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Researcher says she found text on Shroud of Turin
Ohio native takes second place on 'Project Runway'
White House at odds with bishops over abortion
End of an era: Oprah ending show after 25 years
Kin want right to sue after man assumed dead
Sen. Kerry's daughter arrested in LA on DUI
Raw Video: Cop Crashes Into Car Killing 2 Teens
Hundreds of rotting deer in yard cause big stink (with video)
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Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Poor machine maintenance blamed for fire at Akron business
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Man allegedly paid teens to spit in his face
Indians add 7 players to 40-man roster
Body with gunshot wounds found in Canton Township creek
Man charged with raping, killing N.C. girl, 5
Cleveland balks at new LeBron James mural
Investigators say nude video of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews shot in Ohio
Retired firefighter who broke color barrier among those being honored
Letters to the editor - Nov. 20
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
The proposed new LeBron mural doesn't do it for me
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:
Muslim McCarthyism & Death Prayers
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:
Norma asks if Barkitecture is still at Stan Hywet.
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
By Associated Press
POSTED: 04:24 p.m. EDT, Mar 31, 2008
COLUMBUS: Overtime for state employees increased 16 percent during the first year of Gov. Ted Strickland's administration, topping $100 million for the first time, a newspaper reported Sunday.
State troopers protecting the governor, firefighters at Air National Guard bases, medical personnel at state hospitals and prisons, and computer experts were among those receiving big overtime payments, according to a computer analysis by The Columbus Dispatch.
The newspaper found that 11 employees received at least $50,000 in overtime, and 2,167 had overtime payments of $10,000 or more.
Part of the jump resulted from the changeover in administrations from Gov. Bob Taft to Strickland, said Ron Sylvester, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, which provided payroll data to The Dispatch.
The majority of state employees received a 3.5 percent raise last year, Sylvester said. Strickland, a Democrat, also froze the pay of about 3,400 higher level staff members.
The total state payroll rose $116 million from 2006 to 2007.
For the first three months after Strickland took office last January, as many as 200 positions were temporarily ''double-filled,'' Sylvester said, meaning that new employees were hired while the previous employees, many of them Republican appointees from the Taft administration, were still on the payroll.
In addition, overtime and payroll increased because employees put in thousands of hours responding to the theft of a computer backup device carrying the Social Security numbers of thousands of Ohioans and other sensitive data, Sylvester said.
Overtime increases showed up across state agencies, the newspaper reported.
At the Ohio Department of Transportation, where overtime increased 40 percent to $16 million, 362 employees got more than $10,000 each in overtime last year, compared with 235 in 2006.
Department spokesman Scott Varner said the increase was largely a result of extra hours put in by snow removal crews during a February 2007 blizzard and widespread flooding that occurred later in the year. Employees work 12-hour days in those situations, he said.
The analysis also showed that the number of people earning six figures increased by nearly 16 percent as part of the state's $3.2 billion payroll.
The state's top overtime earner last year was Melody Campbell, a nurse employed at the Corrections Medical Center in Orient. She was paid $81,495 in overtime, boosting her total pay above $160,000 — well over the $133,000 that Strickland was paid last year.
Of the top 25 overtime-earners, 11 were prison or psychiatric nurses.
COLUMBUS: Overtime for state employees increased 16 percent during the first year of Gov. Ted Strickland's administration, topping $100 million for the first time, a newspaper reported Sunday.
State troopers protecting the governor, firefighters at Air National Guard bases, medical personnel at state hospitals and prisons, and computer experts were among those receiving big overtime payments, according to a computer analysis by The Columbus Dispatch.
The newspaper found that 11 employees received at least $50,000 in overtime, and 2,167 had overtime payments of $10,000 or more.
Part of the jump resulted from the changeover in administrations from Gov. Bob Taft to Strickland, said Ron Sylvester, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, which provided payroll data to The Dispatch.
The majority of state employees received a 3.5 percent raise last year, Sylvester said. Strickland, a Democrat, also froze the pay of about 3,400 higher level staff members.
The total state payroll rose $116 million from 2006 to 2007.
For the first three months after Strickland took office last January, as many as 200 positions were temporarily ''double-filled,'' Sylvester said, meaning that new employees were hired while the previous employees, many of them Republican appointees from the Taft administration, were still on the payroll.
In addition, overtime and payroll increased because employees put in thousands of hours responding to the theft of a computer backup device carrying the Social Security numbers of thousands of Ohioans and other sensitive data, Sylvester said.
Overtime increases showed up across state agencies, the newspaper reported.
At the Ohio Department of Transportation, where overtime increased 40 percent to $16 million, 362 employees got more than $10,000 each in overtime last year, compared with 235 in 2006.
Department spokesman Scott Varner said the increase was largely a result of extra hours put in by snow removal crews during a February 2007 blizzard and widespread flooding that occurred later in the year. Employees work 12-hour days in those situations, he said.
The analysis also showed that the number of people earning six figures increased by nearly 16 percent as part of the state's $3.2 billion payroll.
The state's top overtime earner last year was Melody Campbell, a nurse employed at the Corrections Medical Center in Orient. She was paid $81,495 in overtime, boosting her total pay above $160,000 — well over the $133,000 that Strickland was paid last year.
Of the top 25 overtime-earners, 11 were prison or psychiatric nurses.
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