Anytime you see “emergency ordinance” take a second look. Most of the time it means either: the commission is made up of idiots who didn’t see something coming, or they are trying to pull the wool over your eyes. In this case- both.

And, it’s our first Gary Leitzell no vote- with no real solution to the problem offered (of which I’ll provide- because I’m not an idiot). From the DDN:

City of Dayton trash customers will pay more for the service beginning with their April bills.

In a four-to-one vote, City Commissioners Dean Lovelace, Joey Williams, Nan Whaley and Matt Joseph pushed through an emergency ordinance raising annual waste collection fees from $91 to $113, beginning with April bills. The rate increase will generate $1.3 million annually for the city.

“Without that increase, we would have to make further budget cuts,” said City Manager Tim Riordan, adding staff proposed the increase in November as a way to balance the 2010 budget.

Mayor Gary Leitzell said he could not vote for an ordinance that both increased the cost to residents and decreased service. Dayton customers will still have trash pick-up once a week, but bulk waste pick-up goes from twice per month to once.

“I think we need to look at alternative ways of saving money,” Leitzell said.

The mayor suggested the city explore ways to reduce tipping fees paid to Montgomery County for dumping trash and recyclables.

In 2008, Dayton paid $38.25 per ton for trash disposal, or about $2.36 million for the year. Tipping fees for recyclables cost much less at $14 per ton or about $31,864 per year.

“Recycling cost less. The goal, in terms of a long-range budget solution, is to get more people to recycle,” Whaley said. “I know it’s hard for all of us to do these kinds of things, but it is part of governing.”

Whaley and Williams both said Leitzell’s suggestion should be researched, but said the reality of the mayor’s solution is that it would not generate enough money to prevent a budget shortfall.

About 27 percent of Dayton’s residents recycle, but only account for about 3 percent of the city’s waste stream. To generate the desired $1.3 million, recycling would have to make up 88 percent of the city’s waste steam.

via Trash collection fees going up in Dayton.

Trash and Recycling Bins in Savannah are equal sizes

Dayton provides two different sized trash bins. And, the size of the bins is the first indication of which has more importance. Take a look at Savannah GA bins in the photo at right- see a difference?

We get what we ask for- little recycle bins- collected every other week- and you get less recycling.

Secondly- in Ontario Canada they give you the bins for free- but, won’t pick up unless it’s in a trash bag you pay for. You pay big bucks for the ones to hold trash- and the recycling bags are FREE! It’s pay as you go trash bills- and forces people to feel the pain of not recycling.

Solves part of Dayton’s problem. Of course now that we’ve finally stopped the insane practice of paying trashmen double time to work holidays- maybe we can also start looking to making them put in a full 8 hour day every day?

We’ve cut the number of public trash containers in parks- which leads to bigger messes and a less pretty city. We’ve cut back the number of hours we sweep streets (ineffectively- since we don’t move cars first) increasing our costs of cleaning out catch basins and road repair. Maybe if the trash collectors put in a full day keeping our city clean- citizens wouldn’t have to waste their time picking up trash on alley sweeps- and could spend time working on other things to make our city beautiful.

Just voting no doesn’t get it Mayor Leitzell. Let’s see some ideas.

Fear.

It’s a powerful weapon. It’s also a great diversion. While you’re terrified, you typically don’t think about things rationally- or tend to make good decisions.

Masters of propaganda know this. Manipulated masses don’t.

The whole “news story” about Toyota’s engineering problem is just another instance of the magician distracting you while they do their magic.

As Toyota rolls out fixes for sticky gas pedals, the automaker is coming under scrutiny from federal investigators who say the faulty pedals are not the only cause of sudden acceleration. Electronic defects may also have contributed to the problem, say investigators and independent safety experts. Federal safety regulators have begun an investigation into Toyota’s electronic throttle control system, which connects the accelerator pedal to the engine via sensors that send electric signals, rather than a mechanical cable.

via Toyota recall: Are sticky gas pedals the real culprit? / The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com.

Even if hundreds of people had died daily (instead of the 18 over years) from this rare defect, it’s still less than killed daily from lack of access to adequate health care in this country.

What’s even more interesting is the questions being raised about the process of reporting and reaction to this issue. We seem to take more interest in if Toyota was “covering up” this “crime” and taking glee in watching the Japanese David that toppled the US Goliath (GM).

To have the U.S. Transportation Secretary even waste his breath on this with his misstatement borders on lunacy. The reality is you probably have a better chance of being struck by lightening twice, killed by terrorists or slipping on a banana peel than dying from a Toyota gas pedal.

Where is the investigation of how Wall Street bankrupted the county- from your 401K to the State, County and City treasuries? Why is this country afraid to face the reality that people are still buying and trading in Credit Default Swaps- on entire countries debt?

If your greatest fear is to drive your Toyota- there is no hope for you.

While Rome burns? Here’s Greg on the Toyota gas pedal issue:

For the last 3 or so years- every time a friend got fired, downsized, laid off, or was searching for a job that would make them happy – I’d hand them a copy of “Radical Careering” by Sally Hogshead.

If you are in advertising, you’d know who she is. Won every major ad award by age 27, and if you remember the launch of the BMW Mini Cooper in this country- you were probably reading her copy.

At one time, she was opening up the West Coast office of Crispin Porter + Bogusky- which is almost the owner of the hottest agency of the last decade- doing work for Burger King, VW, Microsoft and even the new Domino’s ads where they admit their pizza used to blow.

Yep- Sally had reached the mountaintop in advertising- then chucked it all to become an author, speaker, consultant. She did a radical career change- and now, she’s giving away a PDF of Radical Careering- to help launch book 2: Fascinate.

It’s true: a FREE digital version of my first book, RADICAL CAREERING: 100 Truths to Jumpstart Your Job, Your Career, and Your Life. Inside, you’ll find bite-sized nuggets ideas on creativity and your career, all wrapped in award-winning design.

via “What? A free copy of RADICAL CAREERING? …seriously??”.

Fascinate launches on Tuesday- and I don’t know how long this free book will be available, so get over to her site and download the pdf and enjoy the 100 Radical Truths to Jumpstart your career.

My favorite- number 15: Aspire to be the dumbest person in the room.

What’s yours?

The Dayton Daily News-less has the back-assward positions of Austria, Jordan and Boehner on gays in the military- but no mention of Teflon Mike:

WASHINGTON — Republican congressmen Steve Austria and Jim Jordan objected Wednesday, Feb. 3, to Pentagon plans to end a ban on gays and lesbians openly serving in the armed forces.

Jordan, R-Urbana, and Austria, R-Beavercreek, issued their critical statements just one day after Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he would appoint a high-level panel to review ways to end the prohibition within a year….

“I would have great concerns about what introducing open homosexuality into the military might do to jeopardize the effectiveness, readiness and preparedness of our military,” Jordan said, adding that “active duty military service and civilian life are vastly different.”

Austria said that the current policy “seems to be working and we should be consulting with our commanders on the ground on whether or not there is a problem and if the current policy needs to be reviewed.”…

A spokeswoman for Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said he backs a repeal of the current policy.

Austria and Jordan echoed House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, who on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday asked, “In the middle of two wars and in the middle of this giant security threat, why would we want to get into this debate?”

via Area congressmen object to ending military gay ban.

Apparently, it’s too much work to find out what Mike Turner says- or maybe he hasn’t gotten his talking points yet from Boehner. You’d think this simple bit of reporting wouldn’t be too difficult for the paper that endorses him every election.

For the record- not a single one of these congressmen has served in the military- where there have always been homosexuals serving honorably.

And if two wars is a problem for Boehner- try getting out of them. This affects so few people that it’s really a non-issue, except to those who must serve in secret.

It’s time to end “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell” and implement “none of your business”- after all, aren’t they protecting the “land of the free” where “all men are created equal.”

The news is sometimes in the details that the Dayton Daily News leaves out. If you read their story, it sounds like the city and county have “won” some new business- from Georgia (the evil people who “stole” NCR from us) for the paltry investment of $125K.

Read and Rejoice!

In September 2009, commissioners initially approved a recommendation for a $125,000 grant to the company, a producer of molded plastic parts. The Montgomery County ED/GE (Economic Development/Government Equity) advisory committee recommended the grant.

The ED/GE process has two parts: First, the county considers the recommendations of the ED/GE advisory committee and then the county enters into a contract with local jurisdictions — in this case, the city of Dayton — as part of the allocation. The expansion will be in Dayton.

Composite Technologies plans to move and expand its mixing and molding division from Georgia to 943 Woodley Road, Dayton, according to its ED/GE application.

via Grant allows company to expand, create 41 new jobs.

Greg Hunter did his dilligent digging and finds out that this is just another of Raj Soin’s businesses. That’s right, the man who owns Mike Turner, now gets another $125K of your money. This is the guy who owns a mansion and doesn’t want to pay his taxes:

The Ohio Supreme Court has affirmed Greene County’s 2003 appraisal of Raj and Indu Soin’s Beavercreek home at $3.7 million.

The Soins appealed to the court, claiming the home at 2489 Kemp Road was worth less than half as much — $1.4 million.

The Soins have battled county officials over property taxes since building the 25,879 square-foot, 16-room home, completed in 2002. The home has six bedrooms, 91/2 bathrooms and a swimming pool and sits on 126 acres — 37 of which were purchased in 2004 for $662,500, according to county records.

The Soins also are appealing the $5.3 million value the county set for 2005 in Greene County Common Pleas Court, claiming the home is worth $2.75 million. Wright State University’s School of Business is named for Raj Soin, founder of Dayton-based MTC Technologies.

via DaytonDailyNews: Dayton, Ohio, news and information.

If you want to look at who owns the Woodley Road property: Court Reporter on transaction

Read about the City bragging about their involvement: Dayton Department of Development PDF PR

See who owns Sansara Properties LLC: State of Ohio articles of Incorporation listing Raj Soin’s son, Vishal Soin as the agent: http://www2.sos.state.oh.us/reports/rwservlet?imgc&Din=200906202950

It’s pretty obvious that $125K makes no difference at all in the scale of this deal- so how do they come up with this number? It’s the exact same amount that they gave to BGHstudios several years back (word on the street is that there aren’t many people working there right now).

However, as your trash bill goes up, your police officers get overworked, and firefighters get cut- somehow we have the ability to give $125K to a very rich man. It’s criminal.

I’ve been critical of the expansion of Sinclair Community College into Warren County. It’s bad enough that we’ve been losing population and business to them- but now they are getting the fruits of our tax support of a Montgomery County institution with zero tax burden.

Sure, they will pay more in tuition, but it’s marginally more. The college administration will say that none of your tax dollars are being spent- yet, they are wasting their valuable time (Dr. Johnson makes $274K a year- the highest paid government employee in Montgomery County) on something we didn’t agree to.

Now, in the midst of an economic pounding- right after we almost unanimously approved another levy- and when they’ve just instituted a 3.5% tuition hike- they want to hike tuition and fees even higher:

Johnson said Thursday he would ask the board Saturday to “move forward on the request for a special fee exception (from the state) to allow us to readjust our tuition and fees.”

“It’s my goal to remain the lowest in the state of Ohio, but I would like to get right up to the second lowest — whatever would close that gap or at least narrow that gap,” Johnson said.

Sinclair’s $2,050 annual tuition for full-time Montgomery County students is the lowest in Ohio. Lorain’s annual tuition is $2,400. The $350 difference represents a 17 percent gap.

Both colleges are supported by county levies.

Sinclair spokeswoman Natasha Baker said any increase would not be done all at once.

Sinclair’s board in September approved a 3.5 percent tuition increase that started this month with the winter quarter. The college had kept tuition frozen for 12 of the last 19 years.

via Sinclair president urges tuition, fee hike; board won’t act on it today.

I believe- and have written it here many times, that Sinclair Community College with its unbelievably low tuition is one of the best reasons to live here- and to move your business here. Now, Dr. Johnson wants to take away our competitive advantage by raising rates to parity with Lorain Community College. The difference: Sinclair is the only debt-free institution of higher ed in the State- and has $100 mill in the bank. That’s your money at work.

Just because he’s gone on an expansion binge, doesn’t give him a right to take it out of the students’ wallets. We paid for the privilege of having an amenity- now, Dr. Johnson has to learn to live within our budget.

If he wants to keep raising tuition and growing his empire- maybe he needs to go somewhere else- or do it with his own money. The taxpayers of Montgomery County deserve better.

Greg and I have another spirited discussion (at least the best I could do with his interruptions) about this topic. Greg asserts that Sinclair isn’t delivering at all, I disagree. One thing we agree on, is that certain developers have done well with these out of county expansions of community colleges. What are your thoughts?

I first wrote about this back on Jan 22nd- patting the Greene County Commission on the back, for taking a stand for their taxpayers.

On Jan 28, 2010- the Dayton Daily News called them on the carpet:

Greene County’s commissioners are either being petty or they’re lost in the financial weeds.

Last week Commissioners Marilyn Reid and Alan Anderson approved a $44.7 million operating budget, in which they cut funding to the Dayton Development Coalition to $25,000.

The coalition is an economic development organization that is funded with contributions from local governments and area businesses.

Commissioner Rick Perales voted no, in part, because he wanted to guarantee that the coalition will receive $50,000. A Greene County development agency may yet decide to kick in another $25,000.

You’re reading all of this right. Greene County has an almost $45 million budget, and elected officials are haggling over peanut shells — not even the peanuts. But there’s more.

Last year, Greene County contributed $50,000 to the coalition, while in 2008, the commissioners allotted $195,000.

The commissioners paint the reductions as a statement about cost-cutting. But that’s not serious.

via Editorial: Greene County snubs its best advocate | A Matter of Opinion.

Why do our politicians feel incapable of lobbying directly? Isn’t that what the layers of government are supposed to do? Move things up the food chain?

Greg and I have a little discussion for you on this- questioning how this group of lobbyists gets a virtual free pass from the Dayton Daily News- and we wonder why?

It’s about time our politicians started doing the lobbying for us directly. Otherwise, why bother electing them at all- we can just cut the checks directly to the DDC and cut out the middle men.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- why don’t we license cats?

Wild cats run free- while wild dogs get picked up. There is no place to take a cat you find running loose- at least not without paying someone to pick it up.

Luckily, it seems that one person has a plan to start proactively and cost effectively dealing with cats in Montgomery County:

“Population,” said Brian Weltge, executive director of the Humane Society of Greater Dayton, “will always come to equilibrium to the food source.” The more cats you remove from the streets, the faster the remaining population will reproduce, as long as there is sufficient food.

Trap, neuter, return

Weltge believes trap-neuter-release is more effective than trapping and euthanizing feral cats. Of the six colonies that Munday oversees, four are stabilized — the population remains stable because the cats are all unable to reproduce. “Once stabilized, the colony will not let an outsider in unless there is a death.”

…Research by the American Veterinary Medical Association estimates there likely are 150,000 cats in Montgomery County. Of those, a minimum of 68,000 are household pets.

via Stray cat population ‘may be unsolvable problem’ for communities.

And while we often talk about the fat cats running the city- this is really an issue of misplaced good will by people trying to help. As I’ve told a neighbor, the only difference between cat food and rat food is one letter- and I’d really appreciate you not feeding both on your step.

Greg and I have a spirited conversation about it:

Out of the box thinking- good thing for Dayton. What else can we do to be proactive?

When the people are finally sick and tired of being spoon-fed partisan BS coming from the corporate puppets we elect- and the tide has turned against the leader, they finally decide to try something new- that’s as old as democracy itself: Debate:

President Obama denied he was a Bolshevik, the Republicans denied they were obstructionists and both sides denied they were to blame for the toxic atmosphere clouding the nation’s political leadership….

What ensued was a lively, robust debate between a president and the opposition party that rarely happens in the scripted world of American politics.

For an hour and 22 minutes, with the cameras rolling, they thrust and parried, confronting each other’s policies and politics while challenging each other to meet in the middle. Intense and vigorous, sometimes even pointed, the discussion nonetheless proved remarkably civil and substantive for a relentlessly bitter era, an airing of issues that both sides often say they need more of.

via Off Script, Obama and the G.O.P. Vent Politely – NYTimes.com.

Long ago in American history- there were debates as well. The most famous being Lincoln/Douglas lasting 4.5 hours. In our short-attention-span, brain-dead country full of followers- who think “Avatar” is deep political thought- what happened yesterday can only be viewed as a baby step in the right direction.

Imagine a country where the Republicans and the Democrats actually had to stare each other down- in free-form debate- on what they will do once elected, and then actually be on record as having a position to be held accountable to?

Sort of like what Greg and I do daily- on the Dayton Grassroots Daily Show- where we discuss the discussion they had yesterday:

Debate is good for democracy. Let’s start requiring.

There are the bankers on Wall Street who carry home cash in a wheelbarrow, without ever having to sign on a line for anything.

They run the bank into the ground, get multimillion-dollar bonuses- get bailed out by the taxpayers and then “retire” with a big fat golden parachute and a pension for life.

Then there are real people, like:

Dayton City Commissioner Joey D. Williams, president of Chase Bank in west Ohio, has been named in a lawsuit filed on behalf of Fifth Third Bank and faces a financial judgment stemming from the default of a small business loan…
The loan was for the Popeye’s Chicken & Biscuit restaurant at 5800 Wilmington Pike in Centerville, which is closed.

The lawsuit was filed in late 2009 in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. A Dec. 1 judgment awarded the bank $850,000, which includes court costs of $113,039, according to court records.

via City commissioner named in loan default case.

I’ve known Joey well for over twenty years. I’m sure this is quite embarrassing to him- as well as a financial burden. But, the reality is, at least he actually put his own money up in starting a small business, that employed people. I’m pretty sure that 5/3rd took special pleasure in making an example out of a competitor, instead of working out a deal.

To me, this just says that Joey’s more like us than like the political slime that goes into office driving a Dodge Shadow with a Bush I bumper sticker- and ends up a multimillionaire congressman driving Cadillacs (Mike Turner).

Times are tough. Welcome to the club Commissioner Williams.

The Huffington Post just released a story saying the whole Tim Tebow anti-abortion ad that’s slated to run during the Super Bowl may be a fairy tale. Which is just great- after we ripped the premise of it in today’s Dayton Grassroots Daily Show.

A commercial featuring Tim Tebow and his mother Pam that is likely to air during Super Bowl XLIV may be rife with inaccuracies, according to power lawyer Gloria Allred.

The ad, which is expected to promote an anti-choice message, will be based on the theme “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life.” The Christian conservative group Focus on the Family has paid for the spot. James Dobson, the group’s founder, has a history of inflammatory statements and once said that gay marriage will “destroy the earth.”

Despite resistance from women’s groups, the ad is expected to air during the Super Bowl. It is believed that the commercial will focus on Pam Tebow’s 1987 pregnancy, during which time she fell ill in the Philippines. According to reports, doctors recommended that she abort the pregnancy, but she chose to go through with the birth of her son Tim.

Tebow grew up to be one of the most accomplished and celebrated stars in college football history, capturing two national championships and becoming the first sophomore to win the Heisman trophy.

Because abortion under any circumstance has been illegal in the Philippines since 1930 and is punishable by a six-year prison term, Allred says she finds it hard to believe that doctors would have recommended the procedure.

The attorney, who has represented a roster of famous clients, claims she will lodge a complaint with the FCC and FTC “if this ad airs and fails to disclose that abortions were illegal at the time Ms. Tebow made her choice,” according to RadarOnline.

via Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad May Be Based On Falsehood.

America watches the Super Bowl to get away from the day-to-day crap of politics. We watch the ads- hoping to be entertained. For some reason, James Dobson and “Focus on the Family” think it’s god’s will to mix politics with pigskin.

Bad move. So enjoy our segment titled: “If you can’t feed ’em, don’t breed them.”

Abortion is wrong. But ignoring birth control is just stupid. If the “Focus on the family” spent the money on helping family’s plan their children, we may solve quite a few problems.

It’s sad- that a “young professional” who just left Dayton and finds himself in Phoenix- is now publishing a site to allow the comments on articles the DDN closes them on:

this site was built by a former daytonian who still cares about the old hometown.

daytondailyfail.com, or ddf for short, exists to provide an alternative place for people from Dayton, OH to write and comment on the news of the day in their region.

it was built in less than an hour as a result of frustration with the Dayton Daily News website’s terrible commenting system on stories.

here, comments are free and uncensored (as long as it’s not illegal) – and users are free to rate, comment, and reply to comments as they please. your email will not be viewable to the web, it’s just needed to comment, and i promise to never sell you out to spammers. have at it, and try to have fun.

via daytondailyfail.com » about daytondailyfail.com.

It’s time the Dayton Daily News had a discussion with the community about how it chooses what stories to allow comments on- and how it moderates the comments. Putting stories online without commenting is dismissing the intelligence of the few remaining readers they have.

I’m not jumping up and down about Ohio building a 79 mph passenger rail system in 2011- especially since I was reading about Bullet Trains in Japan in grade school (that was in the 1970s, people). I’ve ridden on the Eurostar through the Chunnel. Engineering marvels. Been around for years. And, now, the best the most powerful nation can do is 79 mph?

Mussolini had trains that ran that fast.

I also don’t see it as a stimulus magic wand. It won’t do much for jobs- or make companies want to move to Ohio. Nope, on all accounts we’re looking like a third world nation if this is best we can do.

From the 3c is me website:

Ohio has received $400 million in federal stimulus resources to invest in passenger rail.

“With today’s historic announcement by President Obama, Ohio takes a major step toward modernizing our state’s transportation infrastructure,” said Governor Strickland. “The 3C Corridor will create economic development opportunities and serve as a model of environmental sustainability. Most importantly, it will put thousands of Ohioans to work over the next few years.”

The 256-mile 3C Corridor – stretching from Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati – would reconnect nearly 6 million Ohioans with 79 mph passenger trains for the first time in 40 years.

via 3C is ME.

However, this does get us started toward rail- and an eventual upgrade to high speed, and that is good. I’ve been hearing people complain all day in response to a post I put up on Facebook- about how it’s not going to be “economically viable” and require taxpayer support. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but trains and tracks require much less continuous care and feeding at taxpayer expense than anything resembling a road made out of asphalt. Roads are crap investments when you look at revenue. Trucking things is inefficient as all get out, as well.

This country needs to wean itself from the teat of cheap oil. This is a good step. And for those of you who have ridden real trains- you know how much nicer it is to ride a train than fly in a plane, or even drive a car.

Yep, there are people who think that trains are too slow, that they can get somewhere faster, cheaper on a tank of gas- but, they aren’t really thinking opportunity costs. I can work while on a train- I can’t while driving. Trains don’t get stuck in traffic. Trains don’t require me to stop to go potty. In civilized countries trains are the way business gets done.

Thank you, economic downturn- if that’s what it takes to get us to make smart moves like bringing back rail travel- great.

Here is our Grassroots Dayton Daily Show take on the train- coming soon to Ohio:

Once again, Sheriff Phil Plummer is claiming ignorance in the case of the appraisal gold mine for friends. This time- Sgt. Tom Flanders is taking the heat- for supposedly asking to have the appraisal documents shredded.

Phil is good at pointing fingers:

“There’s no cover-up here. It was a mistake by a new sergeant in that office,” said Plummer, a Republican, “If I’d known about this it wouldn’t have happened because it shouldn’t have happened.”

via Request to destroy foreclosure sales files was a ‘mistake,’ Plummer says.

To add insult to injury- the Dayton Daily News has closed comments on this article- probably because they’re afraid that people within the Sheriff’s own office will leave comments that nail him to the wall.

It’s time to quit this charade. Not only should Plummer be investigated, so should Vore- for how the amount got raised- and how he hired Plummer’s sister in the first place. Then we should also look at the Clerks of Courts who’ve blindly paid the invoices without asking questions until it’s election time: So Greg Brush should shut up- and Dan Foley (prior clerk) should be doing some time in the hot seat.

While hard working people in Montgomery have been getting screwed by watching their housing values drop thanks to these fly-by-night appraisals by uncertified friends and family- these people have been making serious money.

They all belong in jail.

The Apple iPad

Today Apple announced the iPad. I’m not in love with the name- sounds like a feminine hygiene product to me {update- a skit from 3 years ago makes fun of this name- not for those easily offended} , but, since Apple makes it- it will sell no matter what it’s called. I would have preferred ApplePad or even the return of the Apple Newton name (a product that was ahead of its time in many ways).

Sometimes talking with Greg is like riding a mechanical bull, so my serious ideas about how the iPad is a potential game changer got banged around pretty hard in our video. But, I’ll be posting thoughts over on the business site soon. If you don’t know what an iPad is- Apple has lots of information on its site as to the nuts and bolts. What I see is the potential for newspapers to finally abandon print- jettisoning the daily delivery of a dead tree with ink- into a real delivery of their product- news. With the ease of distribution through the Apple iBook store- and the future potential to target ads to individuals through this intuitive interface- this could be the savior of the newspaper business. If wifi were ubiquitous, the connectivity issue would work- get a free iPad with your subscription to a “sponsor” paper (sort of the way cell phones are sold)- but the cost load is delivered through targeted ad delivery and some subscription revenue to the paper.

Each newspaper would collect a “scrape” from other newspapers who are read through the sponsor’s device. The DDN would own the database and relationship and make money by managing your relationship with advertisers along with delivering the local part of the news. This wasn’t included in the presentation – but, is not much different from the way the apps store has worked for delivery of ads. Granted, no one is making billions yet from iApps- except Apple- but that could change if enough iPads landed in peoples hands and enough printing presses went the way of the dodo.

But- back to the game changer part. Apple is not the first e-reader, or tablet computer. In fact, they are late to the game- as they were with the Mac and with the iPod and the iPhone. They just came up with a better idea with a better design. So much of Apple’s aura is from the interaction between people and a computer.

That interface is where Dayton could use a total overhaul. We project ourselves as Dayton when it suits us- but most of the time, we’ve got 500 different chiefs ruling 600 Indians. We’ve never been elegant- or easy to explain. We operate in our own little reality distortion field – thinking we’ve got a product people want- when if fact, we don’t have a product at all.

If Dayton were what we think it is, we wouldn’t be seeing a steady stream of bad news- with jobs leaving, crime happening and committees being formed constantly to solve our problem. Nope, we’d have a Steve Jobs to lead us – with a clear vision- of creating something insanely great for us to announce to the world. We’d be making best practices, instead of copying them. We’d be asking “what if” more and not “how do”- there was a time when Dayton did lead the way, but no longer.

With our low cost of living, moderate climate, central location, abundant water, nice people and enough smart people hiding in the woodwork- all we need is a nice shiny vision of where we’re going and how to get there.

Before Steve Jobs came back to Apple they were on the brink of collapse. Now- where are they?

Memo to Mayor Gary Leitzell: Steve Jobs doesn’t do ANYTHING by committee.

I see a different Dayton- do you? In the meantime- take another look at the iPad- do you see the game changing potential? I do.

I like Gary Leitzell. I even liked Rhine McLin- both nice people. I’m sure that Gary isn’t on the take- and has the people’s best interests at heart. But today he announced his “Leadership Council”- and I’m really wondering how this group is going to come up with BIG ideas. Especially after hearing Mr. Leitzell on the campaign trail talking about helping start 1000 small businesses- something that doesn’t seem to be well represented on this “council.”

From today’s DDN:

Mayor Gary Leitzell, today, Jan. 26, announced the founding of his Leadership Council, a diverse 17-member committee of community leaders who are acknowledged experts in their respected fields.

“The Leadership Council marks a bold step in Dayton’s long recovery process. The Council, which is composed of some of Dayton’s best and brightest minds, will meet regularly to discuss ideas and strategies that can help further spur our economic turnaround,” Leitzell said.

The council’s purpose, according to its mission statement, is to foster economic development and growth in the city by undertaking independent initiatives and by providing advice and counsel to the Mayor….

The members of the Dayton Mayor’s Leadership Council

* David H. McDonald (Co-Chair), president, The McDonald Group LLC

* Jeff Samuelson, AIA (Co-Chair), managing member, jz Companies

* Phillip L. Parker, CAE, CCE, president & CEO, Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce

* Gregory M. Gantt, Esq., partner, Allbery Cross Fogarty, chairman Montgomery County Republican Party

* Thomas A. Raga, vice president of advancement Sinclair Community College

* S. Ted Bucaro, government and regional relations director University of Dayton

* Anne Higdon, president, ISUS Corp.

* Larry E. Couchot, partner, Couchot Hogenkamp

* William Duncan, partner, Thorn, Lewis and Duncan Inc.

* Julie Liss-Katz, director of public affairs, Premier Health Partners

* Glenn Alexander, former Dayton Fire Chief

* Stacy M. Thompson, Dayton Public Schools board member, KeyBank Vice President

* Cassandra S. Mitchell, educator, Journalism/Mass Communications Instructor/Community Outreach Specialist/TV Producer & Host

* Steve LaFlame, union liaison

* Col. Tim Donohue, 88th Mission Support Group Commander, Wright-Patterson AFB

* Richard Haas, president, Grandview/Southview Hospital System

* Rev. Wilburt Shanklin, Living Word of Faith Church

via Mayor announces development advisers.

In fact- I’m wondering why we’re still expecting government to solve our economic woes.  Maybe if the City could actually concentrate on fundamental service delivery- and learn how to get out of the way of people who actually make things happen around here.

I think Anne Higdon and Jeff Samuelson are great choices- but, the load of Republicans- McDonald, Gantt, Raga (the ones I know about) are a mistake.

And because I put my money where my mouth is- I’d recommend either Jan Lepore Jennelson East End Community Services or Amy Radachi Rebuilding Together Dayton, Wesley Center director Dr. Robert Walker, Jim Gagnet of Pacesetter Painting and Coco’s Bistro, Bill Daniels of Pizza Factory and- believe it or not- some of the people who are paid by the City- like the City Manager Tim Riordan, the planning director John Gower, Steve Budd from CityWide.

I’d also look to some of the people from UpDayton, like Theresa Gasper who has helped turn South Park housing around almost by herself.

The key to making this really work- is not picking people who expect to be on it- like Phil Parker- who already are supposed to be part of the system. But to pick people who are self-starters, the type of people who start the small businesses in this city- and mine them on their secrets. MVH, Sinclair, UD- already have the ability to speak with a big stick.

Let’s pass that stick around.

Your thoughts?

Full disclosure- my name appears in the credits- my camera was used for the first two months of filming.

Mike Webber is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose credits include four theatrical films for Twentieth Century Fox and Lionsgate. With his latest film,  “The Elephant in the Living Room” Webber gives audiences a firsthand look deep into the most dangerous and fascinating subculture in the United States.

An award-winning documentary film about the controversial world of exotic animal ownership within the suburbs of the United States. THE ELEPHANT IN THE LIVING ROOM offers an unprecedented glimpse into the fascinating subculture of raising the most deadly and exotic animals in the world as common household pets.

Mike tells the story of two men in Ohio- one is Tim Harrison; a police officer, firefighter and paramedic for the city of Oakwood. In his career- Harrison has captured and rescued literally hundreds of escaped lions, tigers, alligators, bears, and the largest and most deadly snakes on earth, all in the United States.

The other is Terry Brumfield who has been an animal lover his entire life. But none of his pets compare to the love he has for his two African lions which were bottle-fed and hand-raised as cubs in his home.

via The Elephant in the Living Room | About.

Mike picked up a prestigious ACE award in 2008 from the American Film Institute/Discovery Channel/Humane Society of the United States at the SilverDocs Film Festival to help complete this important film in the international competition.

Please help Michael out by clicking through the trailer to YouTube and giving him a five star rating- and tell your friends about it. The film will be presented in Dayton on March 22nd at the Schuster Center. 100% of the proceeds of the showing in Dayton will go to the charity, Outreach For Animals,  that supports Tim’s work in dealing with these animals.

I’m pretty sure this is the type of thing that Film Dayton wants to do – and to promote. It will be interesting to see what they do to help pump up this local filmmaker who was actually rejected from WSU film school!

Mike has worked for over two years on this project- and has funded it entirely on his own. No requests for government handouts or special entitlements.

I’m not going to point out the meaningfulness of this change to the city- but, let’s just say that a certain masked man once held up an oversized Waste Collector’s Time Card in front of the City Commission in a galaxy long ago -

From today’s Dayton Daily News:

The Department of Public Works will reduce seasonal and temporary hires. Trash collection on holidays will be eliminated. The change in workflow will save the city about $300,000 in overtime pay.

“We started from scratch in Public Works. We had to rethink everything: staffing, equipment, hours of operation, collection services,” Earley said.

Annual waste collection fees for residents will go from $91 to $113, beginning with April bills. The rate hike will generate $1.3 million annually for the city.

About $30,000 was added in to the Public Works budget to fund 10 neighborhoods clean ups, reduced from 20 in 2009. Also, a proposal to reduce mowing vacant lots from 1.5 times per season to one, won’t happen.

via City leaders warn that Dayton is ’still in volatile times’.

Let’s make things clear- previously we paid “holiday pay” so trash collectors could work 4-6 hours on Thanksgiving and get paid for 8- at a pay rate at or above doubletime- we also did it on Presidents Day, Labor Day, the 4th of July, MLK day etc. The only day they didn’t pick up trash was Christmas- no other jurisdiction is this stupid. But, it’s a nice way to overpay no-skill workers for physical labor. The reason I call them no-skill (other than the drivers who are a little more talented- but not worthy of white collar pay)- is because routinely, citizens of Dayton begged for the opportunity (the above mentioned “neighborhood clean-ups”) to ride around on the same trash trucks to pick up what our “skilled” collectors missed.

The real question with this 25% hike in costs is if we are now at a point where turning in your city dumpster for a private one is a good idea. I think it’s time for whole neighborhoods to start deciding if we still want to pay for trash collectors that leave us with a job to do?

I won’t even start to discuss the pathetic cuts to parks and rec. It’s time to stop pretending to even having programs if you have no one working them. If you have kids- and you go look at what Kettering provides- you’ll see that your higher income tax isn’t buying you much.

If this is the best our city can do, we must start wondering if it’s worth having a city at all?

And here is 4 minutes of Greg and David discussing it (added at 12:25 pm) :

The Free Speech for People Amendment will overrule the Citizens United v. FEC case and return the First Amendment to its longstanding purpose as a guarantee of the fullest rights of a free people and the press. The Free Speech for People Amendment will overrule the fabrication by activist judges of a “corporate rights doctrine” to defeat democratically enacted laws, and will restore the First Amendment to its meaning and intent for two centuries. The Amendment will ensure that all people have the most robust freedom of conscience, speech and debate and that a vibrant, diverse press remains free and unfettered, thus strengthening, rather than weakening, democracy.

The Free Speech for People Amendment Campaign will work with others to develop specific language for the Free Speech for People Amendment. Here is one example of language for the Free Speech for People Amendment:

Amendment XXVIII

Section 1. The sovereign right of the people to govern being essential to a free democracy, the First Amendment shall not be construed to limit the authority of Congress and the States to define, regulate, and restrict the spending and other activity of any corporation, limited liability entity, or other corporate entity created by state or federal law or the law of another nation.

Section 2. Nothing contained in this Article shall be construed to abridge the freedom of the press.

via What will the Free Speech for People Amendment say and what will it do? | freespeechforpeople.org.

Go to the site- sign-up and spread the word.

Real news is hard to come by in the Sunday Dayton Daily News- but, we thought for today’s Dayton Grassroots Daily Show we’d dissect it for you.

The DDN just figured out that Governor Ted Strickland isn’t looking too good for a second term. Too bad he doesn’t have a Dem challenger- a primary would help him sharpen his message. If elections didn’t cost so much- maybe we’d have more participation?

Turner is going to run unopposed? Is that news? He’s basically run unopposed every time. Has anyone questioned why? Especially since you don’t actually have to live in a Congressional district to run for it.

We are also treated to a really silly editorial about the DHL facility in Wilmington:

Hundreds of millions of dollars — private and public — have been put into the facility. It is a stunning 1,500-acre asset that can’t be wasted.

DHL’s plan is to turn the park over to Wilmington officials by Feb. 28. Until that happens, people who are interested in the site are going to hold on to some skepticism.

But the handover is going to happen, and the region needs to be ready to move when the deal is inked.

Gov. Ted Strickland was at an event last week when DHL repeated its intentions. This is an election year, so he’s especially eager to be seen as working to bring jobs to the state. But beyond that, the state has poured $99 million into road improvements at the site.

Ohio and specifically the Department of Development have a huge stake in making sure the facility is put to its fullest and best use. Otherwise, a lot of taxpayer money went for nothing.

via Editorial: DHL’s re-use matters beyond just Wilmington | A Matter of Opinion.

Yep, they just figured out that the government has spent “hundreds of millions” of taxpayer money for nothing. Yet, they continue to back the “economic development” by government dog and pony show.

The sad thing about DHL is this wasn’t the first one of these air freight hubs to go south on taxpayer life support- nope, we had Emery Air Freight here in Dayton that did the exact same thing.

We kept it at 5:35 so, sit back and enjoy:

If you thought anything else was stupid in the paper- feel free to share.