“BUILDING OHIO JOBS” PROGRAM TO BE FEATURED AT NOACA BOARD MEETING

In his State of the State address in February, Governor Ted Strickland proposed a $1.7 billion economic stimulus package, Building Ohio Jobs, that would create more than 80,000 good-paying jobs in Ohio. It would also lay the foundation for future economic prosperity by investing in the state’s energy economy, distribution infrastructure, biomedicine, bioproducts, public works, our downtown neighborhoods and the Clean Ohio fund. Marvin Hayes, the governor’s urban development and infrastructure director, and Anne Hill, the governor’s Cleveland office director, will discuss the program at the April 11 meeting of the Governing Board of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA).

“We are all eager to learn more about this program that promises to invest in job-creating industries, in our communities, and in our workers,” says Howard R. Maier, NOACA executive director. “Economic development is a major concern in Northeast Ohio.”

In addition, NOACA staff will request Board approval to enter into two contracts for the benefit of NOACA’s air quality programs. The contracts are with Sonoma Technology, Inc. to perform daily ozone and fine particulate forecasting for calendar year 2008, and with Ohio University to continue operating the online mapping Web page that displays hourly monitor readings and the air pollution forecasts.

The Governing Board meeting will be held on Friday, April 11, at 10:00 a.m. at NOACA’s offices, 1299 Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland.

For more information, call Gayle L. Godek, Communications Specialist, at 216-241-2414, ext. 283; or Steve Jones, Associate Director of Divisional Services, at ext. 352.