KJP

Cleveland will never be a biotechnology pioneer like Boston or San Francisco, says Tony Dennis, president of Omeris Inc., the state's biotechnology development organization. Best thing to do is prove him wrong, and put his prediction on the litter pile of other prognostications made by other so-called reputable people. Here are some of my other favorite predictions: "There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom." -- Robert Millikan, American physicist and Nobel Prize winner, 1923. "It's a great invention but who would want to use it anyway?" -- Rutherford B. Hayes, U.S. President, after a demonstration of Alexander Bell's telephone, 1872. "Television won't last because people will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night." -- Darryl Zanuck, movie producer, 20th Century Fox, 1946. "It will be gone by June." -- Variety, passing judgement on rock 'n roll in 1955. "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." -- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC), maker of big business mainframe computers, arguing against the PC in 1977. "They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist-" -- Last words of Gen. John Sedgwick, spoken as he looked out over the parapet at enemy lines during the Battle of Spotsylvania in 1864. "With over fifteen types of foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn’t likely to carve out a big share of the market for itself." -- Business Week, August 2, 1968. "There is no doubt that the regime of Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction. As this operation continues, those weapons will be identified, found, along with the people who have produced them and who guard them." -- General Tommy Franks, March 22nd, 2003.

Normally, the value of these rankings and a $1.50 will get you a one-way ride on the Rapid. But I consider this one a little different. Site Selection Magazine is one of those publications I respect for the information and insight. This is a ranking worth being proud of.

It seems (from an outside perspective in another major Ohio city) that Clevelanders will probably internally "beef" with their city (like every Midwest city, including Chicago) but when people "talk shit" about it outside of it, they will be the FIRST to "step up" and represent Cleveland. Bingo. At the office, one of my co-workers is a Cleveland-hater (he's a native who says he's still here only because his wife likes the area). We were bitching about a few things about Cleveland when our new photographer (from Michigan) chimed in and started Cleveland bashing. I (and the Cleveland-hater) immediately began defending the city and explaining why we do certain things. I turned that on the Cleveland-hater. I told him "you talk about Cleveland like it's the little brother you love to pick on. But when someone else picks on him, it's time to throw down."

Stark hasn't acquired any land downtown. He's working with property owners who have already put down their stakes. Foremost among them is Tony Asher. As for the article you mentioned, it's in this thread but a few pages back at http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=6727.msg70057#msg70057 BTW, welcome to the forum, Vulpster03.

I wasn't able to. Things got a little busy here at the office around that time. I hope they archive it.

Sounds like you know quite a bit. You're more educated about transit than 90 percent of your fellow Greater Clevelanders. And since when is an education a pre-requisite for an opinion anyway? Apparently it isn't, based on the letters to the editor that do get published!

A well done article. He did some good research to get all those quotes. And I always like a media guy who's willing to rag on his own rag.

The profits may be going out of state, but the lease revenues are staying here. But I'd be interested to see who the other three bidders were for Indiana Toll Road. I don't know if all of them were international or if at least one was domestic. If some of the lease revenues were for high-speed rail (or at least a more modest 110-mph version of it), much of the train equipment would be manufactured outside of the U.S. Montreal-based Bombardier is the largest rail passenger car manufacturer that's closest to the U.S. General Electric has a huge locomotive plant in Erie, PA. And many components are still manufactured in Ohio and rail cars are often assembled here (like at GE's large Apparatus Shop in Cuyahoga Heights).

Thanks for saying, JDD941. But don't get depressed, get involved! Write letters to the editor. Join All Aboard Ohio (www.allaboardohio.com), attend RTA board and citizens advisory committee meetings. An active mind in an idle body is a never a good thing. As for the subways, check out this string I started at: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=2726.msg26051#msg26051

You guys are killing me....

Even if I were highway zealot, and believed driving was a right, how can it be in the first amendment, knowing that the amendments are numbered chronologically? I knew our founding fathers had a great deal of foresight, but to foresee the automobile more than 100 years before its invention would be downright clairvoyant.

Smart Growth America _ANNOUNCEMENT _FREE TOD WEBCAST SERIES STARTS THURSDAY *TOD: Connecting Neighbors to Neighborhoods and Communities to Regions* Are you convinced that accessible, convenient transit is a key to community vitality, but unclear about how to take advantage of transit opportunities? Join Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Smart Growth America, and Reconnecting America for a three-part series about the ins and outs of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). Explore TOD as a tool that can spur planning and development, enhance housing and jobs, expand economic activity, and positively change neighborhood dynamics. Learn about transit finance, and hear on-the-ground best practices from small and large places across the country. All sessions will be at 2:00 p.m. ET. For more information, visit the LISC website <http://support.smartgrowthamerica.org/site/R?i=XIKynfYfSMhZUGtPSs7RZw..>. *Session 1. TOD 101: Putting the Pieces Together March 2, 2006, 2-3:30pm * The first session of the series will cover TOD's basic principles with practical examples from around the nation. With the expansion of the real estate market in some urban core neighborhoods and suburban town centers, TOD offers a way to expand sustainability and affordability, boost ridership at key transit stops, bring businesses and people back, and create community value. Learn how to design, plan, and finance TOD to bring these benefits to your community. Sign into the webcast here <http://support.smartgrowthamerica.org/site/R?i=jsAxedJW2q2cPWGiKhW04w..>. If there are any problems, please email [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>. *Session 2. TOD: Key to Neighborhood Revitalization and Affordable Housing - April 4, 2004* This session examines how TOD can be pivotal in place-based economic recovery. TOD can revitalize neighborhoods for people of all income levels, as households living near transit sometimes save up to $5,000 per year on transportation costs. Presenters will highlight policies, strategies, and tools to include housing as part of mixed-income, mixed-use neighborhood revitalization efforts. Learn more about integrating TOD into neighborhood redevelopment and engaging community partners to ensure affordability, accessibility, and vibrancy. *Session 3. TOD in Real Communities: Walking the Walk and Talking the Talk May 3, 2006* This final session features examples of TOD in active communities across the nation and the lessons learned from their experience. Three cities - suburban, core city, and small town - illustrate practical application of TOD - from conceptualization to building, from planning to marketing, from strategies to punchlist, from leadership building to problem solving. Participants will engage in an interactive conversation with local stakeholders who are at the forefront of successful developments. *Sponsored by Smart Growth America, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and Reconnecting America* View as HTML <http://support.smartgrowthamerica.org/site/R?i=iP8krpgjut8_T1gmJqUefg..> | Forward Message <http://support.smartgrowthamerica.org/site/R?i=rQ2bKhLuM7vmmkgCqBYlPQ..> |Unsubscribe <http://support.smartgrowthamerica.org/site/CO?i=&cid=0> Powered by Convio <http://support.smartgrowthamerica.org/site/R?i=hcgTsZK9yXHZ9UHpCAX2fA..> /Subscribe to csuapa/

Speaking of Pickwick... I was disappointed to learn the hard way that P&F closes their kitchen at 7 p.m. Monday evenings. After slogging through the snow and doing some shopping in Chinatown, a friend of mine from Chicago and I rode the bus into downtown. I was looking forward to showing him P&F. But when we trudged inside a few minutes after 7 p.m., we got the bad news from the host. He said it was a recent decision to stop serving that early. Bummer. So that's why we ended up dining at Flannery's....

OK, here's All Aboard Ohio's position paper (prefaced with a one-page overview) on the idea of leasing the Ohio Turnpike.... http://members.cox.net/neotrans/Turnpike_Lease_PP-BP.pdf ....with the short answer being: "Nice idea, but only if you use the proceeds for diversifying the state's transportation system to cope with the challenges of the 21st century."

While I couldn't see the Perry plant, there sure was a big dyke in that photo! (sing it ZZ Top) "He's got lens. He knows how to use them..."

It's a friggin' privilege people, not a right! ______________________ Study: Americans know Bart better than 1st Amendment By Gerry Doyle Tribune staff reporter Published February 28, 2006, 9:52 PM CST A survey released Wednesday showcases a bit of data that should surprise nobody: Americans know more about "The Simpsons" than they do about the 1st Amendment. The study, conducted by the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum, focuses on the 1st Amendment and found that less than one percent of the respondents could identify the five protected rights: freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly and to petition the government. On the other hand, about 20 percent of respondents could name Bart and Homer and the other three members of the animated ......... The right to own pets, for example, which 21 percent of respondents said was listed someplace between "Congress shall make no law" and "redress of grievances." Seventeen percent said that the amendment contained the right to drive a car. And 38 percent thought that "taking the 5th Amendment" was part of the 1st. ..........

My bad -- the live-work loft apartments (for sale, starting at $180,000) building will be on the south side of Detroit, between Hopkins and Winchester avenues. The building will have 11,000 square feet of ground floor retail along the Detroit Avenue sidewalk and two levels of parking (one of which will be below street level). I didn't count the number of housing units, but I can if requested. The penthouses will be two-story units with patios. The building is slated to open in Fall 2007. Here are a few graphics...

The torso murders weren't restricted to Kingsbury Run, though that's where most of the bodies (or parts thereof) were found. I've written a few articles about Eliot Ness over the years and most recently interviewed the producer of a documentary called "The 13th Victim." The producer makes a valid argument that the 13th victim of the torso murderer was Ness himself. And it wasn't just the Cleveland media putting pressure on Ness, but Ness putting pressure on himself to solve the crime. Ness was an effective safety director, but he was no investigator. Even when he was in Chicago, his alcohol-tax unit of the Treasury Department was more of a nuisance to Capone and the other bootleggers. The real legwork was being done by others, but Ness claimed he did more than he really had. His autobiography that led to the TV series the Untouchables was a fiction. Also, every movie done about the Untouchables were merely Hollywood fables. In the early 1990s, I did a series of articles about Cleveland-area speakeasies, and was tipped off to a man who used to work with Ness in Chicago and had relocated to Cleveland about the time Ness did. This guy was in his 90s, but his mind was still sharp. He said Ness was an honest guy (in that he wasn't corrupt) but was very insecure about himself. No matter what he did, it wasn't enough. I also interviewed a retired PD reporter who started there in the 1930s who said Ness was a real ladies man and quite the party hound. But he said Ness was always trying to find acceptance but apparently never found it. When Ness couldn't solve the torso murders, it ate him up inside and he couldn't stand the public criticism. After he lost in his post-war mayoral bid (which followed the suspicious car accident he fled, probably because he was drunk), he retreated to Coudersport, PA a small town in the remote North-Central part of Pennsylvania. He suffered money problems and drank himself to death. On the 40th anniversary of his death (I think it was 1997), a ceremony was held at Lakeview Cemetery to give him a proper send off, and a thank you for his excellent service as a safety director. He had turned one of the nation's most corrupt police departments into one of its best in just a few years. That was the most crowning achievement of his public life. I also encourage you to read "Eliot Ness - The real story" by Paul W. Heimel. It's available on Amazon.

I wish it were a hobby, otherwise I might actually enjoy writing the Second District blotter. But after I'm done with the brevity reports, I'd be happy to give them to you. I hang on to them until Friday -- the day after the paper comes out just in case I get any calls from people complaining about anything I've written. Then I can refer to the reports to see if it was my screw-up or not!

Is there anything brewing for the trio of contiguous three-story buildings between East 4th and Myers College, on the south side of Prospect? One of them has the abandoned Goldfish store on the ground level. I kept eyeballing them as I ate my dinner at Flannery's on Monday evening. I'll bet they could be something special, but look pretty said right now. Afterwards, I was walking along Prospect to Tower City and spotted a Marous sign on the former religious book store at the corner of Prospect and Ontario. I was interviewing a Marous project manager yesterday for another story and asked him about it. There's a law firm going in there. OK, let's hear the jokes about a building once occupied for a religious cause to one to be occupied by attorneys.....

I encourage you to write letters to the editor of the Sun and PD, especially if you are Cleveland residents and, moreso, if you are a resident of Ohio City.

If taxpayers have already paid for those roads, then we don't have to spend any more money on them right? Wrong!! I can't stand when that cliche is used. It's a cop-out for avoiding a debate over expanding the use of tolls, which I contend was one of the greatest mistakes of the interstate highway system. It removes a major equalizing factor from the supply-demand equation -- price. Thus, if the demand for the use of a highway grows so much that it becomes congested, the only solution is to increase its supply (ie: widen it) in the absence of tolls. If pricing were part of the equation, it could be considered more often and help to rein in sprawl -- or at least to put a more accurate price on it. So don't tell me taxpayers have already paid for a particular highway -- taxpayers are NEVER done paying for a given highway.

My eye is on the vacated Delorean Cadillac dealership at West 117th and Madison. That property, plus the Burger King and the dumpy stores right at the corner need to get the hell out of there. For the past six months or so, I've been hearing rumblings about that site, but nothing more than that. The whole area cries out for very high density development, being right next to the Rapid station that's under redevelopment. If they build it, and I can afford it, I would definitely consider moving to it.

Since I don't watch much TV except for Bloomberg, the History Channel etc, I guess I'll have to take your word for it. For me, I'll stick with Terminal Tower, Key Tower and, probably my favorite building downtown, the Arcade. But that's more of a pedestrian landmark since you could drive by it and never notice it.

Only 4 of the 10 largest hotels in Northeast Ohio are in downtown Cleveland, and just 8 of the 26 largest are downtown? Is this a leading or misleading economic indicator?