SCIENCE
BioOhio executive retires
BioOhio, the bioscience trade association of Ohio, announced that Anthony J. Dennis will retire as president and CEO. The vice president and chief operating officer, John F. Lewis Jr., will become the Columbus-based organization’s interim president Monday.
Dennis, a microbiologist, led bioscience initiatives and businesses since 1973. In 2002, Dennis became president of the Edison BioTechnology Center, the predecessor organization to BioOhio.
The group said employment in Ohio’s bioscience sector has outpaced general employment in the state by 27 percent and the rate of startup company formation has increased tenfold.
Since 2002, BioOhio said its membership has grown from 86 to 420 members.
GAMBLING
Casino revenues surge
This year’s winning streak continued at central Ohio’s two casinos, as March revenue rose significantly at Scioto Downs Racetrack & Casino and Hollywood Casino Columbus.
Revenue from the 2,107 slot machines at Scioto Downs came to $12.6 million for the month, up 14.8 percent from February, according to the Ohio Lottery Commission.
Revenue from the 2,526 slot machines and 114 table games at Hollywood Columbus came to $20.9 million, up 13.3 percent from February, according to the Ohio Casino Control Commission.
A good portion of the gains at the casinos can be attributed to the fact that March was three days longer than February.
Revenue also rose — 21 percent — at Hollywood Toledo to $17.8 million and was up 11.1 percent at Horseshoe Cleveland to $24.5 million.
Horseshoe Cincinnati opened March 5 and reported $21 million in revenue in less than a full month of operation.
AGRICULTURE
Crop planting forecast
Ohio farmers are expected to plant about 50,000 more acres of both corn and soybeans this year than they did last year, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. That’s an increase of about 1 percent for each of the state’s two top field crops.
Farmers planted 130,000 more acres of wheat last fall than they did in the previous year, an increase of 26 percent, according to the USDA.
INSURANCE
Allstate gets downgrade
Allstate Corp., the largest publicly traded auto and home insurer with Hudson operations, had its credit outlook changed to “stable” from “negative” by Moody’s Investors Service on improved underwriting results.
— From Beacon Journal wire reports