BuckeyeBlog

Buckeye Institute President, Matt Mayer, was a guest on the Bob Conners show talking about the new additions to the Buckeye Institute’s Board of Trustees, former Columbus mayor Greg Lashutka and Cincinnati philanthropist Dan Peters. He also talks about Ohio’s Third Frontier program and job creation.

Buckeye Institute Investigative Reporter Lynn Walsh uncovered 10 brand new Congressional Districts in Ohio via the www.recovery.org website’s newest state and territory summary for Ohio. Walsh exposed the mistake on the Buckeye Institute affiliated OhioWatchdog.org and the story was picked up today by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Buckeye Institute President Matt Mayer calls for the Ohio to reevaluate the need for state maintained aircraft in the midst of budget woes and a severe decline in usage in this Dayton Daily News article.

It seems the State of Ohio is slow to move on Aviation Administrator James Bryant’s recommendation to sell 4 planes and 2 helicopters from an aging fleet. Buckeye Institute President Matt Mayer also questions Ohio’s use of planes and helicopters for inner state travel instead of Ohio’s highway system in this Dayton Daily News article.

Buckeye Institute President Matt Mayer was featured on the Bob Connors radio show this morning discussing a multitude of Ohio issues including the impact that federal health care reform and cap and trade could have on Ohio’s budget. Matt also spent some time on Ohio’s own budget woes.

After nearly a year of waiting the Stowers family from LaGrange, Ohio will finally have their food returned to them from Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Lorain County General Health District. The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law won a court order for all of the food that was seized back in December of 2008 to be returned to the Stowers within two weeks.

According to the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Lorain County General Health District the food has been properly stored in freezers, therefore should still be edible. If the food is determined to not be edible the Stowers will seek compensation. The fight in court will continue later this month when the rest of the case is decided. The complete story can be viewed here.

Governor Ted Strickland announced a plan to freeze this years income tax last week; something he is now saying is not a tax increase.  Strickland views the tax cut freeze as a feasible way to get the budget in order.  President of the Buckeye Insitute, Matt Mayer, thinks there are other options that can be explored.  Mayer shared his ideas with Ohio News Network earlier this week in Impact of Tax Cut Freeze Debated.

Matt Mayer on ONN

On Saturday October 3, the owners of Moto Verde, a motor scooter shop in Fairfax, Ohio, will exercise their constitutional rights by opening their business to the general public.  Back in June, Moto Verde owners Tim Annett and Ryan Haines thought their own version of the American Dream, running a motor scooter shop, was over. 
 
The Village of Fairfax labeled them an “automobile dealership” and made it clear that Tim and Ryan wasn’t “open for business” to them.  This despite Fairfax’s struggling economy, and statewide employment rate hovering around ten percent.  Some conjectured that Fairfax was trying to keep the storefronts on its main street vacant, in case a big box retailer that would provide more tax revenue wanted to move in.
 
Annett and Haines were shocked, since their business did not have the “open lot” that qualifies a business as an automobile dealership.  The two men through their property rights were being violated, and contacted Maurice Thompson, the Director for the 1851 Center. 
 
Thompson found that Fairfax’s regulations did in fact violate Tim and Ryan’s rights to their property, their right to earn an honest living, and their due process rights.     
 
The 1851 Center sent a threat of litigation to the Mayor of Fairfax and the Village Building Official in July.  After receiving the letter, Fairfax officials agreed to allow Moto Verde to open its doors for business.  Having jumped through its final regulatory hurdles, Moto Verde’s Grand Opening is Saturday October 3.

The 1851 Center sent a threat of litigation to the Mayor of Fairfax and the Village Building Official in late June of this year.  After receiving the letter, Fairfax officials made the decision to let Motor Verde open their doors and revoked the previous classification of the business as an “Automotive Sales Area.”

Did you know today is “World Car Free Day“? I didn’t either until a few hours ago. I learned this after my latest Viewpoint was published on the Buckeye Institute main page. The topic of my Viewpoint? The waste of taxpayer money that is passenger rail. Those who are celebrating World Car Free Day almost certainly love the idea of passenger rail. It’s a beautiful coincidence that couldn’t have been planned better if we tried.

Today, the Ohio Ballot Board certified the language for an initiated statute amendment to eliminate Ohio’s estate tax. The 1851 Center drafted sample language for the amendment that was adopted by Citizens United to End Ohio’s Estate Tax. With the Ballot Board’s approval, signatures can officially be collected to have the state legislature consider the initiative.

The 1851 Center’s sample language for the initiative can be viewed here.

On Monday, the Buckeye Institute released a viewpoint by policy analyst Marc Kilmer explains how the elimination of the estate tax will spur Ohio’s economic growth. That viewpoint can be read here.