WestChesterBuzz.com

Deirdre Shesgreen reports:

Outgoing IRS Commissioner Steve Miller defended himself and the federal tax agency under intense grilling from House lawmakers Friday, saying the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups was not politically motivated but rather “foolish mistakes” made by “people trying to be efficient.”

Miller told members of the House Ways and Means Committee that he did not mislead Congress, even though he and other top IRS officials failed to tell lawmakers that IRS workers in Cincinnati had flagged tax-exempt applications from tea party and similar organizations for special scrutiny.

“I did not mislead Congress, nor the American people,” said Miller, who resigned under pressure from the White House earlier this week. “I answered the questions as they were asked.”

The line of questioning in the cavernous House hearing room quickly divided along partisan lines. Republicans tried to wrap the White House up in the scandal and suggested it was the “tip of the iceberg,” while Democrats tried to insulate the president and cast it as a limited incident caused by a handful of rogue IRS workers.

Committee Chairman Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., said the IRS targeting appeared to be part of a “culture of cover-ups and political intimidation in this administration,” with the truth “hidden . . . just long enough to make it through an election.”

The panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Sander Levin, of Mich., said the IRS had “completely failed” the public, but warned against turning the scandal into a political football. “If this hearing becomes essentially a bootstrap to continue the campaign of 2012 and to prepare for 2014, we will be making a very, very serious mistake.” he said.

During the highly charged session, which lasted nearly four hours, no new evidence emerged showing that top IRS officials were involved with developing or implementing the inappropriate criteria used to single out groups with “tea party,” ‘’patriot,” or “9/12” in their names.

J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which probed the IRS’ actions, said that policy was developed by a team of IRS specialists in the IRS’ Cincinnati office, which reviews applications for tax-exempt status from groups around the country. (more…)

Posted in: Government, News, Tea Party |

Tags: Tags: Cincinnati Tea Party, IRS Tea Party, IRS Tea Party scandal, Liberty Township Tea Party, Tea Party, West Chester Tea Party

Sheila McLaughlin reports:

A Butler County tea party organization is at the center of the battle involving alleged harassment by the Internal Revenue Service.

Officials from the Liberty Township Tea Party (LTTP) said they are joining the class action lawsuit against the IRS for allegedly red flagging them and making them answer a long list of questions regarding their 2010 application to be considered a charitable organization.

Tea party officials said they received another another similar set of questions this year. The organization’s website says it was established in 2009 and obtained its tax exempt status last year.

A press release emailed to The Enquirer and to WestChesterBuzz Wednesday said the organization will be represented by the American Center for Law and Justice. Board members Susan McLaughlin, Tim Savaglio and Katy Kern are traveling to Washington, D.C. Friday to participate in hearings about the IRS scandal.

“LTTP board members believe our national government used tax agency bureaucrats to investigate people and groups because of their political beliefs and gave that private information to opposing groups,” the release said.

Kern put it this way: “The IRS is just trying to be a big old backyard bully.”

Kern’s husband Dave Kern is a Liberty Township trustee and executive chairman of the Butler County Republican Party.

Documents obtained by The Enquirer and WestChesterBuzz indicate that the IRS in Cincinnati sent a letter to the tea party group on March 1, 2011. The letter asked 35 questions, asked for documentation in several areas, and gave the organization 21 days to respond.

One of the questions asked board members to “provide details regarding your relationship with Justin Bink-Thomas,” a Cincinnati tea party activist.

Liberty Township Tea Party officials called the questions “intrusive.”

“Why would the IRS ask you something about your neighbor, that’s just too big brother,” Kern said.

She said the organization also received a second set of similar questions from the IRS in 2013.

Posted in: Government, News, Tea Party |

Tags: Tags: Cincinnati Tea Party, IRS Tea Party, IRS Tea Party scandal, Liberty Township Tea Party, Tea Party, West Chester Tea Party

Carl Weiser reports:

It’s official: House Speaker John Boehner’s daughter Lindsay got married over the weekend.

Both Britain’s Mail Online and the New York Daily News got photos.

Lindsay Marie, 35, wed a dreadlocked Dominic Lakhan, 38, Friday evening in Delray Beach, Fla.

The Mail Online noted: “Male guests sported Hawaiian shirts and slacks while the women were clad in sun dresses and semi-formal gowns.” Boehner, a West Chester Republican, wore a gray suit.

Boehner had no comment.

“The Speaker’s daughters are not public figures,” Boehner spokeswoman Brittany Bramell told the Enquirer in an email. “Accordingly, our office does not comment on their personal lives, even with respect to joyous family occasions such as their weddings.”

Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Dominic Lakhan, John Boehner’s daughter Lindsay, John Boehner’s daughter wedding, Lindsay Boehner, Lindsay Marie, Lindsay Marie Boehner

Gregory Korte (USA Today) reports:

The Internal Revenue Service official responsible for tax-exempt organizations was briefed in 2011 that her unit was targeting Tea Party groups for additional scrutiny, according to a draft timeline of events compiled by the agency’s inspector general.

That chronology cast doubt on a statement to reporters Friday by IRS Director of Exempt Organizations Lois Lerner that she only learned of the enhanced reviews through news reports last year, and that only low-level employees were involved in the decision. The scandal broke Friday when Lerner apologized for how the agency handled Tea Party-related groups’ tax-exempt applications. Her apology was first reported by the Associated Press.

• STORY: Tea Party firestorm could stall other probes

The apology came in advance of the expected release of the critical report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which has been investigating the IRS’s treatment of Tea Party groups at the request of Congress. That report is expected this week, but excerpts obtained by USA TODAY provide a timeline investigators compiled through emails and interviews with IRS officials.

The timeline shows that on June 29, 2011, Lerner received a briefing on how IRS officials in Cincinnati were dealing with applications for tax-exempt status for Tea Party groups. The briefing paper showed that the IRS was subjecting certain groups to further investigation based on politically loaded terms in the tax-exempt application file. Groups were singled out for enhanced scrutiny if:

• The words “tea party,” “patriots,” or “9/12 project” appeared anywhere in the group name or case file;
• The group’s stated issues included government spending, government debt or taxes;
• The organization had a goal of educating of the public via advocacy or lobbying to “make America a better place to live;”
• Any statements in the case file critical of how the country is being run.

Under those criteria, 100 groups had their applications sent to a dedicated team of specialists for further investigation — adding months to the approval process, according to the report. (more…)

Posted in: Government, News, Tea Party |

Tags: Tags: Cincinnati Tea Party, IRS Tea Party, IRS Tea Party scandal, Liberty Township Tea Party, Tea Party, West Chester Tea Party

With gun sales soaring, a West Chester Township trustee is banking that there will be a market for those who may need legal protection for armed self defense.

George Lang, a West Chester trustee, and defense attorney Sean Maloney of Liberty Township came up with the idea of offering self-defense membership plans 2 1/2 years ago, before launching Second Call Defense in late February.

Lang and other investors have spent $200,000 in legal fees to make their dream a reality. They have 500 members from Washington state to Florida, and hope hope to have to 100,000 members in two years.

Maloney says their program, which is backed by the NRA Endorsed Insurance Program, is the only one in the United States that provides comprehensive legal and financial resources for armed self defense.

Unlike self-defense coverage offered by the NRA, which doesn’t provide financial assistance until after the court process is over, Second Call Defense provides immediate help by providing money for bail and an attorney retainer. With that help, Maloney claims court appearances can be avoided.

“We knew that if a law-abiding citizen properly uses a firearm in self-defense and they have immediate representation, then the case is going to end right there,” Maloney said. “If you don’t have that representation, anything can happen.”

Second Call Defense provides five levels of coverage that range from $8.95 up to $35.95 a month. Besides offering bail and money for an attorney’s retainer, all levels offer a 24/7 emergency legal hotline, a local attorney referral, accidental shooting protection and criminal defense reimbursement.

Certain levels of coverage also provide compensation while in court, psychological support, on-site gun/legal training and civil suit defense protection.

To help avoid providing a criminal with legal support, Lang and his partners set up a foundation made up of investigators to determine if their clients’ shootings are criminal, accidental or in self-defense.

Regardless, the membership plan will automatically provide money for bail and for the retainer.

“When we first approached the NRA, their big concern was about protecting someone who uses their gun in a criminal fashion,” Lang said. “We had to think long and hard. This probably added six months to our launch date. We are not going to protect a criminal.”

Butler County Prosecutor Michael T. Gmoser said that he takes self defense cases very seriously and looks at them carefully.

“In a self-defense case, you have to consider who the aggressor is, which may change,” Gmoser said. “You can be the aggressor initially, but end up being aggressed upon by the person you initiated the confrontation with.”

Gmoser also believes there are many misconceptions about the public’s rights for self defense. For instance, a homeowner who uses deadly force when they don’t appear be in real danger from an intruder could face murder charges.

“The Castle Doctrine does not give you carte blanche to execute someone who trespasses into your house,” Gmoser said.

“If you are able to disable the assailant and they are no longer a threat and you just decide to shoot them because you reason that you can kill someone who enters your house, you will be prosecuted for murder if that person dies.”

For information, call 513-463-0075 or visit secondcalldefense.org.

MEMBERSHIP PLANS

Basic: $8.95 per month. Includes member newsletter, self defense news, 24/7 emergency legal hotline, local attorney referral, up to $2,000 immediate attorney retainer, up to $1,000 immediate cash for bond up to $10,000, accidental shooting protection of $10,000 and criminal defense reimbursement of $10,000.

Advocate: $14.95. Includes $3,000 immediate attorney retainer, up to $2,500 immediate cash for bond up to $25,000, accidental shooting protection of $25,000, criminal defense reimbursement of $25,000, civil suit defense protection of $100,000 and civil damages protection of $25,000.

Defender: $19.95. Includes $5,000 immediate attorney retainer, up to $5,000 immediate cash for bond up to $50,000, accidental shooting protection of $50,000, criminal defense reimbursement of $50,000, civil suit defense protection of $250,000 and civil damages protection of $50,000, as well as online classes, $250 compensation per day while in court and 10 sessions of psychological support.

Protector: $29.95. Includes $7,500 immediate attorney retainer, up to $10,000 immediate cash for bond up to $100,000, accidental shooting protection of $100,000, criminal defense reimbursement of $50,000, civil suit defense protection of $500,000 and civil damages protection of $100,000, as well as online classes, $375 compensation per day while in court and 20 sessions of psychological support.

Ultimate: $35.95. Includes $10,000 immediate attorney retainer, up to $25,000 immediate cash for bond up to $250,000, accidental shooting protection of $250,000, criminal defense reimbursement of $50,000, unlimited civil suit defense protection and civil damages protection of $250,000, as well as online classes, on-site training, $500 compensation per day while in court and 40 sessions of psychological support.

Posted in: Business, Crime, Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Prosecutor Michael T. Gmoser, George Lang, gun, gun control, Michael Gmoser, Michael T. Gmoser, NRA Endorsed Insurance Program, Sean Maloney, Sean Maloney attorney, Second Call Defense, Second Call Defense membership, Second Call Defense membership plans, Second Call Defense Ohio, Second Call Defense US, Second Call Defense West Chester, West Chester Township Trustee George Lang, West Chester Trustee George Lang

Butler County Common Pleas Judge Andrew Nastoff is resigning from the bench Aug. 2 to move out of state with his wife and children.

Nastoff, in a prepared statement sent to the press, said his wife’s job promotion is the reason for the move.

Nastoff has been a common pleas judge for more than eight years and is currently the administrative judge for Butler County.

Before taking the bench he worked as an assistant prosecutor and defense attorney.

Posted in: Crime, Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Andrew Nastoff, Butler County common pleas, Butler County Common Pleas Court, Butler County Common Pleas Judge Andrew Nastoff, Judge Andrew Nastoff

To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.

WestChesterBuzz.com also recently added a new video page last week. To view West Chester and Liberty Township related videos, visit westchesterbuzz.com/videos.

Liberty Township retail project has new look – A Columbus developer returned to Butler County Thursday with a slightly revised plan for the $300 million shopping destination spot it wants to build in Liberty Township, Sheila McLaughlin reported for The Cincinnati Enquirer. Yaromir Steiner, founder and chief executive officer of Steiner + Associates, is counting on $35 million from the county and township to make improvements around the 100-acre site, at Liberty Way west of Interstate 75.

West Chester Hospital tax status case watched closely – Butler County and the cash-strapped Lakota Local School District stand to lose a combined $43 million over the next 18 years if West Chester Hospital’s charitable tax status is upheld, Sheila McLaughlin of The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. County commissioners are appealing the case to the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, saying the county failed to receive a hearing on the matter. School officials are keeping an eye on it.

Summer’s Homearama being delayed until July – The director of the Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati confirmed Thursday that due to unforeseen construction delays, that this summer’s Homearama at Carriage Hill in Liberty Township is being pushed back to July. It will be the latest summer Homearama, which will now take place July 13-28, in the 50-year history of the home showcase, according HBA executive director Dan Dressman. The event was previously scheduled to take place June 8-23.

Bridgewater Falls is back on the block – Fairfield Township’s upscale shopping center, Bridgewater Falls, is for sale. And this time it’s for a positive reason, Cindi Andrews reported for The Cincinnati Enquirer. Blue Ash-based Phillips Edison bought Bridgewater Falls out of foreclosure in 2010. It boosted occupancy to 97 percent and is now testing the possibility of cashing in on its investment.

Kroger Marketplace discussion to be revisited – Last month, a Blue Ash developer scrapped plans to bring a Kroger Marketplace to West Chester after local residents convinced the township’s zoning commission that it wasn’t good idea. The developer, Silverman and Company, is considering a new plan, but wanted to hear from their opposition first by hosting a public input meeting at the Wingate Inn Thursday. During that meeting, many residents continued to voice their concerns.

Larry Sykes named Lakota East girls’ basketball coach – Larry Sykes was named the Lakota East girls’ basketball coach Tuesday. Sykes, an assistant at Lakota East the past two seasons, was formerly the Purcell Marian head coach during the 2010-11 season. Sykes, 40, replaces Nikki Drew, who stepped down at the end of this past season in order to spend more time with her family.

Posted in: Business, Events, Government, News, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Carriage Hill, Carriage Hill Liberty Township, Carriage House Liberty Township, Crossings of Beckett, Home Builders Association, Homearama, Homearama 2013, Homearama Cincinnati, Homearama Cincinnati 2013, Homearama Liberty Township, Homearama Liberty Township 2013, housing, housing development, housing development plan, Interstate 75, Kroger, Kroger Marketplace, Kroger Marketplace West Chester, Kroger West Chester, Lakota East, Lakota East basketball, Lakota East Sports, Lakota school district, Larry Sykes, Larry Sykes Lakota East, Liberty Center, Liberty Center Liberty Township Ohio, Liberty Center shopping center, Liberty Town Square, Liberty Township business news, Liberty Way, Liberty Way Interchange, Liberty Way project, Libertytown LLC, Nikki Drew, Nikki Drew Lakota East, Nikki Drew Xavier, Randy Terry, Silverman and Company, Steiner + Associates, Tom Eggert, West Chester Hospital, West Chester Hospital taxes, West Chester Medical Center, West Chester Township Zoning Commission

Sheila McLaughlin reports:

Butler County commissioners and Liberty Township trustees gave an overwhelming warm reception Thursday to their first glimpse of the updated Liberty Center mega-retail project and committed to work out details of $35 million in public financing.

The $300 million project by Steiner + Associates and Bucksbaum Retail Properties is pegged for an October 2015 opening on 100 acres at southbound Interstate 75 and Liberty Way in Liberty Township.

Touted as the Easton of the northern Cincinnati area, the complex will include a 200,000-square-foot Dillard’s store, and about 370,000 square feet of specialty retail shops and restaurants, a 1,200-seat dine-in restaurant, luxury apartments and a hotel.

Yaromir Steiner, founder and chief executive officer of the Columbus-based development company, said he also plans to build a chapel in a public square for non-denominational services, weddings and small concerts.

Posted in: Business, Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Caroline McKinney, I-75, Interstate 75, Joe Hinson, Liberty Town Square, Liberty Township business news, Liberty Way, Liberty Way Interchange, Liberty Way project, Libertytown LLC, Steiner + Associates

A youth baseball complex in West Chester is looking for a sponsor to name its fields, as township trustees unanimously voted Tuesday night in favor of allowing its management group to search for sponsorship opportunities.

The West Chester Baseball Complex, which features four well-groomed fields located off Union Centre Boulevard, has an economic impact of just more than $1 million annually, according to the Butler County Visitors Bureau.

Its management group, headed by Mark Dunaway, is seeking the sponsorship opportunity to help the park raise the $110,000 it needs annually to operate and maintain the complex, which hosts 900 youth baseball games each year.

“Our task is a very difficult one. We are competing against other baseball complexes, many of which are larger, and we are also doing it in a sluggish economy,” Dunaway said. “We expect with the signage program we can be on more solid financially footing by reducing the uncertainty of raising that $110,000.”

West Chester does not provide the complex any money for maintenance of the complex. The management group, made up of seven unpaid volunteers, actually pays the township $10,000. That money is used on replacing items in the complex that have reached the end of their life.

Dunaway says the complex is the only one in Cincinnati and one in a handful in the Midwest that is operated on fees that it raises and through advertisements.

“Most baseball operations are supported by the township or cities. It is pretty unusual we are able to do this,” Dunaway said.

The baseball complex cost West Chester $1.3 million to build in 2005. Township officials say it was constructed with tax increment financing and as a tourism driver for the community. Since it was built, the township has contributed $19,000 to the complex.

Posted in: Board of Trustees, Business, Government, News |

Tags: Tags: West Chester Baseball Complex, West Chester Board of Trustees

Sheila McLaughlin reports:

A Columbus developer will return to Butler County Thursday with a slightly revised plan for the $300 million shopping destination spot it wants to build in Liberty Township.

Yaromir Steiner, founder and chief executive officer of Steiner + Associates, hopes it’s not a deal breaker. He’s counting on $35 million from the county and township to make improvements around the 100-acre site, at Liberty Way west of Interstate 75. Otherwise, he said he can’t obtain the rest of the private financing he already has lined up.

The $300 million mixed-use project was first proposed to have two 100,000-square-foot department stores with a mix of specialty retail shops, a hotel, a dine-in cinema, restaurants, office space and high-end apartments.

Much of that proposal remains the same, with one major exception: A single department store instead of two. Dillard’s has signed on to build a store twice the original size.

The project’s name has also changed. Liberty Town Square is now Liberty Center.

“It will be shocking to me if this deal craters. So many cities would kill for a project like this,” Steiner said in an interview Monday in his Columbus office where he gave The Enquirer an exclusive look at the project.

Steiner + Associates had proposed the project years earlier, but put it on hold in 2008 when the economy tanked.

Barring any financial glitches, Phase I of the project would begin in October 2013. Steiner, who is partnering with Bucksbaum Retail Properties in Chicago, said he hopes to break ground in October or November of this year, if the county and township provide their financial support.

A “major” retailer that Steiner isn’t ready to disclose will occupy anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000 square feet of the retail space that once was reserved for a second 100,000 square-foot department store. Steiner said he has five candidates for that space.

“Is the second one a department store in the sense that they will have departments in the store like the traditional perfume counter? No. It’s going to be something different. We think the difference will be a strength,” Steiner said. (more…)

Posted in: Business, Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Caroline McKinney, I-75, Interstate 75, Joe Hinson, Liberty Town Square, Liberty Township business news, Liberty Way, Liberty Way Interchange, Liberty Way project, Libertytown LLC, Steiner + Associates