Pros, cons for Kasich holding speech outside Statehouse
By Ann Sanner
Associated Press
Associated Press
Published: February 7, 2012 - 07:19 AM
Barred from using Ohio tax dollars, some state lawmakers are expected to use campaign cash to cover their travel expenses for the governor’s relocated State of the State address this year.
State law allows elected officials to pay for gas and meals related to their duties with political donations. The provision keeps taxpayers from picking up certain tabs, but it has raised concerns from at least one state government watchdog group that says it has the potential to extend donors’ influence beyond elections.
Gov. John Kasich is delivering his annual policy speech this afternoon from Wells Academy elementary school in Steubenville, which is close to the West Virginia border. It will mark the first time the speech is delivered outside the Statehouse in Columbus. The first-term Republican has defended the move as providing a boost to a neglected area.
http://www.ohio.com/news/politics/state/pros-cons-for-kasich-holding-speech-outside-statehouse-1.263666
http://www.ohio.com/news/politics/state/pros-cons-for-kasich-holding-speech-outside-statehouse-1.263666
Kasich on Ohio: ‘We’re alive again’
In his State of the State road show, governor offers few new proposals
By Joe Vardon
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — Ohio’s broadband network is going to get faster.
A $10 million program to boost the state’s broadband speeds tenfold and establish a $2.3 million broadband testing center at Ohio State University was the pre-eminent policy announcement Gov. John Kasich made in his State of the State address yesterday — historic for its circumstance but ripped by Democrats for being short on specifics.
The one-hour, 23-minute speech from the Republican governor in a school auditorium in Steubenville — likely the first State of the State delivered outside the capital — was mainly a rehash of what’s been done since Kasich took office on Jan. 10, 2011. Kasich also reinforced suggestions he’s made to revamp job-training programs and better align curriculum and training at schools at all levels to put more Ohioans to work.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/08/kasich-were-alive-again.html
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/08/kasich-were-alive-again.html
Gov. John Kasich endorses Cleveland mayor's plan to improve schools
Published: Tuesday, February 07, 2012, 7:00 PM Updated: Wednesday, February 08, 2012, 1:10 AM
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio -- Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson's new plan to revitalize Cleveland's public schools got a hearty endorsement from Republican Gov. John Kasich Tuesday during his State of the State address.
Kasich pledged to go "door to door" with Jackson to persuade lawmakers to support the legislative changes needed.
"The Cleveland business community and the mayor are committed to very comprehensive and unbelievable reform," Kasich said. "If we can get Republicans and Democrats working together, we can change urban education in Ohio and urban education in America."
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/02/gov_john_kasich_endorses_cleve.html
State of State: ‘We’re a powerhouse’
Published: Wed, February 8, 2012 @ 12:06 a.m.
Kasich singles out Cruze, V&M as engines of growth in Ohio
By Marc Kovac
STEUBENVILLE
Gov. John Kasich plans to launch an all-out attack on human trafficking, push a faster state-run broadband network to accommodate education and private business and honor Ohioans who display courage in extraordinary ways.
Those were among the plans he outlined in a historic State of the State nearly 150 miles from downtown Columbus on Tuesday, with lawmakers, agency heads and other invited guests making the trek to Jefferson County.
http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/feb/08/state-of-state-were-a-powerhouse/
http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/feb/08/state-of-state-were-a-powerhouse/
Gov. Kasich touches on familiar themes in annual address to Ohio lawmakers
Columbus Government Examiner
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (CGE) - Ohio Gov. John Kasich, starting his second year in office, stood on the stage in the Wells Academy in Steubenville, Ohio, before a special joint convention of the Ohio General Assembly that included a thousand people, some of whom were lawmakers, agency officials, media and people who won their seat through a lottery system devised by the governor's staff.
Gov. Kasich, who broke with tradition dating back to 1917 by taking the yearly address out of the Ohio Statehouse, spoke for about an hour and twenty minutes on themes that have become standard fare to anyone who followed him during his successful run for state CEO in 2010 and during his first year in office. He he touted the accomplishments of his administration to an auditorium of mostly friendly faces.
Dem Chairman Pushes Kasich to Admit Dem Accomplishments
Hannah Report 2/6/12
A day before Gov. John Kasich was to deliver his "State of the State" address in Steubenville, Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern launched an early attack on the governor and called for him to note the accomplishments of President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), especially when it comes to the auto industry.
Redfern also weighed in on the governor's decision to hold the speech in Steubenville, saying he doesn't necessarily think it's a bad thing, but questioning why lawmakers must spend campaign funds to attend -- and whether it isolates the governor from the press.
http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=188486
A day before Gov. John Kasich was to deliver his "State of the State" address in Steubenville, Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern launched an early attack on the governor and called for him to note the accomplishments of President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), especially when it comes to the auto industry.
Redfern also weighed in on the governor's decision to hold the speech in Steubenville, saying he doesn't necessarily think it's a bad thing, but questioning why lawmakers must spend campaign funds to attend -- and whether it isolates the governor from the press.
http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=188486
Legislative Leaders Respond to 'State of the State'
Hannah Report 2/7/12
Republican leaders, speaking with reporters following Gov. John Kasich’s speech Tuesday, were similarly short on specific plans for the future. House Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) looked back over his 45 years in and around the Legislature.
“I think it’s one of the best 'State of the State' speeches I’ve heard in that time,” he said. “I was particularly pleased that he dealt with education K-12 through Ph.D. I was also pleased with his reference to what has been done in the Senate and the House on penal reform.”
http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=188498
Republican leaders, speaking with reporters following Gov. John Kasich’s speech Tuesday, were similarly short on specific plans for the future. House Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) looked back over his 45 years in and around the Legislature.
“I think it’s one of the best 'State of the State' speeches I’ve heard in that time,” he said. “I was particularly pleased that he dealt with education K-12 through Ph.D. I was also pleased with his reference to what has been done in the Senate and the House on penal reform.”
http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=188498
Capitol Scene: AARP Ohio, Buckeye Institute Announce New Leadership; Deadline Extended To Apply For Constitutional Panel
Gongwer 2/6/12
Constitutional Commission: Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) and Rep. Vernon Sykes (D-Akron), co-chairs of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission, announced an extension on the deadline to submit applications to serve as one of 20 public members on the panel.
The extension, provided based on concerns that the application process was not adequately publicized, is through Feb. 29.
Applicants may send cover letters and resumes to the lawmakers at Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission, 77 S. High St., Columbus, Ohio 43215 or by email to Mr. Batchelder at District69@ohr.state.oh.us or Mr. Sykes at john.meacham@ohr.state.oh.us.
http://www.gongwer-oh.com/programming/news.cfm?article_ID=810240209
http://www.gongwer-oh.com/programming/news.cfm?article_ID=810240209
Gongwer 2/6/12
The GOP primary race for a new House district spanning several counties southeast of Columbus pits a former member, known as an uncompromising conservative, against a key lieutenant for right-wing favorite Ken Blackwell.
Ron Hood, who most recently served in the House during the 2005-2006 session, said he hadn't planned to run until he realized the map drafted by the Republican-controlled Apportionment Board placed him in an new district that includes about half of the territory he previously represented.
"After redistricting I was popped into an open seat. When that happened, it was really a no-brainer for me. I had been an ally of Bill Batchelder's in the House in the past and I certainly would love the opportunity to serve in the House again with him in the speaker's chair," he said in a recent interview.
Gongwer 2/6/12
A left-leaning policy group said Monday Ohio must fix a loophole in its legislative ethics laws to prevent corporate influence over lawmaking, asserting that was the case with a slew of recent bills.
ProgressOhio and several national organizations released a report tying Ohio lawmakers and specific measures to the American Legislative Exchange Council, through which they said corporations are able to donate money and "directly influence" legislation.
"The way this money is used through these scholarship funds, (ALEC) reimburses legislators for trips, or their families to have trips, to warm locations where they have conferences, have discussions about right-wing and corporate-based legislation," ProgressOhio Executive Director Brian Rothenberg said at a Columbus press conference.
GOP, Democratic Speech Reaction Spins a ‘Tale of Two John Kasichs'
Gongwer 2/7/12
Lawmakers' response to Gov. John Kasich's second State of the State address ranged from "one of the best" to "empty, empty, empty, empty, empty," depending on the listener's partisan affiliation.
Republicans lauded Gov. Kasich's focus on economic development and pledged to continue working with the governor to further bolster employment in Ohio. The comments came after the during a brief news conference held in the Steubenville High School band room, where both parties took turns at reacting - and in decidedly different tunes.
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