By Seth Borenstein

Posted February 2nd 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Snow has been missing in action for much of the U.S. the last couple months. But it’s not just snow. It’s practically the season that’s gone AWOL.

“What winter?” asked Mike Halpert, deputy director of the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center. For the Lower 48, January was the third-least snowy on record, according to the Global Snow Lab at Rutgers University. Records for the amount of ground covered by snow go back to 1967.

Last year, more than half the nation was covered in snow as a Groundhog Day blizzard barreled across the country, killing 36 people and causing $1.8 billion in damage. This year, less than a fifth of the country outside of Alaska has snow on the ground.

Bismarck, N.D., has had one-fifth its normal snow, Boston a third. Buffalo is three feet below normal for snowfall this year. Midland, Texas, has had more snow this season than Minneapolis or Chicago.

Forget snow. For much of the country there’s not even a nip in the air. On Tuesday, the last day in January, all but a handful of states had temperatures in the 50s or higher. In the nation’s capital, where temperatures flirted with the 70s, some cherry trees are already budding — weeks early.

For the Northeast it’s one of the warmest and least snowy winters on record, with most of the region’s temperatures the last couple months averaging 5 degrees warmer than normal, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University.

“I am disgusted that golfers are golfing on my cross-country ski course,” said New Jersey state climatologist David Robinson, director of the Global Snow Lab.

Matt Dulli, an assistant golf pro at The Golf Club at Yankee Trace in the Dayton, Ohio, suburb of Centerville, said 115 rounds were played Tuesday amid balmy temperatures that reached a high of 60 degrees.

“The first thing you hear out of people’s mouths is, ‘Can you believe we’re playing golf in January?’ They’re just ecstatic that they can get out at this time of year,” Dulli said.

But there is lots of snow and dangerous cold — it’s just elsewhere in the world. Valdez, Alaska, has had 328 inches of snow this season — 10 feet above average — and the state is frigid, with Fort Yukon hitting a record 66 below zero over the weekend.

Nearly 80 people have died from a vicious cold snap in Europe, and much of Asia has been blanketed with snow. January has been the ninth snowiest since 1966 for Europe and Asia, though for the entire northern hemisphere, it’s been about average for snow this season.

The weather is so cold that some areas of the Black Sea have frozen near the Romanian coastline, and rare snowfalls have occurred on islands in the Adriatic Sea in Croatia. Ukraine alone has reported 43 fatalities, many of the victims homeless people found dead on streets. More than 720 other Ukrainians have been hospitalized with hypothermia and frostbite.

The reason is changes in Arctic winds that are redirecting snow and cold. Instead of dipping down low, the jet stream winds that normally bring cold and snow south got trapped up north. It’s called the Arctic oscillation. Think of it as a cousin to the famous El Nino.

When the Arctic oscillation is in a positive phase, the winds spin fast in the Arctic keeping the cold north. But in the past few days, the Arctic oscillation turned negative, though not in its normal way, Halpert said. The cold jet stream dipped in Europe and Asia, but is still bottled up over North America.

That’s because another weather phenomena, called the North Atlantic oscillation is playing oddball by staying positive and keeping the cold away from the rest of North America. About 90 percent of the time, the North Atlantic and Arctic oscillations are in synch, Halpert said. But not this time, so much of the United States is escaping the winter’s worst.

What’s happening isn’t just an inconvenience.

Trees and plants budding early may lose their chance to bloom when the inevitable deep freeze returns, said U.S. Geological Survey ecologist Jake Weltzin, who heads a national network that monitors the timing of spring for plants and animals. He said peach trees are budding in Georgia and in Oklahoma forsythia and daffodils have been out for two weeks now, adding “it’s happening everywhere.”

“If you think about plants and animals being kind of biologic thermometers, they are indicating a very early spring,” Weltzin said. “That’s a problem.”

This could mean less fruit available this year, Weltzin said. In New York, it could weaken the grapes used to make wine, added Cornell University horticulturalist David W. Wolfe.

But it is getting people outside more often.

In the heart of the snow belt, Holden Arboretum saw a 32 percent jump in December attendance and a 20 percent jump in January visits. Over the two months about 4,200 people visited the site in Kirtland, Ohio, outside Cleveland, that features gardens, woodlands and trails.

Along Lake Erie near Toledo, Ohio, a ferry service that carries visitors to islands was beginning winter routes Wednesday for the first time in six years.

“We’ve just had a remarkable run of unusual winters in the past six years globally,” said Jeff Masters, director of meteorology at Weather Underground in Ann Arbor, Mich. “I have to say that winter hasn’t really hit yet. Certainly not where I live.”

____

JoAnne Viviano and Doug Whiteman contributed to this report from Columbus, Ohio.

Posted February 1st 2012

(PHOTO: MAYOR GARY NORTON, EAST CLEVELAND)

CLEVELAND – Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald announced today a new plan for county roadway infrastructure projects, offering a two-year moratorium on the required local funding match for such projects in an effort to pro-actively address the needs of all County, State and U.S. routes within Cuyahoga County.

“Our local municipalities are facing tremendous financial pressure, especially in the face of their local budgets being cut by the state,” said FitzGerald. “This new approach to fixing our roadway infrastructure needs addresses the transportation issues of our county as a whole, regardless of municipal boundaries.”

Previously, the county’s policy relating to addressing the roadway infrastructure needs in Cuyahoga County included requiring a 20-50% match in funding from municipalities, depending on the type of projects being worked on. The two-year moratorium removes this local match requirement. Projects will be prioritized by examining pavement conditions based on the Northeast Ohio Area Coordination Agency’s pavement management program and average daily traffic volumes on the existing roadway network.
 

Posted January 31st 2012

(PHOTO: SPECTRUM GAMING MANAGING DIRECTORS FREDRIC GUSHIN AND MICHAEL POLLOCK)

COLUMBUS: Invoices show the consultant helping Ohio develop rules and regulations related to its four new casinos charged the state more than $1.5 million in 2011.

More than $1.4 million of the costs for Atlantic City, N.J.-based Spectrum Gaming Group came from fees of up to $375 per hour, The Columbus Dispatch reported after reviewing the documents. About $85,000 was travel-related as Spectrum representatives visited regulators and the first two casino sites in Cleveland and Toledo and went elsewhere to meet potential vendors and a developer.

Spectrum’s services will be funded with fees from vendors, employees and the casinos, which pay $1.5 million to apply for a license, said Jo Ann Davidson, chairwoman of the Casino Control Commission.

The billed expenses included nearly $200 a night for stays at a Columbus hotel near the casino oversight agency and round-trip flights between Philadelphia and Columbus that topped $1,000.

Spectrum’s lead consultant for Ohio, who was overseas and unavailable for comment, referred questions to regulators, the newspaper said.

The commission believes Spectrum is following its work agreements with the state, Casino Control Commission executive director Matt Schuler said.

“What I have seen is, they stay very strict to the terms of the agreement and to the scope of the work that has been approved by the commission,” Schuler said. “We need to be good stewards of the funds and make sure they’re following the letter of the law and have it be transparent.”

Davidson said consultants traveled more in the initial stages because the commission had a smaller staff. Regulators expect to spend less for outside reviews of applications for the planned casinos in Columbus and Cincinnati, in part because the same owners are involved, and rely more on commission staff as it hires more people.

“If we can do it ourselves, that is exactly what is going to happen,” Schuler said.

He defended the expensive price of Spectrum’s air travel. State contractors are prohibited from flying first-class and are asked to book the cheapest flights available, but Schuler noted that the charges depend on the going prices, especially when flights are booked under time constraints.

“As we’ve been working through the licensing process, on many occasions we needed their attorneys to assist us with very little notice in our discussions with the casino operators,” he said.

There are set government rates for hotels and food allowances, but a spokesman for the state Office of Budget and Management said there’s no limit on air travel expenses.

Spectrum’s hotel charges were about twice the government rate, which some hotels won’t honor for government contractors. The $56 allotted for each traveler’s daily meals and incidental expenses was on par with the government rate.

Ohio’s second casino consultant, hired to advise the state on how to get the best returns from its burgeoning gambling market, is expected to be owed much more than Spectrum because it struck a deal to get a percentage of casino revenue it helps generate. Los Angeles-based Moelis & Company is expected to earn $2.4 million in retainer fees through April and incentives worth up to $13 million, the newspaper said.

By MJ Lee

Posted January 31sr 2012

Posted January 30th 2012

COLUMBUS: Officials say new numbers on liquor sales suggest Ohioans are again going out to restaurants and nightspots, in a positive sign for the overall economy.

The Ohio Division of Liquor Control says wholesale sales of spirits to restaurants, bars and clubs rose 4.7 percent in 2011, after three down years.

Overall liquor sales in the state grew by 5.3 percent last year and totaled a record $794 million. Officials note in a news release that there was a smaller, 3.9 percent increase in the number of gallons of spirits sold. State Commerce Director David Goodman says the difference means people are buying pricier, premium products as tastes become more sophisticated.

The top brand of liquor sold in the state last year was Kamchatka vodka, followed by Jack Daniels whiskey.

By Lisa Cromwell

Posted January 29th 2012

CINCINNATI: The state attorney general says sweepstakes scams cost Ohioans about $2 million last year as gauged by complaints to his office’s consumer protection section.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said in a release Thursday that the section logged about 1,500 complaints about sweepstakes and prizes schemes. He says his office is seeking stronger tools to go after people and companies conducting those types of scams and others. The office also is working with law enforcement to increase prosecutions.

DeWine says sweepstakes or prizes made up the eighth most common source of consumer complaints on a 2011 top-10 list.

The No. 1 complaint category was motorized vehicles, followed by collections, credit reporting or financial services in second place. Internet or phone complaints ranked third.

Posted January 29th 2012

(PHOTO: ORLY TAITZ, BIRTHER ACTIVIST)

A hearing to determine whether President Barack Obama is eligible to be on the primary ballot in Georgia took place on Thursday, with the defendants, Obama and his legal team, notably absent.

Georgia Deputy Chief Judge Michael Malihi subpoenaed the president last week after refusing to hear his legal team’s challenge to the case, but neither Obama nor his lawyers ever planned on showing up.

Instead, Obama attorney Michael Jablonski wrote a letter to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, a Republican and the ultimate arbiter on the question of Obama’s ballot eligibility, telling him that he expected Kemp to throw out the “baseless, costly and unproductive” case.

Kemp responded, telling Obama’s counsel that they would skip the ballot hearing “at your own peril.”

The true nature of the “peril” Obama might face, however, began to play out during Thursday’s proceeding.

The complaints being presented at the hearing are based off various claims that Obama is either beholden to an 1875 Supreme Court ruling that determined “natural born citizens” were people born in the United States to parents who are both U.S. citizens, or that he is using fraudulent documents to prove his eligibility.

California attorney Orly Taitz, queen bee of the birthers and a proponent of the latter belief, stood before what Jay Bookman of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution described as “100 people … most of them older white Americans” to argue her plaintiff’s case.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Judge Malihi was forced to cut her off during her closing arguments, when she attempted to serve as both lawyer and witness.

In the end, no groundbreaking arguments, testimony or evidence were presented at Thursday’s hearing, perhaps a testament to the tired nature of these challenges. Taitz is one of the most seasoned veterans of the birther movement, and the fact that she was even granted a hearing came as her first “victory.” She was fined $20,000 last year by a Georgia judge for filing frivolous lawsuits of the same nature.

Even with the decision by Obama’s legal team to completely ignore the supposed merits of the case, Bookman writes that Secretary of State Kemp is likely left with only one choice:

‘At any rate, the final decision is Kemp’s. Regardless of what Malihi recommends, Kemp does not want to become the Republican secretary of state who ruled Barack Obama off the ballot in Georgia. Becoming a birther hero would not begin to compensate for the lasting infamy such a step would bring him, especially because such a ruling would be challenged in state or federal court and almost immediately overturned on any number of reasons. Kemp would then look like a fool and put an end to any further political ambitions he might have. I doubt that’s the course he will choose to take.’

While Kemp, Malihi and the plaintiffs watched the case unfold, Obama was in Las Vegas, expanding upon an energy blueprint that he had unveiled at his State of the Union address.

Posted January 26th 2012

COLUMBUS: Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland says Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney should release 12 years of tax returns, like his father did in 1968.

After losing Saturday’s South Carolina primary to Newt Gingrich, Romney agreed to soon release his returns for 2010 and the first quarter of 2011. He previously planned to wait until April.

Strickland told reporters Monday that George Romney released a dozen years of returns during his 1968 presidential bid, at the time saying one year could represent “a fluke.”

Strickland released multiple years of tax returns during his two gubernatorial runs. However, his salaries as governor and, before that, congressman were public information.

Romney led the GOP field among Ohio voters in a Quinnipiac Poll out last week.

An email message seeking comment from his campaign was not immediately returned.

Posted January 25th 2012

Dr. Hiroyuki Fujita, founder, president and CEO of Quality Electrodynamics in Mayfield Village sat in the box with first lady Michelle Obama for the State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

Coming to America from Japan in 1988 and after receiving his Ph.D. in physics from Case Western Reserve University in 1998, Fujita chose to continue his professional training in America.

In 2006 he started his own company, QED, which is a developer and manufacturer of highly proprietary state-of-the-art MRI radiofrequency antennas.

QED is now one of the world’s largest suppliers of these products and ships throughout the globe.

In 2010, Fujita founded his second company, eQED, a solar energy-related electronics development and manufacturing company.

With the founding of QED and eQED, Fujita is creating high-tech, advanced manufacturing jobs in the health care and energy sectors in the United States.

By Phoebe Connelly

Posted January 25th 2012

We followed your reactions online to Tuesday’s State of the Union address by President Barack Obama. On Twitter, you were talking about the women in the room–Gabrielle Giffords was the top trending topic on Twitter at the start of the speech after her touching embrace with the president, and Hillary Clinton and the phrase “First Lady” were top terms in “#sotu”-tagged tweets.

At the end of the speech we asked the Yahoo! audience if they felt Obama had made the case for a second term: Of the more than 16,300 respondents, 63 percent said he should get another four years.

In the hours before the speech, the top Obama search was “Obama sings at Apollo,” referencing the president’s recent bravo performance at the Apollo theater where he sang Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.”

At 9 p.m. EST, when the speech began, the top searches for the president’s name were “President Obama” and “Obama State of the Union” and “Obama speech.”

More people have searched for Obama today on Yahoo! than for all of the Republican candidates combined on the day of any recent GOP primary contest.

Of nearly 13,000 participants in a poll of Yahoo! readers, 62 percent felt the president deserved more credit for bringing troops home from Iraq, and of 9,450 respondents, 84 percent agreed with Obama that it was time to phase out Bush-era tax cuts on the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans.