gottaplan

I think both sides are distorting reality by trying to estimate the number of people being disenfranchised or trying to quantify the number of fraudulent votes. You really think these new policies will keep thousands of legitimate voters from casting their vote? I don't know, but that seems like a high number. Based on what I've read, I definitely think there are several thousand fraudulent voter registrations out there. Whether or not those all result in fraudulent votes being cast is probably impossible to determine.

Last year, Democrats had a chance to take politics out of drawing new congressional boundaries and replace it with a plan that reeked of fairness. Republican members of the legislature supported it. Most daily newspapers and good government groups strongly urged its adoption. And any Ohioan with a modicum of common sense instinctively knew the idea was a good one. The Democrats killed it. Single-handedly. http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/10/drawing_the_line_on_democrat_g.html#incart_mce

Adding restrictions to safeguard the process are undoubtedly going to keep a few outliers from voting, whether it be from home, or in person at the polls for lack of proper ID. These individuals are most likely poor, elderly, and or minority. That's very unfortunate. But knowing how easy it is to get a phony early registration card and ballot mailed to your home, it's ridiculous to think voter fraud isn't occurring. The added convenience automatically lends itself to additional abuse.

The claims of voter restriction is valid but the left is blowing things out of proportion here. When it comes to showing ID at the polls or anywhere, there is a chain of command in terms of identification. Primary ID's, like birth certificate, Social security card, and passport, and Secondary ID's, which can only be obtained with a Primary ID first, include a military card, a driver's license, etc. Some of the documents being accepted at the polls are ridiculous. A utility bill? A public housing ID? Come on. I could get either of those documents in my dog's name, don't tell me they don't invite fraud. Boreas, as you requested: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/15/gop-hints-at-vote-theft-with-acorn-scandal/?page=all "Federal authorities have been called in for voter fraud investigations in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico and Pennsylvania. Investigations by state law enforcement agencies are under way in Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Nevada and Wisconsin. A man in Cleveland this week admitted under oath to signing more than 70 voter cards for ACORN canvassers."

Defense looked solid today but offense is so weak. No playmakers at any position. No excuse for the big names they have on the o-line. I've seen pee-wee games with more action

I just realized what a dork I am getting excited about bridge foundations... I have friends coming into town this weekend and was planning to show them the progress. I'm reconsidering now that it's dawned on me how much less they will care about this than I do

Latest charges against Forliani and Dimora aren't really surprising. Former councilmember Sabra Pierce Scott seems to be caught in the crossfire of the investigator's attempts to take down the other two guys. Of course it was wrong for her to accept the $2,000 bribe but the PD coverage insinuates that she was wrong to solicit support from the community and lobby her fellow council members to push the VA Hospital project. To me, that's a council member's job, to push high profile projects which will benefit the long term viability of their ward. I guess the shame is that she was bought so cheaply. $2,000 is nothing.

^OMG, now it's Kasich's fault the nutbag guy had all those animals & killed himself? Wow

it does show the scope of our debt & defecit, but what it doesn't show is that we can substantially grow our tax revenue if we pull out of this recession and can substantially cut our defecit & debt if we pulled out of the wars and changed a few other unsustainable practices...

So the Cleveland PD has come out with a questionable endorsement of Issue 2. Have the other major newspapers in Ohio weighed in?

Stable compensation, pension retirements with COLA, not 401k's, excellent healthcare benefits, overly generous sick days, personal days, vacation days... when state, county & city budgets are running major defecits, everything will be scrutinized. What's so funny about that?

Plain Dealer editorial this weekend endorsing "Yes" on Issue 2. Pretty surprised to see this. http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/10/the_law_will_need_adjustments.html

spin it however you please by factoring in "job creation" and "renovation of a soon to be historic" facade, but you said it yourself, $121 million takes a long time to pay back at a rate of $600,000 per year. Wait till the real construction costs come in over $200 million. Look what we are getting for $270 million on Flats East Bank which includes infrastructure & parking... this is a boondoggle. If you want to love it for reinvestment, that's fine, but don't argue that it's money well spent. I have a lot of experience doing building renovations and the glass could be replaced with triple-pane impact resistant glazing that would be 10x more cost effective... anyhow, hope it's beautiful, creates a bazillion jobs, and lasts forever.

^seriously? This is a complete boondoggle. Building an enclosure around an old inefficient building? For what, bomb resistance? it would be cheaper to tear it down & rebuild a new modern, efficient, bomb resistant building...

Did this project ever go before the planning commission for review?

No it's not the Cheerios building, this is at 76th & Lake. Blazing Saddles is located in the rear of this building. Cherios is at 74th & Detroit and hasn't had any activity in some time...

you're both delusional. We can't even enforce bus passes around here and you want to try enforcing unemployment compensation... Answer my first question: you set up a staff here in Cuy Co of 100 people to do this enforcement theoretically. Tell me how this would pay for itself in real dollars without negatively impacting service. Same argument as enforcing bus passes. It doesn't add up. RTA can't put a ticket checker on every stop and if they did, it would slow down service.

Wow, I can't believe you of all people said that. You know how quickly any sort of enforcement of this would blow up in terms of racial discrimination & ACLU lawsuits? What's next, knocking on the doors of those in the housing projects to see what they are doing to get back on their feet? Checking up on those who receive food stamps to make sure they are spending them wisely? Holy crap, where would you stop in terms of enforcement? And do you really think it's tea party people who are preventing this enforcement on argument of "no more big govt?" How about the fact that these social programs are being carried out exactly as intended: mini-stimulus for a large percentage of the population. Cutting this back through enforcement or otherwise would have alot of negative unintended consequences, and I doubt very little people would "get off the couch & find work". Big picture, you open up a new department with 100 people on staff in Cuyahoga county to "enforce" this and other social welfare programs - how much money do you think you would actually "save" by weeding out the lazy folks and revoking their checks? Wow. Just wow. Can't believe you posted that.

^ I couldn't agree more. you should post that in the "Occupy Wall Street" thread....

Unless you'd rather sit at home and do nothing for unemployment benefits. Which actually pays more than alot of entry level jobs like retail or food service, especially if you have to commute, pay for gas/parking, etc.

no I didn't think that at all, i pointed it out to show why people might "hate unions" as the poster above me indicated. A million bucks is alot of money, wouldn't you agree?

"We hate unions." There, does that make me a man? Consider this: The average private sector worker retires at age 62 with less than $200,000 set aside in 401k or other retirement accounts. The average public sector worker retires at age 57 with an annual pension of just over $40,000 a year. Extend both those numbers for an average of 30 years of retirement life and you tell me what the difference in value is? Short answer, a million dollars. Even more when you factor in "COLA" or Cost Of Living Adjustments which private sector employees have no idea about. The prospect of outliving your money is a very real scenario for the vast majority of people who are close to retirement age and I would expect trend to get worse when you consider how many people in 20's 30's & 40's have had to cash out retirement accounts to pay bills since the job market sucks. But no amount of defecit projections or unfunded pensions or municipalities on the verge of bankruptcy matter because Hts and others are convinced that SB5 will not save taxpayers any money. So yes, it's just a union busting bill.

That's a great point but doesn't account for all the people who just don't want to own a home, have the maintenance requirements, or be tied to a location in today's economy that might prevent them from pursuing a career in another city or state... Back to the topic, I think there is a strong demand for upscale rentals in Detroit Shoreway. Condo units in Battery Park are getting snapped up as rentals - depending on the size, they are going for $1200, $1400, and over $1800 per month...

LOL!!! So glad to see I'm not the only one who has finds themselves in one-sided arguments with KJP.... Aside from that, great thread. I drive this area alot too and have pondered the economic impacts extensively. Consider what subsidies were given to create this development, assemble this land, attract builders & buyers & finance the mortgages... Consider what the long term implications are for the area and what the payback has been to have people repopulating the areas, raising families....

so the loss of bike paths is the deal breaker for you who would no longer support? You'd forego the 73rd interchange, the reconfigured 25th/28th interchange and all the other improvements that the stripped down plan still includes???