Weekend in review: Top stories, multimedia

4/28/2008

This slice of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry will take place twice a year. Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long and Ohio State defensive end/linebacker Vernon Gholston were selected by rival teams in the AFC East during the first round of yesterday's NFL draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Long was picked first overall by the Miami Dolphins, which was all but a formality after he signed a five-year contract with the team Tuesday for $57.75 million. With the sixth pick, the New York Jets selected Gholston, who figures to square off against Long for seasons to come.

Opinions on what downtown Toledo needs have been as bountiful through the years as vacant storefronts are today. For Jessica Bosworth, a 23-year-old college-educated professional, downtown worker, and apartment dweller, the answer is simple: grocery stores. The Fort Wayne native said necessity forces her to shop as though she lived in the suburbs: hopping in the car and driving to a supermarket for items as simple as skim milk or fresh fruit. And sometimes these trips are even to the suburbs.

Brothers and sisters, would-be guitar heroes, and worshipers of rock, let us take a few moments to celebrate the glory of a great riff. It s the glue that makes a song stick in your brain like cotton candy on a child s pudgy little fingers. It s the musical flame that sears your soul. It s what you play when you re showing off your new guitar to your buddies. Think Layla, and Iron Man. Think Whole Lotta Love, Foxy Lady, You Shook Me All Night Long, Seven Nation Army, Pretty Woman, Smells Like Teen Spirit, and Sweet Child O Mine.

A few weeks ago, Maumee Mayor Tim Wagener was driving on Illinois Avenue just inside his city's limits when he saw what at first glance looked like a dog standing by the road. As he drove past, he realized that this wasn't a dog - it looked like a coyote. The mayor pulled into a driveway and studied the animal, which was about 20 yards away. It was unthreatening and vaguely resembled a Shepherd mix.

Employees and customers are breathing much easier during dinner, drinks, and dancing at establishments statewide. Yet efforts to enforce Ohio's smoking ban for the past year have come at a cost for local health departments doing inspections. As the first-year anniversary of smoking ban enforcement approaches this week, the state has collected a total of $30,000 for all local health departments, which receive 90 percent of the fines they issue to fund compliance efforts.

WASHINGTON In the four months he s been on the job, U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R., Bowling Green) has cast hundreds of votes, opened three district offices, posed for photos regularly with groups of constituents in front of the Capitol, and signed thousands of letters. He still hasn t found a place to live. Mr. Latta gets a little sheepish about the fact that he sleeps on an air mattress in his office in the Longworth Building on Capitol Hill.