President Obama Knocked it Out of the Ballpark with his State of the Union Speech

Governor Ted Strickland's "I Believe in Ohio" 2010 State of the State Speech

Some of the Saturday volunteers at the new headquarters job site

Dennis Pavella goes for the chocolate chip cookies Christy Weikart brought to the worksite ...YUM!

Volunteers stop work on the new headquarters to check out plans for the rest of the renovation

Ron Wiech and Don Kleve cut the metal studs for walls at the headquarters

Judge Grendell's poison pen does no good to the atmosphere of Ohio's 11th District Court of Appeals: Brent Larkin

By Brent Larkin / The Plain Dealer / January 10, 2010, 4:30AM

Judge Mary Jane Trapp   

Anyone spending more than three minutes in a room with Judges Diane Grendell, Colleen O'Toole and Mary Jane Trapp would have no trouble figuring out which of the three is by far the most talented.

But that gigantic talent gap hasn't stopped Grendell, and to a lesser extent O'Toole, from using their lofty positions to behave like petty ward heelers in an attempt to discredit Trapp, their much-brighter judicial colleague and an announced candidate for the Ohio Supreme Court.

In the midst of what smells like a conspiracy to smear Trapp is the Ohio Republican Party, crowing over a court filing in which Grendell condemns Trapp for lacking civility and promoting a "them vs. us" judicial climate. But I have obtained internal court e-mails that clearly show that when it comes to a lack of judicial civility, Grendell has problems of her own.

Grendell, O'Toole and Trapp are three of the five judges who sit on the 11th District Ohio Court of Appeals, which reviews cases decided by trial courts in Lake, Geauga, Portage and Trumbull counties.

There the similarities end.

Trapp, 53, serving in her first term, is clearly that court's brightest star. She is a former president of the Ohio State Bar Association and in two judicial campaigns won the highest ratings possible from her bar association peers. In a 2004 endorsement, The Plain Dealer concluded, "Trapp is precisely the kind of level-headed, thoughtful, experienced lawyer who ought to be on the appellate bench" -- a candidate "with enormous potential to excel."

click here for the rest of the story

Truth or Fiction?  How much of what is on this sign is true? Click here to find out 

Judge Mary Jane Trapp with Rick Seyer & Ron Wiech of Middlefield and Nancy Ferguson from Parkman

Governor Strickland appoints Kathy Leavenworth to the Ohio State School Board

Kathy Leavenworth with Gov. Strickland at the Governor's residence in Bexely, Ohio this summer

Governor Announces State Board of Education Appointment

Columbus, OH – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today announced an appointment to the State Board of Education  

Kathy Leavenworth, of Russell, currently serves as a member of the West Geauga Schools Board of Education. She has served in this position since being elected in 1979, including serving as the board president from 1979-2002. She has also served as the legislative liaison and as the chair of several bond and levy campaigns. Leavenworth served as the president of the Ohio School Boards Association in 1999 and represented Ohio as a delegate to the National School Boards Association for five years. Leavenworth is also an active member of her community.  She currently serves as a board member of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy and the Geauga Humane Society Rescue Village.  Leavenworth also founded the West Geauga Educational Foundation in 1986 and the West Geauga Performing Arts Foundation in 2000. She received a bachelor’s degree from Cleveland State University.