Jeffery

Austin Road interchange is open. So is the partial continuous flow interchange at Springboro Pike and Austin Boulevard. A summary of the opening and related developments can be found here Though there's been discussion on the sprawl aspect, the bright side is that the urban delights of central Cincinnati are just that much closer (in time) to south Montgomery County, since this interchange will reduce travel time to downtown Cincy & vicinity.

The Austin Blvd interchange is open. Here are some last reports on the construction side: First to open was the continuous flow interchange at Austin & Springboro Pike (OH 741), just east of the I-75 interchange, in late May or early June: Austin-Ohio 741 continuous flow intersection may open this month …but it was only a partial design (scope cut due to costs) Original plans called for a four-way continual flow intersection, but it was too expensive. So, northbound and southbound traffic on Ohio 741 flows like a typical intersection. Motorists traveling east or west on Austin Pike face a set of left-turn lanes that cross over oncoming traffic a few hundred feet before the intersection at Ohio 741. Signals are timed so that left-turning traffic typically doesn’t have to stop at the intersection and is able to merge smoothly with other vehicles after the turn. The I-75 interchange opened on July 2, just over a week ago: Austin Boulevard Interchange Opens Today MIAMI TWP. — Dayton’s first new interchange in decades was scheduled to open this morning, July 2, at the much-anticipated Austin Boulevard exit on Interstate 75. The official dedication for the $20-million interchange is Aug. 16, but because it was ready two months early, officials decided to open it today, said Steve Stanley, director of the Montgomery County Transportation Improvement District. …but wait, theres more!: There’s already a wave of change with the opening, including the $7 million widening of Byers Road in Miamisburg, which will bring some 5,000 local jobs with new businesses and local companies relocating there. In addition to the Byers Road work (a major realignment of this road on the west side of I-75), Austin Boulevard is being widened and realigned to the east, to the township line, where it changes name to Social Row Road (already widened in parts in Washington Township) Among the businesses coming to Austin Road are Teradata (in a new building nearing completion on the NE side of the interchange) Motoman (possibly on the NW side of the interchange, near the Byers Road relocation) A spec office building being built by RG Enterprises ..and not one, but two proton cancer treatment centers KETTERING — Kettering Medical Center announced that it and a California partner will invest up to $80 million in a proton therapy center, setting up a potential new battleground on the frontiers of medicine with competing hospital network Premier Health Partners. It will build the nonprofit proton therapy center, which it hopes to open within three years, at either its Southern Boulevard campus or on 48 acres at the Austin Pike-Interstate 75 interchange, KMC said in an announcement Thursday, May 13. >snip< Meanwhile, Premier Health Partners announced this week that it and Dayton Physicians Inc. are discussing a potential collaboration with California-based Optivus Proton Therapy Inc., which is planning a $170 million for-profit proton beam radiation treatment center at the Austin Pike interchange This is moving into discussion about the real estate development, not highways. The Austin Landing development itself is detailed in a DBJ article Highlights of the Austin Landing site plan include: • two 120,000-square-foot office buildings, two 60,000-square-foot office buildings and a 90,000-square-foot office building; • a parking structure for nearly 650 cars; • two retail anchors, one at 80,000 square feet and another measuring 87,200 square feet; • two smaller, “junior” retail anchors; • a hotel; and • a corridor of retail space at the center of the development. Some of the site developement for this is being funded via stimulus money funneled through Montgomery County, I think. One of retail anchors may be a new-concept Kroger (which would compete with a nearby Dorothy Lane Market The DBJ is going to hold a panel discussion on Butler/Warren/Austin Road growth on Tuesday morning, and yours truly will be there. Hopefully I can snag some graphics to scan for y’all.

Population is more suburban/exurban these days. Central cities are not as dominant as they were in the 1940s & 50s, and even perhaps in the 60s

Taking a break from the Ohio employment numbers, here is a national look at the economy, from the Institute of Supply Management. The ISM releases these status reports every month, and some of their indicators seem to be more predictive (like new orders) , so we can maybe see where the economy might be headed. The ISM looks at the economy by sector, apparently using the North American Industrial Classification Systems (NAICS) to categorized sectors, and releases two reports, one for the manufacturing economy and another for the non-manufacturing economy (presumably comparable to the goods producing and non-goods producing sector in the BLS data sets) From their press release, for the non-manufacuring economy: Tempe, Arizona) — Economic activity in the non-manufacturing sector grew in June for the sixth consecutive month, say the nation's purchasing and supply executives in the latest Non-Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®. The report was issued today by Anthony Nieves, C.P.M., CFPM, chair of the Institute for Supply Management™ Non-Manufacturing Business Survey Committee; and senior vice president — supply management for Hilton Worldwide. "The NMI (Non-Manufacturing Index) registered 53.8 percent in June, 1.6 percentage points lower than the 55.4 percent registered in May, indicating continued growth in the non-manufacturing sector, but at a slightly slower rate. The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index decreased 3 percentage points to 58.1 percent, reflecting growth for the seventh consecutive month. The New Orders Index decreased 2.7 percentage points to 54.4 percent, and the Employment Index decreased 0.7 percentage point to 49.7 percent, reflecting contraction after one month of growth. The Prices Index decreased 6.8 percentage points to 53.8 percent in June, indicating that prices are still increasing but at a slower rate than in May. According to the NMI, 15 non-manufacturing industries reported growth in June. Growing industries (in order of growth) are: Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; Information; Mining; Accommodation & Food Services; Transportation & Warehousing; Wholesale Trade; Management of Companies & Support Services; Public Administration; Construction; Utilities; Health Care & Social Assistance; Retail Trade Professional, Scientific & Technical Services. Also: ”The two industries reporting contraction in June are: Other Services and Finance & Insurance. For new orders: “ISM's Non-Manufacturing New Orders Index grew in June for the 10th consecutive month. The index registered 54.4 percent, which is a decrease of 2.7 percentage points from the 57.1 percent reported in May. Comments from respondents include: "Increasing demand" and "Greater utilization of strategic sourcing opportunities." For inventories: ISM's Non-Manufacturing Inventories Index registered 58.5 percent in June, indicating that inventory levels grew in June for the third consecutive month. Of the total respondents in June, 33 percent indicated they do not have inventories or do not measure them. Comments from respondents include: "Using what we have and not replenishing stock" and "Cash flow shortage is preventing ordering." ….there’s also blurbs and detail for backlog of orders, prices, exports, etc. Source: June 2010 Non-Manufacturing ISM Report On Business Continuing the look at the ISM reports, here is the one for the manufacturing sector: (Tempe, Arizona) — Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in June for the 11th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 14th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®. The report was issued today by Norbert J. Ore, CPSM, C.P.M., chair of the Institute for Supply Management™ Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. "The manufacturing sector continued to grow during June; however, the rate of growth as indicated by the PMI slowed when compared to May. The lower reading for the PMI came from a slowing in the New Orders and Production Indexes. We are now 11 months into the manufacturing recovery, and given the robust nature of recent growth, it is not surprising that we would see a slower rate of growth at this time. The sector appears to be solidly entrenched in the recovery. Comments from the respondents remain generally positive, but expectations have been that the second half of the year will not be as strong in terms of the rate of growth, and June appears to validate that forecast." The growing industries, with the most growth first: Plastics & Rubber Products; Transportation Equipment; Printing & Related Support Activities; Computer & Electronic Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Paper Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Furniture & Related Products; Petroleum & Coal Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; and Chemical Products. And…”The industries reporting contraction in June are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Wood Products; and Machinery New orders., which does show growth, but a big decrease since May: ISM's New Orders Index registered 58.5 percent in June, which is a decrease of 7.2 percentage points when compared to the 65.7 percent reported in May. This is the 12th consecutive month of growth in the New Orders Index. A New Orders Index above 50.2 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Census Bureau's series on manufacturing orders (in constant 2000 dollars). Again, much more detail at the link: June 2010 Manufacturing ISM Report On Business

I think the employment drops of the last 10 years was probably a worst case scenario for manufacturing employment in this metro area. It represents the shutdown of Delphi and GM (GM does have one plant left here), where a set of large plants downsized and closed over time. This would also have some impact on suppliers, too (like the closure of that big Cooper Tire warehouse that was visible off I-75). However, humming along in the background was a diversified but low-viz industrial economy made up of smaller firms, akin to the German “mittelstand” firms. Employment in this sector is being whittled away by globalization and automation and (in the case of the tool & die industry) lack of skilled workers. So I expect manufacturing employment to continue to decline, albeit at a lower rate, and growth in other sectors (especially health and human services) to increase enough in the next ten years to make it a wash in terms of the MSA employment topline.

Another thing that will cause a reduction in revenue if more people are moving to lower paying jobs is the earned income tax credit (EITC), which kicks in at various places depending on income and family size. More people claiming the EITC= reduced tax in-take, contibuting to the deficit.

Yes, I think you get it. And, if the jobs that do come are so low-paying that this guy or gal qualifies for food stamps or the kids qualify for free school lunches, thats a long term increase in entitlements, a structural increase, not an interim one like unemployment insurance.

I ran some numbers for the Dayton MSA based on a different data set than BLS...the Dept of Commerce "Regional Economic Accounts" database. They had numbers through 2008 for various economic sectors (manufacturing, trade, etc). Doing a projection based on growth and decline of the various sectors for 2001-2008, the Dayton MSA will never recover from the recession lows, and will, in fact lose even more jobs, assuming 2001-2008 trends continue, and this is even with certains sectors, like health care, growing. Assuming a lower rate of decline for manufacturing, say a 1990s rate of decline, the Dayton MSA economy will start adding jobs starting first in 2015...it would take that long for the growing sectors to make up for the losses during the 2001-2008 time frame. That's how bad it is locally...maybe (I am not an economist!).

Y'all might recall those Ohio employment charts I used to post, based on BLS stats. They counted Ohio private nonfarm employment by month. I did a quick look at the private sector numbers for the year so far, through May (June isn't available yet). It looks like the monthly trends are mirroring employment pattens of 2005, 2006, and 2007. In other words we are seeing growth in employment up from the winter lows in January and February. And this growth is about the same number for those non-recession years, indicating the Ohio economy is generating jobs at about the same rate as it would have if the economy was in recovery. Based on this trend I expect to see employment probably peak in June and then more or less plateau for the rest of the year. If it doesn't and we see deterioration we are in for a double-dip recession. Even if we have 2000's-type growth it won't be enough to dig us out of the employment hole we dropped into in 2008 and 2009. The Ohio employment numbers would have to do better than the performance of the mid 2000's to make up the positions lost during this recession. On a macro level, Paul Krugman opines that we are entering into a Panic of 1873 style recession..or depression. Meaning weak or non-existent job growth and deflation. I think we are seeing some deflation going on with real estate, huh? The Panic of 1873 led to the "army of tramps", one of the early waves of homelessness and migrations episodes, excellently discussed in the indispensible Citizen Hobo. Maybe, we'll see a new wave of homelessness coming from these hard times? Or maybe we have enough of a social safety net now. This social safety net is, I'm guessing, why we are having the big deficit problem. Federal and state budgets are being hit by a double whammy...decreased revenues due to weak economy, and a jump in entitlement spending for a longer period than the system is designed to handle. This will become a really big deal if the increase in entitlement eligibility becomes a strutural feature, locked into the economy even during good times, rather than a temporary one due to short-term recessions. Fun stuff, eh, this 'dismal science'?

You’ve read and enjoyed (or not) my posts on walking around Cincy. Here’s “the treatment” for Columbus, a brief road trip to Cow Town. I usually don’t travel far for live music, even though I’m a fan, and almost never go out on weekdays, but I made an exception for a certain singer-songwriter I recently discovered. He was performing on the worst night of the week, Monday, at a place in Columbus I never heard of. So, something different since so much of life has become different over the past year. I got a room at the overpriced but nice Hampton Inn across from the Convention Center, then drove north to scope out the venue and do a little shopping at the Wexner Store. The Wex and Points North Wexner Store was interesting (and expensive) as usual. But I know I can use my UD and WSU community borrower cards and get a lot of these books (but not journals) via Ohiolink. Seems the place is now moving to computer sales (Apple products) and maybe scaling back what they have available in print and DVD and bric-a-brac. Never was a big fan of museum store bric-a-brac so the attraction of the Wex was the print media. With the Wex there seems to be an emphasis on Dutch urban design and architecture but seeing more of the Asian stuff out, too. Did get a book on urban regeneration schemes for dying European textile cities (somewhat relevant to Ohio).. Then I scoped out the venue, which was the Rumba bar somewhere north and east of OSU. On Summit just south of Hudson. One thing I notice is that Summit (inbound) and parallel 4th (outbound) are the best way to travel north of downtown, avoiding the congested High Street corridor. Driving through this area one realizes that if weren’t for OSU, state government, and the big white collar sector Columbus would be just another dreary, shabby, Midwestern shit-town, since that is what this area looked like, a bit like Dayton, really. Unlike Dayton there seemed to be more businesses, less vacancy, in the little business corners and strips that appear along 4th & Summit and the cross streets like Hudson. The party line on Columbus is that it was never the industrial city like others in Ohio, but there is plenty of evidence of an industrial past visible off 4th (Jeffery works) and Summit, particularly the old industrial loft buildings (akin to Dayton’s DELCO plant) visible from that long viaduct south into downtown. Columbus really does seem the big city coming into downtown across that viaduct, especially at night. ”Bloo Danoo” and Back Downtown Rumba was pretty far north for me, beyond my usual Columbus range. Parked on a side street about a block or two from the venue and walked over. Some of the bar backs were carrying out stuff and I asked about times, and one volunteered a place to eat, the “Bloo Danoo” on High. So I worked my way down the side streets to high, but no Bloo Danoo. Maybe they meant the Blue Danube? Shabby but maybe good food? Went in. No service. No signs about seating yourself or anything like that. Mostly a big bar with lots of booths and seating. Nearly empty. Barmaid and I guess the waiter standing in the back talking and eyeing the room. Sit down and hang up coat. Thumb through free weekly. Still no service. No acknowledgement that I’m there. Eventually the barmaid returns to the bar. I walk over to her and ask her if I have to ask for service. She looks a bit pissed and says the waiter will be right with me. I said “forget it” and walk out. So, back to the Short North but via Summit since it seemed a fast mover compared to the congested High Street (this was around rush hour). Monday Evening in the Short North I figure I can eat in the Short North. Garaged the car and walked over to the Hilton to get some postcards, and passed some places on High. I figure I can walk north on High and find a coffee house to write the postcards before dinner. So I do. Noting the changes in retail, how places that used to be there, that I and my late partner went to over the years, are gone. Places like a certain gay-friendly coffee house, the gay bookstore, Kukalas, etc. In fact I don’t see much in the way of coffee houses. Then I realize I didn’t bring a pen, so stop in a UDF to get a cheap Bic. I ask the clerk where can I find a coffee shop. Clerk says check out Travonna, a few blocks to the north, that he’s been there and it’s OK. So I do, and it was worth the walk. Nice laid-back indy coffee shop (& gallery) of which we have way too few of in Dayton (closest is Ohio Coffee Company). And they served the coffee in a real mug or cup, not the paper version. Just a generally good vibe going down at Travonna. On the way back (walking the west side of High this time) I notice more places, but maybe more upscale, one that reminded me of a place in Clifton in Louisville…a café more than a coffee shop. Plenty of places to eat, even on a Monday evening (unlike Dayton), but I kept on thinking about this Italian place I saw on my quick walk to the Hyatt, very close to my hotel. But then I see this place right in my hotel building. Nearly empty. Menu looked interesting but do I want a full course meal? No. But sort of wish I went. Forest themed menu items. Oak leaf salad? Did I read that right? Martini Instead I go to Martini, the place I saw on my way to the Hyatt. Despite the name Martini isn’t a martini bar, though it has a big bar in the front of the house. The place is hopping with a business/yuppie clientele, men in coats, etc. The interior is fabulous and very modern. This is the kind of place that makes you realize how cheap and half-ass they do things in Dayton, because no expense was spared in the interior design (in terms of quality of design). And the wait staff was totally professional and put-together (waiters in suits). Food? Italian, obviously. I was looking for light repast and am partial to antipasto so had their antipasto with bread on the side. Wasn’t expecting much but this was quite good, good mix. I usually don’t like figs but these were dee-lish. The waitress said the bread (crisp bread with the antipasto + the side) was from a bakery in Grandview. Bread is usually a low quality giveaway in Dayton but here it was excellent. Columbus must be like Louisville, with a competitive restaurant scene driving higher quality. After that, back to the hotel, then get the car out of hock to drive north again. Got to the Rumba around 8:20, 8:25. Look inside and it’s pretty empty. Figure I have some time to kill so decide to walk the neighborhood. Walking Hudson & High The little commercial district here seems to be seeing some hipster bleed-over from High. I see one of those scooter places is next door to Rumba. I walk west on Hudson toward High. I notice that the houses in this area are mostly doubles and also some of those Columbus-style row house blocks. I guess this was a blue-collar area (or low level clerical workers), not student housing, since it was built before OSU became ESU (Enormous State University). Now I think its part of the student ghetto, or the edge of it. The area was run-down and shabby. One double was half-occupied. The unoccupied half had an overgrown lawn while the occupied half lawn was nicely cut. Funny. Walk past Indianola (another business corner) and past an old school. Reach High and wonder about this intersection, if it was more built-up at one time. Though I notice they have a new “urban Taco Bell” on one corner (built right to the sidewalk). Walking north on High I note the two tall late 19th Century (?) commercial blocks on the west side of High. I wonder about those. This neighborhood doesn’t seem that old compared to those buildings. Was this a little town at one time? Or had Columbus expanded this far north by the turn of the century? Or am I mis-dating those buildings and they are really early 20th century? No matter. Seems like this is a pretty active area, still has a neighborhood hardware and drug store (a bit like Knowlton Corner/Northside in Cincy). Also the usual joints, “Cluck-U” chicken carryout (from the 1960s? Chicken carryout was a fad back then), Ledo’s tavern, other taverns, pizza joints, etc. But time to walk back. I notice Hudson has an upslope as I was working up a little sweat walking uphill from High. I guess the land here is dropping down to the Olentangy. Rumba Returning to Rumba it’s already full-up, standing room only. I guess the place fills fast. And the music started promptly at 9, too. Good. Staff was excellent, two personable bar maids running bar with efficiency and a smile. Local beer was on tap so I tried “Columbus” brand (good draft) and “Elevator” (which was awful). The place was smaller than I thought, not quite a dive bar, but close. Original bart on the walls and a small stage area with white Christmas lights on the ceiling. Old wood back back bar. Cozy, friendly, crowed was younger than I expected (or I’m older than I realize), but a few graybeards like yers truely, too. Interesting to see the fan base here. The oldest couple turned out to be the aunt and uncle of the headliner. Opener was sort of a house band (apparently a trio that was a duo tonight). Named “Cow town Review” or something, who apparently play here every Monday. Stood through this set but eventually I did find a seat at the intermission. What’s interesting is that this crowd really knew who they were coming for because nearly all moved closer to the small stage when the main act came out. The very appreciative audience, intimate space, and intense headliner made for a special night. The headliner, Joe Pug (from Chicago and North Carolina) didn’t disappoint, provided a good set, sounds as good or better than his recordings (which is sometimes not the case with live music). We did a sing-along chorus (we all knew the words) on “Speak Plainly Dianna”. He did some new songs, too. The audience brought him back for an encore. Closed out around midnight, I think. Probably the thing I found most notable about this show, aside from the excellent performance, was the college-age fans. I’d think this singer-songwriter style (performer with guitar, harmonica, voice, and some good tunes/songs) was passé for people in their 20s or younger, that generation being more into hip-hop or other stuff (as one can tell from the music thread here at UO). But no, still interest out there in this type of popular music, at least in Columbus among some younger folk. Return to Dayton Then, back to the car and hotel via Summit. Morning: light breakfast and a gloomy morning drive back to Dayton, with things getting gloomier the closer I got.

The Magic City. Impressive! I think around WWII Birmingham, Atlanta, and Louisville were all in contention for being the "second city of the South" (NOLA was still the "Southern Metropolis" back then). I have to say those vintage skyscrapers are pretty impressive. And that old red brick and stone "Steiner Building" has to be one of the older buildings in Birmingham, considering that that city is relatively "new".

Woah..this downtown actually looks more intact than Dayton's!! And maybe even denser. I'm impressed.

That big vacant lot is pretty sad. I know..ok..knew...that part of downtown pretty well back in the day since I lived in nearby South Hill for a year while going to UofK.

^ Id like to hear more about that book. You can PM me. ### It's all political now. The board wont support the capital investment no matter what the study says. And Strickland can use their no vote, even after the study, to politicallybitch-slap the GOP since public opnion does show support for 3-C.

This has become an interesting story: Churches want bus stops at two area malls DAYTON — A coalition of 18 churches wants the owner of the Dayton Mall and the Mall at Fairfield Commons to boost bus service to those retail centers. “What we want is to have (bus) stops that are closer to the mall entrances, providing better accessibility for workers as well as elderly and handicapped riders,” the Rev. Earl Hudson, pastor of Harris Memorial CME Church, said. “This is a serious health and safety issue.” The story is followed by 276 comments. One of the reasons is that the preachers want busses into Greene County, to the Fairfield Commons mall in Beavercreek, a place that has no bus service (aside from one line to Wright State). The scurrilous nature of the comments provoked an additional string at Esrati, who made this blog post: How Racist is Dayton Today That our local leadership doesn’t respond to these crackers is an even more sorry state of affairs. There is no reason we should allow the racism- or the kind of behavior that these people rail against- in our community. It’s time to learn to live together. However, comments like these- make me think that maybe Dayton isn’t the kind of place I should live in. The issue and comments even made it to the usually dry City-Data Forum: The Age-Old Question of Public Transit to Daytons Malls Looks like someone opened up a can of worms this morning. Churches want bus stops at 2 area malls Personally, I find churches who meddle in politics to be silly and one-sided in there agenda. IMHO, churches should be providing community services to its folks, not advocating for busing to malls. Again, it seems silly to me. Obviously, there is a lot of pent up anger and drama over this, as noted in the articles comment section. Maybe we can have a more civil discussion on the topic of buses running to the Fairfield and Dayton Malls. On a side note, I find it interesting they are discriminating against the malls here, as The Greene is never mentioned, not once.

Me too on that new Yeasayer thing. It's...different. Been listening to stuff I picked up at a show here last Friday...some guy from Brooklyn, Brook Sizemore, and State School, originally formed in Dayton but now in Pbgh, came back to town to headline the show. Also that Natural Forces by Lyle Lovett (got that from the library of all places).

...uh, the Edgemont of Columbus?

Husted pushes back at critics of his position, speaking at a Dayton Rotary lunch: Husted: Rail Supporters should Ask Tough Questions DAYTON — State Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, said Monday, April 12, that supporters of a passenger rail system in Ohio should be asking state transportation officials the same tough questions he’s been asking about the proposed $400 million rail project. “You have to force the people who want to do this to prove that future generations of Ohioans won’t be saddled with something we can’t afford and don’t use,” Husted told a luncheon meeting of the Dayton Rotary Club at Sinclair Community College. (more at the link) ...and the article is open for comment.

The DDN came out swinging its own quirky way for 3-C in that op-ed. Comments were good, too, especially that guy using Whigs & "internal improvements".

...Evanston in Chicago? The CTA line up there ("Evanston Express") was on overhead, not third rail, as in the pix. Though it looks like a pantagraph on one of the cars.

Someone was asking about the numbers by bank. Here is a link to set of tables: By bank: Racial discrepancies in loan denial rates (2008) ...and... By bank: Racial discrepancies in high-cost home loan rates (2008)

Hard to say. It seems across the board from lenders. The lenders say they dont use racial profiling (and it could be that they dont;), but they are not providing all the criterea they use to deny a loan. It seems to be the combination of criterea add up to this discrepancy by race that the paper uncovered. The cumulative effect hits areas hardest where there is a majority of blacks, with the same effect as redlining of the old days...urban decline due to the unavailabilty of home finance.

I think we all see something postivie in these images beyond the nostalgia. My point is the shell of the city is still somewhat intact and there are still things in town. The city requires use and repopulation by users...customers and people living there. I am not really sure about my point here. It has been a long day and my head isnt clear enough to rebut your critique. Just that I am tired of the negativity and want to spin the positive possibilities.

A good example of data-based investigative journalism from the Dayton Daily News..big front page article: Well -off blacks denied loans more than low income whites Subheader: A Dayton Daily News investigation: In all income levels, blacks are more likely than whites to be rejected for home loans and are more likely to be sold a high-cost, subprime loan. DAYTON — More than four decades after racial discrimination in home lending was outlawed, lenders in the Dayton area deny a much higher percentage of loans to blacks than whites, even when income levels are comparable. Blacks are also more likely than whites to be sold a high-cost, subprime loan. A Dayton Daily News examination of 2008 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data found significant racial disparities exist at every income level. The article has this graphic of denial rates (there is another one mapping high-cost mortages): The DDN has related articles. One is particularly interesting from a geographical POV: Neighborhoods in danger when home loans dry up Fred Steed and his wife Florence can afford to live anywhere in the Dayton area. But they prefer to live in the West Dayton home and neighborhood where his family has lived since 1952. >snip< Steed’s Westwood neighborhood has its share of crime, drugs and the ill effects of poverty normally associated with inner city communities. But it also has its share of residents like Steed: people who want to do what they can to make their community a better place. And if the Fred Steeds of Westwood can’t get loans, the neighborhood doesn’t stand a chance. The article continues in-depth, providing bankers and appraisers POVs, as well as those of fair housing advocates.

Austin Landing has a logo: