Despite its impressive name, the "Courage Express" is actually just a 19-year-old retired bus from the Licking County School District. With its worn-out odometer and fresh coat of silvery paint, it's now a road-weary campaigning machine that supporters of Jennifer Brunner bought online for $2,000. In some ways, the Express mirrors her run for U.S. Senate: It's a low-budget, bumpy ride that just might be on its last legs, but it's still rolling along.  

The battles surrounding Issue 2 might be lost to some in an election season dominated by Cincinnati City Council elections, the streetcar referendum and casino gambling. But if you eat eggs, cheese and meat and care about the price and quality of your food, the controversial ballot initiative demands attention. Cut through the rhetoric and the dueling images of idyllic farms and maltreated pigs and chickens, and Issue 2 is about using Ohio's constitution to control the future of animal husbandry in Ohio.  

Romell Broom achieved a macabre notoriety this past month when he became the first man to survive his date with the needle — not just in Ohio, but anywhere. The convicted rapist and murderer endured more than two hours of poking and stabbing before his execution was called off indefinitely. The eyes of the world are on Ohio now, and many are questioning our death-penalty apparatus.