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From Business First of Columbus, 4/30/07: Universities across state team up to develop clean energy technology Business First of Columbus - April 27, 2007 by Carrie Ghose Business First Instead of working in isolation on developing clean and renewable sources of energy, researchers at 15 Ohio universities think they can reach critical mass for an economic boom if they join forces. The state's 13 public universities and two of its private colleges on April 23 formed the University Clean Energy Alliance of Ohio. The idea sparked from several schools' work last summer on Ohio's unsuccessful bid to land the U.S. Department of Energy's planned low-emissions coal power plant, known as FutureGen. The group pledges to collaborate on research and even on licensing of any technology that can be taken to the marketplace, said Jeff Daniels, associate dean of Ohio State University's College of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Other goals include educating the public and leading the debate on a state energy policy. Gov. Ted Strickland said the alliance can make Ohio a leader in developing the next generation of energy technology. Full article at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/04/30/story11.html

From the 3/3/07 Dispatch: Judge won't stop Children's Hospital from razing homes Saturday, March 03, 2007 Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Beverly Y. Pfeiffer said a "good neighbor" agreement among the hospital, South Side neighborhood groups and residents doesn't provide a legal ground to delay the work. Pfeiffer said that the hospital expansion is in the public's interest. This is likely the end of the fight, according to Mary M. Simon, who lives in the neighborhood. "I don't know of anything else we can do," she said after the judge's ruling. The hospital owns the buildings and already has permits to knock them down: 693 E. Livingston Ave., 654 Ann St. and 688 Jackson St. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/contentbe/dispatch/2007/03/03/20070303-D3-05.html

From the 2/27/07 Dispatch: City allows Children's to take alleys Council members scold hospital for how it handled Ronald McDonald House Tuesday, February 27, 2007 Robert Vitale THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Children's Hospital got a heap of scorn last night from Columbus City Council members who said the hospital is shutting neighbors out of a $740 million expansion that will reshape everything around them. But hospital executives also got what they wanted from the city: possession of two alleyways that will allow their plans to move forward. City Council members voted 5-2 to vacate the alleys so Childrens can build a new Ronald McDonald House for patients' families at Livingston Avenue and Ann Street. Seven houses that neighbors wanted to preserve could be torn down by the end of the week, said Yvette McGee Brown, who heads the Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Children's Hospital. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/contentbe/dispatch/2007/02/27/20070227-D2-00.html

Link contains a photo. From the 2/21/07 Dispatch: MEETING WITH SOUTH SIDE RESIDENTS Children's fields gripes over expansion plans Wednesday, February 21, 2007 Kevin Kidder and Mark Ferenchik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Children's Hospital officials got a polite earful last night, as they presented their plans to relocate the 2-year-old Ronald McDonald House, which would mean knocking down several old homes in the process. The relocation is part of a $740 million hospital expansion that will begin in 2008 and will include a new entrance on Parsons Avenue, hospital administrators said. The westward shift will be critical once the state builds a new I-70 exit ramp to Parsons Avenue as part of the redesigned I-70/71 split Downtown, said Patty McClimon, Children's senior vice president of planning and facilities. The hospital also anticipates that future expansion will be to its west, just across Parsons Avenue, where it recently purchased a former Kroger lot. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/contentbe/dispatch/2007/02/21/20070221-B1-04.html

From the 2/19/07 Dispatch: Children's building plans rile neighbors Community will get to air concerns on razing homes for new Ronald McDonald House Monday, February 19, 2007 Mark Ferenchik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Like other urban hospitals, Children's Hospital has to throw some elbows to make room when it wants to grow. But sometimes the neighbors push back. The latest tussle concerns a plan by Children's to knock down the 2-year-old Ronald McDonald House along Parsons Avenue. A new one would rise at the southeast corner of Livingston Avenue and Ann Street. Building the new center, however, would mean knocking down three houses and four cottages that neighborhood leaders want to preserve. The city would have to give up two alleys to clear the way for the new center. City Councilwoman Maryellen O'Shaughnessy said she plans to put that legislation before the council at its Feb. 26 meeting. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/contentbe/dispatch/2007/02/19/20070219-C1-01.html

From the 2/5/07 Dispatch: CONSTRUCTION ZONE Children's Hospital expands its plans Monday, February 05, 2007 Mike Pramik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Children's Hospital is tweaking its master plan for its Downtown campus, seeking a new direction to grow as I-70 and I-71 are rebuilt. The hospital intends to expand west of the Ronald McDonald House, 555 Children's Dr. W. The 37-room building that provides accommodations for families of Children's patients opened in March 2005, but it would be torn down and rebuilt nearby. In October 2005 Children's announced a $740 million plan that included a new main hospital. Because of the Ohio Department of Transportation's plans to reroute I-70 and I-71, Children's has redrawn its blueprints. The new main entrance to the hospital will be off Parsons Avenue rather than 18th Street, said Patty McClimon, Children's senior vice president for planning and facilities. Other details call for expansion west of Parsons Avenue. Last year Children's acquired several plots of land west of Parsons, including a former Kroger shopping center. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/contentbe/dispatch/2007/02/05/20070205-F6-01.html

From the 5/1/07 Enquirer: City schools vote to start preparation for tax levy Construction managers say they'll control costs BY BEN FISCHER | [email protected] The Cincinnati Board of Education on Monday took a tentative, cautious step toward asking taxpayers for more money to run the schools. After a brief conversation over how best to broach the subject with voters, the board directed its finance committee to begin researching how much money is needed and when to ask for it, if at all. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070501/NEWS0102/705010397/1058/NEWS01

From the 4/30/07 Sandusky Register: No new money for Sandusky schools By LAURA COLLINS [email protected] | Monday April 30 2007, 9:30pm SANDUSKY -- Local school districts looking for funding help from the state are seeing zeros instead of dollar signs. Gov. Ted Strickland’s proposed school funding plan for the next two years includes little or no funding increases for schools in Erie, Huron, Ottawa, Seneca and Sandusky counties. With the exception of Danbury and Kelleys Island schools, most schools in the area will get between a zero and 10-percent increase in funding. Sandusky City Schools Treasurer Troy Bouts expected as much. “I predicted that we would see very little change,” Bouts said. For the current fiscal year, Sandusky City Schools received $15.5 million in state funding. It will receive the same amount for fiscal year 2008 and $16.3 million for 2009 — an increase of 5 percent. MORE: http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2007/04/30/front/doc4634f4690b7d0529027630.txt

Link contains photos. From the 4/30/07 Enquirer: Smoking ban remains hazy Enforcement to begin this week, despite questions and resistance BY JON NEWBERRY | [email protected] Six months after voters approved it, Ohio intends to begin enforcing a ban that was supposed to virtually eliminate smoking in public buildings throughout the state, including bars and restaurants. Yet as a new deadline for compliance approaches Thursday, questions and uncertainty remain. Read more: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070430/NEWS01/704300404/1056/COL02

From the 4/26/07 Urbana Daily Citizen: Locals vist Bowling Green to see turbines SHAUN DUNLAP Staff Writer On April 13, various members of the community traveled to Bowling Green on an Everpower Renewables-sponsored bus ride to inspect the wind turbines operating there. Everpower Renewables is one wind turbine company that has been active in seeking placement of turbines in Champaign County. "My reaction is, I think they are very good thing," said Mechanicsburg Village Councilwoman Lu Blaine. "I think they are the future." Blaine said there are studies, surveys and people who say the wind turbines are noisy. "I stood right under one at Bowling Green," she said, adding it sounded like someone letting out a large breath all out once like a "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh." She said that standing under the turbine, she could still hear highway traffic about a half-mile away. She commented on the light at the top of the turbine as well. "They say the light at the top is disturbing, but you can't even see the light until you get a couple miles down the road." Full article at http://www.urbanacitizen.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=5&ArticleID=143629&TM=49540.73

From the 4/20/07 Bellefontiane Examiner: Committee appointed to design local wind turbine regulations By Brian J. Evans Bellefontaine Examiner Staff Writer 04/20/07 As controversy continues to swirl around proposals to erect wind turbines in the county, a committee was formed recently to review and draft zoning proposals to regulate them. Officials from the Logan County Prosecutor’s Office and the Logan-Union-Champaign Regional Planning Commission named a 10-member committee to determine what information should be included in any zoning regulations enacted by the townships in Logan County, Prosecutor Gerald Heaton said Thursday. By state law, the prosecutor is the legal counsel for the townships, and currently, he said, there are no regulations in place concerning wind turbines. “The whole purpose of this group is to get information,” the prosecutor said, “sufficient information so the townships can make an educated determination as to what they want to include in their zoning.” Full article at http://www.examiner.org/news04.20.2.php

From the 4/19/07 Springfield News-Sun: Township adopts residents' wind turbine zoning proposal By LaToya Thompson Staff Writer Thursday, April 19, 2007 MUTUAL — In a 4-1 vote Wednesday, the Union Township zoning board abandoned its initial proposal for wind turbine regulations. Instead, they adopted zoning guidelines suggested by 10 township residents, as opposed to submitting a zoning proposal modeled after one in Logan County to the regional planning commission. The board has worked since January to draft preliminary regulations for the placement and construction of wind turbines. The document states that a turbine can be placed 1,000 feet from a residence and 500 feet from a roadway. The new proposal suggests a wind turbine should set 2,100 to 2,600 feet from any property line and not exceed 300 feet in height from its base to the tip of the blade. Full article at http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/04/18/sns041907windmill.html

From Business First of Columbus, 4/16/07: Wind power advocates see potential Business First of Columbus - April 13, 2007 by Jeff Bell Business First The western edge of Union and Madison counties is perched on the perimeter of a glacial ridge that may prove to be fertile ground for developers of wind-power sites. The ridge, which runs north to south through Champaign, Logan and Hardin counties, is a contender to be the site for Everpower Renewables Inc.'s first wind farm in Ohio, said Kevin Sheen, a vice president at the New York-based company. No decision has been made on a site, he said, but the ridge, the Lake Erie shoreline and flatlands in northwest Ohio are the most promising areas for wind power in the state. "There are a lot of good choices as we try to ramp up," said Sheen, noting that Everpower wants to be generating electricity in Ohio by 2009. "We're looking anyplace where there is potential for development." At least four other companies also hope to develop wind turbine farms in Ohio, said Amy Gomberg of Environment Ohio, a Columbus environmental advocacy organization. That's an encouraging development, she said, given the benefits wind power can bring to the state. Besides reducing Ohio's dependence on coal-burning power plants, wind power has the potential to boost manufacturing of turbine components in Ohio and provide revenue for farm owners, Gomberg said. "Ohio spends billions importing coal from other states," she said. "(Wind power) is a way to keep some of that money in Ohio." Full article at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/04/16/story7.html

From the 4/15/07 Springfield News-Sun: Regional planning panel will seek to forge a compromise on wind turbines Champaign, Logan counties working on ordinances on where wind turbines can be located. By LaToya Thompson Staff Writer Sunday, April 15, 2007 Wind energy opponents would like to see strict regulations while land owners hoping to earn up to $6,000 annually for housing a turbine say they prefer more liberal ordinances. As a result, Logan-Union-Champaign Regional Planning Commission has taken steps to bring the two sides together to discuss zoning issues and reach a consensus, said Jenny Snapp, commission's executive director. In addition, Champaign and Logan counties recently adopted ordinances — and are working on others — that will regulate where turbines can be placed. The ordinances are the first of their kind in Ohio. "This is something new to all of us — no precedence," LUC Executive Director Jenny Snapp said of the ordinances. "We have to strike a balance." Full article at http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/04/14/sns041507windinside.html

From the 4/5/07 Chagrin Herald Sun: Kenston eyes site for wind turbine Thursday, April 05, 2007 By Marc Magill Chagrin Herald Sun BAINBRIDGE The Kenston Local School District may place a 750-kilowatt wind turbine between the new high school and football stadium. The project could cost $1.2 million, according to a press release from Green Energy Ohio. GEO manages the Ohio Anemometer Loan Program, which, funded by the Ohio Department of Development and U.S. Department of Energy, supports the study aspect of the wind turbine. Only two sites the Kenston High School and Iten Industries, an Ashtabula County plastics manufacturer were selected for the inaugural year of the program, GEO said. Last month, wind monitors were placed at different levels on the middle school's radio tower on Snyder Road to test the viability of a turbine there. If the project moves forward, the school district is looking to build a turbine big enough to handle at least half of the over $200,000 yearly electric costs at the new high school, Superintendent Robert A. Lee said. "(The money saved from the turbine) would help in making a levy last longer," Lee said. Full article at http://www.cleveland.com/chagrinheraldsun/news/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1175717441159120.xml&coll=4

From the 3/29/07 Dispatch: Wind turbines whip up debate Ohio landowners say it's their right to erect the structures, despite criticism Thursday, March 29, 2007 6:11 AM By Holly Zachariah The Columbus Dispatch BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio—When he retires in a couple of years, Roger Brown plans to build his dream house somewhere on the 92 acres he owns in the Logan County countryside. It is valuable acreage, with stands of trees and man-made trails and lakes peppering rolling hills and flat pasture. It's been in his family for six generations. And Brown, a 55-year-old assistant to the city engineer, says he has the right to do with it what he wants. If that includes erecting a towering wind turbine that consumes only a 15-foot circle of land yet nets him thousands of dollars each year, he says it is nobody's business. "The rural code has always been that if a guy pays the taxes on the land and if a guy holds the deed to that land, then as long as he stays inside the law, you leave him alone," Brown said. Such philosophizing has put him in the center of the growing debate over proposals to put electricity-generating wind turbines in western Ohio. Regional-planning officials say five energy companies are interested in building turbines in Logan and Champaign counties. Full article at http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/content/business/stories/2007/03/29/WINDY.html

From the 3/23/07 Blade: * GRAPHIC: Wind power studies NORTHERN OHIO SHORELINE Wind power plan for lake gains speed; efforts totaling over $1M seek to win new industry By TOM HENRY BLADE STAFF WRITER More than $1 million could be spent in the coming months pursuing offshore wind power in Lake Erie, even though the region just lost out on a bid to have East Toledo host the nation’s first testing laboratory for offshore wind turbine blades. A $250,000 wildlife study, funded by a grant the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority obtained from U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), recently began along the western Lake Erie shoreline. The goal of that study is to get the region’s clean energy and wildlife proponents on the same page over the risks posed to birds and bats. The next phase would involve putting two or three wind turbines along the western Lake Erie shoreline as early as the summer of 2008 to see just how lethal the devices might be. Sites have not been selected, but they likely would be between Toledo and Lorain, Ohio. The turbines themselves would cost several more million dollars, said Steve Watts, wind programs manager for Green Energy Ohio, a nonprofit group coordinating the study. Called the Northwest Ohio Coastal Wind Initiative, the study looms big for a region looking toward renewable energy for jobs. Full article at http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070323/NEWS06/703230397/-1/RSS

From the 3/15/07 Springfield News-Sun: Turbine rules drafted By LaToya Thompson Staff Writer Thursday, March 15, 2007 MUTUAL — The Union Township Zoning Commission has drafted preliminary zoning regulations for proposed wind turbines. Everpower Renewables, a New York-based developer of wind energy projects, has met with the zoning commission and township landowners to propose constructing at least 10 wind turbines on the east side of Champaign County. Each turbine can produce two to three megawatts of energy that could power about 8,000 homes annually, the company said. Zoning Commission members said they do not have authority to approve the project but had to create guidelines for possible construction. The commission modeled its regulations on Monroe Township in Logan County, which has spent a year preparing for the installation of wind-energy towers. Discussion Wednesday focused on the required distance between the 400-foot wind turbine and a residence. Full article at http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/03/14/sns031507wind.html

From the 3/11/07 Ashtabula Star Beacon: State aid could blow turbine into county Incentives revives Rock Creek wind program MARK TODD Star Beacon State incentives aimed at developing wind energy in Ohio could mean a breath of fresh air for Rock Creek's plan to erect a electricity-producing turbine in Conneaut. On Thursday, Gov. Ted Strickland announced $5 million in grants will be available to communities and others who develop wind-based energy programs. The news gives a boost to a plan John Casalina, Rock Creek administrator, broached many months ago. Casalina sees real merit in erecting a wind turbine on a certain wind-swept property in Conneaut a short distance from Interstate 90. Electricity created by the turbine could be used to trim utility bills for Rock Creek residents, the plan's proponents have said. During a presentation many months ago, Conneaut was invited to help finance the project so city residents could reap some of the energy benefits. Full article at http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_042071533

From the 3/10/07 ABJ: Answer to office park's power might be blowing in the wind Building will feature prototype turbine that provides eco-friendly energy By Linda Golz Beacon Journal staff writer FAIRLAWN - The Planning Commission voted Thursday to approve a prototype of a new urban wind turbine to generate electricity for the office park being developed on Cleveland-Massillon Road at Interstate 77. Scott Parker, president of Parker Fabricating Co. in Akron, which is developing the Kumho Office Park, said he has been working with the developer of the device, Green Energy Technologies of Bath Township. He explained that the WindCube is the first of this design. "This is our coming out,'' Parker said. He said that, as time goes on and the two companies continue to study the finished product, there may be some modifications to the design to improve it. He said they hope to use this as a model to showcase the energy device as they sell to other companies. Parker described the tower as an open, skeleton structure made with recycled steel. The cube with the turbines inside will be 25 feet by 25 feet and 15 feet deep. He said the entire structure would be 58 feet tall, while the building is 61 feet tall. Full article at http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/16875473.htm?source=rss&channel=ohio_news

From the 3/9/07 Blade: Wind lab won't be placed in East Toledo Region's chances for jobs suffer blow By TOM HENRY BLADE STAFF WRITER East Toledo won't get America's first laboratory for testing offshore wind turbine blades. It's a decision that likely has cost northwest Ohio a shot at numerous jobs in the renewable energy sector and likely will keep the Great Lakes region from assuming a leadership role in the development of offshore wind power. U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman today is expected to announce sites in Texas and Massachusetts as the two finalists for the $11.5 million project. East Toledo had been one of six in the running and was the only one from the Great Lakes region. U.S. Sen. George Voinovich (R., Ohio), one of several public officials from Ohio who endorsed the proposal, said through a staff member last night that he was "extremely disappointed," but he hopes that Ohio "continues to move forward with exciting opportunities like this one to further its energy independence." Full article at http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070309/NEWS16/703090392/-1/RSS10

From the 3/8/07 ABJ: Project would harness wind power Company seeks city's permission to use technology to provide power at future Fairlawn headquarters By Linda Golz Beacon Journal staff writer FAIRLAWN - A Summit County company that specializes in wind power is seeking permission to tap that energy source for its future headquarters in Fairlawn. Green Energy Technologies Inc. CEO and President Mark Cironi bills the project as the first urban wind-power system in Ohio. Cironi will present his proposal to Fairlawn's planning and zoning commission at 6 p.m. tonight at City Hall, 3487 S. Smith Road. He wants to use his Urban WindCUBE to help provide electricity to the new office park being built on Cleveland-Massillon Road at Interstate 77 Cironi plans to move his corporate headquarters from Ghent Road in Bath Township by May. Cironi said the Urban WindCUBE is like an oversized box fan. It captures the wind and pulls it into a smaller area, which increases its velocity. This makes the impellers generate electricity. The more wind, the more electricity generated. But Cironi said power can be generated with wind as light as 4 mph. Full article at http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/16858459.htm?source=rss&channel=ohio_news

Link contains a photo. From the 3/4/07 Dispatch: Wind-farm plan blows ill will in trio of Logan County townships Sunday, March 04, 2007 Holly Zachariah THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Logan County is home to the highest point in Ohio, so maybe it was just a matter of time before someone realized it is windy there. And maybe it was just a matter of time before someone decided to build giant turbines to convert that wind to energy. At least one power company says it aims to put up at least 20 turbines there. That many turbines would dwarf the only wind farm in Ohio, and some local landowners are saying, "Go away." The critics say wind farms aren't green enough and don't really help reduce reliance on other forms of power. "Wind energy's contribution to a power grid is insignificant and unreliable at best," said Tom Stacy, who lives in one of three townships -- Monroe, Jefferson and Rushcreek -- where companies are said to be courting landowners. He said the negatives outweigh any positives. The turbines are big enough that the blades intermittently block the sun and create what's known as "shadow flicker." Stacy likened the effect to a strobe light. He also said the rotating blades are loud, and that the scenic landscape would be ruined by the turbines, which can be as tall as 400 feet. Full article at http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/contentbe/dispatch/2007/03/04/20070304-C1-01.html

From the 2/22/07 Blade: Lucas County plan panel OKs wind turbines The Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions yesterday recommended approval of an amendment to the Waterville Township zoning code that will allow small wind turbines for residential electricity on land zoned for agricultural use. The amendment would allow turbines to stand no more than 80-feet high and have a generator with a rated capacity of no more than 10 kilowatts. The turbines may be placed only on parcels zoned for agricultural use that are at least five acres in size and serve one residence. Applicants desiring such turbines must produce detailed site plans when applying for a zoning permit. Ten commission members recommended approval. Commissioner Bernard Culp was absent. If the township's zoning commission and board of trustees approve the amendment, it will become the first area in Lucas County to allow such turbines. Full article at http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070222/NEWS33/702220339/-1/NEWS

From the 2/15/07 Blade: County may form wind-power panel Commissioners taking cues from Wood County turbine project By JANE SCHMUCKER BLADE STAFF WRITER The cold winds that chilled folks to the bone last week actually might be useful for keeping warm. Fulton County commissioners are considering a committee to study the possibility of erecting wind turbines for power production. Such a project wouldn't be a breeze. It would likely take about 15 years before savings could be realized, according to Daryl Stockburger, a consultant who addressed commissioners last week. Mr. Stockburger is credited with getting wind turbines at the Wood County landfill. He is now chief project consultant with North Coast Wind & Power LLC based in Port Clinton. The firm is carrying out wind studies in Elmore in Ottawa County, in Michigan's Wash-tenaw County, and in Carmel, Ind., just north of Indianapolis. Dean Genter, president of the county commissioners, said he would like to see wind turbines in Fulton County like those that have been online near Bowling Green since 2003. Commissioners are considering organizing a committee with representatives from Wauseon, the county's villages, business, industry, and people interested in alternative energy, he said. Full article at http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070215/NEIGHBORS05/702140337/-1/NEIGHBORS