In this week's Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown talk about when public money is used to help fund sports venues. Author Neil deMause, a critic of publicly-funded stadium and arena deals, joins the show.
Listen to Snollygoster on theWOSU Public Media mobile app, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And make sure to leave a rating and review!
In this week's episode:
Christmas Gifts
The Ohio House passed the so-called "Christmas Tree" bill, which includes $15 million towards a new stadium for the Columbus Crew. The city and Franklin County have already allocated $100 million in public money to build infrastructure for the stadium. It's all part of an even larger deal to buy the soccer team and keep them here in Columbus.
Are these deals a good investment? Neil deMause, author of the book Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turms Public Money into Private Profit, joins us to crunch the numbers.
Heartbeat Bill
The Ohio Senate passed the controversial “Heartbeat Bill” this week, setting up a potential veto fight between Republican legislative leaders and outgoing Gov. John Kasich. The bill would ban abortions at the point a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks, before many women even know they're pregnant.
Kasich said he'll veto the bill, although it's not the only anti-abortion measure being considered during the lame-duck session.
John Kasich GPS
Our governor sat down with the Columbus Dispatch editorial board and said he’s still considering a run for president... and a gig in the media.
