Catching Our Eye News Roundup, April 16, 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

Ohio school districts in funding crisis. The Dayton Daily News’ Eileen McClory reports, “More levies on horizon as Ohio schools facing ‘funding crisis.’”

Ohio voters should brace for more school tax issues on local ballots as districts across the state say their budgets are harder to predict due to property tax reform, less state funding than expected and changes to the U.S. Department of Education.

“What we’re hearing is that districts are either moving to take steps to be on the ballot this year or in the next two years,” Ohio School Board Association president Tom Hosler said in a recent interview with the Dayton Daily News.

Trump vs. the Pope. The Columbus Dispatch’s Cole Behrens reports, “Columbus bishop speaks out on Trump’s ‘juvenile’ attacks on Pope Leo.”

The bishop of the Columbus Catholic diocese said he was “aghast” after what he said were “juvenile” attacks by President Donald Trump on Pope Leo XIV.

Bishop Earl Fernandes’ remarks to The Dispatch come after Trump began a public clash with Pope Leo XIV over the pope’s criticism of the war in Iran. On April 12, Trump blasted the pontiff on social media, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible” for foreign policy.

Vance and Moreno choose Trump over the Pope. Cleveland.com‘s Sabrina Eaton reports, “JD Vance and Bernie Moreno side with Trump in dispute with Pope Leo XIV.”

Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, who are both Catholic, are siding with President Donald Trump as he escalated a feud with Pope Leo XIV, who has spoken out against U.S. military strikes on Iran and the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.

Moreno offered a pointed rebuke Monday of the first American pope in televised remarks shared by WEWS on social media. “I think my mother would be ashamed of the current pope,” Moreno, a Westlake Republican, said. “I think he has become way too political.”

The tick. The Statehouse News Bureau’s Jo Ingles reports, “The number of tick-related illnesses in Ohio is skyrocketing. Here’s why.”

In 2010, there were 40 reported cases of Lyme disease in Ohio. That soared by nearly 1,000% to 415 in the next ten years. But that number has exploded in recent years.

There were more than 2,800 reported cases of Lyme disease in Ohio last year. That’s seven times more than in 2020. The disease is caused by a bite from a deer tick. Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said there are several reasons why Lyme disease case numbers are climbing in Ohio.