Thursday, July 30, 1998
Hamilton County commissioners Wednesday officially certified the Broadway Commons petitions to be sent to the county board of elections at 4 p.m. today.
The petitions call for a vote in November on the creation of a Hamilton County charter. That charter, if adopted, would require the county to build a new Reds ballpark at Broadway Commons, at Broadway and Reading Road.
The commissioners' certification means they are forwarding the petitions to the board and asking it to verify the validity of the petition language and the nearly 45,000 signatures the Broadway backers collected, Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus said.
Driver arrested in 5/3 Bank holdup
The gunman who held up a Fifth Third Bank on Beechmont Avenue in Mount Washington on Tuesday is still on the loose. But police have arrested the suspected getaway driver.
Vernon Mays Jr., 44, of Columbia Tusculum is being held at the Hamilton County Justice Center on charges of complicity to aggravated robbery and an unrelated charge of passing bad checks.
Police are looking for the gunman, who walked into the bank about 2:15 p.m. Tuesday with a stocking mask over his head. Police say he pointed a revolver at two tellers, demanded money and fled with the cash in a brown paper bag.
He is described as white, age 35-45, 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-11, 135-140 pounds, with a thin mustache. He was wearing a two-tone black baseball cap, white gloves, a long-sleeved green-and-white flannel shirt, blue jeans and dark hiking boots. He had a dark-colored handgun.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 352-3040. Callers may remain anonymous.
Assault suspect caught after "Wanted' feature
Another "Tristate's Most Wanted" suspect has been arrested, bringing the total to 503 arrests out of the 835 suspects featured in The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Wesley Noble, 26, of Price Hill was arrested Tuesday on an assault charge.
"Tristate's Most Wanted" appears each Monday. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Callers to 352-3040 can remain anonymous.
Service agency needs fans, air conditioners
Franciscan at St. John needs fans and air conditioners for poor and elderly clients.
The Cinergy Foundation recently supplied the Over-the-Rhine social service agency with 235 fans, but it is still collecting. Donations can be delivered to 1229 Main St. from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. To set up a delivery time after hours, call 241-2186.
Nuclear plant back after tornado damage
OAK HARBOR, Ohio -- The Davis-Besse nuclear power plant has returned to full power after shutting down so workers could clean the reactor coolant system.
Resins had washed into cooling pipes after the plant lost all power because of tornado damage June 24.
FirstEnergy Corp., which owns the plant on Lake Erie in Ottawa County, said it gradually returned to full power by Tuesday after being restarted Sunday.
Plant officials said the resins, each about the size of a grain of sand, posed no danger but eventually could corrode pipes.
Loans available to cover storm losses
Hamilton County has been declared eligible for federal disaster assistance from the Small Business Administration (SBA) because of storms and flooding July 19-20.
Low-interest loans are available to eligible residents and businesses in the county for damage loss or loss of business.
Interested parties should call the SBA at (800) 359-2227 or visit one of two centers set up at the Sedamsville Family Center, 617 Steiner St. and the conference room of the Fairfield Municipal Building, 5350 Pleasant Ave. (U.S. 127). Starting Friday, the centers will be open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday until further notice.
Commissioner to hear ideas for job training
Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus has scheduled a meeting with Prep Inc. to discuss training African-Americans to enter construction trades apprenticeship programs, an assistant said Wednesday.
Several speakers at Wednesday's commissioners meeting encouraged using the Walnut Hills-based Prep instead of COATS, an agency that has less experience and would prepare students for a non-union apprenticeship program.
Jerry Monahan, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Building Trades Council, said he has asked a lawyer to explore whether COATS can enter the training field. The organization, whose name stands for Construction Owners Association of the Tri-State, has run one training program in the past, associated with Procter & Gamble Co.'s olestra plant.
Fireworks dealer loses appeal to pursue suit
A federal appeals court in Cincinnati declined Wednesday to reopen the lawsuit of a former Ohio fireworks dealer who claimed that he was hounded out of business by Portage County prosecutors.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit upheld U.S. District Judge Sam Bell's ruling against Larry Lomaz, who owned Midwest Fireworks Manufacturing Co. and Fireworks Unlimited.
Mr. Lomaz, of the Akron area, had contended that in 1985, one of the prosecutors created a fireworks company under the same name in an attempt to sabotage his operations. The prosecutor said he incorporated the company as part of an investigation of Mr. Lomaz. Mr. Lomaz also contended that prosecutors improperly raided his warehouse and impounded cash and merchandise. The trial judge dismissed nine of the 10 charges against Mr. Lomaz, and the last was dismissed when he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor violations of the fireworks law.
Mr. Lomaz sued the prosecutors, claiming that their actions had destroyed his business. The appeals court upheld Judge Bell's ruling that the prosecutors had immunity from prosecution because of their official function.
