August 1, 2023 

Recreational marijuana: Campaign to legalize raises, spends nearly $3 million to get on ballot

Cleveland.com, July 31, 2023

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The campaign working to get a recreational, adult-use marijuana proposal on the Nov. 7 ballot has raised about $3 million so far this year, spent around the same amount and has $9,400 left over, according to new campaign finance records.

Monday is the deadline for campaigns to report to the Ohio secretary of state contributions and expenditures from Jan. 1 through June 30.

The political action committee for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, made up of business owners in Ohio’s medical marijuana industry, was just 679 signatures short of the necessary 124,046 signatures needed last week to qualify for the Nov. 7 ballot.

However, state law provides a “cure period” that will give the campaign until Friday to obtain the remaining signatures. The campaign has said it is confident it will get enough, since the amount needed is relatively small.

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Wells Fargo wins $30 million tax credit to build technology center in Central Ohio

Cleveland.com, July 31, 2023

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Wells Fargo won a state tax credit worth $30 million Monday morning to help it build a technology center in Central Ohio, bringing an estimated 585 jobs to the state.

The bank was one of several companies to win a tax credit Monday, which includes R.E. Warner & Associates, which will expand and move from Westlake to North Olmsted.

Wells Fargo plans on building a technology center at a to-be-determined site, according to a project scope from the Ohio Department of Development. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 15-year tax credit.

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Worsening Lake Erie algal bloom defies predictions

Toledo Blade, July 31, 2023

For the second year in a row, western Lake Erie’s summer algal bloom is worse than what scientists predicted with their early-season runoff evidence.

Based on July’s extraordinarily hot temperatures and string of major thunderstorms, the bloom has already grown from north of Monroe out along the coastline to Port Clinton while still a few weeks away from its traditional late-August peak. A different toxin-producing species also has re-established a foothold in Lake Erie’s Sandusky Bay for the first time in three years.

Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration adjusted its 2023 seasonal projection upward.

NOAA now says it expects this summer’s bloom — while not breaking any records — will become at least a 4.5 on its 10-point severity index and possibly as strong as a 5.5. Current toxin levels are below recreational contact limits, but NOAA urges people to keep their pets and themselves out of greenish water as a precaution.

El Nino a wild card in predicting Lake Erie's algal bloom

On June 29, the federal agency, in collaboration with several universities within the Great Lakes region and a couple from other parts of the country, said the bloom would not be stronger than a 4.5 and would likely be a 3.0 or less. Much of that was based on rainfall data and phosphorus runoff documented by Heidelberg University’s National Center for Water Quality Research between March 1 and late June.

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Yellen flags insurance 'protection gap' in climate disasters

Terra Daily, July 28, 2023

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen raised the need Friday of understanding how to narrow a "protection gap" in insurance coverage when it comes to losses from climate-related disasters.

At an open session meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), Yellen noted that "some insurers have begun raising the rates for homeowners' insurance or are stepping back entirely from offering coverage in higher-risk areas" as climate disasters become more frequent and intense.

Only 60 percent of $165 billion in economic losses from such incidents were covered by insurance, said Yellen, who also chairs the FSOC.

And these climate impacts are the greatest on disadvantaged communities, she added, noting that more households are turning to residual markets for coverage or foregoing insurance completely.

"American households are already seeing the impacts even if their own homes have not been damaged," Yellen said.

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A Different Trajectory: Gen Z’s Wish List for a Career in Risk Management

Rick & Insurance, July 20, 2023

Grace Grant, Executive Director for Gamma Iota Sigma, has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, including 10 years of insurance industry non-profit leadership. She joined Gamma Iota Sigma in 2013, and championed a significant expansion of the organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy through the establishment of the Gamma Iota Sigma Foundation.

Topics: Employment Practices | Future of Insurance | Risk Insider

Young risk management professionals are heading directly into the risk and insurance industry in larger numbers than ever before, bolstered by increased awareness of the opportunities available, through recruiting, networking and collegiate organizations.

These young professionals are hungry for opportunity and, specifically, are excited about the stability and chances for growth that surround risk management careers.

However, these young professionals envision their career trajectories a bit differently than the risk and insurance professionals of prior generations.

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