Oldmanladyluck

:drunk: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :-D :mrgreen: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Yep, first day of classes went well. There was a lot of foot traffic on Euclid, which is always nice to see...

Cleveland still losing people City could drop below 400,000 next July, projections show Tuesday, August 15, 2006 Robert L. Smith Plain Dealer Reporter Seemingly just yesterday, former Mayor Jane Campbell announced a crusade to push Cleveland's population back above the 500,000 plateau by attracting jobs, housing and immigrants. Forget about it. It's even getting late to rally for 400,000. A U.S. Census Bureau survey released today shows that Cleveland's fortunes continue to slide. The city's population is on track to dip below 400,000 by next July -- a number last seen in the early 1900s... To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: [email protected], 216-999-4024 www.cleveland.com/census/index.ssf/archive/index.html

Excellent post!!

^^Thankx for the info... that's even more of a reason that it should be built at the mall site... but the city already dumped Corna's plans? That's unfortunate... I'll keep my conspiracy theories to my self on that one...

If I may jump into the conversation... I've been a lurker for too long... In my opinion, both sites have their advantages- TC has obvious advantages with transportation infrastructure with the river, the rapid, connection to the airport, the upcomming towpath trail and the scenic railroad. The site would put more people into Tower City, which would hopefully get Forest City to change the shopping options in the mall. There are also more hotels around the TC site than the mall. However, the site at TC could not be expanded, if need be, and the one major factor that led to the TC site being considered past the other four that were planned was the promised development of Scranton Penninsula (a promise that was dropped by Forest City later due to "market conditions", if I remember correctly). The mall site has the advantage of being underground, which I personally like. It could be expanded past the tracks towards the lake, helping downtown connect further with the lake. We also have existing historical sturctures at the mall. It is in close proximity to Burke, which could have conventioners fly in directly (maybe have some sort of underground connection with the mall site, or maybe a dedicated bus/train/trolly connecting the mall site with Burke, the Science Center, etc., don't know how far that idea would go). However, again, the mall site lacks the already existing hotels around TC. The one advantage that the mall site has that has me now in favor of the site is Cleveland Browns Stadium. This stadium should be used as much as possible, and I personally love the idea of using it for conventions if and when it is covered via the vision of Corna. The stadium adds that much more space to the convention center, and is the type of out-of-the-box type of thinking that our town needs... just a couple of my thoughts on the situation

This city knows how to dream, and dream big..... http://broadband.flipcorp.com/skins/emaar/v7_03_02/index.asp?version=v7_03_02&videoID=9&adID=&list=

Wait, ODNR wants to block proposals for wind turbins on the lake? Time for us to start writing them if this is true...

I believe that high gas prices will definately help bring people back to core regions. Of course it won't happen overnight, but people might begin to realize how much they are actually spending on gasoline because they live 30 miles from the city. But something else comes to mind: What about our public transportation systems? Say for example that gas hits $5.00 per gallon in the near future (which will happen sooner or later). The cost of getting a pass on RTA would definately increase, not to the point where it would be expensive to get a ticket, but an increase nonetheless just to offset the price of gas. It might not be worth buying more buses, i.e. the Silver Line, which burn up gas and will add to operating costs for RTA. Thoghts?

Where does the price of gasoline fit into this scenario? I personally believe that the relatively low price of gasoline that we have enjoyed up until the last couple of years helped people decide to live in an exurb and commute to the city and back. The low price of gas also made it easy for developers to sell these homes that are miles and miles away from the core of the region. Now that high gas prices are here to stay, does anybody think that this trend might be reversing itself?

http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.aspx?aid=20144&bw=

I, like many of you am straight and very offended by this law. This is outrageous. When will our elected officials actually pay attention to the REAL issues? Why is it that the state of Ohio pays more attention to a person's sexual orientation than to the state of the economy and unconstitutional school funding? GET THESE DUMMIES OUT OF OFFICE, PEOPLE!!!!! DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMIT!!!!

KJP, those are great ideas. When all is said and done, we've got to hold ODOT's feet to the fire so at least some of those things can happen (especially the rail component to the Opportunity Corridor).

^^I agree with what you have said. We know when the inferiority complex started, as some would place it back in the 60's with the river burning which really got it going. Not to mention the anti-urban sentiment which was sweeping across the nation, racial tensions, white flight, etc. We know it culminated back when the city went into default. But what has kept this inferiority complex going into the next millenium? Is it that the city is doing nothing in regards to trying to reinvent itself and it's economy, or that the news media focuses too much on the negatives? What happens to the minds of the readers who for years read a majority of negative news about the region? Will they feel good about the region, or will they feel that other places offer better living? I will give the PD credit for getting some of the minds of our elected leaders moving in the right direction. For example, the "quiet crisis" series was a needed discussion for the region. However, as in your post, I don't feel that they proposed any solution to the problems that they were reporting on. Am I going to participate in solving the problem? Actually yes. I'm currently in college and am majoring in urban development. I would like to be a part of the discussions about the problems that the region faces, but would like to know more about the history of the problems of urban areas and solutions to those problems before I go out and voice my opinions in those discussions. I view this board as a positive entity and enjoy reading others posts who are interested in the problems of the region and also any solutions. Since I am still learning about urban issues, I don't really reply much to posts (I'm a lurker), but read most of the posts on this board, especially those pertaining to Cleveland.

I think I've said this before, but the PD does not think about the psychological affects it has on the city. This is Cleveland's main daily newspaper and even though circulation is down, many, MANY people still read it. It is because of our news media outlets that we have an "inferiority complex". Think about it. If our news media did not put the city down every chance that they had, would we feel the same about our town? Hell no. But if you keep calling a child ugly, over and over again, sooner or later that child will start BELIEVING that he or she is ugly. The PD sure knows how to push that belief down this region's throat.

Here we go again with one of Cleveland's main news outlets focusing on only the negatives of the city. I'm getting sick of it. Believe in Cleveland? Not the PD.

This from 90.3 WCPN on Decemober 22... A proposed revamping of Cleveland’s inner belt has local leaders debating various options. But since most of the money to pay for it is funneled through the Ohio Department of Transportation, that agency holds the ultimate decision-making authority. In the past few weeks, the Cuyahoga and Cleveland Planning Commissions have pressed ODOT to evaluate other alternatives. But ODOT seems locked in its own plan. If Cleveland doesn’t approve it the project could founder - with millions of federal dollars diverted to other projects instead. ideastream’s Lisa Ann Pinkerton reports... SEE NEXT POST FOR LINK TO ARTICLE \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/

Why is ODOT so persistant in getting THEIR idea through and not taking in any other ideas when ODOT is funded by state tax-payer money?

^^I added a little bit more to the reply before this... I hadn't finished the thought lol I think that he's thinking of the whole region, and not just his neighborhood. This is what we were all asking ourselves, and this is what the PD tried so hard to put into our brains; that he couldn't think outside of Central and was against development outside of his neighborhood. Well, he has shown otherwise since being elected. I just hope that it continues.

Well, some of Jackson's former views on regionalism were posted in City News Ohio, which is a newspaper geared towards African Americans in Cleveland. They have since took down the link to the interview that he did with them, which was a three part series. To sum up the interview, he said that he viewed regionalism at the time as a way for the majority white suburbs to take control of Cleveland's assets with a county merger (like the water department, the airport, etc.), in that African Americans would no loger be the majority in the city, and that their political clout would be lessened. He stated that he was against regionalism in this sense and questioned why certain people pushing for a city-county merger wanted to leave the school systems out of the discussion. There was more to it, but that was a large part of it. He appears to have changed his views towards regionalism, but let's not hope for a county merger just yet. I think he's more for regional economic development, tax and service sharing and not so much for erasing the borders with the suburbs. I also think he's for changing the school system, possibly regionalizing the city school system with the suburbs. We're still taking baby steps in this new ideal, but somewhere down the road I think a county merger with the city is possible when everyone finally sees how much we could save and how much we could get from Uncle Sam. I'm glad he's showing that he's progressive. He might be the right choice for the person who will lead the city.

Found this little tidbit in the PD today... this is great news. The man hasn't even started yet, and he's showing that he wants true cooperation between Cleveland and the suburbs. Jackson will create post to oversee regionalism By Olivera Perkins Plain Dealer Reporter Cleveland Mayor-elect Frank Jackson said Wednesday that he will appoint the city’s first point person for regional issues, a promise that has made many suburban mayors ecstatic and dashed any lingering suspicions that he viewed regionalism with skepticism. “It will be a key member of his administration,” said Mary Anne Sharkey, a transition-team spokeswoman. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com

Stapleton residents are embracing a new city with old urban charms Tuesday, November 29, 2005 Denver- To see Denver's Stapleton project today is to see the birth of a city. The southeastern portion is a massive construction zone, teeming with trucks and contractors, filled by day with the sounds of hammers, drills, saws and nail guns. On dirt lots alongside freshly paved or unfinished streets are row upon row of new houses, some nearly finished, some plywood skeletons. Scattered around are trash bins, rolls of sod and portable toilets. From here, Stapleton is indistinguishable from the suburban subdivisions it was designed to outshine. But just to the west, in a finished part of the project, you can see the vision beginning to take shape. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com

This discussion was needed, and I am glad that the PD picked up this topic. Maybe, just MAYBE, this discussion will help entice Forest City to invest in it's hometown a little bit more. It also might change some perceptions about the company (though the timing of this series is questionable, since FC wants a new Convention Center on their site). The paper started a weblog dedicated to Forest City at http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/forestcity/ From lumber yard to real estate Sunday, November 27, 2005 Christopher Montgomery Plain Dealer Reporter Ayear ago, Forest City Enter prises Inc. sold its lumber busi ness in Portland, Ore. It was a small operation in a company that measures its balance sheet by the billions. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: [email protected], 216-999-4059 © 2005 The Plain Dealer © 2005 cleveland.com All Rights Reserved.

I've been wondering this for a while... but can anybody tell me why the hell it took them so long to get moving in the first place? I remember seeing plans for this site maybe five years ago.

WHEW!!! I'm glad that we get to keep our DFAS Jobs. However... I personally would like to know what is the psychological cost of living here. We've had SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many ups and downs in this area during the past couple of years... it has to have some psychological toll on the residents that live here. The news media in my opinoin has kept our "we can't do that here" complex by constantly putting out negative news stories about the area. They even bashed Barbara Byrd Bennett out of town, and she was really making a difference.