Franklin and other counties’ election boards have been working overtime to validate the signatures on ballot initiative petitions. Employees in other Franklin County departments have pitched in to help the board review some half-million signatures this year. State law requires that the signatures on statewide petitions be verified at the county level.

The second summer strike force to reduce crime in Columbus recently came to an end, and Mayor Michael Coleman said it was a success. Coleman released the results in front of a former drug house on the city’s south side.

A treatment for colon cancer has undergone criticism lately for its prohibitive costs. The drug is up for FDA approval to treat two new cancers, which means more access to state-of-the-art medicine, and also more financial problems for cancer patients.