TPS grounds crew tidies up Scott High campus for Obama

Crowds fill the streets as President Obama speaks at Urbandale, Iowa, during a campaign stop Saturday.

A Toledo Public Schools grounds crew of eight worked Saturday to spruce up the Scott High School campus ahead of President Obama's speech Monday.

The Obama campaign confirmed Friday that he will speak at 12:30 p.m. at Scott.

Nearly 3,000 tickets were distributed in three hours Friday at Locals 12, 14, and 1435 of the United Auto Workers union.

The tickets were printed with an incorrect address, but the campaign event will be at Scott, 2400 Collingwood Blvd.

The address on the UAW tickets was for the DeVilbiss High School building, where Scott students attended classes while the Scott building underwent remodeling and restoration. UAW Local 12 President Bruce Baumhower did not return a call regarding the mix-up.

The TPS grounds crew spent part of Saturday outside sprucing up the exterior of the building, said Alan Podbielniak of the grounds department.

"It's not every day a President comes to a school," he said. "This may never happen again."

Doors for the Scott speech are to open at 10:30 a.m. Monday. Those attending must have a ticket. The President is to arrive late today from Boulder, Colo., and spend the night here before Monday's event.

The Scott appearance is part of a swing-state tour of Iowa, Colorado, Ohio, and Virginia on the President's way to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, where he is to accept the nomination for a second term on Thursday.

As the Scott preparations were under way, a sudsy secret was leaked while Mr. Obama stumped in Iowa: The White House beer recipe is out.

The tweet from presidential spokesman Jay Carney along the motorcade ride seemed light enough — we're talking about honey-flavored beer here — but it also served up a reminder of a campaign theme.

Mr. Obama wants to be the guy with whom people want to have a beer.

As constituencies go, Mr. Obama would seem to have the voting bloc locked up, given that his opponent, Republican Mitt Romney, a Mormon, does not consume alcohol.

During his term, Mr. Obama has sought to find some racial harmony over beer (there was that media-hyped "beer summit" in the Rose Garden.)

He has worked the crowds in sports bars and college bars.

And now he even brews his own.

Well, the chefs at the most famous and powerful house in America brew it for him, but it was his idea, and he bought the brewing kit.

"Brewing beer is becoming a thing that Americans are doing in their houses and garages across the country," said White House chef Sam Kass in a video posted Saturday on the White House Web site.

Word spread about the home-brewed White House beer last month when Mr. Obama, during another stop in Iowa, got into a conversation with a local resident about it.

The President had a White House aide bring the man a bottle of the beer.

Since then, growing interest and even a petition drive led the White House to release the recipe just as Mr. Obama starts his battleground-state tour toward the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.

"Ale to the Chief," said the White House blog post, which included a link to the brewing process.

The White House's rookie brew crew has made three kinds: Honey Brown Ale, Honey Porter, and Honey Blonde Ale, although recipes for only the first two were released on Saturday.

Mr. Kass said on-site historians have determined this is the first time alcohol has been brewed or distilled at the White House.

Add that to Mr. Obama's first-term record.

Should he lose, the White House menu may well look different.

Mr. Romney drinks Cherry Coke Zero or Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi.