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Monday, August 24, 2009
Obama expected in Cincy for Labor Day picnic, White House confirms
President Barack Obama is coming to Cincinnati on Labor Day, Sept. 7, the White House announced on Monday, Aug. 24.
Although the White House provided no details, the president is expected to speak at the Cincinnati AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Day Picnic, Democratic sources said. The picnic draws from 10,000 to 15,000 participants.
The president is expected to campaign for his plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system and discuss other issues important to labor, according to one source.
While Obama carried Hamilton County in 2008, the area traditionally has been good for Republicans.
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Brown’s in Pakistan
Sen. Sherrod Brown is in Afghanistan and Pakistan this week - his first visit to the war zone during his congressional career and part of the first congressional delegation to travel to the region since Afghanistan held elections Aug. 20.
He’s traveling with Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and fellow Ohioan U.S. Rep. Zack Space, D-Dover. They’ve met with troops and foreign officials as well as organizations that monitored Afghanistan’s hotly-contested second presidential election.
The group arrived in Pakistan Monday, Aug. 24. They spent Aug. 22 and Aug. 23 in Kabul, Kandahar and Lashkar Gah in Afghanistan.
Brown said the message has been that “American patience doesn’t last forever,” and that Afghanistan’s government will have to make necessary changes to secure peace and take control of the violent situation in iraq.
He said he’s not sure whether he supports the idea of increased U.S. troops in the country. “In my mind, the jury’s still out,” he said.
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GOP energy summit set for Columbus
U.S. Reps. John Boehner, R-West Chester, Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, and Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, are among Republican U.S. House members scheduled to attend a Republican-backed “Energy Summit” in Columbus on Wednesday, Sept. 2, at Ohio State University.
U.S. Rep. Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green, a member of the House Republican Conference American Energy Solutions Group, will host the session at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, scheduled from 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Columbus, also is scheduled to attend along with analysts, professors and others, the release said.
The event is open to the public.
The summit will focus on the American Energy Act, legislation sponsored by Boehner, the House Minority Leader, which backers say would provide energy independence, good jobs and a cleaner environment.
The panelists also will discuss the cap and trade energy bill passed by the House in June, with mostly Democratic support. The bill would require utility plants to have emission permits for the carbon dioxide they produce and plants that reduced emissions could sell their extra permits too others.
Backers say it would help clean up the environment and create clean energy jobs.
Opponents, like some of those attending the GOP summit, say it would hit consumers in the pocketbook by increasing energy costs.
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Brown to hold town hall in Cincinnati Sept. 1; Jordan schedules tele-town hall
Sen. Sherrod Brown, who took grief for announcing a recent Columbus town hall meeting on health care reform just a day or two before event, is giving voters plenty of notice this time around: He’ll be at the University of Cincinnati Tuesday, Sept. 1, to talk about health care reform.
The title of the talk? “Health Insurance Reform - What’s In It For You?”
He’ll also receive testimony from Ohioans struggling with health care costs as well as answer questions from the crowd. The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required.
The event is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at the University of Cincinnati’s Tangeman University Center Great Hall, 265 Tangeman University Center.
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, meanwhile, has announced that he’ll hold a telephone town hall meeting for residents of his district Thursday, Sept. 3 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Those who wish to participate in the event can sign up by visiting Jordan’s web-siteThose who sign up will receive a call on Sept. 3.
Brown, D-Ohio, has been a supporter of the current health care proposals in Congress. Jordan has been an opponent of the plan.
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Dann aide changes to guilty plea
Tony Gutierrez, a former top aide and one-time close friend to Democrat Marc Dann in the attorney general’s office, changed his plea to guilty on two felony and four misdemeanor counts and promised to cooperate in further investigations, said Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien.
Gutierrez entered the pleas on Monday, Aug. 24, on charges related to his former business, MTV Construction. The charges include theft in office, unauthorized use of state property, soliciting or receiving improper compensation, attempted workers compensation fraud and filing a false financial disclosure statement, O’Brien said.
Gutierrez had been scheduled to go to trial Monday, Aug. 24, before Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Laurel Beatty. The plea agreement recommends that Gutierrez serve 45 days in jail.
Last year, two women in Dann’s office accused Guiterrez of sexually harassing them and later settled with the state for $495,000. Those accusations led to investigations, firings and resignations within the attorney general’s office as well as intense media scrutiny of Dann, Guiterrez and other key players in the scandal.
Gutierrez could not be reached for comment.
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Brunner studies ways to cut voter wait times
When it comes to waiting in line to vote, there is no practical way to have a statewide maximum wait time, according to a report released Monday, Aug. 24, by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.
Brunner found that the best way to avoid long lines is to have back-up paper ballots on hand, properly train poll workers, and strategically distribute voting machines, the report said. “As seen in the successful 2008 presidential election, Secretary Brunner has a proven track record of implementing best practices that ensure free, fair, open and honest elections. Secretary Brunner remains committed to policies such as fair voting machine allocations, uniform poll worker training and backup paper ballots during very high turnout elections,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Farrell said.
Brunner also recommends giving counties the ability to open up to four early voting locations, mandating voting machine allocation planning, and streamlining ballot design.
