It's a Press Release Extravaganza!

Joe McNamara released his "Ten Ideas for Retaining our Best and Brightest" and had a press conference prior to the Ted Strickland event. Dave Schulz had a press release on his business plan as well as unveiling something new. Bob Vasquez sent out a press release and had a press conference this morning announcing the formal turn in of his signatures to run for Toledo City Council. Bob collected the maximum number of signatures which is 500.

So, we are going to do something a bit different here on Glass City Jungle. Who ever gets the least coverage in tomorrow's Toledo Blade on their press release/press conferences will get the most blog coverage here tomorrow. All of the other candidates will of course be mentioned and any additional information I think might be of interest but I think this is the fairest way to cover today rather than post all of the complete releases.

(As a clarification - candidates who did not do press releases don't count.)

:-)

Ted Strickland, Young Democrats and some Young Republicans

Pictures up at the title link, I was able to tape Ted Strickland's speech and will transcribe some of that later probably tomorrow after all of the media coverage so that I can compliment what is being presented. What I wanted to focus on was the more human interest aspect of what happened between the Young Democrats and the Young Republicans at today's event. No there was no violence nor was there any strong words exchanged.

Our Mayor Carty Finkbeiner made a statement telling those who came bearing Blackwell signs basically they were welcome but to behave. There were more Strickland supporters present than Blackwell supporters, at first the Blackwell supporters were more to the back with their signs then a few moved up to the front, then more Democrat supporters moved up. The crowd even chuckled when one Blackwell supporter went to the very front towards the middle of the crowd and then a Strickland supporter went right in front of him holding her Strickland sign in front of his.

Ted did not appear to be bothered by the whole situation, he said "I want to thank all of the young people for being here, and I really don't mind the Blackwell signs, so you don't have to worry about that. This is a free country and what we are doing today is an exercise in that right as a freedom and so everyone is welcome and everyone has a right to express their opinion and I think that is good and is healthy for our democracy."

I haven't had the opportunity to get to personally know many of the Young Republicans, I have come to know and really like some of the Young Democrats since the birth of this blog. I'm not sure of this whole cross protesting thing as far as what it does as far as promoting a message but I agree this is a free country. I'd much rather have people be able to do what they did today than be blocked or barred from events where they are merely trying to express their opinion. The only thing I disagreed with was one particular message written on the sidewalk in chalk. When I arrived there were several messages written in chalk down the length of the sidewalk in front of University Hall. I did not witness it being written, and the majority of the messages were things like "Vote 4 Blackwell". What I think draws the line between civil and uncivil was done by whoever wrote the message "Ted Strickland is a Baby Killer". Yes, there is a photo of that particular sidewalk taken so those of you who were not there have the ability to see it. It didn't upset anyone from what I could tell but I thought it was a bit tacky and I think we are all old enough to be beyond chalk messages on sidewalks. I debated how I was going to cover it, but in the end decided it was better to write about all of it, both the good and the not so good.

I realize campaigns and opinions of who you support can be polarizing. So, I applaud all of those who disagree but do so in the same manner of how they would want their own preferred candidate to be treated no matter which political party they are a part of.

Fomer Mayor Jack Ford on water and a few things I disagree with...

This week's column in the Sojourner's Truth by Jack Ford has some interesting information and a few things I disagree with. You can read it in full here, the former Mayor starts out on the Berkey water issue but that's not what I'm going to focus on. It is these two parts:

I thought that the Democratic road show in Toledo protesting Blackwell’s sale of the turnpike was undermined by the next day’s story that the Indiana governor was cashing $500,000 each day in interest payments from the $3.8 billion sale of their road. You can fix a lot of problems with an extra half a million a day coming into your state coffers.

On the other hand, Blackwell’s plan on health care for the uninsured is intriguing. This will resound with a lot of groups from business leaders to the uninsured. Blackwell is quickly becoming the guy with ideas while Strickland so far has just coasted. But, it looks as if he is sledding uphill with The Blade. In his front page picture with Republican mastermind Karl Rove last week, Blackwell has his back turned and The Blade published a photo very reminiscent of the classic Richard Nixon/Sammy Davis Jr. “hug.”

I strongly disagree with the sale of the Turnpike, nor do I believe no matter how much the State coffers might benefit that the Turnpike should even be for sale. It is supposed to have already been bought and paid for by the tax payers of this state and if the law was being followed? Would not even be a toll road anymore. Even though the Turnpike has stated the majority of those who drive it are not Ohio residents it creates another unwelcoming thing about Ohio. Especially if Lucas County gets the increase in the motel/hotel tax to try to fund the arena project it will make us not only one of the highest tax rates for putting heads in beds but for getting those heads to us.

I understand that Jack Ford has always been a strong supporter of providing health care to all local residents and residents of the State. He may be correct that some business owners will like Blackwell's plan for health care however, if the same Ohioans currently can't afford health care how they are going to come up with the money isn't something Blackwell's plan addresses. Smart Business people should realize, creating a situation where Ohioans have even less to spend is not a win/win situation for them.

Directly from Blackwell's website on his "Health Care for the Twenty First Century":

Insuring the Uninsured

Blackwell proposes the “Buckeye Health Plan” to provide health insurance coverage to currently uninsured Ohioans. The program would require all Ohioans to have some form of health insurance: individually, directly or indirectly through their employer or through a new marketplace sponsored by the State of Ohio for the uninsured – the Buckeye Health Connection.

The Buckeye Health Connection would match uninsured individuals with private health insurance coverage and facilitate those relationships as described below.

The insurance coverage offered through the Buckeye Health Connection would be paid for through individual contributions, employer contributions, Medicaid contributions or any combination of these.

The Buckeye Health Connection will be a facilitator of health insurance coverage and not replace existing relationships. The program will ask all Ohioans to participate in their own health care as a matter of personal responsibility.

The majority of people right now who don't have health insurance are not doing so because they are irresponsible, it's because they cannot afford it. Realistically how many people would decide to not be able to receive preventive health care? The majority of people I know that don't have health insurance would love to be able to afford health care, however their employers either don't provide it or provide it at such a high cost they can't afford it. In a fantasy world it would be great to believe that health insurance costs would magically decrease and I realize that in Massachusetts they are also claiming that this will reduce insurance costs however, that has not yet happened.

Even Standard and Poor's has concerns about the Massachusett's plan:

Our greatest concern is that the bill will not effectively curb the overall cost of covering the uninsured. If the funding for H. 4850 is insufficient to cover the cost of the uninsured, any additional financial burden on providers could damage their profitability, thereby potentially affecting credit quality.

They also state:

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services believes that a new Massachusetts law that aims to provide health care coverage for all of its residents could have a neutral to positive credit effect on certain of the commonwealth's hospitals and health systems depending on how the law is implemented. We also believe, however, that the law in its entirety would not likely be viable in other states.

I realize it's a silly suggestion, but shouldn't we see if this actually works before Ohio joins in?

Tappin’ for Tuition

I was sorry to have not been able to attend this event, however it looks like a good time was had by all and it also appears we have some well known Toledo residents who know how to trip the light fantastic.

So, head on over to the Sojourner's Truth and take a look at some of the pictures they have from this fundraising event sponsored by Toledo College Advisory Board.

Congratulations to Fire Chief Mike Bell and his partner Karen Medina who were selected as the winners.

:-)

George Sarantou unveils his "Four Point Plan"

The Sarantou campaign does not include me in their Press Conference releases, so I can't provide the release in full for yesterday's press conference. However, according to the Toledo Blade as linked in the title he offered several ideas yesterday as a part of what was stated is his "Four Point Plan".

One idea mentioned was the creation of a "Tax Free Day", which several states do offer, typically prior to school starting so that parents can buy necessary items for their children's back to school needs while enjoying a tax break. It would be more appropriate for someone like Mark Wagoner to offer that as legislation but George could support it under the "bully pulpit" principle.

I do agree that is a good idea and one that no matter the outcome of this election hope someone proceeds with.

Ben Konop's response to George's press conference is also included as a part of the Toledo Blade article.

For some further information on states who have considered a sales tax free day, several interesting articles, one on the increase of states that offer this, and from New Mexico, and from Arizona where legislation to create a similar day failed.

Blog it Toledo, Anger management and more...

The 31st Blog it! Toledo is available for your reading and surfing pleasure and this week's Toledo Free Press contains much more such as Traci Curth is angry... Michael Miller is almost pensive... Justin Kalmes writes about Toledo residents memories of an early time on Dorr Street in this week's cover story, and Tom Richard goes for emotion...

And there is of course many more articles and features waiting for you in this week's edition of the Toledo Free Press

Ted Strickland to be at University of Toledo tomorrow...

From a Young Lucas County Democrat information release:

Ted Strickland at the University of Toledo!!!

Please join the Democratic Candidate for Governor Ted Strickland as he speaks about the importance of keeping the best and the brightest in Ohio.

Thursday, August 31 at University Hall (Bancroft) at 1:00 p.m.


:-)

A tale of two alleged abusers...

In May, Darryl Richardson was charged with felonious assault after he repeatedly punched Ms. Rivera in the face and body, fracturing her facial bone, according to court records. Prosecutors dismissed the charge against Mr. Richardson on June 2. Court records indicate that Ms. Rivera twice failed to appear in court; the state was out of time and could not prosecute without the victim, and the detective who filed the charge could not find Ms. Rivera.

Mr. Santonio Holmes faces domestic violence and assault charges in connection with a June 19 incident involving LaShae Boone, his Columbus girlfriend and the mother of one of his three children.

She has told the prosecution she wants the charges to be dropped. But the prosecution still has the 911 call she made that night and a statement she gave police in which she accused Mr. Holmes of “choking (her), throwing her to the ground, grabbing her arms, and slamming her into a door, leaving her with bruises, pain, and a torn shirt.” “We would subpoena her and place her on the witness stand,” said Mr. McIntosh. “How strong a witness she would be for us would be the issue. Then we would have to debate the issue of contempt.”

Darryl Richardson as stated above, walked away with out facing prosecution for domestic violence against Lori Rivera in June. Now, in August he is in jail having been charged with the beating death of Lori Rivera on August 18th. The prosecution has not dropped the charges against Santonio Holmes, yet it's been stated he will probably not get any jail time.

Infact in an earlier Pittsburg Tribune review article Holmes attorney Sam Shamansky tried to downplay the episode:

"These are two young people who don't have a negative history," Shamansky said. "As (domestic violence) cases go, this one is not World War III. This is not a woman with her eye swollen shut."

It's been announced that Marcy Kaptur has gotten a $197,446 grant to help study what more can be done to combat domestic violence for Lucas County.

It's pretty obvious what part of the problem is, we have the public as well as attorney's who downplay domestic violence. It doesn't matter if it wasn't World War III this time, it could very well be the next time. Lori Rivera let Darryl Richardson get away with abusing her and she ended up paying for that decision with her life. LaShae Boone either lied about the 911 call or she was a victim of domestic violence. If she lied then she should be prosecuted, people who make false domestic violence claims hurt those who really have been victims. Even if she wants to drop the charges it either happened or it didn't happen. I applaud the prosecutor's office in Columbus for not dropping this and I wish that it would happen more often.

Toledo strip center construction up but is it needed?

(And is it really up...)

At first when you read the article in this morning's Toledo Blade it sounds like some good news:

After a slowdown because of poor economic conditions since 2000, strip shopping center construction in the Toledo area is heating up again.

At least six centers of 10,000 to 20,000 square feet have opened since the first of the year or are nearly completed. Four other projects are planned, and others are in the initial market test stages.

Plus, several centers are getting makeovers to compete with the new projects.

"There is a demand for new retail space in the market," said Duke Wheeler, a commercial real estate agent with CB Richard Ellis/Reichle Klein in Maumee. "We're not seeing a lot of the big users fighting for space, but we are seeing new smaller users looking for space."

A CB Richard Ellis midyear report on local retail found increased demand ended an 18-month period where average asking rents were dropping.

I remembered hearing some discussion when the retail vacancy rates for Toledo were released after the first of the year, so I went looking. I found this February 2006 article that is titled:

Retail vacancies in area soaring

So which is it? If the mid year reports showed that there was an increased demand, how could in February it be reported that retail vacancies in 2005 were soaring?

The February 2006 article goes on:

Retail vacancies in metro Toledo last year rose to levels not seen since the last recession in a market best described as feast or famine, a new industry report shows. The percentage of empty stores and other retail buildings shot up to nearly 14 percent at year's end, according to the commercial realty CB Richard Ellis, Reichle Klein, of Maumee.

At the end of 2004, vacancies were at 11 percent. They last topped 13 percent at the end of 2001, just after a recession.

While population in the metro area has not increased, retail construction has boomed over the past five years. The amount of space rose 13 percent to 18.3 million square feet, CB Richard Ellis said. The biggest gains were made in Perrysburg and Northwood, where retailers have added 1 million square feet for a 66 percent increase.

Still, there is conflicting data about the number of empty stores and in key corridors.

CB Richard Ellis said vacancies range from 9 percent in Perrysburg and Northwood to 16 percent in West Toledo and Sylvania as well as east Toledo and Oregon.

Going back to February of 2005

"The market took a breather," said Dave Long, a retail specialist at CB Richard Ellis/Reichle Klein, of Maumee.

"In 2003, we had a ton of new construction come on-line and a ton of vacancies, especially with the Food Town closings. In 2004, the market corrected itself and settled down."

Studies by two commercial realty agencies point to lower retail vacancy rates last year. CB Richard Ellis claims the number of empty stores and restaurants fell to 10 percent of available space from 12 percent at the end of 2003.

Preliminary figures from rival Michael Realty Co. of Toledo also suggest that two percentage points were shaved off the retail vacancy rate. But Michael, which bases its estimates on a different mix of properties, maintains that the overall retail vacancy rate in the market was 8 percent.

These are some of the same companies reporting different information. If we had a "ton" of new construction in 2003 then today's report isn't accurate in claiming that "After a slowdown because of poor economic conditions since 2000, strip shopping center construction in the Toledo area is heating up again." If there was a record high 14% vacancy rate in 2005, then how six months later could there be magically an increased demand?

Should we celebrate? Should we wonder why it seems like neither the reporters or the indviduals asked to comment goes back to read the previous stories to see what was written before? If today it's being stated:

The new strip center activity, Mr. Wheeler said, could add 40,000 to 60,000 square feet to the nearly 18 million square feet in the area.

And in February of 2006 it was stated:

The amount of space rose 13 percent to 18.3 million square feet,

How much of a net gain are we really getting with these new strip shopping centers...18.3 as quoted earlier is larger than "nearly" 18 million with the new centers. Wouldn't that mean that there was actually a larger increase in the years prior than what we are seeing now?

If the vacancy rate is that high all we are doing is what is mentioned in today's article:

Leasing in such centers generally is by tenants in older strip centers,

Which means tenants go from older buildings to new buildings which leaves the old buildings vacant and does not have a positive impact on the overall vacancy rate. While the increase of construction jobs is good news, after the new strip centers are built all that is being done is shuffling rent money so that the new buildings gain and the old buildings lose.

Nor does that address any of this conflicting information...I do know of one additional increased benefit to Toledo from this though, increased purchases of headache medication...

Dave Schulz gets the nod...

Last night the Lucas County Republican Party Screening Committee met and recommended that Dave Schulz be the endorsed candidate for the open Toledo City Council spot. According to the Toledo Blade, two other men who were interested in the endorsement were Dave Davison, a retired Toledo police officer, and Jonathon Rodebaugh, a quality manager for a manufacturing company.

If you'd like to learn more about Dave, his website is a recommended visit.

:-)

Toledo Pride - Arts & Life

Toledo Pride - Arts & Life

An article I read that I highly recommend, if you haven't registered to read the Independent Collegian, there's no better time than the present.

:-)

A uniformly unpleasant experience....

As most of you know we moved from the burbs into Toledo which means my youngest will be attending TPS. The initial experience in enrolling her went fine, and by luck her teacher happened to be there that day getting the classroom ready so they had the chance to meet.

I'm not a pro-uniform person, I fully admit that and I knew the uniform policy at TPS was going to be a major downside to me but I forged ahead hoping for the best. I also hate shopping. The first bit of misinformation was about the uniform voucher policy. I was told where I needed to go and what I needed to take but I was told the voucher was given that day. It's mailed and by the time it will be received school will already be in session. Several other parents who I've spoken with have stated this is not uncommon.

So we set out to buy the required clothing items for Toledo Public Elementary Schools. If your child is a 6X you are in luck, however my soon to be 12 year old is not a size 6X. Three Wal-Marts, Target, Meijer, Sam's Club and Kohl's were visited. The Wal-marts did not even have tops in her size. Meijer had nothing. Sam's Club did have the polo shirts in White, 2 in her size, which I purchased for $7.60 each. Target had nothing. I'd point out that we not only checked the girl's department but the junior's department looking for skirts in the required material in Khaki at each store. At Kohl's we found one skirt that looked "uniformish" and was in her size. One...Thankfully it was on sale, normally priced at $34.99 it was $14.99. So for a little over $30.00 we have two days worth of school clothing wear. An amazing fact that TPS doesn't seem to realize is not everyone has a washer and a dryer.

Realistically we are going to have to purchase more clothing items before the voucher arrives. That's if we can even use the voucher since I was told at least at the time we were shopping the size I needed was not available where the voucher can be used either.

So, a very uniformly unpleasant experience that has not saved me time, nor money and has been more stressful than what I normally go thru in trying to buy school clothing each year. Worse yet is I know this has to be repeated and soon. I couldn't help wondering if there was an opt out procedure, which I'm looking into.

I'd also point out I'm not alone on feeling that this is not such a uniformly great idea Random Thoughts on TPS weighed in earlier this month on this topic and over on Toledo Talk it's being stated it's not even being "uniformly" enforced.

:-)

UPDATE Tuesday: Well from the looks of the student population - the dress code is not even close to being enforced. Not even the whole "must have black or brown dress shoes". Nor the colors of the shirts so looks at least at the beginning it's pretty lax.

Three more Unions locked out at the Blade and...

From reading what Berserker posted over at Toledo Speaks Out and Scabbard for the Blade it appears there are several employees who don't want to be a part of a Union anymore and are trying to get a Decertification vote to happen.

This adds another factor to the current situation with the Blade and the Unions. How many employees want the Unions out isn't clear. Yet it has to have an influencing factor in the ongoing negotiations.

The Blade, reporting on the new lockouts doesn't address the main claim of the Toledo Newspaper Guild which is that the Blade is trying to undermine the Unions and to destroy the rights of its employees to participate in union activity

One wonders if the Toledo Newspaper Guild and a Graphics Communication local of pressmen will be locked out. The Guild represents reporters, photographers, copy editors, advertising sales people, and circulation workers, and the Graphic Communication union represents people who run the machines that print the newspaper. Or if the lock outs will only happen with employees that the Blade feels they can replace with temporary workers. It has to be stressful on these Blade employees to not know if they are going to have a job on a day by day basis.

I've never gone on record as being a rabidly pro-union person, and I do believe that workers should have the right to Decertify if they feel their union representation is not needed. Yet, if this is going to happen it should be because that's what the employees truly want as opposed to being pressured by Management to do so. In this case we have at least three different views as to what is happening. All we can predict is that it doesn't appear this is going to end any time soon.

Toledo isn't the only part of Ohio with newspapers making the news. From reading Pho's Akron Pages, the Arkon Beacon Journal just laid off quite a few of their staff. Also as Pho pointed out, the Cleveland Plain Dealer is offering buyouts to cut staff.

If you are supporting a candidate as a citizen and not a minister...

Then one wonders why the group would use the name "Clergy" as part of the title.

In reading this Akron Beacon Journal article this made me pause:

Bill Owens, director of the conservative Coalition of African-American Pastors, said he believes people can distinguish between his job as minister and his support for Blackwell. He said the coalition represents 20,000 pastors nationwide.

"I'm speaking as a person and we have that right to speak as an individual," Owens told The Associated Press. "Because I'm a minister, it doesn't take away my right as a private citizen."

Johnson said Thursday his support for Blackwell is as a citizen, not a minister.

Yet the group is named:

"Clergy for Blackwell"

It's obvious religion is going to play a role in the Gubernatorial race, from both Strickland who's clergy supporters have formed the group "We Believe" and from Blackwell.

Flashing back to 2004 a topic of conversation was termed the "religion gap". Interestingly enough this 2004 article states:

There are exceptions to the pattern. African-Americans who often attend church are as reliably Democratic as those who don't. Frequency of church attendance seems to have limited impact on the voting patterns of Hispanics.

Also written in 2004 is a piece by Amy Sullivan that it would appear some Democrats have taken to heart.

Something even more interesting from 2000 was when the ADL warned Lieberman and provided this as a part of their faqs:

Excessive religious discourse in public risks alienating some of the American people. While many Americans do feel comfortable with such speech, ADL is not satisfied if even one person is made to feel outside the political or electoral process.

Infact part of what they wrote to Senator Joe Lieberman:

...in particular, we were troubled by your suggestion that, "As a people we need to reaffirm our faith and renew the dedication of our nation and ourselves to God and God's purpose" and your argument not to indulge the supposition "that morality can be maintained without religion." To even suggest that one cannot be a moral person without being a religious person is an affront to many highly ethical citizens.

So, as individual citizens? Everyone does have the freedom to decide for themselves, but if you are truly speaking as a citizen? Then take off the minister collars, take off the minister garb, come out from behind the pulpit and? Be a citizen and if you are a candidate? I think the ADL's advice to Joe Lieberman might be worth taking a look at.

:-)

Press Release: Bob Vasquez - Erie Street Market

This just in from the Bob Vasquez for City Council campaign:

A press conference is being held today at 1:30 p.m. at the Erie Street Market.

Candidate Bob Vasquez says Toledo is Rudderless in Economic Development--Calls on Council to act immediately to reign in problem

Bob Vasquez, At-Large Toledo City Council candidate, will hold an afternoon press conference to discuss the Erie Street Market and how it affects Toledo’s economic well being.

Mr. Vasquez will demand that Council take action to Toledo’s economic development department forward. He will discuss the hiring of Don Monroe as the Erie Street Market’s interim manager and why that move is detrimental to the city.

Mr. Monroe is also in charge of the City’s largest economic development project, the Marina District.

PAID FOR BY THE VASQUEZ COMMITTEE. 2156 PLUMLEAF LANE. TOLEDO, OH, 43614

UPDATE: The following additional information was provided by the Bob Vasquez for Toledo City Council campaign:

• Council should not approve one cent more for the Erie Street Market until there’s been a complete audit of the true financial picture of the market. We have to ask the question—why are we doing this? What is our goal? Most importantly, what is the plan? Why are we continually spending money on a project that hasn’t worked?

• As a member of Council, I need to make the case to the citizens of Toledo that we are spending their tax dollars in the most prudent manner, considering the loss of tax base that the city has incurred.

• Don Monroe was brought on to manage the Marina District project. He is also the president of River East. Now he’s taking on yet another major project for the City and still is working—and being paid—without a contract. Don Monroe is a talented individual but to put all of these projects on one person is unrealistic. It’s a setup for another failure at the Erie Street Market and it’s not fair to Toledo taxpayers who have already sunk millions of dollars into the facility.

UPDATE 2: Politics in Mudville has additional background information on this story.

:-)

Brownstones on Dorr Street

Why it's great to have alternative media sources is clear when it comes to this story, The Toledo Blade and then Sojourner's Truth.

The Blade has this information from Councilwoman Wilma Brown:

District 1 Councilman Wilma Brown said the project is part of a long-term effort at fulfilling the promises of urban renewal that were made in the late 1970s when buildings that once housed black-owned businesses were torn down.

"Everything was wonderful until 1966 and we had a mini riot with the Black Panthers. Business started to move out of the area, as well as families," she said.

Recent improvements have included repaving the street from Reynolds Road to downtown and replacing the sewer lines. She said another goal is to restore the former Ira Apartments building at Dorr and Parkside Boulevard.

Soujourner's Truth has this from Councilwoman Wilma Brown:

"This is the beginning of pride and rebirth of our heritage as an area that is the heart of the African-American community,” said Brown who has been the driving force behind the new development.

The “Brownstones on Dorr Street” is the latest in a series of projects Brown has in mind for the revitalization of Dorr Street. The housing units are also the first new homes that will have been built on Dorr, said the councilwoman, since the 1930’s.

Brown has been instrumental in urging existing Dorr Street businesses to clean up their properties, in bringing new businesses to the area and in getting vacant buildings along the corridor demolished.

“As I said 10 years ago when I ran for Council, Dorr Street will be reclaimed,” she said Friday. “I just didn’t know how I was going to do it. Jackson McDaniel has made that possible.”

The Sojourner's Truth article also contains quotes from Mayor Carty Finkbeiner:

“If Toledo does quality projects,” said Finkbeiner, “we won’t have to worry about population loss.” That remark was in reference to a U.S. Census report earlier in the week that placed Toledo’s population as under 300,000. “This housing project is going to be first-rate.

“The African-American community should be very proud,” continued the mayor. “I look at Collingwood going out Dorr and I see solid, strong African-American middle class neighborhoods. We’ve got something significant going on here because Wilma Brown has been an advocate for her neighborhood.”

So, don't forget to read Toledo's alternative media, it's a great way to discover more information or a differing viewpoint at times that is important.

:-)

Lucas County Democrats website re-design...

The Lucas County Democratic Party website is being re-done and it looks very nice. I especially like the way the information on local Democratic Clubs is listed. I almost hesitate to write the one problem I have with the website given the obvious amount of work that went into updating it.

Mark and Mike are still missing from the list of Office Holders...

Once they are added? We are on the way to perfection...

:-)

The MDL cover up and what doesn't make sense...

Earlier this month the Toledo Blade had an article that implies that had the information on MDL been leaked it could have had a difference in the outcome of the Presidential election that would have helped John Kerry.

In a motion filed last month requesting that the lawsuit be dismissed, attorneys representing Mark D. Lay of MDL Capital Management accused state officials of "covering up the bureau's investments and investment losses in 2004 just before a presidential election."

"State officials have left little doubt that the timing and substance of their public disclosures, as well as their entire litigation strategy, have been manipulated and planned for political purposes," attorneys for Mr. Lay and MDL wrote in the motion. Eric Kuwana, a Washington attorney representing Mr. Lay, declined to elaborate on the allegation of a cover-up.

Chris Redfern, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, said last week that if the MDL losses had been revealed in October, 2004, it "would have been national news" and would have had a significant impact in Ohio, where 120,000 votes separated President Bush and John Kerry, the Democratic nominee.

"This had to do with the election of a president and obviously the facts are that Conrad and the rest of his group were willing participants in a widespread conspiracy in the Bureau of Workers' Compensation," Mr. Redfern said.

Yet in today's Toledo Blade the information is presented differently:

(Mark Weaver, a spokesman for state Auditor Betty Montgomery) Mr. Weaver said the news about the MDL losses should "have come out very quickly" and that the reports would have been harmful to Democrats in the 2004 election because of MDL chief Mark D. Lay's ties to Democrats.

Mr. Weaver declined to comment on the content of Mr. Conrad's e-mails.

"Why Mr. Conrad would do what he did, he'll have to answer for that," Mr. Weaver said.

So who's right? Why would Conrad cover up information that would have been harmful to Democrats? If that was true why would the Democrats be claiming the release of the information would have helped John Kerry? What will be the response from the Democrats as to Mark Weaver's statement?

Press Release: McNamara Proposes “Toledo Heritage Initiative”

Latest press release from the Joe McNamara for Toledo City Council campaign:

McNamara Proposes “Toledo Heritage Initiative” To Lure Back Native Toledoans
Central to marketing push would be annual “Toledo Heritage Festival”

Toledo, OH – Toledo has experienced detrimental population depletion.

According to a recent survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, the City of Toledo’s population has dropped below 300,000 for the first time in sixty years. City council candidate Joe McNamara thinks the city should reach out to former Toledoans and entice them to come home.

McNamara will hold a press conference on Thursday, August 24, at 10 AM on the steps of Sacred Heart to announce his Toledo Heritage Initiative. McNamara is proposing the establishment of an annual “Toledo Heritage Festival” and a marketing campaign urging Toledo “expatriates” to move back. Sacred Heart is McNamara’s grade school alma mater.

“Toledo is a great American city with big city amenities and a small town quality of life,” McNamara said, who attended school in Ann Arbor and New York City and also lived and worked in Chicago. “We have safe and friendly neighborhoods, a rich cultural life, very affordable housing, and short commutes.”

The Toledo Heritage Festival would feature a job and educational opportunities fair as well as downtown and neighborhood housing tours. Events like concerts, pub crawls, art gallery tours, a Zoo Day and Mud Hens Baseball and Storm Hockey Fantasy Camps would highlight the city’s first-rate cultural amenities. McNamara said he and other “repatriates” could act as volunteer ambassadors, talking up the city to natives and other visitors during festival week.

Additional marketing efforts could include direct mail, web site advertising and outreach through University of Toledo Alumni clubs in major cities.

Similar efforts are currently being pursued in cities around the country, including Buffalo, New York and Omaha, Nebraska.



Paid for by Friends of Joe McNamara
4619 Cranbrook Drive, Toledo,
OH 43615, Kevin Pirozek CPA, Treasurer


UPDATE Friday:

Toledo Blade has more as well as the response from the other City Council Candidates.

Will candidates boycott the Toledo Blade? Should they?

According to the news, the Toledo Blade has locked out a second union. In today's edition of the weekly Free Press, and all out boycott is being called for:

The Toledo Council of Newspaper Unions responded to a lockout The Blade issued Aug. 20 against one of its unions by declaring an “all-fronts” advertising and subscription boycott against the newspaper.

Larry Vellequette, council spokesman, said the boycott included all holdings by Block Communications Inc., The Blade's parent company, which also owns media outlets in Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Locally, BCI owns a cable company (Buckeye CableSystem) and WLIO, Lima's NBC affiliate.

This places candidates in a very difficult sitauation, do they cross picket lines or do they support the boycott and not advertise their campaigns on any Blade owned media outlet?

What about the debate that was just announced yesterday? Will Mike DeWine and Sherrod Brown cross picket lines?

If the Blade and the Unions don't resolve their differences soon, questions surrounding the call for a boycott will have to be answered...

I guess those dead people want slots in heaven...

I was emailed the link to this Cleveland Plain Dealer article on Learn and Earn's problem with some of the signatures they collected. Then I came to this paragraph:

The Summit elections board referred a number of petitions to the sheriff for investigation of fraud. One petition held signatures in the same handwriting. Another bore the names of dead people, officials said.

It is so stupid to do that kind of thing with petitions, they aren't going to get passed thru. No, I haven't changed my mind on Learn and Earn or my feeling on how they misled the public during the "branding" period. There also seems to be some concern they won't have enough signatures:

Elections boards across Ohio are checking signatures now, to validate that they came from registered voters. Learn and Earn has reason to be worried - little more than 4 in 10 signatures, an unusually low rate, have been validated in Summit and Cuyahoga counties, elections officials said Tuesday.

There also seems to be some concern as to the actual numbers...they don't add up:

On Monday, Learn and Earn asked Blackwell and six boards of election across Ohio to investigate why the number of petitions and signatures they have reviewed is less than what Learn and Earn said it gathered.

Summit, for example, reported it got 5,365 petitions with 57,160 signatures. Learn and Earn said it gathered 5,373 petitions with 60,631 signatures.

Learn and Earn says up to 13,000 signatures are unaccounted for. It fears that petitions were mixed with those for other statewide issues or were sent to the wrong counties.

It would seem no matter your feeling on Learn and Earn that the process of collecting and validating signatures could use some serious evaluation. That is important to address, these types of errors shouldn't be accepted as common place.

It also appears if Learn and Earn does have enough signatures to get on the ballot there will be no doubt at the polls as to what this proposed change to the constitution is about.

Blog it! Toledo, heads in beds and more...

This week's Blog it, Toledo covers some of my favorite places for research and information and the cover story for the Toledo Free Press is very highly recommended, it's entitled "Heads in Beds".

While we are still on the topic of the Arena, Michael Miller has some suggested names, though I have to say I think Glass City Jungle Arena has a ring to it. James E. Hanley has an interesting guest opinion article that I recommend.

I also recommend reading an article Justin R. Kalmes wrote about Anita Lopez. Not only can you learn more about Anita's ideas but a reason I had not yet heard as to why Larry Kaczala decided to run for Auditor again after changing his mind on running for Judge at close to the last minute. He wants to be the one to replace those who are retiring soon...

As always there are of course many more articles to select from in this week's Toledo Free Press.

:-)

Ted Strickland Conference call with Ohio bloggers

Cindy from the highly recommended, As Ohio Goes has a great summary of the conference call that myself and several other Ohio bloggers participated in today with Ted Strickland. Cindy also has links to some of the other bloggers that have written posts on the conference call. From my notes, it was stressed that Strickland and Sherrod Brown want Ohio to be a cutting edge state when it comes to renewable energy. It was stated one of the reasons we are in a war right now is that we are reliant on foreign oil.

On the topic of the response to some of the Republican ads thus far it was stated that they are using fear and hate to campaign against the Democrats. Ted Strickland stated he preferred the message of Hope and Optimism for a better future. On the topic of college education the cost is a factor attending a four year college in Ohio costs 45% more than the average in the nation and 52% more for two year colleges. Strickland would like to create a post secondary savings account for parents and would keep college tuitions costs down by using state funding as a leverage. Tuition predictability was felt as important so that students would have an idea as to what their costs would be. Ted Strickland stated that if elected when he is asked to swear to uphold the constitution, he will mean it when he swears allegiance to that oath to make Ohio constitutional in it's funding of public schools. Ohio must come up with a system that is more equitable and resources are more adequately shared.

He'd like to see Ohio be a blue state in 2008 restoring maturity and credibility back to the presidency. If he is elected governor he will remain governor in Ohio. (That was in response to Russell of BSB's question on Ted being a possible vice presidential candidate.)

I thank the Strickland campaign for doing this conference call, and for inviting me to participate.

:-)

The real answer to Domestic Violence...

When I read about the death of Lori Rivera I flashed back to my own personal experiences and those of others who I have known who have faced domestic violence. While I understand what Lourdes Santiago was trying to do with her press conference yesterday, I also have to point out that the reporting of Domestic Violence statistics is alone not going to be the answer. It states in the Blade article that:

Sherrie Johnston, owner of University Security, said Ms. Rivera complained to her officers repeatedly about Mr. Richardson, but the security company was let go because the building's owners could no longer afford to pay the bill.

Even if that is true, complaining to a Security Company is not going to end Domestic Violence. Like many victims Lori Rivera did not follow thru when it came to the prosecution of Darryl Richardson and now she's dead. Is it possible that the public humilation factor of having domestic violence stats released to Block Watch groups so that the neighbors know will reduce domestic violence? Even if details are not released, chances are neighbors probably already have an idea of what is happening behind closed doors. Flashing back to I believe a Dateline program that had hidden video of a spouse being physically /threatened abused in a public location and noting how many people just walked by without responding as well as the few that did that suggested not to stop but a public location was not the "appropriate" place for such a dispute makes me wonder at how willing people are to call the police.

Then, even if the police are called, it is up to the victim the majority of the times to follow thru and it's been suggested statistically that just leaving may increase the chance of being abused and/or killed. If you stay with a spouse or partner who has beaten you, chances are that behavior is not just a one time occurrence. Your choices are not easy if you are in that situation, especially if you have children and even if you don't? You want to believe that it won't happen again, some even blame themselves, "If I did this better maybe then...". Ms. Santiago suggested:

Ms. Santiago said reporting domestic violence incidents at Block Watch meetings would make neighbors more alert, which might provide police with witness testimony they can use to prosecute an assailant when a victim fails to appear in court.

"If a neighbor hears an argument getting out of hand, that neighbor can play a big role in the case not being dismissed," Ms. Santiago said.

Witnesses came forward with information regarding various aspects of Ms. Rivera's assault, said Toledo police Sgt. Tim Noble.

How many neighbors are going to want to testify against another neighbor, especially if the injured partner refuses to testify? In an ideal world, of course people would, but we don't live in an ideal world. We live in a world where the whole attitude towards Domestic Violence is part of the reason it exists. It also appears there were other people who knew that Lori Rivera had and was being abused.

There are no easy solutions, but the real answer to ending or reducing domestic violence lies with reaching out to the victims. Helping them to somehow have the courage to not only follow thru with pressing charges but to realize no one deserves to be abused and no one should allow it to happen to them. I'm not sure if the death of Lori Rivera should become a campaign issue or as a press conference by a candidate, as I'm pretty sure none of our Toledo City Council Candidates are going to come out in support of Domestic Violence. However, I would suggest that programs in existance like the Domestic Violence Taskforce be supported. Perhaps better communication with Block Watches with the Task Force would help to let not only victims but neighbors know what is in place as far as assistance for those who are abused might help. Perhaps public education from the Task Force as to the real facts concerning Domestic Violence might help. Perhaps the Domestic Violence Task Force could also update their website...

Ben Konop unveils "Give it Back George" website

Press Release this morning from the Ben Konop for Lucas County Commissioner Campaign:

WWW.GIVEITBACKGEORGE.COM Unveiled Online
Site features online petition, empowers citizens with opportunity to call for return of Noe money to rightful owners: the taxpayers and injured workers of Ohio

Toledo, OH- Empowering the voters of Lucas County with the opportunity to personally and conveniently join their voices in calling for the return of Tom Noe's money to its rightful owners, www.giveitbackgeorge.com officially debuted online this morning. The site, produced by the Konop for Commissioner Campaign, features an online petition for citizens to sign, encouraging Konop’s opponent, Republican George Sarantou, to refund to the taxpayers the multiple campaign contributions he received from Tom Noe. Sarantou currently has the Noe money in his campaign account.

Konop will be holding a press conference at 413 N. Michigan Street in Toledo at 10:30 AM today to officially unveil the website, personally sign the petition and take questions on the issue of the Noe funds.

"When I'm out knocking on doors and talking to voters, I hear loud and clear that the citizens of Lucas County are aware of and interested in the behavior of their elected officials," stated Ben Konop, Democratic Candidate for Lucas County Commissioner. "This website offers us, as a community, the opportunity to demonstrate that awareness and to demand a higher standard."

On June 13th, Konop called on his Republican opponent to refund to the taxpayers of Ohio the political contributions he has received from Tom Noe, stating, in part, "In 2005, you declined to return the Noe money... Today, I am calling on you to, in fact, do the ethical thing and return the funds given to you by Mr. Noe to the Bureau of Workers Compensation." It appears that Sarantou has not returned the Noe funds since that time.

Konop, an attorney who is representing a small business in a lawsuit suing the Republican party for the return of Noe contributions, also stated in the June 13th letter that "Many prominent members of the Republican Party have returned their contributions from Mr. Noe… Republicans like President Bush, Gov. Taft, Sen. DeWine, Sen. Voinovich, Auditor Montgomery, Attorney General Petro, and Secretary of State Blackwell have all returned Mr. Noe’s donations."

"The taxpayers of Ohio deserve the funds returned to them," stated Konop. "I hope the online petition helps to empower the citizens to take back their government from the culture of corruption."

Paid for by Konop for Lucas County, Tony Pizza, Chair, 100 S. Huron St., Suite 7C, Toledo, OH 43602

UPDATE Tuesday:

The Toledo Blade has an article about yesterday's press conference. Also as pointed out on the petition by Frank Szollosi was this Toledo Blade article from June 2005.

Who really killed Toledo's "Hoop" Dreams?

Today's Toledo Blade covers part of what past stories written on this issue by the Blade have also detailed that I think are relevant to seeing why the facility failed.

Even the title of Today's story: Owner cries foul as time runs out for sports center

COUNCIL CRIES FOUL OVER HOOP PROJECT is a headline from 2001 when Toledo City Council was arguing with the Mayor over who was responsible for costs related to environmental clean up.

At that point it appears it was City Council not the Mayor who did not want to pay the payment of $165,000, to reimburse the developers their costs for dealing with environmental problems at the site, including the discovery of 117 barrels containing paint sludge buried at the site.

"Send it back to the mayor," Councilman Louis Escobar demanded. "Tell them to clean it up."

It also appears that the Mayor and his administration was following what they were told by Law Director Barbara Herring that the charges were appropriate for the city to pay under the terms of the lease.

Yet is that the only reason why this facility failed when the one in Columbus has done well?

Even when the idea of the Hoops facility was first created there were concerns. In 1999:

Title: RESIDENTS SLAM PRIVATE BASKETBALL CENTER IN PARK
Author: TOM JEWELL BLADE STAFF WRITER
Date: August 11, 1999

About 60 people turned out for a public hearing on a proposal to locate the privately operated facility in Colony Park in West Toledo. The opposition was overwhelming.The city administration is proposing the location for The Hoop Basketball and Fitness Center, which would offer basketball players indoor courts around the clock, along with a running track, weight room, and aerobics unit in a 46,000-square-foot building.

Even then the admission price was a concern and residents were against the intial proposed location that might have proven more successful.

In 2000, George Karl was here in Toledo for the opening of the Hoops Facility.

KARL FRUSTRATED ABOUT UNC JOB MILWAUKEE DENIED HIM CHANCE TO COACH AT SCHOOL WHERE HE PLAYED
Author: DONALD EMMONS
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
Date: August 10, 2000

Karl and Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner helped break ground on Karl's development project in North Toledo - but in a new way. Instead of the traditional silver shovels digging in the dirt, Finkbeiner and Karl shot some baskets.

Both men were on hand to talk about The Hoop, Karl's new, 24-hour basketball and fitness facility located at Manhattan Boulevard and Colony Street.

"It's so wonderful to have a person like George investing in Toledo," the mayor said. "This is going to provide a lot of fun and learning for a lot of kids."

Karl and his associates are building the 43,000-square-foot facility. Toledo will be the second market to have The Hoop, after Columbus. The city of Toledo owns the land and is leasing it to The Hoop for $500 a year. It is also providing a tax break.

Karl says he has no interest in making money off his basketball centers. He said he's not sure if the Columbus center turns a profit, and he said he'd be happy "to open up the books to the people of Toledo." Instead, he views the centers as a way to give back to the game that has given him so much by getting young people involved.

But, in 2003:

Title: BASKETBALL FACILITY CUTS OPERATING HOURS
Author: GEORGE J. TANBER BLADE STAFF WRITER
Date: April 11, 2003

The owners of a North Toledo athletic club for youths, citing financial problems related to a long-simmering squabble with the city, cut its operating hours yesterday and are threatening to close the facility.

The company also alleged that the city failed, as promised, to build other sports and recreation facilities near its complex, and that it declined to transfer city-operated basketball and volleyball leagues there.

"We need those recreation leagues there to give us an additional revenue stream," Mr. Cecutti said. "We promised to build them a nice building, and we did."

Councilman Michael Ashford, who represents District 4, has a different view. "They city never guaranteed it would provide programs. There's nothing like that in writing," he said.

"They are not around households that can support it on a daily basis," said Mr. Ashford. "They can't give a reduced rate to disadvantaged kids or families. They need the money to operate. [But at] $5 each time, how many times do you think a kid from a low-class family can go there?"

Maybe the lack of TARTA access is also an issue but it was not mentioned in any of the previous Blade articles. The main focus seemed to be on the arguments surrounding how much of the environmental costs would be reimbursed then later belief that the City did not transfer city leagues there or build more facilities there. Since 1999 the cost to play there has been mentioned as a concern. The Blade article from today also mentioned the cost factor:

But some who used the facility said the fees - $5 a person for 3 hours or $35 a month - were too high, especially for the targeted market of lower-income patrons.

"It was cool. But the fee was just too high," said 21-year-old Gary Brazzel, who regularly played on The Hoop's courts during winter weekends. "In the winter time, when there was no other place to play, that's where you go."

What is obvious is the community did not support this venture. Was it the location? Was it the cost? Is this something that can be blamed mainly on Carty and the City? Or does this show if you build it and they can't afford it they won't come? That I'm not sure about, and while it is popular at this point in time to blame Carty for most things, I'm not sure how much of this he could have avoided.

Maumee Days Parade

Complete set of photos at the title link but the picture selected to be featured is of the group of cheerleaders who were vocally supporting Anita Lopez with a special cheer that included "Vote Lopez!". They got the attention of the crowd:




Even though it rained earlier, the weather was great for a parade. The crowd turn out was huge and the candy was plentiful much to the joy of my youngest and every child I saw. There was also quite a bit of "swag" handed out, political and local business alike, even small American flags. Mayor Tim Wagener was the first candyman of the parade. The Safety City Graduates following behind the DARE truck received many smiles from the crowd. The Maumee Band was excellent and there were several different groups of cheerleaders and dance squads.

Political Candidates and their supporters were also in abundance, with the exception of the Sherrod Brown and Ted Strickland groups all local candidates who had supporters/vehicles in the parade were also there in person waving or doing a quick meet and greet along the parade route. Miguel was able to get photos of almost every group and some of the candidates; in order of appearance... (or close)

Anita Lopez for County Auditor, Mark Wagoner for District 46, Ben Konop for Lucas County Commissioner, Judge Parish for Court of Appeals, Judge Doneghy for Court of Common Pleas, Mark Dansack for District 46, Teresa Fedor for State Senator, Sherrod Brown for Senator, Ted Strickland for Governor, Judge Jennings for Court of Common Pleas, George Sarantou for Lucas County Commissioner, Judge Osowik for Court of Common Pleas, Larry Kaczala for Auditor, Jim Nusbaum for Court of Common Pleas, and Stacy Cook for Court of Common Pleas.

I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge all of the volunteers who support their local candidates running for office. We only attend a small number of the various public events they do and the dedication they have to their candidates gets a moment of applause from me.

Some things to catch up on...

I missed Nookular Option on Tuesday, Ben Konop was featured as an interview. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, you can download the podcast.

Paul Miller over at Northwest Ohio Net has a good post on the recent school grade cards and this week's Carnival of Ohio Politics is a recommended read too.

I haven't had as much extra blog time recently but As Ohio Goes has had some great posts this week.

We've discussed Learn and Earn here a few times but Lincon Logs has done a great job in covering this issue and making it easy to locate.

There is also a great article over at La Prensa about Anita Rios who is the running mate of Bob Fitrakis.

Now we are almost caught up...


:-)

An "uniformed opinion" on Ohio Turnpike?

As I was scanning the title linked Toledo Blade article, this made me laugh:

(Ken Blackwell's Spokesman) Mr. (Carlo) LoParo responded that eliminating tolls is "an uninformed opinion" because there is no replacement source for the revenue.

Despite what Ohio Legislators did in 1993 to create a way to continue to collect tolls as discussed back in June, the original intent was for the Turnpike to become a non-toll road.

Flashing back to the 1940's...

Ohio's leaders envisioned a nonstop span across the state superior to anything that had ever been built. In 1949, the legislature authorized creation of the Ohio Turnpike Commission. To fund the new superhighway, the Commission issued $326 million in revenue bonds. The Turnpike would be the biggest construction project in Ohio's history to that time.

Ground was broken on October 27, 1952. At peak construction, 10,000 workers were on the job and the landscape became dotted with more than 2,300 bulldozers, graders, loaders and other machines. Building the 241 mile highway took only 38 months.

On October 1, 1955, the massive project was completed. Hundreds of eager motorists were lined up to be among the first to drive nonstop all the way across Ohio. Opening Day traffic totaled 44,000 vehicles. The Turnpike was in business.

It does not appear that they envisioned a never ending cash cow for gubernatorial candidates to consider trying to sell or lease to foreign companies...Granted government actually following thru on promises it has made to voters is becoming more and more rare but I think the original intent is very clear.

On cutting costs in Toledo...

The Toledo Blade article by Tom Troy is linked in the title that covers Joe McNamara's press conference yesterday. You can read the full text of Joe's Press Release on Politics in Mudville.

I guess what surprised me from today's Blade article was that I didn't realize it was Lourdes Santiago's idea for there to be no Economic Director for Toledo. I missed that. I don't think any of the candidates would disagree with the city saving money as Bob Vasquez pointed out in the one example of the City and the County working together for the new radio communications system. The arena still seems to have a rather large question mark at this point.

It's also great news that revenue collection from taxes is up in Toledo, which means now more than ever would be a great time to trim any necessary fat so that these new tax dollars would be used most efficiently. Dave Schulz had some specific cuts that he suggested in a press release that I thought you might like some more detail on:

(These figures were based on the 2006 City Budget)

Reducing the size of City Council from 12 to 9 or 7 members and reducing some council staff: $378,000 to $453,000

Eliminating the Board of Community Relations: $176,900

Merging the Affirmative Action Office functions with other departments such as Law and Purchasing): $200,000

Merging the Youth Commission functions with Parks and Recreation and Economic Development: $300,000

Sister Cities funding: $71,000

These reductions would save approximately $1.2 million. Schulz strongly believes that millions more can be saved by examining every department and every line item for cost savings. Many opportunities also exist for consolidating functions and services with Lucas County that could save all taxpayers their hard earned money. The city must begin reorganizing itself so that it takes care of delivering basic services well and has the ability to use the savings to reduce fees and taxes that throttle economic development.

Joe McNamara also believes as he stated in part:

Consolidated services and joint purchasing between local governments would save taxpayers money and promote economic growth by fostering regional cooperation.

Have we become as efficient as possible? Is there more room for consolidation of services/purchases? If revenue has increased is it necessary to continue to raise assessments? Is the LCIC going to be able to perform the duties that the Economic Director did for Toledo? Those were my initial questions as I read this article, and re-read both of the press releases from Dave and Joe.

Downtown, Democrats and more....

Some more photo adventures at the title link, this time by me since Miguel wasn't with Aubrey and I. This photo below is the one I had in mind taking because I wanted to get a shot of Jim Nusbaum's banner that can be seen from inside the ball field. This one's for you Jim...



One of the many reasons I wanted to move back into Toledo was to be able to do what I did today. Aubrey and I took TARTA downtown and wandered around for a few hours before the Community Voices Forum that I wrote about below took place. I've been re-exploring downtown but this was her first adventure of just walking around. It was also her first time riding TARTA on a regular bus route and she really enjoyed the fact that the bus "talked". She has of course been to Fifth Third Field many times and has been downtown but we've always had a specific destination. This afternoon there wasn't one, except my wanting to make sure I had the one photo and the later Forum.

Most of our time was spent walking around the perimeter of Fifth Third Field, down Huron and over by S. St. Clair. We stopped and looked at several places she could have decided to eat at, Frickers, Spagetti Warehouse, Homeslice and Packo's. She decided on Packo's. Our timing was perfect because the before the game crowd had not really hit downtown so things were getting busy after we were already seated. Then we spent some time in Swan Creek Candle Shop. The collection of Democratic signs on Jack Wilson's building caught my eye, as you can see they are in the front, side and back of the building. A woman who was leaving the parking lot as I was taking pictures of the back stopped and told me that the upstairs was the best place for Yoga in Toledo. That would be Zen in the District. My photo skills are not as good as Miguel's, so maybe next time he can get a better close up of the dragonlike creature that is above Jack Wilson's sign. I'm also really fond of the building next store, I can see the huge potential it has though I'd want to keep the ivy.

We could have easily spent more time downtown, we didn't even get a chance to head over to the river or near the Library or the many other places like the Erie Street Market or go earlier in the day to the Farmer's Market. Many future trips will come, while for me it's not the same as it was during the busy days of Downtown when I was about Aubrey's age, or even during the Portside days, Downtown has really started to make a comeback. All it needs is more of us to go down and enjoy it.

:-)

Community Voices Forum tonight

Tonight I attended my first Community Voices Forum, the format of tonight was a bit different than what I had been told past forums were but I enjoyed it very much and will definitely be attending future ones. Even my youngest daughter who accompanied me enjoyed attending, however I realize part of her enjoyment factor was directly related to Ben Konop sitting with us.

First I have to say how wonderful the Leslie Adams Gallery is. Not just the art that is displayed but the interior design and the decor of the Gallery is exceptional.

FOX Toledo’s Laura Emerson was the moderator; Maggie Thurber graciously accepted a last minute request from Michael Miller to attend to discuss the topic of the downtown arena proposal. She very thoroughly discussed some of the points on this proposal that those of you familiar with this blog and her blog as well as recent listeners to when she has been on WSPD would be aware of. Maggie urged those present to read not only the proposal but the exhibits which she has linked on her blog and they are also on the Lucas County website. The questions from the audience were mainly related to concern about the financing and what the end result would be if no compromise could be reached with UT. It was also pointed out that the suggested increase in the hotel/motel tax would place Toledo as tied with Columbus as far as total percentage tax and make us in the top five of highest tax rates for motel/hotel costs in the nation. One member of the audience astutely pointed out that this additional cost would be one of the last things a visitor to Toledo would remember. It seems people are supportive of the concept of an arena, they are just concerned about how it would be financed and would prefer to see more marketing information and more of a firm commitment from actual teams.

Until tonight I was not aware that the recent Triple AAA championship that came to Toledo did not generate an increase in revenue for downtown businesses. Infact, those present reported they made less than what they normally do. It seems clear to me that we have to do more to support these downtown businesses as a community if we want a successful, viable downtown. (More on that later.)

Bob Fitrakis, who is running for Governor as an Independent due to Ohio's Election Laws was up next. I knew a bit about him because I've followed some of his previous work especially related to election fraud issues and I often read the blog of Andrew Warner who writes often about Bob and his campaign.

Anita Rios, who is from Toledo, is Bob's running mate as Lt. Governor, was also in attendance tonight. I think Bob did an excellent job in letting the audience see the difference in the Green Party platform as opposed to the two traditional political parties. Not only is he a very informed and experienced person but he has a great sense of humor that he used through out his discussion time with those in attendance. Redeveloping urban centers, mass transportation, increased support of green energy and trying to legalize the growth of hemp as an industrial product were a few of the topics he discussed. He very strongly feels that our colleges in Ohio are a great resource that we do not provide enough funding for and that we don't utilize enough as a catalyst for growth especially in technology related industries. Candidates such as Bob Fitrakis bring quite a bit to the table as far as ideas, it's unfortunate that they don't often get the same coverage to be able to access the public to share those ideas. However, events like tonight do give us the opportunity to start the discussion.

Besides Ben Konop and Maggie Thurber as previously mentioned, Lourdes Santiago was also in attendance for most of tonight's forum as well. There were less people at tonight's forum than the one last month from what I understand and in reading the thread on Toledo Talk it's unfortunate that some didn't feel they would benefit from hearing Mr. Fitrakis speak.

For it being my first time I've attended? I was impressed and I defintely plan to attend as many future forums as I can. Granted I'm biased towards the Toledo Free Press but I think this is a very awesome community opportunity and I thank them and Toledo Talk as well as Fox's Laura Emerson and the Leslie Adams Gallery and other downtown businesses who helped to support this. I also extend kudos to those who attended including Maggie and Bob Fitrakis for speaking tonight.

The School Report cards are out...

There's been some discussion on the local numbers on Toledo Talk but I was curious as to how other large public school districts were doing in Ohio. For a moment I almost felt sorry for Dr. Sanders who left Toledo to become the Superintendent of the Cleveland Public School system. Cleveland Public Schools did not meet any of the 25 indicators yet somehow ended up in "Academic Watch" because of their performance score of 71.2. I guess the bright spot for Dr. Sanders is he has ample room to demonstrate improvement even if only on indicator ends up being met.

Columbus did better than Cleveland with 5 out of 25 indicators met and a performance score of 79.2. Cincinnati tied with Toledo in scoring 6 out of 25 indicators, however Cinci had a performance score of 81.5, just above Toledo's 80.4. It's often been said that from a size comparison that Dayton (16348 daily enrollment) or Akron (26827 daily enrollment) are similar to Toledo (29157 daily enrollment). Akron scored 7 out of 25 and a performance score of 85.8; Dayton fared worse than Toledo with only one out of 25 indicators met and a performance score of 73.2.

You'd think that with such low numbers the Cleveland Plain Dealer would be focusing on that but, I was surprised to see what started out as a more upbeat almost fluffy piece that didn't mention the Cleveland Public School systems ratings until page 3 then only briefly in passing. Dayton Daily News also presented the information on their area schools in a rather upbeat fashion, pointing out at least they were ranked better than Cleveland. The Akron Beacon Journal called it as they saw it, pointing out that Forty-three local districts missed this federal threshold, up six from last year.

In Cinci? The Enquirer focused first on the positive and even has a quote from Ken Blackwell's wife on Cincini's performance:

"We are very pleased with our progress," Superintendent Rosa Blackwell said. "To retain the status of continuous improvement is a good thing, but we also know we have to continue to strive for excellence."

Here in Toledo though, the almost similar rating was stated as:

Toledo Public Schools, the region’s largest school system with about 30,000 students, held on to its continuous improvement status.

Interim Superintendent John Foley promised the district would continue to improve and said the system’s five-year plan is to reach the effective rating.

In Lucas County, Toledo Public Schools was the only district not rated effective or excellent.

However what the Toledo Blade article doesn't point out is there are no larger public school systems rated effective or excellent. All but Cleveland are listed as Continuous Improvement, Cleveland is in Academic Watch. Which leads me to my pet peeve about the whole report card system, you can't even made a valid comparison of your own district from one year to the next because they change the number of indicators every year. This additional Toledo Blade article gave more information but still no specifics such as...

Some schools within the Toledo Public School system were ranked "Effective", Arlington Elementary, Crossgates Elementary, Elmhurst Elementary, Grove Patterson Academy Elementary, Hawkins Elementary, Larchmont Elementary, Navarre Elementary, Old West End Academy, Ottawa River Elementary, Bowsher High School (my former high school!) and Start High School.

Beverly (my former elementary school!) was ranked "Excellent", as well as Harvard Elementary and Toledo Technology Academy High School

Cherry was ranked "Academic Emergency" along with Hale Elementary, King Elementary, Lagrange Elementary, Pickett Elementary and Sherman Elementary. All other local elementaries and high schools were either "Academic Watch" or "Continuous Improvement". So there are some good schools within the Toledo Public School System, and some that still have a ways to go. From all reports next year will be more difficult since the indicators will again change...

:-)

UPDATE: for another parent's view on this issue stop by and visit Random Thoughts on TPS.

Blog it Toledo goes a bit family and....

This week's Blog it has some newly discovered blogs, among them is one by a parent of the Toledo Public School system, a recent entry into MySpace by my favorite Republican and a photo website by my favorite husband.

There is of course much more in this week's Toledo Free Press, another great cover story this time on Dave Ball and Jimmy Jackson, who have news they want you to know about progress at the Steam plant. Michael Miller writes about how his billboard adventure started out in fun but took a turn...

Tom Richard's column makes me flash back to when I briefly tried to sell Encyclopedias and Kevin Milliken makes some demands on cable access of Council meetings.

Make sure to visit the Toledo Free Press online or pick up your copy today.

:-)

Frank Szollosi's Media Release on Toledo Population Loss

And what Taxes have to do with it....

Frank's holding a press conference as I write this, media and political response later. Politics in Mudville has the full text of the release.

Some interesting points from the material Frank provided with the media release from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

The richest Ohio taxpayers—with average incomes of $660,000—pay 9.7% of their income in Ohio state and local taxes before accounting for the tax savings from federal itemized deductions. After the federal offset, they pay only 6.7%.

Middle-income taxpayers in Ohio—those earning between $27,000 and $41,000—pay 10.7 of their income in Ohio state and local taxes before the offset and 10.3 after — much greater than the share the rich pay.

Ohio families earning less than $15,000—the poorest fifth of Ohio non-elderly taxpayers—pay 10.9% of their income in Ohio state and local taxes which is almost one and a half times the rate the richest Ohio taxpayers pay.

I recommend taking a look at the pdf, including the charts on page 3 and 4 for a more detailed look at the information.

And our first update:

The Blade reports that Bob Vasquez joined Frank at the Press Conference and also points out that Joe McNamara has also brought up the assessment issue.

Second update:

More from the Toledo Blade and in the comments the full text of the bullet points I received from Bob Vasquez's campaign on the issue of assessments.

Former Mayor Jack Ford asks some questions about GOTV...

In last week's edition of Sojourner's Truth, Jack Ford has his regular column My View in which he touches on several topics but one in particular is questions concerning why he has not seen a GOTV effort in the central city district of Toledo:

Let me shift to state politics. We have less than 100 days until the election of a new governor and the conclusion of the U.S. Senate race. In times past, the machinery for a strong voter registration effort would be gearing up in Ohio. Yet I see nothing being done to increase the ranks of minority voters.

Usually we see the beginning of a get out the vote (GOTV) effort reflected in the placing of a GOTV office in the central city, usually where Robinson Junior High School is being rebuilt. I see nothing going on.

Is it because the Democrats do not want a heavy black turnout for fear that the vote will help Blackwell? Is Blackwell content to let the minority vote be less than what it could be because he does not know how the black vote will go? Why aren’t Toledo leaders organizing strong registration efforts anyway, just for the hell of it?

There's more at the link, when the next edition comes out the articles are still available using the pdf archive link at Sojourner's Truth.

Can Toledo compete with UT and should they?

In today's Toledo Blade a few things become pretty clear.

It's obvious there is some concern that this area could sustain two arenas. It's also obvious that the Lucas County Commissioners or at least Pete Gerken seems to think that UT should do what he feels is best for Toledo as opposed to what is best for UT. Given one of the stipulations for the donation to UT that it was to be used for their facility only and not one downtown, we are at an impass.

Yet, why spend taxpayer dollars to place us in a situation where we are going to be competing with UT? If the goal is to have an arena what better way to have one then to have someone else pay for it to be built.

Even if UT only attracts half of the events planned at the proposed new downtown arena that would have a huge impact, especially if the plans for an arena football team don't work out or worse yet if it's not something Lucas County residents embrace if a team is found. The Hockey team situation has some serious questions since most leagues have rules that Not for Profit Corporations can not own them. The plan is to have the new downtown arena ran by an NPC. Without a hockey team and without an arena football team what would the downtown arena have?

Those are questions I think needs to be answered before the first property is bought to raze. Shouldn't negotiations be happening with teams right now to demonstrate there is interest? Shouldn't questions concerning NPC ownership be addressed now? Shouldn't a detailed market survey include UT's new plans so that there is an accurate picture of how much usage a downtown arena can expect?

Dr. Lloyd Jacobs stated:

he's "having a lot of unreasonable conversations, not a lot of reasonable ones" about the downtown arena.

Maybe it's time to become reasonable....

Which is more bothersome?

The fact that there was an attempt to cover up information or the fact that employees of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation let the cover up happen?

After reading this Toledo Blade article, especially this:

On Oct. 27, 2004 - just six days before President Bush was re-elected after narrowly winning Ohio - Mr. Conrad expressed his concern about a potential "leak" of the losses in an e-mail to John Annarino, then the bureau's chief legal counsel and ethics officer. In the e-mail, Mr. Conrad advised how Mr. Annarino and James McLean, then the bureau's investment director, should manage the agency's investment staff to keep the potentially explosive losses under wraps.

"When you and Jim meet with the employees of Investments make sure it is the friendly, jovial John Annarino not the brow beat attorney John Annarino," Mr. Conrad wrote. "You want them to feel comfortable coming up and expressing their thoughts and concerns."

Mr. Conrad continued: "Jim told me this morning that he thought the major chance of us getting involved with the MDL situation is with a leak from OUR employees."

We can only speculate as to would this have made a difference in the 2004 elections, and it's very disturbing that the Governor's office appears to still be in denial over this situation:

Mark Rickel, a spokesman for Mr. Taft, referred to the allegation of a cover-up before the 2004 election as "absurd."

Somehow given the emails and the other information? Doesn't seem absurd to me...

Joe McNamara V Omar Sharif

I have to admit that reading this Toledo Blade article this morning gave me quite the chuckle.

You may have seen him on local television news, or on one of those 30-second campaign infomercials. No, that wasn't a young Omar Sharif of Doctor Zhivago fame - a thick head of dark hair with good looks to spare - that was Toledo City Council candidate Joe McNamara.

Now I like Joe, and I do agree he is attractive but Omar Sharif? Sorry Barbara Hendel but you are dealing with a huge fan of Omar Shariff including Dr. Zhivago which I've watched enough to have worn out two VHS versions and now have the DVD version.

Here is Omar Sharif:



Here is a recent picture Miguel took of Joe:



Now if we give Joe a Mustache:



I'm still not feeling the whole Omar Sharif thing. I've never voted for a candidate on the basis of his or her looks, I'd like to believe most of us are not that shallow that it would matter. As an all in fun fluff piece the Blade article was entertaining, and it is true that a component of a campaign is packaging the candidate. After I met with Richard Cordray, my thoughts were not "man is he hot", it was "he knows his stuff". Ben Konop is another one that friends and some of my daughters feel is "hot" but he's more than just looks as well.

Joe is more than just his looks too, which is why I'm not taking the article that seriously. If I did, then I'd have to go into the whole shallowness of placing looks above what is inside. Of how too much pressure is put on our children, especially our daughters to make them believe that they have to look like models, that they all have to be a size 2. I'd have to go into the whole increase in plastic surgery because people seem to feel that what is on the outside matters most.

While I know Joe can take me picking on him using the above photos, I'd also then have to get into what would bother me most of all if I took this seriously. The fact that what I do know about Joe personally is he is the last person that would judge another person by their looks alone. But then again I'm not taking this seriously...

:-)

Mark Dansack and the Parade in Monclova

Miguel and I headed out to Monclova Township for their Monclova Homecoming Parade this morning. Mark had told me he was going to be participating and since we had missed meeting in person at few other events, that was my main mission of the morning. It was a great parade, and had all of the perfect elements, with a pretty good turn out from the looks of it.

I normally don't have my picture taken with candidates, that's Aubrey's job. However she wasn't with us today so? A pretty rare circumstance, me pictured below with Mark Dansack.



There are a few more pictures up at the title link at my flickr account for those who want to check them out. I really liked the jet shaped car, I'm thinking I'd really like one of those. :-)

Anita Lopez was there, as well as Mark Wagoner. Supporters of Linda Jennings, Ben Konop, George Sarantou were also a part of the parade. We had a temporary camera issue so Miguel was not able to take pictures of all of the various political supporters/candidates that were present. It was my error in not deleting enough photos from the camera card, future events I'm going to bring along one of my extra cards.

A Wagoner supporter approached us and gave us stickers, she then proceeded to tell me that the "other" candidate (meaning Mark Dansack) was trying to capitalize on the name 'Mark". Somehow I don't think that the reason that Mark Dansack decided to run for office had anything to do with his or his opponent's first name. She was walking right along side of the Dansack supporters rather than with the Wagoner group that was a few cars back. It appears she was telling quite a few people her theory as she progressed down the parade route.

Anyway, it was a beautiful day for a parade, and it appeared everyone present, especially the children with their bags ready for the candy that is thrown had a great time. Monclova did a very nice job and their pride in their community is well deserved. Mark Dansack might have more on the parade on his blog later.

:-)

A detailed look at downtown parking...

This week's Toledo City Paper has a very interesting look at the parking situation in Downtown Toledo. If you haven't read it yet and the topic of parking interests you, especially in relation to the proposed new arena? I recommend you visit the title link...

However I don't suggest you take them up on any of their suggested places where parking regulations are not enforced as I'm sure those who a part of parking enforcement might have read it as well.

:-)

Not every convenience store ends up selling beer or wine...

As I read the title linked Toledo Blade article, I started to wonder when I read this:

"I look around the neighborhood and all I see are these gas stations going up with liquor permits," said Matthew Lintz, 18, who spoke against a proposed store at 801 South Byrne Rd., saying it would promote drug and alcohol abuse.

In going to the Toledo Planning Commission Active Files and then doing a search thru the various data bases at the Ohio Division of Liquor Control I was able to determine the following:

According to the data base from the Ohio Division of Liquor Control, a request for a permit was filed on 05/09/2006 for a C1 license to sell alcohol at 801 S. Byrne.

On the special use permit for a convenience store at 3125-3137 Cherry that was before the Planning Commission, the ODLC data base shows, a permit request for on 04/24/2006 for Telluride Grocery Store on 3139 Cherry for a C1 License.

On the special use permit for a Convenience store at 5624 Secor Rd, a permit request on 04/19/2006 for 5614 Secor Rd for a C1 License was made.

On the special use permit for a convenience store at 4625 N. Detroit Ave, there is no permit request on file as of the last update of the data base. However there is a License on file for that location already under the name of Qusra Brothers, Toledo Check Cashing Center on 4625 N. Detroit. It is a C1 and C2 License.

On the special use permit for a convenience store/fuel sales at 441 Langdon, there does not appear to be a request for a permit filed with the Ohio Division of Liquor Control nor permit on file for that location.

On the special use permit for a convenience store/fuel sales at 1829 Eastgate. There is an permit that has been granted for 1853 Eastgate for a C1 C2 License but none on file as requested or granted for 1829 Eastgate.

It's important to point out that the application of a request for a Liquor permit does not guarantee one will be granted. If you look at the data base there are many places that have been waiting for there to be a population increase that would allow the quota numbers to change so that they could be granted a license to sell alcohol.

So before Toledo City Council decides to put a six-month moratorium on Convenience Stores, I think now would be a good time to provide some information to the community as to what is involved in getting a license to sell alcohol, taking a look at the quota system that the State of Ohio has developed which is only supposed to allow so many licensed operations in a certain area based on population numbers. In theory this system designed to prevent the very concerns Mr. Lintz has, too many locations in one area selling alcohol...So if this is a problem, the solution does not appear to me to placing such limits on businesses that might not even be able to get a liquor license in the first place. The logical solution would be to address the liquor license aspect if that is the problem.

As a part of their Frequently Asked Questions page, the Ohio Division of Liquor Control provides some basic information that those interested in this topic might find of interest. Their pdf of the brochure detailing the steps necessary to obtain a Liquor License is one I hope City Council is familiar with, as well as Community Options; Dealing With A Problem Liquor Permit Premises information.

Rather than City Council placing barriers in the way of new businesses, it seems more productive to address the concerns and to provide information on the quotas for those areas. If these particular areas are deep into a quota situation it could possibly take years if ever for these convenience stores that do not already have a license to sell alcohol to obtain one.