Fairborn commencement
Badin graduation
Division I regional track finals
Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2011 > April > 25
Monday, April 25, 2011
Bargaining bill foes plan Dayton training session for signature gathering
Opponents of Senate Bill 5 on Monday will gather in Dayton for a training session for how to gather signatures to put the issue before voters in November.
The legislation would limit collective bargaining for public employees and is strongly opposed by labor groups.
Gov. John Kasich and other supporters say it will level the playing field between government employers and workers and save money for state and local governments and school districts.
The training session will be at 6 p.m. at the Dayton Miami Valley AFL-CIO Regional Labor Council’s office, 4127 E. Second St., according to Andy Richards, Ohio AFL-CIO spokesman.
Opponents have until June 30 to gather signatures from 231,147 registered voters if they want to put the issue on the ballot.
Similar training sessions are set for Monday and throughout the week in other cities, said Richards.
UPDATED - Penn National breaks ground for new Columbus casino
Penn National Gaming on Monday broke ground for a new $400 million Columbus casino, despite an ongoing legal battle with the city of Columbus over annexation and water and sewer service.
Also, Gov. John Kasich, who did not attend the groundbreaking, has talked about getting more revenue from four new casinos than required by a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2009.
Tim Wilmott, Penn National president and chief operating officer, said the new casino is set to open in about 18 months, although he added “it’s very tough to predict” what the impact of pending litigation might be.
He also said that he was encouraged that Kasich recently has hired two consultants to develop a comprehensive policy on gambling for the state.
The terms of the 2009 constitutional amendment provide a “very competitive” economic model, said Wilmott.
It requires the company to pay a $50 million license fee and also a 33 percent tax on gross revenues.
The 300,000-square foot casino is being built on the site of a former Delphi automotive plant. It is expected to create 3,500 jobs during construction and 2,000 jobs once it opens, a press release said.
It will open with 3,000 slot machines, 70 table games, a poker room with 300 tables and restaurants and an entertainment lounge.
The groundbreaking came even though the city and company are in a legal dispute over annexation of the casino site. The dispute involves providing water and sewer service to the casino. The site is actually in Franklin Township, just outside Columbus, and Wilmott said company officials now are dealing with the township on casino development.
Ohio voters in 2009 approved a constitutional amendment to permit casinos in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo.
