Emmy Award-winning Feagler & Friends is a lively, weekly half-hour television discussion of local and national issues impacting lives in Northeast Ohio. Hosted by award-winning journalist and former Plain Dealer columnist, Dick Feagler, Feagler & Friends explores the various issues behind today's news. With a changing ensemble of "friends" ranging from journalists to community and political leaders, Feagler & Friends takes on issues from many different perspectives. Always entertaining and never boring, Feagler & Friends is the program for people "in the know" in Northeast Ohio.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Topics: Education, Politics, Economy, Other
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Newsmaker: Michael Schwartz, PhD, president, Cleveland State University. Schwartz announced this week he’s planning to step down July 1 of next year and return to teaching. Schwartz came to CSU as interim president in 2001 and decided to stay. Since then, he’s presided over a massive reconstruction program, toughened entrance requirements and opened the door to millions of dollars in research grants. Schwartz will take a year off following his retirement and join the CSU faculty in 2010.

Roundtable: James Ewinger, reporter, The Plain Dealer; Stan Bullard, senior reporter, Crain’s Cleveland Business; Greg Saber, reporter, WTAM 1100.

Repeal the State Income Tax: A group of Republican lawmakers, including two candidates for Speaker of the House, are suggesting it’s time to repeal the state income tax, which has been in place since the early 1970s. Axing the tax, they say, would put the state in a better position to compete with other states for economic growth. They plan to replace the income tax with nothing. They say the economy would grow fast enough to offset the loss of $9 billion.

Housing Spike: Northeast Ohio is one of the few real estate bright spots in the United States. Home prices increased slightly in the March to April period while dropping sharply elsewhere. But values here are still lower than they were a year ago. Those seeking cause for optimism elsewhere noted that the decline in home values might be leveling off. Meanwhile, a Case Western Reserve University study shows recent sub prime loan defaults in Cleveland were more likely to affect blacks than whites.

Guns and the Second Amendment: The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that the Constitution should be interpreted to permit gun ownership by individuals. The ruling came in a challenge to Washington DC’s ban on gun ownership and was the first time the high court had ruled on the meaning of the Second Amendment since its enactment in 1791. It settles the argument between those who believe individuals should own guns and those who thought the amendment only allowed armed state militias.

Newsmaker II: Patrick Shepherd, board member, National Stonewall Democrats: This week, we answer a conundrum raised in last week’s discussion of gay marriage now being allowed in California. The question is: what’s the difference between gay marriage and civil union, widely permitted in states like Ohio? It turns out there are nearly 1100 answers to that question and we’ll cover some of them on Friday’s Feagler and Friends.

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