed 6.9-mill levy for the November ballot…

In April, the board approved its Transformation 2.0 plan. The recovery plan was designed as a response to a projected loss of $68 million in state and federal funding beginning in fiscal year 2026.

• Hurting public schools, helping private ones. The Cleveland.com Editorial Board writes, “Ohio should not force public schools to sell buildings to private schools.”

These buildings are the people’s property, and their local officials are in a far better position to judge school building uses, conditions and sales than General Assembly members who think one size fits all – which it manifestly doesn’t.

• How taxes in Ohio work. In a Columbus Dispatch opinion column, former editor Michael Curtin writes, “Ramaswamy’s weary staff hasn’t explained property, income taxes to him, so I will.”

It’s no wonder Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign staff, an overworked mop-and-bucket brigade, limits his appearances. He’s flunking Ohio Taxes 101, and they fear what he might say next, spilling arrogance and ignorance.

• Big Bankers and your 401(k). ProPublica reports, “Wall Street Wants to Change the Rules for Your 401(k). It Could Put Your Retirement at Risk.”

Most Americans don’t look to their 401(k) plans for excitement or experimentation, instead relying on the promise that steady saving and sober planning will guarantee security in their golden years. But the Trump administration wants to transform the well-worn patterns of retirement investing.

To do so, it is moving to weaken the main protection workers have over their retirement money. The man in charge of the regulatory rollback is an industry insider whose former clients are among the large companies likely to benefit from his plan.

• Russia helping Iran target U.S. troops. CNN’s Aaron Blake reports, “Does Trump even care if Russia helps Iran target US troops?”

When President Donald Trump launched the Iran war, one of his chief goals was to stop Tehran from funding proxy groups in the Middle East. Those proxy groups, he noted, were responsible for wounding and killing scores of US troops.

When it comes to whether Russia is helping Iran target those Americans, though, Trump seems remarkably incurious. And that’s become a pretty familiar posture for him.

• Maturity. The Hill reports, “Moreno drops f-bomb on Fauci, recalls COVID arrest at football game.”

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) lobbed an expletive at Dr. Anthony Fauci during a Senate hearing Wednesday on the origins of and government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the former White House chief medical adviser invoked his Fifth Amendment right…

“Here I am sitting in front of you six years later, saying, who the f— do you think you were for doing that?” Moreno asked Fauci during the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, seemingly referring to the doctor’s views on masking requirements in the country during the health crisis.

• Bringing AI to Ohio election officials? USA Today’s Alex Perry reports, “Ohio adopts AI for elections, but other states still have concerns.”

Ohio election officials are using an artificial intelligence chatbot to help answer questions about election procedures, but some states remain wary of adopting AI for election-related work.

• Fox News hyping online trolls to attack Mike DeWine. Fox News reports, “Red state governor pummeled online after defying Trump’s deportation orders.”

A Republican governor in a state that voted to elect President Donald Trump is facing intense backlash online after an interview arguing against the president’s order to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) migrants from the United States.