clvlndr

I could laugh about Cleveland's sports futility, especially the Indians, until last year... But a theme song entitled "Burn On Little River" isn't insulting?... Guess you and me see things differently.

I don't take it as a personal insult -- well, "Major League" was, indeed, a civic insult, but ... I just wonder why Cleveland can't get more films filmed here identifying themselves as being in Cleveland. Other cities do, like Pittsburgh. With all the unique, interesting locales here: look at how "The Land" depicted Cleveland, and all the shots were flattering, University Circle/Shaker Square (etc) shots, either -- I just want films set here that are about here... TV has been better, with "Drew Carey" and "Hot in Cleveland" in recent years, so TV is less of a concern for me than film.

While I'm always glad Cleveland is chosen as a locale for any film -- great for the City film biz and the local economy, the particulars of this particular film has lowered my enthusiasm. So this particular section of Cleveland was chosen because it looks gritty (a euphemism for rundown) in the context of the 1980s. Now that should boost local pride... I'm always bothered as to why, in these location film shoots, Cleveland is so frequently chosen to represent somewhere else. Is it so hard to actually film a movie a contemporary IN Cleveland that is actually SET IN Cleveland? ...The ultimate reverse slap in the face movie was "Major League" that not only belittled/made fun of Cleveland; especially Randy Newman's "Burn on (Little River)" opening theme song, but was actually filmed in Milwaukee (I guess Cleveland wasn't even worthy to depict its butt-of-jokes self) -- save for a few stadium shots and the opening montage during the aforementioned Newman theme... ML was a dumb movie despite being a box office hit with a sequels... I guess we should be happy with films like "Draft Day", a quality, major studio film (even though location shots were limited), "Proximity" (great Cleveland shots, but a really bad movie despite featuring Rob Lowe and the late James Coburn in, I believe, his final film) and smaller, more obscure films like last year's local indie "The Land" (decent effort) and Chelsea Handler's teen flick "Fun Size" filmed in/around the Heights area (did even 10 people pay to see this movie?)... ... or go all the way back to 1966 and continue to wrap our arms around Cleveland's beloved "The Fortune Cookie", the Billy Wilder/Lemon-Matthau classic (which earned Matthau his lone Oscar)...

Nice. Case, and the historic University Circle neighborhood around it, is the most scenic area inside Cleveland proper imho. The new Uptown area only contrasts and enhances what's already there. The urban campus, though quite beautiful in most parts, is confusing to the uninitiated... Even though there's a large CWRU sign at MLK and Euclid, a lot of people only relate to the FSM north campus, and ignore the Case (south campus) portion along Adelbert Rd, which historic in its own right.

Centric rising...

More exciting to me is the redevelopment of the historic old buildings (including the Watermark restaurant location) south of the Main Ave. Bridge. Coupling this new activity with what's going on in the newer FEB footprint to the north will make FEB a total happening.

I don't think this is a bad idea; actually, it sounds pretty good. You've got to incubate interest and opportunity in this neighborhood and this is a start... Btw, have you driven this neighborhood lately? I've been surprised and pleased at the steady fixing up that's happened along Kinsman this area. All the storefronts are not in shambles; blight is steadily being arrested.

^What's even more disturbing is that, not only does the article not provide insight into Phase 3, it doesn't mention it at all, nor does the accompanying map even note Phase 3 in FEB's future plans.

Denver density in Capitol Hill ... https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7344752,-104.9764546,3a,75y,298.23h,84.69t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1svEtB4iWiHNy94GMHSav2xg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7345796,-104.9752933,3a,75y,218.43h,85.34t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s8Gc7RuOX29svrK1D9D5tCg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 ... no trains near here.

I agree. I was in Denver when the light rail was in its infancy -- mainly 1 5-mile line that largely ran in the streets through downtown. Back then, the densest, most lively area/corridor was along Colfax Ave and the adjacent Capitol Hill area. None of multiple FasTracks rail branches (10 built or under construction?) even touches that area... And from what I know, Colfax/Capitol Hill are still the main, dense trendy areas of Denver. ... While I understand there were historical reasons, it still seems quite weird that the rail lines largely to the north of Denver are electric commuter rail and, hence, there's no through service connecting to the extensive LRT to the southern burbs. In fact, for much of the LRT, there's not even a direct LRT-to-commuter rail connection. So good luck if you're a Littleton resident trying to ride rail to catch a plane at DIA -- the LRT terminates several blocks from the commuter rail terminal at Union Station downtown. Yes they are connecting the T-Rex Line up I-225 to the Peoria commuter rail station (which will lower Aurora and some east side outer suburbs), and the plan is to extend the streetcar LRT from 30th & Downing a mile or so up Downing street to commuter rail ... but that's a long way from North-South through routing you'd think a rail network of Denver's size and complexity would demand.

^As for Pittsburgh being more "lively" than Cleveland, I don't agree. Depends on the neighborhood. Downtown Cleveland, overall, is more lively than Pittsburgh after 6p (and esp on weekends) because of downtown Cleveland's sharp growth in office-to-apartment (and hotel) conversions in recent years coupled with pockets of new construction like Stonebridge, FEB and the Hilton; whereas downtown Pittsburgh has more 9-to-5 employment than downtown Cleveland. While it has improved considerably in recent years, downtown Pittsburgh still seems quiet and empty compared to Cleveland's after hours and on weekends. Station Square is a downtown/near downtown neighborhood that bustles near the river -- but the Flats, too, has been making a sharp comeback -- try finding parking in/around FEB on weekends. Southside, Shadyside, Oakland and East Liberty are bustling in Pittsburgh... but so are Ohio City, Tremont, D-S and (esp lately) University Circle/Uptown/Little Italy. Also Shaker Square/Larchmere, Edgewater and Kamms Corner are less touted than the other above-mentioned trendy areas of Cleveland, but are doing pretty well in their own rights. So comparing the lively aspect of Cleveland vs. Pittsburgh amounts to: 6 in one hand, half dozen in the other. * * * Ultimately growth (economic and population-wise) of course will come down to jobs and industry. While not perfect, Cleveland has been cashing in, to some degree on one of its main trump, er, strong cards: Health Care. Between the dominant Cleveland Clinic and the smaller UH, large/important in its own right, and all the satellites of both medical centers, there has been growth and the possibility for still more.

Hard to believe RTA moved just under 130K in 1980. As usual with PD articles, detail here is minimal. I wish there was a breakdown between bus, rail and BRT. I wouldn't be surprised if at least parts of the Rapid system, probably the Red Line, grew slightly, even with the constant, annoying shutdowns... Problem with info like this that contained in this article will likely motivate some lawmakers (with an "R" behind their names) to allocate even less to transit. This is Ohio, an Alabama/Mississippi wannabe.

Cuyahoga County lost 5K last year... that's not good, but doesn't this represent a slowing down?

... oh and did I mention that, within the course of a week, the Cavs will dine on a diet of Washington (a very tough opponent who, in our last meeting in D.C., we squeaked by in a thrilling OT game on a desperation tying 3 by LeBron to force OT), the Bulls, who we have yet to beat (although pesky D. Wade is out for the season), and San Antonio, which even without LeMarcus Aldridge, will still be a royal pain... and, oh yeah, Boston is just 1 game behind us with the Wizards, who we go head-to-head with, Saturday, not far behind. Oy!

^Chris Fedor in today's PD noted this is Thompson's first full season at the 5, but he appears to be wearing down. Frye was even worse last night -- a disaster in the paint, and neither got a lot of help from Love. Maybe Sanders can give us a tad bit of help in the paint, but we shouldn't count on it. Fedor correctly tabbed Sanders as a "Wild Card." Cavs have their work cut out for them and only 12 games/3 weeks till postseason.

Korver back tonight.

^Terminal Tower (in colors), Lorain-Carnegie bridge (featuring the Guardians of Transportation), Red Line rapid shots (2 of them), Flats overhead shots... very moody, poetic feel... well done.

^Good to hear the Red Line ran smoothly... The way things are going, the Red Line may be Cleveland's only Rapid line the way RTA is managing things.

Local transit projects have their own issues to deal with, like the TIGER grants program getting canned in this same budget proposal. While I question the future of the TIGER grants, the good news is that Trump's budget proposal appears to be DOA.

I live in Shaker and I know a number of neighbors and friends in this area opt out of the Rapid for big events downtown when, in the past, it was the go-to option. For St. Paddy's day, one neighbor drove and parked near CSU and walked in... they would never do that in the past. RTA does pretty good in the day-to-day commute, but big events?

^If people are really passionate about Amtrak, at the very least maintaining what little we already have, they need to organize at the grass-roots level and pressure their elected representative. But I just don't sense the rail lobby is that organized or passionate. Passenger rail, as an issue before the electorate is practically invisible in this country. The highway lobby and the airlines, pushed by Detroit and Big Oil, dominate. The only region where Amtrak holds sway is, surprise!, the Northeast where, until Jan. 20, you even had the Vice President of the United States regularly riding the train to commute to his home district in Delaware. California is moving on their own high-speed rail initiative, but it remains to be seen whether they can defeat the powerful, well financed conservative anti-rail hit men/women. ... There is some good news: at least mass transit at the local level has been catching fire in many cities, particularly in the West, South and Southwest (the so-called Sun Belt), even while transit remains a non-starter in more backward regions like Ohio.

Not sure, but RTA's Blue/Green line failure during the Cavs' parade and subsequent struggles for even Browns' games may have scared a lot of folks away from the trains.

^I'm sure people reading this stuff have heard this a thousand times since Nov. 8th, but it's worth noting again... elections have consequences! If people are passionate about Amtrak and want to save it, they really need to EDUCATE friends and family (and others) about these issues in depth, and target which pol really is going to help ... and which is going to hurt. I feel that too many people who know better didn't take this election seriously and allow people to perpetuate fallacies like 'voting doesn't matter' and 'both parties are corrupt/the same' and blah-blah-blah... Tell that to Cincinnati folks when Amtrak pulls up its rails there... As we know, passenger train travel was thin enough in America and should be expanded not shrunk. But we have to realize that the resistance to Amtrak, and mass transit for that matter, his little to nothing to do with fiscal responsibility as it does to socio/racial politics pushed by republicans... As we see today, Amtrak is just one of the people-centered government programs republicans are pushing... And once again, let's not just focus on Trump. It's easy to focus our aggressions on him because he's a circus sideshow. But the fact is he's just an example of republicanism run amok. They are hiding behind Trump to do their dirty work. Pence, Ryan, McConnell, ... even smiling John Kasich... Let's not pretend these guys are saints just because they're not Donald Trump.

Density!

Sounds like their maintenance has been turned over to RTA.