Ohio would close two mental health institutions, slash as many as 2,700 state jobs, and introduce state lottery-operated electronic gambling devices in bars under Gov. Ted Strickland’s plan to stop the state’s budget bleeding.

I tried, I really did but I can’t see the distinction:

He also drew a distinction between the lottery-run electronic games and the video independent gambling devices that the state all but outlawed recently.

“I’m making a distinction, which I think is a legitimate distinction, between casino gambling or other kinds of gambling and the lottery, which is an activity that was voted on by the people and the people have supported for a long time,” he said.

He and his budget director, J. Pari Sabety, said the state-run machines would be heavily regulated and monitored by the Ohio Lottery Commission, the profits of which are dedicated to schools.

That, they said, is different from the cash-paying, unregulated video games like Tic Tac Fruit that had proliferated in bars, arcades, and other locations prior to the state crackdown last year.

The lottery-run “Keno and other monitor games” would be permitted in bars and other “age and time-controlled settings.”

Let’s look at how Keno is described:

Keno is a lottery-like or bingo-like gambling game played at modern casinos. A traditional live casino keno game uses a circular glass enclosure called a “bubble” containing 80 ping pong-like balls which determine the balldraw result. Each ball is imprinted with a number 1 through 80. During the balldraw, a blower pushes air into the bubble and mixes the balls. A “caller” presses a lever opening a tube, where the balls lift one at a time into a “V” shaped tube called the “rabbit ears”. The caller and a “verifier” record each of 20 balls drawn, and the computerized keno system calculates all wagers based on the numbers drawn.

This seems to contradict what was reported when it came to Tic Tac Fruit:

The games used to be mainly in bars, restaurants, bowling alleys and VFW halls.

But the games are now prevalent in storefront parlors that look like rundown casinos, the type Ohio voters have rejected several times.

So frustrated are Gov. Ted Strickland and Attorney General Marc Dann that the pair of Democrats two weeks ago banned any game that pays out cash — even if it has been ruled a legal game of skill in court.

“We will fight this battle with every necessary resource,” Dann said last week.

The feeling I’m getting is that if an electronic machine that requires luck more than skill and it’s sponsored by the State Lottery then it’s okay for the State to profit from but if it’s owned by a game company or a bar in which the state won’t profit from it’s not okay…That’s really not okay with me…Is there in reality going to be a huge difference in these electronic games with the exception of who is the one profiting from them? At the face value that seems to go against what voters have stated more than once, that they don’t want electronic gambling.

Toledo Welcomes Columbus Sponsored by the Toledo Public Schools Parent Congress

February 2, 2008
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Doors Open at 9:30 a.m.
Rogers High School Auditorium

Meet State Legislators:

Representative Edna Brown
Senator Teresa Fedor
Representative Peter Ujvagi

A panel of students will ask the legislators questions concerning how the decisions made in Columbus affect

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

Questions?
Please contact the Parent Coordinator’s Office at:
419-671-8363

A copy of the schedule was also included:

9:30 AM Doors Open

Refreshments will be served.
Begin seating.

10:00 AM Introduction of Legislators & Introduction of Student Panel

10:15 AM School Funding Questions

10:45 AM State Testing Standards Questions

11:15 AM School Safety Questions

11:45 AM Questions from audience if time allows.

Comments from Legislators (How students and parents can get involved in decisions made at the State Level)

12:00 PM Dismissal

Legislators: Senator Teresa Fedor
Representative Peter Ujvagi
Representative Edna Brown

Students: One representative from each of the Toledo Public High Schools to ask questions from their respective schools per topics listed. Questions can be directed to a particular legislator or all.

COLUMBUS — In a much anticipated ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court today unanimously upheld the constitutionality of red light and speeding enforcement cameras like those employed by Toledo.

The court found that the cameras are an extension of local police powers and do not overstep local home-rule authority by civilly targeting vehicle owners rather than pursuing drivers criminally as state traffic laws do. The challenge was brought against the city of Akron, whose program is similar to those operated in other Ohio communities, including Toledo, Northwood, Sylvania Township, Columbus, and Cleveland.

“Ultimately regardless of the actor who performs it, the actual conduct prohibited — exceeding speed limits — is the same,’’ wrote Justice Judith Lanzinger, of Toledo. “When a municipal ordinance does nothing more than prohibit the same conduct prohibited by state statute, there is no conflict between the two.”

The “slip” opinion can be read here for those of you wanting to read the full opinion.

Interestingly enough it does state on page 14 of the opinion:

{¶ 40} Although there are due process questions regarding the operation of the Akron Ordinance and those similar to it, those questions are not appropriately before us at this time. and will not be discussed here.

Late last year (October 31, 2007) we wrote a column questioning the residency of Robert Torres. We noted that he had sold his house on Arlington in October of ’05, prior to his election to Toledo School Board, and held no other property in the county.

Rumors had it he was co-habiting with his girlfriend Sonia Troche, director of social service agency Adelante, in Perrysburg. This would be a serious no-no for an official elected to serve in the Toledo Public Schools district and a city of Toledo employee to boot.

Torres felt the heat. We hear he showed his apartment in a ramshackle building on a seedy part of Broadway, coincidentally directly across the street from the offices of Adelante, to a reporter from another local paper just prior to last year’s elections. He supposedly cast a provisional ballot in those elections, since he was still registered at the address on Arlington.

Here’s the rub. He has voted in primary and general elections since 2005 while ostensibly registered on Arlington. Where was he living? If on Broadway, his votes were potentially fraudulent. Ditto if he voted under the Arlington address while living anywhere else, especially in another county.

According to the Secretary of State website, a Robert Torres is still listed at the Arlington address and it shows he voted these dates after the sale of the home:

2007 NOV GENERAL
2006 NOV GENERAL
2006 MAY PRIMARY
2005 NOV GENERAL

Will this be a problem? Is there an explanation? From what I understand for a time period Robert Torres was said to be renting from the new owner of the Arlington address, before he rented the Broadway apartment. The Arlington address is listed as being a duplex and not a single home residence. The gentleman who Mr. Torres sold the home to appears to have lived there before the home was sold, or at least voted from that address from 2000 and after and I was told but can not confirm that they are related. At a minimum the questions should be answered and Mr. Torres might want to change his voter registration address if he has not already done so…

DEADLINE FOR DOG LICENSE RENEWALS QUICKLY APPROACHING

Lucas County Commissioners and Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon want the public to know that the deadline for purchasing a 2008 Dog License is fast approaching.

Dog licenses are $25 and Lucas County dog owners are required to have their dog licensed by January 31, 2008. If owners fail to purchase a license by this Thursday, the price increases to $50 and owners may be subject to a fine.

“The law requires that all dog be licensed to protect the public,” said Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak. “We encourage every dog owner to get their license and keep their pet safe.”

This Thursday, the Lucas County Dog Warden’s Office will stay open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. to allow the public to purchase a license.

“Our county staff will be working extra hours on Thursday to make sure that every dog is licensed,” said Commissioner Ben Konop. “But if you can’t make it downtown, you can still get your license renewed at most pet stores throughout Lucas County.”

The Dog Warden is located at 410 S. Erie in downtown Toledo. For more information, please call (419) 213-2800.

I have stated the following maxim before: During the Great Migration from the South, black people of strength and vision pushed onto Detroit but the weaker and scared ones settled in Toledo.

Show me that I was wrong.

Hot Grits and Other Hard Questions is a guest piece written by Dr. Donald L. Perryman that focuses on the love/hate relationship with Mayor Carty Finkbeiner. Bishop Stephen Ward pens The Key To The Massa’s House which also focuses on the Mayor and the 3/4% income tax issue. As should come as no surprise, our former Mayor Jack Ford shares his view on the recent events and asks:

How is Sobczak better than Mike Ashford? He does not compare in experience. He does not run his own shop as Ashford does at the Wayman Palmer YMCA. And Ashford has more education under his belt.

So how is Sobczak better than Ashford? Well, he is a few shades whiter and The Blade is concerned that Finkbeiner might drop dead and the council president will move up. Some time ago, Councilwoman Wilma Brown was passed over in favor of continuing Rob Ludeman in that role. Brown was a manager with the Girl Scout Council, a past president of the Toledo Board of Education and a veteran council member. Ludeman sold real estate. No comparison.

This is why some folks are fed up. When you add up the litany of screwovers, including the Perlean Griffin affair, it will explain why some folks are ticked off. And I could go back all the way to the to the despicable treatment of Wayman Palmer who got passed over in favor of an unknown, fair-haired boy, Dave Boston.

The real question is whether the black community will listen to Floyd Rose or to Carty and his minions. We shall see.

This Strikes Us opts for a Presidential focus, and there are many other articles of interest in this week’s edition.

According to Mr. Finkbeiner, the United Way of Greater Toledo pledged $25,000. Other pledges included $10,000 from the University of Toledo, $5,000 from Mercy Health Care Partners, $5,000 from HCR Manor- Care, $5,000 from Toledo Hospital, $5,000 from Health Care REIT Inc., $2,500 from St. Luke’s Hospital, $1,000 from Mr. Finkbeiner, $500 from the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, $300 from city staff, and $6,000 in anonymous contributions.

The solution?
All 10 council members present voted to use city funds to cover the insurance program if it doesn’t receive the private donations promised by Feb. 29, 2008 which is a solution for this year but something still needs to be done to address the City and it’s relationship with CareNet for next year, not immediately but it should be done before next year. Some on Council would have preferred to see the private donations being used to help expand CareNet, especially when it comes to prescription assistance but this does show how private funding can be used. I think what Tom Waniewski did was very well done and the United Way really stepped up this year, but I also understand the belief that there should be a certain level of responsibility for a program that was created by Former Mayor Ford.