Luke_S

Not sure if this was the big announcement or not, but they posted to their IG yesterday that they will be returning to their full service, Akron Northside to Rockside, in 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DEn8mqTPZVD/?igsh=am4yYzVneWM1bXl2

What political fight? Dissolution will be put up as a ballot measure if a village doesn't provide 5 of 10 services. If someone wants to campaign for or against it at that point there's nothing stopping them but its up to the village residents to decide. Further, if a village isn't providing 5 of 10 services, trigging this vote, then there is a question of whether the government is being responsive to resident's needs and efficiency is a form of responsiveness. I am making no value judgements on whether villages should exist or not or how many services they should provide, but it does seem reasonable to me that residents be asked whether they are happy with their current level of service and whether they would like a change. Lastly, no one is arguing that Cleveland would wield this law to force Bratenhal to dissolve, its not even clear this law could be used to that end.

Bentleyville, Bratenahl, Brooklyn Heights, Chagrin Falls, Cuyahoga Heights, Gates Mills, Glenwillow, Highland Hills, Hunting Valley, Linndale, Mayfield, Moreland Hills, Newburgh Heights, North Randall, Oakwood, Orange, Valley View, Walton Hills, Woodmere But like I said, not sure we'll see anything in Cuyahoga County any time soon

I don't know if we'll see any dissolutions in Cuyahoga County in the next decade as a result of this new law, but maybe it will at least normalize consolidation to some extent. At the very least I hope it gets communities talking and thinking about redundant and duplicative services and how we could save money by pooling resources. A new Ohio law could mean fewer villages in Ohio The Ohio Newsroom | By Kendall Crawford Published January 9, 2025 The state has more than 600 villages which means Ohio has more taxable jurisdictions than most any other state. Only 10 of them have dissolved in the last decade. ... Prior to the law’s passage, 30% of village voters had to sign a petition to get dissolution on their local ballot. [State representative Adam] Mathews [(R-Lebanon, original bill sponsor)] believes that burden shouldn’t fall to residents. ... Now, villagers will still be able to put dissolution on the ballot themselves. But villages will also be audited after each Census. If a village doesn’t provide five out of 10 base services – like water and sewer, garbage collection or road maintenance – then the municipality’s fate will automatically be put on the ballot at the next election. https://www.ideastream.org/2025-01-09/a-new-ohio-law-could-mean-fewer-villages-in-ohio

‘The sky’s the limit’ — Mayor announces plans for Downtown Akron Development Corporation by Arielle Kass January 9, 2025 Akron leaders announced Thursday that they had raised $360,000 for each of the next three years from 17 partners to start the Downtown Akron Development Corp. and hire an executive director. The funding will pay for the executive director’s salary and benefits as well as leave some money for the organization to hold events to connect developers or do pre-development work. On top of that, Kyle Kutuchief, the program director in Akron for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, announced that his organization would contribute an additional $1.5 million over three years if the new executive director could raise $3 million to match it two-to-one. That money, he said, was to “get stuff done.” ... [Suzie] Graham Moore[, Akron’s economic development director] said there are three priorities for the person hired into the role: • Increasing the amount of residential development downtown. • Helping with the development of a convention center hotel. • Creating more dense retail in the city center. https://signalakron.org/the-skys-the-limit-mayor-announces-plans-for-downtown-akron-development-corporation-shammas-malik-kyle-kutuchief/

I don't disagree, I guess the point I was trying to make is this is a defensive argument and the approach I was suggesting allows Ronayne to go on offense.

I don't think that's any fault of yours, I think the city doesn't have a clear idea of what the inner belt will be either. Akron hired Sasaki to develop the master plan, in Ideastream's write up they mention that Sasaki expects to share the master plan publicly by the summer of 2025.

So something I was thinking about the other day; Ronayne needs to be more careful with his posturing than Bibb. The Haslams have already made clear what their line of attack against Ronayne would be, he's playing favorites with Cleveland and always will. Obviously Ronayne would say that's not true and Cleveland being the county seat and the nucleus of the county needs to be strong and should be the entertainment destination for the region and that's what will most benefit NEO. However, in politics as soon as you're explaining you're losing. And it doesn't matter that this specific disagreement is over Brook Park; the other suburbs, municipalities, villages, towns could probably be easily swayed to believe that if there is ever a case of Cleveland or another municipality Ronayne will side with Cleveland every time--again, true or not. That said, I think this gives Ronayne a different hand to play and it could be pretty potent. I think he should determine what the County would give for the Browns to stay downtown and say, "here is what the county will offer for wherever you want to locate within Cuyahoga county*". Any request over that from the Haslams and Ronayne gets to now argue, "look, I'm willing to support development throughout the county, but what I'm not willing to do is write a blank check for a billionaire just because they want to spend more tax payer dollars. If the Haslams want this they have the funds, they should pay for it." This is more or less in line with his current argument, but I think it is more potent because it allows him to highlight just how financially irresponsible it would be for the county or state to put up 2x the money when there was an option at half the cost. *Obviously not anywhere in the county. If he picked a location on the county line, putting the stadium in Cuyahoga but all the promised ancillary development in another country so Cuyahoga wouldn't be able to collect the taxes then that would be a non-started but those are details hammered out in negotiations. Ronayne: Public investment in Browns stadium worth considering. But how much?

Not surprising that this would be the announcement, but I feel like they may have over sold it a little bit...

It appears Akron met the grant funding submission deadline. Akron wins $10 million federal grant to remake milelong stretch of Innerbelt by Arielle Kass January 9, 2025 In addition to the $10 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, the city will put up a $10 million match. The city was aspirational in its ask while also being realistic about what it would be able to put forward, said Suzie Graham Moore, Akron’s director of economic development. The award matched the city’s request. ... The mayor acknowledged that the money wouldn’t go far enough to implement every idea the planning team will come up with. But he said he sees it as a catalyst to begin the process of healing the community. https://signalakron.org/akron-wins-10-million-federal-grant-to-remake-milelong-stretch-of-innerbelt/

Even if the utility companies were cutting these trees themselves instead of an arborist company these cuts look pretty good; clean, flush to the trunk or nearest branch, and no splitting or cracking of the branches. I'm no expert by any means, but it didn't look like an issue of skill or care. I don't really see any other way you could trim those trees to not interfere with the powerlines and the only solution is to stop planting trees under powerlines or, as @Geowizical suggested, bury the lines.

Fair point, though I do there there is a difference in the corruption of the Ohio Republican Party and Trump. You've put me in the uncomfortable position of excusing Trump's behavior, but here it goes... My impression is for those that voted for Trump they believe all politicians are corrupt, Trump is just honest about his dishonesty and at worst his corruption doesn't (or at least they don't see how it has) negatively affect them, or the affirmative case is that Trump is corrupt in service of his supporters. Maybe the school choice/school funding issue doesn't fit neatly into the other camp, but the first energy bribery scandal seems to. Point to giving money to employ out of state power plant workers in Indiana instead of helping Ohioans. You can make it a pocket book issue, higher rates and worse service. Lakewood just had 4 power outages in something like a month and First Energy didn't respond or seem to move to fix the problem until the city contacted them. Tristan Rader and Nickie Antonio should be making this an issue and blaming poor service on Republican's bad deal.

The Ohio Democratic Party's inability to hang massive corruption around Republicans is a huge indictment of the party leadership. Some of it has to do with how hollowed out the local media is. But it shouldn't be that hard for Democrats hammer Republicans on the First Energy bribery scheme, the corruption within the school choice system (ECOT and Bishop Sycamore), the unconstitutional funding of our schools for more than a decade, the unconstitutional redistricting, and on and on. There's plenty of other things Ohio Dems could run on but being anti-corruption should be pretty potent.

I never said Whaley was a good candidate. He almost won against a candidate that wasn't even in the state during much of the campaign and ran behind all other Republicans statewide. Ryan also had a winning playbook from Brown, he had the background to be able to convincingly run it too. He instead leaned into xenophobia and nativism, thinking he could outflank a Republican on these issues.

Tim Ryan ran a bad campaign. He was beat by Vance who didn't start campaigning state wide until the Senate Republican campaign came in to do it for him in August...

To add a bit more detail to this. West Creek has been working closely with Big Creek Connects for the past few years to facilitate the acquisitions, restorations, and other projects they've taken on, so this merger really is a natural progression of the existing relationship between the two organizations. Additionally, West Creek has merged with other local watershed/land conservancies in the past to continue the work in those areas, Mill Creek Watershed Partnership is one example. For anyone invested in Big Creek Connects' mission, so far at least one member of Big Creek's former board has joined West Creek's board and there will be a transition committee to ensure Big Creek's current projects and mission get the appropriate attention. West Creek's annual meeting is coming up on April 8 at 6pm at the Parma-Snow library if anyone is interested in learning more.

Cleveland to spend $1M for comprehensive survey of its 90,000 street trees Published: Jan. 07, 2025 By Sean McDonnell, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio — The city of Cleveland is looking for an outside firm that can take a comprehensive look at the 90,000 trees that line the city’s streets — and offer advice on how to take care of them. ... Urban Forestry is also looking for a roadmap that will outline how best to manage and grow the tree canopy through 2031. The firm that does the initial survey is also being asked to create a database Cleveland can update in the future. ... Cleveland received a $3.4 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service in September to help plant and care for trees across the city. About $1 million will go toward paying for the comprehensive survey. Some of that money is also being set aside specifically for Opportunity Corridor. https://www.cleveland.com/news/2025/01/cleveland-to-spend-1-m-for-comprehensive-survey-of-its-90000-street-trees.html

I don't think so, their post on IG said it would be an exciting announcement. The cause of the derailment seemed to be pretty minor and a quick/easy fix.

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Rail posting on their social media sites that they will be making a "big announcement" in less than a week. Would it be too soon for the release of feasibility studies for extending service from Rockside to Cleveland? https://www.instagram.com/p/DEiQrzDInJX/?igsh=MWdpNThoN280eHFqeg==

There was an earlier cleveland.com article that said the designation would come with "federal money for educational programs and maintenance". I assume those funds will be directed to the Buckeye Trail Association who would continue the day to day management of the trail, but I can't say I'm familiar with how these National Scenic Trails operate. Rep. Tim Ryan seeks national designation for Buckeye Trail in Ohio

National Park Service Announces Public Comment Period and Public Meetings Regarding Buckeye National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Date: January 6, 2025 Contact: [email protected] OMAHA, Neb. – The National Park Service (NPS) is hosting an upcoming public comment period to gather input on the ongoing Buckeye National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study, intended to evaluate the potential inclusion of the Buckeye Trail in the country’s National Trails System. Congress directed the Secretary of the Interior to study the feasibility and suitability of designating the Buckeye Trail as a National Scenic Trail. The NPS will be hosting six meetings for members of the public to learn more about the study. The Buckeye Trail is an existing system of trails creating a loop extending approximately 1,454 miles from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, including the farmland of northwest Ohio, the Bluegrass region of southwest Ohio, the Black Hand sandstone cliffs of the Hocking Hills region, and Hills of Appalachia. The trail was built from 1959 to 1980 by the Buckeye Trail Association, a non-profit organization that still administers it. More than half of the Buckeye Trail route overlaps the North County National Scenic Trail route as it passes through Ohio. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT An important aspect of the study process is gathering information from the public about the trail, including determining the level of support locally and from the general public, and identifying any issues or concerns associated with this trail’s potential inclusion in the National Trails System. The NPS will host five in-person public meetings and one virtual public meeting about the study. Public Meeting Information: January 13, 2025 — Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio Hines Hill Conference Center 1403 West Hines Hill Road, Peninsula, OH 44264 4:00 - 7:00pm January 14, 2025 — Napoleon, Ohio Henry County Hospital Heller Community Room 1600 E Riverview, Napoleon, OH 43545 4:00 - 7:00pm January 15, 2025 — Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, Ohio Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center 2380 Memorial Rd, Dayton, OH 45433 4:00 - 7:00pm January 16, 2025 — Cincinnati, Ohio Digital Futures Building, Level 1 Conference Room 3080 Exploration Avenue, Room 140, Cincinnati, OH 45206 4:00 - 7:00pm January 17, 2025 — Athens, Ohio Athens Community Center, Room B and C 701 E State St, Athens, OH 45701 3:00 - 6:00pm January 23, 2025 — Virtual Public Meeting Link to join meeting available at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/buckeyetrailfs - 5:30 - 6:30pm EST In these public meetings, NPS staff will share information about the study process, including the criteria used to evaluate the trail for inclusion in the National Trails System, and answer questions. The public comment period will be open from January 6th to February 19th, 2025, and provides an opportunity the public to review the feasibility study process and share feedback regarding the study. During this time, we invite individuals to review the project and provide input. Please visit https://parkplanning.nps.gov/buckeyetrailfs for details and to share comments. Comments will be accepted online until February 19th, 2025. https://home.nps.gov/locations/midwest/national-park-service-announces-public-comment-period-and-public-meetings-regarding-buckeye-national-scenic-trail-feasibility-study.htm

Suspected cause found in derailment of CVSR holiday ride that stranded hundreds for hours - Craig Webb Flatau said the preliminary probe into the mishap found the train was traveling no more than 2 mph when the railcars derailed while on its way back to the station in Independence. All the cars remained in an upright position. "Preliminary findings suggest that the east side of the rail may have spread and rolled," federal authorities say. "This type of condition is akin to something known as wide gage, whereby there is too much distance between the rails at a given point. It is among the most common of track causes." Although there will not be a full federal investigation, Flatau said, this is a reportable incident and the scenic railroad will have until the end of January to submit its official report to the agency. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/local/2025/01/03/cause-determined-cuyahoga-valley-scenic-rail-road-derailment-december-cvnp-peninsula/77434442007/

Well, presumably represented Columbus though would be useful to know if Haslam preferences their selection in Columbus. And I don't know if that was a square deal for Columbus or not. Again, a lot more details Cleveland.com could have (and should have) included in this article...

4 historic buildings in Akron and Barberton to be rehabilitated with aid from tax credits Mark J. Price Four buildings in Akron and Barberton will be rehabilitated with the aid of historic preservation tax credits from Ohio. The former downtown Akron YWCA, an East Market Street warehouse, the old Barberton Herald building and an adjacent commercial structure are among 37 projects that will receive $56 million to preserve 42 buildings across the state. The projects are expected to draw $715 million in private investments. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2024/12/28/akron-barberton-ohio-buildings-rehabilitated-fixed-historic-preservation-tax-credits/77171476007/ More details about the projects in the article above.

Thank you for flagging this! I glossed over the second half of this paragraph because it started with the same old political platitudes... I don't think Bibb has been as hyper-focused on the Browns as maybe the media suggests (because this is the media's primary focus). Progress has definitely been slower than I would have liked and there's definitely still more work to be done. • identified a better solution for the new CPD HQ and has continued to work on solutions to staffing shortages • zoning changes and a focus on complete street designs whenever resurfacing projects are started—again, more needs to be done on simplifying the zoning and permitting process and on improving pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure • the creation of the North Coast Waterfront Development Co, studies for the development of North Coast harbor, the land bridge, redesign of rt 2, and repurposing Burke Those are the bigger ongoing projects that I can think of off the top of my head. He's also managed, with Council, the spending of the COVID recovery money on various projects across the city. So I think it is more than a bit unfair to say Bibb is only focused on the Browns.