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/jill-biden-visits-columbus-state.html Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, along with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis made their first stop on the Community College to Career Tour, looking to draw attention to successful partnerships between businesses and community colleges. The mission: to develop the most “competitive workforce in the world,” said Biden. pat holmes http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/jill-biden-visits-columbus-state.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/santorum-to-speak-in-northwest-ohio.html Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum will add northwest Ohio to his state campaigning. GOP officials say Santorum will speak March 3 at the Lincoln-Reagan Day dinner for the 5th House district. They say all Republican presidential candidates have been invited to the dinner at Bowling Green State University’s student union. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/santorum-to-speak-in-northwest-ohio.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2012/02/22/obama-sings-blues.html WASHINGTON (AP) -- The president just couldn't say no: Mick Jagger held out a mic almost by way of command, and soon Barack Obama was belting out the blues with the best of them. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2012/02/22/obama-sings-blues.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2012/02/22/indiana-lawmaker-says-girl-scouts-promote-abortion.html Undaunted by ridicule from the leader of his own party, an Indiana lawmaker is standing by his allegations that the Girl Scouts is a radical organization that promotes abortions and homosexuality. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2012/02/22/indiana-lawmaker-says-girl-scouts-promote-abortion.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2012/02/22/obama-seeks-28-percent-corp-tax-rate.html President Barack Obama is proposing to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent and wants an even lower effective rate for manufacturers, a senior administration official says, as the White House lays down an election-year marker in the debate over tax policy. In turn, corporations would have to give up dozens of loopholes and subsidies that they now enjoy. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2012/02/22/obama-seeks-28-percent-corp-tax-rate.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/clean-energy-ballot-initiative-has-its-quirks.html A proposed Ohio renewable-energy ballot issue has some strange quirks: $13 billion in investments in wind, solar, geothermal and other energy projects over 10 years would be solely controlled by a secretive Ohio commission incorporated in the state of Delaware; the General Assembly would be strictly prohibited from influencing project selection and investments, or any operation of the Ohio Energy Commission Initiative; the spokeswoman for the energy issue, Evonne Richardson of Columbus, is a model, actress and burlesque dancer who also goes by Zulie Perfect, a fictitious name officially registered with Secretary of State Jon Husted. alan johnson http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/clean-energy-ballot-initiative-has-its-quirks.html 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/national_world/2012/02/22/u-s--not-ruling-out-arming-syrian-rebels.html WASHINGTON — The United States appeared to open the door yesterday to eventually arming the Syrian opposition, saying that if a political solution to the crisis becomes impossible, it might have to consider other options. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2012/02/22/u-s--not-ruling-out-arming-syrian-rebels.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2012/02/22/state-senate-panel-approves-gay-marriage-bill.html ANNAPOLIS, MD. -- A Maryland Senate committee approved a gay-marriage bill yesterday, sending it to the full Senate and moving Maryland closer to becoming the eighth U.S. state to legalize same-sex nuptials. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2012/02/22/state-senate-panel-approves-gay-marriage-bill.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2012/02/22/justices-take-up-affirmative-action.html WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed yesterday to hear a politically charged challenge to affirmative action at the University of Texas. The court’s decision gives conservatives another chance to reconsider the use of race in college admissions, and it further drives the court into the middle of the presidential campaign. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2012/02/22/justices-take-up-affirmative-action.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/meeting-puts-husted-in-gop-feud.html The intraparty feud splitting Ohio Republicans between those loyal to party Chairman Kevin DeWine and those backing Gov. John Kasich might have another prominent player: Secretary of State Jon Husted. joe vardon http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/meeting-puts-husted-in-gop-feud.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/pauls-volunteers-in-ohio-see-successattainedinsmallsteps.html A donations box sits just inside the door, next to a sign on the wall inviting people to the “Rock for the Revolution” concert in Columbus the night before the primary. Of the dozens of people in the office, not one is getting paid, and the volunteers move around at a casual pace, rather than like energy-drink-infused balls of stress. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas isn’t your average presidential candidate, and this is no average state political-campaign operation. jim siegel http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/pauls-volunteers-in-ohio-see-successattainedinsmallsteps.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/highway-funding-plan-stalled.html Washington’s inability to figure out a way to pay for the nation’s roadwork probably will result in a three- or four-year temporary fix, U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers said yesterday. The Upper Arlington Republican told a transportation conference sponsored by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission that he backs a GOP plan to increase spending on highway repairs and improvements by leasing the rights for oil drilling in five additional areas off the nation’s coasts. robert vitale http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/highway-funding-plan-stalled.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/pit-bulls-not-automatically-vicious-under-new-law.html Pit bulls no longer will be automatically classified as vicious dogs under a bill signed into law yesterday by Gov. John Kasich. jim siegel http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/pit-bulls-not-automatically-vicious-under-new-law.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/husted-backs-gop-panelists-in-ballot-feud.html Ohio’s elections chief has sided with fellow Republicans in breaking a tie vote over counting ballots in a disputed 2010 juvenile court election. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/husted-backs-gop-panelists-in-ballot-feud.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/paving-samples-need-monitoring-odot-told.html The state watchdog flagged “significant deficiencies” yesterday in how the Ohio Department of Transportation collects asphalt samples to ensure road crews are repaving highways effectively. david eggert http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/22/paving-samples-need-monitoring-odot-told.html http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/21/stivers-coastal-drilling-fight-with-obama-stalling-highway-funding.html Washington’s inability to figure out a way to pay for the nation’s roadwork probably will result in a three- or four-year temporary fix, U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers said today. robert vitale http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/21/stivers-coastal-drilling-fight-with-obama-stalling-highway-funding.html