James Trumm

Toledo

Business Writer at The Toledo Blade

Reporter at the Toledo Blade. Opinions expressed are my own.

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Articles

Auditor to begin sending valuation decisions, refund checks this week

1 week ago | toledoblade.com | James Trumm

Lucas County Auditor Katie Moline plans to begin notifying people who have challenged their property valuations before the board of revision of the board’s decisions on Friday. Where decisions reduce property appraisals and therefore lessen the amount of property taxes owed, notifications will be accompanied by refund checks.
OHFA approves loans, tax credits for affordable housing projects

1 week ago | toledoblade.com | James Trumm

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency has approved financing that will create or preserve affordable housing units throughout the state. Among the funding recipients is the St. Mary Development Corporation, which received approval for a $1.75 million housing development loan for its Arrowhead Lofts project. The development will create 58 units of affordable housing in Maumee. The OHFA also announced projects that conditionally qualify for 9 percent low-income housing tax credits.
Toledo extends electric mower rebate program

1 week ago | toledoblade.com | James Trumm

The city of Toledo’s Division of Environmental Services has extended its offer to pay a $100 rebate to Lucas County residents who replace their old gasoline-powered lawn mowers with electric ones. The program, which to date has processed 347 rebate applications, was due to expire May 31, but will now accept rebate applications through Aug. 31.
Festivities mark the Toledo Zoo's 125 birthday

1 week ago | toledoblade.com | James Trumm

It began in 1900 with an adult woodchuck that may have been misidentified as a baby bear. According to the Toledo Zoo’s official foundation story, Toledo businessman Carl Hillebrand gave a woodchuck to Walbridge Park 125 years ago. The gift was the first animal in what later became the zoo. But other authorities claim that the woodchuck was donated by Megan Cole. Versions of that story also say that the animal was misidentified as a baby bear, a claim The Blade has been unable to confirm.
Cash is king: More Ohio home purchases are now all-cash transactions

2 weeks ago | toledoblade.com | James Trumm

Charles Scheib is one of the lucky ones in the local real estate scene. He bought a house in the Toledo area for $260,000 in 2017 with a 2 percent mortgage. He then sold it in 2024 for $483,000. He used the proceeds of the sale and some additional savings to buy his current home in Maumee for cash. Ironically though, his personal good fortune is part of a trend that has the potential to harm his business as a mortgage broker with Midwest Mortgage Investments, Ltd.
Toledo's breaking news, sports, and entertainment watchdog

2 weeks ago | toledoblade.com | James Trumm

Ottawa Park has bike trails, shelters with facilities for cookouts, a golf course, playgrounds, an amphitheater, an ice rink, the Toledo Police Museum, and other amenities — but it doesn’t have a permanent public bathroom. Visitors to the park, which is located on the south side of Kenwood Boulevard and North Cove Boulevard, have to make do with the plastic portable chemical toilets commonly known as porta-potties — and these are not available during the winter months.
Put-in-Bay man set to blast off to space by the end of the month

2 weeks ago | toledoblade.com | James Trumm

It’s probably safe to say that very few space farers have Jimmy Buffett’s “Cheeseburger In Paradise” set as the music that plays when they put callers on hold. It’s also fairly certain that no one from Put-in-Bay has ever experienced weightlessness. Enter Paul Jeris, world traveler, real estate developer, and soon-to-be spaceman. Sometime soon — probably before the end of May — Mr. Jeris will travel to Launch Site One, just north of Van Horn, Texas.
St. Luke's Hospital to be demolished, replaced with residential and retail units

2 weeks ago | toledoblade.com | James Trumm

The site of the old St. Luke’s Hospital will be redeveloped into a mixed-use complex that will include multifamily housing and commercial and retail units. Mercy Health will continue providing care on site, maintaining several medical buildings on the eastern portion of the Maumee campus, which will also undergo facility upgrades as part of the transformation.
Man pleads to reduced charges for 15-year-old girl's shooting death

2 weeks ago | toledoblade.com | James Trumm

An East Toledo man charged with killing a 15-year-old girl last year entered Alford pleas to reduced charges Wednesday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court. The agreement Robert Shields III, now 19, of the 500 block of Clark Street, made with prosecutors provides for a 25-year prison term when he is sentenced June 2 for involuntary manslaughter and aggravated burglary.
Owens Corning to repurchase 12 million shares

2 weeks ago | toledoblade.com | James Trumm

Owens Corning’s board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to 12 million shares of the company’s stock. The board’s action, taken May 14, comes in addition to a previously announced repurchase plan that is still authorized to repurchase up to about 5.7 million shares. “The additional share repurchase authorization reflects the earnings power of our company and confidence in our ability to consistently generate strong free cash flow,” said Brian Chambers, the company’s chairman and CEO.