The Blade (Toledo, OH) articles from July 2006

The Blade (Toledo, OH) archives from July 2006

Perrysburg court may violate law, federal judge says.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Eric Lund Jul. 1--A federal judge in Toledo has ruled that Perrysburg Municipal Court officials "appear to violate the law" by using the Wood County Jail as a "debtor's prison" for people who owe court costs. "Imprisonment for...

Sex-offender registry takes shape: Ohio online program a first for any state.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Jim Provance Jul. 1--COLUMBUS -- Ohio set out without benefit of a road map yesterday to create an unprecedented on-line civil registry of accused sex offenders who may never have been convicted of a crime, charged with one, or...

Prosecutors claim Noe attorneys may be called on to testify at trial.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Steve Eder Jul. 1--Prosecutors asked a judge to disqualify Tom Noe's attorneys from defending the indicted rare-coin dealer, claiming the lawyers would be called to testify as witnesses in a trial, according to records unsealed...

2 guilty in Secor Metropark sex sting: Grady exec, 3 others await hearing.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Laren Weber Jul. 1--Two of six local men arrested on sex-related charges in an undercover sting at Secor Metropark have been found guilty in Sylvania Municipal Court, while a pretrial hearing yesterday for a third was rescheduled....

Navarre glad to be back: Police chief enjoys post's challenges, rewards.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Christina Hall Jul. 1--Heads are still spinning about this week's Toledo police chief shake-up. And one question is on everyone's mind: Why did Chief Mike Navarre return to the job from which he was bumped six months ago by his...

Report tracks origin of Taft donation: $2,500 gift linked to Noe was given during '02 event featuring Bush.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Steve Eder and James Drew Jul. 1--COLUMBUS -- The $2,500 contribution that state investigators believe Tom Noe laundered into Bob Taft's 2002 re-election campaign ended up in the governor's coffers during a Columbus fund-raiser...

Execs of ailing Dana could be paid millions.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Jon Chavez Jul. 1--Michael Burns, chief executive of Toledo's financially troubled Dana Corp., would receive a $6 million bonus if the firm successfully emerges from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company has proposed. The...

Mutual fund group moving HQ to Chicago.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Mary-Beth Mclaughlin Jul. 1--A well-known mutual fund group, created by Owens-Illinois Inc., plans to move its headquarters and 70 jobs from downtown Toledo to Chicago next year. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc., owned since 2001 by...

Father gets 3 years in prison for killing baby.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Mark Reiter Jul. 1--An East Toledo man who violently shook his infant son and then fled to Florida while the baby was clinging to life on a ventilator before dying was sentenced yesterday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court to three...

Sanders says Fisher to blame in departures: Key officials follow TPS boss to new job.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Ignazio Messina Jul. 1--Former Toledo Public Schools Superintendent Eugene Sanders yesterday blamed the exodus of key district administrators on Darlene Fisher, president of the Toledo Board of Education. "I'm going to be quite...

Westfield expansion would turn apartments into stores.
July 1, 2006

2 auto plants mark milestones.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Julie M. Mckinnon Jul. 1--Toledo's largest manufacturing plants marked emotional milestones yesterday as more than 400 workers said their good-byes at General Motors Corp.'s Toledo Powertrain, and DaimlerChrysler AG finished the...

ODOT budget woes delay highway plans.
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Patch Jul. 1--The second phase of rebuilding the I-475/I-75 interchange in Toledo and construction of the western section of U.S. 24 in Paulding County have been pushed back several years by the Ohio Department of...

Faith-based groups join effort to increase the minimum wage.
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Yonke Jul. 1--"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' " -- Matthew 25:40. Churches and faith-based groups in Toledo are joining state...

Tata sharp as Toledo clobbers Indianapolis.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Maureen Fulton Jul. 1--Jordan Tata threw a lot of strikes. The Indianapolis Indians threw a lot of balls. Last night at Fifth Third Field, the Mud Hens won 7-0 behind their young starting pitcher. The Indians helped by issuing...

Newcomer Mohr making an impression.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Maureen Fulton Jul. 1--By design or not, Dustan Mohr hasn't wasted any time in showing his new Toledo teammates his work ethic. Mohr, a 30-year-old outfielder, signed with the Mud Hens as a minor league free agent this week and...

Tin Goose: still reliable, still rumbles.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Benjamin Alexander-Bloch Jul. 1--PORT CLINTON -- The historic metal rattled in time to the engines' rumble, but the passengers inside felt safe and secure yesterday -- as Henry Ford intended when he started producing Tri-Motor...

Opposition mounting to Erie Township rail yard.
July 1, 2006... Byline: Erika Ray Jul. 1--ERIE, Mich. -- Opponents of a proposed Erie Township railyard now have backing from the Monroe County commissioners -- and more than 2,700 people. Ohio-based U.S. Rail Corp. wants to build a rail-truck...

Stars come out at Country Concert '06: Carrie Underwood, Keith Anderson among many big names at the Ohio event.
July 2, 2006... Byline: Brian Dugger Jul. 2--Carrie Underwood is in Idaho, "somewhere near Boise, I think," she says, not sounding too sure of herself. Keith Anderson is in Manhattan, Kan., "out here in the middle of nowhere," he says with a laugh. ...

Paul Simon's new adventures: '60s icon goes where the music takes him.
July 2, 2006... Byline: David Yonke Jul. 2--Paul Simon has always known the power of music. The singer-songwriter, who will be in concert tonight at the Toledo Zoo Amphitheater, was a sixth-grader in Queens, N.Y., when he teamed up with Art Garfunkel...

Old Wives' Tales: You've heard them a million times, and sometimes they're true.
July 2, 2006... Byline: Ryan E. Smith Jul. 2--Dead men tell no tales. But old wives, they've got tons of them. Chocolate causes acne. Crack your knuckles and you'll develop arthritis. For just about every situation -- sickness, pregnancy, bad...

Vacations for one: Single women increasingly are hitting the road alone.
July 2, 2006... Byline: Ann Weber Jul. 2--Helen Roberts might never have seen Norway if she had waited for someone to go there with her. And Gabrielle Warncke might not have gone heli-hiking in the Canadian Rockies or breathed the air of Mexico,...

Summer months prove deadliest to teen drivers: Study says 16, 17-year-olds find it tough to keep focus on road.
July 2, 2006... Byline: Laren Weber Jul. 2--Amanda Zakeri of Toledo has heard it all. She has heard stories of head injuries, spine injuries, and the devastation of families when teenagers like her are seriously hurt in car accidents. Her father, Dr....

Race is on to find top tailgater for speedway finals.
July 2, 2006... Byline: Kathie Smith Jul. 2--NASCAR has its own style of tailgating. Celebrations often last for a week and meals include overflowing platters of homemade food, opulent decorations, and great spirit. Lifetime Products, a manufacturer...

Investigators' handling of Noe case raises questions; just 1 of 24 alleged conduits prosecuted for donations.
July 2, 2006... Byline: Mike Wilkinson Jul. 2--Like a baseball box score, the Tom Noe campaign-finance cases have some important numbers: $45,400. The amount of money Noe illegally laundered into the Bush campaign. 24. The number of people Noe...

Fetal alcohol disorders fill lives with challenges: Caregivers struggle to help kids cope.
July 2, 2006... Byline: Robin Erb Jul. 2--It is a brilliant pink rose outside her Stony Ridge home this day that has attracted Mauda Morris. Squealing, the 5-year-old girl bounces over to the new bloom, reaching for it. Nearby, her mother winces....

Death-row inmate fights to keep date with destiny: Ohio's latest 'Volunteer' scheduled for July 12 execution.
July 2, 2006... Byline: Jim Provance Jul. 2--MANSFIELD -- Rocky Barton would rather die now than spend his next two decades on Ohio's death row fighting execution. Before the former southwest Ohio man twice shot his 44-year-old wife, Kimbirli Jo, he vowed...

Tenant's plea of 'release me' often denied.
July 2, 2006... Byline: Gary T. Pakulski Jul. 2--Medical student Hien Huynh is haunted by the tragedy that unfolded just outside the doorstep of his south Toledo apartment in the predawn hours of June 3. Angry voices. Screams of "Help!" "Help!"...

Sandusky boasts of more than coasters: Weekend visitors feature tall ships.
July 2, 2006... Byline: Joshua Boak Jul. 2--SANDUSKY -- Elizabeth Wharry knew about the historic underground railroad trolley tour, but this weekend's Festival of Ships surprised the psychic investigator. For $11, Ms. Wharry rode the freedom trolley...

Could a 12-week class help cure Carty?
July 2, 2006... Byline: Russ Lemmon Jul. 2--Five molasses-coated Lemmon Drops to nibble on while waiting for naysayers to accept the U.S. surgeon general's findings on secondhand smoke: * It might be time to stage an intervention. Six or seven of...

How much contaminated water can Lake Erie take?
July 2, 2006... Byline: Steve Pollick Jul. 2--When you think of the world in terms of watersheds, it looks different, much different. Take the Lake Erie watershed, for example, particularly in light of the recent historic storms and the deluge of rain...

Just in time, there is a new flag to fly on July 4.
July 2, 2006... Byline: Mary Alice Powell Jul. 2--A new American flag hangs from the sun porch here at the Farm House. It's beautiful. The red stripes and blue background are fresh and bright. The stars stand out as if they could be picked off it. I...

Proposal would slow solicitation by lawyers: Rule calls for 30-day period before clients struck by tragedy could be contacted.
July 2, 2006... Byline: Mark Reiter Jul. 2--A proposed rule under review by the Ohio Supreme Court would ban lawyers from soliciting potential clients within 30 days of an accident. A ban on mail solicitations is among dozens of changes that the...

EDITORIAL: No more smoke screens.(Editorial)
July 2, 2006... Jul. 2--The Surgeon General's report on secondhand smoke removes all doubt about the need for a comprehensive statewide ban on smoking in public places in Ohio. Opposition to a uniform smoking ban has been based on the false claim that...

EDITORIAL: Do ask the Pentagon.(Editorial)
July 2, 2006... Jul. 2--The discovery of a Pentagon document that groups homosexuality as a mental health problem along with mental retardation and personality disorder defies explanation. It's been more than 30 years since the mental health community...

EDITORIAL: Outward migration.(Editorial)
July 2, 2006... Jul. 2--Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner tried an innovative approach to find out why young adults leave the city. In a move to plug the "brain drain," as the phenomenon is known, he collaborated with local high schools to survey graduates who...

Indians are likely headed for Disney.
July 2, 2006... Byline: John Harris Jul. 2--Forever and a day, the idea of the Cleveland Indians leaving their longtime spring training home in Winter Haven, Fla., was barely a blip on the radar. The Indians would never leave Winter Haven. Winter...

About ready to party: Mud Hens putting final touches on All-Star plans.
July 2, 2006... Byline: John Wagner Jul. 2--For the Mud Hens, preparing to host this year's Triple-A All-Star Game is a little like planning for a wedding. The Hens have tried to plan for everything. They've put painstaking effort into getting every...

Ludwick homer pivotal for Mud Hens.
July 2, 2006... Byline: Maureen Fulton Jul. 2--For the first six innings of last night's game, Indianapolis starter Oliver Perez made the Mud Hens batters look silly. With one swing of the bat, Ryan Ludwick made none of that matter. Ludwick's two-run home...

Tribute set for crash victim: Memorial bicycle ride will honor area physician.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Jennifer Feehan Jul. 3--Just a few days before Dr. Stephen Snedden was hit and killed by a drunken driver while cycling on West River Road, he came across a poem that moved him so much, he took copies home to his three daughters....

2 shooting incidents send 4 men to hospitals: 'Hotheads' fire shots in crowd outside bar.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Clyde Hughes Jul. 3--Four men were hospitalized in South and Central Toledo from two separate shooting incidents early yesterday, including bullets fired in a parking lot possibly by customers who were just kicked out of a popular...

Groups clamor to sponsor Ohio charter schools: Monitors in growing industry get a percentage of tax dollars.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Ignazio Messina Jul. 3--The market for "sponsoring" charter schools in Ohio is getting more crowded, and with good reason. The nonprofit groups, which include traditional school districts, that monitor and "sponsor" the...

Photo exhibit draws nature lovers indoors.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Jane Schmucker Jul. 3--On a day like yesterday, Ansel Adams might have headed outside to shoot pictures of raindrops on the grass. The rain, however, gave area folks the opposite idea as they went inside the Toledo Museum of...

Suburbs also feel pain of recession: Income declines exceed Toledo's.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Jim Tankersley Jul. 3--If we learned anything from June -- from its mayoral spats and All-America honors and Census-supplied discouragement -- it's that Toledo may be struggling, but its suburbs are smiling. Right? Maybe...

Bush declares storm disasters in Lucas, Huron, Erie counties.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Tad Vezner Jul. 3--President Bush declared a federal disaster yesterday in six flooded and tornado-stricken counties in northern Ohio, including Lucas County, unlocking grants and low-interest loans for victims. Victims from...

Monroe eager to blaze trails: City-to-lake scenic path envisioned by officials.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Carin Yavorcik Jul. 3--MONROE -- Afternoon showers yesterday may have rained on the proverbial parade, but the mist only added to the beauty of the marshlands surrounding a future GreenWays trail. The city of Monroe had...

New director of Great Lakes panel praised: Leader has worked 25 years with environmental groups.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Tom Henry Jul. 3--ANN ARBOR -- The Great Lakes Commission's new executive director has more than 25 years of experience with three of the region's most influential environmental groups. Tim Eder, 48, a native of Chelsea, Mich.,...

EDITORIAL: A little 'reverse' bias?(Editorial)
July 3, 2006... Jul. 3--Discrimination is wrong, no matter who is perpetrating it, something African-American authorities in Woodmere, Ohio, near Cleveland, need to understand as much as the white racists who still plague our society. Two white police...

Family-run dry cleaner grows into major commercial laundry: Gibsonburg business has strong safety record.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Homer Brickey Jul. 3--GIBSONBURG, Ohio -- Leonard Reino has been working for Reino Linen Services Inc. more than 47 years and has seen it grow from a small family-owned dry cleaner into one of the largest commercial laundries in...

2 stations give Carty a radio haven.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Russ Lemmon Jul. 3--As the merciless, on-air pounding of Carty Finkbeiner continued last week on WSPD-AM (1370), two radio stations provided Toledo's mayor with a safe haven. He appeared on morning-drive shows on WTWR-FM (98.3)...

Family fun 1st for the 4th.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Barbara Hendel Jul. 3--Independence Day may be tomorrow, but celebrations started Friday. Red, white, and blue continue to be the popular colors as family and friends gather to celebrate what the Fourth is all about: not taking our...

EDITORIAL: Conduits' ethical lapse.(Editorial)
July 3, 2006... Jul. 3--While four prominent local Republican politicians have been convicted on ethics charges related to Tom Noe's scheme to funnel $45,400 illegally to President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, the list could have been -- and should have...

Hens give away win: Walks lead to 6-run 9th inning for Indians.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Maureen Fulton Jul. 3--It's a rare occasion when the Mud Hens take a lead into the ninth inning at home and lose. So technically, Hens fans got to see something special last night. The Indianapolis Indians scored six runs...

Mud Hens notebook: Coduti, Eff in front for All-Star derby.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Maureen Fulton Jul. 3--Tonight is the final night of competition for high school players to grab a spot in the Triple-A All-Star Home Run Derby. After batters from three schools step to the plate this evening, the field of two...

Holy Toledo's strategy pays off in win.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Shirley Levy Jul. 3--After two days of competing for the Hobie 33 North American Championship at North Cape Yacht Club, Juan Mauri's Knot Rider was leading Tom Andrews' Holy Toledo by one point. But when the 12 contenders...

Dumars can't allow Wallace to leave Detroit.
July 3, 2006... Byline: John Harris Jul. 3--Six years later, history repeats itself for Joe Dumars and the Detroit Pistons. Now, as in 2000, when owner Bill Davidson placed Dumars in charge of all personnel decisions, Dumars' biggest offseason move...

Byrne revamp entering final stage of work: Rebuilding of Hill intersection likely to be last big headache.
July 3, 2006... Byline: David Patch Jul. 3--It was years in the making -- and followed years of rough-ride complaints -- but the reconstruction of Byrne Road is entering its final months. Two years after construction began, the busy artery linking the...

Monroe man shot to death; ex-girlfriend's mom charged: Suspect allegedly phoned victim, then fired into car.
July 4, 2006... Byline: Vanessa Winans Jul. 4--MONROE -- Clustered outside his home, the family and friends of a man fatally shot, allegedly by his ex-girlfriend's mother, described him yesterday as a good man with a big heart. Phillip Scott "Scottie"...

July 4 birthdays have built-in fireworks.
July 4, 2006... Byline: Tad Vezner Jul. 4--Last night in a Toledo Hospital delivery room, Aubree Fuller entered the beginning stages of labor with her nails painted red, white, and blue. "We're holding out," the Maumee woman said between contractions....

City spent $266,000 responding to storms.
July 4, 2006... Byline: Laren Weber Jul. 4--Toledo spent at least $266,000 responding to last month's severe storms that damaged homes, businesses, and vehicles, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner announced yesterday. The mayor hopes President Bush's disaster...

Area retailers expect blast of holiday spending.
July 4, 2006... Byline: Mary-Beth Mclaughlin Jul. 4--On a typical summer weekend, Dean Tucker estimates, he sells 300 to 400 pounds of fresh-made hamburgers at the K & J House of Meats store he manages. Yesterday morning, he predicted that the west...

City speeds addition of decorative lighting.
July 4, 2006... Byline: Tom Troy Jul. 4--The new low-voltage decorative lamps installed under the trees on Jackson Boulevard give new meaning to the term "emergency lighting." With large crowds expected next week for the Triple-A All-Star Baseball...

Filings drop from 1st half of last year.
July 4, 2006... Byline: Jon Chavez Jul. 4--Through the first half of the year, northwest Ohio bankruptcy filings are down significantly from a year earlier and experts admit they are puzzled as to why. "It's not as though the people in northwest Ohio...

Man who killed kids had drug in system.
July 4, 2006... Byline: Jane Schmucker Jul. 4--WAUSEON -- When Clarence "Jack" Saunders killed his two young children and then himself after severely injuring his wife and a sheriff's deputy the Saturday before Mother's Day at his home south of Swanton,...

Bald eagle population is soaring.
July 4, 2006... Byline: Steve Pollick Jul. 4--Ohio's bald eagle population reached another milestone this year with the production of more than 200 eaglets for the first time. A final tally shows a record 206 young birds produced from 110 of 150...

On Independence Day, a look at a free-enterprise start-up.
July 4, 2006... Byline: Homer Brickey Jul. 4--The proverbial lemonade stand is an icon for America's free enterprise and entrepreneurship. It's true, of course, that a kid could start with a few lemons, some sugar and ice, and a homemade stand and...

EDITORIAL: Voice of the 'Indian way'.(Editorial)
July 4, 2006... Jul. 4--ONE of the best things to be said of someone at their passing is that he or she left the world a better place. And so it was with Joyce "Snowfeather" Mahaney, a woman of courage and conviction who grew up on an Indian reservation in...

EDITORIAL: America at 230.(Editorial)
July 4, 2006... Jul. 4--THIRTY years ago, in our nation's bicentennial year, Americans rejoiced in their good fortune and God's blessings. Their country was secure; their freedom assured. Their annual Fourth of July observance of that independence -- from the...

EDITORIAL: Single-gender schools.(Editorial)
July 4, 2006... Jul. 4--TOLEDO's single-gender schools are generating interest around Ohio and elsewhere. Now Michigan is considering all-girls and all-boys' schools. That's pretty solid evidence that it was an excellent idea in the first place. Stewart...

Mud Hens hang on to top Indians: Spurling earns save as Toledo takes over first place in IL West.
July 4, 2006... Byline: Maureen Fulton Jul. 4--For the second straight night the Indianapolis Indians rallied in the ninth inning. This time the Toledo bullpen saved the victory. The Mud Hens won 4-3 at Fifth Third Field last night to take three of...

Ludwick swings for the fences.
July 4, 2006... Byline: Maureen Fulton Jul. 4--Mud Hens outfielder Ryan Ludwick knows he has some work to do to prepare for his first home run derby in professional ball. One aspect he's not sweating is the opposition from his own clubhouse, Toledo...

EDITORIAL: Media story hardly treason.(Editorial)
July 4, 2006... Jul. 4--The war on terror is being fought to preserve our freedoms, or so the American people are told. But freedom is not just a feel-good expression -- it has real meaning. In the paranoid post-9/11 era, that truth seems to have been...

Versatile Toledo performer Jesse Ponce immerses listeners in Hispanic heritage.
July 5, 2006... Byline: Tahree Lane Jul. 5--After moving to Toledo from Texas in 1979, Jesse Ponce was eager to start playing upbeat polkas and sentimental ballads in a conjunto band. A skilled bajo sexto guitarist who had toured internationally with...

Fireworks show sizzles for thousands along Maumee in downtown Toledo.
July 5, 2006

Timeline for TPS search up in the air: Board has a year to replace Sanders.(Chronology)
July 5, 2006... Byline: Ignazio Messina Jul. 5--Now that the Toledo Board of Education has the cushion of a year to select a permanent superintendent, the latest timeline proposal has finalists for the job interviewing in December. The board has yet...

Teens gain experience, cash: Rangers help organize games, activities for children.
July 5, 2006... Byline: Jc Reindl Jul. 5--Seventeen-year-old Brenton Emmanuel of South Toledo says he could have spent the summer like his friends -- none of whom have jobs. Waking up around noon, hanging around the house, maybe shooting some hoops to...

It's a Yankee Doodle day for 15 new citizens: July 4th holiday fills the bill for South Bass naturalization ceremony.
July 5, 2006... Byline: Jane Schmucker Jul. 5--PUT-IN-BAY, Ohio -- In their one-room house, which measured about 10 by 10 feet, there was no running water, no electricity, and no beds for Jose Luis Barcenas Diaz and his nine brothers and sisters growing...

Softball equipment maker looks to score big with 'Toledo' bat line.
July 5, 2006... Byline: Gary T. Pakulski Jul. 5--Garett Gillen isn't swinging for the kind of worldwide name recognition once achieved by Toledo Scale Co. But he does hope to knock out a niche for his firm's Toledo-brand aluminum bats. "We want...

Hope shines for lighthouse fix-up project: Preservation group upbeat on ownership application.
July 5, 2006... Byline: Benjamin Alexander-Bloch Jul. 5--A beam of hope has been cast on the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse. The Toledo Harbor Lighthouse Preservation Society's application for ownership of the lighthouse has taken a significant step...

Chip-sealing process makes inroads locally: Cheaper sealant used for some paving.
July 5, 2006... Byline: David Patch Jul. 5--It's often disdained as poor man's paving, but officials at the Ohio Department of Transportation's district office in Lima, Ohio, have determined over the years that for certain lightly used highways,...

Animal lovers make pets part of their business.
July 5, 2006... Byline: Mary Alice Powell Jul. 5--I am not so crazy about my animals that I have a burning desire to open a restaurant to honor them, but it's sure fun to patronize places run by people who are so inspired. Gracie's and L'Uraku are...

Pinch mums now for burst of fall color.
July 5, 2006... Byline: Kelly Heidbreder Jul. 5--I always thought my grandma was talking about me when she said "I'll give you a pinch to grow an inch!" But now I realize she was talking about her mums. If you pinch mums back, they will grow more branches...

City seeks flood clues after latest storm.
July 5, 2006... Byline: Erica Blake Jul. 5--A few hours after an early morning thunderstorm stopped pounding Toledo yesterday, city officials drove the length of Shantee Creek to find out why water, once again, did not drain and instead poured into...

Mud Hens provide fireworks, top Louisville.
July 5, 2006... Byline: Josh Cook Jul. 5--LOUISVILLE -- Downtown Louisville's Fourth of July fireworks display began with two outs in the top of the ninth of last night's Toledo Mud Hens-Louisville Bats game. But the Mud Hens had already provided...