Frack the Parks???

This is just what a lot of people thought would happen--- fracking in the parks.

EcoWatch:

As reported Sunday, new evidence was released today showing Ohio Gov. Kasich’s involvement in the communications plan that detailed how the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) would “marginalize” opponents of fracking by teaming up with “allied” corporations—including Halliburton, business groups and media outlets—to promote this controversial drilling technique in state parks.

Wayne Struble, Gov. Kasich’s director of policy, sent out an invitation on Aug. 20, 2012 to eight of Kasich’s most senior staffers with the subject line: “State-Land Leasing—Strategy and Communications.” The subject line is nearly identical to the title of the original memo, Oil & Gas State Lands Leasing: Draft Outline for Communication Plan (8/20/12), created by the ODNR. The only other invited guests were top officials from the ODNR.

 

Among the Kasich staff invited to the meeting were: Gov. Kasich Communication Director Scott Milburn, Chief of Staff Beth Hansen, Senior Advisor Jai Chabria, former Director of Legislative Affairs Matt Carle (now Gov. Kasich’s campaign manager) and former Policy Advisor Craig Butler (now Kasich’s Ohio Environmental Protection Agency director)....

It is even more astonishing that the Kasich administration had a list of opponents (AKA an 'enemies list').  To see the people and organizations on the list visit this link.

   Here is a reaction from Brian Rothenberg.
 Ideastream:

...Brian Rothenberg, from the liberal think tank Progress Ohio, says the plan lays out a public relations hit list. 

“It, in a very Nixonian way, shows that the Kasich administration through their department of Natural Resources had an enemies list over drilling in public parks,” Rothenberg said, “and a public relations program that they put together in an effort to discredit or neutralize those groups that they thought would be opposed to drilling in public parks.”

Webwire has more:

In an attempt to bury a story about a planned administration spanning conspiracy to promote fracking in public parks, a secret communications plan was leaked by Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s administration to reporters late Friday afternoon.

The 2012 document [PDF] contains a Nixon-style enemies list. It includes detailed plans for various agencies spanning Kasich’s administration to “marginalize” opponents by teaming up with “allied” corporations, including Halliburton, business groups and media outlets.

Now more records have been released and they show Kasich may very well be caught up in a cover-up....

Wow! This is just one more reason why Ohio cannot handle another four years of John Kasich as Governor.