Todd’s radio ad on schools

According to Buckeye State Blog, allowing parents to take their children (and tax dollars) and go to private, charter, religious, or suburban schools is the equivalent of busing them. Bill Todd advocates those options in a new radio ad (mp3). It’s a bit slimy to use the busing term, since that issue concerned mandatory busing, and what Todd (and others) are for is parental choice- precisely the opposite. By and large, Democrats oppose giving parents that choice, because the party puts teachers ahead of poor children. I know that sounds like over the top hyperbole but at the bottom line it has to be true. But there are also elements of limiting choice and maintaining the collective and dependence on the state.

It’s also fairly ridiculous that modernesquire tweaks Bill Todd for mentioning that Mayor Mike Coleman’s kids go to Catholic school, and then he questions whether Todd’s kids went to Columbus schools. But modern, only one of these two people wants to force poor kids to go to public schools.

Also at Right Angle Blog.

(Previous post: Charter school enrollment rising.)

Ohio Carnival of Politics #82 is up and running.

Bill Sloat’s got a follow-up on the “now-fractured” Buckeye State Blog fight. There’s a threat of legal action, but I doubt anything will come of it.

More names and numbers

Will this be the last batch of names and SSNs announced to have been on the stolen data tape? From channel 10:

The names and Social Security numbers of 66,000 additional Ohioans were listed on a computer backup tape that was stolen in June, according to a report that was released Monday.

Of the 66,000 names, nearly 50,000 are Ohio taxpayers and another 19,000 were state employees, 10TV’s Cara Connelly reported….

The state now estimates the theft and its response to it will cost about $3.1 million.

Also, the deadline to apply for the credit reporting has been extended to October 31. You can search to see if your info is among the stolen here.

(Previous post: Stolen data tape fallout.)

Transport omnibus

Here’s a look at the “new” electronic parking meters at columbusING. Jon notes that the device appears to be “rescued from a 70’s interpretation of the future.” It does look a little Star Trek- The Motion Pictureish. I had a post on them a while back.

Brendan at spacetropic has a post up about a Cinci Enquirer article about a transportation study put out by a 501(c)3 a year ago. Cincinnatians spend on average 20% of their income on transportation, which puts them at #6. Cleveland is #2 at 20.5%. I looked at the study (pdf) which lists the top 28 cities by that measure and Columbus isn’t on it. Houston is #1, which should come as no surprise to people familiar with that city.

To possibly make it easier to find your way around on public transportation, Google is starting to index transit maps and schedules to allow mass transit directions at the Google Labs Transit project. No Columbus info yet and it looks like it’ll be a while. Here’s a sample map for Portland:


View Larger Map

COTA does have a trip planner, but it’s not as cool or as fast as Google’s. It needs more ajaxiness.

Walker and Eric have a new blog focusing on Columbus transportation at X-ing Columbus.

Buckeye State Blog bans contributor

Jerid Kurtz of Buckeye State Blog has banned regular contributor Paul Ackerman of Linwood Campaign Services. There’s a big argument going on in the comments to this post at BSB. Paul’s bio was removed from BSB’s About page.

Dave Hickman’s been posting comments about it on this post of mine. Quite gleefully, I might add. It’s hard to know from the outside what’s really going on there, but it doesn’t look pretty. Maybe they should read up on how poisonous the Ohio blogosphere is and… think of the children. Or something.

Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, who’s also the head of the Ohio Department of Development, leaves for Japan today to lobby for investment, basically. He’ll be back on the 15th.

SUV mom did it several times immediately before

From Lisa Cornwell for the AP in the Dispatch:

A woman whose 2-year-old daughter died in an overheated car last month had left the girl unattended in the vehicle twice in the two days before the death and had earlier been warned about the danger that created, according to a police report….

The police report in the death of the 2-year-old girl showed that employees at the Compass School in Loveland said she had been left unattended in a vehicle on at least three other occasions.

Teacher Tara Phillips told police that on Aug. 21, Nesselroad-Slaby came to pick up the 5-year-old at the school and told the child to hurry up because the baby was in the car. The next day, Nesselroad-Slaby came in again to pick up the older child and stayed for about 10 minutes to watch the class act out a story, the report says.

The death occurred the next day, Aug 23rd. Clermont County Prosecutor Don White has already decided not to charge the mother, Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby. In light of this additional info, which White must have had, that seems hard to understand. It doesn’t look like a tragic one-time bout of forgetfulness. It looks like a pattern or recklessness.

Bill Sloat talks about a contrasting case here.

Gillmor’s wife to run?

So reports the Dispatch:

One day after the death of U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor, a number of high-profile Republicans emerged as possible candidates for his Ohio seat, including his wife, Karen, state Rep. Robert E. Latta of Bowling Green and state Sen. Stephen Buehrer of Delta.

That’s happened before, notably with Sonny Bono’s House seat and with Mel Carnahan, who as a dead person defeated eventual US A.G. John Ashcroft for a US Senate seat for Missouri- of course everyone knew that Jean Carnahan would be taking over.

I don’t like this. Politics is becoming increasingly hereditary, unfortunately. Bush, Kennedy, and Gore all have their dynasties- and now the Clintons are attempting to establish a family brand. It’s rather undemocratic- but many of us are voting for them.

UPDATE: This blog is reporting that Karen Gillmor won’t be running (via Jeff Coryell).

Columbus teacher dies of bacterial meningitis

From NBC4i, Teresa Smoak, a Columbus public school teacher, has died of bacterial meningitis.

The health department is working with the school district to locate any of the people at risk to make sure they receive treatment. Officials said that antibiotics have been provided to students and faculty who were in close contact with Smoak.

Anyone who believes they know someone who has contracted the disease is asked to call their physician or Columbus Public Health at 614-645-1474.

The infection is spread by contact, but not casual contact. Here’s some info on bacterial meningitis, from this site:

* Bacterial meningitis is a serious infection of the fluid in the spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain.
* Bacterial meningitis is most commonly caused by one of three types of bacteria: Haemophilus influenzae type b, Neisseria meningitidis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.
* The bacteria are spread by direct close contact with the discharges from the nose or throat of an infected person.
* Bacterial meningitis can be treated with antibiotics.
* Prevention depends on use of vaccines, rapid diagnosis, and prompt treatment of close personal contacts.

There’s been a rash of garage break-ins in German Village and surrounding neighborhoods. In broad daylight.

Charter school enrollment rising

The Dispatch blog reports:

Enrollment in Ohio’s eight largest urban school districts is slumping as more students head to charter schools.

A KidsOhio.org report illustrates the trend. In Dayton, 27 percent of public school students attend privately operated, tax-funded, tuition-free schools, up from 20 percent in 2003.

In Columbus, 13 percent of students attend charter schools; four years ago it was 4 percent.

The biggest increases are in Cleveland and Toledo where 18 percent of public school students in each district attend charter schools. Both were at 7 percent in 2003.

These numbers are increasing in Ohio even as many charter schools have poor to failing scores- on average, worse than public schools. But the averages don’t necessarily mean anything to individual parents. If your children are eligible for a decent or even just fair charter school while they’re zoned for a pretty bad public school, the statewide averages for public and charter schools aren’t really a concern. Your choice is only between two specific schools. And you should have that choice (and more).

(Previous post: Ohio needs credible alternative for public schools.)

Ohio: Clinton pulls ahead in latest poll

The latest Quinnipiac poll of Ohioans has been released:

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner has opened a 47 - 40 percent lead over her GOP counterpart, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, up from a 43 - 43 percent tie in an August 8 poll….

Giuliani and Clinton both lead in their respective parties.

Also, Dems beat Repubs in all polled matchups except McCain vs. Obama.

(Via The Daily Briefing. Previous post: Rasmussen: Guiliani edges Clinton by 1 pt in Ohio.)

Carnival of Ohio Politics #81 is up.

There’s a new German Village resident as of yesterday. Congratulations to Walker Evans and the new mom!

The Feed

Dann's Scheduler Tried to Keep Her Job

Marc Dann's former scheduler, Jessica Utovich, is consulting with her attorneys after claiming she was let go from her job without her consent.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 5:49 pm

Cyber-Bullies: Are Lawsuits Effective?

Online harassment is a growing issue nationwide with Web sites like Facebook and MySpace giving teenagers and, in some cases, adults an anonymous way....

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 5:47 pm

Payday stocks lose at least one-fifth of value

Stock prices for a pair of payday lenders with major operations in Ohio have taken a beating since state lawmakers started moving a bill that....

The Daily Briefing

May 16, 2008 5:34 pm

Bomb-Sniffing Dogs Come From Local Shelters

Bomb-sniffing and arson-detecting dogs are highly intelligent, trained dogs, whose main objective is to save lives and nab criminals.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 5:34 pm

Strickland heads to Kentucky to stump for Clinton

Hillary Clinton hasn't given up running for the Democratic presidential nomination, and Gov. Ted Strickland hasn't given up helping her....

The Daily Briefing

May 16, 2008 5:20 pm

Police: Semi Driver Steals $991 Worth Of Fuel

Police say a truck driver was able to drive off after pumping more than $900 worth of diesel fuel into his truck.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 5:03 pm

SMobile providing security for British Telecom phones

The latest major deal for data-protection firm SMobile Systems Inc. will find the company playing defense on behalf of tech-savvy consumers across....

Business First of Columbus

May 16, 2008 4:55 pm

Bill Aims To Balance Saving Trees, Gas Pipelines

Cutting down trees to make way for pipelines has been the scene in Central Ohio. But a new bill could give residents their power back.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 4:48 pm

Birth Control Covered By Prescription Plans?

Should birth control be covered in prescription plans? Lawmakers discussed the issue on Friday.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 4:47 pm

Jessica thought Dann would save her job

When former Attorney General Marc Dann's top assistant announced on live television that Dann's scheduler Jessica Utovich was out of a job, no one....

The Daily Briefing

May 16, 2008 4:15 pm

Court OKs sale of Sharper Image assets for $51M

Sharper Image Corp. has received approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Court to sell its assets in a $51.25 million deal.

Business First of Columbus

May 16, 2008 4:08 pm

1 Dies In Rollover Crash

Police were investigating a fatal motor vehicle crash Friday.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 3:18 pm

Payday lenders preparing to close up shop

With new payday lending regulations a few short steps from becoming law in Ohio, some in the industry are moving to vacate the state as they vowed....

Business First of Columbus

May 16, 2008 2:53 pm

Mike Brown steps down as Mayor’s mouth piece

Our good buddytake Mike Brown will be stepping down as the Mayor’s Communication Director to work behind the scenes at City Hall. Brown has....

columbusING

May 16, 2008 2:44 pm

Panera Bread, Ohio PTA Award Local Teachers

Panera Bread, in association with the Ohio PTA, announced the Central Ohio recipients of the Rising Above Award.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 2:07 pm

Waitressing Can be a Dangerous Career

Last night, Haiku owner Julie Liu and Haiku server (actually, the article only says "employee," but I suppose I am assuming she is a server) Rachel....

Restaurant Widow

May 16, 2008 2:06 pm

Police Say Child Called In Bomb Threat

Pickerington Central High students walk from their building to Ridgeview Junior High after a child calls police with a bomb threat.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 1:47 pm

Central Ohio Drivers Beware - Police State Weekend

Several counties around Ohio, including Delaware County, are participating in the so-called “No Refusal Weekend” wherein anyone stopped....

the 270

May 16, 2008 1:46 pm

New Charges Filed In 17-Year-Old Murder Case

New charges are filed in a murder case that is almost 20 years old. Read about the bond a judge set Friday for the suspected murderer of....

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 1:22 pm

National Investment Managers halves 1Q loss

Dublin's National Investment Managers Inc. cut its first-quarter loss by more than half as revenue jumped by a third, the company told investors....

Business First of Columbus

May 16, 2008 1:14 pm

Former AG Helps Wife Sell Dishes Online

Former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann spent his first day after resigning helping his wife with her business selling dishes online.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 12:54 pm

Turner Only Supports The Troops When It's Convenient

Rep. Mike Turner has decide to show just how far his support for the troops really goes. He voted against the "Post 9/11 G.I. Bill". ....

Buckeye State Blog

May 16, 2008 12:39 pm

Jury Convicts Firefighter In Triple Murder

A jury Thursday rejected a defense claim that a city firefighter who was angered by people shooting off loud fireworks in his neighborhood....

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 11:52 am

IRS: Up To 350,000 Didn't Get Child Credit

As many as 350,000 households are not getting the $300 per child refund owed as part of economic stimulus rebate payments, the Internal....

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 11:36 am

Spherion: Job confidence up, economic outlook grim

Dreary economic conditions in April did little to improve Ohio workers' outlook, but confidence in their own jobs has improved, a new survey....

Business First of Columbus

May 16, 2008 11:34 am

Macy's, FAO Schwarz sign toy agreement

Macy's Inc. has struck an agreement to open FAO Schwarz toy stores in 275 of its department stores this year. (M) (WMT)

Business First of Columbus

May 16, 2008 11:30 am

Scammers Target Trusting Travelers

As gas prices go through the roof, would-be travelers search for good deals. But that so-called "deal" could leave you in the red.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 11:09 am

Assault Victim: Case A Miscarriage Of Justice

These photos show how badly an assault vi This assault victim took a brutal beating and was in a coma for one month, and the only witness in....

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 10:50 am

John McCain in Columbus on Thursday- My Report

Old Man Joe Hallett of The Columbus Dispatch reports on John McCain’s visit to Columbus: Sen. John McCain beamed himself into the fourth year....

Right Angle Blog

May 16, 2008 10:44 am

Abercrombie profit, sales up in 1Q

Despite a decline in a key sales measure, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. reported improved top- and bottom-line performance during its fiscal first....

Business First of Columbus

May 16, 2008 10:27 am

Students Give Bible To Teen Who Said He Wanted To Kill Jesus

Chesterfield High School students are reaching out to the teen accused of planning to kill them in a suicide bombing at the school.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 10:19 am

State unemployment rate falls to 5.6% in April

A bit of good news for Ohio's unemployment rate in April came with more bad news from the month before.

Business First of Columbus

May 16, 2008 9:59 am

Arson Squad Goes To German Village Fire

Investigators look at a possible second arson Friday.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 9:53 am

Sad…

I just heard this news via NBC4 while getting ready for work this morning: Haiku Restaurant employees Rachel Widomski, 28, and Julie Liu, 48,....

columbusING

May 16, 2008 9:16 am

Overturned Vehicle Slows I-670 Traffic

An overturned vehicle causes delays on I-670 Friday morning.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 9:08 am

Ken Blackwell & YAF

On Wednesday, Ken Blackwell spoke to conservative high school students at the Young America’s Foundation’s Reagan Ranch High School....

Right Angle Blog

May 16, 2008 8:37 am

Power Outage Causes Traffic Trouble

NBC 4 reported on a power outage on the city's near East Side.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 7:55 am

RAW VIDEO: Man Attacks Bus Driver

Police are searching for a man who boarded a city bus and brazenly attacked the driver.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 7:31 am

Nunnally: Cool Again Today

Central Ohioans should expect showers to end this morning then mostly cloudy to partly sunny skies and cool temperatures again today.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 6:29 am

Well Said

Cross-posted this comment from BI. I couldn't have said it better myself:Unbelievable. You can’t blame sexism for the terrible campaign that....

Buckeye State Blog

May 16, 2008 1:06 am

2 Pedestrians Struck By Fleeing Driver

2 Pedestrians are seriously injured as a Jeep struck them and fled the scene.

nbc4i.com

May 16, 2008 12:02 am

Fire Companies Fight 2nd Alarm Fire

A 2nd alarm fire in south Columbus injures multiple people.

nbc4i.com

May 15, 2008 11:15 pm

OH-14: O'Neill blasts LaTourette 'cowardly inaction' for voting

Democratic nominee Bill O'Neill today blasted Steve LaTourette's "cowardly inaction" in voting "present" on the Iraq....

Buckeye State Blog

May 15, 2008 11:01 pm

Back to Reality

Cindy Ruccia, a Bexley resident who was our party's 1996 nominee for the Ohio 12th Congressional District, appeared on The O'Reilly Factor....

Buckeye State Blog

May 15, 2008 10:14 pm

A.W.E.D #1: Fauxjitas

I’ll be the first to admit. I’m not a vegetarian. Far from it, actually. If truth be told, I’m an unapologetic omnivore. But I am....

Columbus Foodie

May 15, 2008 9:33 pm

News to Use

* This afternoon on MSNBC's Hardball, Chris Matthews had Mark Green of Air America and Kevin James, a radio talk show host. (Please don't confuse....

Ohio 15th District

May 15, 2008 5:57 pm

26 Arrests Made In Major Round-Up

Ten teams of local and federal officers fan out on the city's west side, looking for the most dangerous fugitives in Central Ohio.

nbc4i.com

May 15, 2008 5:54 pm

Is John Boehner's Seat-al Region Warming Up?

Apologies to Tony Reali of ESPN's Around the Horn for the use of his trademark phrase "seat-al region."In the wake of three special....

Buckeye State Blog

May 15, 2008 5:54 pm

Elderly Man Pulled From Alum Creek

Emergency crews were called to rescue a 78-year-old man from Alum Creek on Thursday afternoon.

nbc4i.com

May 15, 2008 5:46 pm