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How to vote in 2024

By
Paula Wethington
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Lucas Zielinksi, with Turning Point USA, hands Amelia Mathkour, a music, business and tech major at Owens Community College, a pamphlet about voting registration. Zielinksi said he was on campus for the day to help students register to vote. (TFP Photo/Lori King)

Lucas County Board of Elections explains voting details, process

Toledo – With Election Day a month away, preparations are in full swing at the Lucas County Board of Elections office.

“We’re up and running and getting everything ready,” said Timothy Monaco, deputy director of the elections office. “It’s a wonderful time. It’s important to exercise your right to vote.”

Logistics that the staff and officers have been handling for weeks on behalf of Lucas County’s 303 voting precincts include preparing ballots, training precinct election officials, and getting early voting dates and times posted on their website.

Monaco said the most commonly asked question from voters during the past couple of weeks has been when absentee ballots will arrive in the mail. 

Here’s the answer: Ohio voters can look for the absentee ballots starting Oct. 8, which is one day after registration ends for the Nov. 5 election.

The Lucas County Board of Elections staff doesn’t give predictions on voter turnout, Monaco said. But, according to state election records, 67 percent of registered Lucas County voters participated in the 2020 presidential election, and 66 percent did so in the 2016 presidential election. This participation includes absentee voting, early in-person voting and traditional Election Day voting.

Those choices are meant to help all eligible voters participate, whether they prefer going in person to a local polling site or to cast a ballot before they travel out of town.

“It’s important to make your plan as to who you are going to vote for,” Monaco said. “Make sure you make a plan and know what is on your ballot.”

While the presidential campaign is the key race of the Nov. 5 election, there are also races in Lucas County for local judges and city officials. For those who want to see the list ahead of time, ballot proofs are available for review on the election board’s website.

“Ballots will be three pages for everyone and four pages for some,” Monaco said.

While some people remember how they wish to vote when going to the polls, others find it helpful to bring paper notes or refer to a list on their phone, Monaco said. “Some folks really come prepared,” he said.

“It’s also important to be respectful at the location,” he added, referring to an Ohio law that prohibits photos of marked ballots. “We do ask that you limit cell phone use at the ballot.”

Many other election details are explained at lucascountyohiovotes.gov.

Election calendar

Key dates for the November 5 election:

  • Military and overseas civilian voting: Started Sept. 20.
  • Voter registration deadline: 9 p.m. Oct. 7.
  • Early in-person voting season: Oct. 8.-Nov. 3.
  • Absentee ballot postmark deadline: Nov. 4.
  • Election Day: Nov. 5.

CAMPUS TALK

OWENS COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS SOUND OFF ABOUT VOTING

Question: How important is voting to you?

Oliver Odendahl
James Johnson
Nivant Dawson
Sydney Stanley
David Case III

Voting is not my main concern, but it is pretty important because it is the future of America and I would like to have a say in what is gonna be my future. I usually try to vote on voting day, if I can’t I’ll do the absentee ballot.

Oliver Odendahl | EMT Major | Tontogany Resident

I am not a registered voter. If I was to lie to you I’d say yes. But honestly, I don’t have enough time … it’s not really a main priority, even though it should be. I do plan on voting at some point, maybe when I’m in my adult phase. Even though I’m not a registered voter I do think voting is important because it basically determines the society and the rules and regulations we live by.

James Johnson | Broadcast Media Technology Major | Toledo Resident

I’d say voting is very important. There’s certain aspects of it that do feel sort of depressing, when you think about it, because a lot of people would say people voting normally wouldn’t matter because of a small majority in the Electoral College – their votes matter 100 times more than your own. That’s what it feels like at least from what I know. It does feel a little degrading knowing that’s going to happen.

Nivant Dawson | Business Major | Toledo Resident

I think voting is important, but I’m not exactly sure why it’s important. I mean, there’s a lot of things that come from it. You’re voting for someone that you’re putting your trust and you’re faith into to guide us all in the right direction, but we just all don’t know what that direction is yet. So, we’re just kind of free-balling it, in a way. So, I don’t know … I’ve never voted before but this will be interesting. I really don’t know what all is involved. I just have a lot to learn about voting – like what I should be looking for in the leader I’m going to be voting for. So, yeah, it’s coming up soon. There’s a lot to learn.

Sydney Stanley | Chemistry Major | Millbury Resident

Voting is very important, especially in this day and age, when everything’s going on.

David Chase III | Literature Major | Toledo Resident
Registration details

Ohio voters must be registered by 9 p.m. Oct. 7 to be eligible to vote in the Nov. 5 election.

Residents can register to vote, look up voter registration, change their address, find an early voting location, look up Election Day polling location or track an absentee ballot at VoteOhio.gov.

Photo ID requirement

Bring your photo ID when voting. The options are:

- Current Ohio driver’s license or State of Ohio ID card.

- Interim ID form issued by Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

- U.S. passport or U.S. passport card.

- U.S. military ID card, Ohio National Guard ID card or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID card.

A registered voter who has changed his or her name since the photo ID was issued will need to show proof of legal name change and sign a form. A photo ID card can show a former address if a current address is on file with the voting records. If you forget a photo ID, you can request a provisional ballot. 

How to vote absentee

An absentee ballot in Ohio needs to be requested, signed, dated and submitted for each election. Military personnel and civilian overseas voters can file one application for all elections happening in a given year.

The application asks for the number on your Ohio driver’s license or Ohio ID card, last four digits of your social security number, or a photocopy of other eligible ID such as a U.S. passport or military ID.

Mailed absentee ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 4 and can be hand delivered to the Board of Elections on Nov. 5.

Additional instructions are on the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.

In-person early voting

Ohio’s in-person early voting season begins Oct. 8 and ends Nov. 3. 

The Lucas County Early Vote Center is at 3737 W. Sylvania Ave. Suite 121 Entrance C (at the rear of the Lucas County Board of Elections building) in west Toledo.

Voting times and dates can be found at LucasCountyOhioVotes.gov.

Election Day voting

Polling sites are open in Ohio from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5. You can look up your polling location at VoteOhio.Gov.

What’s on the ballot?

A “ballot proof” is available for review on the Lucas County Board of Elections page. It lists candidates and ballot issues by precinct, so voters know what to expect.

For example: Six president/vice president candidate teams have declared in Ohio, with an additional write-in option available. Other candidate races include U.S. Senator, Lucas County Sheriff and openings on Toledo City Council.

Ohio Issue 1 is a proposed state constitutional amendment that has gained a lot of attention. This issue, if approved, would designate a redistricting commission to draw state legislative and congressional districts.

There are other issues locally, such as a proposed bond issue for the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library and a tax renewal request from the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.

Are ballot “selfies” allowed?

Ohio does not permit photos to be taken of a marked ballot. It’s actually a fifth-degree felony should that take place, according to Ohio law.

The “I Voted” Sticker

A traditionally popular way to showcase voter participation is through an “I voted” sticker, picked up on Election Day at the polling site.

Ohio’s current “I Voted” sticker design was adopted in 2019 through a student art contest. A red squiggle depicts a map of Ohio, nestled in a blue circle outline, with the phrase “Ohio Voted.”

Voters are invited to download the image to share on social media at the Ohio Secretary of State website. That website also has also a “future voter” coloring page for children available for download.

Is campaigning allowed at election sites?

Ohio does not allow election campaigning, also known as electioneering, within 100 feet of a voting site. This means no campaigning messages on attire such as shirts or hats, Monaco said.

Two small United States flags are placed at each voting site to designate the “neutral” zone where this applies. 

Where is the Board of Elections office?

If you need to visit the Lucas County Board of Elections regarding a voting matter, that office moved about two years ago from its former location at One Government Center to 3737 W. Sylvania Road in West Toledo.

When are election numbers official?

Ballots cast on Election Day will be delivered in person to the Lucas County Board of Elections for the counting procedures.

There will be numbers reported after that count is complete. 

The Ohio Secretary of State does not consider voter counts to be official until two or three weeks later, after provisional ballots are accounted for and to give time for absentee ballots to arrive that met the postmark deadline.

Heat pumps cut carbon emissions

By
Steve Roberts
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Brian Vanderhorst, owner of Shrek Heating & Air Conditioning, started working in the business then started his own company. (TFP Photo/Steve Roberts)

One of the weapons that can be used to fight the ongoing challenge of climate change is the electric heat pump. Electric heat pumps move heat from one location to another, instead of producing it.

In colder months, they pull heat from outdoor air and bring it inside. In hot weather, they send the heat outside. Since heat pumps move heat rather than make it, they use less energy than traditional heating systems and don’t make the pollution that comes from burning fossil fuels.

A heat pump connected to a home. (TFP Photo/Steve Roberts)

Heat Pumps are popular. More units were sold than gas furnaces in 2024, carrying on a trend that started in 2022. In 2023, Americans bought 21 percent more heat pumps than gas furnaces (see figure). Keep in mind that some homes have more than one heat pump.

In September 2023, the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of 25 states, publicized plans to install 20 million heat pumps by 2030. To hit this goal, present install rates need to increase 300 percent. Ohio is not a member of this alliance.

(Figure 1)

There are several good reasons for the growing popularity of heat pumps.

One strength is their stingy use of electricity. Modern heat pumps can function at 300 to 400 percent efficiency or more. In other words, they produce three to four times more heat energy than the electricity they use. The best space heaters achieve only 95 percent efficiency. Using less electricity saves money. 

Heat pumps offer financial savings. A National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) study found that out of the 49 million households using electricity, fuel oil or propane for heating, and using air conditioning, 92 to 100 percent could lower their energy bills (see Fig. 2). 

Yearly savings are usually between $300 and $650, depending on the heat pump’s efficiency. Homes that use natural gas for heating would experience smaller, if any, savings. 64 percent of Toledo homes are heated by gas, while 26 percent are heated with electric power.

Heating and cooling accounts for about 60 percent of household emissions. Heat pumps can cut heating-related fossil fuel use by 40 percent or more. Over 15 years, heat pumps, specifically in Ohio, will lower fossil fuel emissions into the atmosphere by as much as 36 percent compared to gas furnaces. This is important since household emissions contribute to climate change.

(Figure 2)

Heat pumps are healthier than gas-burning furnaces since gas heating systems are a major source of indoor air pollution, according to the EPA. When gas appliances malfunction, they can produce carbon monoxide (CO), which interferes with the blood’s ability to carry oxygen and can worsen heart conditions.

Natural gas used in homes often includes volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), such as benzene. VOCs can cause cancer and may form harmful pollutants, like particulate matter and ozone, when leaked. This particulate matter (PM) from gas heat can harm health. PM can irritate the eyes, nose, throat and lungs, increase the risk of heart attacks, and increase hospital visits for heart-related conditions.

To learn more about heat pumps, I talked to Brian Vanderhorst, the founder and owner of Shrek Heating & Air Conditioning, founded in 2017. Vanderhorst has been in the business for 20 years. He states that he has spent significant time “learning about all facets of the industry, one of those being the operation and installation of heat pump equipment.” 

One of the characteristics of heat pumps is that they become less efficient in cold weather. But, according to Vanderhorst, “the capacity to deal with the cold has advanced considerably with inverter-driven compressors and temperature sensors inside the units. The technology advancements have allowed the use of heat pumps in much colder climates.”

Vanderhorst emphasized that proper installation is essential for optimal operation in cold temperatures.

“That’s where it becomes important that you, and whoever you’re hiring as a contractor, understands the limitations and understands the specifications from the manufacturer,” Vanderhorst said. “And understand the goal you’re trying to accomplish as a homeowner, whether that’s being green or reducing energy consumption or whatever.”

Vanderhorst added that “in very cold climates, there is a diminished capacity for the output of heat. And so, generally speaking, in very cold climates, there is an electric backup which is commonly called a heat strip installed in an air handler, or even using fossil fuel backup.”

When the indoor temperature gets close to the desired point, the system automatically reduces energy use. It adjusts to keep an ideal heat balance. This helps avoid temperature swings and keeps the indoor environment stable and comfortable.

Choosing the right model is important for reliable operation in freezing conditions. There are models designed to work well in colder climates.

A heat pump installed inside a home. (TFP Photo)

Vanderhorst also mentioned that the heat pump could run differently than traditional heating and cooling systems.

For one thing, the run times can be longer.  “It’s hard for consumers not to associate longer run times with higher bills. Sometimes that longer run time equals a smaller bill because it’s doing its continuous work to keep the space at an even temperature,” he explained.

When asked if there were any downsides to heat pumps, Vanderhorst said he did not think there were, other than their complexity. “It is very complex equipment, and it’s important that your service providers understand how to work on them.”

In the past, heat pumps were known to be somewhat noisy. Newer models are quieter.

Ohio residents can use various rebates and tax incentives to help pay for heat pumps. One such opportunity is the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates program. Federal tax credits are also available for ENERGY STAR Most Efficient air-source heat pumps. There are other money-saving opportunities available. Homeowners should partner with contractors who can assist them.

Climate change is happening. One question that gets asked is, “What can I do about it?” Getting a heat pump might be something to consider.

The Humorists

By
Jerry King
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Cartoon by Jerry King.

Nuestras Familias: Taking care of immigrant, migrant, refugee, low-income families

By
Pam Crabtree
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Kelin folds clothes for the new Nuestras Familias program, which provides clothing, furniture, food, childcare and school placement to those in need. Kelin is a volunteer who now gives back after needing the program last year.

Story by Pam Crabtree | Photos by Lori King

TOLEDO – While the holiday season of giving has past, people of all ages continue to struggle and still need help with securing food, clothes, employment and healthcare. Enter Nuestra Gente (NG), a nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization founded in 2008 by Linda Parra.

Parra, originally from Venezuela, aspired to bring a lifelong passion of community service and to help people when she moved to her new home in Lucas County.

She said NG’s goal is to provide services to needy families in Lucas County and to help them become self-sufficient.

Linda Parra, founder of Nuestra Gente, added another program to her a nonprofit: Nuestras Familias, specifically intended for immigrant, migrant, refugee and low-income families.

With Parra meeting that heady goal, NG is offering a new program, Nuestras Familias (Spanish for Our Families), launched specifically for immigrant, migrant, refugee and low-income families.

“Our mission is to address the gaps in services for the Latino community in Lucas County,” said Parra.

Given the overwhelming need for help for families, Parra launched Nuestras Familias to assist not only families in Lucas County, but as far away as Columbus. The program helps by providing clothing, furniture, food, childcare and school placement. It also offers medical screenings, translations, interpretations, transportation, legal services and help seeking jobs.

“We have more items than Goodwill,” Parra quipped. “People donate to us because we give to people for free.”

One grateful benefactor of NG’s Nuestras Familias program is Mirna. Mirna, originally from Mexico, and her husband Otto are parents of two children. After reading about Nuestra Gente in a local publication, she contacted Parra for help.

“I’m so happy,” she said when asked about the program. “We needed help with food and clothing, and Nuestras Familias was there for us.”

NG strives to improve the lives of Toledo’s underserved communities, focusing on not only the Hispanic/Latino community, but all Ohioans who seek help.

Nuestra Gente founder Linda Parra, center, helps Jean, left, and Rocia, asylum seekers from Columbia, who are shopping at the 419 Food Pantry for the first time.
Mirion, from left, Modesta and Kelin fold clothes for the new Nuestras Familias program. Modesta and Kelin are volunteers who now give back after needing the program themselves.

Nuestras Familias is one of the programs and events offered by NG. Others are:

  • Holiday Events
  • The Art Room
  • Health Events
  • Fundraisers
  • Lupus Awareness
  • 419 Food Pantry

Ways to contribute

Monetary donations are tax deductible and always welcome, but there are other ways to contribute, like donating time and energy. One example is the mother-daughter duo, Christina Oyerbides, of Toledo, and her daughter Ester Billups, of Lima, who volunteer their time.

Donated items free for the taking as part of the Nuestras Familias program at the Nuestra Gente Community Center at 1411 Broadway St. in Toledo.

Oyerbides joked that she is “kind of strong, so I go and pick up the donations,” which may consist of furniture, clothing and boxes containing various items. She is also very vocal about spreading the news of the services offered by Nuestra Gente’s Our Families program.

“Whoever hears about it, the doors are open” she said.

Billups enjoys helping families, too. She volunteers on Thanksgiving with packaging and giving supplies out to the community. She also helps organize the items people contribute, such as winter coats, jackets and gloves by size. She said the kids have all their clothes in one room to make it easier for people coming in for assistance.

The Nuestra Gente Community Center is located at 1411 Broadway St. in Toledo.
Email: lindaparra@nuestragentecommunityprojects.org

(See Photo Gallery at bottom of Homepage)

(Courtesy Video)

Founding The Flyby Sports Podcast

By
Chas McNeil
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Max Alfonso, left, and Chas McNeil host The Flyby Podcast in the Toledo Free Press podcast room. (TFP Photo/Lori King)

Lucas and Wood counties are not commonly seen as sports hubs; there are no NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL teams. However, we have two Division 1 universities that are only 30 minutes apart from each other, and that’s pretty rare.

This area loves their Toledo Rockets and BGSU Falcons and will defend each other when it comes to other MAC schools and beyond, but bad blood runs deep … in the best way. The Battle of I-75 holds the title as the best rivalry in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

Both schools have a large number of local students and know of the rivalry, and through field storming and band bannings, there is no love lost between the two.

When Max Alfonso and I started our spring internship last month, we wanted to put our stamp on the Toledo Free Press and to give ourselves a piece of content we can both be proud of for years to come.

(Graphic by Don Lee.)

When we first met last month, we went back and forth on BGSU and Toledo athletics. We each put in our two cents on the programs and decided it would make for good audio content. Despite neither of us ever creating our own podcast before, we both were able to learn and adapt to a new way of telling a story.

By creating The Flyby, we believe we found a great way to update Toledo and BGSU fans on moments they missed throughout the week, as well as give them a quick overview of how each program is doing.

Something I think listeners will love about this podcast is the true understanding of each sport we cover, and we cover them all. Max and I both have immersed ourselves into the culture of Toledo and BGSU athletics, and we work well together to explain our own cultures to each other.

This show truly is a love letter to Toledo and BGSU athletics, and we hope to provide a solid and evaluative insight into teams that have a massive amount of community support.

The Flyby is the first podcast produced by the Toledo Free Press and drops every Saturday, so give us a listen!

The second Toledo Free Press podcast, 411 in the 419 with Jaden Jefferson, is currently in development and will debut soon.

The Humorists

By
Don Lee
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Editorial cartoon by Don Lee for the Toledo Free Press.

NEWS SHORTS: Briefs, upcoming events

By
Press Release
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(Compiled from press releases and announcements)

Announcements

The Cloister at the Toledo Museum of Art closes Feb. 2 for two years

The Cloister at TMA will be off view after Sunday, Feb. 2, as the museum prepares for a reinstallation. According to a Facebook post on Jan. 30, “This beloved space, with its serene atmosphere and captivating collection, has offered countless moments of tranquility and inspiration.”

The Cloister will return in 2027. Until then, The TMA invites you to visit and experience its magic one last time.

The Toledo Free Press will be there on Feb. 2 to capture the memories of patrons as they take a moment to cherish the memories created within its walls.

Toledo Opera to host a South Pacific Tuesday Talk on Feb. 4

TOLEDO – Toledo Opera will host Roots and Routes: A South Pacific Tuesday Talk on Tuesday. This panel discussion will explore the history of Japanese emigration to the industrial Midwest and the long journey to build a home in this region. This event is free and open to the public.

Presented as a companion to Toledo Opera’s mainstage production of South Pacific, this event seeks to tell the full story of America’s war in the South Pacific, highlighting diverse perspectives and untold narratives while connecting them to today’s pressing issues.

The event features four distinguished panelists: Hajime “Jimmy” Kishimori, consul general of Japan in Detroit; Mary Kamidoi, a survivor of a World War II Japanese internment camp; Keiko Hahn, a World War II Japanese war bride who made her home in Lima, Ohio; and Akiko Jones, educator, community leader and founder of BGSU’s Peace & Conflict Studies program.

When & Where: Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 5:30 p.m. at The Toledo Lucas County Public Library – Main Library, Meeting Room 2.

Rudolph Libbe Group companies to support National Go Red for Women Day

Rudolph Libbe Inc. and GEM Inc. employees will wear red, eat heart healthy food and learn more about heart health from Jan. 31 to Feb. 17 to support the American Heart Association’s National Go Red for Women Day.

Whitney Keeler, development director for Northwest Ohio chapter of the American Heart
Association, will present an educational program, materials on heart health and demonstrate the use of a hands-on AED at all locations. There will be blood pressure checks at both northwest Ohio locations.

Monday, Feb. 3: A Heart Healthy Morning Smoothie Break from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at Rudolph Libbe’s Northeast Ohio headquarters at 4937 Mills Industrial Parkway North Ridgeville, Ohio.
Friday, Feb 7: A Heart Healthy Breakfast from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Rudolph Libbe Inc., 6494 Latcha Road, Walbridge.
Friday, Feb 7: A Heart Healthy Lunch from 11 a.m. to Noon at GEM Inc., 6842 Commodore Dr., Walbridge.
Monday, Feb. 17: A Heart Healthy Lunch from Noon to 1 p.m. at GEM Inc.’s Lima, Ohio office, 155 Eastom Circle, Lima.

TARTA celebrates Ohio Loves Transit Week: FREE services on Feb. 11

The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) joins Ohio’s 62 other public transportation agencies in celebrating Ohio Loves Transit Week, which runs Feb. 9-15.

As part of Ohio Loves Transit Week, all TARTA fixed-route, paratransit and TARTA Flex services will be free of charge on Tuesday, Feb. 11, as approved by TARTA’s Board of Trustees.

U.S. Rep. Grim assigned as ranking member for House Transportation Committee

State Rep. Michele Grim (D-Toledo) announced last month that she has been assigned as ranking member for the House Transportation Committee for the 136th General Assembly.

“I am thrilled to continue in my role as ranking member on the House Transportation Committee from the 135th General Assembly. Communities rely on the essential funds our committee will delegate during the transportation budget,” said Grim. “I look forward to working with all my colleagues over the course of the 136th General Assembly to continue to deliver results for Ohioans.”

The House Transportation Committee will focus on the work of the transportation budget, vehicle regulation and expanding access to all modes of transportation.

TARTA secures electric bus grant from EPA, ODOT

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Department of Transportation have announced grants of more than $12.8 million to Ohio transit agencies to replace aging diesel buses with zero-emission models, including close to $3 million to the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA).

In TARTA’s case, the Diesel Emission Reduction Grant (DERG) will allow $2,876,400, or 80 percent of the cost for replacing three model year 2008 diesel buses with electric vehicles. This is in addition to the 11 other grant-funded full-sized electric buses scheduled to arrive at TARTA later this year.

Changes bring Route 3 services to Lott Industries

TARTA’s winter service changes increased service to Lott Industries for those working there, and shifted the way that service was delivered. TARTA’s crosstown Route 3 – which previously had only traveled to Lott every other trip and on a varied schedule – now runs every 60 minutes, with every trip stopping at both Lott and near Swan Park Apartments on Brookview Dr.

Toledo Opera partners with iHeart Media, Inc. to rebrand concert series

Toledo Opera is rebranding its popular Opera Outdoors series to Opera ‘Round Town. With this new name and expanded vision, Opera ‘Round Town will bring pop-up community concerts to audiences across Northwest Ohio, presented both indoors and outdoors. This initiative is made possible with support from iHeart Media, Inc., the presenting sponsor of Opera ‘Round Town.

Toledo City Council settles lawsuits, approved housing development

From the This Week in Toledo newsletter: On Jan. 14, Toledo City Council settled lawsuits from two residents who were seriously injured by Toledo Police during George Floyd protests for $800,000; settled a lawsuit with former public bench contractor Fuel Outdoor of Toledo for $145,000; and approved the Tremainsville Farms housing development.

Also on Tuesday, the Lucas County Commissioners voted to join the newly created Ohio Large Urban Counties Alliance. The alliance, which Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken chairs, brings together the six largest counties in Ohio to lobby the state government for more support of urban population centers.

Paramount Dental rebrands

Paramount Dental has rebranded to HRI Dental & Vision, effective January 2025. The dental insurance company was founded almost four decades ago as Health Resources, Inc., and later made the transition to the Paramount Dental name. The business stated in a press release that it’s excited to pay homage to its humble beginnings and better capture its ever-evolving product lines with this name change.

Upcoming Events

Sip, Savor & Stroll patrons can win a gift card prize pack

The Heights Toledo recently announced that patrons of downtown Toledo’s Sip, Savor, & Stroll: A Downtown Martini and Mocktail Experience, running from now until Feb. 23, can visit any of the participating bars and restaurants, take a photo of their featured drink using the hashtag #SipSavorStroll, and tag @downtowntoledo in their post. On Feb. 24, a winner will receive a gift card prize pack. Learn more about the event here.

419 Singles Launch and kick-off party

419singles was created by Lisa Lento Dunn (the Suburban Socialite on TikTok) for more dating fun) who decided to change the dating game in her community! It’s described as creating classy, fun places and spaces for meetups and events geared towards other singles wanting to date in an intentional way. Open to singles in the greater Toledo area or a 60 mile radius.

When & Where: Kick-off party is on Feb. 8 at Bar Louie.
GRAMMY® Award-winning vocalist Warren Haynes Band

Warren Haynes, the GRAMMY® Award-winning vocalist, songwriter, guitar legend, producer, and Gov’t Mule frontman will be coming to Stranahan Theater with his Warren Haynes Band on their Million Voices Whisper 2025 Tour.

When & Where: Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Stranahan Theater.
Toledo Opera Returns with South Pacific

The Toledo Opera will present Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. The Toledo Opera will also host a free Pre-Opera Talk one hour before each show in the Grand Lobby of the Valentine Theatre.

Former Toledo Opera Resident Artist and regional soprano Grace Wipfli will provide historical context and insight and be available to take questions after the talk.

When & Where: Friday, Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. at the Valentine Theatre.
TPS Strategic Interplay Chess Tournament on February 15

The Toledo Public Schools Strategic Interplay Chess Tournament will be held at the Toledo Museum of Art. Area students from 3rd to 12th grades are eligible to enter. $5 entrance fee at door. Email ldm43528@gmail.com for more details.

When & Where: Saturday, Feb. 15 at the Toledo Museum of Art. Check-in is at 11 a.m. and the tournament starts at noon.

Driver’s ed privatization fails teens

By
Signal Statewide
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An image from video created by the Ohio Valley Educational Service Center that explains expanded driver’s education options for students. (Photo Credit: Ohio Valley ESC YouTube)
Some young Ohioans are unable to drive legally, limiting their job options and ability to participate in extracurricular activities. But some are pushing to return driver’s ed to schools
This story was originally published by Signal Statewide. Sign up for their free newsletters at SignalOhio.org/StateSignals. Statewide is a media partner of the Toledo Free Press.

By Andrew Tobias | Signal Statehouse

Homer Weekly realized the state had a big problem around 2017, when the private driver’s ed school he ran with his wife in Morgan County started seeing students from places farther and farther outside his small southeastern Ohio community. 

“We were getting students from Westerville,” Weekly said, referring to the Columbus suburb 90 miles away. “Parents told us their kids were on waiting lists of over 90 to start driving lessons. That’s when we knew it had become a crisis.”

This type of training used to commonly be provided by high schools. But Weekly, a retired educator, opened his school in 1993, shortly after state lawmakers privatized the industry.

Today, Weekly works for a new, fast-growing school-based driver’s ed program based in Zanesville. It’s on the cutting edge of an effort by Gov. Mike DeWine and others to try to revive public driver’s ed.

In interviews and public comments, state officials and advocates describe a failed privatization effort, particularly for rural and poor urban areas. The result has been a system with limited enrollment slots, high prices and slim profit margins for operators. 

In turn, many 16- and 17-year-old Ohioans are unable to drive legally. 

This limits their job opportunities and their ability to participate in extracurricular activities. It also places them at a higher risk for crashes if they get their licenses after they turn 18 without driver’s ed, according to a state-funded 2022 study conducted by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania. Of course, kids do get behind the wheel regardless.

Ohio officials said of the 113 fatal crashes in 2023 that involved teenage drivers, the teen driver lacked a license or permit in 23 percent of those crashes. Ohio officials don’t track exactly how many teens are unable to access driver’s ed. But advocates and people in the industry are aware of the problem. 

A different state-funded study completed in 2023 by the same researchers found that teenagers who live in poorer neighborhoods around Columbus were four times less likely to complete driver’s education than others. 

“It’s a huge, huge problem, even for families that have the ability to pay for access to it,” said Kristy Amy, chief of programs for Future Plans, a Geauga County-based nonprofit that works to fight poverty in Appalachian Ohio. 

How driver’s education works – and doesn’t work – in Ohio

In Ohio, there are two paths to becoming a licensed driver. One applies to 16- and 17-year-olds, who must get 24 hours of classroom instruction — this increasingly is being offered online — and eight hours of in-car training before they can get their license, among other requirements.

The other applies to everyone 18 and up, who must simply pass a driving test and a written exam and undergo a test of their eyesight.

For new drivers under 18, education options can be limited, either because of affordability, or, in the case of rural areas, physical proximity. 

Quantifying the problem is difficult. Ten counties in Ohio — Adams, Brown, Harrison, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Paulding, Pike, Vinton and Wyandot — have no schools offering driver training, according to the state government’s list of licensed providers. 

But state officials say their records may not capture the true picture, since the records may just show the providers’ corporate headquarters and not any ancillary facilities, and since schools may offer driver training in a wide area.

Still, advocates and industry officials say there’s clearly a widespread problem in two types of communities – poorer, urban areas where many residents can’t afford driver’s education and in rural areas, where people can’t afford driver’s education and may not have a nearby option.

“Driver’s ed’s expensive,” said Mike Belcoure, manager of driver’s education for AAA Alliance Inc., one of Ohio’s major AAA clubs. “There’s no better way to put it. It is expensive and it prices, unfortunately, some people out of the market.”

AAA Alliance’s in-car driver’s training instruction, based in and around Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, costs $650 per student, Belcoure said. Depending on the market, prices can range as low as $400 and as high as $950, he said.

Families face a waitlist for driver’s education classes

Another issue is waitlists. State law requires students to complete driver’s education within six months. So a student who completes classroom training must also be able to quickly find a driver’s training school with availability. 

But the waitlists lengthen for providers further away from major cities, he said. 

“You go out to the eastern part of the state, it becomes tough. There are, we call them in the industry, driver’s ed deserts where the supply’s just so low, it is hard for students to find,” Belcoure said.

Some young Ohioans are unable to drive legally, limiting their job options. But some are pushing to return to driver’s ed to schools. (Photo Credit: Mary Ellen Huesken / Signal Cleveland)

AAA is a nonprofit, member-owned cooperative, and driver’s education is part of its mission. But for mom-and-pop, for-profit operators trying to get started, starting and running a driver’s training school is a difficult proposition. 

Major costs for driving schools include buying and insuring vehicles, and hiring instructors who are willing to get in the car with inexperienced teenage drivers. Some schools were forced to close during the coronavirus pandemic and haven’t reopened.

This explains why private schools are more likely to be available in big cities, where they can count on higher volumes of students.

“Driver training is a difficult business model,” said Kimberly Schwind, assistant director of the Ohio Traffic Safety Office, part of the Department of Public Safety. “Instructors don’t get paid a lot. So it’s difficult to find instructors. You need instructors to find kids. If you pay instructors more, you have to raise prices more. And it’s already too high for most families. It’s a difficult situation.”

One major rural driver’s education business, Capabilities Inc., is able to meet its bottom line in part by doing work for the government. The company, which is based in Saint Marys with satellite locations around the western, central and southern part of the state, does a significant amount of business by offering training to developmentally disabled adults, which makes it eligible for local and state funding.

Owners Bill and Karen Blumhorst say their company also offers traditional under-18 driver’s training for $450 in Saint Marys because they’re committed to their community. 

But, in the roughly 25 years their company has been in business, “There definitely are times we’ve discussed, is it financially prudent to keep on providing the service?” Karen Blumhorst said.

DeWine calls for expanded driver’s ed requirements

Despite the existing system’s limitations, DeWine late last year announced he’d like to change state law to require all new drivers, and not just 16- and 17-year olds, to go through driver’s ed before getting their license. 

The proposal got some wider news coverage due to issues faced in Springfield, where a mass influx of Haitian migrants has introduced a large number of drivers who are unfamiliar with U.S. driving laws.

DeWine has taken other steps in the past couple of years to address driver’s education availability, such as creating a scholarship program targeted at rural and urban areas. State officials say their Drive to Succeed scholarship program spent $3 million paying to put 5,500 students – or about $550 per student – through driver’s education. 

At a Springfield City Commission meeting in October, DeWine’s public safety director, Andy Wilson, said the governor and Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine met with insurance industry executives in the summer of 2024 to discuss the plan to boost driver’s education requirements. 

After commission officials raised concerns about the price of driver’s ed, Wilson acknowledged the lack of existing access. He said it traces back to state officials’ decision to move driver’s ed out of public schools in the early 1990s.

“The state privatized it. And when they did they radically altered the model, they radically altered accessibility, and they radically altered capacity. So yes, there is a problem.”

In recent comments to reporters, DeWine said he’ll be talking to lawmakers about ways to expand driver’s ed access soon, possibly via the state budget bill he’s planning to release next week.

“This is something I think that is very needed. There’s a lot of, I think, support for that out there. So we’ll be talking more to the legislature about that in the months to come,” DeWine said.

A possible blueprint to expand driver’s ed opportunities

The new driver’s education program that Homer Weekly runs in Zanesville could offer a blueprint for how the state will approach this issue.

Weekly works for a public school-based driver’s education program called the Muskingum Ohio Valley Educational Service Center Driving School that’s supported by two different education service centers, government agencies that provide support services to local districts.

Local education service officials launched the program in October 2022 using federal coronavirus relief money. The program has expanded thanks to a $1 million state grant in January 2024, awarded by the DeWine administration as part of the state effort to expand driver’s training options. 

Weekly and his colleagues run what amounts to a franchise model for driver’s ed. Four core employees administer the program from offices in Zanesville and Cambridge, handling money, developing curriculum and hiring, training and evaluating drivers, among other responsibilities.

Students pay $350 — the very low end of the market price range. And participating school districts provide state-approved driver’s education, including in-car instruction. 

Its handful of employees include Weekly, who is a former assistant principal and school athletic director, and Richard Hall, a former superintendent at the Mid-East Career and Technology Centers in Zanesville. 

Program leaders say in-school driver’s education solves some of the major problems private providers face. 

First, direct government subsidies allow them to charge lower prices. Schools also can roll a major driver’s ed expense — vehicle insurance — into their existing fleet insurance for their school buses. 

Schools also help provide a pool of motivated driving instructors, in the form of teachers, bus drivers, cooks and other school employees. Two-thirds of the program’s instructors are school employees, officials said.

They also provide a centralized point to pick up kids and are able to more easily work around the students’ academic schedules.

The biggest burden the driving program poses, program officials say, is the cost of buying cars.

“We have schools in this area that do not offer driver’s ed through us. They stay out of the driver’s ed business, and I think they don’t understand how easy it is for them,” Hall said.

The state grant has allowed the program to grow rapidly. It began with 13 school districts, but today covers 30 districts in 18 counties ranging from Oxford near Cincinnati to the Toledo area. 

“I think, you know, it’s just going to catch fire, just like anything else, that it’ll be in almost every school in a couple years,” said Eastin Lewllyn, an official with the Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center that helps runs the program. 

The growth has happened with no real advertising, program officials said, and little news coverage. 

Program officials say that some private providers aren’t thrilled with their expansion, viewing it as the government competing with and threatening their livelihood. 

Private driver’s ed providers recently organized a trade group called the Ohio Driving School Association. The group didn’t return messages.

But officials at the Muskingum Ohio Valley Educational Service Center Driving School believe in their model, saying it prioritizes education, not profit.

“We’re fortunate by our model and being educationally based. If a kid needs something, we don’t need to charge you for it. We have enough resources to do that,” Hall said. “A small school doesn’t have that.”

Signal Statewide is a nonprofit news organization covering government, education, health, economy and public safety.

Special Report: Pt. 3 | Examining Toledo’s 2025 budget

By
Stephen Zenner
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0
(Figure 1)
Part 3 | The Budget Breakdown: This is the final of a 3-part story. This story looks into the proposed 2025 budget for the City of Toledo.
RELATED CONTENT: Part 1 | The Budget Breakdown
RELATED CONTENT: Part 2 | The Budget Breakdown

TOLEDO – The renovation of east Toledo streets and the Glass Center of Excellence, supported by a $31.3 million grant, are the two main economic development projects outlined in the 2025 budget, approved by Toledo City Council on Jan. 28.

The center will be “Ohio’s first innovation hub,” according to Gov. Mike DeWine’s website, and will “build on Toledo’s legacy as the ‘Glass Capital of the World’ to accelerate innovation and job growth in both the glass sector and solar industry, which relies heavily on glass.”

Unfortunately for Toledo, the center will be built in Perrysburg instead of the actual Glass City. 

“The DeWine-Husted [Ohio governor and Lt. governor] Administration developed the Ohio Innovation Hubs Program in partnership with the Ohio General Assembly last year to spur investment outside Ohio’s major metro areas,” the governor’s website states. 

“I do think Toledo will benefit,” Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said. “They could have picked any city, and they picked Toledo first,” for the first innovation hub. 

Kapszukiewicz said that regardless of the location of businesses, the city will benefit if Toledoans hold jobs with the center. But incentives are unclear as to why someone should move into the city of Toledo when compared with moving into one of the many suburbs available.

Blight, crime and higher taxes are enough to push many people away from settling inside the city, especially when businesses seem to be comfortable settling in places like Maumee and Perrysburg. 

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz in his office on the 22nd floor at 1 Government Center. (TFP Photo/Stephen Zenner)

Business in Toledo

Without new major investments from companies, Toledo seems to be stymied and struggling to maintain its current real estate.

Toledo experienced massive growth at the turn of the 20th century, with major investments from Willys-Overland, which would eventually become Jeep. In 1918, the first Jeep factory was the second largest auto manufacturing factory in the world, competing with Detroit’s auto industry contributions.

By 1925, 41 percent of all income in Toledo came from Jeep. 

Kapszukiewicz has often said in press conferences and on his podcast, Wednesdays with Wade, “Toledo’s big business is small business.” 

However, small businesses have been struggling in Toledo, and part of this struggle is undoubtedly the declining population.

Just in the waning months of 2024 into the new year, the Ottawa Tavern closed; The Flying Joe’s downtown Toledo location closed; Toledo Spirits closed; Heavy Brewing closed; and Three Dog Bakery closed their Toledo location, while both The Flying Joe and Three Dog Bakery are continuing operations in Perrysburg, a suburb that has seen consistent gradual population growth for the past 30 years.

Hopes are high for how Metroparks Toledo will cultivate economic investment with their Riverwalk, but the riverwalk echoes some of the traits of an earlier attempt cultivate investment through preparing a nice space.

Portside Festival Marketplace was Toledo’s attempt during the ’80s to create an aesthetically pleasing hub for smaller businesses along the Maumee River in Downtown Toledo.

“Toledo’s new marketplace was envisioned as the catalyst for downtown’s rebirth, and Rouse [the company that invested in the marketplace] asserted that it would have ‘a transforming impact for Toledo,’” from the book, Lost Toledo by David Yonke. 

This project was met with swift decline. 

The marketplace opened in 1984, plagued with criticisms about its parking and a very high-interest rate on the mortgage of the building. People were not interested in traveling into town to shop when they already lived in the suburbs with their own shopping centers, and by 1990 the marketplace was closed.

Later, the building was turned into COSI and now the Imagination Station, currently a thriving nonprofit, but not a business center providing economic lift to the city.  

Try, try again

Another more recent blunder for Toledo dealt with the hopes placed on the Fresno, Calif. company, Bitwise, which promised to move into the Jefferson Center, providing real economic support to the city through job training and creation.

The Jefferson Center at 1300 Jefferson Ave. in downtown Toledo. (TFP Photo/Stephen Zenner)

Unfortunately, Bitwise imploded in 2023 and the owners pleaded guilty to an over a $100 million fraud scheme.

Making the best of an imperfect situation, Kapszukiewicz told the Free Press to watch what businesses move into the newly renovated Jefferson Center, although nothing is confirmed for now. Had Bitwise held up their part of the deal, Toledo’s economic development may have dynamically improved.

Local community member, Chris Hanley, pastor for Glenwood Lutheran Church, applauded Kapszukiewicz for his work in trying to spin Toledo as “on the up and up” during the Toledo Ambassador Academy program, but he also looks back on when he first heard of the Bitwise deal.

“I remembered thinking, ‘This seems too good to be true,'” he recalled.

The main challenges Toledo faces are in remediating blight, crime and securing major investments in the city to fix its revenue problem. Parks are highlighted by Toledo hopefuls as a means to bring people into the city, but more substantial incentives are required when the suburbs offer better housing, better tax rates and safer neighborhoods. 

Perhaps the most substantial step forward in the new budget are the newly secured bond ratings and the stabilization fund of $60 million, which will allow the city to borrow with better interest rates. 

The continued building of the IT Department for the city shows promise, especially with Engage Toledo doubling its numbers and moving many of the city’s services online and into a more convenient package. 

Leslie Czyżewski answers calls at Engage Toledo. She is one of nine customer service representatives who works in the call center. (TFP Photo/Lori King)

But until the city can find a solution to its revenue problem, it will continue to work overtime on securing grants to bring money back into the city, something it has done very well.

Without a greater pace of restoration, Toledo’s population will continue to decline. 

Population in Toledo declines by roughly 10,000 people every five years. From 2015 to 2020, the decline was 280,000 to 270,000, and before then, some of the decline was more severe. The most recent record for Toledo’s population was in 2023, where Toledo was estimated to have a population around 265,000.

(Figure 2)

With a new Republican president in office, it’s unclear what kind of money the city can expect to receive from the federal government, but, historically, it is unlikely Toledo will receive anything like a second round of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. 

“These are absolutely uncertain times,” Kapszukiewicz said. “No one ever knows what the future is going to hold. 

Potential for the future

Late 2025 is the rough estimate for the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, a six-lane border crossing connecting the United States and Canada and leading straight into I-75. An incredible amount of potential exists for further economic development in Toledo, as this connection to Canada will substantially improve international trade.

2024 ended with a bad taste for one of Toledo’s most iconic employers, Jeep, who threatened to layoff 1,100 workers, but then backtracked this move in December.

President Donald Trump‘s largely publicized tariffs may have influenced Stellantis’s [Jeep’s parent corporation] choice to keep jobs in Ohio, as the president has been saying he will put a 25 percent general tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods.

It is unclear if Trump will follow through on his tariff plans, but there are fears that a general flat rate tariff would be detrimental to both the Canadian and northern United States economies.

“The United States and Canada are each other’s largest trading partners, for almost everything,” said Gregory Gardner, a professor of economics at SUNY Potsdam, in an article from North Country Public Radio (NCPR). Gardner said there have been disputes between the U.S. and Canada concerning trade in the past, but called the flat rate 25 percent tariff a, “nuclear strike on trade.”

Any changes to the negotiations could lead to different outcomes, including lowered tariff percentages, more specifically tariffed goods over a flat-rate tariff or any number of other concessions. But for now, Toledo will have to wait to see how it pans out.

“It is prudent to be cautious and conservative and to try to position your budget and your city in the best possible way for whatever the future holds,” Kapszukiewicz said. “I think this budget does that again. We, at the end of this year, will have a $60 million rainy day fund to help prepare us for that rainy day, if a rainy day comes.”

Kapszukiewicz has cast his vision effectively to shake off the “rustbelt” labels associated with Toledo, especially through the Ambassador Academy program, and continues to think positively. 

“I think Toledo is ready to grow,” he said, and highlighted Detroit, Buffalo and Cincinnati as cities with recent growth. “If those cities can do it, Toledo can do it.”

RELATED CONTENT: WTOL story | Toledo City Council approves budget

The Humorists

By
Steven J Athanas
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0

Cartoon by Steven J Athanas for the Toledo Free Press.

Special Report: Pt. 2 | Examining Toledo’s 2025 budget

By
Stephen Zenner
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0
Toledo councilman George Sarantou, 2nd from right, and Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, right, break down the 2025 city budget for the media in November. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
Part 2 | The Budget Breakdown: This is a 3-part story that looks into the 2025 budget for the City of Toledo, passed by Toledo City Council on Jan. 28
RELATED CONTENT: Part 1 | The Budget Breakdown

> Continued from Part 1 <

TOLEDO – Not as openly touted in the budget were the additional positions added to the Department of Information Technology (IT), a full 26.75 FTEs (full-time equivalent).

This includes more than double the previous year’s Engage Toledo positions, up to 34 FTEs from 12.5 in 2024. 

“The budgeted FTEs for IT have increased compared to the 2024 budget due to the consolidation of the Engage Toledo Call Center with the Department of Public Utilities call center,” the budget summary explained, helping shine light on the 31.5 FTEs taken from the Department of Public Utilities.

The Department of Information Technology’s added 26.75 FTEs at the expense of the Department of Public Utilities’ loss of 31.5 FTEs accounts for the largest FTE changes in the budget, and also puts in perspective the boast of eliminating 55 government positions.

Total FTEs for the 2025 year are 2,990.43, which constitutes -54.30 from the previous year, but bear in mind that 26.75 FTEs of the 34 Public Utility Call Center were added back to the budget in a different department.

“We eliminated 55 vacant positions in our budget,” Kapszukiewicz told the Free Press. “In other words, if these positions were being funded and weren’t filled, that kind of told us that the service wasn’t, maybe, essential.

(Figure 1)

“So, we eliminated the funding for those positions, which saved money, freed up money. That is a sign of, I think, good budgeting,” he added.

The elimination of those positions put Toledo in a position to receive $60 million in savings by the end of 2025.

“The city’s long-term goal is to maintain a fund balance reserve of approximately two months’ of operating expense in the General Fund,” the budget states. 

Moves like these are what Kapszukiewicz believes led to the city’s improved bond rating (something akin to a credit score for cities), which was improved by Moody’s to an A2 rating, and Standard and Poor increased their rating to an A from an A-. 

“Standard and Poor (S&P) and Moody’s [Analytics CRE] don’t care about politics; they just care about the nuts and bolts, and for them to bless our budget the way they did, I think should give citizens confidence that we’re moving in the right direction,” noted Kapszukiewicz.

Funding, generally

Other funds on the books:

  • Capital Fund budget of $81.4 million
  • A roads budget of $27 million
  • A capital improvement to general fund transfer of $24 million
  • An across-the-board 4 percent wage increase for all Toledo city employees, not just police and firefighters. 

Not every comparison is one-to-one, but many of the challenges Toledo faces are similar to Detroit’s and other cities, whose economies relied heavily on manufacturing.

These challenges include, but aren’t limited to, declining populations, the decline of the manufacturing industry, higher crime rates and the persistence of blight, all problems that require extra funds to tackle.

Of that total of $365 million in the General Fund, $231,303,710 comes directly from Toledo citizens’ income taxes, and this is the main revenue used by the City of Toledo to fund the General Fund.

(Figure 2)

Currently, Toledo charges a 2.5 percent income tax, higher than most of the surrounding suburbs who charge between 1.5 percent to 2.25 percent income tax rates. 

“Our income tax collections are as high as they’ve ever been. If we were facing economic peril, that wouldn’t be the case,” said Kapszukiewicz about the total amount of income tax taken in, not the rate. 

Comparatively, the city of Detroit’s income tax rate is 2.4 percent, and their property tax rate is 2.24 percent to Toledo’s 2.43 percent property tax rate. Detroit received $892,898,710 for their population of 633K in their general fund from “taxes, assessments and interest,” which is roughly 60 percent greater revenue per-person in spite of their lower tax percentages. 

Detroit’s allocation would be about $592 million instead of their $892 million if they collected revenue like Toledo does. 

Considering Detroit’s 33 percent poverty rate to Toledo’s 24 percent, and Toledo’s $45,000 yearly median income to the Census Bureau’s reported $39,000 median income for Detroiters, it’s clear Detroit receives a different source of taxable revenue to supplement their expenses. 

Work with what you’ve got

In defense of the budget, the mayor has said that “Toledo doesn’t have a spending problem; it has a revenue problem.” 

Detroit fills out their General Fund with taxes it gets from a “recurring wagering tax” on retail and internet sports betting. Detroit expects to gross $282.6 million in taxes in 2025 from sports betting alone. In 2020, the wagering tax only grossed $130 million, but since then, including last year, the tax on sports betting has pulled in upwards of $250 million, more than Toledo’s entire income tax revenue. 

Morally questionable to some, betting may not be ideal, but the results are clear: Taxes on betting pay off. And a considerable amount of the betting doesn’t require a physical location, as the wagering tax collected $158 million from Detroit’s three casinos last year and a separate $106 million from online sports betting. 

Toledo’s position in Ohio makes it more difficult for the city to benefit from a wagering tax, as the state itself taxes betting, splitting the majority of the tax revenue between Ohio’s 88 counties. As a host city of betting, due to the Hollywood Casino, Toledo would only be able to receive 5 percent of the total taxes taken in by a wagering tax.

If Ohio’s tax system was applied to Detroit, it would only receive $12.5 million of $250 million it would regularly gross.

Regardless, Detroit did much more than tax betting to bring in money, and also pursued grants to invest in its city, as Toledo has. Decades of work in Detroit has paid off.

“For the first time since 1957, the city of Detroit is growing again — not Wayne County — the city of Detroit,” Kapszukiewicz emphasized. 

On their website, the City of Detroit lists these accomplishments as the behind-the-scenes work leading to the recent growth in the Motor City, all of which require heavy funding and investment. 

  • $1 billion invested in more than 4,600 units of affordable housing over the past five years 
  • Job growth with more than 25,000 more Detroiters employed since 2014  
  • A return to investment-grade bond status for the first time since 2009 
  • $3 billion in added wealth for Detroit’s Black homeowners since 2014, according to a University of Michigan study 
  • Reductions in crime, beating national trends, including the fewest homicides in 57 years 
  • Successfully hosting the largest ever NFL Draft at 775,000 people in over three days 

The fight against blight

Along with these steps, Detroit has actively fought blight aggressively in their city for decades. 

“Blight removal is critical to the resurgence of cities across Michigan,” said U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, (D-Mich.), in a Detroit Free Press article.

Likewise, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, (D-Mich.), said in 2016, ahead of a federal allocation to remove blight, that “we have the most sophisticated blight removal program in the country.”

Quality housing and a healthy job market are the two key factors Rachel Blakeman, director of Purdue University Fort Wayne’s Community Research Institute, said were keys to Fort Wayne’s recent growth.

Growth in Fort Wayne has been noticed by the U.S. Census Bureau, who labeled Fort Wayne as the fastest growing large city in the Midwest, and in 2022, Fort Wayne surpassed Toledo’s population for the first time.

“Since Fort Wayne hasn’t annexed in any statistically meaningful way in many years, this growth is organic – either by more people moving into the city or more babies being born – rather than a redrawing of the city limits,” Blakeman said in a quote touted on the city of Fort Wayne’s website.

These population increases are the product of a myriad of factors, but one common factor between both Detroit and Fort Wayne is an annual governmental allocation by both cities to deal with blight. 

An “Unsafe Building Fund” was established in the early 2020s, and last year Fort Wayne gave $2,970,646 to oversee. According to the Fort Wayne budget: “The repair or demolition of those buildings which are dilapidated, substandard, or unfit for human habitation and which constitute a hazard to the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the City…” 

In the upcoming year, the Indiana city set aside $2,487,205 for the fund, and Detroit approved a plan to do likewise with $34.2 million in their Blight Fund. 

Local housing efforts

Toledo’s main organization dealing with property remediation is the Lucas County Land Bank, whose CEO spoke on some of the housing challenges in Toledo. 

“We have a very old neighborhood housing stock,” said David Mann, CEO and president of the Land Bank. “The average age of a house built in Toledo is built before 1940.

David Mann. (TFP Photo/Stephen Zenner)

“Anything that old is going to need ongoing maintenance, and because of a lack of wealth in our community, because of challenges over the last generation, much of that housing stock has not been maintained in the way that it needs to,” he added.

In the Economic Development part of the 2025 budget – a $28.5 million grant for Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods from the U.S. Department of Transportation to make street improvements to Front and Main Streets in East Toledo, adjacent to the ongoing Metroparks Toledo Riverwalk projects – is cited as a means for providing safer, better connected and “more visually appealing” streetscape for east Toledo; however, there isn’t a concise plan to deal with this aging housing stock in Toledo. 

“By using data analytics to identify and prioritize blighted properties, engaging community members in the process, and being more cost-effective than traditional approaches, cities such as Detroit, Baltimore, and New Orleans have been able to reduce blight rates, and therefore reduce the associated negative impacts, while revitalizing the local community,” wrote Natalia Gulick De Torres, a graduate student at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and research assistant for Data-Smart City Solutions, in an article titled Cities Are Not Overbuilt, But Underdemolished: Data-Driven Strategies for Blight Removal.

Negative impacts of blight are many, including reticence for business investors, heightened crime rates, (in some cases) heightened health risks, lower property values and lower revenues overall for the community. 

The Lucas County Land Bank approaches blight by demolishing properties that are too far gone, renovating properties themselves or handing the properties over to people to renovate them on a timeline. 

A percentage of delinquent property taxes serves as the land bank’s most reliable funding source. 

“It’s a mechanism that only exists in Ohio,” Mann said, and explained that “Ohio county land banks are able to access a portion of the penalty and interest, so, last year, that was about $1.7 million. After that, we either generate the income ourselves through the work that we do, or we compete for grants.

“We are a piece of the puzzle at the Land Bank … but I don’t want to pretend to you that the $1.7 million that we have access to a year is anything close to what’s needed to actually meet the community’s overall needs,” Mann said. 

The division of Urban Beautification houses the city of Toledo’s demolition program, which currently has 491 properties planned or actively in process of demolition. Most of these demolitions fall into the City of Toledo’s Districts 1, 3 and 4, most heavily concentrated in the Junction and Englewood neighborhoods, but are fairly present in many neighborhoods surrounding downtown, uptown and the Warehouse District.

(Figure 3)

“All of this is very, very, very expensive,” Mann said, referring to the process of building, renovating or demolishing housing. “Because housing is just very expensive by its nature, but making these kinds of investments now means that even though they’re expensive, this is as cheap as it’s ever going to get.

“If we continue to defer some of these challenges for another decade, well, they’ll be way more expensive 10 years from now,” he reasoned.

With better housing, it’s likely Toledo’s crime rate will drop, and with better housing and safer neighborhoods, it’s likely companies will invest.

“Our neighborhoods will be more stable if we can continue to invest in maintaining and preserving what is already here. It was very expensive to build this community out over the last 100 years, and the cheapest way for us to continue to support it is to make continued investments in that,” Mann said. 

Part 3 | The Budget Breakdown continues Jan. 31.
RELATED CONTENT: Part 1 | The Budget Breakdown
RELATED CONTENT: Part 3 | The Budget Breakdown

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