Ohio legislature agrees to four extra snow days

Gongwer is reporting that a conference committee dealing with the House and Senate version of calamity days has agreed to four extra snow days and no teacher in-service requirements.

According to the report, House language was that would have required teachers to go to work for extra professional development as a condition of the extra days was eliminated.

The committee also increased the number of days from the three in the Senate version to four. Schools are still allowed to make up missed days in 30-minute increments added onto regular days.

Final votes in both bodies are expected Wednesday.

70 mph speed limits and turnpike bonds

Ohio Senators added an amendment to the Transportation Bill, Substitute House Bill 51, which would increase the speed limits on highways to 70 mph.

It would apply to all highways in the state, except for stretches through urban areas.

Another amendment, approved unanimously by the transportation committee, would require that 90% of the proceeds from $1.5 billion in Ohio Turnpike bonds go to road and bridge projects within 75 miles of the turnpike.

HB 31 and HB 51 were combined into Sub. HB 51 as part of the committee actions. Gongwer Ohio has a listing of other changes in the Transportation Budget bill made by the committee.

Getting the wrong message

I was listening to the newscast this morning on WSPD and heard a sound clip of Toledo City Council President Joe McNamara talking about his recent election and his current 'exploratory' committee for the Ohio Senate seat being vacated by Theresa Fedor due to term limits.

In the sound bite, he touts his first-place finish in November for the at-large council seats. He was saying that people liked the work he was doing on so council so much that they put him in the number one position.

That is a logical assumption, but he then takes it to an illogical conclusion by saying that he should (perhaps), as a result, run for a different office.

Yes, that's right. His (il)logic is that people are so pleased with what he's done on council that he should leave that position - the one he's just been re-elected (but not yet sworn in) to.

I think he got the wrong message. Or maybe, he got the right message, but has decided to spin it to meet his own agenda.

The problem is, if he decides to run for Ohio Senate (and I believe he will - I don't think he can resist), he'll get a lot of support - and he may actually win. And that will just reinforce the illogical conclusions, causing more politicians to get the wrong message.