MuRrAy HiLL

On a happier note, I was browsing the Wabash website and I stumbled upon their sports blog. Here's the blogger's impression of Cleveland (same gentleman who took the pictures of the game):

Good job Case on a great football season....11-1 final record. TV said it was a sold out game (stadium only holds 2400 though) The Wabash website had a few pictures of the game. Here are a few of my favorites: (From http://www.wabash.edu/news/displaystory.cfm?news_ID=5255 taken by Howard W. Hewitt) "New dorms surround more than half the Spartan field. These CW students walked out their back door to watch the game." "Matt Hudson looks right past the tumbling defender." [stands Packed!] "These CW dorm dwellers watched the game from their balcony." "Coach Chris Creighton and Case Western Reserve Coach Greg Deblejack talk after the game." [Case Press Box -- amazing inside for a D3 team] "The Little Giants enjoyed a rousing rendition of "Old Wabash" after the game."

A second note, there are currently two pools going on right now for "Coach of the Year" and "Player of the Year." I think both are have a good chance of winning...so feel free to vote: Greg Debeljak -- Coach of the Year http://coachoftheyear.com/default.aspx?cID=425 Tom Brew, LB -- Player of the Year http://d3football.com/frame/c4ca4238a0b923820dcc509a6f75849b

More and more articles on Case Football these days (didn't want to over-saturate, but there's been about 4 more) Here's a cool one frm d3football.com http://www.d3football.com/notables/2007/11/21/Teamates+again%2C+duo+drives+Case Teamates again, duo drives Case By Matt Florjancic D3football.com Having a sound defense with an evolving offense may not be the classic winning formula, but do not tell that to Case Western Reserve. The Spartan defense had seven upperclassmen start the game against Widener in the first round of the NCAA playoffs last week. Conversely, the offense began the contest with six freshmen and sophomores taking the field. Two of the younger players on offense were sophomore quarterback Dan Whalen and freshman wide receiver Shaun Nicely. Earlier this week, the University Athletic Association presented its season-ending awards. Whalen split the Offensive Player of the Year award with Carnegie Mellon senior running back Travis Sivek, while Nicely took home Rookie of the Year honors. Both were first-team All-UAA and Whalen earned honorable mention status as a punter. While they make a good combination for Case, Whalen and Nicely were a formidable duo at Willoughby South High School in neighboring Lake County, Ohio. As a senior in 2005, Whalen led the Rebels to a perfect 10-0 regular season. During the first round of the postseason, Whalen and Nicely helped South post a 49-10 victory over perennial contender Olmsted Falls. The chemistry they developed in their prep careers has given Whalen and Nicely the opportunity to lead Case Western Reserve to its first-ever trip to the playoffs. “We always grew up throwing the ball together, working out together,” Nicely said. “It’s comforting knowing where he’s going to put it, how he’s going to throw and that he has the ability to make plays. “Dan is a different quarterback, being very mobile and everything,” added the freshman. “I think I’ve taught the receivers a lot about him, a lot about where he likes to put the ball, how he likes to run things. It’s easier sometimes coming from a receiver than from Dan himself.” Having confidence in the quarterback delivering the football is one thing, but knowing the wide receivers can get the passes thrown is another. “I’ve known Shaun since sixth grade. We have a good relationship,” Whalen said. “I know what kind of player he is, his skills and abilities. He’s not the fastest kid out there, but he’s got great hands and runs good routes. In certain situations, he knows what I’m thinking and I know what he’s thinking. “He knows the coverages,” added Whalen. “Before you can know that stuff about defenses, you’ve got to learn the offense in and out. He’s a great blocking receiver. I think that gets taken for granted. Because we run a lot of screens [and] when we run the ball, we have to have those guys in the slot that can block linebackers. He does it really well.” Whalen has thrown 21 touchdown passes against five interceptions in ten starts this season. After beating Washington University in Week 10, Whalen sat out against Ohio Wesleyan to rest his ailing knee. Though he started slowly against Widener, he threw two touchdown passes in the final quarter, sealing the come-from-behind victory. “I started practicing Wednesday and the trainer, (Susan Higgins) gave me a new brace to work with,” Whalen said. “I had tried three or four on before one was comfortable. Once I found a brace I liked, there was really no doubt that I was going to be playing. “Coming out Saturday, my knee felt the best it did all week,” he continued. “I was running around fine, better than I had been. There was no pain. It was just a little stiff. This week, there is a possibility I may not have to wear a brace at all, so it’s looking good.” The ability to use his legs makes Whalen a dual threat under center. Defenses must respect his tendency to make something out of seemingly nothing. “He’s got a very strong arm and he’s very mobile,” Nicely said. “A play could collapse and Dan would come out of the pile ready to throw the ball or ready to run. I think that puts a lot of pressure on defenses because they’ve got to keep a couple guys back to make sure they contain the quarterback and that leaves us open in the secondary.” One of the plays the Spartans used effectively this past weekend was a 97-yard touchdown pass from Whalen to Nicely. “It was a hitch-seam play where the outside receiver runs a hitch and the inside receiver runs the seam,” Nicely said. “I had been getting jammed here all day and I got a good release. Dan looked to the other side for the hitch and the hitch wasn’t open. When he looked to the other side, it drew the safety, so when he looked back, I was running down the seam. I caught it and all I remember thinking was just to run as fast as I could and not get caught from behind.” “They only had one safety, so he flew to the left side and they forgot about Shaun down the seam,” Whalen added. “I turned back when I saw the hitch was covered and just let it loose and 97 yards later, we’re in the end zone. I thought he was going to get caught, but he had a few more steps that he needed.” This Saturday, the Spartans host their second playoff game when they welcome the Wabash Little Giants to Case Field. “They’re pretty similar to us in that they have a standout middle linebacker and standout guys on their defense,” said Nicely. “It starts with a good run game. It really keeps the defense guessing because we have so many weapons on offense. If we keep them off balance, that will help in the passing game.” “They’re tough and they know it,” Whalen said. “The thing they do that a lot of teams we play don’t do at least from what I’ve seen, is they’re going to come at you. They’re going to say, ‘this is what we do, beat us!’” “All season, no one outside of our locker room really expected us to do much,” continued Whalen. “Being the underdog now is actually good. We have nothing to lose. Being a two seed is awesome because we get the home game. These fans have been coming out to see us more and more every week and it’s an awesome feeling. I wouldn’t want it any other way than it is right now.”

Article from the Detroit newspaper! Another great article from outside region on Cleveland's continual improvement --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, November 19, 2007 Learn from Cleveland, other rising city schools Imagine an education army, marching on hundreds of students' homes, to make sure teachers and parents are working together to successfully graduate every teenager in their city. On a brisk Saturday in Cleveland last month, that is exactly what happened. Cleveland Metropolitan Public Schools educators -- from the district superintendent down to cub teachers -- knocked on 1,400 doors to talk with the parents of every senior who is failing to meet requirements to graduate. It's just one of the extraordinary measures the district is taking to radically improve its student achievement. Extraordinary, that is, to Michiganians. This state has grown so accustomed to education stagnation particularly in urban districts, that it acts as if failure is a pre-destined outcome for poor and urban students. Across the country, cities are proving that is absolutely not the case. Policy -- not poverty, race or ethnicity -- dictate school success. Michigan must learn that lesson. Cleveland, Boston and Los Angeles are improving their student achievement levels so much, new research released on Friday showed, they are outpacing progress made statewide in subjects such as middle school math. Cities such as New York City are going even further, outperforming their peers nationwide, according to the 2007 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) results for urban school districts in reading and math. By comparison, Michigan's urban districts have fallen so low in NAEP scores, the state's African-American students have the tragic distinction of being among the worst performers in math and reading for all black children nationwide. Detroit, for one, often argues comparisons are unfair because of its unique characteristics. However, Cleveland public schools have a high poverty rate, steeply declining enrollment, smaller budgets and the same middle-class flight. Cleveland's bold response could hardly be more different, though. Its teachers' union and administration have guaranteed -- in writing -- they will close their district's achievement gap by 2010. That means their students will have to test at the same level as their peers state-wide. "We said, 'We are going to do whatever it takes,' " Eric Gordon, the district's chief academic officer, told The Detroit News. District leaders and the teacher's union, an American Federation of Teachers affiliate (the same as Detroit's), are working closely together to pinpoint instructional weaknesses, coach teachers and open pre-kindergarten programs to catch up young students' learning by third grade. They're also collaborating with state leaders who provide guidance on strategy. They're even knocking on every sophomore's door in the spring and every troubled senior's door in the fall to make sure parents know how to support their child's high school graduation success. Last week, Detroit Public School leaders learned the district has lost 7,462 students since last fall, resulting in a cut of $71 million in state funds. The district has 104,975 students now. Despite its continued losses, district leaders seem more focused on excuse-making than turning around its academic achievement, which is what is spurring students' families to leave. Detroit and other urban districts can and should learn from Cleveland and other cities that are proving state, district and school level policies truly matter -- and can turn around failing urban schools. "When report after report tell us that there are dramatic differences in achievement between schools and districts that serve very similar students, at what point do we as a country stop blaming a child's skin color or ZIP code and start asking more tough questions about what's happening in these schools?" Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, asked last week. When, indeed.

GREAT article from Terry Pluto: ------------------------------------------------------- DIVISION III FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS Case Western Reserve football opens eyes, along with books Terry Pluto Friday, November 16, 2007 “Coach, can we go watch the parade?” Greg Debeljak stared at six players in Case Western Reserve football uniforms. It was about 20 minutes before a game, and Debeljak — an assistant coach at the time — was stunned. “You guys want to watch the parade?” he asked. “Hey, we’ve got a game.” Debeljak focused his attention elsewhere, then turned back and saw the players at the far end of Case Field staring at the parade going by. Debeljak had just come from John Carroll University and it was 2001. He was Case’s new offensive coordinator. He was learning the football culture at the academic powerhouse at University Circle... To reach Terry Pluto: [email protected], 216-999-4674 www.cleveland.com

I wonder how the new facade will look like. Personally, I hope they keep to the older street style and use something like the top floor of the building on the far right (three arched windows per "square" for most of the floors). After the new brick facade for the incoming bang and clatter building (I forget the address), it seems like brick artisans are not going away. Either way though...hell yeah for this project!

Hopefully Miami will be ruled out since it is much more expensive than the other two cities...which my prediction would be that it's going to be between Birmingham and Cleveland. Hopefully Clevelands's venues, attractions, public transit etc will outway the competition. But they did have it in San Fran before, so who knows.

Another Case footbal article....(should this go in the sports section?) DIVISION III FOOTBALL Case to host Widener Monday, November 12, 2007 Joe Maxse Plain Dealer Reporter The Case Western Reserve University football team gathered for another first on Sunday morning. After going 10-0 for the first time in school history, the Spartans gathered at the school's "Wackadoo's" restaurant in the student union to watch the telecast of the NCAA Division III playoff pairings. While the players and coaches expected to get in the 32-school field for the first time, it did not hinder the sense of exuberant satisfaction when ESPNU flashed the Spartans hosting Widener (Pa.) University on Saturday at noon... www.cleveland.com

^^ 15 more minutes!

"It was hard at first, but then I thought about the million-dollar contract I signed to keep quiet," he said. "Then it wasn't so hard." Wow, What a contract! $1 million to just not say anything?! --------------------------------------------------- EDIT: ^^ I wish I hadn't said this... ^^ I whole-heartedly promise I will think before I post from now on.

Mulberry's: Sports and Spirits at Cleveland's New Hangout Submitted by Julie on November 10, 2007 - 12:51pm. Cleveland/Cuyahoga County Events Local News News Other This week marked the grand opening of one of the most innovative new bar/sports facilities in the Cleveland area - Mulberry's. The idea has been six years in the making, with the last two of those years spent planning and constructing the facility. Owned by partners John Teel and Darrell Seafler, Mulberry's is not only a place to grab a few drinks, but they also offer indoor basketball, volleyball, dodgeball, kickball, floor hockey, and whiffle ball in the facility's gymnasium through Teel's other venture, Cleveland Plays. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com

^^ Here's the article ------------------------------------------------- PITTSBURGH -- Uh oh, Steelers fans. Can it be? A Cleveland Browns bar in Pittsburgh? Well, Peter's Pub in Oakland is not a Browns bar, according to the owner, but that doesn't stop dozens of Cleveland fans from gathering there every week. The group calls itself the "PBB," or Pittsburgh Browns Backers. http://kdka.com/video/[email protected]

Beautiful

There was an interesting article about how college towns help make cities more stable...espcially in the housing markets. Hopefully another positive influence of Cleveland's soon to be/expanding College town around the inner east side neighborhoods and beyond. ---------------------------------------------------------------- November 4, 2007 The Nation College Towns Escape the Pain By FORD FESSENDEN As the inner cities, along with much of Florida and the interior of California, face the prospect of a foreclosure meltdown, American college towns appear to be islands of stability. The list of metropolitan areas with the smallest percentage of high-cost home loans is dominated by small cities with big colleges, including Ithaca, N.Y.; Iowa City; Madison, Wis.; Morgantown, W.V.; and State College, Pa. Is it because their educated residents were so much smarter than the rest of us, and foresaw the folly? Is it because baby boomers, coughing up tuition for their children, are enriching those economies — with dollars often borrowed on refinanced houses back home? Or is it because aging boomers themselves are relocating with big down payments in hand and retirement in mind? It could be all of that and more, say economists and academics. But ultimately, what the cities on the list have in larger measure than much of the rest of the country is stability, in both their housing and job markets. “Those housing markets are not superheated,” said Bruce Katz, director of metropolitan policy at the Brookings Institution. “And salaries are pretty good for faculty and research assistants. So wages and housing prices are more in sync than in the rest of the country.” The subprime-lending crisis is in one sense simply the barometer of how far home prices have outstripped incomes. As homes became harder to afford, financing became more creative, and expensive. Irrational exuberance ensued, along with predation. “Where subprimes are turning up is in hot markets, but also in places like Cleveland and Detroit,” Mr. Katz said. “College towns are more stable places in some respects. If you make between $75,000 and $125,000 in these places, you can get into a pretty decent home and still have very reasonable ratios.” Contributing to reasonable home prices is the fact that many places on the list are economic oases, surrounded by areas where jobs are dwindling, which helps depress housing demand. Yet the college towns themselves are thriving: The peak years for American births since the baby boom were 1989 to 1993, and college enrollments are swelling as never before. Many communities on the list also have big medical centers or flourishing research operations. “There’s so much construction at Cornell,” said Richard L. Patterson, the general manager of Audrey Edelman RealtyUSA in Ithaca. Lending tends to be dominated by the local bank rather than mortgage companies. In Iowa City, Hills Bank and Trust made 30 percent of the mortgages on one- to four-family homes in 2006. In Ithaca, Tompkins Trust Company and the Cornell University credit union lead the list of lenders. “We’re like what middle-class America used to be,” said Barbara Alexander, a real estate agent in Morgantown, home of West Virginia University. “We’re insulated from what happens in other places, and the lenders and buyers are more conservative. I can’t remember the last time we had a recession in Morgantown.” Some experts say the explanation is largely cultural. “Professors and other educated residents in these heartland college towns are conservative when it comes to money and investments,” said William Frey, a demographer at Brookings. “They spend their time worrying about ideas, publishing and ‘the greater good.’ ”

CWRU...Success! Finally! ----------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, November 04, 2007 Joe Maxse Plain Dealer Reporter "Case Western Reserve University's football team celebrates their 35-27 victory over Washington University making them 9-0 and receiving a division III college playoff birth." Case Western Reserve quarterback Dan Whalen has been beating teams with his arm and legs all season. On Saturday, the sophomore was called upon to show off his defensive skills. Whalen's tackle of lumbering Bob Pine at the Case 13 after a wild, last-gasp, lateral-filled punt return sealed Case's 35-27 win against Washington (Mo.) University at Case Field. It also set off a joyous celebration as the undefeated Spartans (9-0, 3-0 University Athletic Association) won their first outright UAA title. MORE: http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/

Man, BBC won't leave us alone with this housing topics--maybe it is pretty bad. Very long, but interesting: --------------------------------------------- Foreclosure wave sweeps America By Steve Schifferes BBC economics reporter, Cleveland, Ohio http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7070935.stm A wave of foreclosures and evictions is about to sweep the United States in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage lending crisis. This could destabilise the US housing market and may also lead to further turmoil in financial institutions, who collectively own $1 trillion worth of sub-prime debt. Cleveland, Ohio, is an industrial city on the banks of Lake Erie in the US "rust belt". It is the sub-prime capital of the United States. One in ten homes in the city is now vacant, and whole neighbourhoods have been blighted by foreclosed, vandalized and boarded-up homes. Many of these homes are now owned by the banks and investment pools owning the mortgages, and the company making the most foreclosures in Cleveland is Deutsche Bank Trust, which acts on behalf of such investment pools. Cleveland is facing a rising crime wave, and the cost of demolishing the vacant houses alone will cost the city $100m of its tax base. According to Jim Rokakis, the County Treasurer for Cleveland's Cuyahoga County, "Wall Street strategies that made the cycle of no-money-down, no-questions-asked lending possible have sucked the life out of my city". Crisis origins But why have so many people in the US taken out sub-prime mortgages? The sub-prime lending market started as a way of lending to people with poor credit history - as long as they had collateral like a house that could be used to guarantee the loan. It was particularly prevalent in inner-city areas, especially among black and Hispanic borrowers. Many of these mortgages were sold by unscrupulous and little regulated mortgage brokers, who received handsome commissions for selling expensive and unsuitable products. Some customers were not told that their interest rates would go up sharply after two years; others were promised they could refinance their home before higher rates took effect. Others found that when they had difficulties paying, huge unexplained fees were added to their bills, putting them further in debt. "Families all over the country continue to lose homes in record numbers, stripping families of their wealth and destroying entire neighbourhoods" Michael J Calhoun Center for Responsible Lending Marion's story One person hard hit is Marion Gardner, who lives in one of the worst affected sub-prime lending areas of Cleveland, known as Slavic Village. A single parent, she had worked hard to buy a house where she could raise her two children and escape from the misery of the inner-city housing projects. Two years ago Marion fell ill, and found she could not manage the stairs in her house. She decided to refinance her home, using some of the money to buy an apartment where she could more easily manage. She gave her old house to her two sons, expecting they would contribute to paying for the property she had struggled so hard to obtain. But the sons fell behind in their payments. Marion went to her lender - Countrywide, the biggest sub-prime lender in the US - and offered to pay off all the arrears. She said they accepted her offer, and began sending them $1,000 every month, using up her retirement savings. But after six months she discovered that instead of clearing her arrears, her home was going to be foreclosed by Countrywide. She still visits the house every day, trying to protect if from drug dealers and burglars, and leaves her dog in the backyard. But she can see all along her street dozens of foreclosed properties that have been vandalised, boarded up, or gutted. Now she has learned that a date has been set for the sheriff to come and evict her. Deceptive practices? Mark Seifert, the director of the East Side Organising Project (ESOP) in Cleveland, which has played a leading role in helping people affected by the sub-prime crisis, says Marion's story is typical. He says lenders engaged in deceptive practices and clients found it difficult to get any information at all when they got into arrears. Mr Seifert says that ESOP - using protest tactics - has managed to get a few mortgage companies to sign a deal agreeing a uniform set of criteria to decide whether someone's mortgage qualifies for renegotiation rather than foreclosure. But he says they have been unable to reach such an agreement with Countrywide, the nation's largest sub-prime lender - although its boss has promised to meet them. Spreading to the suburbs The crisis has spread beyond the inner city to the suburbs of Cleveland. Last month over 200 people turned up at a church meeting to seek ESOP's help in avoiding foreclosure. Some, such as Ron Todd, who lives in a suburb just south of the city, are in danger of losing their home after being made redundant by Northwest Airlines, a big local employer. Others are worried that their neighbourhoods - and the property values of their own houses - will be ruined by the foreclosures all around them. According to Claudia Coulton, co-director of the Centre for Urban Poverty at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, over 10,000 families - one in eight of all owner occupiers in Cleveland - will face eviction this year - and the number is expected to rise. She says the crisis is threatening to "overwhelm the government agencies and community organisations that address the problem". Nationwide problem Cleveland's situation is not unique. All around the country, aid agencies report a "tidal wave" of foreclosure cases, says Sarah Gerecke, director of New York City's Neighborhood Housing Services. She now employs six people full-time to provide mortgage debt counselling, up from one just two years ago, and could use another 12. Her concern is that many recently regenerated neighbourhoods in New York will soon be blighted by crisis again. Some people argue that the sub-prime lending crisis has been caused by irresponsible borrowers who lied about their income to cash in on the housing boom. Ms Gerecke disagrees. She says few of her clients would knowingly put their home at risk. Many sub-prime borrowers report that mortgage brokers misrepresented the kind of mortgage they were being offered, their annual income, and even the value of their home. Working together? President George W Bush's administration wants to solve the foreclosure crisis by getting lenders and borrowers to renegotiate the terms of loans. It is pledging more money for advice services, and has been urging key lenders to take a more sympathetic approach. Robert Steel, the US Treasury Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, told the BBC that the government's role was "to ensure that lenders and servicers are being flexible with regard to working with borrowers". He added that no policy could eliminate foreclosures altogether because there was "a natural level of foreclosures that goes on in an economy in good times and bad... it's part of the nature of how our economy works." But according to Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's, only 1% of sub-prime mortgages have been renegotiated rather than foreclosed so far. Ms Gerecke says a piecemeal approach involving millions of individual renegotiations will not work. Each case takes hours of negotiations, and the mortgage companies' loan loss departments are overwhelmed by the crisis. A way out? The only way out, says Ms Gerecke, would be national loan terms agreed for the whole industry. One such plan has been proposed by Sheila Bair, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), one of the key banking regulators. She told the BBC that sub-prime interest rates should not be reset if the borrower has kept up all payments and is not in arrears. But such a deal is proving extremely difficult to reach, given that thousands of investors around the world own a share of these sub-prime mortgages. Meanwhile Marion still sits in her Cleveland home every day, trying to stop it being vandalised even though she knows it is merely a matter of time before she will be evicted. "I am just really working for the banks now, protecting their property from damage," she says.

check out this advertisement from the Renaissance...I love the marketing. Here's the website: http://www.pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38920&Itemid=9 ------------------------------------------------- Don't let football season pass you by without experiencing Browns fever with the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel's "2 the House" Football Package with prices from $165 per night, plus tax. Come to Cleveland for a fabulous football experience. Park your car for the weekend and leave your keys behind. With the Browns Stadium only four blocks from the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, it's the ideal place to pre-game before walking to a football game. This unbeatable "2 the House" Football - Cleveland Vacation Package includes: • Luxury overnight accommodations for 2 • 2 tailgate style bratwursts in the Lobby Bar • 2 pints of Cleveland's own Great Lakes Brewery signature beer in the Lobby Bar • Complimentary self parking at the hotel The Renaissance Cleveland Hotel is situated on legendary Public Square and is conveniently connected to Tower City Center, which features exclusive boutiques, an array of eateries and state-of-the-art cinema. Make your stay a Cleveland weekend getaway and discover all that the city is known for. Within walking distance to the infamous Rock& Roll Hall of Fame, Jacob's Field, Quicken Loans Arena and the Browns Stadium guests to Cleveland will wonder why they haven't been there before. After busy days, relax in the lap of luxury at Cleveland's premier hotel, boasting recently renovated deluxe Cleveland accommodations. All guestrooms offer brand new premium bedding packages, high speed internet and spacious desks, while hotel suites feature oversized marble bathrooms with TV's and luxurious Jacuzzis. Plus, there's no need to leave the comfort of this magnificent hotel for meals, the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel houses two world-class restaurants. Sans Souci Restaurant serves Mediterranean cuisine while Brasserie boasts American fare for breakfast and lunch. So whether guests want to grab a quick bite before heading out for the morning or come back to the hotel for a quiet dinner after a day of football and sightseeing, there are tastes for every palette at this downtown Cleveland hotel. Make the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel your pre and post game headquarters as you discover what Cleveland football is all about! About the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel Experience an elite downtown Cleveland hotel that reflects the city's distinct character, unique style, and rich history at the exquisite Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. Situated on legendary Public Square, this luxury hotel in Cleveland, Ohio is connected to Tower City Center, featuring exclusive boutiques, restaurants, and a cinema, as well as within walking distance to the city's top attractions, such as Jacobs Field, Quicken Loans Arena, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The architecture of this historic luxury hotel in Cleveland, Ohio reflects its 1918 opening date, boasting vaulted ceilings, high arched windows, and a beautiful marble fountain. Enjoy luxurious accommodations and exceptional fine dining at the exclusive Sans Souci restaurant, presenting award-winning Mediterranean cuisine. With an abundance of elegant event space, the highlight is the magnificent 22,600 square feet Grand Ballroom, perfect for Cleveland wedding receptions and conventions. Discover Cleveland's landmark social and business address at the Renaissance Hotel. For more information or to make a reservation, call 216-696-5600 or visit http://marriott.com/hotels/travel/clebr-renaissance-cleveland-hotel/

It just ended. I got to see the last 15 minutes of it. Great to finally see the increased local interest. It ended with something like: "the time is now; we can't wait any longer [for these projects]."

c'mon, this is Cleveland E. 4th!

My head hurts for trying to decide where to post this....feel free to move it. Cool news though! --------------------------------------------------------------------- Cleveland Hosts US Location for International Medical Symposium The Satellite Symposium CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Playhouse Square will be shared with the rest of the world for a day when Thommen Medical brings it’s first Satellite Symposium to the Idea Center in Downtown Cleveland. The event will use satellite based transmissions to connect multiple cities all over the world for a day long program on implant dentistry. Live feeds will alternate between site locations in Cleveland (USA), Zurich (Switzerland) and Rimini (Italy) for live lectures, medical procedures and panel discussions. Audiences in these locations will have the ability to interact with the speakers and panel in real time. An audience in Valencia, Spain will also have the opportunity to watch the live proceedings. The Satellite Symposium, as it is being called, brings together renowned clinicians from all over the world to address a single topic that has never been dealt with in such a focused fashion; replacing two to three adjacent teeth in the aesthetic zone. The aesthetic zone is the area in the front of the mouth that is most visible. The company, with its headquarters in Waldenburg, Switzerland, was established in August 2001 by a dedicated and experienced team with significant support by investors. Thommen Medical has become established on the international market for implant dentistry very quickly and is setting new standards with the Swiss Precision Implant System (SPI®System). Thommen Medical USA began operations in 2001 and moved its corporate headquarters to Cleveland, OH in summer 2006. http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071031006305&newsLang=en

Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - 11:20 AM EDT Cleveland Clinic signs CityPlace Tower leaseSouth Florida Business Journal Cleveland Clinic Florida Health and Wellness Center has leased nearly 29,000 square feet at the CityPlace Tower in West Palm Beach, which is scheduled to open in January 2008. Grubb & Ellis Senior Vice President Richard Linevsky represented Cleveland Clinic on the lease negotiations, and Jon Blunk, senior vice president of Crocker Partners, represented CityPlace Tower. Cleveland Clinic will have 26,648 square feet of space on the 14th floor and 2,298 square feet on the ground floor. At the CityPlace location, Cleveland Clinic will offer access to specialists in internal medicine, neurology, orthopedic, spine, pulmonary, colorectal and heart, with others added as needed. The new facility will also include an imaging center with MRI and CT scan services. The clinic expects to move from its current location on Flagler Drive to CityPlace in the third quarter of 2008, and will continue to operate from its main location in Weston. CityPlace Tower is a $110 million, 18-story office building on Okeechobee Boulevard. A joint venture between the Related Cos. of New York and Crocker Partners of Boca Raton, it will be the first Class A office building to be built in West Palm Beach since 1989. It is 60 percent leased. Tenants include Intech, Carlton Fields, P.A., Shutts & Bowen, JBHanauer & Co., Regions Financial Corp. and Goodrich LLC.

haha. yeah what's a state anyway??

Cleveland schools don't seem to be as bad as we (or I) thought compared to the rest of the state?? --------------------------------------- One in ten high schools across America graduate no more than 60 percent WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a nickname no principal could be proud of: ‘‘Dropout Factory,’’ a high school where no more than 60 percent of the students who start as freshmen make it to their senior year. That description fits more than one in 10 high schools across America. ‘‘If you’re born in a neighborhood or town where the only high school is one where graduation is not the norm, how is this living in the land of equal opportunity?’’ asks Bob Balfanz, the Johns Hopkins researcher who coined the term ‘‘dropout factory.’’ There are about 1,700 regular or vocational high schools nationwide that fit that description, according to an analysis of Education Department data conducted by Johns Hopkins for The Associated Press. That’s 12 percent of all such schools, about the same level as a decade ago. While some of the missing students transferred, most dropped out, says Balfanz. The data looked at senior classes for three years in a row to make sure local events like plant closures aren’t to blame for the low retention rates. The highest concentration of dropout factories is in large cities or high-poverty rural areas in the South and Southwest. Most have high proportions of minority students. These schools are tougher to turn around because their students face challenges well beyond the academic ones — the need to work as well as go to school, for example, or a need for social services. Nearly 10 percent of Ohio’s high schools, or just under 70 schools statewide, qualify as dropout factories, according to the study’s data. Many were in urban areas, including 14 of 17 high schools in the Columbus district, seven of 17 in Cincinnati, seven of 16 in Cleveland and six of seven in Toledo. Utah, which has low poverty rates and fewer minorities than most states, is the only state without a dropout factory. Florida and South Carolina have the highest percentages. ‘‘Part of the problem we’ve had here is, we live in a state that culturally and traditionally has not valued a high school education,’’ said Jim Foster, a spokesman for the South Carolina department of education. He noted that residents in that state previously could get good jobs in textile mills without a high school degree, but that those jobs are gone today. Washington hasn’t focused much attention on the problem. The federal No Child Left Behind Act, for example, pays much more attention to educating younger students. But that appears to be changing. House and Senate proposals to renew the 5-year-old No Child law would give high schools more federal money and put more pressure on them to improve on graduation performance, and the Bush administration supports that idea. The current NCLB law imposes serious consequences on schools that report low scores on math and reading tests, and this fallout can include replacement of teachers or principals — or both. But the law doesn’t have the same kind of enforcement teeth when it comes to graduation rates. Nationally, about 70 percent of U.S. students graduate on time with a regular diploma. For Hispanic and black students, the proportion drops to about half. The legislative proposals circulating in Congress would: ? Make sure schools report their graduation rates by racial, ethnic, and other subgroups and are judged on those results. That’s to ensure that schools aren’t just graduating white students in high numbers, but also are working to ensure that minority students get diplomas. ? Get states to build data systems to keep track of students throughout their school years and more accurately measure graduation and dropout rates. ? Ensure that states count graduation rates in a uniform way. States have used a variety of formulas, including counting the percentage of entering seniors who get a diploma. That measurement ignores the obvious fact that kids who drop out typically do so before their senior year. ? Create strong progress goals for graduation rates and impose sanctions on schools that miss those benchmarks. Most states currently lack meaningful goals, according to The Education Trust, a nonprofit group that advocates for poor and minority children. The current law requires testing in reading and math once in high school, and those tests take on added importance because of the serious consequences for a school of failure. Critics say that creates a perverse incentive for schools to encourage kids to drop out before they bring down a school’s scores. ‘‘The vast majority of educators do not want to push out kids, but the pressures to raise test scores above all else are intense,’’ said Bethany Little, vice president for policy at the Alliance for Excellent Education, an advocacy group focused on high schools. ‘‘To know if a high school is doing its job, we need to consider test scores and graduation rates equally.’’ Little said some students pushed out of high schools are encouraged to enroll in programs that prepare them to take the GED exam. People who pass that test get certificates indicating they have high-school level academic skills.

From the BBC...damn. -------------------------------------------------------------- American Nightmare By Sam Benstead Producer, This World The crisis in US subprime mortgages has fallen hard on the city of Cleveland, Ohio, where as many as one in six households have been affected. Eleanor Hall is a single mother with two children and has a steady job as a market researcher. Five years ago she bought a house which she has lovingly restored. What she didn't realise was that her mortgage was a subprime - a home loan designed for people with a low income or bad credit. They cost more than ordinary mortgages to cover the risk of the banks making the loan. Now, she is unable to pay and left facing homelessness. "I'm truly at rock bottom," she says, "and I have nowhere else to go". Eleanor is not alone - over two million families are expected to lose their homes in the US within the next couple of years. THE EVICTION SHERIFFS In Cleveland the cost of clearing the human debris come eviction day falls to the Cuyahoga County Sheriff Department. "I feel like an undertaker," says Jeff, a veteran of neighbourhood policing who has seen evictions in his section jump since he joined the force from 12 a week to over 90 a week. He has to evict families, old people and even, on occasion, his own relatives. The result is a city blighted by house repossessions - with one in six households in Cleveland have faced eviction proceedings since 2000. Due to a glut of houses on the property market, house prices have crashed. Banks can no longer sell the properties on and they are left derelict and deserted. "It has ripped the heart out of our neighbourhood," says Toni Brancatelli, a lifelong Cleveland resident. He has seen gangs and squatters move in to the empty homes, fuelling crime and social decay. The majority of those defaulting on their mortgages are people living on the poverty line, tipped into defaulting on their mortgage by rising medical bills, unemployment, utility bills and one of the most contentious elements to this crisis - 'predatory lending'. THE WILD WEST OF LENDING So who is to blame - the borrower, the broker or the lender? Clearly, it is partly the system itself. US subprime lenders were not required to perform stringent checks on borrower's credit ratings. The result is "ninjas" - loans sold to people with "no income, no job and no assets". "This was the Wild West of lending but there was no sheriff in town," says Jim Rokakis, County Treasurer for the Cleveland area. He has been asking for anti-predatory lending legislation to be passed in Ohio County for years but claims that no-one would listen. Now he is incandescent with anger. "There has been blood flowing on the streets of Cleveland but nobody cared. The only time anyone listened was when blood flowed on the only street that matters in this country, and that's Wall Street". 'THE SMOKING GUN' The subprime mortgages, taken out by people in Cleveland and all over the US, have since been sold on to investors all over the world. Everyone in the system - the brokers, the lenders, the investment appraisers - took their cut and the returns were good. But, as it turns out, so were the risks. "We found the smoking gun, and everyone's fingerprints were on it," says Mark Seifert, director of ESOP, a local poverty action group. When the mortgages went bad, the securities became worthless and the money dried up on the markets. The result is a global credit crunch, which has been felt in Britain through the bank run on Northern Rock. Although the markets may yet correct themselves, for the people of Cleveland the damage has already been done. "I don't ever see myself owning a home again," says Eleanor Hall. She, like millions of other subprime mortgage borrowers in America, bought into the American dream of owning your own home, only for that dream to become a nightmare.