"Make no small plans" is developer Bob Stark's sentiment toward visioning the future of Northeast Ohio with which I agree completely. Next Tuesday, October 17th, the public is invited to a forum at the Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University, hosted by Dean Rosentraub, featuring Mr. Stark's development vision for Downtown Cleveland, with a panel discussion featuring Steven Fong, Dean, College of Architecture and Environmental Design, Kent State University, and Valerie McCall, Chief of Government Affairs, Office of the Mayor, City of Cleveland. It is exciting to see such a collaborative approach to planning forming around such core stakeholders and the public. The opposite of the command and control process that is giving us the ODOT bridge from hell and so many other bad outcomes in NEO, this public multi-university, public-private exploration has the potential to connect important agendas for consensus building around sophisticated visions of the future of our region, starting with the heart of it all, downtown Cleveland.

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There were two important shows on WVIZ/PBS public television tonight. First, locally produced Ideas featured a segment on lead poisoning. Second,  "Bill Moyers on America: Is God Green?" explored  how "Millions of evangelical Christians in America have taken on care for the environment as a moral and Biblical obligation. They believe that as Christians it is their duty to take action against global warming, the loss of species and toxic chemicals in our air, food and water." So, we saw the greatest problem in our local society today... toxic contamination of at least 20% of people's land and lives in Cleveland... followed by the solution, being the 65% of Americans who believe in Christ coming together to battle such toxins. To care about any of these matters without caring about all is to live an incomplete and evil life as, apparently taken from the scriptures,  "those who destroy the Earth shall be destroyed by God!"

One could safely say, before Cleveland went to the dogs it went to the pigs... but, that is a whole other story. Today, the dogs and pigs I'm talking about relate to the public arts series sponsored by the St. Clair Superior Development Corporation to have local artists paint fiberglass sculptures recognizing the animals of the Chinese zodiac - this year was of the dog... next year is of the pig. Much more interesting than the painted guitars concept, these animal forms offer great creative opportunities for artists and the results of the year of the dog efforts were extraordinary - you may see many of them posted here. So, if you are artistic or know someone who is, check out the following details on designing new pigs for Cleveland... below

In 2020 - the year, and with such vision - what postcard do you want to send from your hometown of Cleveland... the "Cleveland of my Dreams" vision above, or the the toxic "Nightmare in Cleveland" reality planned for us by ODOT, below, which is planned to be worse than anyone ever imagined. By 2020, ODOT plans to blight the entire dream zone of the Cleveland Flats and the East and West banks of the Cuyahoga River Valley shown in these renderings, and surrounding neighborhoods, even worse than they and the port have blighted there today. By 2020, ODOT will have finished their slash of concrete and steel rendered in the nightmare reality below, destroying these opportunity zones as freeways have destroyed so much else in NEO. Read on to see how we may be able to make these mightmare visions dreamy, instead.

The rendering above is of the aerial footprint of the new westbound bridge to be built in Cleveland, for over $300 million, in a multiyear, disruptive, near $ billion construction nightmare, which will make life in Northeast Ohio pure hell for commuters and the Cleveland economy through 2012 and leave a massive, ugly scar across Cleveland's greatest asset - the Cuyahoga River Valley - forever. All that is pathetic, but not nearly as sad as the loss of development potential for Cleveland, the city, and the area of the Flats around the current and future bridge sites and on the east and west banks of the Flats and surrounding neighborhoods. Destroying that potential is the whole point of regional leadership creating this disastrous outcome... what could be better for sprawl-mongers than further destroying the urban core?

The Plain Dealer finally has their headline article in the battle to protect citizens against lead poisoning - Sherwin Williams is suing East Cleveland, Toledo and Columbus for them filing suit against Sherwin Williams over lead poisoning... this, rather than the impacts and history of lead poisoning, is what has made the headlines in the paper, featured on top of the business section (rather than the front page, where the news belongs). So, Sherwin Wlliams and their local attorneys Jones Day feel they can intimidate or perhaps bankrupt Ohio cities by attacking them over what has already been determined against Sherwin Wiliams and Jones Day in Rhode Island and is in court in 26 other states, all because  Sherwin Wiliams and Jones Day believe Ohio and our courts are so in the pockets of this rich and powerful local company and law firm they will endorse Blackmail.

If you read REALNEO, you know the huge burden of lead poisoning on our region's children and adults, the community's quality of life, and our education system and economy, and you know that, since May, East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer has been planning to work with Motley Rice to bring litigation over lead poisoning to Ohio courts. Today, the Plain Dealer published word the litigation is finally here, as East Cleveland is expected to file suit in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court over the public nuisance lead causes in their community, as has been done in 27 other states to date. East Cleveland is the leader bringing such litigation to our state, and it appears other cities and the state of Ohio are preparing to follow suit. I take great pride that I helped advance this development, and I look forward to helping East Cleveland, NEO and all Ohioans win, as a result.

While hard to compare to shootings and murder, I can't think of a worse development for NEO, local arts and culture and my neighborhood than the news I recieved just now - Gallery 1300 is closing. I don't know enough details to know if it is "our" fault - not enough money flowing from the community to the gallery and artists - or just that the smart, great people who have made 1300 a core part of the NEO scene have other opportunities to pursue, but I know we all owe it to their team to really put out for them in their closing months. More to come on this as I learn details... for now: the Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           

Title of the Exhibit: Leave ‘Em Wanting More – The last shows of 1300

Opening Reception: 

5 - October 20, 7-10 – Grant Smrekar, Paul Sydorenko, Bill Rupnik

Cleveland Plain Dealer Architecture Critic Steven Litt is really stepping up to lead the march for a better designed Cleveland, as he has been the lone mainstream voice for intelligent redevelopment of the I-90 bridge and is the lone voice at all for saving the landmark Breuer Cleveland Trust Building on East 9th, between Euclid and Prospect, which for 15 years Jacobs demolished by neglect and now Cuyahoga County Commissioners want to demolish by force, all to build a replacement building for their offices, at great cost to taxpayers... this is the Jacobs Coast Guard Station fiasco X 1000, and community leaders are letting this one slide too.

Susan Miller posted very exciting news about NEO today: former editor in chief of the Free Times and now columnist for the esteemed New York Times Lisa Chamberlain (props, Lisa!) published in today's New York Times a real plum of promotion for NEO, with an article titled: "Filmmakers Say Hooray for Cleveland". The subject is very smart and progressive local real estate developer David Perkowski, shown above on top of his Hyacinth lofts, which David developed to serve the unique live/work needs of local artists and film and music makers. Anyone who knows NEO knows David for transforming the historic Tower Press building from a dilapidated shell into a spectacular and bustling arts loft complex... one of the most innovative historic restorations and downtown redevelopments in Cleveland History. Well, the Hyacinth is as impressive and significant in similar and other ways.

The Plain Dealer is taking a high road right now in dealing with politicians and the local economy - the same high road of Ronn Richard and the Cleveland Foundation, and most other community leaders in town... we need good education to have an effective economy. The PD quotes Cleveland Foundation President Ronn Richard as saying, at the City Club Friday, "Any plan to reinvigorate Northeast Ohio has to include reinventing, not just improving, public education... In fact, overhauling our educational system must become a national priority". In the Sunday, 09/10/06 Plain Dealer, the PD proudly proclaims: "Newspapers aim to set the agenda for election"... "Some of Ohio's largest newspapers are banding together to urge candidates in the governor's race to focus on three critical issues: kids, college and jobs." Yet neither Ronn Richard or the PD acknowledge the silent crisis of lead poisoning (and, BTW, mercury in our lakes, rivers and Perch-fries) that guarantees each year 10,000s of children in Ohio will not be able to be educated, or become effective members of the economy or society, and will instead be lifelong burdens. As the Washingtonian acknowledges (large PDF) in their more intelligent August 2006 coverage of social issues in Washington, DC, "In DC, hundreds of children are being damaged every year—and the results will be more school dropouts and more crime." For NEO and Ohio leaders to talk about improving education without attacking the lead and toxin crisis is either ignorant of deceitful. I tend to lean toward deceitful, as in the same PD that proposes to care about education, the business section features a puff-piece on the CEO of Ohio coatings manufacturer RPM, which is in the middle of major litigation over asbestos, and the PD uses this opportunity to position that litigation as fraudulent. The interview with RPM CEO Frank Sullivan features he joking about his relations with Sherwin Williams CEO Connor, who is fighting for his life to battle litigation all over America (except in Ohio) against his company over lead poisoning millions of Americans... to these people, harming millions of people is just good business, and the PD celebrates that.

The 09/04/06 Plain Dealer has a blurb about an important step forward in the fight against blight in NEO, writing that "Starting tomorrow, Cleveland Municipal Housing Judge Ray Pianka will order that every abandoned house in foreclosure on his docket carry a sign identifying the owner and the owner's phone number. The name and number of the mortgage company also will be listed, along with the court case number and a contact number for someone at the court. "These owners and mortgage companies have anonymity now. Well, OK, if the case is before the court, now everyone will know who is responsible.""

The high profile murders of John Jackson and Masumi Hayashi, and now Detective Schroeder, have made me more aware of violent crime in NEO, and in my neighborhood. In reviewing PD coverage of the Jackson/Hayashi kllings, I saw Allen T. Jones was killed a block from my house... from the 08/14/06 PD: "A 23-year-old man was killed Friday on the West Side. Allen T. Jones of Montgomery, Ala., was shot in the abdomen about 3:45 a.m. near the corner of West 48th Street and Detroit Avenue.

As the Cleveland Plain Dealer assigns blame for the plight of Cleveland as the most impoverished city in America, they target the black poor. I find this highly disturbing, especially as they completely white-wash the greatest flaw in our economy, which is a century of cow-towing to industry causing and perpetuating toxic contamination of our people and neighborhoods in our urban core.

I am just as saddened and horrified by the murder of Detective Jonathan "A.J." Schroeder as of Masumi Hayashi and John Jackson, and the other victims of senseless crime and violence in Northeast Ohio, and I felt a need to visit the site of the shooting and experience the spontaneous memorial growing there, on West 98th Street, and share some images and preserve them here. While I was there, in the rain, an elderly gentleman rode up on a bicycle, stopped, and briefly prayed, in a moving demonstration of the caring of this community. Caring warm-hearted people like he make this a special community, and show our foundation for improvement.

In one respect Northeast Ohio is world-class: addressing the lead poisoning crisis rampant here and in all older communities of America. For this excellence in action, credit the St. Luke's Foundation and all affiliates of the Greater Cleveland Lead Advisory Council (GCLAC) and Concerned Citizens Organized Against Lead (CCOAL). GCLAC held our quarterly Steering Committee meeting on August 07, 2006, where University Hospital's Dr. Ash Sehgal, Director of the Center for Reducing Healthcare Disparities, presented his research findings on the implications of lowering the threshold level of blood lead poisoning considered a trigger for intervention from 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood to 5 micrograms per deciliter. The GCLAC Steering Committee strongly supports this action, which will make NEO the most progressive community in America and the first we know to take such bold and intelligent action, setting a safer standard for our citizens than that mandated by the Federal government.

It is summertime and hot, and Cleveland feels it. As REALNEO has been feeling too hot for comfort, as well, it is time for a cooling down period this August. Over the next few months, the team supporting REALNEO is creating an organization for moving forward with our social network, and our lives, so we'll all be posting as we may... please feel free to post as well.

The city of East Cleveland, "Home of the World's First Billionaire", John D. Rockefeller, is the first and historically the finest residential neighborhood of Cleveland. Still having remarkable historic landmark building stock, the city was a victim of "white flight", in the 1960's-1990's, that is just now seeing an enlightened, progressive correction, driven by good government, largely intact historic assests, like the Star complex, and optimal proximity to the best Northeast Ohio has to offer. It has always been desirable for close, convenient access to the core economy of Cleveland, the cultural and enlightenment "garden" of University Circle, rail and public transit everywhere, and nearness to and fresh breezes from Lake Erie. As the economy shifts to a new economy, focused on livable urban neighborhoods with great public transil and walkable assets, East Cleveland is at the Heart of it all, and the Star Complex is at the heart of that enlightened new urban movement.

Claudia Arrau. Photograph courtesy Diane Smith.

Unleaded Cats
Is your cat UNLEADED? Here's what you need to know about Lead Poisoning.

Ted Kreiter, Executive Editor of The Saturday Evening Post noticed something wrong with his award-winning American Silver Tabby. Catamus lost about half of his body weight over a period of "a month or two, at least." When Catamus would finish eating, he'd throw up. The last thing for which the veterinarian tested turned out to be the cause: lead poisoning.

 I was sad to learn that the Fulton Street Bar and Grill was closing this Spring, as that was an Ohio City institution and great place to stop for a drink or meal in one of my favorite neighborhoods.. within a few blocks offering great locally owned, high quality dining options, from landmarks Johnny Mangos, Hecks, Great Lakes, and Parker's to relative newcomer Le Oui Oui Cafe. But as a destination and neighborhood, Ohio City can benefit from as much great culinary density as possible, and the loss of the Fulton seemed tragic. But what's new in this oldest part of town is definitely NEO and Ohio City's gain, as the fantastic "modern.mex" joint Momocho (slang for small boy, named in love of the chef/owner's son) is unique to the region and will be a major draw that is already attracting crowds in on the buzz. Momocho also comes in through a very friendly transition - the owner bought the restaurant from the owners of the Fulton, and one Fulton owner John McDonnell is well managing Momocho for the new chef/owner Eric Williams, who is busy in the kitchen making the food... well, hot!

Do you realize that "The removal of lead from gasoline in 1990, regarded by many as one of the major public health triumphs of the 20th century, had an immediate impact. Between 1976 and 1994, the mean blood lead concentration in children dropped from 13.7 mcg/dL to 3.2 mcg/dL, in direct proportion to the amount of tetraethyl lead produced. One could want no clearer testimony to the efficacy of a well-conceived and consistently applied public health policy." Further, "there is a dose response relationship between lead in bones and self reported delinquent behavior in children - grounds for an arrest" and "study of prisoners in Cincinnati finds strong relationship between bone lead and number of arrests" and "statistical analysis of lead in environment vs. murder rate 21 years later is very powerful". So violent and irational behavior is an outcome of lead poisoning. Beyond the statistical proof of how this impacts society, and each of us, REALNEO's Phillip and I have seen the impact in a clinical setting, by visiting the Lead Clinic at MetroHealth and speaking with patients there, and their families, and our observations were highly disturbing.

July 17 – 21 is Ohio Lead Awareness Week. We would like to invite you to participate in the March for Lead Safe Living. This event is planned by the Greater Cleveland Lead Advisory Council to make people aware of the issues of childhood lead poisoning, and to let people know that we can do a better job in eliminating these problems. The Greater Cleveland Lead Advisory Council, co-chaired by the Cleveland Department of Public Health, Cuyahoga County Board of Health, and Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, along with over fifty community partners, is committed to eliminating childhood lead poisoning by the year 2010.

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