clvlndr

Very good column. Brooks' viewpoints particularly resonate with me as he is a moderate conservative with, really, no dog in the game... What he flirts with, but doesn't come out directly says, is that conservatives' new pessimistic, backward-looking American Exceptionalism has, at its roots, an ugly racism and bigotry not only manifested in Trump and Carson, but by Ann Coulter in her ongoing stoking of anti-Semitism, as well.

I've heard this could be a deal to avert next week's possible government shutdown over Planned Parenthood funding; that the Tea Party agreed to back off on the shutdown in exchange for their ultimate prize: getting Boehner's too-conciliatory-to-Dems (in their view, at least) arse out of the speakership and out of Congress. We'll have to wait and see on this... I also get the feeling that Boehner simply has had enough of dealing with these right-wing crazies, especially now that the Party is firmly ensnared in Trumpworld.

... but at least it finally appears there is... MOVEMENT!! :clap: :clap: :yap: :yap:

^True... But we haven't always been successful using trade exceptions which expire in a year. In addition to Haywood, we have a nearly $3M exception for the Mike Miller trade ... MLE's seem to go to older players who have mid-level talent but can't find a home -- I think Thompson is better than most MLE candidates. Mo Williams was exceptional in that he signed for considerably less than what a player of his stature could command. That shows his commitment to wanting a title, plus he knows and likes Cleveland and the Cavs (and playing with LeBron)... Unfortunately, all guys aren't wired that way and, instead, primarily look to be 'paid.' That's not to say a competitor like Thompson doesn't want both, because I think he does. I'm still holding out hope that a deal will get done like, say, for $87M/5 ... splitting the difference.

Rail Users of America sounds like a good group and this could be a great opportunity for RTA's train/transit needs to gain a national voice. This looks to be a win-win Saturday... I would think discussion priority would be on things like the NCTC and what to do about the freight delays for Amtrak in/out of Cleveland. For the NCTC I hope a push is made to get it located East of 9th Street, if that possibility is still on the table. But last I recall was that a Muny Lot location is preferable based on cost which would be too bad imho

OK, but can we win, with the current team, without him? Keep in mind, once he bolts, we will still be hit with even the new cap ceiling, meaning we couldn't even sign someone half his value since we won't have that player's Larry Bird rights as we do with Tristan.... We're talking $14M; that's not that big a difference (and hopefully they can agree somewhere in the middle since it's so close). Is it really worth it to lose a guy just to prove a point esp in a city so desperate to win a title? We aren't going to lose him this year, though. We would lose him next year, but we have him for this year because if some other team actually does put 5/94 in front of him, we have the absolute right to match it and keep him. That won't happen, but we have all the negotiating power here except for the threat of what comes after next year, unless you think he would sandbag or tank this year on a QO (cutting off his nose on the free agent market to spite his face). I doubt Thompson would tank cause it would kill his rep and bargaining power next year. Yes even if he signs the QO we will have him for this season, but the pressure to win it all now will be heightened because he will most assuredly leave next summer. And as I noted, since we won't have Bird rights on any non-Cav we sign, we will have salary cap issues with any reputable power forward we want to sign to replace Thompson – we will, then, be placed in the Rob-Peter-to-Pay-Paul trading assets position that nobody wants. I feel that Thompson is worth the money because he has a particularly high value to us. We need his grit, inside scoring, reliable rebounding (esp offensive rebounding where’s he’s one of the best in the game), and we need his durability because of possibility of injury to any of our front line guys, particularly those with extensive injury histories like Love and Varejao. And even though LeBron's been a "good soldier" and not complained so far, losing Thompson next year will not sit well with no. 23, especially if we don't win the title this year and we stand to lose Tristan because the 2 sides are only $14M apart (and it's $14M over 5 years at that). Remember LeBron is on a 1-year contract with a year option and he HATES not winning titles. I just wish we wouldn't worry so much about what Tristan can or cannot command on the open market and realize we need him if we want to put ourselves in the best possible position to win a title... this year and beyond because we know that's what LeBron wants in terms of his legacy since, at age 31 (this season), dude isn't getting any younger and last year’s loss to GS is firmly stuck in his craw.

Neither London nor Tokyo have widespread express-track lines?

OK, but can we win, with the current team, without him? Keep in mind, once he bolts, we will still be hit with even the new cap ceiling, meaning we couldn't even sign someone half his value since we won't have that player's Larry Bird rights as we do with Tristan.... We're talking $14M; that's not that big a difference (and hopefully they can agree somewhere in the middle since it's so close). Is it really worth it to lose a guy just to prove a point esp in a city so desperate to win a title?

What you say makes perfect sense... except for Cleveland. Tristan knows, and the world knows, that we here are desperate to break the 51-year curse, and we were so close last year -- honestly, if we had even a healthy Kyrie even without Love, we could have done it this past year against Golden State -- with Love, it would've been a slam dunk imho... And history tells us that Cleveland teams seem to lose 1 key guy that upsets the apple cart -- We threw away Ron Harper for Danny Ferry after The Shot, and doomed our chances (just listen to Hot Rod Williams, today), we threw away a young Carlos Boozer (yeah, he was a sinister guy who's word we ultimately couldn't trust, ... but why did the Cavs foolishly give him that option?)... And here we are on the brink again. ... Tristan Thompson absolutely isn't worth that money on the open market ... but he IS worth it on THIS team. The role he plays is critical, esp for a team that still, without him, has a "soft" label on it... Mozgov pushed us to new limits in this area, I grant you, but it was tough-as-nails Thompson that put us over the top, and was great in tandem with Mozzie for the tough Chicago series when our cupboard was nearly depleted... of course, that team survived Chicago, but couldn't with a top-shelf team like GS, even though we pushed them to the limits (and in his heart of hearts, LeBron believes we still should have won ... he has nightmares of what "should" have happened).... If we go the QO with Thompson, he's as good as gone; both history and Rich Paul have told us that. So it means that, just like 2010, we have the all-or-nothing pressure to win, even though there's no way I'd equate Thompson to LeBron, obviously... But he's still a critical piece ... at least a Ron Harper imho... just my take.

^... actually Google Street views reveal that the Delahunty Building was erected in 1903... that's still pretty old. From the looks of the Google Street view, taken just over a year ago, it appears the building was being rehabbed... an insurance fire, perhaps? ... At any rate, let's hope it's replaced with some kind of quality mixed-use development because you don't want the loss of urban fabric on that still-dense part of Detroit which, at the moment, is still "transitional."

Unfortunate loss in the Delahunty Building fire, though I'm thrilled there was no serious injury or loss of life (methinks the now-heroic canine may have been the closest the 2 individuals had to a smoke alarm). Like the Steve's Lunch building fire/demo earlier this year over on Lorain Av, this building was not large in size, but significant in terms of history. IIRC Steve's Lunch (building) was built in the 1860s. Delahunty looks to be a rough contemporary... too bad.

^I stand corrected on that one even though I certainly didn't find Bush to be Amtrak-friendly, either. I do recall Amtrak pulling out of the mail biz. It seemed like, at one point around 2000, Cleveland had about 4 or 5 Amtrak runs including, amazingly, at least 1 daytime train ... @ around 4 or 5 in the afternoon.

Stop right there; that's a key bargaining chip in Thompson's favor. And with Love's history of injuries -- and I'm talking even before Kelly Olynyk -- you can practically count on his being injured as much you can Tristan's being healthy.

^W/r to no. 2, I'm thinking "restore" might be the better term. IIRC there was such a service (the extended Pennsylvanian) in the late 1990s till 2000, until the Bush Administration dismantled it.

Gap of $14 million in Tristan Thompson, Cavaliers contract negotiations, sources say Brian Windhorst, ESPN.com With a week to go until the start of training camp, there remains a $14 million gap in contract talks between restricted free agent Tristan Thompson and the Cleveland Cavaliers, sources told ESPN.com. The Cavs have held firm at an offer of five years and $80 million, with Thompson looking for a max contract of $94 million over the same span, sources said. The talks have been at a virtual standstill since early July, and there isn't much optimism on either side. If no deal is reached by the end of the week, Thompson may sign the Cavs' one-year qualifying offer of $6.9 million to become an unrestricted free agent next year. His agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN last month that if Thompson signs the one-year qualifier, he will not re-sign with the Cavs long-term in 2016. http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13709587/tristan-thompson-cleveland-cavaliers-millions-apart-start-training-camp-approaches

It's interesting that, to many Clevelanders when it comes to the expansion of rail transit (extensions) or rail transit opportunities (expanded hours weekend evenings to serve more people), doing nothing is preferable to doing something.

You make valid points, and I don't disagree. But something is better than nothing and if the RNC is a catalyst toward getting some form of commuter rail started in this region -- a concept I bristle at -- so be it. Unlike you, I take the glass half full approach: that if people get a taste of commuting to downtown by rail they may (probably will) like it; want more and want to improve on it. Who's to say that, in this light, the original proposal for NS could get dusted off and executed at some point if residents in outer Cuyahoga and Summit Counties put pressure on their pols: it's all political? Then some day a new and improved CVSR could revert back to being a full time tourist line through the valley but with direct connections to the downtown Cleveland hub. Remember South Florida's Tri-Rail started as an experimental, single rail, rush hour only line in the early 1990s to alleviate traffic during extensive I-95 reconstruction. Today it is a busy, all-day, 2-track commuter rail network that is about to be extended into downtown Miami with a new/separate line closer to the Atlantic coast through the downtowns of many South Florida cities north of Miami; up the coast for 70+ miles... You've got to start somewhere.

I still can't believe Cardale stayed at OSU. He had a golden meal ticket to the NFL based on those 3 great starts last year. Now his stock is going down and JT may ultimately be the starter. Very bad move by Jones.

And the plan is to connect Bolder with commuter rail once additional funding is found.

^I would have definitely preferred the old proposal of commuter rail to Akron over the NS line through the branch near/at Hudson, but IIRC some NIMBY folks in one city killed it... CVSR is not a great alternative to commuter rail, and wouldn't be ideal for that purpose (not only is it slow, it's almost entirely single track, right?), but it's the best we've got right now -- an actual working 50+ mile passenger railroad with local stations, equipment and maintenance/repair facilities. Perhaps as with statewide HSR, this region needs to first crawl (literally) before it can walk... ... I guess I should say re-crawl and re-walk because we already had commuter rail until the late 1970s.

Well at least I'm glad to see the cops are cracking down on bus-lane violators albeit belatedly. Obviously people are really using this service a lot, which is great. I just hope the idea of connecting Lakewood, the 2nd densest populated city between Philly and Chicago, with rail transit (preferably full-high capacity rapid transit) along the N-S hasn’t gone bye-bye.

One word for local officials who opine that this idea is great and should be extended beyond the RNC: Duh...

Great program. Brandon Chrostowski's a good man and Edwin's, the restaurant and the concept, is getting national recognition, including a nice write-up in the New York Times... That corner of S. Moreland and Buckeye could really use a face lift as well. A win-win situation.

RTD testing commuter trains on East Rail Line to DIA at 79 mph By Monte Whaley The Denver Post POSTED: 09/16/2015 09:54:14 AM MDT11 COMMENTS| UPDATED: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_28822649/rtd-testing-commuter-trains-east-rail-line-dia

^We had a blast on the East Bank over the recent Labor Day holiday. We really enjoyed the excitement of the new clubs (Crop Stix had just opened) and loved having drinks on the upper deck of Alley Cat gazing at all the boats and people along the Boardwalk... We took the Waterfront Line down but, since it was closed when we left around 11-11:15p, we simply walked back through the Warehouse District back to Tower City for our Rapid home. (the elevator to the 6th floor to the Aloft then out the E&Y main entrance, saved a lot of creepy, uphill walking under the Main Ave. bridge tunnel up Main Ave. I remember back in the day when both the Flats and the Waterfront Line were peaking -- sometime between 1996 and 1999, people were flocking to the trains in both directions. One weekend evening, a HS friend and I wrode a 2-car train from Shaker right down to the Flats; stopped by Hooters for a burger (and some female eye candy, of course) and boated across to the West Bank on the Holy Moses River Taxi (which was only $1 buck with our RTA transfers), to Shooters, then back again... There were plenty of people riding the trains home at 2a, while Old River Road was a parking lot -- our trains zipped through the crossings as we just smiled at the sight of the frustrated drivers... This scenario could happen again, ... if RTA cooperates.