CMH_Downtown

Ad effort aimed at generating jobs Executives will tout state as good place to work, live Thursday, September 14, 2006 Paul Wilson and Marla Matzer Rose THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH After struggling for years to create jobs and keep pace with the rest of the nation, Ohio officials are hoping a new "brand" will help reverse the slump. Next week, the state casts this advertising hook: "Build your business. Love your life." Officials said the phrase and campaign focus on promoting the state as a place where business folks can find balance in their lives. They said Ohio is different from other states because it has five major cities that are close to small communities offering low-cost, low-stress environments. "Amongst the decision-makers across the world, we need to correct and or reinforce their image of the state of Ohio as a place to do business," said Lt. Gov. Bruce Johnson, who leads the state’s Department of Development. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com

A new vision for Ohio Village Expensive plan for historical attraction must wait Thursday, September 14, 2006 Alan Johnson THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Rides, food, retail shops and even a hotel are being considered to pump new life into what might someday become the Ohio Village Park. But bold ideas envisioned in a new master plan for the replica of the Civil War-era village would cost up to $10 million and will have to wait because of tight finances at the parent Ohio Historical Society, officials say... www.dispatch.com

$10 million donation is museum’s biggest Walters want to shine light on art institution with rare show of public philanthropy Thursday, September 14, 2006 Bill Mayr THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH As a volunteer in the Columbus Museum of Art’s cafe during the 1990s, Peggy Walter served soups and salads. Yesterday, she and her husband, Robert D., served up something a bit more substantial: a $10 million gift to the museum, the largest single financial donation in the institution’s 128-year history.

IN BRIEF Convention center seeks hotel proposals Thursday, September 14, 2006 Proposals for a new full-service hotel connected to the Greater Columbus Convention Center will be sought before the end of the year by the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority, Executive Director William Jennison said. The authority is looking for possible competitors to two proposals, which would add about 400 rooms to the existing Hyatt Regency or back a new hotel from Dublin-based Platinum Ridge Properties near the convention center. The goal is to attract more large, highprofile events to Columbus.

BREWERY DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT Salvation Army sells property to Grange Insurer plans garage, offices, shops Thursday, September 14, 2006 Mike Pramik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Grange Insurance has purchased the Salvation Army property for $2.8 million to make room for a new parking garage, offices and shops. The project will become part of Grange’s $85 million expansion, which will bring an additional 260 employees to the Brewery District. Grange expects to have 1,000 employees at its rebuilt headquarters at 650 S. Front St. in January 2009. It has been buying property in the area for years. The final parcel belonged to the Salvation Army, which said it will move to 1625 S. High St., a former factory operation of Brewery District fixture Wasserstrom Co. The Salvation Army is moving willingly, said Maj. Dennis Gensler, who was stationed in Columbus from 1995 to 2004. The charity has run out of space and is welcoming the move to the 103,000-square-foot warehouse, which will receive $3.5 million in renovations. Grange said it is donating an additional $1.4 million to the charity. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/09/14/20060914-D1-02.html

Where's my Fresh Market!? What about Aldi's? Marc's gets no love? I call foul on Consumer Reports!

*sigh* Facetious humor is lost on you all!

I was about to say the same thing. I've been to the Great Lakes Science Center on several occasions, and if that is supposed to be the measure of a "Cleveland-caliber" museum, (whatever that's supposed to mean) then Cleveland's got a lot of work to do, since the most impressive thing in that complex is the Omnimax theater.

http://www.airliners.net Check out their forums; best source of airline news, information, and rumors on the 'net. Also, the service wouldn't start in October, it would be announced in October. A realistic start date would probably be March or April 2007, once all regulatory and government hurdles are passed. Also, the customs and immigration area is supposed to be overhauled once Continental's LGW flight ceases operation for the slow travel season, which would make sense for the additional traffic a Paris flight would generate. Speaking of the LGW flight, I know the PD and other sources have talked about Continental's relative dissatisfaction with the route, but with the additional feed provided by Commutair and RegionsAir out of CLE, plus the congestion factor at EWR, maybe they're going to give it another shot. I'd like to see LGW become year-round service in addition to CDG service, be that year-round or seasonal. There's also been talk of CDG being on a widebody 767-200, which would be a first for Continental at CLE. I believe the last time CO sent widebodies to CLE was when the acquired some ex-PanAm A300s back in the early 90s. Those aircraft were quickly disposed of in favor of transitioning to an all-Boeing fleet.

Well, the new turboprop rumor has been confirmed! http://www.commutair.com/PressReleases/PressRelease20060912-Q200.pdf Plattsburgh, N.Y. September 12, 2006 - Champlain Enterprises, Inc., dba CommutAir/“Continental Connection” announced today that it has signed a lease agreement with Horizon Airlines of Seattle, Washington for sixteen Bombardier Q-200 series aircraft, including maintenance and training support as well as spare parts. The aircraft will be delivered beginning in January 2007 and will be placed into service for Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL) at its Cleveland hub. Next hopefully is an announcement of CLE-CDG service.

If Columbus were to secure nonstop service to Louisiana, it wouldn't be through American, as their presence on either side isn't large enough to warrant nonstop service. Columbus would never see nonstop to BTR, since there isn't enough traffic to support a nonstop without being a hub city. A flight or two to New Orleans could definitely have worked prior to Katrina. If an airline would make a go at that route, I'd look at either Southwest or Delta, since both have sizable operations out of MSY and CMH.

Kellner is Continental's current CEO. Frankfort, eh? Continental Express already flies between Cleveland and Lexington, I don't think they'd need to go into Frankfort too... :wink:

The much talked-about addition of larger turboprop equipment certainly does include Cleveland, in addition to Newark and Houston. Remember, Commutair currently has around 2 dozen 19-seat props running out of CLE on a daily basis, as well as new entrant RegionsAir, which provides EAS service to several towns in West Virginia dba Continental Express on 34-seat props. What I'm hearing is that the larger props would be operated by Commutair and would replace service currently operated by the 19-seat props in select markets where the demand is large enough to warrant the increased seats. The ERJ-135/145s are not cost effective in these markets due to the high operating costs of the regional jet in comparison to the prop aircraft. Because of this, several markets that currently have RJ service from CLE would likely also be transitioned to prop flying. By placing these new turboprop aircraft on existing routes, it would free up aircraft to start flights to new cities from CLE, further increasing the amount of connecting traffic filtered through the hub, which would make service to CDG even more viable. Keep in mind though, in this industry, rumor and speculation run rampant, so don't take anything as fact until the plane is physically parked at the gate. But these rumors have become more and more persistant, and the sources are becoming more and more reliable. Hopefully we'll find out come October.

Along with the new RDU service, American also upgraded an Eagle flight to mainline equipment on the DFW route. So really Eagle flies 24 daily flights from Port Columbus. American Connection runs 3 daily flights, and American mainline runs 4 daily flights, for a total of 31 daily flights by American to 7 cities (ORD, DFW, STL, BOS, LGA, RDU, and MIA).

Rumor has it that Continental will announce nonstop service from Cleveland to Paris (De Gaulle) sometime in October. Aircraft type, departure/arrival times, and frequency have not been revealed. Rumors are also circulating that Continental will embark in a large expansion of the CLE hub, mostly with new, advanced turboprop aircraft to current and possibly new markets. I'll post here if/when official word becomes available.

The associated poll asking whether a surcharge on parking, hotel rooms, and other establishments to provide funding for the streetcar system truly sheds light on the sheer ignorance of many in Columbus in regards to basic transportation. People are still in the mindset that ANY money used to support passenger rail is a tax, and should therefore be rejected. People are saying the money is better spend on schools, police, etc. Ignorance is so horribly cruel.

Leaders thinking conventionally Move afoot to expand hotel offerings Downtown to attract bigger events Thursday, August 24, 2006 Marla Matzer Rose THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Proposals being considered would involve expanding the Hyatt Regency Hotel adjoining the convention center or building an upscale hotel across High Street from the center, on land controlled by the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority. For the past year or so, a committee led by the authority and including input from the city and private concerns has met to consider the options. The group is armed with outside studies suggesting that Columbus could use and support up to 500 new full-service hotel rooms. Meeting planners often have chosen other cities because of a lack of hotel space in Columbus, reports say. One major issue confronting the group is that both proposals likely will require millions of dollars worth of public-money incentives. Experts say this follows a nationwide pattern of cities aiding pri- vate development of convention hotels as an economic-development tool. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2006/08/24/cooper_future.ART_ART_08-24-06_B1_GIE7OF2.html?sid=101

C-Dawg, do you just find the most obsolete, illegitimate "resources" you can find and post them on here claiming them to be fact? WTOL has been without a news helicopter for several years now, that fact can plainly be seen on WTOL's own website. The site claiming otherwise is severely out-of-date. WXYZ in Detroit will send their helicopter to Toledo to provide coverage to the local stations for news stories of such magnitude that they would require aerial footage. For example, when one of Grand Aire's Falcon 20's crashed short of Toledo Express Airport in 2003, video from above the ground was provided courtesy of WXYZ's helicopter.

Sounds like good news for my former stomping grounds...

It's really a shame politics had to get intermingled with the attempted revitalization of the King-Lincoln/Bronzeville area. It'd be nice if they could stop pointing fingers and accusing this party of that and other and just work to get the neighborhoods closer to their former selves. Oh well, here's hoping that once the dust settles things will improve with time, both in terms of the people involved and the neighborhoods themselves.

American, United, and Southwest Add Flights from Port Columbus this Fall: American Eagle to Begin Service Between Raleigh/Durham and Columbus, Ohio Monday June 12, 12:18 pm ET FORT WORTH, Texas, June 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Eagle, the regional affiliate of American Airlines, a founding member of the global oneworld(SM) Alliance, will add nonstop service between Raleigh/Durham International Airport and Port Columbus International Airport, beginning Sept. 6, 2006. American Eagle will operate two daily round-trip flights between the two cities, using 37-seat Embraer 135 regional jet aircraft. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060612/dam033.html?.v=56 United Airlines Boosts Washington Dulles Service by 13 Percent, Strengthens Commitment to Key Hub Thursday August 17, 9:59 am ET United also will increase frequencies to cities already served from Washington Dulles, including Albany, N.Y.; Hartford, Conn.; Columbia, S.C.; Charleston, S.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Newark, N.J.; Greenville, S.C.; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; New York-JFK; New York-La Guardia; Orlando, Fla.; Providence, R.I.; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Rochester, N.Y.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Tampa, Fla.; and Knoxville, Tenn. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060817/cgth025.html?.v=71 Southwest Airlines Adds Flights at Dallas Love Field and New Orleans Thursday August 17, 11:03 am ET Southwest Airlines Also Adds New Flights in Tampa Bay, Albany, and Reno/Lake Tahoe DALLAS, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV - News) is answering Customers' demand for travel with additional flights at Dallas Love Field and New Orleans, and with new service between Reno/Lake Tahoe and Chicago Midway and between Tampa Bay and Albany. Southwest Airlines is expanding its route network and adding new flights in several other key Southwest cities. To take advantage of these new Southwest Airlines flights visit: http://www.southwest.com/jp/luvhome.shtml?src=PR_NS_081706 . Beginning Nov. 20, 2006 * One additional daily nonstop flight between Columbus, Ohio, and Orlando (for a total of two daily). http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060817/dath012.html?.v=67 This is in addition to jetBlue's recently announced new service to JFK and BOS, as well as several airlines, including Northwest, USAirways, and United upgrading flights to larger aircraft. If everything stays the same, CMH will offer over 180 departures every day. Not bad for a non-hub airport.

Mr. Portune needs some sense thoroughly beat into him, immediately. This proposal of his is a complete waste of time and effort and I honestly cannot believe he thinks a bus taking people to fly from other airports in the region would actually help Cincinnati's economic situation. I highly doubt either of those two suppositions is the case. Quite frankly, it's the citizens of Cincinnati that have chosen not to patronize the competition that ahs kept low fare service away from CVG. Every time a low fare carrier has introduced service to CVG, Delta has responded within anti-trust laws by matching their fares as well as throwing in perks such as bonus SkyMiles for continuing to choose Delta. Cincinnati travelers voted with their wallets and continued to fly Delta, forcing the competition to literally pack their bags and fly away. The service that Delta and Delta Connection provide from CVG far outweigh any cost savings associated with flying from another airport for any type of business. The time savings afforded to businesses in the Tri-State by being able to fly nonstop to over 100 destinations in the U.S., Canada, Caribbean, Mexico, and Europe with over 450 flights a day is what keeps companies expanding and locating in Cincinnati. When one factors in the potential costs of taking a motor coach to another city's airport, the total cost would likely come pretty close to the fare Delta would charge to fly straight from CVG. Again, for most business travelers, this proposed option is not worthwhile, especially when time is considered to be a much greater factor than cost. It looks like The Post misinterpreted that factoid. There are currently about 120 nonstop destinations offered from CVG, not flights. There are over 400 actual flights leaving and arriving at CVG on a daily basis.

Definitely congratulations for the Tri-State! I, of course, was pulling for one here, but at least with IKEA going to northern Cincinnati, it'll be much easier than making the drive out to Pittsburgh. Can't wait to hop in the ColDayMobile for some Swedish meatballs!

That is exactly correct. The Toledo Port Authority is the perfect example of a "good ol' boys" government burueacracy. The Port Authority stood complacent in the mid 1990s, when passenger traffic began to deteriorate from Toledo Express. Meanwhile, airports in Flint, Akron, and other cities close to major metropolitan areas began experiencing tremendous growth. More recently, the Port Authority has failed three times in a row to put together a winning proposal for a grant for nonstop service to New York City, watched idely as USAirways pulled out of the Toledo market completely, and has stood by as other carriers have downgraded service from the airport, many times blaming the post 9/11 environment for the lack in growth. It's interesting to note that the exact opposite scenario has happened in Flint, which is just about as far away from Detroit as Toledo. The airport authority there decided in the early 1990s invest in a completely new terminal and since then, passenger traffic has literally taken off, much to the same extent as Akron/Canton. The government began to fund the aviation industry in its formative years since it was the main beneficiary of its services at the time. The successful trial of air mail service in the United States took the contract away from the rail service and the air transport network began to grow. In fact, many of today's carriers can trace their roots back to being contract mail carriers for the government. The speed and reliability afforded to the government by air mail soon thereafter translated to passenger service, and the rest is history. The fact of the matter is, rail service became antiquated by the mere fact that it did not provide the same speed and reliability that air service could provide at the time. There are no numbers to validate such a claim, and many of those potential benefits are outweighed by those provided by the airline industry. That figure of $82 million doesn't include many of the Ohio Hub benefits mentioned that can also be attained through the aviation industry, such as increased jobs, corporate retainment and attraction, and increased revenue to aviation-related businesses. Now, going back to the original topic, the fact of the matter is that by engaging in talks with the airlines and by making the region more desirable to increased air traffic through Spirit, United, or other commercial carrier, Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley is investing in positioning itself as a place for increased commerse, connectivity, and growth in the worldwide market.

Your phraseology is what is misleading, as you keep masquerading the monies provided by the federal government to the aviation infrastructure as "subsidies." The air transport system is not used exclusively by airlines. Private companies and private citizens use the system to a far greater extent that the airlines. It's akin to the money provided by the government to fund the highway system. Greyhound, Lakefront Lines, and other bus companies don't outright pay for the maintenance and construction of highways and roads, yet they have free use of the nation's road network. Airlines also do not recieve money outright from the government (i.e. a subsidy), they just use the system made available by the government. If you were to put it in the proper context, then you would also take into account the current sizes of both systems. Of course the aviation system will recieve a greater portion of transportation money; it's far larger and more complex than the railway system, which I was trying to allude to in my previous post. Regardless, that by no means that successful investment does not take place in the commercial airline sector. Take Chase, which is a huge investor in United Airlines. Or the Retirement Systems of Alabama, which bought a controlling share of USAirways when its stock was valued at pennies on the dollar. The airline, which has announced a profit for the past two quarters, now trades at over $40 a share. Such a scenario would actually be extremely detrimental to Youngstown and the Greater Mahoning Valley. Take, for example, the current situation that exists in Toledo. Due to the easy highway access, most people in Greater Toledo choose to fly from Detroit Metro Airport than Toledo Express Airport, sucking jobs, business, and money from the Toledo economy. It is estimated that the Toledo economy looses $82 million a year due to people choosing to drive to DTW instead of flying from TOL. Likewise, making potential air travelers take a train to Cleveland as opposed to developing a solid air travel base in Youngstown would further drain the local economy by shifting the demand to Cleveland. Okay, and that ONE example was wrong, so I corrected it. I didn't stretch or twist anything. As I said in the same statement, the segments of the population that do not wish to fly for whatever reason make up an extremely small percentage of the total population, and even then it's not a guarantee that given the option of rail, that they would take it. There will still be another segment within that segment that will continue using other means of transportation, such as car or bus. And you are more than entitled to your opinion. I disagree with it for the reasons mentioned above. Attracting improved air service to Youngstown extends the city's abilities to compete far more effectively on a national and global scale and provides a direct shot in the arm to the local economy. In addition, it would bring further capitalize on the facilities that are currently available, giving the city and its citizens a far greater return than the current environment allows.