Wednesday, August 5th, 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 Aug. 5, 1914, Cleveland's safety director threw a switch at Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street, and the world got its first electric traffic light.

Voter ID goes before the voters, and 5,000 Kroger jobs may be going overseas — both at the top of the fold.

In today's education section: Americans still say college is worth it, but Ohio freshmen and their parents face major changes to their financing options this fall.

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Ballot Board voted 4-1 on Monday to approve ballot language for Issue 3, a proposed constitutional amendment asking voters whether the state constitution should require an approved form of government-issued photo ID to vote. 

Ohio has required photo ID for in-person voting since House Bill 458 passed in 2022, and the amendment would keep existing religious exemptions and current absentee voting rules in place.

CINCINNATI — Kroger’s new center in India could take over corporate work from its Cincinnati headquarters, potentially saving $500 million and affecting more than 5,000 jobs, according to analyst Brittain Ladd.

Kroger rejected those estimates as “premature and irresponsible,” saying the center is simply part of its effort to modernize, cut costs, and lower prices.

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday from Gurpreet Singh, the West Chester Township man sentenced to death for the April 2019 shootings of his wife and three of her relatives in their apartment. 

Singh says his trial attorneys failed him and that a three-judge panel should never have heard about his relationship with an Indianapolis woman or a family property fight in India, while Butler County prosecutors argue that evidence went straight to motive.

A year at Miami University costs $36,558. Under new federal loan limits, a parent can borrow $65,000 for a child's entire degree. 

The limits took effect July 1 and come from a budget law President Donald Trump signed in July 2025. The Education Department said the caps would stop borrowers from taking on debt they cannot repay. 

What a student borrows each year did not change. Dependent undergraduates may still take $5,500 as freshmen, $6,500 as sophomores and $7,500 as juniors and seniors. 

The change hits Parent PLUS loans, which go to a parent of a dependent undergraduate enrolled at least half-time. The parent, not the student, owes the money and must pass a credit check. 

Parents once could borrow whatever the school cost, housing included. They are now capped at $20,000 a year and $65,000 per child. Families who borrowed before July 1 keep the old rules three more years. 

At Miami, Ohio's priciest public university, a parent borrowing the full $20,000 covers a little more than half a year and runs out in senior year. Dayton, a private school, lists tuition alone near $50,600. 

Cheaper schools narrow the gap but do not close it. Ohio State charges $14,050 in tuition and fees, and housing and dining add $15,738. Four years there runs close to $120,000, and $65,000 covers a little over half. Toledo is among the state's cheapest at about $12,500 in tuition and fees, and housing pushes the four-year total well past the cap. 

Families have other places to look. Ohio State covers tuition and fees for eligible new students at its Lima, Mansfield, Marion and Newark campuses, and for qualifying Columbus State transfers through Buckeye Bridge. Ohio University urges families to file the FAFSA even if they think they earn too much. 

For those who hit the ceiling, private lenders are an option, though Amy Czulada of Protect Borrowers cautions them to read the terms first. Private loans offer no income-based payments and no forgiveness. 

Americans owe about $1.87 trillion in student loans, the Federal Reserve reported for March. About 1.78 million Ohioans carry some of it, at an average balance of $35,072, The Pennant reported Monday. Protect Borrowers counts 428,740 Ohioans in default.

Americans still think a college degree is worth having. They increasingly doubt they can pay for it.

That's the finding of "Valued but Out of Reach," the 2026 Lumina Foundation-Gallup study of 14,000 adults without a degree, nearly 6,000 graduates and 2,000 employers.

Among the results:

Separately, Gallup found overall confidence in higher education fell to 38% this year from 42% in 2025. It stood at 57% when Gallup first asked in 2015.

Should AI-generated images be allowed in art competitions?
- Yes - 0%
- No - 80%
- Unsure - 20%

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