Staying in Contact with London Mitchell

In this installment, Peggy Daly-Masternak brings us up to date on the grassroots effort to stop the proposed widening of I-475 through West Toledo. There will be a joint meeting of the Toledo City Council and the Lucas County Commissioners on November 18 at 5:00 to discuss the issue. Meeting will be at the Government Center in downtown Toledo.

The Toledo Free Press has returned but is now online. Editor in chief Lori King discusses the role the Free Press will play in local media and plans for the future.

Guest Anna Kolin is launching a new not-for-profit to offer support to veterans and first responders in northwest Ohio - The Inspired Lumber Project

October is Disability Employment Awareness Month. Observed each October, the Department of Labor encourages us to recognize the value and talent workers with disabilities add to America’s workplaces and economy. Guest is Erin Mayer, Assistant Director of the Service and Support Administration of the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities.

My guest is local author Tedd Long. We discuss his new book, The Toledo Papers, a fascinating compendium of letters and ephemera stretching back 200 years offering a never-before-seen glimpse into the past.

When parents are told their children are on the autism spectrum they can turn to the Autism Society of Northwest Ohio for support and information. We chat with the executive director Kate Schwartz.

There has been a recent increase in the number of data breaches … enough to prompt the Better Busine To discuss this issue with us is BBB president Lane Montz.

Unfunded mandates from the federal government are increasing costs to support children under the care of Children's Services. Guest Randy Muth, executive director of Lucas County Children Services explains the need for the levy on the November ballot.

Tim Berta, a graduate of Lourdes University, and his Bluffton baseball teammates were involved in a devastating bus crash in Atlanta. Seven were killed in that accident. In his new biography, Fielder’s Choice, Tim revisits that horrible moment… and the life-changing circumstances that followed.

Guest Adam Cassi discusses efforts by Keep Toledo-Lucas County Beautiful to fight litter and the upcoming Green Time in the 419 event.

Alpheca Muttardy, the lead macro economist and board member of the Coalition for a National Infrastructure Bank. The coalition is dedicated to enacting HR 4052 to create a $5 Trillion Bank to fund US infrastructure. Ms. Muttardy notes an immense backlog of infrastructure needs as well as new projects that would include: affordable housing, total broadband coverage, bridge and road repair or replacement, lead service line replacement, high-speed rail, and mass transit.

We are continuing a discussion we began last week with Peggy Daly-Masternak… a leader of a grassroots effort to stop the widening of I-475 through her West Toledo neighborhood… arguing the widening is not needed… and there are some health and environmental issues that are unwanted.

I love the opportunity to highlight grassroots efforts. In my opinion, they are the foundation on which our system of government is built. In this installment, we are doing a follow-up discussion with Peggy Daly-Masternak… a leader of a grassroots effort to stop the widening of I-475 through her West Toledo neighborhood… arguing the widening is not needed… and there are some health and environmental issues that are unwanted.

It was ten years ago that we heard on the morning news it was unsafe to use our tap water to drink, cook, or bathe. And the reason? Toxins from the green algal blooms on Lake Erie. It was a crisis. And while we have taken steps to ensure our water is now safe to drink, the algal bloom problem still exists. The water turns green every summer.

Author Anthony Knopps discusses his new book, published by the University of Toledo Press, "The No-Fail Mission: The Men and Women Behind the Presidential Service Badge." The book features stories about ten dedicated individuals who have earned the Presidential Service Badge.

Author Jennifer Boresz Engelking discusses her newest book, Lost Lake Erie. She recounts several of the entertaining, heartbreaking, and nostalgic stories of the lost sites, businesses, and industries of Lake Erie.

NOPRA, the Northwest Ohio Passenger Rail Association, advocates for an enhanced passenger rail service through Toledo. Our discussion focuses on the economic impact of improved passenger rail service.

Emma Fuller, who just graduated from Clay High School, received national honors at from Business Professionals of America. She talks about the dedication she has, overcoming a developmental disability and how participation with BPA will benefit her in college career at the University of Toledo.

Shirley Greene, an adjunct professor of history at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University, tells the story of her ancestors, free born blacks, who fought in the Revolutionary War. The book is Revolutionary Blacks, Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence.

Thoughts about how we can all be involved in the effort to slow global warming.