260412 Pro Democracy News Dispatch
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CONTENTS NUMBER OF LINKED STORIES
OH = Ohio 5
NA = National 1
ICE = ICE 1
INT = International 4
OH-1
Apr. 12, 2026 – Kent Smith in the 21st Senate District Democratic primary: endorsement editorial –
[…] Smith’s challenger is Delores Gray Ford, of Cleveland, a State Board of Education member who didn’t respond to our invitations to be interviewed.
Both in the House and as a senator -- and although a Democrat in a Republican-run Statehouse –
Smith has worked across the aisle to pass constructive measures, notably on energy.
In the House, Smith voted “no” on 2019’s HB 6 FirstEnergy bailout. In the Senate, Smith is top Democrat on the GOP-ruled Senate Energy Committee. He added safeguards to an energy bill to forbid forcing ratepayers to subsidize coal costs racked up by HB 6-asociated power plants – and to require the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to periodically review rates. […]
https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2026/04/kent-smith-in-the-21st-senate-district-democratic-primary-endorsement-editorial.html
OH-2
Apr. 12, 2026 – Price of power: Data centers, secret deals and the fight Ohio is facing https://www.cleveland.com/news/2026/04/price-of-power-data-centers-secret-deals-and-the-fight-ohio-is-facing.html
OH-3
Apr. 12, 2026 – Anti-data-centers measure merited – but may not make the ballot: Thomas Suddes – […] According to a recent posting by Ohio State University (Agricultural) Extension, “Ohio is a ‘Top 5’ state for its number of data centers, which currently number around 200.” That is, Ohio is arguably becoming a backroom for California’s Silicon Valley and an off-ramp for Massachusetts Route 128, the techno-semi-circle around Boston.
The Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) reports that Ohio’s state and local governments, in their frenzy to lure something, anything, to Ohio, “between 2017 and 2024, [gave data centers] ... roughly $2.5 billion in state and local tax incentives,” even though centers’ cheerleaders understate or ignore environmental angles and the relatively few employees an operating data center requires.
Also, according to the OEC, a public-interest lobby, “U.S. data centers used an estimated 176 terawatt-hours of electricity [in 2023] – more than [all of] New Jersey – and accounted for about 4% of national demand ... projected to rise to 6% to 12% by 2028.” (A terawatt, the dictionary says, is 1 trillion watts.) […]
https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2026/04/anti-data-centers-measure-merited-but-may-not-make-the-ballot-thomas-suddes.html
OH -4
Apr. 12, 2026 – Tapping into Ohio’s unheard Black voices key to change in this bright red state: Brent Larkin – […] In his re-election campaign of 2012, Barack Obama won more than 63% of the vote against Mitt Romney in the longtime Democratic stronghold of Youngstown’s Mahoning County. Just 12 years later, Kamala Harris won just 44.7%. Extrapolate those returns to the dozens of counties that experienced similar outcomes, and the enormity of what has happened in Ohio becomes a significant historical event. […]
https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2026/04/tapping-into-ohios-unheard-black-voices-key-to-change-in-this-bright-red-state-brent-larkin.html
OH-5Apr. 11, 2026 – Students ‘redact’ sign for Wexner Center for the Arts https://abc6onyourside.com/good-day-columbus/students-redact-les-wexner-center-art-ohio-state-university-protect-jeffrey-epstein-files-investigation-questioning?fbclid=IwY2xjawRHjeJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE4ZDJJQ0NWOEsyaXJJa25Kc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHutaf1XTZMiWhOYgnfj568kLATs8VmOPBS0yPI6A6sH6Y9At2b1uUBCYaHxr_aem_QzuSWs0uHp88dAZ0hQYQgg
NA
Apr. 12, 2026 – ‘I feel helpless’: college graduates can’t find entry-level roles in shrinking market amid rise of AI – Young American graduates expressed frustration over fewer job openings and longer searches
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/12/college-graduates-job-market-ai
ICE
Apr. 12, 2026 – ICE warehouses get cold shoulder — even in Trump country – Voters in Social Circle, Ga., overwhelmingly backed President Trump in 2024. But when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) purchased a 1 million-square-foot warehouse in the tiny city to convert it into a mega detention center for immigrants, residents and local officials pushed back hard.
In February, the city notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that it had shut off water and sewage services to the property until the agency explained how it could operate “without exceeding our limited infrastructure capacity.”https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5821438-georgia-pushback-dhs-detention-centers/
INT-1
Apr. 11, 2026 -- ‘We have to get ready for large-scale conflicts,’ says Canada’s military chief
General Jennie Carignan visited London to meet with counterparts from the 10-strong Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), to find out more about what benefits membership would bring and how Canada could contribute.
INT-2
Apr. 12, 2026 – Trump announces Strait of Hormuz blockade after Iran talks collapse – In a pair of Truth Social posts, he also said the Navy would intercept any vessel that has paid tolls to Iran to transit the strait safely.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/12/trump-announces-strait-of-hormuz-blockade-after-iran-talks-collapse-00868375
INT-3
Apr. 12, 2026 – ‘Everything is gone’: Israel destroys entire villages in Lebanon – Smoke rises from explosions induced by Israeli military activities on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of Al Taybeh. Rights groups fear tactic of ‘domicide’ trialled in Gaza, where entire areas are made uninhabitable, is being used again
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/12/how-israeli-offensive-destroyed-entire-villages-in-lebanon
INT-4
Apr. 12, 2026 – Donald Trump and Marco Rubio watch UFC fights in Miami as peace talks with Iran fail https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/apr/12/donald-trump-marco-rubio-ufc-iran-war
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