New leader picked for embattled band

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State University named an associate marching band director Thursday as the replacement for Jonathan Waters, who was fired for turning a blind eye to a “sexualized culture” there.

Christopher Hoch will serve on an interim basis. The possibility he'll stay on permanently as leader of the celebrated band known to fans as the Best Damn Band in the Land will be evaluated after the upcoming season.

Waters was fired last year after an internal investigation concluded he ignored raunchy, suggestive and inappropriate band rituals and traditions. He has disputed the findings and said he was working to resolve cultural issues he inherited. The university has insisted he mishandled the situation and should not be reinstated.

Waters filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging gender discrimination and is pursuing a defamation suit that alleges the high-profile flap has rendered him unemployable despite once being viewed as one of the top band directors in the country.

Hoch is a veteran music educator who designed and orchestrated some of the band's eye-catching halftime shows. Those included a 2012 tribute to classic video games, which became the band's first show to top 15 million hits on YouTube.

Target will shed office furniture unitMINNEAPOLIS — Target is getting out of the office furniture business.The retailer said Thursday that it is selling one of its subsidiaries, Target Commercial Interiors, to Minneapolis-based Omni Workspace.The move, which some analysts expected, comes as Target chief executive Brian Cornell has been refocusing the company and getting rid of side projects. Earlier this year, Target also killed off a video-on-demand service called Target Ticket.Omni is the parent company of A & M Business Interior Services. According to its website, the 35-year-old company is a collection of businesses that together are one of the largest office and hospitality furniture services companies in North America.