By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 16 Last night, Peter Ujvagi was naming his heroes. As he thanked his fellow councilmen for electing him council president, he pointed to his parents, who had come to America from Hungary 41 years ago to avoid Communist oppression. He named Msgr. Geno Baroni, a Catholic priest who […]
Category: Blade | City government
Mayor seeks civic hall; City leaders may be honored
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 13 Canton, Cooperstown … Toledo? Mayor Carty Finkbeiner thinks civic leaders should be honored in a hall of fame, and he’s started a new city committee to choose its members. “There are not many other cities or states that do this,” Mr. Finkbeiner said. “I think it’s something […]
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U.S. to pull workers from federal building
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 21 Federal officials have committed to vacating the Federal Building downtown, a structure that many consider an eyesore and a key target for Toledo’s efforts to beautify the riverfront. “That should be open space,” said Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo). “That riverfront is Toledo’s strongest asset.” The building, […]
Council looks for efficient ways to keep public informed on issues
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 24 Council’s staff spends about 30 hours each week typing up transcripts to council meetings – many of them never to be touched again by human hands. The council members who will take office in two weeks consider that a waste of time, and will soon begin considering […]
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Toledo council goes on the attack; Additional staffers needed to better control agenda, members say
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 25 Toledo council is sick of being force-fed a legislative agenda by the mayor’s office, and its members have begun planning their attack. “The last four years have been, to put it mildly, challenging,” Councilman Peter Ujvagi said yesterday during a council retreat at One Maritime Plaza. “This […]
Mayor again talks of ‘guns on the street’
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 17 Mayor Carty Finkbeiner may be preparing to reintroduce legislation that would give Toledo the state’s toughest gun-control laws. The mayor met yesterday afternoon with local black clergymen and members of the Coalition Against Gun Violence to discuss strategies in their efforts to limit the number of guns […]
Operators urge delay in shift of 911 system to Toledo
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 17 About a dozen 911 operators being laid off say the decentralization of their system could ring in the new year with chaos, danger, and disaster. But Toledo police say the switch should go off without a hitch. The war of words, of which the latest round took […]
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Former city manager Hawkey is dismissed from his Pasadena job
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 21 PASADENA, CALIF. — Seven years after he left Ohio, a former Toledo city manager is facing unemployment. Pasadena City Manager Phil Hawkey, whose four years in Toledo were marked by controversy, will not be allowed to serve out the remainder of his contract, the city’s council decided […]
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Toledo considered for federal program
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 15 Toledo is one of 40 finalists for a federal program that could make it easier for the city to reclaim polluted industrial land, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner plans to announce today. Early next year, 10 of those cities will be named Brownfields Showcase Communities, making them eligible for […]
School nurses debate may end
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 13 After months of squabbling, the debate over funding for Toledo school nurses could come to an end tomorrow. On the agenda for tomorrow’s city council meeting is an ordinance that, if passed, would allocate $50,000 from city coffers to help pay for seven nurses in Toledo elementary […]