From the monthly archives: January 2011
Apparently, this morning Governor Kasich’s office took down the MLK, Jr. resolution he signed on January 12th that incorrectly declared St. Patrick’s Day as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and replaced it with one he signed yesterday that, at least.
Here’s the original resolution, since Governor Kasich’s office took it down:
Is this what people mean by calling something a “whitewash?”
[UPDATE:] First, Fark.com, now the Cleveland Plain Dealer picks up our [...]
Full Story... →Remember last week when we told you about House Bill 17, a Republican proposal to provide tax credits for businesses that hire the unemployed? The lawmaker-controlled Legislative Services Commission estimated that the credit, once fully implemented, could add nearly $1.4 billion to the state’s budget problems. And it’s bad tax policy. Giving a business $2400 to hire someone, limiting them to a pool of people who have been unemployed for at least 60 days, and requiring them to remain on the payroll for two years before a credit can be claimed is a lot of hoops to [...]
Full Story... →Holy journalism degree, Batman!
Here’s what happened. On Friday, Governor Kasich hastily called a press conference featuring his new Ohio EPA director Scott Nally. At the conference, Nally signed a clean air permit for a company in eastern Ohio. Kasich said that the permit had languished for over twenty months, but after a few phone calls between his new EPA Director and the company and blammo–all the issues were finally resolved and the State could issue a permit.
And that’s exactly how the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported it, just as the Kasich Administration had hoped:
"This is a [...]
Full Story... →Last Monday we called Governor Kasich’s office multiple times trying to talk to someone. We tried again on Tuesday. The phones went straight to voice mail both days. Eventually they stopped going to voice mail, a sure sign the voice mailbox filled up.
That’s what happens when you cut your constituent relations staff, underpay your lowest-paid staffers and schedule your inaugural ball for a work night.
No one shows up for work and, if they do, they aren’t answering calls from the public.
Watching the Kasich administration completely drop the ball again today with their proclamation declaring [...]
Full Story... →[As seen on The Colbert Report, The Ed Show, and Countdown]
From the Governor’s Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Day proclamation:
So does that mean all the State employees who took today off are going to be fired for taking an unplanned leave of absence today? Will they get March 17th off, too? (It’s a Thursday.)
Two thoughts on this. One, I’m really glad to see we’re paying these people inflated salaries. Two, just when you think Kasich’s flippant attitude about the lack of diversity in his Administration couldn’t look worse….
March 17th, by the [...]
Full Story... →“If [public employees] want to strike they should be fired.” –Governor-elect John Kasich in December. “Either we go up together or we go down together.”—Dr. MLK, Jr. at the rally for the Memphis sanitation workers the night before he was assassinated.
Today, we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was assassinated at a Memphis hotel in April 1968 while supporting the strike of Memphis sanitation workers who were protesting discriminatory hiring practices and deadly working conditions. The day before he was assassinated, Dr. King gave his “I’ve been to the Mountaintop” speech:
Forgotten now [...]
Full Story... →From Saturday’s Columbus Dispatch:
Making good on campaign promises, Republicans in the Ohio House are preparing legislation to repeal key elements of Ohio’s school-funding setup, including a requirement that school districts offer tuition-free, all-day kindergarten.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Randy Gardner, R-Bowling Green, said he hopes the legislation to undo much of former Gov. Ted Strickland’s evidence-based model will "send a strong message from Columbus that there is mandate relief and cost savings on the way as (district officials) plan for the next school year."
Gardner’s measure also would wipe out a plan to fund smaller class sizes [...]
Full Story... →You get headlines like this in the Columbus Dispatch:
And if case you had any doubt that there’s a connection between the sudden popularity of this proposal and Kasich’s appointment of a Dubai oil/gas consultant to run ODNR:
Faced with a projected $8 billion budget deficit and an estimated $560 million backlog of overdue repairs at state parks, the new director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources says he’s "open" to the idea of drilling on 600,000 acres many thought were protected from exploitation.
Anticipated revenues? Well, according to a VP at the Ohio Oil [...]
Full Story... →I’m starting to wonder if the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s editorial board isn’t conservative, just contrarian to the governing philosophy of whomever is in office.
Today, the Plain Dealer argues that now is just not the time to considering repealing Ohio’s estate tax (even though Kasich, whom they endorsed, advocated for its immediate repeal before and in rare moments, during, the campaign):
“But the time is not right to outright repeal Ohio’s estate tax. Local governments are squeezed just now every bit as much as the state government — and demands for municipal and township services aren’t declining. The [...]
Full Story... →The Columbus Dispatch reported today on Rep. Lorraine Fende (D- Willowick)’s bill to “ban” late-term abortion:
House Bill 7 would ban abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy, or past 22 weeks if a test determines a fetus is "viable" and can live outside the womb. It contains an exception if the physical health of the woman is at serious risk but specifies that "does not include a condition related to the woman’s mental health."
"I had a conversation with someone quite some time ago that right now, you could be 81/2 months’ pregnant and have an [...]
Full Story... →Budget Watch
Joe Hallett: Every time Chris Redfern makes a public records request, it’s like Nixon shooting Giffords or something
Don’t believe me? Hallett’s column in the Columbus Dispatch on Sunday says just that. I haven’t bothered to look into this, so I’m willing to take Joe Hallett’s word that this is what occurred:
Chris Redfern got an anonymous tip concerning, somehow, the wife of Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Brent Larkin; Redfern decided to check out the veracity of the tip by making a public records request for payroll records that would either confirm or refute the tip; By all accounts, Redfern received the records which did not confirm the tip, so Redfern let the matter dropped.
These [...]
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