Republican Norm Coleman is suing to challenge Democrat Al Franken's apparent recount victory in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race.

At a news conference Tuesday, Coleman says he won't accept an electoral board's determination that Franken won 225 more votes in the November election.

The lawsuit will keep the seat vacant for weeks or months. State law prevents officials from issuing an election certificate until legal matters are resolved.

Coleman, whose term expired Saturday, led Franken by 215 votes in the Nov. 4 count, but the advantage flipped during a prolonged recount. Coleman's lawyers say recount inconsistencies and election irregularities should be reviewed by a special three-judge panel.

Washington -- As they're sworn in today, Democratic freshman U.S. House of Representatives members are getting committee assignments. That usually means little in the short term, since junior members have little clout.

But committee assignments can be launch pads for members who take a deep interest in their committee subjects and gain respect of Capitol Hill veterans. And with the right committees, it can mean they get a voice, however muted, as tax, spending or bailout packages are being crafted.

So here's how the new Ohioans fared, based on the committee assignments just announced by Speaker Nancy pelosi:

* Marcia Fudge, Democrat of Warrensville Heights: Education and Labor Committee.

In watching Senate Majority Leader Reid's parliamentary dance to keep "Hot Rod" Blago's Senate appointment, Roland Burris, out of the Senate, and both the outgoing and incoming Democratic chairs of the Senate Intelligence Committee criticize the (incoming) Administration's CIA Director pick, am I the only one wondering where these forceful Senate Democrats have been the past eight years?

It's like they conserved all their powder during the Bush Administration so they were sure to have plenty of ammo to shoot themselves in the foot when they got the opportunity.

Cuyahoga County Republican stalwart Dick Pogue is latching on to Ohio's top Republican hope, state Auditor Mary Taylor.

In a letter to party members, Pogue, the county party's finance chairman, touts Taylor for, well, acting like an auditor.

"Mary Taylor is fulfilling her promise to hold government accountable and to root out fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer dollars," he writes, noting her Medicaid performance audit that identified $300 million in potential savings.

He also boasts that Taylor identified $1 million in potential savings in the county recorder's office most recently headed by Patrick O'Malley, who was forced to resign over an obscenity charge.

The Blade has a small blurb but I recommend reading the Columbus Dispatch article since it has more details. Apparently:

Rex Elliott, the Columbus attorney representing Cindy Stankoski and Vanessa Stout, told The Dispatch that the offer was made by Niki Schwartz, an attorney who unsuccessfully attempted to mediate the complaints last year on behalf of interim Attorney General Nancy H. Rogers.

The proposed settlement, described by Schwartz as being “in the neighborhood” of $200,000, was “completely unacceptable,” Elliott said. It included the stipulation that both women resign. Stout already quit Dec. 19; Stankoski is on extended leave.

Elliott proposed a $900,000 settlement, including legal fees, as compensation for persistent sexual harassment during the women’s employment under the supervision of Anthony Gutierrez, Dann’s friend and former general services administrator.

COLUMBUS -- Their lawyer says two women at the center of a sexual harassment scandal in the Ohio attorney general's office have rejected a settlement offer worth about $200,000.

Attorney Rex Elliott told The Columbus Dispatch on Monday that the office made a "completely unacceptable" offer to his clients, Vanessa Stout and Cindy Stankoski. Elliott has proposed a nearly $900,000 settlement.

The women filed sexual harassment complaints against Anthony Gutierre, who served as general services chief to former Attorney General Marc Dann. The complaints unraveled the Dann administration, as Gutierrez and several others were fired and Dann himself stepped down.

Stout resigned from the AG's office Dec. 19 while Stankoski is on medical leave.

Yesterday after I received the media release announcing that Jim or James Moody (his name is used as both) was running for Toledo Mayor I did what I normally do, researched public records. While I am a blogger and not a journalist, I emailed Mr. Moody last night to ask him a few questions concerning the material that I found that I wanted more information on, I was trying to give him the opportunity to respond so that what I wrote would be as accurate as possible. One of the main areas of concern was related to where does Jim Moody live? I received no response, so I’m going to address just one part of the questions I asked, residency…

It’s been stated to me from more than one source that they heard directly from Jim Moody that his wife and his children were not planning on moving into Toledo, I wanted to know if that was true.

President-elect Barack Obama's transition team promised that this year's inaugural balls will be different. Well, they will -- and that could mean a much bigger crowd for Ohioans lucky enough to get invited.

Ohio will share its ball with the rest of the Midwest, with the guests teaming into the modern Walter E. Washington Convention Center in the District of Columbia the night of Jan. 20.

Other states in the same ball: Kansas, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Missouri.

Records show the number of people charged with capital crimes in Ohio is also lower than in past
decades.

Prosecutors attribute the decline in death sentences to reduced crime rates and court decisions
that have narrowed the eligibility for the death penalty.

They also say the availability of a sentence of life without the possibility of parole is
leading juries to sentence fewer people to death.

The record low figure is consistent with a deep national decline in death sentences.

North Carolina had just one death sentence last year, the lowest since the U.S. Supreme Court
declared capital punishment constitutional in 1976.

Texas had 11 death sentences, tied for the lowest in the past 30 years.

I actually noticed the new design earlier when I was looking for something there, then just a few moments ago I saw this in the Blade announcing that Sylvania City Council was going to host a demonstration of their new site at their Council Meeting.

Head over and take a look, www.cityofsylvania.com. The video on the page for Residents is a nice touch, the site loads much faster than the old Sylvania website and appears to be very user friendly.