Glass City Jungle

This in via email:

Jobs Stimulus Package Introduced in the Ohio House & Senate

COLUMBUS – The two-part, $1.57 billion bipartisan economic stimulus package first unveiled by the Governor and legislative leaders in April has been officially introduced in the Ohio House and Senate, with committee hearings slated to begin in both chambers this week. Senate President Bill Harris (R-Ashland) and Speaker of the House Jon Husted (R-Kettering) are committed to passing the bills before the end of May.

State Senator Mark Wagoner (R-Toledo) and Representative Barbara Sears (R-Sylvania) have introduced companion resolutions – Senate Joint Resolution 7 and House Joint Resolution 5 – that will place a $400 million bond issue before Ohio voters this November to renew the successful Clean Ohio program. To date, the program has resulted in the preservation of more than 27,500 acres of Ohio farmland, the development of more than 223 miles of recreational trails, and the revitalization of 1,896 acres of brownfields, all while leveraging private and federal investments totaling more than $2.7 billion and creating more than 14,770 jobs, according to statistics provided by the Ohio Department of Development.
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This in via email from the offices of the Lucas County Commissioners:

National Weather Services Names Lucas County StormReady

Representatives of the National Weather Service will be on-hand to award Lucas County with StormReady status at the regular Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. in the Commissioners Chambers.

Attaining StormReady recognition improves Lucas County’s ability to prepare for and respond to hazardous weather situations. A StormReady designation also has the potential to lower flood insurance rates for Lucas County homeowners.
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In this edition of the Sojourner’s Truth the “This Strikes Us” takes a look at a national issue, jail over crowding creating large numbers of prisoners being released early. One small part of the recommended piece:

Presently, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the industrialized world, 702 inmates per 100,000 population. Canada, our neighbor to the north, imprisons 116 per 100,000 population.

The problem with blowing up the prison population was two-fold. First, it costs a lot of money. Second, you gotta let these folks go sometime. Actually there are a whole host of other problems, but these two stand out at the moment.

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After a very lengthy process, which included hearings with quite a bit of disagreement the Administration, City Council and the Municipal Court had appeared to reach an agreement as to the budget for the Muni Court which included security. Now it appears the Mayor is changing that, Part-timers for security at Toledo Municipal Court revisited. The lines are once again drawn in the sand:

“The decision to utilize part-time employees for security in lieu of Lucas County sheriff’s deputies was made solely for economic issues,” Robert Reinbolt, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner’s chief of staff, wrote in a letter last week to Sheriff James Telb.

“We are going to issue orders and we are not going to allow part-time security in this building,” Judge Kuhlman said. “You wouldn’t use part-time police on the streets of Toledo, so why would you use them in a building where all the criminals have been taken?”

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This received in via email:

Kapszukiewicz Elected At-Large Ohio Delegate, Member of Electoral College
Lucas County Treasurer has pledged his support to Obama

Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz was elected to two posts Saturday in Columbus that will give him a unique role in helping to choose the next President of the United States. He was picked both to be an at-large delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and also to be one of Ohio’s 20 members of the Electoral College.
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First the calls for Dann to resign, from not only most of the editorial pages of most of Ohio’s newspapers but the Governor and other State office holders calling for Dann to resign or to face impeachment. Others including blogs like Plunderbund, made the call for resignation. As posted here yesterday and reported in various media sources including the Blade, the Ohio Democratic Party has stripped Dann of his endorsement.

Dann’s response has been to hire a professional media consultant from Texas that works for Democratic campaigns with a motto of:

We Serve Republicans. Would You Like Them Skewered, Roasted, or Deep Fried?”

As previously noted the backtracking on the impeachment has already begun, in part because the process is not clear in Ohio and in part because some are not sure if what Dann has done is impeachment worthy.
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This week’s edition of the Toledo Free Press is the Summer Events Edition, the picture makes me want to head to The Point, though I think I’ll wait till it’s just a bit warmer. I’m a huge roller coaster fan though my all time favorite will always be the Cedar Creek Mine Ride, it to me is one of the “must rides” every time we head to Cedar Point.

The roller coaster description could almost be used for the Crystal Dixon story, especially now that she’s been terminated from the University of Toledo. It’s the source of quite a few letters, a Publisher’s Statement and Michael Miller’s Lighting the Fuse column.
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If you read today’s Blade article written by Tom Troy, 921 primary votes tossed in mail flub the discussion then centers on who is to blame, voters for not following directions or the directions…Without being in the required identification envelope, ballots don’t count.

What does the Ohio Revised Code say about Absentee Ballots?

3509.05

…the elector shall cause the ballot to be marked, folded in a manner that the stub on it and the indorsements and facsimile signatures of the members of the board of elections on the back of it are visible, and placed and sealed within the identification envelope received from the director of elections for that purpose. Then, the elector shall cause the statement of voter on the outside of the identification envelope to be completed and signed, under penalty of election falsification.
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I don’t have the exact vote count, only that all but one member of the Executive Committee of the Ohio Democratic Party voted in support of stripping Marc Dann of the endorsement he received from the Ohio Democratic Party.

Which is what the Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party had stated would be his plan back on Monday:

“Pending Saturday’s events, he’ll be holding office as an independent who was elected as a Democrat,” Redfern said. “We will distance ourselves both figuratively and literally from Marc Dann until he makes the right decision, which is to step down.”

Was it disappearing black mold? According to the Blade, No signs of mold, asbestos are found at Southwyck the mall hired:

Watterson Environmental Group of Sylvania, “an independent third party inspector,” attorney Kenneth C. Baker said in a statement, “to evaluate the city of Toledo’s allegations that unsafe conditions exist in the Mall.”

Mr. Baker of Eastman & Smith Ltd., which represents the mall, said the inspector looked at areas of the mall that the city of Toledo identified.

The result was “no visible evidence of suspect mold growth on the interior, exposed surfaces of the skylights of the mall,” he said.
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Mike Zickar, Chair of the Wood County Democratic Party, announced the process to fill the Democratic ballot position for the Ohio Senate – 2nd District seat. The position became vacant after Sylvia Washburn withdrew from the race. The Ohio Senate – 2nd District seat encompasses Wood, Erie and Ottawa Counties and part of Lucas County .

The Ohio Revised Code specifies that the four Democratic Party county chairs and secretaries within the 2nd District select the candidate who will replace Ms. Washburn’s ballot space. Zickar said, “We will be taking nominations and resumes from all interested candidates with a deadline date of May 17th.” All interested parties are encouraged to contact Mr. Zickar at 419.378.1574 or mikezickar@yahoo.com. Letters of interest along with a resume should be mailed to: Mike Zickar, Wood County Democratic Party Chair, 29969 Saint Andrews Road, Perrysburg, OH 43551.

Zickar said, ‘The 2nd District Senate seat is a race that Democrats can win. We are looking for a candidate who is willing to work hard and stand up with Governor Ted Strickland for the working men and women of the 2nd District.”

In reading the Detroit Free Press on the topic of the Michigan smoking ban, this one quote made me wonder:

A report last month by Lansing think tank Public Sector Consultants found that smoking bans in other states did not cost bars and restaurants business.

Perhaps in the middle of a state or a state that is surrounded by other states with non-smoking laws but it’s been clearly demonstrated here in Toledo and other parts of the State that the smoking bann did cost establishments business.
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I learned last night that Michael Gagnon was going to plead no contest today on the five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and two counts of aggravated vehicular assault that he was charged with from the wrong way driving deaths and injuries of:

Bethany Griffin, 36; Jordan Griffin and Haley Burkman, both 10’ Lacie Burkman, 7; and Vadie Griffin, 8 weeks. Sydney Griffin, 8, and Danny Griffin, 36, were hospitalized with injuries from the crash but were released after the December 30th accident.

As most know, Gagnon had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal driving limit in Ohio at the time of the crash. It’s been reported that he could receive up to 50 years when sentenced by Judge Linda Jennings on June 27.
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In the Spring Edition of the Toledo Firefighters newsletter there is an article on page 19 that raises concerns about the dispatching situation with the Toledo Fire Alarm Office. Part of what was written by Lt. Michael Duran, Local 92 Executive Board Member:

As some of you may or may not be aware, The City of Toledo is making a concerted effort to take over the Toledo Fire Dispatch Office. Over the past few months they have already taken over control of our fourteen Local 7 Fire Operators. They have begun a cross training program that has started to bring police dispatchers into the Fire Operations area. They have selected several Local 7 civilians, and are in the process of training them to be supervisors on the police side. Many of you may have already noticed a change in quality of dispatches, and lack of information when dialing 1180.
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Toledo Blade has the news:

Toledo will shut down the nearly empty Southwyck Shopping Mall if its owners do not clean up toxic black mold and asbestos contamination found there last week, the city said Thursday.

The management of the mall will receive 72-hour orders, according to a statement from the city.

“The present condition of the mall makes it a health hazard for the public and employees working there,” said Chris Zervos, the city’s commissioner of building inspection. “They’ll have 72 hours to clean up the mold and secure the asbestos so dust is not allowed to escape into the public areas of the mall.”

The mall will be closed Monday if the contamination is not cleaned up, the statement said.

So we keep the thread on the backtracking of the impeachment of Marc Dann on track, which I take full responsibility for getting off topic by my comment about looking forward to the upcoming vacation, I’ve created this thread…Most of you know my oldest daughter has taken a job near San Jose. She’s driving since she of course needs her car so Holly and I are going with her, me as the passenger/navigator, they are the drivers…

I’ve been jokingly calling this planned adventure our version of “Thelma & Louise plus one, minus the suicide ending.” We’re leaving at the end of this month, exact date not yet firmed but probably May 26th and then Holly and I will be flying back sometime in the beginning of June. So it will be a seven to 8 day vacation. I’m not planning on blogging during that time frame, which is also something that family members and close friends are betting on is that possible for me to accomplish. In the two years of Glass City Jungle this will be the first real “vacation” the blog has taken. Those of you who are addicted to GCJ have a few weeks warning to lessen the shock. (lol)
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The Toledo Blade has an article today on CSX terminal forecast to be a jobs magnet. Fred intereviewed Tom Blaha, the executive director of the Wood County Economic Development Commission this morning on WSPD and that podcast is live. It’s a very informative piece that I recommend. An additional article of interest is in the Courier. Some of the details:

Lisa Mancini, a senior vice president with CSX, said the new rail yards are an essential part of the company’s larger National Gateway project, unveiled last week in Dublin. That $700 million public-private infrastructure initiative would improve freight transportation between mid-Atlantic ports and the Midwest.
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For those you really interested in the history of impeachment here in Ohio, the most notable impeachment case as reported by most of our media, including the Blade is the impeachment of Judges Calvin Pease and George Tod in 1809. What was the case about? Let’s delve into Ohio History:

The third General Assembly began its session on December 3, 1804. The first act which it passed related to crimes and punishments. On the 12th of February, 1805, a general act was passed defining the duties of Justices of the Peace and Constables, and repealing all former laws in force on that subject.
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Expecting the AG to help them impeach him? That’s how this appears as reported in the Blade

COLUMBUS — Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted says lawmakers determining whether Attorney General Marc Dann should be impeached over a sex scandal need help from an unlikely source: the attorney general himself.

Husted said Wednesday the House isn’t equipped to investigate whether Dann has committed any impeachable offenses. He says it would be helpful if Dann appointed an independent investigator to review all the information from the scandal.

Anyone want to take bets on Dann actually helping them on this one?

Or someone needs to start collecting signatures, at least 603,413 .
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Tonight I attended a training session for the Ohio Democratic Party Neighborhood Leader program. If you have been looking for a way to get more involved with the political process as a Democrat, I recommend visiting the website and volunteering.

The training session is just a little over an hour, the amount of time needed for you to volunteer can be only a few hours a month or more depending on what you’d like to do.