Franklin Park Conservatory officials are looking for some help from the Statehouse to smooth future financing of their major ongoing expansion project.
And no, it's not a request for money.
When the Conservatory Joint Recreation District was created in state law in 1992, lawmakers forgot to give the new organization the ability to open lines of credit or have lease agreements, like other businesses or nonprofit organizations.
This was not a big issue until recent years, when conservatory leaders embarked on a $80 million to $100 million plan to expand and improve the facility, which Rep. Nancy Garland, D-New Albany, called "one of central Ohio's finest jewels."
Garland is sponsoring House Bill 482, which would allow the conservatory to issue revenue bonds to finance continuing phases of the project.
"What we're doing is correcting that state statute to include the powers that were envisioned to be in the bill in the first place," said Bruce Harkey, executive director of the conservatory.
The Palm House addition was completed in 2008, and the 4-acre community-garden campus was finished in 2009. Phase I is expected to be completed in 2011 with a 20,000-square-foot greenhouse.
While the conservatory board chose to not go forward with any construction until 80 percent of funding is pledged, "Just because you have pledges committed doesn't mean you're receiving the money," Harkey said. "Often they are paid out over three to five years, so you have to establish bridge financing."
About $7 million in financing thus far has been handled by the Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority. Harkey said giving the conservatory the ability to do its own financing will be more efficient.
"We can go directly to a bank and have discussions about our financing needs," he said.
Conservatory leaders want to kick off Phase 2 of the master plan in 2012, with completion of all three phases by 2020. Other additions will include a new lake with a boathouse, two outdoor ovals and a new auditorium.
"This will provide the conservatory with the necessary financing flexibility so this project can be completed on schedule," Harkey said.
Jones' Tweets catch attention again Source: The Columbus Dispatch Published: 03/23/2010
As they prepare to approve a bill that would ban texting (and Tweeting) while driving, House Democrats wanted to make an example out of one of the legislator’s most active Twitter users.
Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Springboro, who drew attention for Tweeting during Gov. Ted Strickland’s State of the State speech earlier this year, this morning posted another message that caught Democrats’ attention.
“Sshhhh... Don't tell anyone but I'm driving twice as fast on 71 to Columbus as Strickland's slow speed rail,” Jones wrote. She followed it with: “Even my soccer mom mobile can far exceed slow rail speeds.”
The Ohio House on Wednesday is expected to pass a bill that would ban texting while driving, and Democrats decided to try to have a little fun at Jones’ supposed typing while behind the wheel.
Rep. Nancy Garland, D-New Albany, and sponsor of the texting bill, said she was “disappointed in Sen. Jones’ behavior. Perhaps when my texting bill gets to the Senate, she will take the time to understand the potential consequences of distracted driving.”
But Jones said she didn’t write the Tweets while in her car, but rather when she stopped for gas.
“These people are ridiculous,” she said. “It’s a shame this is all they have to do over there is be the First Amendment police. That’s what happens when they base their facts on 140 characters.”
Democrats also noted that by driving twice as fast as the proposed train between Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland, Jones would have to be driving nearly 160 mph on the freeway. Republicans, however, have focused on the train’s 39 mph average speed once all stops are included. That would put her at 78 mph.
“I think she is better off slowing down and keeping her focus on the road,” Garland said. “Perhaps someday soon she’ll be able to Tweet on the train without endangering the lives of her fellow drivers.”
Posted by Jim Siegel, Statehouse reporter on March 23, 2010 5:16 PM
Garland picked for Finance Committee Source: The Columbus Dispatch Published: 03/18/2010
Rep. Nancy Garland was recently named to the powerful House Finance Committee, which deals with a variety of weighty state budget matters, including the upcoming $1.8 billion state construction budget.
Garland, D-New Albany, is in her first term. She replaced former Rep. Tyrone K. Yates of Cincinnati, who was recently appointed a judge in Hamilton County.
“It is very important to me that we exercise our duties responsibly and with an eye toward continuing to recover from the very tough economic challenges we’ve recently experienced in Ohio and to expand job opportunities,” Garland said. “I am honored to have been appointed to this committee and am eager to get to work.”
Franklin County has significant representation on the Finance Committee. Rep. John Patrick Carney, D-Columbus, is the committee vice-chairman; and other members include Rep. Ted Celeste, D-Grandview Heights and Rep. Cheryl Grossman, R-Grove City.
Texting ban gets moving in House Source: The Columbus Dispatch Published: 03/10/2010
By Jim Siegel THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
One week ago, state Rep. Linda Bolon was doing her best to avoid a texting driver on I-71 north of Columbus. Yesterday, her committee took a key step toward banning texting while behind the wheel.
A young man was in the center lane, driving far slower than the 65-mph speed limit. "I thought, what is going on?" said Bolan, an East Palestine Democrat and chairwoman of the House Public Safety Committee. "I looked, and he was texting.
"Well, that's not going to happen much longer. It definitely put this particular bill in perspective for me."
The committee voted unanimously to approve House Bill 415, which creates the offense of texting while driving, subject to a maximum $150 fine. It would be a primary offense, meaning law enforcement can stop someone only for texting.
The bill needs approval from the full House and the Senate. Ohio would join 19 other states that have passed some form of ban on texting while driving.
"I am so excited. It's the first time in 12 years that a bill like this has gotten out of committee," said Sharon Montgomery of Gahanna, an activist on the issue since her husband was killed in 2000 by a driver using a cell phone in Licking County.
The bill includes a number of exemptions, taken from model texting legislation developed last month by a coalition of safety organizations brought together by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Exemptions include use of a navigation device, entering a name or phone number to make a call, or mobile data terminals for commercial truckers.
"The bottom line is we're trying to not have people texting while they're driving," said Rep. Nancy Garland, D-New Albany, a sponsor of the bill. "I think (navigation) devices make you a safer driver."
Lawmakers acknowledge that people do a number of distracting things while driving, such as eating or talking on a cell phone. But a recent study by the University of Utah found that drivers who texted while in a simulator had more crashes, responded more slowly to brake lights and displayed less control than drivers who talked on a cell phone.
Researchers found that people talking on cell phones can try to divide their attention between driving and conversing, while texting requires switching from one task to the other.
Another study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that truck drivers who texted were 23 times more at risk of a crash than an average undistracted driver.
"It's really dangerous," Garland said. "If they know it's against the law to do it, it's going to stop a lot of people."
In Columbus last night, Councilman Andrew J. Ginther held a hearing on a proposed city ordinance to ban texting, e-mailing or using the Internet while driving. He hopes for a council vote on April 5, which would make a ban effective in early May.
A majority of council members support or lean toward enacting a ban, and Mayor Michael B. Coleman supports the idea as well.
Dispatch reporter Robert Vitale contributed to this story.
jsiegel@dispatch.com
Garland’s texting bill to go before Ohio House… Source: GlassCityJungle.com Published: 03/09/2010
While Ohio House Representative Nancy Garland does not represent our area, some of you have been following the texting ban issue and may find this release received via e-mail interesting concerning HB 415:
COLUMBUS – State Representative Nancy Garland’s (D-New Albany) legislation to ban texting while driving this afternoon was approved by the Ohio House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee.
“The bill approved today takes all the best concepts from previous texting bills and offers the most effective solution,” said Rep. Garland. “I am excited that we have taken this important step to make the streets and highways of Ohio safer.”
House Bill 415 will give law enforcement officers a straight forward method to determine and identify illegal activity by establishing a clear definition of texting. The bill also establishes a 6 month grace period to educate drivers and to ease the transition. Under the proposed legislation, texting while driving would be a primary offense and labeled a minor misdemeanor and offenders would receive a fine of up to $150 dollars. The law allows drivers to use text messaging if their vehicle is at a standstill and pulled off the road.
The cell phone industry reported that Americans send 110 billion text messages a month, 10 times the number sent over the same period just three years ago. Of 1,200 drivers surveyed in 2006 by Nationwide Insurance, 73 percent said they talk on cell phones while driving and 19 percent admitted to texting while driving. The dangers of texting are especially prevalent among teen drivers; sixteen and seventeen-year-olds contribute to 1000 of the yearly automobile deaths due to distracted driving including cell phone use, and a 2007 survey found that 46% of teenagers admit to texting behind the wheel.
The bill will next be scheduled for a vote by the full Ohio House of Representatives.
AEP Coming To Town To Explain New Meters Source: This Week Published: 02/17/2010
The city of Gahanna will host an information session on American Electric Power's smart meters, which will be installed on area residences.
The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, at Gahanna City Hall.
The pilot project includes the installation of 110,000 smart meters, which provide a "two-way communication network that uses digital technology to provide customers with greater energy control," according to the flier sent to homes recently by AEP.
The smart meter detects power outages so repairs could begin sooner and allows residents to view their own usage, thus helping them to potentially lower their bills.
Terry Emery, Gahanna's service director, said the city is glad to be part of the project, saying it is similar to a project recently completed in the city's water department. The city is in the process of replacing water meters with transmitters that send data on the water usage directly to a computer at City Hall.
Until now, meter readers would have to drive by homes and point machines at the homes' water meters to collect water-usage figures for the city. Two-thirds of the meters still are read that way. More than 4,000 of the 12,500 total now have transmitters that send the same information to the city without having the meter reader drive by.
Meters had been read every 90 days but now could be viewed daily, and leaks could be detected immediately. Since the installation, the city already has contacted several residents and has been able to stop leaks in faulty outdoor hoses and indoor water breaks.
"I'm glad we're being incorporated in Gahanna," Emery said. "I think it will have the same type of benefits for electricity that we've had with the water (meters)."
State Rep. Nancy Garland (D-New Albany) will open the Feb. 25 program. Representatives of AEP and Gahanna officials will speak before the session is opened for questions.
Gahanna is just one of the sites chosen to participate in the program. AEP also is installing smart meters in Columbus, Whitehall, Bexley, Reynoldsburg, Westerville, Blacklick, Johnstown, Alexandria, New Albany and Pataskala. The test incorporates 150 square miles.
According to AEP's Web site, the $150-million project is being funded partially via $75-million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It is part of a program AEP calls gridSMART, which is designed to take advantage of new technology to "stimulate growth, protect the environment and enhance communities."
AEP's Web site states, "Through this demonstration project, it is our intent to build a secure, interoperable and integrated smart-grid infrastructure that improves distribution system efficiency and reliability; demonstrates smart-grid technologies and consumer programs that reduce energy consumption by 18,000 megawatt-hours, peak demand by 15 megawatts, consumer cost by $5.75-million and carbon-dioxide emissions by 16,650 tons.
"Combined energy and peak demand reductions represent enough energy to power 1,800 homes and show how smart-grid technologies can help better manage the dispatching of existing generation today and the construction of new generation in the future. In addition, the reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions is equal to removing approximately 2,900 passenger vehicles off the road each year."
ODNR Grant Will Fund City Cleanup Source: Suburban News Press Published: 02/10/2010
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has awarded the city of Whitehall a $2,000 grant as part of the agency's Litter Cleanup Grant Program.
The grant will support litter cleanup activities for volunteers and support other cleanup and beautification of public lands in Whitehall.
The local beatification projects must occur in March, April or May on public lands.
Funding for the ODNR Litter Cleanup Grant program comes from tipping fees levied upon solid waste received at waste-processing facilities.
Ohio Rep. Nancy Garland (D-New Albany) applauded both the grant and the previous efforts of Whitehall to host citywide cleanup events.
"I participated in the Whitehall City Cleanup at (Whitehall) Community Park last year," Garland said in a press release.
"Many Whitehall residents volunteered and helped to make the event a great success. It is great to see so many community members come out and help beautify the city parks," Garland said.
"I look forward to the same display of community support this year."
Editorial: Drivers, stop texting Source: The Columbus Dispatch Published: 02/09/2010
Texting and driving are a dangerous mix, just as hazardous as drunken driving. And as studies and statistics make this clear, laws prohibiting texting at the wheel have gained momentum at all levels of government.
The laws are a proper response to an unfortunate fact: Without them, many drivers will not put down their cell phones and other messaging devices to keep their eyes on the road. Such careless people threaten themselves, their passengers and everyone in their vicinity.
At the federal level, the Department of Transportation recently issued a rule that bans texting on hand-held devices at the wheel by interstate commercial truck and bus drivers. Depending on the circumstances, drivers in violation face civil or criminal charges and fines up to $2,750.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood admitted that enforcement will be a challenge but that officials are committed to the effort.
Although many companies ban employees from using cell phones and computers while driving on the job, some employees don't comply.
The new rules follow by two weeks LaHood's participation in the introduction of a new group, FocusDriven, which aims to offer support to the families of victims of people injured or killed in accidents caused by drivers distracted by cell phones and other devices. The group, patterned after Mothers Against Drunk Driving, will be effective if it helps raise awareness of the dangers of cell-phone use at the wheel and champions appropriate legislation.
State by state and city by city, lawmakers are getting the message and have banned drivers from texting. So far, 19 states have such laws; 10 others have applied similar laws only to new drivers.
State Rep. Nancy Garland, D-New Albany, has introduced a new, improved version of no-texting legislation that she and others introduced in the Ohio House last year. Her bill offers a clear definition of texting, applies to all drivers and would make infractions primary offenses.
Statewide laws are preferable to the scattering of local ordinances that have cropped up in Ohio and elsewhere, because drivers cannot be expected to know the rules of every city they visit.
Some members of Congress are pushing federal legislation that would impose penalities, in the form of transportation-funding reductions, on states that fail to enact texting-while-driving bans.
As states ban texting at the wheel, further restrictions on cell-phone use while driving can't be far behind, because studies also reveal that talking on cell phones while driving is a greater distraction than most other common diversions, including conversations with passengers.
Blendon Township residents decry costly water service Source: ColumbusLocalNews.com Published: 02/03/2010
Blendon Township residents spoke about an opposing force that is breaking up their community -- one that destroys everything it touches, smells like chlorine and even leaves chunks behind.
The villain they were referring to is the water provided by Ohio American Water, which provides services to Blendon, Madison, Norwich, Perry, Prairie, Sharon and Truro townships in Franklin County.
Residents spoke for three hours Thursday, Jan. 28, in a packed Faith Covenant Church in Westerville during the Public Utility Commission of Ohio's final public hearing on the company's water rate increase. Listening to residents' testimony was PUCO Attorney Examiner Jeff Jones.
Ohio American Water applied for water and sewer rate increases in June, and its current request is a 27 percent increase for water, with varied increases for sewer, for the next year. The company originally sought increases for 2011-13 but backed off from those demands following pressure from grass-roots organizations and the Ohio Consumers Counsel.
Speaking first at the public hearing was state Rep. Nancy Garland (D-New Albany) of the 20th District, who called the current prices a great burden and opposed any increases.
State Rep. Marian Harris (D-Columbus), who represents the 19th District, said she was shocked while campaigning when one resident asked her what she paid for water. Harris said she paid $76 for three months, while the resident said she paid $120 a month.
"I'll be polite when she said the quality was poor," Harris said.
Harris said one thing she has done in office is to help pass House Bill 344, which limits the recovery of rate-case expenses for water and sewage companies to 50 percent.
"This doesn't solve today's problem, but it will help limit rate increases in the future," she said.
Most of the three hours of testimony came from residents.
"When good people don't want to move in because of water concerns, the community loses," said resident Pam Clegg.
Blendon Township Trustee Stew Flaherty said the rates should not be approved because of what he called poor business practices. Recent reports by the Ohio Consumers Counsel have focused on the company's practices, he said.
Many residents said besides paying twice or three times more for water than their neighbors, they also need to replace fixtures and appliances often. One man said in 30 years he's had to replace his hot water heater five times.
Much of the testimony focused on ways residents saved water. Some said they shower only every three days or take "Navy showers," lathering up with soap before turning on the water. Others said they try to use the toilet only when they were away from home, and still others said they have long given up practices such as watering their gardens, using dishwashers and washing their cars.
"How do you explain to your toddler who is potty-training that you should flush every time, everywhere else (besides home)?" asked resident Margaret Kuda.
During part of resident Sharon Ricker's testimony, she turned around a popular saying.
"Hell and high water have definitely come to us," she said.
Jones said the commission will continue to review the case and no date has been set for a decision.
Lawmakers work to remove $20 late penalty Source: ColumbusLocalNews.com Published: 02/03/2010
A number of state representatives are working to remove the $20 penalty for Ohio residents who are late in renewing their vehicle registrations.
Rep. Jay Hottinger (R-Newark), who is co-sponsoring legislation by Rep. Ron Amstutz (R-Wooster), said he was planning to introduce legislation at a nonvoting session this week.
He said he thinks the late fee, which was implemented after the Ohio House and Senate passed the governor's biennium budget last summer, should be removed because it is hurting Ohio residents during a tough economic time.
Previously, drivers were not fined unless they were caught driving with expired registrations, he said.
"I have spoken to people é who feel like they have been victimized by this," Hottinger said. "They are pretty irate about it."
Hottinger said he thinks the fee is like a tax increase.
"They (lawmakers) are trying to do it and say, 'Hey, it's not a tax increase,'" he said.
According to Hottinger, the state collected $6.6-million in vehicle-registration late fees in the last three months of 2009, when the new fee was implemented.
He said more than 330,000 people were affected.
Rep. Nancy Garland (D-New Albany) said she and another group of representatives have been working on similar legislation. She said they have formed a group to study the issue and figure out what the best move is for Ohioans.
"I think we need to look at what we are going to do for those people who have already been assessed," Garland said. "Those are the kinds of things that need to be addressed in any legislation. Those are the issues that we are going to be discussing."
She said although drivers should renew their vehicle registrations on time, she thinks the $20 is too high and would like to see it be discontinued entirely.
"I think we are going to say that it could be done away with," Garland said.
Hottinger agreed.
"My take on it was, this is an extra tough economy. There are a great number of people who $20 means a lot to them today, and for the state of Ohio to penalize them with a $20 late fee, I just don't think that's acceptable at this point in time," he said. "It is coming out of the hands and pockets all across the state of Ohio."
He said the fine was created under the guise of safety.
"I think this is not about keeping our roads safe but a way for our government to try to extract more money from our citizens," Hottinger said. "We are just trying to get to a situation where government is being responsive and responsible, and I don't think this is the way to do it."
