Mayoral candidate Keith Wilkowski said he will vote for Issue 3 when he personally goes to the polls on Nov. 3.

Wilkowski announced his support for the issue, which would allow for casino gambling in Ohio, specifically in Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, during an interview with Toledo Free Press on Oct. 20. He had earlier in the day endorsed Issue 3 during an interview with Fred Lefebvre on WSPD 1370 AM.

The Democratic mayoral hopeful said he still has concerns about Issue 3, but will vote for it because of the lack of jobs in Northwest Ohio. So often, the money is going up north, he said.

At an Oct. 14 Toledo Free Press/FOX Toledo debate, Wilkowski said he was undecided about the issue, and was concerned about the environmental safety of the proposed site for a casino in Toledo.

“If it passes and if we are the recipients of money from a casino, we need to devote those funds, in large part, to what I call real economic development — our core wealth-producing industries: manufacturing, transportation and construction,” Wilkowski said.

During the Oct. 14 debate, Wilkowski’s opponent, Independent Mike Bell, said he was for Issue 3.

On the night after the 2008 election, David Alan Grier opened his Comedy Central show “Chocolate News” with something that is rarely seen in comedic television: silence.

He simply looked at the camera for a long moment — 10, maybe 15 seconds — took a deep breath, and smiled.

David Alan Grier

It was a set-up for a gag, of course. Grier followed this pause with the exclamation, “Holy ****! Did we just elect Barack Obama the President of the United States?”

But watching it, I couldn’t help but think that long, prideful moment said more than every talking head on any of the 24 hour news networks.

“I really did not know what I was going to say,” Grier said in a phone interview, when asked about that show. “It was like five in the morning (the day before), we all knew Barack Obama had been elected. We had been up all night. It’s like, I wanted to be honest and emotionally true, but also find the humanity and comedy in the moment. It was really walking a fine line.”

Grier’s career in comedy has seen him walk that fine line for many years, from his work on the groundbreaking sketch comedy “In Living Color” to such films such as “Blankman” and “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka.” Now, he has completed his first book, Barack Like Me: The Chocolate-Covered Truth.

Talking with a man who has been on the cutting edge of comedy for so many years is a bit intimidating, at first— I wasn’t sure how much of the conversation would be “schtick,” or like listening to his stand-up routine. Many comedians can be very guarded about their public persona. But Grier is extremely open about the contrast between his comedy and his life, a contrast that is reflected in Barack Like Me.

Grier is quick to point out that the book is not only a comedic examination of a pivotal point in American history, but also a personal memoir of his life and the perspective he brings to the election of the first African American president.

“When I was at the inauguration, standing in the crowd, looking at these millions of people and thinking of how this story of that day would be told, and re-told, and grow…I realized that so much of our experience of moments like that is about what we bring to it. And that’s what really motivated me to write about myself, because all of my life story, I brought to that event, and it shaped the way I experienced it.”

This is not to say the book is a purely emotional and reverent take on Obama’s presidency. Au contraire. The first chapter features an extended fantasy sequence where Obama cries out “DAG!” from the stage at the inaugural ball and appoints him “Secretary of Mirth.” There’s that fine line again.

“I didn’t really see any books around that dealt with Barack Obama and his election with the same point of view,” Grier said. “It’s a more cockeyed view of that whole event. There are very sentimental parts, but there are also very funny parts, because comedy just forced itself into so much of what was going down.”

As someone who wasn’t there, I had to ask: What was it like, being there at the inauguration, living history firsthand?

“Everybody was happy, to such an extent that it became almost absurd. When I was standing at the Purple Gate, there were thousands and thousands of people. And this was the gate where they had all the problems…There was a point where people started surging. Now, normally, people would be screaming and hollering. But you’d hear people in the crowd go, ‘I’m being squeezed, but it’s okay! I’m good, I’m happy, but please don’t push me so hard!’ No one wanted to kill this good mood.”

Grier has a long history as a performer, both onstage and in front of the camera, most recently the aforementioned (and sadly short-lived) “Chocolate News,” which was cancelled after just ten episodes. The show’s brief run was more than a little anticlimactic after its incredibly long development period.

“I pitched it, like, two and a half years before people saw it on the air,” Grier said. “As we got closer and closer, the show evolved and changed in order to take advantage of all those things that were happening around it, and it became more and more political in nature.”

With the subtitle Chocolate-Covered Truth seeming to reference the show, it is easy to assume that there is a direct connection between the content of the book and “Chocolate News,” but the two are totally different in style. “I really wanted the voice in the book to be mine, and not that character,” Grier said.

There has been a long history of comedy figures making the transition to print — what was it like for you with this, your first book, I asked?

“Someone asked me, ‘Why didn’t you just do a stand-up special, instead of writing a book?’ And I said, ‘Because there are no punch lines in the book.’…So, it required a different writing process and one that I had never really done before. And that’s why I wanted to work with a ghostwriter (co-author Alan Eisenstock) — and also, with the time constraints, it had to be handed in so quickly, and I had never written before.”

More books may very well be on the horizon for Grier — “we’re in the process of pitching some things,” he said, but could not specify what — but for now, the positive feedback he is getting on Barack Like Me makes the difficult writing process a worthwhile journey.

“I think people are going to be surprised when they read the book, because it is honest, it’s really funny, and it’s from a different perspective, I think,” Grier said.

2009 TRICK-OR-TREAT HOURS:

• Toledo: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Bedford Township, Mich.: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Bowling Green: 6:30-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Delta: 6-7 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Elmore: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Findlay: 6:30-8 p.m. Oct. 29; Halloween parade at 7 p.m. Oct. 27.
• Fremont: 5:30-7 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Genoa: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Grand Rapids: 5-6:30 p.m. Oct. 31; parade at 7 at the fire hall, 24232 Front St.
• Holland: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Jerusalem Township: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Maumee: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Monclova: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Northwood: 6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Oregon: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Ottawa Hills: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Pemberville: 6:30-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Perrysburg: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31; preschool trick-or-treating 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 30, downtown.
• Rossford: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Spencer Township: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Springfield Township: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Swanton: 6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Sylvania: 6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Sylvania Township: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Walbridge: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Washington Township: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Waterville: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Wauseon: 6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Whiteford Township, Mich.: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Whitehouse: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Woodville: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

With a little help from his friends, a student manager who is legally blind scored his first touchdown for a high school team in Ohio.

Tyler Brown says he didn’t really think his coach would put him in a game this year even though he had been practicing with the team.

But the junior at tiny McComb High School in northwest Ohio got his big chance two weeks ago.

He fumbled on his second carry just before he got into the end zone. Brown got in the game later, lined up at quarterback, and ran straight ahead for a 1-yard touchdown.

He says two of his teammates helped push him into the end zone and that he didn’t know he had scored until he heard them cheering.

It’s the season for scary stories, so here’s a local and national tale with haunting similarities.
FOX News (the national service), published an Oct. 12 story that inspired some déjà vu. The article, “White House Escalates War of Words With Fox News,” dissected the recent skirmish between President Barack Obama’s White House and the conservative news channel.
Anita Dunn, White House communications director, was quoted as saying, “What I think is fair to say about FOX — and certainly it’s the way we view it — is that it really is more a wing of the Republican Party. They take their talking points, put them on the air; take their opposition research, put them on the air. And that’s fine. But let’s not pretend they’re a news network the way CNN is.”
FOX News senior vice president Michael Clemente said in the story, “he likens the channel to a newspaper with separate sections on straight news and commentary” and suggested, “White House officials were intentionally conflating opinion show hosts like Glenn Beck with news reporters like Major Garrett.
“It’s astounding the White House cannot distinguish between news and opinion programming. It seems self-serving on their part,” Clemente said.
It’s fascinating and disturbing that these two D.C. powerhouses are so publicly fighting and disrespecting each other. Lord knows that media people and politicians do not have to be pals — it is usually better if they are not — but there needs to be civility and respect if each side is going to do its job in serving the public.
If you follow life in Toledo media and politics at all, you already know the parallel I am about to invoke.
This is strikingly close to the situation in Toledo between WSPD 1370 AM and Toledo politicians Carty Finkbeiner and Ben Konop.
WSPD is the city’s most influential talk radio station — more so now that WCWA and WTOD are politically silent — though the extent of that influence is debated between those who agree with the station’s politics and those who do not.
The long feud between Finkbeiner and WSPD — which has involved name-calling, character assassination, blocked doors at press conferences, reporters berated in public and threats to go to Congress — resulted in a recall effort spearheaded by the Clear Channel station’s General Manager Andy Stuart and Take Back Toledo.
The discussion in Toledo is remarkably like the conversation taking place in D.C. The politician is saying the station is blurring the lines between news and opinion, and the media outlet is saying the politician is doing the blurring to cover its shortcomings.
WSPD Program Director Brian Wilson has inspired fans and detractors in equally vocal numbers, but give the man this much: He saw the priceless  content and exposure opportunity Finkbeiner was unwittingly tossing like a softball in a slow-pitch kids game, and in terms of attracting attention and forging an identity for his station, Wilson smacked the cover off the ball and sent it soaring from the WSPD studios to somewhere deep in Wood County. That home run came at some expense to those who like their talk radio a little on the softer side, but Wilson isn’t after those of weak constitution, especially if you capitalize the C.
I have never thought Konop earned the station’s wrath in the same manner Finkbeiner did, but Konop never exactly rose to the challenge with grace, either.
While neither side, in Toledo or D.C., is completely innocent in the ongoing battle, this is a topic worth exploring because we are just about 12 weeks away from having a brand-new mayor.
With Stuart so strongly supporting mayoral candidate Mike Bell over Keith Wilkowski, in a series of repeated editorial spots broadcast on Clear Channel stations, the potential for a continuing rift is there should Wilkowski prevail.
While we expect politicians to respect the reach of media, we do not expect them to kowtow to media, although that has long been the way in Toledo.
One factor in the upcoming election should be how the new mayor is going to work with local media to get the word out about the good things and clarify issues surrounding the negatives. Which candidate will be able to work with the media without bowing to it? Which candidate will be able to heal rifts before they blossom into unbridgeable canyons?
Finkbeiner brought a lot of the WSPD heat upon himself; he unfairly disparaged its hosts and then allowed the argument to escalate into an all-out war that distracted his administration with a recall effort that very nearly ended his time in office.
We trust the next mayor will handle all local media with more diplomacy in the interest of the public good. Just sitting back with crossed arms and an extended middle finger is not intelligent, productive or civil.
The conflict is great for ratings, though.
And newspaper columnists.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press. Contact him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

CORRECTION: Last week, I made a flip comment that Finkbeiner had flip-flopped on Issue 2. That was incorrect; he flip-flopped on Issue 1.

During the last few years, a company out of Nashville, Tennessee named Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), has slowly but surely grown into the second -biggest wrestling company in the country.

This weekend, TNA’s stars prepare for the biggest event of the year, “Bound for Glory,” on Sunday night, October 18th. But for each of them, the path to this big event has been very different.

In January, wrestler Tara announced her retirement from WWE, where she had performed for years under the name Victoria.

“It was a very emotional time for me. I really did think I was done with wrestling,” Tara said in a phone interview.

She strongly considered going into Mixed Martial Arts, which she ascribes to her strong competitive instinct. “I’m not the kind of girl that just sits at home, eats bon-bons and watches TV,” she said.

While she is still training for MMA today, her focus is once again on her wrestling career.

“When TNA called me to offer me the spot, it was like, ‘I don’t know, I really am retired. I don’t know if I want to do that travel.’ Because you’re gone 5 days a week, and sometimes you’d see your family on the road (the other wrestlers) more so than your family at home,” Tara said.

But TNA’s offer to her was quite appealing, thanks to the company’s less demanding road schedule: “They were saying we won’t have you travel that much…maybe five shows a month. I was like, ‘Really? I could do that with my eyes closed.’”

Nowadays, Tara appears as a regular fixture on TNA programming, and is a main focus of the TNA women’s division. At Bound for Glory, she will participate in a featured match for the Women’s title. And after what she says was an unsatisfying end to her WWE career, she is thoroughly enjoying her time in TNA.

“When I came to TNA, they said, ‘Do what you do best,’” Tara said. “It’s so refreshing to do whatever you want there…it’s so exciting to be in TNA.”

Unlike Tara, TNA World Champion AJ Styles has a long history with the company. He was on the very first TNA show in 2002, and has been a major part of its programming ever since. Now he looks forward to being in the main event of the biggest show in company history, opposite a wrestling legend, Sting.

“I’m looking forward to it, man,” Styles said in a phone interview. “I’m hoping to tear the roof off the place.”

This is Styles’s fourth world title reign for the company — “Every one of them was very special, and an honor,” he said — but this is his first chance ever to main event its signature event.

“Knowing that it’s our biggest pay-per-view of the year, we want to go all-out. I mean, it’s a big deal for us…It’s just special, man. It’s our Super Bowl. The one thing you can expect from every wrestler that goes out there, they‘re going to leave it all in the ring. That’s when it gets crazy, and you can do stuff you’ve been waiting a year to do.”

There is an added significance to Styles’ match, however, as he is wrestling a man who can legitimately be called a “wrestling icon,” in what may be his last match. Styles would not hazard a guess as to whether or not Sting will actually retire after Bound for Glory, as has been discussed.

“That’s something that Sting will obviously have to say for himself,” Styles said. “But I’m looking forward to (the match).”

For Sting, whose career began in 1985, Bound for Glory may well represent the end of a two decade run as one of the top stars in the wrestling industry — although he is also uncertain about whether or not this will truly be the case.

“I do not know for sure,” Sting said in a phone interview. “There is a good chance it will be. I’m going to play it by ear, and see how I feel, physically and mentally.”

Sting’s career as a major player in the wrestling scene really blossomed in the WCW organization, and he was loyal to the company that made him a star, becoming virtually the only major name that never jumped to Vince McMahon’s then-WWF.

“I always believed that Vince McMahon wanted to get me to undermine WCW, primarily,” Sting said. “And secondly, he wanted me as a talent. If it had been the other way around, I could have dealt with that. And I say that based upon what I saw happen over the years.

“Anyone that had a name with WCW that left to go to WWF, because the grass was supposedly going to be greener on the other side, the phone would always ring a few years later, ‘Sting, can you get me back in (to WCW)?’”

After WCW was purchased by the WWF in 2001, Sting stayed out of the wrestling spotlight for nearly five years, making only occasional appearances at shows. It was not until 2006, when he signed a full-time deal with TNA, that he re-emerged onto the national scene.

According to Sting, even that return was originally supposed to be short-lived.

“When I came back in ‘06, it was just going to be ‘06. And then it turned into ‘07. And then ‘08. And then I thought, okay, this is just getting crazy. So I never imagined that it’d be almost all the way through ‘09.”

And now, as he looks ahead to what may be his final match at Bound for Glory, Sting is hoping to steal the show, maybe for the last time.

“This is where wrestlers pull out all stops; to try to make it all happen and pull out their best stuff. This is going to be a big night for me.”

Should it be named “George Lucas County Arena?”
“Star Wars in Concert” will feature a symphony orchestra and choir performing composer John Williams’ music from the six “Star Wars” films, Dec. 1 at the arena. The performances will be narrated live by C-3P0 actor Anthony Daniels and accompanied by a three-story-tall high-definition screen displaying movie footage synchronized to the live music.
“My role is not to be 3P0 in ‘Star Wars in Concert,’” said Daniels in an Associated Press interview. “It is to be the host, to be the narrator. I very simply tell the story in segments. 3P0 certainly features on screen quite a lot, and there are moments on stage when his spirit shines through.”

Anthony Daniels

As part of its worldwide tour, the show will play Dec. 1 at the Lucas County Arena. Tickets for “Star Wars: In Concert” go on sale Oct. 17 at 10 a.m. at the Lucas County Arena box office and Ticketmaster, by phone at 800-745-3000, and at the Web site www.ticketmaster.com.
“We’ve taken the key themes from the music and cut together all the images that fit with each theme, so you can really get a sense of how the music played into the images,” said George Lucas, creator of the ‘Star Wars’ saga, in a news release. “The whole soundtrack is a testament to John Williams’ creativity and his extraordinary ability to enhance the emotional aspects of the films.”
“Creating the music for the ‘Star Wars’ films has been an exciting and wonderful experience for me, and I therefore have derived particular pleasure in assembling a compendium of themes from all of the films to be presented in ‘Star Wars in Concert,’” Williams said in a news release. “The editors at Lucasfilm have created original film montages to accompany each of the musical selections, and in the process, I believe that a singular and unique ‘Star Wars’ experience has been born.”
Accompanying the concert is an exclusive exhibit of Star Wars costumes, props, artifacts, production artwork and specially created behind-the-scenes videos from the Lucasfilm Archives. Many of these pieces are leaving Skywalker Ranch for the first time.
The exhibit features many classic fan favorite artifacts, as well as several new and never-before-seen items, including:

• Full costumes for Jedi Masters Kit Fisto and Plo Koon will be on display.
• For the first time ever, pages from John Williams’ original hand-written sheet music for “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” will be exhibited for the public.
• Also on display will be various never-before-seen props from the films, including blasters and helmets from Coruscant, Tatooine and other iconic Star Wars locations.

Win a galactic ‘Star Wars’ prize package
Is The Force still with you? Answer these five trivia questions and submit them with a brief essay on why you should be honored as NW Ohio’s biggest ‘Star Wars’ fan. The winner will receive:

• Two free tickets to see “Star Wars in Concert” at the Lucas County Arena;
• A prize package with more than 20 authentic “Star Wars” collectibles;
• An “out-of-this-world” dinner for two at Johnny Rockets at the Town Center at Levis Commons.

Deadline for entries is Nov. 1. Winner will be named and a portion of their essay printed in the Nov. 8 edition of Toledo Free Press. E-mail your entry to letters@toledofreepress.com or mail them to Toledo Free Press Star Wars contest, 605 Monroe St., Toledo, OH 43604.
1. Who ranked higher on the “Heroes” section of the American Film Institute’s 100 Heroes and Villains” list — Han Solo or Obi-Wan Kenobi?
2. Which of the six “Star Wars” films were nominated for the Academy Award Best Picture?
3. Who among the following did not appear in the 1978 “Star Wars Holiday Special”? A. Bea Arthur. B. Art Carney. C. Grace Slick. D. Harrison Ford.
4. Who is Ailyn Vel’s father?
5. Which of the following Harrison Ford movies did John Williams not compose the score to? A. “Sabrina.” B. “Presumed Innocent.” C. Patriot Games.” D. “Indiana Jones and Last Crusade.”

The Area Office on Aging (AOoA) is seeking a .45 mills replacement levy, Issue 4, in the Nov. 3 election. Due to the economic climate, the AOoA opted for a replacement levy instead of a renewal.
“The important thing voters need to know is that it’s a replacement. The levy is not a new tax,” said Billie Johnson, AOoA president and CEO.
The AOoA serves ten counties in Northwest Ohio, however, the levy dollars will only go to services in Lucas County.
The current levy expires Dec. 31, 2009. If the new levy passes it will run from January 2010 to December 2015. The replacement levy will bring in a total of $3.8 million to $3.9 million a year over a five-year time span. The tax will cost voters the same as the previous tax at $13.78 annually for a $100,000 home.
“We just think that so little does so much. We’ve already taken a 40 percent cut from state funding. We need this levy passed,” Johnson said.
Senior services
The levy funds services for people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and their caregivers; meals to homebound and frail elderly; health care services to help Lucas County senior citizens remain independent and at home; medical transportation; outreach and chore services; as well as funding 13 senior centers across Lucas County. Between 2005 and 2009, more than 33,400 Lucas County seniors participated in levy-funded programs.
Henry Stoklosa and his wife have a variety of health problems that make cooking and day-to-day living more difficult.
Their children are already assisting them with daily activities, but Henry said he doesn’t want to become a burden on them. Each week, the Stoklosas receive meals from the organization.
“It’s a blessing. I can go home today, tomorrow and the day after that and know that I can get three full meals a week, thanks to this operation, and so can my wife,” Henry said.
On average, 2,511 seniors received noontime meals at 21 locations, and 1,899 seniors had meals delivered to their home per year over the course of the levy.
Helping caregivers
Nancy Dissett-Whitehead and her husband became caregivers for her father, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, when her mother passed away in 2007. Dissett-Whitehead’s father didn’t know how to put on his shoes, had inconsistent behavior and suffered from bizarre hallucinations. The 24-hour care caused strain on Dissett-Whitehead’s husband and her relationship as well as their work.
Dissett-Whitehead’s father seemed uninterested in anything and was passive most of the day.
In 2008, Dissett-Whitehead’s father started attending the day care center once a week and now attends the center five days a week. Dissett-Whitehead is grateful to the center not only for the break it gave her and husband, but for the improvement in attitude it has given her father.
“The day care center has given my husband and I a life again, while aspects of our father’s previous personality have returned,” Dissett-Whitehead said. “The unit has done so much stimulating to bring his personality back out. He has a purpose in life again. He still needs constant care, but now if you were to come to the house, he’d say, ‘Hi, how are you? Come sit down.’ He wouldn’t do those things before.”
The Alzheimer Day Care provided 124 individuals more than 41,500 hours of care in 2008.
During the course of the past levy, 23,935 hours of care coordination, 20,881 hours of personal care, and 48,457 hours of house making took place. These services helped 850 seniors, keeping them in their own homes and out of nursing homes.
“We hope that the voters understand that we’ve done what we said we’d do with the levy dollars,” said Emilie Owens, vice president of home care options. “We’ve kept very little administrative money, only 8 percent, and all the rest goes directly to seniors. We really believe that the voters understand that and hopefully give us their vote.”
Visit the AOoA Web site at www.areaofficeonaging.com.

A new publication that aims to help the area’s homeless is preparing its debut.
Toledo Streets, a local nonprofit publication, launched its first issue and vendor orientation Oct. 14 at The Black Cherry restaurant Downtown. Organizers say the publication is designed to help the homeless and poor have their voices heard while earning money.
“The benefits of street newspapers go far beyond economic opportunity. For the vendor, they offer a positive experience of self-help that breaks through the isolation that many homeless people experience. They offer the public a means to reach out with their dollar to help a homeless person directly and over time form a caring relationship,” said Andy Freeze, executive director of North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA).
“Street newspapers fill an important role in our communities as they work to provide valuable, useful information on issues of homelessness and poverty. They also provide opportunities of employment for the homeless,” Freeze said. “Toledo Streets will benefit Toledo by providing a voice to the homeless and poor and by breaking down stereotypes about homeless individuals.”
Freeze said 25 NASNA-associated street papers exist in the United States, including papers in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati. Street newspapers are also located throughout the world with more than 105 street newspapers in 37 countries.
Amanda Moore, Toledo Streets director and managing editor, and a volunteer for Food for Thought and 1Matters, said she was searching for different ways to assist the homeless in Toledo and thought a street paper would be “a great idea.”
“I hope everyone on all levels embraces it; not just the paper, but the idea of it, and the people that are selling it. People get an opportunity to help make ends meet. This isn’t going to be someone’s sole source of income as far as being able to get a place to get off the streets, but it will help bridge the gap,” Moore said.
The papers can be purchased by vendors for 25 cents and then sold for a dollar donation, making each vendor a 75-cent profit per paper.
Those interested in qualifying as a vendor can go through a one-hour orientation, Moore said. The orientations take place every Wednesday at The Black Cherry. Moore said only badged vendors should be selling the publication.
“I’m not worried about fraud. Selling the paper won’t be a get-rich-quick scheme; it takes hard work, patience, persistence and politeness,” Moore said. “There will be the Vendor Code of Conduct sellers need to adhere to and there will be consequences should vendors violate it.”
The paper publishes monthly. The first issue features articles written by volunteers, Freeze and a formerly homeless gentleman.
As the paper grows, it will have more articles written by the local homeless.
Toledo Free Press fact checker and Glass City Jungle operator Lisa Renee Ward contributed an article about the Toledo mayoral candidates and their plans to address homelessness.
The organization will be located in The Black Cherry, 1420 Cherry St., on Wednesdays until it becomes large enough to have a volunteer there full time.

On the Web; visit www.toledostreets.com and click on links for more information.

How many times have you heard, “Things are different in today’s world?”  Whether discussing politics, business or family values, our world is not changing as much as one might think.  Our perspective is limited by the fact that we live today, in the here and now.
Business environments are often noted as having changed.  It may seem this way with a computer on every desk and a cell phone in every pocket, but those objects are simply tools — tools for connecting with others.  Thus, while the tools may have changed, the connections are still the same as they were thousands of years ago.
Whether buying a chariot 2,000 years ago or an automobile today, people still flock toward value and personal relationships.  Decisions are often based upon a personal set of values.
Some may point to the dozens of tangibles that they feel are different in today’s business environment but, when they dig deeply, they will discover that the heart of every business transaction still rests in adding value to everything they touch.
Becoming a value-adding entity has been the root of every success during the past 2,000 years and this will continue, for the addition of value is timeless.
Even if our future exists of space cars, the colonization of the moon and the discovery of new galaxies, the people who provide the highest value will always find themselves at the top of the food chain.  The tools — the ephemeral surface items — change with the times, not the people.
Value comes first, in both your actions and your intentions.  If you find yourself worried about money, stop worrying and add more value.  If you find yourself overwhelmed with new technologies, start finding ways to add more value.  If you find yourself trying to plot, plan and scheme to grow your business, stop and evaluate your plans to see if they are adding more value.
Real value speaks for itself and cannot be adequately described with words, alone. In fact, the act of trying to find the words to describe the value you are adding is an act that is, in itself, not adding any value.
Real value is added without expecting something in return.  You have opportunities every day to add value.  Whether picking up a piece of trash that is on the floor as you pass in the hallway or helping a customer solve a problem they are experiencing, the more value you add, the more your life will change.
Bringing the highest amount of value to any situation is done most effectively with your state-of-mind.  To hitch your chariot to this powerful tool, you must cleanse your mind of your “me-first” mentality.  Pause before you enter a room, take a deep breath and, as you reach for the handle to open the door, ask yourself, “How can I add value to this situation?”
Ask yourself the questions and you will find the answers. When you learn the answers you seek, act upon them without expectation of return because the addition of value is the key to your success. When you add value, you will have everything you need to bring about a stress-free life. Be wary, for the opposite of this is true; when you “lose your way” and you “lose the adding value” state-of-mind, you will experience a stressful, unfulfilled life. Failure, stress and want will pervade without the addition of value.
Yes, everything boils down to value. This was true 2,000 years ago, and it will be true 2,000 years from now.  So ask yourself, “Am I always focused on adding value?” Do this and know that, no matter how much the world may appear to be changing, the objects you see are really more consistent than they appear.
For simple ways to find your value, go to www.boltfromtheblue.com and enter the word MIRROR in the blueprint box.

Tom Richard is a Toledo-based sales and marketing consultant, keynote speaker and owner of Bolt from the Blue direct response advertising. Call (419) 441-1005.