At a time when our business leaders in Cleveland are pursuing gambling, business leaders in Milwaukee, St. Louis and Indianapolis have their priorities straight: They are focused on innovation.

 A while back this issue came up on Realneo. Over at Bytes from Lev, he has a good explanation of what is at stake:

http://blog.case.edu/lsg8/2006/05/28/why_netneutrality_matters_to_cleveland_and_the_nation

The SBA (Small Business Administration) and East Cleveland announce a plan to help East Cleveland businesses prosper.  This is an exciting time for business owners who really want to see their companies prosper.  Some of the monies being loaned out are at prime or even interest AND payment free. While this is no free lunch, those who are serious about running a business in East Cleveland will find this an opportunity that comes by very rarely!

Take a look at innerbelt discussion on "WE WANNABE a green city on a blue lake" here:

http://www.gcbl.org/planning/innerbelt/urban-design-land-development-and-the-innerbelt#comment-113 

http://www.gcbl.org/blog/david-beach/new-symbol-for-the-lakefront#comment-112

Take a look at the City/Lake site whose link is above;   Here's a problem with a non-operational wind turbine - it can be interpreted to mean that reliance on wind energy is bogus - granola crunching nonsense. 

When we have Marc, who is surely a wind advocate, asking questions about why it isn't working - "is it lack of wind power?", then certainly we will have wind adversaries mocking every day the stupid thing stands still. 

My children just got into town for their summer vist today.  I was talking to my 8 year old boy about everything that has been happening while they were in TN.

When I was talking to my boy about his hat, and the fact that it was not new he said something that would make any parent as proud as I am now...

For the past week, I have looked in more detail at the dashboard developed by the Fund for our Economic Future. The Fund's economists have done a good job in isolating factors associated with regional growth.

As a kid my Mom would always read to me and my brothers - So I was struck with the Mike-the-Hatter photos with all the similar hats stacked on shelves.  So serious in the store,  when I always think of hats as a sort of humorous topper - I have a lot of hats. 

Day two filming "The Man With The Magnetic Brain", and the economic impact on NEO is adding up. There's the dozen or so people running around town (gas and RTA), and the meals (Rascal House and the grocery store), film and processing (Dodd's), and a hat at Mike-The-Hatter - so, it's only hundreds of dollars, but that's more than would have been spent without the film industry happening here, today. And we had fun, scared a few cops, and entertained a homeless couple on E. 19th - I'd say... all that makes Cleveland a better place to be... and if you're cruising around E19th and Superior tonight, stop by and be in pictures...

FAA manages air traffic with Linux

BY asternstein [at] fcw [dot] com
Published on May 1, 2006

The Federal Aviation Administration has saved $15 million by migrating computers that manage air traffic flow to Linux, according to an announcement issued last week. The upgrade is part of a broader service-oriented architecture initiative that will replace proprietary traffic management systems with applications using Java, Web services, open-source software and Oracle products.

With high gas prices making alternative fuels increasingly attractive, no alternative fuel has received as much attention as ethanol. Some hail the fuel, which can be derived from plants including corn, wheat, barley and sugarcane, as a savior of American energy policy, while others see it as a fad popularized by its heavily subsidized corporate backers."

The ODOT Cleveland Innerbelt Project's- Project Development Process (PDP) & Public Involvement Process (PIP) seem to be in limbo since the last public meeting on November 17, 2005.  ODOT's and City of Cleveland's PDP & PIP Schedule has not been followed and appears to be five (5) months behind schedule.  The "Alternatives Report" and the "Economic Impact Analysis" were scheduled to be completed in December 2005, for public review and comment.  THE REPORT AND ANALYSIS - DO NOT EXIST AT THIS TIME.  Even though the general public has been effectively removed from the public processes, a lot of activity has been going on since November 2005.  Below is a brief update on some of those activities.  Please visit www.neobridge.net to participate in this community discussion and to get the latest updates on OUR Cleveland Innerbelt Project.

My son celebrated his first birthday recently. Like most healthy, inquisitive one year olds he is into everything. Keeping him safe during this exciting stage of development is a challenge. Besides plugging up the electrical outlets, putting up baby gates and securing poisonous cleaning products, I decided to have our home tested for lead. We live in a Shaker Heights double built in 1926 – so its very likely that it was painted with lead paint at some point. Overall the house is in good repair, but there is pealing paint on the porch door in his bedroom, some of the window wells have paint dust and there is peeling paint in the garage. We also have some painted antique furniture that I am concerned about.

http://www.realneo.us/events/christo-jeanne-claude-in-cleveland-may-2006

While looking for lead testing kits and information in East Cleveland, at Silvermans, I slipped into paparazzi mode as I spotted three future leaders of our NEO new economy, chilling on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. They let me snap their pictures, which will be worth a fortune when these guys are famous. It can happen, when we keep our kids lead free.

Buster’s wrong.

Recently I read the cover article of PC World which advertised 101 Fabulous Freebies (www.find.pcworld.com/52516). It is a description of 101 software downloads or Internet based services that are free. A number of the software products listed are open source. Wikipedia defines Open Source software as "computer software available with its source code and under an open source license. Such a license permits anyone to study, change, and improve the software, and to distribute the unmodified or modified software."

An equal number of panhandlers and ride participants appeared for bagels, OJ, and energy efficient light bulbs at the Mall B terminus of this morning's bike ride. I was the only rider besides Jim Sheehan from any of the collection points on the mid east side (including Univ. Circ., Shaker Sq, Cedar Fairmont).  Jim, who is the expert, took us down through the cultural gardens along the Doan Brook, then out along the lakefront (against the wind) past Burke Air Port and into Down Town. Only about 5 riders showed up at the Mall.   Jim worked with some younger walk-by participants showing them how to remove a bike tire from the rim, and extricate the tube for patching. The road surfaces are so crappy in Cleveland that you need to keep your wits about you to prevent a crack up.

Good exercise however – and though I rode back home, I found out how to get your bike down the elevator in Terminal Tower if you want to take the Rapid back uphill.