I swish my hair too much, but I also never get seated in the last spot – see, Michael Heaton’s hair doesn’t have to swish at all – well, you know, Michael – the hair that’s there?

The Plain Dealer’s owner has slashed staff and publication frequency at other daily papers, and some at the PD are speaking out in advance of possible cuts here. Dan Moulthrop of The Civic Commons moderates this panel discussion, which so far includes Rachel Dissell of the PD; Thor Wasbotten, director of Kent State’s School of Journalism; Jill Miller Zimon, Pepper Pike council member and political blogger at WritesLikeSheTalks.com; Angie Schmitt, former daily reporter and current blogger at RustWire.com; and Afi-Odelia Scruggs, former PD columnist and current multimedia journalist who is covering the PD at PDNowWhat.com.

This event is part of the Write to Assemble series, hosted by Happy Dog and organized by Ohio City Writers. Admission is free.

To add more fun, I’ve known Ed for many years and it is going to be an honor to moderate this conversation about the County’s efforts in shared services, collaboration, consolidation and yes – I’ll say it – merger. Please come lurk and engage from 11-12noon.

Can’t be there? Leave a question or comment now and Ed will respond later.

You can watch the event unfold here.

Please read that whole article, visit Susie’s blog, spread this information and thank her for her chutzpah, stamina and contributions. All before she’s even set foot on that college campus.

Supporting actor awards to Tri-C and Cornell’s admissions office, from what it sounds like, not to mention many others I’m sure Susie feels helped her along the way.

Just imagine what Susie may be doing after she graduates!

So.Awesome.

On Thursday evening, July 5, for the first time in over four years, I saw Barack Obama in person.The last three times I saw him, he was either just plain ole U.S. Senator Obama (2006) or Senator and presidential candidate Obama (2007, 2008). The main differences I noticed? Age, confidence, charisma, and fervor — he displayed more of all four.

You can read the transcript or watch a video of the President delivering his remarks, made at James Day Park in Parma, Ohio. This stop was his last public speaking event of the day after multiple other stops in Ohio, all part of the Obama Bus Tour, complete with Ground Force One – the tripped out rolling home for presidents (note, however, as does the Wall Street Journal, that the campaign is paying for the trip). My tweets tell the story of the Parma stop, while my journalist friend at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Henry Gomez, covered all of the Ohio visits.

Why, at this point, would anyone who follows politics as much as I do, attend one of these highly choreographed and usually tightly scripted media-ready occasions? Especially when we are on the umpteenth day of 95 degree and 95% humidity weather, with a good mix of thunderstorm threats?

Great question!

[now go read the full post]

The Twitter.com hashtags will be #ObamaBusTour and #campaign2012 (that’s what I saw the Plain Dealer’s Henry Gomez using – looks good, a bit long – I might try #Obama #Parma).

Over the weekend, I came home from a few hours out with a friend to find my middle-school son transferring files and installing programs from his fairly puny and old laptop to my college-bound son’s more powerful and newer one. Curious as to how the former presumably conned the latter into this arrangement, I asked. And the response warmed my kumbaya-loving heart.

“We collabbed.” Pronounced like, “co-labbed” like the nickname for laboratory, lab, and short for collaboration.

Now where on Earth did a 12 year old get such language to even describe what he’d done!?

Thanks to still reading print, I read about this morning’s Sound of Ideas featuring Crain’s Women of Note. I am extraordinarily proud (and fortunate) to say that one of them, Marsha Mockabee of The Urban League – was one of my earliest mentors as I figured out what I would be when I grew up. She was my field adviser in 1990 during my social work school field placement with her when she headed up Career Beginnings.

The “Women of Note” honored by Crain’s this year are noteworthy for their accomplishments and their perseverance. On the next Sound of Ideas, we’ll spend an hour with four of them to discuss their struggles and successes. The president of the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, the owner of two AAMCO franchises, the executive director of the Akron Marathon and the construction boss for a local developer will join us. Their stories with host Mike McIntyre Monday at 9.

Marsha Mockabee, President, Urban League of Greater Cleveland
Marlene Herman, Franchise Owner, AAMCO Transmissions &Total Car Care
Anne Bitong, Executive Director, Akron Marathon
Sue Frankel, VP of Construction, Robert L. Stark Enterprises

Thank you to all the awardees for their work and commitment, but also to those who recognize these contributions. And of course, congratulations, Marsha. To saw you are amazing seems kind of trite but, you are amazing. Thank you.

Good taping this morning amidst an insane schedule.  Who do I think I am!? A working mom (aka super being) or something? You can tune in on WVIZ/PBS on Friday at 8:30pm or Sunday at 11:30am, or the Ohio Channel on Monday at 1:30pm or 9:30pm or Tuesday at 5:30am.  The video posts toward the end of the week.

Here’s the show’s rundown:

Allegations of Dirty Parks & Dirty Pool

Posted Friday, June 22, 2012

Roundtable:  Mark Naymik, metro columnist, The Plain Dealer; Jill Miller Zimon, blogger, Writes Like She Talks; Greg Saber, Freelance Journalist

Bad Parks—Many of northeast Ohio’s lakefront parks are drowning in weeds, driftwood and trash, the victims of poor or non-existent maintenance.  A Plain Dealer report this week canvassed three parks, Edgewater, Euclid Beach and Wildwood and found them in appalling condition.  Each of these is under the umbrella of the State of Ohio which has put little money into them in recent years.

Politics on the Down-low—Republican Senate candidate Josh Mandel has touched off debate with recent criticism of incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown.  Mandel has called Brown hypocritical for portraying Republicans as anti-women when he was once accused of domestic violence.  The accusations grew out of a decades-old divorce case.  Brown’s camp called Mandel’s action ‘despicable’ while the Mandel camp says the old family dispute is legitimate political rhetoric.

New Allegations for Cleveland Firefighters—a city investigation of firefighter leave time abuse shows several firefighters repeatedly took sick days without producing evidence of illness.  Others are suspected of paying colleagues to work their shifts, illegal under city law. A special investigator has recommended that criminal charges be filed against five firefighters.

Hang Up and Drive, or Else—drivers in Beachwood stand to lose more than just money if they’re caught using a cell phone or texting while driving.  The city will also place two points on the violator’s driving record in addition to levying the standard fine.  Accumulating twelve points within two years brings about a license suspension.  The state of Ohio recently enacted a texting-while-driving ban.

Goodbye to Akron Radio Great—friends and listeners gathered Thursday to remember longtime radio talker Howie Chizek, who died last week at the age of 65.  Chizek spent 38 years entertaining listeners midday on WNIR and was also respected for his charity work.  He leaves a lasting mark on the world of basketball.  Chizek pioneered a flamboyant style of public address announcing that’s widely imitated in NBA arenas.

So I thought I’d overshare for a bit, given that the sold-out audience was limited to about 700 folks at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium. That leaves thousands of TEDxCLE virgins remaining, all of whom deserve to hear, first-hand, if it was everything I’d hoped for.

Short version: If I hadn’t stopped smoking cigarettes nearly 22 years ago, I would have had one when the event ended.

Long version: There are so many ways to slice and dice this, and I’m an overthinker as it is, so let’s do it like this: