KJP

The Public Square parking lot has nothing to do with Pesht.

I wish I could participate in this, but $200,000 is well out of my price range. I'm just a poor, credit card-indebted newspaper reporter, living alone in my Lakewood condo worth maybe one-third of the $200k. No violins please. I chose to stay in Greater Cleveland, stay in this field and stay single. Though I often have second thoughts on all three.

I don't have a problem with some urban farms. Nice to have some re-localization of food production, and gets kids to get their hands dirty doing something production. I do have a problem with us rapidly paving over some of the best farmland in the world just beyond the urban fringe. But's that for another thread....

If I recall, the city put in some new restrictions to prevent the spread of used car lots along Lorain Avenue. But that doesn't eradicate the ones already there. The owners of some of those lots are pretty shady guys -- several have faced or are facing charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and others allegedly have ties to organized crime. I ran into the attorney for two brothers who own one of the lots, and when he told me who is clients are, I joked "are you Bruce Cutler?" (John Gotti's attorney). He laughed, "hey, they pay my (attorney) fees."

This might be a good thread for that.... http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=3921.0

Correct.

Stark has been doing that for at least 20 years that I've been familiar with him. He first proposed the Promenade of Westlake in 1988 as an indoor retail complex with a large open-air atrium. Voters approved rezoning the land for retail based on the renderings. Instead, the Promenade was built as a strip center. He had a hard time living that one down. It followed him to the time when he sought to build Crocker Park, and requested that voters approve a PUD zoning classification for it. While he built what he promised (though a PUD doesn't allow much leeway!), he said he would build in a timeframe that was very aggressive and, as it turned out, not realistic. The first stores were opened around Thanksgiving of 2004 -- barely in time to meet the requirements of some of his financing. So, for Stark to say he can open in 2008, that's his heart speaking for his brain. When Stark is questioned about his enthusiasm getting ahead of reality, he responds angrily and defensively. He now says he'd like to start building Pesht in 2008 and open the first buildings in 2009. It's not the first time he's gotten ahead of himself. It won't be the last.

Keep in mind that Stark spoke to me willingly in 2005, unlike his involvement with Gray's Green (he was tight-lipped about that but confirmed his involvement, on the record). Stark could have told me in 2005 that "it's premature for me to say anything as negotiations are ongoing." I've heard that response countless times and honored developers' requests to keep something quiet until they are ready to release the news publicly. I don't want to be responsible for undermining a pending project (though some reporters don't care as long as they get the story first). So Stark was fine with me publishing his whole Pesht concept and even gave me the WHD rendering and the Pesht street plan. Frankly, I was surprised he was so open about it, given the preliminary nature of his plan.

Some great commuting stories.... http://content.monster.com:80/articles/3492/18681/1/Home.aspx Crazy Commute Stories Monster Members Share Unusual Moments from the Daily Ride by Christine F Della Monaca Monster Staff Writer The commute to work can be a lot of the same: Get from point A to point B, whether by car, public transit, or even bike or foot. Except sometimes, an odd event happens along the way that makes your ordinary ride extraordinary. We asked Monster members about the oddest, most amazing, craziest things they’ve seen during their commutes. While not all the stories are for the faint of heart, they’re definitely entertaining. Last summer, I was driving in slow-moving traffic on the Washington, DC, Capital Beltway when I noticed a small pickup truck behind me was weaving back and forth and having a hard time staying in its lane. As the truck got closer to me, I looked in my rearview mirror and discovered why the driver was having such a hard time keeping his vehicle on the road. He was playing the flute! To make matters worse, he was reading sheet music that was laid out on his dashboard. _________________________________________________________________ The first commuting day from my home to UCLA, I was driving home and the traffic came to a complete stop! All the negative factors of being in traffic were in full force: hot weather, bumper to bumper and a 5:30 p.m. commute time with what seemed like half of the state of California. As we approached the fire engines and all the other emergency vehicles, I thought this must be a very big accident. It was on the opposite side of my commute home. So as I approach this big accident, I look where the vehicles are, and there is a plane that had landed. Though it didn't look like it hit anyone, there were many cars whose sudden stop caused them to take up many lanes to avoid hitting or getting hit by the plane. Two and a half hours later, I got home. ___________________________________________________________________ I was on the F train going from Brooklyn to Manhattan, about 10 a.m. The train was full, and a man got on at Delancey Street. He was about 60, wearing a worn but clean suit and tie, scuffed shoes and a trench coat, and he was carrying a shopping bag. As soon as the train pulled out of the station, he walked over to the doors and faced them like he was looking in a mirror. From the shopping bag, he removed a Chinese takeout soup container of water and began pouring it over his head. From his pocket, he took out a small bar of soap and began washing his hair. He took out another soup container of water and rinsed out the soap. Then he washed his face and also took a few ice cubes from his pocket and kept rubbing them over his face for several minutes. At this point, we had just passed the Broadway-Lafayette station. He splashed the remaining water over his head and face. The floor was quite wet, and he took off his trench coat and shook off the water, placed it neatly over his arm, put the soup containers back in the shopping bag and got off at West Fourth Street. He dumped the shopping bag in the garbage can on the platform and proceeded on his way, looking refreshed and clean. _______________________________________________________________ Driving to work one morning, I looked over at the car next to me, and the guy was brushing his teeth! Where was he going to spit? ___________________________________________________________________ While driving through a school zone in South Florida, I noticed the driver in front of me was driving rather erratically. She swerved from one side of the lane to the other and back. Fortunately the speed limit was only 15 mph, and she was only doing about 10. I passed her, and as I went by, I noticed she was smoking. In between puffs on her cigarette, she was using an asthma inhaler. She had the inhaler in one hand and the cigarette in the other and was alternating between the two while switching hands on the steering wheel -- thus the erratic movements of her car. ___________________________________________________________________ One morning as I and about 5 million other cars were stuck on 101 North in Phoenix, I happened to glance over at a blue Honda. There was a girl on the cell phone, which isn't unusual. What was unusual was that she was shaving her legs. That's right. She had one leg up on the dashboard and was using an electric shaver to free her gams from nasty little hairs. I looked away and looked back, thinking my Starbucks had been spiked, but, no, there she was, talking on the cell phone and shaving her legs. I've seen people read, eat a salad and even tie a tie, but I've never seen anyone performing acts of personal hygiene in their vehicle. ________________________________________________________________ I work in Center City Philadelphia and take the SEPTA R5 Regional Rail line in from the suburbs. On the ride in, we go past West Philly, which is a bit run-down. A few blocks on that stretch are particularly bad, complete with boarded-up buildings, burnt-out cars, etc. While taking the train this morning, I was looking out the window and saw a boat lying in the middle of the street. Yes, a boat. It was white, about 12 feet long, mostly intact. But that's not the strange part. The strange part is that someone sprayed graffiti on the side of the boat that read, "3 hour tour?" ___________________________________________________________________ I saw a person driving down a major highway with a speed limit of 70 mph holding a bowl and eating cereal with a spoon while driving with his knees. It was 7:30 in the morning, and traffic was trying to get around him as he tooled along at about 60 mph. ___________________________________________________________________ A homeless man on the subway line going to Oak Park suburb of Chicago proceeded to take all his clothes off until he was naked and then turned them inside out and put them all back on. ___________________________________________________________________ Last year's highway construction resulted in several standing detours, some of which went through some rather questionable neighborhoods. One morning as I was driving through one of these areas, a "lady of the evening" was standing along the shoulder of the road and raised her top -- flashing all of us commuters on our way to the office. Needless to say, it was a new morning eye-opener to go along with the morning cup of coffee.

You like me, you really really like me! Thanks to my 18 relatives who registered at UrbanOhio to get me that unofficial honor!

Here's an historical one that might be of interest to many of you.... http://www.kingbridgecompany.com/ Lots of great old photographs and graphics on this site!

Sorry, but I don't have much more than that. The only other thing I was told is that Stark is holding back on his announcement because it requires county support for the port relocation. To me, that sounds like more than Phase One of Pesht, as Stark told me that he is seeking a TIF of multiple tax sources, including county sales taxes for "significant infrastructure" necessary to build Pesht.

Mica hates Amtrak -- to the point of irrationality. He also has asked why private enterprise doesn't build passenger rail services in our nation's "free market" transportation system. Clearly, he still needs educating.

Update: Don't expect Stark to release construction plans until the Port Authority releases its study of moving the port to the new island. If I recall, the port study was delayed until June. So it's probably going to be a few more months before we hear any details...

In Hamilton, Ontario.... http://www.masstransitmag.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=3&id=3042 Go Centre Site Pushed as Cheaper Transit Hub Eric McGuinness, The Hamilton Spectator City officials say the Hamilton GO Centre on Hunter Street East could double as a downtown HSR terminal, providing a single transfer point for people riding city buses, GO trains, GO buses and other intercity buses. The idea is being floated as a cheaper alternative to their favoured plan -- expanding the transfer terminal on MacNab Street between King and Main streets onto a parking lot between the Pigott and Commerce Place buildings on the east side of MacNab.

http://www.masstransitmag.com:80/online/article.jsp?siteSection=3&id=3055 Hit by Fort's Growth, Maryland County Seeks $5 Billion for Roads, Transit Kristen Chick The Washington Times Officials in Anne Arundel County are seeking $5 billion to improve roads and mass transit to accommodate thousands of new military and civilian employees expected at Fort George G. Meade by 2011. Plans include upgrading the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, beginning in 2009, and extending the Metrorail Green Line from Greenbelt to Fort Meade, a $3 billion endeavor.

He turns off his hearing aids.

He goes all over, but it looks like he has some pictures on the west side then heads east from the Lakewood/Cleveland border along Detroit Avenue to Fulton (the new construction townhouses 21 pictures down). He then jumps to the west end of Cleveland Heights in the next eight photos, goes into East Cleveland for about four or five photos to Shaker Square (the one with the rapid transit tracks in the foreground). Next, he shows the Ford/Hessler area and up East Boulevard, then jumps back to Ohio City (Franklin Castle) and along Bridge Avenue. He then goes back east to the Shaker Square area and toward MLK/Buckeye, up to Glenville, back south to Hough and Fairfax, over to Central (Arbor Park -- the three photos in a row of new, similar construction), back west to Clifton near West 110th, Detroit Avenue near West Blvd, Bridge Avenue again, Tillman Avenue at the Shoreway, new Little Italy townhouses (after the Magnolia -- I don't know where the Magnolia is), and a few more buildings at the end I don't recognize.

New York City's streetcars began fading in the 1930s under a concerted plan by GM & Friends. They bragged at "motorizing" New York City with buses. But most lines kept running well into the 1950s. NYC's last line continued running until 1957 -- later than most if not all Ohio cities!

Here's one of mine from a few weeks ago. EDIT: the full article is posted below... _____________________ http://www.sunnews.com/news/2007/part1/0301/ACWIND.htm Are lower power bills in the wind? By Ken Prendergast Staff Writer March 1, 2007 CLEVELAND A solution to cutting the city's large electrical bills may be in the wind. Initially, city officials said they want to put monitors at two water treatment plants to see if the winds are consistently strong enough over a full year at those locations to warrant installing wind turbines. If the winds are strong enough, turbines could provide electrical power to pumps that supply water to the Greater Cleveland area. The city pays $19 million per year in electrical bills just to power the water pumps. Reducing that cost would benefit consumers in terms of lower water bills, said Ward 17 Councilman Matt Zone. He chairs Cleveland City Council's Public Utilities Committee. "We're looking at alternative ways to reduce our electrical consumption," Zone said. "We want to gauge the wind speed at some of our facilities." Winds will be monitored first at two water treatment facilities the Garrett Morgan Plant, off West 45th Street next to the West Shoreway, and the Nottingham Plant near the Cleveland-Euclid border. .........

Here's another blurb about the Airbus & Hopkins.... ___________________ Hopkins: We Can Handle World's Largest Jet 03-19-2007 11:39 AM (Cleveland, OH) -- If the new title-holder of "The World's Largest Passenger Jet" ever needs to land at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, it won't have any problem doing so. Hopkins officials say the airport's 9-thousand foot long runways can accommodate the Airbus A380, which debuts in the U.S. today. They point to a 2003 landing of the Antonov An-225, a Russian cargo jet which is considered the world's largest airliner. Since there are no U.S. orders for the A380 yet, it may be some time before one does actually land in Cleveland. Metro Networks Communications Inc., A Westwood One Company

Here's another report worth looking over. But it's awfully long. Portland's Peak Oil Task Force has issued the following document... http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=145732.

Worth saving and sharing.... Percent of Household Expenditures on Transportation by Metropolitan Area (By Rank) 1 Houston 20.9% 2 Cleveland 20.5% 3 Detroit 20.5% 4 Tampa 20.4% 5 Kansas City 20.2% 6 Cincinnati 20.0% 7 Anchorage 19.9% 8 Dallas-Forth Worth 19.7% 9 Phoenix 19.6% 10 Miami 19.6% 11 Denver 19.2% 12 Seattle 19.0% 13 St. Louis 18.7% 14 Atlanta 18.7% 15 Los Angeles 18.4% 16 San Diego 18.4% 17 Honolulu 18.0% 18 Boston 17.2% 19 Minneapolis-St. Paul 17.2% 20 Chicago 16.9% 21 Milwaukee 16.6% 22 San Francisco 16.6% 23 Pittsburgh 16.6% 24 Philadelphia 15.9% 25 Washington, D.C. 15.4% 26 New York 15.4% 27 Portland 15.1% 28 Baltimore 14.0% United States 19.1% Source: Center for Neighborhood Technology and Surface Transportation Policy Project, "Driven to Spend: Pumping Dollars out of Our Households and Communities,” June 2005. Based on average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2002-2003, for selected metropolitan statistical areas

Good points.

Just saw a blurb about Eaton finalizing its acquisition this week of Argo-Tech, a manufacturer of aerospace engine fuel pumps and systems, airframe fuel pumps and systems, and ground fueling systems for commercial and military aerospace markets. The company employs approximately 640 people in four locations Cleveland (Euclid); Costa Mesa and Inglewood, Calif.; and Tucson, Ariz. Meanwhile, the 28-story Eaton Center in downtown Cleveland is on the market, but Eaton doesn't own it. Granite Partners LLC, a real estate investment banking firm, is working on behalf of California-based owner KBS Realty Advisors, which bought the building in 1997 for about $53 million. The building could fetch $60 million. Eaton is seeking to refinance its debt by issuing $500 million of fixed-rate senior unsecured notes. Proceeds from the new notes will be used to refinance near-term debt maturities and commercial paper balances. The additional liquidity provided by the new debt will also support Eaton's ability to fund the pending acquisition of Argo-Tech for $695 million. Thus, I doubt Eaton will use much of the proceeds for a new office tower. I suspect they will be a tenant in a new office building, which hopefully will be built downtown. But given Eaton's recent corporate acquisitions, it's probably going to need a lot of a space (assuming they want the headquarters of all of their acquisitions under one roof).