The Dirty Details

There have been numerous reports of problems with the food service in Ohio's prisons. Plunderbund has more details:

...when reports of maggots in prison food, on kitchen equipment and in serving lines made headlines, the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, the union representing the majority of Department Rehabilitation and Correction employees, said the maggots “are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of contract infractions being committed by Aramark.”

Christopher Mabe, OCSEA President, offered testimony at a Statehouse hearing that shined a light on unsafe working conditions that have developed since food-service contractor giant “Aramark” started delivering prison food. OCSEA’s leader also said that because of the Philadelphia-based company’s contract infractions so far, DR&C has to add resources to supplement the contract.

Testifying before the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee in downtown Columbus, Mabe said nearly 100 Aramark employees have been banned from ever entering a DR&C prison, more than 100 instances of food shortages and issues ranging from increased contraband, to low staffing levels, to inappropriate relationships, a combination of factors that lead to the inescapable conclusion that Aramark never had control of the contract....

For even more unsavory morsels, read the entire post at Plunderbund.

Ohio: Number 33 in Job Growth!

Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, Ed FitzGerald, wants current Gov. John Kasich, to end the disaster of Ohio's charter schools: http://tinyurl.com/msdcngo

In the Chronicle-Telegram, Ed FitzGerald says average Ohioans are in a bind under Kasich:

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald on Sunday accused Republican Gov. John Kasich of balancing the budget on the backs of local governments.
 

Analyzing state statistics, One Ohio Now, a liberal policy group, estimates local governments and schools have lost $1.86 billion in state taxpayer aid between the 2010-11 fiscal year and 2014-15. That works out to $1.5 billion to cities and counties and $349 million to schools. Lorain County lost $48.4 million — $33.8 million to local governments and $14.6 million to schools, the policy group said....

...FitzGerald cited Kasich’s income tax cuts and sales tax increases. Analyzing state statistics, Policy Matters Ohio, a liberal group affiliated with One Ohio Now, said the wealthiest 1 percent of Ohioans, who earned at least $335,000 annually in 2012, received about a $6,000 annual tax cut in the first Kasich budget. Those earning between $33,000 and $50,000 annually received a $5 annual tax cut, while those earning less than $33,000 earned a $24 tax cut, Policy Matters Ohio said....

The middle class is losing in Ohio!

* The Review looks at  job loss in Ohio:

....Overall government employment fell from January 2011 to June, led by nearly 25,000 jobs lost in local government. Median incomes in Ohio have fallen about $7,000 over the past decade....

According to WP Carey at Arizona State, Ohio is 33rd in job growth for June 2014.

Rank
2014

Ohio 33......

No way to run a state!

Things have gotten pretty bad with the food service in Ohio facilities:


10TV.com:

10TV has obtained more than 160 reports from the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction showing infractions against Aramark, the company that provides food service.

Aramark is receiving $110 million over two years to provide food to inmates. 116 documented incidents show the company has fallen short by running out of food or providing unapproved substitutes.....

....Another report showed the milk provided was spoiled on June 4, 2014.

Five days later, they ran out of eggs. On July 14, 2014, the entree, pizza, ran out with 544 inmates left to eat....

Previously, 10TV had reported the problem of maggots in prison food......

10TV:

The Ohio Department of Corrections will send inspectors to every state prison after multiple reports of maggots found in food. 

Over the last few weeks, maggots have been reported at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville and the Trumbull Correctional Institution in Leavittsburg....

.....Aramark, the company contracted to provide meals for Ohio's 26 prisons, says it's investigating claims of maggots like in prison kitchens....


Of course, the Kasich administration is doing this all in our names. It is time to end the contract with this company.

Promises

* Wages are flat in Ohio. It appears the only people making money are those friends of Kasich's that are getting millions of dollars from JobsOhio.

Plunderbund notes that Kasich & Co. are intermixing job commitments with real new job numbers:

...Job commitments are not Jobs.  Job announcements are not Jobs.
Jobs are jobs.
Right now Ohio ranks 38th in job growth nationally and we’ve had 19 straight months of job growth below the national average.  The jobs we have recovered pay less than the ones we lost.  And we found out this morning that unemployment claims in Ohio jumped last week, despite a decrease nationally.  For the week ending July 5th, Ohio ranked third in the nation for new initial unemployment claims....

Promises are made to be broken and those job 'promises' have not all produced real jobs.

* Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine appears to have established a 'pay to play' program that benefits his friends and contributors. Plunderbund has written a number of posts covering the scandals surround DeWine's office.

Plunderbund:

....DeWine’s political allies also get special treatment.    Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonadakis received  special access to DeWine after Gonadakis used his organization to promote DeWine during the 2010 election.   Gonadakis was later invited for personal meetings with DeWine to discuss securities contracts.  Gonadakis’s lobbying business grew nearly 10 fold after DeWine took office.

Phil Burress, the anti-gay activist who heads up Citizens for Community Values (CCV), also helped DeWine woo social conservatives in the last election.  Burress’s daughter, a lawyer who also donated to DeWine’s campaign, later received lucrative special counsel contracts from DeWine’s office....

...This week we found out that lawyers, lobbyists and firms seeking work from DeWine have another avenue for funneling boatloads of cash to him: through his favorite charity.  Hands Together Inc. operates a school in Haiti named after DeWine’s deceased daughter.     The AP reports that donations raised by DeWine for the group have doubled since he took office.  “The donations show how companies or attorneys who seek to influence DeWine can find creative ways to do so,” writes the AP....

Tell your friends and family about this disgusting activity going on in DeWine's office.