Lorain Port Authority gets bids for a boat to offer ferry service to Lake Erie islands (The Plain Dealer, March 31, 2009) Ferry service from Lorain to the Lake Erie islands should be under way by July Fourth now that two companies have submitted bids to sell a boat to the Lorain Port Authority.

Editorial: Targeted stimulus (Akron Beacon Journal, March 31, 2009) Ohio announced a spending plan for its $900 million share in federal stimulus funds for transportation projects last week. The nearly $21 million for four projects in Akron didn't come close to the $60 million or so the city hoped to receive, though that hardly is a cause for complaint.

Solar power bolts forward (Columbus Dispatch, March 31, 2009) Solar schools might become more common if state lawmakers have their way. Reps. Louis Blessing, a Cincinnati Republican, and Mike Foley, a Cleveland Democrat, plan to introduce legislation this week requiring solar panels on 25 percent of the state's approximately 5,000 public-school buildings, a number that includes schools and outbuildings such as bus garages.

Cincinnati metro's jobless rate 8.9% in February (Cincinnati Business Courier, April 1, 2009) The Cincinnati-Middletown area's jobless rate rose to 8.9 percent in February, up from 8.4 percent in January and 5.3 percent in January 2008, according to preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Initiative seeks to rebuild neighborhoods (Toledo Free Press, April 2, 2009) A mostly volunteer, private- and public-sector effort is underway in Toledo to revitalize the city by focusing on the neighborhoods impacted by Toledo Public Schools' Building For Success construction.

Study: Arts helping economy (Columbus Dispatch, April 2, 2009) A study concludes that the arts and other creative industries contribute more than $25 billion a year to the state's economy. The study was conducted by the Center for Regional Development at Bowling Green State University and commissioned by the advocacy group Ohio Citizens for the Arts. Among other findings: The creative industries employ 231,200 workers in the state and generate $1.1 billion a year in tax revenues.

Slots, tax hikes among Ohio's options (Cincinnati Enquirer, April 6, 2009) The abysmal state of Ohio's revenue forecast has a pair of competing factions offering Gov. Ted Strickland new arguments for two old money-making ideas.

Local adult education booms during hard times (Mansfield News Journal, April 6, 2009) Adult education centers in Mansfield have seen enrollment figures spike as area residents retrain for new careers to combat the double-digit unemployment figures.

Spread of jobs outside city center hurting Cleveland and other cities, study shows (The Plain Dealer, April 6, 2009) The closer you live to downtown in Northeast Ohio, the farther you may be from a job, concludes a national study to be released Monday.

Editorial: A life preserver for the Ohio Urban University Program (The Plain Dealer, April 5, 2009) Almost a month after we put out a SOS for the Ohio Urban University Program, it is still awaiting rescue from the Ohio General Assembly. And the wait is killing it.

Editorial: Cuyahoga quagmire (Akron Beacon Journal, April 2, 2009) Recent events have demonstrated powerfully that the commissioner form of local government just isn't up to the task of moving Cuyahoga County forward. Unless the pace of reform picks up, leading to a more open, accountable and responsive structure, the entire region will suffer, its fate dragged down by the sinking fortunes of the most populous of the state's urban counties.

Editorial: Region should root for Tech Town (Dayton Daily News, April 5, 2009) At a time when a lot of commercial projects have stopped or never got off the ground, construction for the first building at Dayton's Tech Town is going full tilt. By the end of June, workers should be moving into the city's campus-like office complex on the site of the old General Motors Harrison Radiator plant.

Residents raise stink about planned bioenergy plant (Columbus Dispatch, April 5, 2009) A dozen trucks would haul sewage sludge, food waste and restaurant grease into a proposed South Side bioenergy plant every day The facility would use bacteria to digest 40,000 tons of waste a year to create methane that would be burned to make electricity.

Alliance faces stimulus funds dilemma (Alliance Review, April 6, 2009) The city of Alliance is hoping that economic stimulus funds will help beef up police coverage. However, it isn't sure if it will take the bite if it is offered.

What's left of the Paper District? (Sandusky Register, April 6, 2009) The last paper-related company that's standing, Sandusky International, is struggling in the harsh economic climate. Chesapeake Lofts, a condo development that symbolizes Sandusky's hopes for revival, occupies a 1920s-vintage building originally used by Hinde and Dauch, the Paper District's biggest employer.