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.