Cintas Corp. sets unrealistic production quotas for laundry workers that cause dangerous conditions and it led to the death of one worker in March 2007, according to a motion filed in a lawsuit against the company.

The widow of Eleazar Torres-Gomez, an employee who died when he fell into a dryer at a Cintas facility near Tulsa, Okla., made the allegation in an application filed Tuesday that seeks to amend her lawsuit.

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In a stark turnabout from the company’s previous position involving the incident, Cintas Corp. has settled a lawsuit filed by the wife of an employee who was burned to death in an industrial dryer at an Oklahoma facility.

When Eleazar Torres-Gomez was killed at the Cintas laundry near Tulsa, Okla., in March 2007, the company took no responsibility and blamed him for his death. Further, Cintas initially tried to block Torres-Gomez’s family from claiming workers compensation benefits.

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Well, surprise. Most of the Americans who don’t pay federal income taxes live in states that polls show are locked in for Mitt Romney. They are down South. Or out in the Southwest, according to Tax Foundation data.

Mississippi has the most filers with no income tax liability. It has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1980. When Obama was on the ballot there in 2008, he only got 43 percent of the popular vote. Yet 45 percent of Mississippi tax filers pay nothing. That tidbit certainly rips a hole in Romney’s contention that Obama voters don’t pay income taxes — Republican voters appear to be skating as well, and obviously in far larger numbers than Romney suggests.

Our neighbors in Kentucky — who voted early 60 percent GOP over the past three presidential elections — are pretty good at not paying income taxes too. Fewer send checks to the IRS than in West Virginia. Alaska is the outlier — it votes Republican and just 21 percent of its filers don’t pay income taxes to Uncle Sam. You betcha, the vast majority of Alaskans do send money to the IRS. Perhaps they write their checks while looking at Russia from their porches.

If you are wondering about Ohio, the state had 5.56 million tax filers. Of that number, some 68 percent paid federal income taxes. We’re a swing state that backed Obama in 2008. Clearly, not all the payers were Republicans.

Here is a map with all the data:

The Tax Foundation, a group based in Washington, D.C. that calls itself a nonpartisan research group, produced its state-by-state ranking of non-filers in May 24, 2010. It has been available on the Internet for more than two years, which means it was available long before Romney said Obama’s supporters don’t pay taxes. This insight gets right to the heart of the matter:

“Nine of the 10 states with the largest percentage of non-payers are in the South and Southwest. In Mississippi, 45 percent of federal tax returns remit nothing or receive money with their federal tax returns; that is the highest percentage nationally. Georgia is next at 41 percent, followed by Arkansas at 41 percent, and Alabama, South Carolina and New Mexico at 40 percent. All of the top 10 ranking states have among the lowest median family incomes in the country.”

Not that anyone really gives a [expletive] what Hank Williams, Jr., thinks about politics, but the country singer has gotten himself canned from Monday Night Football for saying insensitive things about subjects he doesn't know that much about. Williams yesterday told Fox & Friends that John Boehner's golf game with President Obama was "one of the biggest political mistakes ever," comparing it to “Hitler playing golf with (Israeli leader) Benjamin Netanyahu,” and then explaining that Obama and Joe Biden are “the enemy.”

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A Cincinnati outdoor advertising company announced Tuesday that it will take down controversial billboards that opponents claim are aimed at intimidating voters.

Norton Outdoor Advertising had been contracted to put up about 30 billboards that read “Voter Fraud is a Felony!” The billboards also listed the maximum penalty for voter fraud — up to 3 and a half years and a $10,000 fine.

Opponents of the billboards claim they were strategically placed in predominantly low-income and black neighborhoods in Cincinnati as a means to discourage those largely Democratic voters from going to the polls.

The billboards were funded by an anonymous “private family foundation.”

In a statement posted online, Norton Executive Vice President Mike Norton said the displays would be taken down as soon as possible. He wrote that the foundation and Norton agreed after hearing criticism that the sentiment surrounding the displays was contrary to their intended purpose.

The family foundation didn’t intend to make a political statement, but rather make the public aware of voting regulations, he wrote.

“We look forward to helping to heal the divisiveness that has been an unfortunate result of this election year,” Norton wrote.

Norton had previously told CityBeat that the billboards were not targeted but distributed randomly throughout the city.

Several Cincinnati officials wrote to the company requesting the billboards be taken down. 

ClearChannel Outdoor Advertising announced on Monday that it was removing similar billboards in Cleveland and Columbus.

The billboards throughout Ohio had garnered national criticism and media attention.

 A rival outdoor advertising company is putting up 10 new billboards to rebut the voter fraud ones. 

The new red, white and blue billboards will read “Hey Cincinnati, voting is a right not a crime!”

Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld said in an emailed news release that he reached out to Lamar Advertising Company to ask if they would donate the billboards throughout Cincinnati.

“We should be encouraging folks to participate in our democratic process, not trying to scare them,” Sittenfeld wrote. “I salute Lamar’s generosity and their support in encouraging citizens to raise their voice and not be scared away.”

A court order issued by U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott will permit the Federal Trade Commission to enforce subpoenas that seek access to bank accounts held by Kevin Trudeau, his wife Natilya Babenko and Global Information Network.  Trudeau reportedly made more than 32,000 broadcasts for The Weight Loss Cure, a book that the government claims was snake oil salesmanship. It now contends Global Information Network, which is based on the island nation Nevis-St. Kitts, might have parked cash in accounts with Fifth Third Bancorp, which has its corporate headquarters in Cincinnati.

The FTC says it wants $37.5 million from Trudeau to compensate consumers of another diet book he authored. It was a best seller called Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You Know About. Trudeau says he doesn’t have the money to pay the fine and court documents describe him as being hounded by the government. In Cincinnati federal court, Global Information Network, which goes by the acronym GIN, contends its assets should not be targeted by the subpoena because Trudeau “is not, and never has been, an owner, manager, officer or director of GIN.”  But the judge said the bank records were “relevant to determining whether Trudeau has used GIN to conceal his assets.”

The FTC said there is evidence showing that the offshore company has significant financial ties with Trudeau and his wife. It cited emails and money transfers, including $261,000 in checks from GIN that went into accounts controlled by Trudeau. The government said they were Fifth Third bank accounts.

Trudeau was banned from doing infomercials that made false claims in 2004. He settled charges he misrepresented a product called “Coral Calcium Supreme,” which was based on Japanese coral and could cure cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, lupus and other illnesses. The FTC called him a “prolific marketer” who specialized in health benefit infomercials. When he settled the case, Trudeau did not admit guilt. “This ban is meant to shut down an infomercial empire that has misled America n consumers for years. Other habitual false advertisers should take a lesson, mend your ways or face serious consequences.”

In her decision, Dlott said the Fifth Third accounts were needed in the government’s quest for the $37.5 million Trudeau owes for the consumer fraud fine: “The FTC has provided sufficient evidence establishing GIN’s bank account records are relevant to its investigation into Trudeau’s undisclosed assets and are sought for good cause.”

Anyone familiar with Hamilton County government knows that a large segment of the jobs are essentially political appointments, given to cronies of whichever party controls the particular office doing the hiring.

Still, the political quid pro quo is usually kept somewhat discreet and hidden from public view. Not his time.

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Chris Finney must be feeling rather schizophrenic lately.

The local attorney and arch-conservative activist is offering his services free of charge to the NAACP’s Cincinnati chapter, where he is chair of legal redress. His duties include assisting the chapter’s efforts at advancing the interests of the area’s African-American residents.

At the same time, Finney continues his legal work for ex-State Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr. and their political group, the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST). His latest effort there is a lawsuit trying to overturn the Ohio law prohibiting former state lawmakers from lobbying in Columbus for one year after they leave office.

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Despite rumors on state and national political blogs, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland told a private gathering in Cincinnati this past weekend that he has no intention of picking State Rep. Jennifer Garrison as his running mate in 2010.

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Here we go again.

After getting her marching orders from parent company executives, EnquirerPublisher Margaret Buchanan told newspaper employees that more layoffs would occur, probably this afternoon.

Reliable sources say between 15 and 18 people would be terminated from Greater Cincinnati's only remaining daily newspaper. Overall, about 2 percent of The Gannett Co.'s total workforce will be eliminated in the latest downsizing.

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