Hts121

I took a good look at the retail space last week. It is not big enough for a supermarket or anything of that sort. A small 'grocer' a la Constantino's, yes.... but not a supermarket like Giant Eagle, Dave's, etc. I think a supermarket could still go in Lot 45 and that is probably the right place for it.

+1 AJ. That's why I am fine with catering to both types.

I have hoped that we would not use other casinos as templates. There is an opportunity to do something truly unique here. And like I have said, I hope they can work around Columbia and Stanley. However, sorry to go against the grain here, I really won't think twice about them once they are gone if they do get the wrecking ball. Just being bluntly honest. I would consider that a minimal loss for $1 billion+ in downtown development. I think for some, they are truly concerned about those buildings, but for others who never thought the casino was a good idea it is just another reason to fly the "I told you so" flag.

Capacity and flow are two different things in my mind, so it doesn't really interest me for the purposes of this debate. Although I certainly am in favor of adding HOV lanes to heavily traveled corridors. Did you know that the chart you posted to prove this point is based on a per capita analysis? When discussing consumption 'rates' (as you put in your next sentence) then, yes, I can certainly agree with that. But it would surprise me if "Houston, with its smaller population and lower density, consumes more energy than larger, denser New York City"

Da*^.... I guess my previous analysis got wiped out. Good, not great, trade with Atlanta. I truly believe the Browns wanted either Miller, Darues, Green, or Peterson. Those players went 2-5, so trading down was the right thing to do. I honestly don't know much about Phil Taylor, but I do know that you need big bodies on your DL to succeed in the NFL. Rogers is not coming back and Rubin can't play all the snaps. Plus, think of the disaster that would ensue should Rubin be lost to injury. I loved the Sheard pick. We don't have a player like him. He will provide a needed dynamic of a rush-end who is tough enough to stop the run. I loved the Little pick even more. That was a swing for the fences because I truly believe he has the potential to be as good as any WR in this draft. He has excellent size and plays with a mean-streak you don't find too often in WRs. Check out his highlights on youtube. The guy is a YAC machine. Still scratching my head over the Jordan Cameron pick in the early fourth. He is the tight end out of Southern Cal.... not to be confused with Cameron Jordan, the defensive end out of Cal. I mean.... the guy only had 16 catches his entire career. He also seems duplitious with Evan Moore already on the roster. I will give him that he is a freak of an athlete. But he just ain't a football player. My favorite pick was Owen Marecic. I watched a lot of Stanford this past year and you can't help but notice this guy on the field. The only thing that makes me sad is that this might signal the end of Lawrence Vickers in a Browns uniform and it is hard to justify just letting the guy walk when he is without a doubt one of the best in the biz at what he does. Unfortunately, what Vickers does not do well is catch the ball and we need that out of our FB in the new West Coast offense. I don't like the OL out of Pitt. He seems like a finnesse player. Not the type of road-grader we need on the right side. Our 7th rounder, Eric Haag, could surprise. But it is hard for me to have much confidence considering that he played in the shadow of Larry Asante prior to his breakout senior year. Yes... the same Larry Asante who was relegated to our practice squad after we drafted him last year despite an obvious need for depth at the safety positions. I'm gonna give them a B+ for now. If some opposing rusher goes low on Matty Ice's knees in the preseason and we end up with a top 10 in 2012 to go along with wherever we end up picking, that grade will improve to a solid A.

And I would bet that 80% of that traffic does not utilize the access points which are being eliminated. Perhaps I have a hard time believing that to be true in terms of net effect. There are two aspects of the interbelt that really cause the stop and go - (1) dead man's curve and traffic merging from the off ramps following dead man's curve; and (2) the I-77 interchange. Other than that, our traffic flow is fairly decent. If anything, this new plan may encourage people from my neck of the woods to take the shoreway as opposed to looping around on 480 when going to the airport, but I don't foresee an increase in traffic beyond that.

^Looks like the non-union white collars made out the best.... again. We really need to end double dipping BTW.

Again, if you consider unions to be a problem, SB5 does little (if anything) to do away with them. Earlier versions of the Bill had more of that effect, but not the Bill that was passed and signed by Kasich. If anything, SB5 strengthens the Unions' political sway amongst its members. I just feel that you are doing exactly what you are wagging your finger at. SB5 has nothing to do with the streetcar. And don't forget that this Bill affects workers accross the entire state, not just the local unions you seem to dislike. If you are pro-SB5, irregardless of any local battle with the unions over the streetcar, there are certainly good reasons to take that position. But if you are only pro-SB5 because of some 'local' unions have not aligned themselves with your unrelated political interest, that makes very little sense to me. Vindictive policy making is exactly what Kasich and Co. have done (whether that vindictive attitude be directed at public employees or at the 'train cult').

.... and the wealth gap continues to grow.

I think it is a stretch to say that because a union has taken a stance against one particular infrastructure project that they "are not supportive of the city." Regardless, the unions will still be around and just as loud whether SB5 stays or goes. This is more about the individual worker and the level of service provided than anything else. You shouldn't expect the unions to dissolve, but you should expect less cops of the street, less firefighters on the responding apparatus, less apparatus, larger response times, and less qualified job applicant pools if SB5 stands. For relatively safe, crime/hazard-free exurbia, it makes sense. For the urban areas, this could really have a detrimental effect. So, in my opinion, the question becomes whether you yourself want to be supportive of your city or whether you would rather be spiteful to the unions for their stance on an unrelated issue.

Gov. John Kasich claims state workers will get pay raises: PolitiFact Ohio http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2011/may/03/john-kasich/gov-john-kasich-claims-state-workers-will-get-pay-/ Politifact is a good site for objective analysis. There is an Ohio page here - http://www.politifact.com/ohio/ - which gives a rundown of their most recent evaluations.

Safety forces decry bargaining law, state budget cuts http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/05/safety_forces_decry_bargaining.html

I don't think you are giving the existing plan its due credit. Like any major infrastruture projects, I can certainly see a few areas for improvement. But overall, it is much better than what we have now. Looking closely at the ODOT plans, I see some nooks and crannies opened up for potential development that did not exist before, several areas of needed street improvements, and the sensible elimination of underutuilized on/off ramps. I also have to think that a cleaner flow of traffic through downtown, without all the stop and go logjams, is more environmentally beneficial.

Maybe the city should think about selling one of its parking garages?

Collinwood has just gotten a decent amount of press lately. It is hardly the "major artist oriented neighborhood" in the Cleveland area. The map posted in the artist pioneers thread demonstrates this point.

Your son has a little piece of your mom in him, as do you. Your mom will be there. Happy Mother's Day to you and all the urban mommies. A few years back, for my wife's first mother's day, I found the cutest card which had a picture of a baby boy with a curled lower lip and a sour face that read "Without Mommy, life would be one big owie"

Strong U.S. jobs growth, euro report boost dollar http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/05/strong_us_jobs_growth_euro_rep.html

I'm smelling the old "we can't do it here because we've never done it that way here" thing... Then your sense of smell is off. I'm just saying that what you suggest will not be imposed in lieu of parking options, which is what I thought you were advocating. Please do push for the 'options' you seek. Balance is what I am looking and hoping for.

What happened to the top two floors?

And won't be considered either. I just hope they strike the right balance between idealism and pragmatism.

Parking garage. And you are losing it for the overall development, not just some random garage. I get it though. I hope they find a way to work around it.

I'd actually like to see new development for Burke stay away from the Lake. Make that area to the North something the public can use, such as a park. I'm not buying into these, IMO, far-fetched plans for mixed use along marginal road. I would rather the City focus its efforts on the land north of CBS for any new construction.

As with most any major downtown development (BP building, Society Center, Gateway, etc., etc.) we are going to lose something. I hope we don't lose the Columbia building, but if we get over $1 billion of construction at such a minimal loss, I can certainly live with that.

vbulletin seemed to work better with my phone, in terms of fitting the screen and not have to scroll left and right to read posts. There were also more options for customizing (bold, itallic, etc) your post in a quick reply box. Those are the only benefits I noticed.

I would venture to guess that there are more Cleveland natives homeless elsewhere than there are here in the City. I know if I was homeless, I would be hitchhiking my way down 77. Cleveland had a much more aggressive approach not too long ago - http://hpn.asu.edu/archives/Jan98/0013.html