archangel

That concept crossed my mind earlier this evening. A "heights" and "lake" borough could combat some issues and make it a better sell to the general public, while still preserving the unique identity of these inner rings. The region is lucky in a sense that Cleveland has stayed so small comparatively and that suburban boundaries are within 5 miles of the core. This has allowed for inner ring (sub)urban development to be different than that of the central city, but yet still remain a viable/desirable place to live and be entertained, and further makes it that much easier to reclaim the land from desirable suburb to urban core. (Lakewood to Downtown is probably at around 80% completion of this gentrification) Detroit wasn't as fortunate and had their city boundaries almost triple the distance compared to that of Clevelands, which only pushed suburbia farther from the core and made reclaiming the space from Downtown to desirable suburb that much more difficult, if not impossible. 80%? Pessimist! :) Drawing the borough boundaries would be an exciting political game. I think it's a good idea, though. And I also agree with the posters above that realistically, mergers with Cleveland are only going to be for the suburbs immediately adjacent or very close to its existing borders. For the near future, anyway.

Voted. Recruiting others.

Wow. Good thing that W. 25th actually has taxis and parking already. Fridays are going to be pretty crazy...

If you pay income tax in two places, one of them is allowed to give you a RITA credit for .5 or 1 percent, I think? I haven't gotten to my tax classes yet... :) The question is really who will have greater sway after a merger: The merged communities, or what today is Cleveland. I think you have to merge enough communities so that the new Clevelanders feel like they have a real shot at controlling their political destinies, and feel like they will be saving money and gaining prestige in the long run. Stronger county government may help, but it's still hard, because the services from Cleveland that are shared are very unpopular even if they make sense to share(water/sewer).

Are we ever going to know the details of the agreement? Are any additional taxes/fees being paid, or did Kasich walk away with nothing?

This will probably get moved, but briefly: Cleveland missed the boat on this a long time ago, and doing so now is politically impracticable/impossible in most cases. Residents of most suburbs would overwhelmingly reject merger efforts now. You are right about Cleveland gaining, overall, from mergers with communities like Lakewood, Parma, etc., but Cleveland also needs to absorb places like East Cleveland that are not very appealing for anyone to take over. If it ever happens, it will have to be either by absolute necessity/lack of alternatives (East Cleveland) or as part of a palatable package that doesn't prevent merged communities from having their own school districts. Why did it happen? White flight, unusual resistance to annexation in general, parochial interests triumphing over regional ones, and the fact that many of the outlying communities didn't really exist as substantial communities until after many of the above problems had become entrenched. I'm not as good at the history as others here are. I can just tell you that where I grew up, people would laugh openly if you suggested there were benefits to a merger, and even I would be very uneasy about it.

I realize the city can't, politically speaking, afford not to take legal action, but they should save themselves some time and try and negotiate for some concessions in exchange for keeping CCF out of court. I simply don't see how CCF can be expected to operate a hospital that's experienced (per NYTimes) a 25% fall in admissions in an area that is in total, unarrested free-fall. If someone is willing to subsidize them, great, if federal aid is available, great. Go get it. Honestly, I'm flabbergasted by East Cleveland. I know there's a lot of apathy and 'who cares about them' attitude, and I'm guilty as well, but how do things decline that far, that fast? The crime statistics, the population collapse - doesn't it merit some sort of radical state/federal intervention? The community is failing, and the numbers from Huron Hospital show that the CCF isn't going to arrest that fall. It's a symptom, not a cause.

the newspeak, it is doubleplusstrong with you.

Chagrin Falls in the middle of the pack. Surprising. Nothing else in there is very surprising. 130/1000 is absurd. That's a failed city. Shut it down.

Ace's is a pretty good place. Where is Lust moving to?

Realistic merger candidates: Cleveland/East Cleveland, some combination of CH/UH/SH, and Olmsted Falls/Olmsted Township. Anyone else? Euclid and Cleveland?

It was yesterday. I saw them put it up. They had a sign before that, too. Also, they have pretty good burritos. I've had...at least 10.

I'd support letting the Metroparks administer it, if it would mean the driftwood is cleared once in awhile. Or maybe some sort of volunteer group could handle prettying up the beach.

Well, that bridge needs improvement anyway. I'd personally sooner use the Superior Ave bridge since it takes you right downtown and you can coast the second half of the way. Anyway, glad this is getting done. The barrier is uncreative.

Awesome. This is my number one candidate for a long-term neighborhood.

I went. Tons of people. Some pretty good food, too. Dat Phan was much funnier than I expected. Good stuff.

Ranking this slightly above "better than nothing" because I think the building they're putting up will be excellent, even if the first draft of the surrounding area isn't.

33% seems high enough to me. And, it was the will of the voters. And, he can't possibly win in court. So, umm...

How does the pollution compare to a modern coal facility? And can't the county 'reduce particulates' by the fact the lakeside plant is closing at some point? Break-even, at least?

Detroitification - the east side of Cleveland looks like Detroit in a few places, yes, but the west side/downtown does not. The suburbs aren't THAT far away and they're nice, and you can get to some of them by mass transit. And even the east side has university circle, little italy, case western, etc... If you can easily get a job in either place, I'd say Cleveland. We have a diverse/developed food culture and arts scene. The gay factor, I really don't know, but I think Clevelanders are pretty open-minded in regards to lifestyle. I know we're hosting the 'Gay Games' in 2014, haha...I'm sure most young people in both cities are, at worst, apathetic towards lifestyle. Old housing stock, yeah, you need to check out Ohio City and Tremont. Most of the older houses have been lovingly cared for and are still owner occupied. I live in a converted loft directly across from the building where my grandfather worked in the 40's/50's, which is now luxury apartments, a historical oddity that I enjoy. And the West Side Market is right there. On the east side, there are many older homes in Cleveland Heights, which is where many of the professors at Case Western live...I can't speak for Pittsburgh, but if your main things are food and historical homes...Cleveland has you covered.

It is a combination of our fair-weather fan nature and the lack of...fair weather. Seriously, I was at the Monsters game when the baseball game was going on. I had a good time. I am not ready to sit outside in...this. We're 10 degrees below normal, it sucks. And bad weather will carry over, because people aren't going to count on the weather suddenly being good the next day...because we've been fooled before! And not a lot of people will spontaneously go to games on weeknights if the weather DOES turn good... Just be patient, and hope they keep winning, and there will be sellouts by June.

What are you planning to do, education/work wise? What's your background? Economy: Slight advantage for Pittsburgh, significant advantage in tech/IT; Cleveland better in manufacturing, legal, medical Weather: Pittsburgh gets less snow, Cleveland gets more sun Culture: Entirely opinion based, see for yourself. Cost: Cleveland is slightly cheaper, IIRC Downtown: Pittsburgh is better, but a lot of stuff is changing in Cleveland (good and bad) Surroundings: Cleveland has Lake Erie; Pittsburgh has the hills/mountains I would say Cleveland has excellent suburbs with excellent public schools, if that's a concern. Also, the Cleveland/Cuyahoga libraries are unusually good and the metroparks are great, but I don't know anything about Pittsburgh burbs/libraries/parks.

Does anyone ever professionally clean the outside of older buildings, or is that reserved for total gutting/renovations? There are a few I'd hit with an industrial power-washer if I could, the Tudor Arms among them.

I live on W. 25th and wouldn't mind getting rid of the building-shaking semis. But where is the alternate route going to go? Pretty much everything goes up 25th and turns onto...Washington? I nominate Columbus Road. It's parallel to the RTA and would divert it away from the 'core' of W. 25th, but won't solve anything for the rest of it. Scranton might make more sense but I can't see how it would work. There's a reason I'm not a civil engineer...

Gabinet is a legend. Next year is his final year, so I am taking his tax class before he retires. He is still very popular and regarded as effective and engaging; students from last year emphatically recommended him. Really looking forward to it. He graduated law school in 1953! When he retires, he will have taught at Case for 45 years. The new Dean is going to have to work hard to find someone to replace him, so far as that is possible, but at least money won't be a problem for that one.