It’s October. Tomorrow is the first day of in-person early voting in Ohio. Find your nearest polling booth at the secretary of state’s website here. Michelle Obama will be in Cincinnati tomorrow to support an in-person early voting push in Ohio. The state is considered vital for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign against President Barack Obama, but while national polling is close, Ohio is looking very bad for Romney. The Romney team seems to be banking on the debates to regain momentum, but, historically, debates have little electoral impact. The first debate is Wednesday at 9 p.m. A full schedule of the debates can be found here.  In more good news for Democrats, a recent poll by The Columbus Dispatch found Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio is leading Josh Mandel, state treasurer and Brown’s Republican opponent for the U.S. Senate seat, by 10 points. The last Dispatch poll found the two candidates tied. The poll shows a long-term trend seen in aggregate polling of Brown gaining momentum and Mandel falling behind.   A former Republican Ohio state representative came out in support of Issue 2. Joan Lawrence came out for the initiative as part of Women for Issue 2, claiming the current system is rigged. If Issue 2 is approved by voters this election cycle, Ohio’s redistricting will be handled by an independent citizens committee. Currently, elected officials manage Ohio’s redistricting process, but the process normally leads to corruption in a process known as “gerrymandering” in which politicians redraw district borders in politically advantageous ways. In the First Congressional District, which includes Cincinnati, district boundaries were redrawn by Republicans to include less of Hamilton County’s urban population, which tends to vote Democrat, and instead include the more rural Warren County, which tends to vote Republican. CityBeat previously covered the issue and Republicans’ losses in court regarding Issue 2 here. Margaret Buchanan, The Cincinnati Enquirer’s publisher and president, left the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees Friday to avoid a potential conflict of interest in the newspaper’s reporting on the UC Board of Trustees. CityBeat and other media critics mentioned the conflict of interest in the past, particularly when former UC President Greg Williams suddenly resigned and Buchanan refused to comment on speculation around the resignation.  Cincinnati’s economic recovery is in full swing. For the second straight month, the area’s manufacturers expanded. The Cincinnati Purchasing Management Index, which measures manufacturing, went up from 54.6 in August to 58.8 in September. The index must be above 50 to signify growth; below 50 shows contraction. Cincinnati’s women-owned businesses are doing a lot more than some may think. They are responsible for 3,500 local area jobs. Ohio’s attorney general is devoting more money toward solving cold case homicides. Cold cases are old cases that have not been the subject of recent investigations but could be solved in light of new evidence. Captain America: The Winter Soldier will be filmed in southern and northeast Ohio. Nintendo’s Wii U is already looking like the top Christmas toy. Artificially intelligent gamer bots convinced judges they’re human more often than actual humans.

Happy birthday to Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel! The treasurer and GOP candidate for U.S. Senate turns 35 today, and the Ohio Democratic Party celebrated the occasion by delivering a new pair of pants to the treasurer’s office. “If anyone needs a new pair of pants for his birthday it’s Josh Mandel, who has earned more ‘Pants on Fire’ ratings from Politifact Ohio than any politician in state history — hopefully he will get some use out of these before his next lie about (Democratic U.S. Sen.) Sherrod (Brown),” Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Andrew Zucker wrote in a statement. Mandel has earned six “Pants on Fire” ratings — the signifier given to an outright lie by the fact-checking agency run by The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, PolitiFact Ohio. Mandel holds the most “Pants on Fire” rulings of any politician reviewed by the group. Mandel doesn’t have a monopoly on lies: In a Wednesday fact check, PolitiFact Ohio ruled a Brown campaign advertisement that claimed Ohio’s investment fund has not improved under Mandel was “false.” Zucker told CityBeat Mandel’s staff seemed surprised by the gift (American Apparel trousers size 34) and promised to deliver it, but said the treasurer wasn’t in the office. The pants were folded and tied with ribbon. They contained a note reading, “Josh — So many of your pants have caught fire from Politifact’s ratings that we thought you could use a new pair. They’ll look great for your next fundraising trip to the Bahamas! Happy Birthday, The Ohio Democratic Party.” Mandel’s press secretary has not responded to CityBeat’s call and email for comment as of this posting. This blog will be updated if we hear back.

In an ad accusing Josh Mandel, a Republican, of lying, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown’s campaign team may have lied, according to PolitiFact. The U.S. senatorial campaign for Ohio’s senate seat has been filled with dishonesty, but it usually comes from Mandel. The dishonesty seems to be hurting Mandel more than Brown; Mandel is currently down 7.5 points in aggregate polling numbers. Mandel is being taken to court by liberal blog Plunderbund. The blog claims Mandel has made it extra difficult to get public records.Preliminary data for Ohio schools was released yesterday. Some data is still being held back while an investigation into fraudulent reporting from some schools is finished, but the data gives some insight into how schools performed during the 2011-2012 school year. The data can be found here. From a local angle, the data shows Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) did not meet “adequate yearly progress,” a federal standard that measures progress in student subgroups, such as minority groups; but CPS did meet standards for “value-added growth,” which measures the expected progress in state testing for all students between the third and eighth grades. City Council approved the $29 million financing plan for the streetcar yesterday. The plan will use $15 million from the Blue Ash airport deal to move utility lines and pipes. The city claims the $15 million, which was originally promised to neighborhood projects, will be reimbursed by Duke Energy once the city settles a conflict with the energy company. Duke and the city are currently arguing over who has to pay to move the utility lines and pipes. An Ohio state representative is asking the federal government to monitor the election more closely. Rep. Alicia Reece, a Cincinnati Democrat, is asking U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to send monitors to the state to ensure no funny business goes on in voting booths on Nov. 6. The request is partly in response to a recent court ruling that forces Ohio to count provisional ballots if the ballots were brought around by poll worker errors. Ohio’s ability to stop political lies was upheld yesterday. The Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) tried to put an end to the government power, which COAST claimed was censorship, by taking it to court, but a U.S. judge upheld the ability. The judge, who is a former chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party, said COAST did not properly display that its speech was held down by the law. Considering some of COAST’s tweets, the judge is probably right. E.W. Scripps Co. will host a job fair in Cincinnati Oct. 10 to fill 100 digital jobs. The Ohio Supreme Court upheld the rights of lesbian ex-couples to set visitation times. The court said non-parents are allowed to participate in visitations during child custody proceedings. Ohio might expand Medicaid, but not to the extent asked for by Obamacare. That’s what the state’s Medicaid director said yesterday, anyway. A previous study found Medicaid expansions improved and might have saved lives in other states, and other studies have found Medicaid expansions may save the state money by cutting uncompensated costs. Pundits really dug into Mitt Romney the past few days over his poor poll numbers in Ohio. The Business Courier asked if Romney has already lost Ohio. Politico said Romney’s biggest hurdle to the White House is Ohio. The New Republic ran an article with six theories as to what led to Romney’s losses in the state. The Cleveland Plain Dealer pointed out both presidential candidates were stumping at a pivotal time in northern Ohio yesterday. Aggregate polling paints a consistently bad picture for Romney in Ohio; he is currently down four points. But Romney probably isn’t helping matters. In an Ohio rally Tuesday, he admitted President Barack Obama didn’t raise taxes in his first term. Gov. John Kasich signed a series of bills shoring up Ohio’s public pension system yesterday. The laws will cut benefits and raise eligibility requirements, but state officials insist the new laws will mostly affect future retirees. NASA wants samples from Mars, and it has a plan. The new plan may require a robot-to-human hand-off in space.

Newspapers all around the state — including The Cincinnati Enquirer, which labelled its article an “Enquirer Exclusive” (both The Toledo Blade and Columbus Dispatch ran a story with the same angle as The Enquirer) — are really excited about a new poll that found Sen. Sherrod Brown leads Josh Mandel in the U.S. senatorial race for Ohio’s seat by 7 percent. But the poll only confirms what aggregate polling has been saying for a while now.  Mayor Mark Mallory fired back at Commissioner Greg Hartmann Friday. In a letter Tuesday, Hartmann accused Mallory of failing to stick to his promises in support of a city-council committee that would have established greater collaboration between Cincinnati and Hamilton County governments. But in his letter, Mallory said the committee was unnecessary and Hartmann was just playing politics by sending a letter to media instead of calling the mayor on his cell phone. Contrary to the claims of Mitt Romney’s campaign, President Barack Obama does care about the work requirements in welfare-to-work reform. In fact, Obama is disapproving of Ohio’s program, which his administration says has not enforced work requirements stringently enough. However, most of the blame is going to former Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, not Gov. John Kasich, a Republican. The University of Cincinnati received a $3.7 million grant to increase the participation of women in science, technology, engineering and math disciplines. The grant comes from the National Science Foundation, a federal entity that funds science. The grant could help current problems with science research. One recent study found scientists prefer to hire male students over female students, pay male students more and spend more time mentoring men over women. Local homeless groups managed to get a hold of a $600,000 grant to aid homeless military veterans. The grant will provide financial assistance and job training for the currently homeless and vets at risk of becoming homeless.The Cincinnati Enquirer is raising subscription costs by 43 percent — from $210 a year to $300 a year.City Council will host a special session today to get public feedback and work on the new deal meant to prevent further streetcar delays. The meeting will be at 10:30 a.m. at City Council Chambers, City Hall room 300, 801 Plum St. Ohio is a swing state, which means we get a lot of political ads during the campaign season. Are you tired of them? Well, politicians don’t seem to care. In 2008, both parties ran a combined total of 42,827 ads between April and September. In the same time period this year, the parties have run 114,840.Citizens for Common Sense was formed to support Issue 4 on the November ballot, which changes City Council terms from two to four years. The initiative would let political candidates worry more about policy and less about campaigning, but some critics say it would make it more difficult to hold council members accountable.Research shows random promotions may be better for business. The study verifies the Peter Principle, which says many people are eventually promoted to positions beyond their competence.

Over the past few days, packets of anti-Democrat political literature tucked into plastic sandwich bags were tossed into East Side driveways. Don’t assume it’s litter. Nope, it’s apparently a broadside from some bag ladies with an Indian Hill address who call themselves a “grassroots, conservative group.” They are new on the scene and bent on kicking President Barack Obama out of office, along with anybody who might possibly share his views. But they might be cheating, or tools of someone who is flouting the law. There are 16 political pieces in the plastic bags, including an ad for the anti-Obama movie You Don’t Know Him.  All but one are properly labeled with disclaimers that show who paid for each piece. For example, the Mitt Romney flier says it was paid for by the Romney campaign. The Sean Donovan for Sheriff of Hamilton County was paid for by Donovan for Sheriff. But a piece that attacks U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is a mystery — nothing identifies its source. You cannot discover who is behind it. The flier lists 10 reasons why Ohio voters should replace Democrat Brown with Republican candidate Josh Mandel. The piece concludes by saying, “This November 6, Vote for New Leadership for Ohio. Vote Josh Mandel for Senator.” The secret source of the handbill has the earmarks of a dirty trick. Laws and rules governing electioneering make it clear printed material seeking to influence voters must disclose where it came from. The mandatory disclaimer is what a person endlessly hears on TV commercials — “I’m so and so and I paid for this ad.” Print material has the same requirement — “Paid for by Save the Seahorses” or whoever is responsible. So whoever gave the conservative ladies the anti-Brown handbill for their plastic bags seems to have broken the law. Perhaps it was the coal mining industry, perhaps it was the Chinese government, perhaps it was Ayn Rand back from the dead. Without a disclaimer there is just no way to know who paid for the anti-Brown attack. You are left to guess.  All we know is that the writer didn’t have the guts to stand behind the attack. They preferred shadowy and sneaky over open and upright. The Federal Election Commission publishes the rules campaigns must follow. It says, “On printed materials, the disclaimer notice must appear within a printed box set apart from the other contents in the communication.  The print must be of a sufficient type-size to be clearly readable by the recipient of the communication, and the print must have a reasonable degree of color contrast between the background and the printed statement.” By the way, the group that is tossing the plastic bags into driveways calls itself Women for Liberty. There is no website for the group, although it appears to be an offshoot of another group with the same name that is based in a Washington, D.C. suburb and cites a libertarian philosophy.

An investigation by nonprofit journalism group ProPublica has uncovered the identity of one of the secret super PACs funding advertisements attacking U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and promoting his challenger, Ohio state treasurer Josh Mandel. The group is the Government Integrity Fund and is headed by Columbus lobbyist Tom Norris. Norris’ lobbying firm Cap Square Solutions employs former Mandel aide Joe Ritter. Ritter declined to comment to ProPublica about his role with Norris’ lobbying firm or whether he is involved with the Government Integrity Fund. The race between Brown and Mandel is considered vital to Republicans who want to take control of the Senate and Democrats who want to hold on to their majority. It has turned into Ohio’s — and the nation’s — most expensive race. The Associated Press reported in August that outside groups — like the Government Integrity Fund — have spent $15 million supporting Mandel, while similar groups have spent $3 million for Brown. It’s unknown where the money is coming from because federal regulations and the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United case allow the groups to spend unlimited amounts of cash on political ads without disclosing their donors. Such groups are classified as non-profit “social welfare” groups, which don’t have to release donor information or register with the Federal Election Commission. They’re supposed to be “primarily” engaged in promoting social welfare. Super PACs aren’t supposed to coordinate with campaigns, but it is common for them to hire politicians’ former aides. According to ProPublica, Ritter was first hired by Mandel as an aide when the candidate was in the Ohio Legislature. He was then the field director for Mandel’s state treasurer campaign and then became a constituent and executive agency liaison when Mandel won that race. He left the treasurer’s office after six months to work for Norris’ lobbying firm. Ritter was part of an ethics complaint filed after a Dayton Daily News investigation into Mandel’s practice of hiring former campaign workers for state jobs. Ritter has contested the charges.Norris' ties to the Government Integrity Fund was discovered by ProPublica through documents filed with Cincinnati NBC affiliate WLWT. The Federal Communication Commission requires TV stations to keep detailed records about political advertisers.

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown was in Cincinnati yesterday to launch his Small Business Owners for Sherrod group. At the event, Brown touted his small business and job creating credentials and received endorsements from leaders of small businesses, which Brown says are vital to restoring the economy. A letter of endorsement from John Pepper, retired CEO of Procter & Gamble, was read aloud at the event. In the letter, Pepper said, “Brown brings a level of experience and maturity to the office that it demands and that his opponent does not possess.” Brown’s opponent — Josh Mandel — is known to lie from time to time.A federal judge issued a final ruling yesterday banning the tiny free speech zones at the University of Cincinnati. The zones were declared to be too restricting of constitutional rights to free speech. The ruling is seen as a major victory for student rights.Ohio Democrats are pushing a bill that would require Gov. John Kasich and every governor after him to go before the Ohio House of Representatives for 45-minute question and answer periods 10 times a year. Local Rep. Denise Driehaus is one of the bill’s co-sponsors.Move to Amend will host a forum on corporate personhood in Cincinnati. Corporate personhood refers to court rulings that established constitutional rights for corporations. Critics argue the ruling makes corporations too powerful. Move to Amend wants to pass an amendment that would overturn the rulings. The forum will take place at the Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church on Aug. 29 between 7 and 9 p.m.In response to the ongoing controversy about early voting, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted has some advice: deal with it. In a statement yesterday, Husted said, “The rules are set and are not going to change.” It’s doubtful the statement will actually stop criticism, which has been recently leveled at racist remarks from Doug Preisse, chairman to the Franklin County Republican Party and close adviser to Gov. John Kasich.A poll from the University of Cincinnati shows both the presidential and senatorial races are close. The poll has President Barack Obama three points over opponent Mitt Romney with Obama at 49 percent and Romney at 46 percent, but the poll’s margin of error is 3.4 percent. The senatorial race is even closer: Brown is at 48 percent and Mandel is at 47 percent. Aggregate polling has the presidential race close somewhat close, but the senatorial race is much more in Brown’s favor.Home sales are up in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Median home sale prices are still below where they were a year ago, but the news is a sign the economy could be recovering.Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is suing Larry Foster, a water system seller that works in Cincinnati and Columbus under the names Water's Edge, DC Water Solution and Water Pro, for multiple alleged violations of consumer protection laws. The lawsuit claims Foster did not deliver water systems or, if he did, failed to install them properly or at all.Once again, Ohio tested above the national average in the ACT, a test that measures high school students’ potential ability in college. ACT officials said Ohio is one of the few states notably pushing to improve in math and science.The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says if Congress fails to act, the economy could plunge back into recession. The worry is that Congress will fail to extend tax cuts and stop budget cuts.Nearly two-thirds of Americans can’t name a single Supreme Court justice.How to keep bananas ripe: spray them with recycled shrimp shells.

The Ohio Board of Regents has recommended banning tobacco on all school campuses. The ruling is meant to curtail students picking up smoking during college. According to the Ohio Department of Health, 40 percent of college-aged smokers began smoking or became regular smokers after starting college. Louise Nippert, Cincinnati philanthropist and art patron, died yesterday at the age of 100. Secret groups have been pumping Ohio’s Senate race between incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown and Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel with out-of-state money in support of Mandel. Unsurprisingly, the Brown team is not happy about it. More Ohio adults are on Medicaid and Medicare, a new study has found. Ohioans are also relying less on employer-provided insurance. The numbers apparently match a nationwide movement. Yesterday, the world got its first glimpse at the suspect in the Colorado theater massacre. He had orange hair. A coalition of labor groups is getting together to push for a higher minimum wage in Ohio. They want minimum wage raised to $9.80 per hour in 2014. Penn State is getting a heavy-handed punishment from the NCAA. It seems like the occult hand of former coach Joe Paterno will continue having a heavy grip on the university’s football legacy. Apparently, earth’s resources aren’t good enough for technology. Scientists want to use dwarf stars to improve computers in a big way.