jamiec

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/mls/longterm/2006/mls.salaries.html Man, look at those salaries!

The Crew did come up to Cleveland to play the Cleveland City Stars in a friendly this summer. Unfortunately, only City Stars season ticket holders could attend, which I think was a big waste considering 99% of Northeast Ohio has never heard of the Cleveland City Stars.

Then people from Michigan could call us the Whore By the Shore. I trademarked that, so I want a cut, CDawg.

That story is, I think, illustrative of what the problem is around here. You could explain the whole history of Cleveland by getting someone to read the news stories about this building.

Of Columbus' pro teams, including soccer, arena football and hockey, I think the Blue Jackets have done the best job of expanding into the Cleveland market. They have a radio affiliate, and you see their literature all over the place. I think they were damaged badly by the lost season, their horrible play and the rise of the Cavs on FoxSports. So, all the momentum they had when they arrived in Columbus, giving hockey fans statewide a team to cheer for has been eroded. Hell, now we have a minor league team in Cleveland that aims to have the same showmanship of a Cavs game. I'm not really all that interested. I think the Crew have more room to grow as soccer has inched up the interest meter with the arrival of Beckham. That team's problem is, there is no communication going on to Northeast Ohio. I've never seen any advertisements and you never see the highlights on TV. Do they have a radio affiliate up here? The Cavs and Browns all find ways into Columbus, so I think the OP has a valid point. Personally, I don't think Columbus teams need to give up the "Columbus" in order to cultivate a bigger fan base, but they should at least look north and south to promote their teams since we do not have these sports in our cities.

Is there a reason the Football Hall of Fame looks like an orange juicer? I grew up in Cuyahoga Falls, like 35 minutes away, and I've never been to downtown Canton. I guess it's me keepin' it real, A-K-Rowdy, style!

^ Well, if that's true, it's good news! I'm sure there are some places out there that are shrinking or looking for similarly sized spaces in other buildings, though. I know of a number of buildings, like the Hanna, that aren't very full -- why else would they institute that month-to-month rent plan for new tech businesses? You wouldn't do that if you had a steady stream of tenants. My fear is, a glitzy new skyscraper will distract the non-UrbanOhio reader from what we should be concentrating on, increasing our density, bringing retail to the street, increasing the residential population, etc. I've seen the History Channel shows on the birth of skyscrapers, and the fundamental point behind it all is -- skyscrapers are expensive, flamboyant landmarks to ego, wealth and economic strength - even the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building had high vacancies for years after their construction. At this point in Cleveland's history, it's my argument that we should look be more pragmatic and thrifty and look to traditional neighborhoods to help spur the city's rebirth. Instead of copying Dubai, we should be copying Ohio City. Leasing a Hummer doesn't make you a rich man.

MAN! You could do some mean "Back On Topic" pix with a building of that size!

So, I'm just going to speculate, using help from that PD info graphic, that Eaton and Ernst & Young (OK, so maybe I'm wrong. I'm a lousy sleuth :) are the two companies that would go halfsies on a skyscraper, as they have the largest number of employees and are two places on the bubble for new leases. I think a skyscraper is stupid in this case -- it doesn't make sense economically or for the urban landscape. I'd much rather have a shorter, more dense neighborhood in the Warehouse District than some Goliath new building that'll probably be ugly and inundate the office market with available space. Where are the tenants going to come from? There's office space all over downtown that's in decent shape. I think a new skyscraper would be an ego-driven venture meant to be a landmark for these companies and the developer. Unfortunately, I don't think it would do anyone else any good.

Hey, a Cleveland connection: COLUMBUS -- In the midst of their bid to return to the MLS Cup Playoffs, the Columbus Crew on Thursday made a landmark announcement that could have much more long-reaching effects on the club. The Crew have named Glidden, an ICI Paints brand, as the presenting partner of Ohio's Major League Soccer club. More: http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20071004&content_id=121300&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp

^^ Those little bastards are good for something!!!

Did they really get swarmed by mayflies? OH - MY - GOD. That is AWESOME!!

WELL.... Personally, I mix and match where I purchase things from. For the past few years, Gap hasn't been very interesting to me, but I do go there for staples like white button-ups and jeans. Got a new pair of jeans there last week, and they're great. The jacket I got was a casual blazer. I have purchased a number of items at Express, and they have held up fine -- these include blazers, a shirt and pants. I haven't liked their offerings during the past year, though, so I only look in when I'm around. I also shop at H&M on occasion, but I'm phasing that store out just because the quality is so poor and the styles are getting to look a little too weird. I also didn't like how I purchased a sweater in a NYC location in March and last week there were like 20 of them on the sale rack. I like sticking with a traditional look with interesting details like socks, pocket squares, ties, etc. I'm not really into the super flamboyant stuff, such as is at Style Lounge in the WHD.

All I know is, I bought a jacket at the Gap once, took it too someone to do alterations and when I got it back, they jacked up the buttons on the sleeve! Lucky for them I got a sweet deal because my sister worked there, but I don't want these getting screwed up!

What we need is a Lindsay Lohan fender bender on Euclid to get the celebrity buzz going!

Thanks, KJP. I was just curious if anyone had a recommendation. But I'll check out European Tailors.

What the hell is the point of a new 70-story tower in downtown Cleveland? That's insane! I'm in the Halle building and 75% of the damn thing is empty, and it's like 10 stories tall! How did Stark go from gung ho to all the sudden talking like the county commissioners? Is he still focusing on the suburbs to make the cheese?

Here are my gripes: Insular populace Resistance to new ideas Socialized bitching Depressed wages Slow/no economic and job growth I think Cleveland is a great place to live. I think there are improvements to be made, however, and these will come from increased growth -- economically and population-wise. I was at an event for work with people from Phoenix, and they just love it, love it, love it. None of them actually grew up in Phoenix. The common thread I observed was that they loved Phoenix because they were not from Phoenix (how else could you love Satan's version of an easy-bake oven with sand and asphalt?). I think if Cleveland were to enjoy the economic growth of Phoenix, we'd get all these new people and their good vibrations, and it'd be top gear here.

Did you hear on the football game? The announcer was liek "We're in beautiful downtown Cleveland. And I'm not joking, this city is being revitalized." I was thinking "Thanks, I guess!" It's like someone walking up to you and saying "Hey, you look great. Not so fat!"

Didn't want to start a whole new thread for this. Does anyone know of a good tailor or person to do alterations in the vicinity of Lakewood, the west border of Cleveland? I have two jackets that need to have the sleeves taken up a bit, and I don't know where to go. Thanks!

"The Warehouse District is thriving. But is it as healthy as it could be?" Get a load of that headline! I'm no urban studies professor, but to me it's amazing that Cleveland neighborhoods like Ohio City, Tremont, Collinwood, etc. are doing so well despite the economic downtrend the city has been in for several generations. This is a testament to the creativity, passion and support of its residents. This is a region that is urban to the core but for some reason it can't remember it. Like a bunch of Bluejays that live in holes in the ground rather than fly. If we had the economic growth and population growth of a place like Denver, these issues would work themselves out. Obviously you want a good plan in place to guide growth, but a guy like Bob Stark, his partners and the companies that will be opening shop in the WHD definitely don't have a slam dunk down there. If this area was growing, someone would already have planted something on those vacant lots. The issue this story brings up to me is, will we be urban in the future or will we create everything according to our suburban view of the world? The complaint about "expensive" parking is ringing alarm bells, imo. This to me infers that people from outside the neighborhood want the neighborhood to be structured to accommodate them rather than the people who might live in it. We have revive neighborhoods for people to live in, otherwise their attractions are going to go up against all the damn lifestyle centers that keep getting built. Anyway, what Cleveland needs is growth growth growth. This will create more small businesses, lure in outside investors, create tax revenue to hire more police to keep the streets safer, etc.

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: Great news! I was so excited to take the Circulator to the Rapid station to the airport (and the reverse) this week. I love telling everyone that I took every form of mass transportation to get someplace, :wink2: But come on, I live in Lakewood, and I can get from my apartment door to my airline gate in 30 minutes for $2.50! You can't beat that!!!!!

Show, don't tell!

Not sure where to put this as we have two threads, but I was out of town "on business" (I've never gotten to say that before!), and I love the new rapid stop at W. 117! It's clean, straight-forward, and I think it'll be really nice when the weather gets cold. I told someone I was taking public transit to get to the airport -- as usual -- and she said "or you could just drive to make it easier..." I tried to explain that taking public transportation IS easier. My neighborhood is transit friendly, and I live here for a reason! On the airport: Maybe it has been mentioned before, but I noticed the loudspeaker announcement mentions "rapid transit trains downtown" now. I hope this inspires more downtown-bound visitors to take the train. It really is the best way to do it unless they need to rent-a-car. I was thinking, maybe it would be good to create some sort of vibrant "world-class signage" near the stairway down to the station just to really call out to visitors what's down there. I was in Texas this week and it was sprawl city. No me gusta. When we emerged from the tunnel to see the dense factories, smoke stacks and gray skies, I felt a fond feeling rise up inside me, thankful to be home.

Downtown Cleveland has a horrible jay-walking problem, and I'm not talking about places like the Warehouse District or near Jacob's Field. People run across E. 9th and all up and down Lakeside. Driving a car in those areas is maddening, not because of the traffic but because jackasses run across the street like squirrels. That's a big pet peeve I have. I'm all for pedestrian rights, but I think crosswalks are the safest way to get across the street, so they should be used! :whip: :whip: :whip: :whip: :whip: