Education remains a good thing, despite Kest
9/21/2003The calendar says this is our last chance of the summer for a little A&R:
Action: Lucas County Auditor Larry Kaczala admits to paying more than $24,000 for the tuition of eight staff members in the past two years.
Reaction: Leave it to Lucas County Treasurer Ray Kest to give education a bad name. His $14,683 taxpayer-funded PhD plan warrants an investigation by a special prosecutor.
Unlike Mr. Kest, who went into hiding when the media started asking tough questions, Mr. Kaczala told us, in a straightforward manner, why this is a sound investment for the county. Mr. Kaczala was convincing in saying an educated workforce saves taxpayers money in the long run.
Yes, education is a good thing.
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Action: Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell lays the groundwork for a voter initiative that, if passed, would repeal the recently enacted increase in the state's sales tax, which went from 5 percent to 6 percent.
Reaction: Sounds like the start of the 2006 gubernatorial campaign to me. I have yet to hear anyone complain about the “temporary” increase, so I'm surprised he is going to such lengths to repeal it. Wake me up if legislators try to extend it beyond June 30, 2005.
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Action: Toledo police issue 1,344 citations -- including 261 for driving with suspended or revoked licenses and 220 for speeding -- during a two-week citywide enforcement effort in which officers focused on seat-belt violations.
Reaction: Any reason this level of enforcement couldn't be sustained year-round?
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Action: The Adrian Board of Education orders Bill Kohn, the longtime football coach at Adrian High School, to stop holding team prayers at the end of games.
Reaction: Bravo to Wendy Wagenheim of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan for this quote in Thursday's paper: “Religious beliefs are wonderful, but they should be instilled upon by the parents and practiced in the churches, synagogues, and mosques, and not in the public schools.”
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Action: William Jefferson Clinton Elementary School in Compton, Calif., is the first new school in the country named for the former president.
Reaction: Let's hope Toledo, which will build more than 50 public schools over the next decade, doesn't get any ideas.
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Action: A transportation study recommends reviving the streetcar in downtown Toledo.
Reaction: Hmmm. Intriguing, for sure, but I suspect the novelty would wear off rather quickly. When that happens, would the trolleys pass the “supply and demand” test? In 2003, given downtown's anemic state, they wouldn't.
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Action: Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark announces that he is running for president, becoming the 10th Democrat to enter the fray.
Reaction: I doubt if anyone in the White House said “bring 'em on” when they heard the news.
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Action: President Bush concedes for the first time that the United States has no evidence linking Saddam Hussein to 9/11.
Reaction: Is it just me, or is Iraq turning into The Big Lie? Too bad the Patriot Act didn't call for key members of the Bush administration to be outfitted with lie detectors before the war. The cost of doing that surely would have been cheaper than $87 billion.