COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio transportation officials say $400 million in federal stimulus money for a new passenger train service is on the way.
The state Controlling Board will need to approve spending the money.
Democrats control the board 4-3, but they will need at least one Republican to vote yes because Senate Republicans placed an amendment in Ohio's transportation budget last year requiring a super majority vote.
GOP leaders have said they won't object to the train project as long as the state has a solid financial plan.
Ohio's project calls for a start-up, 79-mph service connecting Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton and Cincinnati beginning in 2012.
Studies are getting under way for a 110 miles-per-hour service that would later connect to Chicago and cities on the East Coast.
Unemployment in central Ohio in January was at its highest level in nearly 27 years, flirting with double digits for the first time since 1983, according to figures released by the state Wednesday.
Personnel records show the OSU janitor who shot two supervisors, killing one of them before killing himself, early yesterday morning was going to be fired on Saturday.
OSU officials say they are pleased with the response time of university police officers and their campus emergency alert system in the wake of a shooting that left two men, including the gunman, dead.
Columbus City Schools officials say the latest financial review by the state auditor indicates steps the district is taking to improve its accounting are paying dividends.
An OSU maintenance employee opened fire on co-workers this morning, killing one and injuring another before turning the gun on himself, university officials said.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
