Ohio Newsbreak – Jess Goode, Jenn Urban, Obama Stimulus, Ohio DYS, Paul Tipps, state budget, Voinovich, Finkbeiner
Filed under: Economic Stimuls, Gov Strickland, Marc Dann, Ohio AG's Race 2008, Ohio Economy, State Governments, State of Ohio Budget, U.S. Congress, ohio politics
- Changes in Strickland communications team – Columbus Dispatch
- First Energy appeals PUCO rate rollback – The Plain Dealer
- Voinovich to unveil plans Sunday night - The Plain Dealer
- Is this Voinovich’s last term? – The Plain Dealer
- Op-Ed, Brent Larkin: Voinovich in 2010? – The Plain Dealer
- Will Obama put light rail back on track? – Columbus Dispatch
- Juvenile facilities to close - Columbus Dispatch
- Editorial: Boehner, McConnel have shot at history – Dayton Daily News
- Ohio jobless fund to get loan – Columbus Dispatch
- Prosecutor seeks info from Cordray – Dayton Daily News
- Cordray forces 9 out of AG’s office – Columbus Dispatch
- New state treasurer, AG sworn in – Columbus Dispatch
- State Street Consultants – Columbus Dispatch
- Absentee balloting broke record – Columbus Dispatch
- State cuts take toll on little guys – Columbus Dispatch
- Harris calls for rainy day funds – Columbus Dispatch
- Cleveland mayor asks Obama for $730 million – The Plain Dealer
- Toledo city workers reject contract – Toledo Blade
Ohio Sunday Papers | Sunday, January 4, 2009
Filed under: Cuyahoga Corruption, Energy Policy, Gov Strickland, Marc Dann, Ohio Economy, Recession, State of Ohio Budget, State of Ohio Govt, U.S. Economy, ohio politics
- Insight: How Bad? 5 Economists Answer Questions About Recession, Ohio Economy – Columbus Dispatch
Editor’s Note: Just when you think the Dispatch editorial staff is still on vacation, they came up with this interesting piece in Sunday’s Insight section. Let’s hear it for localizing a national story and doing it from a broad perspective. The economists include a liberal, conservative, a federal reserve staffer, and private sector expertise. Check it out.
- After the Flames: The Story of the 1969 Cuyahoga River Fire – The Plain Dealer
- Killings rip apart city’s fabric – Cincinnati Enquirer
- Cuyahoga sheriff lays off some, rewards family friends with raises – The Plain Dealer
- Op-Ed, Thomas Suddes: Suddes’ Crystal Ball
- Op-Ed, Joe Hallett: Brown, Strickland optimistic on economy turning corner – Columbus Dispatch
- Editorial: That Sinking Feeling – Toledo Blade
- Strickland, Governors call for $1 trillion in aid to states – The Plain Dealer
- Measure takes aim at sexual slavery – Toledo Blade
- Plans afoot for coal to liquid fuel plant in Wellsville – Youngstown Vindicator
- New Ohio legislature begins Monday – Dayton Daily News
- Ohio AG’s Washington Office closing – The Plain Dealer
- Columbia Gas, state reach deal on gorge – Columbus Dispatch
- Fewer truckers needed as economy gears down – Columbus Dispatch
- Fighting off the bear market – Columbus Dispatch
- Dick Feagler talks about 45-year career – The Plain Dealer
- Consumer advocates see bright spot in 2009 – The Plain Dealer
- Most important Ohio legislation passed in 2008 – The Plain Dealer
- Editorial: Husted made his mark – The Plain Dealer
- Editorial: Husted won’t just warm senate seat – Dayton Daily News
- BGSU to lay off 43 salaried workers – Toledo Blade
Ohio IG’s Report Troubling for Reasons Other Than Marc Dann’s Shenanigans
If you haven’t had a chance to read the Marc Dann report, and you’re concerned about quality, professional government – government that knows its place – you may want to check it out and see if you don’t agree with a growing number of folks who watch the state of Ohio machine work every day.
I’m not talking about the subject of the report either – I’m talking about the investigators, the authors – the watchdogs.
This report does not read like a federal government GAO report. It’s not a dispassionate exposition of the facts of Marc Dann’s ignoble reign. It’s full of subjective, opinionated commentary and even some leaps without substantiation.
One also has to wonder why the IG didn’t just say, quite simply, there were these (insert bullet points) campaign finance-related “issues.” They’ve been turned over to the Ohio Elections Commission for the appropriate authorities to investigate them. I thought the IG was the watchdog for government, not campaigns.
Now we have Rep. Bill Batchelder rushing in with a legislative remedy which whether or not it could end up being a good bill, will be politically and emotionally colored by a report of investigation that read more like a Marc Dann story from the Columbus Dispatch.
Read the report for yourself. After several months, is the best that the IG could do? Did the IG investigation hold up other agencies who could have tackled the issues they know best while the Dann trail was still hot? Is this a report of investigation or a compilation of news stories? There are crumbs thrown out there in the report that left me wondering – well, did you investigate that or is it enough to say “this doesn’t look right?”
By no means is this a defense of Marc Dann. He’s a bufoon. He definitely mismanaged the office of Attorney General and there’s a lot of smoke there regarding actual lawbreaking and ethics violations. But, we already knew that from what came out before the IG’s “investigation.”
I’m no expert, this is just my opinion. But if this investigation could have been run better, more intensively and yielded more new evidence, the public would have been served. What we got was a good read. It’s obvious from the report that there are strings left to follow in the Dann case. Let’s hope the appropriate, professional investigative agencies step in and finish the job.
Ohio Newsbreak – December 26
Filed under: Gov Strickland, Iraq, Marc Dann, Ohio Economy, State of Ohio Govt, ohio politics
Strickland has cuts, reforms on agenda – Toledo Blade- Gun sales up over fear of Obama led crackdown – Dayton Daily News
- Justice had more Ohio votes than Obama – Dayton Daily News
- Retail experts predict more closings, layoffs for 2009 – The Plain Dealer
- ODJFS foster child tracking system fully online – The Plain Dealer
- Progress for a Medical Mart in Cleveland still a mystery – The Plain Dealer
- Misuse of campaign funds hard to prove – Columbus Dispatch
- Rejected ballots get sorted out – Columbus Dispatch
- Dann’s office benefited family – Columbus Dispatch
- Ohio guardsmen get Iraq call – Cincinnati Enquirer
Marc Dann – Our Own Little Slice of Blagojevich
What more can be said about Marc Dann that hasn’t already crossed someone’s lips or illuminated some pixels on a screen or stained black a piece of newsprint?
Well, they can’t call him a douche bag in the newspaper, but I’m sure someone has in the Ohio blogosphere. You gotta love the blogs – we can say how we really feel.
I heard someone on Cap Square utter “fucktard” in reference to Dann. I was going to pull that one out myself tonight to try to say something that hadn’t already been said, but someone said it – I heard ‘em.
Bad Photoshop: Dannettes or Skankettes?
Click the Picture for Full Glory
Full Text: Ohio Inspector General Report on former Atty General Marc Dann | December 21
Filed under: Marc Dann, State of Ohio Govt, ohio politics
Click Here for PDF of Dann Report Part I
Click Here for Dann Report Part 2 (PDF)
Tom Charles’ OEC Filing on Dann Appears to Provide Evidence of More Than Misusing Campaign Funds
The front page of the Dispatch today has more from the 1,000 page filing Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles provided the Ohio Elections Commission this week regarding former Attorny General Marc Dann. It appears that Dann crony and former AG manager Tony Gutierriez was laundering money from Dann’s campaign account to pay his own business’s debts.
He also appears to be “singing:”
“I’ve never seen people go through money as fast as them two in my life,” Gutierrez told the IG about Marc Dann and his wife Alyssa Lenhoff.
The Dispatch also points out that Charles used words like:
- absolutely incredible
- defies logic
- inconceivable
- difficult to fathom
to describe Dann’s handling of his campaign cash. I would provide a link to the Dispatch story, but their own link is broken as of this writing.
Act II: Marc Dann Faked Campaign Reports Says Ohio IG, Secy of State
Complaint Against Dann Filed with Ohio Elections Commission
From the Columbus Dispatch:
Former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann falsified his campaign finance records to disguise tens of thousands of dollars spent to benefit himself, his wife, children and top campaign staffers, a complaint filed today says.
Statements of receipts and expenditures that Dann’s campaign filed with the secretary of state “contain incomplete, inaccurate and false information concerning expenditures from the fund for travel, food, beverages, cell phones and other expenditures,” Inspector General Thomas P. Charles said in a sworn statement filed with the complaint before the Ohio Elections Commission.
Go to the Dispatch for the rest of the story.
Ohio News Check – Saturday – Strickland Democrats’ Radio Response
Filed under: Gov Strickland, Marc Dann, Ohio AG's Race 2008, Ohio Economy, Presidential Campaign 2008, State of Ohio Govt
Politics and Elections
- Strickland slams McCain’s economic policies – Bloomberg
- Dems radio address bashes McCain – Associated Press
- Ballots with missing check marks to be counted – The Plain Dealer
- Ohio early voting survives court challenge – Associated Press
- Analysis says Ohio casino figures vague – Associated Press
- State Analysis says Issue 6 language vague – Columbus Dispatch
- Hamburgers, soap can offer political lessons – Associated Press
- Op-Ed, Joe Frolik: GOP’s downs and ups – The Plain Dealer
- Cordray has cash lead in AG’s race – Columbus Dispatch
- Marc Dann: Threats forced use of campaign cash – Columbus Dispatch
- Mediation in AG Harassment case loses steam – Columbus Dispatch
Other News
- Ohio minimum wage to rise in 2009 – Toledo Blade
- Regional indicators point to slow Cleveland recovery – The Plain Dealer
Ohio News Update – Lots of Work for Jennifer Brunner, Marc Dann still paying piper for being unethical, More on State budget cuts, Obama and Ohio
Filed under: Barack Obama, Environment, Marc Dann, Ohio Economy, Presidential Campaign 2008, State of Ohio Govt
Brunner Makes Most News
- Republicans reject Brunner’s proposal on disputed absentee ballots – Cleveland Plain Dealer
- Ohio GOP sues to block early voting – Toledo Blade
- Republicans file suit against Ohio Secy State – Dayton Daily News
- Brunner faces GOP suit; payday lending issues – Columbus Dispatch
- GOP Chief, Brunner clash over ballots – Columbus Dispatch
- Brunner may toss signatures on payday lending ballot issue – Columbus Dispatch
- State to go after former legislator – Columbus Dispatch
- Dann told to payback campaign for funds used on home – Cleveland Plain Dealer
- Dann must pay campaign $40k – Columbus Dispatch
- Ash borer adds Licking County to its domain – Columbus Dispatch
- Editorial: Needless Nitpicking – Columbus Dispatch
- Federal housing program causes tension in SW Ohio – Dayton Daily News
- Local programs will feel state cuts – Dayton Daily News
- Obama’s economic focus credited with lead in Ohio poll – Dayton Daily News
- Officials monitor Scioto River for parasite – Canton Repository
- Op-Ed, David Skolnick: Reach out and touch a political spinner – Youngstown Vindicator
Sunday Papers – Illegal Immigration, Sick Days, Ohio RNC delegates, Dispatch begins series on Illegal Immigration, Ohio AG race, Kilroy – Stivers, Tubbs Jones’ Successor
Filed under: Barack Obama, Gov Strickland, John McCain, Marc Dann, Ohio AG's Race 2008, Ohio Economy, Paid Sick Days, Presidential Campaign 2008, State of Ohio Govt, U.S. Congress
Ohio News
- Backlash: Illegal Immigrants in the Heartland – Columbus Dispatch
- Foreign Fallout – Columbus Dispatch
- Latinos flee Oklahoma – Columbus Dispatch
- Cracking Down: Proposed Legislation – Columbus Dispatch
- Kilroy, Stivers trade potshots – Columbus Dispatch
- Strickland the big winner in Sick Days issue – Columbus Dispatch
- Op-Ed, Jonathan Riskind: Ohio delegates zealous over Palin – Columbus Dispatch
- Op-Ed, Joe Hallett: Obama, Palin Dynamic Makes for Special Election – Columbus Dispatch
- 3 Ohio resignations add to spate of GOP seats at risk – Columbus Dispatch
- Well done Strickland, Fisher – Columbus Dispatch
- CAT fight – Columbus Dispatch
- Choosing Tubbs Jones successor reveals dissension in ranks – Cleveland Plain Dealer
- Op-Ed, Thomas Suddes: Good sense in Ohio is back from sick leave – Cleveland Plain Dealer
- Ohio AG race preview – Dayton Daily News
Wednesday Late Nite News – Strickland Releases Economic Plan, Tommi Dorris, Parole Board, GOP, Barack Obama, Tave Zelman, Karl Rove
Filed under: Gov Strickland, Marc Dann, Ohio Economy, Presidential Campaign 2008, Republican National Convention, State of Ohio Govt, U.S. Congress
Ohio News
- Strickland Unveils Economic Development Plan – Cleveland Plain Dealer
- Strickland Releases Economic Plan – Associated Press
- Governor’s Office Unveils Plan to Give Ohio Economic Shot in the Arm – Dayton Business Journal
- Lofty Goals for Governor’s Economic Plan – Columbus Dispatch
- Obama Has Democratic Surrogates in Ohio – Associated Press
- Parole Board Rejects Prisoner’s Too-Fat-to-Die Argument – Youngstown Vindicator
- Outgoing State Schools Chief will Work for Public Broadcasting – Columbus Dispatch
- GOP Back on Track – Columbus Dispatch
- Democrat blames Dann Furor on Exit From Race – Columbus Dispatch
- Rove Reminds Ohio It’s Still Key – Columbus Dispatch
- 3 Subtly Make Case for 2010 Governor’s Race – Columbus Dispatch
Ohio News Update – Austria Plagiarizes, Boehner on Palin, OH Guard to LA, Grocery Tax No More, Dispatch RNC Coverage, Payday Lenders, Cordray
Filed under: Marc Dann, Ohio Economy, Presidential Campaign 2008, Republican National Convention, State of Ohio Govt
Austria accused of plagiarism in local paper – Dayton Daily News
Boehner: Palin Critics Elitist – Politico
Ohio Guard Sending 1,500 Troops to LA – Columbus Dispatch
Appeals Court throws out CAT tax for grocers – Dayton Daily News
Court Voids State Grocery Tax – Columbus Dispatch
Party is muted but Palin news isn’t – Columbus Dispatch
Cordray, Dann find little in common – Columbus Dispatch
Minnesotan fires up Ohio delegates – Columbus Dispatch
Corporate cruise able to double as storm fundraiser – Columbus Dispatch
Editorial: Lose it or pay – Columbus Dispatch
Ohio fills abandoned mines to avoid collapses – Cleveland Plain Dealer
Payday lending issue step closer to ballot – Dayton Daily News
Saturday Clips — Gustav, Palin, Tubbs Jones, Georgia and Russia, Israel and Iran
Filed under: Barack Obama, Iran, Joe Biden, Marc Dann, Presidential Campaign 2008, Russian/Georgian Conflict, Sarah Palin
Gustav
- Gustav, more dangerous, will threaten West Bank – The Times Picayune
- Latest Gustave Public Advisory – National Hurricane Center, NWS
- Nagin urges residents, tourists to go – The Times Picayune
- Four potential scenarios for Gustav – Houston Chronicle
- McCain, Palin, Convention monitor storm — Washington Post
Ohio News
- Obama, Biden breakfast in Boardman – Youngstown Vindicator
- Mourners pay respects to Tubbs Jones – Associated Press
- Viewing brings peace, tears to Tubbs Jones fans
-- Columbus Dispatch - Politicians, friends pay respects to Tubbs Jones – Cleveland Plain Dealer
- AG Rogers fires Dann’s friend – Columbus Dispatch
- A ‘game changer’ – Columbus Dispatch
- Palin could draw fundie women
–
Columbus Dispatch - McCain’s VP pick wows local crowds – Dayton Daily News
National/International
- Report: Israel will not allow nuclear Iran – Jerusalem Post
- Kremlin says South Ossetia to become part of Russia – The Times of London
- Campaigns shift as pick changes race — New York Times
- Drug violence alters the flow of life in Mexico — New York Times
- Georgia, Russia cut diplomatic ties — New York Times
- Sarah Heath Palin: An outsider who charms — New York Times
