Ohio Sunday Papers – Casinos: State Newspapers No Likey

• Huron County’s 18.3% unemployment rate – Associated Press
• State making more records available online – Columbus Dispatch
• Banks face long climb – Cincinnati Enquirer
• New Schools Fall Short of Strickland’s Standards – Columbus Dispatch
• Editorial: Fool’s Gold (Casinos) – Toledo Blade
• Editorial: False Promises (Casinos) – Columbus Dispatch
• Editorial: Highway Funds, er, Safety – Toledo Blade
• Editorial: Strickland – Let Charter Schools Bloom – The Plain Dealer
• Editorial: Trust in Change (Higher Ed) – Akron Beacon-Journal
• Op-Ed, Dennis Willard: Big Brother, Big Brother, big money – Akron Beacon-Journal
• Op-Ed, David Skolnick: Congressman Ryan Man of the Hour – Youngstown Vindicator
• Op-Ed, Thomas Suddes: Gambling Promoters & Their Self Serving Ideas – The Plain Dealer
• Op-Ed, Jonathan Riskind: Pollution plan fuels bipartisan fight – Columbus Dispatch
• Op-Ed, Joe Hallett: Ohio needs to upgrade Capitol statuary – Columbus Dispatch

Ohio Budget Process On Hold Until Rep. Morgan Works His Way Through Strickland’s Bibliography

I got a chuckle out of this from the Associated Press today:

The House also announced it would delay final action on the budget until after its spring break, pushing expected passage from late March into mid-April. The spending plan has to make it through both the House and Senate before July 1.

One frustrated member of the House Finance committee, Republican Seth Morgan, filed a second public records request with Gov. Ted Strickland seeking a road map to understanding his “evidence-based” school-funding formula.

Morgan’s first request was met with an almost 400-source bibliography of studies and reports upon which the formula is based.

For as long it would take for a child to be born and advance all the way into junior high school, Republicans were in charge of both houses of the Ohio General Assembly.  They had the Governor’s Office for four years longer than that.  What did they do about public education in Ohio?  Not a freaking thing.

Ted Strickland has been all over the state and worked with groups interested in fairly funding public ed and providing a 21st century curriculum for two years.  He’s put his plan out there.  If you’ve got particular issues, bring them up.  But guess what Seth? Evidence-based study is not some right wing home schoolin’ methodology.  It means the Governor and others have gone through an intellectual process.  The road map is that bibliography.  You might want to get reading …

Obama Answers Question on Seeming Disagreement With Strickland on Charter Schools

President Barack Obama was interviewed this week by a group of regional newspaper reporters, including Stephen Koff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  During the interview the subject of charter schools, and specifically the seeming divergence of opinion between Obama and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.  The transcript does not identify the questioners by name, but perhaps this was Koff’s?

(Source: White House Press Office – Partial Transcript Below)

QUESTION:  Mr. President, yesterday you called for eliminating restrictions on the number of charter schools while enforcing some vigorous standards. In Ohio, the Governor has called charter schools a destructive influence on public education, a few years ago tried to have a moratorium on new charters, now wants to cut state spending by about 20 percent for charter schools and restrict some other funding. I’m wondering whether you’ve ever talked with him about this, and is this just a fundamental disagreement between the two of you?

THE PRESIDENT: You know, I haven’t had a conversation with Governor Strickland. I know that part of his concern was prompted by some bad experiences with charters in Ohio that weren’t up to snuff. And if you looked at my statement yesterday, what I said was not only should we lift the cap on charters, we should also shut down charters that aren’t meeting standards. I don’t think that’s inconsistent with Governor Strickland’s position.

My goal here is to create laboratories of innovation so that in the public school system, we are on a race to the top as opposed to stuck in the old ways of doing things. And we’ve got to — we’ve got to do that. In your home town of Cleveland, I don’t know off the top of my head what the dropout rate is, but I’ve got to assume that it’s hovering around 50 percent. If you look at the number of children going through the Cleveland public schools who are actually prepared to go to college, it’s probably one out of seven or eight or 10. And that’s just not acceptable. It’s not acceptable for them, it’s not acceptable in terms of America’s economic future. And so we’ve got to experiment with ways to provide a better educational experience for our kids, and some charters are doing outstanding jobs.

So, the bottom line is to try to create innovation within the public school system that can potentially be scaled up, but also to make sure that we are maintaining very high standards for any charter school that’s created.

More Inane Commentary from Columbus Tea Party Organizer

Meet Justin Higgins, a 19 year-old Ohio State University college Republican who’s got things all figured out.  I mean if it weren’t for Constitutional provisions against one so young holding the nation’s highest office, we could put young Justin there in the White House, hold him in high esteem like a young Dalai Llama and he could point us all along the path to political and economic enlightenment.

For now, though, we’ll have to settle for Saturday, March 14 at the Statehouse in Columbus where Higgins will be the master of ceremonies for The Columbus Tea Party.  The party begins at 11 a.m. and is sponsored by College Republicans and Americans for Prosperity.  (Do you know any Americans who are not for prosperity?)

Higgins and others are wigging out over the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, aka the Stimulus Bill.  The notion that the need for this bill rests in part on the unregulated economic behavior of most of the world’s major banks, investment houses and insurers is completely lost on them.  While Justin no doubt luxuriates in his college boy lifestyle subsidized by Mom and Dad, he’s got the time for contemplation to say stupid things like this on 610-WTVN radio today:

We’re going to protest and basically tell Governor Strickland that we don’t want him taking this stimulus money because the last thing we need is more unfunded mandates and more ridiculous spending on the state level.

When these funds run out, we have to pay for it.

Allow me to get right to the point with young master Higgins:  What the hell are you talking about?

Read more

Ohio Sunday Papers – Ill winds beginning to blow on Cap Square

• Governor’s doubters grow – Columbus Dispatch
• Foreclosure crisis everywhere in Cleveland – The Plain Dealer
• 1933 eviction riots in Cleveland bear similarities to today – The Plain Dealer
• Plummeting stock prices rock four venerable Toledo firms – The Toledo Blade
• Op-Ed, Joe Hallett: Brunner v. Fisher could be Dem nightmare – Columbus Dispatch
• Op-Ed, Dennis Willard: Ohio legislators divided and evasive – Akron Beacon Journal
• Op-Ed, Aaron Marshall: Ohio House Republicans ready to fight – The Plain Dealer
• Op-Ed, Jonathan Riskind: Voinovich far from being lame duck – Columbus Dispatch
• Editorial: Ohio Auditor has waited long enough for data – The Plain Dealer
• Editorial: Stimulus should focus on fixing what’s broken – Columbus Dispatch
• Editorial: Passenger rail – waiting at the station – Akron Beacon Journal
• Some Lucas County agency heads get raises – The Toledo Blade
• Use of furloughs for workers on the rise – The Plain Dealer
• Personal bailouts sought on Ohio site – Akron Beacon Journal
• Where will the local stimulus dollars go? – Akron Beacon Journal
• Ohio stimulus proposals point out crumbling infrastructure – The Plain Dealer
• Fragile mental health safety net – Columbus Dispatch
• Ohio mental health facts – Columbus Dispatch
• Traficant could be back in Ohio soon – Youngstown Vindicator
• Dettelbach rises to top of U.S. Atty list – The Plain Dealer

Ohio Sunday Papers – Waiting to be Stimulated

• Experienced lobbyists have advantage due to changes in Ohio legislature – The Plain Dealer
• Editorial: Lt. Gov. Fisher could get chance to keep pledge – Youngstown Vindicator
• Editorial: Assault on Education (Charter Schools) – Columbus Dispatch
• Editorial: Brunner should sidestep the conflict – Columbus Dispatch
• Editorial: Triage for a sick economy – Toledo Blade
• Op-Ed, Thomas Suddes: The bumps in Strickland’s road – The Plain Dealer
• Op-Ed, Dennis Willard: Legislators need some backbone – Akron Beacon Journal
• Donations v. Impartiality on docket – Columbus Dispatch
• School funding formula criticized – Associated Press
• Strickland plan would slash online school funding – Columbus Dispatch
• Stimulus requests rolling in to state government – Dayton Daily News
• How Clevelanders would spend stimulus – The Plain Dealer
• Path to stimulus money hazy – Columbus Dispatch
• Ohioans tuned into state’s history – Columbus Dispatch
• Hospitals object to fees for Medicaid – Columbus Dispatch

Governor Strickland Pictured in Michelle Obama’s Box at Congressional Address

Strickland Makes Right Call on Importance of Auto Industry Supply Chain

Yesterday, Gov. Ted Strickland looked great and sounded all the right themes on CBS’ Face the Nation.  Of all the governors on the panel, he was the only one to say anything remotely newsworthy.  In Ohio and Michigan we understand the U.S. auto manufacturing is not only the Big Three, it’s the quarter of a million Americans working making parts and supplies for GM, Ford and Chrysler.  In Ohio, the number of people employed in the auto parts industry alone is over 97,000. (MEMA)

In answering questions regarding what are the largest problems in Ohio, Strickland told CBS’ Bob Schieffer that unemployment and foreclosures were huge issues, and continued about the importance of the auto industry – domestically and foreign-owned:

SCHIEFFER: What if one of the auto companies goes under?  How will that impact out in your state?

STRICKLAND: Hugely — hugely. And it will not only impact the Big Three; it will impact all auto
companies, including Honda and Toyota and all the others, because they have the same supply network.
And this supply chain is very fragile, and if it starts to collapse, it could have a cascading effect that could, quite frankly, cripple an industry that has been so vital to the economy of our entire nation for so long. So it’s very important that the auto industry get the help it needs to survive.

And I’ve had officials from the Honda corporation come to me, say to me, Governor, we’re not usually in
the business of advocating for our competitors, but it is so important that the auto industry and the Big
Three be preserved.

Otherwise, the economy of this country will suffer perhaps irreparable harm, and we just cannot let that
happen.

Governor Strickland’s fears are also dealt with by the Economist in the Feb. 19th edition.  In an article with the subhead, GM and Chrysler Say the Need Help, So Do Their Suppliers, the author says there are three large problems facing President Obama’s new U.S. Auto Industry Task Force, including, “The third is what help should be given to the car-parts industry, which receives far less attention than its famous customers, but which is facing acute problems of its own.”

One of the hallmarks of our current economic crisis is the constant unwinding of problem after problem.  Too many foreclosures turned into failed mortgage backed securities turned into uncapitalized credit default swaps.  In the case of the auto industry, failure of one or more of the Big Three turns into parts suppliers belly up turns into problems for the foreign-owned U.S. car plants.

Video: Gov. Ted Strickland on Face the Nation with Daniels, Corzine

Watch CBS Videos Online

Ohio Sunday Papers – It’s the Economy and Education with a smattering of Fisher, Brunner

• Editorial: Lawmakers must stop Strickland from killing charter schools – The Plain Dealer
• Editorial: Governor needs to tweek how he pays for education reform – Akron Beacon Journal
• Editorial: No Stimulus for Teardown – Toledo Blade
• Op-Ed, William Hershey: Ohio Dems Face Likely ‘Family Fued’ – Dayton Daily News
• Op-Ed, Thomas Suddes: Will Ohio House Dems Hold Together on Budget? – The Plain Dealer
• Op-Ed, Joe Hallett: Governor Sinned a Bit in Securing Manna from Washington – Columbus Dispatch
• Welfare rolls soaring in Ohio – Columbus Dispatch
• Toledo aid agencies fear what’s over horizon – Toledo Blade
• Late bill payments cost state – Columbus Dispatch
• Big repairs needed for U.S. automakers – Toledo Blade
• How would you spend $500 million taxpayer dollars? – The Plain Dealer
• Dems’ fight a cost of success – Cincinnati Enquirer
• Op-Ed, Dennis Willard: Race crucial for Fisher, Brunner – Akron Beacon Journal
• Brunner: Senate bid not a conflict – Columubus Dispatch
• Ohio tries to clean up payday lending one more time – The Plain Dealer
• Op-Ed, Jonathan Riskind: Obama’s economic plans leave some edgy, angry – Columbus Dispatch
• Development board’s City Center planning only quasi-public – Columbus Dispatch
• Farmland disappearing – Columbus Dispatch
• Preservationists hope to see some stimulus – Columbus Dispatch
• Ohio businesses must file sales taxes electronically for first time this year – The Plain Dealer
• Ohio officials OK new workers compensation program – Dayton Daily News\
• KELLY PAVLIK COVERAGE – The Youngstown Vindicator

Ohioans Have Submitted Nearly 7,500 Project Ideas to State’s Stimulus Site

After only a couple of weeks, Ohioans are responding to Governor Ted Strickland’s call for stimulus project ideas in a big way.

According to the state’s stimulus website, as of Friday 7,495 proposed projects had been catalogued.  For now, the state is using the website to share stimulus information and collect data from organizations, counties, cities and the like regarding their “stimulus-ready” project proposals.  The information being collected is not an application for stimulus dollars, but rather a first step for the state in getting a big picture inventory of proposals.  Project proposers meeting stimulus requirements will be contacted about the formal application process.

Once stimulus dollars are being spent, the state’s site will be a place to check up on progress and see how our money is being spent.

Go here to see the site’s FAQ.

Strickland Says Ohio’s Stimulus Haul Will Be Around $8.2 Billion

Despite some recent reports that the final version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would leave a hole in Ohio’s next biennial budget, Gov. Ted Strickland said today that Ohio stands to take in over $8 billion in federal investment related to the economic stimulus bill.

“The effects of this recession reach deep into the lives and pocketbooks of everyday Ohioans. The federal stimulus is the right investment at exactly the right time to jumpstart the stalled economy,” said Strickland.

“These resources will save or create more than 130,000 jobs for Ohioans and provide tax cuts to working families, while also helping to protect essential state services that Ohioans rely upon every day,” Strickland said. “The stimulus resources will enable Ohio to make targeted investments in the critical sectors of our economy that will create and grow jobs – laying the foundation for future economic growth and shared prosperity.”

Strickland’s office summed up Ohio’s stimulus investment:

• Direct Relief through State Fiscal Stabilization Funds and Enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP): $4.8 billion
• Infrastructure: $1.5 billion
• Education: $981 million
• Health and Human Services: $597 billion
• Energy: $399 million
• Criminal Justice: $75 million
  

Didn’t Look Like an Ohio Democratic Party Divided at Fisher’s Presser

Governor Strickland Didn’t Feed the Notion Either

“My support for Lee does not mean I do not respect Secretary Brunner,” said Gov. Ted Strickland.

That was how Strickland answered a reporter’s question tonight regarding his early support for one statewide elected official – Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher – over another – Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner – in an early start to a U.S. Senate primary campaign.

Strickland was also asked whether or not Brunner’s entry into the race leaves a hole in Democratic ranks for retaining the Secretary of State’s office and its seat on Ohio’s Apportionment Board.

Strickland said, “life rolls on” and that the job of political leaders is to be prepared for any eventuality and make wise decisions at the right time.

Strickland said it should be no surprise that he would support Fisher, who has been his partner since 2006.  He said that when it became apparent that there would be a real race for Senate in 2010 he encouraged Fisher and made a commitment to support him out of the gates.

In a room filled with many members of the House and Senate Democratic Caucuses, Strickland said, “There is no (party) split.”

New Ohio Development Director (Interim) Mark Barbash

Governor Ted Strickland acknowledged during Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher’s Senatorial campaign presser that Ohio Department of Development Assistant Director Mark Barbash will step in as director on an interim basis.

Barbash’s other title at Development is Chief Economic Development Officer.  That work, alongside Fisher for the last two years puts the department in good shape from a continuity standpoint.

Barbash, a former investment banker, also served in private and public sector economic development roles in the city of Columbus.  Before being hired by Fisher in 2007, Barbash last served as director of the Columbus Ohio Department of Development.

Fisher has relinquished the directorship of Development due to his bid for U.S. Senate.

Voinovich Crankiness Continues

An article which will apparently be in tomorrow Plain Dealer (it posted on the web tonight) has Sen. George Voinovich saying his budgets as governor could beat up Gov. Ted Strickland’s budgets.  He also criticized state governors for pushing for federal dollars in direct aid to state budgets.

What’s with this guy?

He never dealt with anything remotely like what Strickland and the Ohio General Assembly are facing with the current economy and drop in state revenues.  Has he forgotten that a lot of state programs are actually federal programs?  Why wouldn’t we opt for more money for Medicaid rather than cut the program when it’s needed most?

Paul Krugman had a great column in the New York Times not too long ago titled, Fifty Herbert Hoovers.  He pointed out how important federal stimulus dollars were to state governments because state governments cannot use temporary deficit spending as a tool — most states have to balance their budgets by law.  This idea was fine when Alan Greenspan and others thought we were too advanced for the business cycle, but the cycle is back and we’re not through the downslope.

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