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Thursday, April 14, 2011
Kasich administration selects gambling consultants
Gov. John Kasich’s administration on Thursday announced that two companies have been selected as consultants to “advise the state on how best to harmonize Ohio’s gaming policies and optimize gaming’s benefits to Ohio.”
The companies, who will be paid about $400 per hour, are Spectrum Gaming Group of Lindwood, N.J., and Moelis & Company of Los Angeles, Calif., an investment bank, a press release said.
The total cost has not been projected because the scope of the contract with each firm still is being worked out, said Molly O’Reilly, spokeswoman for the Department of Administrative Services.
The firms were chosen after a competitive evaluation process led by the department’s Office of Procurement Services, the release said. The department will work with the firms to set a deadline for submission of their recommendations, the release said.
The release said the state’s gambling laws have been enacted without regard to how different types of gambling fit with each other.
Voters in 2009 approved a constitutional amendment to permit construction of casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo and the Kasich administration is talking with the casino backers about implementing this expansion of gambling.
The administration also is reviewing proposals to put VLTs - video lottery terminals - at Ohio’s horse racing tracks.
Moelis will make recommendations for maximizing the benefit to taxpayers from gaming, O’Reilly said in an email. Spectrum will give the state advice on rules, regulations, operational relationships regarding casinos and VLT facilities, she said.
Spectrum’s work is expected to extend over year and possible two years, O’Reilly said. Moelis’ work is expected to take less than a year, with most of it finished within the first six months, she added.
Rep. Combs’ resolution supports Arizona on illegal immigration
Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, has introduced legislation to show Ohio’s support for the state of Arizona in its legal battle with the federal government over Arizona’s efforts to control illegal immigration.
House Concurrent Resolution 11 says that the Ohio legislature supports Arizona’s assertion that the state’s effort to control illegal immigration is a necessary message to the federal government that current immigration policies don’t work.
“Ohioans are fed up with the lack of effort by the federal government in dealing with the growing concerns of illegal immigration,” Combs said Thursday in a press release.
The resolution has been assigned to the State Government and Elections Committee.
Opponents of the Arizona law say it’s overreaching and amounts to racial profiling, which supporters dispute.
ACLU of Ohio warns against private prisons
The ACLU of Ohio sounded the alarm bells on Thursday against the state selling off five prisons and hiring private contractors to then house inmates in the facilities.
ACLU of Ohio Executive Director Christine Link said private companies with a profit motive cut corners on staff training, inmate health care and education, and safety policies that often end up costing the state more money in the long run. The civil rights group released a 22-page report that details problems with private prisons across the country.
“Privatizing prisons is seen as a quick remedy for states looking to alleviate budget concerns, but they are often more costly to the state. While our prison system is undeniably bloated, we must find long-term solutions to stop the flow of people into the system, not gamble on a system that could bring more problems than it solves,” Link said.
Link warned that private prison operators become political lobbying forces in states and advocate for policies that will deliver a steady stream of inmates to their business. She asked who would counter act that lobbying power. “The ACLU? The Quakers? Who is going to win? Come on,” she said.
The state Department of Rehabilitation and Correction owns 31 prisons that house roughly 51,000 inmates. Two prisons are currently operated by Management & Training Corp. Ohio is seeking to sell those two prisons as well as three others for about $200 million by the end of the year.
The plan calls paying the new owners rent for the facilities and daily per inmate fee for housing the prisoners. If the new owners fail to meet operational expectations, the state will be able to install a different company to manage the prisons.
DRC spokesman Carlo LoParo said, “The ALCU’s report is more opinion advocacy than scholarly research. The ALCU completely ignores the comprehensive guardrails, safeguards and mandates Ohio has applied to this process. We require all vendors to strictly adhere to the same operational standards and procedures that apply to state-run facilities.”
The state will require employees of the new operators to go through DRC training and will mandate that the same education, job training, substance abuse and health care programs offered at state-run prisons will be available at the privately-owned facilities, LoParo said.
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan called GOP’s ‘right-wing’ man
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, has been in the news this week as one of the loudest critics of a proposed budget agreement between his Republican compatriot, House Speaker John Boehner, and the Obama White House. Jordan describes his stance as sticking up for basic beliefs but members of his own party say he is marginalizing himself.
>> Read the full article from Politico: The GOP’s right-wing man
Dayton Mayor Leitzell to give State of the City address April 21
DAYTON — Mayor Gary Leitzell will give a State of the City address April 21. The public event will start at 7 p.m. at the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center, 1000 N. Keowee St.
Leitzell plans to provide an overview of his first year in office, discuss his plans for this year and take questions from the audience.
The Dayton Daily News will be there. Look for coverage in the April 22 edition.
