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Ohio Democrats head into this year's elections with what analysts call their best shot in years to break the GOP's grip on statewide offices, though Republicans retain a clear structural advantage. Separately, a new state law requires mailed absentee ballots to reach county election offices by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day with no grace period, prompting Secretary of State Frank LaRose to urge voters to use drop boxes or deliver ballots in person. The Ohio Auditor's office also took its web systems offline after a cyberattack possibly involving foreign actors, though officials say no financial data appears compromised. LaRose separately sought a federal probe into a voter-registration group's activity in Cuyahoga County.

Maine state Rep. Grayson Lookner argues in an opinion piece that rising visible homelessness in cities like Portland stems from decades-old policy failures, tracing roots to Reagan-era deinstitutionalization that closed asylums without building adequate community housing and treatment supports. He cites the pandemic-era federal Emergency Rental Assistance program as proof that solutions work, noting it kept people housed and reduced visible homelessness before expiring. Lookner contrasts Maine's roughly $400 million annual spending on jails and prisons, which he says function as de facto homelessness and mental health providers, with inadequate funding for eviction prevention. With federal action absent, he calls on the state to fund alternative housing and treatment systems at a comparable scale.

An email from Andrew Bishop, an owner of Lexington's Ethereal Brewing, has drawn scrutiny over campaign finance rules after it circulated online ahead of a Sept. 23 fundraiser for Republican state Rep. Jason Petrie, chair of the Kentucky House budget committee. In the email, Bishop described an in-kind donation of food, beverages, and rental fees and asked recipients to reimburse the brewery via check, Venmo, or CashApp, writing that the arrangement would mean "no one will have to worry about campaign disclosures or names being associated with this donation."

Bishop later said the email was "poorly worded" and that the actual in-kind contribution totaled about $1,134, fully disclosed under the law. Ethereal Brewing issued a public apology, calling the event a candidate-sponsored fundraiser held at its venue, not a company event. The Republican Party of Kentucky said it did not host or know about the email. John Steffen of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance said the described reimbursement scheme could violate laws barring corporate contributions and disguised in-kind donations if it occurred as written, though no investigation has been confirmed. Petrie has not commented.

Jersey City, New Jersey's second-largest city with a population of about 302,000, has seen years of rapid growth marked by waterfront high-rise development and a skyline that rivals nearby Lower Manhattan. Despite that expansion, the city is facing serious budget pressure, and Moody's Investors Service recently downgraded its bond credit rating to a lower investment-grade tier, citing fiscal strain.

The downgrade highlights a paradox: cities experiencing strong development and rising property values can still struggle with structural budget problems, including reliance on one-time revenue, rising costs, and limited flexibility to raise property taxes. Mayor Steven Fulop's administration has overseen the city's growth push, but critics point to unsustainable spending patterns.

For prediction markets, the situation raises questions about municipal fiscal health more broadly in high-growth, high-cost urban areas, and whether other fast-growing postindustrial cities could face similar credit pressures despite outward signs of prosperity.