Friday, May 22, 2009

United #615 Makes Emergency Landing In Pittsburgh; Plane Was Carrying Sen. Roland Burris

United Airlines Flight 615, an Airbus A319 flying from Washington National (DCA) to Chicago O'Hare (ORD) made an emergency landing this afternoon at Pittsburgh Int'l (PIT) after the plane experienced a problem with its hydraulic system. According to ThePittsburghChannel.com , the plane was carrying Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL).

United remains the only major airline in the United States that does not have any new airplanes on order with any major airplane manufacturers.

Rust Belt Is Already Benefiting From Green Jobs

As this CNNMoney.com article makes clear. My favorite quote?

Scores of firms in the renewable energy business have recently opened in the Rust Belt states. They hope to take advantage of a population known for its industrial skills, engineering ability and work ethic.

It's hard to say how many people these firms currently employ. The government doesn't yet track green jobs and the distinction between what's "green" and what isn't often gets blurred.

One study by the University of California, Berkeley estimated that green energy companies employ at least half a million people. That number could climb to 2 to 4 million over the next 15 years if the nation got 15%-20% of its power from renewable sources.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

I Support Marilyn Brown for Ohio Secretary of State

I have not been able to pin down whether or not Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason is going to take the plunge and run for Secretary of State. Some people say yes, some say no. It really doesn't matter to me, because Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown has my support no matter what.
I have known Marilyn Brown and her husband Eric for six years, dating back to Howard Dean meetups at the now-closed Scottie MacBean's Cafe in Columbus' Clintonville neighborhood. In 2004, Eric Brown was elected to a seat on the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. In 2006, Marilyn Brown took on the challenge of unseating the last GOPer on the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, defeating three term incumbent Dewey Stokes by 5 points. During that time, I vividly remember her husband attending campaign events with a nametag that identified himself not as "Judge Eric Brown" but as "Mr. Marilyn Brown"

 Since then, Marilyn has helped the County maintain its best possible AAA bond rating, a testament to the county's sound financial management practices. She helped oversee the construction of the new Huntington Park baseball stadium, which was on time, on budget, and built without a dime of taxpayer money. All the while, Marilyn and the rest of the Board took fire from the Dispatch (R-Columbus) for sticking to labor practice policies that were pro-labor, but that the paper conveniently forgot were enacted by her GOP predecessors. In 2008, she was elected President of the Board of Commissioners. Also in 2008, Marilyn's husband Eric was elected to become the first ever Democrat on the Franklin County Probate Court.

So, the Browns have a collective 3-for-3 track record in elections in Franklin County. Marilyn is now taking on the challenge of holding the Secretary of State seat for the Democratic Party. While it won't be easy to defeat "Slick Jonny" Husted, Marilyn will have my full support in her campaign. Go get 'em Marilyn!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

PD: Fisher, Haseley Knew of Barbash's Tax Problems

Mark Naymik of the Plain Dealer is reporting the following this morning :
Strickland's administration also delivered a negative communication last week. That's when it acknowledged that the nobody told the governor that state's top development officer, Mark Barbash, had tax troubles before his promotion in February to the Cabinet-level post.
Barbash resigned Friday after a media report revealed he owed the Internal Revenue Service more than $146,000.
Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher knew of Barbash's problem, as did the governor's chief of staff, John Haseley. Yet, neither said anything to Strickland, who found out only when Barbash told the administration he had received a foreclosure notice on his home.
The situation sends a couple of possible messages, neither of them good.
One, the governor's staff keeps him out of the loop. Or, two, the governor doesn't pay attention to his own vetting process.
So, Lee Fisher and John Haseley knew of Barbash's tax problems and yet failed to tell the Guv?

Shame on them.

Governor Strickland is in the midst of a tough budget cycle and is looking at a no-gimme re-election campaign next year. These two should know better than to make his life more difficult than it already is.

As for Mark Barbash, fear not! You may owe $146,000 to the IRS, but Akron mayoral recall instigator Warner Mendenhall has you topped! He owes $196,000. So, Mark, you may not be fit to be director of Development, but you can feel free to start a petition drive to recall your local mayor. And, you can whine about it if your mayor's supporters try to point out your tax lien as a reason not to support your recall efforts too, just like Mendenhall has.

Monday, May 18, 2009

A New Campaign Link

Hi all, please note my new campaign link over on the right. I'll have a full length post up about this later.