clvlndr

Really? Damn, have skins gotten thin. There's nothing remotely offensive about that sign, indeed it's pretty much historically accurate. Sometimes I wish I was an Irishman, I could build a cottage industry out of claiming leprechaun logos are "offensive". I can definitely see how the caricature of a Native American head in full headdress in a bright red color over the title "Wild Eagle" would be offensive. Many white people don't seem to understand that it's the history of bigotry and ethnic destruction of an ethnic or racial minority that makes the stereotyping by the dominant society all the more repugnant. Btw Native Americans are rarely actually red in color but usually vary from shades of brown to tan or yellow (some are even white); not sure where the "red" stereotype came from.

Gilbert, more than anything, wants to win. The family stuff is secondary. No question Andy is a beloved figure and nobody wants to part company with him, but if the deal was there to give us a greater assurance at the title, Gilbert/Griffin wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger... Frankly though, the best approach would probably hang on to Andy and try and buy out a contract after the trade deadline. If Gilbert doesn't mind paying Andy (and heck, with the luxury tax he's already paying why shouldn't he?) we still have Harris' empty roster spot which would allow us to both Keep Andy, as insurance, and add a physical stretch 4 as well.

Yeah, I really hate the thought of it. Andy's the lone survivor from LeBron I and has gone through ups and downs with this team (including 26 straight losses) and a bunch of injuries without complaint: he just brings it every time his number is called. If we dealt him then ended up winning a championship this year, it would be the ultimate kick in the teeth to a competitor like Andy... But business is business, and the Cavs know they must pull out every stop they can to position the Cavs for a title even if it means dealing Andy... This doesn't say business can't be cruel, though.

^True, although I thought the D.C. Metro had electric ice-melters built into their rail system. I know they have 3rd-rail shields throughout the system... Btw, Philadelphia got blasted with 21-inches last week, but ran it's 2 HRT rapid transit lines 24/7 throughout the storm with no problems. This includes the Market-Frankford el which is entirely above ground outside Center City.

^Cavs may be looking to move Andy by the trade deadline, so they may be trying to keep him healthy given his extensive injury history. I really love Andy and wish we could play him more (I believe he has the highest +/- on the team), but the $10M-per contract isn't worth it even if he came in for just a few minutes; esp since he's behind both Thompson and Mozgov. Either through an Andy trade or a post-deadline player buyout, I'd love to acquire a stretch 4-5 David West-type guy.

^... or Cleveland, where more than 90% of the rail system on/below/above the surface exposed to the elements. And IIRC, Cleveland has a higher average snowfall total than any of these cities, including Chicago. I think only Buffalo beats us.

This is a very bleak outlook which makes Cleveland seem to be going backwards from the nation while other cities, including Detroit, are developing and/or expanding rail. The RTA (RAIL) rapid transit system not only not expanding but has threats to its future. Yet outside of AAO and a few folks on UO, nobody seems particularly interested. Even the AAO-fueled story about the potential rail shutdown came and went after the Scene Magazine article. However, the February meeting seems to represent a Last Call for local officials to at least show up and show some interest. I personally am going to make some phone calls and emails to affected local pols to see if these guys plan to attend (or at least send a representative) or find out why not. This includes Frank Jackson's office where his top administrator, Valerie McCall, is not only the City's RTA liaison, but recently elected vice chair of the American Public Transit Association's executive committee. I urge others, who are interested in not only this particular important expansion proposal, but in the future viability of of the Rapid to do so, also.

^^ Excellent!!

^^If I do have a sadness, and there is a twinge of it, it's that another part of my childhood will soon be erased. In my mind's eye I see my family driving up classic old Liberty Boulevard (now MLK) with it's Cultural Gardens and Gothic-looking Rockefeller bridges and then, after the last (RR) bridge, coming to the sudden openness of the lake, then turning onto the ramp to the Shoreway, which had, and still has, a bit of excitement with the beautiful lake and Gordon Park, flying traffic, the steel arched pedestrian overhead walkway and downtown in the distance ... and then that building on the left; that gigantic fortress with its huge smokestacks and even a moat, almost like a castle, along with heavy-duty power lines like little suspension bridges, RR sidings with coal cars and everything else. There was a certain beauty to it-- Whereas many hipsters and out-of-towners see buildings like this as ugly, we never did. ... Part of growing up in an industrial city like Cleveland is you become accustomed factories ... everywhere. There so many that each has its own personality, and the power plant most certainly did.

I'm neither surprised nor sad about this. The power plant is a hulking building that, unlike Quay 55 which is right on the lake, isn't particularly well located for residential develpment: it sits away from the water, blocked by the Shoreway and hemmed in between the Shoreway and the RR tracks. On top of this, there's really no synergy from areas surrounding plant; it would be a residential island: something Quay 55 suffers from, except that the Quay, again, has it's location directly on the lake going for it.

My reading of the final analysis (feel free to correct) tells us what we could have told RTA in the 1st place: that is that, clearly, the full Red Line extension would have, by far, the greatest impact on this area in terms of ridership (See: ride-attracting ability) and land-use impact. The sticking point, of course, is the estimated $916M cost -- which, btw, still seems pretty cheap to me for a nearly 6-mile, fully heavy rail expansion. Consider that the 7-mile HL BRT through the East Side was about $250M (IIRC) whereby the outer 2 miles beyond E.105 are built to far lesser standards (essentially small but fancy bus stops) than the Public Sq.-to-E. 105 segment. Once again here in NEO, we're faced with the usual conundrum that has continued to thwart healthy transit growth in this region: do we open up the wallet and just build the damn rail line which most sensible people feel that we should (or in this case, work double-time to creatively find funding sources, like P3s combined with TIFs) or do we do our usual: build on the cheap strictly to save money but where (like the Health Line), the transit problem isn't fixed despite forking over a substantial sum anyway? The suggestion that this extension could be covered with existing Red Line cars, thus avoiding the huge expense of buying brand new ones, should be a major plus-point for rail extension, and I'm surprised it isn't being mentioned in this report (or elsewhere). KJP, do you know why this is and, if so, how can this be changed (in addition to noting in the Public Comment section)? As I've said in the past, just saying it to the few pro-transit geeks/nerds on UO and who support AAO, doesn't go far enough; especially if our public servants, like the Euclid mayor and affected Cleveland councilmen.

As the article notes, much of the problem seems to involve both branding and focus. Both the name and the mission seem murky. As many times as I refer to the place, I can never remember it correctly off the top of my head; it’s a mouthful. I think they should have stuck with the much simpler "Medical Mart" and established a clear type of products that would be marketed there. I still have to believe there's a place for such an operation given hefty international rep the Clinic has brought to Cleveland.

Yes. I drove out Lorain last summer and noticed this. It just has so many pockets, both good and bad. It's really narrow from W. 25 to (I think) just beyond Denison where it gets wider. The most intact places are around Fulton, that antiques section just before horribly destructive I-90 west, Denison (great potential there) and around W. 117th. I'm frustrated with the wasted TOD potential around the W. 65 Red Line station. RTA rebuilt that station 12 years ago, but aside from the Eco Village townhomes which opened in anticipation of the station rebuild, there's been nothing in terms of TOD built -- unless you count the nearby, substantial, Waverly Station and St. Stephens Court townhouse developments off Lorain. I just wish the developers could get that very promising, substantial mixed-use complex off the ground at Market Sq. plaza and the W. 25 Rapid station.

What Went Wrong With Boston’s Green Line Extension? by Angie Schmitt Last week, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority abruptly cut ties with four contractors working on the 4.7-mile Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford, outside Boston. The announcement came shortly after reports that the cost of the light rail project had ballooned to about $3 billion, an increase of a billion dollars. http://usa.streetsblog.org/2015/12/14/what-went-wrong-with-bostons-green-line-extension/ Canceling the Green Line extension would be expensive, too http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/12/30/canceling-the-green-line-extension-would-expensive-too/Va1RsCMIM5p2vGPpTnjW0O/story.html

I'm hoping Lue's words match his reality. Obviously, Chicago Saturday night was a horrible debut. But I'm willing to give Lue at least a few weeks to implement his plan which, in the abstract, sounds impressive. While some call the Cavs' firing of Blatt foolhardy, I think it was great. After all, it takes foresight and balls to make a move when a team is on top yet showing signs of trouble (ie: Golden State, Monday, Portland, a few days after Christmas, etc) rather than waiting until the team collapses until making a move. I know it's just 1 game (how many times have we heard this?) but Chicago, with a healthy Pau Gasol, stands a very good chance of knocking Cleveland out of the Eastern playoffs ... forget about Steph & The Boys... Lest we not forget, the Cavs were a hobbling Gasol and a LeBron (Game 4) miracle shot from the parade ending in Chicago last year. I'm also sick of hearing the "Kyrie still isn't right" B.S. We've seen Kyrie go off in a couple games since his return, already; which is consist with Kyrie in the past. It goes without saying that Kyrie has an amazing skillset and a very high ceiling. And yet, he has long-term problems (in addition to staying healthy), that he must correct/get corrected, or this team has no shot: 1) he can be a ball hog and over-dribbler, 2) his shot is way too inconsistent, and he’s a lazy defender (again, defense is about effort not skill, and Kyrie has the size, speed and quickness to defend practically any guard – [Exhibit A, Game 1 vs. Steph Curry in last summer's Finals before Kyrie’s OT injury], he simply has chosen not to make this a priority). We already know about Love's issues (again, even in Saturday's debacle, I do like Lue's positioning of Love both underneath and at the elbow) and, then, LeBron (like Kyrie) just plays too much hero ball and continues to launch 3s and long 2s after he's pounded the ball outside deep into the 24-second clock. Also, per Lue, this team definitely needs to get out and run upon rebounding opponents' missed shot. But first, as Lue notes, they need to get their asses in shape (which seems a bit incredible, but now that Ty has called them out...). It also seems hard to believe that each of the Big 3 asked to sit in the 1st quarter on Saturday because each was winded. These, among a few others, are Lue's biggest challenges to getting the Cavs to a title. This team has the talent to win it all. The problem is the Cavs' lack the discipline to play as a unit a la San Antonio or Golden State, and this has been our biggest stumbling block. And if we’re now counting Chicago as an elite (and I do), the Cavs are now 0-5 vs. those teams. And this should raise Red Flags for all concerned.

Just an aside as this is obviously true, but Adrian Wojnarowski for Yahoo is a very reliable source. He's one of the best NBA writers out there and frequently beats everyone else on scoops. Here's the Woj piece... http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-david-blatt-never-stood-a-chance-with-lebron-james-and-his-camp-035612484.html Adrian Wojnarowski hates LeBron James. He proved this by the extensive piece trashing James after The Decision. While there was plenty to criticize LeBron regarding the decision, Wojnarowski was way over the top in painting the man is the most selfish, self-centered lout on the planet... Therefore, reading Wojnarowski's take on LeBron is like reading a Breitbart piece on Hillary Clinton.

I'm glad to hear this. I'm one of the few people that actually LIKE University Square. Yes, there are horrible structural design flaws to be fixed and I wish the building had been built to up to the sidewalk. But I think the idea of multilple stores in a more verticle structure was a good idea: much better than the old May's on the Heights big box that was born during the blossoming of the suburbanization/automobile era of the 1950s... Once you use the US parking lot a couple times, it's not that confusing. There are signs everwhere. I'm glad a new owner is looking to upgrade the facility rather than tearing it down, which I feared-- particularly in light of that typically big-box, strip at Oakwood just up Warrensville. Target and Macy's are solid anchors. I hated that T.J. Maxx left. I wasn't too fond of the Giant Eagle that used to be there because it wasn't run properly. However, hopefully another new store or two can come back into a fixed-up US. I've always enjoyed the conveninence of the place and even found it visually pleasing from the street.

I'm hearing a combo of Jason Lloyd, Chris Haynes and Windhorst. Together, they're saying the following. 1. This was a David Griffin decision; that Griffin was never comfortable with him has coach of this team (remember, Griffin hired him to coach a young team led by Kyrie and Andrew Wiggins). 2. That the locker room has come apart under Blatt. 3. There was a quiet revolt, from the locker room to the front office, after the Portland blowout and that it likely reached a head Monday night when the Cavs were embarassed at home by the Warriors. Griffin is having a 5:45p press conf. We should get some clues then.

I'm speechless.

We can continue this analogy by noting that just spending a ridiculous amount of money does not always guarantee the best recruits, a winning program, and fresh money to follow. I live at ground zero for just that kind of overenthusiastic fantasy, by the University of Akron and its overpriced stadium. Whether we're talking about transportation infrastructure or football infrastructure, overbuilding is definitely possible and "if you build it, they will come" is the kind of thing that has sunk a lot of speculative real estate ventures and has not sunk, but has certainly humbled, a major state university. As for small towns and rail, note that Amtrak does have a few small-town Ohio stops. The first time I boarded an Amtrak train in Ohio was in Alliance, en route to D.C. The station in Alliance is spartan to put it charitably (just a platform, and I parked in an unpaved, unpainted parking lot), but that doesn't mean that development would spring up around it if you suddenly invested a few million of free money in that station. Honestly, the emptying out of Ohio's small towns may be largely irreversible at anything resembling an acceptable cost, and that's partly because young people want to move to larger cities with more amenities and more opportunities, whether those are career opportunities, nightlife opportunities, or just a greater likelihood that they'll meet someone they'll be happy spending the rest of their life than they will in a place where there are only 100 people of the opposite sex of your age within a 20-mile radius, and you already know them all because you all graduated high school together. The UA stadium example you raise scores exactly the point for transit/rail passenger advocates: why are we so conditioned to roll the dice on sports stadia, esp at the pro level? And yet when it comes to even small investments in rail transit or upgrading Amtrak (and we're talking light years below HSR), we always scrutinize transit to the penny and cry how expensive it is. Here in Cleveland, when Modell yanked the Browns from Cleveland to Baltimore, we acted as if the situation was akin to Flint's current water crisis and immediately called on struggling taxpayers to pony up (to the tune of $350M) for a new limited-use, open air stadium right on the lake; a stadium that has hampered development. Also, when it comes to any new highway like, say, the Opportunity Corridor (which like the stadium was another $330-350M), the attitude of public officials: Get 'er done! ... with all deliberate speed. KJP is absolutely right, the issue is NOT the money. Moderate to poor economic nations are building HSR and yet the richest, most gluttonous nation on the face of the earth finds HSR and, in most cities, quality rail transit “too expensive.” A “boondoggle. “ And, as the conservatives are throwing around in Indy (re BRT and LRT), the time-worn (yet effective) claim: "nobody will ride it." ... That's the same crap naysayers were saying in Los Angeles as they fought the building of rail rapid transit a couple decades ago. Fortunately the pro-transit forces were strong enough to fight this off and win, and today LA has one of the largest and most successful (and still growing) rail networks in the nation -- one that literally has, and still is, transforming the face of LA; turning it from a purely sprawl, auto-centric burgh into a denser, walkable city. Politics. Race. Ethnicity. Socioeconomics. These are the forces that most negatively impact rail development in this country, and at the end of the day, most of it is pure foolishness. The transit example, like infrastructure and public schools and so many other crucial areas we are so tight-fisted moneywise about underscores one thing: in America we buy what we want and beg for what we need.

While I like the Venice tram and consider it a definite upgrade to the HL BRT, if we're going to spend that kind of cash to upgrade it, we might as well convert it into a standard LRV system so that it would be compatible with the Rapid just in case, down the road, RTA decided to connect/interface the 2 systems.

... there you go.

^South Africa, too.

Good for Heinen's. Whatever good happens for this company I'm happy about. There are few better true "corporate citizens" than these folks.

^Not to mention this rubber-tired tram would immediately attract more high-density (true) TOD development to the Euclid corridor as people would perceive the tram as a more permanent, rail-like system as opposed to merely the fancy bus that the HL currently is. Study after study has shown that people are much more willing to locate near and travel by rail transit than buses.