Fascist bicyclists.

A press release from State Rep. Mandel (R, Lyndhurst) and Jay Goyal (D, Mansfield):

COLUMBUS – State Representatives Josh Mandel (R- Lyndhurst) and Jay Goyal (D- Mansfield) announced today they will soon introduce legislation to offer state income tax credits to Ohio-educated graduates in return for their commitment to stay and work in Ohio.

Oh, my favorite: tax credits. One of the things that stands out for me about the 2004 presidential election was Al Gore’s mantra “targeted tax cuts.” (Second only to “lockbox.”) This season, tax credits are the fashion, and it seems everybody’s doing it.

McCain’s got his health care tax credit, and he’s got a proposed $5000 tax credit for people who buy new electric or hybrid cars.

Obama, clearly the winner in the tax credit contest, is proposing tax credits for having children ($7000), working ($500), child care (50%), tuition, building hybrid vehicles, and more.

There are two things wrong with targeted tax credits. One, the tax system is already ridiculously complicated, and clearly all these new rules will make it even worse, and will open the door to fraud. But more importantly, this is our money. A government which takes too much money from you, and then deigns to give some of it back- if you jump through some of these hoops they’ve set up- is too involved in our decisions.

Frequently the tax credit is sold as making citizens’ financial burdens lighter. This is a cynical ploy in which politicians pretend to care while they’re really trying to get people to toe the line on this or that government policy. How about this policy- let us keep more of our money in the first place, and then you won’t have to bother yourselves coming up with reasons to give some of it back.

Back to the Ohio residency plan, look at what they’re proposing for tax credits over 10 years:

* Associate’s degree: $5,000
* Bachelor’s degree: $20,000
* Master’s degree or higher: $30,000

I don’t have to point out studies which show that college graduates earn more than non-graduates. So this tax credit plan is also likely to be rather regressive- not good.

Here’s a different idea: reduce everyone’s taxes in Ohio. Then more of everyone will want to stay- including businesses. A plan like that might also help out a little problem like 7.2% unemployment.

More “It’s Gotta Be Hillary“. (Previous.)

“Strickland’s brand of Stone Age union economics“. That’s a good one.

Homes in contract continued to increase this summer to an 11-month high. There were 2,051 houses in contract in July, the

highest amount since last August.

A drop in new listings in July helped contribute to declining inventory levels.

The number of homes on the market, 17,707, slid nearly 12 percent compared to July 2007.

July was also central Ohio’s second highest month for home sales, just slightly below the years’ strongest month (June) with 2,242 home sales.

“With more homes in contract and fewer being listed, Columbus is continuing its trend of getting back to pre-boom sales and inventory levels,” says Greg Hrabcak, President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®.

“There is still a great selection of homes on the market, but as central Ohio continues its balancing act, the market will continue to be favorable for both buyers and sellers,” says Hrabcak. “The fact that we saw more homes go into contract last month shows that homes in central Ohio are competitively priced and suggest consumers are taking advantage of low interest rates and assistance programs.

“Programs such as the first-time buyer tax credits in the recently passed Housing and Economic Recovery Act should motivate even more buyers in the coming months.”

Hrabcak added, “I think people who don’t take advantage of the favorable market conditions now are going to look back five years from now and say ‘What was I thinking?’”

Year to date sales of homes through July total 12,869, 13.8 percent behind the July 2007 total, but still in keeping with pre-boom levels.  The average sale price of a home in central Ohio in July was $173,940.

The Columbus Board of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) serves all of Franklin, Delaware, Fayette, Madison, Morrow and Union Counties and parts of Champagne, Clark, Hocking, Licking, Fairfield, Knox, Logan, Marion, Pickaway and Ross Counties.

Let’s go find a home for you before they’re all gone. 

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This is kind of cool. It’s like the Columbus version of Koyaanisqatsi. Bexley’s in there too. (Via RetroMetro.)

And they said we wouldn’t last!

A big thanks goes out to Walker, John, and Calle for helping to build the local transportation blog that the 16th largest city in the country deserves. It’s been a pleasure reading all of your great insights since we’ve started up.

Another big thanks goes out to our readers! We’ve had some great discussions in the past year, and look forward to many more in the future!  Your clicks and comments go a long way to help shape the discussion here.  Here’s a snapshot of our stats from the last year (ignore the nosedive for August…it’s not over yet).

Graphs like these really help to motivate the contributors to keep cranking out good posts.

Thanks again to everyone!

Is this the end of Mary Jo Kilroy’s egging on fellow Dems with that charge against Republican Steve Stivers that a 2003 bill he co-sponsored stripped local jurisdictions of control?

Stivers’ Senate office told PolitickerOH.com that townships and counties have not been able to regulate agriculture since the 1950s, as stated in sections 303.21 and 519.21 of the Ohio Revised Code. These statutes forbid counties and townships, respectively, from regulating agriculture. Stivers’ office said before 2000, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was in charge of regulating agriculture but the 2000 legislation transferred regulatory control to the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Stivers himself was incorrect in saying that the 2000 legislation actually stripped localities of control.

Verification of that from a neutral source ought to end this. So does Kilroy now have egg on her face? (This is terrible, I know. I could go on, but I’ll have mercy on you.) I thought this issue was awful from the get-go, so I hope it’s dead now. Here’s the previous post, where it turns out I was on to something. (!)

The Carnival of Ohio Politics #131 is now up.

Some good news for all you flyboys:

Local travelers still stinging from Skybus Airlines’ demise are expected to get a welcome piece of news today, as discount carrier AirTran Airways announces it will begin flights from Port Columbus in November.

The Orlando, Fla.-based airline will offer nonstop flights to Atlanta and Orlando and Fort Myers, Fla., beginning Nov. 6. Atlanta service will be twice daily, while service to the Florida destinations will be once daily.

A bit limited but it’s a help.

The name of my favorite band is Talking Heads. (Hah.) After 30 years, David Byrne and producer Brian Eno have a new record out. “Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.” Here’s the single:

I’m not sure what I think about that yet. Definitely a different sound from their other collaborations. Oddly, it reminds me of the 1974 Hollies classic “The Air That I Breathe.”

I like that song. (Via Lefsetz Letter.)

There's running debate in the biking community about whether and/or to what extent bikers should obey traffic laws, i.e. stop signs, red lights, etc. I used to disregard red lights and stop signs until 2 years ago when a fellow cyclist was stopped at a light and yelled at me, "The traffic laws apply to you, too!" as I blew through the red light. That got me thinking.......in discussing the topic with my friends who still drive boxes (I mean, cars), they told me there's nothing that pisses them off more than being stopped at a light and seeing a cyclist pass them and blow through the light. When I put myself in their "shoes" (or in their box), I could understand their position.......if cyclists want the privileges of the road, they should be prepared to obey the rules of the road.

On another level, I think it's plain disrespectful of our fellow citizens to suggest that these rules don't apply to us. There's no question that legally they apply, so on what basis can cyclists claim exemption from the traffic laws? From a practical, self-preservation standpoint, I would suggest that we don't need to do anything else to incur the wrath of motorists..........although misguided, many motorists don't think cyclists should have the right to use the roads (we don't pay gas taxes to build and maintain them, so why should we get to use them?)........and since we can't ride the speed limit, we only get in the way and slow them down. Although I certainly don't agree with this attitude, I can understand it. That's why I now try to be respectful and law-abiding 99.9% of the time. And I would like to convince my fellow twowheelers to do likewise.

I experienced this phenomenon first-hand from the motorist's perspective this past Monday night. Beth and I had a magnificent dinner at Rosendale's in the Short North to celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary.........we had driven Beth's Volvo station wagon to dinner and I was driving us home about 10 pm. I was making my way westward through Victorian Village to 315 when we stopped at a red light at Neil Avenue. I was delighted to see a stream of bicycles head through the intersection travelling south on Neil. The reflectors on the bikes and bikers created a surreal light show as they streamed by (the show was admittedly enhanced by several glasses of wine)......there must have been 50+ bikes. As the light changed to yellow for the bikers, a single bike veered off the course and stopped 2 feet in front of our car, intentionally blocking our path into the intersection.......the cyclist made some sort of arrogant, almost menacing motion at me as our light turned green and he stayed there for another 15-20 seconds until all the bikes made it through the intersection. I was furious! Although he probably didn't intend to send it, the message I received by this action was, "Screw you, Mr. Car Driver......me and my friends are way more important than you, so don't even think about moving (even though you have the right of way) until me and my friends get through this intersection......we don't want our self-indulgent group to be separated." This is what gives cyclists a bad name and makes the streets more dangerous for twowheelers.

I suspect this entry will not make some of my twowheeling friends happy, but I think we need to understand that bikes and cars will be co-exisiting on the roads for the foreseeable future and I would much prefer this to be a peaceful coexistence.........'cause when car meets bike, we all know who's going to lose. 

This is rather shocking:

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first African-American woman to represent Ohio in Congress, has died after suffering a brain aneurysm, said sources familiar with the situation.

UPDATE: Acknowledging earlier reports that she had died, CNN is saying Tubbs Jones “remains in critical condition.” I hope so. (Via Plunderbund.)

UPDATE 2: The Plain Dealer story linked above is gone. Now,Tubbs Jones in critical condition at Huron Hospital is the story.

UPDATE 3: And now it appears that she has passed away. 10TV News is reporting that:

Tubbs Jones died at 6:12 p.m. after suffering a brain hemorrhage caused by an aneurysm that burst and left her with limited brain function.

“Throughout the course of the day and into this evening, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones’ medical condition declined,” Sheil said in a statement from the clinic and Tubbs Jones’ family.

The Green Corridor was started by an artist and a professor at UW. Its aim is to turn the 2 km stretch of road south of the Ambassador Bridge into a green zone and is a major collaboration effort between the university and the city. I’ll have to read more on the specifics, but [i]this[/i] is an example of a good town and gown relationship, as opposed to a university myopically looking out for their self-interest.