CMH_Downtown

I was at the airport last night to welcome the team home. It was pretty awesome seeing all the people decked out in black and gold apparel chanting multiple cheers to the beat of a drum (my favorite is "we all cheer for the yellow soccer team" sung to the tune of the Beatle's "Yellow Submarine"). I wasn't sure if there would be that many people, since the rally was thrown together at the last minute. But there were probably over 100 people waiting by the ecelators in baggage claim for the team. GO CREW! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome fit for champions Crew's return to Columbus kicks off fanfare after MLS Cup victory Tuesday, November 25, 2008 3:13 AM By Tim Doulin and Debbie Gebolys THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH A sea of black and gold filled the baggage claim area of Port Columbus last night, as fans decked out in Columbus Crew colors awaited the arrival of their victors' plane. When the winners of the Major League Soccer championship came down the escalators shortly after 11 p.m., the MLS Cup held aloft, the raucous crowd of more than 100 people erupted in cheers. One fan banged a drum; another blew a trumpet. "This is absolutely insane," said the Crew's No. 2 Frankie Hejduk. "It's like we are one big happy family. The fans are awesome." Hejduk said the Crew members had no idea whether anyone would be there to greet them. "It just shows how much the city wanted the trophy," added No. 8 Duncan Oughton. "It's beautiful." Link to entire story, video, and slideshow from 10TV: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/11/25/ColCrew.ART_ART_11-25-08_B1_OEC0DGK.html?sid=101

Woohoo! MLS Champs!!! I was able to catch the last 20 minutes or so of the game at work. Wow, it was awesome! Huge props to the players, coaches, and fans. What a ride it's been and what a great way to end a perfect year! GO CREW!

McGhee TYSon Airport, Knoxville, TN.

That and Raising Cane's. Both Zaxby's and Cane's seem to have the exact same product, though the latter has been in the market for 4 years or so now and has expanded from its original campus store on High St to at least 5 stores in the area. Cane's simply just beat Zaxby's to it.

Newark downtown-visioning project ready for view Friday, October 17, 2008 By LORI WINCE ThisWeek Staff Writer Officials will get to view the final results of the Newark downtown visioning project from 5 to 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, at The Works. Ohio State University students, working with the Neighborhood Design Center of Columbus, created the plan. Area residents and business leaders had input on the plan, offering suggestions during several public meetings this year. Initial concepts were provided in August, and the students recently finished compiling all of the information into one piece of work. The study area was from Fourth Street at state Route 16 to the downtown's south entrance on state Route 13, as well as destination routes, such as roads that lead to the Licking County courthouse. The plan suggests making parking lots more visible and making the city more pedestrian-friendly by adding street-lined trees and benches. Bicycle lanes could be added on wider streets, and entrances to the city could be beautified with lighting and messages to welcome people. The students suggested using overpasses on state Route 16 to invite people into the city and posting banners on downtown light poles that would alert visitors of coming events to bring them back to town. MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/lickingcounty/stories/2008/10/17/1019lsview_ln.html

I was at the game...absolutely AMAZING! The atmosphere was electric and the fans were exstatic. The game was exciting to watch and the win was a great cap to the night. As Kingfish said, ¡Columbus es un pueblo de fútbol! Go Crew! ¡Viva el Crew!

You might get your wish. More non-hub cities in the U.S. are rumored to be in the pipeline. Could CMH be next? Press Release Source: Delta Air Lines, Inc. Delta Plans Trans-Atlantic Service Between Paris and Raleigh-Durham, Pittsburgh Thursday November 6, 10:00 am ET Service made possible through successful Delta-Air France joint venture Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham customers to enjoy connecting opportunities to more than 90 cities in Europe via Paris hub ATLANTA, Nov. 6, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - News), the world's largest airline, today announced the start of two additional nonstop flights between France and the United States with the airline's first-ever nonstop service between Paris-Charles de Gaulle International Airport and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. and Pittsburgh. The new routes, enabled by Delta's successful joint venture with Air France, will offer customers in both cities convenient connections to more than 90 cities in Europe via Air France's Paris hub. http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/081106/154020.html

I was at the game this evening and man, did they pull that win out of their @ss. The second period was absolutely dismal, and the start of the 3rd was downright horrid. Though I'll give them credit that after the goal by Umberger in the 3rd they kept the fire going to rally to a win against Edmonton. When they're on the Jackets are a great team to watch. Hopefully that continues.

Heading out to CBC this evening before the Jackets game for some Columbus Porter...delicious!

Hey, it's ColDayMan in squirrel form! How'd he do that?

I was recently pondering the existance of institutionalized performing arts in Columbus, especially with the return of the CSO. Frankly, given Columbus' size and relative youth, we are lucky to have a full range of performing arts locally. Granted, they may not be as well known or as venerable as other institutions, but they are special in their own right in that they represent the best locally that we have to offer in a medium that lately is one of a kind. So I thought I would highlight our main performing arts companies and their websites here, in the hopes to spur more knowledge and interest in them: The Columbus Symphony Orchestra http://www.columbussymphony.com/ The ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus http://www.promusicacolumbus.org/ The Columbus Jazz Orchestra http://jazzartsgroup.org/cjo/about.php Opera Columbus http://www.operacolumbus.org/ BalletMet Columbus http://www.balletmet.org/ The Contemporary American Theater Company (CATCO) http://www.catco.org/ The Columbus Dance Theatre http://www.coldancetheatre.org/default.asp ...and why not... The Shadowbox Cabaret http://www.shadowboxcabaret.com/columbus/

What's currently being built is actually a replacement for the current Hall of Justice, which is the taller white and black building in the above photo.

Welcome! That photo is fantastic, btw. Looks like the fish is staring at Miranova...no wonder his mouth is agape like that! ;-)

My experience with telling East Coasters about Columbus is that nothing really impresses them until I tell them about Easton. *sigh* Well, the "no car" thing might throw a wrench in going to Easton (a good thing, in my opinion!). The visual arts are pleantiful along High St, as Chris mention. I would also suggest Betty's and Jenni's as fantastic eateries in the Short North. I've heard Bodega and Surly Girl in the northern realm of the SN are good as well, and retain the bohemian nature of the area a little better than the southern fringe. I wouldn't rule out venturing further north either. OSU and the University District are definitely worth checking out by themselves. There are several enjoyable bars and taverns north of campus as well as tastes to suite most any pallete, including Indian, Ethiopian, Mexican, Japanese, and Mediterranean fare. Go a little further north and hit up Clintonville as well. There are a lot of cool mom&pop shops, indie retailers, and of course, more food options there. Go further north still and visit Worthington, which is probably my favorite of the Columbus suburbs. Downtown Worthington is picturesque and is situated right on High St. Definitely go to La Chatelaine for an authentic French bistro with a great outdoor patio if the weather is still nice. Also, all of this is accessable via COTA, if need be. I'd also suggest visiting the Franklin Park Conservatory. The conservatory houses a large Chihuly glass collection situated amidst the plants, trees and water. I'd suggest going on Wednesday, when the conservatory is open until 8PM and one can truly experience the new lighting display installed by artist James Turrell: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/multimedia/audio_slideshows/2008/08/palm_house/index.html

I was told a while ago that most of USA3000's cities also doubled as crew bases, except for Columbus. USA3000 operated similar to Skybus in that trips lasted a day for these crew members. So crews would fly trips along the lines of CLE-CUN-CMH-CUN-PIT, which limited the amount of service the airline would fly in CMH. However, due to the tough economic times, USA3000 has cut back significantly, and now only flies from CLE and PIT to CUN, PUJ, and RSW. I noticed the packages to Cozumel via Continental, but I'm not sure whether it's going to be nonstop from CMH or not. The advertisement only says "roundtrip via Continental Airlines" as opposed to the Cancun ad that says "nonstop roundtrip via USA3000." The fine print at the bottom doesn't specifically say "nonstop" either.

Arena District might add tenants Apartments, grocery part of $2 million deal between city, Nationwide Realty Tuesday, October 7, 2008 3:09 AM By Robert Vitale THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH An agreement between Columbus officials and Nationwide Realty Investors would put into place one of the final pieces of the Arena District. Mayor Michael B. Coleman sent legislation to the Columbus City Council yesterday to sell the Arena District's developers a 2.5-acre city-owned parcel straddling Vine Street on the west side of Neil Avenue that is slated for apartments and a Giant Eagle supermarket. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/07/Council07.ART_ART_10-07-08_B8_2KBHLHR.html?sid=101

Well, Damon's had already been acquired by Alliance Development of Charlotte several years ago, so they're more or less just changing hands. The headquarters for both companies have and will remain in Columbus, it's just that the holding corporation will be based in Pittsburgh.

It sounds like that's what Grandview Heights wants, hence their decision to table the project. Hopefully that's a good sign. I too would like to see a more pedestrian-friendly design implemented in this development.

Nationwide Children's kicks off expansion $800 million project includes $480 million hospital to open in 2012 Tuesday, September 23, 2008 3:35 AM By Suzanne Hoholik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH It seemed fitting that kids were on hand yesterday to mark the start of a major expansion project at Nationwide Children's Hospital. They wore their best dresses and suits and shared their stories about being treated at Children's. Aaron Young, 7, of Columbus had surgery at the hospital last year. He said the doctors and nurses there made him feel special. He talked about wanting to be a professional basketball player when he grows up, like LeBron James. And if that doesn't work out, maybe he could be mayor. Then Aaron introduced his next-door neighbor, Mayor Michael B. Coleman. The two joined about 1,000 people at the ceremony for Children's new $480 million main hospital, part of an $800 million expansion project. The new hospital, scheduled to open in 2012, will have all private rooms, a new emergency department and several family lounge areas. It "will set the standard for what quality child health care stands for," said Dr. Steve Allen, Children's CEO. Full story at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/09/23/Neighbors.ART_ART_09-23-08_B1_VBBDEFE.html?sid=101

Hmmm...Ada might be right for you then.

Friday, September 19, 2008 OSU putting outpatient center in Gowdy building Business First of Columbus - by Carrie Ghose Ohio State University Medical Center plans to open an outpatient clinic and surgery center by next summer in a building on the former Gowdy Field landfill site along Route 315 about a mile south of campus. Trustees approved a 20-year lease for the project on Friday and authorized medical center officials to explore buying the 137,000-square-foot property, built by Daimler Group Inc. Faculty and medical staff for the departments of ophthalmology, ear nose and throat, plastic surgery and women’s health will move to the building. Offices and clinics should open by April, with six operating rooms set to open in July, said Peter Geier, CEO of university hospitals and the primary care network. The building is part of an overall strategy medical center officials have discussed for months to make outpatient care more convenient to patients and free space for inpatient care on the main campus. The Gowdy building has free parking, for example, and moving faculty offices will ease crowding in Cramblett Hall. Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/09/19/daily44.html

Construction Zone Condos leading resurgence in northern half of Short North Monday, September 22, 2008 5:21 AM By Mike Pramik, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH During the Short North's renaissance as one of the city's hot spots, most of the action has been concentrated at one end. While the arts and entertainment district stretches from Goodale Boulevard north to about 5th Avenue, the shops, bars and restaurants have been clustered between Goodale and 2nd Avenue, at the southern end. But judging by recent developments, the northern section of the Short North is gaining a new direction. A $22.5 million condominium project could emerge as one of the anchors. Construction began last week on Jackson on High, a 46-unit project that will include three buildings, one of which will rise eight stories. "We believe the Jackson is the momentum piece for this end of the district," he said. Several nearby projects are poised to add to that momentum: • Kroger plans to raze its 27-year-old store at High Street and 7th Avenue next year and replace it with a larger version with frontage on High Street. The project will include a small strip center near 7th Avenue and a small retail space on the 6th Avenue side. The store will be 55,000 square feet, about 20,000 square feet larger than the current store. and would fill in the gap between the Short North and South Campus Gateway. • Developers Don DeVere and the Schottenstein Real Estate Group are building Smith and High, a 12-unit apartment complex and retail project at High Street and 5th Avenue. The building will include space for four retail tenants. DeVere said the project will be completed in November. • Realtor and developer Joe Armeni has refurbished the old Masonic Temple at 1276 High St. into the York on High, a 25-unit condominium building. • Developer David Strause plans to renovate the old Garden Theater into shops and apartments. The project could include an eight-story condominium building to the west of the theater building. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/09/22/ZONE0922.ART_ART_09-22-08_C12_2FBC8PT.html?sid=101

Couldn't agree more. THIS is the kind of news I like to see. Why can't Forbes publish stuff like this?

Sounds like a fun event: Park(ing) Day Columbus http://www.parkingdaycolumbus.org/ Definitely some fantastic ideas as far as possible themes. I love the idea of being able to putt-putt all around downtown!

Delta does not equal Skybus/Ryanair, in many more ways than one.