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Ohio was as bad as any other state in terms of de-urbanizing and attempting to reinvent culture during the 60s. Still, I think Cincinnati and Cleveland do a good job of maintaining connections to their own respective histories, but not each other's history or anyone else's. Here again we have the regionalism. The problem I see with that explanation: Pennsylvania is similarly divided between two disparate main regions. Yet PA has done a great job of maintaining a more cohesive image. PA has a brand, a unique feel that Ohio lacks. Granted, PA played a large role in early US history. But since then, there is a strong case to be made that Ohio surpassed PA in national influence. You'd never know it from the way the two states carry themselves.

Perhaps the only reason Jackson is making so much fuss is to pump up the city's otherwise puny bargaining position. He knows they want this land, but they've told him they don't need it. That's why I found the Crains article odd. The Wolstein plan's inclusion meant MMPI didn't have to pay whatever Jackson asked. This new line of thought seems to put all the power back in Jackson's hands. Not clear to me why MMPI or the county would do that.

The thing I like least about the setup is how you can no longer take the first available between the BRT or the trolley. They use different (yet adjacent) stops now. You are forced to commit without knowing which one is coming. That said, I don't think any of it is that big a deal. At least the health line runs regularly when night classes let out, which is more than I can say for the rest of the system.

Those who aren't don't want to hear about because that's not the issue.

It depends entirely on where you are in life when one of these things happens. People just getting out of school (I know a bunch) are not finding work at all. So far it seems as though people of a certain age group are being thrown off the island, while age groups in a better position to protect themselves are doing so. Depending on which of these groups you're in, the whole scenario will look very different.

Look, I'm about as pro-rail as you can get. But this guy goes a little too far. Boston has no real stake in the auto industry, so it's easy to tell that audience to forget about it. We need both, and I agree the stimulus is unfairly weighted toward road projects. This is the best chance we've had to replace the rail system since we lost it. We need automotive too though. I would spend more on both of those, less on banking and housing bailouts. I've had it with people from other regions slamming our main industry. If theirs are similarly on the chopping block, then OK, but that's never the deal. East Coast financial giants have been no less destructive, no less poorly run than Detroit. They manipulated congress too, in the same way and for the same reasons. We in the midwest should stop tolerating this constant double standard.

Sherrod Brown is Sherrod Brown. I'm talking about Joe the Cleveland Democrat. He's probably Catholic, which will at least influence his abortion view, and he probably doesn't identify with any ideas he would consider Californian. Joe could care less about the environment, and that's where he and Sherrod Brown have a problem. Sherrod would love to be green but Joe will not let him.

You want dropped off right in front of the law school, I take it. I love how they call E21 "E19."

Wolstein was just on the Feagler show talking about how well-received his proposal was.

Project for MayDay: insert either of the proposed buildings for that open spot on the square, or some of the other stuff that's been proposed recently like apartment towers on Euclid or a major hotel on Ontario by the mall.

Cincinnati was huge in the Underground Railroad, hence the museum there. That's also a notable place for the itinerary. Sites are scattered throughout Ohio, and could be considered shrines in a way. Ohio was the #1 contributor to the Union cause in the Civil War-- in generals, in troops, and in sentiment. That may be Ohio's true claim to fame. It paved the way for the state's dominance of the early industrial era that followed. Industrial power gradually moved west, corporate/financial power moved east, and then people moved south. To the extent that it ever was unified, Ohio's unified culture is represented in the hallmarks of that late 1800s era: industry, inventiveness, and an old-school progressivism that would be viewed as socially conservative today. Ohio's liberals today are concentrated in the same place they always were, and they are a special breed similar to those in MI and western PA. They're liberal about unions, economics, and foreign policy; but they're conservative on just about everything else, particularly abortion and "family values." The NE corner of the state still has active KKK. Kinsman does not observe MLK Day, or at least recently did not, on purpose by holding a routine meeting that day. An official was quoted saying something to the effect of "let them have their day, it doesn't concern us here."

One more post and KStay2 has 2009. A regional note, again not for fighting purposes, as I represent multiple areas myself. The NE has always been more progressive and liberal, going back to Ohio's first political debates. This is becuase the initial residents there came overwhelmingly from New England, while PA and VA (which then included WV and KY) filled in other regions. The black population of Ohio started very small and stayed that way for some time. The first state constitution barely addresses them. Later ones did, and state policy toward blacks in the pre-civil war era was less than friendly. I don't remember specific provisions, but I heard a presentation about this last year. The Western Reserve counties voted unanimously, in losing efforts, against every anti-black provision. That is not to say that the other counties were pro-slavery at all, but the tone was different in the NE, they were very serious about equal rights. You can read a copy of the constitutional debates in the law library at CSU, check its website. I don't know if they're available through Ohiolink because some of them are in really old books. These debates, though tedious to sort through, can give you some insights on regional opinions in different periods. The most recent convention in 1912 had keynote speeches by Teddy Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryan. The earlier debates I mentioned above include some absolutely despicable statements by state legislators. We've come a long way since the 19th century.

I don't even think that statement's debatable. If you ask people living along Bethel or Sawmill why they like Columbus, I bet that's the first thing they'll say. Columbus proper includes a lot of areas whose equivalent would be found be 2-3 suburbs deep outside of Cleveland or Cincinnati. I would note that Toledo is more like Columbus in this regard, but not to the same extent, and the question wasn't about Toledo. And it's not a knock on Columbus at all. I had no intention of starting a pissing match. Columbus has tons of urban cred. It offers several of Ohio's premier urban neighborhods. As my friend down there points out, Cleveland has nothing to compete with Short North at the moment. That's not intended to start a pissing match either... just seeking balance.

Speaking of a boom/bust culture in Toledo, what do you think accounts for the 'entrepreneurial' culture of Columbus, particularly related to retail? Some of Ohio's brain drain has been intra-state and Columbus is the beneficiary. Columbus has a disproportionately white-collar and educated population, compared with the other major metros. The presence of OSU keeps Columbus rooted in youth culture like nothing else can. That alone is huge for retail. The govenment is a stable employer, and unlike some other states Ohio's state offices are highly concentrated in the capitol. The Lottery in Cleveland is the only state entity not based in Columbus. Some years back there was talk of spreading them out more (Agriculture to Lima, for instance) but I've heard nothing about that for a long time. For better or worse, Columbus is Ohio's most suburban city. Given recent generational preferences, that has allowed Columbus to stockpile entrepreneurial type people-- or at least those with the personal resources to make it happen. In that sense it's been doing well for the same reason Charlotte and Atlanta have. It embraced the trends of sprawl and auto-oriented destination retail.

There's a Shawnee State University, way south of Columbus, but that's a regular college and there's no native population around there now that I know of. Ohio has no reservations anywhere. Some Shawnee from Oklahoma have made claims recently, in conjunction with casino proposals, and they've all been denied. The Shawnee capital moved around but the biggest one was in Xenia, near Dayton. There wasn't much native activity in the NE part of the state. The Erie tribe had been there but was mostly wiped out before white settlement. It was a genocide and most tribes in the Great Lakes region participated. Stragglers were assimilated by the Iroquois. The Eries were supposedly cannibals and used poison arrows, both of which everyone else considered taboo. One line of thought is that they were killed because they didn't reflect well on the rest of native civilization, at a time when PR was becoming important. Ohio did have a thriving prehistoric civilization, or several. All of their mounds should be on the visit list, especially the serpent south of Columbus and the collection in and around Newark. There are lesser known sites around southern Ohio and in Ashtabula County. Also check out Black Hand Gorge near Zanesville. It has waterfalls, old growth forest, a scary deep canyon, and some awesome rock formations. There is also a lot of Ohio culture to be found at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park on any summer weekend. All the Ohio you'll ever need. You can jump off a 30' cliff and swim to an island. Talk to as many people there as you can, you'll meet some characters rural and urban.

Much of Ohio is Appalacian and always has been. Southern and eastern Ohio were settled first, and that's because Appalacia was already populated. Ohio wasn't very populated in pre-American times, and many of the tribes encountered by whites had just gotten here a couple generations prior. I wouldn't say Appalacians are "native" to Cleveland, but who really is? That goes for all of Ohio. Any area of Cleveland proper that's ever been called the south side (there really isn't a south side) has had Appalacians in it for ages. Unfortunately the more recent arrivals all like the Steelers. The divisions you mentioned are definitely there though, and you describe the big picture very well. One side of my family is that old-line protestant set and the other side is from eastern Kentucky. Some people from the latter set follow something that barely resembles modern Christianity at all. It has all that river business, along with what might be African and Native American elements. These elements may also have survived from pre-Christian Europe. My dad went to a funeral of that nature recently. I know how to find water. No one has any idea how it works, and you're more than welcome to not believe me. It's something that is taught in that culture. If you're trying to grow food in rough territory, it helps to find water.

Mormonism is very rooted in Ohio (Kirtland), and I think there are other Protestant branches that may have started here. There is an argument you can find online regarding Mormonism and Ohio that Mormons might not like. Google Solomon Spaulding. Ohio has an abundance of Methodists. This isn't their home base, but they aren't common in many other states. The United Church of Christ is based in Cleveland. There is a case to be made for Techmseh being a homegrown Ohio prophet-- he was alleged to have predicted the last major midwest earthquake, among other things.

Litt also makes it easy for the PD to say they've played it down the middle. I don't buy it, but I don't think their coverage has been that slanted anyway. It is interesting that they didn't say much about the GCP conflict. But they never cover that kind of issue. They let the Scene do it, so that any such talk comes with porn ads and isn't taken seriously.

Just east of the Slovenian part used to be a Polish part, starting at about 72nd. Some of the sidestreets to the south have very Polish names. I don't think much of that influence remains there, not like Slovenian has.

Cool picture. It makes me imagine the Justice Center and the NCB building arguing about: "I'm square." "No I'm square." "Well, I'm more square than you." "Why don't you just be square over there."

A little work would go a long way in this area. I don't get why it hasn't held up better to this point. The commercial strip is reletively intact and it's a long one. Longer than it appears here. If the old stock were refurbished and the gaps filled, this place would be great. The location couldn't be better. Though it's behind a bunch of factories and a freeway, the lake is about 2 blocks north of this strip. The area stands to benefit long term from the port relocation and the waterfront line (which inexplicably doesn't go this far yet). It's also adjacent to Asiatown, with downtown on the other side of that, maybe a 10 minute drive. It really is time for a development push here, like the one in Detroit-Shoreway.

It isn't reflected as well as it could be economically, but blacks hold considerable power in Cleveland. I don't think it's an "old white guy" thing here anymore at all.

Such tiny windows they have, with one of the best views imaginable.

My tuition is more than my income, has been for years now, so I've had zero federal liability. Local taxes are another matter... when I first found out I had to pay two different cities here I flipped. Still hate it.

Even if it is a huge blank wall? We have a few of those.