CLEJoe

Would an old fashioned boycott help at all? Making it clear that so long as they intend to take down the theater, Clevealnders will encourage one another to avoid McDonalds and go to Burger King, Wendys or whatever.

1,000 total. The live petition has more signatures. They were out grabbing them in Gordon Square over the weekend. I THINK they're around 600 or so? But I could be wrong.

I believe it is... Just wanted to make sure all were aware :).

Apologies if this has already been shared... But have those against the Columbia Building being demolished signed this petition?: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/downtown-is-our-town/ The group behind this was far more successful in attaining signatures in person.

This might sound lame, but... Perhaps simply starting a Facebook group "Merging Cleveland" just to get the idea out there and people to discuss? Not that UO isn't a great place to discuss, but more people are connected on FB and you could invite Councilman, citizens, etc. And then have various threads within containing some of the ideas we've seen on this thread. Just a simple way to keep the conversation going!

I love your optimism, and it'll be needed if we're going to convince enough people. The main obstacle is race & class divisions. Too many locals don't want their affairs mingled with those of less fortunate neighbors. Whatever we choose to call the new subdivisions, or lack thereof, isn't going to matter if voters believe they'll have a new deduction on their paycheck marked "Poor People." Fair point. But I know stats nationwide are showing young professionals moving back into urban areas as opposed to big box suburban houses we can't afford to begin with. It also shows that young folks aren't "afraid" to live side by side with potentially less fortunate folks. So I think this is an issue worth bringing up now in hopes of seeing change when today's young professionals are elected into office and lining the streets in Lakewood, Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, etc.

If it was presented as simply changing areas like Lakewood from "city" to "borough" or "neighborhood," I can't immediately think of any friends who would oppose it. If these "boroughs" still had their own school system "Lakewood Borough Schools" and their own tax codes, I don't see a problem. If it was also presented as a form of civic pride and boosting our numbers to lure young professionals and businesses, I think folks would get on board. But that's just the optimist in me!

I like the idea of boroughs. Heck, we're used to replicate NYC in movies, why not steal boroughs, too? I also agree that suburbs that "touch" the city would be as far as we could go to start. But I'm okay with that! Any poli-sci background folks know how such a campaign is started? Just for conversation sake...

Hey Folks! Just sent out... #Cleveland wants @cavsdan to keep his promise. Save the Columbia Building! @CleCityCouncil @JoeCimperman #DowntownIsOurTown" via @MildlyRelevant. I got rid of "residents" to leave room in case people want to leave their own short comment before the RT... Hope it helps! Spread the word and hopefully we'll get their attention or at the very least, the attention of fellow Clevelanders!

Yeah he did. But its semantics at this point. Call him at his office. Write him at his office. I would be surprised if you got any response via twitter/facebook. Also if you're going to tweet this, tweet Quicken Loans. He's responded to fans via Twitter in the past. I would be more surprised to get a response at his office. It's easier to reach people with social media these days. Can't exactly write up or call an athlete, can you? But you can tweet them and get a response. Yes... It's the young people who typically have much to learn about social media. ;)

He promised to weave the casino into the existing fabric of the city... Unfortunately that's too wordy. I'm hoping he'll hear the parental tone of "you know what you did!"

Here's what I have... #Cleveland residents want @cavsdan to keep his promise. Save the Columbia Building! @CleCityCouncil @JoeCimperman #DowntownIsOurTown That leaves me with 8 characters left. I can get more out of it if I take out some mentions, but both city council and Councilman Cimperman are active on Twitter and might see it. Another note, besides RTing my tweet (I'm @MildlyRelevant), make sure to use #DowntownIsOurTown in all of your tweets regarding Columbia in order to increase its chance of trending.

I noticed his feed blowing up because of the 'Bron stuff, too. Perhaps we should send one tweet with the petition and hashtag (#SaveColumbia or #DowntownIsOurTown) and have everyone ONLY RT that tweet? If enough people RT, it could help it trend...

I feel like residents of "suburbs" like Lakewood, Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, East Cleveland, Euclid, Brooklyn, Parma and Parma Heights don't live there, because of anything against Cleveland. Whereas those who live where I'm from (Mentor) and other farther suburbs generally view the city in a negative light and would object strongly to associating with the city beyond a sports fandom level. If the pros were explained properly, I think folks in these inner-ring 'burbs could get on board. Areas like Coventry and parts of Lakewood have as much urban feel as neighborhoods in other cities. I don't necessarily view the idea of merging for the sake of boosting numbers as a bad thing. For better or worse, people look at these stats when deciding where to relocate or where to look for jobs. Showing up 43rd or 45th in total population behind Omaha (even if it isn't reflective of the region as a whole) doesn't help our case. People don't look at the statistical metropolitan numbers (except perhaps folks like us!) and might inherently view us as boring because we rank so low in population. And as someone said, mergers with certain 'burbs would boost our jobs number. Again - for better or worse that makes young professionals more confident in moving to a region. A lot of folks I know moved to Chicago out of college, because it has a reputation of having a lot of jobs. Nevermind the fact that they've had more difficulty in actually landing a job than if they stayed where they're from. People pay attention to these things when making major life decisions, and while there certainly are cons to consider, I think we can find enough pros to merge with certain munis. Because as someone said, 59 is a bit redundant.

Interesting... So for giggles-sake, how would one make such a thing happen? Any local government experts here? :)

Awesome! I know I'm going to be told it's impossible, but anyone know who would be the folks to talk to about at least opening a dialogue on the topic? Start a "One Cleveland" campaign! :)

I've been working with that group and Councilman Cimperman to try and at the very least get together to discuss our grievances. I'm meeting with him Thursday for a previously scheduled meeting on a different matter, but he at least agreed to discuss the idea of a Town Hall type of meeting. I'll try and keep everyone posted! But keep signing that petition and emailing the Councilman.

Makes sense... I guess I just want to see us as "one city," since everyone from as far out as Mentor calls themselves "Clevelanders."

That all makes sense, and I actually read about a potential East Cleveland merger in Cleveland Magazine when the new mayor was inaugurated. And by "potential" I mean he was asked about it and I believe he said he would be open to it. I also understand that most suburban communities would be against it. I guess since I'm very much a pro-Cleveland guy, I want to see the city succeed any way possible. If that means merging in nearby suburbs to make our "stats" more attractive to potential businesses, young professionals - cool! Besides... Everyone from the 'burbs tells people they're from "Cleveland," so why not make it official! :)

I might be wandering into "dumb question" territory, but... Why hasn't Cleveland (and I'm sure this might apply to Cincinnati) tried to expand its city borders? 5 miles out of Chicago's city center, you're in Lakeview. That's Cleveland to Lakewood. 8 miles out of Chicago center, you're in Andersonville. That's Rocky River for Cleveland. I'm pretty sure the answer it's something complicated regarding tax rates, property values, etc... But from a pro-urban prospective, Cleveland would rank much higher and thus receive much more positive attention, attract more folks if they could mix in numbers from those successful inner-ring 'burbs. Thoughts?

Read your post. Tredders. Sounds great! So why not Cleveland, too? Is their a date for demolition? Can we plan a rally at the building? Contact folks in local media and tell them to come out. I'm traveling at the moment, but pulled over to respond. How's about we make Cleveland history?

(Adding to the previous post) I'm thinking city drummers, live music, anything to get the local media's attention. Make our grievances known.

This might be a little too 1960s, but what if we showed up and tried to peacefully prevent the demolition? Is there no way to get a city wide referendum on this issue?

Morning! Thought I'd share this press release with my fellow Ohioans regarding a dedication set for tomorrow for yet another urban farm in Cleveland! http://www.localfoodcleveland.org/events/dedication-of-free-stamp City Council claims we're second in urban farming behind Portland, but closing in on the one spot!

Hmmm... I guess only question would be, do you ever take the bus from Public Square out to Detroit Shoreway, Edgewater, University Circle, or Lakewood to hang out at night and back? If so, how long does it take? A car would obviously be quicker, but I'm hoping to use the Public Square buses a lot to encourage other young folks to ditch the car for the bus! Cheers, Joe