Evergrey

Disappointed in Highland Square's commercial district? I thought there was a pretty interesting mix of businesses there... Square Records, Aladdin's, Angel Falls Coffee, etc.

damn you, Favre! Couldn't you let the Browns bask in one day of glory!?

Well, it's very difficult to rank the "walkability" of a metro... since it's so vast and largely auto-dependent sprawl... the numbers would be so miniscule (gee, what's the difference between 0.5% walking to work and 0.6%? lol). Ranking municipalities might be better... but it can often be comparing apples to oranges as municipal boundaries vary so vastly across the country... and even within states (Cincy vs. Columbus, for example). Generally, older Northeast and Midwestern cities are most often locked into small corporate boundaries... which should favor them when it comes to the "percentage of people walking to work" (cited as one component of the methodology). Sunbelt (and a few northern cities like Indy and Columbus) generally are quite huge due to liberal annexation laws and include vast areas of sprawl or even empty land. This would bring down their "walking to work" percentage... but who knows... it might help their "green space" quotient... depending on how it's measured. But basically, IMO, the best major walking cities are your old Northeastern, Midwest, and "upper" West Coast cities (with a few exceptions on both sides of the fence). Places with dense, mixed-use, functional legacy urban environments.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=724218 Milwaukee: $91.5 million federal transit aid blocked By LARRY SANDLER [email protected] Posted: March 3, 2008 After years of wrangling over how to spend $91.5 million in long-idle federal aid, a bureaucratic mix-up has blocked further study of using the money for public transit improvements, officials said Monday. More at link above:

Right now I'd have to say the Browns are the favorite to be AFC North champions this year.

Well, the list seems to be looking at municipalities as opposed to metros... and these lists always seem to feature strange methodologies factoring in sometimes dubious criteria. But overall the list looks suprisingly good... although combining major cities with small college towns on the same list is slightly idiotic. btw, Philadelphia ranks 8th amongst major cities for % who walk to work at 8%.

can you elaborate on the Dollar Bank expansion?

Trenton... neat! interestingly, Cincinnati also ranks 10th amongst major cities for percentage of commuters that walk to work (6.8%)

varsity curling and jai alai

I'd be up for Steubenville/Wheeling and anything along the Ohio from E. Liverpool to Shadyside

I've paged through these books briefly... absolutely fascinating stuff... perhaps I'll get my own copies some day.

my mistake... it's Elmira that Mansfield's close to (always mix that and the Bing up)

I loathe these faux-Tidewater drive-thru bank branches that have plagued small town downtowns over the past 15 years.

it's good to be thinking regionally... but the ideas expressed so far seem to be rather vague... I'm not sure how much these two cities can help each other... especially if their respective suburbs aren't on board link:http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/02/jackson_wants_to_work_on_devel.html Jackson wants to work on development opportunities with Youngstown Posted by Henry Gomez February 28, 2008 13:00PM Categories: Breaking News Cleveland is pursuing joint economic development opportunities with Youngstown, a fellow Rust Belt city 74 miles to the southeast, Mayor Frank Jackson was expected to announce this afternoon. In his annual State of the City address at the Crowne Plaza Hotel downtown, Jackson was planning to stress the importance of regionalism. He was to point to a new tax-sharing deal with Avon, the West Side suburb slated to receive a new Cleveland Clinic facility and Interstate 90 interchange...

Wow... that's obscure... Mansfield University-related? It's a very tiny, remote town with a state university... but it is bigger than Picture Rocks... and it's within striking distance of Binghamton, NY for some big city excitement.

good one, dfly lol Great photos... I've never heard of Picture Rocks but it sure is a charmer. The snow looks so clean and fresh. Glad you're enjoying north-central PA! I look forward to more of your photos!

I've never been to Ashtabula, but always thought it looked interesting "on the map", if you know what i mean. Seems to be going through some hard times. :| Ashtabula: A city that cries despair 'Basically, we need someone to rescue us.' Sunday, February 24, 2008 By Dennis B. Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ASHTABULA, Ohio -- The candidates don't come here. Long ago, when rival gangs fought knife and knuckle to offload ore from ships that docked in its rowdy Lake Erie harbor, and even later, when chemical plants and factories paid good wages to soldiers who came home from war, this place mattered. "Basically, we need someone to rescue us," said Jason Strong, the city's director of community development. Empty storefronts dot Main Street, shuttered plants hug the low hills next to boarded houses, and the city's population has fallen from 30,000 to 20,000. After three decades of scanning the horizon, city fathers have yet to catch sight of a rescue party, certainly not one riding a campaign bus. ... More at: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08055/859990-176.stm

good stuff, buildingcincinnati... you captured some fantastic angles of this incredible neighborhood

Jack's looks like a fun hang-out.

Cadiz is a charmer... US250 through that area is quite the challenging drive

neat... never made it there despite its proximity to Wooster... it's actually a pretty time-consuming 35 mile drive

reminds me of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"

Duquesne 63 Dayton 61

That cheap stone cladding is much more common in Baltimore... which has fully embraced the style.

oh no... monte had a "bad experience"... nice pics... never saw some of those areas in pittsburgh before