Oldmanladyluck

This from today... Fading away Cleveland's population is less than half of 1950 levels; rank falls to 40th Thursday, June 28, 2007 Robert L. SmithPlain Dealer Reporter The news from the U.S. Census Bureau is not good for Cleveland, population 444,000, and falling. The city lost nearly 7 percent of its people from 2000 to 2006 and now ranks as America's 40th-largest city. That's down from 33rd and a world away from the 1920s, when Cleveland was the nation's fifth-largest city. Among major American cities, only New Orleans and Detroit suffered greater population losses, the Census Bureau will report today... "We're not going to be able to turn this tide unless the region unifies," he said. "We need to get behind a single plan for attracting immigrants. Without them, we'll never grow."... The city may be fading, but Greater Cleveland -- Cuyahoga, Summit, Lorain, Lake, Geauga, Portage and Ashtabula counties -- is home to 3 million people. We're the 15th-largest metro area. By merging with Cuyahoga County, Cleveland would grow overnight to 1.3 million people, becoming America's seventh-largest city... http://www.cleveland.com/census/index.ssf/2007/06/fading_away.html

Nice article by Litt... Tower fight threatens commission's status Monday, June 25, 2007 Steven LittPlain Dealer Columnist The bitter debate over whether to renovate or replace a downtown Cleveland office tower designed by the great Modernist architect Marcel Breuer threatens to cause serious collateral damage. At risk: the status of the Cleveland City Planning Commission... For more: http://blog.cleveland.com/top_entertainment/2007/06/peggy_turbett_the_plain.html

My bad MyTwoSense, let me clarify... this was what I was referring to...

OK, so it has come down to this, a showdown with the city. Jackson had voiced support for the building's demolition earlier, but has been silent for a while now. Does anybody know what his stance is concerning historic preservation? I think it is time to start some type of larger movement to save the tower, since it is now up to the mayor.

^^Walked by that today, wishing I had my camera on me. What better way to encourage his employees and himself that he wants the project done than to move his offices to the center of it all?

^^I agree. However, to state that the ONLY way to pay for a Medical Mart is by raising taxes is what I've come to expect from the likes of Dimora and Hagan. :-(

Spill the beans, dammit!! lol. Too early to say, huh?

Don't know if this belongs in this thread, but it has to do with the Flats East Bank... A 'blue' Flats: Jackson proposes a strip club district Tuesday, June 12, 2007Susan Vinella and Tom BreckenridgePlain Dealer Reporters Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson on Monday proposed the creation of an adult-entertainment district in the Flats to house up to three strip clubs, possibly including Larry Flynt's Hustler Club. The district, a two-block area east of the Cuyahoga River and within a block of the proposed Canal Basin Park, would allow a move by the Hustler Club as part of a settlement with developer Scott Wolstein. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com

Nice pics! It's good to see somebody taking pics of the inner east side. This is a pic of the corner of 112th and St. Clair (my Granny stays there lol)

Don't know if anybody remembers, but when Stark was at CSU he mentioned that he spoke with Federated Department Stores and they said they would move into a project like Starks, while Tower City had been trying to get a department store for years. He then said "you should all be clapping"... but we'll see...

^^ I like the fact that council will pass the tax abatement proposal as long as the homes are energy efficient. This could help make Cleveland look more progressive to those who move to the city.

With all of the interest and attention that the tower has been getting, I would not be surprised if the building were picked up by a developer with some type of use for it in mind if the county were to sell (and at this point, I'm hoping they do). This would make a DAMN sweet condo conversion, (on the corner of 9th and Euclid, condos would sell in no time), or some type of mixed-use. Just gotta clean it out first.

As stated before, HOW and why would the county move to the burbs, when Cleveland is the county seat just because little jimmy is a little pissed?

What is the $20 million question? Should the existing infrastructure in the city- be it roads, public space, or buildings, be reused or torn down as if we are still living in the era of urban renewal? This is a horrible waste of money, and for a county that is losing population is an unacceptable "decision" by our elected officials, who work for the taxpayers of Cuyahoga County, not a developer who they acquired the building from in a back-room deal. The building might not be aesthetically pleasing, but should our county officials have the right to tear it down just because of aesthetics, or office sizes, or whatever other bull$ht they can come up with?

^^LOL, wonder who has been snooping from the PD

The main part of this that caught my eye was... "Darryl Whitehead, Stark's spokesman, only would confirm that a "major announcement" is planned for next week with city of Cleveland leaders. Andrea Taylor, Mayor Frank Jackson's press secretary, said she is "aware that they are moving their headquarters down here."" "Major announcement", while the mayor's press secretary said that they already know that the headquarters is moving... which means the major announcement has to be something else... Could this be the announcement we were waiting for? :mrgreen:

Dambit, I hope this doesn't pass... I likegoing to strip clubs :whip: :drunk: Strip clubs lap up visitors' money Convention official: Spike this bill Tuesday, May 01, 2007 Aaron Marshall Plain Dealer Bureau Columbus- Harsh new proposed regulations on strip clubs could hit Cleveland right in the wallet by making the city less attractive to those picking convention sites, says the city's top tourism official. "The people who make the decisions on where to bring a convention consider a wide variety of issues and offerings," Dennis Roche, president of the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland, said in an interview on Monday. "I wouldn't call it a deal maker, but I would call it a tie-breaker," he added, referring to adult entertainment such as strip bars. The bill in front of Ohio lawmakers would impose a six-foot barrier between strippers and patrons and would force strip clubs to end their nude or semi-nude entertainment at midnight. It recently passed the Ohio Senate 24-8, and is expected to be approved by House lawmakers. Read More...

Charts and graphs... http://www.cleveland.com/region/images/economicimpact.jpg http://www.cleveland.com/region/images/mighthavebeen.jpg http://www.cleveland.com/region/images/ripening.jpg http://www.cleveland.com/region/images/regiondivided.jpg Interactive maps... http://www.cleveland.com/pdgraphics/interactive/ohiomigration/map/m10000.html http://www.cleveland.com/pdgraphics/interactive/neoohiomigration/map/m10000.html

New series aims to stir interest in tackling area's parochialism Sunday, April 29, 2007 Doug Clifton Plain Dealer Columnist Three years ago, The Plain Dealer launched a series of stories we called "A Region Divided." As the name implies, the series documented the fragmentary system of government that defines Northeast Ohio. While the series drew no conclusions, it did ask questions, big ones and small. For example, do neighboring villages each need a $600,000 ladder truck? More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com

Well, looks like Sam Miller officially stirred the regionalism discussion back up. Let's act on it this time. Reacting with lip service -- and lead feet Sunday, April 29, 2007 Thomas Ott and Tom Breckenridge Plain Dealer Reporters Northeast Ohio is warming to regionalism. But if your furnace took this long to heat up, you would call a repairman. Three years ago, The Plain Dealer began publishing "A Region Divided," a series exploring how Cuyahoga County and its 59 communities might benefit by eliminating duplicated services, sharing taxes across political boundaries and planning with a regional view. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com

^^Not only that, but if CC were to merge Cleveland could push for school funding to change state wide with the extra added clout.

^^I'm glad too, however I'm not a fan of the mayors leaving the school districts out of the discussion (just as the PD did when it first brought up the idea of consolidated county government). It would seem that the schools would have much to gain through regionalism, in my opinion. I just don't understand why the schools are always left out.

Good article from the Beacon Journal... Regionally, e pluribus without the unum Merging government services could reap big savings By Steve Hoffman, Beacon Journal editorial writer When the services that local government provided were simpler and times more prosperous, nobody devoted much thought to the proliferation of political subdivisions in Northeast Ohio. Even in recent years, with costs rising and tax dollars strained, most discussion about operating more efficiently is framed within the confines of particular school districts, cities, villages and townships. At that local governmental unit level, officials often muster convincing evidence that they are doing everything possible to control expenses and still provide the number and quality of services to which voters have become accustomed. More at http://www.ohio.com

Miller sounds passionate about this!! I'm glad that he noted that silver bullets will not save the town. I think it's good that he's jumped in on this.

Yep, the above comments are correct about Stark's opening comments. Was it just me, or did Zambera seem like he was gonna fall out of his chair, either cuz he was drunk or really tired? Anyways, not much new in the way of news as far as the projects that we already know about... Stark stated that he would like to start construction by this time next year, finishing in 2010 ro 2011. Ari gave a rundown of all of the new restaurants that will be opening in the flats, including a jazz bar and another type of concert venue, along with a Mediterranean restaurant. He also said he was for joining the quadrants of Public Square into one large square to make a smooth transition between the Warehouse District, Public Square, E.4th and Playhouse Square and up Euclid to University Circle with the Euclid BRT. Whoever the guy was that was representing the East Bank project mentioned having things in the project that would be "uniquely Cleveland", such as some of the shops that would be included with the project, and noted that they are moving forward with the demolitions. Someone asked him about his thoughts on the Hustler Club, and he said he couldn't talk about that since they are in the process of trying to acquire that property through litigation. There was also a woman representing the Fairfax CDC, giving reference to the library that is being redone along 79th St., which will be LEED certified gold, with a 6000 sq. ft. extension including a green roof.