Cincinnati Class-Action Claims Time Warner Pads Customer Bills: Was 'Price Lock Guarantee' Used To Pick Pockets

Time Warner Gets Sued In Cincinnati

[Editor's Note: A contributor sent this story.  We're passing it along because it is interesting and could impact a lot of people.]
By Harry Callahan
Special to The Daily Bellwether
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Complaints about cable TV companies jacking their customers are legion -- they are like complaints about the weather.   There are even websites devoted to chronicling battles between the cable giant and its subscribers.  Now there's a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in Cincinnati federal court that's aimed at putting the region's dominant cable TV provider, Time  Warner, on the defensive.  It may even ignite the fury of customers. In the suit, John Williams accuses Time Warner of double-crossing him in its widely promoted "Price Lock Guarantee" program. When the deal was offered in March 2008, he said a customer representative told him that he would get a "guaranteed" or "locked" discounted monthly rate by signing up for cable TV and Internet access services. As the Time Warner website says, "With the Price Lock Guarantee packages where available, you can lock in your monthly rates." It sounded good, so Williams signed up for the two-year program and began paying a base rate of $117.35 a month.  He said he bought the package at the company's store on Highland Avenue in Pleasant Ridge. 


In March 2010, the Price Lock Guarantee automatically renewed, and, sure enough, Time Warner continued to charge Williams the old rate. But before the two years passed, he noticed that his monthly base rate had gone up $7.50, or 6.4 percent. He said the bill contained no explanation for the increase. All he knew was that Time Warner had reneged on its Price Lock Guarantee.

'China Hub' Airpark With 10,000 Jobs May Be Headed To SW Ohio: Cincinnati Gains From Missouri's Turmoil?

                                                   

SW Ohio In Running For Air Hub

UPDATE 11:24 am -- Tom Blumer at Bizzyblog has followed up and raises interesting issues about the use of tax incentives.  He also says Chicago already is being serviced by Chinese airfreight companies.  Blumer questions why the big media organizations  in Ohio have not jumped on this story -- to either confirm or question the project's financial viability, and also examine any potential impact on national security.

UPDATE 9/27 1:01 pm --NextSTL.com. reports a non-stop Shanghai to St. Louis cargoliner has made its first flight to Lambert Field.  But the Chinese say they won't stay in St.unless tax incentives materialize.  Ohio is still in the running for the hub.  The Chinese consul general says they will go where they get the best offer.  The story by Frank DeGraaf contains lots of new information about the project and its potential financial impact.

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican conservative who once said he was "tea party before there was a tea party," might be looking at landing the largest economic development project in recent state history.  And it all seems to be happening because of fellow conservatives in Missouri.  They are balking at approving about $400 million in state tax credits for the "China Hub," a Chinese-St. Louis air cargo corridor that is supposed to terminate at Lambert Airport.  It is envisioned as opening a massive new international trade gateway with the giant Asian economy.  St. Louis business interests and economic development officials were predicting up to 10,000 new jobs, along with warehouses and other spinoffs.  In effect, it would be a port, and it has a grand name: "Aerotropolis."  Not quite the Panama Canal, but a huge trade deal..

Suddenly, the fallout in Missouri has given Ohio an opening to grab it.  Economic development officials in Cincinnati are trying to offer the project a home in Ohio, and they are pointing to Wilmington, where DHL abandoned its giant air cargo airport two years ago.  It is sitting there waiting.  State officials are also in on the action.  The word in Jefferson City, Missouri's capital, is that SW Ohio and Denver have emerged as potential sites for the China Hub.  When The Daily Bellwether called a well-placed Cincinnati City Hall source Thursday, the source said, "We're going after this.  The Kasich people, the Chamber, we're all moving.  Is anything going to happen?  I think some doors are open to us that weren't until a few days ago.  We can give it a home in Wilmington at a place where people want jobs and an airport is empty and waiting.  Will it happen?  It seems to be up to the people in Missouri.  All of a sudden, they seem to hate tax incentives.  It's like the streetcar fight, but on a much bigger scale."

Cincinnati's Population Total Plummets In 2010 Census: Meanwhile, City's Voter Registration Rolls Include Nearly Every Adult




  Census Finds 231,237 Adults 

  CINCINNATI (TDB) -- There is an interesting wrinkle in the 2010 Census data that sets Cincinnati's population at 296,943 residents.  Nearly all of them -- 231,237 -- are adults over age 18.  And if the federal Census is correct, that means other records show 91% of Cincinnati's adults are registered voters.  That is a huge bloc of citizens who have taken a step to become politically active -- perhaps a staggering or sobering number.  Some think the 91% number is a myth.  Or a fraud.  Others see it at as a signpost that Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory has a strong argument to make that Census officials dramatically under counted the city's residents.

A similar pattern holds true in Hamilton County, where the Census counted 612,734 adults.  Voting records show 567,629 are registered. Again, upwards of 90% of the county's adult population is politically active.  If the 90% number is anywhere close to being correct, then local officials and residents have been remarkably efficient in signing up voters.    

Mallory, a Democrat, has long argued that Cincinnati has been growing and adding new residents over the past decade.  He contends the city has at least 330,000 citizens, probably more.  The Census numbers released last week poured cold water on Mayor Mallory's math.  Cincinnati is supposed to have lost 10.4 % of its residents, among the nation's worst declines.  But The Daily Bellwether did some quick research and discovered today that almost all of the city's adults are registered voters at the Hamilton County Board of Elections.  According to the board, Hamilton County has 567,629 voters -- with 209,862 in Cincinnati.

Leaked State Dept. Cable Discloses Brazilian CEO's Lie: Cincinnati's G.E. Aviation Was To Get Lift From Aircraft-Maker Embraer

Whopper Told To Members Of Congress

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- WikiLeaks has landed close to home by releasing a confidential State Department cable disclosing that Embraer CEO Frederico Curado admitted privately to a U.S. diplomat last year that business was bleak. Publicly, Curado was saying just the opposite.  He told a  visiting U.S. Congressional delegation on Jan. 29, 2009 that "sales were strong." 

 Curado runs Embraer, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer that is a large customer of G.E. Aviation in Cincinnati.  G.E. has sold hundreds of 34-8E turbofan jet engines to Embraer for commercial airliners, including a fleet used by JetBlue.
Amb. Clifford Sobel reported in a February 2009 cable stamped confidential that Embraer's CEO said the company "has suffered tremendously, and expects Embraer's production to fall significantly after it worked through its current backlog."  Sobel reported that the Brazilian blamed the global economic crisis.  Sobel and the Embraer CEO were meeting about selling U.S.-made F-18 jet fighters to the Brazilian Air Force.  But the talk shifted to commercial planes.  From the State Department cable recapping the meeting:

"According to Curado, the financial crisis has brought Embraer's new sales to zero.  They are working rhrugh a backlog of planes, but in two or three years, Curado expects to have completed the backlog, leaving Embraer with no planes to produce.  He told Ambassador Sobel that he expects the crisis to have abated in three to four years, though he foresees further depreciation of assets worldwide.  He said that some clients have canceled contracts, despite losing deposits as hight as 40 percent of the value of the plane.  NOTE:  This differs from Curado's public statements that do not paint such a bleak picture.  In fact, Curado told a visiting Codel [congressional delegation] on January 29 that sales remain strong for certain classes of aircraft and that few of their clients have canceled orders. END NOTE."

So, he was lying, being deceptive or spinning a good yarn.  But he wasn't telling the truth and has been outed by the leaked cable.  Here is a link to a site about Embraer 190 airliners, which are powered by G.E. jet engines. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on shares of Embraer (NYSE: ERJ) earlier this week with a “buy” rating and a $38 price target on the stock.  Wall Street was unphased by the lie, or unaware of the WikiLeaks disclosure.  The Daily Bellwether is publishing the full-text of the State Department cable that quotes the Embraer CEO telling his falsehood -- continue on to see the document:

State Dept. Cable Describes Saudi Halloween Party Sponsored By U.S. Firm: Hookers, Black-Market Booze, And Wealthy Muslim Hypocrites

Saudi Hypocrites Exposed In U.S. Cable

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Wikileaks made the November 11, 2009 confidential U.S. State Department cable public and The Daily Bellwether is publishing the full-text.  It exposes rampant hypocrisy in the desert kingdom.  So far, the cable has escaped wide notice and hasn't made the big newspapers like The New York Times.  The cable describes a wild party in Jeddah that had Saudis and their guests partying in Halloween costumes -- "the full range of worldly temptations and vices are available'' -- and reveling in sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.  The consul general's office had an invitation and a U.S. diplomat attended.  The party was co-sponored by a Saudi prince and and unnamed American corporation that also put up cash, a U.S. firm that makes energy drinks.  All this took place in a Muslim nation that represses women and embraces a conservative theology that includes stoning and beheading. The cable calls the religious conservatism a facade among the Saudi elite.  The complete text of the cable about about Filipino bartenders, rockin' DJs, and "working girls" hired to supply sex is after the jump:

New Stink Arises In Lincoln Heights Over Ex-Police Chief Ron Twitty's Regime: Unopened Mail Behind $82,000 Default Judgment

Lawsuit Delivered, Answer Was Late

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Lawyers for the predominantly African American village outside Cincinnati say in a court filing that three certified letters about a lawsuit against the police department sat unopened for weeks.  The letters were discovered in former Police Chief Ron Twitty's office on Nov. 2, nearly a month after he quit.  Postal receipts show the certified mail from Court Clerk Patrician M. Clancy's office was delivered  on Aug. 23.  The village defaulted on a lawsuit because it failed to answer the claim on time -- Lincoln Height now is fighting to have the default set aside.  Twitty resigned as Lincoln Heights' police chief after it was discovered he failed to maintain certification as a police office in Ohio.  Details are in this Cincinnati Herald story, which noted he left the Cincinnati Police Department in 2002 after he was accused of failing to report damage to his city-owned car.  Twitty pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor offense involving obstruction of the damaged vehicle investigation.

Lincoln Heights'  lawyers Dawn M. Frick and Jeffrey C. Turner contend in a motion to set aside the default judgment that the case involves "excusable neglect or inadvertence."   They said the village did not willfully fail to answer the complaint.  More of the lawyers' argument is after the jump.

Internet Scammers Blast Cincinnati With Bogus E-Mails From Gen. Petraeus: $22.6 Million Afghan Treasure Needs Ohio Hideout

Email Says General Has Loot Like Pirate

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The message comes from a gmail account under the name General David Howell Petraeus, who is supposed to be writing from his command post in Afghanistan where U.S. and NATO forces are battling the Taliban.  The general has become a pirate with a treasure he needs to stash.  But the message is crude and clearly fake.  It contains numerous grammatical and punctuation errors.  Petraeus is a four-star U.S. Army general officer from West Point who went on to obtain an Ivy League PhD.  He doesn't write like an unschooled Arab hunched over a keyboard in an Internet cafe, a Nigerian spammer, or a Somali Long John Silver.  What's even more ridiculous: Holly Petraeus, the general's wife of 36 years, heads a Better Business Bureau (BBB) consumer education office.  Yet the email portrays this American hero as corrupt, as crooked as Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the kleptocrats who surround him.  Perhaps the email originated as psyops from the Taliban or Al-Qaeda, and was written from a cave in Pakistan.  Perhaps it is simply a scam.  It clearly is an attempt to tie the American general into Karzai's thieving regime.  Awful that gmail allows it to circulate widely.  See for yourself the bogus content -- bad grammar and all -- in this excerpt:

"Some money and gold in various currencies [$22.6 million in U.S. dollars plus 50 kilos of gold] was discovered in barrel at a farm house in (sic) during the presidential election at the Taliban strong hold during a rescuer (sic) operation in the election attack and it was agreed by staff Sgt. Kenneth Buff and I that some part of this money and gold be shared among us before informing anyone about the discovery.  this (no caps) was quite illegal thing to do but I tell you what.  No compensation will make it up for the risk we have taken our lives in this hell whole (sic) of which my brother-in-law was killed by a road side bomb last week.

"The above figure was given me as my shared to cancel this kind of money became a problem for me, so with the help of a British contact working here and his office enjoys some immunity I was able to move the money to a security company in the United Kingdom as a diplomatic consignment."

The general's wife, Holly, directs the BBB Military Line, which works with service members.  She tries to keep families from being the targets of scammers and financial fraudsters.  She tells the story of how in 1974 she and her husband got caught in a snare by buying a sports car.  It was a red Jensen-Healy that was a mechanical nightmare.  They were young, not well off, and the car moneypit drained them financially.  Lesson learned. 

Roller Coasters Vs. Genesis: Creationist Museum Outside Cincinnati Had 22% 2009 Attendance Drop, King's Island Fell 4%

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Developers of the proposed Ark Encounter theme park in Williamstown, Ky., need no polite reminders of how tourist attractions are affected by economic downturns.  All the reminders they need are in the publicly available tax returns of their own Creation Museum, which is located on the Bluegrass State side of suburban Cincinnati .  In its first full year of operation, the Creation Museum reported it pulled in "slightly over" 400,000 visitors to its exhibits showing dinosaurs living alongside humans on an earth created by God some 7,000 years ago.  The museum rejects the theory of evolution.  Year two, which ended June 30, 2009, saw a near 22% attendance drop-off to "roughly" 310,000 visitors.  The dip occurred in the throes of the Great Recession and many attractions across the U.S. suffered from down gates.  But the Christian exhibit did far worse than Disney -- whose theme parks managed to eke out gains in 2009.  Mickey Mouse & Co. somehow kept them coming.  So far, there is no tax return available for 2010; it is hard to know if the drop in interest at the Creation Museum has leveled off, turned the corner or benefited from a miraculous recovery.

Still, the proposed Ark park's co-developer, Answers in Genesis of Kentucky, is no Mickey Mouse operation.  In its first two years, it paid a combined $21 million in employee salaries and benefits.  It paid a combined $19 million in other expenses, such as office equipment, advertising and travel.  And there is no telling what kind of halo effect it had on all the gas stations and restaurants west of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

But if the museum's second-year tax return is any kind of guide, the recession has hurt.  Total revenue fell 12% to $20 million.  Contributions and grants fell 15% to $8.2 million.  Its ministry outreach program went from 399 seminars and 205,000 attendees to 288 seminars and 185,00 attendees.  And its revenues-minus-expenses line item (they don't call it profit) shrank from $2.1 million to $715,563.  Other interesting takeaways from the 2009 (most recently available) tax return:

• CEO Ken Ham received $129,832 in salary and $46,186 in benefits and other compensation.
• Ham had two daughters, a son and son-in-law on the payroll as staff members.
• Takenbac Enterprises LLC of Hebron is listed as a general or managing partner.  Kentucky's Secretary of State office shows its "managers" to be James Hatton (AiG's chief financial officer), John Pence (AiG's general counsel) and a Dale Janssen.

From Theme Park Insider, you can see that Ohio's King's Island and Cedar Point did not have the attendance declines that hit the Creation Museum.  Obviously, a museum is not quite the same as a theme park, but the numbers offer some glimpse into the economy's impact.  Here are data about attendance rates for the Top 20 U.S. theme parks for 2009:

1. Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom: 17.2 million +1.0%

2. Disneyland: 15.9 million +8.0%

3. Epcot: 11.0 million +0.5%

4. Disney's Hollywood Studios: 9.7 million +1.0%

5. Disney's Animal Kingdom: 9.6 million +0.5%

6. Disney's California Adventure: 6.1 million +9.5%

7. SeaWorld Orlando: 5.8 million -6.8%

8. Universal Studios Florida: 5.4 million -12.0%

9. Islands of Adventure: 4.5 million -13.8%

10. Universal Studios Hollywood: 4.3 million -6.0%

11. SeaWorld San Diego: 4.2 million -12.6%

12. Busch Gardens Tampa: 4.1 million -12.3%

13. Knott's Berry Farm: 3.3 million -6.5%

14. Canada's Wonderland: 3.2 million -6.5%

15. Kings Island: 3.0 million -4.0%

16. Cedar Point : 2.9 million -8.0%

17. Busch Gardens Williamsburg: 2.9 million +3.7%

18. Hersheypark: 2.8 million -1.2%

19. Six Flags Great Adventure: 2.6 million -4.6%

20. Six Flags Magic Mountain: 2.5 million -2.5%

(tie) Six Flags Great America: 2.5 million -6.3%

Amberley Village Blames Shoddy Construction For Crumbling City Hall: The Case Of The Missing 'Indiana Limestone'

Problem Pillars

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Problem pillars plague the upscale Cincinnati suburb, which claims it was swindled.  It says the Indiana Limestone columns that are supposed to be supporting the village's 10-year-old municipal building have turned out to be a "cheaper and inferior product" called cast stone.  Amberley is suing its architect, contractor and a masonry company, saying the $3.4 million structure is deteriorating and presents a danger to public safety.  In early 2008, a large piece of stone fell off the facade of the building.  The village hired Hummel Restoration to investigate -- Hummel discovered shoddy workmanship in 16 pillars on the front and rear of the structure.  The pillars alone are worth about $4,200 each.  From the lawsuit:

"Hummel produced a second report . . . detailing serious structural and design problems with the pillars,  The Hummer Report indicates the columns were weathering at a rapid pace and showing signs of premature deterioration.  The Hummel Report also revealed the cast stone was 'dry stacked' without any significant anchoring.  Instead of utilizing an anchoring system called for in the plans and/or specifications provided to Warm Bros., thin gauge mesh ties were used instead, which were structurally insufficient.  Further, the mortar joints at the corners of each column separated and were allowing moisture to enter the interior of the pillars, further accelerating the deterioration.  the improper anchoring resulted from a design flaw as well as an error in installation and compliance with the plans.

"Currently, in addition to the aforementioned problems, some areas of the pillars exhibit accelerated discoloration, pitting and deterioration, due at least in part to a selection of improper and inferior materials, improper anchoring and installation of the stone, and improper mixing of concrete and other materials.  The contract specifications called for Indiana Limestone to be used on the building facade, but defendants used cast stone instead.  Cast stone is a cheaper and inferior product to limestone.  Defendants' use of cast stone was not authorized by the Village or the contract specifications."

Warm Bros., the general contractor, has denied any wrongdoing.  But it has counter sued Wayne Masonry Inc., a subcontractor.  The architect, Cole+Russell, says the case should be dismissed and sent to binding arbitration and mediation.  The architectural firm says a dispute resolution process was included in the contract for construction the Village Hall, and that court action is not allowed over claims of construction defects.  Said Cole+Russell:

"Here, Plaintiff carved out the dispute resolution procedure that it is attempting to ignore, and this action is not properly before this Court.  If Plaintiff wished to pursue a claim against CRA [Cole+Russell Architects Inc.], it has no choice but to initiate the dispute resolution mechanisms set forth in the Agreement by demanding mediation and, if that is not successful, arbitration.  In any case, as this case must be resolved in those arenas, this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over this matter and the action should be dismissed."

Amberley says it is willing to try mediation and arbitration, but says Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Jody M. Luebbers should not dismiss the case outright while any talks take place.  She should put it on ice, staying action pending the outcome of mediation and arbitration.  Meanwhile, Amberley is continuing to occupy its Village Hall on Ridge Avenue.  Amberley said the premature deterioration of the pillars "presents a danger to the public health, safety and welfare, as demonstrated by the cornice that fell from the building.  Prompt repairs are needed in order to avoid personal injury and property damage."

U.S. Appeals Court In Cincinnati Greenlights Probe Into Hamilton County Voting: 849 Provisional Ballots Must Be Checked For Pollworker Error

Sec'y of State Brunner Also Weighs In 

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The ruling by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals was a legal victory for Tracie Hunter, a Democrat who contends procedures at the Hamilton County Board of Elections may have cost her hundreds of votes.  Hunter trails Republican John Williams by 23 votes in the race for Juvenile Court judge.  Williams sought a decision from the 6th Circuit that would have shelved an investigation into provision ballots that was ordered by U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott.  Williams got slam dunked by the federal appeals court panel -- two members of the three-judge panel were appointed by Democratic presidents.  But the ruling came without any dissent from a George W. Bush appointee.  That lessens crticism partisan antics was behind the decision.

Meanwhile, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat who is leaving office next month because she didn't seek reelection, issued a directive that governing procedures ove how provisional ballots must be examined for poll worker error.  Brunner's directive said the possibility numerous voters were sent to the wrong precinct in Hamilton County polling locations with multiple precincts should be examined .  There are about 290 of those provisional ballots at stake in the Hunter-Williams contest.  Brunner's order mandates:

" . . . if a board of elections finds multiple provisional ballots voted in the correct polling location but wrong precinct, it should, either in writing, with written responses from the poll workers, or at a public meeting of the board, question the poll workers in that polling location to determine whether they followed the board's instructions for ensuring that voters were directed to the correct precinct.  If the board finds that poll worker error of this nature existed, it shall not reject the provisional ballot, unless other valid reasons for rejection exist, and the board shall count the votes for all races and issues for which the elector was eligible to vote."

A three-judge appeals court panel said the 849 disputed provisional ballots can be segregated as a group for the investigation into poll worker error.  It said the board counted some provisional ballots cast at its downtown headquarters, but rejected others from other locations around the county.  That created possible disparities in how votes were counted:

". . .the Board decided not to count 849 provisional ballots that were cast in the wrong precinct at the regular polling stations on electiong day without investigating whether pollworker error was equally at fault in causing any of these ballots to be cast in the wrong precinct.  This disparate treatment -- county the 26 wrong-precinct ballots based on pollworker error during early voting without similarly investigating whether pollworker error led to any of the 849 ballots being case in the wrong precinct on election day -- forms the basis for the injunctive order in this case.  We cannot conclude that the district court abused its discretion in determining that this disparate treatment made it 'likely enough that the [likelihood-of-success] factor weights in favor of granting the preliminary injunction.'  This analysis weighs against Williams' motion to stay the district court's preliminary injunction."

The 6th Circuit decision was issued by judges Gilbert S. Merritt, appointed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter; Ronald Lee Gilman, appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton, and Deborah L. Cook, appointed by Republican President George W. Bush.

[UPDATE: 12/-3/10 9:30 a.m. -- Justin Jeffre at the Cincinnati Beach links to The Daily Bellwether and says action on the legal front is positive news for Tracie Hunter. Jeffre writes that "it looks like Tracie Hunter is likely to become the first African American Juvenile Court Judge in Hamilton County . . ." What is also an interesting sidelight about voting last month is that Democratic women did quite well in Hamilton County: Nadine Allen, another African American woman, won a contested Common Pleas Court judgeship; Jody Luebbers was unopposed by the Republicans and won a full six-year term in the judgeship that had been vacated by GOP Chairman Alex Trinatafilou; Hunter is closing in on the juvenile spot, and State Rep. Connie Pillich was reelected to the State House over the local Tea Party founder. In countywide contests, the Dem women did far better than males.]

Suburban Cincinnati Religious Museum Wants State $$$ For Ark Park: Sees Jews 'Subject To Everlasting Conscious Punishment'

The Ark Was Crewed By Jews

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Noah is the most famous non-Christian seafarer in history.  He is known to us today through the Hebrew Bible.  The effort to obtain state tourist tax incentives for a Noah's Ark theme park near the creationist museum could end up sailing into shoals of religious discrimination.  All employees at the Answers in Genesis creationist museum in Cincinnati's Kentucky suburbs must supply a "written statement of their testimony" and agree to support the religious group's articles of faith.  AiG requires belief in Jesus Christ and says anybody who isn't Christian is headed straight to hell.  Or, as the statement of faith puts it:  "Those who do not believe in Christ are subject to everlasting conscious punishment, but believers enjoy eternal life with God . . . It is the duty of Christians to attend a local Bible believing church as portrayed in the New Testament."

Clearly, the creationist museum is not very accepting of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus or anybody else who happens to have a differing religious philosophy -- or no religious belief at all. It seems to prefer bigotry.  While Answers in Genesis is entitled to its own religious beliefs, can it force employees to adopt them to get a paycheck?  Religious non-profits are not totally exempt from fair hiring laws.  Xavier University, a Jesuit college in Cincinnati, employs Jews and non-Christians.  Hospitals run by Christian religious denominations in Cincinnati hire doctors and nurses and staff from diverse religious backgrounds.  Jewish Hospital hired non-Jews.  Those organizations adhered to non-discrimination rules and laws in order to access federal and state financial aid.  But the creationist museum and its partner are seeking Kentucky Tourism Development incentives to build a new park themed around a giant replica of Noah's Ark.  Noah was a Jew -- if you believe the Old Testament -- and wouldn't be eligible for a job with Answers in Genesis if he somehow showed up and tried to join its crew.

Stephenie Steitzer of the Louisville Courier Journal reports that the proposed Ark park is close to a deal with Kentucky officials to get the aid package:  "The developers are seeking incentives under the Kentucky Tourism Development Act, which allows up to 25 percent of the cost of a project to be recovered. Under the law, the state each year returns to developers of approved projects the sales tax paid by visitors on admission tickets, food, gift sales and lodging costs. Developers have 10 years to reach the 25 percent threshold. Advocates for church-state separation question whether the tax incentives would raise First Amendment issues."

The First Amendment probably is an issue.  But laws that prohibit employment discrimination based on race, creed and national origin likely come into play when a work force is required to meet this test:  "All job applicants need to supply a written statement of their testimony, a statement of what they believe regarding creation and a statement that they have read and can support the AiG statement of faith."

And here's a sample of what the "statement of faith" contains:

Section 3: Theology

1. The Godhead is triune: one God, three Persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
2. All mankind are sinners, inherently from Adam and individually (by choice), and are therefore subject to God’s wrath and condemnation.
3. Freedom from the penalty and power of sin is available to man only through the sacrificial death and shed blood of Jesus Christ and His complete and bodily resurrection from the dead.
4. The Holy Spirit enables the sinner to repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
5. The Holy Spirit lives and works in each believer to produce the fruits of righteousness.
6. Salvation is a gift received by faith alone in Christ alone and expressed in the individual’s repentance, recognition of the death of Christ as full payment for sin, and acceptance of the risen Christ as Savior, Lord, and God.
7. All things necessary for our salvation are expressly set down in Scripture.
8. Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
9. Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead, ascended to heaven, and is currently seated at the right hand of God the Father, and shall return in person to this earth as Judge of the living and the dead.
10. Satan is the personal spiritual adversary of both God and mankind.
11. Those who do not believe in Christ are subject to everlasting conscious punishment, but believers enjoy eternal life with God.
12. The only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. Any forms of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, incest, fornication, adultery, pornography, etc., are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex.
13. It is the duty of Christians to attend a local Bible believing church, as portrayed in the New Testament.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters Stages Coup: Republican Intervenes In Elections Case Without Authority



Deters Joins GOP Allies



CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The GOP prosecutor's aides officially intervened in the 6th Circut U.S. Court of Appeals.  The county lawyers are now allied with the Ohio Republican Party and John Williams, a GOP candidate for Juvenile Court Judge in Hamilton County. Joe Deters -- who by law represents the Hamilton County Board of Elections -- committed his office to support Williams' effort to thwart an investigation into 869 provisional ballots.   The provisionals were cast aside as legally defective.  Where it gets dicey: The board of elections never agreed to intervene in the federal appeals case on Williams side.  A 2-2 tie put it officially on the sidelines.  Deters move -- to assign staff lawyers to join the Republican side of a legal dispute -- has the look and feel of pure partisanship, a coup against the board of elections.

How did the board divide 2-2?  Democrats Tim Burke and Caleb Faux said no appeal; Republicans Alex Triantafilou and Chip Gerhardt said yes.  On a tie, the motion to appeal died.   

At the moment, the 6th Circuit is considering whether to set aside U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott's order that forces county elections officials to inspect the provisional ballot for signs of poll worker error.  Tracie Hunter, the Democratic candidate for juvenile judge, trails Williams by 23 votes.  A mandatory recount is coming.  Hunter wants more than a recount -- she believes the discarded provisional ballots will break her way and should be added to the mix.  Hunter and the Ohio Democratic Party launched the court fight last week to have them counted.

To counter the Dems, Deters' office filed what it calls a "response of the Hamilton County Board of Elections to Intervenor John Williams' emergency motion to stay."  That suggests false advertising, because the Hamilton County  Board of Election never authorized such a move.  Deters aide, Assistant Pros. James W. Harper acknowledged as much:  "The nature of the Board's further participation in this matter will be determined by the Ohio Secretary of State as the Board is divided."   Outgoing Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat who did not seek reelection, is seen as unlikely to authorize an appeal.  Which is why Deters staged what amounts to a coup.

Williams, whose legal team includes Stuart Dornette (an extremely talented attorney who represents the Cincinnati Bengals and handled negotiations that stuck the county with stadium expenses it cannot afford to pay), contends the 869 disputed provisional ballots are not valid.   Meanwhile, Hunter contends a subset of 289 provisional ballots were cast at the right polling location but in the wrong precinct.  Her lawyer, Jennifer Branch, said poll workers created a mess:

"A single polling location often is the site for voting in multiple precincts.  A citizen must not only locate the right polling place (church, fire hall, school) but also the right table inside the polling place.  Poll workers employed by the Hamilton County Board of Elections have a duty to direct the voter to the correct table so the voter can vote in the correct precinct.  On November 2, 2010, poll workers in Hamilton County did not direct 289 voters to the right precinct table,  This is obvious poll worker error . . . All 289 provisional  ballot cast at the right location but in the wrong precinct on Election Day were rejected by the Board of Elections despite the obvious poll worker errors.  It is likely that these 289 ballots may effect the results of this race since only 23 votes separate the two candidates."

Fannie Mae's $21 Million Foreclosure Fiasco: Cincinnati Judge Told Bad Loan Financed 1,400 Apartments; Reality Is Half That

723 Non-Existent Cincinnati Apartments 

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Fannie Mae's $21.2 million loan went south in about three years.  It covered 20 government-subsidized low-income housing complexes -- 19 scattered around Cincinnati, the other near Dayton.  When the foreclosure case began moving through the courts earlier this year, Magistrate Michael Bachman was told it involved 1,400 separate apartment units, and that subsidy payments from HUD "are the largest source of value for these 20 properties."  But there aren't 1,400 units in the buildings.  There are just 677 units.   Somehow, the total was over-inflated by 723 non-existent apartments in legal filings at the Hamilton County Courthouse.  Lawyers are now trying to set the record straight.  A document filed recently at the courthouse says there was a mistake, a rather large mistake:

"It is hereby stipulated by and between the parties through their respective counsel of record that the number of project-based housing units involved in the above foreclosure proceedings in 677 and not 1,400 as previously believed and noted in legal memoranda by both counsels."

What is not yet clear is how the error was made.  Did Fannie Mae have incorrect numbers?  Was there sloppy record keeping?  Or poor arithmetic?  Because of the error, Magistrate Bachman issued "Findings of Fact" that said the case involved 1,400 rent subsidized apartment units:

"The Magistrate finds that the Tenants are residents of three separate properties in foreclosure, that they entered into a lease with NY Group OH1 LLC ("NY Group") before the filing of this action, and that each lease is subsidized by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD"), and that each lease is unrecorded.  The magistrate finds that 20 separate properties are involved in this foreclosure, totaling 1,400 individual residential units.  The size and location of each property is different, but all of the units have subsidized leased with HUD.  The subsidies are in full force and effect as of the date of this decision."

On the surface, the Cincinnati foreclosure seems to be the latest example of a legal system struggling to handle the flood of foreclosures pouring into the courts because of the real estate collapse.   Across the U.S. there are robo-filings and questionable securitized loan documents.  And now a Fannie Mae foreclosure that cited the existence of 723 Cincinnati-area apartments that don't exist.  Fannie Mae is Congressionally chartered corporation that is financially insolvent.   Along with its sister, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae guaranteed or owned about half the nation's $12 trillion mortgage market.  Fannie Mae is currently in conservatorship under the Federal Home Finance Agency, which was created in 2008 as a bail out program.  In Cincinnati, Bachman has appointed a receiver to manage the apartment buildings while the foreclosure proceeds.  There are allegations that the buildings were deteriorating after the owner defaulted on the $21.2 million loan.

Cincinnati Baseball Caps Become NYC Thug Fashion Statement: Gang Members Wearing Reds Hats To 'Intimidate Rivals'

Al Capone Preferred The Cubs

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The colors of Major League Baseball's oldest professional team -- the traditional red-and-black Reds cap -- have been adopted by the Bloods.  The violent street gang is wearing Reds' caps in New York to intimidate witnesses and rivals.  Colors are often banned in courthouses, or they attract attention from court security personnel.  So the Bloods are wearing the baseball team's headgear to slide around the ban.  Nobody mistakes them for fans.  Still, it seems to work.   Gang watchers and police websites and portals are full of chatter about how the Bloods have adopted the "C,"  and turned it into a common sight in Queens, the NYC borough that's become the gang's eastern stronghold.  The site of a Reds' cap on a gangsta is so common that it was the subject of a New York Daily News piece last weekend about the latest red menace.

Police Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) blog jumped on the story and spread it across the law enforcement community. Know Gangs has a thread going. The Daily News quoted prosecutors who said the Reds' caps are a slap at the Crips:

"Queens top gang prosecutor complains the brazen thugs wear the cap to intimidate witnesses and show solidarity with brother gangsters. 'They should not be coming into this courthouse wearing their colors,' says Mariela Palomino Herring, the chief of the Queens district attorney's gang violence bureau. 'This is our territory, not theirs.'"

The Reds were the National League Central champs, but nobody in New York thinks that has made their headgear super popular in that city. Rappers have been sporting Reds' caps -- perhaps to play off the gangsta image. Lil Wayne wears one. Hatland.com, the cap store based in Ocean City, Md., that has become a huge online retailer, says Reds' headgear is near the top in sales. All those gangstas and wannabes?

Grand Central Sports says the Reds cap is also used by gangs in Indianapolis and Chicago:

"Baseball caps as part of a gang’s attire is nothing new.  The Raiders black-and-silver caps with a pirate’s face was all the gang rage in Los Angeles during the ’90′s and the Pittsburgh Pirates hat is favored by the Latin Kings.  Right now the Reds cap is the color of choice by other gangs in Chicago and Indianapolis.  New York Yankee caps with gang colors were pulled from the shelves by manufacturer New Era in 2007.  The red or blue bandanna-patterned lids were lifted because of their gang-related colors.  Stores also removed others with a crown hanging from a gold ‘NY’ insignia after it became popular with the Latin Kings.  Regular citizens were afraid of being affiliated with the gang and beaten by a rival clan."

Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls To Court Clerk Patricia Clancy: About That $1 Million You Owe Cincinnati, Check Please!

When Can City Expect Funds From Clerk?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- With the city facing a $60 million hole in its budget -- and 144 Cincinnati police officers facing the loss of their jobs -- Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls is pressing the county court clerk's office to deliver forfeited bail bond funds owed the city.  Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Patricia M. Clancy, a Republican, said last month that at least $960,000 is uncollected and due the city police department under court orders.  Qualls, a Democrat and Charter Committee member, wrote Clancy back five days ago seeking a timetable that will detail exactly when Clancy's office will start delivering the money.  Some of the uncollected bail bond forfeitures date back to the 1990s.  Qualls said "there is money owed to the City of Cincinnati" and every cent is needed -- especially with cops looking at layoffs.  Qualls emphasized the urgency of her request.  There are records showing the county clerk has failed to collect forfeited bonds for years.  The money -- which is owed by defendants and bondsmen hit with forfeitures when criminal suspects dodge a court date -- is earmarked for distribution to prosecutors and law enforcement agencies.  Here's an excerpt from Qualls letter to Clancy:

"Your letter states that the City would be entitled to receive a portion of the bond forfeitures collected based upon certified judgments from bail bondsmen and their insurance carriers of $960,000.   The letter also says that your office has been working with the Hamilton County Prosecutor's office to collect on the certified judgments against bail bondsmen and their insurance carriers, and that you expect a successful resolution in the near future.  Is the $960,000 amount the total amount, or are their other forfeitures that will be determined through an audit?  Has the city ever received any funds based on certified judgments in the past?

I am requesting documents of the $960,000 in certified judgments, as well as what portion of the amount is due the city at this time, the amount of the collections, and a time frame for the Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) to expect the funds that are due it. . . I am sure you understand the urgency of this request since City Council will be making decisions about potential cuts to our public safety personnel over the coming weeks."

Pastor Rod Parsley's World Harvest Church Wrangling With Cincinnati Bank: Fifth Third Won't Take Back Church's $5.8 Million Jet

  

Stock Photo Of Gulfstream Jet

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The dispute has been flying under the radar.  World Harvest Church said it has paid off its five-year lease and wants to return a Gulfstream G-III private jet.  But the bank in Cincinnati doesn't seem to want the plane, which is listed with a $5.8 million lessor's cost.  A lawsuit filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court by the mega-church near Columbus says:  "Despite the church's return of the leased aircraft in full compliance with the terms of the Aircraft Lease Agreement, the Bank has arbitrarily, unreasonably, and in breach of the Aircraft Lease Agreement, refused to accept the return of the leased aircraft."

The church is located in Canal Winchester in Franklin County.  Senior Pastor Rod Parsley is an evangelist, television host and author.  He also has been involved in GOP politics and in 2008 endorsed John McCain's campaign for president.  He withdrew the endorsement after McCain rejected it and criticized Parsley for saying that Islam was a false religion that needed to be destroyed.  Court records show the church leased the plane in August 2005.  It put $900,000 down and made 59 monthly payments of $26,832.05.  That means World Harvest Church spent $2.48 million to lease the jet,  which has been based in a hangar at Rickenbacker Airport.  There is nothing in the court files that shows why the church needed the jet in the first place.  Parsley's church said it is spending substantial amounts of money to keep the Gulfstream jet in flying condition since the lease expired in August.  It wants a court order that would force the bank to take the plane off its hands:

"As a consequence of the Bank's breach of the Aircraft Lease Agreement, the Church has incurred and will continue to incur substantial monetary damages related to preserving and protecting the condition of the leased aircraft, including maintaining the aircraft in a flight ready status and current with the manfacturers' and FAA's standards of maintenance and other necessary and related expenses, all of which expenses are the Bank's obligations as the owner upon return of the leased aircraft . . ."

From Wikipedia, you can learn about Parsley.  The online encyclopedia also has the following information about Gulfstream G-III jets:

General characteristics

• Crew: Two or three
• Capacity: 19 passengers (standard seating)
• Length: 83 ft 1 in (25.32 m)
• Wingspan: 77 ft 10 in (23.72 m)
• Height: 24 ft 4½ in (7.43 m)
• Wing area: 934.6 sq ft (86.83 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 6.0:1
• Empty weight: 38,000 lb (17,236 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 69,700 lb (31,615 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163 Mk 511-8 Turbofan, 11,400 lbf (50.7 kN) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 576 mph (501 knots, 928 km/h) (max cruise)
• Cruise speed: 508 mph (442 knots, 818 km/h) (long range cruise)
• Stall speed: 121 mph (105 knots, 194 km/h)
• Range: 4,200 mi (3,650 nmi, 6,760 km) (eight passengers, IFR reserves)
• Service ceiling: 45,000 ft (13,716 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,800 ft/min (19.3 m/s)

Republican Cincinnati Councilman Charlie Winburn: Pocketing $$$ That 'Could Be Illegal'

Refunds From City Council Members



 CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Fifteen months ago, Charlie Winburn was running for a seat on city council and said he had uncovered chicanery at City Hall.   Sitting council members were receiving health care insurance and pension fund contributions that he called "unauthorized benefits received through current budget expenditures."  And their salaries were too high.  Republican candidate Winburn was blowing the whistle on the scam.  He issued an Aug. 25, 2009 press release under this headline:  "Winburn calls upon city council to give up questionable taxpayer funded health and pension benefits."   The move would save $400,000 and end a practice that Winburn said "could be illegal."   



Fast forward to today.  Winburn appears to be taking the benefits of public office that he deemed improper at best, illegal at worst.  Despite the talk, once in office Winburn never seems to have lifted a finger to halt practices he denounced as possibly illegal.  Of course, it could be that his complaints were a scam, an effort to make something out of nothing.  In fact, he now seems to be sharing in the loot -- or what he considered loot when he was on the outside.  And though he has the option of refunding his paycheck to the city, he doesn't seem to have given much back.  Winburn appears to personify an old proverb:  Talk is cheap.      

Winburn could use the city's voluntary refund option to return all, or part, of his $60,650 annual council salary to the city.  Records (up to date through 11/18, see accompanying chart) show he returned $1,400 last January.  The same City Hall finance and accounting records show Democratic Mayor Mark Mallory refunds $165.87 out of each paycheck; Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, another Dem, returns $96.82 biweekly, and Councilman Cecil Thomas, also a Dem, gives back $50 from each paycheck.  Republican Leslie Ghiz refunded $132.80 last January.  Refunds from the three Democrats total $5,941.11 so far this year.  Together, the two Republicans have refunded $1,532.80. 

Both Winburn and Ghiz have complained that council's pay package is too much -- yet they haven't shown much interest in voluntarily rebating sums they consider excess.  Winburn in particular was opposed to the salary, health insurance and pension contributions benefits for council members, whom he described as part-time workers.  He said council members got a full-time salary for a part-time job.  From his press release 15 months ago (when he was running for office):

"Current city policy for part time employees who work less than 30 hours per week does not provide health care benefits.  This decision to cut benefits would put all part time employees, including council members, on the same playing field as it applies to health care benefits.

"Winburn said Councilwoman Ghiz's (she, too. was running for office at the time) proposal to cut council pay is a good start but doesn't go far enough in reforming the total council compensation package for city council members . . ."

Winburn said any savings should go to prevent the layoffs of fire and police.  Now it looks like it was all talk.  Winburn, who complained last week that the city misspent $5,000 on a streetcar display on Fountain Square, is silent about his own complicity this year in activities he labeled possible misfeasance last year.  After all, it was he who said council's payroll package "could be illegal."  Meanwhile, he hasn't noted that the money refunded by the mayor, Qualls and Thomas exceeds the cost of the streetcar display.  And city officials who handle Cincinnati's payroll and budgeting say they haven't heard very much this year from Winburn about cutting his own salary, or reducing benefits packages.

Chris Bigham, superintendent of accounts and auditing over payroll at City Hall, said Winburn has taken the full amount of every council paycheck since January:  "I have not heard one word from him about refunds or anything like that.  He did make a donation earlier this year."

Budget Director Lea Eriksen said she has no memory of Winburn contacting her about reducing his council salary and benefits.   "No, he's not brought that up to me,'' Eriksen told The Daily Bellwwether.  "I follow Council items closely.  If he would have done anything, I would have seen it."

So what could Winburn voluntarily cut from his own pocket?  Here's the list of things that he wanted slashed:  $65,670 in salary; $9,198 annual pension benefits; $5,000-$8,000 annual health benefits.  He said council's compensation package was "$83,268 approximate total of annual compensation."   And in Winburn's world every penny was "questionable" and "could be illegal" and "misinterpretation of what they are entitled to under the term 'compensation.'"

[UPDATE: 4:55 pm -- Winburn copied The Daily Bellwether on an e-mail he sent out today that explains why he's taking city benefits:  "Regarding your inquiry, I based my original question upon a plain reading of the Cincinnati City Charter. We asked and the city administration answered. They determined that the benefits paid for council members were considered compensation and were not a violation of the Charter. When I joined Cincinnati City Council in December, 2009, I opted out of the City-provided benefits because I was covered under another plan. I was subsequently told by the City that I could not opt out of their plan and was required to be covered. If you can provide any further information to me on whether these benefits are illegal, please let me know so that I can opt out altogether."]

Asian Indian University of Cincinnati Prof With 29 Patents Feuds With School: Says Reputation, Research Efforts 'Sabotaged'

Prof. Dharma Agrawal

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Computer science professor Dharma Agrawal was recruited from North Carolina in the late 1990s and was given tenure and the title Ohio Board of Regents distinguished professor. He was considered a world class researcher. Agrawal -- a naturalized U.S. citizen who emigrated from India in 1976 -- now is claiming his research funds have been taken away because he's not American born.  His lawsuit claims violations of academic freedom, due processs and discrimination against him because of race and skin color. The lawsuit was originally filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court last month, but has been moved to U.S. District Court in Cincinnati. University of Cincinnati lawyers said the suit raises federal civil rights issues. The move to federal court suggest the school plans a vigorous defense.

Agrawal contends that Carlo Montemagno, dean of the college of engineering and applied science, and John g. Bryan, interim vice provost for academic personnel, have harassed him and disrupted his research efforts since 2006. He said the school has wrongly accused him of exploiting students and leveled unproven accusations that he forced foreign students with F-1 visas to work on proposals for his private company. For a time, he said he was suspended and banned from appearing at the college. Agrawal's lawsuit said he was the victim of a sham investigation:

"Dean Montemamgno claimed to have conducted an investigation that substantiated the allegations; but in fact no report of such investigation has been found and apparently none was actually conducted and the Dean had no legitimate reason to have brought such allegations and proposed discipline. Rather, Dean Montemagno had deliberately brought the charges to destroy the reputation of the plaintiff, and to induce him to leave the University." 

Agrawal is an expert in the field of wireless systems. He claims there is a campaign under way to disrupt his research. Agrawal originally was brought to Ohio -- along with several others recruited to the state's 13 campuses -- in a bid to stimulate the state's economy by boosting research efforts across the state university system. Regents professors were funded by the state because they had earned national recognition for their work and excelled as scholars. But Agrawal said it went off the tracks at the University of Cincinnati:

" . . . Plaintiff was intentionally discriminated against by defendants because of his non-white race and color and because of his Indian national origin and Indian ancestry. Had Professor Agrawal been treated equally with white professors or American-born professors at the University of Cincinnati, there would have been no attempt to discipline him as was attempted, nor would his graduate faculty rights have been suspended."

Agrawal wants $500,000 in punitive damages, attorney fees, an injunction and reinstatement of nearly $400,000 in Ohio Board of Regents research funds that were stripped from his control.

Scripps Signs Deal To Keep ABC Network On Channel 9, WCPO-TV: Dancing With The Stars Won't Disappear In Cincinnati

Scripps Exec Hails 'Quality' Programming

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The deal means WCPO-TV remains an ABC network affiliate through January 2015.  You can still watch Cougar Town, The View  and Jimmy Kimmel on the broadcast station, whose call letters conjure up memories of the defunct E.W. Scripps Co. newspaper The Cincinnati Post (CPO).  When Al Schottelkotte ruled the roost with his news shows, Channel 9 was a CBS affiliate.  Scripps' stations in Cleveland (the nation's 18th biggest broadcast market), Detroit (11), Tampa (14), Phoenix (12) and Baltimore (27) are also going to stay with ABC, which is owned by Disney.  Former P&G CEO John Pepper -- a resident of Cincinnati's suburbs and father of Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper -- is Disney's chairman.  Wonder if he watches Channel 9 much these days?  Pepper strikes most people as a PBS person.  It's hard to imagine him grabbing a cold one and catching the latest episode of Desperate Housewives on the local affiliate.

At 33, Cincinnati is the smallest broadcast market in the deal.  Together, the six Scripps television stations cover about 8% of U.S. households.  Scripps will pay a license fee to carry ABC's shows -- the amount of the fee has not yet been disclosed.  Said Scripps Sr. VP Brian Lawlor:  "I'm pleased that we're able to continue the productive relationship we've had with ABC for many years.  This new agreement reflects our shared belief in the power of a high-quality national programming provider combined with local affiliates that have trusted news brands and strong influence in their communities."

So what's the network's top show?  That "high-quality programming" called Dancing With The Stars.  Nielsen had it No. 1 among  all shows on all four networks earlier this month, with nearly 20 million viewers.

Duke Energy Claims Cincinnati Taxes Too High: Meanwhile, CEO's Benefits Included $363,573 For 'Personal Use' Of Company Aircraft



Time To Park Duke Energy's Aircraft?

 CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Duke Energy -- whose Cincinnati-area customers pay some of the state's highest electric rates -- is fighting to lower its property tax bills by $40 million across SW Ohio.  Meanwhile, its CEO's compensation package rose to $6.93 million, including what the most recent proxy statement calls $363,573 for "personal use of airplane."  Two other execs got $28,305 for personal use of the plane.  While the utility contends local taxes are too high, the high life seems to go on.  Or maybe the high-flying travel habits of the corporate brass are landing hard on the taxpayers.  Duke's corporate policy requires CEO James E. Rogers to fly on company aircraft for business purposes.  It's all about security, the company says.  But Rogers also gets to use the plane as a perk on private trips.  He can also hop aboard for flights to boards of directors meetings at companies like Fifth Third Bank, where he sat as a director until recently.  Duke's policy looks to fly in the face of the example being set by House Speaker-designate John Boehner, one of the utility's 1.6 million Ohio residential customers.  Boehner said last week he's going to fly on commercial airlines between DC and his SW Ohio home in Cincinnati's northern suburbs.  He won't be using the government aircraft that Nancy Pelosi -- and before her, Dennis Hastert -- used to shuttle House Speaker's around the country.  Republican Boehner will be third in line for the presidency, but he said commercial airliners are safe enough to outweigh any and all security concerns.  Said Boehner:

"I've talked to our security folks about the security involved in my new role.  Over the last 20 years I've flown back and forth to my district on commercial aircraft and will continue to do that."

Duke Energy sees things differently.  The 8-K on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission discloses that the Charlotte, N.C.-based gas and electricity utility is worried about security for its CEO James E. Rogers.  Here's what it says:

"For security reasons, Mr. Rogers is required by the Company to use the Company's aircraft, whenever feasible, for his business travel.  Mr. Rogers is also permitted to use the Company's aircraft for personal travel within North America; however, Mr. Rogers will be required to pay for the cost of personal travel on the Company's aircraft in accordance with the Company's policies, except he is not required to pay for the cost of travel to his annual examination or to meetings of the board of directors to other companies on whose board Mr. Rogers serves.  Mr. Rogers is responsible for any income taxes  resulting from such aircraft usage.  However, to the extent Mr. Rogers incurs expenses associated with his spouse accompanying him on business travel, Mr. Rogers is entitled to reimbursement for those expenses, including payment of a tax gross-up."

The proxy statement includes details that show Rogers got $363,573 in 2009 in "other compensation" for personal use of Duke Energy's aircraft.  [The 2010 data isn't out yet.]  That other compensation comes from the IRS determining that the trips are imputed income.  Imputed income isn't cash, it's often a benefit that isn't paid in cash.  A footnote on page 71 of Duke's proxy statement says:  "Officers are permitted to invite their spouse or other guests to accompany them on business trips when space is available; however, in such events the officer is impute income in accordance with IRS guidelines.  The additional cost . . . is the amount of the IRS-specified tax deduction disallowance, if any, plus any additional carbon credits purchases with respect to the executive officers personal travel."

Meanwhile, Janine Migden-Ostrander, Ohio's consumers counsel, has noted that Duke's residential electric rates are about the highest in the state.  She said the company should refund some of the proceeds from the $40 million tax battle -- but only if Duke succeeds.  Rogers use of the plane, so far, has not been a public issue.   Here's Midgen-Ostrander on Duke's rates for consumers:

"If Duke Energy presses forward to reduce its property taxes paid to schools and local governments, the utility should be required to refund to customers any portion of the taxes that are currently included in its rates. My office - as the residential utility consumer advocate - will take appropriate measures to argue that these refunds occur. At this time, Duke's residential electric rates are among the highest in the state, surpassing those high rates paid in northern Ohio. With residential consumers continuing to struggle and stretch their budgets, a break for customers is only fair if Duke should persist with its plan to reduce its property taxes."