gottaplan

The real embarrassment to me is not whether this is a valid idea or not, but rather why it's just being brought up now? The casino issue passed over a year ago, they narrowed the site location quite awhile back also. Didn't anyone have basic site plans for these sites? Someone must've had a number in mind of what sort of parking requirements they had. Nobody tried comparing that to what was available? This should've been brought up a LONG time ago and been answered by now. It's just so inconceivable to me that this casino was pitched & passed to get people to work and create jobs. By the time the stupid place starts construction, we'll have already recovered from this recession and entered another.

Wait a minute, Dan Gilbert said construction would start "right away" if this passed the ballot last year???

A few years back would be 2006 when Strickland was elected or well before that when Taft was elected? You're comparing today's economic times to those of late 90's or early 2000's? What was the state's unemployement rate & defecit then? You're stoned.

That's irrelevant. When was the last time GOP had control of governor & both state houses & had a budget defecit like what we're facing now and an angry voter base demanding changes?

Last year's murder rate in Cleveland was jacked up due to Anthony Sowell

Imagine if Obama had said this upon being elected to the Presidency: "Please leave the cynicism and the political maneuvering at the door. Because we need you on the bus, and if you're not on the bus, we will run over you with the bus. And I'm not kidding." "And if you think you're going to stop us, you're crazy. You will not stop us. We will beat you. And that's not arrogance." I'm sure you would have kept an "open mind" Those comments were directed toward "political insiders" & lobbyists, not voters or general public

If that comment is meant to compare the bus service to the 3C train service, don't you think it's much easier to budget for fuel costs as the only variable in the system compared to the train service, where nearly everything is a variable estimate, including construction costs, operating costs and ridership? Not only that, what do you think a train is powered by? Water? Sorry, I guess this post should really go in the 3C train post...

^well glad to hear you're keeping an open mind

I'm worse off. After being in a stable job, working my way up in a construction company for 6 yrs, I was laid off due to no work. Bounced around to 3 other companies in 08 & 09. Finally settled at a good stable position but it's about $20k yr less than what I was making at the first place.

Watching the election results roll in the last hour, Kasich was down 40,000 votes, then narrowed it quickly and is now leading http://vote.sos.state.oh.us/pls/enrpublic/f?p=130:6:0 probably all the folks that voted late after work voted for Kasich

^you don't know that. I could see Jesus in a nice pearl white Escalade, room for 12 apostles...

I'm probably the most excited to see the results of this race come in. I've been talking to people all day and I've heard alot who are excited for Lanci, some who were committed to Fitzgerald, Dolan, and still other independents.

^agreed - one thing I did see in an interview with Dolan which I thought was relevant is that he has experience as a state legislator and has connections there still. He is the only candidate of the 3 with that on his resume and pointed out that so much of the county's funding comes from the State, we need someone to lobby on our behalf to get more than whatever the formula dictates our fair share is...

I'm not defending Kasich, but I'm really tired of hearing how Lehman brothers defrauded the pension funds. The people in charge of those funds are who lost the money, not Lehman brothers. Let's keep that in perspective. There are folks whose sole responsibility is to invest that money safely and wisely and they failed to do so. Where are they at today? Probably still working in the same job despite losing hundreds of millions...

Anyone have any thoughts on the impact or potential impact of gentrification in this neighborhood? Battery Park is having a big impact of course, but it's not really displacing anyone since there was no housing there before. I'm trying to think of any instances of long time residents who might be displaced because of increasing rents but I'm unable to think of any...

I've heard great things about Lanci also from those who've met him & heard him speak, all say he is genuine, honest, smart & hardworking. The same might be said of the rest however. Fitzgerald seems the most qualified to me, but I worry that the new position requires a breath of fresh air. Cooperation from all the internal city districts & surrounding suburbs will be critical or the entire position will quickly become irrelevant, and any hopes of real change will go bye as well.

Hey, don't forget about "NIKO's GREEK CONEY ISLAND" restaurant!!!! "Proudly serving Pepsi!" While I'll probably never frequent the place, I am glad to see something go in there and the building get reutilized.

Wine bar should be open in the Battery Park Powerhouse in a few weeks. He passed his building inspection, health inspection and has his liquor license. Just waiting for some finishes. I'm hearing good rumors as well about a restaurant lease for the other side of the Powerhouse also.

^good point, but it goes right along with what I was saying, that employers are scared and unaware of the real impact of the bill

I'm going to take the conversation away from gold for a minute and ask everyone how much of an impact the Healthcare Reform bill is having on the economy. I've talked to a number of business owners, both large and small, and the overwhelming consensus is that they are very scared of how this is going to hit their pockets. Nobody has a good indication of what the new provisions are going to cost them and therefore they are hoarding cash, saving it for that rainy day, when they have to pay up. That's keeping alot of money on the sidelines and not flowing in the economy. Businesses are holding off new hires too, because they don't know how they will be impacted with the employees they have now, so why further burden themselves?

stockpiled in a brother/sister/cousin's account for future use in his legal defense before he was charged... shoot he's had 2 years to set something like that up... don't you ever watch Sopranos? Tony gave Carmella the money and told her it was only to be used to "get him back" if needed... Not to mention his first cousin owns a successful construction company in the area. That could certainly look legit if his cousin was paying for his defense...

Wine bar in the Powerhouse should be opening in another week or so, but nothing official. I know he passed his health inspection, so not much left now. The 76th tunnel construction is plugging along, albeit more slowly than what was originally planned. Hopefully they get the street back together before the snow flies. I know the original plan was that the bulk of the work would be done this year and then return in the spring for landscaping. Not sure if that's still the case.

That's a long way to go to probably get found guilty of most charges. Wouldn't he have recognized this awhile ago and planned a way out to plead guilty to lesser charges, do the time, and at least come back in the near future to a beautiful home? Otherwise, I'd think the fool would have a million stockpiled somewhere to pay for his own damn defense...

Can anyone tell me why Jimmy Dimora's lawyer thinks the Federal govt should pick up the tab for his defense? Or is this a misprint by the Plain Dealer?

So much misinformation out there on this topic... no way has 70% of the money been "spent". It's likely that 70% of it has been "allocated", which means a project was designed, put out for bid, and a contract has been awarded, but not built. No way has 70% been "spent". Big difference.