As first reported by the SwampBubbles.com, a re-inspection was scheduled to take place Jan. 28 to follow up on four violations sited during the controversial Lucas County Republican Party Central Committee meeting on Dec. 21.

Fire inspector Jeff Cook contacted Jon Stainbrook, contested GOP chairman, to let him into the building, said Dave Dauer supervisor of the Fire Prevention Bureau. Stainbrook never showed up to let the inspector in, he said.

Stainbrook could not be reached for comment.

The fire inspector will wait for the controversy over who will lead the Lucas County Republican Party to be decided before attempting again to re-inspect the property, Dauer said. Stainbrook has been challenged by a faction led by attorney Jeff Simpson.

“There are no major violation there at all,” Dauer said. “It can wait until they decide the new head of the Republican Party.”

The first violation deals with an assembly permit being paid for the building and has been taken care of, Dauer said.

Other violations include four fire extinguishers that were not maintained, a faulty door on an electrical panel and accumulation of combustible waste material on the second floor.

The fire inspector will also place three capacity signs in the building. The second floor will have a maximum occupancy sign of 370, one first floor office will have a maximum occupancy sign of 100 and the other will have a maximum occupancy sign of 65.

With attendance totals from Toledo Walleye games, concerts and special events, the arena reached 250,000 with the Feb. 7 performance of “Disney On Ice’s: Finding Nemo.”

“We’re very pleased how things have gone. People are excited about the new arena opening and are not only coming out to support special events, but the Toledo Walleye,” said Steve Miller, SMG general manager, in a news release.

The Toledo Walleye take the ice again Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. versus the Cincinnati Cyclones. The next special event at the arena will be Freestyle Motocross: Gravity Slashers, on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

For more information about upcoming events at the arena, visit www.lucascountyarena.com.

“I’m running because our community needs strong, independent leaders in Columbus to stand up to the special interests and fight for the priorities of the middle class,” McNamara said in the release. “More must be done to bring down the cost of government while targeting investment in mission-critical areas like job creation, job training, and Ohio’s clean energy future.”

A study released in January by The Nielsen Company, a global firm that studies marketing and consumer information, found that 51 percent of Super Bowl viewers watch the game to see the advertisements.

The best ad of the XLIV Super Bowl was a Snickers ad, said Mike Hart of Hart Associates, an advertising and public relations firm in Maumee.

“The Snickers spot featuring Betty White and Abe Vigoda was out of left field. To see them tackle Betty White was very realistic. It was a creative commercial,” he said.

Viewers agree, ranking the Snickers’ ad first in USA Today’s annual Super Bowl Ad Meter.

No. 2 and No.3 on the Ad Meter were a Doritos commercial featuring a dog getting revenge and a Bud Light commercial with a house made of beer cans.

The Doritos ads, created by consumers, are “either really good or really bad,” Hart said.

“I really like the one with the dog with the shock collar, but the one with the guy in the casket was horrible.”

Other memorable ads included a Bud Light commercial with an asteroid about to destroy earth and ones that featured the E-Trade babies, Hart said. An advertisement for Audi featuring the green police was “unique,” he said.

Compared to previous Super Bowls this year’s commercials were “okay,” Hart said.

“I didn’t think there was anything spectacular.”

According to Nielsen, a 30-second advertisement in the first Super Bowl in 1967 was $42,500 on CBS and $37,500 on NBC. This year’s advertisers paid just under $3 million for a 30-second commercial.

To view this year’s Super Bowl ads, visit www.cbssports.com/video/player/superbowlcommercials.

(Ratings out of four stars)

James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game (UbiSoft)

This high value, third person action game for the PlayStation 3 launches basic concepts from the all-time box office grossing film while keeping overall themes intact. Film viewers obviously have a lower learning curve as this constantly kinetic world offers something different at every turn as “Able” Ryder a signals specialist picked for the Avatar program. RDA corporation characters include the main guide Kendra Midori, Commander Falco, Dr. Rene Harper, and Senior Science Officer Monroe. The Na’vi characters include Tan Jala, matriarch Tsahik Sanume, and the stern Beyda’ amo.

Set in Pandora, the story mode and multiplayer experience closely follow the film. Each selectable side has appealing pros, cons and similarities. The RDA Corporation wants to conquer Pandora while the native Na’ vi naturally defend their homeland. Each side can produce basic troops and vehicles/animals. The RDA gets two gunships, the gator boat and buggy while the Na’vi only get large Thanators on the ground and Banshee for air attacks. In travel and reconnaissance, both sides have rapid transport powers, but the Na’vi’s “Tree of Vision” gives the natives the advantage.

RDA troops have thundering grenade launchers and forward somersaults while the 10 foot Na’vi have silent poisonous arrows and sideways maneuvers. The skills ring (upper right corner display), which works intuitively with the PlayStation analog sticks, include speed, stealth, special powers and health recovery. Both sides also use a special button mashing mode for last resort health recoveries and the R3 (right analog stick) for convenient “quick peek” turn around moves to see what’s behind characters. Players can also level up while achieving upgrades and special codes. In the multiplayer online modes, players can easily switch sides in king of the hill, conquer, death match, final battle and capture the flag modes. Friend and party invitations expand the online play even more plus players can create private matches.

Developers put together some incredible graphics and visuals. The impressive 3D war room map allows easy rotation to find venues. Players always get a clear view even when it’s not wanted. For example, when looking down from a rock filled perch, the vegetation automatically moves out of view. This scenario might seem like a glitch, but likely exists for clear combat engagement and stealth objectivity. The realistic forest environments provide plenty of cover, so characters would be practically invisible if their foe didn’t have a fair shot at spotting them. Stealth often works well, but not when an area is barraged with constant grenade launcher fire, so players must find a strategic mix (***1/2, rated T for animated blood, mild language, mild suggestive themes and violence, also available on Nintendo DS, PC, PSP, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii).

“A lot of our children didn’t have a huge Christmas because of the economy. This is an extension of that sharing spirit,” said Pat Scheuer, executive director of the Toledo Day Nursery. “It was very heartwarming and the children were all very excited.”

The children opened the first box of toys themselves and screamed because they were so happy for all the new toys, she said.

Toledo Day Nursery will keep some of the toys but give the majority to the children and families they serve, Scheuer said.

Before the toys were dropped off at the nursery, they were cleaned by Cousino-Harris Disaster Kleep Up.

Play it Forward was hosted Jan. 22 through Jan. 24 at Levis Commons.

“Based on the success of this first year, we anticipate Play it Forward becoming an annual event,” said Casey Pogan marketing director for The Town Center at Levis Commons, Hill Partners Inc.

On Jan. 29, Jan Lowe, of Waterville, submitted a letter to the Lucas County Board of Elections (BOE) challenging two voter registrations.

Lowe contested the registrations of Ruthann Cherry and Lisa Cherry, claiming evidence demonstrates that neither live in Waterville and neither are eligible to vote in Waterville. She also requested an investigation into “their possible fraudulent voter registration and actions to commit voter fraud in past elections.”

The letter states both women voted in the November 2009 election in which their mother, Ann Cherry, was up for and won reelection to the Village of Waterville council. Evidence was submitted that claims the daughters own property, work or reside in other cities or states.

“There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that suggests Ruthann Cherry lives … in Springboro, Ohio,” Lowe wrote. “Warren County property records show Ruthann Cherry owns property [there]. Also, Defiance College Alumni information states Ruthann Cherry and her husband … reside in Springboro.”

Lowe also included a printout of Lisa Cherry’s LinkedIn page, which states she has worked for a North Carolina university since 2007.

Attempts to contact Ann Cherry about the challenge against her daughters were unsuccessful.

Under Ohio Revised Code 3503.24, to challenge a voter’s registration, the Secretary of State Form 257 must be filled out and filed with the BOE.

The BOE sent Lowe those forms on Feb. 2 for her to file.

According to Linda Howe, director of the Lucas County Board of Elections, the challenge is not official until they receive the SOS Form 257. Once forms are filed, the board has 10 days in which to schedule a hearing, she said.

The hearing would determine whether to remove the voters from the registration list. The board may then choose to turn the case over the Lucas County Prosecutors Office, Howe said.

According to Ohio Revised Code 3599.11, knowingly registering for a precinct in which a voter is not qualified is a 5th degree felony. Ohio Revised Code 3599.12 states that voting in a precinct in which a person is not a legally qualified voter is a 4th degree felony.

Derek Merrin, the mayor of Waterville, told Toledo Free Press in a Feb. 5 e-mail, “The allegations are serious and should be investigated.  It’s disappointing that Waterville elections may have been compromised.  Fair elections are critical to maintaining the integrity of the electoral process.”

Lowe, the central committee secretary for the Lucas County Republican Party faction led by Jeff Simpson,wrote in her letter to the BOE that Waterville has had a number village council elections decided by fewer than four votes.

The Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office is investigating the alleged signature fraud case involving campaign finance forms filed during Jon Stainbrook’s chairmanship. The case was sent to Cleveland on Oct. 26 after Lucas County Chief Investigator Frank Stiles concluded his investigation. A decision to turn his investigation to date over to a special prosecutor was made by the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office to avoid an appearance of conflict of interest. The allegations from the board of elections involving the Republican Party could cause conflict of interest since the board of elections is a client of the prosecutor’s office.

Toledo Free Press Editor in Chief Michael S. Miller sent a letter to the Lucas County Board of Elections and Ohio Secretary of State on July 30, alerting them to potential inconsistencies among signatures on Lucas County GOP campaign finance reports and other official documents. The apparent inconsistencies came to light as the result of research conducted by Lisa Renee Ward, operator of Glass City Jungle.

According to the Ohio Revised Code, section 3517.10, “The statement of contributions and expenditures shall be signed by the person completing the form.” Under Ohio law, according to the office of the Ohio Secretary of State, “A fifth-degree felony conviction [of election falsification] may result in a prison sentence of six to 12 months and/or a fine of up to $2,500.

At least one witness to an act of forgery has reportedly testified to prosecutors.

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

Derek Merrin is mayor of Waterville.

John Kasich (AP)

Kasich grew up in a blue collar Pennsylvania town and attended The Ohio State University.
In 1978, he was elected to the state Senate and served for four years before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Kasich served 18 years in the House as representative for a district outside Columbus.
During his time in Washington, Kasich was chairman of the House Budget Committee, where he spent 10 years working to balance the budget. Kasich introduced the bipartisan “Balanced Budget Act of 1997,” which gave the United States the first surplus since “man walked on the moon,” he said.
Kasich left politics in 2001 and worked for Lehman Brothers.
He has been criticized for his work with the bankrupt company, but he said that criticism is misplaced.
Kasich, who ran a two-man group in Columbus, said blaming him for the financial problems of the company “is like blaming a car dealer in Toledo for the collapse of General Motors.”

Mary Taylor
Kasich chose Ohio State Auditor Mary Taylor as his candidate for lieutenant governor.
“We have many problems that need to be solved in our state. I need someone as lieutenant governor who will stand up and fight. Someone that can help me analyze activities of the state, and that’s Mary,” Kasich said. “She’s qualified to be governor, has the same philosophy, has done great work as auditor and is a total class individual.”
The lieutenant governor sometimes gets a diminished role, but Kasich plans to utilize Taylor’s talents, he said. The pair haven’t discussed in full what Taylor’s duties will be, but she won’t be placed in the background.
“Mary has the qualifications to have a major impact,” he said.
Taylor, who could have run for reelection as state auditor, said joining Kasich was the best way for her to help Ohio: “After talking with John and with my family about John’s vision for Ohio, I knew the best opportunity to help the state was to run with John Kasich,” she said.
“John has a strong record of accomplishment. In Congress, he identified massive wasteful spending and was key in the {implementation} of the balanced budget. He knows how to get tough things done. When we start talking about things that need to happen here in Ohio, he has a strong message that restores a hopeful vision in Ohio.”
Prior to becoming state auditor, Taylor served two terms in the state legislature and was as CPA in Northeast Ohio. Taylor’s experience in both the public and private sector will help her in her role as lieutentant governor, she said.
“As auditor, I’ve traveled across the state and have seen how state and local governments operate. I’ve seen who’s doing it right and who needs help. This knowledge will help us create a better, more efficient government,” she said.
Issues
Major problems face the state, Kasich said. His first focus will be to balance the budget and reduce the cost of government in Ohio.
Kasich said his experience in Congress as chairman of the House Budget Committee will help him balance the budget in the state.
“The philosophy I used there and the efforts I made there gave me the experience to be able to deal with these problems,” he said. “I’ve seen this scenario before, what I learned will allow me to be successful in Ohio.”
Kasich is also worried about jobs. The state needs to focus on keeping skilled workers and jobs in Ohio. When people and businesses leave things begin to “crumble,” he said.
Kasich would like to train workers for jobs that do exist by creating a voucher program with colleges and tech schools, he said.
Additionally, Kasich would like to create a more business-friendly atmosphere that promotes job growth.
One way would be by creating better regulations, he said.
“We need to create better regulations and get better regulators,” Kasich said. “Bureaucrats need to stop hurting small business and use more common sense. When they’re not doing their job with common sense, they’re killing jobs.”
Another way to help businesses grow is to fix the worker compensation system in Ohio, which has become an impediment for small business to be successful, he said.
“It’s easy for people in politics to look the other way when there is a problem. When you start to make decisions, you start upsetting people, and when you upset people, then you worry about not getting votes,” he said. “If you look at politics as an opportunity to serve the public for a limited period of time, you’re more likely to step up with the right attitude and get things done.”
Toledo concerns
Kasich would like to see Toledo and the region develop its assets.
“Toledo has location and geography. It has manufacturing jobs and exploration into alternative energy. You have to take advantage of assets to make the area a better place, and that is what I intend to do,” Kasich said. “We want to make Toledo a great place, want to improve it and make it one of the great cities.”
Income tax
Press conferences were held throughout the state by Democrats on Jan. 25 to point out the problems with Kasich’s goal to phase out state income tax. Wade Kapszukiewicz, Lucas County Treasurer, hosted a local press conference at the request of Chris Redfern, Ohio Democratic Party Chairman.
“The plan would cause local communities to make a devastating choice — massive cuts in services on one hand, or a massive increase in local income taxes,” Kapszukiewicz said.
Kapszukiewicz based his prediction on the Ohio Legislative Services Commission’s analysis of House Bill 400. The bill, proposed by state representative John Adams, phases out income tax throughout 10 years.
“The Adams’ bill looks and smells a lot like the Kasich plan,” he said.
Eliminating the state income tax would cost the state $12 billion by 2020, Kapszukiewicz said. According to the analysis, the plan would decrease state funding in Lucas County from $23.7 million to $12.9 million and library funding in the county from $15.3 million to $8.2 million.
Kasich’s plan is a way to score cheap political points and capitalize on everyone’s hatred of taxes, Kapszukiewicz said.
Kasich said Adams’ bill is not his program and he has nothing to do with it: “It’s important to note Democrats believe in bigger taxes. I want to get the government stabilized. Make it more efficient, effective and smaller, then explore decreasing taxes,” Kasich said.
Social media
Social media has played an important role in Kasich’s campaign. On Jan. 14, he announced Taylor as his lieutenant governor on Twitter before hosting a formal press conference, which was later streamed live on the Internet.
“I see [social media] as such an important part of where we are today. It isn’t a substitute for traditional media, it’s an addition,” Kasich said. “It’s exciting, fun and interesting. It allows me to build grassroots efforts that at one time I would have thought was impossible.”
On Jan. 28, Kasich hosted an 88-county house party via Webcast. Kasich and Taylor were in attendance, Kasich from a house party in Lancaster, Taylor at the McKinley Day Dinner in Niles.
“It was so exciting to be live in 88 counties and be able to communicate with people in their homes,” said Taylor, who introduced Kasich.
About 153 individual house parties took place with 1,852 participants. Questions for Kasich were submitted through Facebook, Twitter and e-mail.
Kasich spoke with attendees about his philosophy and how they would play an important role in his campaign.
For more information about Kasich visit, www.kasichforohio.com.