Republican Gov. vetoes stem cell ban

From the Cincinnatti Enquirer:

DAYTON - Gov. Bob Taft vetoed a ban on stem cell research Thursday, defying Republicans in the legislature and outraging social conservatives.

The veto came as Taft signed a two-year, $51 billion budget at a factory here, a location he picked to symbolize his efforts to revive the state's economy.

As part of that effort, Taft hopes to offer voters a high-tech jobs initiative in the fall called the "Third Frontier." But state legislators, in the final budget negotiations, inserted a provision declaring that no Third Frontier money could be used for stem cell research.

That, Taft worried, could make the initiative harder to pass, because the stem cell restrictions went too far.