surfohio

As I said. that's the consensus here. I'm the iconoclast. However, I suspect the majority sees things my way. If you're trying to sell a specific project, it helps to keep that in mind. Just use the term "vibrant" instead of "density" so Erocc doesn't have to make this density comment over and over and over.

Well said. Fully agree we can't be making neighborhoods less walkable. But automobile traffic alone doesn't do that in my experience. Don't we need areas to become choked with cars in order for mass transit to become a more viable option?

Agreed, he's run the city like a business and kept a low profile. He visible when needed. I'd rather have that that a photo bomb or photo op media whoring Mayor with a city in ruins. A la Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, DC, place where people claim life is soooooo much better! We need a hip hop mayor!

Sign of the times!

Maybe to take advantage of the lack of it near the convention center? Most of the ground floor is already parking, it looks like they're just removing a storefront for a more visible parking entrance. Maybe it's a good sign that the owners are going to spend a bit more fixing up the rest of the building. (I can hope can't I?) SOn of a B. We need more retail in the garages, not less. Don't we have enough ground floor dead zones as it is?

Saw the team in San Diego. They looked so off key but then started to gel. In the second half the offense got that chemistry going. Some really great passes that set up some really great goals!

^^ I think Marous did an amazing job on those porch-balconies. I asked my friend (Marous employee) if he do the same design for my place. He said it would be way out of my price range.

Haven't seen that much of Bynum. But what I did see, he acts like a punk on the court. I don't want this guy. Heck I'd rather have Greg Oden.

This makes no sense to me. Even in the the city theoretically spent nothing on this building, that's quite a leap to suggest that fact justifies demolition.

A Computer Will Drive the Electric Car of the Future By Matthew Yglesias Posted Friday, Feb. 15, 2013 David Roberts argues at Grist that one takeaway from the Tesla/New York Times feud is: "It is probably true that electric cars will never be able to replace gas cars, if the cars themselves — the widgets — are the only thing we replace." He says the real issue here is one of systems, not individual vehicles. I think that's right, but Roberts doesn't even bring up what would be the biggest system-wide change here—eliminating the driver. If you imagine a taxi without a human driver, then the main cost is fuel. And cheap fuel is what electric vehicles are really good at. So in the morning a fleet of EVs will meet various peak-time commuters and take them to work. Then during the day, some of the EVs will be shuttling people around on nonpeak trips of various kinds while others are charging. Then there's the big evening peak commute, and then you go back into off-peak mode. This whole fleet of cars designed for intracity travel never needs to develop even the range that the Model S has today. Yes, people will also want to take longer trips. And those trips will require some different vehicle... http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/02/15/autonomous_cars_and_electric_vehicles_a_match_made_in_heaven.html

That's a big deal- I'm hoping that the city by 2016 will have enough hotel rooms for the event. Forgive me for not tracking the numbers closely on the many lists on this site, but I would guess we would have to have quite a few more rooms than the last time the game played here in the 90's? Maybe the casino crowd are hogging the previously available rooms?

I've been waiting a long time for a list like this. Pound for pound Northeast Ohio has had an amazing list of influential talent. I think Patricia Heaton is way too high up. And Michael Stanley and Les Roberts? Not sure they belong at all. Anyhow props to the Plain Dealer for a pretty good job. Cleveland's Top 100 celebrities countdown: The Top 20 is revealed, with Paul Newman and Bob Hope atop the list By Plain Dealer staff on February 17, 2013 We love lists. We love celebrities. Most of all, we love Cleveland. So you can just imagine the happy stew we have here with a list of the top 100 Cleveland arts and entertainment celebrities. Pulling together the list was neither quick nor simple. A clutch of features department editors started flirting with the notion about a year ago. Everyone thought it was a capital idea, but no one took charge until November. Then, we learned just how many challenges there could be with this kind of project. How should we define Northeast Ohio? What makes a celebrity? What disciplines should we include/exclude? Can nominees be dead or alive? Who should participate on the jury? http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/02/clevelands_top_100_celebrities_4.html#incart_2box

I don't think it's a matter of country music not being hip or trendy. There is just a cheesiness about franchises like this. I'd put Tilted Kilt, Hard Rock and Cadillac Ranch in the same category. EDIT: Also see ROCKOMETER. That being said, I do think people will pack that Toby Keith place. At least at first. I've read the beers are really pricey and I don't think Clevelanders will stand for being gouged for Bud Light unless they're inside a stadium. The FEB has the potential to be the premier entertainment district in this city. It's completely understandable that people are sensitive to the impression that Cleveland presents to visitors. Even on this forum I'd bet there's a real diversity of opinion on what types of bars/restaurants are most desirable for putting our best foot forward.

To hell with Vick.

Not to dwell in the past too much. But back in the 90's there was a huge plan floated for upscale residential in Canal Place. It would've been so nice if downtown could've gotten that head start before the recession(s) hit.

Sherrod Brown and George Will vs. Big Banks George Will: The bank buster GEORGE WILL With his chronically gravelly voice and relentlessly liberal agenda, Sherrod Brown seems to have stepped out of "Les Miserables," hoarse from singing revolutionary anthems at the barricades. Today, Ohio's senior senator has a project worthy of Victor Hugo - and of conservatives' support. He wants to break up the biggest banks. He would advocate this even if he thought such banks would never have a crisis sufficient to threaten the financial system. He believes they are unhealthy for the financial system even when they are healthy. This is because there is a silent subsidy - an unfair competitive advantage relative to community banks - inherent in being deemed by the government, implicitly but clearly, too big to fail. The Senate has unanimously passed a bill offered by Brown and Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, directing the Government Accountability Office to study whether banks with more than $500 billion in assets acquire an "economic benefit" because of their dangerous scale. Is their debt priced favorably because, being TBTF, they are considered especially creditworthy? Brown believes the 20 largest banks pay less - 50 to 80 basis points less - when borrowing than community banks must pay... http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130209/OPINION02/130219970&source=RSS

Are you guys willing to wait X number of years for something other than student housing? I'd gladly take more student housing NOW. Downtown sorely needs residents who can support retail along Main St. It's not like there's a dearth of space for more upscale residential down the road. Let the University be an engine for kicking this off. If you're waiting for YP's or artists or retirees to relocate downtown en masse you could be waiting forever.

Exchange Housing LLC has an option to buy the 3.4-acre property from the Akron Beacon Journal, whose main building is located across from the parcel. The property currently is home to the Erie Warehouse, an aging Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad facility the newspaper uses to store giant rolls of paper. Aw I really like that warehouse. Was always hoping it could be re-purposed. This is a little perplexing; the developers want to build residential and city council is skeptical. Maybe I don't understand the economics, or maybe these developers are idiots, but you just don't come across this kind of opposition scenario in Ohio very often. Also I couldn't help myself from reading the comments section. I can understand why people dislike Mayor Plusqualic and the political machine there, but why is any development connected to the University always met with derision? It seems a large enough portion of the population are a just a bunch of anti-education hicks who are waiting for the rubber plants to reopen. Either that or they feel The University of Akron is a community college that just doesn't measure up to their beloved OSU or Notre Dame.

I desperately want a new arena for Akron, but It would be really stupid and unnecessary to tear down buildings for this purpose. Depends on which buildings. I think the buildings immediately south of the Mayflower would be forgotten within weeks, with no loss to the built environment or the city's history. Right. I should've clarified my concern was Evans and Kaiser.

I desperately want a new arena for Akron, but It would be really stupid and unnecessary to tear down buildings for this purpose.

So awesome thanks for posting!!

Board Member 1: I've never heard of half of these guys and the ones I do know are way past their prime. Charlie Donovan: Most of these guys never had a prime. Rachel Phelps: The fact is we lost our two best players to free agency. We haven't won a pennant in over thirty-five years, we haven't placed higher than fourth in the last fifteen. Obviously it's time for some changes. Board Member 2: This guy here is dead! Rachel Phelps: Cross him off, then!

Not exactly true. In San Francisco Chinese were restricted from owning property outside of Chinatown.

Your wish has been granted!

I'm digging this map! In Liberals' Dreams, This Is What America's High-Speed Rail Network Looks Like By Will Oremus, Posted Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, at 1:11 PM ET In the real world, President Obama's grand plans for a national high-speed rail system sputtered out in the face of Republican opposition. But in the alternate world depicted by graphic artist Alfred Twu, we've realized them all, and more. The map above depicts Twu's vision of an America whose major cities are all connected by state-of-the-art, 220 mph trains. His map isn't strictly based on the Obama administration's actual plans, shown here. It's far more ambitious than that. In short, it's a mass-transit lover's wildest dream. New York to Boston in an hour flat. New York to Los Angeles in a single day. Connections to Vancouver, Toronto, and Monterrey. http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/02/08/u_s_high_speed_rail_map_artist_alfred_twu_s_alternate_reality.html