WalkerEvans

From here: http://walker.columbusunderground.com/?p=630 <img src="http://walker.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/symphony1_200.jpg"> <b>CSO’s closure won’t have much of an impact on Columbus</b> Posted on May 12th, 2008 As you’ve probably read by now, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra is halting their operations as of June 1st due mostly to financial troubles. It seems like everyone is really quick to say that they’re sad to see the CSO disappearing, but also quick to admit that they rarely attend the symphony’s events. Personally, I’ve enjoyed myself at the CSO during the few times I’ve been, but I can’t say what it would take to get me to become a regular supporter right now. Does this mean that the symphony will become non-existent in Columbus as of 2008? Hardly. If we look to the south at the city of Miami, who lost their symphony in 2003, they’ve had plenty to help fill in the gaps over the past five years. Traveling orchestras come through town on a regular basis, and smaller groups have emerged to continue to perform classical pieces. In 2006 they even saw the birth of a lightweight version of their previous orchestra (about half the size) that was mostly made up of members of their previously disbanded group. The same thing is very likely to happen here in Columbus. We should see this as the evolution of this artform and not necessarily the end of the symphony or a drop in culture from our city. The best way for the CSO to stay relevant in Columbus is to shut down and regroup into something that is more sustainable moving forward.

Imma have to put on my best three piece denim suit and head out to a fancy dinner at the Cheese Cake Factories.

Heh, yeah, I've got no beef with any of our local media outlets. For the most part, our local reporters do a great job and I'm always more than happy to point links towards articles worth reading on relevant topics for the visitors to our site, just as is done here on Urban Ohio. Oh well. Next week no one will even remember this Other Paper article since it's not archived online. ;)

From here: http://walker.columbusunderground.com/?p=628 It’s 2008, and The Other Paper doesn’t understand the Internet Posted on May 9th, 2008 First off, let me say that I was mostly happy with the way <a href="http://theotherpaper.com/top5-8/coverstory.htm">the article</a> turned out in this week's Other Paper. I believe that Columbus has a great online community, and any attention (no matter how slanted) given to bloggers is good news. That being said, there were some standard Other Paper problems with the way this story was presented. Allow me to start from the beginning. I got a facebook message from Lyndsey Teeter, a writer for the Other Paper, stating her interest in doing a story on the "local blogging scene". I was a bit wary to meet with her at first, as I've never been a huge fan of the way The Other Paper editorializes their stories. I've talked to many friends who have been interviewed by The Other Paper, and more often than not they wind up unhappy with how their quotes get used out of context, and how the editorial slant gives them a false appearance contrary to how they actually feel. Honestly though, I really didn't have anything bad to say about the local blogging community, so I couldn't imagine there could be any way that I could be misrepresented. I got in touch with Lyndsey and we headed over to <a href="http://www.urban-spirit.com/">Urban Spirit</a> to chat. Lyndsey started off by explaining to me that she was new to writing for The Other Paper and hadn't seen anything in their archives where they had done any sort of feature on the local blogging scene before. She sounded like she was fairly in tune with the goings-on of the local internet community, but the management at The Other Paper was not. She told me that there was a sort of preconceived notion at The Other Paper that bloggers are nothing more than self-important show-offs who have too much keyboarding time on their hands. I did my best to explain that blogs are really just a type of online syndication tool that can be used for a variety of purposes. Some blogs can be personal. Some are topical. Some are community driven. I rattled off plenty of diverse examples of local blogs, all of which are run by people who I've met and are far from being self-important or show-offs. When she asked for recommendations for contacts, I rattled off my laundry list of fellow bloggers who have been around the longest and could offer some good insight on the community as a whole. We continued to converse for around an hour. I answered questions and brought up some ideas. When we talked about the traditional media, I told her that I rarely pick up print copies of The Dispatch, The Alive, The Other Paper, or anything else for that matter. I read all of their content online, and direct others to do the same on a daily basis through links on ColumbusUnderground. I mentioned how both The Alive and The Dispatch have writer's blogs that act as great interactive supplements for their articles and suggested that The Other Paper do something similar. I expressed my disappointment that The Other Paper only puts three articles online each week leaving a lot of their content going unread in the print edition. I was specifically asked to name some things that ColumbusUnderground was "responsible for". I tried to explained that it was a bit difficult to claim credit for anything since the site is more of an idea incubator, and not always a way to take physical action on anything. We discussed how the Indie Art Capital movement was born out of a conversation on CU, as well as how communication across the site helped people to connect and keep Via Colori alive in 2007 when it was nearly canceled. There's been plenty of other ideas that have appeared on the site, and then come to life. Sometimes there's some genuine inspiration there, and other times it's just coincidence. It's a very hard thing to measure, and I didn't want to even attempt to take credit for anything just loosely or indirectly associated with CU. Anyway, I left the conversation feeling mostly positive. Lyndsey was very nice, and we followed up a bit in email with some more supplemental information. Mostly just things I didn't have on the top of my head when we met. And how did it all turn out? Well... if you read <a href="http://theotherpaper.com/top5-8/coverstory.htm">the article</a> you'll probably spot a lot of things slipped in there that cast my presentation in a strange light. Such as: * The headline: “You’re Welcome”. Sounds like the local blogging community loves to pat themselves on the back. Not sure where that came from. * “Tech-savvy affluent white kids”. This description really baffled me. I’m not sure why the the insulting or condescending description was necessary, as it’s very obvious that bloggers go beyond any sort of racial, technological, or age stereotypes. Does The Other Paper also think that bloggers live in their parents’ basements? * The stat revealing that 10% of Columbus being bloggers does not equate to 90% of Columbus viewing blogs as a waste of time. There are people who read blogs and those who write them. This sort of logic applied to the Other Paper would mean that only .001% percent of people in Columbus write for The Other Paper, while the other 99.999% think The Other Paper is a waste of time. * My supposed “grandiose terms”. I like to think I’m a fairly humble guy. Playing moderator on Columbus Underground keeps me moderate. That’s my job. Lyndsey and I joked about “local internet celebrities” while making the finger quotes in the air. There’s nothing grandiose about the way I present myself or my projects, and I certainly would never say anything close to “I’m saving the city”. The “delusions of grandeur” comments are completely fabricated. * My Dispatch quote was truncated and used completely out of context to make it sound like I was trying to take a stab at them. I really don’t think it’s all that ethical to use people as a tool for The Other Paper to poke at The Dispatch. Isn’t there enough slapfighting in other articles already? * The Social Media Cafe was made out to be something overly pompous and silly because of one person’s project, and was then juxtaposed with Mayoral Spokesman Mike Brown stating the important of “these people”. Sort of a classic Other Paper move to mash things together and let your content ridicule itself. And finally, one of the closing comments in the article: <em>"Whatever else you say about the bloggers, they’re doing their part to shed Columbus of its unhelpful humility."</em> Thanks Other Paper, for sticking with your preconceived notions, and shoehorning something positive that people are trying to do for their community into something you'd prefer to ridicule. Come to think of it, now that I've picked the whole article apart and ran it under a microscope, I'm not really very happy at all with the way it came out. It's insulting for a news publication to ask someone to take part in a story and then ridicule them with editorial. I don't think I'll be speaking to anyone at The Other Paper anymore, and won't advise that anyone else do the same unless you don't mind your contribution taking a back seat to their condescending vision of your livelihood.

I'm mostly happy with how this article came out. Some of the editorial at the beginning caught me out of left field. Columbus bloggers are affluent white kids? Huh? :? <img src="http://theotherpaper.com/top5-8/coverphoto.jpg"> <b>YOU'RE WELCOME</b> BY LYNDSEY TETER / MAY 8, 2008 A civic divide is growing in Columbus. For the past decade or so, ordinary people have become less inclined to call their political representatives or drive all the way down to City Hall to personally lobby government officials. But a community of tech-savvy, affluent white kids say they’re picking up the slack. Columbus’s bloggers believe they’re furthering democracy, improving the economy and advancing humanity—all without missing Grey’s Anatomy. Ranked as the No. 8 most active blogging community in the nation, an estimated 10 percent of Columbus inhabitants regularly pounded the keyboard in 2007, offering up online commentary themselves or consuming somebody else’s, according to Nielson Media Research. Walker Evans, the longest-running and best-read Columbus blogger, described his vocation in similarly grandiose terms. Six and half years earlier, long before online diaries were trendy, Evans began ColumbusUnderground.com as a mere side project. Nowadays, the community message board hauls in about 200,000 visitors a month. His personal companion blog, an offshoot of CU called the Walker Evans Effect, draws in a couple hundred visitors a day. Web traffic is high enough that, unlike other local bloggers, Evans is able to run Columbus Underground as a for-profit business. LINK: http://theotherpaper.com/top5-8/coverstory.htm

I'll miss picnic with the pops. The rest... I'm not so sure...

Great photos! :D

Looks so different when the streets aren't jam packed during the Pumpkin Festival! ;)

I was referring to bars/restaurants all over town, not necessarily the ones pictures above.

The Kroger revamp plans are pretty awesome. Can't wait to see it all happen!

GCrites80s is spot on... every bar and restaurant has been going patio crazy in the past two years since the city enacted the smoking ban. Personally I like the permanent patios. The sidewalks are rarely so crowded that you can't easily walk around them. Columbus needs more people out on the streets and sidewalk. It makes for a more vibrant city, not to mention safer streets to walk on. It's great to be able to walk down Gay Street and always bump into someone you know hanging out on a patio and stop and chat for a bit. I heard awhile ago that Latitude 41 also wants to knock out part of their northern wall and extend a patio onto the sidewalk along Gay Street. Not sure if that's still in the works or not.

Finally, all those auto part stores across the street from the stadium will make sense!

Three chains in one week selling out? Weird.

You should have said hi! ;) It seemed about 50/50 to me in the pro/anti divide from what I saw in person and what I continued watching live at home online. And most of the anti-streetcar crowd still seemed pro-rail transit or at least pro-public transit. They just weren't sure if Streetcars should be the first step. I think everyone's going to have a slightly different opinion on what the first step should be and other fine details, but sometimes you have to just draw a line in the sand and take action because no proposal will ever please 100% of the public. Action needs to happen for anything to move forward.

From here: http://walker.columbusunderground.com/?p=611 <b>My comments on the Streetcar to Columbus City Council</b> Posted on April 29th, 2008 Last week I spoke to Columbus City Council on the topic of the Columbus Streetcar proposal. Yesterday a few dozen other people came out to speak at the public hearing. I guess that makes me a trendsetter, eh? Seriously though, here’s a rough transcript of my address to City Council: <i>Council Members, thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Walker Evans and my wife and 7-month-old son and I just bought our first home in the King Lincoln District in January. While it’s much more popular for a young family to plant roots in the suburbs, we chose to stay in the central city. My wife and I are very civic-minded people and to use a cliche, we want to “be the change” that we hope to see in our neighborhood. There is a lot of potential in Columbus and we want to be a part of shaping the future of our community. This is also why we both support the Streetcar proposal. The starter line is the beginning of what can become an all-encompassing transit system that would serve the entire Central Ohio region directly and help to grow our community. The starter line will not be running close enough to our new home for us to benefit directly but we still see the potential that lies in it for our community at large. Public transit is a bigger concept than any single individual, and yet can still have other types of indirect impact on riders non-riders alike. One of the biggest complaints I hear from people who are against the Streetcar proposal is that the money could be spent on better things such as our education system, or improved safety. Typically people don’t realize that that funding proposal is fee-based and not coming out of general budget dollars, so this money isn’t going to be spent on anything if not on the Streetcar. If it was possible to spend on something else though, would dumping cash into our schools or onto our police officers actually help? No matter what the issue is, you can’t just dump money on a problem and expect it to go away. The great thing about public transit is that it can have a positive indirect impact on these other issues. More people riding public transit means more people on the streets. And more people on the streets mean more honest eyeballs on the streets. Which leads to a safer environment without the need for an increased police force. Additionally, with the economic development brought on by public rail transit systems comes an increased property tax base that can help fund our public schools. And more importantly, with an increased density of inner-city homeowners comes an increased density of people concerned with how well their neighborhood schools are performing, which ultimately is the problem with our flailing school system. In conclusion, please be sure to take all factors into consideration when examining the benefits that improved alternative transportation can bring to the city of Columbus. Transportation may primarily be about moving people from point A to point B, but there is a lot more that comes along with it. Thank you.</i>

According to Wikipedia, they're the 15th largest employer in Central Ohio with 4500 jobs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_Central_Ohio_employers

Wow. $1370 is quite an average for a rental there. I don't think any of the units for rent were all that huge. Glad to see they've got the building at full capacity.

Hooray! :D

Cross-Posted from my blog: http://walker.columbusunderground.com/ <b>Who wants to be our neighbor? #8</b> It's time for yet another round of showing off some homes over here in the King Lincoln District (previous installments can be found <a href="http://walker.columbusunderground.com/?cat=29">here</a>). Anne & I moved into our new home over here in mid-January, and we'd love to have more neighbors! The King Lincoln District is located just east of Downtown and has a wonderful historic housing stock. Most of the homes here were built around 1900 and there's a wide variety of options. Some have been fully restored while others need a lot of fixing up. The prices generally range from $40,000 for a total fixer-upper to $200,000 for something totally remodeled. Considering the proximity to downtown, you can't beat the location for the price. <a href="http://thecolumbuswholesaler.vflyer.com/49/index.html"><img src="http://thumbs.trulia.com/pictures/thumbs_big/3963/1059173963_745842513-166-168-Miami-Ave-Columbus-OH-43203.jpg" align="right" /></a> This first place is located at <a href="http://thecolumbuswholesaler.vflyer.com/49/index.html">166-168 Miami Avenue</a>, on the eastern end of the KLD. It's a 6 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 3328 sq ft monster going for $29,952. It sounds like it's in need of a lot of work, but for only $9 a square foot, that's quite a steal for a historic brick home. <a href="http://her.realliving.com/Property/Details.aspx?PropID=9561903"><img src="http://thumbs.trulia.com/pictures/thumbs_big/5086/1058625086_1988396634-191-N-21st-St-Columbus-OH-43203.jpg" align="right" /></a> This next one is located at <a href="http://her.realliving.com/Property/Details.aspx?PropID=9561903">191 North 21st Street</a>, which is actually just outside the boundary of the KLD to the east. I wanted to mention it though because it's a 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath 1792 sq ft home that's already gone through a total renovation and is going for $165,000. It also has a 3-car garage/carriage house that could be used as a home office or studio space. Completely rehabbed and move in ready for only $92/sqft. <a href="http://www.realtytrac.com/PropertyDetails/PropertyDetails.aspx?a=b&propId=16994385&accnt=159844&firstLevelReferer=---"><img src="http://thumbs.trulia.com/pictures/thumbs_big/9895/2000889895_754366422--Miami-Ave-Columbus-OH-43203.jpg" align="right" /></a> Next is a property located on <a href="http://www.realtytrac.com/PropertyDetails/PropertyDetails.aspx?a=b&propId=16994385&accnt=159844&firstLevelReferer=---">Miami Avenue</a> between Long St & Mt. Vernon Ave. It's a huge 4 bedroom 2 bathroom 2410 square foot brick home going up for foreclosure auction at an estimated $54,000. There's not many details on what the interior is like, and I'm not sure exactly how auctions work, but I'm sure my friend (and realtor) <a href="http://www.columbushomesblog.com/">Joe Peffer</a> could probably help you out with something like this. <a href="http://www.kingthompson.com/property/propertydetails.aspx?property=09088fe1-6ab8-48c4-9663-6a74dfc95df9&WT.mc_ID=061810000000000"><img src="http://thumbs.trulia.com/pictures/thumbs_big/3800/1051203800_463954972-69-N-21st-St-Columbus-OH-43203.jpg" align="right" /></a>This place is one that <a href="http://walker.columbusunderground.com/?p=356"> I mentioned back in December</a>, and I noticed that the price has dropped quite a bit. The address is <a href="http://www.kingthompson.com/property/propertydetails.aspx?property=09088fe1-6ab8-48c4-9663-6a74dfc95df9&WT.mc_ID=061810000000000">69 North 21st Street</a> (again, just east of the KLD) and is a 4 bedroom 1 bathroom 2498 sqaure foot home. It was going for $89,900 in December and now is only $59,900. I can't imagine it would be on the market for much longer at that price. It appears that the realtor website has taken down the interior photos, but I recall it looking like it needs some fixing up. It's being sold as-is, but it might be worth scheduling a walk through to see if the level of work is what you're looking to put into a place. <a href="http://www.postlets.com/rem/166183"><img src="http://thumbs.trulia.com/pictures/thumbs_big/181/1043920181_158916847-973-Mount-Vernon-Ave-Columbus-OH-43203.jpg" align="right" /></a> And lastly, if you're looking for a mixed-use property, then this commercial/residential space at <a href="http://www.postlets.com/rem/166183">973 Mount Vernon Avenue</a> might be worth checking out. It's a 3482 square foot, two-story building divided into two ground-floor retail units and three small apartments up top. Could make a nice investment property if you want to keep leasing it out, or a nice spot to have a business downstairs and living space upstairs. Not bad for $199,900, or a mere $57 per square foot.

By the way, AGORA was amazing today. Anyone else go? :D

Anne's my wife. ;) Hope to see some of you out on Saturday to help write letters! :D

Full story: http://www.nbc4i.com/midwest/cmh/news.apx.-content-articles-CMH-2008-04-15-0026.html <b>Central Ohio Development Continues Despite Struggling Economy</b> Tuesday, Apr 15, 2008 - 04:53 PM By Denise Yost COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The nation's economy is continuing to wallow as new figures show fuel and food prices are up -- and consumer confidence is down. "The state of Central Ohio is obviously very strong, particularly compared to the rest of the state," said Chester Jourdan, executive director of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC).

I got a phone call today from Marty Stutz, VP of Marketing, Communications and Public Relations at COTA, who requested that I make sure people are aware that this information is <b>speculation/rumor only</b> and is not an official announcement from COTA. They've gotten quite a few phone calls about these announcements on ColumbusUnderground, and were surprised to see them here themselves, as they watch the site to keep up with public opinion about the bus system. FYI, I moved this topic out of "transportation news" to hopefully settle some of the confusion and keep people from mistaking this information as official or confirmed.

http://www.columbusunderground.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=13554 <b>COTA Proposes Fare Increase for Summer 2009</b> Don't be surprised, this came across that COTA is thinking about proposing a fare increase in Summer of 2009 to help support the new double fleet buses that can be able to support the new expandision. What are the fares they are changing? Local/Crosstown - Current: $1.50 Proposed: $1.75 Express Current: $2.00 Proposed: $2.25 Transfer: Current: Free Proposed: 15 Cents LINK: Current: 50 Cents Proposed: 75 Cents ADA Cardholders: Current: Free Proposed: Free The people who are senior, disabled or kids with Key ID card will remain the same. Monthly passes: Local Current: $45.00 Proposed: $50.00 Express Current: $62.00 Proposed: $65.00 DayPass Current: $3.50 Proposed: $3.65 Discount Daypass Current: $1.75 Proposed: $1.85 7 Day Pass Current: $18.00 Proposed: $20.00 NEW: 3 Day Pass Proposed $10.00 What you think?

Full Story: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1256660&sectionID=1 <b>Condo market better in city than 'burbs</b> Mandie Trimble MP3: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/news.mediaplayer?STATION_NAME=wosu&MEDIA_ID=693637&MEDIA_EXTENSION=mp3&MODULE=news <img src="http://media.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/newsroom/images/2846843.jpg"> COLUMBUS, OH (2008-04-14) For many people the housing market is not the best place to be right now. It's almost inevitable that at least once a day one will hear something about home foreclosures, the credit crunch and the R word - that's recession. In this report, WOSU takes a look at how the nation's economy is affecting the condominium market in Franklin County.