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Thursday, February 25, 2010
Veterans’ group endorses Husted for sec of state
Ohio Veterans United on Thursday, Feb. 25, endorsed state Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, for secretary of state.
“Sen. Husted has a strong record of supporting Ohio veterans and honoring their service to our country,” retired Air Force Col. Thomas Moe, a Vietnam War POW and honorary chair of the group, said in a press release.
Husted is running for the GOP nomination against former Ashtabula County Auditor Sandra O’Brien. Franklin County Clerk of Courts Maryellen O’Shaughnessy is the Democratic candidate.
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TweetNo state income tax would lead to big problems
Critics are hammering against a GOP-sponsored bill pending in the Ohio House that that would eliminate the state income tax over 10 years.
Amy Hanauer, director of the Cleveland-based Policy Matters Ohio, told the House Ways & Means Committee this week that eliminating the income tax would devastate state government.
The state income tax generated $8.3 billion in fiscal year 2009, which amounted to 45 percent of the general revenue fund money. Without that chunk of money, Ohio could close all the state prisons, end aide to higher education and chop off property tax relief and still have to make more spending cuts, Hanauer said.
The idea that a lower tax rate would spur economic development “is a fantasy,” she said. The tax cuts of 2005 failed to bring relative improvement to Ohio’s economic standing, she said.
Getting rid of the income tax would bring $28 in annual savings to Ohioans earning less than $17,000 a year but result in a $35,490 windfall for the state’s top 1 percent of earners who make more than $309,000 a year, Hanauer said.
Among the 30 co-sponsors of the bill are two state representatives now running for statewide office: Seth Morgan of Huber Heights who is running for state auditor and Josh Mandel of Lyndhurst who is running for state treasurer. It is an idea also supported by Republican John Kasich, who is running for governor.
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TweetSmoking ban goes too far, judge rules
Huber Heights bar owner Dave Grusenmeyer says he’s pleased with a Columbus judge’s decision that throws a potential wrench into the way Ohio’s statewide smoking ban is being enforced.
“What it’s going to mean is that they get things changed around so I once again will have the right to run my business the way I choose to run it,” Grusenmeyer, owner of the Beacon Lounge and president of the Miami Valley Licensed Beverage Association, said on Thursday, Feb. 25.
Still, it might not be a good idea to light up when you visit the bar if you don’t want to subject the bar owner to a fine.
Attorney General Richard Cordray is appealing the decision from Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David E. Cain and has asked for a stay pending appeal. Also, Dr. Alvin Jackson, state health director, said in a statement that “we will continue to enforce the Smoke Free Act.” Ohioans approved the ban in 2006.
Cain ruled that the health department overstepped its legal authority in enforcing the ban against Zeno’s, a Columbus bar, and tossed out citations that resulted in $30,000 in fines. The judge faulted a “strict liability” policy against bar owners that resulted in citations without taking into consideration “no smoking” signs, removal of ashtrays and notifying customers that smoking wasn’t permitted.
Grusenmeyer said that he has taken similar measures in Huber Heights but some people still smoke. He has not been fined so far, he said.
“Would the Department of Health require property owners to pat down visitors for cigarettes before they are allowed to enter?” Cain wrote. “Would it have property owners remove people by force from the premises at the risk of personal injury?” Placing the enforcement burden on bar owners is “ludicrous and defies basic notions of fairness,” wrote Cain.
Sara Morman, spokeswoman, for the health department, said in an e-mail that the smoking ban was set up more to protect people from second-class smoke in public places and that it is difficult to cite individuals violating the ban, as opposed to bar owners.
No individuals have been fined, she said. To cite an individual, the department needs a name and address, she said. Also, if an investigator goes into a bar and sees someone smoking but doesn’t see the bartender ask the person to quit, the smoker is not in violation, she said.
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