1. Perrysburg seeing an increase in building of new houses

Two decades ago, Perrysburg was feeling a housing boom.

Housing starts were through the roof as home buyers rushed to the northern Wood County suburb to enjoy its historic small-town feel and excellent school system. In 1996, the city had 181 housing starts.

The construction slowed in the 2001 recession, then started to recover when it hit the brakes in 2008 with the Great Recession. Tighter bank lending killed new subdivisions and spec housing ended.

But home building in Perrysburg is in a resurgence.

The city has home builder plats awaiting final approval, with just shy of 1,000 lots, said Brody Walters, Perrysburg’s zoning and planning administrator. In those, he said, the size of the plats has increased, and now there are typically 20 lots per plat, about twice the number sought just a few years ago. READ MORE

2. Halloween fest draws a costumed crowd

New York City parties hard on New Year’s Eve, New Orleans has Mardi Gras, and Uptown Toledo has its Adams Street Zombie Crawl.

Bar crawls, despite the name, don’t typically include crawling, but zombies crawled, creeped, and slugged their way to a good time Saturday night. More than 10,000 people were anticipated for the bloody party that packed Adams Street until early this morning.

“I think Toledo has a weird infatuation with zombies,” said KB Woodson of Toledo. “We can do the Zombie Crawl, it’s unique, and it’s slowly growing into something out of control.”

A heightened police presence and 25 private security officers made sure it didn’t get too out of control. Still, zombies roamed. READ MORE

3. Seasonal corn mazes are a tried-and-true Midwest tradition

Ohio is corn country.

This time of year, the leafy, tall corn stalks yield more than a few golden nuggets. Corn is for A-maizing mazes that make autumn one of the best seasons to get out and explore — or get lost in — the agricultural landscape.

“It is like a little adventure. People get out in the country and have fun,” Paul Fleitz said.

Fleitz Pumpkin Farm, 7133 Seaman Rd., Oregon, has been owned and operated by his family since 1906.

Mr. Fleitz personally mowed two mazes, one five-acres and the other one-acre, when the corn was a couple of feet high. His free-style designs can sometimes throw some maze-lovers for a loop.

“We have people call us from their cell phones and say ‘come get us.’ But that is unusual,” he said, with a chuckle. READ MORE

4. Hicks-Hudson far outpaces pack in election spending

Endorsed Democratic Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson’s campaign has raised and spent the most money among the seven candidates for mayor in the Nov. 3 election campaign, and that doesn’t include the help she’s received from the Ohio Democratic Party and the advertising paid for by an independent political organization in Columbus.

Ms. Hicks-Hudson’s campaign raised $96,635 to add to the $35,019 she already had in her account for total campaign cash of $131,684, according to new reports filed Thursday with the Lucas County Board of Elections.

The reports cover the period ending Oct. 14.

She also has spent a lot more than all the other candidates put together — $89,137, with $42,547 left over after the end of the reporting period.

Those expenditures do not include mailings worth $13,875 by the state Democratic Party, which was reported as an in-kind contribution, or the party’s expenditures for the salary of her campaign manager, Ernie Davis. Mr. Davis said the Ohio Democratic Party’s failure to report his salary as an in-kind contribution was an oversight and will be filed as an amended report. READ MORE

5. Fulton Co. couple sue IRS agents

A Fulton County couple once suspected of tax evasion has filed a lawsuit against more than a dozen federal tax investigators, accusing the agents of violating their rights and pocketing nearly $1.9 million during a 2012 raid on their scrap metal recycling business.

In their complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Toledo, Todd and Carrie Zappone detail a brazen search of their home and business that included Internal Revenue Service agents breaking down their front door with a battering ram, detaining them at gunpoint, disabling video surveillance, and accusing them of being drug dealers.

Perhaps most shocking, the Zappones said agents seized more than $3 million in cash from Mr. Zappone’s safe at Ohio Scrap Corp. near Delta, but recorded collecting only about $1.3 million.

“[Agents] ransacked the house, maced the dog, took control of the business all day long, and helped themselves to $1.886 million of cash,” said Stephen Dunn, a Michigan attorney who is representing the Zappones.

Mr. Dunn characterized the agents conducting the raid as “cowboys” who either didn’t know the law or didn’t care. The suit names 13 agents, though it says more could be added. The federal government may also be added to the suit in the future. Court records don’t list attorneys for the 13 defendants.

The Zappones are seeking unspecified restitution and damages, on top of a claim for the $1.9 million they say was stolen from their safe. READ MORE

First Published October 26, 2015, 12:27 p.m.