Monday, August 31st, 2009
USA Today, Posted August 30, 2009.
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Supporters and opponents of the Nov. 3 casino ballot issue are predicting a multimillion-dollar campaign. The Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee, a pro-casino group, already has raised nearly $4.4 million this year in cash and in-kind contributions, spending most of it to get the issue on the ballot.
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Monday, August 31st, 2009
William Hershey, Dayton Daily News, Published August 30, 2009.
COLUMBUS — Casino gambling issues in Ohio tend to be high-stakes, big-money affairs with gaming companies going head to head in an all-out effort to win. Last year Penn National Gaming contributed nearly all of the more than $38 million raised to defeat a proposed casino plan for Wilmington. Meanwhile, supporters raised more than $25 million in a losing cause. This year, Penn National, headquartered in Wyomissing, Pa., and Cleveland Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert are the principal backers of a ballot plan to put casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo. Another gambling company, MTR Gaming Group Inc. of Chester, W.Va., is helping lead the fight against it. Nobody knows for sure how much each side will raise and spend before the Nov. 3 vote, but it’s expected to be another multimillion dollar grudge match. Read More
Monday, August 31st, 2009
Jon Craig, Cincinnati Enquirer, August 28, 2009.
COLUMBUS - An Akron-based electric company and its executives gave newly-appointed state Sen. Shannon Jones at least $35,000 in direct campaign contributions this year – more than any of Ohio’s other 32 senators, or 99 Ohio House members. And employees of Columbus-based Boich Company– which supplies coal to Ohio’s electric power plants — gave the Springboro Republican another $20,000, according to campaign finance reports. Energy-related political contributions total nearly $90,000 when lobbyists and relatives of FirstEnergy employees are included on Jones’ contributor list for 2009. Why would a state legislator from Greater Cincinnati get utility company money from 200 miles away in Summit County, the opposite corner of the state? Read More
Friday, August 28th, 2009
Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY, August 28, 2009. Part of the biggest Census outreach effort is targeting grade-school classrooms with kits, coloring books and other teaching aids that children can take home to Mom and Dad. Anyone tempted to ignore the 2010 Census will have a tough time doing it — especially if they have kids in school. The government has launched Census in Schools, an all-out campaign targeting superintendents, principals, teachers, students and, indirectly, parents, as schools open across the nation this month and next. The message: The Census is coming and here’s why everyone should care. The goal is to send posters, teaching guides, maps and lesson plans to every school in the nation, Puerto Rico and U.S. island territories to encourage everyone to participate in the national count. The materials will land in more than 118,000 schools and reach 56 million students. Read More
Friday, August 28th, 2009
Dave Levinthal, OpenSecrets.org, Published on August 27, 2009.
A week from now — noon Thursday, September 3 — the Center for Responsive Politics will conduct a live Web chat about an upcoming Supreme Court case with potentially major ramifications on federal campaign finance law. Read More
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