Senior Discounts (you'll need these if our governor gets his way with all his cutbacks!)

From RH Jones, July 15, 2011

http://www.bradsdeals.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/108StoreswithSeniorDiscounts-BradsDeals.com_.pdf

108 Stores with Senior Discounts

Gone are the days of your grandmother’s “early bird special” at the local diner. As our baby boomers reach retirement age, hundreds of retailers are featuring new and improved discounts exclusively for the 60 and older crowd. We have composed a list of senior savings that will help you keep more cash in your pocket. Whoever said getting older was a bad thing, obviously didn’t know about these fantastic senior discounts!

Restaurants

• Applebee’s: 15% off with Golden Apple Card (60+)
• Arby’s: 10% off (55+)
• Ben & Jerry’s: 10% off (60+)
• Bennigan’s: discount varies by location
• Bob’s Big Boy: discount varies by location (60+)
• Boston Market: 10% off (65+)
• Burger King: 10% off (60+)
• Captain D’s Seafood: discount varies on location (62+)
• Chick-Fil-A: 10% off or free small drink or coffee (55+)
• Chili’s: 10% off (55+)
• CiCi’s Pizza: 10% off (60+)
• Culver’s: 10% off (60+)
• Denny’s: 10% off, 20% off for AARP members (55+)
• Dunkin’ Donuts: 10% off or free coffee (55+)
• Einstein’s Bagels: 10% off baker’s dozen of bagels (60+)
• Fuddrucker’s: 10% off any senior platter (55+)
• Gatti’s Pizza: 10% off (60+)
• Golden Corral: 10% off (60+)
• Hardee’s: $0.33 beverages everyday (65+)
• IHOP: 10% off (55+)
• Jack in the Box: up to 20% off (55+)
• KFC: free small drink with any meal (55+)
• Krispy Kreme: 10% off (50+)
• Long John Silver’s: various discounts at participating locations (55+)
• McDonald’s: discounts on coffee everyday (55+)
• Mrs. Fields: 10% off at participating locations (60+)
• Shoney’s: 10% off
• Sonic: 10% off or free beverage (60+)
• Steak ‘n Shake: 10% off every Monday & Tuesday (50+)
• Subway: 10% off (60+)
• Sweet Tomatoes 10% off (62+)
• Taco Bell: 5% off; free beverages for seniors (65+)
• TCBY: 10% off (55+)
• Tea Room Cafe: 10% off (50+)
• Village Inn: 10% off (60+)
• Waffle House: 10% off every Monday (60+)
• Wendy’s: 10% off (55+)
• White Castle: 10% off (62+)

Retail and Apparel

• Banana Republic: 10% off (50+)
• Bealls: 20% off first Tuesday of each month (50+)
• Belk’s: 15% off first Tuesday of every month (55+)
• Big Lots: 10% off
• Bon-Ton Department Stores: 15% off on senior discount days (55+)
• C.J. Banks: 10% off every Wednesday (60+)
• Clarks: 10% off (62+)
• Dress Barn: 10% off (55+)
• Goodwill: 10% off one day a week (date varies by location)
• Hallmark: 10% off one day a week (date varies by location)
• Kmart: 20% off (50+)
• Kohl’s: 15% off (60+)
• Modell’s Sporting Goods: 10% off
• Rite Aid: 10% off on Tuesdays & 10% off prescriptions
• Ross Stores: 10% off every Tuesday (55+)
• The Salvation Army Thrift Stores: up to 50% off (55+)
• Stein Mart: 20% off red dot/clearance items first Monday of every month (55+)

Grocery

• Albertson’s: 10% off first Wednesday of each month (55+)
• American Discount Stores: 10% off every Monday (50+)
• Compare Foods Supermarket: 10% off every Wednesday (60+)
• DeCicco Family Markets: 5% off every Wednesday (60+)
• Food Lion: 6% off every Monday (60+)
• Fry’s Supermarket: free Fry’s VIP Club Membership & 10% off every Monday (55+)
• Great Valu Food Store: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
• Gristedes Supermarket: 10% off every Tuesday (60+)
• Harris Teeter: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
• Hy-Vee: 5% off one day a week (date varies by location)
• Kroger: 10% off (date varies by location)
• Morton Williams Supermarket: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
• The Plant Shed: 10% off every Tuesday (50+)
• Publix: 5% off every Wednesday (55+)
• Rogers Marketplace: 5% off every Thursday (60+)
• Uncle Guiseppe’s Marketplace: 5% off (62+)

Travel

• Alaska Airlines: 10% off (65+)
• Alamo: up to 25% off for AARP members
• American Airlines: various discounts for 65 and up (call before booking for discount)
• Amtrak: 15% off (62+)
• Avis: up to 25% off for AARP members
• Best Western: 10% off (55+)
• Budget Rental Cars: 10% off; up to 20% off for AARP members (50+)
• Cambria Suites: 20%-30% off (60+)
• Clarion: 20%-30% off (60+)
• Comfort Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
• Comfort Suites: 20%-30% off (60+)
• Continental Airlines: no initiation fee for Continental Presidents Club & special fares for select destinations
• Dollar Rent-A-Car: 10% off (50+)
• Econo Lodge: 20%-30% off (60+)
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car: 5% off for AARP members
• Greyhound: 5% off (62+)
• Hampton Inns & Suites: 10% off when booked 72 hours in advance
• Hertz: up t0 25% off for AARP members
• Holiday Inn: 10%-30% off depending on location (62+)
• Hyatt Hotels: 25%-50% off (62+)
• InterContinental Hotels Group: various discounts at all hotels (65+)
• Mainstay Suites: 10% off with Mature Traveler’s Discount (50+); 20%-30% off (60+)
• Marriott Hotels: 15% off (62+)
• Motel 6: 10% off (60+)
• Myrtle Beach Resort: 10% off (55+)
• National Rent-A-Car: up to 30% off for AARP members
• Quality Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
• Rodeway Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
• Sleep Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
• Southwest Airlines: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)
• Trailways Transportation System: various discounts for ages 50 and up
• United Airlines: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)
• U.S. Airways: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)

Activities & Entertainment

• AMC Theaters: up to 30% off (55+)
• Bally Total Fitness: up to $100 off memberships (62+)
• Busch Gardens Tampa: $3 off one-day tickets (50+)
• Carmike Cinemas: 35% off (65+)
• Cinemark/Century Theaters: up to 35% off
• U.S. National Parks: $10 lifetime pass; 50% off additional services including camping (62+)
• Regal Cinemas: 30% off
• Ripley’s Believe it or Not: @ off one-day ticket (55+)
• SeaWorld Orlando: $3 off one-day tickets (50+)

Cell Phone Discounts

• AT&T: Special Senior Nation 200 Plan $29.99/month (65+)
• Jitterbug: $10/month cell phone service (50+)
• Verizon Wireless: Verizon Nationwide 65 Plus Plan $29.99/month (65+)

*Check out our Secret Cell Phone Discounts to view all cell phone discounts available to you!

Miscellaneous

• Great Clips: $3 off hair cuts (60+)
• Super Cuts: $2 off haircuts (60+)

Since many senior discounts are not advertised to the public, our advice to men and women over 55 is to ALWAYS ask a sales associate if that store provides a senior discount. That way, you can be sure to get the most bang for you buck.

Posted on 6/28/2011 at:

http://www.bradsdeals.com/blog/2011/06/28/stores-with-senior-discounts/

STRS News Update: ORSC to seek public input on pension proposals

From STRS, July 13, 2011

OHIO RETIREMENT STUDY COUNCIL TO SEEK PUBLIC INPUT ON PENSION PROPOSALS Ohio Retirement Study Council (ORSC) chair, Sen. Keith Faber, said today that he intends to hold Council meetings at various locations around the state in August, September and October to get public input on proposals to strengthen the financial condition of the five statewide public pension systems. At this morning's ORSC meeting, Faber asked members of the Council to review their calendars so that upcoming dates can be determined. Once dates and locations are set, STRS Ohio will share this information via our e-mail news service and on our Web site (https://www.strsoh.org). We encourage our members to attend these meetings to share their opinions with their legislators - and to voice support for STRS Ohio's plan to ensure the long-term solvency of the pension system.

Also at this morning's meeting, the ORSC amended its recently released Request for Proposal (RFP) for Actuary and Policy Advising Services for Pension Reform Issues. Removed from the RFP was a mandatory pre-bid conference aimed at allowing potential bidders to ask questions on the RFP. In lieu of this pre-bid conference, the Council voted unanimously to allow potential bidders to submit questions in writing. Both the written questions and answers would be shared with all potential bidders and posted on the ORSC Web site. As a result of this change, the Council extended the date for final bids from August 11 to August 25.

What do those in another Great Lake state have to say about Wachtmann...and Hite...and Grendell?

From John Curry, July 13, 2011

In Ohio, though, legislators such as Rep. Lynn R. Wachtmann, a Republican who pushed the bill in the House, have come to a clear and very different conclusion.

"Water is money," Wachtmann said during the debate on the bill.

Wachtmann should know.

According to his website, he is president of Maumee Valley Bottling, a water-bottling company, and a partner in Culligan Water Conditioning.

Wachtmann did not return a call seeking comment.

http://www.buffalonews.com/incoming/article486787.ece

Harm to Lake Erie may flow from law

Mass withdrawals of water from Ohio could pose threats

By Jerry Zremski
News Washington Bureau Chief
July 12, 2011

WASHINGTON -- Lake Erie could shrink, thereby harming the habitat as well as the hydropower plants on the Niagara River, as a result of legislation passed in Ohio that would allow any business in the state to withdraw up to 5 million gallons of water from the lake every day without government approval.

That's the message environmentalists delivered Tuesday in reaction to the Ohio General Assembly's passage of a measure that they fear could undermine a much-touted compact among the Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces to protect North America's premier supply of fresh water.

Business interests in Ohio countered by saying that water in Lake Erie is plentiful enough to accommodate the additional withdrawals allowed under the Ohio legislation. About 3.4 billion gallons of water are being pulled out of the Lake Erie watershed every day already, with no harmful effects, they said.

But that's not how the National Wildlife Federation and other environmental groups see things. The environmental groups joined two Republican former governors of Ohio in warning about the dire potential consequences of the Ohio legislation, which now sits on the desk of Gov. John R. Kasich, a Republican, awaiting his signature.

"Lake Erie could see increased harmful algal blooms, reduction in critical habitat for sport fish -- such as walleye, perch and steelhead -- and a loss of recreational opportunities, said Kristy Meyer, agricultural and clean water director with the Ohio Environmental Council.

Katherine Nadeau, water and natural resources program director for Environmental Advocates of New York, agreed.

"The algal blooms would be the most visible impact," she said. "This impacts everything -- the fish and wildlife and the people who want to spend the summer on the lakes with their families."

Noting that Lake Erie already has been experiencing low water levels in recent years, Nadeau added: "If the Ohio statute were to allow major additional withdrawals, that could have serious impacts on our hydropower abilities in New York State."

The bill that the Ohio Legislature approved last month comes in reaction to the Great Lakes Compact, a landmark agreement among the region's states and provinces. Finalized in 2008, the compact bars the exportation of lake water beyond the Great Lakes Basin and requires each state to develop a water conservation plan.

Ohio's plan is the one environmentalists are now lambasting, saying that it undermines the compact rather than fulfilling its mission.

They say that because the Ohio law would allow dramatically larger water withdrawals than other states are contemplating.

Ohio would allow unregulated withdrawals of up to 5 million gallons of water a day over a 90-day period, along with withdrawals of up to 2 million gallons a day from the waterways leading to the lake.

In contrast, the New York State Legislature recently approved a bill that would require a permit for anyone wanting to withdraw more than 100,000 gallons from the lakes in any 30-day period, similar to one passed in Pennsylvania. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is expected to sign the measure into law.

"New York just passed a very good example of compact implementation," said Sara Gosman, water resources attorney for the National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes Regional Center. "It's the polar opposite of what Ohio did."

Kasich has until Mondayjuly18 to sign or veto the legislation. Several of the state's major newspapers, as well as former Gov. Bob Taft and former Gov. and U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, both Republicans, have spoken out against the bill.

Supporters in Ohio see the measure as a potential boon for business. "The lake's not running dry," State Sen. Tim Grendell, a Republican, said during the debate on the issue.

Saying that there is no evidence the measure would harm wildlife or tourism, Grendell argued that the bill would encourage companies that are big water users to locate in Ohio. "What's going to help tourism is businesses and people," he said. "You get more people to relocate to northeast Ohio, they'll go boating on Lake Erie."

State Sen. Cliff Hite, another Republican, also backed the bill.

"There has been a lot of concern, but this is going to balance the economic, social and ecological aspects of the entire basin, and I think it's been done in a way that will help Ohio," he told the Toledo Blade.

The measure is actually a strong improvement over the status quo, which allows uncontrolled water withdrawals from the lake, said Jennifer Klein, director of energy and environmental policy at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, which pushed for the legislation.

"From an economic-development standpoint, we needed something that was realistic," Klein said. "There's no science to show there's a problem" with additional withdrawals, she added.

About 3.4 billion gallons of water are already withdrawn from the Lake Erie watershed every day with no resulting problems, said Klein, who accused environmentalists of engaging in a "misinformation campaign" about the Ohio law.

But the National Wildlife Federation contends that the Ohio law would clearly violate the minimum standards set by the Great Lakes Compact, which requires states to develop management plans that protect Great Lakes waters.

Environmentalists predicted that other states could take Ohio to court over its water law, which prompted harsh criticism from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

"Ohio's bill is contrary to the protective spirit of the Great Lakes Compact," said DEC spokeswoman Emily DeSantis.

In Ohio, though, legislators such as Rep. Lynn R. Wachtmann, a Republican who pushed the bill in the House, have come to a clear and very different conclusion.

"Water is money," Wachtmann said during the debate on the bill.

Wachtmann should know.

According to his website, he is president of Maumee Valley Bottling, a water-bottling company, and a partner in Culligan Water Conditioning.

Wachtmann did not return a call seeking comment.

News wire services contributed to this report

jzremski@buffnews.com

The new state super makes a defense to ethics charges.....

From John Curry, July 13, 2011

http://www.plunderbund.com/2011/07/12/stan-heffner-defends-himself-poorly-against-our-ethics-complaint/

Stan Heffner defends himself (poorly) against our ethics complaint

By Joseph On July 12, 2011

Boy were we surprised when we found out that Stan Heffner not only got a last minute interview this morning for the state school superintendent job – but he actually got the job!

I can’t help but wonder if this still would have happened if we had filed our ethics complaint against Heffner earlier in the process. Of if that would have just gotten him on the list (and away from ETS) sooner.

Either way, Heffner was forced to address the complaint today, and his response is pretty – well – bad.

In short, our complaint alleges the following:

• While working as the interim superintendent for Ohio’s schools, Stan Heffner accepted a job offer from Educational Testing Service (ETS) – the company that provides teacher testing to Ohio.
• Three weeks later, Heffner used his official position as superintendent to represent himself as an expert and provided testimony to the Senate Finance Committee regarding House Bill 153 and specifically recommended that the committee adopt a provision that would expand teacher testing and direct 2.2 million dollars annually to ETS
• Heffner provided opinions that contradict previously published documents from the Ohio Department of Education and at no point during his testimony did he declare his relationship with ETS nor the financial benefit to ETS as a result of the passage of the legislation.

Ann Sanner of the AP followed up with Heffner:

Heffner told reporters that his testimony before the committee references how the budget contains among its provisions the need to test teachers at low-performing schools.

“There is no quid pro quo,” he said. “The type of work I was going to do with ETS is student assessments. These are teacher assessments. It’s a completely different division. I would have had nothing to do with it.”

He said he has touched no contracts with ETS in his role. “I have done nothing with it,” he said. “So for this blogger to fabricate charges for whatever his agenda, I think, is despicable.”

According to Gongwer, Mr. Heffner also claimed that his testimony “was written by his staff”.

I think Heffner’s “staff” should probably have help him craft a better response, because this one – to put it bluntly – sucked.

For starters, it hardly matters WHAT he would be doing at ETS. The fact that he accepted their job offer, then went in front of the Legislature and voiced his support for legislation that would financial benefit his future employer is completely inappropriate and, yes, dare I say “despicable”.

And his other claim – that he didn’t even write his own testimony? Is that supposed to be some kind of excuse?

Oh… jeez… sorry… I went in front of the legislature and read off some statement that someone else wrote, so you’ll have to excuse me if I accidentally promoted legislation that would provide my future employer millions of state dollars.

Not an excuse.

The only thing that might have made this go away would be Heffner not taking the job with ETS. And 12 hours after we filed our complaint, that seems to be exactly what happened. It is unclear exactly what led up to Heffner suddenly being considered for the Superintendent job but I’m guessing it might have something to do with his support for Kasich’s education agenda and maybe, just a little, to do with our ethics complaint.

Not STRS but related to one who doesn't like STRS' (and other Ohio retirement systems') retiree benefits.....

From John Curry, July 11, 2011

.....like the "Honorable"(?) Lynn Wachtmann from Napoleon. You remember, don't you? You know, the politician who wanted to base Ohio public servants' retirements on the average of their entire service career rather than the average of the best 3 years? ("Wachtmann agrees with some of Mayer's sentiments. He said final average salary should be based on a 30-year average, and that the state should move to a defined contribution plan.")

Well....Representative Lynn Wachtmann has another brainstorm and this one will ensure the livelihood of his bottled water enterprise at the expense of Ohio taxpayers, boaters and fishermen.......here it is. I have had a personal experience with this topic below and will relate so at the end of this article about Lake Erie.

John

http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/07/toxic_algae_love_this_bill_edi.html

Toxic algae love Ohio water withdrawal bill: editorial

Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 11, 2011
By The Plain Dealer Editorial Board

If Gov. John Kasich signs Substitute House Bill 231 into law he could unleash a blooming disaster on Lake Erie.

(Click images to enlarge)

Toxic blue-green algae already poses a significant threat to Ohioans' health, drinking water and $10 billion-a-year tourism industry. Scientists refer to the environmental eyesore as cyanobacteria. It is an apocalyptic shade of green and smells as gross as it looks. It produces a toxin, microcystin, that is harmful to humans and animals. It blooms bigger and earlier each year, fed by phosphorus that pours into the shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes from farms.

Substitute House Bill 231 would allow industry to withdraw massive amounts of water -- more than neighboring Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario allow. It violates the spirit and possibly the letter of the 2008 Great Lakes Compact -- no surprise since one of its sponsors, Sen. Tim Grendell of Chesterland, worked tirelessly to torpedo that pact. (Its other sponsor, Rep. Lynn Wachtmann of Napoleon in Northwest Ohio, heads a bottling company.)

Less water in the lake means more concentrated levels of phosphorus, which means more blue-green algae.

Kill the bill, Gov. Kasich.

* * * * *

Now for my personal experience related to this very same issue.......and a plea:

As an educator (STRS) retiree (and an OPERS retiree - combined retirement) I have had a personal experience with the problem of algae and its ugly presence on another Ohio lake. For 12 years (full time summer and weekends in the spring and fall) I worked as a seasonal park officer (ranger) for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources at Ohio's largest inland lake, Grand Lake St. Marys. During my tenure there one could find the summer months of July through October with increasing amounts of algae developing at Grand Lake's surface.

This was caused primarily by runoff of watershed farm fields fertilized with manure and commercial fertilizer and aided by watershed homeowners using commercial fertilizer on their lawns that washed off during heavy rains. The result was an ever increasing contamination of the water with not only troublesome algae but also fecal coliform bacteria which caused the closing of the state's beaches at an ever increasing rate. End result.....the state's beaches found themselves posted with the "No Swimming" warning because swimming in the lake's water was unsafe.

Since my retirement from both teaching and "rangering" in 2000 the problem at Grand Lake St. Marys has increased in severity. Recently millions of dollars in home and real estate value loss has resulted and the Auglaize/Mercer county tourist industry has dropped to a trickle which has killed the local economy. Here are a few shots of what Grand Lake looked like last summer. It's too bad that the photographs don't include the stench that one could smell coming from the toxic blue-green algae. Some people even became ill due to contact with the toxins produced by the algae and pets became ill and died due to swimming in the lake.

This year, the State of Ohio has spent over one million dollars treating this lake with alum in an attempt to clean up this cesspool in the making. Will it work? The jury is still out.

The bottom line is......do we want Lake Erie to look the same? You might want to let Representative Lynn Wachtmann know. (district75@ohr.state.oh.us) It's not worth his conflict of interest to find out...is it?

John
........................................................

The Blade Editor points the finger directly at Kasich!

From John Curry, July 10, 2011

http://www.toledoblade.com/DavidKushma/2011/07/10/Kasich-fights-a-revolution-for-the-favored.html

Kasich fights a revolution -- for the favored

Toledo Blade, July 10, 2011
BY DAVID KUSHMA
BLADE EDITOR

You say you want a revolution? Even if you don’t, Gov. John Kasich and his Republican cohorts in the General Assembly are giving Ohioans one. It isn’t pretty.

During their first six months in office, the new governor and GOP-controlled legislature have launched a radical — and, I’d argue, damaging — transformation of state government. The Kasich Revolution also is imposing itself on local governments and schools, as well as a broad range of social, economic, and political issues that touch all our lives.

The bus Mr. Kasich uses as a metaphor for his aggressive administration — “either get on it or we’ll run you over” — hasn’t idled since his inauguration in January. If anything, it’s picking up speed.

That’s evident in the two major Republican initiatives of the first six months: the new two-year state budget and the law that would gut public employees’ collective-bargaining rights.

The budget slashes state aid to essential public services on which Ohioans depend — education, public safety, social programs — in order further to enrich millionaires, large businesses, privately operated schools, and other Republican-favored special interests. It privatizes valuable and sensitive state assets for scant returns.

By largely shifting the state’s fiscal problems to local communities, counties, and school districts, it greatly increases the prospect of local tax increases — which the governor and lawmakers will be sure to criticize.

Mr. Kasich insists that his strong medicine will force local governments to become more efficient, share services, and merge. Toledo Mayor Mike Bell, who calls himself an independent, observes that he embarked on that course well before the governor took office.

“We can take care of our own house,” the mayor told me. “We need to take the politics out of what people want.”

Lucas County Board of Commissioners President Pete Gerken, a Democrat with a union background, isn’t so circumspect.

“There are a lot of things I don’t need this governor to do,” he says. “They’re transferring the debt from Columbus back to Toledo.” He laughs and quickly adds, in old-time pol argot: “I ain’t raisin’ no taxes.”

It appears that voters will get the chance in November to pass judgment on Senate Bill 5, which goes far beyond updating the state law that governs public-sector collective bargaining — something Ohio needs to do. Instead, the governor and lawmakers would effectively strip 350,000 public employees of many of their rights to bargain at all.

The liberal advocacy group Innovation Ohio notes that Governor Kasich won election last year by barely 77,000 votes, while 16 times that number of Ohioans signed petitions to force a popular vote on Senate Bill 5. So whose mandate is it anyway?

No matter. The Kasich Revolution is being waged on a wide front that extends well beyond budget and labor disputes. Much of the revolution is conducted clandestinely, without adequate public information or debate.

The governor and lawmakers justify virtually everything they do by asserting it will create jobs. That’s why, they tell us, we must allow private drilling for oil and natural gas in state parks and on other public lands, whatever the environmental implications.

It’s why we evidently have to allow larger unregulated water withdrawals by businesses from Lake Erie and other sensitive Ohio waterways than any other Great Lakes state tolerates — even if such venerable Ohio Republicans as George Voinovich and Bob Taft say it’s a bad idea.

You can argue, however wrongheadedly, that environmental protection simply can’t be allowed to obstruct needed economic growth and job creation. But what about the rest of the GOP agenda?

How many jobs will the governor and lawmakers create by authorizing concealed-carry permit holders to bring their guns into bars? Is it really that important to genuflect before the National Rifle Association, at a time when Toledo must deal with increasing gun violence?

How many jobs will Republicans create with legislation that would require Ohioans to display photo identification before they can exercise their right to vote — an expensive House-passed mandate that the Senate could vote on this week? Ostensibly to fight vote fraud that Republicans haven’t shown, because it doesn’t exist, the bill potentially could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters, many of them poor and old.

How many jobs will the GOP create by imposing Draconian — and arguably unconstitutional — restrictions on Ohio women’s abortion rights, as several bills galloping through the legislature, soon to compete for the governor’s signature, would do? Is it so important to feed red meat to the party’s base that such extremist measures get waved through?

There are some things to like about the Kasich Revolution. The governor seeks to control costs in the state’s sprawling Medicaid program by eliminating wasteful duplication of services and encouraging patients to get long-term care at home whenever reasonable.

The effort to develop a merit-pay program for teachers also has promise, even though there’s a long, hard way to go before the state develops a usable system. Initiatives that aim to find options to costly imprisonment of low-level and nonviolent criminals are valuable.

But such positive matters don’t begin to balance the scales with the bad stuff. And it’s not over.

We can expect Mr. Kasich, Republican lawmakers, and other elected GOP officials to work to gerrymander legislative and congressional district boundaries this fall in a way that will seal their party’s dominance for the next decade.

After that, who knows what’s next? An easing of regulations designed to prevent environmental damage from gas drilling? An assault on injured private-sector workers covered by the state’s workers’ compensation program?

I can’t believe that the Ohio the governor and Republican lawmakers envision is a state where most of us want to live. But I could be wrong.

So I’d like to hear from you. Do you like what you’ve seen of the Kasich Revolution? Are the governor and lawmakers truly doing what we elected them to do? Or is it time to yell at the bus to stop — or at least to slow down?

Please tell me — and The Blade’s readers — what you think.

David Kushma is editor of The Blade.

Contact him at: dkushma@theblade.com

Coming to an Ohio public school near you....and soon!

From John Curry