GOP GATHERING: The Mahoning Valley McKinley Club will host its annual dinner, one of the area's

GOP GATHERING: The Mahoning Valley McKinley Club will host its annual dinner, one of the area's largest Republican gatherings, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the McKinley Memorial Auditorium in Niles. The keynote speaker is Judge Judith Ann Lanzinger of Lucas County Common Pleas Court, who is running this year for a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court. The event honors the birthday of President William McKinley, the nation's 25th president who was born Jan. 29, 1843, in Niles. Tickets are available at the library.
Political football: A $400,000 appropriation in the federal omnibus spending package for St. Elizabeth Health Center to use to renovate a surgery facility and obtain new equipment has turned into somewhat of a political football. It seems the office of U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, wanted to hold a press conference with hospital officials to talk about the appropriation. Ryan and U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich are responsible for getting the money included in the spending package. But Ryan followed party lines and voted against the omnibus bill, and as a result, the hospital funding. There is no word if a press conference will be held.
skolnick@vindy.com