Clevelander17

I mean I get that, this mentality is also why just to the west of you that are suburbs where officers sit idle while even some serious crime issues in Lakewood aren't addressed as quickly and efficiently as possible. Overall, however, it would be best for the region if the police force was shared. Few residents would truly notice any difference, though the ones that need it most would likely notice a significant improvement.

Good for them. I'd also set up tolls at all major thoroughfares into and out of the city and nickel and dime nonresidents in every other way possible. No, I'm not kidding. One way or another no one in this region should get a free ride. Cleveland and other hard-hit municipalities should engage in draconian revenue-generating measures until outer-ring suburbanites leeching off of all of the good in this region start realizing that the only real long-term solution is either a full-scale merger or at the very least region-wide income tax sharing.

No, but that their workload is significantly lower. But the comment wasn't really about the officers themselves, whom I do actually respect greatly. It was more about the likely misallocation of officers in this county to areas that could stand to see a reduced presence while sending more officers to areas that actually need them. Cleveland residents often deal with long response times to 911 calls while officers just a few miles away in wealthier suburbs sit idle because they're in a different jurisdiction. It's a question of efficiency and safety.

That didn't mean mergers, because if it did those local governments would have turned on them hard and gone to their electorate. My point all along regarding this topic is that advocating full mergers, especially coerced, poisons the case for actual regionalism among people and towns who would benefit. I agree with you, going from independent communities straight to a merger would cause massive backlash. This is even evident in East Cleveland, even though they may have no choice really. Like anything else in government (and public opinion), change takes a lot of time. It makes sense to make small incremental steps. I think once these communities share a large amount of services, people may come to the realization that so much is shared already we might as well merge. That's how I imagine regionalism progressing. Some little nudges might be needed along the way. Public safety should be the first of the services to be shared.

This is true. For instance, for residents of leechburbs like Beachwood, Independence, and Westlake with well-funded public safety departments, they might seen a significant increase in the time it takes for officers to leave the local donut shop to respond to cats in trees.

Remembers, the origins of this discussion (more like a thought experiment, in my opinion) stems from the point that many people in this region (perhaps a significant majority) are paying income taxes directly to governments they have no input towards. So based on that, a Cleveland resident should only get input in Mayfield Heights decisions if they are employed in that city and are paying taxes there.

That's a good point, too. Maybe if non-residents were given a voice, certain priorities might change (for better or worse).

Of course that's not my intention, but despite the consequences for larger cities like Cleveland, it's simply bad policy for workers to have to support the budgets of cities in which they do not live. It's just not right that certain municipalities and their residents benefit from lavish services by fluke of lines drawn on a map. I guess that I might support region-wide sharing of income taxes as long as it meant that residents in places like Beachwood and Independence were required to pull more of their own weight. But that's less likely than an overhaul to the tax code. Either way, ending this situation where certain cities leech off of residents of other cities would almost certainly lead to more sharing of services, less poaching of businesses, and likely even the full-fledged mergers that we really need to see.

Poaching of businesses and duplication of retail is a huge problem in this region, particularly in the eastern suburbs. What I'd like to see is the capping or full elimination (at the state level) of the non-resident income tax law that allows so many of these suburbs to sustain lavish budgets and live beyond their means using revenue from people that don't even live in the city. Going a step further, raise the cap on the income tax rate that municipalities can charge to residents. That way if a municipality wants gold-plated services, they can have them if their residents pay for them.

Not sure about the clothing allowance, but there are some very sound behavioral reasons for incentivizing employees to show up for work.

That would not really be a "spillover," IMO. Whole Foods is something like two or three blocks from Wiley.

Well this is wonderful: http://www.cleveland.com/university-heights/index.ssf/2016/01/four_teens_arrested_after_large_fight.html#incart_river_home

I feel bad for St. Louis, but the NFL is a freakin' joke between stuff like this and their ongoing dismissal of the very real concussion issue.

I get that, but this other location is not City View and was never a landfill. It is about a mile from the I-77/I-480 interchange and has great visibility.

Yesterday's win was bittersweet for the players, particularly Braxton Miller. I don't like to play the game of "what if," but I really wish this squad would have gotten a chance at the playoff considering the way they've been playing lately. Not winning a championship is one thing, but not having a chance when you know you could compete is a different story.

Or how about the City View Center in Garfield Heights? There, problem solved. Plenty of room there. Yes... Put it there! Things will just sliiiiide into place. City View, no, but the land just across the freeway in Garfield Heights would seem to make sense. Not sure if there is enough land available there, but the location is great. There has been talk of an outlet mall going in there, but I'm not sure if that's ever going to become a reality. Here's how it is marketed (all of the things that would make this a great place for an outlet mall seems to apply to a potential IKEA): http://www.craigrealtygroup.com/App_Assets/CMSDocs/LeasingBrochures/LeasingBrochure-cleveland.pdf

I've never felt unsafe walking around in western and central Lakewood, even late at night. That being said, and maybe my perception is wrong, but the eastern part of the city seems (fair or unfair) a bit more sketchy.

Oops, forgot about that. Right, I watched a bit and they should not have lost.

Maybe the MAC can run the table this bowl season! BGSU and NIU still have games.

Go Crew!

Normally, no. However if it comes down to a 1-loss Clemson or a 2-loss Alabama versus a 1-loss Ohio State, with none of them being conference champs, I like OSU's chances if only because they're the defending champ and their loss came earlier (i.e. they ended their season on a high note). I think they'll have a hard time keeping out a team trending upward that won it all last year. But in looking at matchups, I'm not seeing Carolina or Florida coming through for the Buckeyes.

Oh, well of course, but that's not what I said. My point is that at the moment Ohio State is basically assured of being #5 at worst and they need just one more domino to fall.

"No way" that they jump Iowa if/when MSU beats the Hawkeyes? That's a bold statement.

Alright here's my amateur analysis as play wraps up this weekend: The Buckeyes were sitting at #8. Baylor #7 and Notre Dame #6 lost this week. Stanford was at #9 with two losses and they knocked off #6, but I don't think that's enough to jump Ohio State. Next week, #4 Iowa plays #5 Michigan State, and although I have to assume Ohio State would jump the loser of that game regardless, it probably benefits the Buckeyes if Michigan State wins and wins big. Ultimately, it seems that Ohio State's chances come down to the ACC title game or the SEC title game. If either Clemson or Alabama lose in their respective conference championship games, I think the Buckeyes sneak in at #4. If not, they're almost certainly going to the Rose Bowl and likely going to play Stanford or USC in what would be an incredibly lame way to end the season.

I'll just put this out there now, even with an MSU win I do think there might be another path for the Buckeyes into the CFP, but it would take a lot of help. However I like their chances in any scenario that forces the committee to decide between Ohio State and other 1-loss teams, though it gets dicey if it comes down to the Bucks and (potentially) Oklahoma State for the last spot.