DaytonDailyNews.com

Gov. Ted Strickland appointed Brown County Engineer James Beasley as director of the Ohio Department of Transportation, which oversees the building and maintenance of 20,000 miles of state, federal and interstate roadways. Beasley, 57, who Strickland has known for more than 30 years, starts March 5 and will be paid $124,758 a year. The department has a $2.1 billion annual transportation program. Ohio has the second largest inventory of bridges and the fourth largest interstate highway system in the nation.

Beasley has been Brown County engineer since 1980.

Blackwell joins Buckeye Institute

J. Kenneth Blackwell, the Republican candidate who lost last year's governor's race, has joined the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, a Columbus-based conservative research group.

As a Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow, Blackwell, the former Ohio secretary of state, will focus on state issues with national significance such as taxes, energy, education and health care reform, a press release said.

"Ohio will again be the focus of national attention during the 2008 presidential election," Blackwell said in the release. "The Buckeye Institute's research and analysis will play an important part in shaping the public policy discussion."

Husted appoints committee leaders

House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, announced committee assignments last week. Four Miami Valley lawmakers landed seats on the powerful House Finance Committee: Kevin DeWine, R-Fairborn; Shannon Jones, R-Springboro; Ross McGregor, R-Springfield; and Fred Strahorn, D-Dayton. The 31-member Finance Committee gets the first crack at the governor's proposed two-year budget that will be unveiled in mid-March.

The following Miami Valley lawmakers were appointed committee chairmen: Arlene Setzer, R-Vandalia, education committee; Chris Widener, R-Springfield, financial institutions, real estate and securities committee; and John White, R-Kettering, health committee.