Report. Reflect. Respond.
Monday, August 17th, 2026
Welcome to Monday’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 1982, the first compact discs made for sale came off a press line at a Philips plant in Germany.
Back to school with a twist: new elementary teachers will have to pass a math test before teaching it, and every absence now counts toward chronic absenteeism, including a sick day. Find both these stories at the Top of the Fold.
And, in Technology: SpaceX wants AI data centers in orbit and insurers can't price the risk. In our editorial: after the derecho, we like the crew and can't stand the company.
Top of The Fold
New Teachers Must Prove They Can Do Math Before Teaching It
COLUMBUS — Under Senate Bill 19, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine in June, Ohio will require new pre-K through eighth grade teaching applicants to pass a math proficiency assessment before a school can assign them to teach the subject.
The provision takes effect Sept. 23. Failing does not block a license or a job, only the math assignment.
Sponsor Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, testified that nearly a third of Ohio students scored at the lowest proficiency level in math in 2022-23.
Every Absence Counts Now, Excused Or Not
COLUMBUS — Under House Bill 96, Ohio districts have rewritten attendance policies to focus on total instructional time missed rather than whether an absence was excused.
A student is chronically absent after missing 10% of required instructional hours, and illness and medical appointments count toward that total.
Pickerington Local Schools plans to contact families before students hit 5%.
Whitehall says it wants to find the barrier rather than file charges.
The Loans First-Time Buyers Use Are The Ones Going Bad
OHIO — Ohio courts recorded nearly 27,000 foreclosure filings last year, up 7%.
Filings rose another 33% in the first quarter, ninth worst in the country.
FHA loans are the ones most first-time buyers use. Almost 12% of them were behind on payments since spring, with regular loans being under 3%.
Page One
National
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats are demanding answers about food shortages, plumbing failures and mental health problems aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, at sea for more than 200 straight days.
ATLANTA — Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley apologized after reports that police misused the company's license plate camera network, including for stalking.
WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to finalize its 2028 primary calendar, putting South Carolina first on Jan. 22 and moving New Hampshire back to Feb. 8.
Statewide
DUBLIN — Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz is preparing a bid to buy Wendy's and take it private as the struggling burger chain works to reverse falling sales and a wave of restaurant closures.
YOUNGSTOWN — Potential Development, a school for students with autism, wants to expand beyond its three existing buildings by purchasing a former grocery store.
OHIO — The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose 2.4 points to 99.8 in July, its highest level in nearly a year, driven largely by owners' hiring plans despite continued difficulty finding qualified workers.
COLUMBUS — The Ohio State Fair broke attendance and revenue records this year, drawing 1.2 million visitors and generating more than $12.3 million from concessions, rides and games alone.
OHIO — A federal jury convicted Justin Salsburey, a former bodyguard for Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy, and his wife on drug trafficking charges.
WARREN — Ultium Cells plans to restart EV battery production at its Warren plant after suspending operations there in January and laying off about 1,400 workers.
Technology
Data Centers May Be Headed To Orbit. Nobody's Figured Out How To Insure Them.
By The Pennant Staff
NEW YORK — SpaceX wants to put an AI data center in space. It filed with the FCC in January for up to 1 million satellites, and Blue Origin filed in March for 51,600 more.
Google's working on its own version. Insurers, meanwhile, are stuck.
About 30 companies worldwide write space coverage, taking in maybe $750 million a year — nowhere near enough for hundreds of billions in orbital hardware.
One insurance CEO called the whole idea "insane." Ohio's still arguing about the ones on the ground, CNBC reports.
Editorial
The Crew And The Commission
By The Pennant Editorial Staff
Four days after the derecho — a windstorm the size of a hurricane — more than 20,000 homes and businesses still had no power at the end of last week, and crews worked through the weekend to restore power to the rest. Roseville got the worst of it and lost a neighbor to the flooding.
Half the staff in our office went more than three days without power. AEP Ohio President Mark Rider said more than 3,700 workers were out on the lines. Some carried gear into backyards on foot because a truck couldn't get near the pole.
People watched the road for those trucks. When one turned onto your street, it was the best thing you saw all week. Neighbors brought cold water out to the crews. Kids waved.
Then there was the phone. You called to report the outage, and a recording asked you to press a number. It told you it already knew. It gave you a time, and the time moved twice before morning. The text updates kept coming, and after a day or so they started to feel less like information than proof somebody still remembered you were out there.
These companies have communicating without saying anything down to a science.
The Back Page
What do you think of Ohio's new attendance law, which tracks total hours missed instead of excused vs. unexcused absences?
Previous Poll Results
Was your property (residence or otherwise) harmed in any way from Tuesday's storm?
- Yes - 14%
- Yes, and we lost power - 23%
- No - 30%
- No, but we lost power - 33%
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]