Friday, January 29, 2010

Railroad Jobs in the Future?

*** While Gov. Ted Strickland, Mayor Michael Coleman, and U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy celebrated the $400 million in funding for re-establishing Ohio's passenger rail, the other side, the Republicans, had no good words for the project that will put thousands of people back to work. (see Dispatch) Those Ohioans who are out of work will be watching the development of this story and the start of hiring.

* There is a very revealing story in The Other Paper that may have you looking at the anti-casino people in a different way.
The Other Paper:

...One of those casinos was earmarked for the Arena District, much to the chagrin of The Columbus Dispatch. In the weeks following the election, the Dispatch mounted a vigorous campaign of its own, launching a double-barreled assault of stories, columns and editorials against the casino. One column, titled “City leaders can stop casino in its tracks,” essentially was a blueprint for the mayor and council on how to throw a gauntlet of roadblocks in front of Penn’s local casino plans. It was written by Mike Curtin, the associate publisher emeritus of the Dispatch and the public voice of publisher John F. Wolfe.

In the eyes of some, however, Curtin, Wolfe and the Dispatch were not content to keep the casino fight relegated to the pages of its newspaper or the airwaves of its radio and television stations.

A number of sources, both on and off the record, now claim the Dispatch used its significant influence and power in the city to not only muster support for its anti-casino stance among politicians and civic leaders, but to punish those who worked at odds with Wolfe’s crusade....



Wow.

>>> Republican John Kasich, candidate for Ohio governor, had a rally of sorts. Pictures are posted at the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. In reviewing the photo gallery associated with the story, I was impressed that most of those supporting Kasich seem to be male and white.

In looking over some of the other parts of the article, I was dismayed that Kasich said he wanted to restrict the influence of special interests. I wonder if that includes the special interests of PACs, energy producers, bankers, lawyers, and owners of charter schools who seem to be contributing large amounts of money to the Kasich campaign. (See Ohio Sec. of State Campaign Finance)