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Looks like you are correct.... http://www.snopes.com/racial/humor/nascar.asp

I think that is probably all part of the developers' plans. Make the neighborhood "unliveable" so even if they did lose the court case, the residents have little choice but to sell. Anyone know which one is the Gambles' house?

This film really makes me wonder why our our downtown special improvement districts don't do more to market the benefits of urban living. Sure they are there to give sound bytes to the media, but it seems like a real marketing campaign could do some good. The ignorance of people always amazes me, so maybe more marketing could really help. I'm sure it comes down to money, but there has to be some creative way to do it (localized facebook ads, videos on the net, etc.)

Ha! Hardly...I've been with my partner for almost 5 years now, so the social life started going downhill, well, about 5 years ago. :lol: Oh, and to tie this back into the discussion, I moved to Cincinnati single and then found myself a man. See, Cincinnati is a good city for singles. lol

Nice job. "The noblest motive is the public good" - I love it. Unfortunately, some find the definition of public good subjective.

The Dock is out and Adonis is in (or so I hear) :)

More donations sought for county veterans memorial Fremont News-Messenger, 7/21/06 Lee Swartz, chairman of the Sandusky County Veterans Memorial Fund, said about $18,000 has been raised in order to construct a monument honoring the county's armed forces. At a meeting with the Sandusky County commissioners Thursday, Swartz said the total cost of the monument is expected to be between $60,000 to $65,000. Most of the money is being collected from residents who purchase 4-inch-by-8-inch pavers that will rest in the base of the monument. The pavers can be purchased for $100. Residents will also be allowed to have a message etched into the paver. The monument would be made of black granite, and the main tablet would feature a U.S. flag with a 30-inch bald eagle head on the front. Atlas Industries adding 25 jobs with expansion Fremont News-Messenger, 7/21/06 With the expansion of its Fremont plant, Atlas Industries announced Thursday morning it will add 25 jobs by the end of the year. Maurice Clark, vice president of finance at Atlas, said the company will build an addition to the western side of its plant at 1750 E. State St., Fremont. The expansion will help accommodate the company's plan to begin building large crankshafts for pumps used by the oil and gas industry. The crankshafts will weigh up to five tons. The expansion will be about 58,000 square feet and will provide a lunch room, lockers, a restroom and a stock room.

Yesterday I heard that NCR may move a unit or division and keep most of the company in Dayton and now daytonpolitics.com is reporting.... Speculation that Mark Hurd, former CEO of NCR and current CEO of HP, has his eye on NCR continues to spread. Reportedly Hurd in interested in the profitable Teradata Division of NCR. To acquire that part of NCR would, of course, require HP buy the entire company. According to sources, if HP is successful in acquiring NCR, the Teradata Division would be headquartered out of Atlanta and the rest of NCR sold off.

Perrysburg renovations big hit with parkgoers Toledo Blade, 7/13/06 With Perrysburg's summer recreation program in full swing, the renovations at Municipal Park and the new recreation building are very much appreciated. The renovations will be celebrated at a grand reopening at 5:30 p.m. Monday. The 19-acre facility, built in 1952, is the city's oldest active recreational park. "The park is beautiful," said Councilman Joe Lawless, chairman of council's recreation committee.

FWIW... http://www.forbes.com/2006/07/25/singles-cities-methodology-cx_lr_06singles_0725method.html

Doesn't Pittsburgh have higher taxes on the land and a lower tax on improvements? Or a special "parking lot" tax or something like that?

Hmm. So now what?

If there is any truth to the rumor, I could see this being the case. See what deal Georgia and Atlanta is willing give them and come back to officials in Dayton and threaten to leave if they don't match Atlanta's incentives. I don't like it, but I guess that's just how companies do business today.

Kibby Corners changes approved By JIM SABIN 07/25/2006 [email protected] LIMA — Lima City Council moved forward with a pair of demolition projects at the corner of Kibby and Main streets to clear the way for redevelopment. The council agreed to accept the former Siferd Funeral Home at 712 S. Main St. from a private owner as a donation, and the city has already included the $9,500 demolition cost in its upcoming Community Development Block Grant request, Public Works Director Howard Elstro said. Once the building is torn down, it will be paired up with an adjacent property on the southwest corner to form a one-acre parcel for new development, he said. The city also owns the northeast corner of the intersection, known as Kibby Corners. And just south of the southeast corner, the council agreed to fund the demolition of 711 S. Main St. retroactively. The building partially collapsed July 14, prompting the emergency demolition. Full story at http://www.limaohio.com/story.php?IDnum=27955

daytonpolitics.com seems to be hit or miss with the accuracy of their scoops, so I'm going to hope that it is just an unfounded rumor

While I pretty much agree with you, how do you define suburban? The day downtown becomes just another office park is the day I'm headed out of town. Downtown Dayton may not be the greatest downtown, but IMHO it is leaps and bounds better than a bland office park. We discussed this very issue at length in one of my grad classes. Everyone agreed that while strong downtowns are not really necessary for conducting business anymore because of advances in transportation and technology, that does not make them obsolete. They serve an important role in the creating a sense of place. No matter how successful Centerville or Beavercreek is, the region as a whole is connected to the success of Dayton. When's the last time you've heard about the successful suburb of Flint, Michigan? While I'm sure some exist, I'm more likely to hear about the problems of Flint, including the struggling downtown. As we suburbanize downtown Dayton, it just becomes another place...nothing special...a place not worth making a trip to visit...a place not even worth mentioning. If we keep suburbanizing downtown Dayton, as you suggest, pretty soon there won't be much left. It's a lot easier to lose something than to get it back--including the landmarks that set downtown apart. I place much of Dayton's problems, including downtown's, on the lazy, apathetic suburbanites who don't give a shit about the success of the Dayton region. They would rather move out to the burb, have their SUVs, spend their time deciding which suburban Applebee's to dine at this week, cluelessly bitch about anything and everything that goes on in Dayton and leave the urban problems behind them. People are too blind to see that they are part of the problem. People need to get off their asses and do something about it, or at the very least give a damn. </rant> We'll just have to disagree about the grass and tress. I wouldn't consider a large patch of grass and trees in that location to be an "aesthetic improvement." To me, an abandoned historic building that has a chance of being restored--albeit a small chance--is much more valuable than another parking lot in downtown Dayton. I might have to dig out one of my old textbooks because it talks about the return on investment on urban renewal vs. historic preservation projects. Historic preservation by far has proven more successful in the long run, with the major challenge being getting the funding to get a project started. Sadly, I have never been in the building but look forward to the day when I can. Let's hope so!

Maybe I just don't get it, but anytime I've been to downtown Dayton on a weekday during business hours, I have never, ever had a problem finding a parking spot, so I hardly feel more is justified. If anything, there is an abundance of close-in parking, so people don't walk very far at all on the street, which really takes away any sort of street activity, making it tougher for small businesses to make a go of it. Isn't that what we already have? Besides, didn't we learn from previous urban renewal efforts that the suburbanization of downtowns does not work. What value does that add to downtown? None. A place like Riverscape is a destination and has been pretty good at attracting people, but its not like people are racing downtown to go hang out in Dave Hall Plaza. If I want grass and trees, I'll head to one of the MetroParks.

Check out this month's Harper's Magazine cover story--an essay by Bryant Urstadt entitled "Imagine There's No Oil: Scenes from a liberal apocalypse." I was especially surprised (although I shouldn't have been) when I read the first sentence... "On a Friday last fall, I headed to Yellow Springs, Ohio, to learn more about oil depletion and the imminent collapse of idustrial civilization." I doesn't look like the article is online yet...hopefully Harper's will post it eventually.

CSI Downtown Dayton - Where's The Crime? News feature By Holly Hudson The words “crime” and “Dayton” occur so often in the same sentence that one can’t help but wonder if they are now indelibly woven into our collective unconscious by years of bad news and scary local TV news reports. Certainly Dayton has seen, and continues to see, some hard times. The vortex created by the loss of manufacturing jobs has yet to be filled, urban flight continues apace, and the city is now home to some 7,500-odd vacant structures that only further serves to fuel the drug trade and gangs in the most impoverished and neglected neighborhoods. Reach DCP freelance writer Holly Hudson at [email protected] http://www.daytoncitypaper.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2803

Housing deal no sure thing Port Clinton News Herald, 7/19/06 A proposed affordable-housing development on Fremont Road has to get more investors even though the state recently awarded nearly a half million dollars in tax credits to help move the project forward. Don Corley, who serves as one of the development's lead agents in his role as housing coordinator for WSOS Community Action Commission, said the $473,659 tax credit that the Ohio Housing Finance Agency granted earlier this month falls well short of paying the $5.6 million price tag. Although Corley said the development, known as Port Clinton Pointe, isn't a certainty at this point, he thinks it will go ahead. "The tax credit is the essential piece," he said. Corley added that tax credits, which are awarded by the Internal Revenue Service to attract investors, will cover about $4 million of the project's total cost. Port Clinton News Herald: Housing project gets aid (7/14/06)

Very nice...all great little towns!

I think what he really meant to say was something like... "We have failed to implement anything that we were planning. We kicked businesses out of their buildings and have failed to replace them. Basically, we promised a lot, but have failed to delivery anything--including a clock tower."

Here's an article from The Chronicle of Higher Education focusing on the role of colleges and universities in economic development, especially in rustbelt cities. The article focuses mostly on Rochester NY, but also talks about the University of Akron's role with polymer research and spinoff businesses. The University As Economic Savior As higher education replaces industry in some cities, colleges face both support and unrealistic expectations By KARIN FISCHER Rochester, N.Y. On a wintry March day in 1932, George Eastman, inventor of rolled film and founder of the Eastman Kodak Company, summoned a trio of witnesses to his home here to view the signing of his revised will. Minutes after the group left, Mr. Eastman, who was ill with a degenerative spinal disorder, shot himself in the heart. The deathbed revisions made the University of Rochester the beneficiary of his $25-million estate, part of the $50-million he bequeathed to the private institution over his lifetime... . More than 300 professors have taken part in the program, which allows them to teach a reduced courseload. http://chronicle.com | Section: Government & Politics | Volume 52, Issue 45, Page A18

Who cares......it say that they have been farming in Liberty Township since 1948! Wow they have been hard at work for almost 60 years....its not like it has been passed on from generation to generation that has been diligently tilling the land. What is the significance........they'll be gone soon! I think there is a great deal of significance when family farms are being forced out only to be replaced with unsustainable sprawl. Whether it is fatter Americans, paying for more roads, increased pollution from longer commutes, socially isolated children, racism, lack of mass transit, abandonment of the urban core, classism, adverse ecological effects, and so on, takes a significant toll--both financially and socially--on society. So while it may not be significant if the Niederman Family is still farming that land in 60 years, given Liberty Township's growth, what will eventually likely happen to their property and farmers like them will continue to cause significant consequences.

Wonder how much longer the Niederman family will be farming in Liberty Township