What the area wants of UC (Cincinnati Enquirer, May 29, 2009) As the University of Cincinnati looks for a new president, local leaders sounded off on their expectations. So what does Greater Cincinnati need from its biggest university?

Ohio's housing market - signs of improvement (The Beacon, May 27, 2009) Ohio's housing market continued to provide positive signs of stabilization in April - posting an increase in sales over the prior month for the third consecutive reporting period and a renewed buzz among the industry's professionals that consumers are poised to get off the fence and into the market, reports the Ohio Association of Realtors.

Cuyahoga County in talks to buy three parcels for medical mart building (The Plain Dealer, May 27, 2009) Cuyahoga County has opened talks with the owners of three properties where the county hopes to build the medical mart building that will pair with a new convention center downtown, County Administrator James McCafferty said Wednesday.

Ohio farmers looking at old crop to help with new economic problems (WCPN ideastream, May 28, 2009) The combination of rising costs of herbicides and falling food prices paid to farmers for many crops is causing some Ohio farmers to go back to basics at least when it comes to soybeans.

Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones demands legislation to encourage minority hiring (The Plain Dealer, May 28, 2009) Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones pledged this morning to vote against all future requests for county assistance to fund private construction projects until the county passes legislation to encourage minority hiring by contractors.

County's jobless rate up slightly (Columbiana Review, May 28, 2009) The county's estimated unemployment rate last month was 13 percent, up slightly from 12.9 percent recorded in March but still lower than the 13.2 percent peak hit in February, which was the highest since 1983.

More 'healthy' borrowers default (Columbus Dispatch, May 29, 2009) In Ohio, delinquencies actually fell 0.85 percent to 8.64 percent. Foreclosure starts and homes in the foreclosure process both rose slightly, to 1.3 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.

Toledo joins with firm to test ethanol fuel (Toledo Free Press, May 29, 2009) RGP and Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority helped SuGanit Systems to obtain a $997,000 grant from the Third Frontier Alternative Energy Program of Ohio's Department of Development. The funds will be used to test and produce the ethanol product for commercial use.

Bulging school to spend more on employees (Columbus Dispatch, May 29, 2009) Faced with record enrollment this year, Columbus State Community College will spend more money on employee salaries, teacher training and tutoring and other services to make students successful.

New law could cost local taxpayers (Cincinnati Enquirer, May 29, 2009) A new state law extending unemployment benefits for jobless Ohioans could cost Hamilton County hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra payments to the nearly 500 workers it laid off in late 2008 and early this year due to budget problems.

Bright spot in Holmes, Wayne unemployment (Wooster Daily Record, May 30, 2009) Figures for unemployment in Wayne and Holmes counties dropped slightly in April, and while it is good news, area leaders said they were not sure what prompted the decline.

Foreclosure prevention program hoping to save more homes (Dayton Daily News, May 30, 2009) The city will wield $4.5 million in state and federal funds to demolish a plague of vacant properties, potentially creating small parks or larger yards for neighbors.

Report says Ohio at risk (Akron Beacon Journal, May 30, 2009) Ohio stands to lose more jobs than any state but Michigan if the government-sponsored reorganization of General Motors and Chrysler fails to go smoothly, according to a new study.

Tough choices could delay Ohio budget (Cincinnati Enquirer, May 31, 2009) With each day that passes, the Ohio General Assembly could be inching toward its first late state budget in 18 years.

Foundry important to city and NW Ohio (Defiance Crescent News, May 31, 2009) The future of Defiance's General Motors Powertrain plant and the greater Defiance area will likely become known Monday as GM is expected to make public a list of U.S. factories slated for closure.

Unemployment numbers may not reveal the whole picture (Tiffin Advertiser Tribune, May 30, 2009) During April, 12.1 percent of Seneca County workers were unemployed according to the best statistical estimates. With 31,100 workers estimated to be part of the county workforce during April, 3,800 were without a job, the data showed.

Ohio food stamp participation rates soaring (Newark Advocate, May 31, 2009) Figures show that one in seven people in Cuyahoga County received food stamps in February, an 8 percent increase from one year ago.

Recent college graduates find entry-level jobs hard to get and hard to keep (The Plain Dealer, June 1, 2009) More than 286,000 jobs have been lost in Ohio since the recession began in December 2007, more than two-thirds of them since last fall's financial crisis. In April, the state's unemployment rate went up again, to 10.2 percent.