Glass City Jungle

The shooting death of Tarika Wilson in Lima, Ohio and the injury to her son, Sincere, who was one at the time of what was described as a “drug bust gone wrong” back in January of 2008 was a story that there were several posts on and a good deal of debate surrounding here on [...]

Personally having finally succumbed to the flu virus that my household has been passing around, tonight will not be “party time” here but…2009 has been a very challenging year for some of us, it is my hope that with the new year approaching those of you who have prospered will continue to prosper. That [...]

We can of course have the discussion as to does it really matter, but from a consistency standpoint, when Mayoral candidate Jim Moody forgot to include a 1980 Mercedes-Benz in the list of cars owned, it became an issue raised by the daily paper that we discussed here. Granted it was a question raised [...]

This information was given to both the Toledo Free Press – Todd Tibbits named President/CEO of YMCA and JCC of Greater Toledo and the Toledo Blade – Tibbits named YMCA & JCC CEO, replacing Alexander yesterday for dissemination today.
This story is also being reported on by other local media as of this morning shortly after [...]

This in via e-mail from Matt Zaleski, VP Marketing of AB&B Ergonomics sent out on behalf of the Kimbler Family:
Fund Raising Effort Set For Family Of Mandy Kimbler
(Toledo, OH) – Friends and relatives of Mandy Kimbler, the 24-year old Lucas County pregnant woman who died in November from ARDS (Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome) due [...]

This release came in earlier today, it’s been covered by some of our local media, but those of you interested in the full release? It’s below…
PENN NATIONAL GAMING CLOSES ON TOLEDO CASINO SITE
- Anticipates 2012 Opening for $250 Million Project -
Wyomissing, Penn. and Toledo, Ohio (December 30, 2009) ‑‑ Penn National Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: [...]

As reported tonight on FOX Toledo according to outgoing Mayor Carty Finkbeiner as reported by Barrett Andrews:

“We have been told by Larry Dillin that the money is en route from out-of-country locations, to him, to plunk down for his purchase of 48 acres of the Marina District.”
It’s an update on a story that FOX [...]

The following is a transcript of items discussed at yesterday’s Toledo City Council Agenda Review, summaries are included and items are in bold to ease skimming.
Ashford, Waniewski, Webb were the ones who were in attendance when the meeting was first called to order,
Item on Bush Street was held until McNamara’s arrival.
AT&T RE: [...]

The complete facts are still a bit sketchy related to Steve Riddle, who recently resigned from his position as principal of Leverette Middle School, what we do know from news reports, WTOL and WTVG is that over 140 text messages were sent from Riddle to a minor who was not a TPS student. The [...]

One noticeable difference between Columbus’s Color Calendar system and ours is it does not appear that trash collectors get the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve day off of work in Columbus. That’s a mere two days though, and for some reason residents of Columbus have been able to follow this without it being [...]

This in via e-mail from Toledo City Council President Joe McNamara:
McNamara Calls For Dog Advocates To Review City Code
Council President seeks best practices to promote public safety and humane treatment of dogs
Toledo, OH – City Council President Joe McNamara is concerned about breed-specific restrictions in Toledo’s municipal code concerning “vicious dogs.” McNamara will hold a [...]

This in via e-mail, while it’s not being held in Toledo, I thought it might be of interest to readers of GCJ:
Healthy, Locally-Sourced School Lunches Focus of Conference: “Renegade Lunch Lady,” Chef Ann Cooper to Keynote
Granville, Ohio—Fish sticks, tater tots, and sloppy Joes. Does this sound like your child’s school lunch? Author, activist, and [...]

This in via e-mail from the office of Mayor Carleton Finkbeiner:
Mayor Finkbeiner Hosts The Toledo Glass Key Awards
Citizen leadership is a cornerstone of great urban centers. Our city is the home of major hospitals, universities, museums and corporate headquarters. The City houses the very rich and very poor, the blue-collar [...]

While it can be said that truth can be influenced by perception, there are at times simple facts that are not perception but are reality. If there is a consistent pattern of facts not being accurately portrayed most times people will start to question your credibility. It’s why facts to me are so [...]

I received the link to this video via e-mail, I’m posting it here for those of you interested in Senator Sherrod Brown’s thoughts on the Act and what will happen next. The video is under the fold…

This in via e-mail from the office of Governor Ted Strickland:
Governor Signs Bills Passed in 128th General Assembly
HB 290 Will Further Strengthen Ohio’s Race to the Top Application
Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today signed HB 19, HB 290, SB 89 and SB 124.
House Bill 19
State Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood sponsored HB [...]

The following is a reminder sent out by BuckeyeForestCouncil.org:
The following notice regarding a new Division of Forestry planning process called Statewide Forest Resource Assessment & Strategy was recently released to Ohioans. Please pass this information along to your network(s) and plan on attending one of the sessions to speak your mind about the future [...]

As I sat down to write this, it was with a deep sigh that I started…I am so tired of the selectivity and the lack of transparency and honesty that’s allowed to continue in our community and the most perfect example of what can only be called “selectivity on steroids” is in the editorial pages [...]

December 31, 2007, Michael Gagnon drove at least four miles the wrong way on I-280 and killed a family of five, early this morning another Toledo area resident was killed by a wrong way driver, this time on I-475 not far from where another wrong way accident took place on I-475 in 2008.
This [...]

There were times when the five days granted by Ohio law for calamity days were not enough and some schools have been forced to extend their school year when that has happened. Now the number of days has been dropped to three, and in some areas, such as pointed out by this WTOL story, [...]

There has of course been enough to criticize our outgoing mayor on, but here in the Glass City we seem to have developed the art of bashing into almost a sport, with the Mayor being one of the favorite targets of some in the media and some on the internet. During the course of [...]

The one thing that Hicks and Alexander share is they died at the hands of another person in Toledo, Paul Hubbard is alive and well but faced media attention of his own related to an unpaid Small Business Association loan. All three are among the topics covered in this week’s Sojourner’s Truth. Ironically, [...]

While the Toledo Free Press was pointing out some other areas of concern related to Jon Stainbrook’s branch of the Lucas County Republican Party:

After mix-ups with room charges for Ohio Republican Party members, the Lucas County Republican Party was compensated for the cost of the 2008 election victory party, which was unrelated to the room [...]

This in via e-mail:
Toledo, OH – Lucas County Republican Chairman Jeff Simpson announced that the roster of Central and Executive Committee members as required by the Ohio Revised Code were filed with the Lucas County Board of Elections this afternoon. This process is required in order for the Republican State Central Committee to confirm [...]

Rough transcript of the last official Council meeting for 2009, it is the last Council meeting for Councilman Frank Szollosi, Councilwoman Betty Shultz and Mayor Carty Finkbeiner. Steel and Szollosi were not in attendance. It was also revealed at this Council meeting that if the 3.6 million from Dillin is not received by [...]

This in via e-mail from TARTA, I urge those of you who ride the bus to visit TARTA online to check to see how routes you ride may be impacted.
Sweeping changes in TARTA routes take effect Sunday, December 27
Changes Caused By Continuing Financial Pressure, Property Tax Receipts And State And Federal Tax Revenues [...]

This in via e-mail from the Ohio Department of Health:
ODH, Community Leaders Discuss H1N1 Vaccine Outreach to African-American and Hispanic Communities
Conference Calls Provide Information, Dispel Rumors
COLUMBUS – Ohio Department of Health (ODH) officials held two conference calls on Monday with leaders of the African-American and Hispanic communities. The purpose of the calls was to [...]

As the days of the Finkbeiner administration are ending, former Legislative Consortium Lobbyist, Kathy Teigland sought to set the record straight as to some of the comments made by the Mayor concerning her personal and professional reputation. In a letter sent to the Honorable Carleton Finkbeiner, dated December 18th, she also provides some history [...]

I haven’t gotten a release on this, but the Toledo Free Press has an article up about the latest directors:
Bell said he will keep Michael Navarre as chief of police, and Mike Wolever as chief of Toledo Fire Rescue.
After working with the two men for a number of years and “trusting them with my life,” [...]

This in via e-mail from the office of the Mayor:
Mayor Finkbeiner to announce Hoffman Road Landfill Agreement
To assist with the remediation efforts along Ottawa River, Mayor Finkbeiner signed the Hoffman Road Landfill Agreement with the Ottawa River Group (ORG). This agreement allows the $50 million remediation project along Ottawa River to start and ORG [...]