Glass City Jungle

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

The following is a guest piece sent via e-mail by the office of Representative Barbara Sears to share with readers of GCJ:
Hospital Tax is Putting Jobs and Ohio’s Economy at Risk
Ohioans have long felt the effects of the downturn in our state’s economy. With unemployment in the double digits for the 14th consecutive month, [...]

This Cleveland Plain Dealer article on John Kasich’s fundraising (link) shared this that I found interesting:
The event’s special guest is Republican rising star and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. But the real entertainment might be a conversation between Kasich and Mixon.
Kasich sits on Invacare’s board of directors and has been extremely critical of Ohio’s business climate, [...]

This in from the State of Ohio and the office of Mayor Mike Bell:
Intermodal Yard Upgrade Gets Underway in Toledo
$12.29-Million Dollar Project Gets Go-Ahead from ORDC
Columbus ( Tuesday, July 13, 2010) – Toledo’s role as a freight distribution point for the Midwest soon will be strengthened. An almost $12.3-million dollar project to expand [...]

It’s not surprising that women are still earning less than men in state jobs in Ohio, but the title of this post is one tidbit of the information shared in the Columbus Dispatch piece (link) — “Pay gap for state jobs is shrinking.” While it’s recommended you read the piece in full, one part:
An [...]

The Blade reported on June 29 that Libbey Inc. received a 40 percent tax credit for six years, valued at $82,567 (link). The Columbus Dispatch references that tax credit as part of an article looking at how transparent and successful these tax credits are, (link).
I recommend reading the article and checking out the data [...]

The following information was received sent via e-mail on behalf of Larry Dillin,
PERRYSBURG, OH – “I committed to the City of Perrysburg and Wood County when we began this journey that we would create something special at Levis Commons. Several months ago, we started working on a 4 part strategy for Levis Commons which [...]

This in via e-mail from the office of Governor Ted Strickland:
Strickland, AT&T Announce New Data Center in Akron
Akron, OH – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and AT&T today announced a new mobility data center in Akron, which will provide core mobility network services. The planned $120 million initial investment in this innovative center is [...]

This is one of those posts that involves some reading for those of you interested in taking a look at both sides of the issue to make an informed decision. I hope you take the time to at least skim the material shared. Right now we have a scenario where there are dueling [...]

This in via e-mail from the Ohio Department of Health:
OHIO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH IMPLEMENTS CHANGES TO ENSURE SUSTAINABILITY OF RYAN WHITE PROGRAM
Ohio Department of Health is Working to Serve HIV Clients Most in Need with Available Resources
COLUMBUS – The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) today announced changes to the Ryan White program, which provides [...]

According to govtrack.us Representatives Marcy Kaptur and Bob Latta voted no on the conference report for HR 4173 -Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010. Part of what Kaptur said on the floor, as reported by Allison Bell, (link):
“The bill doesn’t appear to encourage prudent credit accumulation,” Kaptur said, according to a version of [...]

Two releases sent out today by the office of Governor Ted Strickland, the first is on the creation of the Northwest Ohio Solar Energy Hub and the second calls upon the United States Senate to pass an extension for unemployment benefits.
Strickland Announces Northwest Ohio Solar Energy Hub in Toledo
Toledo, OH–Governor Ted Strickland today [...]

Representative Nancy Garland is not from our area, but I think it’s important to see what other General Assembly members are doing for their districts compared to NWO and the topic of the job creation aspect of this new technology may also be of interest to some of you:
Rep. Garland Urges U.S. Dept. of [...]

Comments made by House Minority Leader John Boehner have been getting some media attention, as reported in the Hill, (link):
“We’re all living a lot longer than anyone ever expected,” Boehner said in a meeting with the editors of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “And I think that raising the retirement age — going out 20 years, [...]

Precise numbers and vote counts have not been released but it has been reported that of the more than 2,100 members of TFT, those who attended the vote today, June 26, overwhelmingly approved the concessionary deal that was negotiated between TPS and TFT.
Full details at this point as far as what the exact concession [...]

I haven’t listened to the audio from yesterday’s Toledo City Council committee meeting yet, I’ve updated this again and re-published to move it up the page since I have now completed listening and writing notes from the earlier joint Economic Development & Neighborhoods Committee meeting. I know this is long, it’s over 4,500 words [...]

One advantage of a government project is you don’t have to know for sure how it’s all going to be paid for. All you have to do is have a plan and even if some of the dollar amounts for the planned funding changes? It’s said to still be all okay, at least [...]

This in via e-mail from the office of Governor Ted Strickland:
Governor Signs Casino Implementation Legislation, Other Bills
Columbus, OH – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today signed House Bill 519, the implementing language for the casino constitutional amendment that won voter approval last November. The governor also signed House Bill 5 and Senate Bills 204, [...]

This in via e-mail from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT):
State Transportation Director pledges continued help in Northwest Ohio
ODOT restoring Safe Transportation after Deadly Tornado
TOLEDO (Thursday, June 10, 2010) – Visiting the areas of Northwest Ohio damaged by severe weather and tornadoes this past weekend, Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Director Jolene M. Molitoris [...]

All members of council were present, a moment of silence was offered because of the death of Larry Kaczala.
Resolutions were offered…
Resolution – Recognize Heroes In Action
Resolution – Recognize 2010 Cotillion winners – Tessa Scott, Santoria Sawyer, and LaKale’a Wilson
Lease of riverfront property from Norfolk Southern Corp. for salt pile, $44,500 Assessed Services Fund
Passed by all [...]

With the focus on public employees here in Toledo and in the State of Ohio, this Politico article titled, “Pols turn on labor unions” (link) caught my attention. I recommend reading the full article, one section from the last page:
“The public mood is clearly changing regarding these issues,” said Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty, [...]