As the state budget process winds down, it’s looking more and more likely that Republican legislators will reject one of the most obviously positive policies to ever come before them.

Republicans are attempting to block a full public audit of JobsOhio — signaling they have something to fear.

City officials were either disastrously wrong or misleading the public when they insisted the parking plan was required to avoid massive public safety layoffs.

If you can’t beat them, make it so they can’t play to begin with. That’s been the mentality of the Ohio Republican Party time and time again, and the latest budget bill from the Republican-controlled Ohio House continues the trend. 

To cyclists, it’s a given that Cincinnati desperately needs more bike lanes. But recent research shows bike lanes don’t just pose advantages for cyclists; they can also help local economies and public health.

Step one: Create problems for Cincinnati’s streetcar project. Step two: Blame the problems on the streetcar project. Step three: Political profit.

In the past few weeks, Cincinnati’s political scene has been engulfed by debate over the budget, often prompting testy exchanges between city officials.

Attorney General Mike DeWine says Obamacare infringes on religious liberty, but Republicans just want special economic rules for religious institutions.

When Cincinnati found out about the city manager’s parking plan, it was not through a press conference or a widely dispersed announcement from the city; it was through a silently released memo that media outlets stumbled upon almost by accident. 

In its ongoing fight against the Anna Louise Inn, Western & Southern has sunk to a new low: It is now accusing ALI of discriminating against men.

LGBT-supporting Cincinnatians had a bipolar March 15, with Sen. Rob Portman coming out in support of same-sex marriage and the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) being publicly barred from the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on the same day.

Budgets are supposed to give elected officials at all levels of government a chance to show off their strengths and agendas, but recent issues have mostly raised questions about whether these people are actually capable of leading to begin with.

Washington, D.C., is once again on the verge of another manufactured crisis. On March 1, the sequester, a series of mandated spending cuts, is set to kick in, threatening the country with another round of austerity measures that will cut jobs and bring down an already-fragile economy.

I’ve been a longtime supporter of the streetcar project, but I have to admit I’m a bit worried after finding out the streetcar might be delayed once again because construction bids for the project were way over budget.

Here’s an unfortunate fact for journalism teachers and angry website commenters all around the world: Reality sometimes has a bias. 

Gov. John Kasich released a more moderate budget proposal for the 2014 and 2015 fiscal years, but it fails to make up for the governor’s history of massive spending cuts and the state’s faulty social welfare programs.

State Board of Education President Debe Terhar drew criticism recently for posting a politically motivated picture on Facebook comparing Adolf Hitler to President Barack Obama.

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.