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Ohio House Approves Moving State of the State Address

The Ohio House has agreed to the governor's plans to move the State of the State speech out of the capital for the second year in a row.

The House approved the move with an 80-16 vote on Wednesday. Republican Gov. John Kasich wants to give the Februrary speech in Lima, a Rust Belt city in northwest Ohio that has seen new growth. Last year, Kasich became the first governor in modern memory to take the big policy speech outside the Capitol, to the Ohio River city of Steubenville. While Kasich has argued that taking the state of the state on the road gives Ohioans more exposure to state government, critics have complained that moving the speech -- and elected officials -- is expensive and disruptive. State Supreme Court Justices were unable to attend last year's speech because court was in session the day it was delivered, and some statewide officials and legislators either couldn't or chose not to attend.

A native of Chicago, naturalized citizen of Cincinnati and resident of Columbus, Alison attended Earlham College and the Ohio State University. She has equal passion for Midwest history, hockey and Slavic poetry.