January 27, 2011
Texting-while-driving ban goes to council By JENNIFER NOBLIT ThisWeek Community Newspapers Dublin could be the next Ohio city to prohibit texting while driving. Dublin City Council on Jan. 24 heard the first reading of amendments to a current ordinance that will allow officers to pull over and cite drivers who are texting while driving.
City law director Stephen Smith said the city’s distracted driving ordinance would be amended if approved by council next month. The amendments prohibit “texting, accessing the internet, instant messaging and reading any such information,” the staff report said. According to the proposed amendments, texting while driving would be
a primary offense, which means “a police officer may initiate a traffic stop based solely on a violation of this ordinance,” the staff report said. “We’ve been able to create an ordinance we think is enforceable,” Smith told council. Texting while driving would also become a fourth-degree misdemeanor, as would full time attention, which was
previously a minor misdemeanor. According to Dublin’s code, a fourthdegree misdemeanor carries a maximum penalty of a $150 fine and up to 30 days in jail. If approved, Dublin will still permit drivers to make and receive calls and use GPS systems, but they would have to be careful. “An officer can pull over someone on
the phone who’s not paying attention,” interim police chief Heinz von Eckartsberg said. Council member Cathy Boring, who previously cited concerns about enforcing a ban on texting while driving, complimented staff’s efforts. “Thanks for not bringing us an addiSee TEXTING, page A2
School start-time decision delayed
GRIGSBY RECEPTION
By JENNIFER NOBLIT ThisWeek Community Newspapers
location grant and a five-year 25 percent performance incentive on new income tax withholdings, which is capped at $75,000. In return, Nationwide Children’s Hospital will build a 22,000-squarefoot Sports Medicine and Orthopedics facility on Venture Drive that will bring 52 jobs to Dublin by the end of 2015. Gilger said the agreement also includes a second clause with identical incentives that could bring a 30,000square-foot medical office building to Dublin before the end of 2020. “This will more than double our presence (in Dublin),” Bill Byers, vice
The Dublin school district has hit the snooze button on a decision on moving Dublin’s high school start time back to allow students more sleep. Superintendent David Axner originally intended to make a recommendation regarding the start time for Dublin’s three high schools during a Jan. 24 meeting, but analysis of busing and costs is taking longer than anticipated. A recommendation is expected within the next month, however. The recommendation to push back the start time for Dublin high school students stems from a late November study released by the School Reform Task Force. The committee of parents, teachers, staff, administrators and other representatives met for more than a year to look at best practices in school-day times. After the presentation, Axner said he was “convinced” moving the high school start time back from 7:25 a.m. was needed. Axner said the school district has ruled out busing middle and high school students together, which was originally viewed as an option for pushing the high school start time back and keeping middle and elementary school times the same. “It would definitely be cost prohibitive,” he said of busing middle and high school students together. “It’s not the time to be spending more dollars …” The solution the district is currently working toward, Axner said, is “squeezing” time in between bus routes. Elementary, middle and high school students would still be bused separately, but there would be little time in between each route. The option would have the high schools starting at 8 a.m., Axner said. “That would be the earliest any school would start,” he said. “We’re trying to do the best we can to save time. We’re doing creative scheduling that will impact the bus routes.” An 8 a.m. start for high school students would be 35 minutes later than the current start.
See SIX INCENTIVES, page A2
See SCHOOL START TIME, page A2
By Tim Norman/ThisWeek
New Dublin City Manager Marsha Grigsby (right) talks with Joe Sullivan, who grew up with Grigsby, during a reception for her at the conference center at OCLC, 6600 Kilgour Place, on Jan. 24. Sullivan works for the consulting firm, Stantec, which works with the city.
Incentive plans approved to bring, retain jobs By JENNIFER NOBLIT ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Economic development agreements that could retain up to 80 jobs and add more than 700 to Dublin’s economy has been approved by city council. Dublin City Council on Jan. 24 unanimously approved six incentive packages to retain or draw companies to the city, eventually resulting in more than $8-million for the city. The largest economic development agreement offered to Alcatel-Lucent isn’t certain to draw the company to Dublin, however. The city is offering the telecommunications equipment manufactur-
er a $500,000 location grant, two fiberoptic lines in the DubLink system and performance incentives on income tax withholdings, which is estimated to cost the city about $1.5-million over the 10-year agreement. In return, Alcatel-Lucent would locate in Dublin for 10 years, bringing more than 500 jobs. The city anticipates netting $6.3million during the 10-year agreement. Alcatel-Lucent is looking at moving from its current location on East Broad Street in Columbus, said Colleen Gilger, economic development administrator. “We’re been identified as the final choice in Ohio,” she said, adding that other states are being considered.
Paul Erwin, director of communications for the company, told council members the current building “no longer fits the needs of our employees. “We’re very committed to staying in Ohio because we’ve had such a great run here,” he said. “We’d really like to retain these jobs for the region,” Mayor Tim Lecklider told him. Erwin said the company is still in negotiations with a landlord and isn’t sure how soon the company will make a decision on where it will locate. Another incentive package approved this week will bring more Nationwide Children’s Hospital facilities to Dublin, and includes a $15,000
Jazz legend, clinic New restaurant offering flatbread fare await Coffman jazz bands in New York By JENNIFER NOBLIT
ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By JENNIFER NOBLIT ThisWeek Community Newspapers
The Coffman High School jazz bands are New York-bound. The three jazz bands, including 56 students, will travel to New York City in late March to meet a jazz legend and get some pointers. A trip to Cleveland five years ago sparked a lot of interest in jazz and band director Jeremy Bradstreet said another trip is due. “Five years ago we went to Cleveland and what it did for us was it got kids really excited about play jazz music,” he said. “We’ve been living off that trip for four years now.”
Bradstreet, who directs Coffman’s jazz bands along with Andrew Rice and Kevin Wallick, will lead the students to New York to meet jazz great Wynton Marsalis. A 2004 Coffman graduate hooked them up. “Jono Gasparro is Marsalis’personal assistant,” Bradstreet said. “I called him up and said, ‘I’d like to see about bringing the jazz band to New York City.’He has arranged for our band to perform in Lincoln Center and we’re going to be given a clinic by some Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra musicians. That’s kind of one of the big edSee JAZZ LEGEND, page A4
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Two bankers are taking a shot at flatbreadbased food in the Avery Square Shopping Center. Sandella’s Flatbread Café opened earlier this month at 7038 Hospital Drive, touting what owner Chris Kavalieros calls “fresh, healthy and delicious” fare. “We both used to work together at Chase (Bank),” said Mike Czarnecki, who balances his job at Huntington Bank with managerial responsibilities at Sandella’s. “We both wanted something different.” The duo started to look into franchise opportunities. “We don’t have any restaurant experience, so a franchise seemed like the best way to go,” Czarnecki said. Sandella’s is mostly located on the East Coast and in the West, as well as a few restaurants in By Jennifer Noblit/ThisWeek Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Owner Chris Kavalieros (left) and manager Mike Czarnecki opened Sandella’s “Since there are none in the area, we thought Jan. 6, offering healthy, flatbread-based food at Avery Square. The business will See NEW RESTAURANT, page A4 hold an open house Jan. 27.
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