Sunday, November 07, 1999
Protesters in wheelchairs hauled away from state offices
BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Protesters in wheelchairs blocked access to two state office buildings last week, demanding action on a bill that would give the disabled more independent-living options.
Images of people with disabilities being hauled off for trespassing by state troopers drew the attention of TV news cameras. But the measure's sponsor, Rep. George Terwilleger, R-Maineville, thinks the group's tactics may backfire.
“This is not what we do if we want to pass legislation,” Mr. Terwilleger said. “I've had some colleagues ask if we really want to continue with the bill and have the Statehouse inundated by these radicals.”
After the Taft administration obtained a temporary restraining order limiting access to the state office towers, troopers arrested more than 200 members of American Disabled for Attendant Programs (ADAPT) and charged them with trespassing.
Members of the group said Ohio is forcing too many people with disabilities into nursing homes instead of offering more home-based services.
State officials responded with figures showing the number of people receiving home- and community-based care grew by 200 percent between 1992 and 1998, while the number of people in nursing homes rose by 6 percent.
The comedian Mike Myers, creator of Austin Powers and Wayne's World, once played an aging British actor who said everything twice, only the second time more slowly.
Rep. Sam Britton doesn't want to go that far. But the Cincinnati Democrat thinks TV ads promoting prescription drugs should contain clear warnings about potential side effects.
Mr. Britton is sponsoring a resolution asking Congress to order pharmaceutical companies to slow down the sales pitch. Warnings should be spoken at a rate no faster than promotional material that precedes it, he said.
Said Mr. Britton: “If the warnings are spoken too fast, then the language cannot be understood.”
For a guy who hasn't been in the General Assembly very long, Sen. Robert Spada is getting the red-carpet treatment from Gov. Bob Taft.
Mr. Taft showed up in Mr. Spada's suburban Cleveland district last week to sign a bill sponsored by the Parma Heights Republican. The governor also helped him raise money for next year's election.
It marked at least the third time Mr. Taft has made a high-profile appearance with Mr. Spada, who was appointed this year to replace former Sen. Gary Suhadolnik. (Mr. Suhadolnik left to join Mr. Taft's Cabinet as state commerce director.)
One might assume Mr. Taft and Mr. Spada are old college buddies or longtime political allies, but their joint appearances are more pragmatic than that. GOP leaders want to keep Mr. Spada's seat, which is considered a swing district that Democrats could win.
“The governor came to us early in the year and asked what he could do to help us keep our majority,” said Senate President Richard Finan, R-Evendale. “We didn't ask him to do this, but it sure helps.”
Mr. Taft basked in another electoral victory last week after voters approved a ballot initiative that will lower the cost of borrowing for school construction.
But the governor's campaign went unheeded in some of the state's poorest counties, where schools are in dire need of repairs and renovations.
Issue 1 won 60 percent of the vote statewide. But it lost in Adams, Belmont, Carroll, Harrison, Holmes, Lawrence, Monroe, Noble, Paulding and Vinton counties.
Voters in most of those counties also rejected local school levies. Although Mr. Taft said Issue 1 wouldn't raise state taxes, local school districts may have to increase property taxes to qualify for state aid.
Michael Hawthorne covers state government for The Cincinnati Enquirer. He can be reached at (614) 224-4640.
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