Capital Blog

And here’s the rest of the gaggle:

A new group, the Coalition to Protect Ohio Parks, talks about the potential impact of drilling for oil and gas on state lands. Speakers include Loraine McCosker of the Sierra Club and Jack Shaner of the Ohio Environmental Council. NOTE: I arrived late, so this is not the entire presser.


Here’s a response from Carlo LoParo, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources:

And here’s the release:

Columbus-A press conference held this afternoon in the Ohio Statehouse announced the launch of the Coalition to Protect Ohio’s Parks (CPOP). The Coalition was launched in response to recent legislation that, for the first time, have opened Ohio’s state parks to oil and gas drilling, including high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (HB 133) along with commercial logging, including clear-cutting (HB 153).

A shared concern of coalition members is the fact that state parks were, until recently, one of the very few places in Ohio protected from drilling. “Ohio is 7th in the nation in population, but ranks a mere 47th in public lands available per capita,” said John Makley of Mohican Advocates. “We have a duty to future generations to keep heavy development out of the relatively few public natural areas that exist in Ohio.”

The timing of the coalition’s launch comes a little more than a month before a new public lands leasing nomination process is set to take effect. In addition to opening parks for drilling for the first time in their history, HB 133 created a new leasing process that requires state lands to be nominated to a new Oil and Gas Leasing Commission prior to leasing. “The Leasing Commission has authority to deny leases and will take public comments prior to making any leasing determinations; this makes the coalition’s work all the more important, as we will work to make sure the public is aware of and ready for specific nominations,” added Johnson.

Coalition members are concerned that ODNR has not been open with the public about plans to lease state lands and that the agency has pushed public interest groups to the side while consulting with industry in the development of its proposed leasing program. “Despite concerns about the legislation expressed by park lovers and environmental advocacy groups, ODNR has not been open in their implementation of the legislation,” said Loraine McCosker of Sierra Club. “Recent e-mails released by ODNR show that state officials have consulted with the oil and gas industry on lease terms and conditions, while ignoring the concerns of park users and advocates.”

Coalition members shared a list from ODNR outlining some of the parks and state forests targeted by ODNR for early leasing. Four state parks appear on the list of lands targeted for early leasing: Beaver Creek Park, Guilford Lake Park, Jefferson Lake State Park, and Barkcamp State Park. In addition, five state forests appear on the list: Yellow Creek State Forest, Beaver Creek State Forest, Jefferson State Forest, Harrison State Forest, and Sunfish Creek State Forest. The list was recently obtained as the result of a lawsuit filed by the Ohio Sierra Club to compel ODNR to release public records. Prior to the suit, the agency had failed to disclose information for several months.

The coalition unveiled a new website as part of the launch, www.ProtectOhiosParks.org. The coalition website is intended to serve as an information and action hub for concerned members of the public. “The new website will have information about the effects of fracking and logging on sensitive lands, but will also provide viewers access to a separate page for each state park and state forest, along with important dates and developments for each park and forest,” said Nathan Johnson, Staff Attorney for the Buckeye Forest Council.

“Ohioans don’t want to ‘get away from it all,’ only to discover drilling rigs, waste pits, haul roads, compressors, pipelines and all the other ‘wonders’ that drilling will plunk down in our parks and forests. Throughout this entire debate, the public has yet to be asked whether they even want their natural treasures opened to industrial development” said Jack Shaner, Deputy Director of the Ohio Environmental Council.

Coalition members who spoke at the launch included Jed Thorp, Chapter Manager of the Sierra Club Ohio Chapter; John Makley of Mohican Advocates; Nathan Johnson, Staff Attorney for The Buckeye Forest Council; Jack Shaner, Deputy Director for the Ohio Environmental Council; and Loraine McCosker of Sierra Club. Ohio House Representative Denise Driehaus was also in attendance and spoke at the event.

Federal and state investigators discuss embezzlement charges filed against Carl W. Shye Jr., former treasurer of charter schools in Youngstown and other Ohio cities. Speakers include state Auditor Dave Yost and representatives of the U.S. Attorney, Ohio Ethics Commission and Federal Bureau of Investigation:

Another Saturday, another trip to the Columbus Zoo. Gotta love the family membership:

Republican Senate President Tom Niehaus and Senate Minority Leader Eric Kearney announce support for changes to Ohio’s public pension systems, a move not supported (at the moment) by Republicans in the Ohio House, who are awaiting the results of a study on the issue:

Gov. John Kasich answers reporters’ questions about the state’s efforts to crack down on prescription drug abuse in the state:

And here’s Kasich’ speech to the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities:

Liberal think tank Innovation Ohio comments on Congressional Republicans’ plans to use health funding to pay for student loan interest rate: Continue reading →

ProgressOhio Executive Director Brian Rothenberg comments on Ohio Liberty Council press release linking his organizations and the Occupy movement:

And here the OLC release:

OHIO LIBERTY COUNCIL CHALLENGES PROGRESS OHIO’S CLAIM
OF HAVING NO INVOLVEMENT WITH OCCUPY MOVEMENT

Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio Liberty Council challenged ProgressOhio’s Executive Director Brian Rothenberg’s denial to WTAM Radio on Friday, when he told the Cleveland station that they had “nothing to do with the Occupy movement.” Ohio Liberty Council President Tom Zawistowski responded by saying, “Rothenberg’s denial is absurd. On their own website we found this quote: “ProgressOhio led a group of unemployed workers, activists, and other groups including Occupy Columbus, Working America, Alliance for Retired Americans and Communities United to stand outside Senator Portman’s office with piles of shoes and signs with a message to protect Unemployment Insurance. (www.progressohio.org/blog/2012/02/progressohio-walk-in-my-shoes-a-day-of-action-in-support-of-jobless-americans-focusing-on-sen-portma.html) They are clearly involved with the Occupy Movement, and the UAW and SEIU are funding it.”

Zawistowski went on to say, “It is documented in the book The Blueprint, in which the reason for the creation of ProgressOhio is explained, that it is a tactic of the left to create dozens of groups which coordinate their activities in private and then publicly deny working together. This book further documents the ruthless tactics groups like ProgressOhio, Common Causes and Occupy Wall Street will use to win elections. Those tactics are going to be used this year in Ohio. The media and justice system are not up to speed on what is being planned by these groups. How many attended the ‘training camps’ from April 5th – 9th in Ohio? Who trained them? Why are the UAW and SEIU using union dues to fund this effort? We have seen the leadership training manual and people would be shocked by what was covered. Why would they train these people about how to handle being tear-gassed if they did not intend to provoke law enforcement? These questions and many others need to be answered ProgressOhio, the Occupy Movement, the UAW and the SEIU before they act on their plans.”

The Ohio Liberty Council is a coalition of Liberty group leaders whose purpose is to unite conservative grassroots organizations for greater effectiveness in the state and nation, and to provide resources for member organizations to strengthen their groups. The OLC currently has over 75 liberty-minded groups across Ohio who are members of its coalition.

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