Tuesday, July 7th, 2026

Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The Pennant. To listen to this newsletter, click the “Listen Online” link in the top right corner of this email.

On this day in 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced his nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor to the U.S. Supreme Court, making her the first woman named to the nation's highest court.

Four people are dead - including a police officer - after a shooting on Sunday. Read about the story in the Top of the Fold.

Also, petitions to block data center projects are popping up all over Ohio. Before you sign one, find out if they’re telling the whole story - in our Government section.

RITTMAN, Ohio — Rittman police Sgt. Scott Ries was killed, and several other officers were wounded in a shooting Sunday night that also left a mother, her 13-year-old daughter, and the gunman dead, authorities said.

Officers came under fire responding to a reported disturbance around 9:30 p.m., and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has taken over the case in the Wayne County town of about 6,000 outside Akron.

Four members of the Siders family face 16 counts each of child endangering after deputies found 16 children, ranging from 18 months to 18 years old, living in deplorable conditions inside a Vinton County home where authorities say they went undetected for about four years.

Court records show two of those charged, Gary Siders Jr., 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33, were married in West Virginia in 2008 when he was 18 and she was 15.

Of the 16 children rescued, seven were taken to hospitals, including one who was in critical condition and had to be intubated.

COLUMBUS — Columbus opened a submission portal for its first participatory budget, the "Our Voice, Our Choice Budget," giving residents a direct say over $9 million in capital funds split evenly among the city's nine council districts.

Residents can now submit neighborhood project ideas — from streetlights to pocket parks — which budget delegates will shape into formal proposals before a public vote begins Nov. 2.

Link line: Submit an idea at Columbus's "Our Voice, Our Choice" budget portal.

COLUMBUS — Petitions are circulating in communities across Ohio that supporters say would stop data center projects, though the measures typically do more than that.

Most are aimed at large data centers, which draw heavy amounts of power and water. But the proposals generally reach beyond any single project. They require a citywide vote before local officials can approve major development, shifting decisions that now rest with elected city councils and mayors to the ballot box.

Residents have long had avenues to challenge a specific project over its water use, electricity demand, traffic, or other local effects. In some cases, though, these petitions go further, rewriting how a local government makes decisions rather than contesting one development.

Written broadly, some versions could also apply to businesses already operating in a community, and a few include daily fines for companies found out of compliance with the new rules. Supporters say the measures give residents a direct voice. Critics warn they could freeze routine growth and prompt existing employers to reconsider expansion.

The petition drives have also drawn scrutiny over how signatures are gathered. Under Ohio Revised Code 3599.14, misrepresenting the contents, purpose, or effect of a petition to persuade someone to sign is a fifth-degree felony, and the law applies to individual circulators, not only the groups behind a measure.

Residents may withdraw their signatures before a petition is filed with a county board of elections. After filing, formal protests over how a petition was circulated can be brought before the board within strict deadlines.

If you signed one of these petitions and believe its purpose or effect was misrepresented to you, contact [email protected].

Cincinnati-based Kroger Company has agreed to acquire Giant Eagle in a transaction valued at $1.65 billion, combining $1.25 billion in cash with the assumption of roughly $400 million in Giant Eagle's outstanding liabilities.

Giant Eagle operates 197 supermarkets and 11 standalone pharmacies across northern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Indiana, generating approximately $9 billion in annual sales. The companies expect to close in 2027, pending a regulatory review that could require Kroger to divest stores in markets where the combined footprint raises competitive concerns.

The acquisition extends Kroger's reach into adjacent regions where it has held little ground, and the company intends to fund the purchase entirely with cash while maintaining its dividend and shareholder returns. For a chain coming off an underwhelming first quarter, the move signals a disciplined bet on regional expansion.

When two major chains combine, shoppers typically notice the visible things first: rebranded storefronts, a merged loyalty program, and shifts in private-label products on the shelf. A handful of locations could also close where the two overlap.

Labor is a quieter but significant question. Both companies rely on unionized workforces — many northeast Ohio Giant Eagle workers are represented by UFCW Local 880 — so integration will hinge on how competing contracts, seniority, and benefits are reconciled.

The Pennant welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns from readers. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity, and AP style. The Pennant reserves the right to verify all information contained in submissions before publication.

Please send all submissions to [email protected]