Catching Our Eye News Roundup, July 29, 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

• Public schools. WVXU’s Zack Carreon reports, “Cincinnati Public Schools board will ask voters to approve a new income tax levy.”

In a 5-2 vote Monday night, Cincinnati’s Board of Education decided to proceed with a proposal for a five-year, 0.75% earned income tax. If approved by voters, it would generate $74 million annually.

The school district’s administration says additional revenue is badly needed. In June, the school board voted to approve more than 100 job cuts district-wide, to help close a $58 million budget gap. The district’s treasurer now warns that CPS may need to consolidate schools, add pay-to-play fees for athletics, and reduce student transportation services to avoid deficit spending in 2027 without a new levy.

• Akron data centers. Ideastream’s Anna Huntsman reports, “Akron approves new process for data centers with requirements tied to utility demand.”

Akron has approved new guardrails for future data center proposals. Council unanimously passed a new process that, among other rules, requires data centers to be approved by both the city’s planning commission and city council.

• Racist harassment. WOSU’s Katie Geniusz reports, “Somali business owners say they are still being harassed months after viral Medicaid fraud claims.”

Somali business leaders and community advocates held a press conference in front of the Ohio Statehouse on Monday.

They say Somali-owned businesses in Columbus are facing an increase in anti-immigrant and Islamophobic harassment after being targeted by conservative social media influencers, alleging fraudulent use of public money at their facilities.

• Drones. The Statehouse News Bureau’s Sarah Donaldson reports, “Anduril Industries shows off first Ohio-built autonomous drone.”

Production is underway on autonomous combat aircrafts 30 minutes south of Columbus, just 18 months after Anduril Industries announced its Ashville facilities.

• Injustice department? ProPublica reports, “Federal Judges Chastise Trump’s Justice Department for “Unlawful,” “Unethical” and “Unseemly” Conduct.”

Across the country, federal judges are calling out Department of Justice lawyers, questioning in unprecedented ways whether they can be trusted to tell the truth or uphold centuries-old legal norms.

From Washington, D.C., to Rhode Island to Oregon, federal judges nominated by presidents from both parties, including Donald Trump, have zeroed in on what’s called “the presumption of regularity.” It essentially means that judges must presume that the government — whether it be federal prosecutors, an IRS auditor or an FBI agent — did their jobs according to the rules and in good faith.