Ohio: Osu

But this doesn't mean that such deals should be outlawed, as proposed by state Rep. Matt Lundy, D-Elyria, head of the House Consumer Affairs Committee. He is sponsoring House Bill 12, which would ban Ohio's colleges from making so-called affinity agreements with banks in which a college provides a bank with student data and exclusive rights to market its cards on campus.

Such deals are lucrative for universities. Ohio State University gets $1.4 million a year from its deal with Bank of America, and the bank receives a mailing list of students and staff and the right to put the school's logo on its cards. According to its latest filing in 2006, OSU's Alumni Association also receives $1.

Programs helping keep Lake Erie waters clean and its charter boat captains hooking customers, as well as 4H youth agricultural programs, will face elimination or cuts under staff layoffs to Ohio State University's Extension offices announced Monday.

With a 24 percent cut in the extension office's $26 million state subsidy expected in the next state budget, OSU announced the staff cuts that will chop 22 positions from its county-based educators program. Another 38 positions are expected to be cut in another round of layoffs not yet formally announced. In Northeast Ohio, extension agent numbers will drop from about 55 positions to 39 positions after the 60 people statewide are let go.

Although higher education would be spared the worst of the state's budget-cutting pain -- overall funding during the next two years essentially would be flat -- several programs would be eliminated or cut.

"There is going to be casualties and shared sacrifices," said Chad Foust, state grants and scholarships director for the Ohio Board of Regents.

Currently, any Ohioan who attends a private college in the state is eligible for about $660 a year through the Ohio Student Choice Grant scholarship program.

But Strickland wants to ax the $34.5 million program and replace it with aid for needy students at Ohio's private colleges.

Three-fourths of the 50,000 Choice Grant students could become ineligible because they or their families earn too much money.

In his third State of the State speech, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland called for a "simpler, faster, better and less costly government."

Too bad Strickland did just the opposite in delivering the 6,429-word oration Wednesday.

The speech was his most important. He needed to address Ohio's staggering revenue shortfall and unveil a long-promised plan to radically reform how Ohio educates its children.

And he delivered some bold ideas on both fronts. But a flurry of anecdotes, Ohio history and quotations -- while mildly entertaining - lessened his punch.

He opened, for instance, with a five-minute anecdote about Ohio State University's resolve just after World War I to build a football stadium.