Feb

21

A Fairy Tale for Social Workers

Posted on February 21, 2010 at 10:32 am by Madrigal Maniac Under International, Local, State | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


I was interested in the remarks of a certain presenter at a Columbus festival I attended.

When I arrived at the speech there was a weird sort of vibe. Yes, some of the respected presenters and their fans were represented. But, there was also a large group of people who had helped facilitate the event and it appeared their main job was to party.

As the speakers presented their opinions I noticed something odd behind the scenes. There was a strange contest going on. In hiding, there were young men and women who were participating in a perplexing event. They would sit in huge lovely chairs with a number of tubes placed into their bodies that gave them the different realities they needed to enhance their understanding of the events of life. The ones they would like a better understanding of, and those they could give a shit about.

Spectators were kept aware of the progress by a huge technologically advanced computer monitor. This behemoth kept track of gains and losses against poverty, human rites, and international domination.

People at the festival loved it.

I happened to meet one of the young party people who had organized the event. We met on three evenings after the days events.

After the first day she said, “What a message. Haiti is on the way back… ” I said, ” I don’t think so. Haiti was poor before, this hurricane has made things worse and it would be a long time before even their former life would be preserved.” She asked, “how do you know this?”

“Because, I’m a social worker.”

Then she said, “Well at least the world is focusing more on human rites than repression.” I said, ” I don’t think so. What about Neda Soltani, a 16 student during an uprising in Iran? What about Tibet and China? Repression sill continues.”

She asked, “How do you know this?”

“Because, I’m a social worker.”

She then asked is their never a time to party and have fun and I answered, yes there is.

On days off and holidays. I said. Also, whenever you have worked for a civil rights movement that has changed the world for better.

She asked, “How do you know this……”

P.S. My sad attempt to write an album cover story like Peter Gabriel.

  • Share/Bookmark

Feb

4

Are the Blue Jackets Worth Saving?

Posted on February 4, 2010 at 7:37 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under Local, Sports | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


A new organization called Forward Together thinks so. Today The Other Paper has an article about this new organization who will work to ensure the Blue Jackets stay in Columbus. You can sign a petition at their web site.

This is my case for why the Columbus Blue Jackets are worth saving.

Here’s what might happen if the CBJ do leave.

“It’s easy to figure out what happens to the Arena District if the Blue Jackets leave—just go back to the year of the lockout,” said team president Mike Priest. “I think you’ll find the answer to how important (the team) is as an anchor tenant.”

Priest is referring to the 2004-05 season, when the NHL suspended games during the lockout. The city lost upwards of $700,000 in income tax from the team’s $34 million payroll, while the impact on the Arena District from the loss of hockey traffic was even greater.

The public needs to be educated on the worth of having the Blue Jackets in the Arena District. This from Mike Rose, one of the co-chairs of Forward Together.

“We’re not seeing retraction, we’re seeing growth,” said Rose…

Here are the figures.

Using 2006 data, researchers at the John Glenn School of Public Policy at The Ohio State University identified more than $630 million in investments in the Arena District. As a result of these investments, the Arena District is home to more than 170 businesses that employ more than 5,500 people and generate sales of $1.6 billion annually. Conservative estimates identify $30 million generated in state and local taxes annually.

But the Blue Jackets have a terrible lease agreement and are losing 12 million a year.

In November of 2009, Stephen A. Buser, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor of Finance at The Ohio State University released a research study that said the following regarding the Blue Jackets lease.

a) The Blue Jackets are required to make annual payments of approximately $5 million to use the Arena. Other NHL teams typically pay much less, or nothing at all.

b) The Blue Jackets are responsible for managing the Arena on a year round basis. As a result, the Blue Jackets are required to absorb arena operating losses on the order of $4 or $5 million per year. Other NHL teams typically either have no such responsibility, or the amount of the loss is shared with other parties.

c) The Blue Jackets have either limited access, or no access, to certain types of revenue sources that other NHL teams typically enjoy. Examples identified by MZSports that are especially significant in the case of the Blue Jackets include lack of access to payments for naming rights to the Arena, lack of access to parking revenues for hockey games and/or non hockey events, and only limited access to revenues from the sale of founder suites and personal seat licenses in the Arena.

I think this is solid evidence that the Blue Jackets have been an economic plus and are worth saving. In his report Dr. Buser gave 20 suggestions to help the CBJ. So far, there has not been much talk about implementing any of them. Hopefully, Forward Together can change that.

Of course the biggest thing that has to happen is the Blue Jackets need to start winning.

Sources:
Carrying the flag
Report on the Blue Jackets

  • Share/Bookmark

Feb

3

Columbus Blue Jackets Fire Ken Hitchcock

Posted on February 3, 2010 at 5:41 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under Local, Sports | Print This Post | Email This Post | 1 Comment 


I’m not sure this is a good idea, but it was announced this afternoon that the Columbus Blue Jackets have fired coach Ken Hitchcock. Last year Hitchcock was the first coach to lead the Blue Jackets to the playoffs.

My only guess is that the Jackets have been getting blown out in some of their recent games. The players may have tuned Hitchcock out and general manager Scott Howson felt like he had to make a change.

One player who did not tune Hitchcock out appears to be captain Rick Nash.

“It’s terrible news,” Jackets captain Rick Nash said. “It’s terrible news, it’s terrible we couldn’t play better, and the coach had to be fired. Hitch put this market on the map. We didn’t really have an identity before he got here.”

Based on the results of last season, the Jackets most successful, I believe he should have been given another year to try and turn it around.

  • Share/Bookmark

Feb

2

Here are Some Scary Numbers for Central Ohio and the Nation

Posted on February 2, 2010 at 11:19 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under Local, National | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


The Columbus Dispatch reported today on studies conducted locally and nationally regarding persons seeking emergency food.

The last comprehensive study on food emergencies was in 2005. Here are the new numbers.

People who received emergency food through the Mid-Ohio Foodbank in 2009 increased by 28 percent since 2005. Nationally the increase was 46 percent.

Of the 248,000 people who received help through Mid-Ohio last year, the food bank found that:

About 43 percent said they had to decide between making rent or mortgage payments or buying food - 48 percent more than in 2005. More than three-fourths - about 76 percent - of adult clients younger than 65 were unemployed…

…A growing number of adults who use pantries once had good jobs. About 18 percent of those seeking assistance said they had managerial or professional positions; in 2005, just 9 percent did.

Matt Habash, President of the Mid-Ohio Foodbank said many of those asking for assistance are former donors. He called the situation “alarming.”

Source: Number of people seeking emergency food help surges in central Ohio

  • Share/Bookmark

Jan

26

One in Five Central Ohio Households Face a Food Hardship

Posted on January 26, 2010 at 11:45 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under Local, National, State | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


A new report by the Food Research and Action Center states that one in five Columbus area households faced a food emergency in 2008 and 2009. A “food hardship” is defined as not having enough money to buy needed food. The question pollsters asked was, “Have there been times in the past twelve months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed.”

In Columbus 19.9% of respondents answered yes.

Youngstown was #3 at 24.2% while Toledo was #13 at 20.8%. Cleveland and Cincinnati did not make the top 25.

Nationally, 18.5% of respondents answered yes.

I found it interesting that nationally, the highest month of food hardship was November. The month of the Thanksgiving feast.

You can find an adobe document of the research here.

  • Share/Bookmark

Jan

24

Opposition to Moving Columbus Casino Starting

Posted on January 24, 2010 at 1:25 am by Madrigal Maniac Under Local, State | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


Already some in the State of Ohio are upset that Columbus is trying to change the site of their casino that was foolishly written into the Ohio Constitution. I remember after the vote, there were some who opposed Issue 3 who said it was over and were willing to give up the fight. I disagreed. Columbus was the sole city slated for a casino that voted against issue 3. I sensed a seething discontent in Columbus over having this thrust down our throats.

Interestingly, opposition seems to come from those not linked to Columbus.

In an online article that I suspect will appear in the paper today The Columbus Dispatch reported this.

In the Mahoning Valley, where they rejected last fall’s pro-gambling constitutional amendment, there’s lingering resentment that Youngstown isn’t on the list of casino cities.

Toledo is not happy either.

In Toledo, which did make the list, some online pundits have questioned why Columbus is the only city getting a second look at locations.

Here’s my quick flippant answer. We were the only one of the four cities slated for a casino to see the deception. Gambling interests which had seen four ballot initiatives fail in the past used the specter of a bad economy and the promise of jobs to create a perfect storm that allowed Issue 3 to pass.

One of my favorite bloggers said this in The Columbus Dispatch article.

“Some here feel if there is going to be a ‘do-over’ that one should be allowed to happen here,” Lisa Renee Ward, who runs a Toledo-based blog called Glass City Jungle, said via e-mail.

I hope this is a ‘do-over’. It’s chance to revisit a terrible decision by Ohio voters that was secured by a campaign of fear, money, and unsubstantiated promises.

A new constitutional amendment should appear on the next ballot that actually reflects the sober reflections of the Ohio electorate.

  • Share/Bookmark

Jan

23

West Side Hopes Casino Relocation Will be a Boon

Posted on January 23, 2010 at 11:14 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under Local, State | Print This Post | Email This Post | 2 Comments 


Penn National has agreed to move it’s casino to the west side where the abandoned Delphi plant is located. Cheryl L. Grossman, the Ohio House of Representative from Grove City where the casino will reside has created legislation that will allow for a vote on a constitutional amendment to allow this to happen. Initially, Grossman opposed Issue 3.

While I was an opponent of Penn National and against Issue 3, I am encouraged by Penn National’s actions and responsiveness to the concerns of central Ohio since Election Day.

The legislation I am co-sponsoring in the Ohio House would put a constitutional amendment on the May 4ballot to allow the casino to be built at the Delphi plant. Now is the time for the General Assembly, the residents and leaders of central Ohio and the voters of Ohio to support the relocation of the casino, as it serves the best interests of everyone involved.

Many on the west side are hoping this will invigorate a blighted part of the city that has suffered greatly over the last 20 years.

“It’s all about jobs,” said Dru Bagley, a member of the Greater Hilltop Area Commission. “People in this community, they have to make ends meet.”

Still, others are not so sure.

… Walker and William R. Eadington, an economics professor at the University of Nevada-Reno, said any enthusiasm should be tempered.

“It is most analogous to bringing in a big-box store,” said Eadington, who also directs the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the university.

He said studies show that gamblers are willing to drive 100 miles to visit a casino but aren’t interested in spending money at nearby businesses once they arrive.

I continue to be against a casino in Columbus.

There is still the issue of the low price for the casino licenses and the meager tax rate. It is unclear whether Representative Grossman’s constitutional amendment addresses this, but it should.

That said. If I have to live with a casino, the Delphi site is certainly better than the Arena District.

Sources:
Backers of casino gave a bit; now it’s our turn
Casino issue keeps moving
West Side hopes for gains from casino

  • Share/Bookmark

Jan

23

Columbus Public Health Employee Info Stolen

Posted on January 23, 2010 at 10:45 am by Madrigal Maniac Under Local | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


This from The Columbus Dispatch.

Columbus police are investigating why a person possessed financial and other personal records of city health-department employees that could be used to commit identity theft.

The person had so many employee records that “We don’t know exactly what that information is,” said police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner.

Names and Social Security numbers were among the information stolen, Columbus Public Health told its employees in an e-mail yesterday.

Here is a copy of that email. It contains valuable information for anyone whose identity may have been stolen.

Our department was notified earlier this week that Columbus Police recovered stolen financial records and papers from Columbus Public Health as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. We are collaborating closely with our partners at the Division of Police and our city attorney’s office.

Since this is an ongoing investigation, the details we have are limited. We know the stolen records included personal identifying information, so we wanted to notify you immediately so you may choose to protect yourself. Since learning of this, we have reviewed our safety and security procedures to ensure our employees are protected. Unfortunately, even in organizations with strict security, there may always be a level of risk as in this case.

Because we have no knowledge how this information has been utilized, we suggest that you take some preventative measures. Because we believe your name and social security information was available in the documentation stolen and to help safeguard you from misuse of your personal information, we have arranged for you to receive 12 months of identity protection under the Debix Identity Protection Network at no cost to you. Further information on this service will be forthcoming in the next day. Additionally, you may take steps to check your own financial records. This includes:

1) Checking your financial statements. Monitor your financial accounts and billing statements regularly, looking closely for charges you did not make.

2) Check your credit reports. The law requires each of the major nationwide consumer reporting agencies provide you with a free copy once every 12 months. You get these through www.annualcreditreport.com, 877-322-8228, and Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

3) Placing a fraud alert on your credit file. A fraud alert tells creditors to contact you before they open any new accounts or change your existing accounts. Call any one of the three major credit bureaus to begin. As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the others are notified to place fraud alerts.

w Equifax 800-685-1111

w Experian 888-397-3742

w TransUnionCorp 800-916-8800

More details about these and other steps are available at The Federal Trade Commission’s website at http://www.ftc.gov (select “Identity Theft” from the Quick Finder). For a copy of Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft, please go to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/idtheft/idt04.shtm.

We will be following up with you in the next few days as more information becomes available. If you have evidence that your personal information was breached and used fraudulently within the last three years please contact the Columbus Division of Police Economic Crime Unit at 645-4910. We are deeply saddened by this breach of trust. We are quickly exploring how CPH can further help staff to deal with this situation and will continue to share more information as we receive it.

I do not blame Columbus Public Health (CPH), I blame whoever stole the information. It appears the police and CPH are doing what they can and are offering assistance to CPH employees. Still, I hope this leads to new safeguards to protect public employees.

P.S. I did edit the post to delete the address of the email author.

  • Share/Bookmark

Jan

22

When Will the Freshwater Hearing End?

Posted on January 22, 2010 at 11:21 pm by Madrigal Maniac Under Local | Print This Post | Email This Post | 2 Comments 


Is this Freshwater hearing ever going to end?

John Freshwater is the teacher fired by the Mt. Vernon school district for teaching creationism and burning crosses into students arms. By state law he is entitled to a hearing before the firing is final.

The final decision was supposed to be handed down today. But, then KnoxPages.com reports this.

MOUNT VERNON – The contract termination hearing for suspended Mount Vernon Middle School science teacher John Freshwater faces postponement until Feb. 11.

My first post on this was October 31, 2008. How long does it take to fire a science teacher who burns crosses into students arms, violates the separation between church and state, and teaches intelligent design while denigrating other religions?

  • Share/Bookmark

Dec

31

John Hicks Emotional Speech at his Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Induction

Posted on December 31, 2009 at 2:06 am by Madrigal Maniac Under Local, State | Print This Post | Email This Post | Leave a Comment 


John Hicks is an Ohio State football legend. It is often forgotten by many just how great of a college football player he was during the early seventies. He finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting. The last lineman to do so. He won the Lombardi Award, the Outland Trophy, and was a first team All American.

John Hicks is certainly a man of class.

Sources:
Legend, John Hicks, emotional introduction to Rose Bowl hall of fame
John Hicks (American football)

  • Share/Bookmark