Glass City Jungle

This will be a two part article, the first one focusing on the parking meters, the second one will be up either tomorrow or Tuesday on the parking garages. Inspired from the recent articles in the daily paper about downtown parking.
The elimination of parking meters has been a much discussed topic, going back as [...]

This in via e-mail from the office of Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak:
TEEN PREGNANCY PREVENTION EFFORTS SEE SUCCESS IN LUCAS COUNTY
Commissioner Wozniak, Toledo Public Schools, YWCA, Family Council Share Results of Two-Year Evaluation, Teen Birth Numbers
With new numbers showing a drop in teen birth rates for the first time in many years, Lucas [...]

There are several articles in this week’s Sojourner’s Truth that relate to Black History Month, one is the 20 North Gallery Presents the 15th Annual Black History Month Exhibit. The exhibit began it’s showing this past Friday and the featured art will be on display until March 6, you can also take a virtual [...]

Two stories online through the Toledo Journal that I missed covering earlier in the month that may be of interest to some of you. Despite the budget questions and some of the other issues facing Toledo, Mayor Mike Bell got some love from the Toledo Journal in Uninvited guest visits mayor–and is warmly welcomed, [...]

There has been some attention, as well as a few petitions out there, to try to force CBS to not run an ad during the Super Bowl expected to feature the mother of Tim Tebow, that will reference her claim that she was told to have an abortion in 1987 instead of giving birth to [...]

This in via e-mail from the Jennifer Garrison for Secretary of State campaign:
GARRISON ANNOUNCES EXIT FROM SECRETARY OF STATE RACE
(Marietta, OH) State Representative Jennifer Garrison, announced today she will not seek the Democratic nomination for Ohio Secretary of State.
“I have truly enjoyed meeting Ohioans from all walks of life during the 6 month [...]

Controversial articles/opinion pieces typically generate more discussion, a perfect example of the clear political division in our country can be seen in response to an opinion piece written by Children of Liberty member Thomas Berry, one of the online only columns from the Toledo Free Press this week. The state of President Obama’s key [...]

This in via e-mail from the Strickland for Governor campaign:
Governor Ted Strickland Reports Nearly $6.2 Million Cash On Hand
Breaks Record for Incumbent Governor in Ohio, Outpaces Every Other Democratic Governor Up for Re-Election in the Nation
COLUMBUS–Today, Governor Ted Strickland’s campaign announced that he has nearly $6.2 million cash on hand going into 2010. Not [...]

As first reported by the Toledo Free Press the Auditor’s work notes released on the special audit on Toledo Public Schools contained an affidavit by Steven R. Cotner. In addition to providing the first direct reference of a connection to the investigations done by Corporate Intelligence Consultants to Dr. Eugene Sanders, it also references [...]

This in via e-mail from Michael Veh, Workforce Development Manager for Lucas County:
January 29, 2010
Governor Strickland and Lucas County Announce Major Hiring Event
Toledo, OH – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and the Board of Lucas County Commissioners announced today that the Lucas County Workforce Development Agency (LCWDA), in partnership with The State of Ohio [...]

This list was obtained through the Lucas County Board of Elections, it is accurate as of this morning. I’ve included a link for each judge/judicial candidate, if they had a campaign web site, that is the link shared, if they did not? I linked whatever I could find that shared the most information about [...]

Representative Peter Ujvagi and Senator Teresa Fedor Applaud Announcement of Federal Investment that will advance the Ohio Hub Rail System
Toledo poised to benefit from rail construction
Columbus, OH – Senator Teresa Fedor and Rep. Peter S. Ujvagi this afternoon joined Gov. Ted Strickland and U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis for the announcement that Ohio will [...]

For those of you following the story on UT’s Student Government impeachment attempt of SG President Krystal Weaver, this week’s Independent Collegian has a story with the headline, Weaver vetoes own impeachment. Previous coverage on this story can be found here.
The basic summary of what took place is after Weaver vetoed legislation [...]

Just as President Obama was ending his speech, the e-mails began coming in. Congressman Latta’s actually came in before the President was finished, e-mails from both Chris Redfern chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party and Lt. Governor and Senate candidate Lee Fisher were not releases they were donation/campaign related so they are not included. [...]

This in via e-mail from the office of Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish:
Budish: Ohio Must Not Retreat on Job Creation Efforts
House rejects Senate attempts to slash bipartisan jobs program; Approves Franklin County casino relocation effort
COLUMBUS – The Ohio House of Representatives today rejected an attempt by the Ohio Senate to slash Ohio’s Third [...]

The Toledo Public School Board recently took a step towards a more transparent process when they were the first school system in our area and in the nation to utilize a program called “BoardDocs” — simply put it makes it easier to access information such as their agendas, legislation and minutes from committees. While [...]

This just in via e-mail from the Franklin County Delegation of the Ohio House of Representatives, updated at 6:09 p.m. to include a statement via e-mail from the office of Governor Ted Strickland:
Ohio House Approves Casino Relocation Resolution
Ohio voters to decide location for Columbus Casino
COLUMBUS – The Ohio House of Representatives this afternoon approved [...]

A media release went out this morning from the office of Mayor Mike Bell announcing the second Citizen’s Special Investigation (CSI) of the City of Toledo budget group will meet today at 4:30 p.m.:
The Citizen’s Special Investigation (CSI) of the City of Toledo budget will hold their second meeting on Wednesday, January 27 at [...]

In the order in which they were received via e-mail from elected officials and the Ohio Democratic Party; Senator Teresa Fedor, Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish, Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party Chris Redfern, 4:30 p.m. update, Representative Barbara Sears, Representative Edna Brown, 5:57 p.m. update, Ohio House Speaker Pro Tempore Matthew A. Szollosi:
State [...]

There’s really no sense in trying to live blog what Governor Ted Strickland says today since the full written comments have most likely already been shared with some selected media sources and will be online on the Governor’s website probably before the end of today. So, this thread is for those of you who [...]

I realize we have not yet discussed the recent Supreme Court action, it is expected to impact Ohio, hence sharing this letter written by Senator Jon Husted, who is also a candidate for Secretary of State, to Senate President Bill Harris and Speaker Armond Budish, may be of interest to many of you:
Dear President [...]

Thanks to a note on Facebook by Senator Teresa Fedor, I learned about one of the releases of funding by the Ohio Controlling Board. When I went to the actual website, I discovered more: $1,000,000.00 to Glasstech, Inc and Poggemeyer Design Group of NWO will receive $218,416.00 for projects that include improvements to [...]

The Columbus Dispatch has the story online as to David Yost’s decision to drop his Attorney General campaign and run for State Auditor. Yost in a recent blog post on his campaign website states in part:
From where I sit, it’s a difficult choice.
Here are some things that won’t matter to me. I’m not [...]

I have a hard time getting excited about polls in general, especially when it’s learned that only 808 people in the entire state of Ohio were polled, less than 75 were from Southeast Ohio, or were black which according to the information shared on the poll, (Blade link) –(Dayton Daily News link) states “Additional caution [...]

This in via e-mail from both the Ohio Democratic Party and the office of Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz:
MONDAY AT 1:00PM: Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz Explains Devastating Effects Congressman John Kasich’s Tax Plan Would Have on Lucas County
TOLEDO- Monday, January 25, Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz will hold a press conference outside the [...]

This week’s Toledo Free Press has a number of articles of interest, both online and in print, I’m focusing on just a few. Hawkins Elementary school being the first TPS school that is a LEED qualifer is worth pointing out. For those of you not familiar with LEEDS, I recommend clicking here as [...]

There were some Democrats who were not happy with Jennifer Brunner’s decision to run for Senate instead of run for re-election to Secretary of State. There were some Republicans who were not happy with Mary Taylor’s decision to become John Kasich’s running mate in the gubernatorial race. So, it stands to reason there [...]

Rev. Donald L. Perryman and Lafe Tolliver differ on their style, their work in week’s Sojourner’s Truth is a huge contrast. Perryman opts for the more cerebral, inspirational messaging to encourage people to become more informed and act. Tolliver goes for what could be described as a shock jock type message designed to [...]

Robert Vitale writes in today’s Columbus Dispatch, Casino site needs a ballot win with a sub-heading of “Some Ohioans might not be in mood to allow Columbus a location do-over on the May ballot.” It’s a recommended read for those of you who have been following this story.
I was contacted for my [...]

As reported in this week’s Toledo Free Press, Kristen Rapin has a story on the Council absences for 2009, Council members missed 219 meetings in 2009. Thursday night when blogging about what had taken place at the earlier Human Resources, Informational Technology and Finance Committee, I mentioned the vice chair of this committee, Phil [...]