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.)

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.)

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.

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).

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.

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.)

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.)

Jill Miller Zimon has a post up on an arrest in California of the founder of a charter school network. Apparently, the schools themselves weren’t for-profit, but the schools used the services of a for-profit company, owned by the same person. Clearly a conflict of interest. Jill writes about how this might affect Ohio:

Mary Taylor’s been publishing audits that indicate a problems with the charters. But she’s also been the benefactor of their profits. How will she interpret what’s going in California, for herself and her responsibilities?

Let’s not forget another readon why I dislike the profit aspect: because so many of the profits go to politicians.

By that logic, we should never have any Democrats doing anything about the public schools. Why should anyone trust Democrats to regulate public schools when they receive so much from teachers’ unions? In the public school system, we’ve got politicians giving raises to teachers, who give some of it to their unions, who contribute some of it to politicians in an attempt to get more money for teachers and to protect the monopoly teachers’ unions want on public funds, thus guaranteeing a more or less permanent revenue stream to Democrats.

The solution for Ohio is broad reporting requirements for spending and education results for all schools, public, charter, and for-profit. The legislature has to be smart enough to properly regulate all schools that receive public money. Then let parents decide where to send their children and where to spend the money earmarked for those children. Public schools fail and waste money too. There needs to be a credible alternative.

Political blogs are not subject to FEC regulations, unless they’re paid for by candidates. So, there is a First Amendment. I’m not impressed that the FEC is ruling on these matters at all. I mean they could just as easily rule the other way.

In the Dispatch, via Columbus RetroMetro:

Major Woody’s Bar is a major pain, say some Brewery District residents who want to see it go away.

They say they’re tired of the fights and noise, and their quality of life is being eroded.

“All I want is some peace and quiet for our residents,” said Jeannette Tannert, property manager for Liberty Place apartments, which opened earlier this year across a large parking lot from Major Woody’s.

It’s a common scene across the country, as residents in rejuvenated urban neighborhoods such as Cleveland’s Warehouse District and Seattle’s Pioneer Square have voiced concerns about activities around popular clubs and bars.

It’s kind of funny. Peace and quiet in an area known for its clubs and nightspots. Go ahead, turn the Brewery District into a quiet bedroom community. I’m sure that will attract the YPs. That and a Starbuck’s. Columbus, Ohio: the city that goes to sleep at around 9pm. 11 on weekends and holidays.

The city is aware of the concerns, said Barb Seckler, deputy public safety director. She said police, the city attorney’s office and state liquor agents are talking with residents and the bar’s owner.

Assistant City Attorney Tannisha Bell, who attended the meeting, said she will investigate residents’ complaints.

“You have people living Downtown and they pay (for) nice apartments and they’re getting the noise and some of the fights that result from having a bar (nearby),” she said.

The state can always take away the liquor license.

From CNN:

Ohio Rep. Paul Gillmor was found dead in his apartment Wednesday, a Republican leadership aide said.

The aide said the body of the 68-year-old Republican was found by staff members who went to his apartment after he failed to show up for work. There was no immediate word on the cause of his death. Gillmor’s office did not respond to a reporter’s call.

Gillmor, who represented Ohio’s 5th District in the Bowling Green area of the state, was first elected to Congress in 1988.

He was 68. I saw this first at Right Angle Blog.

From ONN, an update on the Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby story:

No charges will be filed against a middle school administrator whose toddler daughter died when she was left in her mother’s SUV for about eight hours on a day when temperatures reached about 100 degrees, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Leaving the child in the car was “a substantial lapse of due care” but did not meet the definition of reckless conduct necessary for prosecution, said Clermont County Prosecutor Don White.

In similar news, there’s this:

An Oregon rugby player remains in jail Tuesday after being arrested on charges he left his 2-year-old daughter in a vehicle in the parking lot of a Nevada brothel on a 95-degree day.

Lucien Hoffman, of Bend, Ore., is being held in the Storey County Detention Center in lieu of $40,000 bail on charges of child neglect.

Police arrested Hoffman early Sunday night at the World Famous Mustang Ranch brothel in Sparks, Nev., after a security guard found the child crying inside the car, according to Storey County Sheriff’s Det./Sgt. Kenneth Quirk.

Father of the year.

UPDATE: Thoughts on the Ohio case from Mark Daniels.

UPDATE: Next post: SUV mom did it several times immediately before.