1. It looks like getting a small business loan in Cleveland will be getting easier...on the surface looks like a good idea. (From Crain's)

The city of Cleveland is looking to trim the time it takes small businesses to get its financial help.

Cleveland City Council is expected to pass an ordinance at its June 12 meeting that will authorize the director of the city’s Department of Economic Development to make loans of up to $250,000 without going through the full legislative process.

2. Ted Strickland's voting record will be an issue this fall...(From the Dayton Daily News)

Unlike J. Kenneth Blackwell, the Republican nominee who served 12 years in state administrative offices, Strickland has a voting record from 12 years in Congress — a record that can be pored over and picked apart, which is what campaigns do.

Strickland, a Democrat whose district stretches along Ohio's eastern border, has a lifetime rating of 88 percent from Americans for Democratic Action, which tracks key votes to create what has become the standard measure for liberalism.

3. Water rates are going up in Cleveland (From newsnet5 and the PD)

4. Ken Blackwell is ticking off more liberal groups (From the PD)

Democrats and representatives of voter-registration groups accused Secretary of State Ken Blackwell on Monday of trying to rig this November's election by publishing draconian new rules governing the activities of people who register voters.

Testifying at a hearing chaired by Judy Grady, Blackwell's director of elections, lawyers for ACORN, Common Cause, the Ohio Democratic Party and other groups said training documents drafted by Blackwell's office are so vague that they subject registrars to felony penalties for even inadvertent violations.

As a result, ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has drastically cut back its voter-registration efforts while its lawyers review the new rules, Katy Gall, Ohio ACORN's head organizer, said in an interview.

"It appears that Ken Blackwell finally figured out how to deal with long lines on Election Day," said state Democratic Party spokesman Brian Rothenberg. "He's just trying to outright deny people the right to vote now."

Those criticisms brought a scathing response from Blackwell's campaign spokesman, Carlo LoParo.

"That's outrageous," LoParo said. "The Blackwell campaign is making a very focused effort to gain the votes of Ohio's urban voters, but particularly Ohio's African-American voters, and that's because Ken Blackwell is the only candidate in this race that can articulate their concerns."

In contrast, Strickland is so out of touch with black voters, LoParo said, that "before this campaign, his idea of diversity was opting for Neapolitan ice cream at the congressional buffet.

from the Canton Rep

February isn’t the only month lawmakers want to name. Months typically carry more names than one because lawmakers figured out there are only 12 in a year for naming purposes. SB 330 wants October as German Heritage Month and, according to state Rep. Arlene Setzer, R-Vandalia, Ohio needs an American Flag Month. State Rep. Sylvester D. Patton Jr., D-Youngstown, wants a Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month. Imagine the rumble if the cyclists don’t get that.

Fights could develop over naming rights to days, too. Lawmakers understand 365 is greater than 12. So is it a surprise that two lawmakers have their eye on April 29? One wants it to be Dale Earnhardt Day (HB 597), and the other wants it for Vietnam Heritage and Freedom Flag Day (HB 535). Apparently, selecting April 29 avoids a conflict with HB 499, which wants April 24 as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Maybe Republicans Ron Hood of Ashville and Christopher Widener of Springfield need to go toe-to-toe. Both have proposed legislation to create Ronald Reagan Day. Hood wants it on Feb. 6 (HB 501), and Widener says it should be June 12 (HB 523).

I looked it up, and Dale Earnhardt day is unfortunately being sponsored by Representative Blasdel, who is running for Congress.

On the bright side, when they are busy doing this, they aren't raising taxes.

(via the Toledo Blade)

Mr. DeWine is a Republican running for re-election. His Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, logged more than $100,000 in office travel over the five-year period.

The Democratic nominee for Ohio governor, U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland (D., Lisbon), also took a Teamsters-funded Mexico trip. His office totaled $13,500 in travel.

Troubled public schools where students are eligible for vouchers saw a sudden spike in enrollment as the school year wound down last week, with parents and administrators at private schools realizing thousands of the vouchers were about to go unused.

In Cincinnati, a supporter of St. Mary School in Hyde Park launched a phone blitz over Memorial Day weekend informing families that the deadline for voucher scholarships worth up to $5,000 was about to pass.

Nearby John P. Parker Elementary School, whose poor academic ranking qualifies its students for vouchers to pay for private education, saw a sudden influx of students, all less than a week before classes ended.

In Toledo, unfamiliar families also began showing up at Pickett Elementary School. Principal Keith Scott said they had no intention of staying -- many called in sick or simply didn't show -- but now they can apply for vouchers because they are on the school's rolls.

The surge was enough to send state education officials to the law books.

Under Ohio's newly expanded voucher program, tens of thousands of students at schools on academic watch or academic emergency are eligible for money to go elsewhere. The scholarships are worth $4,250 for elementary students and $5,000 for high-schoolers. But the legislation was vague on how many days a student must be enrolled at one of those schools to qualify. The deadline to enroll is Friday.

"We're telling school districts to flag students that suddenly enrolled in voucher-eligible schools as we seek legal guidance," Ohio Department of Education spokesman J.C. Benton said. "The intent of the legislation is certainly not to sign up for the last day of school in order to be eligible for the program."

Read it here.

Our original post...

Overall we were pleased with the story. Anytime you can make the top fold on the front page, you know you've done something right. Also, congrats to Buckeye State Blog for making the cover. Competition is a good thing. Last but not least...if it wasn't for our readers we wouldn't have been called "The most popular and influential Republican site." Keep reading....

Brewed Fresh Daily had this to say...

Sorry, Right Angle, but if you recall the questions Mark Naymik sent out about political blogs, you’ll remember that he asked US who we thought the most popular and influential R site was… not your readers. In other words, you’ve got a bunch of what you refer to as liberals to thank for your distinction.

Our reply...normally we do not reply to posts referencing us, but it's really not a rebuttal per se. In fact, this is the classic chicken and egg dilemma. Without our readers, no one would read us and then none of the other bloggers would recommend us as the most influential conservative site. So, George is right, the left helped us with our "achievement." But if it wasn't for our readers, then no one would pay attention to our blog. We think we're both right on this one. But we have no problem thanking all the "as we supposedly call them" lefty blogs for putting us over the top. Now, let's just keep reading and posting...

President Bush expressed concern on Tuesday that volatile conditions in Somalia could lead al-Qaida to use it as a staging ground to plan attacks.

Ohio has one of the largest populations of Somali migrants in the country; should we fear? I think so. Remember the arrest of the Somali man in 2004?

Brian Duffy
MVCA