News and Notes: Ohio UPDATED

Lots of things going on with Ohio elected officials:

Gov. Ted Strickand says he will decide today whether to sign Senate Bill 16, the Phil Burress/Citizens for Commmunity Values-backed law to impose additional restrictions on strip clubs. He also said he is optimistic about bringing an expansion project by Rolls-Royce North America to Ohio, although he would not say where.
UPDATE: Strickland has just announced that he will allow the bill to become law without signing it. This will get huge media coverage tomorrow.

Senators George Voinovich (R) and Sherrod Brown (D) announced today that they are co-sponsoring a bill to authorize federal grants in support of early education, which would help states "attract, train, and retain high-quality early childhood educators."

Rep. John Boehner (R-West Chester) and Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland) have spoken out on the proposed immigration reform bill in the Senate, as reported in the Cincinnati Enquirer political blog Politics Extra, with Schmidt adamantly opposing it and Boehner sending a mixed signal that neither rejects nor supports it. Here is part of Boehner's statement:

“America is a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws – those laws must be obeyed and enforced. The Senate agreement appears to recognize that additional border security measures and more effective immigration law enforcement must come before any other issues are addressed, but I have significant concerns about parts of the Senate proposal - particularly provisions that would reward illegal immigrants who have consistently broken our laws. Republicans look forward to working with our colleagues on common sense reforms to shore up our borders and put a premium on enforcing our laws.”

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Cleveland) has only missed 10 roll calls in the 110th Congress on account of his presidential bid, which is just 2.7% of the votes taken. The other three Congressmen running for President have missed much more: Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) 12.8%, Ron Paul (R-Texas) 14.7%, Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) 24.9%. On the Senate side, Sen. Hillary Clinton is the least absent White House contender at 2.3% of roll calls missed.

Sect'y of State Jennifer Brunner announced a pilot program this morning aimed at getting more young people to vote by distributing voter registration forms and voter information with high school diplomas, calling it "the ultimate civics lesson." Also, information for young people about how to vote absentee and how to become a poll worker is now available on a special section of the Secretary of State web site.

State Senators Tom Sawyer (D-Akron), Dale Miller (D-Cleveland), and Robert Schuler (R-Sycamore Township) are co-sponsoring a bill that would make it a fourth-degree misdemeanor for 911 operators or translators from discussing billing information for translation services before handling an emergency. This proposal follows the drowning death of a 4-year old girl in Franklin County whose non-English speaking parents gave up on their 911 call after the operator brought a translator on the line to explain billing for translation services.

State Sen. John Boccieri (D-New Middletown), an interview with whom was posted on this blog today, will hold a press conference tomorrow at 12:30 pm in the Statehouse Minority Conference Room to announce a bill to bring Ohio law in line with the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA). The law would would protect servicemen and women from discrimination because of their service in the Armed Forces, National Guard or other services, and would safeguard their right to reclaim civilian employment following their time in military service or training.
UPDATE: Gov. Ted Strickland (D-New Lisbon) and Ohio Senate leaders will join Boccieri at the press conference.

The City Council of Oberlin voted last night to ask the U.S. House of Representatives to impeach President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Oberlin becomes the first city in the state to pass such a measure.