MuRrAy HiLL

Shaq press conference live right now: http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2009/07/shaquille_oneal_arrives_in_cle.html

lol, thanks....I enjoy making sure people hear the good news about our fair city. (special thanks to Google)

Good news -- I feel like there is a better thread to put this that I cannot find: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/07/wells_fargo_bank_ordered_to_pu.html Wells Fargo Bank ordered to put up $1 million bond to sell deeply discounted homes in Cleveland Posted by Joan Mazzolini/Plain Dealer Reporter July 01, 2009 21:30PM CLEVELAND -- Wells Fargo Bank must put up $1 million if it wants to begin selling deeply discounted homes it owns in Cleveland, a housing judge decided Wednesday. Besides posting the million-dollar bond, essentially the cost to demolish 100 homes, Wells Fargo Bank must supply a complete list of all homes it owns in Cleveland and make sure any homes that are vacant are boarded up or otherwise secured, Cleveland Housing Judge Raymond Pianka ruled. More at http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/07/wells_fargo_bank_ordered_to_pu.html

I'll post this here...interesting news. I wonder if they'll be able to go to the Cleveland Orchestra concert? Cleveland Mayor Jackson to host French delegation By JAY MILLER 2:51 pm, July 1, 2009 Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson will be hosting a delegation from Rouen, France, over the Fourth of July weekend. The two cities have been sister cities since 2008. The mayor made an initial visit to Rouen in June 2008 as part of his trip on Continental Airlines’ inaugural Cleveland-to-Paris service. The mayor hopes to position Cleveland as a gateway to the Midwest for international firms. More at http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20090701/FREE/907019926

lol, what? Are you referring to what I posted on May 14th?

Another one of my little stories I find...this one from a High School junior/senior to be: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://lakewoodobserver.com/read/5/13/look-up-to-cleveland-look-forward-to-change Look Up To Cleveland, Look Forward To Change by Mary Beth Donahoe This afternoon I walked into the kitchen to grab the comics out of the Plain Dealer but while I was leafing through the pile, it was the Forum section, oddly enough, that caught my eye. It was a simple, gray picture of the wind turbine downtown. I opened up the page to glance at it and read the title underneath: Can Cleveland Change? I scoffed, thinking to myself ‘How on earth do these people not get it already? Of course Cleveland can change, it’s not like we’re even that bad to begin with. Really. Why do people keep dwelling on this issue in a negative light?’ But then I realized that maybe I was seeing things through a different set of eyes. ...

Italy unveils antiquities returned by US museum By ARIEL DAVID – 1 hour ago ROME (AP) — Italian officials on Thursday unveiled 14 artifacts spanning from antiquity to the Middle Ages that were looted or stolen from Italy and recently returned by The Cleveland Museum of Art. Culture Ministry officials trumpeted Italy's latest victory in its campaign to recover antiquities they say were stolen or dug up by looters, smuggled out of the country and sold to prestigious museums and collectors across the world. More at http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ieF6zwJhG7nYx0bFa6CN2UH2soNQD996B52G0

That's a good idea, and yes, we are getting off topic. We obviously have a "Cleveland Public School" thread, however, I feel this is an issue that warrents its own thread directly. MODS, I'll create it if I get the go ahead.

Cleveland Clinic to give employees raises next month, bolstering payroll by $60 million a year Posted by Sarah Jane Tribble/Plain Dealer Reporter July 01, 2009 17:05PM Categories: Cleveland Clinic The Cleveland Clinic announced late Wednesday that it will give an average 3 percent pay raise to about 35,000 full- and part-time employees, sending a jolt through the health system and raising the prospect of a boost to the battered regional economy. More at Cleveland.com: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/07/cleveland_clinic_to_give_out_p.html

^^I want to answer your question...but is this getting too off topic? EDIT: maybe we should start a thread "Improving Cleveland Public Schools"?

I was seriously kidding about the forced busing...it was a bad joke. I personally know how it hurt/ruined many Cleveland neighborhoods here. Collinwood comes to mind immediately. (I personally know of good number of families from the old italian neighborhoods who moved to Mayfield Heights that very same year forced busing was passed into law.) I'm still sticking to the Cleveland Public Schools as a huge reason new relocating families choose not to live in the city..another way to say it, middle class families. If schools weren't an issue, rebuilding Cleveland for the future would be immensely easier.

WHOA. EDIT: More photos of the Glass Balconies: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Chicago/photo//090701/480/9ffd3328812f4de8a2b4e00e351417d9//s:/ap_travel/us_sears_tower_ledge

Because of the CC, I would also say downtown...or in the Heights/University Circle area....maybe even Shaker Square. $1000-$1300 will give you more options than you can believe, so look around till you find what you like.

Here's my reflections for today... The number one factor for Cleveland fixing itself is: SCHOOLS There are families moving to the area that would prefer to live in an urban environment, but the lack of (perception maybe) quality schools steers them to the suburbs immediately. Other factors would fix themselves over time with families moving in...crime, property values, city image, people downtown. Now how to fix it ...unfortunately I have no idea....regionalize, privatize, open enrollment, forced busing (j/k!!!!)....but if the city schools were deemed good or even "ok," we would see drastic changes overnight in some neighborhoods.

Hey, check it out: Cleveland, OH has 2 of the top 5 highest earning sports athletes :-D http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/specials/fortunate50/2009/index.html?eref=sihpT1

http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2009/07/01/news/doc4a4ba3a5df011337238208.txt Shaq news conference on Thursday Published: Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Staff Reports Shaquille O'Neal will be introduced as the newest Cavalier in a news conference on Thursday at 1 p.m. at Cleveland Clinic Courts. O'Neal was acquired just before last week's draft in a trade with the Suns for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic.

Man, that headline is beyond misleading--it is a LIE. EDIT: you beat me to it ExSpectator

The quote of the day -- I like it.

Can someone give me a google streetview

KJP....what are all the stations projected to be redone?

well, for what it's worth: http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2009/06/29/daily22.html Carl Walker awarded $4.8M contract for Cleveland VA garage Pittsburgh Business Times Carl Walker Construction. a contractor that specializes in parking structures, was recently awarded a $4.8 million contract to build an addition to a parking garage at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in Cleveland. Planned for a surface parking lot next to the existing garage, the project calls for the company to build a three story addition that will space 115,200 square feet and make room for an additional 362 parking spaces. Carl Walker, based west of Pittsburgh in Robinson, will begin construction on the project tomorrow, July 1.

Some big news here...especially a new E. 55th station.

I know this is a little off topic, but look what I found in a picture of Lakeview Cemetery: I believe this Schofield designed the Soldiers and Sailors Monument....so is this the same person??

Well, La Strada is more Mediterranean. So we'll say, one and a half!

BRUELL LANDS ON EAST FOURTH . . . Apparently Parallax, Table 45 and L'Albatros aren't enough to occupy chef-restaurateur Zack Bruell's boundless energy. Soon he'll be lending his name, formidable imagination and precise execution to a fourth restaurant -- this one planned for downtown Cleveland's restaurant row on East Fourth Street. Look for Chinato to open this fall, at Fourth and Prospect Avenue. "It will be an Italian restaurant -- or, at least my take on Italian," says Bruell. More at: http://www.cleveland.com/taste/index.ssf/2009/06/chef_zack_bruell_and_barkers_p.html