MuRrAy HiLL

I'm guessing this has been posted somewhere else, but I can't find it! RTA to demolish closed Rockefeller Avenue bridge By Karen Farkas, The Plain Dealer December 29, 2009, 10:45AM CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The deteriorated Rockefeller Avenue bridge, closed since 2003, will be demolished next year and probably will not be replaced. RTA owns the 80-year-old concrete bridge, just south of Broadway Avenue behind the Main Post Office. The transit agency will spend more than $2.2 million in federal funds to tear down the structure. MORE AT http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/12/rta_to_demolish_closed_rockefe.html

ATTENTION: we've got Pro Bowlers! Congrats to Josh and Joe. Cleveland Browns send Josh Cribbs and Joe Thomas to Pro Bowl By Tony Grossi December 29, 2009, 5:56PM UPDATED: 8:17 p.m. BEREA, Ohio -- The way the Browns' season has gone over the past three games -- all wins -- it shouldn't come as a surprise that return specialist and Wildcat runner Josh Cribbs and left tackle Joe Thomas were named to the AFC Pro Bowl team. In the 13-6 win over Pittsburgh on Dec. 10, Cribbs captivated a national television audience with a 55-yard punt return to set up a field goal and also gained 44 of his 87 rushing yards on the Browns' lone touchdown drive. MORE AT http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2009/12/cleveland_browns_send_josh_cri.html

MTS...I am so jealous of your day! Cavs are streaking. This is going to be anotherfun year. Delonte is picking up his game, and the Cavs have been looking DEEP lately.

^^ I think a majority of them are here on student visas...not quite immigrants

Great Lakes Brewery (gotta have the Christmas Ale!!) Also, what might interest you: E. 4th street Public Square Christmas lights/Tower City "A Christmas Story" House http://www.achristmasstoryhouse.com/ Also...if you reeeally want to strech your time monday: University Circle (FREE Cleveland Museum of Art, Little Italy) Tailgating is usually done in the Muni lot, W. 6th and E. 4th, FYI. Too bad you're only here for such a short while, but have fun at the game. And stay warm!

Personally this is great for the city on so many levels. Youth, vitality, sense of community, work ethic, all being pumped into a neighborhood all within a relative short period of time. (like I said, I first started noticing the shift about 3 years ago). International students are a great demographic to help raise the downtown population, one that many of us may not have considered as making much of an impact. Now on the touchy issues. Is there a way to fix Parkview Apartments? I know it has recently undergone $16 million in renovations and a shift in ownership; however, this hasn't seemed to help. There have been two very highly publicized murders coming from residents there, which "sububanites" or the media have had a field day with "what's wrong with Downtown" and is even referenced in this article the poster child as examples of downtown being shady, dark, and unsafe. Like I've said before, I've personally had criminal encounters here. But then begs the question, what can be done? Can we have a city ordinance banning Section 8 housing with what is considered Downtown? (I think there are only one or two other properties Downtown...somewhere on Prospect is considered "senior housing"..Winston Manor maybe?) Can CSU buy the property?? Can an Indian business man buy the property? ;) Can there be stricter regulations on who they let rent in the building? Although I personally have nothing against Section 8 housing, Cleveland has too much to gain from having this property stay as it is. There has to be something that can be done and there is WAY too much potential for the future of this part of Downtown. Also, in my pipedream, I would move the Greyhound Station and redo the whole block in collaboration with CSU somehow (maybe housing and a northend College Town?). Now where to move the station? I have no expertise on making that judgement call, but I'm sure there are plenty of areas that could benefit. Lastly, I've been overseas now for awhile, and I work beside many foreign workers--daily. They hail mostly from Nepal, Philipines, India, and Sri Lanka. I estimate that 90% of them would kill to live and work in America...but it's too expensive to get there, too difficult (paperwork, laws, don't know how...), they don't know anyone, and that I am so lucky that I get to live in America. My point of saying this is that if these communities form, there is a high possibility of them growing...and to who knows how fast or big. Asiatown, for example, has it's roots planted and it has been growing over the past 5 years. Now if the city only knew how to market itself better and had an immigration office, but that's a whole other discussion (hey we have a thread for that somewhere!) All in all...I LOVE this article.

A very good read. I started noticing the shift at Reserve Square about 3 years ago. The Chesterfield really is turning into "Little Mumbai"! International students breathe life into a dark stretch of downtown By Robert L. Smith, The Plain Dealer December 26, 2009, 12:05AM "It's excellent," he said of his East 12th Street neighborhood. "We've got the Indian food nearby. We've got campus minutes away. We've got good transportation to anywhere. I can honestly say we live in one of the best environments in Cleveland." [Ashok Patel] and his wife, Ami, opened the grocery in a vacant storefront earlier this year after moving to Cleveland from London, England, where Ashok Patel was a Hindu priest at the famed Swaminarayan Neasden temple. "I fell in love with this country," he said. "We saw an opportunity here and we invested." "I think downtown is the best place to be for the international student," said Sowmya Narala, 23, who came from Hyderabad, India, to study engineering. Her roommate, Sireeshe Rayadurgam, marvels at RTA's HealthLine, which motors her up Euclid Avenue to school and back. "The transportation system is the best," she said. "Five minutes and there's a bus." READ AT http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/12/international_students_breath.html

CLEVELAND 102 , LA LAKERS 85 Merry Christmas everyone! :D Highlights of the game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFafmXhxxrg and also, this happened last night in LA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ_6WhF500c

Bringing in someone from Grand Rapids: Source: Steve Thonn to coach Cleveland Gladiators in Arena 1 By Dennis Manoloff December 22, 2009, 4:35PM CLEVELAND -- Former Grand Rapids Rampage coach Steve Thonn has been hired to coach the Cleveland Gladiators, a source close to the situation said. An official announcement is expected Wednesday. Thonn (pronounced: ton) is considered one of the indoor game's brightest offensive minds in the game. MORE AT http://www.cleveland.com/dman/index.ssf/2009/12/post_1.html

More in depth to my "smut" story ;) http://www.cleveland.com/people/index.ssf/2009/12/post_2.html

Exotic dancer stays in 'Christmas Story' house Updated: 12/22/2009 11:19:07 AM Posted: 12/22/2009 11:16:38 AM CLEVELAND -- A male exotic dancer and former reality TV contestant gets to spend a couple of nights living like Ralphie, in the Cleveland house used for the movie "A Christmas Story." The experience is a "major award" for Billy Jeffrey, who says he's obsessed with the 1983 film. He won his stay in the house by bidding $4,200 in an online charity auction and was scheduled to make his sleepovers Monday and Tuesday nights. http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=127538&catid=2

Do we not have a "University Circle News/Discussion (Non-construction)" or can I just not find it? Discovery by Cleveland Museum of Natural History and Case Western Reserve University scientists named 'Breakthrough of the Year' By Michael Scott December 22, 2009, 12:15PM CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ardi is as big a hit in the 21st Century as she was in her day -- and that was 4.4 million years ago, scientist say. And today, Science Magazine has named the discover of the species now called 'Ardi' -- properly known as Ardipithecus ramidus -- as the the "Science Breakthrough of the Year" for 2009. http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/12/hominid_skeleton_discovery_by.html

New celebrity in town! Mike Holmgren accepts team president role with Cleveland Browns By Mary Kay Cabot December 21, 2009, 6:23PM UPDATED: 9:51 p.m. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Big Show is coming to town -- and he's only coming to run the show, not coach it. Former Seahawks and Packers coach Mike Holmgren, also known as The Big Show, agreed Monday to become president of the Browns. A source close to the situation said he will not be coaching the team, instead becoming the football czar they've been seeking to help turn around the struggling franchise. MORE AT http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2009/12/report_mike_holmgren_not_comin.html

Michael Symon to appear on 'Letterman' tonight By Joe Crea, The Plain Dealer December 22, 2009, 6:00AM CLEVELAND, Ohio — Apparently somebody at Worldwide Pants got a kick out of Michael Symon. Tonight, Cleveland's Iron Chef will appear on "Late Night With David Letterman" on CBS. The show airs at 11:35 p.m. on WOIO Channel 19 in Cleveland. MORE AT http://www.cleveland.com/taste/index.ssf/2009/12/symon_to_appear_on_letterman_t.html

This news is hitting all the major papers: Cleveland-based Athersys inks deal with Pfizer on cell therapy treatment By Sarah Jane Tribble, The Plain Dealer December 21, 2009, 11:00AM Cleveland-based Athersys, which produces biopharmaceutical products, inked a deal with global giant Pfizer this morning, sending its stock soaring. Athersys sold the rights to its treatment for inflammatory bowel disease for an upfront cash payment of $6 million with additional payments of up to $105 million at certain milestones. MORE AT http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2009/12/athersys_inks_deal_with_pfizer.html

Perk Plaza renovations under way in wake of fatal shooting: Whatever happened to ... ? By Plain Dealer staff December 21, 2009, 6:00AM A long-stalled makeover of the awkwardly configured park, which sits at the intersection of East 12th Street and Walnut Avenue, received a second wind earlier this year. Mayor Frank Jackson and City Council cleared the way for $1.7 million in improvements. The incident called attention to Perk Plaza's dangers. Chunky concrete walls and a sunken middle resulted in obscure sight lines. Work on the site has begun. Crews dug out the concrete and left in its place a flat patch of fenced-in dirt. Bright-colored banners on the fences promise a significant upgrade. "This park serves as a real example of downtown's comeback, and the mayor's support and leadership has been amazing," said Councilman Joe Cimperman, who represents downtown. -- Henry J. Gomez MORE AT CLEVELAND.COM http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/12/perk_plaza_renovations_under_w.html

You're the man Rockitect! Very indepth analysis (for you, probably not so much!) You have me reading and thinking about things now I probably would have never considered. That is all...

Cobblestone, maybe some trees, and blocked off of all automobiles....and I'm happy! :D I do like the "iconic" aspect of what is proposed. So I'd vote #3....really alot of cool potential. And you always have to be realistic and think winter months too. That one does it for me best during that snowy time. Lastly, I LOVE the showcasing of the Soldiers and Sailors monument it creates.

From the DCA website (7.5 MB) Public Square Proposals Presentation: http://www.downtownclevelandalliance.com/uploads/09_1216_Field%20Operations%20Concept%20Presentation_web.pdf

It really is the only part of Downtown I've ever felt unsafe, and I can usually hold my own. Too bad there can't be a city ordinance banning such apartments within the downtown district...so the owner can't just sit back on his cash cow and seemingly not care. It's those few bad apples who ruin it for everyone and really sway my opinion.

I've actually had two run-ins there, now that I see what we're talking about. I got in a fight there two years ago, and was held up for my watch last year. I was too drunk to fight back that night and it was 3 on 1...

VERY COOL ARTICLE: Getting to know the Real Cleveland: Yeah, we got history, but we've also evolved By Michael Heaton, The Plain Dealer December 18, 2009, 12:00AM LeBron James is to Jim Brown what Michael Symon is to Chef Boyardee. The genius of Cleveland, the much unappreciated genius of Cleveland, is that this city has a talent for making the old new. It's everywhere you look. Newcomers to Cleveland might find it daunting to be adequately steeped in the canon of "Real Cleveland." All the sports and media history. All the unforgivable insults, the grudges that need bearing and renewing. The cascade of fond memories from a golden era. HERE'S THE STORY: http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2009/12/getting_to_know_the_real_cleve.html

Is that the Section 8 building right next to Reserve Sqaure??

Sorry Living in Gin, this isn't in reponse to your inquiry, but you did remind me. There looks to be some decent job listings in University Circle in Cleveland: http://www.universitycircle.org/category-listings.aspx?cat=11&section=work Also, a nice little big picture perspective: http://www.universitycircle.org/work.aspx

Cleveland: New showcase for techies Michael O'Mara Updated: 12/17/2009 10:38:52 AM Posted: 12/16/2009 CLEVELAND -- The organizers called it the "Portfolio Showcase and Open House." Inside the former Brunswick Flowers building on Carnegie Avenue in Cleveland, dozens of young entrepreneurs and techies mixing with venture capitalists, business owners and educators. The concept was very straightforward: hook up investors with money with the inventors and entrepreneurs. The organizers at Goldstein, Caldwell & Associates believe that the economy in Northeast Ohio will move forward when home grown entrepreneurs can connect with venture capitalists. MORE AT http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=127291&catid=2