County Commissioner to seek another term
Athens County Commissioner Lenny Eliason has filed his petition to run for re-election in time to meet today's 4 p.m. deadline. Since August 1998, Eliason has been a commissioner, where he is joined by Bill Theisen and Mark Sullivan. He is also president of the board of directors for the County Commissioners Association of Ohio and in 2005 was appointed to serve on the Indigent Defense Task Force by Ohio Supreme Court Justice Thomas Moyer.
Eliason is running under the Democratic Party and must be nominated in the primary, which takes place May 2. Commissioners review and approve the county's budget, zoning changes and annexations to cities and villages, among other responsiblities, and serve four-year terms.
Homeland Security director critiques Katrina relief
A chastised Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff sparred with senators of both parties yesterday as he acknowledged many lapses in his agency's response to Hurricane Katrina.
Chertoff told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs that he would do things differently if he had the chance. One thing he would not do: give overall responsibility for the relief effort to Michael Brown, who was director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the time.
Brown, who resigned under pressure shortly after the Aug. 29 storm devastated New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast, has accused Chertoff and White House officials of ignoring his warnings on the day of the storm.
It is completely correct to say that our logistics capability in Katrina was woefully inadequate
Brown said.
Asbestos victim bill waits in limbo for Senate action
Sponsors of a sidelined bill for a $140 billion fund for asbestos victims are vowing to revive it, but it's uncertain when - or if - Senate leaders will find time to reconsider the measure.
We talked about bringing it up again Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said of conversations early yesterday with Majority Leader Bill Frist, who sets the Senate schedule.
That was the most Specter could say with certainty of the bill's prospects this year, a far cry from the Judiciary Committee chairman's declaration the night before that we have just begun to fight.
A spokesman for Frist said the Tennessee Republican is still considering the bill's prospects.
The leader has not closed the door to putting asbestos back on the Senate floor and will be working closely with Specter
said Eric Ueland, Frist's chief of staff.
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