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, May 11, 2007

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Newsmaker #1: Harriet Applegate, Executive Secretary, North Shore Federation of Labor. The closing of the Ford casting plant in Brook Park casts a long shadow across Northeast Ohio. As the new leader of the former AFL-CIO, Applegate has been tending to the concerns of local autoworkers, this week. She'll discuss what she's been hearing and share some thoughts on the larger ramifications of this blow to the area economy.

Roundtable: Joan Mazzolini, The Plain Dealer; Stan Bullard, Crain's Cleveland Business.

Is There a Ford in Our Future? Brook Park city officials and Ford employees thought they had dodged the fatal bullet last year, when workers agreed to contract concessions in exchange for new work at the plant. Instead, Ford announced Monday that it would shut down one of its engine assembly plants for at least a year. Over 1,700 employees will be affected by these shutdowns, not to mention the impact on smaller support businesses, and even area restaurants.

Progress at the Polls? Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner was in Cleveland this week to swear-in the new members of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, and the very next day the Board was put to its first test -- the May 8th primary. From all reports, the election came off with nary a hitch, but now the focus will be on next year's high profile presidential race. After a series of election day blunders that put Ohio in a negative national spotlight, the pressure will be on for the new Board to perform.

More Pain at the Pump: Gas prices have slipped back up past the $3.00 mark, just as Northeast Ohioans are starting to think about summer travel plans. The price spike also comes at a time of national debate over energy policy. Fuel efficiency is becoming more of a concern for the average motorist, as the sale of hybrid cars increases. Is the cost of gasoline forcing consumers to make some hard choices about where to spend their hard-earned money?

Newsmaker #2: Ken Kovach, executive director, International Community Council. As Northeast Ohio weathers the blow of another plant closing, there are some local voices asking area officials to start wooing a new generation of immigrants to the region. The argument goes that such newcomers could help repopulate Cuyahoga County and bring some entrepreneurial energy to the Greater Cleveland economy. A special task force or the Cleveland City Council has been meeting the past few weeks to explore the potential of international business development. Ken Kovach has been a key figure in these discussions and will explain this different spin on global competition.

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