Envision a scene of an old town in the Wild West. The dry desert heat is everywhere and at first glance it appears the town is empty except for two guys standing out in the street. One might think it is Clint Eastwood or Billy the Kid. Yet, upon looking closer it’s just Porky Pig and Wile E. Coyote on the other end of town, getting ready to face off in a shootout, waiting for the other to draw. Porky’s stutter makes it hard for him to talk intelligently while the Coyote has his next best contraption, which never really works, in his pocket. A similar standoff is happening right now in real life as Republicans versus Democrats square off over raising our national debt. We’ll let you be the judge of which one is Porky Pig and which one is Wile E. Coyote. The important part of this battle is to not get caught in the crossfire.
Looking at the website www.usdebtclock.org, everyone should be concerned as our national debt has grown from $5.7 trillion back in July 2000 to more than $14.5 trillion today. And our current unfunded liabilities are now more than $114 trillion dollars when you consider Social Security, the Prescription Drug Program and Medicare. This is now more than $1 million in liabilities per taxpayer. Even for those who pay no taxes, it is time to take notice as it could be a long-term burden for all Americans.
Short-term, don’t make an emotional move. A common question we have been hearing lately from investors is, “Should we get out until they figure this all out?” Our answer is to be rational, not emotional, when it comes to making financial decisions. According to Dalbar Inc., a company that studies investor behavior versus stock market performance, history has shown making emotional decisions cost investors substantially.
“For the 20 years ending 12/31/2009 the S&P 500 Index averaged 8.2 percent a year. The average equity fund investor earned a market return of only 3.17 percent.” Remember, if an investor listens to the news headlines, there is always a reason to buy or sell, avoid this emotional urge.
Ask the right questions. Investors often focus only on the bottom line. Although the bottom line is important, understand what the objective is. Let’s say a retiree has plenty of cash to cover current income for the next several years, plus money set aside for a pay raise in the future. The stock market ups and downs of today become less relevant. In contrast, a younger investor saving and investing for the future could look at a stock market decline as a buying opportunity. Remember buy low and sell high.
Focus on what you can control, although it is important to stay up-to-date and involved in our national economy it is often beyond an investor’s control. Every American should vote and voice their opinion to our political leaders. Don’t dwell on what you can’t control; instead, focus on your financial situation. Get out of debt, minimize taxes and make every dollar saved work in the most efficient manner.
Long-term, watch out for tax increases. Only 43.4 percent of Americans had to pay any taxes in 2010 according to the Tax Policy Center. They go on to point out by looking at history, “between 1950 and 1990, the number of owe-no-money federal tax returns averaged 21 percent.” According to the IRS’s own research if every U.S. taxpayer who filed a tax return paid $100 in taxes in 2008 an additional $5.2 billion in taxes would have been collected. Taxes could have a bigger impact on more people in the future and be at a higher rate for current taxpayers. Have a plan today for tax increases in the future and talk with an accountant about how an increase could affect you.
Take a moment and step back. Look at what the plan is, nationally and for yourself personally. Realize the difference between what can and cannot be controlled. Make decisions based on facts that are consistent with the long-term plan and avoid the urge to make gut calls when investing. As Warren Buffett said, “Your money is like soap, the more you touch it, the less you have.”

For more information about The Retirement Guys, tune in every Saturday at 1 p.m. on 1370 WSPD or visit www.retirementguysradio.com.  Securities and Investment Advisory Services are offered through NEXT Financial Group Inc., Member FINRA / SIPC.  NEXT Financial Group, Inc nor its representatives provide tax advice.  The Retirement Guys are not an affiliate of NEXT Financial Group. The office is at 1700 Woodlands Drive, Suite 100, Maumee, OH-43537. (419) 842-0550.

Following his legal troubles and many reportedly failed negotiations with various media outlets, Andrew Zepeda aka Andrew Z inked a deal with Cumulus Broadcasting. After a six month sit out due to a noncompete clause with his previous employer, Clear Channel, Andrew Z returned to morning radio July 18 on the 100 Watt HD station 100.7 The Vibe.
With technology changing media and how consumers get our favorite shows, Andrew Z had some pretty creative options and this signing was completely unnecessary.
When the Andrew Z “mess” happened, he was King of the Toledo Morning Airwaves, hosted a No. 1 Show, was Lucas County’s Weight Czar and was a media darling. Through all the negative press, Andrew Z has maintained the maximum limit of 5,000 friends on Facebook and a “fan” page with more than 2,000 “likes.” These numbers prove the power of his show. In a town where radio ratings are not made public,  Andrew Z can demonstrate to clients a 7,000-member loyal, dedicated fan base he is reaching on a daily basis. Showing advertisers the amount of people your show and their commercials reach is key— it’s how the game is played.
To some, 7,000 people is not a lot, especially when Andrew’s previous audience was around 25,000 to 40,000 people.  I would disagree; 7,000 people who own a computer — and more importantly, disposable income — is a great marketable number. The more powerful aspect is that his fan base will grow as his show improves and word gets out.
The problem with Top 40 radio today is the listeners who must be targeted to get ratings. Top 40 stations play around 40 songs, which means they play same song every 60-90 minutes. That’s why it seems your one favorite song is always on. What does this mean? It simply means Top 40 stations target people who are less likely to  have extra money to buy music, an iPod, a smartphone or a newer car with satellite radio. Why would anyone wait through songs they do not like — and commercials — when they can play their favorite music off their iPod? Smartphones have apps like Pandora, where you can play the music you want commercial free.
The equalizer that brings people with extra cash back to terrestrial radio tends to be the personalities, aka DJs. Most cities, including Toledo, have stations that play the same artist. The perfect example would be Taylor Swift; she can be heard on KISS FM, Star105, K100, MY983 and The River 101.5.  The one thing that separates the Taylor Swift stations are the morning shows. Andrew Z’s show played no music and was No. 1, meaning people with and without cash listened.
This is where Andrew’s return is flawed.  Andrew Z should have invested in himself and his show by launching a comprehensive, interactive website and a smartphone application to distribute his show. This would take a lot of faith but little cash.  He would have owned his show, been his own boss and more importantly, had full creative control. Andrew Z would argue that he has a website and an app you can hear his show on, but it is not the same thing; Andrew Z now has a boss.
Andrew has the ability to show advertisers the true size and loyalty of his listeners. Andrew Z has tarnished his name, but Toledoans always love the underdog and the controversial. Remember, Toledoans voted Carty  Finkbeiner as mayor three times.
Ultimately, Andrew Z felt he needed to broadcast his show on a station with a frequency to be successful. If Andrew Z’s new show makes a dent in the ratings, it will be a huge upset win for Cumulus. 100.7 The Vibe was not even on the map two weeks ago and the journey ahead will not be easy — I challenge you to find the station by using a radio with a dial.
The adage of “If you build it, they will come; should apply here, but you still have to find what was built first. Andrew Z should have believed in himself and not leaned on a corporate partner.

Jeremy Baumhower is a media expert who writes and produces for morning radio shows across the country. Follow him on Twitter @jeremytheproduc.

As the clock ticks down to Aug. 2, the debt ceiling debate has grown more heated. As it turns out, doubt in the “full faith and credit” of the United States’ federal government can actually inject quite a bit of fear into the world’s financial markets. This fear has led to a substantial rise in volatility as investors focus increasingly on gossip and headlines instead of levelheaded rationality.
Much of the debate has become focused on entitlement programs like social security — at least ever since President Obama made his now-famous threat to cut off benefit checks to veterans and the elderly on Aug. 3 if no agreement is reached to prevent a government shutdown.
This offhanded comment has been a favorite among political pundits, though it was obviously a scare tactic and a complete bluff. Sadly, it seems many Americans have taken the bait. Many have fallen in line since Obama’s threat and opened up to the idea of raising the debt ceiling, showing their flagrant need for the nanny state.
Unfortunately, this is precisely the wrong lesson to have learned.
Rather than acquiescing to the government’s desired role as wet-nurse to the governed, Obama’s threat should have reminded the American people of our president’s shamelessness and willingness to threaten and/or hurt this country’s citizens to accomplish political ends.
Just as significantly, the entire debate surrounding social security has highlighted a complete misunderstanding by the American people of how the program is structured and what purpose it serves.
The Social Security Act was passed in 1935 — some may recall that the United States economy was in the middle of a minor slump back then, commonly known as the Great Depression. At that point in time the average life expectancy was almost a full 20 years shorter than it is now. Jobs were harder, medicine was less advanced, and many aspects of modern life were luxuries reserved exclusively for the ultra-wealthy.
Consider one quick example. In 1936 a ticket to fly between Germany and New Jersey cost roughly $400, almost a quarter of the average American’s annual wages at that time. For comparison, $400 in 1936 would be worth more than $6,000 today, given inflation. And this ticket didn’t even get you on an airplane — that was the price for traveling on the Hindenburg, not exactly a quick (or safe) undertaking.
When Social Security was begun in the ‘30s, the vast majority of elderly or disabled Americans lived with their families. Nursing homes were not a thriving industry back then, though there were some facilities operated by local church groups and other charities.
At its core, Social Security was developed to keep its beneficiaries from becoming a drain on their caretakers. It was a way of helping their families pay utility bills and put food on the table.
Hardly what one would call a “retirement plan.”
Social security was never meant to improve Americans’ lifestyles after they retired — which in the 1930s really meant you were incapable of working anymore. It wasn’t even supposed to allow those unable to work to extend the lifestyle they enjoyed while earning wages. Social security wasn’t going to pay for cruises or new cars, these were luxuries enjoyed by very few, anyway.
Somewhere, somehow between 1935 and now, Americans have let politicians twist the role of social security; they’ve allowed the government to make Social Security sound like a retirement plan, when it isn’t.
Now many Americans are upset because they might need to save for retirement above and beyond their contributions to Social Security. Well duh!
Anyone who hasn’t been saving in addition to Social Security has much more serious problems than not understanding government bureaucracy. (Heck, maybe they should run for office!)
Worse than the fact that Americans have been lied to about programs like Social Security is that they’ve actually taken the bait. Voters were dumb enough to believe Al Gore when he said he was going to put the money “in a lockbox.” They were dumb enough to believe that there was actually money sitting in a fund somewhere to pay retirees.
Why don’t the American people get it? Why are they so willing to see things the way they want, rather than as they are?
A lie is a lie, no matter how much one wants to believe it. Social Security is broke — there is no money. What’s more, this isn’t by accident, but by design. Social Security is a legal, government-sponsored Ponzi scheme — the only one in the world, in fact.
Now, with the deadline to Aug. 2 closing in, the American people are being fed still more lies by the so-called “Gang of Six” in the Senate. The question is, how many more lies can the American people swallow? How long until the dumbing down of America ends and people in this country start waking up smarter than the day before?

Dock David Treece is a discretionary money manager with Treece Investment Advisory Corp and is licensed with FINRA through Treece Financial Services Corp. He has appeared on CNBC and numerous radio programs, and also serves as editor of financial news site Green Faucet. The above information is the express opinion of Dock David Treece and should not be construed as investment advice or used without outside verification.

Developing a cynical streak is an occupational hazard of the newspaper business. Years of reading and writing about corruption and the less honorable sides of human nature leads one to a place where most everything is called into question.
This is especially true when it comes to government. Dealing with officials on all levels calls for a healthy dose of preventative paranoia. It may be sad to have to assume the worst until the best is shown, but power drives people to strange actions.

There are strong laws that help the public keep tabs on elected officials, although those laws are only as enforceable as a governing body’s degree of cooperation. One of the long-standing protections in Ohio has been the lack of a maximum penalty for improperly destroying public documents. Recently, the Ohio Legislature reduced and capped the civil penalties for improperly destroying public records. The Legislature de facto eliminated a powerful financial consequence that made governments think twice before eradicating any materials, and especially materials that may cause embarrassment or controversy.
As the Associated Press (AP) reported, “A measure signed into law by Gov. John Kasich places a $10,000 limit per case on fines an agency can be ordered to pay when sued for destroying records. It also limits attorney fees to $10,000 and requires suits to be brought within five years of a record’s destruction.
“There were no such limits previously.”
State Sen. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati lawyer, told the AP the modification was “prompted by a $1.4 million initial finding against the city of Bucyrus for recording over 911 tapes from the 1990s. The law had said that agencies could be sued for $1,000 per destroyed document, with no maximum. Supporters of the new cap said people requested records they didn’t want but knew were destroyed so they could sue for a large payday.”
It can be argued that the new limits might make it difficult for many people to afford the risk of suing when contested documents are erased.
“Destroyed public employee records, evidence of police wrongdoing, evidence of environmental and human health dangers … could all go away for a simple $10,000 fine,” Trent Dougherty, director of legal affairs for the Ohio Environmental Council, told AP.
Especially when those fines would likely be paid with taxpayer dollars.
Seitz argued that “the legislation protects taxpayers’ pocketbooks from greedy lawyers. If records are destroyed to cover up corruption, officials still could face criminal charges such as obstruction of justice and tampering with records. If anybody thinks that a $10,000 penalty and $10,000 in attorney fees is not a sufficient deterrent, then I would remind them that if the destruction is willful … we have a whole battery of criminal laws that still apply.”
Fair enough, but the new legislation should make those who champion open access to government more than a little nervous.
Anything that provides “wiggle room” for those looking to keep the public ignorant should be condemned. This new standard is a victory for those who prefer to work in the dark, and a loss for those who prefer their government to work in the open light of day.

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

The “Harry Potter” series deals directly with the dangers of prejudice and racism, so it was fitting to be confronted with those issues during a screening of the latest “Potter” movie.
During the late 1990s, I worked on assignment in San Jose, Calif. During that era, I was long-distance romancing my eventual wife, Shannon, who lived in Ann Arbor. Part of bridging that continental gap was spending a lot of late nights on the phone.
Shannon battled mild insomnia in those days, and I battled cross-country home sickness. One of our solutions was for me to read to her each night until she was ready to sleep. It was on her suggestion in that summer of 1999 that I purchased a copy of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”
It was a natural extension of our admiration for the book series to see the “Potter” movies as each one was released.

Taking the adventure to its extreme, we arranged a safe haven for our young boys and drove to the Rave Motion Pictures theater at Levis Commons for the July 15 midnight premiere. Traveling with friends who have been equally invested in the series, we arrived to find all 12 screens showing the film, and all 12 screens sold out or close to it. Hundreds of fans filled the lobby, chattering excitedly and bustling with anticipation. Many fans (who at one point probably smirked at fans who lined up in costumes for “Star Wars” movies) were dressed as their favorite character.
There were great bearded Hagrids, scores of Harrys wearing black robes and black circular glasses, and several silver-bearded Dumbledores. The creativity on display was impressive. One fan, dressed as Azkaban prisoner Sirius Black, wore the faded jail fatigues and had the full set of markings “tattooed” on his chest. I assume those quotes are required. There were sexy and demented Bellatrix clones, scary and silent Death Eaters and Dementors and at least one person dressed as a winged Golden Snitch.
With about 30 minutes before showtime, two of us walked to the concession stand. Waiting in the lengthy line gave us another opportunity to admire the “Potter” fans who had invested time and energy into dressing up to mark the end of the 10-year film series. It was exciting and fun, a moment free of real-world politics and pressures.
Then a young man walked by, dressed in Hogwarts wizard robes. He was tall, with brown hair and a quick gait.
His white face was smeared black.
I openly stared as he crossed the lobby, stunned to see someone, even in the context of a celebration and costume ball, wearing blackface. I caught the eye of my friend, who was similarly caught off guard by the sight.
It surprised me — stunned me, really — that anyone in 2011 could walk around in public in blackface and think it’s OK. We’re not talking about some satirical or political fourth wall-breaking performance art. It was just one kid at the movies, dressed in costume with some kind of black makeup or paint smeared over his face.
Blackface has a long history as a tool for demeaning and humiliating black people; I do not see any excuses that transcend that context.
There are not a lot of black characters in the “Harry Potter” books and movies, which seems endemic to epic fantasy stories. The “Star Wars” movies employed exactly one prominent black actor for each of its trilogies (Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian in the Original Trilogy, Samuel L. Jackson as Jedi Mace Windu in the Prequel Trilogy). The “Lord of the Rings” movies make the “Star Wars” movies look like a Tyler Perry project. “Avatar,” employed black actors for its aliens but not for its scientists or military leaders.
“Potter” has Lee Jordan, who fights alongside the good-guy wizards, and Dean Thomas, who is more visible than Jordan but mainly footnotes himself as a boyfriend of Ginny Weasley, who eventually falls for Harry Potter. It has Kingsley Shacklebolt, a powerful wizard who rises to a prominent leadership role. There is one young black woman, Angelina Johnson, who dates the supporting character Fred Weasley (and according to fan websites, marries his brother George after Fred dies in battle. This skin-color exposition on the Weasley family’s prejudice-free approach to life is a rare bit of narrative clumsiness on Rowling’s part).
The young man in blackface must have been dressed as Dean Thomas, as he lacked Lee Jordan’s dreadlocks and Angelina Johnson’s uterus (my assumption).
While seeing him did not completely sour my evening, his offensive and tasteless choice has resonated. Worst-case scenario, it was an excuse for a mocking, racist act of immaturity. At best, it was an insensitive display of ignorance and immaturity. Or maybe he was just a historical re-enactor.
I wonder if he left his parents’ home with the blackface on, or if he applied it when safely out of his parents’ sight. I also wonder if he would have employed the same mischievous strut at another theater; not just the mostly white safe zone in Perrysburg, but maybe at Westfield, where he would have been far more likely to face real-life black people.
If he had been seen in blackface at Westfield, it would have taken a lot more than magic words and phrases to prevent him from learning just how offensive his actions were.

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

The $300 million Hollywood Casino-Toledo, scheduled to be the first complete casino in Ohio, is rapidly taking shape.
“It’s coming along quickly,” General Manager Richard St. Jean said. “I saw it for the first time when I drove into town about a month ago and I was just blown away by the view and proximity. It couldn’t have a better location. It’s just spectacular.”
Other Ohio cities expected to open casinos in the future include Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus. Cleveland’s casino could still open before Toledo’s but it would only be a partially complete facility. The Toledo casino, which broke ground in August, is scheduled to open in the latter part of 2012’s second quarter.
“You can see the formation,” St. Jean said. “It’s really starting to take shape. A lot of the infrastructure is starting to come up and the walls are starting to go up. I would say within 30 to 60 days you will really be able to make out the different venues and what it looks like. It’s just amazing how quickly it moves.”
Despite the speed of the structure coming into fruition, St. Jean still has his deadlines. He is pushing to finish enclosing the building by the fall, especially after the setbacks that the elements provided during the past year.
“From a timing perspective it’s critical to get the building enclosed,” St. Jean said. “Particularly with the winter we had and then the rain, that didn’t help the process along.

Richard St. Jean worked at Las Vegas casinos for 25 years.

“Now the goal is to get it enclosed so that by early fall we are totally enclosed and the majority of the focus becomes the inside of the property. At the end of the year, the building on the outside will look virtually complete.”
Leaving Las Vegas
St. Jean started his job as general manager of Hollywood Casino-Toledo a month ago after accepting the position from Penn National Gaming. He spent the past 25 years in Las Vegas working positions at Caesar’s Palace and Station Casinos.
After working on projects including the Gun Lake Casino in Wayland, Mich., and the expansion of Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, Calif., St. Jean heard about plans for a new casino in Toledo. The combination of bringing one of the first casinos to Ohio and helping a struggling economy was just what he was looking for to join Penn National.
“I’ve known the Penn guys for about 10 years now,” St. Jean said. “I developed a great relationship and we said if the time was ever right we could have a [business] relationship. When I started learning about this project and it being one of the first in the state, the magnitude of the project and what it does for the economy I was very excited. It’s an exciting project in a part of the country I think could really use it. I think that Penn, myself and the team I’m putting together can really fulfill all those obligations.”
To give him an idea of just what to expect with the more intricate aspects of the new casino, St. Jean began touring other Penn National facilities around the country. In early July, St. Jean traveled to its property in Charleston, W.V., for a more detailed look at the facility’s electronics, which will be integrated into Hollywood Casino-Toledo.
“I went to see how it comes together,” St. Jean said. “There’s a lot of electronic messaging and technology that is particularly new to this region. It was hard to really understand what it meant until I went and saw it.”
Casino’s goals
That experience will be crucial in the upcoming stages of development, especially in a facility with so many different parts under one roof. The facility will have 119,000 square feet of gaming floor, including about 3,000 slot machines, 60 table games and 21 poker tables.
Also featured in the building will be an entertainment venue which plans to consistently provide stage acts to perform. The casino’s goal will be to provide entertainment for the venue upwards of seven nights a week.
“I see there is a tremendous need,” St. Jean said. “You can have great bands midweek and step it up on the weekends. It’s a venue that not only opens up to the lounge but opens up to the entire casino. It’s definitely going to be an entertainment mecca. It doesn’t anywhere compete with the larger venues, but we have created our own centric entertainment venue here in the middle of the casino.”
The casino will also feature many different food options for incoming patrons. Among the places to eat will be Final Cut, a fine dining steakhouse, as well as the 350-seat Epic Buffet, a sports-themed restaurant and bar and a “grab-and-go” area.
“One of the staples for Penn National Gaming is the quality of food and the food offered,” St. Jean said. “I think you are going to be able to find something for everybody. At the end of the day it’s about taking care of the guests, giving them what they want and making sure they want to come back.”
Major qualifications
For the casino to best take advantage of all of its features, St. Jean knows he will need to select the best employees for the job. In a job market where he expects to receive interest from upwards of 15,000 applicants, hiring around 1,000 people will be no small feat.

Richard St. Jean: "It's coming along quickly ... it's just spectacular."

There are, however, two major qualifications St. Jean is looking for. Hiring locally is a major goal for the casino, looking to employ at least 90 percent of its employees from the Toledo area. He also said that all applicants skilled in working with people will have a significant edge over others.
“What we are really looking for at every position is people that can be a service ambassador,” St. Jean said. “The No. 1 criteria we are looking at when we are selecting people is their ability to be friendly, outgoing, gregarious and really create that kind of environment. We definitely look for the special technical skills, but it’s really going to come down to people skills and their personality.”
The casino will officially take online applications in the fall. St. Jean said that applicants can also express their interest in positions through its website, www.HollywoodCasinoToledo.com, and keep up to date on the hiring process. Initial plans are to begin searching for employees from October through December and make offers in the first two months of 2012.
As for the salaries, St. Jean expects tipped jobs “will be very lucrative,” while non-tipped jobs will be dictated by the market. Employment will also include medical plans.
Being an employee won’t necessarily exclude you from all the fun either. Employees will be barred from playing many of the games in the casino, but St. Jean expects there to be some gambling they should be able to participate in.
“We do allow some team members to gamble but it obviously depends on the job that you do,” St. Jean said. “Some jobs by position and level in the organization are prohibited from gambling but more positions than not are allowed to play slots. Typically, no one is allowed to play table games. That has to be vetted out with the Ohio Gaming Commission. We can’t say for sure but there should be some form of gambling.”
Among some of the concerns is a lack of a hotel near the property. For the casino to be built in Toledo, one of the guidelines was it could not build a hotel on-site or within 10 miles until Lucas County hotels sustain a 68 percent threshold in occupancy for a three-year period.
A lack of a hotel on-site has brought concerns of an increase in drunken driving. Those worries are not lost on St. Jean, who will attempt to prevent alcohol-related issues before they start by teaching his employees “preventive training.”
“Any team member that has anything to do with alcohol serving, whether that’s at the restaurant and the bar or the valet handing out keys, is properly trained,” St. Jean said. “If someone’s intoxicated we will get them a cab. If they need to get to a hotel we will coordinate those. We take every step to make sure not only that our team members are safe but our patrons are safe. That’s an extensive part of our training.”
One option for getting customers to their hotels Downtown includes shuttles, which the casino plans on providing free to customers.
“We are planning to have transportation back and forth Downtown,” St. Jean said. “There will be a collaborative effort with the local lodging association so we can understand who wants to partner and who’s looking for this kind of business.
It behooves us to have guests that want to stay here in town on extended stays. Those are certainly mutually beneficial. It’s all a work in progress.”

Portions of this interview were conducted with Toledo Free Press Editor in Chief Michael S. Miller during the July 11 broadcast of “Eye on Toledo” on WSPD 1370 AM.

With the baby boomer population reaching retirement age, Mercy St. Anne Hospital announced the opening of its Senior Emergency Room on July 18.
“This is a great facility that will help increase the quality of life for our citizens,” Toledo Mayor Mike Bell said. “We do have a population that is aging and we want to be able to take care of them in an appropriate way.”
Every eight seconds, an American is turning 60 years old in the United States. That combined with people  living longer was the reason Mercy decided to create the Senior ER, the first specially designated ER in the area.
“Clearly with the number of older people in our society increasing at such a rate we recognized a need to provide specialized care to seniors,” President & CEO of Mercy St. Anne Brad Bertke said. “This is what seniors deserve, this is what our community deserves and we are proud that St. Anne is the first hospital in this area to introduce this concept.”
The Senior ER is composed of five new rooms that will provide a specially-designed environment for senior citizens who are in need of emergency medical attention. To decrease stress to the patients, the facility features calmer paint schemes and more comfortable padded seats.
“We recognized that emergency rooms can be intimidating and confusing places for everyone, especially older patients and family members,” President & CEO of Mercy Andrea R. Price said. “The team members here at Mercy St. Anne put their heads together and have developed a truly groundbreaking solution that speaks directly to the needs of our senior patients.”
Each waiting room also includes features to more adequately fit the needs of older patients. Among the features are thicker pressure-reducing mattresses, easier to read clocks and TV remotes and phones with larger buttons. The facility also has nonskid flooring to help decrease falling.
“The aging population presents us with challenges, but it also presents us with opportunities to provide care for a specific demographic with unique needs,” Chief of Staff Erich Pontasch said.
Mercy is a not-for-profit health system based in Toledo that serves 22 counties in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. For more information on Mercy, visit the website www.MercyWeb.org.

“Sleep is the glue that binds new information into the brain.” – Robert Stickgold, Ph.D

Dear Lauri,
I have woke up screaming twice in the last two weeks from the same dream (although I was only asleep less than an hour each time the dream occurred). A man is standing over me trying to smoother me with a pillow. I wake up screaming and trying to fight back. The man’s face is in a white cloud and his facial outline is black and white much like a police sketch drawing. The facial features are clear but I do not know this man. Please help!
– Kristina 38, Wausau, WI

Lauri: Fear not! This dream does not mean there is some shady character with less than good intentions out there somewhere that you need to worry about. In fact, that shady character is either a part of you or some part of your life that is metaphorically smothering you. What, in the last two weeks has really been crowding in on you, intruding on your peace of mind and causing you to feel powerless? Is it a depression? An overwhelming issue? Is it a situation that seems a little “sketchy”? The fact that the man’s face is in a cloud suggests that you may be having a hard time “facing” the reality of this situation or you are having a hard time seeing how you are going to get through it. Rest assured you will, whether it be time or whether it be that you need to work harder at the issue, you will get through.

Kristina replies: A dear friend of mine passed away unexpectedly at the end of 2009. He did not have any close family members so a group of friends decided to sprinkle some of his ashes in a memorial garden we created. The dedication of the garden and ash sprinkling took place this past weekend and I was a key person in planning the event. Even though it has been over a year and a half since his death, I miss him terribly and his death is hard to accept. Thanks so much,

Lauri Quinn Loewenberg is a certified Dream Analyst, author of “Dream On It” and member of The International Association for the Study of Dreams. She joins The Kiss Morning Show on 92.5 every Tuesday morning at 7:10 analyzing listeners’ dreams. You can visit Lauri at www.thedreamzone.com

The Dégagé Jazz Café will host the Battle of the Saxes on July 29 and 30.
The event will feature Gunnar Mossblad, Director of UT’s jazz program, Jesse Coleman, the lead saxophonist for The JAMM Band from Detroit, and Doug Horn, a mainstream saxophonist from Ann Arbor.
Mossblad, who is also the music director for The Manhattan Saxophone Ensemble, grew up in Omaha, Nebraska’s rich jazz scene. He was deeply influenced by John Coltrane but has crafted his own musical feel.
“At this point in time I sound like me,” he said. “So whatever style I play I bring my personality to how I approach the music.”
Doug Horn said he started playing saxophone 46 years ago after watching “The Lawrence Welk Show” with his grandfather.
“Geez, you ought to play that sax,” his grandfather told him.
“I don’t know, there’s a lot of keys on there,” Horn answered.

Doug Horn

His father brought home a tenor and an alto saxophone shortly thereafter. His mother told Horn if she had to make him practice even once, the instruments were going back.
“She couldn’t get me to stop practicing,” he said.
Jesse Coleman has lived in Toledo all his life. He was a clarinet player in his high school band when the teacher switched him to saxophone.
“That basically started me, changed my life really, to be honest with you,” Coleman said.
He said he loves saxophonists such as David Sanborn, who plays the saxophone as a solo, melody instrument.
“Smooth jazz is my element,” Coleman said. “I’ve visited 36 of the 50 states, Jamaica and Canada. That’s where my music has taken me.”
The Battle of the Saxes coincides with the 175th anniversary of the Historic Commercial Building, which houses The Dégagé Jazz Café. Performance times are 6, 7 and 8 p.m. Tickets for the event are $12 and will include 10 percent off a special dinner menu created by Dégagé chef Joseph Jacobsen. Dinner will be served either before or after a performance and cocktails and appetizers will be available during the concerts.
For tickets, stop by The Dégagé Jazz Café at 301 River Road in Maumee or call ahead at (419) 794-8205 ext. 2.

Many may recognize Bert Kreischer from his popular TV show on the Travel Channel, aptly named “Bert The Conqueror,” yet few may recognize him for his stand-up comedy. Kreischer said his comedic style is based on one principle: “If I experienced it, other people have, too.”
In a recent interview, Kreischer said his sense of humor was developed as a survival strategy.
“I went to an all-boys Catholic school in the ninth grade. My friends growing up were the kind of friends that if you couldn’t hold their attention with a story or make fun of them you were screwed. So I got really good at telling stories,” Kreischer said.

“I remember being in the eighth grade on a school trip and a friend of mine had me listen to this Sam Kinison tape. I remember just laughing so hard. Laughing back then had to come from someone falling or stepping in dog shit or something. It blew me away that someone could make you laugh just by talking,” Kreischer said.
The TV show host/stand-up comedian said that he tailors each of his acts to the crowd.
“I don’t have too many speeds where I can switch up the show. However, if it’s an early show I might not curse as much, but if it’s a late drinking crowd I’ll loosen it up. I tend to improv about 50 percent of the show,” he said.
Kreischer said his mix of improvisation and predetermined stories was designed to stave off hecklers in his New York audiences.
“I know what jokes I have to do but I can’t just do that; it gets stale. If you just tell those jokes and you get heckled, you’re screwed,” he said. “At any time, the guy in the front row could be going to prison tomorrow and he’s just out to have a good time. It’s so depressing when you see someone go into a bit after getting heckled.”
Between traveling to shoot “Bert The Conqueror” and his stand-up career, Kreischer isn’t home very often.
“My support system at home is forgiving,” Kreischer said. “I’ve been doing stand-up the entire time my wife and I have been married. In a weird way we get along better when I’m on the road. When I’m home too long you can tell she starts getting to the point where she’s like ‘Get the hell outta here’.”
Kreischer said the travel is a little harder on his daughters, who are still young and have a harder time with daddy being gone so often.
“They eat it up when I’m back,” he said. “They are all over me when I get home, and you can see the panic in their eyes sometimes when I leave, like if they forget to give me a hug or something.”
As host of “Bert The Conqueror,” Kreischer said he has been able to complete a bucket list of vacations that “could never be duplicated or done better.”
“I never enjoyed heights before and now I appreciate a good view. I would never have ridden a roller coaster in a million years but now I enjoy them.”
Kreischer said he fully enjoys people-watching.
“I think people-watching should be a ride,” Kreischer laughed. “Whenever we’re down or not shooting, I will just sit down somewhere and watch. Like, look at this guy, who told him he should wear short shorts?”
Traveling and experiencing some of the most thrilling and horrifying rides and activities has desensitized Kreischer to a point.
“My wife will say things like ‘what can we do in Hawaii?’ I’ll run down a list and she will get excited and say she wants to do these things. I’ve already done them,” Kreischer said. “Vacation to me is sitting around the house and doing nothing. When my wife says things like, ‘let’s go to Home Depot, I freak out because being around the house and doing things like growing grass really gets me excited.”
Despite time away from family, Kreischer said he enjoys performing stand-up because of the feeling he gets onstage.
“I get nervous about things like flying, but when I get up onstage it’s so comfortable and warm. It’s like the biggest down comforter. I feel like nothing can go wrong, I just get in a zone,” he said. “There is nothing better than coming up with an idea in the morning, working it out during the day and trying it out at night to find that it works. I don’t get that feeling anywhere else. It’s overwhelming.”
Kreischer will perform at the Funny Bone at Fat Fish Blue from July 28 through July 31. Show times and ticket prices vary. Visit the website www.toledofunnybone.com for more information and to purchase tickets.