Barhite: Cedar Point ticket scam takes people for a ride on Facebook

March 18, 2012

The possibility of free Cedar Point tickets took a bunch of local people for a ride March 13. I was among those excited enough to think that Cedar Point was giving away tickets.

The promotion read, “Receive 4 Free Tickets to Cedar Point (Limited Time Only). Cedar Point is currently giving away 4 free tickets to each Facebook user for a limited time!”

It was a two-step process to get the free tickets. First, the Facebook user had to click on the link and share the page. Then, the user had to add a comment like, “Thanks, I love Cedar Point!”

That real-looking promotion caused quite the frenzy with people leaving messages like, “Thanks, I love Cedar Point!” “I have never been to Cedar point and I would LOVE to be able to go.” “THANKS, Cedar Point is awesome.”

I was skeptical, but decided to try it. Who doesn’t want free Cedar Point tickets?

I covered Cedar Point as part of my news beat when I worked as a journalist in Sandusky from 2001-07. It seemed like something Cedar Point might do for its fans, but it seemed unlikely as well.

Tickets to the park aren’t cheap and the promotion made it seem like everyone who shared the link would get four passes.

Well, the thought that “everyone” who shared the link would get tickets quickly faded to realization that “no one” would when I was asked to enter personal information and then taken to a site for unrelated promotions.

I began to suspect a scam, clicked out of the link and warned my sisters, who I had shared the link with.

The nagging thought that this was a scam was confirmed a few hours later when Bryan Edwards, a Cedar Point spokesman and friend, got on my Facebook and confirmed that this promotion was not real.

I followed up for additional details the next day. Edwards said that neither Cedar Point nor its official Facebook page was involved in this promotion.

“My personal Facebook page was lit up yesterday with questions about this (fake) offer,” Edwards said in an email.

Cedar Point tried to combat the unwarranted excitement by posting the following on its page: “There is a current Facebook scam advertising free tickets to Cedar Point. There are no ticket giveaways today. Please do not click or share the link — your account information may be compromised. The only contest we are running is our Climbing to a Million Contest, found within our Official Facebook page. We apologize for the situation and are working on finding a solution.”

Edwards said the best way to know if Cedar Point is doing an actual promotion is to visit www.cedarpoint.com, which has a link to the park’s official Facebook page. If the promotion isn’t there, it isn’t happening.

That leaves one question: “Who’s taking me to Cedar Point?

Osburn: Politics at the Pump

Ben Osburn

March 18, 2012

The issue of high gasoline prices has become a political hot potato, one that each presidential candidate, as well as President Barack Obama, has weighed in on.

As of March 14, the average gasoline price was $3.81 a gallon, the highest it’s ever been at this time of year.

Politicians always make it a point to say that the United States is dependent on oil from the war-torn Middle East and to some extent this is true.

But according to 2011 estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, by far the most oil comes from Canada, at about 2,800 barrels a day. Following in a distant second is Saudi Arabia, then Mexico.

Canada is of particular importance because it is there where the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would start. The pipeline, temporarily nixed by the Obama administration, would start in the oil sands of Calgary, Alberta, and transport crude oil to refineries in Texas.

The pipeline has brought controversy, due to the alleged harmful effects of the oil on the environment. The pipeline would route over the Ogallala Aquifer in Nebraska, sparking concerns over whether it would dirty drinking water for 2 million people.

The Obama administration largely rejected the pipeline because of a “rushed deadline” passed by Congress. It encouraged TransCanada, the company building it, to reapply for a permit that does not include going over the Aquifer or the Nebraska Sand Hills.

Amidst slipping approval ratings and an energy secretary, Steven Chu, who recently repealed comments about boosting the price of gas to European levels, the Obama administration has been quick to tout its achievements in domestic energy production. It cites the improvements in domestic oil production, which it claims is at the highest level since 2003.

The administration touts the success of the “cash for clunkers” program and points to increases in auto fuel economy as a means of weaning the country away from oil consumption. It also cites increases in natural gas production, the likes of which haven’t been seen in 30 years, and a surge in green energy production.

Obama defended his “all of the above,” energy strategy and said there is no quick fix to rising gas prices.

Not surprisingly, the GOP candidates have been quick to lambaste the president’s energy policy.

All the candidates approve of building Keystone now. Former Gov. Mitt Romney has taken an interesting approach, saying that the country “deserves” the Canadian oil. Rick Santorum has stated that the building of the pipeline is “absolutely essential,” and that it would provide a safe, way for jobs to be created and oil to be transported. Newt Gingrich approves of the pipeline as well, and posits that the Obama administration has continuously rejected measures that would decrease gasoline prices.

Gingrich arguably has the boldest energy plan. His campaign claims that if elected, he would drive gasoline prices to below $2.50 a gallon. His plan to do this not only involves approving Keystone, but reopening areas on the Gulf of Mexico for energy exploration, and ending the ban on oil shale development in the American West.

However, in response to this, Obama labeled $2 gas aspirations a “political move.”

In addition to supporting Keystone and drilling for domestic oil and natural gas with the rest of the candidates, the Santorum campaign has taken a tough stance against government energy subsidies. If elected, Santorum said he would eliminate all government energy subsidies and tax credits. This would include money for renewable energy sources like wind and solar energy, as well as tax credits for hybrid vehicles. Doing so would free up the marketplace for other forms of domestic energy production.

Santorum believes that it is not the government’s role to force green technology into the marketplace.

The Romney campaign has put particular emphasis on nuclear energy production. If elected, Romney says he would expand Nuclear Regulatory Commission capabilities to allow for more nuclear reactors to be developed. While not taking as harsh of a stance as Santorum against alternative energy, Romney would reduce its operational funding and shift the money to fund more apolitical measures, like basic alternative energy research.

✯ Ben Osburn is a graduate student in political science at the University of Toledo.

Miller: What the world needs now

Michael Miller

March 18, 2012

I have read enough John Irving novels to know it is impossible to construct a figurative protective dome around one’s family.

As our sons, Evan, 5, and Sean, 3, experience more of the world and its many wonders, I struggle with the balance between letting them explore and stumble or being a “helicopter parent,” hovering, removing obstacles and trying to stay one step ahead with an endless roll of Bubble Wrap, which hides the world even as it softens it.

Evan is rounding the corner toward the end of kindergarten, and it has been thrilling to watch his exponential growth. Hearing him count to 100 and watching him read his way through beginner’s books, sounding out unfamiliar words until they click, are among my life’s great joys.

I did not grow up in a particularly warm or loving household, which was great training for being a journalist. But I had some tremendous role models in friends’ families, and married a woman from a large, close and loving family, so I understand the importance of expressing love to family and friends.

If Evan and Sean know nothing else about life, they know they are loved. Their mom and I tell them openly and freely, not from habit, but from overwhelmed hearts filled with gratitude for their health and very existence. The boys hear “I love you” from their parents, their grandparents, their many aunts and uncles, their extended family and the groups of friends in our lives.

We are teaching them that, in addition to all the love they are blessed to have in their lives, there is an even greater love promised to them through their creator and heavenly host. The Cleavers, Waltons, Huxtables, Barones, Hecks and Dunphys got nothin’ on us.

But outside the protective parameters of home and family, Evan is learning some tough lessons about love and expression. He recently told a friend on the bus “I love you,” and the friend reacted by calling him weird and pushing him away. This hurt Evan’s feelings and led to a dinner table discussion about what love means to different people and the reality that not everyone shares their feelings the same way, or is open to having other’s feelings shared with them.

It broke my heart to have to add conditions to Evan’s idea of unconditional love. How sad for the world that by 5 years old, some kids are already growing cynical and adverse to expressing or receiving love in its most innocent form.

A week after the bus incident, Evan demonstrated some remarkable resilience. He was assigned to fill in a poster about himself for his special week at school, and in the lines for “What makes you special?” he wrote, in his nascent yet confident block letters, “I love everybody in the world.”

Sean, who does everything he can to keep up with his big brother, said, “Me, too!” I know that won’t always be true. But it is for now, and I bless their little hearts for not yet wavering under the peer pressure that may one day pierce their loving outlook, but for now is being kept at bay.

You’ll read this someday, Evan and Sean, long after I am passed to dust, but even then, I want you to know that you were right to love, you are right to love, and that even now, separated as we are, I love you.

Bonus Evan story

Raising two sons, I am particularly sensitive to language and the power of words, and struggle with my vulgar tendencies.

In the first of what will undoubtedly be a long line of parental hypocrisies, I am working to keep them from employing words they may occasionally hear from me (especially in traffic). Recently, winding through a line at Westgate’s Costco, Evan was seated in the shopping cart, happily stuffed with free food samples (he is fascinated by the myriad samples offered at Costco; it could be a piece of bagel, fruit, something freshly cooked or plastic wrap from the floor, and he’s captivated by the offering).

He politely asked for a clerk’s attention and said, “Would you like to hear a funny noise?” “It had better be a polite noise,” I admonished.

The clerk agreed and Evan blew a benign raspberry on the back of his hand.

“That could have been worse,” I thought to myself.

“That was funny,” the clerk indulged, smiling at Evan’s halo of innocence.

“Yes, it sounded like a fart!” Evan said, smiling ear to ear, halo shattered as if by one of his beloved Angry Birds.

“Evan!” I chided. “That’s potty talk. Apologize.”

The clerk, who was understandably cracking up but trying not to encourage the boy, motioned that it was OK, but I was trying to look stern.

Evan apologized and looked contrite, but I still felt compelled to emphasize the rudeness of his mistake, so I played the nuclear option: “Son, you know how Nana would react if she heard you talking that way.”

That got his attention and drained the humor from the situation.

As we pushed the cart toward the door, I kept the “daddy eyes” trained on him to show I meant business about the potty talk, taking my eyes off the large container of apples in the cart, which split and tumbled, apples rolling away as if fleeing from their gastronomical fate.

“Damn it!” I said.

“Daddy,” Evan said, smiling. “Am I going to have to talk to Nana?”

I gave him an apple, leaned in close and blew a raspberry at him.

Kuron: The Tomahawk – a striking work of art

Frank Kuron

March 18, 2012

Community1812FBI Stolen Tomahawk — Hatchet plus art equals tomahawk, which held much ceremonial importance to the Native American

You know that classic scolding and have probably caught yourself repeating it to your own kids: “Don’t run around with those scissors, or somebody’s gonna get hurt!” I wonder if any Native American moms similarly admonished their warrior sons. Those boys grew into men who ran into battles with their favorite weapon in hand, the tomahawk, and usually somebody did get hurt.

By 1812, the Native Americans had already been trading for years with the white man to gain better weaponry. They still used the bow and arrow and knives, and were now accumulating their share of muskets; but they always had a special fondness for the tomahawk, or uh, the hatchet.

I can’t be the only one who mixes up those two terms. Are they interchangeable? Well, a few people throughout history have loosely used either name to describe any number of similar-appearing instruments. Today, when referring to a hatchet, it’s the one always having a slightly curved handle that is no more than a foot long. It sports a wedge-shaped metal head with a blade on one side and often a hammer head on the other. Many simply have a ring (or poll) that slips over the wooden shaft. The Native Americans and some frontiersmen used the hatchet more often as a tool than a weapon, but it was both.

The tomahawk design took the hatchet concept to the next level. I mean, there are bicycles and then there are Harleys, right? The name alone, tomahawk, has become synonymous with awesomeness. Even our most sophisticated cruise missiles, the ones that could target a squirrel from hundreds of miles away, carry the same appellation because in the right hands they are a precision weapon — with a ton of swagger.

The combination of a long, straight wooden handle and a weighted head made the Native American tomahawk a device that could strike an enemy swiftly and accurately. It was still the preferred weapon for close combat during the War of 1812 battles, as is historically evident in numerous paintings.

Tomahawks were not just constructed, however; they were crafted. The Native Americans embellished the wooden handles with exquisite carvings and ornamentation. They traded for the forged heads, which blacksmiths often beautifully engraved in meticulous detail. The side of the head opposing the blade took many shapes, such as a spike or hammer, but a pipe bowl was most popular — making these tomahawks not only instruments of war, but of peace.

Deliberations between white men and Native Americans were often concluded with the pipe/tomahawk being passed amongst them. The handle actually had a hole drilled its entire length and the inhaling end was variously tapered. Though stories abound, it would be wrong to assume that anything more robust than tobacco was lit in these pipes on formal occasions such as treaty signings. The pipe-smoking ceremony was actually religious in nature and tobacco was a sacred element. The smoke symbolized prayers wafting up to the Great Spirit, not unlike the Catholic practice of lighting candles. The use of hallucinogens in these situations would have been profane.

Some tomahawks were created strictly as grand gifts. Col. Henry Proctor, leader of the British forces throughout our Northwest Territory, presented the great Tecumseh, for his allegiance to the crown, a beautiful pipe/tomahawk engraved along the blade, “To Chief Tecumseh, From Col. Proctor, MDCCCXII.”

Tecumseh was known to reciprocate this gift-giving toward his white friends. In 1807, he presented then governor of Ohio, Thomas Worthington, a magnificent tomahawk which is still on display at Worthington’s Adena mansion, in Chillicothe, Ohio. Closer to home, John Waggoner, one of the first settlers of Fremont, Ohio, and the fourth great-grandfather of current Toledo resident Mr. Jay Waggoner, also received a Tecumseh tomahawk before the war broke out. John Waggoner served with the American forces at Fort Meigs in 1813 against his friend, but that gift has survived 200 years and was recently donated by the family to the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont. Adena and the Hayes Center are two great, history-laden day trips.

Frank Kuron is author of the War of 1812 book, “Thus Fell Tecumseh.” Email him at

kuronpubs@bex.net

Bugle Call: Upcoming events

The Wolcott House Museum Guild continues sponsoring free history lectures about our region at 10 a.m. Thursdays through March at the Maumee Branch Library Auditorium, 501 River Road.
The Western Lake Erie Region during the War of 1812 will be the focus of the annual Friends of Pearson March Sunday Series, at 2 p.m. each week in Macomber Lodge at Pearson Metropark. Upcoming sessions include: March 18, when Daniel Downing, education and operations chief at the River Raisin National Battlefield, will discuss the famous battle at the Monroe battlefield; and March 25, when local historian and author Larry Michaels will conclude the series with a session about Northwest Ohio’s best-known explorer, Peter Navarre, who played a role in the war.

Biden in Toledo: “America is coming back”

Caitlin McGlade

March 18, 2012

BidenUAW_Toledo_March2012_2 — Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the UAW Local 12 hall in Toledo March 15, 2012. Toledo Free Press photo

The United Auto Workers Local 12 Union hall on Ashland Avenue rang with rowdy hoots and hollers from hundreds of people gathering to see Vice President Joe Biden the morning of March 15.

Young children bearing broad grins perched on their parents’ shoulders, squirming and craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the stage. Middle-aged and elderly people alike waved signs and chanted “Obama’s for the people; we are the people!” in anticipation of Biden’s arrival. Packed between rails separating them from the stage, their energy sounded electrically charged.

Many of them were autoworkers themselves, present to hear Biden celebrate the industry’s revival.

Deborah McGaughey, a 57-year-old employee for the Chrysler Jeep plant, has worked in the industry for 29 years. She said she is personally thankful for Obama’s actions.

“He walked into a mess,” she said. “But he saved my job.”

Biden stressed this point to the crowds, sharing a story from his own childhood about his father making the long walk to his bedroom to tell him that he was going to move 156 miles away to look for a job.

Trapped in a city where jobs had dried up, Biden said, his father explained that once he found a job he’d move Biden and his mother there.

“A lot of you have made that long walk to your kids’ bedrooms,” Biden said. “Because of the actions of the president, things have changed today. Hundreds of thousands of workers are replacing the longest walks with a journey — it’s a journey that ends with workers who are able to go home and say, ‘I’ve got a job.’”

Biden criticized Republican opponents Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich for discrediting the success of the auto rescue. He called out Romney for his past prediction that Obama’s plan would make “GM the living dead” and for his 2008 statement that the country should “let Detroit go bankrupt.”

The crowd bellowed “Boo.”

Biden highlighted the fact that Jeep and Chrysler have started hiring thousands of employees and that plants are expanding. He said that the Republicans can’t deny that good jobs are being created so they’re trying various flawed arguments. Republicans have said that the private sector would have stepped in to save the industry, that the plan was just a “giveaway to union bosses” and that Ford Motor Co. would have filled the void if GM and Chrysler failed, he said.

But even Ford’s CEO Alan Mulally has said that had the companies failed, they would have pulled down the whole industry, Biden reminded his listeners.

The Obama administration faced a great deal of criticism before the auto rescue plan was implemented and still does today. Critics say it is unfair for some businesses to go through the bankruptcy process when the government extends aid to others.

Biden said now, though, the rise of the two companies are showing the opponents are “dead wrong” and what Obama did was right.

“This is a man with steel in his spine; he knew that resurrecting the industry wasn’t going to be popular and he knew he was taking a chance. But he believed,” Biden said. “He wasn’t going to give up on a million jobs in the iconic industry that America invented.”

After the speech, Rich DeVore, President of UAW Local 1435, stood outside on the lawn with some of his fellow auto workers. The union supports Biden because Obama supported them “when they were in a pinch,” DeVore said.

DeVore works at Chrysler in Perrysburg and said he sees evidence of the industry perking up first hand. He’s seen 35 new workers get hired within the past two weeks. About 13 others who left town for work elsewhere have been recalled recently, he said.

McGaughey, too, experiences the effect of government policy first hand. She said she liked how Biden called out the Republicans for their actions.

“They don’t care about the middle class,” she said. “Mitt Romney already said he doesn’t care about the poor.”

JEDZ: Regional cooperation ‘open for business’

Caitlin McGlade

March 18, 2012

LinkJEDZ — Boundaries and, as of March 2012, vacancies in the Maumee-Monclova joint economic development zone. Map by Feller, Finch & Associates Inc.

The city of Toledo had carried on like a “300-pound gorilla” up until the past 10 years.

At least, that’s Deputy Mayor Tom Crothers’ take on the city’s history of quietly buying up chunks of farmland in Monclova Township, taking care to purchase narrow strips of land to connect newly annexed property to the rest of the city. For example, Toledo owns two holes of Brandywine Golf Course for that reason.

Monclova Township wasn’t happy about it.

“Nobody liked it,” Crothers said. “Under the Bell administration we have a decidedly different approach, and that’s regional cooperation.”

Solid cooperation between the city and the township began in 2003, when Monclova Township voters approved the two entities partnering with Maumee to form a joint economic development zone (JEDZ). The area stretches along I-475 and extends to Strayer Road between Salisbury Road and the City of Maumee limit line.

A JEDZ is an agreement between municipalities and townships that allows townships to collect income tax on businesses and people working within its boundaries. Law does not permit townships to collect income taxes so they must rely on property taxes to bring in the bulk of their revenues. But when the housing market dives and the state government tightens its financial support for local governments, townships can easily run into trouble.

The entities involved in the JEDZ form a board and its members divide certain portions of the tax revenue that results. Then, some of the money is pooled and used to attract businesses to the area by, for example, offering tax rebates later.

This particular JEDZ splits the income tax revenue evenly between Maumee, Monclova and Toledo. Collections based on the 1.5 percent income tax totaled more than $778,500 in 2011.

The agreement benefits townships by filling budget holes caused by falling property tax revenue. It can benefit the cities involved by attracting more businesses and filling out the entire metropolitan region. And it can benefit a new or expanding business. After a business operates for a year, the board will select businesses located in the zone for tax rebates of up to $20,000 a year for up to 10 years. The formula is based on payroll and number of employees, said Chuck Hoecherl, Monclova Township trustee.

But, if you’re a business owner operating within the zone prior to the agreement and you don’t plan to hire more employees or expand, you’re out 1.5 percent of your earnings. If you’re an employee working and living in a township where you previously were not paying income tax, you’re out of luck, too.

That’s what happened to some employees at Jann’s Netcraft, a fishing supply company, when the JEDZ formed in 2004.

“The people who work here basically got a 1.5 percent reduction in their income,” said owner David Jankowski.

He and one of his employees, Robert Barnhart, took the JEDZ board to court through a series of filings that reached the Sixth District Court of Appeals. They tried to take the case to the Ohio Supreme Court when the lower court ruled the JEDZ lawful but the high court refused to hear the case.

Jankowski said he chose his location on Briarfield Road because it was close to I-475 and that the new income tax never threatened to run him out of business. However, his biggest objection to the JEDZ is that the area selected was already developed before the zone was declared.

In theory, JEDZ are helpful for economic development when they are designated in places that have little to no business or are in particularly depressed areas, said Jerry Miller, vice president of Miller Diversified Properties.

Say, for example, a company wants to build on a chunk of land but is discouraged from settling because there is no convenient water line. The JEDZ board, having raised money through the income tax deal, should be able to afford to construct a water line so the business could move in, he said.

Jankowski said he’s not seeing any benefits where his business sits.

“I am a small government kind of person,” he said. “I feel that you can drive economic development without government oversight. If there’s a market there, it’ll happen.”

Hoecherl said Monclova was able to afford new fire equipment that the township otherwise wouldn’t have been able to purchase. Collections also helped to keep the township serviced by sheriff’s deputies when the county could no longer afford to patrol the area without charge, Hoecherl said. Residents have since voted in favor of a levy that covers policing costs.

Maumee used the funds to complete intersection improvements on U.S. 23 and on Jerome and Monclova roads. Toledo has used its share for road and utility improvements.

But the ultimate goal is to pull new businesses in and develop the zone further.

Savage-McVicker Insurance and Service Spring Corp. are the first businesses the board has awarded with the tax rebate grant. They will feel the effects in 2013, Hoecherl said.

Construction on the stretch of U.S. 23 near the Salisbury Road exit has completed, the Jerome Road connector to Fallen Timbers is done and the area has a lot of shovel-ready, open land. Add in easy access to the turnpike, proximity to I-75 and U.S. 23 and the area is very marketable, Hoecherl said.

The Bell administration has been traveling across the world to attract business people to the region. The JEDZ is one tool that the city can use to help attract successful, foreign business. Also, the region is developing an EB-5 Visa Center, which invites foreign investors to commit $500,000 to a business endeavor here and create 10 jobs in exchange for a faster track to permanent residency, Crothers said.

“When we go overseas, they discover that [Toledo’s] right in the middle of everything,” he said. “You’ve got this great rail and oh, by the way, one-sixth of the world’s fresh water is right here. That’s the oil of the 21st century.”

The puttin’ o’ the greens (Ireland, but not just golf)

Judy Pfaffenberger

March 18, 2012

ArtTravelGate — Carrageen Castle in Ireland -- Photo by Judy Pfaffenbarger

For a long time the Emerald Isle eluded me in my travels.

For some reason, most of those who travel with me just seemed to have little interest. So I decided to resort to my husband, who doesn’t really like to travel. Throughout the years I have learned dangling golf as a carrot was about the best way to get him to go anywhere. After tempting him with that, I thought by going in late April we would encounter spring rains and there wouldn’t be much golf. I was wrong! Only one day was there no golf.

Since neither of us wanted to drive on the “wrong” side, we talked my cousin Rick Hambleton, who can drive a stick shift and also loves golf, into going with us. (Renting a standard shift car anywhere in Europe is much cheaper than going with an automatic.) Since no nonstop flights are available from Detroit to Ireland, we flew via Chicago to Shannon.

Bed and breakfasts are quite plentiful, so we booked only our first and last nights ahead. Double rooms ran between 50 and 75 euros ($1.30 = 1 euro). Although this trip was eight years ago, I checked current prices for some of the places and they were not significantly higher. We also stayed in two hostels where we had a private double room en suite with Rick bunking in the dorm. These were slightly less expensive than the bed and breakfasts.

Our first destination was the town of Cahir, passing through Tipperary — not a long way. We spent the night in Carrigeen Castle, a real treat. The guys played golf while I walked along the river to Swiss Cottage.

The next day we explored Cahir Castle before hitting the road to tour Killarney National Park, and enjoyed a jaunting car (carriage) ride into the Gap of Dunloe. Later I roamed the quaint town of Kenmare while they golfed at the Ring of Kerry Golf Club. Our rooms at the Bay View Farm were simple but adequate and included an extensive Irish breakfast. Note: Only the hostels didn’t include breakfast.

The Ring of Kerry, with its spectacular coastal views, was the next leg of our journey after a morning round of golf at the Parknasilla Hotel. While Rick and my husband golfed, I walked some of the adjacent trails.

Later that afternoon we arrived at Dingletown on the Dingle Peninsula,where we stayed in the Ballingtaggart Hostel with a view of the bay. We had thought about biking the peninsula the next morning, but since the weather was beautiful that afternoon, we drove it to check it out. The road turned out to be narrow, winding and somewhat hilly with considerable traffic so we decided to take our time and savor the views and pass on the bike ride. Back in Dingletown that evening, we enjoyed an evening of Irish music at Murphy’s Pub.

The golf course was too crowded in the morning so we headed north toward the Cliffs of Moher. These are truly spectacular with sunny but windy weather that day. Our bed and breakfast was at Spanish Point, so named because it was near where the British Fleet defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Doolin, just north of the cliffs, is famous for Irish music but here we found our bargain golf of the trip. Nine holes (par 3) with a great view of the cliffs cost just $5 in an honor system box. From there we went north to Cong and “The Quiet Man” country, visiting some places connected with the movie. We spent the evening strolling the grounds of Ashford Castle, the former home of the Guinness brewing family.

The pretty planned Georgian town of Westport, golf at Clew Bay, the Coffin Ship Memorial to those who didn’t make their destinations during the famine, Croagh Patrick Mountain (where 50,000 pilgrims climb with bare feet in July), and the desolate but picturesque DooLough Valley filled our next day. The Beach House where we stayed provided our best sunset.

The old city of Galway was our next destination. We visited the church where Christopher Columbus prayed before setting out on one of his New World journeys. Earlier, at our balconied bed and breakfast facing Galway Bay, our gracious hosts made a tee time for the guys and then invited me to attend church with them. The choir was made up of immigrants from Nigeria.

Our last day of driving took us through the Burren with its stone fences, hundreds of stone forts and strange rock formations to our final bed and breakfast near Bunratty Castle where we would attend a medieval musical feast. We also managed to squeeze in nine more holes. A great ending to eight magical days on the Emerald Isle with “the luck o’ the Irish” giving us such good weather.

Pounds: Collins on a roll

Thomas F. Pounds

March 18, 2012

He is not popular in Mayor Mike Bell’s office, nor is he universally adored by his fellow Toledo City Council members, but Councilman D. Michael Collins has been on a major roll lately.

Although he did not get credit for it at first, it was Collins’ persistence that led to the investigation of the Department of Neighborhoods, and has now led to an Environmental Protection Agency mandate for the testing of sludge in the Maumee River and Lake Erie.

As Toledo Free Press Staff Writer Caitlin McGlade wrote in January, “In August, contractors approached Collins with stories of bid rigging and intimidation from the city department. He said he listened and started digging through public records. As word began to spread about his research, calls flooded in with more tips.

“He and his legislative aide, Lisa Renee Ward (a former Toledo Free Press Web editor), compared bids and found that two separate proposals were nearly identical. He found that an accountant group working on a city deal had walked away from a community development corporation, citing the city was not cooperating with required records transfers. He conducted cross-examination interviews with contractors about bid rigging and found that all of the stories mirrored each other.”

The resulting shake-up in the department is still being felt and may not be over, as findings come to light.

This week, McGlade broke the news that “S&L Fertilizer, the company that handles all of the city’s sludge, will have to hire a consultant to determine the impact that the company’s Maumee Bay site might have on the river and Lake Erie.

“The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has mandated ‘meaningful water and soil sampling data’ through computerized models and sampling plans as a result of numerous complaints surrounding the facility.”

Collins has been bombarding the agency with records requests for months regarding S&L and now the EPA is acting.

There are some who say Collins has his eyes on the mayor’s job, and that his work is no more than political grandstanding.

But if these unquestionable community benefits are the results of his political ambitions, perhaps he should be encouraged to run for president.

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at tpounds@toledofreepress.com.

Megabus adding Toledo-Ann Arbor route

Brigitta Burks

March 18, 2012

People in Ann Arbor now have another option for getting to Toledo: discount bus company Megabus.com, which added a stop to the city March 14.

Megabus customers can already get to Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Chicago from Toledo.

“There’s tons of people interested, so I’m hoping that’s going to work well for us,” said Bryony Chamberlain, director of operations for Megabus. “The college students of Ann Arbor have really helped us grow.”

Megabus is known for its $1 fares, available for customers who book early.

The bus company, which started April 2006, is a subsidiary of Coach USA and has transported more than 15 million travelers. Last year, 26,000 passengers traveled from Toledo, Chamberlain said.

Toledo’s Megabus stop is on the south side of Southwyck Boulevard, between Reynolds Road and Cheyenne Boulevard, and the Ann Arbor stop is on the west side of South State Street. The trip between Ann Arbor and Toledo is slated to take about two and a half hours and includes a stop in Detroit. Tickets must be purchased ahead of time at us.megabus.com.

Toledoan Mike Ferner used Megabus 60 times recently when he held a temporary position with St. Louis nonprofit Veterans for Peace. (He traveled from Toledo to Chicago, where he picked up another Megabus route to St. Louis.)

After some misadventures and a few too many trips, he swore he’d never ride Megabus again, but now said he may reconsider.

“Ann Arbor’s a great town. If I was gonna go to Ann Arbor, I’d probably drive, but it depends,” he said. “Ann Arbor is a nice addition to [Megabus’] routes. Ann Arbor is a great town to go up to for the day.”

Despite not booking early enough to score a $1 ticket, Ferner said he chose to travel with Megabus to save costs for the nonprofit he worked for. He also said taking buses helps reduce energy consumption.

“I’d give [Megabus] overall maybe a C-plus or B-minus,” he said, adding the buses were typically clean and the drivers good at what they do.

Customers have a better chance of getting those $1 fares if they book early, according to a news release. Fares increase as the travel date approaches.

The company is proud of its cost-efficiency.

“Megabus.com has rapidly become the travel option of choice for millions of people and today we’re excited to expand our offerings to and from Ann Arbor,” said President and COO Dale Moser in a news release. “As Americans continue to look for ways to stretch their income, we will continue to provide safe, convenient and affordable travel to Ann Arbor-area residents.”

For more information, visit us.megabus.com.

Democrats criticize Mandel for opposing auto bailout

Caitlin McGlade

March 18, 2012

Corey Fletcher credits Sen. Sherrod Brown with saving her job.

The lifelong Toledo resident stood before a group of reporters at the Lucas County Democratic Party Headquarters on March 13 for a news conference and talked about the years she has worked for Chrysler.

She worked for 10 years before the auto industry started to plummet. She was offered $75,000 to quit. She refused. Toledo, she said, is her home. She would have to move in search of other jobs.

But in 2008, she was one of the thousands of people employed by Chrysler and General Motors Co. who was laid off. She was jobless for 10 months.

“I remember how frightening it was, wondering how I would pay the bills, whether I would lose my home and how to continue to put my son through barber school,” she said. “To politicians like Josh Mandel (Brown’s opponent), I was a number on a sheet of paper, a statistic flashing across the TV screen.”

She was rehired after the government gave loans to the auto industry and Chrysler made a comeback, she said. Her voice wavered as she explained that both she and her son, who works at a plant that supplies parts for Jeeps, “owe their jobs to the auto rescue.”

Fletcher’s story is a testament to the Democrats’ plan to promote the government’s auto bailout as the savior of the industry.

Since the government lent billions to GM and Chrysler in 2009, the companies have declared bankruptcy, begun repaying loans, have started turning profits and have rehired and announced expansions.

Ron Rothenbuhler, the Lucas County Democratic Party chairman, joined County Commissioner Pete Gerken and UAW Local 12 President Bruce Baumhower to praise Sen. Brown for his efforts to rescue the auto industry.

They criticized Mandel for opposing the auto rescue, calling the state treasurer “out of touch” and a menace to the middle class.

Mandel, who was labeled a career politician by those in his own party who ran against him in the primaries, has been under fire from the Democrats for missing Board of Deposit meetings, not being open with the public and for his take on the auto industry rescue.

The Democrats cited Mandel’s comments to the Youngstown Vindicator this month as evidence that he would have voted against the auto recovery plan. He told the reporter that he disagreed that the bailout saved the American auto industry and that he was developing his own plan.

His press contact did not return repeated calls for comment, and Mandel has not provided details about his own auto rescue plan.

Mandel shouldn’t even have an auto rescue plan, said John McAvoy, a board member of the Northwest Ohio Conservative Coalition. He said that under no condition should the government bail out or save industries from failing. Mandel’s only “rescue plan” should be to refer failing companies to the bankruptcy system so they are forced to slim down and correct their problems in order to succeed, he said.

“When the government steps in and does what they did, that’s not fair to the competition,” McAvoy said. “The guys that run their company like crap, they fail, but in this case, the government stepped in and paid them for bad behavior.”

McAvoy he did not vote for Mandel in the primaries because of his elusiveness. The treasurer did not attend McAvoy’s organization’s candidate forum and later ducked out of a forum at the City Club of Cleveland.

“He didn’t show up or return phone calls and if a person is like that while they’re campaigning, how are they going to be when they’re sitting in Washington?” McAvoy said. “You’re never going to see him.”

Still, he said, he’ll vote against Brown. McAvoy said he has lost trust in GM and Chrysler because of the auto rescue that Brown heralded.

Baumhower, who lobbied Congress for the auto rescue along with other union leaders and city mayors, said he is experiencing improvements in Toledo because of the rescue.

The Jeep Wrangler plant, he said, hit a world record last year by producing 165,000 Wranglers. Hundreds of additional job openings have been announced and the company is making millions of dollars’ worth of expansions, he said.

He pointed out that the auto rescue was not a handout. The companies did have to undergo major restructuring. Plus, he said, new employees still only make $15 an hour, compared to the $28 an hour they might have made years ago.

The government still owns a portion of GM. Gerken also stressed at the podium March 13 that the rescue was not a bailout, but a loan. He said he worked for Jeep for 30 years.

“It’s not the ‘too big to fail,’ it’s that we’re too smart and too tough and too engrained to give up a legacy industry in our country,” Gerken said. “This isn’t about anybody failing. This is about giving these workers and these leaders, myself, a chance again to do it. There’s no fail here … give us a chance and we’ll work our way out.”

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