natininja

^ Cincinnati alone is not making this a successful wedge issue for Kasich. It seems like some people in northern Ohio think they live in some liberal wonderland, and Cincinnati keeps the state down. Sorry, but if that were the case, Cleveland/Columbus/Toledo/Akron should outweigh the Cincy/Dayton contingent every time. Unfortunately, northern Ohio is not a liberal wonderland. And, for that matter, southwest Ohio is not a conservative oasis. Which Ohio city, after all, is the only one currently funding a new rail project? New York is not a thriving city because it retains people who grew up or went to college there. In fact, most citizens of NYC only live there for a relatively small portion of their life. Successful cities, states, and regions don't worry about how many citizens are moving away. They don't have to, because they have a "product" which draws more people in to replace those who left. Part of that product, in fact, is the people leaving the state to seize opportunities and success outside the state's borders. The Plain Dealer and Dispatch haven't exactly exhibited the enlightened pro-rail stance which you claim is so pervasive outside the Cincinnati area.

It's also interesting to note that Thomas, one of only three Democrats, seems to be the most vocally opposed to the mayor's methods. That's a pretty strong blow to the partisan framework the Enquirer was trying to portray.

^ We need to attract college graduates to Ohio. We need to export college graduates from Ohio, 1) so they can be ambassadors of the state, and 2) so they can gain an appreciation of where they grew up in the context of a global perspective. 3C will help attract graduates as well as enhance the appreciation of those ambassadors who leave. Boomeranging college grads would be a better goal than "keeping" them. Of course my focus here is those who grew up in Ohio. For those who moved to Ohio for college, it would be nice to keep them around or boomerang them. It's also a good goal to get people who grew up outside Ohio to come for college. 3C can also help in this regard! My main point is: focusing on preventing Ohio's college grads from moving elsewhere is a recipe for an insular culture, which is one of the things Ohio suffers from. One symptom of this insular culture is widespread opposition to the 3C and other rail transit! We desperately need citizens who've experienced life outside Ohio.

I don't see why they didn't just do it in the public eye, if they knew this was an issue. The members could still have voted in the way they did, anyway. Likely, with the support of Thomas. I don't know enough to really judge the merits of the Enquirer's complaints, but even if their claim is legitimate, I find it curious that this is something they want to be sticklers about (particularly since it's non-binding), when they are such a horrible soldier for the public most of the time. As for the actual content of what they voted for, two things come to mind. One is that making FWW caps a priority is GREAT. The other is that the proximity of the FWW caps and the sculpture funding in the same motion makes me giddy, as I've mentioned a few times in the FWW capping thread that I would like to see sculptures put on the caps. Putting sculptures to public vote, on the other hand, makes me skeptical. Especially considering how public voting for the B$ Bridgedoggle seemed to go -- I have to take the elitist position that the general public's aesthetic taste is lacking.

Which makes it all the more bizarre that Kasich has made it the primary policy issue of his campaign! Turning away the 3C money is about the only specific action we know the hypothetical Kasich administration would perform.

w00t!!!!!!!11

The renderings seem to show glass in the tiara...so...I think it's safe to say they aren't accurate.

The Enquirer staff, pulling things out of their @55es once again. Edit: Actually, I guess it's that analyst. I wonder what the circumstances were under which he said this.

^^ It would be pretty cynical of Scrabble to think "the Left" should not "hate him so much" because he is politically useful. ^ Now that's cynical. And elitist. And needlessly partisan.

I gave up on beating my best Minesweeper scores. I just got too good at one point, and I don't ever wish to invest so much time in that blasted game again!

Thanks. I honestly did skim the article for an answer, but I missed it.

Cool! Any idea how long the trip would take?

We'll see what NYT has...If it were just the DailyKos guy, I might be a bit more skeptical. But if you remember, it was the highly respectable National Enquirer who broke the John Edwards story. My money goes on this being legit.

Gah, stayed up late to watch 'em lose 4-3.

Nice game so far against the Padres. It's been up and down. Reds are up 3-2, bottom of the 6th.

^^ Thanks for the info. Very good first post; I hope you become a regular user. That is to say, "Welcome to UrbanOhio, nati streets!" :D

Scrabble, they just made the train faster. Happy now? ;-) Interesting to see the Enquirer is slower picking up the story.

I'd like to see Detroit>Toledo>Lima>Dayton>Cincy>Lexington>Knoxville>Chattanooga>ATL, as well as StL>Louisville>Cin>Col>Pitt>Harrisburg>Phila>NYC. Oh, and a daily Cardinal!!!

Do you spend any money on entertainment; movies, music, etc; and do you consider that throwing money away? I get your point, but the one time I went to a casino (honestly expecting to enjoy it), I found the whole environment sad and pathetic. Most people there looked elderly, poor, or elderly and poor, and frankly they seemed like willing victims (like an abused wife that keeps returning). They looked like zombies with an empty hope that "just maybe this will be my time!" ... over and over. I'm not anti-casino, but it doesn't float my boat to go to one. I do occasionally play scratch-off tickets or buy into a lottery pool at work (or pull-off thingies at a festival). My enjoyment of scratch-offs/pull-offs made me think I'd enjoy the casino, but the reality proved not to be the case. If it weren't for the large contingent of people looking like they were betting away money they couldn't afford to lose, it might not be so bad. Then again, watching wealthy people betting away large sums of money wouldn't exactly be my cup of tea, either. Gambling, to my taste, is something best done in moderation. Going to a casino, you're bound to be confronted with (likely a majority of) people who go beyond what I'd consider moderate gambling. Therefore, the experience is unpleasant for me. To each his own. (I don't like going to a bar or party where a majority of the people are embarrassingly drunk alcoholics, either, for example. But I do like to drink beer.) People don't consume movies, music, etc., with that empty, addicting hope that maybe their life will be made a success from this next roll/deal/spin/hit/etc. Edit: This is my 777th post! Must be my lucky day! Maybe I should go play some Blackjack... 8-)

It seems to me there could be glass panels with small gaps. That should alleviate any trouble with temperature or ventilation. It may be difficult to pull off with wind issues, though. I'm not sure. I agree that it's not good as it is. Hopefully the signage helps. I am still hopeful they will install some cool lighting which will make it look nice at night.

^ This is the first step I've seen that actually seems like "walking the walk" (as opposed to "talking the talk") regarding sensitivity to local needs. Still, I remain skeptically optimistic of their claim to aim for a well-integrated urban casino. Does anyone know if the other 3 Ohio cities are being fed similar lines? Have there been charettes in other cities?

He doesn't. He's the city's airport director. Not him...i thought you were talking about MD88PILOT In that case, RS is right to say that. In the chart you post please point to O&D passenger figures. Yeah, I misread the chart. I realized when I saw the 28% for CMH and that was obviously not O&D. My apologies. Anyway, all of MD88's conclusions hinge on his own personal analysis of proprietary data which he can't share. He might have insider info, but when we can't check for ourselves, it's hardly convincing. Meanwhile, I've pointed to Googleable data which would seem to say the opposite, without making the assumption that an average-fare data plot would suddenly get much denser right where said Googleable data ends. (This is what he claims his proprietary data shows.) That's entirely possible, but it's not what one would logically predict from the data available. As for Ricky Smith...who wouldn't take his words with a grain of salt?

He doesn't. He's the city's airport director.

It's that guy's job to talk out of his ass and hype up CLE. Those numbers are outdated, anyway. http://www.dispatch.com/wwwexportcontent/sites/dispatch/business/stories/2010/09/19/ohio-airports-art-g239trvv-10919gfx-ohio-airports-chart-eps-large.jpg CVG now has 14% greater O&D, and yet still has 9% more costly fares.

I like the Auto-Tune the News "Bed Intruder" song. That's probably about the only auto-tune song I really like. If I were a DJ, I'd play it for every party.