Luke_S

Closest to direct polling on issue 1 that I've seen. Cleveland.com - 69% of Ohio voters oppose gerrymandering ahead of Issue 1 vote, Baldwin Wallace poll finds Though Lauren Copeland, Director of BW's Community Research Institute, qualified the survey results, “It remains to be seen if the level of antipathy toward gerrymandering translates to support for Issue 1 with the controversial wording of the final ballot language. Rather than reflecting the intent of the amendment to establish a citizen-led independent redistricting process, the language is misleading. Elected politicians in Ohio from both parties have a long history of trying to hold onto the power that gerrymandering confers.”

Apologies for the formatting, I'm not sure why it's striking through the quoted sections from the story. But as the water quality of the Cuyahoga River continues to recover we are seeing more species reintroduced. Reestablishing lake sturgeon in the Cleveland area will be great for fishers. And I would imagine the population only strengthens after the Gorge Dam comes down. Even if this means stocking for a few years ODNR has a pretty robust fish hatchery program in place. Signal-sending sturgeon will help identify stocking locations on the Cuyahoga River Published: Oct. 02, 2024 By Peter Krouse, cleveland.com State and federal agencies placed 60 juvenile sturgeon in the river on Wednesday at three spots between the Gorge Dam in Akron and Lake Erie. ... The project is part of a broader effort to return healthy populations of sturgeon to Lake Erie, where the fish once spawned in 19 of its tributaries, before overharvesting - it's eggs are sold as caviar - and loss of habitat decimated their numbers. Today, sturgeon in Lake Erie spawn in only two tributaries, the Detroit River at the west end of the lake and the upper Niagara River at the east end near Buffalo. https://www.cleveland.com/news/2024/10/signal-sending-sturgeon-will-help-identify-stocking-locations-on-the-cuyahoga-river.html

Cascade Plaza has been making a lot of news in Akron lately. This rehab should benefit the Lock 3 refresh, and City Centre Hotel and PNC Center conversions. $400,000 design budget proposed for Cascade Plaza parking deck rehab by Reegan Davis Saunders October 1, 2024 The City of Akron is moving forward with its plans to rehabilitate the Cascade Parking Deck, which sits below Cascade Plaza on West Mill Street in downtown Akron. At Monday’s City Council meeting, the city requested a $400,000 budget for the design work needed to begin construction on the structure. The deck provides parking for the plaza buildings and for downtown venues such as the Knight Stage, Civic Theatre, Lock 3 and Main Street festivals. Earlier this year, the Ohio Senate and House signed off on a total of $5 million in investments for the redevelopment of Cascade Plaza. The city has budgeted an additional $900,000. https://signalakron.org/400000-design-budget-proposed-for-cascade-plaza-parking-deck-rehab/

Akron METRO RTA approves purchase of 33 new buses by Meagan Rodgers and Akron Documenters September 27, 2024 At its September meeting, the METRO RTA board unanimously approved the purchase of 33 new compressed natural gas buses from GILLIG LLC. Grants from the Federal Transit Agency cover 80% of nearly $24 million cost. The new buses will replace existing buses that are nearing the end of their useful lives. METRO ridership has increased on Saturdays due to free weekend fares. Across the service area, on-time performance for the previous month was 81% for fixed routes. The agency’s goal is 95% on-time performance, with a high point of 84% in January. https://signalakron.org/akron-metro-rta-approves-purchase-of-33-new-buses/

Single party rule almost invariably leads to public corruption. Public corruption is bad for business. It's a pretty simple equation that I would think the Chamber of Commerce would understand then and be able to work it out for themselves... Business leaders are chasing the near-term shiny object of lower taxes and deregulation are committing fiduciary malpractice. And to be clear, this isn't a partisan critique of Republicans, it's a critique of supporting a system that perpetuates single party rule. The result is the same whether that system results in Republican rule or Democratic rule.

I would hope this means Joe will recuse himself from any future redistricting cases that come before the Ohio Supreme Court. Ohio Supreme Court justice says Democrats want redistricting reform because they ‘can’t win’ Sep. 27, 2024 By Jake Zuckerman, [email protected] COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Republican state Supreme Court justice running for his first full term said he views a proposed constitutional amendment as Democrats’ play to change the rules because they can’t win under the current system. Justice Joe Deters, who was appointed to the Ohio Supreme Court by GOP Gov. Mike DeWine and is now up for his first statewide election, made the comments Wednesday on talk radio. He compared the redistricting reform effort in Ohio to other concepts occasionally floated by Democrats like adding new justices to the U.S. Supreme Court or letting the popular vote decide presidential elections instead of the electoral college. ... It’s somewhat unusual to hear Supreme Court justices discuss a recent ruling, and criticize an amendment that could likely come up again before the court, especially in such partisan terms. https://www.cleveland.com/open/2024/09/ohio-supreme-court-justice-says-democrats-want-redistricting-reform-because-they-cant-win.html

I'm pretty sure a lot of foundation funding was leveraged by West Creek during the initial land acquisitions. It was a pretty massive effort just to pull all of those parcels together.

Not much of an update other than the city is still working towards the accelerated 9/30 application deadline for 3 years worth of funding. Akron races to meet Innerbelt grant funding deadline by Reegan Davis Saunders September 24, 2024 A week before the deadline, the city administration is moving forward with an application for Akron Innerbelt funding. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Transportation moved the grant deadline earlier, combining three years’ worth of funding into one application. With a new deadline of Sept. 30, the city needed to speed up the project planning timeline. The city selected design firm Sasaki to assist with the project, moving forward with preliminary plans for the application. At Monday’s City Council meeting, members approved an ordinance that formally allows the application for and potential acceptance of funding from the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Grant Program. https://signalakron.org/akron-races-to-meet-innerbelt-grant-funding-deadline/

I hadn't seen anywhere else before that Akron was targeting 5,000 residents downtown as the critical mass to attract more amenities downtown. According to the article there are currently approximately 2,800 residents downtown; residential demand remains string and they anticipate hitting the 5,000 mark by 2029 or 2030. Developer revives plan to turn Akron’s former Cascade Plaza hotel into apartments by Arielle Kass September 24, 2024 A stalled plan to turn Akron’s former City Centre Hotel on Cascade Plaza into apartments has been revived. The one-time Holiday Inn and Radisson Inn at 20 W.Mill St. could be turned into 137 apartments, some affordable and some market-rate, according to Testa Cos. President Joel Testa. He said he expects to build 71 two- and three-bedroom apartments that are affordable for residents who make 60% or less of the Akron area’s median income — $57,480 for a family of four. That’s in addition to 60 market-rate one- and two-bedroom apartments and six luxury penthouses. https://signalakron.org/developer-revives-plan-to-turn-akrons-former-cascade-plaza-hotel-to-apartments-joel-testa/

Medina's Interurban building moved Sara Crawford - The Gazette Sep 20, 2024 MEDINA — Medina city staff and contractors moved Medina's Interurban building 30 to 40 feet over from its most recent location on Thursday morning to avoid potential damage during the construction of the Legacy Hotel. The Interurban building sat directly in front of where the Legacy Hotel will be built on South Court Street. To avoid any potential damage, city officials decided to move the building to the Feckley lot, just south of the building’s most recent location. ... The Interurban building was once part of the Cleveland Southwestern Electric Railway, often known as the Interurban, which reached Medina in 1897. The building was originally just north of Medina on U.S. 42, near the current entrance to Stonegate Drive. https://medina-gazette.com/news/404453/medinas-interurban-building-moved/

The Medina County Park district is relatively young and small, but under its current leadership it has been aggressively growing. This would be the fourth park or wildlife sanctuary for the district in Granger Township. This also seems to be a very strategic addition to prevent further sub-development of what is now farm fields and act as a buffer from the inevitable storm water runoff from the impervious surfaces created from the Menard's development. Granger Township is bound by Rt 18 to the south, Ledge to the north, Medina Line to the east, and Windfall to the west. The current parks in Granger Township are (1) Allardale (502 acres) and (4) Carolyn Ludwig Mugrage Park (102 Acres); the wildlife sanctuary is (25) Granger Wetlands (163 acres). Once all the parcels are acquired, this would be the second largest park in Granger Township at 194 acres. I'm not exactly certain which properties will be acquired, but Menard's is planned for the north-west corner of Medina Line and Rt 18, I assume the fields behind this development are what will be acquired. Medina County commissioners, Park District discuss potential preserve in Granger Township Sara Crawford, The Gazette Sep 19, 2024 During the Medina County commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday, the board adopted a resolution to support the Medina County Park District’s application to receive funding through the Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Fund. ... Because of the Clean Ohio funding available, Eppink said the Medina County Park District would acquire the 194 acres in two chunks. ... Medina County Park District would contribute some funding to the project, Eppink said. Of the 97 acres, Eppink said the Park District could withhold about 10 acres with no deed restrictions for recreational purposes. https://medina-gazette.com/news/404285/medina-county-commissioners-park-district-discuss-potential-preserve-in-granger-township/

Merriman Valley steering committee sets public meeting to discuss future of valley Published: Sep. 17, 2024 By Megan Becka, special to cleveland.com AKRON, Ohio – Community members who are interested in helping guide the future of the Merriman Valley and Schumacher areas are invited to attend a meeting on Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. at the Weathervane Playhouse. Those interested in attending are asked to register for the meeting, which will be held at 1301 Weathervane Lane in Akron. The meeting will discuss the potential of forming a Cuyahoga Valley Gateway Partnership that will guide future development of the area. Development will align with the Merriman Valley Master Plan, which has been adopted by both Akron and Cuyahoga Falls. Farr Associates, an architectural and planning firm, was hired to complete the project, which was guided by extensive site analysis, community input and stakeholder interviews. https://www.cleveland.com/akron/2024/09/merriman-valley-steering-committee-sets-public-meeting-to-discuss-future-of-valley.html

So Burke generates ~$.5M in tax revenue to the city but the city is subsidizing Burke at ~$1.2M. Presumably not all of the operations at Burke are just going to go a way entirely. Some might, but I'd expect most of those operations will move to either Hopkins or the County airports. However, I would expect that most of the operational costs will actually be eliminated when Burke is closed; facility costs, utilities, ect. That raises two questions in my mind; (1) how would closing Burke affect Hopkins and how should that affect the master plan, and (2) if some of that revenue is going to be lost to the county because some operations move to the County airport then should we just consolidate airport operations at a county level? On the second point, Hopkins is a regional asset, but we know we're not going to be able to get a regional funding structure in place so shifting the burden from Cleveland to Cuyahoga is the next closest option.

Sale in the works for Cascade Plaza’s PNC Center in downtown Akron by Arielle Kass September 16, 2024 The Development Finance Authority of Summit County, which has owned the 23-story [PNC Center at 1 Cascade Plaza] since last year, has a signed letter of intent from a Northeast Ohio buyer at a purchase price of $2.8 million, DFA President Chris Burnham said Monday. He did not identify the buyer and would not say what their planned use for the building might be, but said it “stands to reason” that the building should be in the hands of a development company. ... The DFA, which offers bonds for projects that developers might not be able to obtain on their own, took over the building last year to keep it from entering foreclosure when the previous owner failed to pay some taxes and a bond payment that was due, the Akron Beacon Journal reported at the time. https://signalakron.org/sale-in-the-works-for-cascade-plazas-pnc-center-in-downtown-akron/

The more I think about this the less convinced I am that if flying taxis require a base of operation with the footprint of Burke they will be widely adopted by cities across the country. That's not to say Burke couldn't be better utilized in other ways if actively marketed, but would that fall on the Mayor and not the Airport Director? And from what I can tell the Airport Director has seemed to be competent.

To add to what @snakebite & @LlamaLawyer said, if the city is subsidizing Burke from the general airport fund it makes it more expensive to run Hopkins. I would assume those increased costs are captured in the price of parking, tickets, ect at Hopkins. All that's to say that removing Burke would make Hopkins a more competitive airport to fly out of and operate, no? From Signal Cleveland's reporting, "As it currently stands, Burke operations are a net fiscal drain on the city. The airport generates $508,000 in tax revenue for the city. But Cleveland subsidizes Burke at a cost of $1.2 million from the city’s airport fund, which makes its revenue from the airlines."

x-posting from the Burke thread

Cleveland City Hall: Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb makes moves toward closing Burke Lakefront Airport by Nick Castele September 16, 2024 Cleveland City Hall is releasing two studies that lay the groundwork for shutting down the airport, which occupies prime downtown land on the Lake Erie shoreline. ... The first study argues the economic hit of closing Burke is small and explores the benefits of redeveloping the land. The second study lays out multiple paths for shuttering the airport. The city has shared the results of both studies with the Federal Aviation Administration, which has the power to approve or deny an application to close Burke. If the FAA doesn’t bless a closure, Cleveland has another option: ask Congress for the OK to shut down Burke. https://signalcleveland.org/cleveland-mayor-justin-bibb-makes-moves-toward-closing-burke-lakefront-airport/

Temporary but legally. Meanwhile Vance admits he made the story up; local residents say the Haitian migrants are good students, workers, and neighbors; and primary schools and government buildings have to be closed and colleges shifted from in-person to online courses because of continued threats of violence in response to the stories Vance and Trump platformed without evidence.

Republican US Senate candidate Moreno backs deporting legal Haitian immigrants in Ohio The Statehouse News Bureau | By Sarah Donaldson Published September 14, 2024 Bernie Moreno, the Trump-backed Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Ohio, visited Springfield on Saturday morning and said he believes its semi recent influx of Haitian immigrants is a “total disgrace.” ... “I worry more about an administration that's allowed 10 to 12 million people to come here illegally. If they could get here,” Moreno said, “We could get them out.” The comments came, too, as the Springfield Police Department and community members fielded a third day of bomb threats and related evacuations. https://www.ideastream.org/2024-09-14/republican-us-senate-candidate-moreno-backs-deporting-legal-haitian-immigrants-in-ohio

Medina Square looks to be more walkable and pedestrian friendly. Medina eyes grant to pay for pedestrian bump outs around square Published: Sep. 13, 2024 By Emily Canning-Dean, special to cleveland.com MEDINA, Ohio – For many months, increasing safety for pedestrians has been a priority for city officials following a number of accidents involving both pedestrians and motorists in Medina’s historic district. Later this month, the city plans to apply for a grant through the Ohio Department of Transportation that will help fund the construction of pedestrian bump outs at multiple intersections near the square. ... [City Engineer Patrick] Patton said the city recently learned that ODOT has earmarked funds for safety enhancing projects such as the construction of these bump outs and the city was encouraged to apply for some of the funds. https://www.cleveland.com/community/2024/09/medina-eyes-grant-to-pay-for-pedestrian-bump-outs-around-square.html

The bike lane they put in on Hillard is a death trap. It seems like they've started enforcing street parking, but when it was first completed the entire bike lane was filled with parked cars. The lane turns into a sharrow at several points. People drive into the bike lane to turn right, even though there is signage that it is not a right turn lane, like at Hillard and Madison. I imagine an unbuffered bike lane on Bunts would look a lot like the one on Hilliard, and if that's the case it shouldn't even be an option. Especially when you consider that the shared use path option actually increases the number of parking spots from what already exists but still decreases the surface area of impervious pavement.

This funding is for the former Sidley Casement Golf Club golf course, a 67-acre property situated along 0.75 miles of the Grand River just northeast of Painesville. This project is totally independent from the Diamond Shamrock project that received the US EPA grant funding a few months ago, though it is only a mile or so up-river from that project. The Sidley Casement property is outlined in red, a southern project area of the Diamond Shamrock project is outlined in orange. Governor DeWine Announces $7 million in H2Ohio Grant Funding for 12 New Wetland Projects Sep 11, 2024 | News Release, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Director Mary Mertz announced today more than $7 million in grant funding to support 12 new H2Ohio wetland projects. ... The 12 new wetlands projects will be located in 10 counties including Athens, Butler, Clark, Delaware, Franklin, Greene, Holmes, Lake, Richland, and Summit counties. The projects range from wetland restoration to enriching stream corridor forested areas. These projects were selected through a competitive grant process, and H2Ohio grant awards will fund up to 100% of the project costs. West Creek Conservancy, Lake County Grand River Casement Floodplain Restoration Project - $748,585 From the August 2, 2024 Painesville City Council meeting agenda; West Creek Conservancy’s proposed conservation and restoration of this site will have environmental, social and economic benefits for the City of Painesville and the surrounding community. While the landscape has been severely modified to accommodate the former use of the property as a golf course, this project will restore natural habitat including riparian and upland forest, wetlands, native meadow, and vernal pools that will improve floodplain functionality within the project area. This will have tremendous benefits to the water quality of the Grand River and downstream in Lake Erie, while also improving onsite habitat for the benefit of many native wildlife species. Eventually, once the restoration is complete, the City of Painesville will partner with West Creek Conservancy in implementing passive park infrastructure improvements on the property to facilitate the use of the site as a riverfront nature preserve, with fishing access to the Grand River. This will support the goals of Painesville City Council’s most recently adopted Strategic Plan, including specifically the goal of maintaining and improving amenities including our parks and public lands to improve the quality of life and growth of our community. Staff has also talked with West Creek Conservancy about exploring opportunities to take long-term ownership of the Grand River Casement Preserve following West Creek Conservancy’s successful conservation of the property, integrating it into the series of riverfront parks and recreational river access points currently managed by the City’s Public Lands and Recreation Department. The City has discussed working with West Creek Conservancy to apply for grant funding to connect this area to Recreation Park via a bridge over the Grand River.

I have one minor quibble with this; CVSR likely wont be able to run at a frequency or total transit time to be a competitive commuting option and to do so would sacrifice the scenic rail operations, resulting in doing both poorly. I know Canton has the tourist attractions you identified (First Lady's Museum too!), but I think the Akron to Canton leg would be too far and uninteresting for a scenic rail trip for CVSR. I'm also not sure Canton has the population density to support this either. I think the better option would be to build a dedicated commuter rail line from Canton to at least Akron; though ideally this would continue north, east of CVNP, going through Hudson and up to Cleveland. You then only have to extend the southern terminus of the CVSR a little further east from the Akron Northside Station to around North Arlington St where you could transfer between the lines. This both connects Canton to CVNP and allows for a dedicated commuter rail that is going to run through more population centers.

Lakewood council sets aside $21 million for Bunts Road rehab Published: Sep. 11, 2024 By Cory Shaffer, cleveland.com LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- City Council has set aside $21 million to pay for a major rehabilitation of Bunts Road that is expected to begin in 2026. ... The project will see one of the city’s biggest north-south thoroughfares undergo two years of construction. Crews will completely repave the road’s surface from Lakewood Heights Boulevard to Clifton Boulevard, add a dedicated bicycle lane and replace aging sidewalks, according to plans posted on the city’s website. The city also plans to replace century-old water mains beneath the road, create marked parking spaces and shorten the crosswalks at intersections. https://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/2024/09/lakewood-council-sets-aside-21-million-for-bunts-road-rehab.html