Signatures needed for last-ditch effort to get shuttle in Dayton

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By Jack Torry and Jessica Wehrman
Washington Bureau Updated 8:08 AM Monday, October 24, 2011

WASHINGTON — The online petition aimed at sending a retired space shuttle to the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton has garnered 3,708 signatures as of Friday morning — 1,292 short of the signatures it needs by Oct. 30 to gain White House scrutiny.

Earlier this year, NASA picked four other cities over Dayton to receive retired space shuttles — a decision that was deeply disappointing to Dayton.

In an effort to revisit that decision, Columbus businessman John Cavanaugh has used a newly created portion of the White House website to launch an online petition asking the administration to reconsider its position on the retired shuttles and send one to Dayton.

He needs 5,000 signatures by Oct. 30 to get the White House to consider his case. If he gets that many signatures, then the White House will assign a staffer to evaluate the petition.

The petition can be found by visiting https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/revisit-its-decision-retired-space-shuttle-enterprise-and-award-it-national-museum-usaf-oh/gm68DlS3. The site was down for maintenance Sunday night with no word on when it might be active again. (Note: The site is back up as of Monday morning.)

Businessman was a donor in Ohio

The death of Carl H. Lindner Jr. on Monday at the age of 92 not only means the loss of one of the richest men in Ohio, but the loss of one of Ohio’s most prolific political donors.

This year alone, Lindner, a former resident of Indian Hill, near Cincinnati, contributed $53,300 to Republican candidates and causes, including $5,000 to House Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., and $5,000 to Boehner’s political action committee, the Freedom Project.

Lindner, the founder and chairman of American Financial Group and the former majority owner of the Cincinnati Reds, also contributed a total of $30,800 to the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee this year and $10,000 to the Republican Party of Ohio, according to an analysis of his campaign contributions by the Center for Responsive Politics. Finally, Lindner weighed in on his pick for the Republican nominee for president, giving $2,500 to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Even more striking: According to the center’s analysis, Lindner, who served as a top fundraiser for George W. Bush, gave political candidates more than $4.3 million between 1990 and 2006. That doesn’t count money donated by his wife or sons.

Recipients were primarily Republicans, but not exclusively so: In 2009 and 2010, he gave $2,000 to Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. He also contributed to Lee Fisher, the Democrat who ran against Sen. Rob Portman in 2010.

On Tuesday, some of those who received Lindner’s financial support offered words of comfort to Lindner’s family.

“Carl Lindner was a good friend, an entrepreneur and job creator who truly loved Cincinnati,” Boehner said. “Never a man to turn down a worthy cause, Carl’s generosity touched countless lives. My thoughts and prayers are with Carl’s wife, Edyth, his sons Carl, Craig, Keith, and all the Lindner family during this very sad time.”

Said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who received Lindner’s backing early on in his own political career: “Carl Lindner was one of a kind. Cincinnati lost a loyal son who, despite all his successes, never forgot where he came from and never hesitated to support a worthy cause. Through his good works and with the support of his family, including his wife, Edyth, he made an indelible contribution to the city he loved so much.”

Brown: Bill would help fix bridges

A report released this week finds that 184 or 11 percent of Dayton bridges are deficient and in need of structural repair.

The report, released Transportation for America, found that 18,239 bridges in United States are deficient.Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown had the highest concentration of structurally deficient bridges.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, used the report’s release to call for the passage of a bill he’s introduced that would provide low-interest loans, loan guarantees and loan forgiveness for projects unable to receive full financing on the private market or from local funding. That bill would also establish an independent body to rate and select infrastructure projects that would encourage economic growth and create jobs. “Ohio has a disproportionate number of bridges that are in immediate need of repair,” he said.

The Federal Highway Administration estimates that the backlog of potentially dangerous bridges would cost $70.9 billion to eliminate, while the federal outlay for bridges amounts to only $5 billion per year.

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