Toledo City Paper

Get Out Get Active

Whether its getting wet or staying dry, there's always fun for the whole family this summer in Northwest Ohio.

Splash in the water

Play in the water with rentals from River Lures, a family-owned rental service offering kayaks, canoes, fishing bait, rowboats, paddleboats and Pontoon boats. Open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., 7 days a week, River Lures is ready by the Maumee River. Rental rates vary on the type of boat and reservations for trips can be made every two hours from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. www.riverlures.com.

Have fun in the sun at Olander Park in Sylvania with fishing, swimming and boating at this...

Save Our Libraries

On Wednesday, June 24 at noon , Toledoans gathered to protest Governor Strickland's proposed cuts to the Public Library Fund (PLF) in the 2009-2011 budget. Supporters flocked with "Save Our Libraries" signs on the lawn of the Main Library while Tom Turner and Slow Burn performed as part of the library's free weekly Brown Bag Concert Series.

Other libraries throughout the state, including those in Cleveland and Columbus also rallied in protest to the Governor's budget. "We can't allow public libraries to be cut by 50 percent," said Library Director Clyde Scoles. "Librarie...

Return of The Germs

An exclusive interview with guitarist Pat Smear

The Germs, one of the most infamous and influential American punk bands of the late '70s, embraced the live fast and die young credo until the suicide of the band’s lead vocalist Darby Crash at the age of 22 on December 7, 1980.  After which, the band broke up.  But in 2005, a Hollywood actor from the TV show E.R. was cast to portray Crash in the film What We Do Is Secret about the Germs.  From celluloid to concrete, they hit the road.  Reformed with Shane West (vocals), Pat Smear (guitar), Lorna Doom (bass), and Don Bolles (dr...

Eight minutes with PJ O’Rourke:

One of America’s most satiric writers mourns car shrinkage

“Even more important than being drunk is having the right car.” 
 —PJ O’Rourke, excerpted from Driving Like Crazy

There are some things a printed interview can’t reveal. Like the fact that when you hear PJ O’Rourke’s gusts of infectious laughter, you can still hear the carefree Midwestern townie who grew up in '50s and '60s Toledo, before drifting away on the winds of fame. The former editor-in-chief of National Lampoon and once Foreign Affairs Desk Chief for Rolling Stone is, today, regarded as one of the nation’s leading humor...