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From the 2/25/07 Blade: ONE YEAR INTO BANKRUPTCY Uncertainty still shadows Dana Corp. workers, retirees By JULIE M. McKINNON BLADE BUSINESS WRITER Dana Corp. workers in Lima, Ohio, who have long feared that their plant will close, face wage reductions of up to $6 an hour, or about a third of their pay. Bill Large could lose health-care and life insurance benefits April 1, along with roughly 27,000 other Dana retirees in the United States. He started work at a Toledo factory and stayed with the company for more than 40 years. Contact Julie M. McKinnon at: [email protected] or 419-724-6087. ---- More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070225/BUSINESS03/702250303/-1/BUSINESS

From the 2/15/07 Blade: Dana Corp. again asks to void contracts Even as stockholders of Dana Corp. have lost their representation in the firm's bankruptcy case, the Toledo auto-parts maker has remade its case to end its union contracts and terminate its retiree health care benefits. Both issues occurred in the past few days. ---- More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070215/BUSINESS03/702150375/-1/RSS04

From the 2/10/07 Blade: Dana workers want to stop sale over loss of benefits Unions representing Dana Corp. workers want a bankruptcy judge to put the brakes on the sale of its engine hard-parts business because the buyer won’t honor retiree benefits. Dana, which filed for bankruptcy protection in New York 11 months ago, said in December it would sell the business to German supplier Mahle GmbH for $157 million. The sale is expected to be final by the end of March. ---- More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070210/BUSINESS03/70210004/-1/BUSINESS

From the 2/2/07 Blade: Dana files documents on benefits cuts Toledo’s Dana Corp. filed its legal arguments for eliminating retiree health-care benefits and rejecting union contracts this week, but the documents and their details are under seal in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. A hearing is scheduled to start March 12 on the subject and is expected to last several days. Objections are due by Feb. 22. ---- More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070202/BUSINESS03/70202001/-1/RSS04

From the 1/25/07 Blade: Judge OKs revised expenses for Dana FROM BLADE STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS Dana Corp.'s bankruptcy lawyers and consultants received court approval yesterday for three months of expenses after they trimmed the initial $1.4 million bill by 9 percent. Judge Burton Lifland of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, who previously criticized their July-through-August billings, approved revised expenses after the Toledo auto supplier's professionals pledged to take steps to keep expenses down. ---- More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070125/BUSINESS03/701250340/-1/BUSINESS

From the 1/20/07 Blade: Dana retirees seeking to review financial data Dana Corp. nonunion retirees on a committee during the Toledo firm’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy are fighting to review copies of so-called “Hellweek” financial documents for 2005 and 2006. The auto supplier has held “Hellweek” for at least 20 years to pore over budget, project, and analysis data from plants, but the firm will not let retirees see the requested documents, according to a filing this week in Manhattan’s U.S. Bankruptcy Court. A hearing is set for Wednesday. ---- More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070120/BUSINESS03/70120007/-1/BUSINESS

From ThisWeek Canal Winchester, 1/18/07: Overpass overlooked for state funding Thursday, January 18, 2007 By ROBERT PASCHEN ThisWeek Staff Writer The village may have to wait until at least 2014 before state money is available to construct a High Street-Bowen Road overpass at U.S. Route 33. The Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) recently released its draft list of major new road projects throughout the state that will receive funding in the 2008-13 period. In September, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission had named the High-Bowen overpass the second most important new road project in a seven-county area of central Ohio. According to information provided by MORPC, rights of way purchases and construction costs for a High-Bowen overpass were estimated at $19.9-million. More: http://www.thisweeknews.com/index.php?sec=canalwinchester&story=sites/thisweeknews/011807/CanalWinchester/News/011807-News-291415.html

From the 2/26/07 Dayton Business Journal: Former Elder-Beerman store site to be cleared for new retail Dayton Business Journal - February 23, 2007 by TIm Tresslar DBJ Senior Reporter The owner of a vacant Kettering department store plans to demolish the building to make way for new retail, including a chain of auto parts stores that are new to Ohio. The Beerman Realty Co. wants to begin demolition of the former Elder-Beerman department store on Smithville Road near Forrer Avenue by the end of March, said Tim Albro, vice president for Beerman Realty. The company then will fill the site with two buildings totaling 28,000 square feet. O'Reilly Automotive Inc., a retailer of auto parts, tools and supplies, is the site's first tenant, Albro said. Officials for the Springfield, Mo.-based company say they also plan to open a location at 5725 N. Dixie Drive in Harrison Township. A second tenant has signed a letter of intent for the second space, but Albro declined to identify them. Beerman Realty's proposed $2.5 million project would put back into use more than three acres in a city that has little vacant commercial land. It also furthers the resurgance of a neighborhood once blighted by the failing Van Buren Shopping Center. MORE: http://dayton.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2007/02/26/story2.html

From the 3/25/07 DDN: * GRAPHIC: Warren County: Where your neighbors live Growth rate slows slightly in southern Warren County However, with more than 200,000 residents, the county remains one of the country's fastest growing. By Tiffany Latta Staff Writer Sunday, March 25, 2007 Becky Ehling said Hamilton Twp.'s good schools, rural character and the fact that there's no income tax draw new families into the southern Warren County community like a magnet. "It's really a beautiful place to live," said Ehling, a township trustee who has lived in the community for 39 years. "I understand why people want to live here. You get the rural atmosphere and still have amenities close by. But whether you're pro-growth or anti-growth, it's obvious that we can only handle so much." http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/03/25/ddn032507growth.html From Cincinnati.com, 3/26/07: Mason closes on golf course Contributed By Carrie Whitaker | The Enquirer The Grizzly golf course at the Golf Center at Kings Island is now officially property of the City of Mason. Mason and Golf Center officials gathered at the Mason Municipal Center on March 15 to sign the closing documents that transferred ownership of the 209-acre property to the city. Mason bought the land for $9 million from Great American Insurance, according to the city’s Spokeswoman Jennifer Trepal. The council voted 5-1 to buy the property at its meeting June 27, 2006. http://rodeo.cincinnati.com/getlocal/gpstory.aspx?id=100227&sid=110163

From the 3/27/07 Marion Star: Funding coalition: Petition push is just first step By KURT MOORE The Marion Star MOUNT GILEAD - St. John Lutheran Church Pastor Donald Pletcher has watched school funding issues closely for more than a decade. His son, William Pletcher, was a Cardington-Lincoln High School student when the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding filed DeRolph v. State of Ohio in Perry County Common Pleas Court. William's and his parents' names were included as plaintiffs as the case went to the Fifth District Court of Appeals and eventually the Ohio Supreme Court, which found Ohio's education funding system to be unconstitutional in 1997. Pletcher was one of 15 people in attendance Monday at a Marion County Retired Teachers Association meeting. Tom Ash, director of governmental relations for the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, spoke at the meeting about the Getting It Right for Ohio's Future coalition that is collecting signatures to place a constitutional education amendment on the November ballot. MORE: http://www.marionstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070327/NEWS01/703270324/1002/rss01

From the 3/26/07 Alliance Review: School officials learn about funding issue March 26, 2007 By LINDA SALSBERRY The Review The debut of a PowerPoint presentation on the Education Amendment was no competition for a sunny spring day, but representatives of eight area boards of education, administrations and a few members of the general public attended a session Sunday afternoon at Alliance High School Auditorium. The Education Advocates' Proposal for School Funding (Constitutional Amendment - Guaranteeing High Quality Public Education) is now in the process of collecting the more than 400,000 signatures needed to place the issue on the November ballot. According to Sandy Nekoloff, president of the Ohio PTA, the true goal of the 12 member organizations of The Getting it Right! Coalition is one signature per student in the state, or 1.8 million. He noted that Saturday was the 10th anniversary of the first ruling of the DeRolph v. state of Ohio that resulted in four Ohio Supreme Court rulings declaring the state's funding formula unconstitutional. "The biggest battle," according to Nekoloff, "is getting people to not think about the old broken system and think of this as a new system." The full text of the proposed amendment is four pages. It and other information is available at the Web site www.rightforohio.org MORE: http://www.the-review.com/news/article/1769222

From the 3/25/07 Dispatch: Chart: School district revenue changes 1997-2006 (PDF) SCHOOL FUNDING: HAS OHIO FIXED IT? School funding Sunday, March 25, 2007 3:39 AM By Jim Siegel and Catherine Candisky THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Ohio schools get billions more in state money today than they did 10 years ago, and they have more options to raise local revenue. Yet a decade after the Ohio Supreme Court issued its first of four decisions finding the way the state pays for public schools unconstitutional, many problems cited in those decisions persist. Not counting federal money, the state paid 45 percent of the cost of a child's education in 1997. Today, that share is 45.5 percent. Districts continue to flood the ballot with levies. And with the continuing reliance on local property taxes, the revenue gap between the state's richest and poorest districts is almost as big as ever. Ohio taxpayers aren't feeling any relief, either. The average Franklin County district approved 11 mills of additional property tax in the past decade. Student scores on state tests and college-entrance exams are up, but so is the number of districts charging a fee to participate in sports or other extracurricular activities. So, 10 years after the high court's first ruling, is school funding fixed? MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/content/local_news/stories/2007/03/25/10YRmain.ART_ART_03-25-07_A1_3P65O4Q.html From same: What Strickland is proposing Gov. Ted Strickland's two-year school-funding proposal would: • Increase per-student base funding by 3 percent each year, from $5,403 this year to $5,732 in fiscal 2009. • Increase parity aid -- money to help even out disparities between poor and wealthy districts -- by about 8 percent over two years and reduce eligibility from the poorest 80 percent of districts to the poorest 60 percent. • Provide no additional state money for 228 districts, including 10 of 16 in Franklin County. • Cut property taxes for 775,000 seniors and disabled homeowners by exempting the first $25,000 of property value from taxation. The state would pick up the $260 million annual cost. • Eliminate the state voucher program everywhere but Cleveland and ban for-profit companies from operating charter schools. To read more, go to: www.obm.ohio.gov. From same: Some interesting school funding facts 6 - Cuyahoga County school districts ranked in 2006 among the top eight Ohio districts in revenue per pupil. 26 - Cuyahoga County districts ranked in the top 100 in revenue per pupil. 1 - Stark County districts ranked in the top 100 in revenue per pupil (Canton, 61) 5 - Stark County districts ranked in the bottom 20 in revenue per pupil. $500 million - Amount elected officials said would be spent on parity aid by 2006, when the five-year phase-in started in 2002. $459 million - Amount actually spent on parity aid in 2006, 8 percent less than what was expected. 10.6% - State's share of all revenue at Princeton City Schools in Hamilton County, lowest in the state. 78.7% - State's share of all revenue at Huntington Local Schools in Ross County, highest in the state. $19,456 - Total revenue per pupil for Orange City Schools in Cuyahoga County, tops in the state. $6,636 - Total revenue per pupil for Louisville City Schools in Stark County, lowest in the state. 50.2 - Effective millage rate in New Albany-Plain Local, highest in Franklin County. 27.1 - Effective millage rate in Groveport Madison, lowest in Franklin County. 1 - Of the four Ohio Supreme Court justices who ruled the state's funding system unconstitutional, the number still on the bench today (Paul Pfeifer). $69,303 - Average 2006 teacher salary in the Mentor schools (Cuyahoga County), highest in the state. $32,994 - Average 2006 teacher salary in Bettsville schools (Seneca County), lowest in the state. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/content/local_news/stories/extras/0307/schoolfacts.html Article 6, Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution "The General Assembly shall make such provisions, by taxation, or otherwise, as, with the income arising from the school trust fund, will secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state; but no religious or other sect, or sects, shall ever have any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school funds of this state."

From the 3/27/07 Fostoria Review Times: Commissioners OK annexation By SANDRA WHITTA staff writer Another step in getting an ethanol plant to Fostoria was accomplished Monday. The Seneca County Commissioners approved the annexation of 189.538 acres in Jackson and Loudon townships to Fostoria. All three commissioners voiced their support of the annexation following its approval. http://www.reviewtimes.com/News/backissues/2007/Mar/ar_news_032707.asp#story4

From the 3/24/07 Newark Advocate: Ethanol plant may attract other industries Ag consultant: Whole technological community can be built around ethanol By MARK SZAKONYI Advocate Reporter NEWARK -- Residents need to look not only at the ethanol facility being proposed for Newark but also other industries the plant could attract, an agriculture consultant said Friday morning. Charlie Stutesman, of Jones Ag Marketing, said Europe already has had success using ethanol facilities as a base for other biodiesel and chemical industries. http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070324/NEWS01/703240312/1002/rss01

From the 3/23/07 Middletown Journal: Union receives profit sharing from steelmaker By Dave Greber Staff Writer Thursday, March 22, 2007 For the first time in two years, members of the hourly work force at AK Steel's Middletown Works are receiving profit sharing checks from the company. The nearly $3 million profit sharing agreement is part of the $7.7 million in settlements included in the contract adopted last week by members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 1943. Read more: http://www.middletownjournal.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/03/22/mj032307akprofitshare.html

From the 3/25/07 ABJ: * GRAPHIC: Smoking complaints Smoking lingers long after ban Some businesses choose to ignore law; state to wipe out complaints until enforcement plan is in place By Tracy Wheeler Beacon Journal medical writer Since Ohio's indoor smoking ban took effect Dec. 7, more than 16,000 complaints have been filed with the Ohio Department of Health against businesses, bars and restaurants for ignoring the new law. Actual enforcement of the law, however, is still more than a month away, as the department tinkers with details of how enforcement will be carried out. Read more: http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/16970352.htm?source=rss&channel=ohio_news

From the 3/24/07 Fairborn Daily Herald: New rules may cut private clubs a smoke break RAINEY HOWARTH Staff Writer A revised draft of the enforcement rules could give private club members the exemption many thought they had when they voted for the indoor smoking ban. The revised rules, which were filed Wednesday by the Ohio Department of Health, included an exemption for some private clubs if their employees are all members. Read more: http://www.fairborndailyherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=124453&TM=46024.36

From the 3/23/07 Newark Advocate: Clubs pleased with smoking rule reconsideration Local veterans organizations hope state alters indoor ban By LIZA MARTIN Advocate Reporter NEWARK -- They fought for their country, and they usually won. Recently, Ohio veterans waged a different battle, and it looks like they might win this one, too. The Ohio Department of Health announced Wednesday it is considering the adoption of rules for the statewide smoking ban that would allow smokers to light up at some veterans halls and other private clubs that have only members as employees. A legislative panel must approve the new rules at its April 16 meeting. Read more: http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070323/NEWS01/703230303/1002/rss01 From the 3/23/07 Marion Star: Smoking ban may be lifted in some private clubs Draft rules please local veteran club officials By JOHN JARVIS The Marion Star MARION - Smoking will be legal in some private clubs if revised draft enforcement rules announced by the Ohio Department of Health end up in the final rules. Private clubs that only have members providing services for the club, regardless of whether or not they are paid, would be exempt from the smoking ban under draft rules announced on Wednesday. Read more: http://www.marionstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070323/NEWS01/703230326/1002/rss01 From the 3/23/07 Findlay Courier: Smoking ban change gets cheers, boos By JOY BROWN STAFF WRITER The glass ashtrays were back on the bar and ready for the lunch crowd at the Findlay chapter of Disabled American Veterans Buddy Chapter 43 on Thursday, the day after the Ohio Department of Health announced that veterans halls and other private clubs can be exempt from the new statewide smoking ban. The health department said clubs that only have members as employees could allow smoking -- as long as there are no non-members or children under 18 present. Read more: http://www.thecourier.com/Issues/2007/Mar/ar_news_032307.asp#story2 From the 3/23/07 Wapakoneta Daily News: Cigarette-friendly clubs Ban revisions would help local organizations serve area By MIKE BURKHOLDER Assistant Managing Editor Revised proposals to the statewide smoking ban that would exempt some private clubs would help local organizations keep their doors open and be a service to the community, members of the veteran’s groups say. “I would agree the new proposals would benefit us as a club,” said John Downey, adjunct quartermaster for the Wapakoneta Veterans of Foreign War Post 8445. “We are a little different than bars because we are private, our members pay to come here.” Read more: http://www.wapakdailynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3931&Itemid=27

Owens opens new facility on Findlay campus Fostoria Focus, 3/11/07 Owens Community College unveiled its new $4.2 million Community Education and Wellness Center with a ribbon cutting ceremony held Wednesday, March 7, in Findlay. Taking less than a year to construct, the new facility is located on the college’s campus on Bright Road in Findlay, adjacent to the Campus Education Center. RCM Architects of Findlay designed the building. General construction was handled by Charles Construction Services of Findlay. Plumbing, fire protection, and mechanical work was done by Warner Mechanical Corp. of Fremont, while Westfield Electric Inc. of Gibsonburg handled electrical work.

St. Marys considers new schools plans Lima News, 3/1/07 The timeline for making a decision about a potential cost-sharing facilities project has changed for St. Marys schools, the superintendent said Wednesday. Community and school leaders have been meeting for several months with architects from Fanning/Howey to determine whether the district will participate in a school facilities project if funded this year. The Ohio School Facilities Commission, which helps direct state dollars toward local school building initiatives, had been expected to make two announcements of schools receiving funds this year — sometime this month and in May. “The Ohio School Facilities Commission has been notifying schools in March. However, they have notified us that they will be doing no March notification,” Superintendent Ken Baker said. “Any school that is going to be funded will be told in May and will have two weeks to accept, decline or defer the program.” School leaders initiated the strategy sessions and sought public input early in order to be ready to have all the information the school board would need to make a decision about whether the district would participate. A community panel is studying options for building a new junior high and high school facility if that is the course the school board opts to take.

From the 3/25/07 Dispatch: Losing school a blow for residents Low enrollment to shutter Medary in University District Sunday, March 25, 2007 3:46 AM By Mark Ferenchik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH The announcement that the Columbus Public Schools will close Medary Elementary School this spring was not only a shock to students and teachers. Those in the University District neighborhood around the school also were shaken. Residents already knew that their neighborhood would lose the Indianola Alternative Elementary School to Clintonville in fall 2008, leaving the building on E. 16th Avenue vacant. Medary's enrollment had shrunk to 140 students, the lowest of any traditional Columbus elementary school. But it was still a neighborhood school. And without that school, many feel the neighborhood is losing its soul. "Medary is like the core of this community," said Lydia Pantages, a community leader. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/content/local_news/stories/2007/03/25/USCHOOLS.ART_ART_03-25-07_C3_J766BPO.html

Both from ThisWeek Licking County, 3/25/07: Rt. 161 accord regrouping after yearlong hiatus Group to focus on planning for development along corridor Sunday, March 25, 2007 By LORI WINCE ThisWeek Staff Writer The Licking County Accord, which was formed to plan development along the state Route 161 corridor, will meet March 28. The group first met in 2005 to review potential goals for land use, knowing Route 161 was to be widened from New Albany to Granville. It includes officials representing Jersey, St. Albans and Granville townships, the villages of Alexandria, Granville and New Albany and Licking County. The officials are working with planners from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) on the project. Full story at http://www.thisweeknews.com/?story=sites/thisweeknews/032507/LickingCounty/News/032507-News-325203.html

From the 3/24/07 Cincinnati Post: Comair's union employees may divvy up $68M By Greg Paeth Post staff reporter After some 15 months of coping with salary cuts, Comair employees are in line to receive raises, lump sum bonuses and cuts in health-care costs as the regional carrier prepares to emerge from bankruptcy in the next six weeks. Unionized employees - pilots, flight attendants and mechanics - will have about $68 million to split up among themselves if Comair and its parent, Delta Air Lines, get U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval to conclude a Chapter 11 process that began in September 2005. No figure on the total dollar amount that will be distributed to non-union employees was available Friday, Comair spokeswoman Kate Marx said. During meetings Friday, Comair informed its employees about the payments they can expect. Earlier in the week, Delta had told its 39,000 employees that the company planned to distribute about $480 million in cash and stock so that its employees "could share in the company's future success." That plan excluded Comair employees, though, who now will receive their own incentives. Full story at http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070324/BIZ/703240332/1001/RSS04

From the 3/26/07 Youngstown Vindicator: Officials, residents pleased with upgrades By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR. VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF HUBBARD — Revitalization projects for the downtown area are near completion with city officials, business owners and residents smiling at the outcome. The city now has a new safety center for police personnel, an upgraded utility complex on North Main Street and an upgraded water department. Both sides of North Main Street are lined with decorative red bricks along the sidewalk with vintage-style lampposts. Mayor Arthur Magee said none of the upgrades would have been possible without the blessing of city residents... [email protected] http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/288506398749558.php North Side pool finally draws bids Youngstown Vindicator, 3/24/07 Kids will finally get the chance to be all wet in August. After failing to attract any proposals on two occasions to construct a new North Pool, the city finally received interest from a pair of companies for the project... Trustees receive update on state Route 170 expansion East Liverpool Review, 3/22/07 Frank J. Obhof of Kirilia Contractors Inc. outlined details of the state Route 170 road widening project to St. Clair Trustees Tuesday night at its regular meeting... Soil drains school’s contingency Warren Tribune Chronicle, 3/21/07 The Board of Education approved a change order Tuesday that will drain a third of the contingency fund for the Willard K-8 Building Project before ground is even broken... Fitch High stadium to be repaired Youngstown Vindicator, 3/21/07 Fitch High School's stadium will undergo repairs after track season, and the district is hiring an additional administrator for the new middle school... Group plans meeting to explain bond issue Youngstown Vindicator, 3/20/07 The Citizens for South Range Schools group promoting a bond issue for construction of a new school plans to have its next informational meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the South Range High School library... Youngstown Vindicator: BUILDING EFFORT | Details South Range Board of Education put a bond issue on the May... (3/20/07)

From the 3/26/07 Salem News: Lisbon residents renovating, restoring building By ELIZABETH TABAK Salem News staff writer LISBON—A lifelong fan of reusing and recycling, Stevie Halverstadt is trying to bring those concepts to Lisbon on a grand, old-fashioned scale. For about a year now, Halverstadt, her husband, Kim, and her sister, Renee Lewis, have been renovating the historic Hamilton Building on Lincoln Way. Their goal is to restore it to its antique glory as when it was constructed in the first decade of the 19th century. ... http://www.salemnews.net/news/articles.asp?articleID=5260