ONION: To Warren Mayor Doug Franklin for the false hope he spread in the wake of General Electric announcing that its Ohio Lamp plant in the city will close in early 2014. Franklin said the nearly one-year notification of the closing will give the city the chance to look at different options, including finding a new business for the site. That seems unlikely considering the city has had years to find new tenants for the Delphi plant on Dana Street and other abandoned factories throughout Warren.
ORCHID: To the estimated 65 area people who rode their bikes to work in downtown Warren last year. Plans are being made for this year's event. The second annual ''Bike to Work Day'' is being planned for 6 to 9 a.m. May 17 during National Bike Month. What a unique program. The committee making the plans include representatives of the Trumbull County Health Department, City of Warren, Greater Western Reserve Bikeway Trail, Trumbull Tourism Bureau and Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership.
ONION: To Vienna Fiscal Officer Vicki Anzur who said she has spoken with local banks about investment options for the $3.8 million inheritance tax windfall the township received, and that the use of the funds is limited by the Ohio Revised Code. While that is true on the surface, in reality the use of the funds is limited only by the imagination and hard work since any local state representative and senator worth their salt can, as it has been done many times in the past, change state law to permit using the money in any way that best serves taxpayers.
ONION: The the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative for lobbying against ''right to work'' legislation that, if passed, could help Valley communities make employment gains.
ONION: Again to the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative for supporting Medicaid expansion to those making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that states could opt out of the expansion as part of the federal healthcare program. Ohio should opt out to avoid massive budget increases that would hurt, in the long run, the very communities and people in them that the MVOC was created to help.
ORCHID: To students at John F. Kennedy Catholic High School who have formed a group to help animals called "Paws with a Cause." The club president and founder is James Mitolo, a junior at the school, and the vice president is John Nader. The faculty adviser is Joy Huber and the club has more than 40 members.