Toledo Free Press - Nov. 16, 2005 by Toledo Free Press

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BOB FRANTZ on changes at WSPD, page 3

The dawn of a Toledo tradition November 16, 2005

www.toledofreepress.com

FREE

THE MANY LIVES OF THE PIANO MAN

An exclusive, early look at the new ﬁve-disc Billy Joel box set, page 25

2 for change Torres and Fisher discuss their TPS board victories — without partner Chris Myers, page 7

■ Media

Turf war As circulation falls, The Blade faces a new challenge in Perrysburg, page 8

■ Wheels

Foreign? Mark Moses on cars, page 16

■ Special section

POWER PLAYER Toledo Edison Regional President

JIM MURRAY

answers tough questions about service, prices and why he’s not ashamed of making a proﬁt

The Game 12 pages of previews, interviews and local deals for Saturday’s border bash

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Toledo Free Press photo by DM Stanﬁeld

Story by Myndi Milliken, page 5

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■ Election 2005

4/26/05 7:32:04 AM

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OPINION

November 16, 2005

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LIGHTING THE FUSE

Thomas F. Pounds President/Publisher tpounds@toledofreepress.com

Kay T. Pounds Vice President of Operations kpounds@toledofreepress.com

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Stacie L. Klewer Art Director sklewer@toledofreepress.com Myndi M. Milliken Managing Editor mmilliken@toledofreepress.com Barbara Goodman Shovers Contributing Editor bshovers@toledofreepress.com Edward Shimborske III Entertainment Editor es3@toledofreepress.com Adam Mahler Food/Dining Editor amahler@toledofreepress.com DM Stanﬁeld Photo Editor dmstanfield@toledofreepress.com STAFF WRITERS news@toledofreepress.com Keith Bergman • Michael Brooks Scott Calhoun • Lauri Donahue John Dorsey • John Johnson Chris Kozak • Vicki Kroll Scott McKimmy • Michael Punsalan Mark Tinta • Deanna Woolf Dave Woolford • Russ Zimmer Shannon Wisbon Copy Editor Katie McCoy Graphic Designer

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Ryan Hufford Photographer Miranda Everitt Editorial Intern ADVERTISING SALES Renee Bergmooser rbergmooser@toledofreepress.com Casey Fischer cfischer@toledofreepress.com Lauren Parris lparris@toledofreepress.com

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Tested by technology

A publication of Toledo Free Press, LLC Vol. 1, No. 36, Established 2005

Michael S. Miller Editor in Chief mmiller@toledofreepress.com

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Toledo Free Press ■ 3

Toledo Free Press is published every Wednesday by Toledo Free Press, LLC, 300 Madison Avenue Suite 1300, Toledo, OH 43604 www.toledofreepress.com Phone: (419) 241-1700 Fax: (419) 241-8828 Subscription rate: $52/year. Reproduction or use of editorial or graphic content in any manner without permission is strictly prohibited. Copyright 2005 with all rights reserved. Publication of advertisements does not imply endorsement of advertisers’ goods or services.

rthur C. Clarke once said there are moments when magic and technology become indistinguishable. Election Day 2005 brought that home for me, with polaropposite experiences. Early in the day, my wife Shannon and I heard the heartbeat of our 7-week-old baby. The child will be our ﬁrst, so our excitement and blessing-counting emotions were in overdrive. At the ultrasound session, the nurse showed us the baby, whom she described as “just barely a centimeter long,” although I hate to have the poor kid saddled with the Metric System before s/he’s even born. The nurse focused in on the tiny beating heart, and turned on the sound. For a few seconds, the 143beat-a-minute sound ﬁlled the room. I pride myself on never having to say I’m speechless, but no words describe the electric, miraculous, joyous moment, except possibly “electric,” “miraculous” and “joyous.” In that brief swirl of sound, my mind raced through a rapid movie of changes, hopes, dreams and intense love. It was technology. It was magic.

Michael S. Miller The nurse printed out a picture of the little jellybean, which I of course showed off like a 4th grader with an all-A’s grade card. For the rest of the day, I marveled at the technology that could show a ﬁngertip-sized life, as closeup as the heartbeat. I was like Kip in “Napoleon Dynamite,” humming “yes, I love technology” all day. That night, election night, I planned for a massive amount of coverage. Toledo Free Press posted reporters and photographers at Carty Finkbeiner’s camp, Jack Ford’s camp, with Toledo School Board candidates and City Council candidates. We placed reporters at the Board of Elections and had a person dedicated to updating vote totals on our Web site. The plan was simple: with polls closed at 7:30 p.m., there

would be enough precincts counted by 10 or 11 p.m. to call most of the races, interview winners and losers (I suppose if I’m going to teach a child, I should find a better term than “loser” to label people with, but hopefully my son or daughter will eschew politics like spoiled milk. As the child of a newspaper editor, s/he will be raised knowing, “One day, I could grow up to write about the President.”) and file pages by midnight, with plenty of time to get the news on the streets as fast as anyone in Toledo. As the hours melted away and it became clear that no final tallies were going to be available, my earlier enthusiasm for technology soured faster than a person who saved for a lifetime to fly to Broadway to see their favorite actor in a beloved show, only to get there to learn the actor was sick and would be replaced by John Stamos. Under the best of circumstances, I’m as subtle as a cornered wolverine. As the night collapsed and I began sending reporters home, my temperament turned south faster than a Klansman in a stolen pickup truck with expired plates approaching the Manson-Nixon Line. When I’m agitated, a state of mind that roughly correlates with

when I’m awake, I revert to dropping f-bombs like I’m competing with Courtney Love for a guest shot on “The Sopranos.” By the end of the night, my language was so blue, I could have joined that blue man group whose name escapes me at the moment. Between the vote-collection methods and the vote-counting methods, technology failed, and I aimed plenty of f-missles in the same direction I had lavished praise just a few hours before. We were able to cover the mayoral race because at the very last minute of deadline, Jack Ford conceded (thanks, Jack!), but it was way too close. A few days later, the joy of the morning has conquered the despair of the evening, and I’m back on speaking terms with technology. I have to be; we depend on technology to catch human mistakes, to keep us from doing something embarrassing, like misspelling a word in a headline or cutting off a column before the Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press. He may be contacted at (419) 241-1700 or by e-mail at

mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

COMMON SENSE

It’s not what happens to you …

t the risk of unintentionally turning this space into a 650-word radio commercial, I’ve decided to accept the Toledo Free Press’ offer to address a personal situation, well … personally. Consider this, then, an open letter to WSPD radio listeners and Toledo Free Press readers: Exactly 10 weeks ago, I began a column in this space with the words, “It’s not so much what happens to you that’s important … it’s how you react to what happens to you.” I believed those words to be true then, when they referred to the reactions of certain New Orleans residents to Hurricane Katrina, and I believe them to be true today — especially now that I’ve had to put them to the test. What has happened to me is next to nothing when compared with the real-life trauma experienced by so many people on so many levels. Consider: how have neighbors and friends reacted since the devastating riots in North Toledo happened to them in October? They’ve rededicated themselves to one another through community forums and they’ve marched for peace. How have local military families reacted when tragic news of their loved ones serving overseas has reached them? They’ve honored their sons’ and daughters’ sacriﬁces by supporting those who continue the ﬁght to keep us free. How did disappointed Toledo Mayor Jack Ford react when last week’s painfully slow election returns began to suggest in the early morning hours that he’d lost his job to Carty

Bob Frantz Finkbeiner? He gracefully conceded the race with less than half the votes counted, so that hard-working men and women in his city could turn in without wondering about the outcome until morning. And unlike others, he didn’t publicly complain about voter suppression or disenfranchisement in his strongest precincts. These are people who have refused to let circumstances beyond their control determine their attitudes, and they are tremendous role models for others faced with difﬁcult changes. People like me. How am I reacting to the unexpected changes in programming at WSPD? The only way I know how to react: by following the lead of those mentioned above and embracing this new challenge with energy and passion. Sorry, Carty. You don’t have a patent on the stuff. My new challenge will be to keep an “Eye on Toledo,” which is the name of the new program I intend to launch at the end of this month on WSPD. In the course of doing a

daily radio program and writing this weekly column, it has become increasingly clear to me that there is a great need for someone in our community to tackle the tough issues that many choose to avoid, and to hold accountable those who control much of the way we live. Elected ofﬁcials, trash collectors, corporate leaders and gang bangers; each have a direct or indirect impact on the way we conduct our lives. And for better or worse, you’ll get to know more about who they are, what they do, and why they’re doing it … whether they want you to know or not. I realize there has been a lot of angst among loyal readers and listeners in the past few days. Toledo Free Press has been deluged e-mails asking what’s going on at WSPD and my own inbox is still overﬂowing its storage capacity. I suspect this is primarily because, with few exceptions, people fear change. People just don’t like having things turned upsidedown when they’re not expecting it. To those people, I ask for patience. You see, despite the changes you see being made on the surface, the same common sense approach you’ve come to expect on the air and on these pages will remain in effect. In fact, you should be careful what you wish for. When the master plan eventually takes shape, and the light starts to shine on some very dark places, you may get even more of what you’ve asked for — whether you can handle it or not. Bob Frantz may be contacted by e-mail at letters@toledofreepress.com.

OPINION

4 ■ Toledo Free Press

COMMUNITY

November 16, 2005

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CONSIDER THIS

Free Harvard classes for everyone online

magine if everyone could attend an elite university absolutely free. A national public online university system can make the dream of free, universally accessible world-class college education a reality. The exceptional value and inevitability of computer-assisted distance education is already widely recognized. Most universities have been rapidly expanding their distance education capabilities in virtually all academic and professional disciplines. Distance education offers many advantages for students and teachers — including superior quality, accessibility, satisfaction, outcomes, flexibility, efficiency and effectiveness — all with significantly lower costs and no appreciable disadvantages when compared to traditional classroom education. Distance education will soon dominate higher (and K-12) education. But the logical outcome of the move to distance education will be large-scale consolidation at the state and national levels. Many universities already belong to national and even international distance education consortia such as Sloan-C. Because of massively increased efficiencies and huge economies of scale (no sprawling ultra-highmaintenance college campuses, redundant academic programs, unwieldy armies of students and daily commuters, etc.) a consolidated American consortium of elite national distance education universities could literally deliver a free “Ivy League” education to the entire nation, at a fraction of the cost of the present increasingly non-viable tuition-based system. Such a free distance education system would also eliminate all current negative campus-related social issues (real or imagined) including discrimination, harassment, limited access, student debt, peer pressure, substance abuse, etc. Given the severe challenges facing traditional American higher education, the real question is why such a free, openaccess, national online “charter” university does not already exist. Many countries have implemented top-flight national distance education programs. Britain’s Open University distance learning program has consistently ranked alongside Oxford and Cambridge in overall educational quality and effectiveness.

March for peace organized in North End, page 14

Two for change

TPS board candidates say two out of three ain’t bad, page 7

COVER STORY

Toledo Free Press photos by DM Stanﬁeld

Reid Ahlbeck More than enough outstanding distance education course content is available (much of it in the public domain). MIT’s Open Courseware program now provides “free, searchable, [online] access to MIT’s course materials for educators, students and selflearners around the world.” An effective national online university system would combine private sector organizational efficiency and cost effectiveness with top-quality traditional academic content, standards and teaching methodologies. Factoring profit and tuition out of the successful University of Phoenix model would provide a readymade template for a free non-profit distance education system. Seamless interfacing with a consolidated national K-12 and community college distance education system would smooth student transition to college — providing a superior integrated K-16 core curriculum, unlimited individualized attention and/or remediation at all levels (computers can be fun and entertaining and have limitless time, resources and patience). Gifted students, meanwhile, could be challenged as they soared swiftly through the education system at their own accelerated pace. American higher education consumes hundreds of billions of dollars annually. But this massive, archaic and inherently flawed system continues to produce only mediocre overall results. Traditional university functions of education, certification and even pure research are consequently being increasingly taken over by a dissatisfied private sector. Redirecting a small fraction of America’s staggering education budget toward creating a superior free national online university (and K-12) system would return many times the investment in terms of vastly improved educational quality, opportunity, efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

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A LOT LIKE LIFE

American ingenuity trumps Bonn By Barbara Goodman Shovers Toledo Free Press Contributing Editor bshovers@toledofreepress.com

etween the years 2002 and 2004, I lived abroad, in the city of Bonn, Germany. With my typical timing, I arrived too late to partake of the city’s highlife: after the war, Bonn became the capital of West Germany and was, I’m told, a cosmopolitan place. But around the turn of the millennium, the embassies and news bureaus moved to Berlin, and Bonn regained its small-town status. Before I left Toledo, I had an informal agreement with one of our city’s other papers to write occasional American Abroad commentary. But out of sight, out of mind: As soon as I left the States, they forgot me. Being a person constitutionally unable to go a day without a keyboard, I began compiling my observations and e-mailing them to friends. Most of these letters revolved around the foibles of trying to make a life in a foreign culture and language. Bonn, despite its rococo Rathaus (city hall) and genteel bakeries, has a mentality not unlike Toledo. Both are second-tier cities that once were more essential. Both are sited on rivers important to their respective country’s development. But Germany is very different than the U.S., and I didn’t have to go out of my way to ﬁnd those differences. I wrote about Germany’s goofy festivals and screenless windows. I wrote about her people’s love of rules and order. I wrote about the contrasts between what I saw as the country’s radically different design statements: the precision of Mercedes and the kitsch of Bavaria. My American readers howled. “So right,” they said. “What a hoot.” Not surprisingly, my European readers harrumphed. “You’re just another arrogant American,” one complained.

A year ago, I came back to the States and started writing about America: fast food hawked next to South Beach diet books; magnetic ribbons and colored wristbands meant to signify our connection with soldiers and sufferers; novelty T-shirts. American ingenuity, or at least consumerism, never ceases to amaze me. My European respondents said “Spot on.” My domestic friends went on the defensive. They might feel that even more strongly after I report on an experience I think outdoes the most oompah of German carnivals or schlock of garden gnomes: In late October, on a beautiful blue day, I spent the better part of half an hour traipsing through a giant ram plowed into a Dundee, Michigan field. For my $9.50 admission, I could also have tramped through a giant elk and a giant moose, but you only have to walk one corn maze to get the idea. Actually, it would’ve been difficult to get lost in the maze; the corn this year only got as high as a pygmy elephant’s eye, so it was impossible to lose sight of US 23 to its west or Cabela’s to the south. This latter, for you non-locals, is a sporting goods store that offers a couple thousand SKUs all in camouflage patterns. The ingenuity of these projects blows me away. Who would ever think: Let’s use GPS to carve a trio of woodland mammals into feed corn and charge people to hike ‘em? Who would ever think the world was in desperate need of a leafpatterned thermal mug for chilly mornings in a duck blind? People are apparently making livelihoods out of this and American unemployment numbers are considerably lower than those in Germany. How dare I make fun? What it boils down to is no matter where you go, eccentricity is the spice (Gewürz) of experience. Toledo and Bonn both celebrate Oktoberfest. They just do it differently.

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“I think a lot of people in the community know me. There is not a customer issue that cannot be resolved.”

“We meet all the PUCO state requirements at Toledo Edison, and not every utility in the State of Ohio can say that.”

“People think we’re a public utility, that we have to supply power to the public at no cost. That’s not true.”

“We’re a for-proﬁt company. We made a proﬁt last year and I’m not embarrassed or ashamed of that.”

Murray: service provided at ‘fair cost’ By Myndi Milliken Toledo Free Press Managing Editor mmilliken@toledofreepress.com

This month, Jim Murray will celebrate his eighth year as regional president of Toledo Edison, a 100-year old company under the management of mega-company FirstEnergy. Throughout his tenure, the company has undergone great scrutiny for its electric rates and great acclaim for its involvement in the community. Toledo Edison, Lucas County’s largest taxpayer, has about 1,500 employees and serves hundreds of thousands of customers. “One of the biggest changes [FirstEnergy made when it took over Toledo Edison] was, we brought regional presidents into our operating companies,” Murray said. “FirstEnergy’s model is to bring the person responsible for the business as close to the customer as possible, and that’s me. My ofﬁce is here in Toledo and when there are issues with our customers and our company, I’m right here.” Murray said he is dedicated to the Toledo area. “I think a lot of people in the community know me. They know our employees and I always tell everyone that there is not a customer issue that cannot be resolved. Of course, a couple of things have to happen; the customer has to be willing to talk about it and work through it with us. That was a big change here,” he said.

Triple crown

Murray said Toledo Edison has come a long way from the time when it was a monopoly utility. In 1999, Senate Bill 3 gave customers the option to choice their electric generation supplier beginning in 2001. This changed the way Toledo Edison ran its company. “I’m the distribution company regardless of whom you buy your power from; I’m going to bring it to your residence, to your business and I’ve got to make sure I do that reliably,” he said. “We’re a competitive business now. Customers have a choice where they can buy their generation portion of their product. We’re in the biggest horserace of our lives, especially since deregulation started.” Murray said he talks with his staff about what he calls the “Triple Crown” approach. “I mean providing reliable service to our customers, providing it safely for our employees as well as our customers, and at a fair cost,” he said. “I think, right now, we’re doing that.” Murray said the intent was to have a competitive market in place by the end of the year. “The PUCO [Public Utilities Commission of Ohio] came to all the utilities and said, ‘deregulation market development never really occurred, it was slower than we thought, let’s look at extending it for another two years.’ So we came up with a rate stabilization plan and we said we would extend our current prices through

2008,” Murray said. “That way, the prices would be stable for electricity.” The plan, approved in August by the PUCO, provided a rate freeze for an additional three years, continuing a ﬁvepercent discount on generation costs, continued funding for energy-efﬁciency programs, and an approved rate adjustment to recover fuel and tax costs. “We spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year in coal costs. Back when I was a plant manager, I used to pay $24 for a ton of coal; that price went up to over $70,” Murray said. “In 1998, we froze our rates,” Murray said. “What you paid back then is what you’re paying today. The only way your bill would increase today is if you use more electricity.” Toledo City Council objected to the rate hike, and Murray said this encouraged Toledo Edison to go back to the drawing board. Murray said the company chose to spread out the rate adjustment to cover fuel and tax costs, over 20 years, which was supposed to begin in January. “We took another look at it to see if there was any way that we could do something different. We said we would defer it; to not start charging our rate recovery for fuel until 2009 and give our customers more certainty on what their bills are going to be. Residential customer rates would probably go up about a $1.80 to $2.20 per month.” Murray said the decision was made by

Please see MURRAY, page 6

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the uncertainty of the energy market. “You look at what’s happening with natural gas — a 46-percent increase during this year’s heating season. Oil is almost a 30-percent increase this winter. We see it everyday at the gas pumps — it can go up 10 cents in an hour.” Toledo Edison ﬁled a Rate Certainty Plan, saying there will be no increase in rates for 2006, 2007 and 2008. “We still have to pay for that fuel, so we’ll borrow that money and pay that money to the coal companies. The PUCO said we could pass the ﬁve-percent interest along as well. So that fuel cost, with that 5-percent cost to borrow the money, will be passed on to customers beginning in 2009.” Murray said he felt the decision was made in the best interest of the customer. “There’s two options for our customers: market rate pricing or the certainty plan. I think everyone knows what will happen if we go to market rate — it will follow the market price just like natural gas and oil.” Murray points to last year’s competitive auction as proof that the company’s rates are on target. An auction was conducted to test the market price against the price that would be delivered by a competitive auction process. According to Murray, the auction delivered a generation price that was 20 percent higher than the price in Toledo Edison’s Rate Stabilization Plan.

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Murray Continued from page 5 “Our rate was found in our RSP so everyone knew what our rate was, and no one could beat that rate. That tells you what’s going on in the industry right now,” he said. “I think the bottom line is that there are two options. When you understand that, the choice becomes a little easier to arrive at.” “What’s going to happen at the end of 2008, the rates are going to come down because the regulatory transition charge comes off the bill,” Murray said. “That will equate to about $14 a month for an average residential customer. At the same time, we’ll pass on that fuel cost. That will probably be less than $1.50 a month. The customer won’t even see it because of the decrease. That cost will continue for about 20 years.” Murray said an increase will occur this January due to state mandates: “We have no choice for that. People will say ‘that’s part of my electric bill, my tax went up,’ but it didn’t go to our company. It was a mandatory increase that gets passed through,” he said.

In defense of power

“We get elected ofﬁcials that criticize us a lot, and there was a comparison done recently comparing our prices to Bowling Green, which is a municipal-owned system. It is totally unfair because

they don’t pay taxes. That’s the biggest difference between a municipal-owned system and an investor-owned utility like we are. You take that tax off [Edison’s] bill, I’m very competitive,” Murray said of some of the criticism the company has received of having the highest electric prices in Ohio. “We meet all the PUCO state requirements at Toledo Edison and not every utility in the State of Ohio can say that,” he said. “Price is still very sensitive in Toledo, it has been for a long time and I expect that to continue until around 2009.” Murray said many have a misconception of what Toledo Edison is about: “People think we’re a public utility. They don’t know what that means. They think we have to supply power to the public at no cost. That’s not true,” he said. “We’re a competitive business, the same as O-I, the same as Owens Corning, the same as Dana, the same as anybody else. We’re a for-profit company; it’s that simple. We made a profit last year and I’m not embarrassed or ashamed of that. I think that’s why we’re in business.” Murray said the success of the company provides help for the Toledo-area community. “We provide very good jobs in this community, very good benefits to our employees and we support everything that goes on in this community. We put our money where our mouth is,” he said. “Three years ago, we lost money at Toledo Edison. The Davis Besse nuclear power plant was

down and that asset, at that time, was on our books, and we lost a lot of money. Not one megawatt was generated at that plant, but not one person lost their job, we continued to pay our taxes and we lost money. It affected our income tax base with the City of Toledo — shareholders took the hit on that. In 2002, when the tornado hit Northwest Ohio, it hit our nuclear power plant, tore down 11 of our towers and took 900 megawatts of power out of our system. We had to go onto the daily short-term market. We lost a $100 million in two days. Our stockholders paid for every bit of that.” Murray said big profits recently reported were a combined profit of all FirstEnergy’s companies. “FirstEnergy is the fifth-largest investor-owned utility in the country; the combination of its many companies spans three states and 4.5 million customers. When you look at the profits for all of that and you look at the percentages, it’s not that big of a number. When people think of Toledo Edison and that big profit, they tie that into one company, and that’s not the case.” When asked whether, in the long run, the Rate Certainty Plan would cost customers more, Murray said, “I don’t understand where [opponents of the rate freeze and resulting recovery of interest and fuel costs] get that. “I think the Rate Certainty Plan is in the best interest of our customers. Why subject them to market rate prices — you know

November 16, 2005 ��

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they are not going to come down.” Murray said high debt is the reason for Ohio’s high prices. “Toledo Edison was originally a little utility here in Ohio and they merged, but ﬁrst they built a nuclear power plant. It made billions and billions of dollars worth of debt. There were more regulations, more debt, and we never got over that,” Murray said. “They weren’t poor business decisions at that time. We were monopolies. Back then, utilities had an obligation to serve their customers, to meet their future needs. They made business decisions at that time with the understanding of full recovery. Now, it’s competitive business.” Toledo Edison and Murray are well known for their contributions to the Toledo area. Murray defend-

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COMMUNITY

November 16, 2005

Toledo Free Press ■ 7

ELECTION 2005

Only two elected, but 3 for Change still hopeful based on the relationship they developed during the campaign. Before deciding to run, both attended school board meetings, voicing their opinions about the same or similar Toledo Board of Education membersissues they included in their platforms. Now elect Darlene Fisher and Robert Torres they each have a voice and a vote. said they believe voters fell one candidate “We know that we have to step up as leadshort of a mandate. ers to take care of our kids,” Fisher said. “With a five-member board, had all “That’s one of the reasons I have worked in three of us been elected, we would have groups like Parents for Public Schools and had the majority to lead the direction of Urban Coalition, because we’ve been outspochange,” Fisher said. “That was really the ken about things that need to change, and selling point.” we found that the current leadership on the Both Democrats, Torres captured board was not really listening.” 25,246 votes, while Fisher won 24,709 Torres cited the decreasing population votes. The third candidate, Republican within the district as a major contention. He Christopher Myers, finished fifth with posed questions he said the board will have 15,163 votes. The 3 for Change candidates to “really be earnest about”: How many shared common platforms as well as schools does Toledo need? What’s the realresources in their mutual support. They ity of neighborhoods within the district? Are share the opinion that, perhaps, voters they regressing? Are they increasing? missed the message they tried to convey. “Those are some very strong positions Fisher said the people she talked to durthat we’re gonna have to take at the board, ing the campaign showed excitement over but we need to take them as a matter of the the idea, realizing the three candidates future for our district,” he said. “We can’t “were real people wanting real change.” continue to lie; the voters see it. They see The results told a different story, possibly that the population isn’t going to sustain because of the political divide between the budget of a decreasing school system.” Democrats and Republicans. The concept Low expectations of incoming board of 3 for Change ignored party lines, which members reflect an overall dumbing down appeared to draw some criticism from throughout the district, according to Mytheir respective camps. ers. He said part of the problem is the step“A lot of that message got missed beping-stone approach taken by most of the cause this is really a good political idea, espeople who have served. Too many spend pecially three people with like ideas matchtheir time preparing for the next political ing up to run for school board,” Fisher said. MHP-261ChestPainMFreePress 5:15 Pageof1 aggressively addressing officePMinstead While short of a majority on the 11/14/05 board, the issues that plague the school system, Fisher and Torres still may affect change By Scott McKimmy Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

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ed his contributions to outgoing Mayor Jack Ford’s campaigns. “I didn’t know why it was an issue. The way that system works is, in our country, elected officials depend upon contributions. That’s the way the political system is funded. The way I feel, as long as I’m not doing anything wrong, this is the United States of America; I should be able to give my money to whoever I want to,” he said. “Toledo Edison has been around for 100 years and we plan to be here a long time in the future. We keep our corporate ofﬁces in the Downtown. The only thing I’ve ever asked is that I get a beneﬁt of the doubt to let my story be heard. I think it’s important that we’re partners in the community that we serve.”

Toledo Free Press photo by DM Stanﬁeld

Darlene Fisher, Chris Myers and Robert Torres joined forces as 3 for Change. he said. He labeled the practice as a rubber stamp, with board members trying harder to gain favor than results. “Some of the problems we all identiﬁed was caused by a board not caring and giving in to the administration, giving in to the unions during contract talks and creating the situation we have now,” Myers said. “That was the other reason we originally teamed up, because none of us were appointed, none of us were the anointed prince or princesses of the school board.” Despite his loss, he said he will continue

to be involved, helping Fisher and Torres any way possible. Although 3 for Change failed to move voters to support all three candidates, there still might be leverage to create positive action. Myers asserted his intentions to remain an active advocate for schools, trying to bring new focus to the task at hand. “I know urban education can work; it just has to be redeﬁned for the 21st Century,” he said. “I’m always going to be working hard to try to redeﬁne that education, whether it’s on the board, whether it’s through a group or whether it’s through an organization.”

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COMMUNITY

8 ■ Toledo Free Press

November 16, 2005

MEDIA

BG paper challenges Blade in Perrysburg ■ The Blade has

lost 8,000 Sunday subscribers this year By Russ Zimmer Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

The Bowling Green SentinelTribune recently opened an ofﬁce in Perrysburg. That move may provoke a “newspaper war” with The Blade that the Sentinel would be destined to lose, according to the author of several HARTMAN books and articles on newspaper readership. Bowling Green resident John Hartman, author of the book “USA Today: Way 2 the Future,” said the Haswell and Block families — owners of the Sentinel and The Blade, respectively — had an

imaginary boundary line, which left all the territory south of Perrysburg to the Sentinel. “It may make sense in the short run to invade Perrysburg, but in the long run, it could cause a ruinous ﬁnancial struggle the Sentinel would probably lose,” Hartman said. Neither David Miller, editor of the Sentinel, nor Ron Royhab, vice president and executive director of The Blade, voiced concern over competition in Perrysburg, the fastest-growing part of Wood County. “There is plenty of room in the marketplace for everyone,” Royhab said. Royhab declined to comment on whether The Blade has plans for expansion into the Perrysburg area. According to a study done for the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Sentinel sold almost 1,000 of its 12,000 weekday papers to the Perrysburg area, reaching about 7 percent of the households in the city. About half of the Sentinel’s

reported sales are from inside the Bowling Green city limits. The Blade sold 7,974 papers per weekday in Perrysburg, according to the 2004 Audit Bureau of Circulations, covering more than 54 percent of the households in the city. By ZIP code, Perrysburg (43551) is the second-highest purchaser of daily papers from The Blade. The Blade’s overall circulation is down on its daily edition by about 6,000 copies a day in 2005, and has dropped 8,000 for its Sunday paper, according to a report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The Blade’s Sunday circulation stands at 175,521, while its weekday circulation fell to 133,498, according to the Bureau. Nationwide, weekday newspaper readership has fallen by

2.6 percent, prompting a philosophy of “grow or die” in many newsrooms, Hartman said. Miller said while the Sentinel’s news coverage of Perrysburg has not expanded, eventually it is the paper’s hope a reporter will be based in the new office — which currently serves to increase the newspaper’s visibility. “The office is to raise the profile from an advertising and circulation standpoint,” Miller said. Hartman said The Blade has more appeal to Perrysburg than the Sentinel because of the economic relationship between the two cities. “People who live in Perrysburg may be connected to Toledo — they may work in Lucas County or Maumee. There is going to be far more traffic from Perrysburg to Toledo than

Quadriplegic hoping for return of stolen mascot Event to replace stolen equipment Artists and supporters of the Collingwood Arts Center will come together Nov. 19 to host a beneﬁt fund-raiser to help replace sound equipment recently stolen from the center. “When I discovered this had happened, I put together this effort to replace it,” said Robert Hannon, concert organizer. “There’s a lot of people coming together to help; we are pretty excited about it.” The concert will be held from 4 to 10 p.m. in the Lois M. Nelson theatre. Nearly a dozen artists, featuring solo harp, jazz guitar, spoken word, drum and dance performances, will donate their talents for this

evening. Tickets are $5. “There is a reward out for info that leads to the return of the equipment and/or the identiﬁcation of the thief,” said Joe Zsigray, executive director for Collingwood Arts Center, noting the value of the items stolen is around $3,000. Zsigray said he believes the theft was an outside job. Meanwhile, the show must go on — boxes of new equipment acquired through eBay arrived last week, because the center had a performance scheduled for Oct. 14. For tickets, call (419) 243-8772. — Myndi Milliken

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with unions at both newspapers. The Post-Gazette’s unionized workers last year saved the company money by relinquishing a $10-a-week raise that was to take effect in July, plus gave up a week’s vacation. The company will explain its problems “in a clear way,” Block said, when it opens contract negotiations with the Post-Gazette’s 10 labor unions representing 1,100 workers. The contracts expire at the end of 2006 and Block said he hopes talks can begin in January. During a similar conference call in May, he said he wanted to begin the talks by the end of this year. Neither Joseph Molinero, president of Teamsters Local 211, which represents the paper’s delivery drivers, nor Mike Buscko, president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh Local 38061, could be reached for comment. Joseph J. Pass Jr., a Pittsburgh attorney representing the unions, also could not be reached for comment. Block Communications, which owns the two newspapers, cable television systems in Ohio and four television stations, saw third-quarter operating losses of $8.96 million, compared to a net loss of $9.5 million for the third quarter 2004. Block’s total revenue was $107.8 million, an increase of $1.2 million, compared with the same quarter in 2004.

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Toledo Free Press ■ 9

CALL 11 FOR ACTION

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Block: Blade must be ready for downsizing The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette challenged its 10 labor unions to accept concessions next year as a matter of survival under the current ownership. “There is going to be change at the (Toledo) Blade and the Post-Gazette,” said Allan Block, chairman of Block Communications Inc., the Toledo-based parent ﬁrm of both newspapers. Block issued the warning during a conference call discussing what he said was the company’s “disappointing” third quarter results that included a $4.9 million loss in its publishing business. “We are not very good at the way we are running our two newspapers right now. If the house cannot be put in order, something will have to happen,” Block said. While Block was certain the newspapers would survive, he was not so certain it would be under his family’s ownership, or with a unionized work force. The company needs a better labor cost structure and changes in the business model, he said. “We have to be ready to downsize the papers,” he said. Block would not say how much savings the company wants to realize from new labor contracts

BENEFIT CONCERT

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MEDIA

By Joe Napsha Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Perrysburg to Bowling Green,” Hartman said. Hartman and Miller cited the growth on the south side of Perrysburg — such as the LevisCommons Town Center — as signs of present and future economic acceleration that would be attractive to potential residents, and thus newspapers. “The growth has been there in Perrysburg for years, but LevisCommons has taken it to a different level,” Miller said. Hartman said the Sentinel should focus on improvement rather than expansion by becoming a morning paper, publishing a Sunday edition and revamping its Web site. “The Sentinel would be better off to secure its base by controlling Bowling Green and the central part of Wood County,” Hartman said.

COMMUNITY

November 16, 2005

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Dan Bumpus

disabled woman is desperately searching for her missing dog, after it was apparently stolen right out of her yard. It happened on Langdon Street, in South Toledo. This dog is more than just a pet. He’s been almost like a child to the woman, a quadriplegic who gets around using a wheelchair. The dog has also been a loyal mascot to the support group of disabled Toledoans she is a part of. Recently, the little guy disappeared from her fenced in yard, and she said the dog was stolen. “He’s been my companion. He goes everywhere with me. I don’t go anywhere without him,” Zena Cole said. Cole is being forced to face life without her chihuahua, Harley. Cole is in a wheelchair, after a childhood battle with polio.

Harley has been a source of happiness and friendship. “I’m basically here by myself all day. He’s my buddy. He’s always watching my back, sitting up on my wheelchair,” Cole said. He’s also been a buddy to members of the local chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, acting as the group’s ofﬁcial sidekick. But recently, Harley disappeared out of Cole’s yard. She’s convinced somebody took him “How somebody could do that, is beyond me. It’s like

kidnapping somebody’s child,” Cole said. Cole has posted ﬂiers around her South Toledo neighborhood. So far, she’s had no leads on Harley’s whereabouts. “There might be hope for Harley,” Cole said. If you know anything about the missing dog, call Zena Cole at (419) 244-3159 or (419) 266-3172. Dan Bumpus is the consumer investigative reporter at WTOL News 11. He can be reached by e-mail at dbumpus@wtol.com.

November 16, 2005

GM powers Academy Representatives from General Motors will visit the Toledo Technology Academy Nov. 18 to present a $50,000 check and launch a special project. As an extracurricular activity, a team of TTA students, teachers, GM mentors and engineers will build an alternative fuel powered go-cart. This vehicle will be the “pace car” for the annual Junior Achievement race, held in conjunction with the annual Rib-Off.

WEN to host holiday event The Women’s Entrepreneurial Network will hold a Holiday Open House from 2 to 7 p.m. Dec. 1 at 2045 Robinwood Ave., Old West End. The event is free and open to the public. It will feature shopping, gift-wrapping services and refreshments. For more information, call (419) 242-6264.

Leaders honored for support Marion and the late Edward F. Knight have been awarded the Outstanding Philanthropist Award by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The Knights were nominated by Hospice of Northwest Ohio and Planned Parenthood of Northwest Ohio.

COMMUNITY BRIEFS The award was announced at the National Philanthropy Luncheon Nov. 10, where the Knights were recognized for investing millions of dollars to beneﬁt youth, the arts, education, health, and more. Jim Murray, regional president of Toledo Edison, was also honored with the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Award. Murray was nominated by Bay Park Community Hospital Foundation. He was recognized for his work, which includes serving on the Bay Park Foundation Board, chairman of the United Way campaign, and board member of the Greater Toledo Urban League. Owens Illinois was named Outstanding Corporate Philanthropist, nominated by BGSU. Approximately 180 organizations nation-wide beneﬁt from O-I’s matching gifts program.

Toledo Free Press ■ 11

Toledo Free Press early edition From Staff Reports

Next week’s issue of Toledo Free Press will be published Tuesday, Nov. 22, one day early, to accommodate advertising and distribution needs affected by the Thanksgiving holiday. “Publishing one day early will give readers a chance to act on holiday events, editorial content and advertising specials before the holiday,” said Thomas F. Pounds, president and publisher of Toledo Free Press. “The issue will be available in all of its regular locations, including Meijer, Kroger, The Andersons, Walt Churchill’s Market, Ralphie’s and Frisch’s Big Boy.”

Concert to emulate love, war

‘ACTIV8’ ﬁghts childhood obesity

Musica Antigua de Toledo will begin its series, “Concerts of Concord and Conﬂict” at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 20 at Epiphany Lutheran Church, 915 N. Reynolds Rd. The ﬁrst concert, “Music of Love and War,” will feature vocal and instrumental examples of historical instruments such as recorders, sackbutt and lutes. Tickets will be available at the door for $10, $8 seniors and students. For information or tickets call (419) 475-6177.

To teach children and their parents about living healthy lifestyles, Mercy Children’s Hospital in partnership with COSI Toledo has launched the Activ8 Program. It is designed to help combat the rise in childhood obesity by teaching children about making healthy decisions when it comes to diet and exercise. “Through Activ8, our hope is to raise awareness of the dangers of childhood obesity and give children the power to choose healthier lifestyles,” said James Horner, M.D., pediatric endocrinologist at Mercy Children’s Hospital. “The obesity epidemic is causing an unprecedented burden on our children’s health including the development of diabetes at an earlier age, high cholesterol, hip and bone problems, high blood pressure, kidney trouble, liver problems and psychological problems.” As part of the program, kids and their parents will sign a promise card, pledging to live healthier lives through eight healthier steps: 1. Eat healthy snacks 2. Play outside three times a week 3. Learn about taking care of my body 4. Sleep nine-ten hours a night 5. Laugh with my friends 6. Dance during television commercials 7. Always eat a health breakfast 8. Eat by color Visit www.mercyweb.org for more information.

Town Center at Levis Commons hosts holiday events The Town Center at Levis Commons is planning a holiday gala with a variety of family-friendly events. Activities range from horse-drawn carriage rides and candy cane concerts to breakfast with Santa. The holiday festivities begin with a Community Tree Lighting Ceremony from 4 to 7 p.m. Nov. 26. The gala will include carolers, holiday beverage samples from Starbucks, ice sculpting demonstrations, local musicians, horse drawn carriage rides and more. At 6:30 p.m., guests will line the darkened boulevard and one-by-one

light their candles in succession. As the last candle is lit, 66,000 lights on the 50-foot tree will come to life. For more information, call (419) 931-8888.

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COMMUNITY

November 16, 2005

COMMUNITY VOICES

Forum ﬁlls Socrates Café with range of philosophers By Myndi Milliken Toledo Free Press Managing Editor mmilliken@toledofreepress.com

Socrates Café was the host of the third Community Voices forum, and a wide variety of topics were on the menu. More than 20 people joined Toledo Free Press and Toledotalk. com to speak their minds or to listen to LEATHERMAN what others had to say. Conversation covered everything from transportation to opportunities for Toledo’s inspiring young entrepreneurs. Sherry Leatherman, a ﬁfthgeneration Toledoan, calls herself “Frogtowner Sherry” and an urban naturalist. “To honor the memory of Rosa Parks, I wish more Toledoans would support public transportation. It’s a use-it-or-lose-it kind of thing,” she said, predicting baby boomers will someday want to better utilize the city’s public transit systems. Robert Brundage, who came to the forum by bicycle, agreed Toledoans should ﬁnd alternative forms of transportation.

“I look forward to the continued improvement of TARTA,” he said. “Riding a bicycle gives me the ﬂexibility and freedom to stop and talk with people.” Brundage, who is part of TMACOG’s bicycle and pedestrian program, said getting out of a car “helps build community.” John Henry Fullen spoke about SULLIVAN regionalizing business even further than Northwest Ohio. “I’d like to encourage thought about Toledo, Detroit and Ann Arbor working more closely together,” he said. “We’re really dependent on what happens in both those communities. If they succeed, we will.” Fullen said investments, longterm plans and even sporting events should be watched closely for best positioning of all three cities. “In all practical purposes, we really work for Detroit in a lot of ways. The media should spend more time to get a little deeper into what’s happening there — the directions Ann Arbor is taking

in biotechnologies or what’s happening in downtown Detroit, and how they are dealing with urban sprawl or not dealing with it.” Artist Terry Burton said, “We need more stuff like this. Where people from all walks of life can get together.” Paul Sullivan spoke out against the demolition of some of Toledo’s public school buildings. “It doesn’t make sense to throw out our built resources,” he said. “Toledo’s architecture should be respected better in general.” John Spalding talked about his vision for open communication through his I Make a Difference community-building workshops. “Once you ﬁnd a purpose, the people come together.” Toby Fey said the failure of Reform Ohio Now shows the necessity for reform. “The press needs to delve into disclosure laws,” he said. “Big money was able to buy this election.” Fey also spoke on the need for reform in manufactured homes. “It’s one of the few places where you can get away with anything,” he said. “There are a lot of things Ohio and Toledo can do to make places like trailer parks better places to live.” Tosha Adams-Brown said the City of Toledo should make an effort to buy Downtown property

and sell storefronts to young people who want to start a business. “Everyone talks about investing in Toledo, but we are throwing money at these outside corporations,” she said. “We need to invest in Toledoans.” Adams-Brown said many young people like herself would be willing to start unique businesses,

such as a specialty bread store, art studio or food market featuring locally grown organic food. The next forum will take place at 11 a.m. Dec. 6 at the Sylvania Branch Library. For more information about Community Voices, or how your business can host a forum, call (419) 241-1700.

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COMMUNITY

November 16, 2005

Toledo Free Press ■ 13

ELECTION 2005

Logistical problems delay election results By Michael Brooks Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

The restless crowd at Mayor Jack Ford’s election night camp at UAW Local 12 headquarters wanted numbers — any numbers — that could tell them whether their candidate would be reelected. Former county commissioner Sandy Isenberg addressed the crowd shortly after 10 p.m. “We have had paper ballots that came in quicker than these new computers,” she said. “As soon as we know some results, we’ll let everyone know.” Long after the crowd went home, the numbers had still not been released by the Lucas County Board of Elections. Last week’s election returns were delayed by a combination of factors, and most Lucas County residents had to wait until Wednesday to learn the results of important contests. Final results

were not released until 9 a.m. the morning after the election. The use of “rovers” — election workers who traveled from site to site — seems to have been one source of the delays. One poll worker, who requested anonymity, said the new system prevented timely returns. “We used to have one person from each precinct deliver the ballots Downtown,” he said. “This year we waited until 9:30 p.m. for the rover to show up.” BOE director Jill Kelly took issue with placing blame for delayed returns solely on the rover system. “At most, any problems with rovers might have slowed results by a half hour,” she said. “Our biggest problems were structural.” Kelly said the room holding the server was too small for the number of people and card readers needed to upload the voting data. “Data from 1,655 cards needed to be loaded,” she said. “We needed a larger space to accom-

modate the number of people for this procedure.” Toledo councilman Frank Szollosi was among those desirous of timely returns; he waited at BOE headquarters from 8 p.m. until 3 a.m. for word on his race. “By about 10:30 they came down with one printout with raw numbers from a handful of precincts, but they couldn’t even tell us what precincts the results were from,” he said. “The Diebold rep said that the county never asked for the ability to generate realtime results by precinct.” Kelly said, while Diebold reps worked “shoulder-to-shoulder” with the county, there was still room for improvement in their logistical support. “At 9:30 p.m. they were saying things like: ‘you could knock a wall out here for more machines,’ ” she said. “That would have been useful information, say, a few months ago.” Kelly said the manual transport

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and uploading of the individual computer memory cards, which added a great deal of time to the process, could not be avoided. “We are prohibited by the Secretary of State from downloading the data over unsecured phone or cable modem lines,” she said. “We will have to continue like this until such a point in time as the county installs secured data lines at each polling location.” Szollosi said he was not surprised there were some operational issues with the new computer systems, but questioned the board’s preparedness. “Lucas County was the only county in the state with this rover system; the board will have to take a hard look at whether this system should be continued,” he said. “At 11 p.m. Board of Elections reps brought down two copies of the preliminary results to a room full of waiting people, and then they claimed to have no photocopier on the third ﬂoor.” County commissioner Maggie Thurber agreed the board — which had a complete turnover in membership after the 2004 elections — may not have been completely prepared, but defended the overall performance of the board. “A brand new board meant they might not have had the experience of learning from previous lessons, but on the whole, I think that they did an excellent job,” she said. “It’s far more important that accuracy comes before speed.” Thurber said she expected operational problems. “This was a complete overhaul in the way in which elections are conducted,” she said. “I am more interested in what they are doing to improve than to place blame on individuals.” Szollosi said while some delays were to be expected, the 13-hour

delay was longer than anything he has ever witnessed. “I have been working on campaigns since 1984, when I was a 12-year old kid. I remember helping my dad at St. Stephen’s church, writing down results on a blackboard with chalk,” he said. “This was like playing the Super Bowl without a scoreboard.” In a typical municipal campaign, according to Szollosi, precinct results would be made available beginning about 9 p.m. “Knowing which precincts were in, you could generally predict the results looking back at previous years in similar races,” he said. “I finally left at 3 a.m., and they still had only 60 percent of the vote tallied.” Kelly defended the effort of election workers. “Our first goals were to have fair and accurate elections, and we succeeded in that goal,” she said, noting there were no abnormalities like the missing computer cards in Montgomery County. “I think it’s important for the public to realize how hard everyone worked on this election.” Kelly said there were likely to be areas in which the Board could improve in the next election cycle. “We are conducting an internal audit to highlight areas in which we can improve,” she said. “We will find out what worked and what did not work.” Szollosi said one segment of the voting public needs to be remembered on election night: campaign workers. “These election-night functions also serve to thank campaign supporters and volunteers,” he said. “Not having the results denied the candidates and their supporters of that sense of finality; everyone puts so much into a campaign expecting that it will all come to a close on election night.”

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COMMUNITY

14 ■ Toledo Free Press

November 16, 2005

RIOT AFTERMATH

March for peace draws 80 people in the North End By Michael Brooks Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

Approximately 80 residents and community leaders marched through Toledo’s North End Nov. 12 to promote “peace, love, reconciliation and justice.” The march was sponsored by the North End Ministries Alliance organized in response to the violence that occurred in the community after a failed neo-Nazi rally on Oct. 15. Rev. Waverly Early described the march as a “prayer and peace” event. “We stepped up and organized this because we wanted people to know this is a diverse community that lives together without any difﬁculties,” she said. “We also wanted to get out the word that this is a safe neighborhood in which to live.” Pastor Will Stuart of Nu-Vizion Christian Fellowship said the march was not about politics. “We are not allying ourselves with one political camp or another,” he said. “Our goal as a faith community is to speak truth, whatever power is presently in ofﬁce.” Reverend Mansour Bey led most of the march. “We have come today believing that there is a better way,” he proclaimed to the crowd. “We declare that we are the people, united, and we will never be defeated.” The marchers walked several miles through the neighborhood, pausing to pray at sites where there had been

violence at the riot. The AP gas station on Central, the burned bar on Mulberry, and the 7-Eleven store on LaGrange were among the sites the group visited. Elizabeth Montoya of Mulberry Street agreed with the marchers: “I am glad that this march happened, because now something good can come from the riot,” she said. “Plus, the media made the riot seem worse than it really was.” A Bronson Street resident, China Wiggins, was pleased to see the rally on her block. “People need to stand up for what they believe in,” she said. “God is on our side.” Her next door neighbor is Tom Szych, around whom the Oct. 15 disturbance revolved. “I could care less about this,” Szych said. “The best way for the community to heal is for these people to just go home.” Szych said his lawyer is ﬁling a lawsuit against the City of Toledo and the National Socialist Movement. “These groups dragged my name through the mud,” he said. “I can’t say much beyond that.” Not all local residents were enamored with the march. “This is bullshit,” said Dorothy Nurkiewicz, who added she is considering moving from the area. “I have lived here 71 years, and what happened on Oct. 15 was just terrible. These people are just bringing more problems by carrying on like this.” The manager of the 7-Eleven store on LaGrange, who declined to give his name, was angry the marchers chose

Petition seeks to prevent another riot Estelle Blackburn has posted an online petition, “The NO HATERS Petition” to Toledo City Council in an effort to prevent events such as the Oct. 15 riot from happening. “Would you help circulate a petition that encourages our city to ﬁnd a way to prevent the group that was here on Oct. 15 from returning on Dec. 10,” Blackburn asked various media outlets last week. “[The petition] is not critical of anyone, or our city government here. It’s just that this group is not welcome and the result of their last intended visit cost our city a great deal of money — money the taxpayers can ill afford at this time.” Blackburn’s petition requests that protestors be billed prior to their arrival to Toledo and calls for assembly to be in non-residential areas. The petition is called “NO HATERS,” standing for Nazi Organizations Have our Answer: Toledo’s Eliminating Racial Strife. Blackburn posted her petition on geopetition.com (www.geopetition. com/online/7494.html), a forum hosting petitions on a variety of topics.

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his business for part of the rally. “These people never asked me to be here,” he said. “They are screwing up my business and blocking my lot.” Toledo Police moved the crowd toward the south end of the lot to minimize business disruption. A short prayer in front of 7-Eleven was led by Rev. Martin Donnelly of Blessed Sacrament and Father Marek Ciesla of St. Adalbert. “We will not stoop to the low level,” Donnelly said. “We will keep the high ground.”

From Staff Reports

�� Toledo Free Press photo by Scott McKimmy

Diane Alcorn raised the funds for and decorated Diá Spa on her own. The spa employs more than a dozen people.

Spa owner started from scratch By Scott McKimmy Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

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Resort market sizzles

Toledo Free Press photo by DM Stanﬁeld

Kids

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INVESTING

Community leaders shepherd a Nov. 12 peace march.

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BUSINESS IN FOCUS

With a roll of tape and the deed to the house, Diane Alcorn turned her vision of an upscale medical spa into brick and mortar. The longtime business owner and clinical esthetician launched Diá Spa and Salon in Holland three months ago, banking on her clients wanting to feel good, look good and stay healthy. She borrowed against her home and invested about $500,000 into “European elegance, marble ﬂoors and granite columns.” She employs six hairdressers, two massage therapists, four estheticians, a medical director and an esoteric healer. “I started out with tape on the ﬂoor, and my husband and I put it all together,” Alcorn said. “We did not use a decorator; we did it all ourselves.” A business loan would have taken six months, she said, and her dream just couldn’t wait. She had visited salons throughout the country and the world, col-

lecting ideas and formulating her plan. The only question was, “Is Toledo really ready for an upscale medical spa, one that would appeal to a market such as New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles?” “I not only built a business that was a fortune, I brought people in here with no clientele, and they have been doing very well,” she said. For three months, Alcorn devoted every free moment to her venture while running Classic Cuts in Sylvania, which she sold after opening the spa. Now she’s dedicated to pampering her clients instead of resting on her laurels. She emphasized that it’s “the biggest thing I’ve ever done.” “This is my dream salon; it’s been in my head for 10 years. This is something I’ve always wanted to do. I wanted to build an upscale salon, and I wanted to treat people like they’ve never been treated,” Alcorn said. Armed with a sense for business and 12 years of experience as an esthetician, she oversees chemical skin peels, anti-aging treatment, mud wraps and a bevy of healthy

practices. For formal training, she turned to her mentor and teacher, Karen Farrell-Cruz, a paramedical skincare specialist for Ohio Plastic Surgeons Inc. in Columbus. “One of the things that she’s well trained to do is help correct problems that have been created many years in the past,” Farrell-Cruz said. “She carries in her new day spa the most cutting-edge equipment for treatments.” She described Alcorn’s training as “covering the gamut,” including clinical evaluation, advanced chemical peeling and chemical care, which enables her to assess the performance of a product’s ingredients. Farrell-Cruz said Alcorn was tremendous as a student and always has her ear to the ground to stay abreast of skincare technology. “She’s really committed, both herself and her staff members, in advanced training. It’s really a job today to really stay on top of what’s being developed,” she said. Diá Spa and Salon represents Alcorn’s sixth business. Previously, she owned companies serving the hair-care market.

The real estate boom of the past several years has not been confined to sales of primary residences. Sales of second homes also have ratcheted up as vacationers and investors look to snap up properties amid the lure of low mortgage rates and rapidly increasing home values. According to a study conducted by the National Association of Realtors, 2.82 million vacation home purchases were made in 2004, up 16 percent from the previous year. With the rising demand, prices also escalated; the price of a typical vacation home increased 21 percent from 2003 to 2004, about twice the rate of appreciation for the overall home market. In addition to vacation homes, sales in the second-home market were bolstered significantly by those searching for steadily appreciating investments. Nearly 25 percent of all homes purchased in 2004 were done for investment purposes — a 14 percent increase from 2003. “Second-home buyers represent a vital and growing part of the overall market,” said Brenda Casserly, president and chief operating officer of ERA Real Estate. “These discerning buyers have extremely specific and often widely varying needs.”

Lively joins Home Savings The Home Savings and Loan Company, a subsidiary of United Community Financial Corp, announced Bruce E. Lively has joined the company as a mortgage loan specialist for the Toledo area. With more than 33 years of mortgage banking experience, Lively is responsible for the origination of new residential mortgage loans with customers, builders and Realtors in metropolitan Toledo and surrounding areas. Prior to joining Home Savings, he was most recently employed with American Home Mortgage/Washington Mutual Bank as a loan ofﬁcer.

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This 1963 Split-Window Coupe Corvette has proven popular with collectors.

ProTeam draws Corvette fans By Scott McKimmy Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

What do country singers Alan Jackson, Ricky Van Shelton and ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard have in common? Musicians, yes, but all three also own classic Corvettes, buying them in person at ProTeam Corvette Sales in Napoleon. Roy Orbison and Dale Earnhardt also browsed the showrooms before buying, “just like regular people,” according to Terry Michaelis, ProTeam president. He described some celebrity customers as west-coast entertainment types who send agents on their behalf — as did the late Prince Rainier III of Monaco — while southern folk take a more friendly approach. Jackson appeared impromptu at the opening of a local pub, obliging his guests by posing for photos and signing a memento to display on the wall. “They took a picture of him and ran down the street right away and got it developed while he was still ﬁnishing his meal,” Michaelis said. “Your country people seem to be really down-to-earth, real people.”

Toledo Free Press ■ 17

GM launches incentive program through Jan. 3

Mark Moses

ack in the 1970s, when I was growing up, there was ﬁerce loyalty to the brand of car you owned and drove. Ford guys only spoke to Ford guys and Chevy guys would never consider rapport with the other brand owners. Brand loyalty was passed from generation to generation, but quietly, things began to change. In the mid ’70s, General Motors started a bold new concept with “corporate engines” and you may have found an Oldsmobile engine in your brand new Pontiac Trans Am. Initially, there was a big problem; many people who bought a new Oldsmobile were a bit upset when they found a Buick engine under the hood. Imagine what the fellow with a new Cadillac thought when he learned his lofty Caddie was actually powered by a Chevy or an Olds. It took a while for consumers to accept the new culture of “shared platforms” among the various brands. But as long as the engine and other parts were manufactured by the chosen company, most people moved on. It made great sense that only a handful of different engine combinations could be shared among many car lines. General Motors was not the only one to realize this and also not the ﬁrst to do it, but due to their sales volume and high exposure, they were the ones that made people pay attention to the changes. What brand do you drive today? You really may not know, as today’s changes go way beyond a shared engine among two brands. It may not be obvious, but many car brands have been consumed by other, usually larger, brands. There are now as many as 58 brands owned by only 10 manufacturers. That new Lexus

WHEELS

November 16, 2005

Typical customers tend to travel from the tri-state area or shop online to select one or more 1953 to 2004 Corvettes from an inventory of about 200. Michaelis cited a mailing list with more than 380,000 names, about 35,000 sent electronically. Since launching a Web site in 1994, about 85 percent of the business has been Internet-driven. During that time, walk-ins have dropped from around 10,000 to 2,500 per year. “Our customer base tends to be the baby boomer who has a tremendous amount of disposable income. They are in a position in their lives where they have grown their family, many of them are successful business people,” Michaelis said. “A lot of these folks that are buying these cars had them in their youth; most of them only dreamed of them in their youth.” As a convenience for “arm-chair purchasers” shopping online or through a catalog, ProTeam offers a money-back guarantee. Customers may inspect the vehicle for 48 hours, drive as many as 24 miles and return the vehicle for a full refund of the purchase price. Michaelis said the practice has pleased his customers, but not his competitors. Please see PROTEAM, page 18

ProTeam’s Top 10 Picks: 1. Any 1967: Popular year. 2. 1958 - 1962: Very popular with boomers. 3. 1968 - 1972: Very affordable. 4. 1963: Split-Window Coupe: Every collector needs at least one. 5. 1965 - 1966: Good cars. 6. 1953 - 1955: For serious collectors. 7. 1956 - 1957: Single headlights, 13-tooth grill, strong styling. 8. 1973 - 1975: Convertibles: Very affordable. 9. 1978: Silver anniversary or pace cars. 10. 1982: Collector edition, ﬁrst year of crossﬁre injection.

Motors Corp. on Monday announced a new discount program of “Red Tag’’ prices that could

knock from several hundred dollars to more than $4,440 off the list price of some of its 2005 and

2006 model cars and light trucks through Jan. 3. The announcement comes as the world’s largest automaker has been running up billion-dollar losses and reporting a declining North American market share. Its shares, which have been trading at 13-year lows, rose 7 cents to $24.55 in pre-market trading. Under the new incentives, dealers will post ﬁxed maximum prices on most models of the Buick, Chevrolet, GMC and Pontiac nameplates, GM said in a statement. The GM announcement can be expected to trigger a new round of price cuts across the car industry, even by Asian producers that have been gaining market share at the expense of the U.S. Big Three, said analyst Noriaki Hirakata of Morgan Stanley in Tokyo. “Japanese — they hate incentives, but they will have to respond,’’ Hirakata said. “Generally, the selling price of light trucks will be under pressure.’’ GM reported a net loss of $1.6 billion in the third quarter, compared with net income of $315 million a year ago, as its North American division continued to suffer from high health care costs and falling sales of sport utility vehicles. The automaker’s North Ameri-

can market share fell to 25.6 percent in the third quarter from 28.5 percent a year ago. Through the ﬁrst nine months of this year, GM’s market share was 26.1 percent, down from 27 percent in 2004. GM’s U.S. sales fell about 23 percent in October from a year earlier, while they fell about 11 percent industrywide. The new round of incentives “combines the best features of the recent ‘GM Employee Discount for Everyone’ program and last December’s ‘Red Tag’ program,’’ GM said in a statement. GM said the red tag prices are “consistent across the country,’’ exclusive of taxes, title costs and dealer fees. As examples of the new prices for 2006 models, the tag price for the GMC Envoy two-wheel drive SLE 3SA sport utility vehicle would be $4,442 below its previous sticker price, GM said on its Web site. Among cars, the tag price of the Buick LaCrosse CX car would drop $3,019, while that for the basemodel Pontiac Vibe car would fall $692 from the sticker price. The automaker said it was launching a nationwide advertising campaign on network television, on radio, in print and in other media to promote the incentives.

WHEELS

18 ■ Toledo Free Press

Moses Continued from page 16 you are driving is actually built and owned by Toyota and it’s the same with the interesting new cars from Scion; they, too, are really Toyota products. Globalization has consumed the automotive industry and perhaps your favorite brand of car. What is a foreign car? Consider: ■ General Motors owns all or part of

Fiat, Isuzu, Saab, Subaru and Suzuki. It also has a joint venture with Toyota. ■ Ford Motor Company owns part of Mazda and all of Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. ■ DaimlerChrysler owns part of Mitsubishi and all of Chrysler, including all of our locally built Jeep products. ■ Volkswagen controls 99 percent of Audi, owns Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini. The Pontiac Vibe is a shining example of where we are today and where we are going

November 16, 2005

with automobile manufacturing. The Vibe is actually a co-project between General Motors and Toyota and shares the basic platform with the Toyota Matrix, built on a variation of the Toyota Corolla platform. It is built in California at New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc., General Motors and Toyota’s joint venture plant. Interestingly, the Toyota Matrix is built in Ontario, Canada. Confusing, yes? People ask me what was the favorite car I have ever owned; my answer has been the same for years, my DeTomaso Pantera.

This car was designed by Giha and built in Italy; it had a Ford Boss 351 Engine with a German ZF transmission and was sold in the United States at Lincoln Mercury Dealers. Guess I just like the confusion. Mark Moses, who has been an ASE master technician for more than 28 years, is the owner of Moses Automotive and North Coast Motorcycle, both in the Toledo area. If you have a car or motorcycle question, e-mail Mark@MosesAutomotive.com.

Photo courtesy ProTeam Corvette Sales

1967 was a popular year for the convertible Corvette.

ProTeam Continued from page 16 “I’ve had dealers come to me and say, ‘You know you’ve really opened up a can of worms when you started that money-back guarantee,’” he said. “Out of the 300-plus cars we sell a year, we buy back at least 15.” ProTeam emerged in 1987 as a collaborative effort among Michaelis, his father, and his brother, Frederick, the company vice president. But their interest in Corvettes dates back to the 1970s. The business employs 18

people who share the Corvette passion, staying eight years on average and as many as 17 years. The facilities hardly stand out, Michaelis said, because of a nofrills philosophy. “I decided many years ago we’d put our money in inventory. That’s what we’re all here for. The smoke and mirrors and carpet and nice tall bathrooms, that would have to be in another life,” he said. The Corvettes reside in four separate showrooms, each with its own category: special models, straight-axle vehicles from 1953 to 1962, mid-years from 1963 to 1967, and late models from 1968 to 2004.

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Claus new director

RETAIL

Eyewear focuses on fashion By Scott McKimmy Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

On average, eyeglass wearers replace their spectacles about every 18 months. Mary Nyitray, optician and owner of Optical Arts eyewear center, said the color and type of material in the frames often dictates the fashion. Nylon is dated; ﬂashy colors such as purple attract the young and young-atheart. Like all fashion trends, the changes leave the older crowd reminiscing about simpler times. “Plastics are very hot,” Nyitray said. VanTUINEN “Several years ago, all we had was metal and very few plastic frames. With the trend going into the plastics, it’s a harder look for older people to purchase because it’s so bold when it goes on a person’s eyes. It’s so kind of in-your-face.” She makes a prescription analysis to determine her customers’ needs, then turns to what she calls a magic mirror. Technically known as a smart mirror, the device enables customers to see themselves in four different pairs of glasses simultaneously. She explained how lifestyle variances weigh in to decide the frame and lens options, but often a concern for fashion outweighs conventional necessity.

“A lot of times people are more concerned about their personal [lifestyle] than their business,” Nyitray said. “There’s certain eyewear for computers, and a lot of people don’t want to spend the extra money for the computer glasses that they spend eight hours a day in front of. But they’ll buy those golf classes.” She uses a variety of colors to match skin tones and seasonal moods, while considering frame type and size to alter one’s looks. “Frames can actually enhance our face shape; they can enhance our coloring. They can enhance whatever makeup that we put on our face,” she said. “Many times, people actually look better with glasses on than without the glasses. That’s my goal.” For fashion-challenged folk, young people can be a good source of advice, according to Kim VanTuinen, optician and office manager at Van Optical. They know what’s “bling,” which, along with designer names and accessories such as stones, has been emerging as the new look. “The teens are much more aware now of the designer market and trends than the parents are. So often we’ll have them influence their parents, and their parents trust them,” VanTuinen said. That rarely applies to conservative business types, especially men who bring their wives or significant others in as fashion consultants. Women rule when it comes to style, she said, and choosing what fits best usually wins the day. With such a broad selection of frames

Gorillas & Gazelles LLC, a Perrysburg-based ﬁrm that specializes in leadership development and entrepreneur consulting and recruitment services, has announced the recent addition of Tamara Claus to its organization. Claus brings to the company CLAUS more than 19 years of service with Ernst & Young LLP. She will serve as a director for business consulting and client relations, and she is the third director to be hired by Gorillas & Gazelles LLC in the last year.

Nursing leadership program enrolling

MARY NYITRAY available — from “minimalistic” to the boldest, biggest, thickest styles — almost anything is possible. Her rule of thumb is to go for uniqueness. “What we’ve always found was that if you get something that’s really unique, it never really goes out of style because it will always be unique,” VanTuinen said. “If you follow the mainstream, then you just look like everybody else, and that I think goes out of style faster.”

Applications are now being accepted for a new leadership certificate program aimed at nursing professionals. The Nursing Leadership Certificate Program was developed through a grant from the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, trustee, and is a collaborative effort between the School of Nursing and the Leadership Institute at Lourdes College. It will include four courses that address the foundations of leadership, and topics related to women. A cohort is now forming for the Nursing Leadership Certificate Program. Classes will begin in January 2006. For more information about the program or to learn more about the application process, call (419) 824-3970 or e-mail sidczak@lourdes.edu.

DEVELOPMENT

Paula Brown Gallery is exclusive Downtown shop By Edward Slack Special to Toledo Free Press

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BUSINESS

Paula Brown, who owns The Paula Brown Shop and Gallery at 912 Monroe Street, earned a ﬁne arts degree, worked in an art gallery, was a docent at the Toledo Museum of Art for 20 years and served on numerous committees prior to a term as board president with the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo. Edward Slack: How did the business climate appear to you when you ﬁrst opened? Paula Brown: There wasn’t much retail Downtown other than two established

stores that had been here for many years. People thought that I wouldn’t make it, but I’ve always believed in Downtown Toledo. It has a romantic feel; it’s a place where my grandmother shopped. It was imBROWN portant to get the ball rolling, and since I’ve been on this block, ﬁve other businesses have begun.

ES: What was your plan to create this? PB: The Sophia Lustig Shop has been in business for 70 years, so I wanted to be in the vicinity of her shop. This large space allowed me to divide my store into many different small boutiques, and make people feel comfortable whether they were on a very limited or a very big budget. This has been the success of my business. I could not survive if this was a contemporary store. I’m aware of my competition and I try to carry lines not found around this area. ES: What lines do you carry? PB: Imports and lines made in the Unit-

ed States. I specialize in fine porcelains, fine linens and fine paper products. ES: What are your goals? PB: My short-term goal has been realized with my new shop and gallery. I’m trying to fill a niche for a $500 gift, and have expanded that area. I have become a Baccarat dealer starting with their jewelry collection, a line of beautiful French crystal that’s been around for over 300 years. Long-term goals are maintaining good customer service, expanding my bridal registry, building dinnerware lines and adding products offering a variety of items.

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November 16, 2005

NETWORKING

Making appropriate use of charitable tables

Debby Peters

he Issue: It doesn’t matter whether your company sponsors a table at a charitable event or if you are attending a luncheon function. If you only sit with people from your own company or people you know, you are wasting an expensive opportunity. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a reserved sign at a table, only to pass by later during the event to see that all people at the table are from the same company. The thought that crosses my mind is, “what

are they thinking?” A Solution: Let’s look at this from a marketing perspective. Why did you invest in one ticket or several? Are you trying to get the word out about your business? To put it in proper perspective, in most instances, sitting with people from work would be similar to paying for a full page ad in the newspaper and then leaving the space entirely blank. The Next Step: The next time you attend a function, think of who could also beneﬁt from attending the event. You might invite more than one person, especially if you want to make introductions of those two or three people. At the corporate-sponsored table, which of your clients can you invite so they can meet each other? Recently, I attended a gala and one of the guests suggested that we all not sit with our spous-

es. She even orchestrated the seating. I was thrilled to have two fascinating and very different personalities on either side of me. My husband reported the same to me as we drove home that evening. Variety is the spice of life, even in these settings. Take Away: People don’t like to push the edges of their comfort

zones. Those who do are a notch above those who don’t. Sitting next to a stranger at the beginning of an event can lead to a friendship by the end of the event. Even better, you are enlarging the audience that knows about you and your business. Additionally, you’ve expanded that bothersome comfort zone.

Debby Peters is the owner and director of Training of The Certiﬁed Networker Program of Ohio, (www.cnpofohio.com) a 24-hour referral-based training that takes cold calls out of marketing plans. She is also the founder/owner of Sales ... And More! at www.salesandmore.com.

By Gregory E. Shemas,

Vice President - Investments Financial Planning Specialist keep in mind that inflation could erode the returns on shortterm securities. Maintaining at least a minority portion of a portfolio in equities could improve the chances of keeping total return (yield plus capital gains) ahead of inflation. Watch for Tax Developments The amount you keep after taxes is the most accurate measure of your investment’s performance. Your tax bracket, investment objective and changes in tax codes could make changing your investment strategy worthwhile. Consider speaking with your personal financial and tax advisors about whether tax-advantaged investments may be suitable for you. Leave a Legacy In today’s environment, it may be a good idea to consider investment strategies that allow you to leave an estate for your children, grandchildren, other heirs or a favorite charity as part of your overall financial plan. Such plans may not require as much updating as altering your investment objectives. A conversation with your tax and financial advisers could help your beneficiaries eliminate probate (a lengthy procedure whereby a court handles distribution of assets not designated to a beneficiary) and other estate planning issues. Save Time and Money Take advantage of the services offered by your brokerage firm. You could save yourself the trouble of delivering stocks and bonds to your financial consultant each time you’re ready to sell an investment by having your securities held in the firm’s street name. When you’re ready to sell, just call your financial consultant. Or, consider consolidating your banking and investments into a central financial brokerage account. You may be able to manage all your investing, savings, borrowing and spending in a single account. And, some brokerage firms may supply you with an ATM card for convenient access to your funds.

7124 W. Central Ave, Toledo • (419) 842-5357 or (800) 458-1066 This information is for general purposes only. Smith Barney does not provide tax or legal advice. Please contact your tax and/or legal advisor for guidance as to how this information might apply to your personal circumstance. This material does not constitute an offer of solicitation with respect to any college savings plan or program.

“You’re about to receive a distribution from your employer’s retirement plan — Now what?” The largest single sum of money you receive in your life will probably come from your pension, proﬁt-sharing or 401(k) plan when you leave your company. But how should you “accept”— or structure — your distribution? What are your choices and options? • What are the tax implications? • What are the costs? Smith Barney can accommodate the transfer of your distribution into a tax-advantaged account. To help you structure the tax treatment and investment program best suited to your needs, we are offering a free Lump Sum Distribution Analysis. Please call our local ofﬁce.

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Smith Barney does not provide tax or legal advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisor for such guidance. 2005 Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Member SIPC. Smith Barney is a division and service mark of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and its afﬁliates and is used and registered throughout the world. CITIGROUP and the Umbrella Device are trademarks of Citicorp or its afﬁliates and are registered throughout the world. THIS IS WHO WE ARE. THIS IS HOW WE EARN IT is a service mark of Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

BGSU rugby club continues domination The BGSU rugby club has been embraced by the university as a quasi-varsity sport, with a home-game fan attendance that makes it the fourth most-watched sport on campus. Established in 1968 by an Air Force Academy dropout and an Ohio State transfer, Bowling Green became the fifth member of the Ohio Rugby Football Union just as rugby began a fantastic growth spurt that continues to this day. Coach Roger Mazzarella has been involved with BGSU Rugby Club 37 years, playing until he was 35 years old and the collegiate rules changed so the team could only play students. In 1985, he became head coach. In 2005, BGSU completed a 27-4-3 season and remains one of the top programs in the country. BGSU lost to Purdue, 27-22, in the regional finals to miss the national final four for the first time since 1999. Some former Toledo area high school athletes are part of the reason BGSU is so competitive. “I came out of high school

playing football all my life,” said Ryan Deal, a Clay graduate, who plays the “lock” position for the Falcons. “I get that hype you get from sports, and this is just like a football game. It’s the funnest thing I’ve ever done. I’m hooked on it. This is my third semester and I’ve never had so much fun in my life.” Rugby is football without the pads, a line of scrimmage, and a forward pass — like football was when it was first played collegiately in 1869. BGSU offers four to five teams each year, with the A Side competing like the varsity team. Bowling Green High School’s Eric Nutter, who plays hooker, is one of three BGHS athletes on the Falcon rugby team. Being a junior and having played six semesters, he is the only one playing with the A Side. Other BGSU players this season include lock Aaron Slates (Start), right man Tony Brown (Eastwood), wings David Gladieux (Perrysburg) and Ian Gagnon (St. John’s Jesuit), and fullback Ben Gutek (Springfield). Most of them never played the game until reaching BGSU.

“I think the attraction is that a lot of them want to keep doing something hard core, organized, and be involved in a high intensity sport, something like they had in high school,” coach Mazzarella said. This year, BGSU went into tournament play rated third in the Midwest and 13th in the United States. A win over Purdue would have sent BGSU to Cal-Berkeley for the national final four. “We’re one of the few small schools that can keep up with somebody like a Big Ten school,” Mazzarella said. “If we were in the Big Ten right now, we’d be in second place. That’s how good we are. The only team we lost to is Ohio State.” Mazzarella said there is a push for the Ohio High School Athletic Association and the NCAA to sanction the sport, and he believes at the high school level, it will happen someday. BGSU has never suffered a losing season and is the only program in the Midwest to advance to every Midwest Regional Semifinal (sweet 16) since its inception BGSU was a national finalist for three successive years, 2001-

Photo courtesy BGSU

Prop Doug Ulrich pushes off an opponent trying to make a tackle during a recent match. BGSU ﬁnished the season at 27-4-3. 2003, Michigan Collegiate Champions from 1997-2002, and MidAmerica Conference champions

in 1975, and every year from 19822003. BGSU’s all-time record is 1539-337-81.

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(419) 842-5357 or (800) 458-1066 THIS IS WHO WE ARE. THIS IS HOW WE EARN IT.

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COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS

By J. Patrick Eaken Special to Toledo Free Press

New Year Investment Resolutions You Can Follow All Year Long

Here are a few New Year resolutions that are easier to stick with than many of the traditional January vows. You do not have to overcome big obstacles to follow these tenets of investing, just develop a few good habits. Re-evaluate Your Portfolio Analyze your portfolio holdings considering your investment objectives, time horizons and life stage. If you have invested heavily in stocks and are approaching retirement age, you may want to consider reallocating a portion of your portfolio into high-quality bonds. Their long-term return potential may not be as high as stocks, but neither is their short-term volatility. As you get closer to the time when you will need these assets, you may want to consider shifting to more conservative investment vehicles to help reduce risk. Take The Long-Term View Consider the quality of a company before you invest and research its track record over ﬁve to10 years. Resist judging an investment solely by last year’s returnpast performance is no guarantee of future results. A good investment can have an off year and still provide outstanding returns over the long term. Keep an Emergency Fund Be prepared for unexpected cash needs: emergency medical bills, child care, home repairs and living expenses in case of a sudden job loss. Always keep a portion of your portfolio liquid. Invest in a Blend of Securities One time-tested way to help reduce risk in a portfolio is to diversify. That means holding a mix of stocks, bonds and cash-equivalent instruments from a variety of issuers. Younger, conservative investors who want to invest in stocks for long-term growth may want to consider investing a portion of their portfolio in corporate and government bonds. Investors of retirement age should

SPORTS

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November 16, 2005

ROCKET PREVIEWS

Tale of the tape: Gradkowski vs. Jacobs By Chris Kozak Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

It’s the battle of I-75, where the bragging rights of Northwest Ohio will be settled across 100-yards of football fury.

Toledo vs. BGSU, BGSU vs. Toledo. Broadcast live on national TV on Nov. 22, courtesy of ESPN2. Since 1919, these teams have slugged it out, with BG holding a 36 to 29 wins margin. UT holds current bragging rights,

courtesy of a 49-41 victory over BG last year at the Glass Bowl. While there are several interesting subplots as these teams square off at Doyt L. Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, there is but one main event: UT’s Bruce

Gradkowski vs. BGSU’s Omar Jacobs. Barring major injury, catastrophe or act of God, look no further than the pocket of these offensive juggernauts. How do they stack up? Let’s go to the chart:

QUARTERBACK MATCHUP

ARTS&LIFE ■

TEAR SHEET: Your guide to the Toledo zeitgeist, page 28

Petty conversations

A new book lets rocker Tom Petty tell his story in his own words, page 27

MUSIC REVIEW

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JACOBS

Huskies to unleash Hurd Northern Illinois helped the Rockets with a win against Central Michigan, but there will be no returning the favor. Toledo looks to muzzle the Huskies’ top wide receiver, Sam Hurd, in full view of a national audience at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16 on ESPN 2. Hurd made 12 receptions for three touchdowns and broke a school record by gaining 266 yards. The senior earned MAC Offensive Player of the Week and an ESPN sticker from sports analyst Mark May. It will be the chore of the Rockets’ secondary to keep Hurd in the herd. If he strays too far from coverage, they could be facing some quick scores. The Rockets control the conference, but they have everything to lose. Previously tied with Central

ESPN honors Bean Toledo junior Kate Bean has been named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV University Division Women’s Volleyball Team by the members of College Sports Information Directors of America. She is one of six student-athletes to be named to the team. The Louisville, Kentucky native has a 4.0 GPA while leading the MAC with 0.63 service aces per game. She also ranks ﬁfth in the conference in kills (4.05) and points (4.84) per game. Bean, a community health major, ranks among the Rockets’ Top 10 career stats for attacks (3,178/4th), BEAN kills (1,058/6th) and service aces (134/T-8th). Bean will be placed on the national ballot for the CoSIDA Academic All-America Women’s Volleyball Team, which will be announced Dec. 2. To be nominated, the student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for her career. — Chris Kozak

Michigan for ﬁrst place, Toledo could have won out the season and still lost the conference in a tiebreaker if the Chippewas had run the table. A loss to Northern Illinois puts the Rockets in a headlock with the Huskies doing the squeezing. Historically, Toledo sits on the happy side of an 11-game streak against the Huskies. Hosting on Senior Night should provide motivation, especially with the university holding 8,000 free tickets for students. The ﬁrst 500 through the gates will shake their free Bruce Gradkowski bobblehead dolls. — Scott McKimmy

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Photo by Neal Preston, Columbia Legacy

Box set showcases Joel’s ‘Lives’ By Michael S. Miller Toledo Free Press Editor in Chief mmiller@toledofreepress.com

Billy Joel has never taken the easy path. While male rockers such as Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Tom Petty and John Mellencamp migrated from rhythm-driven rock to more melodic songwriting as they aged, Joel took the opposite path. The Piano Man’s evolution led him from the unforgettable melodies of “Just the Way You Are” and “Honesty” to more rhythm-dependent recordings such as “Matter of Trust” and “No Man’s Land.” Joel’s musical journey is chronicled in the four-disc set 1973-97-Complete Hits Collection, but fans know there are dozens of uncollected tracks, from concerts, B-sides, demos and movie soundtracks. My Lives, a ﬁve-disc set to be released Nov. 22, collects nearly all of Joel’s non-album recordings, in a masterful collection he personally chose the songs for. Disc 1 offers glimpses into Joel’s creative origins, with tracks by early bands the Hassles, the Lost Souls and Atilla. Joel’s gift for melody and narrative lyrics are evident

in these early recordings. Demo versions of “Piano Man,” “Miami 2017” and “These Rhinestone Days,” which became “I Love These Days,” are ﬁrst-draft treasures, not as slickly produced as the familiar later recordings, but Joel’s less disciplined vocals add energy and emotion. Disc 2 offers such long-sought-after Bsides as “Elvis Presley Boulevard,” a version of The Beatles’ “I’ll Cry Instead” and “House of Blue Light,” with its James Brown lines of machismo, “She don’t mind making breakfast every morning/She don’t mind making love every night.” The demo version of “And So It Goes” offers a fresh sound to an oft-played standard. Of special note is “The Prime of Your Life,” which became “The Longest Time.” Disc 3 gathers some soundtrack work, from Elvis covers “All Shook Up” and “Heartbreak Hotel” from the ﬁlm “Honeymoon in Vegas” to Disney songs “When You Wish Upon A Star,” which is reborn in Joel’s hands, and “Why Should I Worry” from “Oliver and Company.” The disc also includes “In a Sentimental Mood” from “A League of Their Own” and

“Where Were You on Our Wedding Day?” from “Runaway Bride.” On these extracurricular projects, Joel often self-produces and seems to have great fun; his reading of the Lloyd Price “Wedding Day” is his loosest, strongest vocal from that era. Disc 4 runs through concert extras and a taste of Joel’s classical output. The Brian Wilson tribute “Don’t Worry Baby” and the aching version of “New York State of Mind” from the Sept. 11 beneﬁt concert “A Tribute to Heroes” are highpoints of Joel’s recorded live work. The set includes a DVD with greatesthits performances of “Pressure,” “River of Dreams,” “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and a dozen others. Although a few rarities have been left out (the set includes the remix of “Keeping the Faith,” but excludes the Jellybean Benitez dance mix of “Tell Her About It,” and does not include Joel’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” the single mix of “Sometimes a Fantasy” or the “Percapella” mix of “River of Dreams”), this is the set that completes the picture of Joel’s place among his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame peers.

Friday 11/25 11 am - 11 pm Dining Room Only Traditional Fish Sandwich & Fries $3.99 Saturday & Sunday 11/26 & 11/27 Dining Room Only 99¢ PUMPKIN PIE with any purchase. $5.99 BREAKFAST BAR Regular Price $6.99. No coupon necessary. Offers valid only at the W. CENTRAL AVE. BIG BOY. Clip & Save this ad as a friendly reminder.

ARTS&LIFE

26 ■ Toledo Free Press

November 16, 2005

FILM

Toledoan walks red carpet at Potter premiere By John Johnson Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

John Noe, a graduate of St. John’s Jesuit High School, was invited to the New York premiere of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” in recognition of his work on www.the-leaky-cauldron.org. J. K. Rowling, author of the popular Harry Potter series, has a link to The Leaky Cauldron on her Web site (www.jkrowling.com). A statement by Rowling reads, “It is about the worst kept secret on this Web site that I am a huge fan of the Leaky Cauldron.” Noe said he is a big fan of the Harry Potter series. “You kind of have to be to spend as many hours on the Web site as we do,” he said. He began working on The Leaky Cauldron a few years ago when he found the site and sent a “revamp,” feeling he could improve it with skills learned in high school and college. “I’ve been working with the technology since early high school at St. John’s, when it was introduced to me. I’ve done a lot of it in my free time just because it was fascinating. It was something that I ﬁgured out at an early age, that it would be something

I would want to do as a career,” Noe said. “It was exciting to meet Dan Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter,” Noe said the day after the premiere. “Just because, obviously, he’s the big cheese of the whole thing. But it was actually most interesting for me to listen to the interview with the director (Mike Newell), because he was talking about what they decided to cut from such a large book and why they did, and what sort of deleted scenes we were going to be able to expect [on the DVD].” Noe called the red-carpet experience “surreal,” and said he also enjoyed the fortune of getting tickets to a special party later that night after the premiere. “We got to be part of maybe only four or five dozen people at this party at that point; that included all the main cast and crew of the film in a more informal setting where we could just kind of chat about what we liked about [the film].” Noe said his goal “is to get done with school in time and to have a big enough portfolio put together to take some of the people I’ve met through this Harry Potter Web site and see if I can’t get involved in the production of at least the last film.”

ARTS & LIFE BRIEF Way Library Young Artist Recital Way Public Library, 101 E. Indiana Avenue in Perrysburg, will present Jelena Cingara, pianist, in a Young Artist Recital at 3 p.m. Nov. 20 on the lower level of the library. The recital is free and open to the public, and a reception will follow.

BOOK REVIEWS

Book offers Petty conversations By Michael S. Miller Toledo Free Press Editor in Chief mmiller@toledofreepress.com

Photo courtesy John Noe

Attending the premiere of “Goblet of Fire,” were Melissa Aneli, editorial director of www.the-leakycauldron.org, Dan Radcliffe who plays Potter, John Noe and Sue Upton, senior editor of the Web site.

We’re Celebrating Our

1st Anniversary at the Spring Meadows

Brew House!

And we’re giving you the gifts! Stop in November 14 - 20, 2005 & register to win a *One-night stay at the Holiday Inn® French Quarter or one of many other great prizes. Find us across from the Spring Meadows Shops

6609 Airport Hwy. 419-866-1344

Planning your Christmas Party?

One of the greatest pieces of rock journalism is David Sheff ’s September 1980 interview with John Lennon. Written for Playboy, the interview hit stride with a section in which Sheff would simply name a Beatles song, and Lennon would talk about its origins, debunk its myths and offer insight to its context. Such interviews are commonplace now, especially in magazines. Paul Zollo’s new book, “Conversations with Tom Petty,” takes the spirit of the Sheff interview and fills a 330-page tome with questions and answers about Petty’s life and music. The benefit of the format is a breezy, talking-across-the-table feel that allows Petty to tell his story without the interference of a writer’s prose or interpretation, a stylistic rarity. The drawback is that Petty’s story is told without confirmation or research. Petty’s candor and openness certainly lull the reader into a sense of trust; there’s no apparent reason to doubt Petty’s veracity. Petty often falls on the critical ladder below Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, but his knowledge and passion for the music he creates and his appreciation for his fans elevates his status as elder statesman. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee begins at the beginning, telling the story

of meeting Elvis Presley and the impact of The Beatles. Petty’s tale is strewn with lost friends; he remembers Del Shannon, Roy Orbison, George Harrison and Heartbreaker Howie Epstein, who died of a heroin overdose at 47. “I still can’t believe he’s gone,” Petty says of Epstein. “I saw a rerun of ‘Saturday Night Live’ and there he was, and he looked so vibrant and healthy. It’s weird, because he hasn’t become like a photograph to me. He’s still 3-D to me.” Petty also talks about his own experimentation with drugs, from marijuana to heroin, and how his music and family kept him from getting lost on that path. The chapters on the formation of The Traveling Willburys are great fun, as Petty recounts stories of creating songs with Harrison, Orbison, Dylan and Jeff Lynne. The book’s best section is Part Two, in which Zollo throws out song titles and Petty raps about what the songs mean to him. Album by album, track by track, Zollo leads Petty through his music, from “American Girl” and “Refugee” through “Free Falling,” “The Last DJ” and beyond. “Refugee”: “It was a difﬁcult song to record. But well worth it. [Producer] Jimmy Iovine did a really great job of making a great record out of that song. Jimmy really, really believed in that song.” “Here Comes My Girl”: “It’s kind of an R&B vocal. It’s like

our whole vision of the Stones and the Byrds all that wrapped into one.” “You Got Lucky”: [The Heartbreakers] were really angry about the synthesizer. It’s one of the only times we’ve used a synthesizer. But I don’t see them as taboo. I don’t see anything as taboo, if it gets the job done.” “Free Fallin”: “It’s probably the most famous song I ever wrote, but it was really only 30 minutes of my life.” Zollo often engages Petty as if he were a fan with a once-in-alifetime opportunity, which in a way, he is. More visceral than any “VH-1 Behind the Music,” “Conversations with Tom Petty” offers insight to Petty fans, aspiring songwriters and fans of rock music.

Toledo Free Press ■ 27

Bio doesn’t quite capture Cooke By Sue MacPhee-Gray Special to Toledo Free Press

Sam Cooke achieved fame for his evocative translations of simple songs such as “Wonderful World” and “You Send Me.” In the new book “Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke,” author Peter Guralnick reveals the complicated man behind the pop idol façade — a man whose short life and violent death is illuminated, but not always clarified by the stories of surviving family and friends. As Guralnick has done in the past (particularly in “Last Train to Memphis” and “Careless Love” on Elvis Presley’s rise and fall), the reader is placed inside the story via extensive research and interviews. Quotes and remembrances by Cooke family members, music industry friends such as Lou Rawls and Bobby Womack (who married Sam’s widow, Barbara, soon after his death), as well as reminiscences of church goers who witnessed Cooke’s early performances, provide the “you-are-there” feel so difficult to capture when reading about artists we only know through recordings and video. Frustrating moments occur when Guralnick describes Cooke’s vocal style and idiosyncrasies. “‘He just floated under,’ Crain said, describing the first appearance of what would almost immediately become Sam’s most recognizable vocal trait, a lilting ‘yodel’ (whoa-oho-oh-oh-oh) that he could interpolate at will into the body of any song, thereby lending it an altogether different flavor, a yodel that ... softened rather than intensified the thrust of the song, evoking once again the crooning style of Bing Crosby and the Ink

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spots to which Sam had been drawn since childhood.” This is fine prose and not a criticism of Guralnick, but merely the inefficiency of words to describe sound. Guralnick details Cooke’s early career — the son of a preacher, Cooke first performed with his brothers and sisters in a group called the Singing Children — and the undeniable talent, charisma and ambition that were obvious to everyone who knew him. We follow Cooke’s youthful successes and eventual move up through the ranks of the gospel circuit, including his time with the Highway QCs and the Soul Stirrers. Finally, and probably inevitably, Cooke left behind his gospel roots for the universal appeal and financial rewards of pop music. But that was just the beginning. Those who know Cooke only by his hit singles, will learn he wrote most of his music and he was one of the first African Americans to own a record label (SAR/Derby) and music publishing (Kags Music) company. He also joined in the budding civil rights movement, penning the anthemic, “A Change is Gonna Come.” On several occasions he refused to perform after being told that the audience was segregated, and whites had been given the best seats. The book concludes with Cooke’s tragic death and the immediate aftermath. Although rumors and conspiracy theories still abound (Cooke was shot at a Los Angeles motel after scuffling with the female manager), Guralnick’s own words are relatively unadorned by opinion or emotion, other than to express regret at the senseless passing of one of America’s brightest young stars.

Vicky Montgomery

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ARTS&LIFE

November 16, 2005

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> NEW IN THEATERS: “HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE”; “WALK THE LINE”; “BREAKFAST ON PLUTO”

NOV

16-17-18-19-20-21-22

tear sheet Y O U R W E E K LY T O U R O F T H E T O L E D O Z E I T G E I S T

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In the words of Buddha, “Hatred does not ever cease in this world by hating, but by love; this is an eternal truth … Overcome anger by love, overcome evil by good. Overcome the miser by giving, overcome the liar by truth.” Jim and Lou’s Bar attracted the prayers of peaceful marchers Nov. 12. Lead by Mansour Bey, Pastor Stephen Ward, right, lifts his hands to pray for the recovery of businesses damaged by the Oct. 15 riot. The group also prayed for reconciliation among Toledoans. Technical information: this photo was taken at 1/100 sec., ISO 1600, f/22, 18mm with a Canon EOS 20D.

DM Stanﬁeld is Toledo Free Press photo editor. He may be contacted at dmstanﬁeld@toledofreepress.com.

the AGENDA IN MINIATURE 1 CELEBRATION The Toledo Area Miniature Enthusiasts will host its annual miniature exhibit and artisan sales from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 19, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 20 at The Grand Ballroom in Clarion Westgate Hotel, 3536 Secor Rd. Dollhouses, room boxes, dolls, furnishings and other miniatures will be displayed and for sale.

Clamor Magazine

MOVING SALE From noon to 5 p.m. Nov. 19, Clamor Magazine is offering Toledoans a chance to “lighten our moving load and stock up on great independent art, media and gear that’s priced to move.” The sale, at 1501 Adams St., features books, DVDs, magazines, posters, rare prints, T-shirts and CDs. Call (419) 255-3020 for more information.

the American Gallery, 6600 Sylvania Ave., Sylvania. Hayano, a native of Japan, combines traditional Japanese motif with bold contemporary compositions. The exhibit is free and open to the public; (419) 882-8949.

p.m. Nov. 17 at the grand lobby of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, at the Amtrak station Downtown. The meeting will feature presentations from three artists chosen as ﬁnalists for designing a memorial to honor those who lost their lives or were injured during construction of the I-280 bridge.

Artistic Gifts

Looking for some unique gifts this holiday? Try handmade artwork from Space 237, 237 N. Michigan St., Downtown. From Nov. 19 through Dec. 30, Space 237 will offer glass jewelry, pottery, painting, and more, all priced under $150. Call for gallery hours or appointment; (419) 255-5117.

Junior Brown, The Skeeters

BGSU Kobacker Hall

Concert and University Bands Brewed Awakenings

Jeff Daschbach

Regional Superstar Competition Franciscan Center at Lourdes College, Sylvania

WILD LIGHTS The Toledo Zoo will kick off its “Lights Before Christmas” exhibit Nov. 18. There will be a traditional lighting of the Zoo’s 80-foot Norway spruce between 6 and 6:30 p.m. Last year, the spruce had more than 32,000 lights strung around its branches.

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“Hooray for Hollywood: Songs of the Silver Screen” Headliners

Separation Tree, Between Home and Serentiy, When November Comes, Lies of Our Deception House of Blues, Cleveland

Jagermeister Music Tour featuring Corrosion of Conformity, Disturbed, Hatecore Inc.

Murphy’s Place

Roosevelt Hatcher with The Murphys

Sound Team, Susan Werner, The Trews, Will Hoge

The Palace, Auburn Hills, Mich.

Bowling Green State University Kobacker Hall

Bon Jovi

Collegiate Chorale

Playhouse Square Center, Cleveland

“Disney Live! Winnie the Pooh” St. Andrew’s Hall, Detroit

A Wilhelm Scream, Alexisonﬁre, Idiot Pilot, Receiving End of Sirens Stranahan Theater

“Christmas ... Night of Joy”

Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle

“The Carnival of the Animals and Other Blockbusters!” Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Onder Piano Duo Club Music Friday

Sixth Edition

The Underground

Nomo

University of Toledo Savage Hall

Larry the Cable Guy Village Idiot, Maumee

Stash

Wilbert’s Food & Music, Cleveland

Ray’s Music Exchange

Magic Stick, Detroit

The Winchester, Cleveland

Rodney Crowell Manhattan’s

Saul Glennon, Trained Eye

Johnny Reed & The Houserockers Mickey Finn’s Pub

SAT NOV 19 Agora Theatre, Cleveland

Smokestack

Bauhaus

Ms. Rose’s Dinner Theater, Perrysburg

The Ark, Ann Arbor

Ron Furr, Elvis impersonator

Don White

Beachland Ballroom & Tavern, Cleveland

featuring A Change of Pace, Agent Sparks, Confession, Greeley Estates, My American Heart Stranahan Theater

Hooray for HOLLYWOOD It’s a look back at favorites such as “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “One More for the Road,” and “Singin’ in the Rain.” Songs of the Silver Screen will be held at 8 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Franciscan Center, 6832 Convent Blvd., Sylvania. Tickets are $10, $8 for seniors and includes snacks and cash bar; (419) 824-3999.

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Stranahan Theater

University of Toledo Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall

Brew House, Holland

Club Bijou

Fireﬂy Club, Ann Arbor

Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle

Nathaneil Seer Bronze Boar

Big Blues Bob & The Thin Ice Band Rock Fight Finals The Bruce Katz Band Harpo’s, Detroit

Theory of a Dead Man Headliners

The Fury

House of Blues, Cleveland

Dropping Daylight, Matisyahu Howard’s Club H, BG

Twistin’ Tarantulas Nicole & Greg

Toledo Symphony Orchestra,

The Ark, Ann Arbor

Club Bijou

Zoe Lewis

Damien

BGSU, Bryan Recital Hall

Fox Theatre, Detroit

Annette-Barbara Vogel, violin

The O’Jays, The Dells, The Dramatics

Grog Shop, Cleveland

Harpo’s, Detroit

House of Blues, Cleveland

Ed Levy

Tom Jones

Murphy’s Place

Howard’s Club H, BG

Village Idiot, Maumee

The Murphys

Rootstand

Naked Aggression

Magic Stick, Detroit

University of Toledo Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall

The Ark, Ann Arbor

The Dirtbombs

Majestic Theatre, Detroit

Bump, Smokestack

Percussion Ensemble

Manhattan’s

“Sounds of the Stadium”

Murphy’s Place

Scum of the Earth, Dead by Wednesday

Naked Aggression

Howard’s Club H, Bowling Green

Adrienne Young & Little Sadie

MySpace Tour

Hippie Jam Band Festival featuring Ekoostik Hookah

Pirate’s Cove, Cleveland

SUN NOV. 20

Alma Drum & Dance, Mezz Recipe, Boogaloosa Prayer

The Shelter, Detroit

Headliners

Manhattan’s

BGSU Kobacker Hall

“Disney Live! Winnie the Pooh”

A Perfect Murder, All That Remains, Arch Enemy, Mnemic

Annie Hayden, The Clientele

Master class with Joel Schoenhols, piano

Mickey Finn’s Pub

Playhouse Square Center, Cleveland

Chris Knopp & Friends

Pink Floyd Tribute with the Surrpgate

UT Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall

Quartet Bernadette

Hot Club of San Francisco

Bronze Boar

The Brian Setzer Orchestra

Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer Folk Show

Owens Center for Fine and Performing Arts, Perrysburg

Jeff Tucker

House of Blues, Cleveland

Onder Piano Duo

Manhattan’s

Glenda Biddlestone with The Murphys

WED NOV 23

MON NOV 21

“The Carnival of the Animals and Other Blockbusters!”

Quartet Bernadette

TUE NOV 22

Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor

Alvin’s, Detroit

Hi-Fi Club, Cleveland

The Impossible Shapes

John Legend, Ne-Yo

The Ark, Ann Arbor

Mickey Finn’s Pub

JT & The Clouds Murphy’s Place

Bronze Boar

Ryan Erard Trio, The Murphys

Box of Cats

Magic Stick, Detroit

Manhattan’s

Annie Hayden, The Clientele

State Theatre, Cleveland

Kelly Broadway

Jethro Tull, Lucia Micarelli

Murphy’s Place

Olivet Lutheran Church, Sylvania

Cool Moose Big Band

UT Community Chorus/ Men’s Chorus

The Underground

The Hard Lessons, MC Habitat, Dirty Damn Band

The Odeon, Cleveland

Cold, Fivespeed

BE THERE. DO THAT. ENTERTAINMENT Ron Furr — The Best Elvis Impersonator:

Nov. 17-20 at Ms. Rose’s Dinner Theatre, 25740 N. State Rt. 25, Perrysburg. Ticket prices vary; (419) 874-8505. Larry the Cable Guy: 8 p.m. Nov. 18

at Savage Hall, University of Toledo; (419) 474-1333. Hot Club of San Francisco: will present “Silent Surrealism” at 8 p.m. Nov. 19 at Owens’ Center for Fine and Performing Arts; (567) 661-2787.

FUND-RAISERS Wine Affair: 6:30 to 11 p.m. Nov. 18 at Holiday Inn French Quarter, Perrysburg. The Wine Affair is one of the Kidney Foundations largest fund-raisers, allowing participants to sample rare, ﬁne wines and auctions. $60; (419) 329-2776.

HOLIDAY Bowling Green Holiday Parade:

10 a.m. Nov. 19 on N. Main Street in Bowling Green. Features ﬂoats, marching bands and, of course, Santa Claus. Buffet of Wines for Thanksgiving:

7-10:30 p.m. Nov. 19 at The Vineyard, 3301 W. Central Ave. $35; (419) 535-7301. Holiday Open House: noon

to 3 p.m. Nov. 19-20 at Isaac

Ludwig Mill, 13827 U.S. Rt. 24, Grand Rapids. Families will enjoy creating holiday decorations and touring the Mill. Refreshments provided.

FAMILY Toledo Symphony Classics Series:

Carnival of the Animals & Other Blockbusters, 8 p.m. Nov. 18 and 19 at Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle Theatre; (419) 255-8000. Holiday Lights: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18

at Ritter Planetarium-Brooks Observatory, 2801 W. Bancroft St. Trace the origins of the calendar and holiday celebrations through the stars. Ticket prices vary; (419) 530-4037. The Science of Harry Potter:

Lorie Line

Russian American Kids Circus

Joel Schoenhols, piano

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Ritz Theatre, Tifﬁn

Ultimate Doo-Wop Show featuring The Drifters, The Fleetwoods, Randy & The Rainbows, Gene Chandler

Brewed Awakenings

Louis G’s

Lightnin Rod

COMPILED BY VICKI L. KROLL

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NEW BOYO 4 COSI’S With one quick yank, a giant wheel at the top of a structure begins to rotate. A few pulls later, and another human yo-yo is successfully launched up to 15 feet in the air above the COSI ﬂoor. The new buzz at COSI is the BOYO, an upside-down jumbo yo-yo. For more information, call (419) 244-2674.

Beachland Ballroom & Tavern, Cleveland

Club Bijou

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UP, TOLEDO 3 LOOK The Veteran’s Glass City Task Force will hold a public meeting at 6:30

Willy Porter & Ric Hordinski

Russel Martin

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2-D 2 JAPANESE A selection of prints by Keiichi Hayano will be on display this month at

FRI NOV. 18 The Ark, Ann Arbor

Bronze Boar

WINTER WONDERLAND This year is the 42nd season for Children’s Wonderland, an animated holiday display sponsored by the Lucas County Board of Commissioners. The display opens Nov. 25 and runs through Dec. 31 at the Lucas County Rec Center, 2901 Key St., Maumee. Hours and ticket prices vary; (419) 213-2244.

MUSIC NOTES

TOLEDO CONFIDENTIAL

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 19 and noon to 5 p.m. Nov. 20 at COSI Toledo. Ticket prices vary; (419) 244-COSI.

Keith Bergman

Hey, Carty!

doubt either Carty or Ford cares much about the live rock ‘n’ roll scene in Toledo. But call it “Downtown revitalization” and watch their ears perk up! So hey, Yer Honor — how about making it easier for more Downtown retail to come in? Maybe a couple of restaurants that stay open ’til last call? A block of hip galleries dotted with a record store, coffee shop, maybe a bookstore and one of those places that sells overpriced old toys, all open ’til midnight on weekends? Most rockers head Downtown the same way a lot of baseball fans do — they show up for the main attraction, jump out of the car, watch, then drive off in a squeal of tires. What can we do to get some businesses, especially north of Monroe Street, to cater to the nightlife crowd? You know, make the place look like a real city after 5 p.m.?

Get off the couch

Nov. 17, there’s a Science of Big Machines reunion gig at Mickey Finn’s Pub. I’m all for this band still existing — their quirky post-everything squall is pretty cool. But if there’s a statute of limitations on how long you’re broken up before calling your next show a “reunion,” these guys are violating it. It may feel like a grand resurrection to you guys, but to the rest of us spectators, if it hasn’t been five years and/ or an OD, it’s just another show. Nov. 18, head for the Underground — if you can fit in the room. Nomo is playing, all 17 of them. Their line-up includes four percussionists, six horn players and an assortment of indie rockers and music students. The goal? To make you shake your booty. The huge ensemble, led by saxophonist Elliot Bergman (no relation), is kept tightly focused on creating groovy dance music that leaves room for avant-jazz, dub reggae, soul and Afro-pop. Between this and Sharon Jones’s regular appearances in town, I’m starting to think Toledo’s rocker crowd might be forced to move its collective ass and get off its barstool in the back of the room. Stranger things have happened. The Fury has been a fascinating band to watch evolve since its days as Hearsay T.A.O. Evolving from nu-metal wannabes barely old enough to set foot in the bars they played, they’re now considered the love child of early ’70s glam and late ’70s post-punk. More importantly, they rock; they just signed a new record deal and they’re at Headliners this Saturday, with Clive Staples and Rediscover in tow. Go see what they’re up to now that they’re all grown up. Metalheads: Nov. 19 at Checkers in Bowling Green, the criminally talented Habitual Coercion are doing an important gig, showcasing for some out-of-towners who’ve taken an interest in them. Go out and lend them some support, and fill the place up, would ya? I’d tell you to start a mosh pit, but moshing to their ultra-technical metal will probably send you to the chiropractor.

ARTS&LIFE

30 ■ Toledo Free Press

IN CONCERT

In Line for holiday show By Vicki L. Kroll Toledo Free Press Staff Writer events@toledofreepress.com

Lorie Line remembers her sixth birthday. She sat on the curb in front of her Reno, Nev., home and waited for a delivery truck to bring her present — a piano. “It was a big investment for my parents. They had five kids. They weren’t wealthy. It was a big deal,” Line said. “My dad and mom made me promise to play until I was 18 years old.” She’s still playing, sharing her gift of music. “My dad says that $800 piano was the best investment he ever made,” Line said from Minneapolis last week. The pianist and her 10-member Pop Chamber Orchestra will bring their holiday show, “My Favorite Things,” to Stranahan Theater at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 22. Tickets are $32.50, $42.50 and $52.50. This year, there’ll be a tribute to Lawrence Welk. “I’ve been taking accordion lessons,” Line said. “I’m going to be Myron Floren and play ‘Beer Barrel Polka.’ It’s fun. I get to dress like a man. I always come across as this big glam thing. Now I’m being goofy.” And there’ll be plenty of holiday music. Her latest disc, My Favorite Things, includes her arrangements of “It Must Have Been the Mistletoe,” “Please Come Home for Christmas” and “Up on the Housetop.” Line has fond memories of Christmas. “I grew up when each gift was appreciated. My parents did a great job of making a dollar stretch, making us kids feel special,” she said. “We’d get five or six beautiful gifts, most handmade. Each person, from youngest to oldest, would take turns opening one gift. We stretched it out as long as possible.” She continues that tradition with her children. Line’s holiday concerts have become a tradition. Her career flourished thanks to shoppers. “It started 15 years ago. I worked as a department store pianist, and I had a big following,” she recalled. “I put together a disc and sold 30,000 CDs in six weeks.” Today, Lorie Line Music Inc., the company she started in her basement, is the largest woman-owned independent record label in the states. She’s released 25

November 16, 2005

CD REVIEWS BY MICHAEL PUNSALAN Dan Fishback, Sweet Chastity Dan Fishback, the male counterpart of the hugely entertaining New York anti-folk duo, Cheese on Bread, goes solo with the hugely disappointing Sweet Chastity. Fishback’s solo project is complete with all of the sly and witty lyrical composition of Cheese on Bread’s latest album, but lacks female cohort Sara Fitzsimmons’ perky and delightful vocals. Filthy Thieving Bastards, My Pappy was a Pistol Often compared to the AngloIrish 1980s band the Pogues, this folk-rock group’s second album, My Pappy was a Pistol, delivers a similar-sounding cornucopia of Irish-American folk-punk rock enmeshment. Led by the songwriting duo of Johnny Bonnel and Darius Koski of Swingin’ Utters fame, My Pappy was a Pistol mixes violins and electric guitars, pianos and mandolins and accordions with punk vocals to issue an album worthy of play in any college bar. Ten Words for Snow, D-Na Suburban Detroit’s Ten Words for Snow doles out straightforward rock ’n’ roll with no false

promise. In an era of standardized grunge distortion on the radio, Ten Words for Snow earnestly delivers warm sounds and unique melodies on non-commercial hits such as “Shake you off,” “Brittle Girl,” and “Beneﬁcial Compost.” Although lead singer Justin Berger’s drab vocals wound the band’s overall sound, the writing and musical arrangements more then compensate. theAudition, Controversy Loves Company Chicago punk-pop band theAudition’s debut release lies somewhere between the notches of characterless and irritating. Not entirely painful, theAudition shows it is well-versed in modern pop-rock. Self-reportedly directing the album toward “real-life scenarios” such as lost loves, being away from home and the frustration of growing up, this mod group hits the 13-15 year old age group like a bullseye. Extremely likable for the high school freshman, but obnoxious for all others, theAudition’s Controversy Loves Company best serves its purpose for fans of MTV.

ARTS&LIFE

November 16, 2005

Old West End, underground In the 1960s and ’70s, the outlaws of underground publishing were everywhere, Cosmep (aka: the Committee of Small Press Editors and Publishers) was thriving, even while doing battle with the seemingly deep pockets of the NEA. A.D. Winans was running his Second Coming Press in San Francisco, John Bryan’s “Open City” became one of the most vocal publications ever to spring out of Los Angeles, and Dudley Randall was running the Broadside Press in Detroit. Cleveland’s own D.A. Levy, who took his life in 1968 at the age of 26, ran his Seven Flowers Press like a man on a mission, publishing dozens of sparsely distributed books and collage work — despite almost constant problems with city authorities in regards to censorship. Just how have these pieces of history impacted publishing in Toledo? One need only look between the pages of Clamor Magazine to see the spirit remains the same, and for those who think Clamor is still a little too mainstream, there is The Flatlands. Keeping with the tradition

of true grassroots underground publishing, this little publication began as a one-man operation. Founded by poet and editor Zach T. McNaughton, the magazine was established to give a voice to the unheard, to bring poetry, collage, fiction, essays, from working artists in Northwest Ohio and around the country into our cultural marketplace. With its third issue set to appear Dec. 1, The Flatlands has worked with well-established artists such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Lyn Lifshin, Iris Berry, and S.A. Griffin, while putting relative unknowns on the map. All of this positive energy has led to growth, both for Toledo, and the publication itself. The Flatlands has increased its staff to include co-editor Katie Anne Mihaly, and a small army of assistants to manage art editing and Web design. The presence of The Flatlands proves many things about Toledo: there is always room for growth, and our appreciation for underground culture, though slowly expanding, is anything but flat. — John Dorsey

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LORIE LINE CDs and 20 books of music detailing her arrangements. “I’ve never taken a business class,” she said. “Last year I received one of Ernst & Young’s entrepreneur of the year awards.” Her music and business sense may come from her grandmother, Ruth Wales, who lived in Toledo. “She was a professional pianist. She had her own band, Ruth Wales & the Melody Men,” Line said. “She worked at Hudson’s. She sold a ton of sheet music.”

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For years, cars rolling into Toledo at the intersection of the Anthony Wayne Trail, Erie and Lafayette streets have been greeted with a non-impressive industrial vista. But with a little bit of luck — and funding — landscaping and art will soon transform the gateway from mundane to magnificent. The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo is inviting community members to meet Charles Waldheim, dean of Landscape Architecture at the University of Toronto, from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Leslie Adams Gallery, 1 S. St. Clair St. Waldheim, a consultant to the ACGT’s Art in Public Places committee, will present and explain the visions of the five finalists in the “artNet” design competition for the site. They will remain on display through Dec. 5, and a professional jury will choose a winner Dec. 10. According to Marc Folk, artistic director for the ACGT, the intersection is the first of eight “gateways” set for a makeover in accordance with the recommendations of Downtown Toledo Inc, a publicprivate partnership formed to make Downtown Toledo more “pedestrian friendly, investor friendly and strategically positioned for continued growth.” The beautification plan was one of several measures adopted from DTI’s 2002 20/20 Masterplan and endorsed by Toledo City Council members. Toledo has long been a leader in the display of public art. Since 1977, the city has maintained its “one-percent for art,” program, which is administered by Art in Public Places.

As explained by Folk, this means one percent of the City’s capital improvement budget is allocated for education, acquisition and conservation programs related to Toledo’s public art collection. This figure has totaled between $150,000 and $230,000 annually. Because only a limited amount of funding from this program could be committed to the Anthony Wayne-Erie-Lafayette project, Folk and the City have been looking for other sources. From the National Endowment for the Arts, the ACGT received a $10,000 planning grant, and the City has applied for federal monies that exceed $1 million. But to apply for the federal grant, the City needs to show what it will do with it: hence next week’s presentation. The five finalists, all of whom derive from firms on the East and West coasts, were winnowed from more than 200 submissions. Folk said there may be concern about the lack of local entries, but said the complexity of the project demanded designers with similar projects already in their portfolio. The finalists include designs from the firms CLEAR with Marpillero Pollack Architects; Hood Design; LOT-EK; Roger Sherman Architecture and Urban Design; and the team of Ken Smith Landscape Architect with Brian Tolle Studio. If funding comes through, the project will be initiated in 2006. The next gateway to be tackled will be at Summit and Cherry streets. The Nov. 18 presentation will be catered and guests are invited to join the ACGT later for an OSU-Michigan tailgate at Margarita Rocks in the former Commodore Perry building.

Black Lagoon, the ﬁsh market is building a special tank for you. Fresh or saltwater? ■ Your expensive athletic shoes smell of a sweatﬁlled gymnasium. They conjure up the smell of decay. If I were you, I’d spray them every day with Kill-All-Bugs. ■ Your mother is so “well known” in her neighborhood, she returns each night to count her rewards of 5s, 10s, and 20s. Just what was her major at Yale?

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Toledo Free Press ■ 31

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ARTS&LIFE

32 ■ Toledo Free Press

Robert Shiels

Thursday

Friday

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November 16, 2005

AT THE MOVIES

VIDEO GAME REVIEWS

Phoenix walks the line

NBA Live 06, Electronic Arts Players can take it to the basket in several ways in this recent version, plus utilize the freestyle superstar element to be a playmaker, scorer, outside scorer, shooter, stopper, power or a high ﬂyer. Game modes include online, season, dynasty mode, playoff, NBA All Star Weekend, free style challenge, 1 on 1 and slam dunk school. Practice always makes perfect, especially with the alley oops and slams. This new feature takes time to perfect, but the effect can boost game play tremendously. You can hire staff once training camp begins in the dynasty mode and experience player evolution. These great additions add more role-playing elements and management control for an even deeper experience. Players also get new play calling and in-bounding options. Overall, it’s an amazing sport experience with plenty of variety. (***1/2, GameCube, PC, PlayStation2, PSP — rated E). Also available on the Xbox 360.

By Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times

Sunday

Partly sunny HI 40° LOW 29°

Flurries possible HI 38° LOW 25°

Mostly cloudy HI 43° LOW 29°

Chance of rain HI 48° LOW 32°

Third Rock Your Tarotgram

Almanac By Elizabeth Hazel

and Horoscope Nov. 17 - Nov. 24, 2005

Events: New Moon in Sagittarius on Dec 1. Aries (March 21-April 19) Changes dominate the scene. Although the 24th scatters thoughts and energies, the 25th is a day for sheer brilliance. Ideas ﬂow through the weekend — travel and exchange thoughts. Clear the old and obsolete on the 29th. The new lunar cycle offers long-awaited improvements.

Libra (September 23-October 22) Liberate your true self. Others can be too crazy on the 24th. Your talent is in the spotlight from the 25th to the 27th; long-awaited triumphs ﬁnally arrive. Misunderstandings on the 28 through the 29th from sloppy communications; double-check everything to smooth the way.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Sweetness and compliments draw love. Doublecheck for errors on the 24th. Messages of love and affection arrive over the weekend, and special social gatherings offer new friendships. Adapt schedule as needed after the 28th; stability returns after the 1st.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Open a portal to the future. Rework old ideas in new settings on the 24 and 25th, turning challenges into advantages. The weekend is simply superb — spend with people you love (or would like to love). Family concerns crop up on the 28 and 29th.

Gemini (May 21-June 21)

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Memories of the past inspire future efforts. Expect delays on the 24th. Intense conversations cause deep thoughts from the 25 through the 27th. Break unworthy patterns on the 28th. The New Moon on the 1st leads toward more reliable foundations and expectations.

Endings clear the way for new adventures. You daydream on the 24th, but get a ﬁrm grip on reality on the 25th through the 27th, as your skills, personal network and magpie mind make you a hit with others. Take it slow on the 28 and 29th, recharging your energies for the next cycle.

Cancer (June 22-July 22) Successes light your path. Slow down to avoid injury on the 24th. The 25th through the 27th is a hotbed of romance, friendship and interpersonal sharing. It may be difﬁcult to relax after the 28th, as deadlines can be nerve-wracking if others delay following through on their jobs.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Get it over with and move on. Contradictory instructions confuse protocols at work on the 24th, but vast improvements arrive on the 25th. Unusual conversations or religious afﬁliations inﬂuence the weekend. Children struggle with authority on the 30th.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Watch and wait for a sure thing. Avoid pie-in-the-sky ideas and con artists on the 24th. The 25th offers plain but realistic options. Money and property concerns ﬁll the weekend, with possibilities of unexpected help. Don’t despair on the 29th, thrilling results arrive after the 1st.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Some situations have imperfect endings. Silent concerns magnify on the 24th, but the 25th brings reassurance from true friends. Unplanned adventures or spontaneous activities enhance the weekend. Recuperate after the 28th to prepare for fresh action after the 1st.

Aquarius (January 20-February 18) Good things are worth the wait. Old friends will turn up like four-leaf clovers through this period, bringing luck, good news and welcome sources of opportunity and information with them. Emotions wobble on the 28th; prepare to lock in a good new schedule after the 1st. Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Discussions bring better understanding. An acquaintance or long-time friend rises to the top on the 24 and 25th — sharing beneﬁts from their new position. A wonderful weekend draws you closer to loved ones, helping you be more patient with stalled projects or plans.

Elizabeth Hazel is a professional tarotist-astrologer and author. She has been giving tarot-astrology readings at Manos Greek Restaurant every Wednesday night since 1990. She may be contacted at ehazel@buckeye-express.com. (c) 2005

ARTS&LIFE

November 16, 2005

ohnny Cash had one requirement for the star of “Walk the Line”: “Whoever plays me, make sure they don’t handle the guitar like it’s a baby. Make them hold it like they own it!” This was during a “real Southern breakfast” that John and his wife, June Carter Cash, cooked up for James Mangold and his wife, Cathy Konrad, who were going to direct and produce the movie. “We went down to Hendersonville and checked into the hotel,” Mangold remembered, “and John came and picked us up in the lobby. Not dressed in black. Just jeans and a checked shirt. At their house, John and June sang grace, holding hands. And John told us stories about his early days in the music business.” “I was sent by Sam Phillips of Sun Records with a record in an envelope, for a disc jockey to play,” Cash told them. “The DJ dropped the record and it broke. I called up Sam and I was about in tears. ‘John,’ he said, ‘I got a thousand more.’ In those days there was no ‘Inside Edition,’ so not every 20-year-old knew how records were made.” This breakfast would have been around 1999. Mangold had been shopping the Johnny Cash biopic around Hollywood with no luck. Even after he had Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon on board to play John and June, he was told the studios “don’t want to make movies about people.” William Goldman, the veteran screenwriter, had a gloomier analysis: “No one wants to make a movie that depends on you pulling it off.” They want, in other words, to make movies that don’t need to be pulled off. Movies that are foolproof. Formula pictures, teenage action movies, video game adaptations, sequels. Last year every studio in Hollywood passed on “Ray,” the biopic about Ray Charles, and this year it can be said that they all passed on “Walk the Line,” until Fox 2000 ﬁnally came through. What’s ironic is that “Ray” won an Oscar for its star, Jamie Foxx, and “Walk the Line” may get nominations for Phoenix and Witherspoon. The movie, which opens nationally Nov. 18, was well-received both places, and what amazed a lot of people was how well Phoenix and Witherspoon could sing — not “considering they aren’t singers,” but as if they actually were. When

Toledo Free Press ■ 33

BY MICHAEL SIEBENALER X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse, Activision This open-ended role playing game offers “X”-cellent characters, items, puzzles, surprises and special content. Characters include mainstays such as Storm, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Magneto and Wolverine. Other characters such as Archangel and Xavier (voiced by Patrick Stewart) make cameo appearances and there are a few surprise characters. Players have the ability to switch among characters and have quick access to power. The multiplayer versus mode is a testing ground to learn character’s abilities and strengths/weaknesses as they battle more than 100 different enemies. The online game mode features four-player cooperative play and contains exclusive content that’s a must for big fans. You can customize costumes, get upgrades and eventually gain access to the Danger Room. A deﬁnite improvement from the ﬁrst installment. (***1/2, GameCube, PC, PlayStation2, PSP and Xbox — rated T for mild violence and language).

Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, Electronic Arts Many of your favorite comic book characters battle evil invaders and challenging characters such as Solara and Brigade, who was built from 100 soldiers. Wolverine, Storm, Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Thing, Human Torch, Magneto, Elektra, Daredevil and Venom are playable and many other characters make cameos and special appearances. You can play Thing or Wolverine in the parallel single-player storyline, which adds new situations to great characters. The versus and online options spread the playing field as characters fly, swing, teleport, rage, recover then finish each other off amid interactive environments. The environments are often dark, which matches the “heroes in trouble” theme well, and the wider camera views add a dimension to the previous Marvel hero games. Be prepared for a challenge. (***, GameCube, PC, PlayStation2 and Xbox — rated T for violence and suggestive themes; Nintendo DS version is rated E 10+).

BUSINESS CARD BLAST JOAQUIN PHOENIX I saw the movie, I closed my eyes to focus on the sound track and convinced myself I was actually listening to Johnny Cash; the vocals were so convincing that when the credits rolled up and Phoenix was credited with doing all of his own singing, I was amazed, and so were a lot of other people. “I didn’t sing and I didn’t have any experience,” Phoenix told me. “Not even in the shower. I worked with a voice coach for an hour and a half a day. I had to go down an octave. T-Bone Burnett, our music consultant, helped me a lot. John had an amazing range. In ‘Walk the Line,’ he changes keys with every verse. But it wasn’t really so much how he sang as how he acted the songs. June Carter, he said, actually studied at the Actors Studio: “She grew up in a well-adjusted family, she was familiar with show business from the time she was born; the Carter Family was royalty in country music. She was acting more than people knew..” Mangold said Carter and Cash, who both died in 2003, were “excited” that Witherspoon and Phoenix were going to sing in their voices. Cash’s only worry was about the guitar-handling. He had no objection to the frank way the movie handles his addiction to pills, and his battle to get clean with June’s help. That was all on the record, and inspires one of the movie’s best lines. After he’s busted and spends some time behind bars, his father, who John felt he could never please, said, “Well, at least now when you sing that Folsom Prison song, you won’t have to work so hard to make people think you been to jail.”

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November 16, 2005

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