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Rotunda Rumblings
Flowers confirmed: Benjamin Flowers, Ohio’s former solicitor general, won Senate confirmation to the influential 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a partisan fight over his judicial philosophy and testimony about the 2020 election, Sabrina Eaton writes. Republicans hailed his legal credentials; Democrats said his answers raised concerns about judicial independence.
Sounding board: Students and Clevelanders who were involved in Cleveland State University’s former student radio station launched a new radio station. XCSB Alternative Media is streaming online and has mobile apps. CSU transferred WCSB 89.3 FM to Ideastream Public Media, which is now broadcasting jazz from the signal. Students are suing CSU. Meanwhile, some have formed the new XCSB station and have leased space for a studio, and another group of students are hoping to begin a station on campus, Laura Hancock reports.
Get the lead out: U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, a Warrensville Heights Democrat, is pushing a pair of bills that would spend billions over the next decade to help communities remove lead paint and lead plumbing from aging homes, Eaton reports. The proposal comes as Cleveland continues to rank among the nation’s hardest-hit cities for childhood lead exposure.
Trial pushback? The federal public-corruption trial of ex-FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Mike Dowling might not start until early 2028, according to the judge presiding over the case. As cleveland.com reports, U.S. District Judge Timothy Black asked both sides in the case about moving the trial from September 2027 to January 2028, citing concerns with the holiday season, juror availability and the possibility of unexpected complications. The federal trial of Jones and Dowling, who are accused of bribing top state officials, is separate from their trial on state charges that’s set to begin early next year.
Maier’s remorse: Republican Elizabeth Maier dropped out of the Ohio House District 27 race on Wednesday, saying in a statement that the demands of the campaign were pulling her away from her family and children. It’s now up to the Hamilton County GOP’s central committee to pick another candidate to challenge incumbent state Rep. Rachel Baker, a Cincinnati Democrat, this fall in the district, which – at least on paper – is one of the most competitive legislative districts in the state.
Full Disclosure
Here are five things we learned from the April 5, 2026 ethics disclosure form filed by Vik Sandhu of Twinsburg, this year’s Republican nominee for Ohio House District 35:
1. Sandhu is involved with several LLCs, including ones that operate a 7-Eleven in Solon and Pizza Booyah restaurants in Willoughby and Willoughby Hills. One of the LLCs he listed was associated with a Valero on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, though Sandhu reported selling his interest in that company last year.
2. Sandhu stepped down as fiscal officer for Richfield Township last October, when he announced that he was moving to Twinsburg and running for the open House District 35 seat being vacated by Republican state Rep. Steve Demetriou of Bainbridge Township.
3. His investments worth more than $1,000 included a stake in GHC Industries, a Cleveland-based private equity and investment firm, as well as a Huntington Bank money market account and two Ohio Public Employees Retirement System accounts.
4. He reported owning a condo in Akron.
5. At some point last year, Sandhu owed more than $1,000 to Capital One and Chrysler, and he was owed more than $1,000 by Gurjeet Singh Pannu and Jassi Dhillon.
On the Move
Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for Ohio governor, has been endorsed by the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association PAC.
Straight from the Source
“We will not commit industrial suicide and we will not allow automotive fentanyl to enter the United States of America.”
- U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Westlake Republican, at Wednesday’s Senate Commerce Committee markup of legislation he introduced that would ban U.S. use of Chinese vehicles and Chinese-developed connected vehicle technologies on national security and economic security grounds.
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