Financial Regulation Reform

So now that the health care situation is more or less under control (?) legislators are looking to the financial industry. They're looking to put tighter controls on banks and other institutions that like to do crazy risky stuff and bring down the markets or abuse customers in a way that puts and keeps a helluva lot of us in debt.

This is complicated, because there's an awful lot of money tied up in convincing legislators they don't really want to do that. The banks and brokers and investment firms are spending millions upon millions of dollars on lobbyists and the like to keep the government from making any changes.

The House committee dealing with all this already passed a bill, and now the entire assembly must debate and vote on it, possibly by the end of this week. In response, Senator Dodd is deciding to push ahead with the Senate's version, so the momentum doesn't get lost...but in doing so is sacrificing bi-partisan support. Meh.

So if you have feelings on the subject, now is the time to let your representatives in the House and Senate know!

Not Much To Look at Here...

There isn't a whole lot to say right now, namely 'cause I've worked a series of turn and burn, 12 hour shifts over the past few days. That's left precious little chances to do much more than sleep and work, so...I've fallen behind the times.

I do have a few links from my Google News Alert system worth sharing, so I'll use that as a cop out tonight:

Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are having trouble with Obama's Afghanistan plan...but for different reasons. Members from Ohio aren't any different.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are having problems money-wise, and the possibility of them finding a new home has surfaced (even if it isn't seriously on the table yet). While Mayor Coleman is pretty fired up about trying to find a solution, Franklin County Commissioners are a little less enthusiastic.

So that's it. For today. I have bigger plans for Thursday...but at the moment, I need to get back to focusing on learning to be the boss at my new job.

Some News Round Up Action

Today is gonna be quick and simple...in my news searchings, I came across four stories mentioning local politicians and I thought I should share.

The first three are from the Columbus Dispatch:

This story here discusses voting records of Ohio representatives, specifically how they did or did not vote with party leadership. It opens with an interesting anecdote about a defense spending bill that Pat Tiberi bucked the trend on.

Another from the politics page is about earmarks, and who in central Ohio is seeking them in Congress and who isn't. If nothing else, it does show GOP lawmakers from the area are willing to walk the walk on fiscal responsibility.

The final piece from the Dispatch goes into how the Democrats are unable to come up with a cohesive health care agenda, and the lawmakers from Ohio are prime examples of this. Some want a public option, some don't, compromise isn't a word anyone knows, etc etc.

The fourth piece today is actually from the Times-Standard from Eureka, CA. It's on a solar power bill co-sponsored by Pat Tiberi, giving tax credits to solar panel manufacturers in hopes of stimulating job growth.

That's all for this week...tune in next week, same bad time same bad channel.

Morse Road Special Improvement District

I've been working at a different location the past couple weeks, and as a result have had the chance to drive a commute I typically don't. My drive twice a day has been the vast stretch of Morse Road, from about 270 all the way till it dead ends into High St. I haven't been down Morse past about Cleveland Ave for the better part of two years, so all the construction threw me off.

Starting at Cleveland Ave, there's all sorts of stuff going on. Looks like they're tearing up sidewalks, putting in retaining walls, redoing turning lanes and medians. Drive a little further down, you see trees all wrapped in canvas sitting next to holes dug between the road and the sidewalks. Move East to West along Morse, it's easy to see to progression of the project and I'd say it's looking pretty good where they've finished.

I see a banner hanging from a (new looking) street light, near the junction with I-71, that stated simple "Morse Road Special Improvement District." Needless to say, I had to Google this to find out more.

I found out from Business First of Columbus that a group of property owners along more from Indianola Ave to Cleveland Ave grouped together to form a Special Improvement District. Under Ohio law, it's an area where the residents effectively form a non-profit organization to help maintain and improve on their common areas where the local government isn't willing or able to.

I also discovered a story from the Columbus Dispatch dated August of 2008 about the start of the 2nd phase of the Morse Rd improvement project...essentially, $18 million was spent on infrastructure including reworking sidewalks and laying utility pipes. I wasn't able to locate any stories more recent than this... apparently further judgement/interest is being withheld until the project wraps up (which it seems pretty close to doing).

Seems pretty nice...a pretty good effort, and a definite facelift for the area. The next question (and one that's been asked for the last 2-3 years apparently) is whether or not it will help fill the empty store fronts all along Morse Road. Hmmm...

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm personally thankful for a lot of things...really too numerous to mention...but I think it can all be summed up thusly: I'm thankful for living in this nation, at this point in history, born into a position to help be an element for change.

And just 'cause I don't like the woman, today reminds me of this great clip: Sarah Palin pardoning a turkey, and then giving an interview right in front of the continuing slaughter. I love the look of the guy behind her..."Um, should I wait? Does she realize how incredibly ironic this is? Well, they aren't paying me to stand around..."

What My Blog Is All About

Recently there's been some drama as an indirect result of what I do here...and in the course of said drama, it became clear to me my object might not be as clear to the readers as it is to me.

My goal with this blog is to provide information. I strive to keep things fairly balanced, in that I present both sides (as with my post on the casino amendment in recent weeks, for instance). I do this by reading what one side says, then summarizing it on this blog with links. Then, I do the same with the argument against the issue.

Do I put in editorial comments now and then with these summaries? Yes. Yes I do, especially when I feel passionately on a subject. I'm not claiming to be completely unbiased or that I'm presenting a white-washed, edited-by-my-boss product. However, I try to do my best to keep them from clouding the position summary.

After I've done the informational segment, I generally go into detail what I feel on the topic and why. That's just my opinion...I usually work in a line to the effect of "That's my take, now go read up on it yourself." I don't think I've ever presented my little soap box messages as the truth on a subject, nor have I posted ONLY my opinion and passed it off as information.

It's pretty simple. A lot of people do what I do...and really, the professional services do it better (which is why I link to them all the time). But what a lot of the professional news companies can't do so well is present issues with a local perspective, from a living room that probably isn't much different than yours.

That's what this blog is all about.