Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is exiting stage left. Praise the lord. In a surprise announcement today, Palin said she not only wouldn't run for reelection as governor next year, but also won't even finish her first gubernatorial term. Palin will resign her office in the next few weeks.

In a memo distributed to employees Thursday, Cincinnati Enquirer Publisher Margaret Buchanan wrote that the newspaper will lay off up to 100 people in the next few days. The Gannett Co., The Enquirer's parent firm, is bracing for about 1,400 layoffs in its newspaper division before July 9. Buchanan's memo is the first indication about how the cutbacks will affect Cincinnati's only remaining daily newspaper.

If the folks at CityBeat can finagle it, I want this entire blog to be in the color green. You know, to support Iran. Because nothing shows the despotic Shah (or is it the Ayatollah now? It’s hard to differentiate between ruthless dictators nowadays) that we Americans won’t stand for stolen elections like wearing the color green and Twittering (as far as I’m concerned, if it can’t be said in 140 characters or less, it’s not worth saying).

The COAST/NAACP anti-streetcar petition crew is causing all sorts of debauchery and grabbing headlines for its attempt to garner support for a sweeping, all-inclusive anti-rail ballot initiative. And it is exhausting.

A forum on health care reform featuring people who have been adversely affected by the current system that relies on private insurance will be held Thursday. Entitled “National Health Care Reform: The Time Is Now,” the forum will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. at St. Monica/St. George Parish Center, 328 W. McMillan St., Clifton Heights. Among panelists who will speak at the forum are uninsured people, small business owners who can't afford premiums for their workers and physicians.

Sparked by festering resentment over several recent votes, some Democratic Party precinct executives are mulling whether to call for a special meeting to try to rescind the party’s endorsement of Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Berding.

When it comes to debating policy issues, most people will tend to respect their opponents more if they at least use verifiable facts when making their arguments and not outlandish statements that are easily shredded.  Such is the case with Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou and his attacks on U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Westwood) over the recent "cap and trade" bill that seeks to limit carbon dioxide emissions.

A group of local people with connections to Iran will hold a rally Saturday at Fountain Square to show support for the dissidents protesting the recent Iranian presidential election.The rally is scheduled from 4-5:30 p.m.

After more than three years of work and undergoing several alterations, Cincinnati City Council approved an “environmental justice” ordinance Wednesday in a close vote despite opposition from the business community.Vice Mayor David Crowley, a Democrat in his last term, began working on the ordinance with an advisory committee in October 2005. Supporters held a rally at City Hall last week in anticipation of a decision, but Mayor Mark Mallory delayed a vote then because he believed council’s support was wavering. During the past few days, Crowley lobbied his colleagues hard and was able to muster the five votes needed for passage.

The UK furniture store Habitat capitalized on the Iranian political crisis on their Web site using Twitter keywords to lure potential customers who, instead of shopping, were looking for news on more mundane matters — human rights violations, political unrest, that sort of junk. Has it really come to this?