MayDay

I'm about as subtle as a hand grenade, and I come off heavy-handed but it's never without reason. Honestly, I don't mind if people b!tch and moan about a legit gripe. But when there's b!tching and moaning and it's not even accurate? bizbiz's post basically suggests that the city has nothing in place to abate graffiti - and goes on to suggest that city leaders don't even care. "Speed limit signs and highway exit signs should not be obstructed by grafitti. Not only do many remain uncleaned for months or years, but it seems like ODOT, the city, and whoever else just doesn't give a shit.". I assure you that people, and yes - even the city "gives a sh!t" and then some. Does it take time to remove graffiti - sometimes a LOT of time? Yes - but I suppose the city should drop everything, stop rounding up gun-toting criminals, and scrub some highway signs? I live in Tremont and I see a lot of the graffiti bizbiz talks about - I see some of it removed within days, some of it takes longer. There's only so much the city can be held responsible for - and I do think they're doing the best they can with what they have. Now, if/when bizbiz makes a call to the graffiti abatement folks and (hopefully this isn't the case) doesn't receive a satisfactory resolution - THEN I'm all ears and yes, something needs to be done. However, when people complain that "the city doesn't care", "there's no desire to stop ______", and it's flat out wrong - I'm not being harsh at all.

"No kid wants to sit down in a boring restaurant that a parent might think is cool." Three year olds don't sit down, period (they're made of cartilage and their bones haven't fused) - so trying to coddle their spastic Ritalin fits is an exercise in futility. The spots I suggested are hardly stuffy adult-only restaurants and I routinely see parents with young children at both and golly gosh - the kids seemed okay with it!

Sorry - it's just that this is the latest thread of people complaining about a legitimate problem - however, the general tone is that the problem in question is somehow limited to Cleveland. Regardless, as I posted there is a solution and you were incorrect in suggesting that the city has no desire or system to abate graffiti. Your tax dollars support the graffiti abatement program, yet apparently you didn't even know it existed. Now, do people use the tools available to them? Do business/property owners make use of the graffiti abatement program? It's easier for people to b!tch and moan rather than extend themselves enough to contact the appropriate authorities who can help remedy the problem - now THAT is a "only in Cleveland" problem!

"In recent years, I've seen grafitti really take its toll on the city of Cleveland." Yes folks - only in Cleveland is there untalented graffiti, and only in Cleveland do people drive slowly in the left lane, and only in Cleveland would a significant landmark be demolished, and only in Cleveland do they have a strange layout for a beer garden at a festival, and only in Cleveland... do you people ever get out of the 216 area code? As if any of the above problems are solely Cleveland phenomenon?!? :roll: "There seems to be no desire by the city, the police, or organizations to even stop this problem or clean it up." CITY of CLEVELAND Graffiti Abatement Program DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE DIVISION OF STREETS PROGRAM OBJECTIVE: To ensure the removal of graffiti from all areas of the City of Cleveland ACTIVITY: Eradicate graffiti with the use of City employees and volunteers. Enforcement of anti-graffiti ordinances. Educating the public, especially children, concerning the negative aspects of having graffiti in the neighborhoods. Empowerment of the community to take action to eliminate graffiti through the various community groups Through this program the City will removes graffiti from commercial and industrial buildings at no cost to the owner. Since the program is complaint driven a company should call Barbara who mans the streets maintenance complaint line at (216) 664-2310. The request is then sent to either Mr. Warren or Mr. Powers for processing at the facility located at 49th and Harvard. The direct number to that location is (216) 432-6000. ......................

http://www.larwen.com/zadok/index.html

Hard Rock? Houlihans? Oh good god - can we please avoid the chains (unless absolutely necessary) when making suggestions to people?!?

"It will expand its marketing territory as a result, setting its sights, in particular, on New York City." Oh god, I'd be in absolute heaven if I saw Burning River on tap in NYC... it was a huge surprise to see it in Chicago :drunk: :-D

Not sure about the Rapid that early on a Sunday - I'm sure others might know. You can't go wrong with either the Hyatt or Marriott - the Hyatt is in the Arcade so it wins the "beautiful setting" contest, hands down. The Marriott is a nice hotel as well, more modern - and on the higher floors you can get Lake views, etc. For casual/kid-friendly dining downtown - I'd recommend the Waterstreet Grille on West 9th in the Warehouse District. They have a full bar as well as outdoor dining http://www.wsgrill.com/WSG/WS_Main2.asp. There's also Fat Fish Blue http://www.fatfishblue.com/ at Prospect and Ontario.

East 80th and Bessemer - a recycling plant fire. http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=69992

That was the original plan for Ameritrust - had it been built, we would have had a 400+ room Hyatt. When that was canceled, they opted for the Arcade.

I don't believe so - as someone mentioned, the metal sticking out of the ground is framework for the excavation pit.

^Yeah, but that's what people say during the holidays when they get a fruitcake!

Note to self - avoid 1300 block of West 9th this Friday...

Okay, checked the link again and yowza!!! I guess I'm not surprised though - Dawson has come off with some incredibly ignorant remarks. For example, Fox 8 used to have a female anchor with Wayne Dawson and she happened to be of Asian descent. They were doing an intro for a story about the new P.F. Chang's on Chagrin and he starts saying "Kenny is out at the new Oriental restaurant on Chagrin... P.K. Chings? P.D. Chongs?" and you could just see the co-anchor wanting to gut him like a fish. She said "Oriental?!?" and you could tell after commercial he'd been smacked upside the head.

JDD941 got it!!! It's the "Venus" statue by Jim Dine at the Federal Courthouse Tower! :clap:

Yes, indeed - the clue is "she's got it, yeah baby she's got it!" :-D

Sorry... :-(

The first is on Lorain Avenue between West 20th and the Red Line bridge.

Sorry - the link didn't work for me so I presumed it was just Kenny.

KJP, methinks it would be a good idea to tone it down. ColDayMan, we have an example to set :-)

Hey, you know *I* can properly identify "your people" ;-)

musky, I believe that's Kenny Crumpton - don't let ColDayMan get wind of that. "What's our confidence level that Wilma's not a robot?" She has a surprisingly dry wit and a good sense of humor off-camera.

unless im wrong and something is brewing?? With all due respect, you're being overly critical. As with any other city of Cleveland's size, the redevelopment of an area like East 4th Street takes time. It's at the stage that the Warehouse District was in a few years ago - right now, it's approaching "build out" of rehabbed older buildings. Once there's nothing left to rehab, there won't be any choice but to build new (i.e. 515 Euclid). That said, the entire block above Corner Alley - from East 4th to the Residence Inn is undergoing rehab into residential units. Most of the buildings on East 4th have residential above the first floor. http://www.east4thstreet.com/properties.php Keep in mind that I remember 10 years ago when absolutely none of this existed and most people would have laughed at the notion. Here's a map to show you some of the properties: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=41.499201,-81.690474&spn=0.002961,0.005767&t=h&z=18&om=1&msid=111501388969053870983.000001134963cfde89e2c gotribe - I guess places like Flannery's, Harry Buffalo, and the Winking Lizard (and a few others) are haute cuisine destination spots? I'm sure you've been reading that over the next several months there will be plenty more of the "everyday" kind of places but there's more to East 4th than Lola, Pickwick and HOB. I don't understand the misinformation that's being given out. ???

"as much as i want to root for downtown, this place is more of a cluster of restaurants for suburbanites to try out" Yeah, only suburbanites dine at Lola or enjoy a beer, or enjoy a comedy show or go bowling :roll: Exactly what do you think they need in that area?