Robuu

I don't understand that. What is the role of the districts?

I don't think that's just a modern day function, I'd say it was one of the main reasons our legislative branch was designed the way it was. Yes, but there's more to it than that. First, it's probably more accurate to say the legislative branch was designed to protect southern interests. Protecting slavery was an important part of the design, but that was not part of the rural north's interests. Rural interests and southern interests were and are related, but aren't the same. Second, the original states' boundaries were not created with that idea in mind (important in the context of my quote you're replying to). And certainly states introduced after the 13 colonies didn't have to be divided the way they were. Those lines weren't drawn in some grand scheme to protect rural interests.

Here's where they get really sneaky. If they don't sell right away, the city will declare that they're going to widen the street and will take it by eminent domain. I'm concerned that the Stoney Lee Brooks character who owns the two building on Central Ave. will get hosed in this fashion. I know little about Ohio's eminent domain law, other than there was a Norwood case that went to the supreme court and it was decided land taken by eminent domain cannot go to private developers (that may be an oversimplification). I wonder if the port authority (or whatever it's called these days) isn't a more important piece of this puzzle than had been thought. They may be planning on getting around this law by having the land technically owned by a public entity.

I think you might be correct. The only reason I'm not sure is that gerrymandering only affects some offices (those with changing districts), whereas first-past-the-post voting affects all (president, governor, senate, etc). There's also the issue that a major function of state boundaries in the modern day is to gerrymander in favor of rural interests.

Wayne, from 5th south to Stewart (especially south of 35/Xenia and at the intersection with Wyoming), is the most crash-intensive stretch of road in greater downtown. Hopefully either that can change (ideally) or it at least doesn't hurt the development momentum.

Along the line of what mrnyc[/member] and GCrites80s[/member] are saying, I think Columbus could use some incentives and/or the zoning code to mix uses more. Even as density increases, it strikes me that you might live in a fairly dense neighborhood in Columbus but far from businesses. Targeting some of these areas for new, pedestrian-friendly business districts would be ideal, but it may be a struggle to get the passion of the overall community to overcome the passion of NIMBYs.

Yes, which is why the state Republican Party is amenable to taking the bite out of gerrymandering: it's a blessing for the establishment. But making both parties more moderate is not a silver bullet, either. It reinforces the ol' boys club and helps to maximize the number of issues which both parties agree on -- reducing the marketplace of ideas and increasing disenfranchisement for those who disagree with the monothink. Maine is experimenting with instant runoff voting (though it's being fought by the establishment). This would be a step away from duopoly and toward a more representative delegation.

Interesting name. Now, with Devil Wind and Yellow Springs Brewery, there will be a couple breweries connected by about an hour of trail-riding on a bike. If someone opened another brewery around the midway point, it would be about a perfect mix of riding and drinking for a spring/fall outing. 8)

"Newport's all ready to go!" "March 31 is a hard deadline" "We're walking away from the West End site" ::)

Too bad it's not a revival of Olive, an Urban Dive.

^ Agreed. I would be far more interested in this taproom if they are tapping experimental stuff. If they just have their regular line of beer and seasonals, it'll be boring.

I'm talking more about perception than demand. People complain a lot about traffic going to the mall. Mixed-use developments in this area will likely pick up some destination retail, since this is the primary area in the region that picks that up. So it wouldn't just be the residents concerned about getting in and out of these developments. I just am imagining Kenwood getting into the mix of conversations like "we should have light rail from Kings Island to the airport" -- which is a common refrain among people who are open to light rail but not wonky.

With some critical mass of dense, mixed-use New Urbanist development around the Kenwood Mall, I could see some enthusiasm building for a light rail line.

It would have been a really huge deal 5+ years ago. It's good now, but not huge. What would be a great result out of this is if SA/BBC decides to invest in the Brewing Heritage Trail, which I think would be smart of them as a way of bringing traffic to their new taproom. With big corporate money, the heritage trail could become a real tourism draw. And if that happened, it would help develop northern OTR much faster.

The March 31 deadline has come and gone. I suppose we can blame that on city council, West End residents, the school board, and anti-gentrification activists. /s

City council approved an 8-month buyout for Harry Black's resignation, as opposed to the two-year buyout initially proposed and championed by Cranley, Pastor, and Smitherman (and supported by Mann and Murray). We'll see if Black takes it.

^^^ I know you're talking about economic growth, but it's funny to read your comment replacing "growth" with "population growth". It reads like you're passionately arguing that water is wet.

I wouldn't call what's going on at Nippert losing out. The only people with something substantial to lose are FCC owners.

It's in Harrison, not Newark, and the stadium area is seeing a ton of TOD from the PATH station. (You can see the arena at the end of the street here.)

Do people believe this will all be over on 3/31?

They both have fantastic architecture and urban fabric. Madison and Main in Covington are two of the best business districts in the region. Licking Historic District, Mansion Hill, Mainstrasse Village. Overton and Monroe in Newport, between 5th & 8th, may have the nicest tree-lined residential blocks in the region.

^ It's not zero-sum, though. With better connectivity between Downtown, Covington, and Newport, all three cities could do more to synergize and utilize each others' strengths.

The old Kroger looks OK in black & white, but the color pics I have seen of it make it look way worse than the current one. Edit: Found a color pic http://keywordsuggest.org/gallery/29550.html

A majority of the CPS board said they would be willing to negotiate for something under the full evaluation, assuming the others weren't just using the demand for a negotiating tactic. Apparently some here think the private entity is smart to bluff but those bargaining on behalf of the taxpayer should roll over. ::)

The Enquirer is just going to print whatever Cranley asks them to, isn't it? Seems like the story here is that there is a blatant smear campaign.