Around Ohio

Well, here it is another Februgly in Ohio. No snow in Columbus, but plenty of brown and grey to match my grey mood. Anyway, here’s my top ten reasons February sucks:

10. That goofy “r” (and no, I’m not saying Febrooary)
9. They shortened it and it still sucks!
8. All that income tax crap has finally come.
7. It’s claim to fame is….Groundhog Day.
6. What’s worse than January? MORE January!
5. All the world’s single people are reminded they are alone.
4. Weather still sucks!
3. It’s spring…oh, that’s right, in MARCH.
2. Insert your reason here–everybody has one.

And the number one reason is:

1. It just does!

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

Our clueless Governor Strickland said in his state of the state speech that he wants to save jobs. His own, that is!

As usual, Mr. Weak mumbled about this “initiative” and that “initiative”. What was it, $40 million to invest in green technology? 40 million? One building costs that much, big deal.

And hasn’t just about every state said they want to be “green”? How much green technology can we have to go around?

So this will be another year of Ohio circling the drain.

 Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

Below, I criticized efforts to stop the Columbus casino from being built in the Arena District. But things change.

So now, after the entire state voted in a constitutional amendment to allow four casinos to be built, Columbus wants to move theirs from the Arena District to a site along West Broad St. I work next to the new site, and this all worries me, because the whole state has to vote for the change.

The whole state? Really? I thought the state legislature could just approve it. After all, it only changes a location. But I guess not.

Is the rest of the state going to understand? Will they think it is for an additional casino, or to change other aspects of the deal? Since I work nearby I can tell you this area is collapsing economically, and some sort of new development is needed.

So please, please Ohio residents, vote yes. Understand this only changes a location and nothing else. If it fails the casino will be built in the Arena District after all.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

Your Buckeye would probably end up in traction if he attempted to ski, but for the rest of you, there is lots of skiing in Ohio. Here is a look at places you can go skiing around Ohio:

• Alpine Valley, just east of Cleveland at the Gates Mills exit on I-271.
• Boston Mills and Brandywine, also just east of Cleveland at the Ohio Rt. 303 exit on I-271.
• Mad River Mountain, near Bellefontaine, exit along US 33.
• Perfect North, just west of Cincinnati, exit at US 50 from I-275.
• Snow Trails, near Mansfield, exit I-71 at Ohio Rt. 13.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

I can’t believe folks in Columbus are trying to delay and/or change the location of the casino that was part of the issue that passed in November.  Just because “Franklin County voted against it.”

Folks, it doesn’t work that way.  The majority of Ohioans passed it, so it’s law.  If that were the case I wouldn’t pay most of my taxes.

And what’s wrong with the Arena District?  The site is just off the innerbelt, near the convention center and hotels, and is in an area city leaders have been trying to redevelop anyway.  It’s all just an excuse.

Or maybe they’re afraid it’s too close to the Statehouse and our elected officials will spend all their time there?

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

Most of Ohio is missing the blizzard, but it’s time once again to revisit what all those watches and warnings and terms mean when discussing the winter weather:

 Winter weather guide

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

One of my favorite places to visit in Ohio is Hocking Hills. Just an hour south of metro Columbus, there are fun things to do and pretty places to see regardless of the time of  year.

Visit my Hocking Hills page for details.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

I can’t believe the gambling issue actually passed!  What really shocks me is that old “liberal” Columbus failed it while conservative Cincinnati and Toledo passed it.  I wonder if their proximity to states with gambling has an effect?  They are used to driving across the border so it’s no big deal to them?  Dunno, but I wonder.

We’re so moral, until we squander our manufacturing base and there ain’t much left.  Then it’s gambling after all!

Oh well.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

Lies are the biggest turn off for me. And that’s all I hear in this anti gambling campaign.

So I had to laugh when I was Mary Withrow saying it was all paid for by out-of-state casinos that don’t want to lose money they currently get from Ohioans traveling to them.

Well, so casinos are bad for Ohio? 38 states have them, including all of them that border Ohio. And with the exception of Michigan, all of them are doing better economically (and Michigan is largely because of Detroit). Not too bad for them.

And what is this cash doesn’t count stuff? The proposal says Ohio casinos pay taxes on gross receipts, nothing about cash. And my favorite is when they say the issue “won’t create 34,000 jobs at any one time.” Well yeah, the proposal is predicted to create 34,000 jobs over time, not at one time. Lies, lies, lies.

I can’t wait for the election to be over.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

So I look at this Web site, and I see how Issue 2 is going to create an oversight board to make sure food grown in Ohio is safe and animals are treated humanely.

Then I look at the Humane Society site, and I see they are opposed to Issue 2 because it is just a smokescreen created by agribusiness to make it look like something is being done to improve animal treatment.

So which is it? What’s a Buckeye to do?

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

Of course, we all turn to our governor/minister for advice on avoiding swine flu…oh, that’s right, swine flu isn’t PC these days, H1N1, my bad. (Don’t want the dummies to think you get it from eating pork, the other white meat.)

Anyway, here’s his press conference:

Strickland Ohio’s H1N1 Preparedness

Wow, notice the poster: wash your hands! Never thought of that!!

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

If you’d like to see some of Ohio’s leaf beauty before you have to rake it, here are some leaf tours you can follow around Ohio:

Lake County
Medina County
Southern Ohio

For more information visit the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources leaf page.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

In order to balance the state budget in light of the postponement of gambling, Governor Strickland has proposed cancelling the last cut in the state income tax to balance the budget.

Let’s hear it for Captain Obvious!

Hip-hip, DUH!  Hip-hip, DUH!  Hip-hip, DUH!

About time!  What is the point in giving taxpayers a piddly tax cut when the state is going broke, local governments are putting levies on the ballot, license fees are being increased, etc.?

Ooh, that big tax cut saves me about 50 bucks a year.  What will I ever do?  Meanwhile Ohio sinks toward rock bottom.

Why couldn’t Strickland have proposed this idea a year or two ago?  If he only had a brain….

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

Okay, I’m really getting tired of the negativity on establishing rail service between Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus.

First, Columbus is the largest city in America without passenger rail service.

Second, yes, many won’t use it, but many don’t use schools or airports or whatever.  They are still important.  And don’t forget there are people in Ohio that can’t drive for various reasons.

Third, I am sick of the “it has to make money” bit.  Why does transit always have to make money?  How much money does I-71 make?  It loses billions, not only on building and maintaining it, but on State Highway Patrol keeping it safe, ODOT mowing and plowing, people cleaning the restrooms, etc.

Yes you can buy a tank of gas for what a ticket will cost.  But gas is hardly the only expense in operating an automobile.  For example, last year I attended a conference in Cleveland.  My truck is old, so I rented a car for the trip.  (My conference was in Tower City, so trains would have been perfect.)

The cost?  Rental car fee plus tax plus gas plus exhorbitant parking fees put the cost well over $15o.  That $25 train ticket would have been a bargain.

And I would have loved riding a train.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

At least according to this article:

Strickland Approval Rating Up

Up? Why? What has he done, let alone done right? If 48 percent of Ohioans approve, then 48 percent of Ohioans are morons.

Glad to be in the 52 percent majority.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.