sir2gees

I understand what you're saying but there have been some announcements. Amtrust is adding hundreds jobs downtown and the Clinic just had a job fair to fill 600 nursing positions. Bioeternprise is having an online job fair to fill a lot biomedical openings. Also, my Dad works at Mittal and they've added a decent amount of jobs over the last year or so. The casino isn't a silver bullet, but it will add hundreds of decent paying jobs. Let's see how the next year plays out…

Cleveland is not going to change overnight. I understand the frustration, but this is going to be a long process. It took the region 50+ plus to get into this hole and will probably take that long to get out. It’s encouraging to see all the investment. It shows developers have faith in the region’s potential. Last decade was rough. I think the region bottomed-out economically. I expect to see slow improvement over the next several years.

This isn't the type of crime I consider "spilling out" of urban areas. We aren't talking about theft or burglaries. Most of the perpetrators of these types of crimes are dealing with some very serious mental issues.

United Airlines to locate Great Lakes sales office at Greater Cleveland Partnership HQ "The Greater Cleveland Partnership said United Airlines plans to locate its Great Lakes regional sales office in GCP's new PlayhouseSquare office building at 1240 Huron Road in downtown Cleveland."This agreement underscores the strong partnership between the Greater Cleveland Partnership and United," GCP president and CEO Joe Roman said in a statement. “United Airlines and the Cleveland hub are critical to this region's business attraction, expansion and retention efforts." http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111108/FREE/111109865

Help wanted: Cleveland's high-tech employers are hiring CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The event at Rosetta's penthouse had the atmosphere of a soiree.Plenty of sipping on beverages and noshing on hors d'oeuvres. Plenty of engaging conversation. Plenty of...Resumes?Rosetta's recent job fair to fill 70 openings offers a glimpse into how competitive hiring can be in Cleveland's information technology community. The jobs are plentiful, and qualified candidates often are so in demand that companies find themselves having to woo applicants. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/07/help_wanted_clevelands_high-te.html

^Yup...I hate that. Another thing...most men don't know there are more than one kind of dress shoe. You don't have to wear black shoes with every suit. I may be the only person in my office that wears brown or oxblood shoes with some of my suits.

I just started a new job and I'm pretty disgusted with how most of my coworkers dress. I work in an office of about 70 attorneys and there may be two or three individuals who actually take the time to look decent. Most of the men wear suits that are too big. This is one of my biggest fashion pet peeves...if you buy a suit, take the time to have it altered/tailored.

^Great article. Too bad the PD doesn't run articles like this! Don't read the comments... :wtf:

Region gaining favor with site selectors "It's getting a little easier to sell Northeast Ohio, says Team NEO, the business attraction nonprofit. While the outlook isn't so rosy that Northeast Ohio is on its way to becoming the next Silicon Valley, the group does believe the region's stature is rising in the eyes of the people who make plant and office location decisions. Partly, it's because the economy has been steadily improving and showing signs of change. “Overall, the (regional) economy is doing as well or better than the rest of the nation,” said Jenny Febbo, the group's vice president for marketing and communications. That's in contrast to the lagging Rust Belt economy of years past." http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20110516/SUB1/305169973

Agenda update: Greater Cleveland continues to make significant progress, and it's time for more residents to understand that: editorial "Three months ago, The Plain Dealer's editorial board laid out its 2011 priorities. Our focus in that agenda editorial, as it has been for several years now, was on three broad categories: rebuilding Greater Cleveland's human capital, reforming government and rebranding Cleveland. There is progress to report on every front. Let's start with human capital. The 2010 census numbers brought startling evidence of stagnation, with Cleveland's population smaller than it has been in a century, and an eight-county metropolitan area with virtually the same number of people as 50 years ago. Simply put, we need to attract and retain more people, a challenge that requires real economic growth -- because jobs are the magnet for residents. Even before the census report, a group of civic leaders was working on this issue, and they have rolled out an impressive Global Cleveland strategy aimed at selling the region to immigrants and native-born Americans who want an affordable, manageable, diverse and culturally rich place to live." http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/05/agenda_update_greater_clevelan.html

New Cleveland fund will provide grants, loans to businesses launched by foreign-born entrepreneurs "CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A local investment center is sweetening Northeast Ohio's efforts to become more global. "The Cleveland International Fund is launching a new initiative, with hopes of raising $2 million over 12 months for foreign-born entrepreneurs.The year-old center, which focuses on matching wealthy overseas investors with local projects, will kick-start this new - and unusual - fund by putting $200,000 of its profits into grants, no-interest loans and low-interest loans for emerging companies. Set to debut in June, the Cleveland International Entrepreneurs Fund will seek money from foundations and the business community - and eventually could compete for state grants. It will have an independent board, tasked with evaluating applications from businesses and awarding grants and loans of $25,000 to $50,000. And the fund will take no equity stake in the companies it supports." http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/04/new_cleveland_fund_will_provid.html

Good article. Encouraging the region is picking up more Hispanics and Asians. It's also nice to see Hispanics from Central and South America moving here. I like this quote from the end..."In Cleveland, he said, he never felt locked into an ethnic stereotype. Cleveland's not like New Jersey, with a bazillion Hispanics...There's not a traditional Hispanic here. You can, like, go and be an engineer."

Interesting...Do you know where exactly?

Interesting topic. Perception is everything. My brother graduated from OSU a couple years ago. He told me crazy stories about what people were saying about Cleveland. He had a friend from Warrensville Hts. that had never been to Coventry or Little Italy. His friend was complaining about being bored when he came home for breaks. My brother told him they should meet up on Coventry over spring break. His friend said he heard of Coventry but didn't know where it was. This same friend was all about finding the coolest spots in Short North, but had no interest in finding the cool spots in Cleveland. He met a girl from Richmond Hts. who didn't know Cleveland had light rail. He knew a girl from one of the inner-ring suburbs that had never heard of University Circle. She thought he meant University Hts. I hung out with his friends a couple times and I was blown away by their ignorance. Each time, I spent the whole night defending Cleveland. One of his friends told me there were no good restaurants in Cleveland like there are in Columbus. I told him that's your opinion and I wasn't going to argue. He kept pressing the issue. He named five chain restaurants that exist in Greater Cleveland to support his argument. I then realized a lot of these kids never ventured out of their neighborhoods. All of their adult experiences (bars, clubs, restaurants, etc...) happened away from home. So, when they come home they have no clue what's going on. Throw in the city's reputation and you have this weird hate from native Clevelanders.

^^I love how people say there is no hope for struggling Rust Belt cities. Unless you have a crystal ball, nobody truly knows what the future holds. I don't want to sound cliche, but history tends to repeat itself. Things always change...sixty years ago this part of the country was humming along with no end in sight and now we're struggling. I'm not saying things will definitely turn around here. However, I do believe change is the only constant in life.

Sage Hospitality, Optima Ventures plan to buy, rebrand the Crowne Plaza in downtown Cleveland "CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Colorado hospitality company and a major downtown investor plan to buy the Crowne Plaza in downtown Cleveland, transforming it into a four-star hotel before the nearby medical mart and convention center open in 2013. Sage Hospitality and Optima Ventures recently agreed to acquire downtown Cleveland's second-largest hotel from defunct financial-services giant Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. The 472-room hotel, which is bleeding money, could undergo more than $45 million in renovations and be recast as a Westin or another high-end brand. And the potential owners are exploring ways to connect the hotel, at 777 St. Clair Ave., to the convention center and medical-device showplace with an overhead walkway." http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/03/sage_hospitality_optima_ventur.html

Cleveland's AsiaTown becoming a melting pot for the larger community "East Fourth. West Sixth. West 25th. They're more than mere streets. They've become brands, entertainment districts, dining destinations. Yet less than two miles from Public Square, there's a neighborhood with 20 eateries. It's rich in history. Full of exotic flair. The places enjoy a common bond. And most important, the area is expanding its brand -- slowly but surely, far from the lights and hype of more talked-about dining districts." http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2011/03/clevelands_asiatown_becoming_a.html

^ Signing NCAA compliance forms over the summer knowing there may have been violations sounds like lying to me.

^Very complicated. There are very complex socioeconomic issues that must be addressed.

^We need immigrants...at this point I would take illegal immigrants. Also, we can't lose sight of the fact of the cyclical nature of some of this stuff. My family moved north after WWII and my grandmother swore nobody would ever move south again. She said she couldn't see any possible way the South would ever become viable again. With all the racial tension and an antiquated agrarian economy, she saw no hope for the South. The feeling in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and North Carolina in the 40's and 50's must be similar to what were feeling now.

So frustrating...The foreclosure crisis destroyed so many east side neighborhoods. That was an awful decade for Cleveland. How do we fix this problem? Obviously, job creation is severely needed; however, I'm starting to wonder if that will be enough. I just talked to my younger brother, who graduated from OSU a few years ago, about this exact topic. How do we convince young people to stay here or move here from other areas? My brother has all kinds of stories about friends turning down jobs in Ohio because they're waiting for a job in a "cool city." He knows a girl who has turned down two PR jobs (sports franchises) in Indy and Milwaukee because she's waiting for a PR job in Atlanta. She's still sitting on her parent's couch in Columbus two years after she graduated! She said she doesn't want to live in those cities because they're boring. How do we overcome that? I feel like things have changed. When I graduated in '03 things didn't seem as bad...people talked about "cool cities," but it seems like it's gotten worse. Is this behavior a symptom of society? Have we become so soft that we can't suck it up and live in a "non-cool" cities? It just seems like our priorities have shifted. I know our problems are a lot more complicated than that and this is just one of the issues facing our cities, but perception does seem to hold a lot weight nowadays.

The local in Chicago made some concessions with Mittal a few years back. The Cleveland local, however, wouldn't budge and several execs in Chicago were trying to get back at the local here. The Cleveland plant is one Mittal's most profitable North American plants, so the Union here had a little leverage. Also, the Cleveland plant is isolated compared to Mittal's other plants. Mittal has more plants in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin and the company wanted to consolidate their operations around their headquarters in Chicago. Sounds like company/union politics.

My dad works for Mittal and he said they began to shift a lot of work from their Indiana/Chicago plant to Cleveland because customers were impressed with the quality of the steel being made here. He also said at one point the company was considering closing the plant here and shifting all work to Chicago, but customers didn't like that idea and demanded their orders come from the Cleveland plant. He also said some execs were so anti-Cleveland, they were making the steel here, then shipping it to Chicago, then reshipping to customers and telling them it was made at the Chicago plant hoping customers would buy more steel from the Chicago plant. A lot backroom politics being played...I'm glad we didn't get screwed.

^Fair enough...2000 may be too early.

^That may be true, but how do you fix that? You're talking about very complicated problems. How do we replace decent-paying blue collar jobs and how do we discourage sprawl? You're talking about the deep structural changes that aren't going to be remedied in 5 years. Also, our new growth may be a drop in the bucket, but we're talking about a short window here. If we hit bottom at the beginning of the decade, isn't it encouraging we've already found new growth areas?