Ohio House proposes constitutional amendment about constitutional amendments

Cleveland.com reported that a proposed constitutional amendment that would make it harder to alter the state constitution was introduced on Wednesday by Ohio House members.

Sixty percent of Ohio voters would, under the resolution, be required to approve a proposed constitutional amendment for it to pass. As it presently stands, any proposed constitutional amendment requires only a simple majority.

Each petition signature would be valid for only 180 days, while now, petition signatures have no expiration date. The amendment would also move up the deadline to submit the petition signatures, the hundreds of thousands of them, needed to officiate a proposed amendment on the ballot.

Man sentenced to 21 years for torture

On Wednesday, a Euclid resident who used a blowtorch, knife, pliers, belt and a shotgun to inflict “sadistic torture,” as a judge called it, on his girlfriend was sentenced to 21 years in prison, according to Cleveland.com.

Damon Crim, 39, spent hours torturing the woman in the attack earlier this year. He pleaded guilty to felonious assault, kidnapping, domestic violence and drug possession, and apologized for “not being himself” during the attack.

The domestic abuser is 13 years older than his long time girlfriend, whom he lived with in Euclid.

Senior Cleveland FBI agent to retire

After more than 30 years of his working for the bureau, Cleveland.com reports that Cleveland FBI special agent Steve Anthony has announced his retirement.

He was in this specific position for the past eight years, earning himself the record for longest tenure of special agent in charge of the local office. The FBI requires agents to retire at age 57, so the 56-year-old’s retirement was expected.

In 1988, Anthony began working as an FBI agent in Memphis. At the time, Robert Mueller served as the FBI Director and appointed the agent to replace Frank Figliuzzi. He came to Cleveland in 2011 when federal officials were involved with a corruption investigation in Cuyahoga County.

Vote blocks local bans, fees on plastic bags

The Ohio House passed legislation on Wednesday which prohibits city fees for plastic bags and other methods of packaging in order to reduce trash, according to Cleveland.com.

While it has yet to be approved by the state senate and Gov. John Kasich, the bill was applauded by supporters as a pro-business move. Democratic critics, however, believe the bill could intrude on cities’ regulation and removal of discarded grocery bags and other disposable packaging.

Cuyahoga Community College alum appointed trustee of Tri-C

Cleveland.com reported that the newest member of the Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) board of trustees, Phoebe Lee, was appointed to the position after taking classes there almost two decades ago.

Lee, the CEO of Affinity Apparel, took classes through Tri-C as part of the College Credit Plus program, a state initiative which permits high school students to get a jump start on obtaining college credits. She was appointed to the board with a term ending in 2023 by Kasich.