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I realize it's a temp job but it's an important one at an important time. Considering only one person for it looks terrible. It gives off a stink of corruption and cronyism even if they really did select the best available candidate. This community has got to commit itself to doing things the right way. We have been crippled by petty corruption and it needs to end.

Those things happened everywhere. Cleveland needs to do a better job preserving its historical structures. We also need to do a better job of rebuilding in a recognizably urban fashion.

For all I know he's great. But this process is filthy, a terrible start for RTA's plan to move past corruption. Interview all your applicants before you hire the insider. It's not that difficult and it looks soooooooooooooooo much better.

With Joe C out of the picture, this notion of blocking off the blue line needs to be revisited.

Young people on the east side right now? They're living in the nothing that we weren't looking forward to.

Half the city has fallen into abject ruin over the past 30 years. Yes, downtown is nicer and crime is down, but most other measures are sharply negative.

I chuckle at reports that the economy might crash soon. It's like, have you been outside? The economy crashed so long ago there's trees growing out of it.

We could rebuild like that if we wanted to. Not overnight obviously. But if our great-great grandparents can do it, we can too.

The nanotech was successful and became microscopic.

What are the legal roadblocks keeping landlords from renting properties? Private property. Many of these structures have scant market value and owe back taxes. Should have been seized and put to use long ago. The legal basis for protecting property rights is that it encourages the most efficient use of finite resources. That's not happening here, not with ruins all over the place. Do you want to live in a zombie movie? I don't. We have to fix this mess. Right now the county land bank's mission is producing vacant lots for market. What if its mission was to solve the homeless problem instead? What if that mission got the money the Q is getting?

There's still value in tight collaboration, the kind that isn't possible over distances. Tech hubs and capitals have persisted for a reason. Doesn't mean there can't be more hubs as tech becomes bigger. The whole point of cities is that we're better off collaborating.

This city is filled with unoccupied structures. Two problems, one solution.

The "hospital truthers" aren't wrong, but that battle is lost and this development looks pretty nice.

All the more reason for a comprehensive citywide preservation plan.

Nice post. The CDC model is absolutely killing us. Planning needs to be more coordinated and more consistent. Building a neighborhood downtown at Superior and 105 makes perfect sense, but Kinsman needs that too, instead of small-scale agriculture and unmarketable housing. Meanwhile, the Buckeye-Shaker area has lost millions in federal funds to the open villainy of its filthy councilman and CDC. Hough is still reeling from a succession of anti-urban leadership, which right now is attempting to regain power via recall election. And then of course there's East Cleveland. Only in our fractured system could these problems go on for so long. No more borders, no more baronies, no more shakedowns, no more graft, no more patchwork planning.

You don't excuse the victim. Even though it may be emotionally difficult, if it is important, the victim has a duty to do what is right. Problem is we don't offer much in the way of witness protection. If they do show up to testify, dude comes home soon enough and then he's all pissed off. That being said, I do think there comes a point when the woman is willfully exchanging beatings for wealth and/or sex. Sounds like that might be a factor in this case. And when I represent kids stuck in the middle of that, I have little patience for it. But then again, Cleveland only has one small shelter for battered women and their kids. This may seem like an odd time to advocate for universal basic income, but it would help solve one of the core problems that perpetuates violence against women and kids. People need options.

Without a victim who's willing to testify, criminal charges aren't going anywhere. A trial is held, the victim doesn't show up, the accused goes home. The victim could be charged with contempt but that wouldn't solve anything.

If we're talking 1964, Cleveland wasn't very liberal on race relations. Considerable strife was yet to come.

I deal with DV cases from all sides. Here, the wife appears to have gone to great lengths to cover up whatever was happening, in order to preserve the husband's job at OSU. Given all we now know, it's hard to believe the head coach would have had no part in suggesting that course of action. Funny story about him: my friend, of Indian heritage, is a doctor and a big Buckeye fan. He went on a cruise where he got to meet Urban Meyer. After he told Urban about his line of work, Urban said something like "oh yeah, I guess you people are real good at that stuff." So, he's not what I'd call woke.

"Crime to the east" is essentially what was said about OTR and Short North. The difference is that Cleveland chose not to invest in making its downtown-adjacent neighborhoods desirable. The Agora and Masonic theaters could have been keystones to a grand revival. Both are receiving major renovations and both still host major shows... but there's nowhere nearby to hang out.

Reminding me that for whatever reason lake views don't carry anywhere near the same value as ocean views. Very disappointing. I'm not sure how true that is or how much it's in play here. High rises have already been proposed for the Battery Park area only to get attacked by residents. That's not a demand problem, that's a political problem. Considering the positions announced by the school district and the city, no developer was going to waste money on a proposal. That has nothing to do with the potential value of sensibly developing the site. One more horrific mistake by incompetent leadership. We can't afford more of those, because yes our waterfront views do have value. Immense value. We're just hellbent on wasting it.

There's not really that much Detroit Avenue to work with, between Hingetown and Gordon Square. This kills off a big chunk of potential. And time will not heal that wound because the school will never be open to the public. It could take decades to assemble a comparable site piecemeal, if that's even possible. Putting walkable mixed-use on this site would elevate all the property values around it, giving CMSD more revenues to work with. At some point Cleveland has to prioritize good planning decisions above all else. The school district should not be allowed to keep shooting itself in the foot.

Those big firms are intensely stratified.

I appreciate the effort at urban form, but a high school cannot possibly be pedestrian friendly. Claiming otherwise suggests a failure to understand the concept. The only pedestrian friendly move here would be to build it somewhere else.

Yes, Calabrese was anti-rail to an absurd degree and his signature project-- an attempt to shift the whole conversation away from rail-- was botched.