6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

I just heard a report on the radio about an industry that is booming during the recession -- matchmaking.

It seems that when people are laid off their desire for a relationship increases.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

The two men running for the Ohio House position that represents Erie and Ottawa counties have joined the call for Attorney General Marc Dann to step down.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

Here's an odd term I learned over the weekend -- isostatic rebound -- that describes a a really odd geologic phenomena I never heard of before. Have you felt the earth moving slowly under your feet?

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

The Great Lakes tend to be lumped together, but one lake can be very different from another, as I learned when I spent the weekend at Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island (next to Put-in-Bay) as part of my Great Waters Institute journalism fellowship.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

If you’re tired of always hearing bad news about the environment, here’s a spot of good news: The Lake Erie Water Snake is thriving.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

Saturday's visit by former Congressman John Kasich, who is a commentator for the Fox News cable TV channel, will give local Republicans a look at a man who might run for governor in 2010 against the incumbent Democratic governor, Ted Strickland.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

There have possibly been other Ohio first ladies as charming as Frances Strickland, but it's doubtful there have been any as entertaining.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

If Ohio lawmakers don't act quickly, the Buckeye State may be the last among eight Great Lakes states to pass the Great Lakes compact, which bans transfers of water outside of the Great Lakes drainage basin.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

Erie County officials love Ohio Bike Week, the annual motorcycle festival that grows bigger every year, bringing tourist dollars (and sales tax revenues) to Erie County. But they've balked at letting armored vehicles park on the courthouse lawn.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

The best part of the  Ohio Republican Party's new "Dump Dann" Web site is its collection of editorial cartoons about Dann's sex scandal.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

It's time to fix the clock on top of the Erie County Courthouse, county administrator Mike Bixler says.

After Bixler explained Thursday the county was going to repair the clock so that it will work correctly, county commissioner Nancy McKeen asked, "On all four sides?"

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

State Sen. Mark Wagoner, R-Toledo,  has a new daughter.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

Thursday night's annual meeting of the Ohio Lakefront Group provides a snapshot of what's going on in the legal war between the group (which says beaches in the members' backyards are private property and the Ohio Environmental Council (which contends the beaches are private property that should

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

The Ohio Senate has passed a proposed constitutional amendment protecting the water rights of private property owners in Ohio.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

Alex MacNicol, director of the Erie Regional Planning Commission, is defending the work done for the county by Greg Sherman, Erie County's economic development consultant.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

Finally, a bit of good financial news for the Erie County commissioners.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

Congress has passed a new five-year farm bill. President Bush has vowed to veto it, but it appears to be backed by veto-proof majorities in both houses.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

As the new Erie MetroParks dog park nears completion, it's time to start talking about the fees that dog owners will pay for the privilege of using it.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

I've been mourning Bo Diddley in my own way -- banging out the "Bo Diddley beat" on desks in the newsroom for anyone willing to listen.

6:28 PM Mar 23, 2010

For years, Sue Daugherty, the head honcho of Serving Our Seniors, struggled to build up the supply of prescription drugs in the organization's "Drug Repository" program, which recycles unused prescription drugs.

6:27 PM Mar 23, 2010

Cell phone provider Verizon is asking Ohio residents to support earthquake and cyclone relief by doing what comes naturally for many folks these days -- sending text messages.