Idea

Eureka! Within 3 minutes of my last post, I've come up with an idea that might be worth looking into. One of my friends is a family friend of the guy who runs the Park Street complex downtown (Park Street Patio, Social, Cantina, and Saloon) so I am going to try to contact him to get the man behind the partying. How these places operate, why he does it, how long he's been doing it, and see what kind of a profit they make on a typical weekend. My news angle could simply be giving an inside look at how the places students go every weekend operate day-to-day.

Profile

So this is something I'm used to, being behind. Again, another quarter where I say I'm not going to let myself fall behind, and again, it happens. So gathering from my classmates' blogs, I am supposed to write a profile on a prominent person, place, or business in the Columbus area. So where to go from here. I suppose I'll just keep my ears open and eyes peeled. Stay tuned.

Social Media Addition to Final

John Boehner has a Twitter, which I am now following. He seems to update his Twitter several times a day so that will be helpful. He also has a Facebook page and two pages on websites that I didn't even know existed, Delicious and Digg. I now know Delicious is what they call a "Social Bookmarking Service," so you can post bookmarks to sites and see what others are posting. And Digg seems to just be a network for sharing web content, so pretty similar to Delicious.

5/17 in-class exercise

Slug: Ohio Bad for Business

Short hed: CEO's Rank Ohio 44th in States To Do Business

Long hed: CEO's Rank Ohio 44th in States To Do Business Survey Due to Taxes, Workforce, Living Conditions


Ohio is among the nation’s worst states to do business based on its taxes, workforce and living conditions, according to a January survey of 651 CEOs nationwide, given annually by Chief Executive magazine.

Ohio ranked 44th in the magazine’s "Best & Worst States," up one spot from last year. The state received a grade of “C-“ in taxation and regulation, a “B” in workforce quality, and a “B-“ in living environment.

The state’s most recent rankings in the survey represent a dramatic downgrade among the CEOs, who placed Ohio at No. 20 in 2005. The 24-spot decline was second only to Illinois falling 29 spots in the same period.

Ohio's neighbor to the North, Michigan, received a ranking of third-to-last.

State tax officials blamed the weak assessment on Ohio’s reputation as a “high tax state,” which it is taking steps to shed.

“Perception has yet to catch up to reality in Ohio,” said John Kohlstrand, spokesman for Ohio Department of Taxation.

Since 2005, the Buckeye State has been working to lower taxes while creating a more attractive tax system for business. Local property taxes on equipment and a state tax on corporation profits have been eliminated and replaced with a new commercial activity tax based on the location of a business’ customers. That means when businesses establish new facilities or hire more workers, “they don’t pay additional CAT,” Kohlstrand said.

Marshall Cooper, CEO of Greenwich, Conn.-based Chief Executive Group, shared four comments from surveyed CEOs with operations in Ohio. Three mentioned a need for an improvement in the tax situation one said “get rid of the CAT.”

But Ohio’s overall grades among the CEOs with business operations in the state were slightly higher than the national rankings. Local CEOs gave Ohio a “C+” in taxes, a “B+” in workforce quality, and a “B+” in living environment, Cooper said.

The state’s most recent rankings in the Chief Executive survey represent a dramatic downgrade among the CEOs, who placed Ohio at No. 20 in 2005. The 24-spot decline was second only to Illinois falling 29 spots in the same period.

Despite its weak ranking in the Chief Executive survey, Ohio is home to 23 Fortune 500 companies, including four based in Columbus: Nationwide, American Electric Power, Limited Brands and Big Lots. At least one company on that list, and one that is not, recently announced plans that should result in more than 1,000 local new hires.

Huntington Bancshares last week said it will add 500 jobs in the next five years and keep its headquarters Downtown for 20 more years. Nationwide earlier this month said it plans to fill 600 job openings in Ohio.

Still, Ohio’s unemployment rate remains above the national rate. The jobless rate in Ohio was 11 percent in March. April figures are due out next week. The national unemployment rate was 9.9 percent in April and 9.7 percent in March, according to federal data.

Texas again finished first in the Chief Executive rankings, followed by North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The worst state was California, with New York, Michigan, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois and Connecticut the others that finished below Ohio, according to the survey of 651 CEOs conducted in late January.

Final Project Outline

Doing a profile on House Minority Leader John Boehner.

-Talk to John
-His wife Debbie
-His kids
-One of the people that works in his office
-I'm trying to get another politician that works closely with/knows Boehner

That's all I have for now.

news broadcast

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is David Scott, bringing you today’s news update.

New York City police continue to search for answers regarding Saturday’s attempted car bombing of Times Square.

Police released surveillance video of the scene revealing a middle-aged white male walking away from the SUV containing gasoline containers, propane tanks, and firecrackers, and looking back at it before disappearing into an alley.

Another part of the country was not so lucky in averting casualties, as parts of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi were hit with over 20 inches of rain over the weekend. According to Fox News, at least 19 people have been confirmed dead, with thousands more displaced from their homes as wide scale evacuation procedures were implemented by authorities.

The biggest hit at the box office this weekend was the remake of the 1980’s horror flick, “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” which garnered $32.2 million and took the No. 1 spot. “How to Train Your Dragon” continued its success, pulling in $10.8 million.

From number 1 in the box office to number 1 in the NBA, Lebron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers was awarded with his second consecutive MVP award, receiving 116 of 123 first place votes. Thunder forward Kevin Durant finished second, and Lakers’ forward Kobe Bryant came in at third. James’ Cavaliers continue their quest for an NBA title tonight in Game 2 against the Boston Celtics.

Last week, Phillies’ first baseman Ryan Howard signed a 5-year, $125 million deal to become one of the highest paid players in the MLB. Less than a few days later, people were already beginning to speculate about the contract of a comparable National League first baseman whose contract expires at the end of the season: Albert Pujols. When comparing the two players, Howard supporters are quick to point to his advantage in home runs and RBI’s since 2005, but when you crunch the numbers, there is no comparison. Pujols holds the advantage in every single category besides the two power numbers, and is actually younger! Howard may put fans in the seats with his majestic home runs and insane power, but Pujols never gives away outs, does everything right, and wins games. So my advice to you, Cardinals front office, pay up and make Pujols, who could go down as the greatest baseball player of all-time, a Cardinal for life.

Washingtonians Concerned About Job Security

**In-class assignment**

News Now: 29 percent of Washington state workers are concerned about losing their job, according to last month's Washington State Workplace Confidence Survey conducted by Harris/Decima on behalf of Everest College.

Following the economic troubles of 2009, Washington residents have seen the unemployment rates rise to almost 10 percent, the highest in the state since the economic crisis of the early 1980's, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With nearly a third of the state's residents fearing joining the ranks of the unemployed, many Washington residents are considering returning to school, nearly 36 percent according to the survey. Everest College's enrollment has risen 56 percent since January 2009.

The survey found that those with incomes less than 40,000 dollars fear losing their job twice as much as those with incomes over 80,000 dollars (37 percent to 18 percent, respectively). Nearly two-thirds of Washington residents (63 percent) say they suffer from some sort of work-related stress.