The Aug. 22 issue of Toledo Free Press is available as an e-edition.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mary Taylor, Ohio’s auditor of State since 22006 who could become the state’s Lt. Gov. if she and her running mate John Kasich win the hearts and minds of voters in November, as some polls increasingly say is likely, laid into Gov. Strickland on Aug. 18 as an “incompetent administrator” who has allowed about 379,000 jobs to be lost in Ohio since he became governor in 2007.

Read the full story here.

In a financial sense, the city of Toledo is like a very tired juggler. There are many balls and pins to keep in the air, but the arms and legs are weary. To make matters worse, there are people on a mission to distract the performance by heckling, kicking and throwing objects at the juggler.
City Council and Mayor Mike Bell are involved in a number of conversations that impact this fiscal juggling act. The most prominent one is the future of the Housing Fund. The history and background are complicated, but it boils down to a conundrum knotted so tight, even Alexander the Great might have struggled to cut through it.
As Lisa Renee Ward reported Aug. 8, “In 1990, Toledo City Council passed a resolution that expressed its intent to fund the Housing Fund … Council in 1998 passed Ordinance 957-98, which created language for funding the Housing Fund and appropriated a payment.”
There have been several subsequent attempts to address this issue, but the Bell administration is maintaining that there is no codified obligation to pay into the Housing Fund and even if there were, there are no funds to do so. While the first argument may be contested, the second argument may not. The city is facing a growing gap between revenue and expenses that must be brought in line, despite the pain that process will incur.
This debate is unlikely to end with the Housing Fund receiving the level of funding it seeks, but we urge the city and the fund to reach an accord that keeps this important service’s work active in the community.
Another hot-button issue is Council’s initial decision to accept (or, technically, refuse to reject) a fact finder’s report that raises pay for sanitation workers and maintains the relatively high level of pension contribution. These men and women have difficult and physically intense jobs, but the message this sends to unions with upcoming negotiations sets a dangerous precedent. There is no money; what the city does have is being stretched to its maximum. Council’s second vote on Aug. 19 correctly rejected the report, a first step toward trying to gain control of the municipal workers’ costs
To repeat, the city is facing a growing gap between revenue and expenses that must be brought in line, despite the pain that process will incur. Municipal employees are going to have to work with the city if they are going to work for the city. Many injudicious fights like the one to give raises with money the city doesn’t have, and there won’t be much of a city to fight.
Or fight for.

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him via e-mail at tpounds@toledofreepress.com.

The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn owns the chair Abraham Lincoln was sitting in when John Wilkes Booth fired a single Derringer bullet into his skull. The chair is a quilted red fabric with an ornate wooden frame. The top of the chair, where the head would rest, is badly and darkly stained.
The first time I saw that stain on the chair, I shuddered with a chill I have only experienced in front of two other historical artifacts. One was a Holocaust Museum boxcar used to transport Jewish victims to Auschwitz; the inside of that train car was colder than any cold I can describe from this side of the grave. The other icy moment was seeing a pair of perfectly preserved children’s shoes at a Memphis exhibit of Titanic artifacts. Neither moment matched the gloomy dread I felt while looking at the blood-stained back of the chair in which Lincoln had sat near his wife, joking and watching a comedy.
“Those stains aren’t blood,” the tour guide said, reading my mind and interrupting my thoughts. “those are stains from hair pomade.”
Things are not always what they seem, no matter how emotionally intense and visceral one’s reaction is to the stimuli.
While making one of my frequent scans of some local blogs and news sites Aug. 14, I read this comment on SwampBubbles, in reaction to a Blade story on WSPD host Brian Wilson’s Wood County home reportedly being foreclosed: “The Toledo Blade needs to follow up on some of this, God knows the Toledo Free Press will probably not even cover this story.”
The post was from a contributor who calls himself “Wolfman.” I know who Wolfman is, because he has written to me under his real name. I do not know if his real name is common knowledge on blog sites, so I will not breach etiquette and out him here.
Wolfman’s comment is presumably based on a belief that the hot-and-cold relationship between WSPD and Toledo Free Press will inspire one to protect the other, but that belief ignores each organization’s history of commenting on and occasionally criticizing the other’s stances on case-by-case issues.
Wolfman often spars on SwampBubbles with WSPD morning host Fred LeFebvre and, as is his right, is unrelentingly critical of Toledo Free Press, WSPD and most local media; he has stated his rather paranoid belief that “The extreme right has control or indirect control of most of Toledo media.”
I am not sure how any media outlet that employs Lisa Renee Ward and Don Burnard could be thought of as controlled by the extreme right; hell, I am not sure how any media outlet that shares a ZIP code with Burnard could be thought of that way. But that is Wolfman’s opinion and nothing I can say will dissuade him.
One of Wolfman’s more amusing habits is his on-the-one-hand dismissal of the stories we choose to cover and his on-the-other-hand complaints about the stories we do not choose to cover. Damned if we do and damned if we don’t, as far as Wolfman is concerned.
When The Blade reported in late May that WSPD program director, news director and afternoon host Brian Wilson was broadcasting many of his shows from Virginia, Wolfman howled with delight. He called Wilson a “carpetbagger” and a liar. When The Blade reported Aug. 14 that Wilson’s home was being foreclosed, the schadenfreude spewed from Wolfman with the predictability of Old Faithful: “Why would a supposed ‘wealthy man’ foreclose on his own property? Why would a former ‘Big Market’ talk show host come to Toledo in the first place?” Wolfman wrote, following that with his “God knows the Toledo Free Press will probably not even cover this story” comment.
So, will we cover this story? Is it a story? The Blade thought so; it ran it on Page 1, so it must be super important, right?
Almost anyone with skin in the game of Toledo development will nod in agreement when the conversation turns to The Blade’s bullying tactics being a detriment to the city’s progression, even as its circulation and relevance fades. But there aren’t that many public critics, are there? You can count the number of outspoken Blade critics on one hand and you won’t need your thumb. Wilson is consistently one of the loudest and most enthusiastic of those critics. That, in Blade logic, makes him a target and fair game for humiliation; he is held to a different standard of coverage, and not just because he is inarguably a public figure.
That is not to defend Wilson or portray him as a victim. I can tell you from experience that when you dare to break the silence of the lambs and hold The Blade accountable for its crimes against journalism, you accept that you have bought yourself a series of concentric red and white circles on your life, reputation and career.
If Wilson’s managerial equivalent at Blade partner WTOL, Bob Chirdon, foreclosed on a house, would The Blade put it on Page 1? Last month, a fairly high-ranking Blade employee’s home was listed in court records as going into foreclosure; was that on Page 1? Or on any Blade page?
Again, this is not a defense of Wilson, whose comments when Keith Sadler was locking himself in his home to protest a foreclosure certainly opens Wilson to accusations of not practicing what he preaches. The point is that, like the stains on Lincoln’s chair at the Henry Ford Museum, the Blade story (and its Page 1 placement) are not what they seem on the surface, no matter how emotionally intense and visceral one’s reaction is to the stimuli.
Wilson and The Blade are at war, and anything they say about each other should be held to a higher standard of circumspection, with the distinction that Wilson wields opinion while The Blade pretends it is offering news. And yes, my opinions on Wilson and The Blade are subject to the same wariness, as is anything The Blade writes about the people featured on this page.
When a commenter like Wolfman hacks at a topic with zero awareness of his own ideological blind spots and rhetorical decrepitude, that level of circumspection should rise even higher, even as the depth of the stain on conversational civility sinks ever lower.

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

Editor’s note: Toledo Free Press will follow the Blank family of Millbury for the next year as they rebuild their lives after a June 5 tornado destroyed their Main Street home.

Lake High School sophomore Casey Blank will be among the young tornado victims treated to a back-to-school shopping trip Aug. 22.
The Lake Kids Relief Fund is providing 40 children affected by the June 5 tornado with $200 Visa cards, according to Diane Witt, coordinator of the committee.
The young people will shop with their families and friends at JCPenney and Aeropostale  at Fallen Timbers in Maumee, starting at 6 p.m.  Afterward, they will eat ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery in Rossford.
“It was built around the fact that these kids aren’t going to ask for things,” Witt said. “They are taught not to ask.”

Casey Blank

The idea for the fund came a few days after the tornado. Witt was being bombarded with questions about how to help the school and community because her husband, Jim, is the superintendent of Lake Local Schools.
Initially, Witt, who is a special education coordinator at the Wood County Educational Service Center, didn’t know what to tell them. But when she went to a summer baseball game and saw Casey, who had lost his house, she realized he didn’t have everything he needed to play ball.
She told Casey if she had known, she would have bought it. She wrongly assumed someone had taken care of it. She then thought, “Why didn’t you do something, Diane?”
By the next game, her family was presenting Casey with what he needed — and the Lake Kids Relief Fund was in the works.
Witt thought maybe she would get a few hundred dollars, but got a boost with a donation from the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic. Along with other donations, the fund has grown to more than $17,000.
The committee is made up of people who were directly impacted by the tornado, including Casey’s mother, Julie. Witt said the committee is focusing its efforts on 17 families who either lost their homes or have been displaced because their homes were severely damaged.
Witt said Julie feels so badly for other families, she is hesitant to do anything that will directly benefit her family. But Witt reminded Julie that “you are still going through things that are emotional.”
“[Julie] told us that Casey is excited about coming, so we won her over,” Witt said.
Among those attending the shopping event is the Kranz family, who lost their dad, Ted, in the tornado. Gerald Lathrop will also bring his toddler. He lost his fiancée, Bailey Bowman, in the tornado.
“We were really honored that they chose to come to our store and do their shopping,” said Daphne Avila, spokesman for JCPenney.
JCPenney has also provided 15 percent discount coupons for the shoppers and their families.
In the coming month, the Lake Kids Relief Fund committee wants to continue helping. One idea is to buy a gift for each child, whatever he or she wants. That could be a Barbie house or an Xbox. The committee isn’t setting a price limit.
“These will be items that are a priority to the kids, not to the parents,” Witt said. “We are trying to let kids be kids during this time of tragedy.”

MamaSox Nation and MamaSox Village Idiots are hosting an Aug. 28  pre-“American Idol” Live gathering in honor of Crystal Bowersox’s return to Northwest Ohio.
“We wanted to do this grassroots for her. We thought it would be a great thing to do because this is really her homecoming and it’s not just the show itself,” said Jeff Bridge, of Tucson, Ariz., a member of the Village Idiot’s “Boared” who will be at the event.
The gathering will be the final day of the Sun Flower Project, an online fundraiser to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund (JDRF) in Bowersox’s name. All funds raised during the evening will benefit JDRF.
“I definitely approve, but I’m not running it … I think it’s all good intentions and I’m all for it,” Bowersox said in a message to Toledo Free Press about the project.
Members of MamaSox Nation started the Sun Flower Project to raise money from June until Bowersox’s Toledo tour date. The Village Idiots, whose goal is to function as a fan partnership with Bowersox, assisting her causes and charitable endeavors, paired with MamaSox Nation for the evening to help raise money for the project.
“We want to help them raise as much money as we can that night, help them reach their original goal,” Bridge said. “We really want to help the Sun Flower Project finish strong.”
Approximately $1,200 has been raised for the Sun Flower Project and the groups hope to raise more money during the pre-show event, according to Michelle Reed, one individual in charge of the project.
The groups will raffle off signed Bowersox T-shirts, as well as a signed Bowersox pendant, Bridge said. The evening will also be live streamed online for those who cannot attend, he said. As part of the pre-show party Toledo Free Press will give away two tickets to the Aug. 29 “American Idol” Live Tour for Aug. 29 to see Bowersox in concert.
“The fan club asked if they could meet here and we said yes,” said Tom Sullivan, executive chef at the Village Idiot. “Crystal played here for about a year before she was on the show. She considered this a place she started out.”
The Village Idiot will donate a portion of pizza sales to the JDRF at the end of the evening, Sullivan said. In addition to pre-show events, Andrew Ellis and the Setting Suns will play at the Village Idiot at 10 p.m.
The pre-show gathering starts at 7 p.m. Aug. 28. For more information, visit mamasoxvillageidiots.com.

By Vicki L. Kroll
Crystal Bowersox celebrated her 25th birthday earlier this month in Tampa, Fla., another stop on the American Idols Live! Tour. There was just one gift she wanted: A visit from her 18-month-old son, Tony.
“I had my son flown to Florida so he was there with me on my birthday, and it was his first time seeing me on the big stage,” she said. “When the television show was on, he was always back in the VIP room; he never saw me perform. So it was really, really cool — had the little ear protectors on him.
“He enjoyed the whole thing, looked at the Jumbotron, looked at mommy on stage. He couldn’t quite figure it out, but he clapped for me.”
Toledo — and Tony — will get another visit with Bowersox when the Idols Tour stops at the Huntington Center on Aug. 29.

Bowersox

This time when her legions of fans gather at the arena, there’ll be clapping. In May, a stunned packed house watched the “American Idol” finale and saw Lee DeWyze named the winner.
“It’s going to be really cool when we get to Toledo and see familiar faces,” Bowersox said during a call before a show in San Diego. “I think [the concert is] a good thing for the whole family. There’s such a variety of music from each of the different contestants.”
Set to take the stage with Bowersox and DeWyze are the rest of the top 10 performers from season nine: Didi Benami, Andrew Garcia, Casey James, Aaron Kelly, Michael Lynche, Siobhan Magnus, Katie Stevens and Tim Urban. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show range from $38.50 to $68.50.
“No guarantees, but something might happen there; I might do something different for the hometown,” Bowersox teased.
Don’t expect to see her signature microphone stand.
“My mic stand is currently retired for now, for the summer. I traded it in for a headset so I could walk around the stage and get as close to the audience as I possibly can,” the Elliston native said.
“It’s really great to get to meet the fans and come to them,” she said. “We’re learning a lot [on the tour], but we’re having fun.”
Trying to learn about the star’s debut disc was tough. Bowersox said she didn’t want to give too much away.
“It will definitely be all-original, if not original, it’ll be co-written. I want to take part in every aspect of the album. I want to co-produce,” she said. “It’s my baby, it’s my art, so I want to be involved. It’s supposed to represent me, so I’m going to try to do that the best I can.”
Bowersox confirmed that local bassist Frankie May will record with her.
When asked if “Holy Toledo” will be on the disc, she replied, “We haven’t decided on songs yet, but songs that are most important to me will be on the album.”
The singer-songwriter then shared the story behind that track: “I was 17 sitting on a friend’s front porch, thinking about moving and wondering what else is out there. I was at a turning point in my life; I was going from, you know, teenager to a woman, and that’s when I moved to Chicago and just kind of started fulfilling my dreams and not really letting anything get in the way. I think it’s a song of hope for something better.”
And yes, she knows how to drive a stick. “When I wrote that song, I actually had a 1972 Volkswagen bus,” she said.
After the tour wraps up Aug. 31, MamaSox will return to Northwest Ohio for a few days and her favorite gig — singing to her son.
“I sing to him whenever I can,” Bowersox said. “He sings, too. He’s picking up on ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,’ and he understands the difference between a low note and a higher note. He’s into it; he’s been around music since he was in the womb.”
She added, “He’s a very, very Zen baby; he’s calm, cool and collected.”
Must get that from his mom, who seems so down-to-earth.
“I grew up lower income, middle class, you know. I’ve lived a long time without much, and I realize that’s not the important stuff in life anyway, really; it’s health and happiness, and I’ve got that so I’m alright.”

Crystal light
How long has your hair been in dreadlocks?
“Five years.”
Who is your favorite Beatle?
“That’s impossible; I love them all.”
Guilty pleasure song on your iPod?
“I don’t have an iPod [laughs].”
Guilty pleasure song you like?
“‘Kiss’ by Prince — I love that song.”
Do you have a pet?
“I have four cats, Oliver, Murray, Kate and Dopey, but I haven’t seen them in a long time.”
Favorite cartoon character?
“Right now it’s SpongeBob; my son’s into SpongeBob.”
Have you ever thought of rewriting and recording Glenn Campbell’s “Galveston” as a tribute to Elliston?
“I had not thought of that [laughs].”
Place you want to visit:
“I want to go to India; I think that would be cool.”
Favorite color:
“Red.”
Best bowling score?
“I haven’t been bowling for years. I don’t remember any, but I used to go as a kid with my dad.”
What do you like to cook or bake?
“I like to make cookies at Christmastime.”
Favorite holiday TV special?
“I’d have to say the Grinch.”
Someone you’d like to collaborate with someday:
“I’ve been pushing for Willie Nelson; let’s see if we can get him to read this.”

DeWyze pleased with post-’Idol’ recording plans

By Alan Sculley
Lee DeWyze seems to be the kind of artist and musician who isn’t afraid to set lofty goals.
“In my mind you only live once, and if you’re not going to do it big, then don’t do it at all,” he remarked during a recent phone interview.
DeWyze has certainly followed that line of thinking during the past year or so, taking one of the quickest paths any musician can follow to make a big splash on the national music scene.
He auditioned for “American Idol,” and was crowned the champion this past season. Now he’s about to record an album on major label RCA/19 Records, and if all goes according to plan, it will be released during the high-profile Christmas shopping season.
And with the built-in fan base that comes with having your performances seen on “American Idol” by millions of viewers week in, week out, there’s little doubt that DeWyze will have a good chance to make a big first impression with his RCA/19 debut album and have the kind of immediate success that many past “Idol” winners have enjoyed with their first post-“Idol” CDs.
This is exactly the platform DeWyze wanted to reach in his music career. In interviews as the “American Idol” season was unfolding, he made no secret that he wanted to record for a major record label — not an independent.
“No one’s got the outreach like a major label does,” DeWyze said, explaining that preference. “I don’t care what anyone says. You can’t get the exposure that a major label can offer [on an independent record label].”

DeWyze

“For me, I want to get my CDs everywhere. I want it out all over the place. I want everyone to listen to my music. That’s just how I am. If I’m doing something and I’m proud of it, I want everyone to hear it.”
DeWyze, 24, knows what it’s like to be trying to build a career from a much more modest starting point. Prior to auditioning for “American Idol,” he had tried to build his career the way so many artists do, by playing countless gigs around his home base.
Starting out at age 17, he had spent six years playing shows in his hometown Chicago area.
“We played everything from your dive bar to the House of Blues … just a lot of different places, everything you could think of,” DeWyze said.
Along the way, DeWyze released two CDs on the Chicago-based independent label, WuLi Records: 2007’s “So I’m Told” and 2009’s “Slumberland.” Both albums found DeWyze working in primarily an acoustic folk-rock vein (with bass and drums often added to his guitar parts and vocals). It’s a sound that isn’t far afield from that of artists like Jason Mraz or Jack Johnson.
The fact that DeWyze had this experience in music wasn’t played up on “American Idol,” which instead focused on the fact that he had worked in a paint store before making it as an “Idol” finalist.
DeWyze said he wasn’t that bothered by how he was portrayed, although he admitted the “paint store guy” angle was a bit odd.
“I think their whole thing was he’s the paint store guy, the working class man,” he said. “And it was cool. I worked at a paint store. Everyone’s got jobs. Everyone’s got to pay the bills. So for me it was kind of just weird that was the main focus.
“I’m glad it wasn’t some kind of sob story,” he said. “I understand that people have things that go on in their lives, but for me, I didn’t want it to be about any of that stuff.”
Even for a musician with performing experience, getting onto “American Idol” can seem like a pipe dream. First, one has to audition against thousands of other hopefuls. And that’s just to get to the next round to try to become one of the 24 semi-finalists that will actually get the chance to compete on the show. To DeWyze, who sounds like he doesn’t lack for confidence, auditioning for “American Idol” was something he decided he just had to do.
“I just didn’t want five years to go by and be like, ‘what if I had done this? What would have happened’?” he said. “Now I can’t say that to myself. I know exactly what would have happened.”
What happened, of course, is that DeWyze kept doing well week after week on “American Idol.” On the way to claiming the title of this season’s champion, he never landed in the bottom three — something that no previous male finalist had ever achieved.
He admitted, though, that doing the “American Idol” show was different than what he had expected.
“I thought it would be a lot more relaxed than it was,” DeWyze said. “At times, it became very high tension, like it was very tense, the whole situation. And it was just very sometimes unnerving and just a little bit more than you would think.”
Now, DeWyze is getting to showcase his talents away from the set of the show on the “American Idols Live!” tour. He’ll do a set of five songs or so to close the shows, which also feature performances from the other nine finalists from this season. DeWyze said he’s ready for the tour, even though he’s accustomed to clubs and not arena stages.
“I’m used to playing in front of people, but nothing on this scale,” he said. “I’m definitely not worried about the performances. I’m more looking forward to them than anything. I’m not nervous about it or anything. It’s different than ‘Idol.’ It’s not like you’re being judged or you have a minute and a half to play a song. You get to play full songs in front of crowds. It’s going to be great.”
He’ll also get started recording his first album for RCA/19. DeWyze though, didn’t offer many details about the kind of sound he’ll pursue on the CD, or if it will be different from the acoustic-oriented sound of his two independent CDs or what producers or co-writers will be involved.
“I have a lot of new ideas and things I want to get down, different sounds and things,” DeWyze said. “Being in the studio and being able to do that is going to be awesome for me, because that’s exactly what I need right now.”

Eleven men play on each side of the ball during a football game, on offense, defense, or special teams. But a different type of special team comprising 12 men and women also comes to the Glass Bowl during football season: the University of Toledo’s student athletic trainers.
Students in UT’s athletic training major are required to log hours as student athletic trainers in an on-campus or off-campus sports program. Student trainers in the football program face long hours, fast-paced practices and up to 30 hours of work a week during the school year and more than 40 hours a week during training camp, said Nichole Vazquez, a senior who has worked as a student athletic trainer with the football team for two seasons.
Although the students are required to work only 20 hours a week, it would be impossible to get everything done in that amount of time, said senior Charlie Sayles.
The student trainers work under three certified athletic trainers. The students tape areas such as the players’ ankles and wrists, evaluate injuries, rush to emergencies to perform first aid, hydrate the team and set up and tear down for practices.

UT student athletic trainer Tiff Snyder tapes an ankle at a recent rockets practice.

“It’s not the same thing every day. You don’t sit behind a desk from nine to five,” Sayles said.
Four of the student athletic trainers are seniors. They have worked with football players before and said the work gives them great experience, although it is time consuming and tiring.
“In the classroom, you kind of learn the basics of athletic training and it’s here that you learn how to apply it,” said senior Tiff Snyder.
The students also said it is rewarding to help players after injuries.
“You can take a fresh injury; you’re the first one there. You could diagnose it. You can be with them in that moment … then you can take them through all of the rehab for six to eight weeks. Later you’re seeing that player back on the field doing what he loves,” said senior Trevor Rice.
UT football player Kevin Kowalski, a senior and starting center, said the team is appreciative of the student athletic trainers.
“It would be extremely difficult to get things done without them. They handle everything on the field from hydrating us, any injuries they’re there, anything you need like getting taped up before practice. They do quite a bit for us,” he said.
The certified athletic trainers allow the student athletic trainers to work alone once they earn it. Seniors tend to get more leeway to work alone, and having four seniors in the program this year really helps the younger students, said assistant athletic trainer Sarah Long.
“We have seven kids that are first years in the program, and they kind of look upon us because they’re kind of like deer in the headlights right now. It’s a big thing to come into football, especially your first semester in,” Rice said.
The seniors have taken most of their required coursework and will go on to take their certification test after graduation. All four said they will most likely go to graduate school after becoming certified for more experience. For now, they are working hard to get there.
“We have to work hard 100 percent of the time to get those recommendations [for graduate school], not just to say, ‘Yeah, I was there’,” Snyder said. “You actually have to prove, show the people that we’re under that we can handle being alone.”

Titles for new and used dealer cars are up from July 2009 to July 2010, according to the Lucas County Clerk of Courts. In July, 1,944 new car titles were registered in Lucas County, accounting for 447 more titles than in July 2009.  The month had the most new car titles registered since Cash for Clunkers in August 2009, which topped out at 2,539 new cars.
The total amount spent on new cars sold was also up more than $13.1 million from last year. Based on information from the clerk of courts’ office, the average amount paid for a new car in July was $27,804. Used cars sold by dealerships were up 362 titles from July 2009 with 2,766 titles this past month. More than $8.7 million more was spent on used cars in July 2010 than July 2009.
The average amount spent on a used dealer car was $11,747 for July.
Despite 593 more new cars titles, the total amount spent on new cars is approximately $10 million less than this time last year. However, the overall amount spent on dealership used cars is up more than $21.6 million.
Casual car sales, sales from one person to another, were down for the month July 2010 from July 2009, but the overall amount spent on cars was higher. The average price paid for a casual used car in July 2009 was $2,057, while in July 2010 it was $2,262.
More than $14.6 million more has been spent on casual new cars this year than during the same amount of time in 2009. The total amount spent on car sales this year is up about
$26.3 million from last year.

A local funeral home is giving motorcycle enthusiasts a chance to have one last ride in a Harley Davidson hearse.
Sujkowski Funeral Home Northpointe on Alexis Road bought a Harley Davidson three-wheeled motorcycle with a custom-made hearse trailer at the beginning of the summer, said Hilary Sujkowski, one of the funeral home’s owners. Sujkowski said he bought the motorcycle hearse from the Tombstone Hearse and Trike Company to give people a more personalized experience.
The hearse is made of fiberglass and steel in a design that Sujkowski calls “timeless.” He said he plans to keep the hearse in good condition so he can keep it for a long time just like the other cars used for the home. The motorcycle hearse costs $300 to use, which is the same price as a normal hearse at the funeral home.

The Harley Davidson hearse is offered by Sujkowski Funeral Home.

There are at least two motorcycle hearses in the state of Ohio and about 45 across the United States, said Clint Marlin, the president of the American Motorcycle Hearse Association.
Marlin, who has ridden motorcycles his whole life, said he started the organization to provide standards for motorcycle hearses. Although he is not in the funeral home or hearse profession, he was offended when he saw people using the vehicles for parties and other events.
“The reason we started the association is to promote legitimate, respectful motorcycle hearses,” he said.
Motorcycle hearses are not common, but they are gaining popularity, he said.
Families of police officers and firefighters who have died in the line of duty often choose to use motorcycle hearses, Marlin said.
So far, the Sujkowski Funeral Home has not used its Harley Davidson hearse for a funeral, but Sujkowski said he has been to different bike rides to promote it.
“Even the hard bikers appreciate it and give me comments on it,” he said.
Sujkowski said he expects more interest in the hearse once more people hear about it.
“I think a lot of people don’t know it’s here, but I think when people see it, it sparks a lot of interest,” said Jan Eckel, the funeral director.