Thumbs up to ‘Pennies for Peace’

Here are this week’s “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” selections:

Thumbs up to the company that produces the Bill Goodman's Gun and Knife Show, a regular exposition familiar to most Southwest Ohio residents. This week, manager Dave Goodman said his shows will offer a free booth to police and federal firearms agents, strengthen background checks on prospective buyers, and better educate sellers on how to recognize so-called "straw buyers." The Goodman shows and other gun shows were identified last week in a report from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg that alleged that both licensed and unlicensed gun dealers at the shows in three states — Ohio, Tennessee and Nevada — were willing to sell firearms to detectives posing either as people admitting they could not pass a background check or as obvious straw buyers for other parties. It's too bad that an undercover investigation by Bloomberg's office — which is concerned about the number of handguns entering New York City — was necessary to discover these lapses, but we're glad the company has taken action to address the concerns.

We're pleased to see the city of Hamilton doing its part in the effort to end the nation's reliance on foreign oil. City officials said recently that they have been awarded a $200,000 federal stimulus grant for the purchase of two hybrid utility trucks for the city's electric utility department. The new trucks' technology is also environmentally friendly — less noise and fewer diesel fumes — and will reduce vehicle costs, officials say. Thumbs up to city fathers for taking advantage of the stimulus funds and the "green" technology.

Thumbs up to the students at Bridgeport Elementary School in Hamilton for participating in the "Pennies for Peace" program, which encourages students across the nation to collect pennies that go toward "building schools where children do not have schools," said Patty Stone, a Bridgeport teacher and member of the Hamilton School District's Character Education Committee. The drive began last month — coinciding with International Peace Day — and will conclude in December when the amount raised is announced at a "Give Peace A Dance" assembly at Bridgeport, Stone said. Keep up the good work, Bridgeport.

A correction

Fairfield Board of Education candidates Erik Rivera and Anthony Steer are not affiliated with area anti-tax group COAST (Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes), as the Oct. 14 editorial indicated, according to Fairfield school board member Arnold Engel, who is a member of North COAST.