Mold Remediation in Toledo, OH

Voters at the Lucas County Vote Center in west Toledo on Sunday say they were hoping to avoid long lines on Election Day.

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TOLEDO, Ohio — Early voting for the 2024 general election has officially closed in Ohio. Thousands of voters cast their ballots across the state before Election Day on November 5th.

According to Lavera Scott, the Lucas County Board of Elections director, the voting center has served over 2,500 people per day since early voting began on October 8.

"I think the benefit is coming out to vote, period," said one early voter, Latoi Stroizer. "If we're coming out early, we're showing we're serious about what we're doing today."

Stoizer said she waited nearly three hours to cast her ballot on Sunday. However, she said she didn't mind the wait because voting early was more convenient for her.

"Come Tuesday, it's going to be really really busy. Everyone's going to try and rush and vote, when today is a calm day and I don't have anything to do," said Stoizer. "You're not gonna get anything done sitting at home, so why not come out, vote early, get it out of the way? That's the best way to do it."

Scott says early voting gives people more options to make their voices heard.

"I think it's more the convenience. People had 28 days, and of course it's the last day of those 28 days, but some people choose to say 'maybe I want to do something else on Election Day'," said Scott. "So for whatever reason people think they should come over, I'm all for it."

The election experience is something second-time voter, Christian Spetz, said he wanted to be a part of.

"A lot of people are out which is super cool to see as well. You can tell how passionate Toledo is about voting no matter which side you're on," said Spetz.

He said not only did he want to vote early to avoid the lines, but he wanted to experience the day with his friends.

"It's the entire moment of being with a bunch of people who feel similarly, as far as like wanting to vote. That part is really interesting," said Spetz. "I wanted to go early because I was like, 'the line is going to be really bad if I go on the day of,' and I bit my tongue on it because it was still really bad on the day of as well for early voting."

Stroizer shared a similar sentiment. She said that voting was a community effort, with everyone there having the same goal of bettering the country.

"We can't just let people come in and take over. We have to get out here and we have to fight for one another. We have to love on one another. We have to show each other that we can do this, as a team. Not as an individual, as a whole," said Stroizer.

It's something Spetz agreed with, saying he has high hopes for the future following the election.

"I think what anybody is hoping for is some sort of peace, some sort of grounding, some sort of community aspect where you're not worried about gas prices and stuff like that," said Spetz.

For those who still need to cast a ballot, polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day Tuesday.

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The proposed constitutional amendment has some voters confused. Here's what it would do, if passed.

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TOLEDO, Ohio — Ohio Issue 1 has been the subject of some confusion ahead of Election Day. For example, some yard signs encouraging "yes" and "no" votes on the issue both claim to ban gerrymandering, the term used to describe political mapmaking processes that favor one party over the other.

If you have questions about what exactly Ohio Issue 1 would do, if passed, then you're not alone. The ballot language itself is nearly 1,000 words in length, and may appear daunting while you're casting your vote on Election Day or during early voting.

Here's what the proposed state constitutional amendment would do, if passed.

Issue 1, if passed by a majority "yes" vote, would create a redistricting commission for Ohio. This commission would be in charge of drawing district boundaries that are used in elections.

This commission would be called the "Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission." It would consist of 15 members:

Here's how these commission members would be selected under Issue 1:

The state will fund the commission, including member pay, staff, consultants and legal expenses

The new commission will begin work on the mapmaking process, should Issue 1 pass, by May 16, 2025. It will then make maps again every 10 years afterward.

If commissioners can't agree on a plan, then a ranked-choice voting process will be used to select a plan

No, a commissioner cannot hold elected or appointed state office in Ohio for six years after their term ends.

Ohio Issue 1 was proposed by Citizens Not Politicians, a bipartisan campaign whose aim, it said, is to end gerrymandering in Ohio.

The group sued the Ohio Ballot Board, who approved the language that will appear on the ballot. Citizens Not Politicians has called the language on the ballot biased and claims it describes the opposite of its intentions.

The Ohio Supreme Court upheld the language in a September ruling.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the political makeup of the Ohio Redistricting Commission.

Nic Antaya for NPR

TOLEDO, Ohio — Marsha Hill feels like she's been coming to the public library for a hundred years. She came with her kids when they were young. Later, she came for computer help.

Now at 66, she's discovered yet another reason to love the library. She's one of thousands of Toledo-area residents making use of the free services the library offers to entrepreneurs like herself. She's been coming in weekly, sometimes twice weekly, for help scaling up her nonprofit focused on children's health.

"Everybody knows me," she says with a smile.

Gone are the days when the public library was just about books. Today, it’s where people go to use the internet, get legal advice and pick up COVID tests.

And now, there's a movement among public libraries to become hubs of entrepreneurship.

Back in 2018, Toledo was one of 12 public library systems awarded grants through the Urban Libraries Council to explore ways to engage entrepreneurs in their communities, particularly people of color, women, immigrants and veterans.

Six years later, the Toledo Lucas County Public Library is leading the way. This summer, the library officially opened its small business and nonprofit workspace.

Tucked in the basement of a stately 1940s art deco building, the brightly-lit room has flexible meeting spaces, cubicles and computers for anyone to use.

Librarians hold drop-in hours and take one-on-one appointments. They also hosts classes on topics like bookkeeping, grant writing and business plan development.

And it's all free.

Linda Faye Lucas, a former business consultant, used to charge clients hundreds of dollars for this kind of work.

Nic Antaya for NPR

Nic Antaya for NPR

Now as a librarian, she says, 75% of the people she works with are women, many of them women of color.

"I've been able to do what I did for people that never would have been able to afford the services," she says. "I have made some wonderful connections with business owners."

Allison Fiscus, adult services coordinator for the Toledo Lucas County Public Library, says paramount to library work is paying attention to what the public actually needs.

Five years ago, the small business and nonprofit team was just two librarians devoting a quarter of their time to this work. Responding to ever-increasing demand, the library now has three full-time business specialists.

The number of customer interactions — measured as people served through classes or one-on-one consultations — has nearly doubled since 2020, to more than 3,100 so far this year.

Nic Antaya for NPR

The rising enthusiasm is welcome news in Toledo, where manufacturing jobs, once a mainstay, have shrunk by 20% since the 1990s, and unemployment hovers above the national average.

In a city looking to evolve from its industrial past, Fiscus says the investment in the library's business services is already proving to be taxpayer money well spent.

"Return on investment is big for us," she says. "We want to make sure we're maximizing everything that we put out."

Hill started her nonprofit, Families for Fitness, in 2011, while she was working full time at the Jeep plant in Toledo.

Inspired to tackle childhood obesity, Hill hired certified fitness trainers to run an afterschool program in the public schools, collaborating first with the Ohio State extension program and then with a local hospital system.

It's been a labor of love, something she self-funded for years.

After retiring from her auto job in 2023, Hill started thinking about formalizing her operations and creating a board so she could seek outside funding.

But Families for Fitness had no digital presence. Hill doesn't even have a website.

Enter Zach Huber, a librarian who joined the team in 2019 after spending six years in the nonprofit world, wearing every hat — marketing, fundraising, programming.

Nic Antaya for NPR

Since the spring, he's been putting those skills to use, working with Hill on what he calls "capacity building," strengthening her nonprofit.

Together, they are building a website and setting up a profile on the nonprofit database GuideStar, with the goal of getting Hill to a place where she can apply for grants.

"We're trying to make her competitive with all the other nonprofits that are in this community," says Huber.

While there are economic development services in Toledo supporting larger enterprises, Lucas says the microbusinesses, the mom-and-pop shops, deserve support, too.

"Their value is important because they are a job creator, even if it is just their own job," she says.

One woman she worked with started a gardening business. It now supports her life in retirement and pays for her travel to see her grown children in the off-season.

Another woman started a child care business out of her home, allowing her to care for up to six children, including a great-niece.

"Even the smallest business is going to help Toledo with raising up the whole community," Lucas says.

Nic Antaya for NPR

At times, Lucas has tried to convince someone not to go into business. If someone doesn't have the financial resources to launch, for example, she'll be honest with them.

"A lot of times, it's giving them that real information that nobody else wants to sit and talk to them about," she says.

Lindsay Williams, the newest addition to the library's team, joined in 2023 after experiencing first hand how game-changing their assistance can be for a small business.

"What I think a lot of our entrepreneurs experience is a really exciting idea, and then they get into the nitty-gritty of it, and then they need some help," she says. "Certainly, that was me."

Williams had started a jewelry business, making hand-painted, hand-cut earrings. But in 2020, COVID shut down all the jewelry shows.

Williams, a self-described library super-user, was aware that the library offered free access to business databases that are behind paywalls.

With help from Huber and Lucas, she compiled a list of jewelry boutiques and sent out solicitations. Since then, she's grown her consignment boutique business by 40%.

Last year, when the library was looking to expand the small business and nonprofit team, Williams knew immediately she wanted in.

Now, she says, her real-world, real-time experience as an entrepreneur helps her help others.

Nic Antaya for NPR

"I am actively digitally marketing. I am actively reviewing consignment contracts. I am actively seeing how these things move and change and shape," says Williams.

"I'm doing it right now, and I'm able to help them through that journey, too."

With the opening of the new dedicated workspace this summer, the library's team has seen a jump in interest from the public.

Some days, as many as a dozen people will come in seeking help. Classes are full and often have a waitlist. Over 100 people signed up for a recent session on grants.

"The need's there. People want it," says Huber.

Lucas, who wants everyone to feel welcome, insists no question is off limits.

"We will find an answer if we don't know the answer," says Lucas. "I mean, we're librarians. We know how to find information."

With Halloween drawing near, communities across our area are brewing plans for the timeless tradition. Read on to find out where and when to go trick-or-treating.

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OHIO, USA — Get ready, ghouls and goblins: it's officially October and Halloween is drawing closer.

Many cities around the area have announced schedules for the favorite fall tradition of trick-or-treating.

Are you looking for the perfect place to celebrate the spooky season and collect candy in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan? WTOL 11 has you covered with when and where you should be for Halloween 2024.

If a residential trick-or-treat time for your area isn't listed, check back for updates. More dates and times will be added as they are announced.

Other free community events:

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