Wednesday, September 2nd, 2026

Welcome to Wednesday’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, Sept. 2, 1969: Chemical Bank installed the first ATM in the U.S. in Rockville Centre, a village on New York's Long Island, southeast of Manhattan.

Top of the fold: Ohio braces for a brutal heat advisory with index values hitting 103, while Labor Day gas prices climb to a record $4.03 a gallon nationally.

And JobsOhio offers employers up to $10,000 per trained technician to fill skilled-worker gaps, and our editorial board examines how colleges and universities built their own financial crisis.

COLUMBUS — The National Weather Service has heat advisories active across most of Ohio, with heat index values reaching up to 103 degrees Wednesday. 

High humidity and overnight lows only dropping to the low-to-mid 70s mean little relief after dark.

Officials warn hot, muggy conditions raise the risk of heat-related illness and urge residents to limit strenuous outdoor activity, especially during afternoon hours.

COLUMBUS — Gas prices are expected to reach $4.03 a gallon nationally this Labor Day weekend, the highest ever recorded, according to GasBuddy. 

That tops the previous record of $3.83 set in 2012. Ohio's average sits at $3.84 a gallon. 

Analysts blame global uncertainty, including U.S.-Iran tensions and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, rather than typical supply and demand, for the spike. 

GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan says peace talks could ease prices, but continued conflict will likely keep costs volatile in the weeks ahead.

OHIO — A federal judge ruled Friday that J.M. Smucker can proceed with its lawsuit accusing Trader Joe's of copying Uncrustables' round shape, crimped edges, and packaging with its own frozen PB&J sandwiches. 

Trader Joe's argued its sandwiches are "squircles," not round, and that Smucker's trademark isn't famous enough for protection. 

The judge disagreed and kept the case in Ohio, rejecting a bid to move it to California.

OHIO — JobsOhio has launched the Technician Path program to help Ohio employers build their own skilled workforce as technician shortages grow statewide — officials say there are five open positions for every qualified candidate. 

The program offers businesses up to $10,000 per employee who completes an approved training pathway, paid in installments: $1,000 at enrollment, $4,000 at a training milestone, and $5,000 upon completing a two-year degree or registered apprenticeship. Funds can cover wages, tuition, recruiting, or administrative costs, and the program is open to businesses of any size. Employers must show matching investment to unlock each payment. 

To participate, companies complete an online application, enroll workers in approved programs, and report progress as milestones are met.

American colleges are in trouble, and they mostly did it to themselves. More than 130 private colleges have closed or merged in the past five years. More than 400 more could close or be forced to merge within the next ten years.

The real problem is that demand for a four-year degree is shrinking. First, fewer babies were born in recent years, which means fewer college-age kids today. That part shouldn't have been a surprise. Demographers have been warning schools about this "enrollment cliff" since the 2008 recession cut the birth rate. Colleges had nearly two decades to plan for it. Many of them ignored the math.

Instead, schools started living in a gravy-train bubble, believing they could keep hiking costs without consequences. Some hit $100,000 a year, assuming a college degree was clearly the only path forward.

They were clearly wrong.

The pay gap between college grads and high school grads dropped 28% between 2015 and 2025. Unemployment for recent grads has climbed above the overall unemployment rate, a complete reversal from 15 years ago. Big employers that have been staples at the college job fairs — Apple, IBM, and Hilton — have started dropping the degree requirement from job postings altogether.

For an electrician, the paycheck starts on day one. With demand for skilled tradesmen still climbing, it's an easy decision for many kids straight out of high school — and there's no six-figure student loan waiting at the end.

Ohio schools are also starting to feel the pinch. Kenyon College offered early retirement to a dozen professors as enrollment slipped. Baldwin Wallace cut nine majors and 19 minors. Wooster laid off staff after losing a third of its students in five years.

No school is safe — big or small. Syracuse, sitting on a $2.5 billion endowment, posted a budget shortfall this year. Sterling College in Vermont, a fraction of that size, will soon be gone for good.

Colleges saw this coming and moved too slowly. Now, for many schools, it might be time to close.

Have you ever eaten wild mushrooms?
- Yes - 10%
- No - 90%

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