There will be millions of turkeys cooked and consumed this Thanksgiving holiday, but once the dishes are cleared and the food coma commences, there will still be plenty of gobblers walking among us. Here is a lighthearted look at some of the more interesting turkeys of the moment.

Xunlight. It has been reported that the solar panel firm most often associated with forging a new technological future in our region opened a plant in China earlier this year. There are more than a few ways to spin this, but the bottom line is that a company fostered, nurtured and respected here in Northwest Ohio has invested money and people as far from our ZIP code as possible. Officials are quick to claim that no state or Regional Growth Partnership/Rocket Ventures money was used to establish the China plant, but unless those groups are tracking serial numbers on dollar bills, how can they be sure? It is telling that Xunlight did not mention the Chinese facility until it was outed in a Wall Street Journal story. This is the first cloud to cross an otherwise stellar success story, and it will be interesting to see how this impacts Xunlight’s local standing.

Andrew Z. To be clear, Andrew Zepeda says he is innocent, and until Wood County authorities prove otherwise, he gets the benefit of the doubt. He earns turkey status not just for any of the accusations he faces under indictment for tax issues and crimes related to a break-in, but for calling a news conference Nov. 17 to disparage Perrysburg police and accuse them of trying to smear his name. Whether Zepeda is guilty of the charges, innocent or a combination of the two, badmouthing cops is not the way to establish good will and keep one’s reputation intact.

Facebook users who post before they think. People need to remember that a Facebook post is a lot like a folded note passed under a desk in high school; most go unnoticed, but every once in a while the wrong authority sees an embarrassing note and shares it with everyone. Recently, the aforementioned Andrew Z.’s troubles provoked a number of normally rational people into doing little verbal schadenfreude dances with nasty comments. When a Columbia Gas of Ohio facility went up in flames Nov. 17, one person on Facebook posted that it would “teach them a lesson.” Really? What lesson is there to be learned from an accident that endangers life and property? Toledo City Councilwoman Lindsay Webb recently posted a smackdown of fellow councilperson Joe McNamara that she took down. People need to realize that there is no such thing as “private” on these social networking sites.

Toledo City Council candidates. Looking at a preliminary list of Democratic candidates for the seat being vacated by Michael Ashford is like looking at a list of movie serial killers that refuse to go away. We always want to encourage people to come forward and lead, but some of these recycled names truly have feathers and beaks. With the official vote now showing Carol Contrada has about a 190-vote lead, another turkey moment could be the Lucas County Democratic Party asking for names before it knew the outcome.

Ben Konop. Four years in office and now he’s worried about saving money. His proposal to strip the county’s Children Services Board and the Board of Developmental Disabilities of voter-approved levy monies because he doesn’t like their budget surpluses earns him one last turkey leg on his way out the door.

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

Tags: Andrew Z, Ben Konop, Carol Contrada, Columbia Gas of Ohio, Facebook, Joe McNamara, Lindsay Webb, Publisher's Statement, Tom Pounds, Xunlight

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 25th, 2010 at 11:45 pm and is filed under Opinion, Publisher's Statement.
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