AMN

Comedian Ron Bennington says he hates gift cards. Getting a gift card is like getting cash you can only spend in one place. So some SOB took cash and made it less versatile. I think of that every time I give or receive a gift card. (I give gift cards in a situation like MTS described, where there is some thought behind it but I don't have the knowledge to pick out the right stuff the giftbuyer wants.)

I like Mel's Barbershop over in Kamm's Corners. Like 158th and Lorain, near the library.

Read the first few posts of this thread. http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=6860.20

My former Sunday school teacher runs a high-class gig in Willoughby, and I know several men and women who think she does an amazing job. Catherine's Studio 38138 W Spaulding St Willoughby, OH 44094 (440) 953-0663‎ Personally, I go to a barber. I don't let anyone under 60 cut my hair. And I'll never go to anyone who calls himself a stylist. Or pay more than $20. That's just me.

I didn't see this as incessant handwringing. I saw this as an attempt to start a conversation about troubled times need inspired leadership, and we need to put aside the racial aspect of Cleveland politics and find that inspired leadership anywhere we can get it. I've been doing the traditional things for a long time, too. I leave my porch light on at night. I know all my neighbors. We look out for each other. I shovel two elderly neighbors' walkways and sidewalks in the winter. But none of this is innovative. It should be the baseline. I went to a 10,000 little ideas event ready for some great brainstorming and left disappointed. My point was, as Morris said, that WE'VE lost this bank. It's not prescribing fault. It's a fact.

Yep. Throw in Ronayne as well. With the good crime stats, I don't know if Jackson is as vulnerable as he appeared to be a year ago.

I thought it was pretty clear: We are devoid of strong leadership in this city. We need a transformational leader, and it sounds like he has someone with potential in mind who is not black. Or at least he's saying we shouldn't limit that search to the black community. If the city is going to rise to what it can be, we need to not worry about the color of that person's skin. I knew I would log on here today to people whining about it, and calling it anti-Cleveland. I'll tell you how I felt, though: Inspired. Over coffee this morning, I started to think about what can I do directly to make my city better. My neighborhood. My block. You didn't run it into the ground. You didn't sell it. But you will feel the loss, because I know you care about this city. When we stop talking about this city's troubles as our troubles, that's when we've given up.

I was going to take the healthline from playhouse square to public square on Thursday, but it said there was a 35-minute wait at 5 p.m. I'm not sure if I should be glad that it made me not wait and walk, or whether I should be angry that there was a 35-minute wait. No Healthlines or trolleys passed during my walk -- not that I would have hopped on a trolley with Browns traffic in the non-bus lanes.

I don't post a ton, but I would like to come. I have a late appointment, but I should be done in time.

Funny, my sidewalks were nice and wide and lit with walk signals. I rather enjoyed my bike lanes. Zip, zip! Crossing Euclid at 14th takes FOREVER. What used to be a quick run across the street to the bank now takes 10 minutes. They definitely need to rethink the traffic pattern there. (Or I need to get a job across the street.)

Oh yes. It is fantastic. I had never seen the place until the other day when I drove by on my way to a friend's house, and I would have assumed the same thing. Before that we had a delivery-only relationship. The mild and hot has a mix of italian peppers on it. The focaccia is called the Aglio e Olio.

Have you seen this New Republic story? http://www.tnr.com/story_print.html?id=264510ca-2170-49cd-bad5-a0be122ac1a9 It talks about demographic inversion. Do you think Cleveland will ever see a flood of folks into downtown?

Best delivery pizza in Cleveland is Nunzio's. Their focaccia is out of this world. Their Italian-style hot-and-mild is also fantastic. I do love both Valentino's and Vincenza's though.

I've never heard of anyone actually missing Jersey.. haha I totally miss Jersey. I liked New Jersey better than New York.

If the proposed cuts in service occur, I will probably have to cancel my monthly bus pass and start driving again. RTA simply won't meet my needs. And this is from someone who REALLY wants to use public transit, and currently uses it almost exclusively. If someone like me is considering leaving, this does not bode well for RTA. I understand that you need to balance your budget. I hope you'll understand why riders won't use you anymore. Which will cause you to need to make cuts to balance your budget. Which will make more people not use your service. Joe Calabrese should be camping in front of the statehouse on a hunger strike. The current lobbying efforts are obviously not enough. FIND THE MONEY.

Definetely!

We suffered the GREATEST LOSS OF ALL BIG CITIES in the country. That's news. Even if it is the smallest loss in total people in a while, we did lose the highest percentage of any big city in the country. I don't see it. You know how newspapers work. It's not one person writing the headline every time. There are rarely deep-seeded agendas. It's more often finding something that fits in the space with the size, shape, breaks and everything else that needs to work to make a headline. I will say having an inordinate amount of over-educated and not-from-around-here staffers makes them less likely to worry about hurting feelings. But I can't believe in a conspiracy. Unfortunately, no newspapers seem to have figured out how to survive. I'm sure if you asked the staff of the PD, they would believe they were a completely unbiased newspaper. And if you created another paper, fresh from any corporate/political/personality influences, you'd find that somebody would think it was a biased rag worthy of fish wrapping within a few weeks. It's just the way it goes.

No fooling? My one guide was a city news reporter at one time (man, talk about great stories...wish I would have worked there). Another Tribber we're meeting up with got his start at City News as well. This was maybe 8 years ago, though.

I am going to be in Chicago for four days for an extended weekend. I leave tomorrow. I've passed through the city before, but never spent *real* time there. I'll be with a couple of natives, so I'm sure I'll see some good hole in the walls (they already described a few great places), but I want to make sure I hit the gritty urban must-see places. Any suggestions for a top-5 don't miss list of neighborhoods?

But don't forget, your employer can sign up with RTA to auto-deduct the amount from your paycheck, and then you can pay for the pass PRE-TAX. Currently, my monthly pass only costs me $42ish.

If I were single I would date a guy w/o a car in Cleveland (assuming it was by choice and not that they had some serious financial issues) . But if it is late at night the guy should walk/bus the lady home to her door-not just throw her on the bus down detroit at midnight. Of course. What self-respecting gentleman would say goodnight amid the exhaust fumes of the 26?

You're right. Even at $1.75 each way, it's only $3,000 a year shy. I'm sure Brunswick could find a $3k allocation. Unless the $66k figure is a shortfall after revenues?

I'm sorry...that wasn't clear. I was on Lanigan and Malone, and mentioned that neither of the two girls I went on date with that month called me back. Later that day, she called me up to say that she heard me on the radio and my being car-free was not the reason I received a call back.

During my car-free month, I had two dates. Neither called me back. (One, after hearing me talk about neither of my two dates calling me back, did call me up to say it wasn't the no-car thing that prevented date number 2. Thanks?) I think car-free once you're in a relationship is a lot easier than car-free for first dates. Granted, I REALLY tried to convince both women to take the bus.

When I move, I will put a priority on being near a Rapid AND a 24-hour transit route (most likely bus). Being on the 81 (with a 23 as a backup) is great, but I wish I had a more convenient rail option as well. I can think of a few spots along the 81 route that would work for me. I'll have to study the maps to see if there is a transit Mecca in Cleveland. (Outside of living near public square, that is...)