Thursday, October 15th, 2026

Welcome to Thursday’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 1975, Louie Tiant’s complete game lifted Boston past the Reds 5-4 at Riverfront in World Series Game 4. Cincinnati won the series in seven.

In today’s Top of the Fold, Ohio rakes in $200 million more than expected, and DeWine takes on the NCAA for the class of 2022.

And we break down how rising property taxes are hitting seniors and homebuyers, and what the gubernatorial candidates want to do about it.

COLUMBUS — Ohio collected $2.6 billion in tax revenue in September, more than $200 million above projections, the state reported. 

Non-auto sales taxes led the gain, beating expectations by more than $156 million. Budget Director Kimberly Murnieks said the state is on firm fiscal footing. 

Advocates say many Ohioans are still struggling with rising costs, and United Way of Central Ohio’s leader says more than 137,000 have lost SNAP benefits. If the trend continues, the extra revenue would give lawmakers choices such as more tax relief, more money for schools and health care, or added help for struggling families.

COLUMBUS — Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order Tuesday letting Ohio colleges give athletes from the high school class of 2022 a fifth year of eligibility, defying a new NCAA rule. 

Athletes who have played in a professional league aren’t covered. 

NCAA President Charlie Baker said DeWine “cannot legislate NCAA eligibility rules” and urged Congress to pass a bill limiting such lawsuits. 

The order came as a federal appeals panel heard arguments in a lawsuit over the rule. 

Ohio State, Cincinnati and the state’s six MAC schools haven’t said whether they’ll use it. For more on this story, go here.

CLEVELAND — Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo and Akron set record highs for Oct. 13 on Tuesday, with Cincinnati reaching 89 degrees, Cleveland and Columbus 88 and Toledo hitting the mid-80s. 

Youngstown tied its record. A cold front brought showers Wednesday, and a stronger one arrives Friday. 

Cleveland-area highs could fall into the 40s by Saturday, with frost and freeze advisories likely this weekend. 

Meanwhile, most of Ohio’s leaves are changing, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources expects a more colorful peak than recent years in central and northern Ohio in mid-to-late October.

Property taxes are one of the biggest issues in this year’s race for Ohio governor.

Home values have jumped in recent years, and tax bills have gone up with them. The typical Ohio property tax bill rose 23% from 2019 to 2023, according to CoreLogic. Cuyahoga County has the state’s highest property tax rate.

Homeowners and farmers now pay about two-thirds of school property taxes. In the 1970s, they paid less than half.

Seniors on fixed incomes can feel it most, and some advocates worry older Ohioans could lose homes they have already paid off. For families hoping to buy, higher taxes make monthly payments harder to afford.

Last year, lawmakers limited most tax increases caused by rising home values to the rate of inflation. They also gave bigger credits to people who live in their homes.

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy wants to roll taxes back to where they were before the pandemic. A Journal-News analysis found that could cost local governments and schools nearly $4.6 billion. 

Democrat Amy Acton wants more targeted help. She would expand a tax break for seniors, give rebates to people whose bills spike and fully fund the state’s school funding plan. Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, a Republican, says her plan lacks a realistic revenue source. Some Republican lawmakers also say they’ve already passed parts of her plan.

That matters because schools get about two-thirds of all property tax money.

Other ideas are out there, too. One group wants to end property taxes completely and is aiming for the 2027 ballot. A state lawmaker wants to swap local school taxes for one statewide tax.

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