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Associated Press Wedesday Highlights - 5/13/2009
Latest Ohio news, sports, business and entertainment:
XGR-FORECLOSURE MORATORIUM
Ohio lawmakers eye foreclosure moratorium
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A bill in the Ohio Legislature would put a six-month moratorium on home foreclosures.
The bill that passed a House committee yesterday also directs the Ohio Department of Commerce to develop standards on how loan servicers should work out terms with homeowners to prevent foreclosure.
Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, says the effectiveness of a moratorium might be limited. For borrowers to qualify, they must continue to make at least half their monthly mortgage payment.
The bill moves to the full House, where Democrats hold a majority. If it passes, it heads to the Republican-controlled Senate, where President Bill Harris says he has not read it but is willing to consider a moratorium.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
FORECLOSURE RATES
RealtyTrac: April foreclosures rise 32 percent
MIAMI (AP) - Ohio had one of the nation's highest foreclosure rates last month as the number of U.S. households faced with losing their homes jumped 32 percent from a year ago.
Foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac says more than 342,000 households received at least one foreclosure-related notice in April. That means one in every 374 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing, the highest monthly rate since RealtyTrac began its report in January 2005.
Nevada had one in every 68 households receive a foreclosure filing, down 18 percent from March but still the nation's highest rate. Ohio ranked 10th with one out of every 411 households receiving a filing last month.
DEMJANJUK
German prison: Demjanjuk fit for prison
BERLIN (AP) - Doctors in Germany have determined that John Demjanjuk (dehm-YAHN'-yuk) is fit enough to remain in custody at Munich's Stadelheim prison.
The 89-year-old man who was deported from Ohio on Monday is being held on suspicion of acting as an accessory to the murder of 29,000 people at a Nazi death camp.
Stadelheim prison said today that doctors there determined that the retired autoworker who had been living in the Cleveland area is in good enough health to remain in detention.
Munich prosecutors must still determine whether Demjanjuk is fit enough to stand trial and have called for an expert opinion. Determining that could take up to two weeks.
DIAMOND AUCTION
US marshals in Ohio to sell huge, seized diamond
AKRON, Ohio (AP) - Federal marshals will auction off a 43-carat, one-inch tall diamond seized in a money laundering investigation in Ohio.
The diamond, which federal prosecutors say could be worth up to $20 million, was confiscated from a man who tried to sell it to an undercover agent posing as a broker for a South American drug cartel. Paul Monea of Alliance, near Canton, was convicted of money laundering.
This week federal Judge John Adams ruled that marshals can auction the diamond, with the money going to the government. He rejected ownership claims from Monea's children, a New York minister and a California business owner.
Monea became rich distributing Tae Bo fitness tapes.
OHIO STATE-BOOK PROTEST
Group protests digital trend at Ohio State library
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Some students and faculty at Ohio State University complain that the school is gutting its library by dropping some printed books and journals in favor of electronic versions.
About 24 protesters gathered outside Ohio State's administration building yesterday holding signs with messages such as: "A great library is not a throwaway item." They want the school to find more shelf space for traditional books.
History professor emeritus John Burnham said some professors often don't know what they're looking for until they see it on a shelf.
Library Director Joe Branin says there is more demand for e-books and e-journals, and says the school will continue to add new materials in both print and digital formats. Ohio State's main library holds about 6 million works.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
TREE DISCOVERY
New native tree species found in Ohio
CINCINNATI (AP) - Officials say a tree growing naturally in southwest Ohio's Clermont County is the first new native species discovered in Ohio in almost 70 years.
The state Division of Forestry says a small, thriving population of sugarberry trees was found near the Ohio River communities of Chilo (SHY'-loh) and Utopia by state forester Brian Riley.
The tree was already known to grow in neighboring Ohio Valley states.
In a statement, Riley says each year a typically large, broad sugarberry tree can produce tens of thousands of red, pea-sized berries which are a valuable food source for migratory birds.
The last time a new native tree species was discovered in Ohio was in 1941, when the Mexican plum was found, also in Clermont County.
MEGA MILLIONS ROLLOVER
Mega Millions jackpot now $38 million
ATLANTA (AP) - No big winner in the latest drawing means the grand prize in the multistate Mega Millions lottery grows to $38 million.
No player matched all the winning numbers from last night's $28 million drawing, so the jackpot has rolled over for the next Mega Millions drawing, Friday night.
Although there was no grand prize winner, four players won second prizes of $250,000 apiece. Another 39 players, including three in Ohio, won third prizes of $10,000.
The winning numbers from Tuesday night's drawing were: 4, 8, 10, 14, and 51. The Mega Ball number was 31.
RACE GAME-CLEVELAND
Cleveland yuppies targeted in online video race
('Got*City Game!' punctuation style cq.)
CLEVELAND (AP) - Cleveland will try to keep and attract young professionals with an competition styled after TV's "The Amazing Race."
The competition is called "Got*City Game!" and will begin in the fall with four two-member teams competing in eight online video episodes. Local attractions will be highlighted as the contestants race between Cleveland nightspots and cultural landmarks to get clues to their next destinations.
The team that wins the race will get one year of free living in a downtown Cleveland condominium and free passes to city attractions.
The 10-minute episodes will be geared toward the YouTube audience.
Teams will be sponsored by colleges and corporations.
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On the Net: http://www.gotcitygame.tv/
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Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com
BALL PLAYER-NURSING HOME
Ball player hosted by Ohio assisted living center
WESTLAKE, Ohio (AP) - A minor league baseball player will spend the summer season with a very large host family: the residents of an Ohio assisted living facility.
Lake Erie Crushers pitcher Josh Faiola (fay-OH'-luh) has been invited to stay at The Belvedere, a complex for seniors west of Cleveland. The Crushers play in suburban Avon (AY'-vahn).
Faiola and his wife, Allison, have been provided a suite which normally costs $5,000 per month and includes a kitchenette, flat-screen TV and laundry.
The Belvedere owner/administrator Cindy Griffiths-Novak says in a statement that she found strong support among residents when she pitched them the hosting idea.
At a reception Tuesday night, 25-year-old Faiola joked that at least the facility doesn't make him go to bed early.
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Information from: The Chronicle-Telegram, http://www.chronicletelegram.com
STICKY STREET
Chemical spilled in Ohio like glue but not hazard
CINCINNATI (AP) - Workers have had a sticky cleanup job to do in Cincinnati after a truck carrying a glue-like chemical sprung a leak on a busy westside street.
The driver of the semi saw that the leak had occurred early today and called police. The trucking company sent a private firm to clean the substance from the road and transfer the remaining chemical on the truck onto another vehicle.
Officials at first thought the truck might be leaking a hazardous rust-inhibiting chemical but then determined it was a sort of water-based glue. Hazardous materials crews and the EPA were on the scene until it was determined the substance was not a health hazard.
EARNS-MACY'S
Macy's reports wider 1st-quarter loss
CINCINNATI (AP) - Macy's is reporting that it had a wider loss in the first quarter as its results were hurt by restructuring charges.
The Cincinnati-based department store operator says it had a loss of $88 million, or 21 cents per share, for the period ended May 2. That compares with a loss of $59 million, or 14 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding certain charges, the company lost 16 cents per share. The restructuring charges were tied to consolidation and efforts to localize its merchandising strategies.
Revenues fell to $5.12 billion from $5.74 billion a year ago. Analysts had been expecting a loss of 20 cents on sales of $5.2 billion.
FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS-VERIZON ACQUISITION
Verizon, Frontier in $8.6B deal for wirelines
NEW YORK (AP) - Verizon says it has reached a deal to shed its traditional telephone line business in Ohio and 13 other states in a deal worth $8.6 billion.
Frontier Communications will be taking over the Verizon Communications assets in an all-stock deal, the companies say.
The deal gives Frontier 4.8 million access lines to residential and small business customers and narrows Verizon's focus on wireless, broadband and Internet service.
The deal includes all of Verizon's wireline assets in Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin as well as some assets in California.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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