The administrators of REALNEO (I believe Jeff Schuler, Jeff Buster and myself) received an email yesterday, via the contact link on REALNEO, from John Kroll. Mr. Kroll is the "Director of Training and Digital Development for The Plain Dealer". That he contacted us in this way, regarding the matter he raises, clearly demonstrates a problem with the Cleveland Plain Dealer operating in the New Economy - they consider themselves above our community, yet are trolls.

Why do citizens of Northeast Ohio pay $ millions a year in taxes to subsidize professional sports teams, exercising, entertaining and enriching few, when we are a community of so many? In Northeast Ohio, we have four spectacular seasons offering residents every imaginable sporting and recreational opportunity for the taking. We don't need to pay taxes to watch strangers having fun.

Where was this truly championship Northeast Ohio realNEO sporting event held today?

Pre-Cleveland mayorial election (Sept. 29, 2009) head: “Despite revenue dip, city sees no layoffs and balanced budget” running above a story by PD reporter Henry Gomez which had this final paragraph: “In 2010,” [Sharon] Dumas [city finance director], told council members, “as we look at balancing our operating budget, it is our intent to do that – we're hoping – without any layoffs or service cuts,” [Metro | B3].

Christmas Eve, my family drove across East Cleveland (all 3 miles long) to Nela Park - The GE Lighting & Electrical Institute - to see their remarkable, historic Holiday Lighting Display and share some photos on REALNEO. While beautiful at the time, the conditions were not quite right to truly show-off the lights and season.

The conditions were perfect tonight.

The 2002 Canadian scientific report "Air pollution induces heritable DNA mutations" finds "Integrated steel production generates chemical pollution containing compounds that can induce genetic damage." And, the 2009 German report "Long-term exposure to traffic-related particulate matter impairs cognitive function in the elderly" finds "chronic exposure to traffic-related PM (particulate matter) may be involved in the pathogenesis of AD (Alzheimer's Disease)". 

So, who thought it was a good idea to spend $43 million of scarce government and quasi-public funding to build Tremont Pointe government-subsidized housing, located within scent and fallout of the Mittal Cleveland Works Steel mill, and other highly polluting industry of the Cleveland Flats, and directly adjacent to the I-490 freeway, planned to have increased polluting traffic through expansion as the "Opportunity Corridor"?

Shahien Nasiripour @ The Huffington Post - Investors are seeing the Senate's version of health care reform as a massive public subsidy for insurance companies -- and as a result, are sending the sector's stock prices shooting up, up, up. Stripped of a government-run insurance plan, the bill would give tens of millions of Americans no option but to start paying hefty premiums to private companies.

It seems that no matter where we are in NEO, there is no way to get away from the FAMILY...not even that long walk in the park.

How does Larkin know all of this inside information?...And how is it that Developer Fred Rzepka is never questioned for his life-time board position and opportunity to award contracts?

Robert Cruickshank @ Fire Dog Lake - As progressives on and offline continue to debate the future of the health care reform bill, attention is finally shifting to the underlying factors that have gotten us into this mess in the first place: namely, the mistakes of the White House. Meteor Blades at Daily Kos asks the right question – why is it that progressives are getting blamed for this?

Click here to read article and watch video.