With 2012 in the past, it’s time to start preparing for a brand new year of politics and policy. From what’s been hinted at so far, progressives could have another big year in 2013, but only if they work for it.   

On Dec. 14, the United States was hit by another mass shooting. This time, a gunman forced himself into an elementary school and killed 20 children and six adults.
   

If someone turned on the news during the past few weeks, it would be hard to blame him if he thought the most pressing issues in the world right now are budgets and abortions.   

The Ohio Farm Bureau (OFB) has officially come out against Gov. John Kasich’s plan to tax oil and gas production. The move from the Republican-leaning agricultural group is yet another blow to Kasich’s tax plan, which raises the severance tax on the oil-and-gas industry to pay for a cut to Ohio’s income tax.    

It’s been a big week for government budgets. The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners approved the county’s 2013 budget, and City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. unveiled his budget proposal, which now the mayor and City Council must approve.
  

For a week, it was looking like Hostess, maker of Twinkies, Wonder Bread, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos, would shut down at the age of 82. The company was only saved by a judge’s demand for Hostess to mediate with striking workers.
  

Here they go again. With recent appointments and renewed legislation, Ohio Republicans are once again taking aim at women’s health rights. Gov. John Kasich recently appointed two anti-abortion advocates, a new version of the heartbeat bill is set to appear in the Ohio legislature and a bill that will defund Planned Parenthood is getting renewed attention.   

By the time this article is published, the month of early voting and Election Day will have come to a close, and voters will have made their choices. But when it’s all said and done, voters will be making those choices not thanks to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, but despite him.   

On Nov. 6, America will be watching Ohio voters to see which presidential candidate we put over the top. But in Ohio, no issue will hold the long-term weight of Issue 2. The little-known issue seeks to reform a redistricting process that has long been dominated by politicized redistricting — also known as “gerrymandering.”   

As Mitt Romney rose in the polls against President Barack Obama following the first presidential debate, the media quickly grabbed onto a new narrative: the Romney comeback.
  

When President Barack Obama said America’s auto industry is “roaring back” during the Oct. 3 presidential debate, Mitt Romney was quiet. Taking a look back at the results of Obama’s $85 billion bailout of the auto industry, it’s easy to see why.   

Margaret Buchanan, president and publisher of The Cincinnati Enquirer, resigned from the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees Sept. 28, citing potential conflicts of interest in her staff’s reporting on the UC Board.  

Western & Southern continued its bullying of the Anna Louise Inn last week as the company threw more legal pestering at the nonprofit that houses low-income women. That’s how every newspaper’s lead paragraph would read if the media were truly fair.   

Ohioans will choose whether or not to pass redistricting amendment Issue 2 in November, and the Ohio Supreme Court says Secretary of State Jon Husted needs to make the ballot language more clear for voters. In a bit of a surprise, the Ohio Supreme Court on Sept. 12 ruled against Husted’s ballot language, stating that it contained “material omissions and factual inaccuracies.”