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Crooked River Cast Show 30
151 Plays1 month ago
Crookedrivercast.com
Crookedrivercast@gmai.com
- Shut down update.
- How is the new H-1B Visa rules effecting Ohio.
- Northeast Ohio tax levies on Nov ballots.
- Ax The Tax petition/Tax Panel.
- Listener question: Is Ohio’s property tax constitutional?
- Ohio redistricting updates.
- Ohio’s new health “emergency”.
- What is a Barrier removal fund.
- Because crime is so low Akron needs new safety measures.
- If Lakewood isn’t woke enough…
- Case Western activists FAFO.
- Giant Eagle cuts prices till end of the year.
Good Things:
- Geauga horse back riding.
- Cleveland Beer Week is going on now.
- Help name the new baby Rhino at the Cleveland Zoo. That’s too easy!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Crooked Rivercast
00:00:01
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Crooked Rivercast. I am Robert, your host. And joining me every week is Tom as we attempt to try to stay in front of some of what is going on Northeast Ohio and then complain about it.
00:00:14
Speaker
This is show 30 recorded on October 11th, 2025. I got it right. Another week has gone by and we've got stuff to talk about as always. So let's get into it.
Humorous Reflections on Past Mistakes
00:00:27
Speaker
Let's go.
00:00:29
Speaker
Let's go, Rob. My name is Tom since you never introduced me. but I just say joining me every week is Tom as we attempt to stay in? I was so concentrated on getting in the month rate, I probably did forget your name.
00:00:42
Speaker
I don't know. i Sometimes I start thinking about what to talk about and you're in the background for 30 seconds there. I think I may have done that right this week, but last week I was highly, highly wrong on the, on the month I was off by quite a bit.
00:00:59
Speaker
Uh, and, and honestly, as I was reading through this morning, reading through the, just making sure i actually thought as I was reading it, October or August, no October. Oh, well, I, speaking of that blunders, maybe there's another one we can, we can poke at myself on, um,
00:01:20
Speaker
We talked about late in last week's show on the turnpike turning 70. o And as I drove it for about 500 miles this week, went on a a few times for some trips for work. And and i think I said something like, yeah doesn't the turnpike end at 480?
00:01:38
Speaker
No, it doesn't. No. or you The reason I think that because I don't know if I've ever been past the 480 exit because oh really live. i don't I don't remember going because of where I live. I'm always getting off of 480 and going, you know,
00:01:51
Speaker
I don't know if I've ever actually driven past the 480 exit on going west or so yeah heading heading east. Heading east. heading coming like Coming from Toledo, i would just i would just get off the 480 exit off the turnpike and then go from where. You've never taken it to the PA turnpike then?
00:02:08
Speaker
I've taken it, yes, but and I think yeah getting on after somewhere else area somewhere else, like in Hudson or from 271. There's that stretch there. I'm like, that existed. yeah yeah there's that stretch there im like i didn't even know that existed I was like, ah I'm like, as I'm driving, ah you know, I get off the exit. I'm like, looking over going, I'm not sure I've ever driven that way before.
00:02:28
Speaker
So it was, ah I was that oh laughing at myself. So yeah, turnpike does extend past 480, everybody, just in case. I think we had it right. I think I literally said, i I think, yeah, I think I literally said it did. I'm like, you're an idiot.
00:02:43
Speaker
But that was pretty funny. I got a giggle out myself in the car by myself that as it tried to drive me into the to the the truck next to me because, you know. There are times like I think about like what I said on the podcast and I'm like, oh, God, I'm such a retard. Yeah.
00:03:00
Speaker
yes And I'm like, man, how can I correct this? And there's really no way. There's no way. It's out there. It's there forever. We'd have to have a whole show correcting ourselves. we could I mean, we could.
00:03:11
Speaker
I'm not sure anyone would want to listen to it, but it actually could be funny. It could be funny. Maybe one day. One day we'll collect enough of them and get a full show out of it. Next week something like that.
00:03:23
Speaker
So anything going on this week with you, Tom? We got got got some news about a little stuff, it seems like, some reviews and stuff like that.
Tom's Excavator Adventure
00:03:33
Speaker
I had a busy couple of weeks.
00:03:35
Speaker
Last week I ah rented an excavator to move a little earth. Oh, yeah. I need to trench out the backyard where it's all soggy and kind of add a little place where the water can run. And then on the side of the house, I was getting water in the basement.
00:03:54
Speaker
ah Hardly any, but a couple times a year when it would rain for like a couple days, ah was just pooling up against the house. And that happened like when I had the sewers connected years ago.
00:04:08
Speaker
And it just it just was never right since then. So re- you know We graded it, I think. that Yeah, added different grading to it. I mean, you had me at an excavator, by the way. Yeah, it was kind of fun.
00:04:23
Speaker
Yeah. But strangely, it's like, you think you're just sitting there all day? Like, it took me about six hours total. And I didn't realize how much it kind of beats you up while you're there, while you're working on it.
00:04:36
Speaker
Especially the little smaller ones, the ones on the smaller side. and And honestly, because I done that a couple years ago in the front yard and and I hear you. Yeah. And it's mentally, you're like trying to figure out what to do with everything. And remember, ah don't hit the house, you know, and don't swing it this way and take out the block wall. Yeah.
00:04:54
Speaker
I went in the backyard just to work to trench out that area. I wanted to trench out just to practice. I didn't really have to do that, but I was like, I'm going to practice away from the house. Yes. And, uh, you know,
Travis Tritt Concert Experience
00:05:05
Speaker
thankfully I did. Cause I was jerking myself around a lot there.
00:05:08
Speaker
Oh, that sounded wrong. Oh, ho ho but, uh, yeah. After I got the hang of it took about 20, 30 minutes to get a hang of it and, and ripped out some shrubs and,
00:05:21
Speaker
And other stuff. still laughing at it. and Cool. Then after I got done, we went to see Travis Tritt at the Akron Civic Theater, which really cool.
00:05:33
Speaker
that's right. Which was really cool. A good show. You know, I'm not a... It was one of those shows, I'm not a My wife and I decided to go... I wanted to go. i'm not a huge Travis Tritt fan,
00:05:46
Speaker
I love his stuff, but I don't sit there and crank it up on the radio. You know, i don't I don't have any of his CDs, but I wanted to go because I know he was going to have a great band. And that did not disappoint me.
00:05:58
Speaker
The band was excellent. It was all live, no triggered drums or keyboards or anything like that. He had a seven piece band. That's including him. it was just, uh, well he had, uh, there was, he played some guitar, acoustic guitar and electric guitar.
00:06:16
Speaker
He had a guitar player. uh, a keyboard player, a drummer, a bass player, ah pedal steel player, and of ah fiddle guy who occasionally would play ah acoustic guitar too.
00:06:31
Speaker
It was an excellent show, and the guy can still sing. I think he's right about 70 years old, and he still puts on a good show. Wow, 70 already. Geez. I think he's right right around, he would either year or two under that or, yeah, right in there somewhere.
The Smart TV Dilemma
00:06:49
Speaker
And, uh, oh yeah, my TV took a crapper. No, your plasma. Yeah. 21 years, 21 years old. twenty nine years old Finally, I've been waiting for that thing. I'm like, that can I can't believe that thing lasted that long. That's like one of the first, i remember helping you get it on the wall.
00:07:09
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. i Actually, yesterday I had some ah ah yesterday he had some ah topsoil delivered. I had a the guy, the driver, I offered him a few bucks to help me get it off the wall.
00:07:21
Speaker
Because that's that sucker's heavy. Yeah, I remember putting it on and then I remember putting mine on. years and years later, I was like, this is it? so and They got a lot lighter. Oh, God. And then lighter and thinner. i I was looking at some new ones. We have we have an old one that we had at our photography studio that I'm using in the meantime, ah which I was able to get on the wall myself. yeah it was ah It's a 50-inch instead of a 55-inch, which I look at and go, ah, I'm downgrading. It's so small.
00:07:52
Speaker
Yeah. But I was looking at a 65 inch. It's an LG model. I forget the name, the model number. But yeah, I think that thing weighs like 35 pounds.
00:08:05
Speaker
so good luck Good luck picking out a TV because... Oh, i know which one I'm going to get ah eventually. I'm not getting one right away. If you... I looked for a new TV now because we need one just because i was like, oh, I could use a bigger one.
00:08:18
Speaker
They're not that expensive. And they're not that expensive because it's filled with ads and and and ah software to collect information so they can sell it. If you try to find one without, they're like $4,000.
00:08:33
Speaker
No kidding. So if even a $1,500 really high-end TV, 15, 60, 65-inch, whatever you want to do it, or whatever size you're looking at, they all have something that you have to sign up for.
00:08:45
Speaker
there are there are i think there are ways you can get around that because it's pain in the butt, though, I hear. Well, what if I'm just using an Apple TV? Yeah. There is still, so like for Amazon, for example, they want you to sign up your with your Amazon account and you can get away with, get around it, but you you miss out on some of the features, but it's it's also something that's just constantly bugging you but to sign up and because they actually lose money on TVs and they make a lot, like Samsung, and those people are actually starting to make more revenue from selling your information than they are in the TV that they sell you. Is it watching you too?
00:09:24
Speaker
Well, I don't know if it's they have cameras or not. Maybe. i mean, if it has a camera, it could. But I think really what they're doing is just selling the information to advertisers. It's probably listening to you. It could, yeah. Yeah, because a lot of them have their voice now.
00:09:36
Speaker
Yeah. That old the whole thing where ah you can talk to it. And they all have own software, and they all, all the software I've ever had, I've ever seen on these, they all they're horrible. And you know what?
00:09:47
Speaker
Now that really bums me out. Because I was looking at the television I wanted. was $1,500. fifteen hundred dollars It's an got look that.
00:09:57
Speaker
oled you know now now i got to look into that Yeah, looking at it, they could have changed stuff, or maybe there's something out there you can do about it that doesn't make it so. But it it really discouraged. was like, yeah, never mind. I'm just going keep my dumb my dumb TV. I have a Plasma. I have one of the last Plasmas that was sold. Not sold, but that was you know ah ah model, but one of the last models.
00:10:16
Speaker
Right. And if there isn't there aren't no more, and it's one of the last dumb TVs. I don't know if they you could even get a dumb TV. I don't know. and I think they're really expensive. I thought I can just get around it by using an Apple TV, which I would prefer because it's got, it's a better, uh, uh, a better, um, yeah. Interface. Well, yeah, it's quicker. They're so slow and clunky. Check it out. Maybe, maybe just turning it on and setting it on input would, would get it past it, but yeah, yeah, maybe not. a But you could, yeah, let me know. Cause but maybe you don't let me know. Cause then if you do in this and I'll be looking for TVs and that's probably,
00:10:54
Speaker
buthoo That's, that's, wow. uh, hold on just a silence for your that
00:11:04
Speaker
Okay. Perfect. All right. On to our list of stuff to get into and stuff to
Federal Workers' Lawsuit
00:11:12
Speaker
discuss. I thought we'd do a ah quick shutdown update for a government shutdown. We are on day, i don't know, 10. I don't even know what day where we are.
00:11:20
Speaker
ah and And recently, just this morning, I saw a Ditsy article. there They're sending out layoff notices. So saving some money.
00:11:33
Speaker
But this story came up from the idea stream ah that that kind of caught my eye and it was a... Federal workers sue the education department over partisan shutdown emails.
00:11:46
Speaker
So apparently the federal workers the workers federal workers at the Department of Education We're shutting everything down because they're going into shutdown as as it loomed and got closer.
00:11:56
Speaker
And after they after they shut down, I think they kind of get locked out of their ah computers or whatnot. I would assume they do, but maybe not. But what they've but they found was people they were getting feedback from that their out-of-office emails, out-of-office automatic responses were being changed.
00:12:15
Speaker
And it ah so Federal Worker Union is suing the Trump administration administrations for inserting language into the Department of Education's employees' out-of-office email message, blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.
00:12:29
Speaker
i mean, what does it say here? It says... ah
00:12:34
Speaker
It's the radical left. it's the It's the Democrats. They're locking it up. It's not the Republicans. You know, they're they're saying this are free speech and for civil servants to force, forcing civil servants to speak on behalf of the political leadership.
00:12:51
Speaker
Leadership's partisan agenda is blatant violation the federal employees. First Amendment rights. ah Where is the I want to get the language of the. a ah probably pull it up.
00:13:04
Speaker
No. It's because it does. I mean, it's not, I don't, I don't think it's on like factually. It's a hundred percent factual. Yeah. Yeah. But they are, they are blaming it on the Democrats, which I mean, it is their fault, but.
00:13:21
Speaker
Email reminds those who reach the Department of Education that we cannot respond because Senate Democrats are refusing to vote for a clean CR and funding the government. Where's the lie?
00:13:33
Speaker
that's That's the question from Deputy Assistant assistant Secretary for Communications in a statement to NPR, ah Maddie. ah that Whether it be Biderman, Biderman, Biderman, something like that So that's why that's the funny part to me is like, well, I can understand their point because like, hey, you don't change my out of office, but is part of, the you know, you're working for the government. So you kind of give up a little bit of that for certain things. But also it's not factually, ah it's not untrue.
00:14:03
Speaker
They are refusing to vote for a clean CR bill. Yeah, I guess i I find it hilarious because they should have done it in Trump's speaking manner. Oh, yes, they should have done it. This is totally the crooked Democrats' fault.
00:14:19
Speaker
yeah The radical left is coming for your health care. Yes, they should have had an automated or a a voice. A little AI version of Trump's voice.
00:14:33
Speaker
But ah it's I think it should be you know nonpartisan. Yeah. I mean, I could see kind of their point. Yeah. But I also go, well, I mean, it's kind of true.
00:14:46
Speaker
but It's kind of true. And I thought the um you know part of me was like, well, it's the Department of Education. I don't really care. get him out. ah I thought it was closing up anyways.
00:14:58
Speaker
Well, theyre they're defunding it, I heard, right? So what's their name? Linamick Mann? Is that who? Yeah.
00:15:06
Speaker
I used to watch wrestling, so it's very hard for me to and understand how how the heck did she get into that position? don't know. She's a leader, right? She used to wrestle. She used wrestle. She's a leader, though. I'm not saying she's doing a bad job, right? I'm just like, they came out of the blue for me when he got elected. I'm like, wait, that McMahon?
00:15:25
Speaker
Like the same one? The same one he wrestled probably with. I don't know. Who knows? Maybe. At one time. That was around that same time, yeah. Yeah. He was involved with this stuff. Yeah. but that's Anyway, I'm not saying she's, yeah, just something to get used to hearing that name in and in the government. It's crazy. But hey, leadership. I mean, she and they've run a great, her and um Triple H, her husband, who.
00:15:48
Speaker
That's her husband? Yeah. They're married. Triple H? Triple H and McMahon are, yeah. They were dating they were dating when um I watched wrestling like 15, 20 years ago.
00:15:59
Speaker
Something like that. I thought this was ah Ed McMahon. I thought this was McMahon's wife. No, it's his daughter. I think it's his wife.
00:16:11
Speaker
You think it's his wife?
00:16:14
Speaker
Good question. Because I thought it was his daughter.
00:16:18
Speaker
No, it's his wife. She's old. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, I see it now. Never mind. Sorry. yeah Totally you're wrong. You'll be thinking about this driving your truck tomorrow.
00:16:31
Speaker
Uh... yeah I mean, it's a mistake. She has the same last name. Would have much cooler if a former wrestler was in charge of the Department of Education. Yeah, no, no. He gave this to her. I would think because she knows what she's doing.
00:16:48
Speaker
And I mean, she was definitely hired to dismantle the department. More power to her. Mm-hmm.
Controversy Over H-1B Visa Fee
00:16:59
Speaker
yes Next on our list, on to HB1 visas. like This kind of article we pulled up, um or I pulled up because, oh, the horror, Tom. Now everybody has to pay more. So this all started, President Trump put an executive order in changing the HB1 visa rule.
00:17:19
Speaker
H1B. H1B visa. I even have it in the notes wrong. H1B visa. Changing it on the fly, Tom. and be because I will reference it again and get it wrong.
00:17:30
Speaker
And well i think got little clip here from um News Channel 5. But certain certain companies are complaining because it's it's a little pricey because they went from $5,000 I brought to $100,000 per applicant ah per year.
00:17:48
Speaker
Per year, yeah. but what I'd like to hear let's hear what they have from channel just a couple of... A little background and stop it if you hear anything you want to talk about.
00:17:58
Speaker
but I think if we listen to and hear who's complaining about it, we can we can really have not much sympathy, I don't think. Here's Channel 5. Every day they're calling me freaking out. Immigration attorney Stacey Cozart-Martin has helped countless employers file H-1B visas. Freaking out.
00:18:16
Speaker
Her clients, especially in health care, panicked over a major rule change. She's like, we have 21 docs that are ready to go. To them, that's $100,000 a pop. Stacey says previously filing an H-1B petition could cost between $2,500 to $5,000.
00:18:37
Speaker
But on September 19th, the Trump administration issued a proclamation requiring $100,000 fee for each new H-1B petition. The problem, it's unclear who pays for it. It's very difficult for employers.
00:18:52
Speaker
Are you sure that's the problem? Like, are we are they really confused and who pays for it? i That made no sense to me. No, it didn't change. The same person pays for it. well Who paid for it when it was $5,000?
00:19:05
Speaker
Right. ah Continuing. to fiscally budget for next year's 2026 h1b cycle because they don't know visas allow us employers to sponsor foreign workers for specialty jobs these rules typically require a bachelor's degree or higher your engineers lawyers Physicians, most companies must go through cap and lottery system for H-1B visas, but hospitals and universities are cap-exempt, meaning they can hire more freely. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, as of this year, 3,831 H-1B petitions have been approved in Ohio alone.
00:19:47
Speaker
Cleveland Clinic leads the list with 201 approvals. followed by Ohio State University. I think employers are going to shy away from sponsoring people for H-1Bs. News 5 reached out to the Cleveland Clinic, which said they're still waiting on additional guidance from the federal government.
00:20:02
Speaker
University Hospitals wrote the following. The newly implemented $100,000 H-1B fee poses a significant challenge for health systems nationwide. They add that they will continue to file H-1B petitions.
00:20:16
Speaker
As for Martin, she warns the impact won't just be economical. It'll be personal. You go to talk to nurse Cindy and she's been there. She may not be there anymore. We're born in Cleveland.
00:20:26
Speaker
you know cindy that was fun Yeah. That's the, that's why I left. I was going cut that out. Like, no, you got it. Yeah. I'm sure her name's going to be Cindy. Yeah. Yeah. Coming from Rwanda or wherever, India, usually. I mean, that so couple things where poor babies Ohio State is complaining because they may have to pay, and don't know, what did that come to?
00:20:50
Speaker
They had 161 applicants. They'd be like, what, $1.6 million, dollars right? $100,000 per? um I'm so sorry. Are you guys running out of money at Ohio State?
00:21:04
Speaker
Do you guys not have enough money to do this? Come on, please. Cleveland Clinic?
00:21:12
Speaker
It's a nonprofit that just rolls in dough. you'rere you're complaining because you might have to pay a pay $2 million. dollars Okay, fine. Then hire some American doctors. Are you telling me with all the college, gra all the college people going to college, we don't have enough doctors.
00:21:28
Speaker
I haven't heard that, um but I, I still sometimes don't believe it. I don't know. are you americans I'm not worried about the doctors. um I'm wondering if they're hiring like,
00:21:42
Speaker
you know, janitors. Well, that's, this this prevents them from hiring like ah somebody who overseas to do lower level yeah lower level stuff and not a janitor, but you know, somebody, somebody that's maybe ah just doing some mean menial work around the hospital. a bachelor's degree is a pretty low bar nowadays.
00:22:02
Speaker
Well, and doesn't everybody just get one of those? those yeah thats Yeah, exactly. So I think that's that needs to be that needs to be raised. But I think the whole point of this is to push companies to hire Americans.
00:22:15
Speaker
Yeah. So... I wouldn't care they... How come no one ever mentions that? And, you know, they don't bring it up well. The one solution is just to hire Americans. Well, I wouldn't care if they did... if they took that fee out if they couldn't find a doctor, you know, like if if you can't hire a doctor because, you know, there's not enough ah American, you know, American citizens applying or going to school for that, or, you know, taking that type of role on, then i don't mind them taking the fee out, but the fee should be in there for nurses and anybody else really, i think.
00:22:58
Speaker
and And there's a cap on most companies, but except universities and hospitals. They're exempt from any restrictions on how many they can bring in. Yeah.
00:23:09
Speaker
Per the report. I'm not sure why universities need that. um I could see why maybe the hospitals would, especially if you're looking at a higher quality candidate who's from out of the country.
00:23:21
Speaker
Mm-hmm. But i i it feels like it's just been way too easy for them to just hire in all these, like you're saying, low-level people who are a lot of times getting paid less, and that's why they're able to afford the... They'll pay the $2,500, $3,000 because they can pay them 20 grand less a year.
00:23:40
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Instead of a $60,000 a year job, they're paying them $45,000. That's the kind of stuff that I'm worried about. You know, the doctors, I don't... That's...
00:23:53
Speaker
So that's an easy solution.
00:23:58
Speaker
what how What do you mean easy? Well, yeah okay, if you can't find enough doctors and you need to go overseas to find somebody, then just, okay, get rid of that fee. Oh, yeah, waive it. Or if there's an issue, waive it. actually I see. Yeah.
00:24:11
Speaker
The H-1B visas, are they're they're abusing them. they're They're not... finding the best they're just finding somebody to fill a role that they can pay for pay less you know and that then where where's the abuse mostly where's the we're abuse who's who's abusing it mostly do you think uh i would i would think it's in the tech industry definitely yeah they are definitely taking advantage because they can get yeah much cheap engineers and programmers than uh than american ones so
00:24:47
Speaker
That's kind of where this is really focused on, I think. But as they say, that there's a large majority of these that are medical related. i think i think you're right. I think they that would be a good good fix. let's Let's put some exemptions in there for medical.
00:25:02
Speaker
But everything else should, I mean, i'm not I'm not worried that Ohio State's going to run out of money. Again, look up look up how much they got sitting in the bank from it from leftover donations and endowments. I mean, it's billions of dollars.
00:25:17
Speaker
And they're not going, they're not hurting. I mean, neither is Cleveland Clinic, but I could see a need, know, I'm with the best doctors. Yeah, it should always be, you know, hiring the best, not the not just because, you know, you're getting a doctor for a little less. I don't know if that's happening, but.
00:25:38
Speaker
Yeah, and i'm i'm you're probably right. it It isn't. I just, to me and the in the report, it's it's never brought up. Like one solution is you have to hire American. They did, I did cut out to Bernie Marino where he's like, we can't, can't keep having them companies bring in Basically what he was saying, what you were saying is, is hiring people off with on this program because they're cheaper than Americans.
00:26:02
Speaker
But I just, somebody needs to, mean, it is an option.
Abolishing Property Tax in Ohio
00:26:10
Speaker
Speaking of options, you've got options when you go to our website, crookedrivercast.com. You could listen to the show. You can subscribe to the podcast.
00:26:20
Speaker
in You can find out where we're on in X. You can check out the show notes in our little blog post every week. And ah you got a lot can get a lot out of it. There's a lot of information compiling there um ah from our all-out-of-the-different shows.
00:26:33
Speaker
So check it out. And if you need to get a hold of us, crookedrivercast at gmail.com. Share the show. Tell your friends. We really appreciate the time. Really do.
00:26:47
Speaker
right, Tom. it's it's You know what season it is. You know it's coming up. I know everybody's probably thinking it's not holiday season. but What season's coming up? Oh, it's so ballot box time, right? Tax levy season.
00:27:04
Speaker
and And we've got another list from just Northeast Ohio alone. i think there's, don't know, a couple dozen.
00:27:16
Speaker
tax levies. and There's 60. Yes. Okay. So many dozen, many dozen and anywhere, anywhere from, I mean, all over the state, really, if you look at, they have an so we'll have a link from the idea stream. They got an interactive map you can go around and check out your community and see who's got a levy, what it is, how much it is, whether it's an emergency levy or renewal levy or an operating levy.
00:27:41
Speaker
Not that you really know what any of that means, but you can at least,
00:27:45
Speaker
So find out what which what your community is doing, if they're doing anything. Here's little we'll recap here from the idea stream, and they got a couple of things we can talk about.
00:27:57
Speaker
Elyria City School District's operating levy failed in the spring, and the state cut the district's funding by almost $4.5 million dollars in the biennial budget. Even before that, Treasurer Colleen Aholt says state tax changes have shifted the burden of funding schools onto residential homeowners.
00:28:13
Speaker
So back in 1991, it was 46% were by homeowners, and now it is 67.5%. So it definitely shifted from the state to the homeowners.
00:28:23
Speaker
Parma Schools is also on the ballot again this November with an operating levy, as is Streetsboro. Vermilion Schools are also trying once more for a bond to update old buildings. Connor Morris, Ideastream Public Media.
00:28:37
Speaker
They're all scrambling because Columbus is changing the rules. And that's a next story on a list is just adding to that, just a quick, almost not even really getting into too much of the details, just, just kind of to point out the, just the massive, um i mean, there's gotta be a couple dozen bills already going through legislature right now for property taxes.
00:29:01
Speaker
And I thought, I thought we can, Maybe we can um figure out or or see why this is happening and why it it almost seems like they're a frenzy, Tom.
00:29:14
Speaker
Maybe ill almost a panic because of this tax to tax bill, this petition going around to eliminate property taxes. And i thought maybe we since we ah we have we have new listeners constantly, let's review who Who are so many people behind this and just kind of little bit background on on the actual grassroots of this whole thing and why it started.
00:29:41
Speaker
And we had originally came across Miss Blackmore on the Housing Nerd a few months back. We played a little bit from her. It's kind of where i got introduced into this petition.
00:29:53
Speaker
And that's when it was in its infancy stages. Now it's now it's a full blown petition. It's all over the state. So I thought maybe we'd review it a little bit and go over why she decided to get involved and what happened in her case.
00:30:06
Speaker
ah she's I think she's a pretty typical case in the middle class kind of area and and what happened. So let's this this is from the housing nerd from...
00:30:18
Speaker
Last week, I believe. And Michelle Blackmore, I think it is. Oh, shoot. I forgot. didn't even write it down. And here she is. she's ah She's part of the Citizens for Tax Reform.
00:30:34
Speaker
Beth, how you doing today? Beth Black. I'm doing great. So real quick, let's just set the stage. Tell us just briefly about who you are and how you got involved in this property tax fight. Last year, got I went out, got the mail, came in, I'm going through it. You know, you kind of sort junk mail into the recycle and so on. And I threw the mail into the recycle, the junk mail.
00:30:57
Speaker
And something happened to catch my eye. It said valuation or something. And I just took a second look at it. Pull this back got out. I'm like, my gosh, that's the Cahogia County re-evaluation. I'm going, what's going on here? Let me see. open it up and I was shocked. I make a very long story short. They increased my valuations from $188,000 $299,000. I got bedroom bungalow postage stamp, century home.
00:31:20
Speaker
dollars like two-ed bungalow on a posted stamp ah s andr all original in Lakewood. I mean, this is nothing. This house is nothing. Yeah. And, uh, which was a 51.9%
Ohio's Tax Relief Measures
00:31:31
Speaker
increase and boy, oh boy, that panic.
00:31:33
Speaker
So I started calling around, figure out what to do, get an appraisal. They said, yeah, the candidates to get an appraisal, get estimates or whatever. I did all that. Um, Meanwhile, I called the city to see if they might be interested in, you know, helping their senior homeowners, in particular senior homeowners that are struggling with property taxes. And and basically, they're like, well, no, no, we're not interested. And I'm like, you know, we're anchor homeowners. This is, you know, we keep your neighborhoods nice. What you, what, what?
00:32:02
Speaker
You know what happens? You know, then it occurs to me at all by naivety that, you know, why kill the cash cow? You know, they're getting these huge increases. This is a boon to the city. Why would they do something? I'm like, boy, I'm really, I'm really naive. So anyways, so, you know, between the county and the city, at some point, one of the one of them said to me, um ah you know, maybe you should just sell your home if you can't afford the property taxes.
00:32:30
Speaker
And I just went from panic to fuming. I mean, I saw red. So in any of event, I'm scrolling through social media, came across a post that Keith Davey had made, S-O-S,
00:32:42
Speaker
Save our seniors. Property tax, blah, blah, blah. Hungarian Congress Center. And I went and volunteered to be on the steering committee. And the rest was history. We changed the name of Citizens for Property Tax Reform.
00:32:54
Speaker
And we've been working on it ever since. So 51% revaluation on our house going from, what, $180,000-some $290,000-some. Yeah. $188,000 to $290,000. Yeah. Crazy.
00:33:06
Speaker
yeah in hundred eighty eight to two ninety s yeah crazy Insane. So ah there's a lot of legislation going through Columbus right now, and we'll we'll dive into this one real quick here just to give it an example of when the House just passed a bill to allow communities, our our counties, excuse me to lower taxes.
00:33:26
Speaker
It's Bill HB 309. It's the Budget Commission Overhaul Act that reinforces, reinforces, that county budget commissions must annually review taxing authorities' budgets and set tax rates based on the need for revenue and voter approval, whether it needs to be re-approved or you know what kind of tax it is. So it's re-enforcing, which means they're already supposed to be doing this.
00:33:58
Speaker
It also allows the commission, ah which consists of county auditors, county treasurers, and county prosecutors to amend levies and reduce ah jurisdiction's millage rate.
00:34:12
Speaker
should the commission conclude that the government would collect unneeded or excess property taxes. This is just one of many different things that are trying to push through. A lot of them are, I think there's some of them that pretty, pretty good.
00:34:26
Speaker
um but They may give us a little bit of relief, but I, I, I think it's, they're all band-aids. What's your opinion? Yeah, they're not really doing it. I don't think you're goingnna feel anything from it.
00:34:41
Speaker
They're not bad. I mean, long term, I guess they would help, but you're not going to feel anything anything in the short term. Still kind of relying on a government official to do the right thing. Yeah, yeah.
00:34:52
Speaker
In a lot of cases. um So that kind of worries me. um But, yeah you know, I think so. I think there's going to be a you more of this, these bills and man, it's, it's hard to even keep track. There's so many and they're all, they're all kind of similar overlapping. So I assume at some point, somebody's going to probably try to put them all in one bill or lump them into a couple different bills.
00:35:17
Speaker
And I don't know. I think, I think, like I said, it's all bandaid and it it is so complicated and all this does is make everything more complicated it put these restrictions and triggers and levers and, and, and tax breaks and,
00:35:32
Speaker
i don't I don't see. i think i I feel we need to just rip the band-aid off, lop it off, and start from scratch. and one way we can do that is by abolishing property tax and not giving them, and forcing our legislatures, our elected officials, to act and to figure this out.
00:35:52
Speaker
It's not working. It's broke.
00:35:56
Speaker
Yep. Okay. Yeah. No, yeah we we just abolish property tax and start over. Figure it out. Yes. we we're all we're all getting We're all getting bent over ah with these property taxes and and it's not sustaining. You can't sustain this. but We're not expecting like, woohoo, let's get rid We're not going to pay any tax. Yay. No, that's not what we're talking about.
00:36:22
Speaker
Figure it out the proper way so that everybody pays into it equally. And one of the ways you can do that is sign this petition. And that's kind of what we keep pushing here.
00:36:33
Speaker
They've got a Ohio tax panel coming up. And it is oh October, October. Yes. October 21st. Doors open at five. Discussion starts at six. And it's at the West side Hungarian reform church on Pyridus Avenue in Cleveland. That's where they're having one of these.
00:36:53
Speaker
believe that's the place she mentioned ah Beth Blackmore went to in her first meeting. Just open panel discussion. They're also going to, and you could sign a petition there. So that's,
00:37:05
Speaker
That's one way you can do it. You can sign a petition there or any of these events. And I thought they were going to stream it too. For some reason, I don't see that on here. lot of times they stream these things too. So you can even even check out what it's all about.
00:37:17
Speaker
there's going to open discussion, asking questions. going couple different um Lake County commission ah but a lake countya commissioner. and they're going to have ah John Pletnick.
00:37:29
Speaker
I've seen him on a couple of shows. ah Brian Massey was one of the lobbyists for citizens that we've talked about their website. And Tom, give it a shot.
00:37:43
Speaker
Tom's of this double ski. This is a Vistovsky. You know, it's bad when two Polacks can't get it. Yeah, you got it. I think you got it. Yeah. The president of the people convention.
00:37:56
Speaker
We, the people convention, but we'll be there asking, taking questions and speaking. So check it out. We'll have this up on this up on the show notes in the website. If want review it, check it out. You've got little bit time to figure it out. But if you don't want if you don't make it there, we'll also have Axe the Tax website, a link on for their website on the show notes too, where you can, like she said ah in ah in this interview, you can plug you can plug in your county and they'll tell you where where they have all the information.
00:38:27
Speaker
Petitions to be signed. A lot lot of you can make an appointment and the people have it at their house. People have it at their house or there's a doctor's offices that have it. So, uh, yeah, I should just say storefronts, you know, yeah that have it.
00:38:40
Speaker
And, yeah, you could probably find some, ah ah place close to your home or so on on your, on the way home from work or something. and Yeah. Or you can set it up and, and stop there and sign to take you few minutes if that.
00:38:52
Speaker
And You can, anybody who is a registered voter can sign the petition. You can sign it anywhere in Ohio. You can sign it in any county in Ohio, as long as you sign, you sign a sheet that has your county on, on the, on the front.
00:39:08
Speaker
Oh, okay. That's even easier. Yeah. So even if you go to, so if you were at somebody's house in Geauga and you're from Cuyahoga, all they'd have to do is go online, print out a Cuyahoga petition you'd sign that piece of paper. It just has to have your county at the top.
00:39:22
Speaker
And then you could sign it. But you could sign it anywhere in the state. And as long as you're registered voter. Check out those links. Get down and get that petition signed. Got to get on the November of 26th ballot or ah for the November election.
00:39:38
Speaker
election And they need all the help they can get. So that website is A-X-O-H-T-A-X.com if you want to find a place to sign.
00:39:50
Speaker
We'll have a link on our website.
00:39:54
Speaker
There's that. There's that one checked off. a and then i do have But I do have a question for, listener question I'd like to but out there. I'd like to know, what do our listeners think?
00:40:07
Speaker
Is Ohio property tax constitutional?
00:40:14
Speaker
It is not. Is it? I think you might be right. It's been ah the Supreme Court. Ohio Supreme Court has twice said it's not.
00:40:25
Speaker
Yet we continue to get taxed. Well, they said that funding schools through property tax was not constitutional. But there is a there is a state ah amendment or...
00:40:40
Speaker
It's in the state Ohio State Constitution about taxing property. Is it constitutional around the country? That would be my question.
00:40:52
Speaker
Because ah the federal the Constitution supersedes state constitutions. If it's in the Constitution, it will supersede state constitutions.
00:41:03
Speaker
send us Send us your thoughts. CrookedRiverCast at gmail.com. Let us know what do you think. And if if so, tell us why. If not, tell us why. can discuss it on the show.
00:41:15
Speaker
It's something that I'm looking into because you sent me that but video. Yeah. he was He was talking about that, and there's ah there's quite quite the scam going on, I think, quite the scam going on with the appraisers and and you know ah school districts and the connection they have between the appraisers and all this other stuff. I'm not quite there yet.
00:41:38
Speaker
Still trying to parse through it, but if nationwide, it's not just an Ohio problem.
Ohio's Redistricting Debate
00:41:46
Speaker
Next update, I guess we'll try and parse through some of this redistricting stuff that's going on in Ohio. It's fallen out of the news since Texas is no longer arguing over with Democrats, so it's not not quite as pronounced as it was a month or so ago. But it is a redistrict in year redistricting year for Ohio per state law, so they have to do it.
00:42:10
Speaker
Right now, they're pretty far apart. um The Republicans want, um there's 15 U.S. House seats ah it up in Ohio, 15 districts. And the Republicans want 10 to be Republican and two, no, they want 12 to be Republican and three to be Democrats. Right now, it's 10 and five.
00:42:31
Speaker
So there's 10 Republican districts and House seats and five Democrat ones. And Republicans want to make 12 three. The Democrats want to make it eight to seven.
00:42:44
Speaker
so they're kind of far apart. and i and i And I think you're right on this, Tom. I think this is... This has to be bipartisanly... pat I mean, has to be bipartisan.
00:42:56
Speaker
I've read that a few times. Like, it has to be passed, and there has to be at least one Democrat. Right. ah But instead of upholding our duty and passing a bipartisan fair map, Republicans refuse to participate.
00:43:07
Speaker
Republicans say, not so fast. You know, the Democrats are saying, well, you you you missed your deadline. And Republicans are saying, actually, the deadline's not so, like... think they said November.
00:43:20
Speaker
So i'm I'm kind of under the impression is just get it past Republicans. You have the majority, but maybe I'm wrong. I don't know. that I think you have to be.
00:43:29
Speaker
is it is that what you've seen? Has to be bipartisan or do you not? No, I think if they miss the deadline, then the Republicans can just pass it without any Democrat. You're using the committee or. Yeah, yeah.
00:43:42
Speaker
but they're They're not going to get a Democrat to agree on that. So they're going to go through the back door. Okay. Yeah. Okay. My problem was with just get it done, Republicans. You have the majority, but in this case, don't think they can. So maybe this is the their way they're ramming it down their throat.
00:44:00
Speaker
Yeah. And Democrats would do the same thing if they could. Right, that was kind of my point. i was just like, why are you why he's a bunch of wusses, Republicans? Just ram it down their throat like they ram it down our throat.
00:44:11
Speaker
I mean, andm not necessarily the way I want do politics in Ohio, but... No, I don't want it to work that way either, but when it comes to things like this, it's there's no there's no way around it.
00:44:24
Speaker
Democrats, it's it's so they want to go strictly by like... popular vote. Popular vote. And the thing is, it's it's like you got three large metro, but more than three, but you know, or you got Cleveland, Cuyahoga, should say, you got Franklin County and whatever counties down there in Cincinnati that is 90%.
00:44:45
Speaker
ninety percent Democrat. That's where they're getting all their, you know, 12 to three. Yeah. Yeah. Because if you look at the ah voting map by party per county, it's all red except for Cuyahoga.
00:45:00
Speaker
Yeah. And and then that other one by Cincinnati. Yeah. We should probably look up, but yeah. Yeah. So that's where they get in 12 to three, which makes sense. it I mean, it's not it's not a popular vote, is it, in Ohio? No, they wanted 12 to three, but so I think some Republicans wanted 13 to two.
00:45:19
Speaker
Yes. which Which, as far as Ohio goes, that's kind of... 12 to three is pretty... you know That's where it should be at. I think that's representative of ah the counties and how they vote.
00:45:30
Speaker
Yeah. We'll see. I think it's going through. Like you said, there's, they're just biding their time and then they're going ram it, ram it through. So let's, yeah. Um, they introduced a couple of bills.
00:45:43
Speaker
I'm just trying to make sure. Yeah. So they're unlikely to agree to, uh, an eight to seven. highly doubt. That's because of the popular vote they're going off, which is what Democrats just have been relying on and railing on for, for, since I can remember.
00:45:59
Speaker
And
00:46:02
Speaker
No, it's not how we work here because that's why we're a republic and not a democracy. Right. All right. Check that one off. Tom.
00:46:14
Speaker
What? We've got a health emergency.
00:46:18
Speaker
We've got a health emergency. Oh, my God. The
Governor DeWine's Hemp Product Ban
00:46:20
Speaker
children. it's It's a health emergency. Everybody look out. What's going to happen? mr Mr. Governor, Governor DeWine has passed or has signed an executive order. He wants to be a little more like Trump and start signing executive orders, banning all the sale of hemp products or intoxicating hemp products, as he calls it.
00:46:43
Speaker
And just banned him. emergency Emergency Act, signed a piece of paper, banned him, at least for 90 days, they're saying. And let's try. ah Yeah, he can't make a law. he's just It's an executive order. It's 90 days.
00:46:58
Speaker
I think he's trying to force the state legislature to do something. Yes. Let's hear from our our friend, Morgan, on what this is all about.
00:47:11
Speaker
Because, I mean, Well, the first, the very very beginning of the clip is worth the whole clip. So listen to DeWine read this. That was pretty funny. So check it out.
00:47:24
Speaker
Medic 8 ED. Nerdy bears. For nearly two years, Governor Mike DeWine has begged the lawmakers to take action against what he calls intoxicating hemp.
00:47:35
Speaker
Low-level THC that can be bought at gas stations and smoke shops. And can look like regular candy. The products aren't regulated and don't have age restrictions. I'm taking action today to protect Ohio's children.
00:47:49
Speaker
And after two years of nothing, DeWine has taken matters into his own hands, signing an executive order temporarily banning all unregulated products containing intoxicating hemp.
00:48:00
Speaker
By law, the governor has the authority to declare a consumer product safety emergency if there is reason to believe that a product has been adulterated So this new for me, out so the governor can just ban a product, you know, in this emergency sense, if he thinks it's been adulterated. Okay, that's news to me. I didn't know they had that much power.
00:48:22
Speaker
All right, so what, I mean, he may have a point to some of this. If you saw the press conference or any of the press conference, they are, I mean, they are deliberately targeting kids.
00:48:39
Speaker
Because he's holding up two, he's holding up, what are they called? Gummy clusters, nerd gummy clusters, which are... so good so it's a gummy roll in nerds it's just mean and the next on the other other hand is the the hemp product which it looks almost identical it looks almost identical to the nerds product the gummy nerds and so i get the point but what could they have done
00:49:13
Speaker
What could they have done that was, I mean, i think that's kind of where he's probably pushing the legislature by signing the, giving them the benefit of the doubt because to me it's government overreach, but.
00:49:25
Speaker
I think there he's just trying to get them to back get it behind the counter, you know, and get ID'd for that. Right. And here's the second part of this. It's what, what's a better idea? What else could we have done? and age restrictions is, is what they're talking about.
00:49:42
Speaker
Yeah. Bryant says that she wishes that the lawmakers had actually banned hemp for minors instead of DeWine banning it for everyone. A 21-year-old age restriction was something lawmakers were considering until the Senate pulled out of a deal with the House this summer.
00:49:59
Speaker
Do you blame the Senate for the governor having to get involved? Whose failure is this? Well, ah if we want to place blame, well, this initiative is a bad initiative.
00:50:09
Speaker
Perhaps the hemp order helps. Perhaps it hurts. DeWine's order lasts for 90 days. 90 days. So when does it take ah effect? I think in a week or two. i think I thought it was, know, probably in the article.
00:50:26
Speaker
I don't think it was immediate because I i did hear some reports that, you know, hey, stock up. Yeah, that's what I've i've been hearing too. Because it's illegal to, not illegal to use it, but illegal to sell it. One of those kind of things.
00:50:40
Speaker
Right. Yeah, I don't see a date. It doesn't say. So maybe it is immediate. I don't know. I was watching, I have a a, i have a friend on a
00:50:53
Speaker
on Instagram that works at a CBD place that sells that stuff. She was, she was saying, i gotta, I gotta to listen to, to it again. Cause I think she was saying, get, get on in to get your, uh, yeah.
00:51:06
Speaker
Stuff before we can't sell it. yeah and one of the and there's already a lawsuit being filed and one of the backers behind the lawsuit are some breweries i think great lakes brewing company now they have some happening there's stuff right they're they're starting to create or drinks with with it in there which makes makes sense yeah i mean that's and a lot of lot of people are saying a lot of the reports i'm saying are hearing or reading or are people saying yeah i like going here because apparently at the dispensaries it's the it's way too good
00:51:38
Speaker
Because they're saying it's way too powerful. And I've got a friend who, he'd go to Michigan for his wife and for him, but but mainly for his wife.
00:51:50
Speaker
And what he would go to pick is the lowest THC level because it was all way too potent for him. She's like 60-something, so she's used to the crappy weed from the studies. It's not even that. It's not the crappy weed.
00:52:03
Speaker
They're taking all the CBD out of it at the dispensaries. And then you when you get the Delta Knight or at eight stuff or whatever, and if you got a little bit of THC in there, you're still getting ah a bit of a buzz, but you're also getting the benefits of the CBD, which lot most people want that. And they don't want the, I'm not going say most people, but if you're You know, if you're looking just to relax, it's probably the best way to go. Yeah.
Concerns Over Edible Hemp Products
00:52:30
Speaker
but Most of the, he's saying most of the strains are, they grow them for low CBD and high, high THC, like super. Right, right, right. So there's a better balance. It's usually what's on sale is the low THC stuff. So he's always, he's always happy about it.
00:52:47
Speaker
Well, there's a better balance between that and CBD, which and well from personal use, I don't use it a lot. But ah the stuff that you get at the dispensary with the higher THC, I feel like I get a little bit more of the jitters, oh yes I guess, for me.
00:53:06
Speaker
And then I've tried the Delta 9 stuff, and it's way more relaxing where where it's like, oh, yeah, take this. A couple hours before bed and I'm ready for bed.
00:53:18
Speaker
You know? Yeah. Yeah. You're not looking to do major anxiety or anything like that. And that's what this woman that I cut most of her off that started a second clip.
00:53:30
Speaker
She's yeah, I just, it slows me down. calms me down a little bit, but I can't take the other stuff from the dispensary because it puts her out of commission, basically locks her to the couch. Yeah, well, either that, like for me, it's the jitters. It's like all a sudden I feel like I got this like nervous energy and it's awful.
00:53:48
Speaker
I can't stand it. No, that's the complete opposite what you're. Yeah, I know. Well, it' it's edibles, you know. Okay. And on on another, and just pure coincidence, I thought I would share this with the listeners. a complete coincidence that Channel 5 also came out with this story about children and gummies.
00:54:12
Speaker
According to Ohio Poison Centers, edibles have been involved in the majority of reported cases this year among children under the age of five. Ninety percent were treated in a health care facility and two out of three patients were admitted to the hospital. out Among those children, 30 percent were treated in the critical care unit. It's a concern for local agencies and medical professionals who are now focused on educating families about these dangers.
00:54:40
Speaker
ah 30% of what? 90% of what? Two out of three of how many? like i like i think they say it in the and the other part of the clip, right?
00:54:52
Speaker
this was ah This was the whole clip. there was No, I don't think so. So in the article, it states that is that quote. I think there was a total of, if I remember correctly, I listened to she says, yes, sorry, go ahead. I think there were 30 total.
00:55:08
Speaker
In her county, and in Lorain County. Oh, okay. I thought it was in Ohio. Yeah, no, there is. there is I did look i did find go further. I think I was listening to the Windsor report. and He mentioned total numbers.
00:55:20
Speaker
And it's literally like, it went from 150 280. Yeah.
00:55:28
Speaker
yeah And yeah, um you're probably going to have that when now the availability is there. It was kind of like weird that first of all, when I read the article, where I'm looking at it right here. it It says, no, it just, it's a, it's one paragraph and then there's the clip underneath it, but it literally just says the same kind of thing. Children under five, 90%, two thirds, 30%.
00:55:52
Speaker
And it's kind of, to me felt like very, was kind of lacking some context. And yeah, they always do that. Yeah. they And that's kind of wasn't my point. It's not really, it's, it's, it's got to ask these questions like,
00:56:05
Speaker
It's 90% of what? Because it could be, you know, you went from one to two. Right. That's 100% increase. oh But it's it's minimal right now. But they're like, well, it might be because more available. It might be because the parents are stoned and the kids are just looking at candy. That that looks delicious.
00:56:26
Speaker
Yes. Before legalization, there were probably virtually no gummies available. I mean, it was very hard to get them because you you're not not like somebody's just making gummies at their house, I would imagine.
00:56:36
Speaker
Some seems like kind of of i I know you can do it, but it seems like it's for a stoner might be a little too far yeah of a reach. But now, yeah, of course. So, of course, they're going to be more.
00:56:50
Speaker
I just thought it was funny that there were like back-to-back articles with DeWine's ban in this. The rest of that clip, too, I mentioned. This reminded me of when I was growing up. If you're passing out candy to trick-or-treaters, the bag of sweets will likely cost you more this year. Oh, wrong article.
00:57:06
Speaker
Well, they did bring that up at during the end of this, yes. yeah If you see gummies, make sure you look at them really closely. Yeah, it's like nobody's passing that out. and But remember when we were growing up that, oh, you know, if somebody's passing out an apple, there might be razor blades in it and stuff like that.
00:57:21
Speaker
Yeah, it was such a hoax. That whole era, there was never an incident where there were razor blades in an apple or whatever. I think it was like there was one guy who did it to like one person or something like that.
00:57:38
Speaker
ah there was ah There was a shred of truth to it. Yeah, but it wasn't... ah But it was like it was like a focus, like someone was trying to kill somebody else, not like they were three distributing it to the whole neighborhood.
00:57:49
Speaker
Right. And it just got out of hand. Yes, I remember, because when I go trick-or-treating, I could not eat any any of my of my candy until my parents looked through all of it. Yeah, that's what they're telling them to do. That whole era, it just reminds me of the satanic panic from that era, too. Everything was...
00:58:07
Speaker
Don't play the record backwards. Yeah, it was crazy. Don't play your record backwards. it might yeah So what we do, we played our records backwards and ruined them. So now there's some kind of gummy panic.
00:58:19
Speaker
Yes. ah yeah Yeah, you kind of have to be smarter than the but gummy that you're that you're ingesting. And but they they're like, oh, but look at these. They're kid friendly shapes and all these all these shows squares. I mean, they're showing gummies like gummy bears and and gummy animals but they're that they're they're conflating that with. And then they show the ah marijuana gummies and they're just squares.
00:58:42
Speaker
All I would tell is parents that are on that stuff, just freaking put it in ah some type of lockbox or up on the highest shelf. In the report about... yeah Getting lockbox or something like that. yeah I mean, i think that's extreme, but... It's like a prescription Don't do it front of your kids.
00:59:00
Speaker
Make sure they don't see it. Don't leave a pile of Vicodin on the counter. Be a freaking like good parent. Just like gummies. Don't leave a pile of gummies on the counter. Don't leave Vicodin on the counter. it is ah It's a drug, so...
00:59:15
Speaker
So let's see what they do with this ban. I'm curious on why the Senate and and House broke off from but putting some age restrictions on it. Oh, i I don't even think they were trying to do that.
00:59:30
Speaker
yeah At the time when we reported it on that or when we talked about it, we were I was thinking they were just trying to figure out a way to tax it. Okay.
00:59:41
Speaker
You know, the way they do the, you know, the dispensaries. That's what I was thinking they were trying to do. And I still think that's what they were trying to do, but they were like, oh, there's really no way to do this.
00:59:53
Speaker
Right. It sounded like, though, they had a they had something going on and then they they have disagreement and then they. Yeah. How to text. and The Senate backs. Yeah, I guess. I'm thinking maybe it's somebody's ah campaign donations were going to be affected by it.
01:00:08
Speaker
but it Could be that too. Yeah. That's kind of the first place I go, but you know, that's my cynical side. All right, back to our list.
01:00:20
Speaker
What have we got next here? So health emergency check.
01:00:27
Speaker
Subscribe to the show. Please go to the website. Check us out. Share share the show with your friends. Go on Apple. Leave us review. Subscribe. Send us some feedback. Let us know what you think about that whether property tax is constitutional.
01:00:43
Speaker
um Let us know if we're missing anything. there's any stories you think we should be covering differently or at all, just shoot us a line, shoot us a letter, and we'll look at it.
01:00:54
Speaker
We'll see if it's something we want to discuss. and help us out. We can use it because we're just two schlubs just talking about the news and complaining all day. ah Next on our list.
01:01:07
Speaker
Oh, yes. What is a barrier removal fund? and Anybody ever heard of a barrier? I never heard of a barrier removal fund. It's something pretty new. There's a story I think you sent my way.
Barrier Removal Fund Success Story
01:01:22
Speaker
Yeah. Anything you want to start it off with or? Uh, it's good story. Yeah, no, i think I think it's a real good thing. There's a, there's a I don't know if it's a called a foundation or there's a program called Greater Cleveland Works where they help somebody who's trying to advance their career. They need to go back to school and they can't afford it. So let's say they got a kid. this This story revolves around a woman who wants to get a better job.
01:01:52
Speaker
She wants to get into, I think it was like construction work. It looks like like Crane is the heavy operator. Yeah. So she couldn't she couldn't do the apprentice program because she had nowhere to, she couldn't put her kids into.
01:02:09
Speaker
ah So she owed, ah she owed Africa $289 back payments. So she couldn't, she couldn't afford to pay the 289. And this foundation helped her with the 289 so she can get back on track and getting getting through the apprentice program.
01:02:26
Speaker
And i think she's two or three years into it now. It's a four year program and she's making a lot more money now before she was working like two or three, ah you know, I call it jobs, but they, you know, you know, it was, yeah, they're like gig. She's probably delivering for Amazon and yeah Uber and stuff.
01:02:45
Speaker
Yeah. Things like that. So she, you know, she was, she was struggling and she, and this foundation, helped her pay that 289. And I think they helped her out with a few other things, but I, I would save this for actually the good things segment because I thought it was pretty good.
01:03:03
Speaker
Yeah. I was thinking that too. And I, as I, as as I started reading, i'm like, Oh, this is kind of nice. And then I, I don't know. i tried I tried to follow the money. Yeah, I did. and I did that too. yeah It was it was a little a little convoluted in my opinion. is a lot of groups, a lot of... It seems like a very inefficient way to help these people out, and that's kind of my problem with it.
01:03:26
Speaker
i I'm glad that they helped this person. I see where this could be a problem. I'd like to ask questions, though. Like, did we... Are we helping these people learn how to manage their money better? Are we helping them learn how to to live more responsibly? Because I think a lot of lot of people get in this trouble because they've never learned how to balance a checkbook or budget budget their funds, that kind of stuff.
01:03:51
Speaker
I think there's some of that, but you know like for this you know a single mother I don't know why she's single and, you know, all that. So I looked into this. They get this. This is from a Cleveland works, got a grant of $450,000 they're using this money to help, uh, lower wage people find a way to, uh, start earning more money. So,
01:04:20
Speaker
I thought um early, you know, just looking at it. On the surface, yeah On the surface, it's it's it's so it's a pretty good program. And i I was like, well, where do they get the grant from?
01:04:31
Speaker
Which I don't think they say in this article. Yeah, they do. ah do Do they? They got the thing from the Cleveland Foundation. The Barrier Removal Fund is primarily funded from the, wait for it, American Rescue Plan, which is the pandemic seamless from the Biden administration.
01:04:50
Speaker
Because the they say ah Cleveland and Cuyahoga County to our is a novel approach for the major workforce development agency in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County to offer a wraparound fund, said Rose of the Greater Cleveland Works.
01:05:06
Speaker
Most workforce services are funded through the Federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, she said. The program often restricts paying for innovations. It's weird way to...
01:05:18
Speaker
um to to call this. that So it says the program often restricts paying for innovations such as wraparound services services funds and and accepting funding from private foundations.
01:05:32
Speaker
That's when it says ah the Bayer Removal Fund was was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, which is a pandemic stimulus money that sometimes doesn't carry the restrictions of other federal support.
01:05:45
Speaker
um And actually had a story I pulled from, i i was going to say for last week, and I just kind of pulled it in as a, I mean, we still might get into it next week, but this is, it's it's not the same group, but it's related because it's the jobs group.
01:05:59
Speaker
And it's the Ohio.News has a article on Ohio jobs, Ohio funding increase increases their funding. This group called ah Jobs, Ohio funding increases as jobs creation declines.
01:06:13
Speaker
And it kind of goes through, i don't want to get too much, it's a lot of numbers and stuff here and there, Ohio Jobs spent billion, in cash.
01:06:26
Speaker
enough to pay ohio's two hundred and thirty five unemployed meant workers eight thousand dollars in cash Instead, they're saying for that price tag, it created 14,000 jobs for twenty five only the state's total job growth or one point nine billion dollars So i I think these programs are, they i think they're started with great intentions.
01:06:51
Speaker
I mean, this person got helped and that's great. I just, I've always looked at it. If you look in here, they're like, oh yeah, we' not now that we have this money, we can hire these people. We can hire, nonprofit used a grant to hire a director of strategic initiatives and a manager of employer solutions.
01:07:08
Speaker
I did look up how much they they pay people. And yeah, the ah salaries are, some of the salaries are pretty high. and this In this one, in the Jobs Ohio one.
01:07:19
Speaker
Well, I didn't look at the Job Ohio one. i looked at the Cleveland Foundation and this one. And yeah, there's there's some higher ah your salaries. I think from now on, I think the money's going to be coming from Cleveland Foundation for this program.
01:07:35
Speaker
You know, they got that initial grant. They got an initial grant of $60,000 from the Cleveland Foundation, I guess the rest of it from that ah that COVID fund, basically.
01:07:48
Speaker
yeah And i think from now on, it's coming from the Cleveland Foundation, which is he mostly donor fund.
01:07:59
Speaker
funded foundation. And that's, they do say that they can't, you know, some of sometimes arere restricted by getting, depending on where they get the money from, because some funds are restricted from getting private donations. That that's kind of where I'm going.
01:08:12
Speaker
I, I'm not saying we don't help people. I like, we've talked about safety nets and you you know, I am less in favor of safety nets because of this kind of stuff. I think this, for example, jobs, Ohio,
01:08:24
Speaker
says, its executives, meanwhile, enjoy salaries averaging $330,000 a year. Wow. think there's way better ways to to spend this money. And when you put government in charge of it, you you have layers and layers and layers. And that's what this article reminded me of. I'm like, I'm so confused on who's paying for this and where the money's coming from because they're just this group, that group, this group, that group, that group, this group. And you're like, what?
01:08:49
Speaker
Yeah. Who's paying all these people? you Every group has five or six people. They got to pay a hundred thousand dollars a year. You know, it's like, I guess when I say there should be safety nuts, I think there should be, i I'm in favor of safety and that's, but you know, you have to keep a close watch on safety nuts. Similar point. I would like to see one. I just like, i I think just human nature is, is goes against that because we were always trying to take advantage of it. It's just the way we are. Yeah.
01:09:14
Speaker
And unless you've got, but we talked about our email from last week, unless you're willing to make those hard choices and tell people no, it just it just snowballs out of control a lot of the times. And they get so big and bloated. Yeah, yeah. you're not helping You end up not helping more.
01:09:28
Speaker
You need a foundation to watch the foundations. That's what I'm going to start. When they're privately funded, they're a little easier to, in my opinion, at least, maybe not, but they seem to be a little easier to to keep an eye on.
01:09:41
Speaker
A little bit because they they're still getting a lot of money from from like corporations and sometimes you wonder why. Yeah. I don't know. there's's There's some fishiness to some of that stuff too and to who they give their money to.
01:09:58
Speaker
Yeah. butgie Reggie Rucker got busted back in 2016 because he was getting money from the Cleveland Foundation and he was using it inappropriately, let's say. Yep. Yeah.
01:10:09
Speaker
So I think the the biggest control is if the foundation, the private foundation, the private charity, it's a little shady. People stop donating. When the publicly funded one it gets a little shady, the money keeps rolling in because it's just part of the law. You know, it's part of the funding program.
01:10:25
Speaker
So it's it's it's a little easier to police, in my opinion. And and I think you get a lot more out of your money. But it really depends. I mean, there's a lot of ah charities that, you know, 60 percent of their funds are for administration, too.
01:10:38
Speaker
yeah it's not perfect Yeah, I think you can look up most of that stuff. If you yeah plan on donating donating to a charity, kind of see how they're running. How much of their money how much of your money is actually going to the the um thing you're trying to donate to, not just the organization.
01:11:00
Speaker
um So couple more things on this tidbits. The average, according to Ohio Jobs' own reports, the average cost per job created by the nonprofit in the last five years is $126,000 double the income $62,288.
01:11:15
Speaker
or double the ohio's media income of sixty two thousand two hundred eighty um And the the kicker to all this is I'm trying to scroll down to find it because I was skimming through this yesterday. They just renewed their agreement with Ohio Jobs.
01:11:31
Speaker
They are funded through some, um they get a slice of alcohol sales.
01:11:38
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Again, I think maybe we should dive in this a little deeper, but um after ah kind of the kicker to the whole article is after all this, ah what they see is not great performance.
01:11:51
Speaker
Yeah, here it is. Despite lackluster results and chronically unanswered questions from critics about transparency and accountability, the Ohio controlling board voted in February to renew Ohio Jobs liquor profit license or lease, which was set to expire in 2038 for another 15 years.
01:12:15
Speaker
So now now the agreement's good to 2053 because that 2038 timeline was really coming close. They had to do it right now. So yeah, they do they do some some agreement with the Ohio Liquor License Lease or Ohio Liquor Profit Lease, they're calling it.
01:12:32
Speaker
that's how they fund this Ohio jobs program. Can we say slush fund? Yeah. Jeez. Oh man. $1.9 billion dollars a year to to make 20,000 jobs, 15,000 jobs in 2024. It seems like a lot, but any who, so I, you know, I, I could, I could see that.
01:12:54
Speaker
Um, being a problem. And as far as this, this individual who got helped to an $89 is quite a bit, but I also would like to say is, is anyone, you know, what if you put 10 bucks on ah a week away?
01:13:08
Speaker
but i don't yeah I agree, but I'm not saying that's hard. can't you know Yeah. Sometimes you can't, but I, again, I go back to where,
01:13:16
Speaker
Some people are just not, they just don't know they're supposed to save, right? And they spend all their money and they spend, and it was all that kind of, do we have any financially help, financial help for these people? Can we educate them so they don't go back to where they were?
01:13:27
Speaker
Well, I mean, okay. So as far as something like that, why couldn't you do help them get on their feet or, you know, get into a program like a apprenticeship program. And then at the same time for them to keep working,
01:13:42
Speaker
um getting any type of benefit, make sure they're going to, ah you know, in the economics class. Yes. um you know Yeah. Like I said, you know, welfare, um I can see, a say I understand a safety net and the argument for that. And um'm and I'm in a lot of ways okay with it.
01:13:58
Speaker
I would like a review of their finances and an in-depth review their finances. How much spending every month on your phone bill? How much are you spending? him How many, how many, you know, all that kind of stuff before you start giving money, I think there needs to be a way more scrutiny to it, but most people don't have the heart for it. So.
01:14:13
Speaker
Oh no, no, there should be. And there there should be like, you know, drug testing and all that kind of stuff. Cause there's, I think there's two, I, I don't, they never changed it. Right. Where, where you can, you can be a, I don't think, yeah, I think, I think you can be on drugs and still collect welfare and all that. Or I don't think that's a requirement. No.
01:14:31
Speaker
Yeah. So I think there should
The Nature of Hard Decisions
01:14:34
Speaker
be. That's what I, like, I think there should be safety that, but they got to be watched and, you know. and that's, ah target I think it was, go ahead. I was going to say probably, you know, nixed and restarted from scratch. Kind of like the like property taxes.
01:14:53
Speaker
How do you fix it? Get rid of it. Yeah, lop it off and start again because. Yeah. I guess, you know, speaking to our our email from last week that we talked about from, sort of commenter J-Stroke, right? And he was saying, you know,
01:15:07
Speaker
mean we' we're talking about hard decisions. This is, it's a hard, you know, I'm, I'm make, i I want to make, I want to help you, but it may not be in the way that you think you need their help. It may not be with a cash infusion. It may be with some education. It may be with some job training, maybe with both in this case.
01:15:22
Speaker
That's kind of first thing I thought of when I started to belabor the point, but it's like, okay, we gave her 289 bucks, but did we give her the information for her not to slide back into the same thing? Like, Hey, you could have called the, the, daycare and made a payment plan.
01:15:35
Speaker
I mean, I get It's not easy, but all this other stuff. Anyway, so beat the dead horse here. Yeah. Right. Beat the dead horse.
Origin of 'Beating a Dead Horse'
01:15:42
Speaker
And, um, I guess the other person, where did that term come from beating a dead horse.
01:15:50
Speaker
Well, no, where does eating that horse?
01:15:59
Speaker
finish it for me. AI says, needed a dead horse is from the mid-19th century expression, likely popularized by British politician John Bright, and has two potential origins.
01:16:13
Speaker
The most common origin is a metaphor for useless for a ah useless effort derived from the literal and pointless act of whipping a horse that is already dead.
01:16:26
Speaker
Okay. It's pretty pretty self-explanatory. No, I know it's self-explanatory. I'm just wondering if somebody at one time was like, saw somebody beating dead horse and said, you're not going to get anywhere with that.
01:16:37
Speaker
Or... I fought um i thought, lot of times with these, there it's not as plain and simple as the saying says, you know, that this actually is. um Another, though less likely, origin is a nautical term for the age of...
01:16:55
Speaker
sale where dead horse referred to a sailor's first month pay and flogging the dead horse was a ritual to celebrate its end. Yeah, that doesn't make sense. That's a little too much for me.
01:17:09
Speaker
Poor idea is that, yes, so beating a dead horse. We were definitely doing that for a second there. And next story we have, Tom, Akron aron crime is so good.
Akron's New Safety Measures
01:17:24
Speaker
that the mayor has announced some um some new outlines, some new guidelines of safety measures. And I thought there was like a one paragraph in there that pretty interesting. So the headline is from Channel 3, Akron's mayor, Shamas Malik, outlines new safety measures in Highland Square after fatal shooting.
01:17:47
Speaker
So I guess there was a fatal shooting in Akron. Shocker. ah Friday and Saturday nights. it was a but Sorry.
01:17:57
Speaker
Get into it. There we go. Okay. So... You know, we've been talking about crime and since J.D. Vance came and stirred all the pot. and It stuck in my head that everybody was just like, crime?
01:18:11
Speaker
No. You haven't been to Akron. He's never been to Akron. Akron's fine. Cleveland's great. Cincinnati's awesome. And then, you know, we have all these stories pop up like, well, if it's so awesome, then why does the mayor think they need new safety safety measures?
01:18:29
Speaker
And one of them is quite interesting.
01:18:33
Speaker
So for a long-term solution, the city is working to establish a special improvement district in Highland Square. It's a model similar to what exists in downtown Akron.
01:18:45
Speaker
So what is a special improvement district? Any guesses, Tom? you Unless you read the article. Yeah, I missed this one. Okay. Then good. Then any guesses what a special improvement district is?
01:18:57
Speaker
Special improvement district. So they're probably going to use some kind of AI. no but good guess, actually.
01:19:09
Speaker
No, it's actually a little more simpler than that. So a special improvement district, or SIDs, are defined... as a geographic area where property owners pay an additional assessment to fund additional service spending services benefiting that district beyond what the city provides to every neighborhood.
01:19:28
Speaker
like Like extra safety patrols and sanitation beautification efforts, says the mayor.
01:19:37
Speaker
Did they just say they that they want to create city ah approved gated communities for rich people?
01:19:45
Speaker
I think that's exactly what they said. So what what they basically said is all the taxes that you pay aren't enough. You need to pay more to be safe. And what they, what they need to do is they need to get buy-in buy-in from this area. They need to get all the people in this area to agree to pay more to be safe.
01:20:06
Speaker
But crime crime's great. I mean, nothing to see here. Right.
01:20:14
Speaker
So that i thought that was pretty interesting. I've never heard of that before. I didn't know that was a thing. Special Improvement District. so And there's already one they already have one in place and in downtown Akron. So there's already people paying more on top of their already high taxes.
01:20:27
Speaker
Shamas Malik.
01:20:32
Speaker
Oh, it's the great communist utopia down there in Akron. And continuing on that same communist utopia.
Lakewood's Gender Freedom Policy
01:20:41
Speaker
I was thinking they're going to have a place where they have Sharia law pretty soon down there. I mean, they're on their they're on the road. Just look at Dearborn, Michigan. I'm sure it started similarly like this.
01:20:54
Speaker
eight And if if in in a shocking development, Lakewood has passed a gender freedom policy, Tom.
01:21:10
Speaker
Because shocker, a ah Lakewood City Council passed legislation Monday 7 to 0 enacting a gender freedom policy. This will deprioritize the enforcement of state and federal anti-trans laws in Lakewood.
01:21:27
Speaker
If Liberace and Elliot Page had a baby, they'd call it Lakewood.
01:21:34
Speaker
Their second child would be Cleveland Heights. Oh, yes, for sure. And their second cousin would be East Cleveland.
01:21:45
Speaker
ah Because they're write right on the on that on that same list. Very, very low list. So they they want to... um Oh, oh so sorry. It also protects drag performances and similar... Yeah, so they can do it in front of your kids.
01:21:58
Speaker
Yes. and also is They're saying it also protects drag performances from similar discrimination. Oh, it's discriminating. It's discrimination to to not let trans men shake their booty in front of your kids.
01:22:15
Speaker
um It protects in-state and out-of-state gender-affirming care provided to city employees. And...
01:22:26
Speaker
They have a long art article in here. The actual bill is in the article, and it goes through a couple different things. So they're basically saying the city is not going to follow what the state says.
01:22:36
Speaker
Kind of what, yeah as much as they can. They're not going to fund it. They're not going to abide by any discrimination for gender. Trump discrimination executive order in January 10th stated that the U.S. government will now bra well now recognize only two sexes.
01:22:53
Speaker
Oh, my gosh. um Female and male. I mean, but what else? Trump executive order on January 20, January 20, 2025, attempted to attempting to withhold funding for healthcare care entities who provide gender affirming gender-affiring medical treatments for children and teenagers under the age of 19. So they are saying...
01:23:20
Speaker
They're saying the community of Lakewood and nationally are being attacked by the Trump administration by these policies. Attacked. Attacked. Everybody look out.
01:23:34
Speaker
Again, not really that shocking. but Let's attack the trannies. Easy targets. Battle cry. Battle cry.
01:23:46
Speaker
The no city, no city resources will be used for detaining or investigating persons for solely seeking or providing gender affirming care. So they're basically, it's a sanctuary city for trannies.
01:24:00
Speaker
Ohio's first sanctuary city for trannies.
01:24:06
Speaker
Let's see. I mean, there's all kinds of things. You can read the article, but it's, you know, it's to, there's gonna be more this. I'm sure there's going to be more. Cleveland Heights will be next. They got the, I can't let Lakewood outdo them.
01:24:17
Speaker
Yeah. Let's see. So it's past the committee. It's all good. And I guess that's it. i don't trying see there's anything else funny we can get out it. I don't think that's it.
01:24:30
Speaker
Whereas we often feel like, oh, yeah, you are. It says even in Lakewood, Ohio, those of us who are raising transgender kids often feel like we're standing alone.
01:24:41
Speaker
Yep.
Vandalism Restitution Challenges at Case Western
01:24:42
Speaker
Because you kind of are. Pretty much. Because kind of are. It's because make asylums great again. Come on, Trump. Let's go. Anyway, so there's that. you know, Lakewood is, Lakewood's being Lakewood.
01:24:54
Speaker
I mean, I guess respect for being consistent, consistently woke. Speaking woke, we have a ah our next story from Case Western Reserve as activist, a little fo-fa.
01:25:11
Speaker
Fafo. Fafo.
01:25:15
Speaker
ah just you know They just ah have have agreed to pay $400,000 in damage damages from their Case Western Reserve protests where they spray painted the walls and and splattered paint all over park benches and tables.
01:25:35
Speaker
They have agreed to pay the $400,000 in restitution ordered. Who's paying that? Mm-hmm. Good question. Rich parents? Students agree to pay $400,000. Yeah, my ass. Yep.
01:25:46
Speaker
Anywhere you go. If you see them, they've all got the ah Palestinian flags, the Palestinian headgear, and... um and It's funny because Trump just saved Palestine.
01:25:59
Speaker
I know. He did. He did actually. ah They actually have already paid back most of it. They're saying that's not the problem. The problem is Kent university is not agreeing to give them their diplomas.
01:26:18
Speaker
They're saying, well, we agreed that we would pay this money back and then Kent would give us our diplomas back and they haven't. And, Oh well.
01:26:32
Speaker
That's what you get when you mess around with it. And they they thought they were going to get away with this and then the school be on their side. I guarantee you they are shocked at the fact that this is going on.
01:26:44
Speaker
But they're saying, here's a quote, we have for four months been and not only fighting the legal battle, but attempting to work with university to negotiate in good faith towards rest restorative solutions and the allowance to complete our degrees.
01:27:00
Speaker
We are nearly finished paying for the damages ah damages case that case attributed to the vandalism. Oh, it's Case Western Reserve. no I said Kent, excuse me.
01:27:11
Speaker
Case Western Reserve in Cleveland. um I was offered my diploma by the university in exchange for full cup cooperation, meaning that if I reported to them the identity of individuals they think were involved, then I would receive my diploma from Case Western Reserve University.
01:27:28
Speaker
ah Mullen Ben Esti, hyphenated last name, said, when I rejected this, they shut down the negotiations completely. This is not the university acting in good faith by showing they're both able and willing to give us our diplomas, but only under these cruel conditions.
01:27:50
Speaker
i mean My favorite quote is actually, we were arrested, sent to one of the worst jails in the country, Cuyahoga County Jail. yep Some of us were denied necessary medications. We were locked up.
01:28:03
Speaker
to five days with one individual held over a holiday weekend. upon our release, we were subject to death threats and doxing from social media. Oh, I'm so sorry. And, um, yeah don't but don't worry if you do this in a few years, you're going to go to the new kao kind of jail.
01:28:24
Speaker
There's that look forward to. and Yeah. They're not sure if they're going to get their diplomas. And I'm like, well, sorry. um That's what you get for vandalizing university that you're going to. I don't understand.
01:28:37
Speaker
What kind of diplomas? I would love to know what they got diplomas in. and would love to know that. I don't, you know, amazingly enough, they don't say, i wonder why i say and there's some equity inclusion, some, some kind of degree in b yes I'm sure they're worthless anyways. Why do they care?
01:29:03
Speaker
Yeah, well, ah you're supposed to go to school to be and a student, not an activist. There you go. Mess around and you found out. Let's hope that they learn their lesson when they have to go back to another school to get a diploma.
01:29:18
Speaker
um so i'm sure they won All right, so let's wind this down with some, um you know, again, maybe I'm just too cynical.
Giant Eagle's Price Cut Skepticism
01:29:28
Speaker
Giant Eagle cuts prices on hundreds of grocery staples staples throughout or through the end of 2025. And I just kind of thought, just out of the blue, Giant Eagle says, we're going to cut profits.
01:29:44
Speaker
Am I too cynical, Tom? I don't know. I saw this and I was like, I wonder, it doesn't make sense. They don't tell you why they're cutting. why they're i mean, they're they're trying to virtue signal here a little bit.
01:29:57
Speaker
it's It's a marketing campaign. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. you know what? They got all these coming in and everywhere. They need a little bit of a, they need to compete a little bit.
01:30:08
Speaker
Yeah. it is It is crazy when you go from one store to to the next, the difference in price. Oh, yeah. A $6 item could be $1.50 difference, which is huge. That's a huge difference.
01:30:21
Speaker
And one there's not like one store you go to. You go you have to go to different stores, and they're all different. There's some are higher and other things and lower and vice versa. It's quite but odd. um Why that is, i don't know. Yeah.
01:30:33
Speaker
and You know what? Like my wife, my wife watches the price tag on everything when she grocery shops. So she hits, you know, she'll go to Meyers, Aldi's and Giant Eagle.
01:30:45
Speaker
I don't do that. i if I, if I'm doing the grocery shopping, I hit, I hit one place. Yeah. Me too. That's just, I think that's what a man just does. You know, just, I'm just getting this over with and getting it.
01:30:58
Speaker
Yeah. I got to spend an extra 10 bucks. I'm going to spend it. But, uh, it's, it's kind of crazy, but you know what? My mom used to do that. My grandparents used to do that. Yep.
01:31:09
Speaker
40 years ago, 50 years ago, you know, when you had pick and pay and you had Rini's at the time, stop and shop or whatever, you know, Rigi. Yeah. So I remember her going to two different stores at the time.
01:31:25
Speaker
i don't I don't know. I know everything's more expensive, but how much has that part of it really changed as far as competing on prices like that? Yeah, i just I could see them being different. I'm just always shocked when they're like 25% more or less, and it just seems odd, almost like they're picking shoes. And that makes sense.
01:31:46
Speaker
They're lost leaders, and then they're trying to make it back on other products, making it more and all that stuff. Yeah. couple of things. Companies said prices, cuts span a wide range of categories, including dairy, meat, um produce, bakery, frozen foods, snacks, canned goods, you know ground meats, Idaho potatoes, onions, perigo sauce, not perigo sauce, Campbell's soup, Cheerios, and so on. Land O'Lakes butter.
01:32:10
Speaker
ah What's the example here? among ah Among the discount items are large white eggs at $2.99 per dozen, Cheerios at $3.99 per dozen, and stem tomatoes at $1.99 per pound. Cheerios, $3.99 a dozen, man. Or box, sorry.
01:32:29
Speaker
was going to say, I can't even have breakfast. The 12 Cheerios, 12 O's for $4. Jeez, I want to rip off. um But it doesn't say... It doesn't say what they're lowering it.
01:32:42
Speaker
It just says what the prices were. thought that was, I we were going to give us a comparison. Like how much you how much is it going down? It doesn't really say. But 300 items frequently purchased at grocery stores. Yeah, it's a marketing campaign.
01:32:55
Speaker
But hey, take advantage of it. What the hell? Yeah, I don't know. It's not a horrible thing. no. no Yeah, I mean, but I mean, here's here are some of the things. Let's see. We got 80-20 ground beef. We got Honeycrisp apples, Idaho potatoes, onions, stem tomatoes, iceberg lettuce. Let's see.
01:33:15
Speaker
Oreos. Klondike's. They have Klondike's on them. know. like They should raise the prices on those. i Mini bakery cupcakes. They should ban that thing.
01:33:26
Speaker
ah just Some of those yoga pants are not looking good. Oh, yeah.
01:33:35
Speaker
Yes, they, mm-hmm. Yeah, I'm thinking thinking of the mini bakery cupcakes. Sounds like a, sounds good right about now. Anyway, so check it out. They're lowering prices just because they're kind, I'm sure.
01:33:47
Speaker
That's why. Or, you know, it could be. No, stop. Think of the children. I'm surprised he didn't mention that in there. Cheerios, I mean, children.
01:33:58
Speaker
So check it out. Go to Giant Eagle. They're pushing for your um your business. And next, I think that was, oh yeah, that was it on our list of stories. Next we have.
01:34:09
Speaker
bring good things to life. Well, speaking of beating dead horses. ah It's a little story I was reading. i think maybe you put this up there. Geauga Parks District.
01:34:25
Speaker
Yeah, I put this up there, but I forget why i put it. It's on the internet, too. You know what? ah It was a tweet, and I saved the link to the thing, but it doesn't tell me why saved it.
01:34:38
Speaker
why i saved Is it new? Is it something new? I think it's new, right? I think it might be a newer program. um What? this is This is the website itself, Yago Parks District, so it doesn't really say.
01:34:53
Speaker
So they they got a new program. I think it's i think it's a new program, and it's or new trails maybe, but this is Huffinet Trails to Blaze Undersaddle, so they got a
Geauga Parks Equestrian Program
01:35:04
Speaker
whole... ah equestrian horseback riding thing here.
01:35:09
Speaker
i think it's just been introduced. So yeah we'll leave a link to it if you're in Geauga and you want to go horseback riding. Yeah, know you can use Cuyahoga and much lot of the metro parks and stuff. You can get horses and... Yeah, I just don't know if... I think I saved it because it was... I think it's something new for Geauga. So... Yeah.
01:35:25
Speaker
You ever ridden a horse? A couple times, yeah. Yeah, it's quite... My back always hurts afterwards. I'm just amazed that, well, A, that any horse, any any animal could put me on its back and not just crumble down.
01:35:40
Speaker
But also, just they're just so massive. They're awesome. They're beautiful. They're awesome. I read them a few times, mostly on vacations, because, you know, something to do. See the see the countryside on a horse is always fun.
01:35:54
Speaker
Yeah. I think, you know, we're we're finally going to say next year is our... We're looking for land. We're looking for property. it ah You know, if we don't find it by next spring, we're just going to... Our compromises are going to change, you know? Yeah. But... um ah We always said, if at least I always said, if we if we found a property that had ah you know some stables to it, I definitely i wouldn't mind having couple of horses.
01:36:25
Speaker
I think you know two months later, I might change my mind. Yeah, maybe after ah scooping all the poo you'd have to scoop out of the you poo gets larger, the larger the animal gets.
01:36:39
Speaker
Yeah, i don't know enough about it. I would look into it more, but if it had stables, it would be like, if the property we found had a stable in there, it would be something I'd be like, yeah, yeah let me look into this.
01:36:50
Speaker
Yeah, or or going between renter stable. So you have horses there, but you're not responsible for If somebody else did it. Well, you could you could take you could feed them and all that. yeah it's It's a little business. You can have a little business doing that.
01:37:03
Speaker
ah yeah Fond memories always riding a horse. So I, I, I, I look, I read this and look at it and go, we got to get back on. It's fun. Kids, kids like it. And, it's good way to see, get outdoors, get away from the damn screens.
01:37:18
Speaker
Go ride a horse. I tape it to the main, my iPad. Do you? Oh, I thought, because i yeah I brought mine. I'm like, where's this? How come a suction cup doesn't work on my holder? It's like, it won't grab onto the fur. No? Okay. I should stop that. Okay.
01:37:34
Speaker
Next on our good things list, just really the good things on the list. This is the Cleveland Beer Week starts. It started already. I think it started a couple days ago, I think. You can go go to Beer Week and go horseback riding right after...
01:37:48
Speaker
That combination. Afternoon out. Yes. you I mean, i don't know if there's any laws against riding and drinking, riding a horse. Although, DeWine, I'm sure DeWine's thinking of something to put in restricting you from drinking a beer. and Well, if it's a smart horse, it just takes you home.
01:38:03
Speaker
Your dad always tells me that's the way it used to be in the Amish country. so Amish country, I think that was more like in Poland. yeah ah yeah Yeah, you're right. No, it was Poland, yeah. But yeah, he always brings it up when you go to Amish country. Yeah.
01:38:15
Speaker
It's like, oh they get drunk and then the horse just takes them home. I'm like, yeah, it's like self-driving cars. When can we have that? Except the Amish don't get drunk. Well. That I know of. Yeah, they do. They're human.
01:38:26
Speaker
They have their vices. I'm sure there's some, yeah. Yeah, there's there's some. They're human. they There's a closet full of gummies somewhere in the Amish land. Yes, delta definitely definitely they're stocked up on their Delta 8.
01:38:39
Speaker
Uh, so Cleveland beer week is, is already in, in
Cleveland Beer Week Festivities
01:38:42
Speaker
play. It's takes, so we've got all these different, um, what's the scene magazine article. you got bunch of different events going on.
01:38:50
Speaker
Um, there's late cruises, there's stuff going on at, um, See, Fat Heads has a, let's see, Fat Heads takes place, or they got a um celebration of hops at Fat Heads Brewery, Middlebrook Heights. That's um October 25th at 9 p.m.
01:39:08
Speaker
More than 30 different local and regional breweries will be pouring samples. Mmm, free samples. There is other ones, Cleveland Heights Neighborhood Crawl, which takes place October 10th, which was yesterday. so Don't go to that one because you're going all by yourself.
01:39:28
Speaker
But it's I think it's like a month and a half or all month. So they've got a bunch of. Well, I see stuff. There's a poker run happening on so so Saturday, the 18th and October 25th. So yeah, it's probably for the rest of the month here.
01:39:42
Speaker
Yep, they've got some offshore pour aboard the Lady Caroline. They've got, can purchase tickets. It always takes place 6 to 9 p.m. And they've looks like different times, sampling nearly two dozen beers, i guess, while on a boat. That sounds cool.
01:39:59
Speaker
So check it out. Beer week. Go get drunk, ride a horse. But don't do not drive.
01:40:09
Speaker
Next, the last thing on our list is, this is just too easy for me, but they're looking for naming ah suggestions for the ah new baby rhino and and at the Cleveland Zoo that was just born on September 13th.
01:40:24
Speaker
But unfortunately, they're not just leaving it up to you They're giving you multiple choice, so it's boring. But in the X post that I pulled this off of, there were some great suggestions. Mine was Mike DeWine.
01:40:39
Speaker
Yeah. um And others were posting various Republican congressmen and senators as the new name for a new rhino. That's the first thing I thought of. Yeah. I mean, it was too easy. was just too easy. I mean, come on, guys.
01:40:50
Speaker
That's good. and But you can um you can go on their website, and they've got McKenzie, which means happy. They have Kenza, which means treasure. And they got Kamari, which means the moon or like the moon.
01:41:06
Speaker
So go on, there's a new rhino, endangered species. You know, go check it out the zoo, I guess.
01:41:15
Speaker
And on that, that's all we got for this week. That is the end of the show. We thank everybody for listening. I hope um hope everybody can take a little bit of time out of their day and share the show.
01:41:27
Speaker
Send it to your friends. Subscribe to the podcast. And give us some feedback. If you see that we're were not covering something or maybe there's an art or a story or a topic that we need to touch on, some vital importance, please send it our way. And we will do what we can to get it on the show if it if warrants it. And thank you for listening. And see you next week.
01:41:50
Speaker
Peace.