SMALL BUSINESS CASUAL--Gov. Bob Taft gestures as Ken Blair, of the Newbury, Ohio based Circle Transport Co. wears sneakers with his suite during the opening of the Governor's Small Business Summit, in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 1999. Blair introduced Taft. (JACK KUSTRON/photoj.com)

COMMITTED TO SCHOOL PLAN--Gov. Bob Taft talks about the need for tobacco settlement money to be used for the rebuilding of the state's schools, following his address to the Governor's Small Business Summit, in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 1999. (JACK KUSTRON/photoj.com)

AGAINST MERGER--Sen. Linda Furney, D-Toledo, speaks with Senate Minority Leader Ben Espy, D-Columbus, prior to the vote to merge the human-services and employment-services agencies into the Department of Job and Family Services, at the Ohio Statehouse, in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 1999. The bill, which was a priority of the Taft administration, passed the Senate and will go to the governor for his signature. (JACK KUSTRON/photoj.com)