LincolnKennedy

Who owns the building? Is it at all salvageable?

I think it depends on the audience.

^Well, the Arc de Triomphe, (I'm not sure if that is spelled correctly) pictured above, celebrates Napoleon's victories, and he didn't seize power until 1799. Easy and internet friendly way to find out more on the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haussmann%27s_renovation_of_Paris

It was a joke.

^Is "worthy" best used in that sentence? I think "in danger of" is more appropriate.

Oxford Mississippi and Nashville? It's insulting.

^I actually took the time to read that article and it's very good. I particularly agree with it's notion warning against outsourcing government responsibilities.

The Paris we know of today didn't have the same layout when L'Enfant was designing Washington. It was far more a result of Napoleon and above all, Napoleon III, dictators who could command the resources of the state to remake the largest and most important city in their realms. I've never been to St. Petersburg (Russia) but if there was an extant model for Washington it was probably that. After all, they were both built on swamps.

I've always loved those abandoned row houses in Mt. Auburn. Anyone know what sort of shape they are in?

Like Dresden on the Great Miami. What is that a monument of, by the way? I had no idea such a unique memorial existed in Ohio.

While I think that OTR is far more valuable than the Banks in every way imaginable, the fact is that it is good for both places to be developed. Right now the political will exists for the Banks project, so it is being done. Although it may take away from OTR presently, I think that is a hard claim to substantiate. Ultimately each development is served by the other.

This is the type of thinking I don't understand. Nothing is still a government plan. Someone in authority is making the choice to stay out of health care. So the only objective factors are cost. And in many cases it is more cost-effective for the government to involve itself in certain markets. And active government regulation of all markets allows for the information necessary for an individual to make good economic decisions.

^I bet a woman named Sarah Williams Goldhagen was a major contributor to this Brookings report. I read an article by her in a recent issue of The New Republic where she discusses the need for the federal government to interact directly with metro regions to address the nations infrastructure needs.

Now I remember why I disliked you when I first met you. It's because you felt so salty paying for an intellectually inferior education to mine, which I got for free. Anyway you're pretty much right about the state of leadership regarding the superintendent situation. Frailey and Blackwell have been extremely "controversial" as some might say, "bad for the district" according to others. It's amazing how all the same issues that plague the city politically come up regarding school board, but they just don't draw the attention that council does, and therefore (in my opinion) no one is really held accountable. There's a big difference between the financial health of the district which is bad at the moment, and the health of the academic programs which has steadily been improving ever since Adamowski's tenure.

Well, the NFL doesn't have a say in where NBA franchises go, does it? NFL owners can move their franchises whereever they want, courtesy of (and best exemplified by) Al Davis and the Raiders. I don't have any idea what the rules for NBA franchises are, but I'd bet it's more lenient than baseball.

^I am an extreme proponent of the Cincinnati Public School system, but Riverviewer is right. The leadership on the CPS Board is bad. Thank goodness Rick Williams is finally gone. I hope this new group of three, Flannery, Bolton and Nelms can do a good job, but I'm very skeptical. As a friend of mine said almost immediately after the school levy failed, it's no wonder that the voters weren't pleased by a school reconstruction plan that replaced attractive old school buildings with uninspired modern ones, while at the same time running over cost enormously. There's not much to be proud of there, even though CPS's academic programs are still really good. When I think of this mess, I always remember the crazy negative overreaction people had to Mark Mallory's suggestion that the Mayor's office take a more direct role regarding the city's schools. Even though he'd end up nominating half of the board (to be approved by council) while the other half would remain elected, we would finally be charging a real politician that people actually pay attention to with accountability for the district.

^I'm pretty sure they expect a certain amount of time put in before you make partner. And I think the hours are closer to 90 a week.

I think there is legitimate room to disagree on this. While I'd agree with you that the majority of voters probably voted it down because it would require higher taxes, I thought the plan was sloppy, to put it in one word. The case for rail was not well made, therefore it was rejected. That's politics. I ended up voting for the plan even though I didn't like it; I did so because I didn't think that any other rail transit plan would emerge anytime soon. But I was wrong- the streetcar plan came out. The streetcar proposal was everything the MetroMoves plan wasn't- limited to the area of highest value as well as highest desire, not dependent upon a tax increase, well promoted. Granted it's a bit like comparing apples and oranges, but I'd rather have a real apple than a picture of an orange.

^I was referring more to states like Mississippi or on the Great Plains that constantly bitch about the feds but take in more federal dollars than the put out. I remember that table of statistics you are referring to as well; I think New Jersey got screwed the most, getting on 63 cents for every federal transportation dollar they contribute. I don't mind in theory contributing more to the pot than we get back, there are just two things about it that bother me: 1) that are elected representatives from both parties don't complain more and work together to make sure Ohio gets a good return on what it pays for; and 2) that real value is being squandered through this haphazard manner of allotting projects. I can't think of a single state outside California that would better be served and make better use of high-speed rail than Ohio. Eight major cities in the 37th biggest state- where else does that percentage exist?

I don't think that the Democrats were elected to eliminate spending. I suppose one can make plenty of arguments against this bill as being filled with local "pork"; that being said, the income tax that acts as the federal governments primary means of revenue comes from everyone, and why shouldn't the money be spent on things in the country that benefit everyone. You have to locate Army bases and interstate highways in real space too. These sorts of projects don't make up major portions of the federal budget, unlike defense spending, service on the national debt, and health care. It's too bad there isn't a better calculus for what sort of infrastructure projects get built and which don't. I feel like Ohio is getting screwed all the time out of worthwhile projects that instead go to crappy states with political clout.

I'm not sure if you were around in 2002, but there were some pretty legitimate reasons to vote down the MetroMoves plan, even for rail advocates.

I'm not sure if this question was supposed to be rhetorical. I think Cranley's position is clear: he's hedging. He wants to be seen as an advocate of the streetcar without risking his image of being fiscally responsible or his supposed appeal to west side voters. So he makes an absurd quibble that has the appearance of reasonability. If the question is why don't "Uptown" voters view Cranley as their champion, it is either because they don't see the Clifton link of a streetcar as first priority, or don't view Cranley's positions on things as representative of theirs. Their votes for Qualls and Crowley demonstrate an unsurprising "liberal" tilt to those voters. This election was an endorsement of Mallory's handling of council. Crowley has never risen so far before.

The Toledo Museum of Art has one of the most highly regarded collections in the country. One of the reasons it has such a good collection is that it was founded by through a large donation of money rather than around the collection of a local grandee. At least that is what I heard. I've also heard good things about the Kansas City Museum of Art, though I have been to neither. I haven't been to Indianapolis since I was in eight grade. I can't imagine why anyone would want to go there, let alone live there.

^I'm surprised there were absolutley no changes. I'm surprised Monzel stayed on. I'm pleased that Winburn didn't make it. The top vote getters show that there is a solid vision in place that most voters agree with, as dmerkow said.

Well, if we did get the SuperSonics to relocate to Cincinnati, and I'm sure that won't happen (and do we really need to build another huge arena for another private sports team?) we'd have to change the name "SuperSonics" to something less lame.