Free Republic

CLEVELAND -- A national organization that conducts voter registration drives for low-income people has curtailed its push in Cuyahoga County after the Board of Elections accused its workers of submitting fraudulent registration cards. The board is investigating the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Results of the inquiry could be turned over to the county prosecutor. Board employees said ACORN workers often handed in the same name on a number of voter registration cards, but showing that person living at different addresses. Other times, cards had the same name listed, but a different date of birth. Still another sign...

...Republican John McCain holds a 1-point edge, 42 to 41 percent, in the first Dispatch Poll of the general election campaign. The Arizona senator's lead is well within the poll's margin of sampling error, plus or minus 2.2 percentage points. That means McCain could be ahead by as much as 5 points or Obama could be up by 3. Regardless of the exact numbers, McCain is being bolstered by Ohio voters who supported Hillary Clinton in the state's March 4 Democratic primary and those who backed Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland in 2006. McCain also is doing better among party loyalists:...

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland is the latest supporter of Hillary Clinton to accuse the media of bias in its coverage of the Democratic nomination battle. At a dinner with Washington Post reporters and editors, Strickland called the coverage "almost shocking at times" and unfair it the treatment of both candidate Clinton and her husband, the former president. "Quite frankly, some of the people that I had most previously admired as commentators I have a remarkably different opinion toward right now," Strickland said. Strickland was the second big-state governor and Clinton supporter to sound off about the press at the convention....

This esisode of WHIO Reports focuses on highway construction around the Dayton area, especially the main projects such as the I-75 project and the I-70/I-75 project. The guests discuss how the construction projects are affecting the local economy now and when the projects will be finished. The guests acknowledge that they understand that drivers are getting frustrated and focus on the end result to make driving so much easier. They discuss when the projects began and when they plan to finish the new roadways, as well as the cost which is around $700 million. The construction is needed because the...

As Ohio Democrats pack for their national convention in Denver next week, they have quietly rolled up an advantage that almost no one has noticed: nearly a million more registered voters than Republicans. Almost three times as many Ohio voters have become Democrats as have become Republicans since the summer before the last presidential election. William C. Binning, political-science professor at Youngstown State University and former Mahoning County Republican chairman, acknowledged that the surge of Democrats shows that the party is energized and motivated in Ohio -- and that Republicans have a lot of work to do. "I certainly think...

McCAIN RALLY IN DAYTON! FRIDAY, AUGUST 29TH JOHN McCAIN MAY HAVE A SPECIAL ANOUNCEMENT!!! ***WE WILL HAVE A BUS LEAVING PARMA EARLY IN THE MORNING*** THERE IS NO COST SPACE IS LIMITED! RSVP—ASAP 440-352-0704

Ohio, the ultimate swing state in Election 2004, continues to lean in John McCain’s direction, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state. McCain attracts 45% of the vote in Ohio while Obama earns 41%. That’s little changed from a month ago when McCain led 46% to 40%. When “leaners” are included in the totals, McCain leads Obama 48% to 43%. Full demographic crosstabs are available for Premium Members. Time is running out to save on Premium Memberships. Sign up now and save. Learn More. The most discouraging number in the poll for Obama may...

Strickland Says Obama Lacks Substance on Economy Sunday, August 17, 2008 COLUMBUS - Just days after lowering expectations on his ability to deliver Ohio for Barack Obama, Gov. Ted Strickland renewed criticism today over the lack of substance coming from his party's presumptive nominee. "I particularly hope he strengthens his economic message - even Senator Obama can speak more clearly and specifically about the kitchen-table, bread-and-butter issues like high energy costs," said Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio. "It's fine to tell people about hope and change, but you have to have plenty of concrete, pragmatic ideas that bring hope and...

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_Ohio_818.pdf Ohio: McCain 45%, Obama 45% From a Democrat Pollster, BEFORE the Warren debate. RCP Average now has McCain up 1.5% in Ohio. These numbers came under those aforementioned conditions AND with the poll slant looking like this: DEM: 42% GOP: 35% Oth: 23%

Ohio: McCain vs. Obama

Raleigh, N.C. – John McCain has pulled even with Barack Obama in Ohio, according to the newest survey from Public Policy Polling. Obama had led in PPP’s June and July polls of the state. It’s 45-45 with 10% undecided. One factor causing Obama problems is that he’s not doing as good a job as McCain of getting folks in his party to vote for him. While McCain leads 89-7 among Republicans, Obama’s lead is a narrower 75-17 among Democrats. Obama has the 45-28 edge with independent voters. The Democrats neglecting to choose Obama are disproportionately white, female, and middle aged,...

Several media outlets are reporting that police are looking for a man who attempted the ambush-style robbery of a Concealed Handgun License-holder in broad daylight Tuesday in Lancaster. Instead of receiving the $7,000 his victim was carrying in anticipation of purchasing some construction equipment, the robber was instead on the receiving end of his intended victim's .38 caliber revolver. From the story: Nathan R. Zeger, 27, of Galion, was meeting an individual to purchase a Bobcat around 3:50 p.m. Tuesday in the quarry in the 800 block of South Ewing Street, according to a Lancaster Police report. As Zeger approached...

CLEVELAND — A federal investigation of Democratic Party leaders in Cuyahoga County could pose problems for Barack Obama’s campaign in Ohio, party insiders and political analysts say....

COLUMBUS, OH — Republicans can usually expect a friendly reception in Butler County, but the mood of at least one Republican there is less than friendly toward John McCain. Sheriff Richard K. Jones doesn’t think much of McCain’s views on illegal immigrants and wants to make sure the presumptive Republican nominee for president knows it. So when McCain makes a stop for a fundraiser in the county today, Aug. 7, he’ll encounter something you don’t usually see in a presidential campaign: an attack ad from a fellow Republican. Jones, who’s become known nationally for cracking down on illegal immigration in...

A Columbus woman was sentenced to 18 months in prison yesterday for sending e-mails to the FBI last fall that said she would kill President Bush and send anthrax to schools, the U.S. attorney general said. Alemash Alemayehu, 24, sent the e-mails to the FBI's Web site that collects tips on terrorist activity, prosecutors said. She pleaded guilty to the charges in January before U.S. District Court Judge Algenon L. Marbley. There is no evidence that Alemayehu possessed anthrax, U.S. Attorney Gregory Lockhart said. In an e-mail Sept. 29, she said she would "destroy the white house and kill the...

WBNS TV in Columbus, Ohio is reporting a mysterious powder has been found in a "business sized" envelope in Downtown Columbus. It was delivered to a building and it came from an Ohio doctor. Supposively there was some writing that looked like Arabic writing... I have no more details to report because I'm at work. I just got this from my 14 yr. old daughter.

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The reason so many pundits approved when Barack Obama’s campaign floated the idea of picking pure-vanilla Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana for a running mate this week is that it addressed the biggest concern among Obama supporters in and out of the media corps — that he can’t connect with lunch-pail Democrats in the Midwest. In June, when Obama’s hopes were more audacious, his team was talking about a “new electoral map” in which western and southern states came into play for the Democrat. As they’d say in Biloxi, t’ain’t gonna happen. It was an understandable...

Where's it worst? Ohio, according to our analysis, which racked up four of the 10 cities on our list: Youngstown, Canton, Dayton and Cleveland. The runner-up is Michigan, with two cities--Detroit and Flint--making the ranking.

BEREA, Ohio (AP) -- A man who wore press credentials and took photographs from a platform interrupted Barack Obama's town-hall meeting Tuesday by shouting complaints that the Democratic presidential candidate had not called for the audience to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Obama invited the heckler to lead the audience in the pledge, and he did.

"I was duped," said Bart G. Anderson, superintendent of the Education Service Center of Franklin County. On July 29, 2008, Franklin County Education Service Center superintendent, Bart G. Anderson -- andersonb@fcesc.org -- was named as a buyer of a bogus doctorate degree in a Spokane Spokesman-Review article. Since then, Mr. Anderson has told the press that in 2002 he paid a $200 partial-payment to "St. Regis University" to apply for admission to its doctorate degree program. The Columbus Dispatch reported that he said "he was surprised when a bogus doctorate arrived instead of admission to an academic program." Whole story...

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters says a Springfield Township man, accused of running an "underwear con" to get near young children, is a predator who deserves to be locked up for a “very long time because he will continue to prey upon young children unless he is removed from the community”. Prosecutors today released new information in the case against 44 year old Ben Hawkins. Hawkins allegedly conned parents into thinking their children were participating in an "underwear survey" in order to get close to them for sexual contact. Prosecutors now say Hawkins had "unpermitted contact" with 11 children, boys...

A week after the terrorist attacks on America, a highly educated scientist told Milwaukee police that he was building an anthrax delivery system in his basement, according to documents filed in federal court. In these times of heightened alert, the remark earned the man a visit from FBI agents armed with a search warrant, who took the man's computer, and keypads from a telephone and a microwave oven, according to court records. But no deadly anthrax. As it turns out, police were responding to a neighbor dispute, and the man was intoxicated when he made the anthrax comments to police. ...

The School District in the City of Madison, Ohio will save $300,000 each year for the next 5 years by privatizing their school busses. Naturally, the union is trying to stop this savings by taking the city to court. Apparently, the union contract for the school busses ran out and the city decided to privatize the system instead of continue with the union. Of course, this is a long term savings, too. It eliminates the healthcare costs and pension costs to the city, as well. All good policy decisions, to be sure. Saving the tax payers hundreds of thousands of...

BARACK OBAMA is doing everything he can to make it look as if the election is a mere formality, and adoring media types are keen to play along. Yet the latest USA Today-Gallup poll puts John McCain four points ahead, while the RealClearPolitics average of polls gives Mr Obama a meagre two-and-a-half-point lead. Optimistic Republicans recall that Michael Dukakis was 17 points ahead of George Bush senior in the summer of 1988, and still lost. So there is plenty of evidence to suggest that this election, like the previous two, could boil down to a tight race settled by close...

Hamilton County Deputies say a Delhi man is under arrest after he was allegedly caught masturbating at a DUI checkpoint. Deputies say Michael Weber was naked when he pulled into the checkpoint on Saturday. They also say he threw a plastic glove onto the floor, and was masturbating. Weber is charged with public indecency. He also goes by the name Michael Waln.

The latest Quinnipiac Swing State Polls are out: Florida: Obama leads McCain, 46% to 44% Ohio: Obama leads McCain, 46% to 44% Pennsylvania: Obama leads McCain, 49% to 42%

Karen Deamons wants to use the women's locker room, like a normal woman. Deamons is transsexual - she presents herself and lives as a woman. But because she has not yet had sex-change surgery, Cleveland officials insist that she change clothes in the men's locker room of the indoor pool at Cudell Recreation Center, after they received complaints from a few women who said Deamons made them uncomfortable. For more than a year, Deamons, 53, followed the mandate. But now, after an embarrassing question from a boy in the men's locker room, she's fighting the city. She filed a gender...

The Cuyahoga County corruption scandal has blown gaping holes in leadership atop the Democratic Party and county government. In targeting Commissioner Jimmy Dimora, federal agents are aiming at the man who has been in charge of the county Democratic Party for 14 years. The county commissioners office should function while Dimora endures the investigation -- he is only one of three commissioners. But throughout his reign over the party, Dimora has been chided for failing to build an infrastructure that could survive a crisis. The party could sputter with a weakened chairman in place. With Dimora clinging to his political...

Brian Ballenger, law director for Northwood, followed through on his promise to contact us this week to continue working to resolve the Northwood Incident. In a phone call with me yesterday, he again confirmed that his office is aware that open carry is legal, and that he has communicated that information to the Northwood Police Chief. Ballenger also reiterated that no charges were going to be filed against OFCC member Edwin Farbrother, an obvious fact since he broke no law. However, he repeatedly stated that he advises against open carry to avoid panicking citizens who may not be aware that...

McCain gains 5 points in one month.

That's it. NPR has declared Ohio a disaster area. Things are so bad. NPR gravely warns, that folks in the Buckeye state can't even afford to buy meat for their dinner tables anymore. It's the end of civilization as we know it. Doom and gloom. Oh the humanity. It's the end of the world as we know it... at least for one Ohio family that NPR found to act as stand in for the rest of the state. To NPR all of Ohio is the Nunez family. And what is NPR' solution? Government aid, of course. In a segment...

All Things Considered, July 17, 2008 · A generation ago, the livelihood of Gloria Nunez's family was built on cars. Her father worked at General Motors for 45 years before retiring. Her mother taught driver's education. Nunez and her six siblings grew up middle class. Things have changed considerably for this Ohio family. Nunez's van broke down last fall. Now, her 19-year-old daughter has no reliable transportation out of their subsidized housing complex in Fostoria, 40 miles south of Toledo, to look for a job. Nunez and most of her siblings and their spouses are unemployed and rely on government...

Mansfield police have arrested John Picard, 40, a former youth pastor who had inappropriate sexual relationships with young girls beginning in 1992 while serving at Grace Brethren Church in Mansfield. Detective Jeff Shook says the investigation involving multiple victims has been on-again, off-again. However, recent leads could result in additional charges against Picard, who now lives in Springboro, near Dayton. Mansfield Police Lt. Allen Vandayburg says Picard is being held in the Warren County Jail, pending an extradition hearing this week. Vandayburg is hoping more victims will now feel safe enough to come forward. He says the police will try...

SEN. VOINOVICH STATEMENT ON LIFTING OF OFFSHORE DRILLING EXECUTIVE BAN July 14, 2008 WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement after it was announced that President Bush will lift an executive ban on offshore drilling that has been in place since 1990: "Today’s action by President Bush is an important step forward, but it must be matched by Congress lifting its moratorium as soon as possible. Ohio families are being hit hard by sky-high gasoline and diesel prices and we cannot afford to wait...

Photos from the Obama ralley in Dayton, OH (7/18/08) (waiting for doors to open)

The National Rifle Assocation's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) has awarded Buckeye Firearms Association Legislative Chair Ken Hanson, Esq. with its Defender of Justice Award. The award, which was given at the NRA's Annual Meetings in Louisville, KY, recognizes Hanson for his extensive pro-bono work to improve and defend gun rights. Attorney Ken Hanson is a former assistant prosecuting attorney, and former public defender. As Buckeye Firearms Association Legislative Chair, Hanson has had nearly weekly involvement with legislation, legislative aides, representatives, senators, attorney general’s office and the general media on firearm issues, legislation and cases. He is the author of...

A new Ohio law signed into effect this week, not only gives property owners the right to shoot intruders, but it's also changing Ohio's concealed carry law.

Yet another Ohioans For Concealed Carry member experienced harassment from police ignorant of the laws in Ohio regarding open carry. OFCC member Edwin Farbrother took his eighteen-year-old daughter out for ice cream on her birthday in the evening of Saturday, July 5th, 2008 in the City of Northwood. After being there for approximately ten minutes, a police car roared up and skidded to a stop. The officer approached a man later identified as an off duty police officer (department unknown at this time) who pointed Farbrother out to him. Farbrother knew immediately that the officer was there because he was...

Ohio's largest mosque found an extremist replacement for its deported terror-linked leader.

Drawing the sharpest distinctions yet between himself and the man he hopes to replace, Sen. John McCain said Tuesday his presidency would focus on climate change issues, reducing federal spending, closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center and eliminating torture by the U.S. government. In a meeting with the Tribune-Review's editorial board, McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, said "spending got out of control" under the Bush administration. He blamed Congress for pushing spending and the administration for failing to halt it.

Ohio has two counties in the list: Delaware County #5; and Geauga County (the red county where I live) was #4. Forbes' rankings are skewed toward counties with good school districts. Using research provided by the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax research group based in Washington, D.C., we started with a list of the nation's counties with populations over 65,000. To eliminate under-funded school districts, we isolated 97 counties where more than half of per-pupil spending comes from property taxes. They've also discovered something most Americans are still searching for: the ideal place to raise a family. Their sons, Pete...

Roughly 18 months after his defeat in the 2004 presidential election, John Kerry spoke at the commencement of Kenyon College, a small liberal arts college in rural Ohio. The students and faculty, predominantly Kerry fans, were regaled with his stories from the night of the election...

Governor will use cornhole to fund campaign Strickland holds games throughout the state and even plays himself By Stephanie Warsmith Beacon Journal staff writer Published on Friday, Jul 04, 2008 Forget the rubber chicken dinners. There's a new game in town: cornhole. And Gov. Ted Strickland has let it be known he will soon hold a cornhole tournament to raise money for his campaign, with regional competitions around Ohio, including one in North Canton. Not familiar with cornhole? It's a bean bag-tossing game that's popular on campuses and at tailgate parties. ''The tournament is a fun way of bringing Ohioans...

DELAWARE, Ohio -- A former Delaware County pastor charged with raping a 15-year-old girl who attended his church pleaded guilty yesterday to related charges. Brian L. Williams, 45, the former head pastor of Sunbury Grace Brethren Church, pleaded guilty to two sexual battery charges, Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost said in a news release. Williams was indicted in March on two counts of rape and two counts of sexual battery, all felonies. The indictment alleged that on March 6, Williams forced the girl to perform oral sex and assaulted her at his church office. Yost's office re-filed sexual battery charges...

Once known as the Mother of Presidents, Ohio is now getting poorer, older and dumber – and making all the wrong moves to reverse the situation. And that may actually be a plus for Barack Obama. His party is finding that lofty, vague promises of change combined with high-spending, high-tax, welfare state-ish policies are a political winner in the state. How else to explain why Gov. Ted Strickland's approval ratings are in the mid-50s or why Democrats may even win control of the state House for the first time in 14 years? But as a formula for economic revival, it...

DEADLY BEATING: A Cleveland man died Wednesday night after he was beaten by a group of kids on bikes. 19 Action News has learned Anthony Waters was attacked in the 3000 block of East 55th Street in a heavy industrial area. Police say the suspects - ages 13-15 years of age - robbed the 42-year-old prior to the fatal attack. Investigators believe the random violence took place around 9:15PM - no witnesses have come forward but officials believe security cameras caught part of the attack. Waters originally refused medical treatment from EMS but his condition quickly worsened and he later...

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For 36 years, Ohioans have been sending a portion of their paychecks to the state -- an act that cost the median filer $619 in 2005. Some Ohio lawmakers say it's time to let Ohioans keep that money. "To me, it just seems pretty logical," said Rep. John Adams, R-Sidney. His House Bill 534 calls for phasing out the state income tax over 10 years. "I'm going to keep pushing it because I don't foresee the economy getting better in Ohio. I only foresee it getting worse." While some see little logic in trying to wipe out state government's largest...

Did you know that if you live in Lake County, there is a chance you can still find an ancient Indian artifact in your own backyard? And if you lived in Eastlake in the 1970s, you most likely did. Thousands of artifacts including pipes, stones, shells, bone hair pins and beads, turned up in the area in 1973 when property on Reeves Road was sold to make way for condominiums. Pipes, in particular, were easy finds. "There were so many pipes in the area because there were a lot of tobacco patches there," says Ann Dewald, director of the Indian...

Businesses have had more than a year to acclimate to Ohio's indoor smoking ban, but state lawmakers are now exploring ways to adapt that ban to businesses. Two legislators are pushing for changes in Ohio's Smoke Free Workplace Law, with one asking for new definitions of family-owned businesses and private clubs and the second seeking to exempt bars that serve little food. Sen. Robert Schuler, R-Sycamore Township, said the goal of Senate Bill 346 is to redefine businesses covered by the law. House Bill 592, proposed by Rep. Diana Fessler, R-Bethel Township, would add the term "standalone bars" to the...