John Kasich confetti blast

John Kasich revels after winning the Ohio Republican presidential primary on March 15, 2016.

(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

Party like it's 2016: The remnants of Ohio Gov. John Kasich's presidential campaign held a get-together in Columbus Wednesday night. The event, billed as a "Team Kasich appreciation party" was held at the Strongwater Food and Spirits, a pub not far from the Ohio Capitol.

Responding to inquiries from reporters, Kasich spokesman Chris Schrimpf said Wednesday the party was closed to the press.

March 15 isn't just any other day-- it was the one-year anniversary of Kasich winning the Ohio primary. (Which Team Kasich celebrated last year with a comically large amount of confetti.)

An invitation posted to eventbrite.com references the anniversary, reading: "Please join us ... for a Team Kasich appreciation gathering to thank all of you for your hard work and dedication throughout Governor John Kasich's presidential campaign.

Moment of zen: Here is a video of Kasich getting buried in confetti.

Retherford speaks: Southwest Ohio State Rep. Wes Retherford on Wednesday issued his first statement since he was arrested early Sunday after police found him passed out at a Hamilton County McDonald's with a loaded gun in his truck.

Retherford has been charged with DUI and mishandling a firearm, a felony.

"Due to present circumstances, I regretfully will be absent from session and all committee hearings in the Ohio House of Representatives for the remainder of the week," reads Retherford's statement, issued by the House Republicans communications office. "Out of respect for my family, I humbly ask for space and privacy as we move forward on this personal matter."

Among the things Retherford is missing : "A bill targeting mugshot-publishing websites that charge fees for removing or editing booking records cleared the Ohio House on Wednesday," writes cleveland.com's Jackie Borchardt.

The bill was sponsored by John Barnes Jr., a Cleveland Democrat. Cleveland Municipal Court Clerk Earle Turner also testified in support.

Democratic Super PAC targets Ohio congressmen: American Bridge, a Super PAC with ties to Hillary Clinton, is running what the group says is its first congressional-targeted ads of this election cycle. Among those in the group's sights: Wadsworth Republican Rep. Jim Renacci and Columbus-area Rep. Pat Tiberi.

The banner web ads, which will be placed on social media and on news sites in the targeted congressional districts, urge voters to contact their members of Congress -- in our case, Renacci and Tiberi -- and urge them to support appointing a special prosecutor to investigate President Donald Trump's ties to Russia, according to an American Bridge spokesman. They will run in Ohio and 16 other states, and are targeting members of Congress who may run for Senate in 2018.

Also targeting Renacci: Pro-Turkish hackers commandeered his Twitter account "in the wee hours of Wednesday morning," writes cleveland.com's Sabrina Eaton. They posted "swastikas and a message in the Turkish language to support its president, Tayyip Erdogan."

"Renacci's office discovered the problem around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday, when a staffer's friend noticed inappropriate tweets and alerted the office. Press secretary Kelsey Knight said she and another staffer immediately deleted the rogue messages and changed the account's password, and the office's other social media passwords."

Also affected by the hacks were pop star Justin Bieber and Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Jeremy Fugleberg, among others.

Gardner to address Cuyahoga GOP: The Cuyahoga County Republican Party is holding its annual Lincoln Day dinner at 7 p.m. today at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Cleveland.

Sen. Cory Gardner, of Colorado, and the Rev. Darrell Scott, a Cleveland Heights minister who is close to Trump, are the event's featured speakers.

Food for thought: The current GOP healthcare plan would continue to provide members of Congress with healthcare coverage purchased through the Affordable Care Act marketplace that serves small businesses in Washington, D.C., Eaton writes.

"I am on Obamacare," Renacci told constituents in a video he recorded this week to answer questions that were sent to his office. "I understand people's frustrations with it and that's why we are working to fix it."

Eyebrow-raiser: The Cincinnati Enquirer published a story on Wednesday that questioned recent staff turnover within Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor's office. Some highlights from the story, written by Chrissie Thompson:

- Mehek Cook, who had served as Taylor's chief of staff since September, resigned this week to take a job with a pro-Taylor Super PAC. Cook was Taylor's fifth chief of staff in six years.

- A former Taylor driver resigned earlier this year for being under the influence of alcohol while at work.

- Taylor's new chief of staff is Mark Hamlin, the lone remaining staff member from when Taylor took office in 2011.

Why it matters: Taylor is the only Republican candidate to officially declare as a candidate for governor in 2018. These issues likely aren't going away.

They also don't exist in a vacuum. In 2014, an investigation by the state Inspector General found "inadequate oversight and an absence of supervision" in Taylor's office. The investigation was launched after Taylor's then-chief of staff and her aide resigned after a public records request showed they'd billed the state for hours they didn't actually work.

Hospitals brace for Medicaid cuts: The Plain Dealer's Brie Zeltner on Wednesday took a look at how Cleveland-area hospitals would be affected if, as proposed by the GOP healthcare plan backed by President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, lawmakers were to roll back federal reimbursements for Medicaid expansion.

Healthcare providers are worried, Zeltner writes.

Here's one quote, from Dr. J. Mario Molina, the CEO of one of Ohio's five Medicaid managed care providers: ""Many Medicaid recipients will lose their coverage, and they'll end up in the same place that they used to end up, which is the emergency room," he said. "Emergency rooms will become overcrowded, making it more difficult for people with insurance to gain access to care there."

Here's another quote from Tracy Carter, a lobbyist for MetroHealth, the Cuyahoga County healthcare system: ""It's clear that individuals will likely lose coverage at an alarming rate.'

Here are some more Democrats who might run for governor: Cleveland.com's Mark Naymik in a Wednesday column threw out the names of a couple more Democrats who could run for governor in 2018.

"Some Democrats," Naymik writes, have floated the names of Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley and Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer.

Ritenauer previously has expressed interest in running for state auditor in 2018. Kelley generally hasn't come up in talks for statewide office but since the Democratic slate seems wide open, why not?

Here's a Democrat who is running for governor: The Youngstown Vindicator's Marc Kovac, on Wednesday sprinkled in another 2018 contender: former Wayne County Commissioner Dave Keifer.

Who? Keifer served on the Wayne County commission from 1989 to 1992, according to Wooster's WKVX radio, which broke the little-noticed news last week.

Update your scorecards: Besides Keifer, former State Rep. Connie Pillich, Youngstown state Sen. Joe Schiavoni and former Congresswoman Betty Sutton have officially declared.

Mark your calendars: Tim Ryan, the Youngstown-area congressman, will be holding a Town Hall meeting from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on March 25 at the University of Akron Student Union Theatre.

We're number one! "Six months after the state of Ohio set up a new system to deal with public records disputes, the city of Cleveland has generated the most complaints of any public entity in the state," writes cleveland.com's Eric Heisig.

"Since the system was set up in September, Cleveland has been the target of 14 complaints, more than a third of the statewide total of 39, according to the Ohio Court of Claims clerk's office."

Who wants to be a state lawmaker? Ohio Democrats are looking for applicants to replace soon-to-be-former State Rep. Greta Johnson, writes cleveland.com's Jennifer Conn.

Johnson, of Akron, is resigning in April to take a job with Summit County. Five Democratic state representatives will screen applicants and make a recommendation to the full Democratic caucus. Johnson's term runs through 2018.

Click here for the details.

Something fun: Another tidbit from Naymik's Wednesday column: Some eagle-eyed reporters (including the author of this roundup) spotted someone unexpected in the mosh pit during a Cleveland performance by The Menzingers, a punk-rock band, earlier this month.

"Toward the end of show, a distinguished gray-haired Irish fellow was spotted near the stage engaged in some light moshing. That person was Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge John P. O'Donnell."

O'Donnell in November narrowly lost an election for a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court.

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