TBideon

Got to be honest, I'm not a fan of roundabouts at all.

Oh.. I completely misread that. Call me phonetically challenged today.

I don't have any background in PR, but, in my lay opinion, it seems like there have been some misfires. Like the "Downtown Cleveland You Are Here" video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__5xpeffexs Great song, but the video was filled with predominantly young'ish people whereas tourist leaders absolutely needed to cast a wider net for families, seniors, etc. And a downtown focused tourism video might work in NYC or Chicago, but in Cleveland I imagine you should include some of the more vibrant neighborhoods (and even certain suburbs i.e. Chagrin Falls and Hudson for the charm, Beachwood/Crocker for shopping). Downtown alone just doesn't have enough unique attractions to warrant trips for the average tourist, and the things people want to do - walk in metroparks, see museums, eat ethnic foods, drink in microbreweries, attend small theaters, and SHOP - are not concentrated there. Finally, from a stylistic perspective, why is the weather rainy and gloomy the first 30 seconds? Not exactly leading with your best foot forward.

"blacks in Cleveland are not going to vote for a white mayor" I don't know about that. The demographics are not dramatically different now than when Jane Campbell was mayor, and Mike Duggan's been the mayor since 2013 or so, Lyda Krweson since 2017, Jim Strickland since 2016, etc. And Mike White may have got the ball rolling with Gateway, the Browns, the downtown museums and Euclid Corridor, but he was exceptionally corrupt (Nate Gray was just released from fed prison coincidentally), a complete opposite of Mayor Jackson (who isn't a buffoon, just ineffective with the occasional faux pas or tantrum).

birds of feather.

I'm sure there a ton of overlapping factors - high construction costs, low('ish) salaries, recession fears, the Avenue District's "failure" being a warning sign, few tax credits, non-warrantable units, the usual negative perceptions somewhat unique to Cleveland - but my hunch is the relatively small downtown workforce population (95,000 and dropping) is the most concerning for financiers and developers.

And a nightmare to get to and leave by foot (the East 9th rapid station is currently the only way of arriving/escaping). Though I think, I THINK, you can get to West 3rd if you walk on the highway briefly (since that red overpass is still out of commission). They have got to connect that area better to the city if the station is ever rebuilt/modernized.

Population gain is conditional on immigration, and Cleveland needs to incentivize people to move to the city. If the existing residents want to sabotage large scale, out-of-the-box approaches to true population growth, then bully for them.

How much would more track cost? A couple hundred million dollars per mile? I just can't see the city/state/fed pumping that kind of money into those... economically challenged areas.

It's a bummer. The city, region really, have tried for decades to make the city more desirable to businesses, residents, tourists, young adults, boomerangs, families, etc, but nothing has really worked. There is some kind of inner city aversion towards bringing in South and Central American immigrants ("they're replacing us!"), and we aren't getting enough Arabs, Africans and Asians outside of a few universities and hospitals.. Europeans certainly aren't coming either. So immigration isn't remotely offsetting the brain drain and population losses. If the city could truly change that mentality, or at least ignore the ignorant sloths who feel threatened by any change, and develop dramatic, and I mean DRAMATIC, changes to bring in immigrants (give them free housing and plots of land, low interest loans for businesses, guaranteed protection in the more dangerous neighborhoods, public schools that forbid gangbanging and disruptions), skilled and unskilled alike, that's probably the most realistic approach to population growth. Better universities would help as well.

Might as well call them "Frank's Revenge".

That was an interesting article. The costs are just beyond the pale these days (for instance, the Long Island Rail Road project was almost $4 billion a mile of track). Someone, many someones, should have been locked up for that.

It sounds like you're both right.

The Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse lol.

Didn't we already have a market correction in December?

They're full of shit. The Vessel looks awesome, is accessible to the public, and will be enjoyed by tens millions of people over time. This overanalysis is desperate and bourgey, and I bet they would have criticized the Eifel Tower with the same exaggerated rhetoric.

I can't wait to visit the Vessel. NYC really hit a home run there, it's going to be an epic tourist destination.

I just finished marathoning F is for Family. Phenomenal show.

We are going to need another half dozen primary sources and sworn testimonies pal.

Color me very optimistic. Closest comparison I can think of is the Merchandise Mart in Chicago which really reinvented/repurposed itself into a tech hub, and is a huge success. Literally reborn from the ashes even with some wholeselling showrooms remaining

And how many primary sources are required before posting a rumor? I must have missed that terms and conditions page.

The reality is shit happens on trains and buses. Not a whole lot, but it's inevitable that regular users will experience some kind of ugliness here and there. That's just life in a city, at least an American city in which there are far too many mentally ill, gangbangers, hostile/antisocial types, and then law-abiding people (who fortunately comprise the vast, vast, vast majority of users) all colliding in shared buses, and to a lesser degree trains. It all depends on your threshold for safety, your child's ability to handle an ugly situation, and a lot of luck. Personally I think an 11-year-old can or should be able to take public transportation without adult supervision, even though there will be unfortunate moments. They need to see what happens and how to handle annoyances i.e. bangers or homeless sleeping on multiple seats, someone playing music loudly, or a loudmouth yelling n-word this and n-word that on the phone, to mildy more invasive irrations i.e. "square square square" or "can I have everyone's attention, I just got out of jail..." to escalated problems i.e. hoodrats getting into loud arguments, harassing innocent passengers, or even violence. Everyone, at least ordinary users, have had problems on trains and buses before. And those moments probably make us better equipped to handle subsequent situations. When my youngest niece was being sexually harassed on the green line on multiple trips (and boy wouldn't I love to slit the throat of that scumbag), she adapted and started sitting by the conductor in the front car. When some bum was trying to get me to fix his (stolen) computer, and I tried being cool, friendly and helpful, I learned quickly how FAST those types can turn on you, as he got ugly immediately when I refused to give my new "friend" money. I won't be doing that again. You learn from these moments, and they aren't an everyday occurrence. Why not just try it out for a few weeks. A month.

Next Wednesday in Chicago: High -11 Low -17 Windchill -55 Good god.

A lot of hoopla over a mildly engaging but not really earth-shattering ad, but it does make me think about catcalling and the fact that there need to be far more strict harassment, menacing and assault laws with that hideous behavior. The fact that men, and perhaps some women, accept this conduct as relatively benign or culturally accepted is sheer lunacy. Catcalling is essentially assault and needs to be treated as such.

They sound deranged. Is Whole Foods suffering for being yards away from University Square? Businesses struggle for many reasons; this is unlikely to be one.