Wayne and Mary Goodwin of Holland started a diabetic meal planning service after creating meals for Wayne’s diabetic condition that would be good for the entire family.
“What got me started planning complete meals was my frustration at finding many recipes for diabetics but not how to work those recipes into balanced meals,” said Wayne, who has been an insulin-dependent diabetic for more than 40 years.
He said he taught himself how to plan and prepare meals that meet United States Department of Agriculture and American Diabetes Association guidelines. He wrote a software program that makes meal planning easier.
After retiring about one year ago, Goodwin decided to start a website to provide meal plans to diabetics and their families. With about 7 percent of the population in Northwest Ohio having either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, he knew there was a market for the meal planning service.
The planning service is available at www.JustDiabeticMealPlans.com. Anyone can download individual meal plans for 99 cents or one week of planned meals including breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks with shopping lists for $12.99.
The service offers four full weeks of meals in starter, basic, low sodium and Italian menus. Coming soon will be “A Taste of France.”

Wayne Goodwin preparing a meal.

All individual meals are interchangeable, providing a larger variety of choices.
Each meal plan includes three diet sizes for 1,400, 1,800 and 2,200 calories per day with portion sizes and all nutritional data provided.
Several of the dinner recipes are designed to be wrapped in aluminum foil packets and baked in a conventional oven. The Salmon Packet Dinner with a tossed salad is designed for meals of 480 to 735 calories.
All meals are low glycemic index and the recipes are created with low fat, sodium and carbohydrates, and a minimum 25 grams of fiber content.
“Countable carbs are critical for diabetics that take insulin,” Goodwin said.
Special weekly plans for restricted diets such as low sodium meet the latest recommendations of 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day for all diet sizes, he said.
The recipes are created from raw materials with a list of all ingredients. The proprietary software Wayne developed calculates the food values for each recipe provided by the service.
All raw data for the recipes is from the 18th edition of the book, “Food Values of Portions Commonly Used,” Goodwin said.
A chemical engineer with marketing and sales experience, Goodwin said he is not a professional chef, dietitian or nutritionist.
Heather Harris of Rossford, a licensed and registered dietitian in Ohio, reviews all the recipes in Goodwin’s service to make sure the nutritional information is accurate. She operates Abs and Apples, a nutritional and personal training business, counseling individuals through doctors and the YMCA.
Goodwin earned an accomplished amateur chef certificate in classes taught by Mike Bulkowski, a sous chef who worked for both Emeril Lagasse and Wolfgang Puck before opening his own restaurant in Findlay.
“Food is what we do and food is fun,” said Mary, who enjoys cooking, helping to develop recipes and plan meals for the service.
Mary learned to cook traditional Italian foods from her mother and has traveled to France where she studied French cuisine. She has taught French in Sylvania Schools for many years and accompanied student groups to France. She and Wayne are going to France again in June.
Wayne is originally from New Hampshire and Mary is from Rhode Island, but they have lived in the Toledo area for the past 30 years. They have two grown children, a son and daughter who are both doctors, and three grandchildren.
All recipes are available in PDF format for downloading and printing from the website. For information about the program or recipes, visit www.JustDiabeticMealPlans.com.

This season’s seemingly constant flurry of winter weather activity and the subsequent onslaught of school delays and closings has turned my seven-year-old son into a bit of a news junkie. Out of new habit, he now tends to do a quick check of the news before he clicks his way to “Phineaus and Ferb” or the like. He didn’t have to turn it on the morning of March 11^th, however, as I was already uncomfortably absorbing the horrific disaster unfolding in Japan. After an initial wave of surprise and sympathy, Jack began attempting to wrap his head around the situation.

Natural disasters of a certain magnitude are usually followed by an abundance of public advice about how to break the bad news to your child. While I understand and appreciate the sentiment, I do find the American way of almost immediately re-focusing on ourselves and how we may be personally affected by a disaster thousands of miles away to be slightly off-putting. I encountered the much more self-absorbing, grown-up version of the scenario two days later when I heard on the news that we needn’t worry about an impending shortage of electronics due to the situation in Japan. Such a concern wasn’t exactly at the top of my “Possible Negative Outcomes in the Tsunamic Aftermath” list.

Instead, there are immediate lessons to be learned from trying times whether they happen nine miles away or 9,000 miles away. Major events in other parts of our country and throughout the world are an opportune time to introduce and explain certain concepts to children. Geography is the obvious first lesson. Where is Japan? What is it like? How many people live there? At our house we have U.S. and world maps hanging at a child’s eye level. It only took a couple of times of me using the maps to point out places we heard about on TV before my children began implementing the practice on their own.

It wasn’t long after my son and I began discussing the Japanese earthquake and subsequent tsunami that we began searching for answers to all of our questions. It often doesn’t occur to me until I attempt to explain something to someone else, especially a child, that I may not still fully comprehend it myself. As my brain stumbled over the best way to describe thirty years’ worth of assorted earthquake and other geographical information, I turned to National Geographic to help me along.

“Tsunamis 101” reminded me not only of exactly how the earth’s plates operate and possess the power to create a tsunami, it also reminded me of the more than 200,000 people who lost their lives in December 2004 to the same fate. It is still difficult to imagine that a single event could have so effortlessly and so unapologetically taken so many. As I tried to impress on my son the astounding power of nature, I quickly realized how astounded I continue to be by it myself.

I began to notice the majestic Japanese mountains still touting their beauty up against otherwise dreadful scenes, and I thought of the unthinkable violent acts that had to have once taken place in order to eventually form such splendor. It is no doubt hard to consider any sort of positive when staring into the face of televised death and destruction, yet it is almost essential to seek out something good when relaying such tragedy to children. I don’t want to frighten my children, especially about things they have no control over, yet I also don’t want to completely shield them from reality either. If the children of Japan can work through witnessing natural disaster firsthand, my children can bear to hear about it in a toned down and reasonable way.

From a distance, children can gain an appreciation for certain things from otherwise scary and heart-wrenching events. Beyond science and geography lessons, they can learn about the engineers who saved thousands of lives just by design and the heroic rescuers willing to run to danger instead of away from it. They can begin to better appreciate the value in things we so often take for granted, like electricity and food and water and shelter. In fact, we can all take away such lessons as we attempt to wrap our own heads around situations of such magnitude.

Shannon and her husband Michael are raising three children in Sylvania. E-mail her at letters@toledofreepress.com.

Any hopes of a “Cinderella” run in the Women’s NCAA tournament evaporated in the first four minutes of the second half, as the BGSU Falcons lost to Georgia Tech 69-58.

Trailing just 33-32 at the half, the Falcons were victim to a 10-4 run by the Yellow Jackets aided by some costly BG turnovers.

“We talked the last few minute of halftime about getting off to a good start,” BGSU head coach Curt Miller said after the game. “It’s disappointing when you talk about something, and then don’t go out and execute.”

Miller said the rough stretch was especially difficult to deal with because it was déjà vu all over for the Falcons.

During last year’s tournament game against Michigan State, BGSU struggled early in the second half, and they ended up losing by 10.

“We thought with all of our experience that we would be able to get out to a better start, and we didn’t” he said.

Georgia Tech used a stifling defense and the strong inside presence of Sasha Goodlet, who scored 19 points, to seal the win.

“I thought that was a part of the chess match all day,” Miller said. “I thought we did a nice job switching her up on her defensively, but she is just such a big body.”

The Yellow Jackets pressed the entire 40 minutes of the ballgame to create 25 turnovers by the Falcons, and it was something that wore BGSU down.

“We aren’t used to being pressed like that for 40 minutes,” senior Lauren Prochaska said after her final game with the Falcons. “I thought we did alright handling it in the first half but you just get fatigued, and that is what happened to us.”

The intensive defensive pressure also created havoc for the Falcons once they got the basketball past half court. BGSU is used to a more team oriented offensive attack rather than the one on one style they were forced to play.

“We just aren’t used to having to drive the basketball all game,” sophomore guard Chrissy Steffen, who scored 16 points, said. “We are usually more team balanced and we aren’t used to that.”

Miller took Steffen’s remarks a step further.

“We actually got more layups around the basket today then we do against shorter and slower teams we face in conference,” he said.

Prochaska, who was clearly emotional after the game, received a standing ovation from the Falcon faithful who made the two hour trek south to Ohio State’s St. John Arena.

“I thought she was the best player on the floor tonight,” Miller said. “I know there were WNBA scouts here today watching her, and she was the best player out there.”

The Falcon’s all time leading scorer tacked 19 points on to her career totals in the orange and brown, but much to the chagrin of Prochaska and her fellow teammates, it was all for naught.

Senior guard Tracy Pontius had nine points to finish her career with the Falcons, while Maggie Hennegan, Jen Uhl, Jessica Slagle, Allison Papenfuss, and Danielle Havel all scored as well.

The loss to Georgia Tech caps off a tremendous run for six seniors on Miller’s squad. It was a stretch that saw them win 110 games in the class’s time at BGSU.

“I can’t say enough about this senior class,” he said. “They have been a pleasure to coach and I can’t believe that their time here is done.”

Miller got choked up when speaking about his seniors, referencing their tremendous character.

“They are not only hard workers on the court, but they are great people off it as well. It has been a joy to coach them.”

Miller and BGSU end the season 28-5 overall. This was the eleventh time in school history that the Falcons have played in the NCAA tournament. Georgia Tech will face the winner of the Ohio State/Central Florida game on Monday evening.

Two of the more lengthy discussions before Toledo City Council at its March 15 agenda review concerned the construction of a bulletproof enclosure at the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) office and the hiring of a lobbyist for the City of Toledo.
The extra security measure is being sought at the Ohio Building; the city of Toledo leases space there. The lease for this space ends in May of 2012. Deputy Mayor Tom Crothers said there have been several incidents that made him concerned. The $26,738 cost would be taken from the Water Replacement Fund. Bulletproof glass, a bulletproof door and the drywall would be reenforced so that it was also bulletproof. There would also be a new window system for payments with a microphone system.
“Over the course of the last year, 2010, it became abundantly clear to me that we were at serious risk for one of our people getting hurt,” Crothers said.

He added that people at times get upset over the amount of the utility bills they owe and it has led to confrontations. He felt the microphone system would allow more private communication. It was said that the police have had to be called and employees have registered written concerns about their safety because of encounters with customers.
“Sounds like you are in a BP station in the middle of Detroit or something,” Councilman Rob Ludeman said. He said he goes there to pay his bills and had never witnessed any confrontations, that the staff handles everyone in a professional manner. He asked for a referral on the cost to protect council staff at the same level of those at DPU.
Councilman D. Michael Collins has advocated in the past for Toledo to end its leasing of this space and move the services and employees to One Government Center. He’s asked for a space audit in the past, he asked for one again during agenda review and restated his opinion that it would be more price effective to move this department into One Government Center and would provide more security.
Crothers wanted this to be done even if they were going to move out of the Ohio Building.
Collins wanted this to go to committee and wanted information on how many arrests had been made there. Crothers said he would get that information to Collins.
Councilwoman Paula Hicks-Hudson did not want it in committee.  It will be listed at first reading at the March 22 Council meeting, at which time Collins can attempt to have it voted into committee.
Governor John Kasich announced as a part of his budget proposal closing the taxpayer service centers in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Akron, Toledo, Youngstown, Dayton and Zanesville.  If this proposal is adopted by the Ohio General Assembly, the space currently held by the Toledo service center in One Government Center would be vacant. This could supplement the space the City of Toledo already has under its control.
The ordinance authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement with a vendor to provide the City with government affairs services in Columbus, a lobbyist, appeared to have the support of a majority of Council.
The bulk of the more than half-an-hour discussion was related to which committee it should go into, should it be a joint meeting or should a hearing be held before or after it went before Council for a vote.
Councilman George Sarantou felt since the legislation was submitted from Finance Department it should be heard before Human Resources, Information Technology and Finance. He wanted the hearing scheduled for March 21.
Councilman Steve Steel and others felt it was more appropriate to be before Intergovernmental Relations and Environment, Councilman Tom Waniewski offered to chair a hearing March 28. Concern was expressed by Collins and others that finance committee had enough pressing issues.
“You sound like kids in a sandbox — should we raise our hands and take a vote?” Council President Wilma Brown said. “I agree we should wait until the 28th and have it under Intergovernmental Relations because it is something we are going to be discussing that’s not directly finance, it’s going to include finance, but we have a budget that we have to pass by the 31st.”
Sarantou deferred, and the verbal bullets ended.

Toledo Free Press Web editor Lisa Renee Ward operates the political blog GlassCityJungle.com.

The Toledo Opera Board of Trustees announced March 19 the postponement of “La traviata,” its final production of the 2010-2011 season due to the company’s organizational restructuring.

Ticket holders for the performance can exchange them for the future production of “La traviata” or they may receive a tax credit or refund by contacting the opera’s box office.

“The board is looking at the current structure of the company and exploring ways to continue to produce quality operas for the region. The organizational restructuring may take several months,” said Board President Andy Stuart in a press release.

“We are appreciative of the generosity of our donors, patrons and subscribers and with their continuing support we will move the company toward a brighter future,” Stuart said.

Opera on Wheels, its elementary school touring program will not be impacted. An adapted version of “The Barber of Seville” will be performed in 57 area schools during April and May.

It has been almost a year since Tod Kowalczyk took the job, but for the UT men’s basketball head coach, this season might have seemed like an eternity.
“I won’t lie,” Kowalczyk said, “It’s been a pretty tough one.”
When he took the head post, Kowalczyk knew it would be difficult, but even he may not have fathomed just how difficult it would be.
On March 8, the 44 year-old head coach wrapped up a 4-28 campaign with the Rockets. The season has been marred by injuries, personnel conflicts and many tough losses for the hoops squad.
A year ago, Kowalczyk was putting the finishing touches on his eighth season as the head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. It was his fourth consecutive season of finishing at or above .500 for the season with the Phoenix. It was his second season in a row to be invited to the College Basketball Invitational, a postseason tournament for teams not involved in the NCAA’s annual championship.
The contrast is stark, which raises the question: Why anyone in their right mind would leave a winning program to take on a rebuilding project of immense proportions.
“I am very grateful for my time at Wisconsin-Green Bay and all they did for me and my family. But I had always heard about UT basketball and the potential that existed here.”

Tod Kowalczyk

From the athletic department’s point of view, Kowalczyk possessed all the intangibles it was looking for to replace Gene Cross.
“Tod quickly shot up to the top of our list of candidates,” said UT athletic director Mike O’Brien. “He was a winner for one, but we like that there was more to him than just winning. He graduated every player from Wisconsin-Green Bay in his eight years there, and he was active in the local community. That made him a great fit for our basketball coach.”
After speaking to some confidants in the college basketball world, including Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, Kowalczyk decided to take the job.
“When I talked to those guys, they all told me this is one of the best jobs in the MAC, and that I needed to take it. So that’s what I did.”
A season to forget
Fellow coaches may have thought UT is the best job in the MAC, but the trying times have made many second guess that notion.
The Rockets lost their first nine games of the season before winning three in a row. The team would go almost another month before notching its fourth victory of the season on Jan. 19. UT did not win another game.
Compounding the problems were the multitude of injuries that have piled up throughout the season to a squad that was always shorthanded when it came to available scholarship players.
Part of Kowalczyk’s strategy in rebuilding the Rockets was to use transfer players and award them scholarships. Per NCAA rules, transfers must sit out an entire year before competing.
“We knew that we were going to sacrifice some wins by giving transfers scholarships,” Kowalczyk said. “But I never foresaw this many guys getting hurt.”
Kowalczyk insists that while others think injuries are a normal part of basketball, he does not.
“It is one thing to say that about football, but in basketball there isn’t nearly that same kind of contact or as much contact. I have never had this many guys down at one time.”
The string of players who were hurt left the already depleted Rockets with just five scholarship players able to play down the homestretch. UT was forced to play several walk-on players, something Kowalczyk was not used to doing.
“In my eight years at Wisconsin-Green Bay, I never played a walk-on guy. I have worked our walk-ons harder this season than I have ever done in my entire coaching career, but that is because I have never been forced to go the lengths to get players like I have this past season.”
This season has produced some record-setting lows. The Rockets’ average deficit in defeat was 16 points. The team’s 4-28 record matches last year’s for the worst in school history and the program is still mired in a record-setting 48-game losing streak on the road.
Kowalczyk said to cope with all the stress he has tried to focus on more important things in life.
“I have tried to remember this sport is just a game,” he said.
The coach said he also has focused his and the Rockets’ attention on the finer points of basketball.
When Kowalczyk took charge, there were discipline, academic and off-court issues to deal with before basketball could be the team’s sole focus.
“I’ve said a lot that this season wasn’t just about wins and losses for this team this year. It was about building a culture around Toledo basketball that will be the foundation of the program for years to come.”
Just dealing with it
Kowalczyk admits it hasn’t been easy being the head coach of the Rockets this season.
“It’s frustrating and taxing for sure,” he said. “There is no question there have been some humbling experiences this season.”
One thing that Kowalczyk has not been is shy. He is quickly becoming known as a coach who is candid with the media and his team.
“Sometimes I am too negative with the team, but they haven’t always left me much choice,” he said.
“The only way that I know how to coach is to be honest. In fact, I have been told that sometimes I am too honest, but I am not a guy who sugarcoats things.”
Kowalczyk focuses on his family and friends. He said his wife and two children are a great reminder of what is important in life, which helps keep everything in perspective.
“It has been tough on my family at times because they like to see me happy and there haven’t always been a ton of happy days this past season.
“My son just turned 4 and we had a birthday party. I also lost a good friend this year. There’s so much more to life than just wins and losses. It’s been about setting this program up for success and doing it the right way instead of cutting corners.”
Athletic Director Mike O’Brien has his own perspective on this season and, despite a tough year, he said he is excited to see the direction the program is going.
“We certainly haven’t won the number of games we would have liked to,” O’Brien said. “We knew coming in this season would be a struggle, but when you look at the way Tod has handled everything, we are confident we made the right decision.”
O’Brien said this season has in no way shaken the faith in the abilities of the first-year head coach.
“We still have absolute faith in Tod and his ability to turn this program around,” he said.
On the horizon
Despite all of the problems that the basketball program endured this past season, hope springs eternal regarding the UT basketball team.
First and foremost, Kowalczyk will welcome four recruits next season in Justin Moss, Ryan Majerle, “Juice” Brown and A.J. Mathew, all of whom are rated high by several recruiting Web sites and publications.
The quartet will join with transfer players Curtis Dennis, Dominique Buckley, Rian Pearson and Matt Smith.
In many ways, Kowalczyk has tied the program’s transformation to the performance of this new crop of Rockets. He even took the unprecedented step in naming Buckley, Pearson and Smith captains for the current season.
“I wasn’t going to name just anybody captain. Those three guys had been working hard in the gym every day and they had the right approach,” Kowalczyk said. “They strived to be the best players they could become and that was what I was looking for.”
With the influx of new talent accompanying the pieces already in place, the mantra of “wait till next year” may finally have some truth behind it for the Rockets.
“When you look at the way [Kowalczyk] is setting things up for next season, you can see the program is heading in the right direction,” O’Brien said.
The blueprint that Kowalczyk has been working off of to rebuild this program has already started to pay dividends.
“We have seen several players get better this season and buy into the program,” he said. “I have seen guys cry after tough losses and that tells me they care about this team as much as I do.”
Kowalczyk is also confident in his decision to come to the Glass City because of the hospitality of fans and citizens who have made his and his family’s transition easier.
“Our fans have been great, and they are passionate about Rocket basketball,” he said. “I think they are one of the most knowledgeable fan bases in the country. They root hard for us and want to see us succeed and that has been great to have that support.”
No matter what hardships the fans and the program have faced in recent years, O’Brien said soon those days will be firmly in the rearview mirror.
“Next year people won’t be asking these questions about losing,” he said. “That’s why next year will be so sweet.”

Out of 162 traffic stops for the St. Patrick’s Day traffic blitz by the Toledo Police Department and the Toledo Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol on March 17, officers arrested three individuals for operating a motor vehicle under the influence (OVI), police said in a press release.

Of the 117 other citations issued, 52 were for speeding, 13 were for driving under suspension or without a license and five were for not wearing seatbelts.

Toledo police units made an additional five OVI arrests and recorded 20 photo enforcement speed violations inside school zones in areas that were not a part of the special blitz.

Governor John Kasich is scheduled to take part in a meeting with commercial fisherman and members of the the Ohio Lake Erie Commission at University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center on March 23.

Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols confirmed to Toledo Free Press that Gov. Kasich was coming to the Toledo area for the meeting. Nichols said other local events would be scheduled around the governor’s appearance that would be announced soon.

The March 23 meeting at Lake Erie Center is scheduled to take place beginning at 5 p.m. The center is located at 6200 Bayshore Road in Oregon.

Lake Erie Center is a research and education center created to look for solutions and to research environmental problems at the land-water interface and bay-lake exchanges in the Great Lakes.

The Ohio Lake Erie Commission was established to preserve Lake Erie’s natural resources. Their mission is to protect the quality of its waters and ecosystem, and to promote economic development in the region.

Editor’s Note: Toledo Free Press, United Way of Greater Toledo and 13abc’s “Bridges” with Doni Miller are profiling 12 education initiative programs in Northwest Ohio. This is the 10th story in the series.

Imagine a child entering kindergarten not knowing how to hold a book or turn its pages, or not knowing that text is read left to right, top to bottom.
That is the situation some area students find themselves in, but an early literacy program run by WGTE aims to ensure kids are getting the literary exposure they need to start school right.
First Book gives away about 2,850 books each year, mainly to children ages 3 to 5, said Kathy Smith, WGTE’s director of early learning and outreach.
“What it really is at its root is putting books in the hands of kids who normally would not have the opportunity to own a book of their own,” Smith said. “If you don’t know [how a book works] when you come to kindergarten then you have to learn that before you can even begin to learn what letters are, or what they sound like, or what letters rhyme, or what a word actually means.”
From kindergarten through third grade, children are learning to read, but from fourth grade on, they are reading to learn, Smith said.
“If they are not fairly fluent by the beginning of fourth grade, it’s really easy to shut down and not be successful in school and in life,” Smith said. “It’s critical that kids come to school with some skills to build on so they can really hit the ground running.”
WGTE partners with organizations that work with low-income families, stipulating that at least 75 percent of the children receiving books be living at or below the poverty level, Smith said.
Since September, First Book has distributed 2,151 books through 13 organizations in Lucas, Ottawa and Wood counties.
WGTE does more than just give books away, however. At each presentation, which happens twice a year, WGTE also does a literary activity called a “story stretcher,” Smith said. For example, a book about a duckling might also include watching a TV program about ducks, drawing pictures of ducks or taking a field trip to watch them swim, she said.
“It’s that ‘read, view, do’ format we do a lot because children learn in a variety of ways,” Smith said. “There needs to be some way to make that story come alive for children.”
Each child is also sent home with an activity sheet developed by WGTE that corresponds with their new book. The activity sheet is meant to involve parents in the reading process, prompting questions to ask while reading and ideas for related projects using common household items.
WGTE has activity sheets for more than 200 books, which are available on its website. Local nonprofit Adelante has translated some of them into Spanish, said WGTE’s School Readiness Specialist Sally Brinkman.
Research has shown that children in low-income families are exposed to significantly fewer words than children in middle- or high-income families, Smith said. Books introduce new vocabulary as well as allow for quality time together, she said.
“This is sometimes a way for parents and children to experience a little time together that’s more than just business language, like ‘Go to bed,’ ‘Brush your teeth, ‘Let the dog out,’” Smith said.
Many times, even if parents can’t read, older brothers and sisters will read to younger siblings so the program improves the reading fluency of older children as well, Smith said.
First Book was started in the mid-1990s, federally funded through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. When that funding ended, United Way stepped up.
“We had to scale the program back, but we felt that it was too valuable to not do it at all,” Smith said.
The program operates on $12,700 in funding — $7,700 from United Way and $5,000 from Owens-Illinois — at a cost of about $5 per child, Smith said.
One of First Book’s partner organizations is the East Toledo Family Center. Cheryl Amborski, child care coordinator for the preschool, said the children always look forward to getting their books.
“You can see the excitement when they say ‘I get to take this home? It belongs to me?’” Amborski said. “So many in our community don’t have the opportunity to get books; they’re worried about buying groceries. This gives them that extra contact with books. If it’s a library book, you might read it once, but when it’s yours, you have the opportunity to read it over and over. It helps to have that repetition.”
For more information, visit www.wgte.org or contact Smith at kathy_smith@wgte.org or (419) 380-4638.

Location, location, location. Every real estate agent worth his or her salt knows the importance of those three little words in making a sale. So why hasn’t any Toledo politician in the past 50 years taken note of where the city is and what it has to offer? We are told year after year of the great potential this area has for growth because of the combined assets that surround us.
Let’s take a look at what they are.
The Maumee River has been here for centuries, ever since the days of the Great Black Swamp. Talk of using it as a tourist attraction come and go regularly in One Government Center.  A quick check of the riverfront, however, shows very little progress for an asset that has been here since before the city itself. Portside has come and gone; a children’s science museum sits in its place attracting schoolchildren during the week and little else. Promenade Park sits empty next to a steam plant that at one time was supposed to house condos and shops. Citizens were told by the previous mayor that vertical construction on a much-anticipated marina district would be finished “soon.” The city still waits, as it does for the Great Lakes cruise ships that were to be summer visitors to the port authority-owned terminal.
Toledo Express Airport is another asset, which seems to be wasting away. Recently, Delta Airlines pulled out of the beleaguered facility, citing lack of customers. This is hardly the vision William Levis had in mind when he first started to buy property to replace Metcalf Field. The airport, which opened in 1955, is a victim not only of the economic times but of its board’s lack of foresight in responding to falling passenger numbers.
The same year Toledo Express opened, the Ohio Turnpike was finished. It promised to open the East-West route to a huge part of America’s population to Toledo goods. Twenty years later, I-75 cut a swath through the city and created a perfect crossroads for Toledo businesses and an easy path for tourists to get here.
Location, location, location.
Toledo has location in spades. It’s hard to imagine sitting here and realizing that the city is within 500 miles of 93 million people — that’s 38 percent of the population of the United States. The number is staggering if you continue to imagine that each one of those people could — and should — be considered potential customers.
So why aren’t they? Why aren’t they driving here to enjoy the Maumee River, attend our festivals and visit our historical landmarks? Why aren’t the lots at the Toledo Zoo filled with out-of-state license plates, the museum filled with non-Toledoans? Why aren’t the roads clogged with trucks filled with Toledo products being shipped all over the Midwest and beyond?
There is a pretty simple answer. It’s because for years, politicians have reacted too slowly to a changing market and the world around them. It was easier to ignore any new ideas since they didn’t come from the group of people who continued to get elected to office year in and year out. It was easier to build the big showplace and hope for the promised economic development that was to follow. Portside and the Hotel Sofitel are examples of that kind of thinking. So is Fifth-Third Field, which despite its beauty and reputation across the country, still faces abandoned storefronts.
Toledo has the location, location, location. We have a river, an airport, interstate highways and people willing to work. So where are the distribution centers, the intermodals, the entreprenuers, the people who will finally tire of hearing about potential and promise? Only one thing keeps them away at this point — the political will of elected officials to get out the way when necessary and lend a helping hand when asked.
I’ve been here since February of 1980. I have seen Portside and Northtowne Mall both open and close. I watched Southwyck Mall die and finally get demolished, movie theaters come and go, and one thing has stayed the same: It’s the promises made and not kept by our elected officials.
There isn’t an election for some time so it might seem like an odd time to talk about who we elect, but now is the time to find those people who will move this city forward and allow it to use its assets to its full potential. Now is the time to search for the men and women who will give us more than promises, promises, promises to go along with our location, location, location.

Fred LeFebvre is host of “Fred LeFebvre and the Morning News,” weekdays from 6 to 9 a.m. on WSPD 1370 AM. E-mail him at Fred@WSPD.com.