It was almost surreal. After the circus surrounding the election (especially related to Issue 3) was over, we segue right into another news circus. This time, however, it’s a tragic media circus. As of the time I write this, the remains of eleven bodies have been found in and around Anthony Sowell’s house on Imperial Avenue.


Anthony Sowell

I was about ready to type “home,” but a house filled with the stench of eleven decaying bodies is no home.

Anyway, we have a story that is attracting world attention. Our reporters are doing interviews for CNN and MSNBC, as well as for radio around the world, including the BBC. Cleveland is one of the lead stories in national news. And it’s all because a very sick man took advantage of some very weak women.

While the drama related to the serial murders on Imperial Avenue are still playing out, the drama related to the election has moved into a new phase.

We Ohio voters have approved Issue 3, so Dan Gilbert gets his Cleveland and Cincinnati casinos, and Penn National get theirs in Columbus and Toledo. The TruthPAC folks – who weren’t really against casinos, just against the Gilbert/Penn National plan – will regroup, and attempt to re-work what voters approved yesterday.
 
We, the voters of Cuyahoga County also approved Issue 6. Over the next year, Cuyahoga County Commissioners Tim Hagan, Peter Lawson Jones and Jimmy Dimora, along with the county’s Sheriff, Treasurer, Engineer, Coroner, Auditor and Recorder will all be transitioning out of their offices. The commissioners will be history. The various department heads I mentioned will cease to have elected positions, and some will be merged.

The opponents of Issue 6 (who put up the competing Issue 5) are not happy campers. This morning, Hagan told our Bill Wills that Plain Dealer editor Susan Goldberg was responsible for Issue 6 passing. This afternoon, I saw an interview with Dimora on Channel 19. He was a tad more blunt. He says the media – especially the PD – lied to the public.


Jimmy Dimora

There’s something I hate to tell Mr. Dimora. It’s the job of The Plain Dealer, and Channel 19, and Channels 3, 5 and 8, and WCPN, and Cleveland Scene, and the Sun newspapers, and many more news media than I can name here (and don’t forget good old Newsradio WTAM 1100) to put out BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY. And, if one side of that story irritates people on the other side of the story, THAT’S TOO BAD!

It’s our job to find the truth and report it. I feel that we presented the truth. Issue 6, even with its flaws, will give Cuyahoga County a form of government similar to those at the city, state and federal levels. Issue 5 was nothing more than something concocted by county leaders and Democrats running the county, who are worried about their way of life. Well folks, the party’s over. There’s a new sheriff in town, so to speak (unless if current sheriff Frank Reid is appointed by the new county executive).

The message on Issue 3 seems to be, either you vote for casinos in Ohio, or you vote against them. But, when we go to the polls November 3, we’ll really be deciding:

**Do we want Dan Gilbert and Penn National’s casino plan
**Do we want to hold out yet another casino plan

In case you haven’t figured it out by now (and the campaign finance records prove it), Truthpac, which is the anti-Issue 3 campaign, is being bankrolled by Jeff Jacobs. Jacobs pretty much owns the entertainment area of The Flats. Jacobs, through his companies, has a stake in casinos in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, both of which attract Clevelanders.



If Issue 3 passes, Jacobs is shut out from the casino business in Ohio, as we’d be amending the state Constitution to give that business to Gilbert and Penn National exclusively. Mountaineer and Presque Isle casinos would have new competition.

If Issue 3 fails, there’s no new competition for casinos just a few miles outside of Ohio. It also opens up the possibility of yet another casino plan going before the voters. Or…will it?

Over the weekend, I saw a portion of an interview with Jacobs done by Channel 3’s Tom Beres. In that interview, Jacobs said he’ll go to the legislature, not to the voters, to find a way to legalize casinos in Ohio. This, after voters will have said numerous times in the last 20 years, “no” to casinos.

I truly believe that Ohio will eventually have casinos. I believe Ohio came too late to the game to be a player in bringing gamblers from out of state. Do I believe Issue 3 is perfect? Not at all.

Here’s one more thing to muddy the water. Jacobs makes money off casinos, yet Truthpac is putting out messages about how casinos hurt communities. What’s the deal with that? Well, I guess the anti-casino message will attract more votes than a “don’t vote for this casino plan, wait for the next one” message.

I hate to say, Issue 3 may be a bad deal, as Truthpac says, but Truthpac isn’t telling all the truth, either.

For some reason, a big gap is in the previous blog entry.  Here's a link to the video.

I’ve been on vacation this week, but that hasn’t stopped me from having an opinion or two.

Might as well start with Balloon Boy. Six-year-old Falcon Heene and his family were no strangers to television viewers (okay, they were to me) because they had been on ABC’s “Wife Swap.”



I think it’s safe to say this isn’t your typical Ozzie and Harriet family. Yesterday, when the world was hearing that Falcon might have climbed into a balloon that was drifting all over Colorado, I wasn’t listening to radio or TV, or was on the wed. I joined into the whole saga of young Falcon when the balloon had been found, and just before he was found hiding in the attic. This, yes, this, tied up programming on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC all afternoon. A partially inflated weather balloon that could have had a kid inside, but didn’t. The TV folks were falling all over themselves to stay up with what became a non-story. And today, everyone’s falling all over themselves, thanks to the fact that this six-year-old kid seemingly vomited on cue, when he and dad were asked in separate interviews about a comment Falcon had made to Larry King Live that the whole thing was done “for a show.”



I guess if there’s one thing about all the media scrutiny about Balloon Boy, I wonder why the media isn’t putting this much scrutiny on the health care plans coming from Capitol Hill. I guess the spending of our tax dollars isn’t as sexy as a wack family in Colorado.

Speaking of TV, did you see Thursday night’s bit on the Jay Leno Show featuring local members of Congress Dennis Kucinich and Steve LaTourette? Given the Leno show’s anemic ratings, chances are you didn’t. They agreed to be in a bit with comedian D.L. Hughley on his desire to see Democrats and Republicans get along better. So, in the last couple of minutes, you’ll see Dennis and Steve playing nice.



In the last two minutes of the bit, you'll see them on some playground equipment. They’re singing “Kumbaya.” They ride a tandem bicycle. They’re wearing Snuggies while watching Jay. I have to admit both men do have senses of humor. Steve LaTourette once invited humorist Dave Barry to be on his staff for a week. There are references to it in Dave’s book “Dave Barry Hits Below The Beltway.” Dennis Kucinich has a sense of humor. When you’re Dennis Kucinich, you know the world is laughing at you, so you might as well join in.

At Giant Eagle in Rocky River today, I saw a man wearing a surgical mask. I wasn’t about to go up to him to ask if he had fallen for the H1N1 media hype, as there was a good possibility he has emphysema, or a compromised immune system. Still, it made me think we may see more of that come this winter.

In this week’s issue of Cleveland Scene, I found an ad for a bar in Lakewood where you could watch Saturday’s “OSU vs. Perdue” game.



I guess this means the school has moved from West Lafayette, Indiana to Salisbury, Maryland, and the teams are now called the “Broilermakers.” The fight song apparently now has references to “tough men” and “tender chickens.”

As for me, I’ll be following the Central Michigan-Western Michigan game this Saturday. Last weekend, I traveled to Mount Pleasant, Michigan (which is, according to a local joke, neither) to see my CMU Chippewas go to 5-1 with a 56-8 shellacking of Eastern Michigan (and sat on the 50!).



It would be so nice to see them go to 6-1! To my fellow alumni, I say,

FIRE UP CHIPS!!!!

(To alumni and fans of OSU, I say, watch out for those chickens, as they peck at your ankles.)

I’m back from a whirlwind trip to Michigan to see old friends at Central Michigan University homecoming. Ten years ago, the group of friends you see in the photo below came up with an idea.


Top, L-R: Michael Patten, Class of '78, Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, Detroit; Gary Wise, '78, Voice of America (retired); Kenny Hazlett, '78, WHAM-TV, Rochester NY; Todd Overbeek, '77, Eagle Radio, Baraga MI.  Bottom, L-R: Bill Thompson, '78, Michigan Radio Network; Me, '77.

The marching band at CMU has been inviting alumni back for years to take part in the halftime show at homecoming. We thought, “why can’t we do something similar for Broadcast and Cinematic Arts alumni?” That’s how the Alumni Takeover of campus radio station WMHW came to be. For 42 straight hours (with the exception of a sponsored commitment for a high school football game), alumni kick the students off the station and take over, playing whatever music we darn well please. It’s a load of fun, and a fundraiser for a scholarship fund set up by the BCA alumni.

Many of my colleagues here in Ohio are insufferable when it comes to The Ohio State University. They overshadow the Mid-American Conference programs at Kent State, Akron, Bowling Green, Ohio University and Miami University. But, I have something to be proud of, thanks to my alma mater’s football team. The CMU Chippewas received six votes in this week’s AP College Football Poll. Not enough to crack the top 25, but enough for a mention, and, one more vote than the University of Michigan received. I guess we can say, without a doubt, that my Chips are the top college team in Michigan (don’t forget we beat Michigan State 29-27 a few weeks back). I loved it yesterday when I saw, in person, the Chips beat cross-state rival Michigan by a score of 56-8!

I say that as I watch the Browns and Buffalo in a totally pathetic game. The Browns are our local NFL team, and I wish I could get into the games, but I can’t. I hate to admit, I was never much of an NFL fan. I grew up in Michigan when the Lions stunk. I moved to the Philadelphia area when the Eagles stunk. I moved to Maryland just after the Colts packed up the moving trucks for Indianapolis. So much for the concept of following local teams. When I moved to Cleveland, I did attend a few games, but I was around for The Drive and The Fumble. Since then, the Browns have been an afterthought to me, and they will continue to be. My loyalties lie with my college football team, mainly because of my history at CMU, and the fact that CMU has a winning tradition, going back to when I was a freshman, and the 1974 team won the national Division II championship.

Finally, sympathies go out to a former colleague.


Mike Partin

Former WTAM overnight news anchor Mike Partin passed away suddenly Friday. Mike was only 42 years old. He was most recently an assignment editor with 10TV and the Ohio News Network in Columbus. We last worked together something like twelve years ago. Mike’s career took him to Cambridge, Ohio, where he was news director of a group of radio stations, then to a reporter’s job with WHIZ-TV in Zanesville. He started at 10TV and ONN about a year ago. Mike and I were on the Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters board together, and in fact, he succeeded me as president for 2008-09. All my sympathies and prayers go out to his widow, Tammy, and to his children.

Remember the old adage, "Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"? Guilty as charged. 

In my last blog entry, I wrote about a local fire department's news release in which it seemed to indicate that the fire inspectors were responsible for a fire. Today, while delivering a newscast, I caught myself in a similar twist of the English language. It was in the 7:30 a.m. newscast, in a story about Ohio's child booster seat law. I wrote, and said on the air:

BRIAN NEWBACHER OF TRIPLE-A SAYS FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS, POLICE WILL JUST ISSUE WARNINGS, BUT NEXT SPRING, YOU'LL GET A TICKET IF A DRIVER IS CAUGHT WITHOUT A CHILD IN A BOOSTER SEAT.

I guess that means all Ohio motorists will have to have a child in their car from now on. At least make sure the kid's in the back seat.

I hate to make anyone sound bad, but this was just too funny to be true.

In the newsroom today, we received an e-mail from a local fire department. The e-mail had attached to it a one-sentence news release from a local fire department. It made all of us laugh because of the improper sentence structure, making it unintentially very funny.

So as to protect the innocent, here is the release, with pertinent details removed (don't want to embarass these folks too much):

"The cause of the early morning fire at (LOCATION) has been determined to be food left unattended on the stove by (CITY) Fire Inspectors."

The moral of the story: you'd think those fire inspectors would know better than to leave food on a stove.

In my lifetime, I’ve seen a number of car nameplates go off to the auto graveyard. Studebaker. Rambler (and its successor, American Motors). Plymouth. Oldsmobile. Even the infamous Edsel came and went when I was a toddler. Pontiac is about to join them. Seeing these go never meant as much to me as the news on Wednesday that Saturn is also going to be driven to the scrap heap.

I owned an early Saturn, and I loved that car. I bought a brand-new, 1993 Saturn SC2 in red from the old Saturn of Wickliffe. I was intrigued by all the planning that GM put into the Saturn. It was designed from scratch. It was built at a plant in a little town in Tennessee that made nothing but Saturns.

When I bought my car, Saturns were still so new, dealers couldn’t keep them on the lot. I had to wait a month for my car. While I was waiting, the dealership sent me a bouquet of balloons at work, and a card with a nice message thanking me for my patience. When it came in, we had an unveiling ceremony for my new car. I got to pull the cover off the car and unveil it to see it for the first time.



I owned that car for ten years. I drove it into the ground. I used it to cover news stories. I used it for errands. I drove it all over. I put over 140,000 miles on that car.  Here's proof.

 

My Saturn and I became one. Saturn’s corporate leaders tried to instill a pride in owners. They even invited owners to the plant in Tennessee each summer for “Homecoming.” They had entertainment. You were offered tours of the plant. Your car was going back home to where it was made. Yes, Saturn made you feel as if you had more than a car.

It was a sad day when I basically realized that I had worn the car out, and it wasn’t worth putting any more money into it, so I donated it to charity for the tax deduction.

My Saturn had some rust around the headlight doors, but not much anywhere else, because the door panels and the rear panel were all molded out of plastic. No rust, no dents. It was a fun car to drive, and fun to own, but it was time to move on.



Six years ago, my Saturn was towed off to the auto auction. Now, Saturn itself is being towed away. Rest in peace, Saturn. You tried to revitalize the auto industry with a few changes. Some of them stuck, but the day that GM decided to integrate Saturn design and production with other makes was the day Saturn became just another GM car. That wasn’t the Saturn I bought into.

Something about one of the “Yes on Issue 3” TV ads caught my eye. It’s the ad in which a bunch of senior citizens board a bus bound for Michigan to head to a casino there.



You see the bus cross the Michigan line. It’s just under that “Welcome to Michigan” sign you see a green and white sign marking the distances to Camden, Reading and Litchfield. 



All three are indeed towns in Michigan; I know, I grew up there. Those three towns are along M-49, a two-lane road in the middle of nowhere.



I got a chuckle out of the fact that they shot this scene along a rural road that leads nowhere near the casinos (I assume shooting along I-75, the way you’d get to Detroit, would have created too many challenges). Could be that subliminal message of this ad is, if you board a bus for a Michigan casino, the driver is likely to get lost on the way, and you’ll wind up in Hillsdale or Albion!

As long as I’m giving a jab to the folks from The Jobs and Growth For Ohio Committee (pro-Issue 3), I might as well scratch my head over one of the messages from TruthPac (anti-Issue 3). Their biggest argument is that if Issue 3 passes, there’s no requirement to hire Ohioans for the casinos. As their proof, they point to classified ads appearing in newspapers in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.



(Sorry, this is just a screen shot.  If you want to see the spot, go to link to the TruthPac spot in the paragraph above.  Couldn't get a link to it.)

Problem is, who’d be looking for employees for casinos that don’t even exist. In fact, Ixtapa Gaming, the company named in the ads, has no connection whatsoever with anyone who has help bankrolled either campaign. Something’s fishy here, and it’s not the filet of sole at the casino buffet.

Here’s my two cents worth. Ohio will eventually have legalized casinos. It’s inevitable, because casino operators want to expand, and they’re willing to spend the money and find the people to help them do it (such as Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert). Only a small percentage of actually go to casinos, but eventually, the rest of us will get sick and tired of hearing all the messages about our money headed to other states, and we’ll just give in. Of all the casino proposals I have seen in my 22 years of living in Ohio, I think Issue 3 has the best chance of passage, because it’s the first time there have been concrete plans to spread it all over the state. Alan Spitzer’s casino plan didn’t pass, because why would someone from Cincinnati come to a casino in Lorain. Likewise, last year’s proposal for a casino in Clinton County got a big “ho hum” from folks in Cleveland and Akron (Detroit’s much closer than a spot near Cincinnati). If I know one thing for sure, there’ll be plenty of money spent over the next few weeks by supporters and opponents of Issue 3.

Who benefits? The media. Cha-ching for Clear Channel Radio!