Columbus Police found two bodies inside a Southwest Side home Friday afternoon after responding to a welfare check.

Every few years, county auditor’s offices re-assess property values. Some years the values go up, and some years – like what’s expected to happen this year – they go down. Franklin and Delaware Counties are doing their first re-evaluations since the housing market collapse. WOSU takes a look at how the re-appraisals will affect tax bills and government budgets.

Sales of previously occupied homes fell in the U.S. to the lowest level in 15 years last month as the economy weakened. The National Association of Realtors says July’s sales fell by more than 27 percent. Here in Central Ohio, the Columbus Board of Realtors noted comparable numbers. In July, home sales were down 27.9% from one year ago.

A survey of Ohioans in nursing homes and assisted living facilities concludes they’re pretty satisfied with the care they’re getting. Statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen has the numbers.

The inspector general and the Ohio Highway Patrol are investigating why troopers went to a woman’s house in January to warn her not to deliver some contraband to a prisoner who was working at a dinner party at the Governor’s Residence. For many people, the most surprising thing about this story was that there are inmates working in the Governor’s home.

The number of U.S. households on the verge of losing their homes rose 7 percent from June to July in part because the foreclosure crisis continues to outpace government efforts to limit the damage. There seems to be an abundance of help at every turn, but are banks modifying loans as fast as they possibly can?

Nursing home operators in Ohio and those who run home health care agencies work to divert the budget ax.

Environmental activists are pushing Ohio to toughen building standards for new houses, so they’d be required to use the most energy-efficient insulation, doors, windows, and furnaces. Companies that build houses are warning – that kind of mandate could kill jobs and drag Ohio’s economy down even further. Statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen has both sides of the story.

The Ohio Supreme Court says a voluntary agreement signed by a resident as she moved into a nursing home can’t be thrown out just based on her advanced age. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler has details.