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By Ed Richter
| Tuesday, May 6, 2008, 11:59 AM
Earlier this year, state Sen. Gary Cates said he would be introducing legislation to prohibit people who have been convicted or have pleaded guilty to a felony from holding public office following Butler County Auditor Kay Rogers pleading guilty to two felonies before resigning the office.
Cates did follow through on what he said and introduced such a bill. That piece of legislation has been assigned to the state Senate’s Judiciary and Criminal Justice Committee.
Prior to her resignation, Rogers was permitted to remain in office until she was actually sentenced by the court. This legislation, if approved by the Ohio General Assembly and signed by the governor, would close that loophole.
Rogers has yet to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati.
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By Ed Richter
| Tuesday, May 6, 2008, 11:42 AM
Members of Middletown City Council have had a lot of reading to do over the past few days.
The Chamber of Commerce sent an urgent notice to members Friday to contact council members and give their support for the rezoning of 157 acres of land off of Ohio 4 (Hamilton-Middletown Road). The land is being targeted for a $340 million state of the art, heat recovery cokemaking and electric generation plant.
Council is expected to hold a public hearing and vote on an emergency ordinance to confirm a March decision by the Middletown Planning Commission today at its 6:30 p.m. business meeting. The meeting will be held in the Council Chamber on the lower level of the Middletown City Building, One Donham Plaza.
Council Clerk Betsy Parr said the city council office has received more than 300 emails and more than a dozen phone calls from proponents and opponents of the issue.
City officials have two overflow seating areas with television monitors for spectators to observe the meeting once the Council Chamber reaches its room capacity. The city’s fire marshal will be there to enforce the room capacity.
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By Ed Richter
| Tuesday, May 6, 2008, 11:38 AM
The Middletown Planning Department is continuing to work with LifeSpan and the Middletown Homeownership Partnership with its home ownership courses that help qualified people obtain down payment assistance.
Nelson Self, a senior planner, said nearly 150 people have participated in the program and so far in 2008, the effort has doubled the number of participants over 2007.
Another set of courses will be scheduled for the last two Thursdays in May, Self said.
He said during the summer months, the focus will be on post-purchase counseling efforts.
In addition, as part of June being National Homeownership Month, the Middletown Board of Realtors and the Middletown Homeownership Partnership will be hosting a Homeownership Expo from 4 to 8 p.m. June 5 at the Manchester Inn.
It’s an opportunity for Realtors and homebuyers to meet lenders, title companies and others that can help potential homebuyers with their first home with down payment and closing cost assistance.
For more information about the expo, call (513) 423-3445.
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By Ed Richter
| Monday, May 5, 2008, 01:18 PM
In her weekly memo to Middletown City Council, City Manager Judy Gilleland said the city hall staff is preparing for a large crowd for council’s Tuesday, May 6 meeting.
A large crowd is anticipated due to an agenda item seeking council confirmation of a rezoning decision made by the Middletown Planning Commission in March.
The proposed rezoning of 157 acres has raised the ire of Monroe residents who live adjacent to the property as it is being targeted for the construction of a $340 million cokemaking and electric generation plant. Residents say they are not opposed to the building of the plant but they do object to the proposed location off of Ohio 4 near their homes. They would prefer the plant be located inside the property of AK Steel Corp.
Gilleland said the city fire marshal will be on hand to ensure the capacity of the council chamber is not exceeded. Overflow seating will be provided in the lobby where people can observe the proceedings on a television monitor. She also added that officers will be present to ensure a safe environment for all.
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By Ed Richter
| Monday, May 5, 2008, 01:08 PM
One item that won’t be on Middletown City Council’s agenda on Tuesday, May 6, is a discussion about a possible enterprise zone tax abatement for the proposed SunCoke Energy cokemaking and electric generation plant project.
Council was originally slated to discuss a proposed agreement that would abate 75 percent of the project’s personal property taxes for 10 years.
In its enterprise zone application to the state, Charles Ellis, senior vice president of business development for SunCoke, said because there were “significant other options available to construct the project in Kentucky, it is critical that the company receive state and local incentives to allow the project to proceed in Ohio.”
Continue reading "City reviewing tax incentives"...
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By Ed Richter
| Monday, May 5, 2008, 11:59 AM
A group of Monroe residents whose properties are adjacent to the 157 acres that the city of Middletown is seeking to rezone from low-density residential to industrial use are stepping up their awareness efforts.
The residents have established a Web site, called stayinsidethefence.com as a way to voice their objections to the rezoning decision that was approved by the Middletown Planning Commission and is expected to be confirmed Tuesday, May 6 by Middletown City Council by an emergency ordinance.
Tuesday’s council meeting is expected to be packed with opponents from Monroe but also by the city’s business and labor community that are supporting the rezoning as it will pave the way for a $340M state of the art heat recovery cokemaking and electric generation plant that SunCoke Energy wants to build and operate. Neighboring AK Steel Corp. has already signed a 20-year agreement with Knoxville-based SunCoke Energy to be the exclusive customer for the projected 550,000 tons of coke and 50 megawatts of electricity the plant is expected to produce each year.
Continue reading "Opponents to rezoning for coke plant mobilizing"...
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By Ed Richter
| Saturday, May 3, 2008, 06:12 AM
It’s been widely reported that the nation and the local area has been affected by the housing and credit crunch which has also led to a record number of foreclosure actions by lending institutions.
And problem is also being experienced by Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit Christian organization which helps low income families purchase homes they help to build.
A recent story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported the organization there recently started four foreclosure actions for the first time in their 20-year history. In addition, there are other Habitat organizations that have been forced to foreclose on these homes.
Nationally, Habitat for Humanity foreclosure rate is less than 2 percent, according to the Plain Dealer.
Gene Snow, president of the Middletown organization, said 47 homes have been built over the past 20 years in Middletown, Franklin and Carlisle, but they have not had to begin foreclosure actions.
He said one of the Habitat homeowners went bankrupt, while two others sold their homes. Snow said the local Habitat organization purchased one of the homes that was being sold.
Snow said that didn’t mean that other families are not in trouble because many of them are on a shoestring budget.
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