Thursday, December 01, 2011

Tom?

* Ohio's teen birth rate has gone down.

MSNBC:

The state's birth rate among teenagers has dropped to at least a 21-year low, a trend that experts say reflects less sex and more contraceptives.

Health experts say the declines also suggest that young people are responding to influences such as fear of sexually transmitted diseases and economic anxieties about becoming a parent when money is tight and jobs are scarce, The Dayton Daily News (http://bit.ly/t7WVrm) reported Wednesday.

Preliminary data show that the state's teen birth rate declined for the third straight year, while the national teen birth rate dropped to an all-time low, the newspaper reported.....

There is another reason------ Former Gov. Ted Strickland.

TedStrickland.com:

....Supported Comprehensive Sex Education, Rejected Federal Funds Tied to Abstinence-Only Education. Governor Strickland consistently turned down federal funding to support abstinence-only sex education. Strickland opted instead for comprehensive, age-appropriate sex education that includes health and safety information in addition to teaching about abstinence. [HB 119, 6/30/2007; Columbus Dispatch, 7/1/2007; HB 1, 7/17/2009; Columbus Dispatch, 7/18/2009]....

Don't expect Kasich to give any credit to Stickland.

***  Another corporate giveaway?  According to an article in the DailyHerald, Sears is looking at possibly moving their headquarters from Chicago to Columbus, Ohio, because of state tax incentives of $400 million:

...The AP story is apparently based on this Columbus Dispatch story reporting the same thing and Ohio Gov. Tom Kasich's reaction to it.


That number has been around for a little while, though. As we reported, in early November, a Sears executive told a House committee about a $400 million offer....

Tom Kasich???

Chicago has mass transit and even railroad access for people and freight (see Amtrak map).  Columbus, unfortunately, has some bus transportation, but no rail service (Kasich was against the introduction of passenger rail in Ohio, and the state lost the huge grant money.)  Four hundred million dollars probably sounds good to Sears. Are they willing to trade in their heritage and history in Chicago for some fast money?