March 17, 2011
City council sets deadline for COIC By JENNIFER NOBLIT ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Work on rezoning the Central Ohio Innovation Corridor should wrap up in July. Dublin City Council on March 14 set a July deadline for city staff and the planning and zoning commission on rezoning for the COIC.
The deadline stems from a rezoning request for about 4 acres within the COIC. According to Ben Hale, who represented the owners of land on the northeast corner of Shier Rings and Eiterman roads, work has been going on to rezone the small parcel since 2006. Zoning for the Central Ohio
Innovation Center began in 2008, but rezoning is again changing for the Central Ohio Innovation Corridor, an extension of the plan that eventually would allow several types of development. Work on expanding the Central Ohio Innovation Center to a corridor began last year but a turnaround time of three months is
expected for developers to attain required permits and approval. “We’re looking at a significant shift in density,” Dublin planner Carson Combs said. “We’re looking at balancing our economic portfolio to provide all kinds of economic development in the future.” The city is working on frame-
work and code changes for the area that runs along state Route 161 and south along I-270. Combs said the work also would include the rezoning of land within the corridor to include offices, research, labs, clean manufacturing and assembly and support services such as retail. “We’re still on the timeline to
get rezoning completed by July 6,” he said. The focus on the plan is to “have the most flexibility possible in terms of development,” Combs said. The planning and zoning commission initially recommended See CITY COUNCIL, page A2
Grigsby: Dublin in ‘excellent’ shape
ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE
By JENNIFER NOBLIT ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Tim Norman/ThisWeek
Charissa Newkirk (front row, left), Sally Burke, her father Jim Burke, Nicole Evans and Rathisa Pathmathasan and other members of the Dublin Teen Institute and Junior Teen Institute dance to Taio Cruz’ “Dynamite” as part of a flash mob performance near Indian Run Elementary School prior to the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day parade March 12. The four Dublin sophomores choreographed the flash mob, which included about 65 students from all three high schools and all of the middle schools. The group ended the performance by holding towels with “Drug Free in Dublin” printed on them, as part of the Dublin A.C.T. Coalition to prevent and reduce substance abuse. For more photos, see page B1.
Census numbers show Dublin top suburb By JENNIFER NOBLIT ThisWeek Community Newspapers
In 1987 Dublin officially obtained city status with more than 5,000 residents, but numbers from the most recent government headcount have identified Dublin as Columbus’ most populous suburb.
While all of central Ohio saw growth over the past 10 years, Dublin’s population increased by 33 percent between 2000 and 2010. Franklin County increased from about 1-million residents in 2000 to nearly 1.2-million in 2010. The population of Union County, which encompasses Dublin’s western borders, grew in pop-
ulation by almost 28 percent, while Delaware County saw a population increase of 58 percent. According to U.S. Census numbers, Dublin had a population of 31,392 in 2000. Estimations placed the population in 2005 at 35,108 and at 38,536 in 2008. Official numbers from the 2010 cen-
sus say Dublin currently has 41,571 residents. City manager Marsha Grigsby said the numbers released by the U.S. Census weren’t a big surprise. “That’s one thing we monitor on a regular basis. Every year we get infor-
“A community that cares” was the mantra of the 2011 state-of-the-city address. For the state of the city, Dublin officials highlighted accomplishments and big events that happened over the past year while focusing on a caring community. Dublin City Schools Superintendent David Axner presented the district’s recent accomplishments: a state rating of Excellent with Distinction, $11.5-million in expenditure reDavid Axner ductions, AAA credit rating and the construction of 12 new classrooms without asking voters for extra funding. Dublin also focused on 2010 successes. City Manager Marsha Grigsby kicked off her address by highlighting economic development within the city. “We have a strong history of economic de- Marsha Grigsby velopment incentives,” she said, noting that in 2010 seven economic development agreements retained about 900 jobs and created 250. “We will continue to focus on new and See GRIGSBY’S, page A2
See CENSUS, page A7
Dublin 6-year-old dies End of an era in playground accident Cason retires as ThisWeek executive editor By JENNIFER NOBLIT ThisWeek Community Newspapers
A 6-year-old Dublin boy died March 12 after an accident playing while on an outdoor slide. Dublin police received a call from a resident in the 5000 block of Donegal Cliffs Drive at 5:18 p.m. March 12 who said Noah Maloney was unconscious after an incident involving an outdoor slide, a news release from the city said. According to a recording of the call obtained by The Columbus Dispatch, Maloney got en-
tangled in a rope while playing. Washington Township Paramedics transported Maloney to Dublin Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m. the release said. According to the Dispatch, Franklin County Coroner Jan Gorniak said in a preliminary report that Maloney appeared to have died of ligature strangulation. As of ThisWeek’s press time Tuesday, Dublin police were still investigating the incident, but did
By JEFF DONAHUE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Friday, March 18, marks the end of an era at ThisWeek Community Newspapers. Late that afternoon, vice president and executive editor Ben Cason will shut down his computer, gather his cell phone and coat and quietly stroll out of the newsroom the way he has every week since 1993. However, come Monday morning, for the first time in 18 years, he won’t be leading a newsroom discussion on politics or the NCAA basketball tournament. Cason announced his retirement to ThisWeek staffers March 11, concluding a
career that spanned the height of the Watergate era as an editor at The Washington Post to building one of the nation’s most respected community newspaper organizations. Under Cason’s Ben Cason leadership, ThisWeek Community Newspapers have won hundreds of state, regional and national awards for journalistic excellence. More importantly, general manager Stephen Zonars said, Cason won the loyalty of hundreds of thousands of central Ohio readers.
“Ben has been the heartbeat of ThisWeek Community Newspapers for 18 years, and his contributions are immeasurable,” Zonars said. “On his watch, the readership of our papers has grown by more than 200,000 people, which may be the most honest reflection of how valuable the public finds our coverage, which is the product of Ben’s leadership in the newsroom.” Zonars said Cason’s legacy is the team of journalists he has assembled at ThisWeek. “We are indebted to Ben for attracting bright and passionate reporters and editors who share his love of community news and See CASON RETIRES, page A5
See MALONEY, page A2
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