Pouting will not solve problems

3/29/2009

Toledo tax dollars have been used as matching funds for state and federal grants for decades. The Blade has supported these programs. The Blade has also supported the Marina District project. Councilman Mike Ashford's political pouting on this project is regrettable and disingenuous.

Grant funds are used every year to resurface or rebuild streets. The 10 percent to 20 percent of Toledo capital improvement dollars spent on this by both the Finkbeiner and Ford administrations served this community well. Ohio Natural Park Funds and Ohio remediation funds for the Marina District, Southwyck, and other brownfields cannot be shifted to road projects.

This administration could not have predicted the rapid chaotic economic conditions in today's world. Mr. Ashford and Toledo City Council have liability for not warning residents if they were aware of these conditions in advance.

Rather than pander and play political games, Mr. Ashford, Mike Craig, and all like-minded individuals need to be more productive in locating additional federal or state grant funds. Such action could increase street resurfacing and improvements to mass transit. One reason Owens-Illinois moved to Perrysburg was Toledo council's foot-dragging on development for the Marina District.

The result of this indecision was millions of lost income tax dollars to Toledo. Does Mr. Ashford want additional millions of tax dollars lost to his whim?

Mr. Ashford, please take your responsibility for the entire city seriously. If you cannot or will not be a serious adult in today's environment, pick up your marbles, and return to your sandbox.

Fred Kutz

Genesee Street

I woke one recent day at 6 a.m. and grabbed the laptop lying at the end of my bed. I hit the power button as ESPN's SportsCenter showed the replays from the night before on my TV.

The cell phone is right next to the remote and my glass of water. I clear my eyes, look out the window, and get my bearings. I check my e-mail and discard all the junk. Then I realize that there is something missing from this wonderful, electronic world - I don't have my newspaper. I grab the old Ohio State sweatshirt to match my old Ohio State pajama pants.

There are few feelings like opening your front door on a frosty spring morning and grabbing The Blade or your preferred newspaper. Don't you love bursting open that gate on a cold, snowy Sunday so you can read "Garfield" and other comics while sipping warm coffee?

With print media losing business by the minute, I hope there is some tradition left that allows people to enjoy a written form of media, on the bus, subway, train, in a cab, on a front porch, or in the park.

Tim Hohl

Bronx Drive

My wife and I were born and grew up in Toledo. Waite and Scott high school and the University of Toledo were attended. For several years,I was a carrier for The Blade.

It's a good feeling just to type the word "newspaper" during these very difficult times for hard-copy newspaper journalism. We're proud that The Blade survives as we regret the loss of so many prominent newspapers in our country.

We want to congratulate your editorial staff for the many spot-on editorials that we have learned from and used as research data and to write letters from.

"Fix transportation bill" (March 20) is a perfect example of your fine editorials that are so good for our state. We applaud your efforts, as well as those of the political cartoonist, Kirk Walters. His cartoon perfectly depicts the plight of so many Ohio motorists who have experienced huge semis sitting on their rear bumper.

My father drove a truck that transported new passenger vehicles between Indiana and New York state for many years. During that time, my understanding of truckers was formed. They respected others on the highway and many times helped them when they were in trouble. It now seems to us that this has changed a great deal.

Carmon and

Louise Marshall

Xenia, Ohio

I respect the fact that it is not easy to explain our political system to students, especially when members of both parties have a tendency to slide from presentation of facts to extreme emotional conjecture.

I recommend highly that high school civics teachers read the March 16 column in The Blade, "Liberals, conservatives: They both need to lighten up," by former editor Thomas Walton.

The only validity for having two political parties is that ideally they will each present their point of view rationally to the public and hope the public will support their candidates, so that their points of view will become the law of the land. Mr. Walton's column summarizes the points of view in a way that students should understand our system of government better.

John Davies

Wyndwood Drive

The Blade and columnist Jack Kelly should be commended for disclosing information about the AIG bailout, that I had not seen or heard previously reported in any media.

The column quotes former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer as claiming, "The AIG bailout has been a way to hide an enormous second round of cash to the same group that had received TARP money already." He also said that "AIG was nothing more than a conduit for huge capital flows to the same old suspects, with no reason or explanation."

In his last two paragraphs, Mr. Kelly described the contributions to the Obama presidential campaign by the employees of Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and AIG itself. To save the readers the trouble of adding all these numbers up, the total is $2,842,154. Not bad for "grass-roots" contributions.

As Mr. Kelly put it, "Perhaps there's a hint of an explanation in this."

Jack Dawson

Grand Rapids, Ohio

The only thing more candy-coated than your treatment of President Obama's disparaging remark about Special Olympics is a box of M&Ms in my desk drawer. Aw, gee, it was an "offhand remark" that he failed to explain.

The President likened his poor bowling skills to those of Special Olympians, those young people who are determined, skilled, and proud of their achievements. By doing so, the President reinforced stereotypes, insulted the families of special-needs children, and put down an organization that has let so many kids feel like winners.

I bet Sarah Palin would not have made such a remark.

Lisa K. Burke

Holland

It seem that the biggest complaint with the red-light cameras is the fine.

If we dropped the fine and made the penalty three days in jail at the driver's expense, that should fix the problem.

Ernest Garee

West Florence Avenue

No one has to convince me that we have a brain drain in this area when what we re left with is adults who write to this newspaper to complain that their favorite comic strip is missing from the funnies.

JOHN MANNING

Holland