8ShadesofGray

I am tentatively in. But only if we can have a brief discussion about a Day of Service in early spring ... over Christmas Ale, of course. :wink:

Received this via e-mail on Monday: No Umbrella- Election Day in The City, director Laura Paglin's documentary chronicling 2004 Election Day troubles in one of Cleveland's poorest neighborhoods, makes its television debut Thursday, November 9th, 7:30 PM (EST) on the Cinemax cable network. The half-hour film, which stars Cleveland Councilwoman Fannie Lewis and captures the chaos and frustration faced by inner city voters, was acquired by HBO Documentary Filmms after premiering at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and taking an Audience Award at the Sydney International Film Festival. *** Laura Paglin previously directed Night Owls of Coventry. You can find out more about No Umbrella, which also showed at last year's Cleveland International Film Festival, at www.noumbrella.org.

Does anyone have access to the rendering that appeared in the PD article? Or other renderings for that matter?

From The Cleveland Scene Tempted by the Fruit of Another Rust Belt wines are calling out the pride of Napa Valley...and winning. By Rebecca Meiser Article Published Oct 18, 2006 In late summer 2005, Nick Ferrante knew he was onto something big. The past six months had been kind to the third-generation winemaker. Little rain and lots of long, hot days made for healthy, vibrant fruit in Ashtabula County, where Ferrante Winery and Ristorante is a tourist destination ... ... More at http://www.clevescene.com/Issues/2006-10-18/news/feature.html

Beck Center, schools to form arts academy Tony Brown, Theater Critic (Cleveland) Plain Dealer Wednesday, Oct. 18, 4:09 p.m. The Beck Center for the Arts will stay in Lakewood and form a partnership with city schools to create an arts-education academy that would anchor a possible cultural district in Lakewood’s west end. That was the big news announced Wednesday by Beck board chairman Frederick Unger, Lakewood schools superintendent David Estrop, Mayor Thomas George and other potential partners in the proposal ... More at http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/entertainment/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_entertainment/archives/2006_10.html#196100

Two gigantic towers advertising the center have gone up along 176. I didn't have a camera, but they're tall steel (colored towers) with "STEELYARD" in large red lettering. And they're ginormous.

^^ The Film Commission has the premier scheduled at 3:30. Could be an outdated post, but probably better to arrive too early for the show than too late ... unless you're inclined to skip the rather long "Support the Cinematheque" talk that often precedes their showings.

^ I wouldn't be surprised if they offered a much higher bid to Shaia, recognizing that he was probably the most high-profile owners and that, with his semi-salient development plan, he would be most able among them to effectively challenge claims of blight.

Travel Web site reveals Northeast Ohio's secret Cleveland on 'overlooked destination' list Sarah Hollander (Cleveland) Plain Dealer Thursday, October 12, 2006 Finally, the underdog gets a bone. Cleveland may have been tagged as the nation's poorest big city and passed over by the Republican Party's convention committee, but it certainly isn't down and out in the eyes of TripAdvisor. The popular travel Web site says Cleveland is one of the world's Top 10 underrated destinations ... ... More at http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1160642436211680.xml&coll=2

The Wall Street Journal ran an article on October 10th ("Big Tobacco Spending Big Money to Fight State Bans, Taxes") regarding Reynolds American Inc., Philip Morris USA and Altria Group Inc.'s campaign to strike down excise tax and smoking ban ballot issues across the country (not a subscriber so wasn't able to access the article ... a paper copy was passed on to me).

This film is now playing at the Cedar Lee, for those of you who are in Cleveland.

Anyone have any thoughts on the dissolution of the third district? Good or bad move? I'm far from a public safety expert, so I don't have a real strong opinion on this one. I am a little wary of losing a major police presence within a half mile of both my job and home. And if it makes me a little anxious, I wonder how it will be interpreted by naturally fearful suburbanites and exurbanites ... Perhaps they wouldn't even notice; it's not like the current headquarters has very high visibility. I wonder what they would do with the 3rd district building ... a true beauty, in my opinion (at least along its Chester frontage).

From what I've heard, this promises to be a young, fun crowd. Open to the public. Young Professionals for Arts & Culture Location: McNulty's Bier Markt / 1948 West 25th Street, Cleveland, OH When: Tuesday, October 24, 5:00pm Revelry for ISSUE 18! Join us for an evening of live music, cutting-edge visual displays, food, good friends, and a great cause. This FREE event is intended to raise awareness and support for Issue 18. Celebrate the power of arts and culture in our community. Bring yourself and your friends to learn more about Issue 18 and how Arts & Culture affects our economy, education, community, and ourselves. www.issue18.org.

^ From what I've heard, this group has started passing fliers out at high-visibility spots (e.g. Public Square) and plans to launch a website next week. I think they're for real.

I almost forgot ... REQUIRED reading for all urban ohioans: The Cleveland Metropolitan Reader. W. Dennis Keating, David C. Perry, eds. 1995. Synopsis: Contemporary urban scholars examine the political economy, social development, and history of Cleveland from 1796 to the present in this interdisciplinary collection of essays. Also included are commentaries provided by the leaders of Cleveland, now actively working to transform the city. Though the contributors do not necessarily agree on the nature of Cleveland's problems or on appropriate solutions, together they offer a broad perspective on the reality of a great American city's growth, decline, and reinvention. Also check out People and the Competitive Advantage of Place: Building a Workforce for the 21st Century. Shari Garmise. 2005. Great section on young professional training efforts in Cleveland.

Jackson to revamp city safety services Plan would eliminate 3rd Police District Gabriel Baird (Cleveland) Plain Dealer Friday, October 06, 2006 Cleveland's safety forces are top-heavy, inefficient bureaucracies that need to be streamlined, Mayor Frank Jackson said Thursday in announcing sweeping changes to the Department of Public Safety. He unveiled 53 recommendations to improve the city's Police, Fire, Emergency Medical Services, Animal Services and Corrections departments ... http://www.cleveland.com/open/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1160123528197870.xml&coll=2

The Onion strikes again ... Tourist Experiences City By Buying Used CDs October 4, 2006 | Issue 42•40 CHARLESTON, SC—Tourist Alex Pratt decided to "get the feel" of the historic South Carolina port city of Charleston by making the rounds of its local used-CD stores Tuesday. "I found a Marshall Crenshaw CD I didn't have, and really lucked out on The Feelies' The Good Earth—I haven't seen that in years," said Pratt, who has also shopped for music in Boston, San Francisco, Gettysburg, PA, and Kansas City. "I like this place. It's a lot like my regular used-CD shop back in Chicago." Foregoing a ferry-ride to nearby Fort Sumter, Pratt said he intended to spend the remainder of the afternoon peeling the protective plastic off the CD cases and enjoying a sandwich from a local Subway restaurant. http://www.theonion.com/content/node/53599

Two recommendations that come to mind right away are: The Full Cleveland, Terry Reed. Coming-of-age novel set largely in Shaker Heights. Fascinating view of urban parenting - one parent that is very protective and sheltering, the other wanting children that have a social conscience and understand the dilemmas facing Cleveland's underclass. The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less, Terry Ryan. Great book on how a mother tackles borderline poverty by winning contests. Recently made into a movie (sadly, filmed in Ontario instead of Ohio).

It does? :?

Nestle to open 'Culinary Innovation Center' in Solon By STAN BULLARD Crain's Cleveland 6:00 am, October 4, 2006 Nestle FoodServices North America plans to establish a new “Culinary Innovation Center” in Solon that will develop new food products for its restaurant chain customers. The Culinary Innovation Center will house chefs, marketing managers and food technologists who will work with restaurants to develop soups and entrees that the company can manufacture for them, said Kathy Lenkov, a Nestle spokeswoman in Glendale, Calif ... ... More at http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061004/FREE/61003011/1004

Thanks for the link, Pope. Looks like a great program. Does anyone know of similar coordinated efforts in the 3 Cs (or other Ohio urban areas)? In Cleveland, I am not aware of any similar comprehensive efforts. Downtown Cleveland Alliance has their new program, but as far as I'm aware, has not engaged volunteers. And most other neighborhoods do clean-up projects at the CDC level or even the block club level. Am I missing anything? We need Blightbusters!

If I recall, OneCleveland is one of the partners in the initiative, but a number of big players are working on this. It's too bad this isn't getting more attention; The Digital Airport Initiative is responding to an RFP for advertising throughout the airport. If they are successful, the content would promote the city of Cleveland in a whole new light. If they aren't successful, it's more likely that we'll see traditional advertising for national chains, etc. I think it's really going to come down to whether they can successfully make the case that their project will not only promote Cleveland in a new light but that it can raise similar revenue to traditional advertising contracts for the airport.

A little off topic, but I've always heard Shaker Square referred to as the densest neighborhood in Cleveland proper. While Edgewater is pretty dense, it is usually the municipality of Lakewood that I hear referred to as the densest city between Chicago and NYC. Lakewood probably does indeed beat out Shaker Square in this category.

^^ Think there was just some confusion. Zaceman and I were harping over some design elements of www.comehometocleveland.com, not KJP's "'s a White Trash Dream, Y'all" ad. Meanwhile it looks like www.college360.org is planning to add some additional features (such as allowing young people to rate what's hot / what's not) later this fall.

Burke Lakefront Airport? (Cleveland) Plain Dealer Monday, October 02, 2006 The debate continues as to whether Burke Lakefront Airport would serve Cleveland's future better if it were transformed into something like Burke Lakefront Recreational Park and Condominiums. As Chicago built the famous Lake Shore Drive, and parks and residential buildings for downtown waterfront living, Cleveland built a 3,600-foot dirt runway on top of a landfill. Burke, which opened in 1947, occupies more than 550 acres of lakefront green space north of downtown Cleveland just off North Marginal Road near East Ninth Street ... ... More at http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1159778161227330.xml&coll=2