President Barack Obama has canceled scheduled Wednesday appearances in Cincinnati and Akron to coordinate recovery efforts in the wake of super storm Sandy, the White House announced Tuesday. Obama was scheduled to highlight his second-term agenda from economic growth and the middle class, according to a news release. The release promised a “concrete and specific plan for the next four years.” Both Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney have been vague on details of exactly what they would do if elected next Tuesday. Vice President Joe Biden had also canceled Tuesday appearances in Wooster and Gambier, Ohio, “due to local preparations and response efforts” for the storm. Meanwhile Romney campaigned Tuesday morning near Dayton, where his campaign collected supplies and donation to be sent to storm-affected areas of New Jersey.

In-person early voting is underway in Ohio. Find your nearest polling booth here.Issue 2 is getting outraised quite badly. Protect Your Vote Ohio, the group opposing Issue 2, has raised $6.9 million, while Voters First Ohio, the group supporting Issue 2, has raised $3.6 million since July. If Issue 2 is approved by voters, it will put an independent citizens commission in charge of the redistricting process. Currently, the process is handled by elected officials, who have used the process in politically advantageous ways. Republicans redrew the First Congressional District, Cincinnati's district, to include Warren County. The move put more emphasis on rural and suburban voters, which tend to side with Republicans, and less on urbanites, which tend to side with Democrats. Not only will Ohio play a pivotal role in the presidential election, but RealClearPolitics, a website that aggregates polling, says Hamilton County is among two Ohio counties that will play the biggest role. In light of that, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will be in town this week. Obama will visit Oct. 31, and Romney will be here Nov. 2. Currently, Obama leads in Ohio by 2.1 points, while Romney leads nationally by 0.9 points. A partnership between the University of Cincinnati and U.S. State Department is going to Iraq. For the third year, UC will be working with Salahaddin University in Iraq to help redesign the Iraqi school’s curriculum and establish a career center. The Ohio Board of Regents and Ohio Department of Education (ODE) may merge soon, says Board of Regent Chancellor Jim Petro. The Board of Regents is already moving to ODE's building later this year. Petro said the building move will allow the Board of Regents, which focuses on higher education, to cooperate more with ODE, which focuses on elementary, middle and high school.  The Ohio legislature could be getting a big ethics overhaul in the coming weeks. Specifics weren’t offered, but Senate President Tom Niehaus said disclosure and transparency will be priorities. Cincinnati’s United Way beat its fundraising goal of $61 million in 2012. The goal was originally seen as “a stretch.” The nationwide meningitis outbreak is forcing some Ohio officials to take a look at the state’s compounding pharmacies. Compounding is when pharmacists make custom preparations for patients under special circumstances. The Ohio State Board of Pharmacy has already taken action against the New England Compounding Center, whose compound was connected with starting the meningitis outbreak. The FBI will join an investigation into fraudulent attendance data reporting in Ohio schools. Previously, state Auditor Dave Yost found five school districts were scrubbing data in his first interim report, but a second interim report cleared every other district checked so far, including Cincinnati Public Schools. Romney is getting a bit of attention for offensive remarks about the LGBT community he made when he was governor. On gay parents, Romney said: "Some gays are actually having children born to them. ... It's not right on paper. It's not right in fact. Every child has a right to a mother and father.'' 

There are only a few more weeks of political commercials, ads, promises and accusations flooding the TV and radio before the Nov. 6 presidential election. While many Americans are tired of political campaigning, Ohio — the most important swing state in the United States — has been showing a great response toward the campaign as it nears its end.  On Thursday, 4,000 people lined up outside of Jet Machine in Bond Hill to hear Republican candidate Mitt Romney speak at 11 a.m.  After flying in to Lunken Airport on Wednesday night, Romney had breakfast at First Watch in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday morning before proceeding to the rally in Bond Hill.  His visit in Cincinnati was the first of a three-stop bus tour in Ohio — along with Worthington and Defiance, Ohio later that afternoon.  At the Jet Machine warehouse, Romney criticized Barack Obama's campaign, foreign policies and plans for America's future.  "The Obama campaign is slipping because he keeps talking about smaller and smaller things when America has such big problems," Romney said.  Romney cheered on small businesses and promised that his businesses experience will help turn the economy around.  In a response to the Cincinnati rally, the Obama campaign explained that Romney's visit was just another attempt to try and convince Ohio workers that he is on their side and will stand up to China, when in fact it's the opposite.  "As a corporate buyout specialist, Romney invested in companies that pioneered the practice of shipping jobs to places like China, shutting down American plants and firing workers — all while he walked away with a profit," Jessica Kershaw, Obama for America — Ohio press secretary, explained.  "These jobs are likely to come at the expense of American workers in cities like Cincinnati, and that’s why the people of Ohio will not be supporting Mitt Romney this November.”  Romney ended the rally encouraging the Buckeye state to go to the polls and vote early.  "We need to make sure Ohio is able to send a message loud and clear: We want real change. We want big change," Romney encouraged.  In an attempt to secure Ohio, President Obama is due in Cincinnati on Halloween. With just two weeks remaining before election day, a new Ohio poll from TIME.com says that Obama is winning 49 percent of Ohio, compared with Romney's 44 percent.

In-person early voting is underway in Ohio. Find your nearest polling booth here. The last debate for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat took place last night. The debate between Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown and Republican challenger Josh Mandel mostly covered old ground, but the candidates did draw contrasting details on keeping Social Security solvent. Mandel favored raising the eligibility age on younger generations, while Brown favored raising the payroll tax cap. Currently, Brown leads Mandel in aggregate polling by 5.2 points. Mitt Romney was in town yesterday. In his speech, he criticized the president’s policies and campaign rhetoric and touted support for small businesses. The Cincinnati visit was the first stop of a two-day tour of Ohio, which is the most important swing state in the presidential race. But senior Republican officials are apparently worried Romney has leveled off in the state, which could cost Romney the Electoral College and election. President Barack Obama is expected to visit Cincinnati on Halloween. In aggregate polling, Obama is ahead in Ohio by 2.1 points, and Romney is up nationally by 0.9 points.  The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio says the use of seclusion rooms in Ohio schools should be phased out by 2016. The Ohio Department of Education and Ohio Board of Education are currently taking feedback on a new policy draft that says schools can only use seclusion rooms in cases of “immediate threat of physical harm,” but the policy only affects traditional public schools, not charter schools, private schools or educational service centers. Seclusion rooms are intended to restrain children who become violent, but recent investigations found the rooms are used to punish children or as a convenience for staff. Currently, Ohio has no state laws overseeing seclusion rooms, and the Department of Education and Board of Education provide little guidance and oversight regarding seclusion rooms. The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati and a City Council task force have a plan to make Cincinnati’s water infrastructure a little greener. A study found Cincinnati hospitals are good with heart patients but not-so-good with knee surgery. The names of the hospitals that were looked at were not revealed in the study, however. An economist at PNC Financial Services Group says 10,000 jobs will be added in Cincinnati in 2013. Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble has new details about its effort to reduce costs and make operations more productive. The company announced a “productivity council” that will look at “the next round of productivity improvements.” The company also said it will reach 4,200 out of 5,700 job cuts by the end of October as part of a $10 billion restructuring program announced in February. The world just got a little sadder. Chemicals in couches could be making people fatter.On the bright side, we now know how to properly butcher and eat a triceratops.

It’s recently come to my attention that it’s almost Halloween... In my opinion, costumes are imperative to any good October outing, but a successful ensemble doesn’t have to be complicated. Pulling from pop culture — from favorite movies and TV shows to current events — is a perfect way to find a culturally-relevant costume. (And, speaking of cultures, make sure you don’t select a get-up that mocks one. Racist costumes, much like Daniel Tosh, are way more offensive than clever or funny.) Dressing like your fave TV characters is always a hit. Most television networks sell costumes coinciding with their top shows online. Pay homage to the first season of American Horror Story by dressing as the Rubberman or sporting the creepy Larry Harvey burn-face mask. FX also offers costumes from Wilfred, Archer and The League. More of a Kenny Powers fan? Get his Miami Mermen look here because, in case you missed it, Powers is coming back fucking soon. Since creating your own costume is almost always preferred, put on your DIY cap and peep inspiration from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and 30 Rock.Whether you're throwing a Halloweekend party or just want to experience the weekend from your couch, peep this week's Halloween-inspired TV picks here. AMC, Syfy, ABC Family and other networks will be showing marathons of horror classics, family-friendly favorites and everything in between, in addition to new holiday-themed episodes of your favorite shows.And while there are tons of horror movies in theaters this weekend, Hollywood continues its butchery of all things sacred with the remake of Carrie. It's not in theaters 'til March 2013, but the trailer does look pretty creepy. Off the screen and onto politics, this being an election year promises plenty of Romney- and Obama-inspired costumes. Expect plenty of down-and-out Big Birds, binders full of women and horses-n-bayonets. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing Workout Ken 2012, aka a guy dressed as Paul Ryan from his P90XXX Time Magazine photo shoot. Fellas, all you need are some earbuds, a red ball cap, grey T-shirt and some free weights (fake ones if you’re not as ripped as Romney’s running mate.) Make it work!What’s orange, fiery and generally terrifying? No, not The Great Pumpkin. The Donald! Trump recently dropped his “October Surprise,” an announcement that had bloggers speculating all week. The statement, supposed to be detrimental to the Obama campaign, spurred rumors of everything from Obama’s alleged coke-dealing past to a failing relationship with his wife. But what recently surfaced was even lamer than all of that. Trump has requested that Obama release his college transcripts as well as his full passport records by 5 p.m. Oct. 31 (there’s the Halloween tie-in!) and he will donate $5 million to any charities of the president’s choosing. So, essentially, more birther bullshit. Yawn. Last time I checked, Trump had about the same amount of political pull as Lindsay Lohan, so I doubt this bears any consequence on the upcoming election, but it would be nice to see Obama stick it to the grotesque ginge and, hence, idiots everywhere, one last time.

In-person early voting is underway in Ohio. Find your nearest polling booth here. The final debate for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat is tonight. Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown and Republican challenger Josh Mandel will meet in Cincinnati to continue a feisty exchange of ideas and sometimes insults. In the last debate, the candidates drew sharp contrasts on policy, which CityBeat covered in-depth here. The final debate will be tonight at 7 p.m. on all Ohio NBC news stations, including WLWT.com. In aggregate polling, Brown is currently up 5.2 points against Mandel. Want to see what a biased headline from a local newspaper looks like? Here you go, from Business Courier: Romney win would boost economy, economist says. Strangely enough, the article says re-electing President Barack Obama could also lift the economy, which makes the misleading headline even worse. Unfortunately for the newspaper, Obama is currently leading by 2.1 points in Ohio against Mitt Romney, and the state will play a pivotal role in the election. Romney is leading by 0.6 points nationally. A group is trying to convince Cincinnatians to vote no on Issue 4. The initiative, which is on 2012’s ballot, would extend City Council terms from two to four years. Supporters of Issue 4 say it lets City Council focus more on passing laws and less on campaigning, but opponents say it makes it more difficult to hold City Council accountable.Ohio Supreme Court Justice Robert Cupp is distancing himself from a TV ad put out by the Ohio Republican Party that depicts his Democratic opponent, William O’Neill, as sympathetic to rapists. Liberal blog Plunderbund called the ad “tone deaf,” referencing recent instances of Republican senatorial candidates turning rape into a legitimate issue. The Republican Senate candidate for Indiana, Richard Mourdock, recently said during a debate, “I think that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.” Previously, the Republican Senate candidate for Missouri, Todd Akin, told reporters when discussing pregnancy caused by rape, “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” CityBeat looked at some of the benefits and downsides of green water infrastructure yesterday. Basically, it’s going to produce more jobs and economic growth, but it’s going to require long-term commitment and education. Later today, CityBeat will be talking to some city officials of how that green infrastructure can be adopted in Cincinnati. Hamilton County’s budget is tight, and that means no wage hike for county workers anytime soon, according to Hamilton County Commission President Greg Hartmann. Gov. John Kasich is taking his time in filling an open Board of Education seat. Rob Nichols, Kasich’s spokesperson, says, “We just want to get the right person.” But state law requires the seat be filled within 30 days, and the seat has been vacant for a month. An Ohio judge said provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct and polling location must still be counted.Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble beat Wall Street expectations, easing concerns from skeptical investors.Huntington National Bank is relaunching its credit card business in a move that will produce 250 new jobs, and Greater Cincinnati is expected to land some of those jobs. Ohio is getting a little love from Airbus. The aerospace company will be getting more of its parts from Ohio manufacturers. Cincinnati-based GE Aviation is already Airbus’ biggest U.S. supplier. A new health care report found health providers often cover up mistakes in fear of retaliation. The report also found health care has been slow at embracing the “culture of safety.” Apparently, strict parents raise conservative kids.