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Aug

9

Get it straight about State Sen. 24th: Pepper Pike is NOT a bastion of Republicans

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This post is prompted by the news that Tom Patton is challenging Jim Trakas for the Republican nomination for the State Senate 24th seat being vacated in 2008 by Bob Spada due to term limits.

I don’t have a clue about all the other supposed-legions of suburban reds, but the numbers from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections for Pepper Pike are as follows:

Number of Registered Voters: 5,273

Democrats: 1,361
Republicans: 808
Non-Partisan: 2,625
No Party: 479

Voter turnout for Pepper Pike:

11/04: Ballots Cast – 3237 – 63.09%
11/05: Ballots Cast – 2227 – 43.32%
11/06: Ballots Cast – 3232 – 61.79%

Voter turnout for the county:

11/04: Ballots cast – 687,260- 68.24%
11/05: Ballots cast – 368,443 – 36.13%
11/06: Ballots cast – 470,755 – 44.45%

So when everyone (who doesn’t live here) writes about the State Senate seat and Republican and Democrats and bla bla bla? Words you say don’t make it so. And the more you say? The less people will listen. Especially this early in the game. You will wear people out.

A little more insider news: the Republicans who do reside in PP? They are not organized and don’t see a need to be. Not to mention having the GOP’s proclaimed rising star, Josh Mandel, absent for the next several months from my district is a wild card impact.

The Dems? Not only are we organizing, but there are some factions within the Dem party here that will be certain to successfully challenge Republicans in office, even though the city races are non-partisan, in either 2007, 09 or 11.

I used to not understand how folks were saying that this district is changing. But I’ve seen the numbers, I’ve talked to people who’ve been active here for a long time and they are ready to do whatever is necessary to make change occur.

So please – go ahead and talk your heads off. Unless you live here and talk to those of us who expect to stay here and those who desire to move in here (because most of those red voting folks are moving out, if they can sell their houses that they can’t seem to sell because the city is making bad quality of life choices like building more and more financial services offices and plowing down forests rather than creating rec paths and rec centers), your cred is minimal to none to me.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:49 pm August 9th, 2007 in Politics | 10 Comments 

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Aug

9

‘Roots News: Mystablogy on South Euclid and development

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Thorough, in-depth with info, photos and analysis by Brian Emerson at Mystablogy.

Please comment there.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:05 pm August 9th, 2007 in Politics | Comments Off 

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Aug

9

[updated] PD Pres, Publisher Egger becomes Cleveland Clinic board member

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Is this okay?

Some views of others, expressed in that article:

The newspaper should take steps to assure the public that Egger’s role as trustee has no influence on news coverage or editorials related to the hospital, said Bob Steele, a journalism values scholar at the Poynter Institute, a newspaper think tank in St. Petersburg, Fla.

“It’s dicey territory,” said Steele. “You have competing loyalties. And competing loyalties, if not properly recognized and not professionally and ethically addressed, can create conflicts of interest [that] can corrode the credibility of either organization.”

And this:

Scott Bosley, executive director of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and a former newspaper publisher, said it makes business sense to serve on community boards. But appearances of conflict have to be managed. “The thing you have to do is be up front about it, with your news operation as well as your public,” he said.

What to do, what to do:

Steele of Poynter offered these suggestions:

Egger should recuse himself from involvement in stories and editorials related to the Clinic and health care, and fellow trustees should not ask him to influence The Plain Dealer content.

Reporters and editors should respect the publisher’s obligation to protect proprietary information about the hospital.

In stories involving Clinic trustees, reporters and editors should treat Egger like any other news subject – “no fear, no favor.” The newspaper should disclose in these stories that Egger is on the board and that he has no role in the coverage.

“This is both disclosure and accountability,” said Steele. “I would lean toward more disclosure than less.”

Italics and bold are mine. So, we know what to look at for every single time they publish any story “involving Clinic trustees.” But what exactly does that mean? What story about the Clinic wouldn’t imply, in some way, the trustees? So, does the article have to be about the trustees in order for this tactic to kick in?

“Dicey” is putting it lightly. Personally? I would want to know, in writing, regarding every editorial that has anything remotely or directly to do with the Clinic, to state that Egger recused himself from the discussion. Period.

This issue sounds like a good one for the PD’s Reader Rep, Ted Diadiun, to address, including a listing of exactly what Egger will do to convey to the readers that his responsibilities to the PD and to the Clinic remain separate.

Frankly, I don’t see how he did not turn down the board position with the Clinic, given his responsibilities with the PD.

Filters? What filters?

UPDATE:

From the 1/07 edition of Cleveland Magazine:

Machaskee’s legacy includes constructing the paper’s huge, $200 million Brooklyn printing plant and its $38 million new downtown headquarters, and expanding the reporting staff and the space for news in the paper. He sat on an astonishing number of nonprofit boards, from the local United Way to the Severance Hall renovation — so many that he became known for spending too much energy on civic causes and wielding clout and not enough on the company’s business. In 2005, he had The Plain Dealer donate $1 million to the Cleveland Clinic’s new heart center — an astonishing sum for a company whose annual profit may not be reaching eight figures.

My emphasis. I would say so. Hope we don’t see anything like that from now on.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:32 pm August 9th, 2007 in Politics | 4 Comments 

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Aug

9

SPJ Board member rallies behind Wendy Hoke

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In a comment on this post on Wendy’s blog:

It’s a sad fact, but Baker Hostetler [the law firm that initiated contact with SPJ about signing an amicus brief against freelancers and on the side of publishers in a case about electronic rights] runs SPJ now. The current president blindly rubber-stamps all BH views, which of course reflect the views of the major media companies BH represents. And unfortunately, most of the board merely rubber-stamps the strong-willed president’s stances — when the full board is even brought into the picture. Baker Hostetler and its SPJ senior leadership shills make most of the decisions without full-board consideration these days.

SPJ used to be a strong, independent organization. Now the leadership is by and large a bunch of lemmings who thoughtlessly accede to every whim of the law firm and any other company that flashes a fat check.

The SPJ Cleveland Pro chapter’s board met last night. I couldn’t attend but was involved in a massive flurry of emails. The majority of sentiments that I’ve read lean in the same direction, and that’s not toward what SPJ has done in this case.

Baker Hostetler should have a few things to say about its actions as well.

NB: Last night, I posted a link for SPJ’s freelance blog. It appeared that the current blog was scrubbed and redirected to a URL directly tied to SPJ. However, today, here is what the most current freelance blog for SPJ looks like, including the resignation of SPJ’s Freelance Committee Chair.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:35 pm August 9th, 2007 in Politics | 2 Comments 

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Aug

9

Remains of the Day, 8-8-07 and a "quick note"

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I need to make a quick note: I’ve received feedback (from more than one person, promise) that, believe it or not, some readers miss my rambling posts that actually expose my thoughts, as opposed to exposing what others have written that gets me thinking those thoughts. I miss writing those posts more than you misss reading them, I am certain. And I am flattered that even a few folks would take the time to tell me that they’d rather read what I write just a few times a week, speaking for myself, than a compilation every day of what’s interested me.

I wish it were so – that I could continue to meet that desire of mine and some readers. And I will try – as I said, I miss it too. But I’ve always made it clear that my family is my priority and when their needs come tumbling to me in need of attention, that’s where I go.

Additionally, I’m doing some freelancing for Campaigns & Elections and you should see the results of that in the near future. I also am writing for a California publisher who found me on the Internet maybe three years ago now and I write few pieces for them every year. I’ve got a couple of other writerly projects that are no where near completion but need to be decided on, and I’ve got some political things cooking in the home town. Not to mention I raised my hand and voted against leadership last night at my synagogue (it was actually a liberating experience but provoked a call I received this evening from a senior individual, sincerely curious to know why I objected). Oh – and I have my bi-monthly column due in a week. And then there’s that birthday. And my kids’ school supplies aren’t purchased yet. And there’s still no piano teacher replacement (though we did get a viola teacher replacement, even though the 15 year old plecko that belonged to the teacher who moved? it died; and the storm fried our computer yesterday but my teenager restored it even though the younger kids cried over whatever got lost which really wasn’t much because all they use is Webkinz and whatever math game sites I allow them to use).

Wow – did I say this was going to be a quick note?

1. Put it on the ballot – not just the referendum on the Cuyahoga County sales tax increase, but your signature! Please. Take a look at the website and consider then act on whatever you can do, that you would like to do.

2. I love it when I’m prescient, this time in regard to saying that a blogger’s union seems a bit premature because I can’t imagine there being a big enough critical mass to sustain a blogger’s union. This Boing Boing piece would seem to support that logic. H/t Brewed Fresh Daily.

3. I am at odds with this Regina Brett column. I can understand why it might be written, but having worked in juvenile court and around these kids and families, the column is off by something. Not sure what, but it’s pitch isn’t quite right.

4. If you’ve been following the sad details around the Society for Professional Journalists’ abandonment of freelancers, read this, then this and then – see this: SPJ has scrubbed the last nine months of the Independent Journalist blog – a blog started by Wendy Hoke and continued by Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell – both of whom have resigned because of SPJ siding with publishers in a case that places negotiating burdens on freelancers, and how the decision-making process was handled. I am speechless and still trying to sort out the situation, but it’s become quite clear that certainly at the national level, I have nothing in common with SPJ.

5. Cleveland Foodie by way of BFD yesterday.

6. Women-wise campaign. I’m not really sure what it’s all about but will try to get more info.

TTFN.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:57 am August 9th, 2007 in Politics | 5 Comments 

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Aug

9

Robert Murray’s generosity, as evidenced by Ohio Money Tree

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Ohio Money Tree is a great resource for getting to connections between people and money.

As a precursor though, read Bill Callahan on the Ohio connection to the Utah coal mining disaster and how Robert E. Murray, head of Murray Energy Corporation (no website it appears) which is involved in the tragedy, is a resident of Pepper Pike (no, I don’t know him, though I’m curious to know if he’s related to the Sandusky Murrays, with whom I am familiar; I can tell you that the Sandusky Murrays appear to give to Dems while Robert E. does not).

Then, Jeff Coryell fleshes out the connections further in this post and opines about the implications for Ohio’s mines and miners, many of whom allow Murray to turn a profit and support politicians of his choice.

So, then, you know – I couldn’t ignore an energy company with a guy who heads it living in Pepper Pike and the fact that Pepper Pike’s state rep, Josh Mandel, is not only a Republican (to whom Jeff indicates Murray likes to give) but that he’s also vice chair of the Public Utilities committee in the house (boy, might that look regrettable with him being gone for the next several months? do you think they knew?) and he’s a member of the Alternative Energy committee.

Check this out from Josh’s July 18 letter to constituents, on the subject of “Independence from Foreign Oil”:

I believe passionately in working to eliminate our nation’s dependence on foreign oil. While much of this issue must be handled at the federal level, I am working to help identify economic incentives for Ohio companies who are on the cutting edge of turning resources like coal, human waste [????], animal waste, restaurant waste and agricultural products into fuel.

Wow – what’s with the waste, waste and more waste? Okay – well – cutting edge and all.

But notice the first possibility he names: coal. Why isn’t the last – agricultural products, as in corn and ethanol – first? I don’t know. But check out what Murray told Congress in June 2001.

Anyway…

Off I went to Ohio Money Tree and sure enough, Josh received $500 from Murray and $500 from Murray’s company’s PAC (Murray’s company has a PAC?).

Be sure to check out the other elected officials who’ve benefitted from Mr. Murray’s company’s PAC’s largesse: Ohio House Speaker, Jon Husted is young king coal with $10,000, Mary Taylor received $6,000, and even Ken Blackwell reaped $5,000. But you don’t have to stop there – the list goes on and on.

Sigh. I’m going to check Google news and see what the latest is on the mine. Ohio Money Tree won’t be updating with new gifts from Mr. Murray anytime before they get the miners out.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:05 am August 9th, 2007 in Politics | 1 Comment 

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