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| Ohio will get $54.9M from Noe's rare coins With the sell-off of its infamous rare-coin fund nearing its conclusion, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation is estimating that the divestment will net as much as $54.9 million. After more than three years of liquidation, the agency is set to recoup more than the $50 million the state agency fronted former Toledo-area rare-coin dealer Tom Noe to manage the venture beginning in 1998. But the surplus deviates vastly from the $14 million or more in profit the bureau could have earned if it invested the money conservatively in money markets, government bills, or index funds, according to projections by the BWC's investment department. Noe, the onetime GOP insider and fund-raiser for President Bush who was at the center of the "Coingate" scandal, was sentenced to 18 years in state prison after a Lucas County jury convicted him in 2006 on charges that he stole millions of dollars from the coin fund. Bill Brandt, who was hired by the state to spearhead the state's liquidation efforts, said the fact that the coin fund will return its principal doesn't let Noe off the hook. "I've heard people say, 'Well, you've returned all the principal, so maybe Noe wasn't guilty,'•" said Mr. Brandt, the CEO of Chicago-based Development Specialists Inc, a restructuring firm. "Well, there's $13 million to $18 million worth of interest missing here. "This was used as a personal piggy bank. People have blinders on." He added, "Getting the principal back is a watershed event because it normally does not happen. We've got to consider ourselves measurably lucky that we did that." Noe is appealing his conviction and sentence, contending he did not receive a fair trial because of the media attention surrounding his case. Noe's attorney, John Mitchell, did not return a message yesterday seeking comment. After Blade reports in April, 2005, raised questions about Noe's handling of the rare-coin fund and missing state-owned valuables, a state and federal task began investigating BWC's investment department. During the course of the investigation, the bureau was overhauled, the state's political leadership changed from Republican to Democrat, and 19 money managers and government officials were convicted of crimes, including former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft on ethics charges. Bureau administrator Marsha Ryan is expected to update the BWC's board of directors on the efforts to sell off the assets of the coin fund at a meeting today. "The efforts to recover these assets on behalf of Ohio's employers and injured workers should be recognized as an important accomplishment on the road to recovery for the BWC," Ms. Ryan said in a statement. "The work of the investigators, lawyers, and liquidators who made this happen deserve recognition for their diligence and hard work over the last three years. "Today, the BWC has built upon these recovery efforts and has begun a comprehensive, customer-focused reform to fundamentally improve Ohio's workers' compensation system." The bureau is projecting net proceeds of $53.5 million to $54.9 million from the coin funds after deducting at least $6.2 million in expenses. The expenses so far consist of $1.2 millions in settlements and $4.6 million in professional services, including $2.4 million for Development Specialists Inc. To recoup the money, liquidators in June, 2005, began selling off collections of coins and other rare collectibles, and negotiating settlements to lawsuits. The bureau recently sold stock in Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, a Florida-based coin grading company, for $7.6 million. About $50,000 worth of coins remain to be auctioned. Noe, who owned Vintage Coins & Collectibles in Maumee, is serving a 27-month sentence in a central Florida federal prison for laundering contributions to President Bush's re-election campaign. His state prison sentence stemming from the rare-coin scandal is slated to begin next year. Contact Steve Eder at: seder@theblade.com or 419-304-1680 |
| Obama addresses huge, adoring crowd in Berlin BERLIN - Cheered by an enormous international crowd, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Thursday summoned Europeans and Americans together to "defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it" as surely as they conquered communism a generation ago. Obama said he was speaking as a citizen, not as a president, but the evening was awash in politics as the first-term U.S. senator sought to burnish his international credentials for the fall campaign at home. His remarks before a crowd estimated at more than 200,000 inevitably invited comparison to historic speeches in the same city by Presidents Kennedy and Reagan. Now a presidential candidate himself, Obama borrowed rhetoric from his own appeals to campaign audiences this year in the likes of Berlin, N.H., as he spoke in one of the great cities of Europe. "People of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment. This is our time," he declared. "The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand," Obama said, speaking not far from where the Berlin Wall once divided the city. "The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christians and Muslims and Jews cannot stand," he said. Obama's speech was the centerpiece of a fast-paced tour through Europe designed to reassure skeptical voters in the U.S. about his ability to lead the country and take a frayed cross-Atlantic alliance in a new direction after eight years of the Bush administration. Republicans chafed at the media attention Obama's campaign-season trip has drawn. Presidential rival John McCain went to a German restaurant in swing-state Ohio, and said he'd like to deliver a speech in Germany, but as president not candidate. In Die Welt, the German publication, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., wrote scathingly of the Democratic candidate and his views on Iraq and the rest of the world: "No one knows which Obama will show. Will it be the ideological, left-wing Democratic primary candidate who vowed to 'end' the war rather than win it, or the Democratic nominee who dismisses the progressing coalition victory as a 'distraction'? Will it be the American populist who has told supporters in the United States that he will demand more from our allies in Europe and get it, or the liberal internationalist hell-bent on being liked in Europe's salons?" Obama's campaign used the speech to raise money later Thursday, sending out an e-mail appeal with links to video of Obama's speech and to the campaign donation website. "In a city where a wall once divided the free from the oppressed, he talked about tearing down the walls that divide all peoples so we can address our common problems the threats of terrorism and nuclear weapons, global warming and genocide, AIDS and poverty," campaign manager David Plouffe wrote. Obama met earlier in the day with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for a discussion that ranged across the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, climate change, energy issues and more. Knots of bystanders waited along Obama's motorcade route for him to pass. One man yelled out in English, "Yes, we can," the senator's campaign refrain, when he emerged from his car to enter his hotel. For his speech, Obama drew loud applause as he strode confidently across a large podium erected at the base of the Victory Column in Tiergarten Park in the heart of Berlin. The crowd spilled away from the Column for blocks. Police spokesman Bernhard Schodrowski said there were more than 200,000 people, nearly three times the 75,000 Obama drew in Oregon this spring in his largest previous audience. He drew loud applause when he talked of a world without nuclear weapons and again when he called for steps to counter climate change. Obama mentioned Iraq, a war he has opposed from the start, only in passing. But in discussing Afghanistan, he said, "no one welcomes war. ... But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO's first mission beyond Europe's borders is a success." He referred repeatedly to the Berlin airlift, launched by the Allies 60 years ago when the Russians sought to isolate the Western part of the city. If they had succeeded, he said, communism would have marched across Europe. "Where the last war had ended, another World War could have easily begun," the presidential candidate said. Now, he said, the enemy is different but the need for an alliance is the same as the world stares down terrorism and the extremism that supports it. "This threat is real and we cannot shrink from our responsibility to combat it," he said. He said Europeans sometimes view America as "part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right. ..." And in America, "there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe's role in our security and our future." He said both views miss the truth, "that Europeans today are bearing new burdens and taking more responsibility in critical parts of the world; and that just as American bases built in the last century still help to defend the security of this continent, so does our country still sacrifice greatly for freedom around the globe." In any event, he said, there will always be differences. "But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden. In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more, not less." |
| 2 ex-union officers face federal charges Two former top officers for Laborers' Local 500 who lost their jobs after it was revealed they used thousands of union dollars to pay for personal meals and strip-club visits are now facing federal criminal charges. Steven Thomas, 40, of Toledo, was charged with two counts of labor union embezzlement. Thomas Leonard, 45, of Maumee, was charged with one count of labor union embezzlement. Indictments against both men were filed in U.S. District Court in Toledo late Wednesday. The federal charges follow a lengthy Department of Labor investigation and occur nearly two years after allegations of embezzlement emerged against the two men. In 2006, the parent organization of Local 500, Laborers International Union of North America, filed disciplinary charges against the men, who both were removed from office. According to the indictment, Mr. Thomas, who was the construction union's business manager, used a Local 500 credit card to charge visits to two strip clubs - Scarlett's Gentlemen's Club in Toledo and Kahoots Gentlemen's Club in Columbus. Specifically, the indictment alleges that Mr. Thomas used the credit card to accrue $17,500 in charges at the clubs between December, 2003, and December, 2004. Additionally, Mr. Thomas is accused of receiving cash advances for travel between September, 2001, and October, 2005, that equaled about $11,000, but "for which he did not provide receipts or for which he did not incur legitimate union expense." Attorney Sheldon Wittenberg, who is listed as Mr. Thomas' attorney, could not be reached for comment. Mr. Leonard's attorney, Jerry Phillips, confirmed yesterday that his client had been charged in the case. Mr. Leonard, who was the union's recording secretary, was charged with using Local 500 credit cards to charge about $4,386 in "unauthorized personal expenditures." "He intends to meet with the authorities to discuss the case with hopes of resolving it," Mr. Phillips said. No court dates were set as of yesterday. The statutory maximum sentence for each charge is $10,000 in fines and up to five years in prison. The alleged thefts were occurring over a period of months when the union's membership dwindled, budget deficits ate up the union's shrinking assets, and Local 500 canceled $15 Thanksgiving and Christmas gifts to retirees. Local 500 supplies workers for construction projects such as roads, hospitals, and schools. Since the discovery of the allegedly misspent funds, changes have been made that now require Local 500 business agents to complete daily-activity reports of to whom they talk and where they go. Additionally, credit-card usage is monitored. Phil Copeland, who is the union's business manager and Mr. Thomas' cousin, said yesterday that he was not aware that federal indictments had been filed. He declined to comment on the charges, saying he intended to check with the leadership of the international union. Contact Erica Blake at: eblake@theblade.com or 419-213-2134. |
| McCain campaigns in chic Ohio 'village' COLUMBUS - While the Democrat was away, the Republican came to play in battleground Ohio yesterday. Barack Obama was greeted by hordes of cheering Germans in Berlin, so John McCain made a point of meeting with area business owners over a lunch of bratwurst at the Schmidt Sausage Haus on the cobblestone streets of Columbus' trendy German Village. "I'd love to give a speech in Germany, a political speech, a speech that maybe the German people would be interested in, but I'd much prefer to do it as president of the United States, rather than as a candidate for the office of the presidency," Mr. McCain said. The Arizona senator then pushed his health-care proposals at champion cyclist Lance Armstrong's second national Livestrong Summit on the Ohio State University campus, a forum of 1,000 cancer survivors and researchers that his Democratic opponent had to miss because of his tour of the Middle East and Europe. The Lance Armstrong Foundation selected Ohio for its summit in part because of the state's possible kingmaker role again this year as it was in 2004. "I sincerely hope that the next president is here today," Mr. McCain said. "My opponent, of course, is traveling in Europe, and tomorrow his tour takes him to France. In a scene that Lance would recognize, a throng of adoring fans awaits Senator Obama in Paris - and that's just the American press.'' Democrats were quick to point out that Mr. McCain recently visited Mexico and Colombia, voicing support for free-trade agreements that some workers in Ohio have blamed for the loss of their jobs. Mr. Armstrong and Mr. McCain are both cancer survivors - testicular and skin cancer, respectively. Mr. McCain had potentially fatal melanoma removed from his left cheek in August, 2000, shortly after losing the Republican presidential nomination to George W. Bush. "We are a country at war. We're here for a different war,'' Mr. Armstrong said. "There are a lot of warriors here, a lot of soldiers, a lot of fighters. ... The reality of this war and our situation is this year, 1.4 million will have this war walk up to the doorstep and say, 'You have cancer.' Five hundred and sixty thousand Americans will lose this war.'' Mr. Armstrong said the first step in any war is to pick a leader. He noted, however, that he has not endorsed a candidate. Talking to reporters after the summit, Mr. McCain said he was disappointed that Mr. Obama already had come to his conclusions about Iraq before leaving the United States on his current trip. "He simply did not understand that the surge has succeeded," he said. "No rational person who saw Iraq two years ago can believe the surge didn't work." An estimated 47 million Americans lack health coverage. While Mr. Obama pushes a quasipublic version of universal health care coverage for all consumers, Mr. McCain has embraced the private insurance market. He has proposed tax credits of $2,500 per individual and $5,000 per family to help offset the cost. Mr. McCain won applause when he called for streamlining the clinical trial process to bring promising treatments to patients sooner. An ex-smoker, he lashed out at the way states spend tobacco settlement money fueled by cigarette taxes. "A lot of tax money is going to states, and the states were supposed to use it for anti-tobacco treatment for tobacco-related illness and advertising," he said. "I'm sorry to stand before you and say not one state is using that tobacco money for that purpose. It's disgraceful.'' He said he does not support higher cigarette taxes to discourage smoking. "I have to be sure that money would be put in the right place,'' he said. "To tell you the truth, I'm not confident that Congress would do that. By the way, I'm not for raising anybody's taxes.'' He said he would increase funding for cancer research and treatment, but he wouldn't commit himself to a specific number. "I know how to spend money," he said. "I'm not going to lay that debt on the next generation of Americans." He does support regulation of tobacco products by the Federal Food and Drug Administration. Steve Haptonstahl, an Episcopal minister from Minnesota and Cleveland, protested Mr. McCain's visit outside the Mershon Auditorium on campus. His wife suffers from bipolar disorder, and he continues to work despite being eligible to retire in order to keep her covered under his church's insurance. He doesn't trust Mr. McCain's proposal to create state and federally funded plans to insure those with pre-existing conditions. "Insurance companies cherry-pick,'' he said. "We are not their favorite people. Tommi needs monthly visits with one professional or another, and it's not cheap. It would probably cost us $30,000 a year, and we don't have it.'' Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com or 614-221-0496. |
| Port to finish Hartung probe soon; chairman calls city inquiry 'redundant' The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority's investigation of lobbying expenses involving President James Hartung should be completed within a week, the chairman of the agency's board of directors said yesterday after a 90-minute closed-door meeting with attorneys conducting the inquiry. In the meantime, Chairman William Carroll said, Mr. Hartung remains the port authority's president. He also described a separate investigation that the city of Toledo has launched into the matter as "redundant" and called the Finkbeiner administration's recent request for port authority records "onerous." Mr. Carroll said a special port board meeting will be held in a week to discuss the port's inquiry and "review the findings." He said he expects the investigation "will conclude at that point." Mr. Hartung was not present at the port board's executive-session discussion with two attorneys from the Toledo law firm of Spengler Nathanson. On July 11, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner accused the port president of steering lobbying funds to Kathy Teigland, a former aide to U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine (R., Ohio) who had been hired as a lobbyist for a consortium of Lucas County governments, colleges, and economic development agencies. Mr. Finkbeiner alleged that Mr. Hartung, who is married, was having an affair with Ms. Teigland at the time the port authority recommended her lobbying firm to the Northwest Ohio Legislative Consortium. He said he learned of the alleged affair from "recognized persons in our community." The mayor then demanded an "independent investigation" of Mr. Hartung's conduct and other problems at the port authority. After Mr. Carroll declared that bringing Spengler Nathanson in to fill the investigative role was sufficient, the Finkbeiner administration announced it would conduct its own inquiry. The city "must conduct its own fact-gathering of port activities to ensure that the truth is not hidden, avoided, distorted or clouded," Adam Loukx, the city's acting law director, said in a written statement early this week. The city and the port authority each have filed public-records requests from the other. City officials said yesterday afternoon they had yet to receive anything in response to their three-page, 16-item list of documents. Mr. Carroll said Tuesday the city's request was accompanied by a small number of city records in response to his public-records request, made last Friday. He challenged the mayor's assertion that Spengler Nathanson, which has handled the port authority's outside legal work for years, is insufficiently independent to do a thorough job. "We wouldn't conduct [the investigation] if it weren't independent, and Spengler Nathanson wouldn't do it if it weren't independent," Mr. Carroll said. As to when the port authority might produce all of the records the city requested, he said, "I have no time estimate. There's only so many hours in the day and only so many people that we have." Mr. Finkbeiner yesterday said the port authority would not be allowed to "get away with" investigating itself. "The bottom line is simple," the mayor said. "The port authority is a public organization, just like the city of Toledo. They should have no right to investigate themselves." He said the agency needs to be investigated by someone "not on their payroll," like Spengler Nathanson. A previous investigation conducted by the port authority's law firm was "buried" and not released to the public, the mayor said. He declined to specify who that investigation centered on. The mayor said the seriousness of the current allegations require an independent investigation, with no prior connection to the port and the results must be available to the public. In his statement released Tuesday, Mr. Loukx said, "The current problems at the port authority are rooted in part in an earlier investigation of allegations of staff misconduct, which the port chose to investigate internally, using its longtime counsel." In that case, he was referring to the situation involving James Mettler, who resigned in January as the port authority's vice president for new project development after receiving a $40,000 buyout and six months' health-insurance coverage. "That investigation was conducted in secret and its results were kept secret. It's no surprise, then, that the investigation served only to stir up more allegations of misconduct and cover-up," Mr. Loukx wrote. The city wants documents from up to five years ago regarding Poggemeyer Design Group's work associated with the Marine Passenger Terminal in East Toledo. It also requested documents regarding work done by Toledo-based CommunicA Inc., on a 2004 port levy, and any documents related to funding that levy. The mayor did not say yesterday what he intended to do with the results of the city's inquiry. Staff writer Ignazio Messina contributed to this report. Contact David Patch at: dpatch@theblade.com or 419-724-6094. |
| Kirk - Speed limits |
| Don't make colleagues scapegoats As a current eighth-grade teacher in the Toledo Catholic Diocese, I feel highly insulted by the Rev. John Extejt, treasurer for the new Knight Academy. His insult is one of a few problems I have with this charter school. Father Extejt claims that incoming freshman boys are being "underserved in the Toledo community," and that many incoming freshmen have an "inability to meet academic requirements." I take this as a slap in the face to all junior high teachers in the diocese. These statements are also in direct contradiction to a letter written by the president of St. Francis de Sales High School, Father Olszewski, to all Catholic grade schools in the diocese shortly after St. John's Jesuit opened its junior high academy. In this letter, Father Olszewski indicated that St. Francis had no intention of opening an academy of its own. He also made clear his support for the area Catholic grade schools, indicating how well prepared the incoming freshmen were at St. Francis. It seems to me that Father Olszewski and Father Extejt need to get on the same page. I also find it very hypocritical of St. Francis to open an academy where religion cannot be taught. Apparently, St. Francis does not feel that religious and spiritual formation are areas of importance for a Catholic junior high academy. If St. Francis still wants the support and cooperation of the Catholic grade schools in promoting the school, then I hope they have the fortitude to be honest about their intentions in opening up this junior high academy. If they are doing this to help increase their enrollment at the high school, then say it. Let's not make their colleagues in the grade schools the scapegoats. Ben Dumas Dorr Street Maybe stranglehold by GOP not so bad One of the glaring omissions in The Blade's July 12 editorial on the conviction of Mark Lay was that he was a big Democratic supporter. Every article that mentions Tom Noe states that he was a Republican supporter. The 2006 Democratic "sweep," as The Blade likes to call it, already has resulted in the Marc Dann scandal. How many more chickens are coming home to roost? Perhaps the Republican "stranglehold" was not all bad. Tom McGrail Perrysburg Economy evolved beyond baseballs The July 7 letter in the Readers' Forum lamenting the Chinese origin of a baseball reaches its conclusion by overlooking basic economic principles. Baseballs are now made in China rather than America because our economy has evolved. Our comparative advantage is no longer in the simple manufacturing of products such as baseballs, but in much more complex goods and services. Therefore, we are wise to leave the production of simple goods to countries that can do it cheaply, as that allows us to focus on our areas of advantage and use our money more efficiently. An American economy that still produces baseballs would be one of the scariest realities of all because it is a reality that does not allow for change and progress. Even something as simple as producing a baseball can be more than skin deep. James Q. Nesbitt Research and Public Policy Intern Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions Columbus Obama acts like he's president already I think it's interesting that the Rev. Jesse Jackson thinks Sen. Barack Obama is talking down his nose at black people. I've had the impression that he is talking down his nose at all of us - black, white, etc. He has been and is acting as if he is the president, rather than just running for the office. With Jesse Jackson, we pretty much know what we are getting, but with Senator Obama, I don't think anybody really knows. Seems to me that is the real problem: What does this guy represent? With virtually no experience for him to draw on or for us to learn from, and the media taking a mute stance, are we buying a pig in the poke if Senator Obama is elected? We had better be wary. James Lee Findlay Toledo blooming as part of competition Art Ode and I just returned from Toledo having spent three days evaluating your city for the America in Bloom competition. What a city. Many thanks to each of you who shared so generously. We send our sincere gratitude to Mayor Carty Finkbeiner and his staff, to the America in Bloom Committee, and to the many residents who showed us the innovative and creative things that Toledo is doing to "plant pride" throughout the city. We look forward to seeing many of you in October at the educational symposium and awards program that is being held this year in Columbus. And we hope you will continue your participation in the America in Bloom program as a valuable community building tool. Katy Moss Warner City judge, America in Bloom President Emeritus, American Horticultural Society Garrison, N.Y. Maybe mayor eyeing a port authority job It was revealing to read The Blade's July 14 story about the new coking plant being planned in Oregon. Particularly interesting were comments from the port authority's development director, Matt Sapara, who said the project's sponsors were unhappy with some "very uncomfortable and heated discussions" from Mayor Carty Finkbeiner about the progress of the project. I imagine that is exactly what the president of the port authority, James Hartung, plans to have with Mayor Finkbeiner after being publicly accused of having an extramarital affair with a local lobbyist. Could it be that the mayor has been getting wind of the very unlikelihood of his being reelected at the end of his current term and is eyeing Mr. Hartung's job as a way of staying on the public dole? Mike McMahon Robinwood Avenue Free thermostat has strings attached I recently received a letter from Toledo Edison offering what seemed like a sweetheart deal: a $250 programmable thermostat free, including installation. Upon reading further, I found that the string attached to this great offer was the ability of Edison to remotely control the thermostat. What if I like it at 68 degrees and Edison decides it will be 65, or they could decide it should be 72 and I have to pay for more energy than I want to? I hope consumers think long and hard before signing up for this program. If you want a programmable thermostat one can be had for as little as $30 to $40. I want to keep control over as much of my life as possible. The lawmakers of this land keep chipping away at my freedoms to decide for myself on too many things already. I certainly don't want to give a corporation that kind of control. Linda Bailiff Arletta Street Mich. right to deny megafarm a permit For the first time, Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality did the right thing by denying a concentrated animal feeding operation permit to Bustorf dairy. They now are drawing the venomous assault of the CAFO promoters. After almost a decade, Michigan is seeing the resolve of this agency to confront this virtually unregulated industry. The CAFO promoters, the Michigan Farm Bureau, and Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development desperately want to make it appear that asking a massive polluting industry like CAFOs to follow the law is an assault on agriculture as opposed to what it really is: bringing an out-of-control industry under the same rules as every other industry. Hopefully, Ohio regulators will grow their own backbone in the near future. Teri Reinhart Perry Township This Bud's for Hu? John and Cindy McCain are living the Republican dream, realizing a big profit from the selling of another American icon to a foreign company. How long before you read on the Budweiser label: Brewed in China? Russ Dobes South Detroit Avenue |
| Against all odds WITH three Democrats comprising the Lucas County Board of Commissioners, it wouldn't be surprising if those officeholders voted similarly, if not together, on many occasions. But what are the chances that two commissioners would vote differently on only one vote out of more than 6,200 cast over the past three years? That's the odds-defying record compiled by commissioners Pete Gerken and Tina Skeldon Wozniak since 2005. We agree with Ben Konop, their Democratic colleague, that this extraordinary and altogether unbelievable demonstration of unanimity on the part of Mr. Gerken and Ms. Wozniak is a sign that something odd is going on at Government Center, and it isn't good. Either one commissioner is blindly following the other on virtually every issue that comes before the board, or the two are somehow aligning their votes in advance on policy issues so there is no disagreement. The first explanation, if true, would be merely shameful; the second would be criminal. Ohio's "Sunshine Law," which requires open meetings, is very specific. Public officials are obligated to deliberate on issues in public before they vote on them. Backstage coordination isn't permitted. If Mr. Gerken and Ms. Wozniak are conferring with each other in advance, they're breaking the law. Ditto if they are arranging their votes behind the scenes through some intermediary, such as a county staff member. They deny any collusion is taking place. Beyond the strictures of state law, there's another principle involved. The public wants its elected officials, regardless of political affiliation, to be strong, independent, free-thinking individuals, not mere rubber-stamp clones of each other who go along to get along. Unfortunately, the political representation on public bodies in Lucas County has been largely one-sided - read Democratic - for many decades. The resulting uniformity of views has sapped the vitality from discussion on many public issues, not just the effectiveness of the Lucas County Improvement Corporation, on which Mr. Konop differs from Mr. Gerken and Ms. Wozniak. The best antidote to a stultifying status quo, of course, is to shake things up. And the next chance for voters to do that will be on Nov. 4, when both Mr. Gerken and Ms. Wozniak stand for re-election. Mr. Gerken is unopposed but Ms. Wozniak's Republican opponent will be Jan Scotland, a former member of Toledo City Council. Mr. Scotland, an insurance agent, has said he would bring a business perspective to the board of commissioners, which wouldn't hurt. And, if he cares to take a close look at the all-too-cozy voting records of Ms. Wozniak and Mr. Gerken, it could be the best issue he's got. |
| Reform Michigan
later IT IS INCREASINGLY clear that Michigan's state constitution needs major overhauling, but the misleading and badly flawed "Reform Michigan Government Now" amendment headed for the Nov. 4 ballot is no way to do it. Though the current constitution was widely praised as a model for modern-era government when it was adopted in 1963, it has suffered in recent years for two major reasons. One is that the constitution has become too easy to amend. All you need is a few hundred thousand signatures to get an amendment on a statewide ballot, and a public relations campaign to sway the voters. Getting that many signatures is hard, unless you have the financial backing of a major interest group that can pay canvassers to collect them. The framers never imagined that. Nor did they foresee that one of those bought-and-paid amendments would establish Michigan's second great problem: Term limits have sharply reduced the competency and effectiveness of the legislators. Far worse than those in Ohio, Michigan's restrictions ban competent legislators from the House or Senate for life, after they have served six or eight years and have gotten some experience. So there was great interest when a shadowy group called "Reform Michigan Government Now" submitted far more than enough signatures to get a laundry list of reforms on the ballot, disguised as a single amendment. Granted, some parts make sense, such as making redistricting nonpartisan. Some are unwise, such as reducing judicial salaries. And one is improper beyond belief; it would remove two of the five Republican judges from the state Supreme Court. That provision helped betray that the entire "Reform Now" amendment as a stealth production of the Michigan Democratic Party. Some, in fact, think the issue is mainly the Democrats' attempt to goad the Supreme Court into ruling it off the ballot, angering voters into defeating Republican Chief Justice Clifford Taylor at the polls this fall. (That may be a little hard, since Democrats still haven't been able to come up with a candidate to go against him.) Adopting this amendment would complete the process of making the automobile state an anarchic joke. Fortunately, there is a solution. Two years from now, Michigan voters automatically will be asked if they want to call a convention for the purpose of writing a new constitution. That's the correct way to overhaul a document and a system that has seen better days. Increasingly, Michigan leaders, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm, recognize that a new constitution is needed. Two years is not too long to wait to do it the proper way. |
| OSU picked to win Big Ten ... again CHICAGO - Ohio State coach Jim Tressel addressed the national media here yesterday, wearing his familiar gray suit, and the familiar scarlet-colored necktie. And Tressel found himself sitting in a very familiar position and facing a lot of familiar questions. As the coaches and top players from the Big Ten Conference gathered at a downtown hotel for their annual preseason meetings, Tressel and his Buckeyes were chosen by the media as the favorites to win the Big Ten Conference - for what would be a fourth straight championship. So as he prepares for his eighth season directing the program at Ohio State, Tressel was quizzed about the pressure of being at the top, the stress of dealing with continual sky-high expectations, and the difficulty of being the team everyone wants to beat. "At Ohio State, with our history and our tradition, we've been living with the great expectations for a long time," Tressel said. "Amongst the Ohio State faithful, we're expected to win the conference every year. Our guys know that, and everyone who comes to Ohio State should know that." Wisconsin was picked second, with Illinois named third in the poll of the media covering the Big Ten. The conference only releases the top three teams in its poll. "I think we're very capable of being a good football team," Tressel said, "but there are a lot of very good teams in the Big Ten Conference. I think the Big Ten in 2008 is going to be stronger than it was in 2007 or 2006, based on the number of returning players. Tressel has a boatload of those returning players - 40 players on the roster who are in either their fourth or fifth year in the program, with 20 starters coming back. Two of those returning starters gave the Buckeyes a clean sweep of the Big Ten's pre-season individual honors. Ohio State senior linebacker James Laurinaitis was named the Big Ten's preseason defensive player of the year for the second straight time, while junior tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells was chosen as the preseason offensive player of the year. Wells rushed for 1,605 yards and 15 touchdowns last season and was named All-Big Ten first team. He carried the ball 39 times for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Ohio State's season-ending win over Michigan. Laurinaitis was a consensus All-American in 2007, won the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker, and was the Big Ten defensive player of the year. He led the Buckeyes with 121 tackles last season and added two interceptions and five sacks. Laurinaitis is the second Ohio State linebacker in the past five years to get back-to-back honors as the Big Ten's preseason player of the year on defense. A.J. Hawk did it in 2004 and 2005. Laurinaitis said his predecessors, like Hawk, and the huge collection of their awards that are on display at the Ohio State football facility, help him keep it in perspective. "It's really an honor, and I think something like that is in a lot of ways due to the great players I have around me and the great tradition at Ohio State," Laurinaitis said. "All you have to do is walk down the halls of the Woody Hayes Center to be humbled." Tressel said the Buckeyes, who went 11-2 last year and 7-1 in the Big Ten, know the polls and honors have little value if they are not able to put together another championship season. "What I think doesn't matter, and what you think doesn't matter - it's the games that matter," Tressel said. He also pointed out that the Big Ten's preseason favorites have not always fared as well as expected. "It hasn't been very accurate in the past," Tressel said. "It is really kind of irrelevant. The preseason polls have not always been accurate, and that might be a good motivation for us." Last year the media picked Michigan to win the league, with Wisconsin second and the Buckeyes third. Ohio State won the Big Ten title, with the Wolverines sharing second place with Illinois, and Wisconsin finishing fourth. In 2006, Ohio State won the league as predicted and Michigan shared second, where it was picked, but Iowa, No. 3 in the preseason poll, finished tied for eighth at 2-6. In 2005, Michigan was picked to win the Big Ten, but finished tied for third. Ohio State and Penn State shared the championship that year, despite the fact the Buckeyes were picked second and Penn State was not in the top three in the preseason poll. Contact Matt Markey at: mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6510. |
| Rodriguez hopes settlement puts controversy behind him CHICAGO - Rich Rodriguez said yesterday he reached a $4 million settlement with West Virginia earlier this month because "everybody wanted to get it done before the season" starts. Rodriguez, now the football coach at Michigan, was being sued by his former employer over a disputed $4 million buyout clause in his contract there. He discussed his settlement for the first time publicly at yesterday's Big Ten media conference at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The agreement - which calls for Rodriguez to pay West Virginia $1.5 million in three installments beginning in 2010 and UM to pay $2.5 million by the end of this month - was approved by West Virginia's board of governors July 9. At the time, UM athletic director Bill Martin said the agreement put the lengthy, bitter, legal fight between Rodriguez and his former employer in the past. As expected, the whole mess was again front and center for Rodriguez yesterday. And, as expected, he fielded the questions about the settlement with an eye toward putting the matter behind him. "There are a lot of things I would like to talk about, but I want to move on," Rodriguez said. "That's one of the biggest reasons that everything got settled, because I think everybody wanted to move on. It's in the past. "Was I disappointed in certain things? Sure I was. Disappointed in that maybe not all the things I thought were truthful had an opportunity to come out. Things I wanted to set the record straight [on] didn't have an opportunity to come out." Rodriguez said he didn't want to be asked - or have his players asked - about a pending lawsuit before and after games and it was in UM's "best interest" for him to settle. During the legal dispute, which began about two weeks after he agreed to leave West Virginia and join the Wolverines in December, accusations flew from all angles. It wasn't pretty, and yesterday Rodriguez was left to answer questions about being embarrassed and his reputation. "The University of Michigan has done everything right from the first day forward," Rodriguez said. "I felt I was on the defensive a lot, unnecessarily at times. Again, that's in the past, and I don't think there's anybody that should be embarrassed about anything. "It became so public, and that was the problem. It became so public on everything. It was like I was afraid to open up the paper anywhere and see what's next and what I had to refute. There were some tough lessons learned." In addition to the lawsuit, Rodriguez also had to deal with the public relations nightmare of having a starting player transfer - to Ohio State, no less - and cite eroding family values as his reason for departure. Add the Justin Boren problem and lawsuit together, and you come up with a potentially damaged reputation for Rodriguez. "I've not changed who I am, but I never have," he said. "It just seems what was portrayed was changed. That was probably the most disappointing thing about it. I mean, what have I done wrong, image-wise? "But if my reputation is damaged, that is upsetting because I just changed jobs. I've done things just like I've done them everywhere else." Rodriguez's off-field struggles are not lost on his players. Senior cornerback Morgan Trent said it was "sad that he has to go through some of this stuff." "A lot of this he doesn't deserve," Trent said. "He had no bad intentions coming here. It's too bad because he's a good guy." Senior defensive end Tim Jamison said Rodriguez never brought his personal problems with him to practice. "The way he's handled it, I have the utmost respect for him," Jamison said. "When he comes in, it's strictly about football. I like that about him." Strictly about football. Rodriguez surely likes the sound of that. |
| Red Wings, rain douse Mud Hens ROCHESTER, N.Y. - It seemed simple enough. With rain falling lightly in the top of the fifth inning yesterday, Mud Hens manager Larry Parrish signaled to Dane Sardinha to lay down a bunt to move Erick Almonte to second. Parrish was trying to break a 1-1 scoreless tie and put Toledo ahead in case rain washed out the game. No cigar. The plan failed. Sardinha put down a sacrifice bunt OK. But, Derek Wathan lined into an inning-ending double play, and Rochester answered with five runs in the bottom of the fifth as the rain intensified. By the time the inning was over, the Red Wings were ahead 6-1 and Frontier Field looked like a pond. "The whole infield was completely unplayable," Hens third baseman Mike Hessman said. "It was a mess." The umpires called for the tarp, but after a 66-minute rain delay, the game was called, giving Rochester the win and its third straight victory over Toledo. "We were told the rain was coming, and once it came the odds were that it would be here for a long time," crew chief Adam Dowdy said later. "The idea was we would play for as long as we could." It was the last meeting between the Mud Hens and the Wings, but Dowdy said had no intention of keeping the teams around all day. "By the time the rain stopped, and they got the field in shape, we were looking at starting around 7 or 7:30 [p.m.],'' he said. Up-and-down Toledo has been on the road for its last 12 games: 3 wins, 3 losses, 3 wins, 3 losses.The Mud Hens will open a seven-game homestand at Fifth Third Field tonight against the Pawtucket Red Sox. "It will be good to get home and get into a regular routine,'' Hessman said. Michael Hollimon put the Mud Hens on top with a solo homer to right with two outs in the second inning. It was the shortstop's 14th homer. Sergio Santos tied it for Rochester with a homer to left off Chris Lambert, leading off the third. Lambert entered the game with a 0.90 ERA over his last three starts. As the rain intensified in the bottom of the fifth inning, Alejandro Machado drilled a double to the warning track in left, then moved to third on Jeff Christy's sacrifice bunt as Sardinha tried in vain to throw Machado out. Jason Pridie struck out, but Adam Everett - on a rehab assignment from the Minnesota Twins - laced a single into left field. Machado came home with the go-ahead run, and Christy scored on Darnell McDonald's single to center. Garrett Jones then supplied the big blast, a three-run homer to right that pushed Rochester's lead to 6-1. |
| Bell surprised to be a Lion ALLEN PARK, Mich. - Tatum Bell walked off the practice field, wearing a Honolulu blue jersey and holding a silver helmet. The running back would've wagered his house, car, and clothes there was no chance of that happening this season. "I would've bet everything I had that I wouldn't be a Detroit Lion this year," Bell said yesterday after the opening day of training camp. "I know for a fact if Mike Martz was here, I wouldn't be here." The Lions and Martz parted ways during the offseason, and the pass-happy offensive coordinator was hired by the San Francisco 49ers. After running for nearly 2,000 yards and scoring 10 times over two seasons in Denver, Bell had a solid Detroit debut under Martz with 87 yards rushing and a touchdown in a win over the Oakland Raiders. He started the next four games before being benched for the rest of the season, losing his job and carries to Kevin Jones and T.J. Duckett, both of whom are ex-Lions. Jones was cut and signed by the Chicago Bears, and Duckett wasn't re-signed and landed with the Seattle Seahawks. "Martz was the only person that had a problem with me. He never told me why I wasn't playing, and that's the only thing that bothers me to this day," Bell said. "In training camp before KJ got back, I was his guy. When KJ got back, I went from starter to scout team." As bitter as Bell was and still is, he kept relatively quiet last season, and that ended up helping him sign a one-year deal with the Lions in March. "I really respected how he handled last year and what he went through," Detroit coach Rod Marinelli said. "He was a pro all the way. "This system that we're in right now is what he was used to in Denver. I think he's got a great opportunity." Bell said persistent calls from offensive coordinator Jim Colletto, assistant head coach Kippy Brown, and running backs coach Sam Gash persuaded him to return. "They kept calling me saying 'We want you back. Martz is gone. We're going to run the zone scheme you ran in Denver,'•" Bell recalled. "At first, it was going in one ear and out the other. But then I started listening, and I got excited." Bell will likely be the No. 1 running back when the season begins Sept. 7 in Atlanta, but he might have to hold off rookie Kevin Smith to keep it the rest of the season. The third-round pick ran for 2,567 yards last year - just 62 short of breaking Barry Sanders' NCAA record - and scored 30 times. "It's a good feeling being a part of a team that wants to run the zone and run it to death like I did at UCF," Smith said. Lions quarterback Jon Kitna knows he will be handing the ball off much more than he did in the previous two seasons under Martz, but he's looking forward to directing a run-first offense. "It's a great philosophy to have," he said. "I think Coach Martz kind of gets a bum rap that way, but we're going to have more emphasis on it, and we're going to be more committed to it." BODDEN SIGNS: The Lions and cornerback Leigh Bodden have agreed on a $27 million, four-year contract extension, a person with knowledge of the deal told the Associated Press. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the negotiations were confidential, said Bodden's deal included a $2 million signing bonus. CHERILUS SIGNS: Gosder Cherilus joined the Lions in time to be on the field for their first practice of the year. The offensive tackle's agent said his client signed a five-year contract worth almost $15 million with nearly $8.9 million guaranteed. Cherilus of Boston College was the 17th pick in April's draft. He is expected to start at right tackle. |
| Winslow puts aside contract issue with Browns BEREA, Ohio - Kellen Winslow could be home resting or relaxing on a beach in California with a cold drink as his teammates sweat through grueling two-a-day practices. If he desired, the Pro Bowl tight end, who wants the Cleveland Browns to tear up his contract which still has three years left, could be just about anywhere but training camp. Instead, Winslow is where he's happiest - on the field. "My job," Winslow said yesterday following the team's first workout in full pads, "is to just be out here and play football. I don't want to be a distraction." For a while, that's all he was. Winslow, who came to the NFL with a fiery reputation, missed 14 games as a rookie in 2004 after breaking his leg. He was then sidelined for all the next season following a near-fatal motorcycle accident. But in the past two years, the 25-year-old has become one of the game's top tight ends, fulfilling the promise that the Hall of Famer's son always had. However, until he arrived at camp this week, there was concern that Winslow would have a negative impact on the Browns even before their 2008 season kicked off. Not long after making the Pro Bowl, Winslow hired agent Drew Rosenhaus and made it known he wanted to be the league's highest paid tight end. Then, Winslow had surgery - at least his fourth procedure - on his right knee, which he wrecked in the crash and later became infected. In April, the Browns traded a draft pick to select a tight end as a possible successor for Winslow, who then missed the Browns' voluntary practices in May and June. A contract holdout seemed imminent. Trouble, it seemed, was brewing. This time, Winslow stiff-armed it. He's a happy camper. "I'm sure [the media] thought I wasn't coming, but I'm not that type of guy," Winslow said. "I don't want to be a distraction. My job is to just help this team win and come out here and play to the best of my ability." Rosenhaus has engaged in negotiations with the Browns. He characterized the talks as a "dialogue with the team. Nothing is imminent, and we're at a very preliminary point." He has spoken with general manager Phil Savage and plans to visit Cleveland soon. In the past, Rosenhaus has kept clients out of camp until they got paid. But he and Winslow decided not to use a contract holdout as leverage with the Browns. "There is a sense of urgency on our end," Rosenhaus said. "Kellen and I have discussed it, and we decided to take the high road and handle it professionally. There will be no holding out, and there will be nothing that will keep Kellen off the field." While not providing specifics on what he's seeking from the team, Rosenhaus did describe Winslow's rookie contract as "outdated." The Browns, who initially withheld some bonuses from Winslow following his accident, have already reworked his contract once. Before his third season, they changed some of his performance clauses, allowing him to recoup some of the financial hit he took by missing most of his first two seasons. Winslow said it's easy for him to separate off-the-field business from what he has to do between the hash marks. "You can't focus on the contract. I am under contract. I just want to be a Cleveland Brown for a long time, so my agent and the organization are in talks," he said. Winslow said he wouldn't be upset if the sides didn't agree to a new deal this year. "It is up to them. If they don't do it, they don't do it. If they do it, they do it. My job is to just get out here and play," he said. Getting ready to play each Sunday has been a challenge for Winslow. Last season, he often lugged around some type of medical apparatus to help his body recover from the pounding he'd take in games. If his shoulder wasn't aching, it was his knee. But despite the bumps and bruises, Winslow caught 82 passes for 1,106 yards and five touchdowns to earn his first trip to Honolulu. He intends to go back. "I left a lot on the field last year," he said. "I watched the film from last year and saw things that I can do better. I probably could have caught 100 balls. Touchdowns, I only had five, so I can get a lot better in each category." While his game has matured, Winslow has grown as a person. At the University of Miami, his infamous "I'm a soldier" rant during a postgame locker room tirade painted him as a hothead. And although he can still get edgy, Winslow has calmed down considerably. "We all go through that maturation process, and he's in the middle of it," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. "We've seen him settle down from the first year I was here, and he can manage himself better than he used to." Winslow concedes he has changed - for the better. "Coming out of college, I was probably viewed in a different light," he said. "I'm growing up. I'm 25 now. That stuff was a long time ago, and just like everyone else, you have to grow up. I'm older now, married, and just grown up." |
| State offers Norwalk Furniture loan; restart contingent on Comerica's OK NORWALK, Ohio - The Ohio Department of Development has offered a $2 million loan that would allow the closed Norwalk Furniture Corp. to resume operations. But the firm's lender, Comerica Bank, which cut its line of credit to the furniture maker, would have to agree to let the firm resume operations and restore the line of credit. Joe Mosbrook, a spokesman for Norwalk Furniture, said, "Comerica hasn't even returned our phone calls." The lender, he said, appears to prefer to liquidate the company and sell its assets rather than continue to extend credit under a new owner. The factory shut its doors this week, idling 500 at its factory and headquarters in Norwalk; 50 at a plant in Cookeville, Tenn.; 300 at a factory in Fulton, Miss.; and truck drivers and sales staff at 57 stores selling the higher-end furniture. "Every day that plant doesn't operate we're losing substantial amounts of money," Mr. Mosbrook said. The company said it was caught off guard when Comerica cut off its credit and said the Huron County firm had to repay its loan immediately, Mr. Mosbrook said. "It came with no warning, no explanation. We still don't know why," he said. "The company was meeting its loan obligation. In fact, we had paid down $2 million in debt in a two-month period earlier this year." The spokesman said company executives believe that a meeting last month with the bank could have prompted the decision. Norwalk, which, like its counterparts throughout the industry, has suffered a sales decline, presented a plan to restructure its loan with terms more favorable to the company. Shortly after, the credit was cut off, he added. Comerica is deciding whether to allow a new buyer to acquire the company or simply force it to shut permanently and sell off its assets, said Domenic Aversa, acting president of Norwalk Furniture. "If Comerica forces a liquidation of company assets, they will actually yield less money than they would if they accepted one of the many investment offers," he said. The plant's assets have a book value of $36 million, and Comerica holds a lien on the property and machinery, Mr. Mosbrook said. But a recent appraisal by Norwalk Furniture shows the assets would fetch only about $9 million. The firm, founded in 1902, makes custom furniture. Ohio development officials said yesterday they would extend the loan to help potential buyers acquire the company and erase its $11 million debt to the bank. "This puts us closer, but we really need Comerica to sit down and talk," Mr. Mosbrook said. So far, the bank hasn't been willing to do that even though several private-equity firms have made proposals that would keep the company going, he said. Sara Snyder, a spokesman for Comerica, declined yesterday to comment on the bank's plans, saying client relationships are private. About 400 union members employed by Norwalk Furniture were planning a protest today at Comerica's headquarters in Detroit, according to Mr. Mosbrook. Norwalk Furniture's products are sold under the brand names Norwalk, J. Raymond, Joe Ruggiero Collection, and Hickory Hill. It has retail stores in the United States and Canada. Workers say the company has been hurt by the long housing slump, the poor economy, and imports. |
| White Lily flour's new owners transplant packaging to Toledo White Lily flour, a staple of Southern baking revered for its silky texture, has been transplanted from its longtime milling factor in Knoxville, Tenn., into two Ohio facilities. J.M. Smucker Co. purchased the company in 2006 from milling company C.H. Guenther & Son Inc. of Texas. At the end of May, milling operations were transferred to an unidentified Ohio plant and packaging to Multifoods Manufacturing Inc. on Laskey Road in Toledo. "Our company takes a look at strong regional brands that have a presence in the baking aisle and fit nicely with our product line," said Maribeth Badertscher, Smucker spokesman. At the end of June, C.H. Guenther closed the Knoxville factory that had turned out White Lily flour for the past 125 years. White Lily has distribution networks throughout the country, but it is predominantly a Southern regional brand. "It's a very important staple to Southerners," said Bill Morris, professor of food science and technology at the University of Tennessee. White Lily flour is milled exclusively from soft red winter wheat, which makes for lighter, fluffier biscuits and cakes. The low-protein, low-gluten wheat is sifted longer and ground more finely than other brands. Said Ms. Baderstcher: "We were looking at a variety of variables, and we really wanted to restore the brand to its historic standard of excellence." Multifoods Manufacturing in Toledo also produces baking mixes for Pillsbury and Hungry Jack. |
| Libbey sues local firm for payment of $345,000 Toledo glassware maker Libbey Inc. filed a lawsuit yesterday against G.G. Marck & Associates Inc., of Sylvania, seeking payment of $345,000 for products delivered to Marck. According to the lawsuit filed in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, the two companies had a business relationship between 1992 and October, 2006. Libbey also seeks damages in the case that was assigned to Judge Gary Cook. |
| Area home foreclosure rate worsens in spring quarter Although the tide of foreclosures in metropolitan Toledo ebbed at the beginning of the year, it picked up in the spring. From April through June, the area is ranked 21st among the nation's 100 largest metro areas, according to RealtyTrac Inc., of Irvine, Calif., an online tracking agency. Toledo was 37th after the first quarter of 2008, but its current rank shows the economy has worsened again, as have owners' difficulties in making mortgage payments. The metro area ranked 19th at the end of last year, RealtyTrac found. Al Green, owner of AA Realty in Bowling Green and president of the Toledo Board of Realtors, said the increase is a blip on the local housing radar rather than a significant trend. "Everybody's concerned, but I don't think we can be surprised at the numbers that are coming out each month. Numbers change," Mr. Green said. "We're nearing the bottom of the trough." The area recorded 3,253 filings of default and auction notices and of bank repossessions, or one for every 92 households for the quarter, the survey firm found. The number is up 73 percent from the prior quarter and 121 percent from the period a year earlier. Ohio ranked sixth worst among the states nationwide, and Michigan was No. 7, RealtyTrac figures show. Ohio had 37,689 filings for the quarter, or one for every 134 households. Michigan had 32,868 filings, or one for every 137 households. The activity in Ohio was up almost 21 percent from the first quarter and 27 percent from a year earlier. In Michigan, the filings jumped 11 percent from the prior three months and 73 percent from the second quarter of last year. Nationally, there were 739,714 foreclosure-related filings, or one in every 171 households, in the second quarter. They increased almost 14 percent from the prior quarter and 121 percent from a year earlier. Nevada remained at the top of the list of states, recording 24,657 filings, or one in every 43 households. Among the big cities, Stockton, Calif., was tops, with 9,066 filings or one for every 25 households. In Ohio, Cleveland ranked 26th, with 8,735 filings, or one for every 108 households; Dayton was 29th, with 3,304 filings, or one for every 115 households; and Cincinnati was 41st, with 5,601 filings, one for every 161 households. Contact Laura Bennett at: lbennett@theblade.com or 419-724-6728. |
| Chrysler reports loss of $515M in 1st quarter AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Chrysler Holding LLC, parent of automaker Chrysler LLC and Chrysler Financial, provided a rare look at its financials yesterday, reporting that it had a first-quarter net loss of about $515 million. The loss was disclosed in a statement and comments by company spokesman Kevin Frazier after Daimler AG said that its 19.9 percent Chrysler stake reduced its second-quarter earnings by $584 million before interest and taxes. Chrysler hasn't had to provide public reports on its financial results since Cerberus Capital Management LP bought 80.1 percent of the automaker in August, 2007. Daimler reports its earnings under international standards, and its figures for Chrysler reflect the U.S. company's financial results for the previous quarter. Chrysler Holding said that under U.S. standards, Daimler's net loss from the U.S. company would be $103 million based on the exchange rate on March 31. Chrysler Holding's loss was roughly five times the German automaker's share, Mr. Frazier said. |
| Movie review: Step Brothers ''' I know a mother who made a deal with her two little kids about the use of potty language. To get it out of their systems, they could say potty words but only when they were in the bathroom. It worked, except they ended up spending a lot more time in the bathroom, whispering things like "poop" and "passy gassy" to each other and laughing hysterically. That's kind of what it feels like watching the new Will Ferrell movie, Step Brothers, which opens today. This is not a deep movie. It's not even a very clever movie. But it is a movie that makes you giggle at the most basic, childish level and reminds you that even as an adult, sometimes all it takes to make you double over in laughter is a well-timed naughty word or fart joke. The plot is about as simple as it gets. Ferrell plays 39-year-old Brennan Huff, an unemployed man-child who still lives with his mom (Mary Steenburgen). When she marries and moves in with Robert Doback (Richard Jenkins), Brennan unhappily faces the reality that he has a new stepbrother, Dale, played by John C. Reilly. The wristband-wearing, immature 40-year-old who also lives at home is practically Brennan's mirror image. Cue the sibling rivalry, amped up to wildly adult levels. The two, who share a room populated with sexy posters and a cowboy lamp that reflect their refusal to grow up, antagonize each other in every way imaginable. When they're not whispering crude verbal jabs at each other, they're fighting in vintage T-shirts on the front lawn. One of them even physically violates the other's drum set in a way that ought to be illegal - even to watch. What's delightful about all of this is the childish glee with which they do it. Ferrell and Reilly nail the art of portraying kids trapped in adult bodies. Everything from the eye rolling to the whining to the fear of TV privileges being revoked - "What are you doing? It's shark week!" - is spot on. This carries over to when the stepbrothers inevitably unite, both against Brennan's successful but smarmy brother, Derek (Adam Scott), and a parental edict that they find jobs and their own places to stay as their antics take a toll on the new family. They may be clueless, but they're convinced that everything they do is the bestest ever. (When Brennan sings, Dale says his voice is "a combination of Fergie and Jesus.") The unbridled enthusiasm they show makes you wish you didn't have to give up some things as you get older. Directed by Adam McKay, who worked with both stars in Talladega Nights, the film doesn't aspire to much. It's happy to milk laughs from creative swearing, goofy, childish behavior, and a hilarious digression that explains exactly why you should never wake a sleepwalker. It does all of this well. That doesn't mean that other viewers won't find it tasteless. The filthy jokes push right up to the edge of what's comfortable, then plunge right over, leaving your mouth to drop in horror or laughter or both. And Step Brothers more than earns its R rating with the dirty words that spew out of the characters' mouths, sometimes to disturbing effect. It's as if Ferrell and Reilly are possessed by Peter Pan and Joe Pesci at the same time. Still, fans of Ferrell's juvenile humor will be pleased. Just be careful about repeating your favorite lines - unless you're in the bathroom. Contact Ryan E. Smith at: ryansmith@theblade.com or 419-724-6103. |
| Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert set for Monroe County Fair Monday Blake Shelton is a little excited about going No. 1 with his recent single "Home." "I'm freaking out about it. I couldn't be more excited," he gushes by phone from "somewhere" in Oklahoma. OK, maybe a lot excited. "I found out about two hours before going on stage, so I couldn't really get drunk and celebrate like I wanted to," he says. "Now it's No. 1 for a second week, and I'm not sure my liver can take much more of this." Rest easy, his liver is safe. After two weeks, "Home" fell from the top this week. Shelton is one of country music's biggest characters, always quick with a joke, constantly taking jabs at himself. Monday night, Shelton's sense of humor will be on display at the Monroe County Fair. It's going to be a special concert for Shelton. He'll be performing alongside girlfriend Miranda Lambert for only the second time. "Miranda and I have been kicking around doing a tour together. We finally decided to do it, and we're going to do it this fall, but we needed to see if it is going to work, so we booked a couple shows this summer to try it out," he says. "We spent a week in Nashville rehearsing the show, getting the lights ready. It's going to be something like people haven't seen before. I feel so good about it." Shelton's "Home" is his first No. 1 since "Some Beach" hit the top more than three years ago, and Lambert is also enjoying a surge in her career. At this year's Academy of Country Music Awards, she unexpectedly won album of the year for "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." Her current "Gunpowder & Lead" has been her most successful single to date. "It's her first Top-10 single, so she's on cloud nine," Shelton says. "It's hard to rip on her when she sells as many records as she does. You can't really argue with her success. I stay away from that argument because that's one she'll usually win." Of course, Shelton is being modest about his credentials. "Home" is his fourth No. 1. His very first single, "Austin," went to No. 1 in 2001. He's also reached the top with "The Baby" and "Some Beach." As luck would have it, his latest No. 1 was almost an accident of sorts. It wasn't even on his current album, "Pure BS." "At the end of 2007, 'The More I Drink' was the single we had out there. Even though it was a fan favorite, it wasn't doing that well at radio. We knew we had to put another single out off of 'Pure BS' or go and come with a new album. We decided to go into the studio and record some things I'd been wanting to record, and 'Home' was one of those," he says. Executives from Warner Brothers, Shelton's label, were excited about the song's prospects as a single when they heard it, but Shelton didn't have enough material to make an entire new album. The only options to get the song to radio were to release a greatest hits album with "Home" as a new track or repackage "Pure BS" with the "Home" bonus track. "And even I realized in order to have a greatest hits album, you need more than four hits, so we decided to repackage the album." While the single was running its course on radio, Shelton was busy putting together his next album, which should be in stores by the first part of next year. The first single, "She Wouldn't Be Gone," was recently sent to radio stations. He'll try it out on the crowd in Monroe. "When I hear a song, I know whether I love it or hate it right off the bat, and this is one of those that hit me real hard. It's more of a rock, mid-tempo song about regret, which I have had plenty of in my life." Yes, he's got regrets about the past, but Shelton is flying high right now. He's got the girl he loves, the career that's booming, and his sense of humor is certainly intact. "We're touring hard, getting all this work out of the way so we can go deer hunting in the fall." Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert will perform at the Monroe County Fair in Monroe, Mich., on Monday at 8 p.m. Reserved tickets are $43 and $33. General admission is $23; tickets can be purchased online at www.startickets.com, by phone at 800-585-3737, or at the fair's box office. Contact Brian Dugger at: bdugger@theblade.com. |
| HAL's DVD pick for weekend: Space Odyssey "...as human beings we are capable of making sense of situations based on the thinnest slice of experience." Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and The Tipping Point. Popcorn? Check. Icy cold beverage? Check. Remote control? Check. Shhhhhhh, the movie's starting. Each Friday the Thin Slices staff recommends a DVD you just have to see. Today's pick: HAL? CAN YOU HERE ME, HAL? 2001 A Space Odyssey is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and even real-life the astronauts acknowledge Stanley Kubrick's genius. It's got a creepy computer, weird symbolism and monkeys. Check it out. PETE TOWNSHEND watches Boston Legal? Seriously. THURSDAY, JULY 24 GOING POSTAL is the Webseries finale of Heroes that concludes Monday. Fans will then just have to hang on until season No. 3 begins September 22 on NBC. The return date features a clip show to get fans familiar with the series and characters again, followed by a two-hour season opening episode. Track your Heroes. (KC) A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE: Michael Hughes' souvenir pictures are fascinating studies in spatial relationships. (RS) CAUTION, HOT MIC: 10 celebrities who should have known that the mic was on (in honor of Jesse Jackson). (RS) WEDNESDAY, JULY 23 MILEY CYRUS might not be everywhere, but it sure seems like it, and now she's been immortalized in wax as a breathless British museum spokesman makes clear. (RL) COULD YOU MAYBE DRIVE A LITTLE FASTER? Race car drivers can be pretty temperamental, as Danica Patrick proves (again) in this throw-down with fellow driver Milka Duno. (RL) ANOTHER SHOT AT THE MUSIC BIZ: Paul Westerberg, always a contrarian, releases his new music as one really, long song. Probably not going to see him on American Idol anytime soon. (RL) COW TIPPIN' Country star Neal McCoy will push his "Rednecktified" agenda at the Lucas County Fair Saturday so get ready, and look for Brian Dugger's preview story in tomorrow's editions of toledoblade.com. (RL) VEGETABLES AND VITAMINS?: Could there be a real Batman. ScientificAmerican.com turned to an associate professor of kinesiology and neuroscience to decide if a real superhero is possible. Now, if you could just make him jailproof. (RS) TUESDAY, JULY 22 SAY IT AIN'T SHOW, JANET: The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that we must pay attention to Janet Jackson again. The court threw out a $550,000 indecency fine against CBS Corp. for the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show that ended with Janet Jacksons wardrobe malfunction. The Janet Board is eerily quiet at presstime as fans have yet to form their own legal opinions. (KC) THE RED CANDY-LIKE BUTTON: Maybe it will drive you crazy, but the big red button is a weird exercise in psychology. Proceed at your own risk. (VR) DARK KNIGHT IN IMAX: Find area theaters showing The Dark Knight in IMAX. Digital re-mastering in IMAX starts by converting a 35mm frame into digital form at very high resolution, capturing all the detail from the original. (KC) ALTHOUGH WE MUST all wear pants in polite society, these are the songs that provide the inspiration. Songs to Wear Pants To is a site where Andrew makes songs based on your ideas. You went to college for a degree, but Andrew is earning a living crafting songs like I am A Sad Sad Toaster Made Of Glass. (KC) MONDAY, JULY 21 With a Friday gross of $67.6 million and massive Saturday and Sunday box offices, The Dark Knight continued its climb toward an all-time motion picture history record. TOLEDO'S DARK NIGHT: The Blade's Laura Bennett tracked the opening night buzz at the Franklin Park 16 Cinemas. HOW BIG? Media by Numbers has box office estimates, records, actuals, and summer-to-date totals for the latest in the Batman series. FIND the big screen trailer, showtimes, the coaster, and the comics. Joker fans: Don't forget your makeup, and check out Heath Ledger wearing his Joker prosthetics without makeup. (KC) ANOTHER ELECTION season, another series of Jib-Jab parodies are teed up and ready to go. (RL) SPORTS CELEBS are, yawn, just like the rest of us if Eli Manning's wedding photos are any indication. (RL) AT LEAST ONE CRITIC is not impressed with Katie Holmes' decision to appear on the ABC series Eli Stone. (RL) MARILYN MANSON meets Mickey Mouse in the world of weird rock fashion. (RL) WHAT'S THAT SOUND? The Blade's Ryan E. Smith explores the the pop culture world of popcorn (RL) THE DUDE ABIDES in Louisville where they actually they had a festival to celebrate the great cult film classic The Big Lebowski. (RL) JUST TWO WEEKS until the Black Keys play Toledo, in case you were wondering. (RL) WE KNOW, WE KNOW, Ohio State has the 'best damn band in the land,' but the coolest bands have capes and tricorn hats. (KC) EYE CANDY: See how many of these 19 famous photographs made with Legos you can name. (KC) NOTHING CAN STOP the Jonas Brothers, which 15-year-old Nick proves in this interview. (RL) MORE new releases on Blu-Ray - lots more. The format war seems over. Long live Blu-Ray. (KC) THIN SLICING Have some Thin Slices to contribute or comment on? Rod Lockwood Kevin Cesarz |
| Editor rides to rescue of planet on TARTA With gas at nearly $4 a gallon and the planet warming, I decided to stop complaining, help the family budget, and reduce my carbon footprint, so here I am on a TARTA bus heading downtown typing this column on my Blackberry. It's cool, fairly comfortable, and now that we're on I-475, smooth. What's striking is that only four other people, including the driver, are sharing this 32-passenger bus with me. I began this journey when I walked out my front door at 7:10 a.m. and a Lake Erie Transit bus picked me up at 7:15 a block from my home in one of the many subdivisions in Bedford Township. Yes, I'm one of the thousands of Toledoans who left the city years ago for the new, quieter, wooded neighborhoods just north of the Ohio-Michigan border. Feeling blue (& maize) I wanted my kids to go to better schools with less crowded classrooms and my wife was planning to attend the University of Michigan. The out-of-state tuition was a killer so even though I went to State, as in Ohio State, I moved my family north to the land of maize and blue. It's disgusting to see all those flags flying on game day. I feel guilty that I'm partly to blame for Toledo's declining population, and admit I'm to blame for some of the suburban sprawl that plagues this country. I'm on my third house in Bedford. I've been a car driver since age 16 and in the following 37 years I can't begin to count the number of gallons of gasoline that I've personally guzzled. I've owned 15 cars, which seems like way too many. I'm probably to blame for at least an inch or two of the rise in ocean levels. So a few days ago, after hearing about a new transit option that would get me downtown, I called Lake Erie Transit - we call it dial-a-ride in Bedford because you call and the bus comes to your house to pick you up. The service is used mainly by seniors and kids who don't have cars, but this new route picks up township residents and takes them to Miracle Mile shopping center at Jackman and Laskey roads to catch a TARTA bus downtown. So off to save the planet I go, as well as to save myself a few bucks in gas today. Office on wheels I board the huge bus, which seems out of place in my neighborhood of two cars in every garage. There is one other passenger on board. I pay 80 cents, find a seat, and begin reading overnight e-mails - 18 of them. It's 7:25 a.m. when the bus pulls into Miracle Mile behind a TARTA bus. The Lake Erie Transit bus driver hands me a transfer, I walk to the TARTA bus, hand it to the driver, and find a seat. Done with e-mails and The Blade via Blackberry, I begin to write this column. The bus takes off at 7:30. It's a little bumpy on Jackman, but I can still type. It's 7:45 when we pull into the Jackson Street TARTA station downtown across from Government Center and a block from my office. I have to stop typing so I'll e-mail myself what I've written so far... It's 7:52 and I'm at my desk. It's hard to believe that I left my house 42 minutes ago and it cost me only 80 cents to get here. I don't have to pay to park, I've read and answered my morning e-mails, read a couple local stories, and posted to a Blade blog. I'm at the office way too early. Dave Murray supervises the newspaper's coverage of politics, the region, and investigations. Contact Dave Murray at: dmurray@theblade.com or 419-724-6069. |
| Jackson reaches 50 million milestone Alan Jackson dethroned Blake Shelton this week atop the radio charts as his single, "Good Time," replaces "Home" as the No. 1 single in the country. It was the superstars 33rd No. 1 hit, but Jackson got even bigger news this week when he learned that he has now crossed the 50-million album sales mark. Jackson, a native of Newnan, Ga., was the first artist signed to Arista Nashville in 1989. His debut album, "Here in the Real World," produced four No. 1 singles and was double platinum with sales of more than 2 million copies. "Good Time" was Jacksons 17th album. His previous 16 albums have each achieved gold, platinum, or multi-platinum status. "A Lot about Livin (And a Little Bout Love)" sold more than 6 million copies. ''' Taylor Swifts rise in popularity doesnt seem to be slowing. This week she became the only artist this decade to hold down the No. 1 and No. 2 positions on Billboards Country Albums chart. "Beautifule Eyes," a Wal-Mart exclusive CD/DVD combo topped the charts with sales of 44,652 copies. Her self-titled debut CD sold 34,622 copies. That album has spent 24 weeks on the top of the albums chart. The two-disc "Beautiful Eyes" includes two previously unreleased tracks, "Beautiful Eyes" and "I Heart." There is also an alternative version of her current hit, "Shouldve Said No." The DVD includes videos of her five hits, plus a video for "Beautiful Eyes." ''' Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town is featured throughout John Mellencamps new album, "Life, Death, Love & Freedom." Fairchilds vocals are on four tracks, including "My Sweet Love," "Dont Need This Body," "For the Children," and "A Ride Back Home." Fairchild appears with Mellencamp in his video for "My Sweet Love." Mellencamp has been a longtime musical inspiration for Little Big Town. They sang harmonies on his single, "Our Country," in 2006. LBTs latest single, "Fine Line," has just been added to radio. ''' I was one of the naysayers when Heidi Newfield decided to break away from Trick Pony and her pals, Keith Burns and Ira Dean. But after seeing her in concert recently, I take it all back. Shes got a lot of great new material, including "Johnny & June," a tribute to Johnny and June Carter Cash, which continues to climb the radio charts. Its at No. 24 this week on Billboards chart. At a time when a lot of the female voices in country music sound similar, Newfields got an incredibly distinctive bluesy, smoky voice. Her album, which will be in stores on Aug. 5, has a chance to be something special. ''' Kellie Pickler is going to be out with her second album on Sept. 30. The self-titled album is the follow-up to "Small Town Girl," which has sold almost 800,000 copies. One track that her fans are going to absolutely love is "Rocks Instead of Rice." Its a tongue-in-cheek look at a woman attending the wedding of a former boyfriend. As the title suggests, shes wishing they were throwing rocks instead of rice. Its a clever song that will probably be a big future hit for Pickler. ''' Congratulations to Kate and Kacey Coppola. The duo were finalists on CMTs Can You Duet? reality show, and they have been signed to a contract by Big Machine Records. Their debut single, "Youre Not My Judge," will be released later this summer. |
| Lake Erie gives up record fish to Newark man who arrowed it Lake Erie, already known for its highly rated walleye and smallmouth bass fishing, may be notching another list-topper in its Sandusky Bay. That would be carp. A state bowfishing record for carp - 38 inches long, 47.65 pounds - recently was certified by the Outdoor Writers of Ohio, in conjunction with the Ohio Division of Wildlife. It is the second bowfishing record in just two years from the shallow western Erie bay, supplanting a 40 1/4-pound carp taken in June, 2006. "That's where the big ones are," said Rich Cady of Newark, Ohio, the man who arrowed the new record. "I've been trying to set the state record the last 13 years." Cady, who has been bowfishing for carp since the late '80s, is obviously serious about the pursuit. He and buddies Gary McGirr of Newark and Jack Brooks of Buckeye Lake like to prowl the shallows of the bay in Cady's 18-foot flat-bottom boat, the bow of which is rigged with a shooting platform. They pussyfoot along on an electric trolling motor, watching for big fish. On May 28, Cady spied and shot the 47-pounder, an egg-laden prespawn female. McGirr was along the night Cady took the record carp, which had a girth of 31 1/2 inches. His previous best on the bay was a 35-pounder. The record was taken near the old causeway across the bay. But as Cady notes, "it's just hit or miss. They're everywhere." He uses a "just plain old" recurve bow of about 50-pound draw, with Muzzy fish-tips on fiberglass arrows and an AMS Retriever bowreel. For details on certifying record fish in Ohio and a list of state record fish of all species, visit online at outdoorwritersofohio.org, or call Tom Cross, OWO record fish chairman, at 937-386-2752. Thirteen-year-old Madison Mehl of Haskins caught a few small bluegills when she was a little girl, but never landed a "real" fish until she went on a recent family fishing vacation at Chub Lake near Thessalon, Ont. She proceeded to land a 32 1/2-inch, 10-pound, 8-ounce walleye, which is a notable 'eye anywhere but especially so in the cold, slow-growing waters of northern Canada. A color photograph of teen and fish shows the deep, dark coloration of walleyes found in rocky, cold, northern waters. The daughter of Scott Mehl and Billy Jo Mehl, Madison was part of a crew that included her dad, brother James, 9, and her friend, Lauren Kessler, 12. The girls will be in the eighth grade at Otsego Middle School. "We've been going there for the last 18 years," said Scott of the family fishing vacation ritual. As for Madison's catch, he added, "it was phenomenal. When we got back to camp everybody was down there [at the dock]. "We went out in late evening, almost dark, to a spot I have fished for years," Mehl said. They dropped lime-green jigs tipped with minnows straight over the side in 25 to 30 feet of water, and in less than a half-hour Madison had the lunker walleye aboard. Her grandmother, Barbara Mehl of Holland, initially called attention to the catch. "I just thought it was kind of odd that a 13-year-old would even be interested in fishing." Obviously, some of them are, and they get results. Madison's fish now is in the hands of Mark Lodzinski at Artistic Touch Taxidermy in Oregon and ultimately headed for a wall to spark memorable tales. • Excellent walleye action is being found just off the mouth of the Portage River at Port Clinton in 13 to 19 feet of water, according to Rick Catley at Rickard's Bait on Catawba Island. "It's picked up in the last week there," Catley said. "I don't know what the fish are feeding on, but there must have been 70 boats there." The action is occurring off G and H Cans, the southeasternmost along the boundaries of the Camp Perry Firing Range. Drifters are casting both mayfly rigs and traditional weight-forward spinners, or dragging bottom-bouncers with worm harnesses to take limits, Catley added. Gold or chartreuse are the colors. Dead calm and then too-windy conditions inhibited fishing in the extreme western end of the lake at midweek, but action there is expected to resume when conditions settle, said Rick Ferguson at Al Szuch Live Bait. Try off Crane Creek and northwest of West Sister Island to the Toledo Ship Channel. Yellow perch action is slowly picking up, as can be expected for the season. The Ohio Division of Wildlife's picks for perch are off Lakeside, Cedar Point, and west of Kelleys Island. Some anglers also are finding perch around the reefs off Davis-Besse. Dan Tucker reports fish running three to a pound, which is not bad. Inland, the Maumee River finally is clearing and reaching normal summer pool after too much rain and high, muddy water for too long. As a result some smallmouth bass action has picked up (catch and release, please), and so has the action for channel and flathead catfish. "Flatheads are back in the holes," said Chris Martin at River Lures in Grand Rapids. "They're flathead crazy," he said of area fishermen. In other fishing notes, Frank Merritt, ecology director at Pioneer Scout Reservation in Williams County, reports good catching of bluegills at the state's popular, productive Lake La Su An impoundments near the reservation. "In 1997 when I took over for my first full year as ecology director," Merritt said, "I established a 'fishing outpost' where we took Scouts and Scouters to La Su An and fished Lake Wood Duck. This has been a popular outing over the years, with the total number participating usually between 10 and 20. "I have introduced a large number of individuals from Ohio and Michigan to the wonderful resource at La Su An and have convinced more than one southeast Michigan resident that the fishing is better in Ohio there than in southeast Michigan. "This last week was, however, amazing we took a total of 50 people to Wood Duck and they caught 74 fish in about 2 1/2 hours on a hot sticky night. "Anyone who doubts the quality of the northwest Ohio fishery after that is a total fool." • Brian Coates of Amherst, Ohio, won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League's Michigan Division event on Sandusky Bay last Saturday with a five-bass limit of 22 pounds, 14 ounces, earning $2,914. He fished a four-inch green pumpkin Berley Gulp! Sinking Minnow. Brent Dunmyer of Weston finished fourth with five bass at 19-10 to win $809. The next division event is Aug. 9 on Lake St. Clair. For details visit online at FLWOutdoors.com or call 270-252-1000. • Bowshoot Sunday, Tomahawk Archers, 2085 Erie Rd., Temperance, Mich., register 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 30 hand-painted paper targets of big game; call Jay Kimura 419-351-8190. |
| Candidates for Michigan Legislature failing the political courage test ANN ARBOR - How much political courage do Michigan politicians have? Very little, and less all the time, That's the conclusion reached by Project Vote Smart, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to creating better-informed voters. This year, as in every election cycle for more than a decade, candidates for office were sent a "Political Courage Test." There is no partisan bias to it. "It is merely an academic study that asks all candidates one central question," said Richard Kimball, president of Project Vote Smart. "Are you willing to tell citizens your positions on the issues you will likely face on their behalf?" That doesn't exactly sound like an unreasonable demand. True, every election and every candidate have a few touchy areas. But Project Vote Smart recognizes that. Candidates may skip up to 30 percent of the issue areas and still pass. Plus, they are allowed to answer each question in their own words. Like Project Vote Smart itself, the test is meant to be entirely nonideological. So - what percentage of candidates answered? When it comes to those running for the Michigan Legislature this year, the number responding was less than one in 10. Two years ago, it was nearly four times as high. What's going on here? Sad, but simple: Consultants are telling their candidates not to fill out the political courage survey. Reason? Actually, there are two major reasons: "It [would] limit the candidates' ability to control their campaign message, and it will expose them to opposition research," Mr. Kimball said. Translation? If you take a position, no matter how honest, principled, and reasoned, the opposition can and will use it against you. In the age of constant hyper-news, the relentless Internet, and the omnipresent YouTube, advisers mostly don't want their candidates saying anything. They want them to smile and wave. The consultants want the other candidate to say something so they can use that person's own honest words to tear them apart. That's a trend that has been getting steadily worse, election cycle after election cycle, and is threatening to destroy our democracy. Ironically, Project Vote Smart, whose board members range from Newt Gingrich on the right to George McGovern on the left, was founded to try and counteract that trend. Mr. Kimball, the organization's president, isn't happy. "If candidates are afraid of letting their opponents know where they stand on key issues, how can they possibly let the voters know how they will handle the job if they are hired [elected]?" But when he said a version of that to one campaign consultant, the response was "It's not our job to educate - it's our job to win." If that doesn't make you worry about democracy, I don't know what will. Most politicians today probably know that John F. Kennedy was the author of Profiles in Courage. It is a book about U.S. senators who risked their careers by making unpopular decisions, choices they made because they were convinced it was the right thing to do. It might be nice if some of today's candidates read it. Postscript: Project Vote Smart also asked Michigan congressional candidates to respond to the courage questionnaire. The response rate was a little better: 38 percent. Most who did respond, however, were long-shot underdogs. But these incumbents deserve credit for not dodging the opportunity: Republican U.S. Reps. Vernon Ehlers and Dave Camp, and Democrats Bart Stupak, Dale Kildee, and, interestingly, Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick, mother of the embattled mayor of Detroit. • Reform Michigan Now: Nobody is talking about it publicly - yet - but the Democrats are in considerable turmoil over the sweeping patchwork quilt of constitutional changes awaiting certification for the November ballot. Efforts were made to make it seem as though it was the work of a grass-roots nonpartisan group. But it is now clear that the Michigan Democratic Party, specifically Mark Brewer, the state chair, was the moving force all along. The proposal has drawn heavy fire on both liberal and conservative editorial pages for its scattershot approach to reform and, especially, for its ham-handed attempt to remove GOP judges from the Michigan Supreme Court and Michigan Court of Appeals. Whether Reform Michigan Now qualifies for the ballot or not, the bottom line is that it has led more and more of the state's leaders to conclude that a constitutional convention is a good idea. Michigan voters will be automatically asked two years from now if they want to call such a convention. Gov. Jennifer Granholm has now endorsed the idea, something that would have been unimaginable a year ago. • Correction: In last week's column on Mr. Stupak's efforts to curb oil price speculation, I called him "the man from Marquette." That city is indeed the largest in his district, but he actually makes his home in Menominee. |
| Firewall between news, opinion crumbling in media outlets IN 14 years of writing an op-ed column for The Blade, my biases have been unabashed. They're right out there on everything from people to policy. Frequently, they provoke strong reader reaction, some virulently opposed, some favorably disposed. But that means I'm doing my job as an opinion writer in telling you what I think whether you like it or not. By contrast, the journalists who file news reports operate under a distinctly different set of rules - or should. While they may deliver their stories with admirable style and skill, their personal biases about whatever they're covering should not be evident. When they are, it's clear the person assigned to report the news has inserted himself or herself into the story, coloring or subtly interpreting the facts instead of simply reporting them. The result, of course, is slanted news coverage that reflects not only the particular bias of the reporter, but the newsroom gatekeepers who allow or even encourage such reporting to occur. Unfortunately, the firewall that used to separate news from opinion either no longer exists in many sectors of the media or has become so blurred as to be irrelevant. Fox News, for example, has made a media niche for itself by injecting a blatant conservative bent into whatever news it reports. Today it is undeniably the Republican cable network for news and analysis just as MSNBC could arguably be called the Democrats' domain for coverage and commentary. Certainly the major networks could join the latter in liberal leanings, with the way they often position and cover some news stories. Truth is, many news organizations, both electronic and print, increasingly permit a prevailing liberal or conservative opinion to influence news judgment and change the way a story is cast for public consumption. But occasionally such bias is so transparent that the public calls the media out on its group thinking. In the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq - and for too long afterward - media reports were infused with patriotic fervor instead of objectivity, which might have produced more critical questioning of the administration's disastrous pre-emptive war policy. In 2008, the ridiculously lopsided press coverage of candidates in the presidential race has not been lost on many Americans. According to a new poll by Rasmussen Reports, half of us think the media is trying to help Sen. Barack Obama win the White House. Rasmussen found 49 percent of likely voters, out of survey of 1,000 respondents, believed news coverage would definitely favor the Democrat in the fall. Only 14 percent of those surveyed expected reporters' stories to boost Sen. John McCain's campaign. Never mind that the job of those reporting on the presidential election should have nothing to do with favoring or boosting anyone involved. Yet try convincing Americans of that journalism tenet after watching the anchors for ABC, NBC, and CBS fawning like fools over Senator Obama's overseas trip. No wonder the poll reveals that less than a quarter of voters- 24 percent - now trust the news media to report on the election without bias. News honchos have plenty of reasons to explain why press coverage of Mr. Obama vastly outstrips that of Mr. McCain, including the newness of the candidate and the historical significance of his candidacy. Unspoken explanations may be that the very junior Illinois senator is simply a more interesting candidate than the one who's been on the scene a lot longer. But more than frustrating the McCain camp - and the Clinton camp before that - the perceived preferential treatment of Mr. Obama by the press is unsettling to many within the journalism ranks. Preferences, platitudes, and polarizing opinions belong here, in a clearly designated opinion piece, or on the editorial page, where the opinions of a paper are expressed. News reporting, on the other hand, is supposed to take no position or include any personal sentiment affecting the tenor or content of a story. But of course it does, numerous times, in local and network reporting that is heavily weighted to one side. The danger of opinions making news instead of the other way around is that truth becomes subjective. And with news outlets across the country constricting as revenues fall, with staff reductions and closed bureaus, less and less objective journalists are left to ask the critical questions, to report the facts without prejudice. The view the public receives of controversy or chaos or presidential candidates gets narrower and narrower. And the result is a country more confused, broadly uninformed, and distrustful of its dwindling news sources than ever, at a serious loss to decide who will lead it the next four years. At least that's my opinion, like it or not. |
| Residents talk about race at Findlay forum FINDLAY - Silas Larsen, a white man whose wife is black, recalled one of his first experiences in Findlay - a trip to the supermarket shortly after the couple moved here six years ago. As he was pulling up to pick up his wife, a woman asked if he was her husband. When his wife replied yes, the woman said, "We don't believe in that around here," Mr. Larsen said. He and dozens of other Findlay residents last night shared their experiences - good and bad - in this city that many people felt was unfairly maligned in a recent Washington Post article that focused on how some people have bought into inaccurate rumors about Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential hopeful. Darnell Parker, president of Findlay's Black Heritage Library and Multicultural Center, said it wasn't the first such forum the library has sponsored, but it easily was the most well-attended. More than 100 people packed into City Council chambers to take part and to listen. Mr. Larsen, for his part, said he was proud to be an American, but hoped his children and grandchildren would grow up in an America that was not degraded by prejudice. "I want more, and if this conversation today only becomes just a conversation and you walk out of here and go back to the way you've been thinking for years, then shame on you," he said. Nina Parker, who founded the Black Heritage Library in Findlay in 1982, said the Washington Post article and the reaction it provoked pointed up the need for last night's gathering. "We have always been proactive in providing important and necessary services for the community thusly today, we the people will deal with the prevalent issue of all that talk stemming around the article in the Washington Post and the prevalent issue of race which indicated that Findlay, Ohio was a typical small town - small-minded, misinformed, a bigoted, racist community," she said. "The numerous letters to the editor have shown expressions of anger, disbelief, surprise or not, shame, and disappointment. Some individuals expressed that the article was in most part correct, but others have said the article was totally inaccurate." To launch the discussion, she posed the question: What are your personal perceptions and experiences about the Findlay community and your perceptions regarding the Washington Post article? Leasha Dixson, a black woman who grew up in Chicago and has traveled the world with the U.S. Army, said she found the Post article offensive. "I am happy to live in Findlay. I haven't encountered anything I can't deal with," she said. "That Washington Post article was insulting to me as a black person and insulting to me as an American." Most there said they know racism in some form exists in all communities, though it's sometimes intensified in towns that are predominately white. "If you don't know someone of another color or race, it's real easy to buy into the lies that are being told," said Elaine Eyre, an area resident for just a year. Brian Russell, a lifelong resident, said healthy attitudes about racial diversity begin at home. He encouraged those in attendance to not laugh at racial jokes, to not to pass on stereotypes and prejudice to their children. Mrs. Parker thanked Mayor Pete Sehnert for sending an invitation to Mr. Obama to come to Findlay for a community meeting, but she said last night was not about the election. "This isn't about politics. This is about people," she said. "This is about understanding." Another town hall meeting on cultural diversity is scheduled for Aug. 30 at the University of Findlay. Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-353-5972. |
| Hancock County commissioners give approval to hike in sales tax FINDLAY - Wasting no time, Hancock County commissioners voted unanimously yesterday to impose a 0.75-percentage-point hike in the county's sales tax. The tax hike, which will generate about $7.25 million a year for flood mitigation, county operations, and construction of a court center, will increase Hancock County's sales tax rate from 6 percent to 6.75 percent. On Wednesday, commissioners listened to more than two hours of comments from the public about the proposed tax increase - comments that ranged from support for the measure to promises that it would be put on the ballot with a referendum if commissioners chose to impose it. Ed Ingold, chairman of the commissioners, said two main factors convinced him the time was right to impose the tax. "Number one, the current county financial situation for operations cannot go into 2009 without some additional revenue beginning the first of the year, and so drastic cuts would have been necessary to balance our budget," Mr. Ingold said. "The other one is this community has to start showing support for the future flood-mitigation plan - whatever that may be - coming out of the Corps of Engineers so that we're able to say we are stepping up. We are starting to collect that local match, and it will be there when the plans are ready." Commissioners said about $2.5 million of the new revenue would be allocated to future flood-mitigation projects, while $2 million would support operation of county government, $2 million would go toward construction of a new downtown court center, and $1 million would be set aside for other capital projects. The court center, a new office building that would accommodate all the courts and related offices such as the prosecutor, public defender, probation, and clerk of courts, would create office space needed after flooding last August severely damaged several county buildings. The historic courthouse would be used as a county administration building. Mr. Ingold said commissioners planned to use the county's carryover balance to help it balance its budget, but that the "rainy day" fund has been consumed by flood-related expenses. For 2009, a budget deficit of $1.75 million to $2.5 million is expected without any new revenues. Although commissioners had talked about imposing the tax indefinitely, Mr. Ingold said the board decided to impose it for 22 years because commissioners figure in two years the county will be prepared to issue bonds for the new court center and potentially for the flood mitigation project. The tax would provide the backing to issue 20-year bonds. The increased sales tax will begin to be collected Oct. 1 if the issue is not put on the November ballot by referendum. Mr. Ingold said the county would begin to receive the new re |