The Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that an 82-year-old man was severely beaten by two young men in a Norwood home invasion.

From the story:

The incident happened about 12:43 a.m. Monday, Hines told police, when two suspects forced themselves into his third-floor apartment in the 2200 block of Jefferson Ave.

align="right">
"As soon as I cracked that door open, they came at me with their fists up," Hines said Monday afternoon in his apartment. "It wasn't even open an inch."

The two men assaulted Hines, scraping his arms against the hardwood floors, punching him in the face, kicking him on the ground and shoving his head into the wall of the apartment.

"I was laying on the floor while they were kicking the hell out of me and everything else," Hines said.

The men also smashed Hines' two cordless phones and the two pairs of glasses that had been sitting on an end table.

Hines said he fought back.

"I gave it everything I could," he said. "But what are you going to do with two guys on top of you?"

According to the story, a neighbor heard the scuffle and called 911. When police arrived, one suspect unlocked and opened the door. Police say Hines had been beaten unconscious by Larry Stephens, 25, of Norwood, and Jason Swinburne, 26, of Oakley, who are charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary. Swinburne, whi is also wanted in California for a parole violation, charged at officers and was subdued with a Taser, Detective James Sumner told the Enquirer.

Again, from the story:

Hines doesn't remember much...

"They had me pretty much blacked out," he said. "I don't remember them taking me out of here or going to the hospital or anything."

Hines looked as though he'd been through a beating. His eyelids were heavy and swollen. His left cheek was puffed out and enlarged. His eyes were shadowed by considerable purple and maroon bruises. The raw spots on his arm were shrouded in gauze and bandages.

"I feel so bad, my head is just about to kill me," he said. "They didn't have any mercy on me."

Criminals don't follow the laws, they rarely show mercy, and they won't wait for police to arrive before beating their victims senseless. Only you can protect you. Get your Ohio CHL today.

Related Story:
The tragic face of defenselessness

Letter to OFCC: ''That poor man''

MSNBC.com is reporting that an employee opened fire Monday at the Northrop Grumman Ships Systems shipyard, critically wounding two co-workers.

From the story:

The alleged shooter, Alexander L. Lett, 41, of Escatawpa, was been charged with two counts of aggravated assault and was being held without bond at the Pascagoula Municipal Jail.

Investigators identified the two wounded employees as Ben Gaffney, 63, and Donald Eddins, 53. A hospital spokesman said they were in critical condition after surgery.

After the shooting, Lett tried to leave the building at the large complex that builds ships for the Navy and the Coast Guard but was stopped by other Northrop Grumman employees, police said.

Lett was a quality assurance inspector who had been at the shipyard for more than 20 years, and the wounded men were also longtime company employees, Leonard said. Officials said both were believed to be managers.

A 9 mm semiautomatic pistol was used in the shooting, Leonard said. He had no details on how it was brought into the building.

Northrop Grumman Ship Systems is Mississippi’s largest private employer, with more than 12,000 workers.

OFCC can report that Northrop Grumman enforces a “no-guns” policy on site and in vehicles on company property, ensuring that its employees are defenseless not only while at work, but while traveling to and from work.

When the Ohio House of Representatives passed Sub. House Bill 12 in 2003, a specific exemption prohibited companies from telling licensed customers and employees they could not store a firearm in their own automobile on the company parking lot. This provision was stripped from the final bill by the state Senate, rendering people defenseless (even on the drive to and from work), and making a repeat of the life-saving actions of Pearl High School Assistant Principal Joel Myrick at a Mississippi school shooting in 1997 much less likely here in Ohio.

Related Stories:
OK: Legislation would give new support to worksite gun law

CBS Evening News: Showdown Over Guns At Work

Workplace gun prohibitions = promises not kept

Op-ed: The False Hope of Gun-Free Zones

Whirlpool backs out of workplace gun ban suit, but doesn't lift ban

KS: Workplace shooting at another ''No-guns allowed'' business

The Toledo Blade is reporting that Lucas County jailers found a loaded gun and a knife hidden in the clothing of a prisoner brought in over the weekend by Toledo police.

"Somebody made a mistake," Sheriff James Telb told the Toledo Blade last night. "It should have been discovered at the scene of the arrest."

The incident is the second in two months in which jailers have found loaded guns on suspects arrested by Toledo police, Sheriff Telb told the Blade.

From the story:

Police charged Recoa Hickenbottom, 32, of 739 Bronson Ave., on charges of public indecency and disorderly conduct about 10:30 p.m. Saturday and took him to the jail.

He was seen engaged in a sex act with a 28-year-old woman on the sidewalk in the 1900 block of Lagrange Street as traffic sped by, according to a police report. Both were arrested.

At the jail, Mr. Hickenbottom was led to the booking desk, his hands handcuffed behind him, to be processed and admitted, Sheriff Telb said.

He said a booking officer found a folded four-inch knife in a sheath tucked in the suspect's belt and a .380 semiautomatic pistol in a jacket pocket.

A bullet was in the firing chamber of the handgun, and six rounds were in the magazine.

An additional charge of carrying a concealed weapon was filed against Mr. Hickenbottom.

The Blade story goes on to note that in early January, a loaded handgun was found on a prisoner during a strip search when he was given jail clothing to wear after he was booked.

"It was almost the same kind of scenario but the booking officer didn't discover it right away," Sheriff Telb was quoted as saying.

Related Stories:
Shots fired by inmate; weapon smuggled into Lucas Co. jail

Toledo's gun control laws are a proven failure

Law not followed in release of Lucas Co. CHL-holders' private information

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that Gov. Bob Taft has appointed the members of the Ohio Privacy/Public Record Access Study Committee, which will examine a broad range of issues related to release of public records and produce a report within a year.

From the story:

The members, who are not compensated, are: J. Bradford Tillson, of Dayton, former publisher of the Dayton Daily News; Thomas C. Griesdorn, of Columbus, vice president/general manager for WBNS-TV (Channel 10); John C. "Jack" Greiner, of Cincinnati, a partner in the litigation department at Graydon, Head & Ritchey; Jan Antonoplos, of Delaware, the Delaware County clerk of courts; Audra Osmena DeVictor, of New Albany, a deputy Ohio attorney general; John T. Fitts, of Cleveland, deputy general counsel for Progressive Casualty Insurance Co.; John Crenshaw, of Gahanna, the program director for WCOL-FM; Angela Bosworth, of Columbus, director of business development and general counsel for government affairs for OPENonline; Margaret J. Ritenour, of Columbus, vice president of legal services for the Ohio Association of Realtors; Gordon Gough, of Columbus, public-affairs director for the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants; Roger S. Blair, of New Albany, senior vice president and general counsel for First Community Bank; Michael L. Gonidakis, of Dublin, a senior deputy attorney general of consumer protection; and Deborah Archie, of Groveport, chief legal counsel for the Ohio Department of Administrative Services.

We can't help but wonder who among these people is actually going to care about the privacy part…

FLASHBACK: Plain Dealer's Clifton a part of Ohio Supreme Court PRIVACY Subcommittee

February 21, 2005
Toledo Blade

The three Republican candidates for governor have agreed to address the Lucas County GOP Lincoln Day dinner next month, an early joint appearance in what is promising to be one of the toughest primary races Ohio has seen in decades.

The dinner is set for April 13, said Sally Perz, interim party chairman. The appearance of Attorney General James Petro, Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, and state Auditor Betty Montgomery, won't be a debate, she said.

"I'm asking each of them to speak on a very tightly controlled program on one aspect of Lincoln that inspires them in their work," Ms. Perz said.

The event came together over the weekend, she said, and the search will begin today to find a location. Cost will be announced later as well, she said.

Related Stories:
2nd Amendment among Betty’s website ''keywords'', but content nonexistent

State Sen. Joy Padgett endorses Jim Petro for Governor

Headline: "Blackwell poll shows he is pick of GOP"