LIGHTHOUSE & MARITIME FESTIVAL ON AUG. 15 IS CANCELLED

The Port Clinton Lighthouse & Maritime Festival that was scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 15 has been cancelled due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. Ongoing health concerns have also resulted in the curtailment of docents offering lighthouse tours for the summer.

The Lighthouse Conservancy is looking forward to next year’s Lighthouse & Maritime Festival , which is scheduled to be held on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021.

OHIO STATE’S STONE LABORATORY REMAINS CLOSED UNTIL AT LEAST JULY 6

The Ohio State University will continue to close its Stone Laboratory on South Bass and Gibraltar islands to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic until at least July 6. The closure includes all university facilities, as well as Stone Lab’s Gibraltar Island history tours, programs at the Aquatic Visitors Center and its lighthouse tours.

The South Bass Island Lighthouse grounds will remain open to the public, with physical distancing protocols in place.

Stone Lab will announce any updates to the current timeline on its website page (go.osu/tours) and social media channels at facebook.com/stonelaboratory and twitteer.com/stonelab.

Located on the 6.5-acre Giraltar Island in Put-in-Bay harbor, Stone Laboratory is Ohio State’s island campus on Lake Erie and the research, education and outreach facility of the Ohio Sea Grant College Program. The Ohio State University’s Ohio Sea Grand Program is part of NOAA Sea Grant, a network of 34 Sea Grant programs dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of marine and Great Lakes resources.

For more information on Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab, visit ohioseagrant.osu.edu.

GOV. DEWINE LOWERS FLAGS TO HONOR VETERANS, COVID-19 VICTIMS, ANNIE GLENN

To honor the many victims of the COVID-19 pandemic and the military veterans all around the United States, Gov. Mike DeWine ordered all U.S. and Ohio flags to be flown at half-staff on all public buildings and grounds through sunset on Sunday, May 24.

DeWine also ordered flags be flown at half-staff from sunrise until noon on Monday, May 25, in honor of Memorial Day and U.S. military veterans.

Flags are also to be flown at half-staff at all public buildings and grounds throughout Muskingum County and at the Ohio Statehouse until sunset on the day of Annie Glenn’s virtual memorial service, an online broadcast scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 6.

Annie Glenn, 100, was the wife of the late John Glenn, who served four terms as a U.S. senator from Ohio, was one of NASA’s original seven Mercury astronauts. The online service, with no parishioners or guests in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions, will be held at the Broad Street Presbyterian Church in Columbus.

‘OHIOANS PROTECTING OHIOANS’ HEALTH ADVISORY DEBUTS

The “Ohioans Protecting Ohioans Urgent Health Advisory” replaced the Stay Safe Ohio order this week.

“Ohioans take care of Ohioans, because that is at the core of who we are, and that is how we are going to save the economy,” said Gov. Mike DeWine. “What this comes down to now that each of us has a responsibility to each other to slow the spread (of COVID-19). No other time in our lives will our individual actions play a greater role in saving lives.”

The health order replaced language requiring Ohioans to stay at home with exceptions with a strong recommendation that high-risk citizens stay at home as much as possible. The mass gathering limit will remain a 10-person limit.

PORT CLINTON COUNCIL EXTENDS MUNY TAX DEADLINE

The municipal tax deadline for Port Clinton residents has been extended by Port Clinton City Council from April 15 to July 15, matching the revised state and federal tax deadlines. The revisions were made because of unemployment and other COVID-19 economic problems faced by people in Port Clinton who work in and own restaurants, bars and clubs who were impacted by the closure of many businesses.

COVERED BY BWC? GET FREE FACE COVERINGS!

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) will begin distributing at least 2 million non-medical-grade face coverings to Ohio employers who are covered by BWC. Public and private employers who participate in the State Insurance Fund will receive a package from BWC containing at least 50 of the face coverings.

RECREATIONAL VENUES FROM GOLF COURSES TO SWIMMING POOLS REOPEN

Baseball, softball, batting cages, golf courses, miniature golf, local and public pools and aquatic centers, tennis facilities, skills training and general non-contact sports, including bowling alleys, are allowed to reopen by the Ohio Department of Health. The ODH has also allowed gyms, fitness-based recreation centers, dance instruction studios and other personal fitness venues to reopen.

Participants must comply with 6-foot social distancing, as well as the employees of the facilities.

‘BOTS’ EXPLODE ON TWITTER, SPREAD FAKE COVID-19 FACTS

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University recently said that nearly half of the accounts tweeting about COVID-19 were posted by ‘bots,’ an autonomous program on a network that can interact with computer systems or users. Studying more than 200 million “bot” accounts over the last few months, the CMU researchers found that 45% were sent by accounts that behave more like computerized robots than humans.

Researchers said the tweets appeared to sow division in America associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Tweets included conspiracy theories, the spread of the virus to 5G wireless towers and other busy ideas.

U.S. AND CANADA KEEP BORDER CLOSED TO TOURISTS AND ANGLERS

Canada and U.S. officials will continue to keep the border closed to nonessential travel until June 21 as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in both countries. While health care workers, airline crews and truck drivers, as well as other essential cross-border workers, can readily cross the border, tourists and fishermen are banned.

Ohio’s Lake Erie fishermen are not allowed to motor into Ontario waters for now to fish for walleye or smallmouth bass around Pelee Island or the Western Basin of Lake Erie.