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Associated Press Monday Morning Ohio Headlines - 2/8/2010
Latest Ohio news, sports, business and entertainment:
WINTER WEATHER-OHIO
Forecasters say more snow headed for Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohioans had better keep the snow shovels handy.
As crews work to clear roads and restore power in areas where a foot of snow fell Friday and Saturday, forecasters say another winter storm is coming that could leave the state with another deep coating of white.
The National Weather Service has put most Ohio counties under a winter storm watch. Expected snowfall totals through Wednesday range from up to six inches in Cincinnati to as much as a foot in Toledo, Cleveland and Youngstown.
Power companies reported this morning that they still had more than 10,000 Ohio customers without service from the weekend's storm. Most of the outages were in eastern Ohio.
WINTER STORM CORRECTION
Mid-Atlantic digs out of snow; government shut
WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal government is shuttered today as the Mid-Atlantic region digs out from as much as 3 feet of snow.
The storm has left tens of thousands without power and blocked trains, planes and cars as another storm looms.
Federal agencies that employ 230,000 in Washington are closed, as are many local governments, businesses and school districts across the region. Around 200,000 students in Philadelphia's public and Roman Catholic schools are getting a snow day.
More snow is expected tomorrow. And stranded travelers and those struggling with no electricity when they will escape the icy, gray mess.
The National Weather Service called the storm "historic" and reported a foot of snow in parts of Ohio and 2 feet or more in Washington, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Parts of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia got closer to 3 feet.
GAS PRICES-OHIO
AAA survey: Ohio gas up 5 cents from last week
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Prices are a nickel higher this week at Ohio gas pumps, despite a drop in oil prices.
A survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express puts the current statewide average for regular-grade gasoline at $2.56 per gallon, up from $2.51 last Monday.
Oil prices fell sharply late last week as concerns over high unemployment in the U.S. and swelling debt levels in Europe cast doubt over the global economic recovery.
Ohio motorists are saving more than 20 cents a gallon compared to a month ago, when the average for regular was $2.77 around Ohio. One year ago, gas was averaging a much cheaper $1.83 statewide.
OHIO TROOPER CRASH DEATH-FUNERAL
Funeral Monday for Ohio trooper killed in wreck
CAREY, Ohio (AP) - Gov. Ted Strickland is expected at the funeral for an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper killed in a crash while on duty last week.
The service for Trooper Andrew Baldridge is scheduled for late this morning at the Basilica of Our Lady of Consolation in the northwest Ohio village of Carey.
Baldridge was behind the wheel of a patrol cruiser that went off a road and rolled several times Thursday evening as he and another trooper were responding to a call. The other officer was hospitalized.
Baldridge was 25 and graduated from the highway patrol academy in December. Strickland says he heard Baldridge speak at the graduation and was impressed by his sincerity and thoughtfulness.
The governor ordered flags flown at half-staff until sunset.
US-STRESS MAP
AP analysis: US economic stress hit a peak in Dec.
UNDATED (AP) - Economic stress in the average U.S. county has risen to its highest point since the recession began in December 2007.
Weakness in Western energy-producing states drove the latest increase in the AP's Economic Stress Index, which tracks conditions in more than 3,100 U.S. counties. Nearly 45 percent of counties were considered stressed during December.
Counties with populations of at least 25,000 that saw the sharpest jump in year-to-year Stress scores in December all had sizable work forces in manufacturing and mining. They include Clinton and Highland counties in southwest Ohio.
The Stress index calculates a score from 1 to 100 based on a county's unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates.
QUAKE RELIEF-STRIP CLUB
Ohio strip club hosts 'Lap dances for Haiti'
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - A strip club in Ohio has raised $1,000 for Haitian earthquake relief during what was billed as "Lap dances for Haiti."
Marilyn's on Monroe in Toledo donated the $10 cover charges collected Saturday to ISOH (I-S-O-H)/IMPACT, an organization based in suburban Perrysburg that provides food and clothing for Haiti.
Marilyn's general manager Kenny Soprano says his establishment had been looking for a reason to hold a charity fundraiser even before the quake, as a way to improve its image. He says you don't hear much about strip clubs giving back to the community.
ISOH/IMPACT CEO Linda Greene doesn't have a problem with where the money came from. She says her group appreciates any donations to help Haiti.
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Information from: The Blade, http://www.toledoblade.com/
CAVALIERS-WATER FOUNTAINS
Cleveland arena removes drinking fountains
CLEVELAND (AP) - The home of the Cleveland Cavaliers says it has removed drinking water fountains to prevent the spread of bacteria and illnesses, such as swine flu.
Fans who want a drink of water can get a small cup free at Quicken Loans Arena concession counters or pay $4 for bottled water.
Team spokesman Tad Carper says the fountains were removed in November. He says the team takes advice on such health matters from the National Basketball Association and the International Association of Assembly Managers.
But officials from both organizations say they are not recommending that drinking fountains be removed.
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Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com
SUPER BOWL-AMERICA'S TEAM
Who Dat Nation: Super Saints become America's Team
MIAMI (AP) - For one game, the New Orleans Saints were America's Team -- champions, too, after a 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Sunday's Super Bowl.
Almost four and a-half years after flooding from Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and nearly chased the Saints out of town for good, the club's first Super Bowl win may well represent the city's rebirth.
Perhaps the Saints' biggest fan -- literally -- is the NBA's Shaquille O'Neal, the 7-foot-plus Cleveland Cavaliers center who got his start at LSU. He says the Saints' big win is good for the city, the economy and the organization. O'Neal says he hopes the team's long curse is over.
TOYOTA-USED CAR VALUE
Toyota's once-golden resale value gets dented
CHICAGO (AP) - Toyota owners looking to trade in their cars have little reason to sing the carmaker's old ad slogan, "I love what you do for me -- Toyota!"
Recalls and a bungled response to safety questions are putting a dent in the resale values of their cars.
Chrysler dealer Chuck Eddy in Youngstown (Ohio) says he's heard of other dealers refusing to take recalled Toyotas in trade, but he'll still take them at reduced values.
Two auction houses, where dealers sell trade-ins if they decide not to keep them, have told his dealership they won't take recalled Toyotas due to legal liability fears. Eddy says customers are nervous about buying Toyotas and the auction houses have further limited his resale options.
FIRE INJURIES
Fire sends residents to hospital
MOUNT HEALTHY, Ohio (AP) - Authorities in Ohio say neighbors helped rescue a paraplegic woman from an early morning apartment fire that sent several residents to the hospital.
Firefighters say the blaze began at 3 a.m. at an apartment building in the northern Cincinnati suburb of Mount Healthy. They say neighbors wrapped the woman in a blanket and carried her out of her two-story building.
She and another resident were taken away by ambulance suffering from smoke inhalation, while authorities say several other residents drove themselves to get checked out. There was no word immediately available on conditions.
Temperatures in the low teens made firefighting efforts more difficult. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.
ASIAN CARP
White House meeting to deal with Asian carp threat
UNDATED (AP) - Three governors will meet with President Barack Obama's chief science adviser in Washington today to discuss strategy for preventing Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes.
Nancy Sutley, head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, is scheduled to host Govs. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, Pat Quinn of Illinois and Jim Doyle of Wisconsin.
The large, voracious carp have infested Chicago-area waterways, and their DNA was discovered in Lake Michigan last month. Scientists say they could disrupt the Great Lakes food chain and devastate the $7 billion fishing industry.
Michigan wants to close shipping locks and gates between the waterways and the lake. But the Obama administration agrees with Illinois that doing so would hurt the Chicago economy and there are better ways to stop the carp.
RING FOUND
2 decades later, man to be reunited with lost ring
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Two decades after his school ring fell overboard from a cruise ship, a Florida man is expecting to have the high school treasure in his hands once again.
Tom Whitney says he's been contacted by an Ohio woman whose father-in-law found the ring using a metal detector along Daytona Beach. The woman later found Whitney's name on Facebook.
The 1989 graduate from West Orange High School near Orlando says the ring had fallen overboard from a Port Canaveral-based cruise ship the summer after he graduated.
He never expected to see the ring again.
Whitney, an engineer, is now waiting for the ring to arrive in the mail.
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Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-02-08-10 0904EST
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