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Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Blackwell endorses Yost for auditor in GOP race
Ken Blackwell, a favorite of conservatives in Ohio and across the country, on Wednesday, March 10, endorsed Delaware County Prosecutor for the Republican nomination for auditor over state Rep. Seth Morgan, R-Huber Heights.
Blackwell was the GOP’s unsuccessful 2006 candidate for governor and also served as secretary of state and treasurer.
A Yost campaign press release called Blackwell “an icon among social conservatives” and said he “has often been the standard-bearer for people dissatisfied with the moderate wing of the Republican Party.”
“Dave Yost is one of us - a man of integrity who shares and lives our values and convictions,” Blackwell said in a press release.
“He knows that the government is reaching too far into our lives and too far into our pockets - and with his record and his experience, he has the tools he needs to fight for us.”
Yost, the state GOP-endorsed candidate, said in the release:
“I’ve known Ken Blackwell for years and he does not speak lightly or for the sake of convenience - he’s always about what he believes to be right. I am humbled and honored to have his strong support.”
Morgan campaign spokesman Rob Scott, who worked for Blackwell’s gubernatorial campaign, said the endorsement was not disappointing.
“Ken has supported Dave Yost for attorney general and Ken is a man of his word,” said Scott. Yost first had run for attorney general before switching to the auditor’s race.
“We’re going to keep going,” said Scott. “We’re plugging away.”
Yost said that Blackwell had not endorsed him for attorney general when Yost still was in that race, running against former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine for the Republican nomination.
If Blackwell had endorsed him, he would have announced it, said Yost.
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TweetSenate committee OKs sale of former Twin Valley psychiatric hospital
The Senate Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, March 10, approved the $1.7 million sale of the former Twin Valley state psychiatric hospital in Dayton to Amamata LLC, a private Columbus-area health care company.
Sen. Fred Strahorn, D-Dayton, sponsor of the proposal, said he hoped for approval soon from the full Senate. House approval also would be required.
“I think it’s a great thing,” said Strahorn.
He offered the proposal as an amendment to House Bill 313, legislation that would permit counties to organize land banks to acquire abandoned properties and make plans for reusing them.
The House already passed the bill but if the full Senate approves it, the legislation would return to the House for concurrence with changes made by the Senate.
The state closed Twin Valley in 2008 to cut costs. Officials last month announced plans to sell the hospital to Amamata LLC of New Albany. Dr. John A. Johnson, a psychiatrist and company president-chief executive, said he plans to offer a full range of inpatient services at the site at 2611 Wayne Ave.
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TweetOhio Supreme Court to hear gun rights case
The Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to review a gun rights case involving a series of Cleveland firearms ordinances and licensing requirements that are more restrictive than state or federal law, Attorney General Richard Cordray announced on Wednesday, March 10.
“I am pleased that the Ohio Supreme Court accepted our appeal and will clarify the rights of Ohio’s gun owners,” Cordray said in a press release. “The current uncertainty over the legitimacy of these local firearms ordinances creates confusion for our local officials, as well as for thousands of gun owners.”
At issue is action the legislature took in 2006 to prohibit local governments - including Dayton - from enacting firearms regulations stricter than those in state and federal law.
In Dayton, the state law meant that local laws banning the transfer of ownership of assault weapons and that require a firearms owner to complete an identification card would become moot.
What’s at stake, said Cordray, is a “state law designed to protect gun ownership and possession in Ohio.”
Toby Hoover, executive director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, disagrees with the state law. Hoover said local governments should have the right to determine their own gun laws. There’s a “huge difference” between rural areas and small towns that don’t have crime problems and big cities that do, Hoover said.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments in the fall, Cordray said.
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TweetMorgan, Yost tout auditor endorsements
State Rep. Seth Morgan, R-Huber Heights, and Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost are touting endorsements in their race for the Republican nomination for state auditor.
Morgan’s campaign said on Tuesday, March 9, that Morgan was endorsed by the Scioto County Republican Party and the Mansfield North Central Tea Party.
Yost’s campaign, meanwhile, said he was endorsed by the Belmont County Republican Party.
The Knox County Republican Party did not make a formal endorsement, both campaigns agreed. Yost’s campaign said the committee voted 2-1 in his favor but the overall vote tall was one short of the supermajority required for a formal endorsement.
Morgan’s campaign seemed satisfied with the non-endorsement, noting that Knox County is a neighbor to Yost’s home base in Delaware County.
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TweetOhio step closer to outlawing texting while driving
The House Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, March 9, approved legislation that bans text messaging while driving and the full House is expected to vote on the measure soon, said Keary McCarthy, spokesman for House Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood.
House Bill 415 makes texting-while-driving a primary offense - a motorist can be stopped for this activity alone - and sets a maximum penalty of a $150 fine.
It is the first of several bills pending on the texting-while-driving issue to receive committee approval in the legislature.
Nineteen states, Washington, D.C. and Guam now ban text messaging for all drivers, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.
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