http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/content/syndication/www.dispatchpolitics.com DispatchPolitics: Latest news, information, and blogs http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/trying-to-bail-out-a-flood-zone.html Franklin County is buying and demolishing 15 houses near a ditch in Franklin Township that floods after heavy rains. The county is spending $2 million in federal and local money to buy and tear down the houses and grade and seed land in the unincorporated area south of Downtown. But not every homeowner is accepting a buyout. mark ferenchik http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/trying-to-bail-out-a-flood-zone.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/village-hopes-to-replace-speed-trap-rep-with-destination-shopping.html ALEXANDRIA, Ohio — Meredith Martin likes to use the word renaissance. Martin said she moved her newly opened Sunbear Studio & Gallery to Alexandria from Delaware County because of the Licking County village’s small-town charm and great location near affluent communities. Having an art gallery on Main Street has residents buzzing with the hope that the village of about 500 people is on the cusp of an economic resurgence. josh jarman http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/village-hopes-to-replace-speed-trap-rep-with-destination-shopping.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/21/suburban-gripes-conveyed-via-social-media.html The smell of skunk begins near Sawmill Road and persists into the Dublin city limits. Drivers along the I-270 Outerbelt have noticed it, and so did a Dublin resident who fired off an email to Bruce Edwards, the city’s website designer and handler of many online complaints and questions. dean narciso http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/21/suburban-gripes-conveyed-via-social-media.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/21/permit-fees-vary-widely-some-are-rising.html Reynoldsburg businesses that want to install signs might be paying more — up to five times as much — just to get permission. The increase, and others like it, would bring in an additional $18,000 a year for the city, based on permits issued in 2010. Still, administrators say the various permit fees are meant to offset administrative costs, not make money. dean narciso quan truong http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/21/permit-fees-vary-widely-some-are-rising.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/21/delaware-county-commissioners-in-primary-fight.html The three men challenging the two Delaware County commissioners in the March 6 Republican primary say they would bring professionalism and fiscal responsibility to the board that is lacking. allison manning http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/21/delaware-county-commissioners-in-primary-fight.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/21/suburbs-blank-checks-vary.html Like a parent setting a child’s allowance, municipalities decide how much spending money to give their top officials. dean narciso http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/21/suburbs-blank-checks-vary.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/21/3-vie-to-become-licking-county-commissioner.html Licking County Republican voters have a choice among three candidates in the primary election for county commissioner. josh jarman http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/21/3-vie-to-become-licking-county-commissioner.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/20/delaware-county-commissioners-in-primary-fight.html The three men challenging the two Delaware County commissioners in the March 6 Republican primary say they would bring professionalism and fiscal responsibility to the board that is lacking. allison manning http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/20/delaware-county-commissioners-in-primary-fight.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/19/apartments-driving-columbus-rebound.html Rising numbers of new-building permits and zoning applications in Columbus bode well for two things: the local economy and controversy. dean narciso http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/19/apartments-driving-columbus-rebound.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/17/citylacks-housing-for-the-verypoor.html A national group says there is a severe shortage of affordable housing for extremely poor residents in Columbus, the state and across the country. In the Columbus metropolitan area, there are 27 affordable and available units for every 100 extremely low-income households, according to a new study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a Washington, D.C., advocacy group. mark ferenchik http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/17/citylacks-housing-for-the-verypoor.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/17/landbanktotacklevacanthouses.html A multimillion-dollar plan to revitalize Franklin County neighborhoods by tearing down or rehabbing dilapidated structures is expected to launch next week. lucas sullivan http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/17/landbanktotacklevacanthouses.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/17/neighborhoods-offer-budget-wish-lists.html It’s a sign of spring more reliable than any groundhog: Columbus officials are starting to talk about spending on construction-season projects such as resurfacing roads, building sidewalks and improving sewers. doug caruso http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/17/neighborhoods-offer-budget-wish-lists.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/17/same-sex-couples-should-be-free-to-marry-coleman-says.html Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman has endorsed two groups seeking freedom to marry for same-sex couples, several weeks after saying he was reviewing his position on the issue. doug caruso http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/17/same-sex-couples-should-be-free-to-marry-coleman-says.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/16/reynoldsburg-considers-higher-zoning-permit-fees.html Some city zoning permit fees could quadruple if the Reynoldsburg City Council approves a proposal by Planning Administrator Matt Hansen. david s. owen http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/16/reynoldsburg-considers-higher-zoning-permit-fees.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/15/cincinnati-scrap-metal.html CINCINNATI (AP) — An Ohio city has agreed to tough new restrictions on scrap-metal sales aimed at curbing theft problems. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/15/cincinnati-scrap-metal.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/15/county-fighting-infant-deaths.html Franklin County commissioners will soon learn whether the first installments of $7 million that the county plans to spend to decrease infant deaths are starting to pay off. deanna pan http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/15/county-fighting-infant-deaths.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/15/250000-to-rehab-house-denied.html Worthington lost out on government funding to buy and rehabilitate the blighted home where a teenager was shot. dean narciso http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/15/250000-to-rehab-house-denied.html