Did Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office cut too sweet a deal with FirstEnergy over corruption? Today in Ohio (2024)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- FirstEnergy will avoid state criminal prosecution over its starring role in the House Bill 6 bribery scandal in exchange for paying $20 million, under a deal quietly signed Monday with Attorney General Dave Yost’s office.

We’re talking about how FirstEnergy will pay $250 million to elude criminal prosecution (plus another $100 million in expected regulatory penalties) for paying tens of millions in bribes to top state officials to secure super-lucrative policy priorities on Today in Ohio.

Listen online here.

Editor Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with editorial board member Lisa Garvin, impact editor Leila Atassi and content director Laura Johnston.

You’ve been sending Chris lots of thoughts and suggestions on our from-the-newsroom text account, in which he shares what we’re thinking about at cleveland.com. You can sign up here: https://joinsubtext.com/chrisquinn.

You can now join the conversation. Call 833-648-6329 (833-OHTODAY) if you’d like to leave a message we can play on the podcast.

Here’s what else we’re asking about today:

What is Sherrod Brown’s argument for trying to remove college degrees from qualifications to get a bunch of jobs with the federal government?

Cleveland is the headquarters for KeyBank, a major player in the banking world. Is that status in jeopardy following a surprise deal KeyBank’s parent company announced with another banking company?

We have a couple of disturbingly similar crime stories worthy of discussion. The first involves Bobby George, the controversial owner of Town Hall, a restaurant that is a fixture of the West Side Market neighborhood. What is he accused of?

Next up is player for the Cleveland Browns, who can’t afford this kind of controversy as they seek giant subsidies from the taxpayers for their stadium plans. Who is he, what is he accused of?

Jimmy Malone has been on Cleveland’s radio airwaves for almost 40 of his 70 years and is well known for his Knuckleheads in the News feature. But he’s off the air as of today. How come?

Kentucky is America’s bourbon center, but that doesn’t stop bourbon makers from trying to go local. What is Maker’s Mark doing to appeal to people in Ohio?

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Read the automated transcript below. Because it’s a computer-generated transcript, it contains many errors and misspellings.

Chris (00:00.998)

It’s Wednesday on Today in Ohio, which means we have Courtney Astolfi with us, the City Hall reporter for Cleveland .com and The Plain Dealer. She’ll be with us all of next week as well, something to look forward to. It is the news podcast discussion from Cleveland .com and The Plain Dealer. I’m Chris Quinn here with Lisa Garvin, Laura Johnston and Courtney. And we begin with Lisa. First Energy has made a deal with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to avoid prosecution.

in state court for its role in the HB6 bribery scandal Lisa did they get off cheap?

Lisa (00:38.567)

I would say yes and no, but that’s to be determined. So there was an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that was signed Monday by Attorney General Dave Yost in which First Energy will pay $19 .5 million within five business days to avoid prosecution for the House Bill 6 bribery scandal. The agreement with the SEC also suggests that Yost

donate whatever is left over after reimbursem*nts to the attorney general’s office and Delaware County prosecutors for investigation costs and take the rest of that money and donate it to a non -energy charity. They will also pay half a million dollars to hire an individual consultant to review the programmatic changes and remediation efforts by First Energy. And this is the big one. They have to cooperate with the attorney general on all House Bill 6 related probes.

not protected by the attorney -client privilege. This includes the criminal cases against former CEO Chuck Jones and lobbyist Mike Dowling. The agreement also settles a 2020 civil lawsuit that was filed by Yos that was seeking unknown damages in the case.

Chris (01:46.36)

It seems cheap given what they spent. I think somebody raised this on a recent discussion. It might have been you, Lisa, that in the end, what First Energy got out of HB6 dwarfs what it’s paying in penalties. I worry about this state investigation. The feds should have charged Dowling and Jones, the head guys that ran the whole thing, and they never did.

And then Yoast stepped in and you hope that there wasn’t some deal made to get it into state court where eventually it goes away. I was interested to see something I had not known before, but Yoast himself is no longer affiliated with the case. Yeah, the story said he stepped away because he did not want the inference that it was politics against Mike DeWine because Yoast has made clear he wants to run for governor.

Lisa (02:25.272)

really?

Chris (02:38.032)

John Husted, the lieutenant governor, is also running for governor. And so he said that he’s insulated himself from the decisions on the case to make sure nobody says it’s politics, which is a good sign.

Lisa (02:51.719)

Yeah. And when I first saw that $20 million, I was like, God, they got off real easy because, you know, they back in 2021, they paid $230 million to avoid federal charges. So that’s 250 million they’ve paid to date to avoid prosecution of any kind. But they’re also facing $100 million in regulatory penalties. And some consultants had told First Energy that if you had been indicted, the fines could have been up to three point eight billion dollars.

Chris (03:20.964)

Yeah, I do feel like they are getting off at a discount. This did not seem like a big enough penalty to me. But really, I think Ohioans would be satisfied if the first energy people who did this scam went to prison. It’s clear that the scam happened. It’s clear that the state side has all been paying the price, lots of guys in prison and such.

But the two guys that made the decisions stand clear. The fact that the feds, despite all the evidence, didn’t charge him, it stinks to the high heavens. I really wonder what that’s about. And I just hope that Ohioans get their moment of justice. When you break the law, you need to pay the penalty, especially on this scale. And I fear that this case isn’t going to take it to that extreme.

Lisa (04:09.933)

Well, but he is saying they have to cooperate with his office on any investigations. I think that’s a big, you know, I can never see Yoast letting them off completely. I mean, I don’t think that’s his goal, but you know, he’s saying, look, you’re going to pay this money, but you’re also going to cooperate with us.

Chris (04:27.854)

The feds did the same thing though and they never they never followed through. I’m with you. I hope it works out. In Ohio, we’re owed this. This is the biggest scam upon the populace that’s ever been perpetrated. The guys who created it should be paying the price. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. For the next few months on this podcast, we’ll have a heightened focus on JD Vance. Ohio has not had a candidate on the presidential ticket for decades.

And we think Vance’s presence on it deserves more discussion on a podcast that’s really about Ohio news. Today, Laura, let’s talk about a CNN story from yesterday about a company Vance invested in. What did CNN find?

Laura (05:11.069)

So this is App Harvest, which is a startup that promised a high tech future for farming in Eastern Kentucky. So it really fit with that Appalachia image that JD Vance has cultivated. So Vance was an early investor, a board member, and a public pitchman for this company over a four year span. He said it was a great business that was making a difference in the world. But really, it feels like a shell company that promised great things but never delivered. And when it went

public, was worth over a billion dollars. They actually had to stop trading. It was so volatile, but then it lost so much of its value in the first six months when people realized that the pretty pictures were not what this company was actually living up to. They promised great benefits for their workers and fairness and a way to get ahead. But really, the workers were working in incredibly overheated environments. According to the workers themselves who talked to CNN and also some documents filed, they said they were

getting heat exhaustion and there were people leaving in ambulances and then that wasn’t an excuse for why they couldn’t be working. And when people kept quitting as the benefits got cut and it seemed like an untenable job, they brought in migrant workers and the allegations are that they would hide those migrant workers when visitors came because they wanted to show that this was an American company working for American workers and it never lived up to the promise.

Chris (06:37.786)

It’s a disturbing picture of something he invested in after he wrote his book. He was very quickly swallowed up in all sorts of high tech companies that helped train him in investing. this is one of the big companies. The question I come away after all of this discussion about G .D. Vance over the last month is, did the Trump people do any vetting? I tell you, how do you not find all of the wacky stuff he said and this kind of exposure?

Laura (06:59.259)

Right, I had the same thoughts.

Chris (07:07.652)

Lots of people wonder if they’ve made a colossal blunder picking him and you have a hard time arguing against that notion. They can’t really dump him now. That would seem even more indecisive and foolish, but this is ugly stuff and he was involved in it. just every day seems to bring another wrinkle about this guy that is not attractive in a candidate.

Laura (07:30.395)

It’s interesting because he has almost zero political history to look at, right? He was just been a senator for two years. We can look at his voting history and what he sponsored, but there’s not a lot there. But you have to look at the business stuff. You have to look, we have been looking into his book. Other people are looking into the book and what he invested in and all of his time in venture capital firms. And yeah, you think that they would have done some due diligence because these are the kind of workers that Vance himself has pledged to.

protect and to represent and Trump has based his image on that kind of, obviously make America great again, get the manufacturing, have the jobs, but this doesn’t, I mean, this is the sham.

Chris (08:09.497)

Yeah.

Chris (08:13.454)

It’s a false image though. They haven’t done anything for it. It is interesting that we know very little about the background of a guy who would be a heartbeat away from the most important role pretty much on the planet. Shocking that this stuff keeps coming out. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. We wondered Monday why Cleveland’s Greyhound terminal would not be downtown as originally planned. Now we know. Blame Cleveland State University. Courtney, why?

Laura (08:15.718)

Exactly.

Courtney (08:40.694)

Yeah, CSU tells us now that they vetoed this idea of putting the Greyhound terminal on their campus out of safety concerns, out of financial concerns, other logistical concerns. A university spokesperson told us that the safety and security of the CSU campus and the strategic and financial priorities of the university have to come first. And as we know, this means the new transit center, which we’ve known for some time, would relocate out of its historic downtown station.

So it’s going to go to Brook Park instead of the CSU location. It’ll be 12 miles from downtown in Brook Park and it’ll be plopped down on RTA property just east of the Brook Park rapid station. Now, when we’re looking at the CSU option, the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Transit Center, it is on CSU’s campus. It is owned by CSU, but they lease it to RTA. So CSU did have the ability to weigh in on its properties future, right? And

In April, we were told RTA was completing due diligence at that site for the potential move. But a spokesperson told us that CSU is, you know, in the months between April and June, when that possibility was shut down by the university, you know, this is a kind of a wild time for CSU. We know they’re struggling financially. They’re developing their next strategic plan, trying to figure out what their next steps and next chapter is. So this, spokesman told us,

coupled with what CSU described as cost safety and security concerns, they just found this wasn’t a feasible option for them right now.

Chris (10:16.41)

Well, I imagine they would have gotten revenue from having it there. Here’s my question. How is having Greyhound more of a safety and cost concern than having RTA buses? I just don’t get that.

Lisa (10:22.555)

Mm.

Lisa (10:26.737)

Mm -hmm

Courtney (10:29.164)

Yeah, I’m curious about the logic there. The safety and security concerns, I’m sure they didn’t want folks coming and going. But again, your point stands. The logistical and financial piece of this and how it would affect the campus, I’m curious more about that route because I suspect that played a big role here.

Chris (10:45.977)

Yeah.

Lisa (10:47.333)

Yeah, sounds like a bunch of hooey to me.

Chris (10:51.588)

Me too. It just makes no sense that you’re against the Greyhound crowd, but you welcome the RTA crowd. It’s an odd one. I didn’t like this site because I don’t think there’s enough parking for people that are dropping passengers off. But to hear this is the reason, you just wonder what is CSU thinking.

Courtney (11:10.423)

Brooke Park is happy about the move at least that they’re the mayor there we heard is happy to welcome the terminal to their city.

Chris (11:18.21)

a terminal and a Brown Stadium. Ha ha ha ha. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. What is Sherrod Brown’s argument for trying to remove college degrees from qualifications to get a bunch of jobs with the federal government? Lisa, he’s running for reelection, clearly.

Courtney (11:21.48)

Hmm.

Lisa (11:35.015)

Yeah, Sherrod Brown introduced the Federal Jobs for Stars Act, which would remove unnecessary educational requirements from postings for federal civil jobs. It requires the Office of Personnel Management to block agency heads from setting minimum educational requirements for their jobs unless those required skills can only be obtained with a specific degree. So...

This basically is saying that they should consider things like on the job training, community college, apprenticeships and other experience that don’t have a degree, but have the skills to do the job. So this actually began as an executive order from former president Donald Trump. It was continued by the Biden administration. So what it would do, it would replace degree requirements with skills and competency based hiring metrics.

Brown says 70 % of Ohio workers lack a bachelor’s degree, but they have gained important skills through the military, apprenticeships, and other areas. He says, if you can do the job, you should be eligible for it, even if you don’t have a degree.

Chris (12:39.866)

I would hope, though, that this does leave discretion with the employing agency to make that call. The agencies understand what their needs are. And in some cases, they may think the college degree is important because it shows that you put the time in and did the academics, whatever it is. But to just unilaterally say, yeah, you don’t need a college degree, it’s a little bit risky there that you’re going to end up with a less educated workforce. And just saying, well, they can do the job.

We’re not talking about screwing nuts and bolts together. Some of this stuff requires a real background in the subject matter of what the job is.

Lisa (13:18.407)

But do you always get that subject matter expertise from a college? I don’t know that that’s true.

Chris (13:23.694)

I well, all I’m saying is a blanket decision like this doesn’t seem like the answer. If you say, look, I don’t want these to be unilaterally required. That’s as bad as saying they should be non unilaterally required. mean, to make blanket decisions instead of leaving it to the the agencies that understand what they do. Look, the EPA knows what it needs. They know what what it takes to get the job done and having

senators and house members tell them how to do it isn’t the smartest way to go necessarily. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Cleveland is the headquarters for KeyBank. A major player in the banking world is that status in jeopardy following a surprise deal KeyBank’s parent company announced with another banking company, Laura.

Laura (14:13.939)

So no one’s saying this is any kind of sign of trouble. Canadian Scotiabank is going to buy $2 .8 billion worth of KeyCore stock, and that gives it close to a 15 % stake in the parent company of KeyBank. The stock price sorted that news, jumping from $14 .63 per share on Friday to as high as $17 .03 on Monday. And that is American money, not Canadian. And the shares closed about $15 .94 on Monday. That’s up 9 .1%.

So the idea is this will give KeyBank more capital, that it can do more things because it has more money and help Key grow. And Scotiabank says it’s going to help them in the long term too. And although it’s called Scotiabank, which makes you think of Nova Scotia, which is a province in Canada, apparently it is headquartered in Toronto.

Chris (15:03.93)

You love this story because the Canadian bank is getting a piece of America.

Laura (15:07.123)

Well, my husband works for Key. I want to put that out there. I never heard about this from him. My understanding comes directly from Sean McDonald’s reporting. But this is not unheard of. forget, think it’s RBC, the Royal Bank of Canada has offices in New York City and probably elsewhere in the United States. The Bank of Montreal worked with Harris Bank, I believe, in Chicago. So this happens and

Both companies are saying this is good news that they’ll be able to expand. know, Key is competing against the Chase banks and the Bank of America, and it is still a lot, you know, a small, it’s a big bank, but it’s not as big as those. So I guess it’s got to think about its future.

Chris (15:51.088)

All right, you’re listening to Today in Ohio. We have a couple of disturbingly similar crime stories worthy of discussion. The first involves Bobby George, the controversial owner of Town Hall, a restaurant that is a fixture in the West Side Market neighborhood. Courtney, what’s he accused of?

Courtney (16:09.356)

Yeah, Bobby George, he is accused of attempted murder, rape, multiple counts of strangulation, multiple counts of kidnapping. We learned about these serious charges, you know, just over a day ago and yesterday George turned himself in and he made his first appearance in Cleveland municipal court. Now these, these allegations are extraordinarily serious, obviously. And judge Sheila McCall.

who handled the hearing for George, set his bond at $200 ‚000. Now that was double what the prosecutors and George’s defense attorney were asking for, but McCall wasn’t on board with putting the bond at $100 ,000. She called the accusations in this case horrible, and she also warned George not to contact the alleged victim. George later in the day bonded out. He posted 20 grand.

That’s typical. You have to post 10 % usually of whatever your bond is. And he was released and at his hearing that morning, McCall told him, don’t talk to the alleged victim. It’s a 25 year old woman. And McCall really kind of referenced and hammered home the protective order that’s now in place after George agreed to it during yesterday’s hearing.

Chris (17:27.334)

He’s a controversial guy on Reddit today. Somebody posted, or maybe it was yesterday, posted a note saying, hey, I’m seeing all this hate directed at Bobby George. This seems like a regular case to me. Why is everybody pouncing on this guy? And then more than 100 people come flying in to say why everybody really doesn’t like him. It’s about his employment history and the way he treats workers, yada, yada, yada. We also, Mike Norman, our entertainment editor, forwarded...

A link yesterday, one of the British newspapers is all over this story because of course, George and Town Hall caught some headlines during the Olympics with the bit of their dog whistle stuff having to do with that opening ceremony that some people tried to argue was anti -Catholic when it wasn’t.

Courtney (18:16.022)

Yeah, George is just kind of one of those names in Cleveland. As long as I’ve been here, there’s some kind of public uproar about something he’s done or his father’s done or some practice at his business. So, you know, George has drawn the spotlight in a variety of negative ways for years. So I guess it’s not that surprising that everyone’s paying close attention to these very serious charges. We were able to get ahold of police and court records.

that really kind of detailed Georgia’s alleged assaults on this woman over a period of time in recent months. There’s a variety of allegations here. We don’t need to get into all the nitty gritty, but you know, it included threatening her with a loaded gun. It included allegations of sexual assault. It includes a really bad assault incident as described in police and court records in which, you know, her, her head was

hit multiple times into a table. It’s really scary stuff and I’m sure we’ll be paying close attention to this going forward.

Chris (19:15.342)

Yeah.

Lisa (19:16.496)

Yeah.

Chris (19:22.638)

Yeah, the details are quite quite vivid. I do wonder what this means for Town Hall. When the Browns brought in Deshaun Watson, we saw women running from that team in droves. They were so offended they would bring in a guy with his history, the accusations against him by so many women. I wonder if that happens to Town Hall. I I just I don’t see women in Greater Cleveland. If this turns out to be true, frequenting the place owned by somebody who

has committed such heinous acts if he is indeed convicted of them.

Courtney (19:54.636)

And there are other big restaurant names involved with the George family. Bobby George also owns Barley House, which is a huge location on West 6th Street. His father owns Harry Buffalo. There’s a lot of businesses around connected to George, so I’m too curious about the impact.

Lisa (19:55.259)

There are other big restaurant names involved with the George family. Bobby George also owns Farley House, which is a huge location on the 6th Street. His father owns Harry Cuffalo. There’s a lot of businesses around connected to George.

Chris (20:11.086)

Next up is a player for the Cleveland Browns, not Deshaun Watson. And the Browns really can’t afford this kind of controversy as they seek gigantic, ridiculous subsidies from taxpayers for their stadium plans. Who is the Brown that’s in trouble and what is he accused of? Courtney.

Courtney (20:25.614)

Yeah, in this case, Brown’s rookie defensive tackle, Michael Hall Jr., who was drafted earlier this year, he’s accused of putting a gun to his fiance’s head and threatening to kill her during a fight at their home on Monday night. Hall’s 21. He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment yesterday at Cleveland Municipal Court. He’s facing one count of domestic violence and he was able to jail without, he was not required to pay bond. He was released from jail without paying bond.

Lisa (20:25.881)

Yeah, in this case, Brown’s really defensive tackle. Michael Hall Jr. was drafted earlier this year.

Lisa (20:35.743)

the fight allegedly according to police records.

Courtney (20:55.442)

And again, we’ll have to see where this case goes. The fight allegedly, according to police records, started after Hall’s fiance had asked him to pay for her child’s dental procedure. Then a whole series of events unfolded. He allegedly drug her outside by her feet. And at one point he allegedly put a handgun to her temple and threatened to kill her. And her mom...

Also talked to police and shared some details of this alleged assault as well. Eventually, the woman was able to escape and he got into a car and left for a hotel where Brown’s players were expected to be.

Chris (21:28.826)

Yeah, that’s it.

Lisa (21:28.845)

Eventually, the woman was able to escape and gotten her retirement left for a hotel room.

Chris (21:36.454)

Yeah, it’s another case where the details are pretty vivid. This is not some vague report. There’s the victims are in both cases, laying out some very, very disturbing details. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Jimmy Malone has been on Cleveland’s radio airwaves for almost 40 of his 70 years and is well known for his knuckleheads in the news feature. But he’s off the air as of today. Lisa, how come?

Lisa (22:03.399)

Yeah, he was let go by news radio WTAM 1100, which is owned by I Heart Media, which posted a second quarter loss this year of $910 million. And they’ve been losing money like crazy over the last couple of years, at least. So Malone joined WTAM in 2022. He brought his sports talk show over from Fox Sports 1350. As you said, he’s been in Cleveland radio since 1985. He first became a regular and then a

co -host on the Magic 105 .7 Morning Drive Show, and he ended up being there almost 35 years. The reason given for Malone’s departure was a cost -cutting move by iHeart. There were more than two dozen iHeart employees let go across the United States, including the program director here in Cleveland at WGAR 99 .5 country station, Carletta Blake. She said, I was the only...

the second female program director for WGAR, and she’s proud of what she did there in her five years. Malone did thank his listeners in a social media post. He said he was tremendously disrespect, he said it was tremendously disrespectful not to give him the chance to say goodbye to his listeners and community after 35 years. And I’ll tell you, as a 20 year veteran in radio, if they let you go, you’re not getting a farewell show. You’re gone. And usually by the end of that day.

which is unfortunate, but that’s how it goes. And he says he doesn’t know what he’s going to do yet. Next, he said, you know, he’s weighing his options.

Chris (23:32.45)

It is a shame though that somebody who is that well known and has put in that many years can’t do it. Make it a recorded show so that you make sure they’re not saying things that you wouldn’t want to be aired on your station. But to give him a shot, he’s not being fired for cause. They’re saving money. He’s a beloved figure. And I imagine there are whole bunch of people that would want to...

Lisa (23:49.296)

Right.

Chris (23:55.034)

to say, it’s been great. I feel bad for a guy like that who’s invested that much time. I get it. It’s not the way it works, but it should. They should have given him a shot.

Lisa (24:03.903)

I agree, but that is absolutely not how it works in radio. I mean, I got a farewell from NPR only because I told them I was leaving. I gave them like six months notice and they did give me a last show where everybody came on and said goodbye, but that’s pretty rare in the world of radio. And if you’re let go, you just don’t get that chance, which is a shame, but that’s how it is.

Chris (24:07.75)

Hahaha

Chris (24:25.36)

But I’ll bet your listeners appreciated the fact that there was closure with that goodbye show. you’re supposed to be about serving your audience. And him saying goodbye and having a nice goodbye moment would do that. Look, he’s very well regarded. People love him. He does a golf tournament every year that raises money for charity. He’s been around a long time. And it just does seem awkward that you just severed, even if that’s the state of radio.

Lisa (24:30.139)

Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.

Lisa (24:40.133)

Mm -hmm.

Lisa (24:50.727)

Yeah. Yeah, it does suck.

Chris (24:54.704)

You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Let’s talk booze. Kentucky is Americans bourbon center, but that doesn’t stop bourbon makers from trying to go local. Laura, I know you’re not a bourbon person, but what is Makers Mark doing to appeal to people in Ohio?

Laura (25:09.331)

I hope anyone will help me out with this because yes, I’m not a bourbon drinker, but this was made with Ohio ingredients specifically for Ohioans. So they started with Makers Mark Cast -Strength Bourbon that’s made from local grains and water from the Springfield Lake on the Starhill Farm that they own and they have special aging. They worked with a team to choose five different French and American oak strips to make up the barrel and then they aged it five and three quarters to seven years and then

They use those barrels to make three different expressions and then age that for nine weeks in a limestone cellar on Maker’s Market property. So there’s these three different types. You can get Home Sweet Ohio that’s got a nose of vanilla, dried fruit, and cocoa with a flavor of toffee, roasted nuts, and orange peel. I love these descriptions, even when they do it for wine. And they’re like, you know, these notes of whatever. And I just drink it. I’m like, tastes like wine.

Tastes like good wine. I am so not an alcohol expert. Ohio Orchard Select has a nose of butterscotch, vanilla, and oak. It develops into a toasted marshmallow, cinnamon, and baked apple palate and finishes with a creamy texture, which sounds delicious, especially if you’re having it on a campfire. And then there’s Ohio Rocks, which is a headliner with an instant impact.

Chris (26:30.084)

Yeah, and you can buy one of each. They limit it so as many people can get it. And unlike some of the other bourbon special things that Mark Bone has written about, the prices for this aren’t out of the world ridiculous.

Laura (26:32.882)

Yes, you could.

Laura (26:43.153)

You know I wasn’t Louisville in December and saw that bourbon trail I have there and it’s become hugely possible popular people will go just for weekend to go from distillery to distillery to try them all and to buy the bottle so I mean I think it’s cool that this is Ohio specific and probably bourbon lovers are snatching it up.

Lisa (26:57.403)

This is Ohio’s Pacific.

Chris (27:03.398)

But there was another, man, but there was another study out just yesterday talking about how alcohol, especially for people 16 and older, is directly linked to cancer and heart disease in any amount. And the US is trying to figure out what its recommendation should be because of this overwhelming science. It’s just an odd one. We’re talking about celebrating bourbon at the same time science is coming out saying you really, you don’t want to drink this stuff. The first drop starts leading you to cancer.

Lisa (27:03.64)

Absolutely.

Lisa (27:30.991)

Well, sausage gives you cancer. know, sun gives you cancer. Everything gives you cancer. I don’t think that’s going to stop people from enjoying bourbon, even us oldsters. And yeah, my brother is a huge bourbon fan. He’s completed actually the bourbon trail in Kentucky. And we’re always trying to, know, OHLQ is very good about releasing special bourbons. And so we’ve been trying a lot of bourbons. I’m looking forward to these.

Chris (27:54.766)

All right, you’re listening to Today in Ohio. That’s it for the Wednesday episode. Thanks, Lisa. Thanks, Laura. Thanks, Courtney. Thanks to everybody who listens.