wow as a big honey fan (gotta have it for breakfast) that is certainly good news.

I like honey in my vanilla chai latte.

greatest. song. ever.   .....about honey  :banger:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvBlKcyfeoU

 

No, this one is:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi5TzmmLbSY

thats girl music!!!!  :whip:

Erykah Badu is a legend.  That other crap is crap :).

fine. but if you keep listening to girl music you're going to have to update your avatar  :wink:

 

Says the man in Greenwich Village.

 

 

This time around, Gov. Ted Strickland and his economic development team are only too eager to celebrate Ohio's winning Site Selection's coveted Governor's Cup. Ohio won the 2006 Cup, as well, but the Strickland Administration in March 2007 was so new to the governor's office that credit for that win went to the previous administration's economic development team. The Governor's Cup goes to the state with the most new or expanded capital projects the previous year as tracked by Site Selection publisher Conway Data Inc.'s New Plant database.

  As for his contribution to this year's win, says Gov. Strickland, "I am as engaged as my development leadership wants me to be, which may involve travel, phone calls or personal meetings – anything they feel will be helpful." And it is that development team, headed by Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, he notes, that deserves the credit for executing Strickland's vision of making Ohio a pro-business, low-cost location in which to grow industry.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, right, and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher display the 2007 Site Selection Governor's Cup. Fisher, as head of the Ohio Department of Development, plays a key role in attracting industrial investment to the state. In recent years, Ohio also claimed the 2003 and 2006 Governor's Cups.

 

  While Fisher and the many local and regional economic development officials around the state are the foot soldiers in the trenches, Strickland says his role is to set the record straight with respect to Ohio's strengths, especially in challenging economic times.

  "Ohio has been described by some as a 'flyover state,' but people who understand all that we have to offer see it as a desirable place to be," he notes, pointing to the state's diverse work force, reasonable cost of living, physical and transportation infrastructure, health care and higher-education resources and location ideally suited for distribution and logistics operations.

  "The fact that tax reform was passed by a Republican governor and legislature and is now embraced by a Democratic governor says there is predictability and stability in terms of our business climate," says Strickland. "We are emphasizing education and work-force training and development in Ohio in a huge way. I have frozen college tuition in the state for the next two years, and we are putting $100 million into a grant program to enable capable students to pursue careers in science and technology," he adds. "And we are in the midst of a major push to make Ohio a leader among the states in terms of quality of education and to make college more accessible."

  From his vantage point, says Strickland, "Economic development is likely to occur where there is a positive business climate in terms of taxation, an emphasis on education at every level, including work-force development, and where the corporate and political interests are working together to make Ohio attractive. I hope 2008 is a year in which we continue to compete strongly and that we are having this discussion a year from now with yet another Governor's Cup."

 

How Ohio Won

  Central to that effort will be Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, Strickland's chief economic development deputy and head of the Ohio Dept. of Development (www.odod.state.oh.us). More than any other factor, Fisher credits the governor with Ohio's latest Governor's Cup.

  "He has made economic development the top priority of his administration," says Fisher. "He has sent a clear signal to every cabinet department that although there is only one Department of Development, every cabinet department must have as part of its central mission to promote and accelerate economic growth in our state, so we are all working to one single purpose and mission.

  "Second, we have created a new sense of urgency and rapid outreach and response in the Department of Development by aggressively reaching out to companies in the state and doing everything we can to partner with them quickly and responsively to meet their short-term and long-term work-force and capital-investment needs," says Fisher. "As a result, we have had some major successes."

  Third, says Fisher, the state has focused lately on making targeted investments in industry clusters deemed to have the most long-term investment potential. These include biotech, health care, aeropropulsion and power, advanced energy, automotive, distribution and logistics and polymers and plastics, among others.

  A fourth factor behind Ohio's strong performance is its renewed focus on work-force and talent development. "This has not been a priority in Ohio for too many years, and we have elevated its importance and have created a new partnership between the Department of Development and the University System of Ohio and the Ohio Department of Child and Family Services," he says.

"The fact that tax reform was passed by a Republican governor and legislature and is now embraced by a Democratic governor says there is predictability and stability in terms of our business climate."

– Governor Ted Strickland

 

Behind the Numbers

  Fisher realizes that not every Ohio industry is in growth mode and that jobs have left Ohio and other states in the region. Nevertheless, sound bites from economists and business pundits don't tell the whole story.

  "The many economic development successes we are having do not reflect themselves immediately in job numbers and statistics, because when we do create new jobs, they are produced usually over a period of 18 to 36 months," he explains. "I am very optimistic that we will begin to see those reflected in jobs and economic statistics, but maybe not until some time late in 2008 or 2009. But it does not take away from the successes that are in the pipeline."

  At the same time, says Fisher, Ohio is in the midst of aggressively diversifying its economic portfolio. The fruits of that initiative – and the recently enacted tax reform – are just now becoming apparent.

  "Manufacturing remains the largest sector of Ohio's economy, and the new tax system eliminates the state and local taxes that have been the greatest hindrance to capital investment, particularly in manufacturing," he notes. "When we are competing with other states, we often put a present-day value on the effective reform and then compare that with the other states with which we compete. Repeatedly, we have been able to show businesses that we are a much better value for them, not just when you take into account tax credits, grants and loans, but also the present-day value of Ohio's tax reform."

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Daniel Bradbury

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, right, presents a plaque to Daniel Bradbury, Amylin Pharmaceuticals' president and CEO, during Amylin's West Chester, Ohio, expansion dedication ceremony Monday, Nov. 5, 2007.

Ohio Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher and Bob Keegan

Ohio Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher, right, and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Keegan pose for a photo during Goodyear's announcement that they will keep and build a new world headquarters in Akron, Ohio. They went on to say, during the Dec. 5, 2007, announcement in Akron, that the site will be a mixed-use retail and commercial development project.

 

  Though not as robust as some states' "slush funds" used to seal deals, Ohio has put to good use its Economic Development Contingency Fund and a Rapid Outreach Fund to help lure projects to the Buckeye State.

  "Although we would like to have more funds in those pools than we have today, we do use them selectively for projects where we believe a quick response is necessary in order to close an important deal," says Fisher.

 

Fisher and the Big Fish

  Fisher and his economic development colleagues take no project for granted in the race for the Governor's Cup, but he does allow that certain deals were particularly sweet. These include Amylin Pharmaceuticals' $400-million, 500-job investment in a diabetes drug manufacturing facility in West Chester that involved a multi-state competition. "We successfully won that competition despite the fact that our financial-incentive package probably was not the largest. We won because of the cohesive public-private partnership that we created to demonstrate that we could meet Amylin's work-force and research and development needs by creating a partnership with adult career technical schools, community colleges and universities and our work-force development system."

  Just as meaningful was the retention of Goodyear Tire and Rubber's longstanding Akron operations.

  "These days, in this global economy, even iconic companies that have long been established in a particular state have the ability and flexibility to move quickly out of state," Fisher points out. "Goodyear came to us and indicated that a number of states had come to them to convince them to leave Ohio, because they wanted to expand their headquarters. We partnered with them, the City of Akron, the county, the port authority and a private developer to close an $890-million project that retained about 3,000 jobs and will create far more jobs in the future. What was particularly exciting about this is that we partnered with a private developer for a multi-billion-dollar investment that would redevelop the area around the corporate headquarters and create a mixed-use district that would revitalize the City of Akron as well. It's a great example of leveraging public dollars and bringing in private dollars to go well beyond the immediate corporate expansion project."

  Well before Gov. Strickland and Lt. Gov. Fisher came to Columbus, Ohio racked up a three-year Governor's Cup sweep – from 1993 to 1995 – and the state also claimed the 2003 prize. With two in a row this year, next year's race will be more competitive yet, with Ohio wanting a three-peat and lots of other states working to prevent that.

 

http://www.siteselection.com/

http://censtats.census.gov/cgi-bin/cbpnaic/cbpsect.pl

 

Click:

1) Censtats

2) County Business Patterns Data (NAICS)

 

You can compare Cuyahoga to Franklin to Hamilton etc.

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/05/12/daily12.html

 

Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 4:56 PM EDT

Ohio trying new tourism campaign

Business First of Columbus - by Matt Burns

 

State officials are banking on Jack Hanna and Ken Griffey Jr. to convince tourists to make Ohio more than a day trip.

 

The state's Division of Travel and Tourism on Tuesday unveiled a new print, radio and television advertising campaign that will extend through June, the peak planning period for Midwest travelers looking to get away in the summer and fall. Columbus-based Ron Foth Advertising developed the $2.25 million marketing push, which features Columbus Zoo & Aquarium Director Emeritus Hanna and Cincinnati Reds star Griffey.

 

The slogan: "Too Much Fun for Just One Day."

 

Full story at above link:

 

It'll be hard for Ohio to push tourism after years of slashing the budget of the Ohio Historical Society to the point that most sites are hardly ever open.

I use that a lot for various things on Dayton, looking at certain industrys here.  CBP was the source for a number of boring graphs and charts on Dayton's economy over at the Ohio Business and Economy subforum

It'll be hard for Ohio to push tourism after years of slashing the budget of the Ohio Historical Society to the point that most sites are hardly ever open.

 

I'm not sure I understand what your point is.

How difficult is it to comprehend?

 

1. The Ohio Historical Society operates many of the better-known attractions in various spots.

2. Their budget has been slashed.

3. Their operating hours have suffered as a result.

4. It'll be hard to push tourism based around any of those attractions unless we want to send people to places that aren't open.

 

:roll:

No dear, there is no need for the ":roll:",  :roll:.  I don't see how the "OHS" is the target or why it was even mentioned.

 

Is the OHS even mentioned in the article??  Please point that out!

 

I read this, as money is being used to promote tourist to visit the larger cities, stay overnight there and get a taste of what each of those cities has to offer.

 

How difficult is that to comprehend?

OHS has sites in Ohio cities large and small. This promotional campaign is fine. But if Ohio -- the cradle of U.S. westward expansion -- is serious about promoting tourism, it cannot ignore the obvious value of historic sites to tourism in the state. How much sense does it make for one state agency to promote tourism in Ohio while another state-funded agency is forced slash budgets and thereby discourage tourism?

OHS has sites in Ohio cities large and small. This promotional campaign is fine. But if Ohio -- the cradle of U.S. westward expansion -- is serious about promoting tourism, it cannot ignore the obvious value of historic sites to tourism in the state. How much sense does it make for one state agency to promote tourism in Ohio while another state-funded agency is forced slash budgets and thereby discourage tourism?

 

You have a valid point, but what does that have to do with this "targetted marketing" campaign?  Personally, I feel those are two seperate issues.

 

I'll bow out now, before this spirals out of control.

I saw a commercial for "Discover Ohio" which is a different campaign than above. It would be nice to see it shown outside of the state of Ohio. I never see any tourism commercials for Ohio back home in Florida. Even Michigan is promoting itself in a commercial I saw a couple of weeks ago in Florida.

:roll:

 

LMAO!

Campaigns don't exist in a vacuum. It's fine to want people from Indianapolis and Pittsburgh to come to Ohio to spend money. But what's the net result if Ohioans turn around and spend their money in Indiana and Pennsylvania? If we're going to promote tourism in Ohio, we should promote it across the board and allow targeted campaigns like this one be part of a broader effort. Instead, we're undermining the broader effort. Here's a copy of a letter I sent to the Columbus Dispatch a month ago (it didn't get printed):

 

The state should find a way to make up the Ohio Historical Society’s $2 million budget shortfall. And then it should throw in a few more million dollars to keep museums open and fully staffed to spur rural economic development.

 

Infrastructure spending is a legitimate and necessary role for government – and Ohio’s heritage is an indispensable part of the state’s public infrastructure. Just as public spending on roads and sewers and schools sets the stage for private investment and prosperity, so does public spending on the museums and historic sites in Appalachian and urban counties.

 

Because of high travel costs, it should make sense to travel Ohio. But if Ohioans can’t get into historic sites in Brown, Washington, Tuscarawas or Marion counties, they won’t be going to motels and restaurants and stores in those counties, either. If state museums are closed most of the time, it makes more sense for Ohioans to spend their travel dollars in neighboring states.

 

Actually the commercial I saw was the Discover Ohio campaign. I guess I should read the entire article next time.

And here's the cover of the magazine with a nice backdrop of downtown Cincinnati

 

^I have to agree.  I have seen the commercial where Griffey is arguing with some guy in a knight costume in the backseat of a mini van...absolutely terrible.  If I lived in a different state and saw that commercial, I would laugh and assume Ohio is boring and has nothing to offer.  Why don't they try to flash images of our attractions like Cedar Point and Kings Island, Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, Lake Erie, etc. Much in the way that Michigan's commercials are basically huge collages of water and golf scenes put to narration.  Ohio isn't California, so taking their approach of sticking as many celebs in one ad as possible isn't going to work.  Most people don't know much about Ohio, and probably just picture a bunch of corn fields.  This tourism campaign should show the public otherwise.

Does the North Coast commercial have anything about wineries? A recent OSU Extension study showed that grapes, wineries and wine tourism bring $30 million a year to Ashtabula, Lake and Geauga counties.

 

Thursday, May 29, 2008 - 11:53 AM EDT

Senate OKs stimulus package, capital bills

Business First of Columbus

 

Legislation for Ohio's $1.57 billion economic stimulus package is one step closer to Gov. Ted Strickland's desk after receiving Senate approval.

 

The chamber late Wednesday passed House Bill 554 and House Joint Resolution 5. The package would place a $400 million bond issue before voters in November to renew state's $400 million Clean Ohio initiative, a key element of the jobs plan Strickland unveiled in February.

 

The $1.2 billion balance of the plan is funded from existing state revenue sources and will head to public works projects, a higher-education work-force program, advanced and renewable energy technologies, and historic preservation tax credits....

 

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/05/26/daily26.html

 

AT&T is moving to Dallas from San Antonio. But at least it stayed in the state. Are there any Ohio companies that may think of leaving or a chance of being taken over?

Columbus (well, Columbus metro) technically just lost Wendy's. As far a Central Ohio companies are concerned, the only ones that I could see leaving, either by being taken over or just because they feel like it are Huntington and Limited Brands. The former because as a regional bank, it's a good takeover target, the later because, let's face it, Columbus is not NYC or Paris.

For Cincy I would say most of the F500 companies are pretty safe.  There are two potential companies that come to mind though - Macy's and Chiquita.  Macy's for the same reason as Limited with Cbus...and Chiquita has been tossing around the idea for some time, but has stayed even with incentives on the table from elsewhere.

 

Kroger, P&G, 5/3, Convergys, Cintas, Western & Southern, AK Steel, and Scripps all seem relatively secure.

Ohio is losing enough jobs. I would hate to see a major company leave. Maybe Ohio can revise some of the tax code and get rid of income tax or sales tax.

Macy's Cincinnati office is mostly back office stuff at this point. They actually consider themselves to have two hq's (Cincy and NYC). The apparel/retail sector has long had that sort of split. NYC hasn't been getting hq's for years - too expensive.

Ohio is losing enough jobs. I would hate to see a major company leave. Maybe Ohio can revise some of the tax code and get rid of income tax or sales tax.

 

I don't see why corporations would care about getting rid of a sales tax.  The lack of income taxes also don't seem to be reeling in the corporate headquarters for states like Nevada, Florida, Colorado, South Dakota, Alaska, Texas, and Washington.  I think they care more about being able to attract young talent and also the ability to find an affordable location.

Limited Brands. ... the later because, let's face it, Columbus is not NYC or Paris.

 

I have quite a few friends that work for Limited Brands and they have a rather large offices in NYC (SoHo to be exact) for all the brands with dedicated design teams.  They also fly private corporate shuttles twice daily between Columbus and NJ (one each way in the morning, and one each way in the evening) to shuttle folks back and forth.  In addition, they fly them to Europe for inspiration trips/Paris trade shows....etc quite often.  Les Wexner is a super smart businessmen and puts a lot of effort into keeping the stores competitive, and as long as he runs the show, I don't think it is going anywhere.  If something happens to him, then I'd worry.

 

When you used to see "New York Design Studios" on Express clothing...that was actually real

Cooper Tire in Findlay is not doing well, but I'm praying for a rebound.  http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:CTB

Ohio is a great place for companies to stick their accountants, hr, and programmers.

Ohio is a great place for companies to stick their accountants, hr, and programmers.

And lawyers.

 

Now we need an uptick in back off support staff.

I think most of the Limited Brands family's sales are concentrated in the heartland, which makes moving the company to the East Coast have little appeal.

Your corporate HQ location has little to do with where your retail/wholesale locations are located.

 

Case in point, Macy's.  They only have Macy's in Ohio, not one single bloomingdales can be found.

^ don't forget soaring shipping costs.

 

edit: er, you did actually acknowledge that.

 

I suppose moving the HQ would upset some customers, but I've noticed its something that can be addressed with good marketing fairly easily.

AT&T is moving to Dallas from San Antonio. But at least it stayed in the state. Are there any Ohio companies that may think of leaving or a chance of being taken over?

 

I always wondered how long at&t would stay in san antonio. Not long ago Ed was stating their commitment & how they wanted to bring an nfl team to san antonio. The inability of san antonio to land an nfl team may have contributed to the move, at&t is rumored to be a lead candidate for naming rights of the dallas cowboys new stadium.

 

So for all those people who seem to think company HQ shuffling only happens where they live, well here is the proof it happens everywhere.

Your corporate HQ location has little to do with where your retail/wholesale locations are located.

 

Case in point, Macy's. They only have Macy's in Ohio, not one single bloomingdales can be found.

 

I think the only place you will find a bloomingdales in the whole state of new york is probably new york city. The only reason macy's has a secondary office in new york is because terry wants to live there. Almost all corporate functions take place in Cincinnati, including their annual meetings & corporate events.

Your corporate HQ location has little to do with where your retail/wholesale locations are located.

 

Case in point, Macy's.  They only have Macy's in Ohio, not one single bloomingdales can be found.

 

I think the only place you will find a bloomingdales in the whole state of new york is probably new york city. The only reason macy's has a secondary office in new york is because terry wants to live there. Almost all corporate functions take place in Cincinnati, including their annual meetings & corporate events.

 

Terry is an idiot!  You can find Bloomingdales in New Jersey, Mass, Penn and other parts of New York State.

 

Honestly, the NY office is the more important office, because of Macy's historical ties to NYC, the 34 street building and it is the former Macy's headquarters.  All the buying, logistics, marketing & operations departments are physically in place in NYC.  And from a corporate structure stand point those things should be in NYC.  If anything, Cinci is the "secondary" office.

All this jibber-jabber about what takes place in NY and what doesn't is ridiculous...

 

Here's the only thing that matters, midway down:

 

http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/CIAtAGlance.jsp?tkr=M

 

All this jibber-jabber about what takes place in NY and what doesn't is ridiculous...

 

Here's the only thing that matters, midway down:

 

http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/CIAtAGlance.jsp?tkr=M

 

 

I understand your saying, but my point is.  Macy's considers Cinci the HQ. Yet those divisions of the Executive Office are physically elsewhere (since we do deals with those groups i specifically mentioned earlier) and relevent to the previous discussion.

 

Carry on.

^ Doesn't matter.

 

This does:

 

Macy's, Inc.

7 West Seventh Street

Cincinnati, OH 45202

 

 

HUSH!

HUSH!

 

Yes sir! ;)

ma?

So it all boils down to Macy's wanting to claim Cincinnati as its home over NYC.  Chalk up another victory for Cincy.

Let's hope they do and maybe the state will get more aggressive about encouraging small businesses :)