Ohio lawmakers may soon be voting on a proposal to ban smoking in vehicles where there are passengers aged six or younger.

The bill is being introduced by State Senator Charleta Tavares (D-Columbus). The proposed fine would be $500 for a first offense.

Before it could be come law, however, it would have to go through a number of steps. Right now, it's just a proposal that state legislators will take a look at and consider.

Other states with similar laws make smoking in a car with young children a secondary violation, which means that drivers have to be pulled over for another traffic offense first.

The battle for the presidency is about to get a whole lot more interesting with the news that actress Roseanne Barr has filed the official paperwork to run for the office of the president of the United States. Barr will be running for a Green Party nomination.

If you're wondering where Roseanne stands on all of the issues, here's a quick overview: she promises to institute a "Europeanstyle" single-payer health care and forgive all credit card and mortgage debt.

Barr's official announcement read:

"I am pleased to announce that I am seeking the Green Party's nomination for President of these United States of America. The Democrats and Republicans have proven that they are servants-bought and paid for by the 1%-who are not doing what's in the best interest of the American people. As a long time supporter of the Green Party, I look forward to working with people who share my values. Behold the greening of America!"

Cleveland State (18-4, 8-2 HL) at Loyola (5-15, 0-10 HL)
Date: Friday, February 3, 2012
Time: 9:00 p.m. EST
Location: Gentile Center (5,200) - Chicago, Ill.
Radio: WHK 1420 AM (Cleveland) & WHKZ, 1440 AM (Warren) (Al Pawlowski)
TV: ESPNU (Jim Barber & Dave Kaplan)
Series: Loyola leads, 22-18
Last Mt'g: @CSU 69, LU 48 (1/7/12)
Tickets: Available at Site
Line: Vikings -10.5

The Cleveland State Vikings take the top record in the Horizon League to Chicago to face the win-less Loyola Ramblers. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU and the Vikings will try to avoid the dreaded "trap-game" as it is projected that the Gentile Center will have their biggest crowd of the season take in the game.

Following the Friday night affair, the Vikings set sail to UIC to play a Sunday afternoon showdown with UIC.

The Vikes currently own a half game lead and all eyes will be on Valparaiso, Indiana, where the Detroit Titans and Crusaders are set for battle tonight in a key conference match-up. UIC and Youngstown State, who could pull to a tie with a Valpo loss and a victory over the Flames, is another game to keep an eye on this evening.

Here is how the Loyola and CSU match-up.

Ohio motorists subject to bi-annual vehicle emissions testing will soon be able to take their vehicle for testing at more locations than the current 23 tailpipe testing centers. Ohio is preparing to expand the number of sites available for emissions testing, and begin offering addition options for drivers beginning in late June.

53 independent testing centers at auto repair shops will launch along with 16 self-serve kiosks that will operate 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.

E-Check is mandatory in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage and Summit counties due to ozone pollution in the area.

Cleveland City Council is expected to vote on a resolution this coming Monday that would urge the city's leaders to run the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure out of town, after the organization decided to pull its funding for Planned Parenthood.

Councilman Zach Reed says that the Komen Foundation bowed to political pressure. So he is working on a resolution that would encourage Mayor Frank Jackson to deny the Komen Foundation a parade permit, which would force out the most successful breast cancer foundation worldwide out of Cleveland.

Reed said:

"I'm just trying to send a message and the message is that politics should not play a role in healthcare."

Mayor Jackson, however, will have the final say. And right now, it's looking like he is going to let them get their parade permit. Jackson said:

"We don't interfere with what we believe to be good events that promote good causes and that people are supportive of."

Cleveland was infamously named the United States' most miserable city in 2009. In 2010, after much public outcry the year prior, Forbes.com decided to push Cleveland down to the No. 10 spot on its list. Last year, Cleveland fell a couple spots further down the list, coming in at No. 12.

Forbes looks at 10 factors in determining the nation's most miserable cities, including: violent crime rate, property tax rates, commute, political corruption, pro sports team performance, and others.

Miami, Florida, came in as the country's most miserable city in 2011. Forbes.com explains that aside from all the glitz and glamour the city offers, most Miami residents are struggling to make ends meet. Detroit and Flint, Michigan, took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, which Forbes blames on the decline of the auto industry.

The top 10 Most Miserable Cities for 2011, according to Forbes.com, were:

#1 Miami, Fla.
#2 Detroit, Mich.
#3 Flint, Mich.
#4 West Palm Beach, Fla.
#5 Sacramento, Calif.
#6 Chicago, Ill.
#7 Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
#8 Toledo, Ohio
#9 Rockford, Ill.
#10 Warren, Mich.

If you're looking for something to do this weekend, I have a suggestion for you - the Great Big Home & Garden Expo being held at the I-X Center in Cleveland. The show will get you inspired to make over your home and tackle that spring cleaning.

The show will feature more than 650 exhibitors, new home improvement features, appearances by home and garden celebrities, and returning favorites from last year's show.

Some of the new features for the 2012 show include:

• The Home Builders Association (HBA) Pavilion, sponsored by The Plain Dealer, will showcase a 53-footlong interactive mobile display with new exterior siding, metal roofing and other energy-efficient products from various manufacturers, including the latest from Mastic Home Exteriors. Homeowners can bring digital photos of their home’s exterior and watch their house undergo a complete digital makeover.

Imagine composing a classical piece of music that deserves to be heard or painting a masterpiece that should be seen by the masses that gets virtually ignored. That is probably how Gary Waters's feels when he sees 3,000 of the same faces at the Wolstein Center every night for the past five spectacular seasons.

The job the Cleveland State basketball coach has done in his six seasons as head coach is nothing short of remarkable, but the Vikings still are relegated to playing in front of sparse crowds in a magnificent college arena on a nightly basis and have been relegated as second class citizens in the local media's eyes despite their on the court success.

The night I did my first lengthy piece on CSU Basketball, a program I started following as a child when Kevin Mackey energized the city with his run-and-stun teams, I thought I would see what was always possible. I thought the program would start to draw as well as any Mid-Major program in the country and we would see the Wolstein Center start to see crowds lining up to see the best value in town. After upsetting 12th ranked Butler in January of 2008 I wrote:

Ohio's own official groundhog, Buckeye Chuck, is predicting a shorter winter. Chuck failed to see his shadow at dawn on Thursday under overcast skies in central Ohio.

The U.S.'s most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, did see his shadow over in Pennsylvania, predicting six more weeks of winter.

According to old legends, failure to see a shadow means an early arrival of spring. The Groundhog Day tradition stems from a German superstition that predicts bad weather if an animal casts a shadown on February 2, which is the Christian holiday Candlemas.