Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
Poor machine maintenance blamed for fire at Akron business
Man allegedly paid teens to spit in his face
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Indians add 7 players to 40-man roster
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
Akron Zips:
Two blowouts, one night
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Hey, somebody's gotta stick up for the Browns
Kent State Sports:
Singletary update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Indiana Pacers – Here’s to LBJ and Free Throws
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Bowling season starts today
All Da King's Men:
Headed For Disaster
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Federal Judge Declares DOMA Unconstitutional
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Congress and the White House make a bipartisan down payment on the necessary task of restoring the Great Lakes
Published on Friday, Nov 06, 2009
The Great Lakes are a national treasure. They also are an indispensable economic driver for Ohio and other states along the shorelines. Credit goes to members of the local congressional delegation for pushing hard to secure the money — Sen. George Voinovich, Sen. Sherrod Brown and House members Betty Sutton, Steve LaTourette and Tim Ryan. Here is a refreshing episode of bipartisanship at work.
For the past four years, a comprehensive plan to protect and restore the Great Lakes has been on the shelf in Congress. Its price tag? Roughly $26 billion. Candidate Obama talked about a $5 billion investment. Now, in the first year of his presidency, he has obtained an initial $475 million.
The sum is a fraction of the need. Still, Congress is looking at the Great Lakes in much the way lawmakers devoted substantial resources to rehabilitate the Everglades in Florida. Put another way, the funding in hand must be spent effectively, making the case that additional money will be well deployed.
The priorities are many, from habitat restoration of the Ashtabula River to slowing polluted runoff from farms and industry. The removal of the Ballville Dam in Freemont would restore flow to the Sandusky River improving the fish spawning habitat.
The western Lake Erie basin increasingly suffers from harmful algal blooms threatening water quality and fisheries, evoking the troubling days of the 1960s and '70s. Steps must be taken to clean toxic sediment from such places as the lower Cuyahoga River, and efforts must focus on thwarting invasive species, for instance, zebra mussels and Asian carp, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently pointing to Ashtabula, Sandusky and Toledo as points of entry posing the greatest risk.
With all this and more in mind, Ohio must take sound steps to ensure that it has a clear, comprehensive and inclusive approach to defining its needs, establishing a strong position to attract federal grants. Ohio doesn't want to invite the impression of a state with quarreling interest groups. Know the stakes. The Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, has calculated that every dollar in restoration money will generate an additional dollar in benefits for the region — in jobs, income and quality of life. That's a return the state doesn't want to miss.
The Great Lakes are a national treasure. They also are an indispensable economic driver for Ohio and other states along the shorelines. Credit goes to members of the local congressional delegation for pushing hard to secure the money — Sen. George Voinovich, Sen. Sherrod Brown and House members Betty Sutton, Steve LaTourette and Tim Ryan. Here is a refreshing episode of bipartisanship at work.
For the past four years, a comprehensive plan to protect and restore the Great Lakes has been on the shelf in Congress. Its price tag? Roughly $26 billion. Candidate Obama talked about a $5 billion investment. Now, in the first year of his presidency, he has obtained an initial $475 million.
The sum is a fraction of the need. Still, Congress is looking at the Great Lakes in much the way lawmakers devoted substantial resources to rehabilitate the Everglades in Florida. Put another way, the funding in hand must be spent effectively, making the case that additional money will be well deployed.
The priorities are many, from habitat restoration of the Ashtabula River to slowing polluted runoff from farms and industry. The removal of the Ballville Dam in Freemont would restore flow to the Sandusky River improving the fish spawning habitat.
The western Lake Erie basin increasingly suffers from harmful algal blooms threatening water quality and fisheries, evoking the troubling days of the 1960s and '70s. Steps must be taken to clean toxic sediment from such places as the lower Cuyahoga River, and efforts must focus on thwarting invasive species, for instance, zebra mussels and Asian carp, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently pointing to Ashtabula, Sandusky and Toledo as points of entry posing the greatest risk.
With all this and more in mind, Ohio must take sound steps to ensure that it has a clear, comprehensive and inclusive approach to defining its needs, establishing a strong position to attract federal grants. Ohio doesn't want to invite the impression of a state with quarreling interest groups. Know the stakes. The Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, has calculated that every dollar in restoration money will generate an additional dollar in benefits for the region — in jobs, income and quality of life. That's a return the state doesn't want to miss.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
