Large companies and universities often are thought to be the big players in the local economy. But Columbus State Community College reports its students are making significant contributions of their own.

The Ohio Senate has voted for a new safeguard, to try to make sure that illegal immigrants are not paid workers compensation if they’re injured on the job.

Thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans coming back with long-lasting injuries are facing hurdles here at home. More vets are diagnosed with traumatic brain injury or TBI and that is forcing Central Ohio health care professionals to learn how to help.

West side businesses are stepping up a campaign to build a stock car race track at the spot where baseball players once ran the bases. Local developers want to turn the empty Cooper Stadium into a race track. The businesses say it’s just what the struggling west-side needs.

Ohioans who have permits to carry concealed weapons would be allowed to bring them into bars, under a proposal that state senators have just approved. The bill didn’t pass until there was strong debate.

The House and Senate have both passed bills creating rules to oversee Ohio’s four casinos. But with time ticking toward a deadline next week, the work is far from over.

Last week, 20-year-old Jeffrey Stevenson, of Dublin, suffered fatal injuries after he was struck by a vehicle while riding his bike along Sawmill Road. That same day, Brent Nimmo, got a ticket on Alum Creek Drive for not riding his bike close enough to the shoulder of the road. Bicycle advocates say these are two examples of why the state needs to incorporate more comprehensive information about bicycle laws into drivers’ education.

The Ohio Senate has voted 18 to 15 against the confirmation of Cathy Collins-Taylor as Public Safety Director.

Columbus City Schools are denying a report that Superintendent Gene Harris is close to retirement. The Toledo Blade quotes a man who says he was promised Harris’ job in the near future.