Progress Report

HOMEWORK

On Wednesday morning, Ohio University sold 2,000 residence-hall computers in less than three hours. Officials were surprised with the speed at which OU staff, faculty members and students grabbed the great deal — central processing units from 1999 went for $100 apiece on the Internet. Because this year’s sale was so successful, OU administrators should sell the CPUs next year for $200. The additional profit would help OU purchase more computers while allowing them to set some aside to donate to county schools that are in desperate need. The computers still would be a bargain at $200 apiece.

PASS

The managers of Athens Mall on East State Street responded to complaints from mall patrons and local groups when it made the building smoke-free. The smoking areas were aggravating health problems, such as a child’s asthma attack. The smoke-free building will make it easier for people with health conditions to run their errands. Ridding the mall of second-hand smoke will benefit every patron. If smokers need to light up, they can step outside. Many buildings are becoming smoke-free, and the Athens Mall made a wise decision when following in the footsteps of public buildings and others who are putting the safety of their patrons first.

PASS

The Southeast Ohio Emergency Medical Services Board of Trustees and the employees’ union worked well together to approve the emergency response personnel's third contract proposal. Both parties agreed to raise all union-members’ wages by $.40 per hour in a three-year contract. Perhaps more importantly, the contract includes a fixed schedule for part-time employees instead of an on-call system. The board will be able to know whether it needs to hire additional help and can keep track of the regulars’ overtime. The union should be commended for not considering going on strike. During negotiations, the union members worked on an extended contract. In a field such as emergency medical services, no one can afford to have employees absent from work. The union and board of trustees came to an agreeable, reasonable solution.

PASS

Children should not be allowed to contribute to political campaigns, and a bill Sen. Mark Mallory, D-Cincinnati, reintroduced would stop the practice. Children as young as 5 years old do not have strong political opinions — they do not even know what the different parties stand for or the key issues. How much money can a child make by getting a weekly allowance? The only reason children would be allowed to contribute to campaigns is so their parents can funnel more money into the parties of their choice. Children are not allowed to vote, so they should not be allowed to influence election outcomes by monetarily contributing to campaigns. If children want to be involved politically, they can volunteer to make phone calls or go door-to-door asking for a candidate’s support. Other senators, Republicans and Democrats alike, should support this common sense bill.

HOMEWORK

People who use cell phones to make emergency 911 calls should have to pay for a wireless service that would identify the location and phone number of the caller. A new Federal Communication Commission standard requires all states to provide wireless service that identifies the caller’s location and phone number. This helps response time, because dispatchers automatically know where to send the appropriate emergency personnel. Callers using a landline already pay a small monthly fee that is included in their phone bills. Because cell phone users are the ones who would benefit from a wireless identification system, they also should pay a small fee for it. The Ohio Fire Chiefs Association proposed a statewide tax to fund the new technology, but Ohio wants to prevent the tax. Legislators and association members need to cooperate to come up with a workable solution. The technology is necessary, and cell-phone users need to pay for the privilege of being able to dial 911 from anywhere, anytime.

FAIL

Ohio Department of Taxation employees who misused a confidential law-enforcement computer system to run license plates of cars parked in agency spaces should be charged the maximum fine. After checking the plates, the employees then called the parking violators and asked them to move their cars. A confidential system should not be abused for such a frivolous cause. Workers also used the Law Enforcement Automated Data System, known as LEADS, to check co-workers’ and relatives’ motor-vehicle registrations. LEADS is meant to be used only for background checks by criminal-justice officials. The head of the department needs to crack down and find out who misused the system for their personal gain or curiosity.