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It still blows my mind that there is to be no hi-speed connection between the east coast network and the rest of it. It would be different if the map purported to describe "practical possibilities" or something like that... but no, we don't even have Cle-Pitt or Cle-Buff within our "Vision." If you want to go to Pittsburgh or points east, you have to use "other pasenger rail." Why?

So far I've joined facebook groups attempting to "draft" two different alternative democratic candidates. One has already indicated she will not run. One left.

I remember both figures, the 8 weeks and the mid-2010. I think it was 2 separate projects and they did the 8 week one right before they started this one. Could be wrong. I just hope they have it done before they tear up the innerbelt.

urbanlife those pictures look great. Let's do that. I wonder if we could classify it as a capital expense and throw it onto a funding request.

Technically, you are 100% correct about the home rule test. In practice, the LSG category is itty bitty while the SWC category is vast. That tilts the machine away from home rule, even though mechanics of the test seem favorable to it. I don't have a horse in this race... I just don't like illusory standards and I think this is a prime example of one. A public park gun-ban makes good sense to me. But as noted, such laws could get troublesome with multiple communities in play. Extraterritoriality. Therefore not perfectly appropriate for local regulation. This problem could be eased, if not solved, by the consolidation of said communities. And even though the state can't make a law applying only to the 3C's by name, it could get around this restriction by creating gun laws that apply only to communities over 300k. This approach is unavailable when we have places like East Cleveland, super urban but with low population. Consolidation opens the door. For discussion's sake I'm pretending there's no federal problem, which I believe there is.

Home Rule is fairly weak these days. Local self-government extends primarily to traffic control and administrative matters, but not to the state's police power. The opposite of "local self-government" is "statewide concern," so if you can show that it's a matter of statewide concern (not too hard), it can't fit under Home Rule. I had thought predatory lending was CERTAINLY a matter of local self-government... and boy was I wrong. Supposedly the key is whether the local regulation will have "extraterritorial" effects, but in that case all that mattered was that the state legislature believed one uniform regulation would be for the best. That belief apparently made it a matter of statewide concern, which made Home Rule inapplicable.

I like what I'm hearing. More "how can we," less "why we can't."

At the time Joe was confronted with this, there were indeed many things we did not know. But what has been done since then to investigate? Lack of schedule info is a big barrier to transit use if you have other options, and "look it up online" is simply another barrier. As far as physically changing the schedules, I'd like to point out that every transit system has employees driving right by each of its stations on a daily basis. It's not like RTA would need 7000 vans and 7000 temps just to post schedule info

I'm all for this ban and would like to see it applied universally-- but I wonder if there's an exemption for the text-messaging systems through which all these trucks are controlled. Sometimes you just can't pull over.

Economic conservatives who are more libertarian on social issues are typically called RINOs. There is no corresponding term DINO. Social conservatives who are libertarian on economic issues would be standard Republicans, would they not? As for states over feds, that's a matter of constitutional law, and both sovereigns have defined powers. For the most part, states cannot violate the Bill of Rights, nor can they mess with interstate commerce. As for locals over states, local governments have no sovereignty at all. Their ability to expand on state regulations and penalties is under constant debate, but in the end the state has 100% authority over locals. So on guns... I don't see any legal justification for states (and by extension locals) being able to regulate guns to any extent that the federal government could not. At the same time, it makes sense to me that urban areas would need stricter controls. If this were an easy issue, we'd have solved it already.

Both platforms are internally inconsistent. On the liberal side it's pretty clear why this is, as union guys are really quite different from hippies, not to mention the various minority groups. The conservative side is more demographically homogeneous, making its inconsistencies seem more philosophical in nature. Total freedom regarding guns, but not speech? Not drugs? Not marriage? Not abortion? You can own all manner of weaponry but society owns your body? That doesn't make a lick of sense. If autonomy from government is the goal, OK then. But then the same argument has to apply to all issues.

^ I agree. Strickland has been pretty weak. He got stuck with a budget that wasn't his fault, but excuses won't work and he lacks charisma.

I don't think you do explain this one. I think you fire some people and buy some windows, then maybe donate to a neighborhood charity.

I've lived in a large number of cheap apartments around town and only a couple have had bugs. It's not a big issue here... DC probably has it worse. We do have both kinds of roaches here, the large "palmetto" variety as well as the standard little ones. We also have furry woodland creatures of all types, including coyotes. Occasionally, on the eastern fringe, small black bears wander in from PA. No tigers whatsoever. No dinosaurs that I'm aware of.

Bugs aren't too bad in the city, though we do get 1-2 annual hordes of mayflies from Lake Erie. They're tiny and harmless and they all die in about a week.

Very clever on Maron's part. I like it.

Traffic... no. But in a terrible economy, parking rates can be a barrier. This comes into play for a lot of clients where I work. Sometimes we offer to reimburse them, sometimes we send 327 to their house. This shouldn't be a big deal for clients of any "Investment Counsel," but who am I to judge. Given the wild abundance of surface parking downtown, and given that we're in heavy promotion/development mode... parking rates probably need to come down.

Google's not entirely sure what you mean by that. Is it published under a DoD heading? And MTS I'm trying to gain an understanding of this, and I'm sorta playing devil's advocate so that I can better sell the concept to others. And there are plenty of highly educated people, including those who do health care purchasing on a large scale, who also don't understand the medmart concept. I want DoD to meet with better public acceptance than MM/CC has. I don't think either has recieved a solid public explanation, and I think such would be of great help in both cases. On another note, I am personally concerned with the number and size of the public activity dead-zones we seem to wanna put on our renovated main street. That seems wrong on a conceptual level and it also seems fairly obvious.

OK that's the part I really don't get... it sounds like we'd be turning our commercial main street into a private trade show. One more reason for the area's residents to NOT visit Euclid Avenue, as it's being specifically redesigned not to appeal to them. Why this sudden fetish with non-public uses for our main street? And the irony of having Target and Macy's corporate buyers window shopping in a commercial district they refuse to service is pretty intense. Downtown Cleveland: The Home of Consumer Products... unless you're actually a consumer seeking to purchase consumer products.

Good pitch! PHS has office space that needs to be filled somehow, and this plan leverages an existing regional strength to fill it. I still can't say I understand the whole idea, especially the involvement of storefronts, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

I think it has more to do with having had nothing open for business outside of their complex or skyscraper. That was largely the case until recent years. The progress has been steady for ten years or so, but we've only just now started seeing anything resembling a critical mass.

OK... what sort of potential impact are we talking about? I'm not necessarily asking for measurables, just a general idea of what success might look like.

This idea is creative and distinctive and I want to like it. But I agree with Willyboy that it doesn't fill an obvious need like East 4th did. It seems especially incongruous for a theater district, and I don't understand what "the A&D community" has to do with revitalizing a commercial main street. Honestly it sounds like a trade show. That seems like a great approach to filling one of the arcades. Seems a little odd for Playhouse Square. Again... I want to like this.

Blow me down. This city approves every demolition and every suburban zoning variance that comes across the table. But an ad program that would actually produce revenue is just too ugly? Come on. These ads are commonplace in major cities, they're a sign of living breathing commerce. I think that would improve Cleveland's appearance, even if it didn't bring in a dime.

Which leaves...