Jobe Trial

I've been the photographer covering the State Vs. Jobe murder trial. An interesting thing happened today while covering the trial. Because the courtroom had reached capacity, a number of attorneys joined us in the media room for opening statements. I was editing my noon pieces so my full attention wasn't on what was happening in the courtroom. In the background noise I heard a slight gasp from in the room and somebody say, "Did she just say a 300 pound thug?" Yup. During their opening statement the defense said something to the effect that Bobby (that's what they call him) was protecting himself from a 300 pound thug with a gun. Their reason for using this was to establish Robert Jobe's mindset that night. I can tell you that if I were on the jury and the defense was saying that for impact, they had certainly achieved their objective.

Let me remind you that what I say does not necessarily represent the views of WTVG. This is a blog.

Here is the the defense's opening statement. Let me know what you think.



I'll try to give you more as we move along next week either here or on my blog (just click on my name over on the left). Thanks for watching.
-Billau

Wolfgang Puck

Tony and I went to the opening of the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino in Detroit on Tuesday and we got to interview one of the world's best chefs. Wolfgang Puck was up there opening up his new grille. We also got to eat some of his signature salmon pizza and his leek pizza. Yes, I said leek. It was soooo good. Thanks to Wolfgang for being a really nice guy.

-Todd

Marijuana Eradication

As promised, though delayed, here is the package about the marijuana eradication in Seneca County last week.



If you want to see the raw video from this story, you can find it on my blog.

Thanks for watching!
-Billau

Cosi Fizz

Here is video from BGSU where "scientists" from COSI created a wonderful display of fizzy popness. I wonder how many ants showed up afterwards.

-Jag

Corn Maze

This is a fun story Sashem and I did on Labor Day. Thanks to Duke and his crew at the Butterfly House in Whitehouse for being such gracious hosts...and for the helicopter ride.

-Kevin

Handicapped?

Here's Andre's video that he shot last Friday with Zack. What are your thoughts? Did Carty do the right thing? Does it matter that other handicapped parking spaces were available? Should he have had the dog with him on such a hot day when he knew he had appointments?




Thanks for watching.
-Billau

Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

Here's some video from the Minneapolis bridge collapse from Wednesday evening.

-Jaclyn

"GREEN" HOUSE

This Vlog is for those of you who saw Theresa’s piece on Friday about retired BGSU Professor Dr. Donald Scherer and his “green” house. Dr. Scherer had a lot more information about energy efficient living that we weren’t able to squeeze into a minute-thirty story. So here, in his own words, Dr. Scherer gives us the full tour of his “green” house.



There are businesses locally that offer ways to be more energy efficient. In the Bowling Green area there is Green By Design – a division of Stark’s Inc. In the Port Clinton area there is North Coast Wind and Power LLC.

According to Dr. Scherer, the cost to design and build the “green” house averaged just two percent above the cost of an average home. Scherer worked with Bill Decker of Decker Homes to design his home.

Dr. Scherer says the geothermal heating and cooling unit costs between $1,500 - $2000 more than your average furnace, but makes up for the cost difference very quickly. Dr. Scherer’s wind turbine is a Skystream model and has an average cost of $13,000. He estimates that his turbine will pay for itself in 8 – 9 years. The wind turbine is also maintenance free and Dr. Scherer doesn’t expect to service it for another 20 years.

Dr. Scherer estimates he uses between 700 – 800 KW/H of electricity a month in his new home. His old home used 650 KW/H of electricity in the winter, plus he spent hundreds of dollars in natural gas. To cool his previous home in the summer, he used 1,300 KW/H of electricity.

Thanks for watching!
-Billau

Levis Goose Flies Coop

This may be more of a Tony and Todd's Roadside Attractions story, but hey, I'm the one who shot it. Sgt. Richard Murphy assures me that when they catch the thug behind this fowl deed, his goose is cooked. Priceless.

-Billau

Kumon

Created by Japanese educator Toru Kumon, The Kumon Method is one of the largest math and language educational systems in the world. Here is the package that aired on July 11th, 2007.

-Todd

Freedom Puppies

Sure, I know. You've never seen anything cuter than this right here. I understand. Neither have I.
These were the "Freedom Puppies" that were left on the doorstep of the Animal Emergency And Critical Care on Central Avenue.
Enjoy the adorableness. I guarantee you'll say "Awww" within a few seconds.

-Todd

CARTY AND THE BALANCED BUDGET PROPOSAL

Today, Mayor Finkbeiner had some very strong words for council members Frank Szollosi and Joe McNamara. Here is the Mayor's response to a question about the charter review and the balanced budget proposal and whether or not he supports it.



Billau

George Clooney greeting...

...or was it Tom Cruise, I'm still not sure. Anyodd, here's a web exclusive. It's a morning greeting available now on the web before it airs tomorrow morning (Friday, July 13, 2007). I'm not sure this guy even knows who he is. Take a look.



Thanks Jamie!

-Billau

Diane's Induction into the APB Hall of Fame

Diane Larson's induction speech into the Ohio Associated Press of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. The event took place on Sunday June 10. Diane was the second women ever honored with this distinction.

I-280 Bridge Gala

This is video of fireworks over the I-280 Bridge. It was part of the celebration of the Bridge Gala on May 24th. These shots were taken from the Detroit Princess, the cruise ship that held the Gala.

TPD Gang Unit

This may have been one of the most interesting stories I've ever done. Thanks so much to Capt. Leo Eggert, Sgt. Rick Moreno, Officer Bill Noon, and the entire gang unit for taking great care of us and showing us a small glimpse of their amazing jobs.

-Todd

National Guard helicopter ride

A little late but this is video from Zack Ottenstein's story on the Ohio National Guard training exercise. A great view from the army helicopter, which I believe was a CH-47 Chinnok.

Lasik Surgery Part 2: Dr. Wiley, M.D. Interview

Here is Sashem Brey's interview with Dr. William Wiley, M.D. as he explains Lasik Eye Surgery. He discusses how it's done, how much these procedures can cost, and what types of people are the best candidates for Lasik. Thanks again to Dr. Wiley, Angie Henry, and everyone who helped us out.

-Todd

Lasik Surgery Part 1: Procedure

Here is the Lasik procedure in its entirety. If anyone is thinking about getting it done, this video will show you pretty much everything that goes on during surgery. Dr. Wiley discusses what he's doing while he's doing it to make it easier to understand. It was fascinating to watch him perform the whole thing in about 15 minutes.

-Todd

To see the story that aired Friday, May 18th at 11pm, go here.

Welcome Home 180th!

For those of you who missed it, here is Jennifer Jarrell’s report about the servicemen of the 180th Fighter Wing returning from Iraq. To the servicemen, thank you for what you do and welcome home. I’ve posted the raw video on my blog because we weren’t able to get all of the reunions in our story.

-Billau

TPD Ride-Along

Just wanted to post this whole package again. My thanks to Jeremie and Rick for being really cool guys and helping us "learn the ropes." By just spending a shift with them Lissa and I gained so much insight into what really goes on from day to day in the life of the TPD. Few people know what all you guys go through and hopefully this shows a little bit more. Be careful out there guys and thanks again.

-Todd

Tyrese Interview

While stopping in Toledo, model/actor/singer Tyrese sat down with our own Efrem Graham to talk about his new CD and his take on the "N-Word". Here is the unedited interview with Black-Ty himself.

Danielle Dressel

Here is the moving story Diane and I did with Danielle Dressel that aired on May 2. She invited us into her home to see the awards she has received and to share her memories of her husband Det. Keith Dressel.
-Shane

Distracted School Bus Drivers

Here is some more video from our I-Team investigation into distracted school bus drivers. Some of it you may have seen in Ronnie Dahl’s report, some of it didn’t make it into the story that aired. I would like to say, many of the bus drivers seemed to be following all of the rules behind the wheel. The video below contains clips of what appears to be distracted driving behaviors.



To see the original story click here. Let us know what you think. Just click the comment link below. You can even do this anonymously . Thanks for watching. -Billau

New Baby Polar Bear

Today the Toledo Zoo allowed the press to go behind the scenes to see one of the three baby polar bears that was born this winter. She doesn't have a name yet but she is 50 pounds and adorable. She sticks close to her mom, Nan, in the beginning but she got more comfortable the longer we were there.
Give some time to load it's about 8min. worth of video.
-Shane

Drug Task Force

In Ronnie Dahl's I-Team story tonight, she looked into the problem of funding the Drug Task Force. Below is some unedited video of a drug bust, given to us by a member of the task force.





I've also posted some photos that were given to us on my blog.

Thanks for watching.
-Billau

Wauseon Fire

I usually work the Monday-Friday overnights but I happened to be filling in for Jason Nguyen, our weekend overnight photographer, this past Saturday. It's probably one of the biggest fires I've ever been to, if not the most destructive.(http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=local&id=5209059 That's the link to the story.) This raw video is about four and half minutes long so please allow some time to load.

-Rich

Joey McIntyre

Former New Kids On The Block member and Dancing With The Stars performer Joey McIntyre was in Toledo today for a show at Gatorz. He took time out of busy day to sit down with our own Melissa Andrews to chat about everything from his new CD to the new season of Dancing With The Stars.
Interview is just over 6min. so allow time to load.
Shane

Biltmore Home

A week or so ago Tony and I were driving around, searching for reactions to the trash pickup fee when we stumbled upon this house. We started chatting with Janet about the fee when she mentioned her unique home. We didn't think anything of it while standing on her front lawn. She invited us in and initially we declined because of time constraints. Then at the last minute we agreed to take a tour. Tony and I were absolutely amazed. It's like one of Toledo's secrets. The Hoyts have put over $400,000 into the home and are selling it for $189,000. I posted the entire "walk-through" video with Janet Hoyt of the Biltmore replica house. It's around 10 minutes long so please allow time to load.

-Todd

Kathy Newlove Interview

On the day that Craig Daniels was captured, Zack Ottenstein and I interviewed Kathy Newlove, the mother of Alicia Castillon, who was allegedly killed by Daniels. I have to say I admire Ms. Newlove for doing these interviews. I have often said and thought that if I were caught up in a tragedy such as this, the last thing I would want to see is a bunch of people like me coming around asking questions; and approaching family members of victims, for me, is one of the more distasteful parts of the job. Fortunately, I work at a station where respect for the wishes of the families of victims is important. Ms. Newlove did tell us that talking about the events with us has helped her in working through it, and I'm glad that we could help her in that way.

--Chris Henderson

This will take a while to load.

Trash Fee

The video below is the mayor's statement he gave April 5, in regards to the trash fee that went into effect April 2. For more information on the trash fee and how you can save money by recycling, click here.
-Billau

Please be patient while the video loads.

Sylvania Firefighters

Here is the full interview with firefighter Chris Nye of the Sylvania Firefighters regarding the meeting on 4.2.07. Chris is the president of the Local 2243.

-Todd