shs96

^ not sure if you saw the 60 Minutes story or not, but they mentioned in the piece that no one would ever consider going outside without wearing a hat. And to think, each person probably only had 3 or 4 outfits total back then.

Well, singular or plural, they're all bad...the state shouldn't provide basic property to society in the name of individual liberty and equal rights. People have the right to obtain property (generally, by working), not generically to property itself. That's my belief anyway. Socialism believes the people collectively own resources and the state should provide basic property to society in equal fashion. The state acts as the administrator of property which the people own. When the state does provide basic property to it's constituents, you get what you see in France with the masses acting irrationally because they are conditioned to be entitled to certain properties - like being able to retire at 60. It's good in theory if you get 100% participation (why do you think the EU was formed to begin with) but bad in practice because not everyone is always going to participate or even conform to societal rules. And it shouldn't be viewed as callous if someone doesn't utilize their right to obtain property and you want to leave them behind. It's no different than any other right, but the only one where we feel the need to project it on people who are not taking advantage of it. I tried to keep this short b/c the direction of this conversation can qucikly hi-jack this thread, but kind of failed at that. So I'm just going to leave it at that rather than post any follow up discussion.

Not everybody views the world through political colored glasses. But any practical economist can see that liberal economic policy is only good in theory and not in practice ;)

While I think some general improvements in cleanliness, landscaping, street cleaning, etc would help, I do think the core issue is Public Square is acting as a bus terminal without actually being a bus terminal. It's more a bunch of street corners with lots of bus stops around it. If there was an actual bus terminal with waiting areas, large bus lanes, etc that would be an improvement. It would keep masses of people from clogging up the sidewalks and masses of busses causing congestion on the street. There's certainly plenty of space to build a legit bus/transit station in any of the surface lots near Public Square. I just don't think Public Sqaure is equipped to be both a bus station and a public space. You need to commit to it being one or the other.

I think it's a shame that street performers get lumped in with agressive panhandlers nowadays. I agree. I will always give money to street performers. Panhandlers I mostly want to punch in the face. The difference being one is actually doing something to earn money while the other is just being a worthless bum.

I've been doing my best to ignore politics this time around because it's been so infuriating...but, i read this...and, it's just too bad that these blatant lies go unchallenged. That money won't be saved at all. I wish some news source would have the balls to tell people about this BS. Which brings me to wonder if he he won't actually kill the 3-C b/c there is no money to be saved. It's just a campaign tool and will still get implemented "with changes" or "due to bi-partisan agreement" or some spin that makes it seem like he didn't back down from a campaign promise. Wouldn't be the first time.

I haven't had as much of a problem with kids on Public Square, mostly adults. But still, I'm not sure who thought putting kids unsupervised on the bus/train on their way to/from school was a good idea, but it's not. I know when I was growing up taking the bus to/from school, any misbehavior on the bus could result in detention or other forms of school punishment if the bus driver wrote you up. Not only that, but I wasn't allowed to get off at any stop other than my own or board another bus without a pass. Meanwhile these kids can get on/off wherever they want and go basically anywhere. RTA employees don't work for the school system and aren't equipped to be responsible for the thousands of kids that ride the bus. So what can realistically be done about this? The same thing that can be done about any kids misbehavior - don't let them be unsupervised and don't put them in situations that enables them to misbehave. The system that allows scores of kids to be dropped off unsupervised in the middle of the day at Public Sqaure needs to be revisited.

It's not a perception...it's the reality for anyone who goes through there on a daily basis. The most direct route to/from work for me involves going directly through public square. When I was walking, I started avoiding public square just to avoid the hassle of being bothered for money or running into people who just don't give a sh!t about their surroundings (which means they don't care if you're walking on the sidewalk,this is their space and you're in the way). Now that I ride my bike it's not as bad, but I still get bothered from time to time by panhandlers or people who just don't care that there are societal rules like walking on sidewalks or crosswalks or even that they shouldn't cross when the light says stop. And it's not just kids. It's a shame, I would spend more time in Public Square b/c its a nice space, but it's simply not pleasurable due to the volume of losers that hang out there.

^ Speaking for myself, it shows up as the abated amount. It shows the building value as $0 and then the land value as what it is, which I pay taxes on.

^ yikes...something I should keep an eye on then since I'm in the same boat with the tax abatement.

Yeah, and I'd add "drastically underperforming" to the list. Part of that is up to the players, but a lot of that is management/coaches. 2005 they were the best team in baseball in the second half...except the last week of the season when they inexcplicably choked losing 6 of 7 (including getting swept by White Sox). 2006 their pitching failed them. CC was good, but Lee was screwed up and Westbrook was off and Paul Byrd was Paul Byrd (replacing Millwood who had led the league in ERA in 2005). 2007 they put it together, only to choke again against the Red Sox. CC won the Cy Young that year and pulled a complete no-show against Boston, losing both starts...including game 5 which he could have rebounded from game 1 to clinch it. 2008 - You're telling me with the reigning Cy young award winner and that season's Cy Young award winner on the roster at the start of the season and you can't compete? Victor and Hafner getting hurt right away didn't help, but still...teams win with stud pitching and weak offense all the time. 28 games over .500 gets you into the palyoffs and Lee was 19 games over .500 by himself. You're telling me you couldn't have stuck with CC and between him and the rest of the starters ended up another 9 games over .500? Then by 2009 they packed it up and entered "let's just make tons of money regardless of team performance" mode. And they're still there now. But a lot of that I blame on coaching and management. The players were there and were just underperforming...and they just kept doing the same thing repeatedly hoping for it to change...

^ What kinds of problems did you have with PNC Mortgage? They are my mortgage company too...just curious...

At the end of the day, I think this should be the most compelling argument for the 3-C project. Oh, you don't want $400 million towards a project that the rest of the country is helping subsidize but will only be used in your state? Well, we can give it to someone else...and you can watch part of your tax dollars go to helping Boston upgrade their transit system. Focusing on the cost to ride, who will use it...you're not going to convince enough opponents to change their mind in your favor. You need to hammer down the "You want to turn down $400 million of federal funding in this economy? How is that positioning us for the next time the federal government is handing out money? As the state that's difficult to work with and doesn't support the US gov't ideas?"

I ride my bike almost every day. If I had a better place to change clothes/clean up, I would ride in all types of weather but if it's really raining in the morning, I drive. Slight rain I can deal with. I don't save a ton on gas, but I save ~$80-$100 per month in parking which is huge. Plus it's actually a bit faster to ride my bike than to drive, by the time you get to the car in the garage, exit garage, wait to get into traffic, etc. Not to mention I can avoid another long light right before I get home by cutting through a walking path/parking lot. My garage has a bike rack right next to the entrance (inside) so it's a quick in and out on my bike. I am the only bike that's ever there though.

Hopefully someone will write a rebuttal for this one. While she correctly denotes that cost will be a major factor in taking a train trip, she is comparing the cost per mile of the train (that includes op costs, fuel and depreciation of capital) to only the fuel costs of driving. If we use the current IRS per mile write-off of driving at 0.45c then it competes with the worst case 50c/mile for fare+subsidy. It should be noted the IRS rate does NOT include maintenance to the facility (highway), or does it -- via inclusion of fuel costs + fuel tax in that rate? I support rail travel and this project but these costs discussions of how it's comprable kind of bother me b/c they are framed in a biased manner. When comparing the cost of driving vs. the cost of taking the train, it's often said that the cost of driving is not simply the cost of gas. And I agree that overall the cost of driving is more than simply how much you pay in fuel as you do pay to own and operate your vehicle. However the costs of taking the train vs. driving your car using the models shown here really only apply if you compare taking a train vs NOT owning a car and attempting to drive. Because if you already own a car, your cost per mile of driving may be $0.45 per mile, but your cost of taking the train is not simply the per mile cost of taking the train. It's the per mile cost of taking the train + the cost of owning your car. Because much of that cost you're adding to get the "true" cost of driving is going to be paid for whether you drive or not. The incremental cost of driving is actually closer to just what the cost of fuel is + plus whatever you want to allocate to mileage wear and tear. So I don't think the cost agument is really going to "stick" with people not supporting rail projects. I mentioned this project would get significantly more support if ODOT was making a shift in philosophy of general spending to balance out roads and rail transit, but I haven't seen that commitment yet. That's where the real argument lies. Get to the point where people don't need to own a car - or at least a household only needs 1 car instead of 2 - and this will start to gain some traction on the "it's cheaper" front.

So last year when the Browns were 1-11 playing the Steelers on a Thursday night, how many of you thought they could win? Anything can happen. Kosar led the Browns to a division title as a rookie. Rapelisberger led the Steeers to a 15-1 record as a rookie. I don't have lofty initial expectations, but I'm excited to see Colt get a shot. Neither Wallace or Delhomme are the future of this team.

After my second PC got the blue screen of death, I switched to a MAC. So far so good, but the real test will be in 2-3 years if it still runs the same. It seemed like it was the same deal with PC's...slows down over time, I upgrade some RAM, then it just gets to the point where it runs so slow its not worth using or just dies. And I don't really use computers for too crazy of things...email, news, fantasy sports, store pictures, music and documents, contacts, etc. I don't really download anything and feel like I keep up with basic maintenence. So we'll see...if my MAC lasts 10 years instead of the 5 or so my PC was lasting, the extra money will be worth it.

Baker's decisions? Halladay threw a no hitter in game 1 and Rolen, Bruce, and Phillips in the matter of 2 AB's sunk the ship in game 2 by failing to make routine plays. NL leading offense (in run production) doesn't show up in game 1 and NL leading defense (fewest errors) fails to show up on game 2. Baker had nothing to do with it.

The lighting at night has been fantastic too. Great photos!

Take away all the hype and the reality is the Reds lost game 1 on the road against the likely NL Cy Young award winner...big deal. Even if you go home down 0-2, series really don't turn until the home team loses a game...and the Reds have a shot at doing that tomorrow before they even get a home game. Arroyo has lots of playoff experience; I wouldn't be surprised if he matched Hamels. Going home 1-1 is advantage Reds, with or without a no-hitter.

2-0-2 against the spread this year...tells me the Browns are better than people think!

Christie's runs their shuttle pretty regularly during weekends and during happy hours (well more than 6.5 hours per week). The Flat Iron provides shuttles for all Indians and Cavs home games. Are you suggesting it's costing them and whoever else runs shuttles $30,000 each time they offer up their free service for transportation from downtown to their venue? You can rent a party bus for 6 hours for like $800.

I hear you RnR. I would love to eat lunch at many Ohio City venues but it's just not practical. And the $4 it would take to ride the RTA there and back just seems like a huge waste of money...like a cover charge just to go eat lunch. Maybe Ohio City businesses should chip in for a Christie's-esq shuttle bus during lunch hours ;)

I think there are alot of Gen X/Y people who are looking for an identity with a political party that just aren't finding it right now. They're looking for the socially liberal, economic conservative group that also supports urban development including projects like the 3-C. Or at least I know that's what I am looking for.

I saw it yesterday...I was pretty impressed with it's exterior appearance!