Buzz

AEP meters to spell out power use

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 11/28/09 Thursday, December 03, 2009

What the heck is a smart grid? asks the Columbus Dispatch.

The answer is complicated, but many central Ohio households will need to understand it sometime soon, as American Electric Power is weeks away from the largest smart-grid project in its history.

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Ohio lawmakers seek Third Frontier ballot initiative

DAYTON BUSINESS JOURNAL, 12/1/09 Thursday, December 03, 2009

Two lawmakers in the Ohio House of Representatives are backing plans to extend the life of Ohio's Third Frontier technology initiative, reports the Dayton Business Journal.

State Reps. Jay Goyal, D-Mansfield, and Sandra Williams, D-Cleveland, said Monday they plan to co-sponsor a joint resolution to seek voter approval for $1 billion in Third Frontier bonds over five years. The Third Frontier initiative was designed to last until 2012, a decade after it began, but is set to close a year early because of reduced state revenue.

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The right time for renewables?

FARM AND DAIRY, 12/1/09 Thursday, December 03, 2009

An Ohio State University professor says now may be the time to invest in solar, wind and other types of renewable energy, reports Farm and Dairy.

Fred Michel, a professor with Ohio State University's Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, told a crowd at the university's second annual renewable energy workshop, that state and federal funding is available, but should be used soon, before it goes away.

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Powell business owner rebuilds from real estate rubble

FORTUNE SMALL BUSINESS, 11/19/09 Thursday, December 03, 2009

Duane Draughon, of Powell, learned to remain loyal to the mission -- "whatever the cost," he tells Forbes Small Business.

While that mind-set has guided him since he left the Marine Corps in 1997, Draughon has had to remake his patio-paving company in order to rise from a difficult economy.

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Akron-based Goodyear cracks list of Best of What's New for 2009

POPULAR SCIENCE, 12/09 Thursday, December 03, 2009

Popular Science highlights an energy-saving tire made by Goodyear as a top pick in its annual Best of What's New.

Promising a significant 4 percent gain in fuel economy, the Fuel Max tire will be standard equipment on the Chevrolet Volt when it goes into production late next year.

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Cincinnati start-up issues hacker challenge

SOAPBOX, 12/1/09 Thursday, December 03, 2009

Many software companies talk a big game when it comes to Internet security, but Wiresoft is putting its money where its mouth is, reports Soapbox.

The Cincinnati-based network security provider will pay $24,000 to anyone who can hack Firegate, its single-platform network security product.

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Nation's design employers: UC is tops

SOAPBOX, 12/1/09 Thursday, December 03, 2009

The University of Cincinnati has the top undergrad interior design program in the nation, the country's leading design employers tell Soapbox.

UC's program was ranked first in the nation in the DesignIntelligence 11th annual America's Best Architecture and Design Schools study, on behalf of the Design Futures Council.

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Maker of first-responder gear adds 150 Dayton jobs

CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL, 12/1/09 Thursday, December 03, 2009

A producer of firefighter and first-responder gear is adding about 150 manufacturing jobs to its recently expanded plant in southwest Ohio, reports an Associated Press article published in the Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mail.

Honeywell First Responder Products said Tuesday that it will be adding the jobs at its Dayton plant to accommodate new business with the military. The company recently completed a 5,200-square-foot plant expansion.

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GE Aviation announces $200-million plan for Evendale headquarters

Cincinnati.com, 11/6/09 Thursday, November 19, 2009

A vision of a world-class, 21st Century manufacturing, engineering and research campus emerging from a World War II-era industrial plant is behind a $200 million revitalization plan for GE Aviation's headquarters in Evendale, reports Cincinnati.com.

The multi-year project includes investment of more than $100 million in new equipment and facilities at the 400-acre plant, which dates from the old Wright Aeronautical Co. in 1941.

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First-of-kind study shows economic impact of Knox County food system

Ohio Farmer, 11/16/09 Thursday, November 19, 2009

A first-of-its-kind Ohio State University analysis is helping planners in Knox County strengthen the area's local food system, reports Ohio Farmer.

The project report, "Planting the Seeds of Sustainable Economic Development: Knox County's Local Food System," provides a detailed assessment of Knox County's food and farming system, focusing on the impacts of increased production of food to be sold and consumed locally.

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Monkeys bulk up as gene builds size of thigh muscles

Bloomberg, 11/11/09 Thursday, November 19, 2009

Ohio researchers found that monkeys that had a gene injected into their legs developed bigger, stronger thighs in an experiment that may pave the way for human trials among people with muscle-wasting diseases, reports Bloomberg.

Several diseases cause muscle weakness and have no effective treatments, said Jerry Mendell, director of the gene therapy center at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and an author of the study published Nov. 11 in Science Translational Medicine.

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OSU's Gee named one of Time's 10 best college presidents

Time, 11/11/09 Thursday, November 19, 2009

Even in Ohio, where the Taft name rings a loud bell, it takes a rare talent to hold an audience rapt while telling a long anecdote about William Howard Taft, a President known mainly for his girth. But E. Gordon Gee can do it, reports Time.

As president of the Ohio State University and one of the most experienced university executives in the U.S., Gee is campaigning for a revolution in higher education at a time when the field is more important, and perhaps more troubled, than ever before.

Read the full story here.

Medical Mutual, Quicken, remove jargon from consumer medical bills

Youngstown Business Journal, 11/12/09 Thursday, November 19, 2009

Medical Mutual of Ohio is becoming the nation's first health plan to offer Quicken Health Expense Tracker with bill pay, reports the Youngtown Business Journal.

The free-of-charge Quicken Health Expense Tracker automatically retrieves, organizes, and explains claim and billing information in a way that clearly shows members what they owe and why. It also replaces medical jargon and codes with easily understood language.

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Wright Pat breaks ground on fuels research facility

WHIO-TV, 11/9/09 Thursday, November 19, 2009

Officials at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton broke ground Nov. 9 for the Assured Aerospace Fuels Research Facility, reports WHIO-TV.

The Air Force Research Laboratory project will construct a 4,000 square-feet facility capable of producing 15 to 25 gallons of alternative aviation fuel per day to support research by the Lab's Propulsion Directorate.

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Coalition urges legislation taking obesity fight into Ohio schools

The Columbus Dispatch, 11/18/09 Thursday, November 19, 2009

Ohio's children are fat and getting fatter. The problem has reached such alarming proportions that a new, powerful coalition of businesses and health-care advocates is pushing for statewide standards designed to make Ohio students healthier, reports the Columbus Dispatch.

The Healthy Children coalition is backing a bipartisan bill that aims to get children more active and expose them less often to unhealthy lunches and snacks.

Read the full story here.