Glass City Jungle

As some of you have noticed, I’ve started revamping Glass City Jungle at the main url for the domain – glasscityjungle.com. It’s a different look and a style of theme – it’s a magazine/news theme which may take some getting used to for some of you.

The concept behind it is to create a scenario where what topics interest you most are on the front page, and days where there are lots of media releases the other content of the blog is not pushed down the page. There are still things to add, like links to blogs – they’ll be located on the page of the actual posts you read and comment on and some other features.

The good news is the comment preview window is available in Wordpress3.0 – the bad news is there is not yet a comment editing program that’s been approved for Wordpress3.0. Subscribe to comments is available for those of you who use that. You may have to wait for your first comment to be approved over there, but I hope you check it out and help me put the new template through it’s paces before everything is done.

It should be much faster and the server issues we’ve faced should not exist there.

This in via e-mail from the Barlos for Ohio House District 46 campaign:

MAUMEE – Candidate for the 46th House District Harry Barlos and the Ohio Democratic Party will official open a campaign office in Maumee. The office will serve as the Barlos campaign headquarters and a field office of the Ohio Democratic Party; the second such office in Lucas County.

WHAT: Harry Barlos for State Representative Campaign Office Opening
WHEN: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: 203 Conant Street, Maumee, Ohio 43537
WHO: Candidate for the 46th House District Harry Barlos and the Ohio Democratic Party

For more information on Harry Barlos visit www.harrybarlos.com.

This in via e-mail from the office of Mayor Mike Bell:

Councilwoman Webb & Department of Public Service Hold Meeting on Point Place Dike
City continues to work to have dike recertified by federal agencies

Councilwoman Lindsay Webb and the City of Toledo Department of Public Service will host a meeting for Point Place residents affected by the Flood Control Dike on the Ottawa River, Mudjaw Creek and Maumee Bay. The meeting will be from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Monday, July 26, 2010 at the Friendship Park Senior Center.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) notified the City of Toledo in 2009 that the dike would be decertified due to changes to the flood control guidelines after Hurricane Katrina. Without significant changes and improvements to the dike, nearly 1,400 residents in Point Place will be required to purchase costly flood insurance for their property.
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The fact checker in me was happy to read the following from the Cleveland Plain Dealer – (link):

Starting today, The Plain Dealer officially kicks off PolitiFact Ohio, a new way to examine the claims, ads and statements of players in the political world. Once distilled, the newspaper’s findings are posted on the fanciful Truth-O-Meter, whose ratings are True, Mostly True, Half True, Barely True and False. There’s a special rating for claims that are downright ridiculous: Pants on Fire.

PolitiFact Ohio does not replace The Plain Dealer’s traditional coverage of public affairs but, rather, supplements it. The newspaper is building on a model designed by the St. Petersburg Times, a Florida newspaper whose truth-squad initiative led it to create PolitiFact in 2007. PolitiFact’s work during the 2008 presidential election led to a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting, with Pulitzer judges praising PolitiFact’s commitment to “separating rhetoric from truth to enlighten voters.”
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Things are normally slow on the weekends so I’m taking advantage of that to try to do some behind the scenes work on the blog. What was supposed to be an easy upgrade to a higher version of mySQL (the database that runs the blog) has become complicated (there’s a surprise) so I’m basically going to have to reinstall the whole blog which means I have to move some of the older posts and other things.

Thanks for your patience, at the end of this, in theory things will run smoother and there will be some new features. At least let’s hope so.

Erosion issues are starting at the land that was supposed to be the marina project. We have people in our community who need assistance when it comes to food and even the Department of Agriculture realizes the importance of urban agriculture. WTOL’s Bob Chirdon feels that Councilmen Joe McNamara and Mike Craig’s idea to see if someone in our community is interested in doing something with the vacant land that might benefit our community more than it just sitting there and eroding into the Maumee River is a idea worth mocking. It makes me wonder if Chirdon actually read what was proposed:

Dear Mayor:

We realize that the tight credit market makes redeveloping the Marina District a challenge. However, we are very optimistic about the future of this project. This beautiful vista will one day be redeveloped into an amazing new neighborhood in the heart of Toledo. We believe that waiting for the right proposal to present itself is the responsible course for this asset.

Until we find the right development deal, it is important that the site be maintained in a sustainable fashion. We think the City should explore short-term urban agriculture uses in the Marina District.
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This received via e-mail, it does not pertain to any elected representatives of our area, but may be of interest to many of you:

Catholics United Announces New Campaign to Defend Rep. Driehaus and Rep. Boccieri from Religious Right Attacks

Organizing and Paid Media Effort will Set the Record Straight about Health Care Reform

Washington, DC – The social justice group Catholics United (www.catholics-united.org) today announced that it is mounting an innovative, multifaceted campaign to defend Rep. Steve Driehaus and Rep. John Boccieri’s voting record on health care reform and a number of other issues. The Congressmen are now facing a coordinated misinformation campaign from a host of self-proclaimed pro-life groups intended to perpetuate the misconception that the health care reform bill passed earlier this year allowed for federal funding of elective abortion. The $500,000 campaign will also be active in the districts of Kathy Dahlkempeer (PA-3), and Tom Perriello (VA-05).
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My “Shredding the Curtain” column, Patterns of precedents in this week’s Toledo Free Press is an attempt to raise awareness as to the precedent related to the City of Toledo paying the employee portion of the pension pick up. Some members of Toledo City Council have been advocating for having their own private legal counsel, what took place on July 20 is a good example of a situation where that would have been helpful since the members of the Law Department were representing the Clerk of Courts and not Council. While the relationship between the Mayor and Council may appear more cordial than the past administration, there have been several instances when the Mayor or his administration has asked for Council to support their position when voting and not enough members of Council have.

The request to reject the Factfinder’s Report for AFSCME Local 3411 was one situation that took place on July 20, Council’s failure to accept reimbursement from Penn National for casino at 1968 Miami, $1,038,613 was another.

In doing some research into why this was raised prior to the vote instead of during last week’s Agenda Review, documents were obtained that shed some light on where the questions came from. In reading some of the material that came from January, I contacted Vlad Cica of the Ohio EPA to find out if anything had changed where there was a risk of the City being in a position where they would have to re-pay all or a portion of the almost 3 million dollars they received to do remediation on the site where the Hollywood Casino – Toledo will be built. He had stated in a Jan. 4 e-mail that the Ohio EPA did not err and that the discrepancies that existed were ones that could be addressed administratively.

Ohio Epa: Toledo did not violate grant for casino location also in this week’s Toledo Free Press, shares part of the information Cica told me on July 21.

For the summary of that council meeting click here.

Senator Karen Gillmor is not one of our local elected officials but I thought this release sent out via e-mail from her office may be of interest to some of the readers here on the Jungle:

GILLMOR URGES OHIO MAYORS TO BUY “BIO-OHIO,” SUPPORT STATE’S AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY

COLUMBUS—State Senator Karen L. Gillmor (R-Tiffin) is encouraging mayors in cities and villages across Ohio to support our state’s agriculture industry and local farmers whenever possible by purchasing supplies made from Ohio bio-based materials like corn, soybeans and switch grass.

“More and more, the raw materials to make everyday products, like office supplies, cleaning and construction materials, come from Ohio crops. This has provided an important new market for our farmers during difficult economic times,” said Senator Gillmor, who is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “At the state level, we have been working to maximize the substantial buying power of state agencies to support our state’s number one industry – agriculture – at no additional cost to taxpayers. Our hope is that local governments can join us in reinvesting public dollars back into Ohio’s economy and Ohio workers.”
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More information will be following in the weeks to come, but the groundbreaking ceremony for Hollywood Casino – Toledo has been set for August 12 at 11:00 according to a media advisory sent out by Penn National Gaming.

Are you looking forward to the grand opening? One of those who hope to get a job there? Or are you ambivalent about it beyond hoping the revenue helps the city coffers?

For those of you who want to discuss something among yourselves today that’s not been covered recently on the blog, here’s your chance to raise it in the comments and see if fellow readers want to join in.

As always the rules are simple, if more than one topic is broached, make sure your comment is addressed to the topic you are interested in.

When it rains it pours from a tech standpoint. The “not found” error appears to have been resolved but the blog is experiencing some server issues. My hosting company is aware of it and are working to discover what the cause is since it’s sporadic. If you post a comment and receive an error, chances are your comment did post and when you are able to refresh the site it will be there.

Thanks for the e-mails and your patience, we’ve been through this before, it typically takes them a day or two to fix things.

The video of what happened to Don RedFox when he was injured by Louie the elephant at the Toledo Zoo back on July 1 was released to the media today – most of our local media has a copy of the video on their websites, FOX Toledo as one example. Earlier today I received an e-mail from David W. Perle. Senior Media Coordinator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals with a statement on the release of the video:

The video of the attack on a keeper at the Toledo Zoo demonstrates that the use of the old-style free-contact system to handle elephants at the zoo is downright dangerous. Dominating and punishing elephants by striking these animals with bullhooks—a device that resembles a fireplace poker—puts keepers at constant risk of injury or death and raises serious animal welfare concerns. PETA’s extensive evidence as well as expert statements amply illustrate that the use of bullhooks causes fear and pain and that such suffering is likely to provoke anger and frustration that can lead to serious, even fatal, attacks.

More than half the accredited zoos in the country have eliminated the use of bullhooks and switched to protected contact for elephants. When keepers use protected contact, elephants are trained with rewards, and a safety barrier always separates the elephants from keepers. The Toledo Zoo is apparently already using positive-reinforcement training with its polar bears, great apes, big cats, and other species. It is time that elephants at the Toledo Zoo be afforded the same kindness.

Link to earlier post on this topic with some of the research on the questions related to procedures in handling captive elephants – (here).

This in via e-mail from the Ohio Democratic Party:

WEB VIDEO: As Kasich Trots Around with GOP Presidential Hopefuls, Ohio Democratic Party Releases Flashback Footage of Kasich’s 2000 “Soul Brother” Endorsement of George W. Bush
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels Comes to Ohio Tomorrow for Kasich; Pawlenty, Gingrich, Romney Already Visited

COLUMBUS – Today, The Ohio Democratic Party released a new web video that unearths footage of Congressman John Kasich endorsing then-candidate George W. Bush in 2000, after Kasich dropped his own bid for the White House. In the web ad, Kasich, in his own words, aligns himself with President Bush on economic policies that failed Ohio and stated that Bush is his “Soul Brother” who “sees the future of America the same way I do.”
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This in via e-mail from the office of Governor Ted Strickland:

Governor Joins Honda to Celebrate Anna Engine Plant’s 25th Anniversary

Honda’s Largest Automobile Engine Plant Celebrates 25 Years

ANNA, OH – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today joined community leaders and Honda associates at Honda of America Mfg.’s engine plant to celebrate 25 years of manufacturing at Honda’s largest auto engine plant in the world. In addition to producing the engines that power many Honda and Acura automobiles, the Anna Engine Plant is a driving force in the development of Honda’s North American operations, and it has provided the foundations for the creation of numerous parts plants in Ohio.

“I congratulate Honda’s leadership and all of the dedicated employees who have worked here to power vehicles for the last quarter-century. Your commitment to quality and innovation has made a truly significant impact on Ohio’s economy and our community,” Strickland said. “Celebrations like this are perfect examples of why I believe in Ohio, because there is no better place to put your plant than Ohio and no better workforce to make your product than Ohioans.”
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The below came in via e-mail as a media advisory, it may be of interest to some of you on the blog since it may create additional media coverage tomorrow.

ADVISORY: Speaker Budish to Visit Toledo Area, Promote Green Jobs
Budish, Szollosi, Barlos Tour W&K Solar, Meet with Local Business Leaders

TOLEDO – Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish (D-Beachwood) will visit the Toledo area on Thursday and join with state representative candidate Harry Barlos and State Rep. Matt Szollosi (D-Oregon) to discuss the importance of advanced energy jobs to Ohio’s economic future. The trio will tour W&K Solar, Inc. in Perrysburg and meet with business leaders in Maumee to discuss continued job creation and the Ohio Third Frontier Program.

Following the tour, Speaker Budish, Rep. Szollosi and Harry Barlos will meet with local business and civic leaders in Maumee to discuss jobs and the economy. The meeting is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at 1999 Indian Wood Rd., Suite A, Maumee, Ohio 43437. Szollosi represents the 49th House District. Barlos is a former Mayor of Maumee, county commissioner and current candidate for the 46th House District.

Updated release sent out 7/22:

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This in via e-mail from the office of Mayor Mike Bell as an FYI for readers of the Jungle:

Bell Joins Presentation Of Donation To Hospice Of Northwest Ohio
Ride For Dignity Provides Needed Funds to Support Hospice Services

Toledo Mayor Michael P. Bell will join representatives of Signature Harley Davidson to present a check to the leaders of Hospice of Northwest Ohio thanks to the proceeds from the Ride For Dignity. The presentation will take place at 10 a.m., July 21st at the Hospice of Northwest Ohio Perrysburg Campus.

Ride for Dignity was held in June to raise funds in support of Hospice of Northwest Ohio. Each day Hospice cares for nearly 460 patients, either in their own homes, in nursing homes or at one of their state-of-the-art Hospice Centers. No patient is ever turned away due to inability to pay, which makes private contributions like those raised through the Ride for Dignity so important in the ongoing mission to provide compassionate end-of-life care. The service area includes Lucas, Northern Wood, and Western Ottawa Counties in Ohio as well as Monroe County, Michigan.

This in via e-mail from the Buckeye Firearms Association:

BUCKEYE FIREARMS ASSOCIATION ENDORSES CORDRAY
Major gun owners group praises Attorney General for 2nd Amendment support

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Buckeye Firearms Association announced Wedneday that they have endorsed Attorney General Rich Cordray in his re-election bid this November. The announcement was the second in as many days from a major statewide constituency group following yesterday’s endorsement by the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police. BFA also endorsed Cordray in his 2008 campaign for Attorney General.
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All members were present – Appointments were done first:

Downtown Parking Authority
Kenneth P. Wood -requires a residency waiver – reappointment
Michael Brinker – reappointment
George Yakumithis – reappointment
Stephen Herwat replacing John Sherburne
Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority
Brian Bucher –requires a residency waiver reappointment

All members present voted yes to confirm.

Resolution – Recognize Toledo Ticket Co. 100th anniversary – Webb and Sarantou

All members present voted yes for passage – the photo op/presentation ceremony took place with commentary from members of Council
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Short story is neither proposed charter change that would have allowed voters to decide how they felt about rules concerning pensions and employment is going to be before voters. There was a very lengthy discussion on this at the July 19 Toledo City Council Committee of the Whole, a brief summary of the discussion and any quotes I thought might be of interest are under the fold. Council was consistent on both issues since concerns were raised as to the legality of both that were along similar lines. The administration supported their proposed charter change but not McNamara’s.

Council members who were in attendance when the meeting began: Brown, McNamara, Sarantou, Steel, Waniewski, Webb, Ashford, Collins, Copeland, Ludeman, Martinez

McNamara gave a brief explanation of his proposal to eliminate what is defined as retirement/rehire (doubling dipping) specific to the category of non-elected personnel, city council does not have jurisdiction over when elected officials do it. It appears to be possible to regulate professional non-elected employees, we can’t stop the way that the retirement codes are written since the state does that, we can only control who we hire/rehire. The resolution contains a waiver process it would also not apply to those hired who are collecting pensions from a non-city source.
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The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) endorsed Strickland in 2006, as pointed out in the link to 2006 FOP endorsements included in the below release from the O’Shaughnessy for Ohio Secretary of State campaign. Two releases are below, one from the re-election campaign of Governor Ted Strickland and one from Attorney General Richard Cordray who the FOP endorsed for Treasurer in 2006. Other campaigns that received the FOP endorsement (Dayton Daily News link): Rob Portman for U.S. Senate, Treasurer Kevin Boyce, Justice Maureen O’Connor for Chief Justice (FOP endorsed in 2008 run for Ohio Supreme Court Judge) and Justice Judith Lanzinger (FOP endorsed last election in 2004).

Fraternal Order of Police Endorses Strickland in Re-Election Campaign

COLUMBUS – Citing his commitment to law enforcement, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) today endorsed Ohio Governor Ted Strickland in his re-election campaign for governor over opponent Congressman John Kasich.

“The Fraternal Order of Police is proud to stand with Governor Ted Strickland in support of his re-election,” said FOP State President Jay McDonald. “The delegates at our annual conference voted to endorse Governor Strickland, who has been a strong partner with the law enforcement community during his first term in office. We look forward to continuing this relationship for years to come.”
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Breaking news message from Politico moments ago – (link):

Ending weeks of stalemate, the Senate cleared the way Tuesday for Congress to extend federal jobless benefits through November’s elections for millions of long-term unemployed.

Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins were the sole Republicans to join Democrats on the 60-40 roll call, the outcome of which also rested on the arrival of West Virginia’s new senator, Carte Goodwin, sworn-in minutes before to replace the late Robert Byrd.

Going forward, the $34 billion unemployment measure is expected to take some hours more still before clearing the Senate, given the continued wrangling. But with the House poised to act quickly once the bill arrives, the bill could be signed into law this week.

An estimated 4.9 million idled workers have a stake in the federal extended jobless benefits, and close to half these individuals have seen their benefits expire since the first cut off in early June. For depressed states, any disruption in the federal payments impacts the local economy as well as the individual worker; tiny Rhode Island gets as much as $32.3 million a month.

This in via e-mail from the O’Shaughnessy for Ohio Secretary of State campaign:

Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio Endorses Maryellen O’Shaughnessy for Ohio Secretary of State
Ohio’s Largest Law Enforcement Organization Supports O’Shaughnessy

COLUMBUS – The Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio endorsed Maryellen O’Shaughnessy today in her bid to become Ohio’s next Secretary of State.

“I am deeply honored to receive the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio,” said O’Shaughnessy. “I have always supported and been grateful for the courageous work our law enforcement officers do for the people of Ohio, and I am thankful for their support.”

A proven job creator, O’Shaughnessy has fought to build stronger and safer communities throughout Columbus and Franklin County. As a Columbus City Councilmember, O’Shaughnessy helped to secure funding for additional police officers and firefighters as well as a new police academy and fire station for the city of Columbus. She is committed to continuing to working with Ohio’s first responders.

Admin note – for those of you interested in who the FOP endorsed in 2006 – Vindicator article (link).

A reader of the Jungle wrote me an e-mail asking basically where was Ohio education funding at since it had been declared unconstitutional over a decade ago. She suggested it might be an interesting topic to cover here, and I agree. It’s actually been covered recently in some of the media outside of our area. One example is an article from the Columbus Dispatch, yesterday July 19 – (link) part of:

Strickland, with help from legislative Democrats, built a new funding formula in 2009 called the “evidence-based model.”

It changed the way the state determines the costs of various components identified as necessary for a quality education, a method public-school advocates have pushed for years. It attempted to get rid of phantom revenue, a component in the old formula that financially punished a number of districts when property values rose. It eventually will require every district to offer all-day kindergarten.

And once fully paid for – a proposition nine years and billions of dollars away – the plan is supposed to fund a quality education in every district without the need for property taxes beyond the state minimum 20 mills.
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I love Wordpress as a blogging format but once in a while something goes wrong. If you have visited the past week or so and the template for the blog loaded but there was no content and a “Not Found” message – I haven’t quit blogging, there’s something wrong with the behind the scenes aspects of the blog. There’s no consistent pattern to it, so troubleshooting has been tricky. Someone wiser in the ways of Wordpress suggested it could be related to one of the plug ins that provide extra features to the blog so I’m in the process of a trial and error scenario of deactivating some of the plug ins to try to pinpoint which one it might be.

If you get the “Not Found” error – just wait a bit and when you return it should be working again.

The Sandusky Sheriff department was contacted by the family of Bryan Jones because he was under the influence of alcohol, had at least one weapon and had threatened to kill his mother. After Jones refused to come out of the house, a flashbang device was set off and when the SWAT team entered the home, Jones was shot and killed by law enforcement officers. Much of the focus has been on the two members of the SWAT team who shot and killed Jones, little of the focus has been on who gave the order to use the flashbang device.

The use of such devices has been a problem in other areas, in May 7-year old Aiyana Stanley Jones was killed after being shot by a member of the Detroit Police forces SWAT team, a flashbang device was used there and according to family, the couch the 7-year old was sleeping on caught fire prior to the shooting.

In a May article on Reason – “Lessons from the Death of Aiyana Stanley-Jones” (link) the use of the flashbang is referenced:
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I recommend reading the report in full from the Center for Community Solutions – (link). For those of you looking for a summary of what the report covered, I recommend John Michael Spinelli’s article on the report – (link). He does an excellent job in summation so there’s no need for me to repeat the effort.

One part of the report related to previous discussions on this topic here:

Ohio’s delivery system is fractured, leading to poor outcomes. It is difficult to gather information on all of the medical services received by a patient. For example, the county boards pay for inpatient care in state hospitals and community-based mental health supports, but physical medical care, prescription drugs, general hospitalization, and nursing home stays are paid by the state Department of Job and Family Services’ budget. This fractured system creates incentives to shift costs between systems which can lead to inappropriate and more expensive patient care.

Many people with severe mental illness are ending up inappropriately institutionalized in nursing homes or prisons. This problem is not unique to Ohio. From 2002 to 2008, the number of young and middle-aged mentally ill residents in the nation’s nursing homes increased by 41 percent according to an analysis by the Associated Press.

The Ohio Controlling Board (link) approved funding for 180 projects listed on their agenda for July 19. Six of the funding approval requests list Toledo, one lists Lucas County. Since some of you like more details about these projects than is shared in some of the releases sent out by elected officials, below you will find the title of the local projects and what is listed as the project summary. The information for Buckeye Silicon is lengthier than the others, I’ve bolded each request to make it easier for those of you who want to skim.

32 UTO0100130-11 University of Toledo requests Controlling Board approval to release $467,805.31 for the Academic Renovations project in Toledo, Lucas County, which includes a waiver of competitive selection in the amount of $398,322.80 to purchase LED lighting fixtures from Graybar Electric Company Inc., Toledo, Lucas County.
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The Ohio Controlling board released funding for 6 projects in Toledo, the below release from Ohio House Representative Edna Brown focuses on two of the projects one to the University of Toledo and one to Regional Growth Partnership and Launch Accelerating Technology:

Rep. Brown Announces $350K to Aid Growth & Expansion of Local Organizations
Funds to help technology incubators expand, promote start-up companies

COLUMBUS – State Representative Edna Brown (D-Toledo) today announced that two local organizations will receive $175,000 each in state grant money. The Edison Technology Incubators at the University of Toledo and Launch Accelerating Technology will use the funds to expand their operations and promote their member start-up technology companies.
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Two releases sent out from of the office of Governor Ted Strickland today are shared below, one focuses on Hugo Boss in Brooklyn back in production after it was announced in 2009 the last Hugo Boss facility in North America was going to close. The second one focuses on the creation of another Ohio hub, this one in Akron for biomaterials:

Governor, Sen. Brown Celebrate ‘First Suit Off the Line’ as Nearly 200 Hugo Boss Workers Return to Work

Brooklyn, Ohio – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown today joined Hugo Boss workers to celebrate the ‘first suit off the line’ at the Hugo Boss Plant in Brooklyn. Nearly 200 workers are back on the job at the company’s only U.S. suit manufacturing facility after Strickland and Brown fought with workers to reopen the doors when the company had announced plans to shut down.

“I’ve said many times that I believe in Ohio, and one of the reasons I do is that no matter what adversity we face, we never give up,” Strickland said. “And we never back down from the ideal that hard work should pay and that good work should be rewarded. That’s what’s happening right here with Hugo Boss suits rolling out the doors again.”
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