Other morning headlines: State to release latest numbers on flu hospitalizations and unemployment, Ohio State students …

Ohio to release unemployment rate, jobs data for JanuaryThe state is planning to release Ohio’s unemployment rate for January, along with other job figures for the start of the new year.The Friday morning report coming from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services will look at employment data across sectors, including construction, manufacturing, health care, leisure and hospitality. The state’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.8 percent in December — its lowest rate since 2001 and the fourth consecutive monthly decrease. The rate was 5 percent in November and 5.3 percent in October. The state’s rate has remained below the nation’s, which stood at 5.7 percent in January. Ohio had 278,000 unemployed workers in December. That was down 9,000 compared with November. The number of unemployed workers had dropped by 133,000 in the past year. Tear gas, pepper spray used correctly at Ohio StateA deputy chief says Columbus police correctly used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse crowds after Ohio State’s football championship, but he concedes the response could have been handled better. Police estimated 5,000 people converged on a campus-area street after the Buckeyes beat Oregon on Jan. 12. The department has said revelers ignored requests to clear the streets and emergency personnel couldn’t get through to respond to fires. Police supervisors’ reports were reviewed by Deputy Chief Thomas Quinlan, who tells The Columbus Dispatch pepper spray was an appropriate response to the unruly crowd. But Quinlan says Columbus police should have better communicated with the university and its police during preparations, and backup officers should have been stationed closer to campus. Complaints about the tear gas are being reviewed.Ohio health department to release flu hospitalization dataOhio health officials are ready to provide new data on flu-related hospitalizations as an unusually severe season winds down. Last week the Ohio Department of Health reported 119 flu-related hospitalizations from Feb. 15 to Feb. 21, down from 130 a week earlier. Those figures brought the season’s total hospitalizations to 7,852. The state doesn’t report adult flu deaths but has recorded the deaths of six children. Individual county health departments have reported several adult deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said this season’s vaccine may not protect as well against the dominant flu strain. Health officials say getting the vaccine is still important, especially for the chronically ill, the elderly and pregnant women.Ohio prison officials want release for incapacitated inmatesOhio prison officials want to be able to save money by releasing inmates who require round-the-clock medical care or are otherwise incapacitated. Department of Rehabilitation and Correction chief Gary Mohr asked for the change during his budget testimony Thursday before an Ohio House subcommittee. He wants to be able to allow judicial medical release in cases recommended by the department, although it wouldn’t cover inmates serving life or capital punishment sentences. The state is paying $1 million a year caring for 58 people who require round-the-clock medical care, including two who are brain dead and on life-support. Others have dementia and don’t even know they are in prison. Prison officials think the inmates could be better served in nursing homes. The state prosecutors’ association opposes the change.Ohio State will require students to be vaccinated Incoming Ohio State University students won’t be allowed to schedule classes next fall if they’re not up to date on their vaccinations. Students starting at OSU will have to provide evidence that they’ve had shots to prevent a list of vaccine-preventable diseases. The Columbus Dispatch reports that the move by the university comes in response to a mumps outbreak on and around campus last year that sickened almost 500 people. A subsequent measles outbreak in Ohio intensified discussions about boosting immunization rates throughout the state, including at universities and colleges. Ohio State is requiring student be vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B and chickenpox. Students new to residence halls also will require meningitis vaccinations.Ohio sexting probe yields no charges against studentsA prosecutor in southwest Ohio has decided not to seek criminal charges against any students after an investigation into sexting at a high school. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters says the matter will be handled by parents, police and Harrison High School. Harrison police began investigating in January after getting complaints that students were texting explicit photos of themselves and others. …

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