The mind boggles.

We now have airplanes flying over Jacobs Field exhorting people not to sign petitions. In the home of the City Club, this is civic debate?

Perhaps we can bring a little market reality to the situation. From this perspective, the petitioners seem, well, rational and responsible... guardians of the public purse.

Having discussed the modification of classic aquaculture systems to be truly integrative in production of terrific tilapia, vitrious veggies, and cultivated compost I feel like there is no time better to integrate our toxic toxin mediating and mitigating mushroom strategy.

I just got the email below, from the head of a local arts not-for-profit to remain un-named, to protect the innocent: "Norm -- i just wanted to make sure you knew about the "sales pitch" we are about to get.". I read on to see that tax junkie CPAC - Community Partnership for Arts and Culture - is on the Cuyahoga County junk again, now hustling artists and arts organizations to tax themselves and patrons for the benefit of the dealers. Read on... anyone going to this who can cover for realneo?... Note: " RSVP’s are required!" Now, a little art, in honor of this event and the rush for the MedCon and taxation without sober representation, courtesy of Lou Reed:

I dont know just where Im going

But Im gonna try for the kingdom, if I can

cause it makes me feel like Im a man

When I put a spike into my vein

And Ill tell ya, things arent quite the same

When Im rushing on my run

And I feel just like jesus son

And I guess that I just dont know

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I was up at the Ubuntu website downloading the latest version to my ThinkPad (from a mirror site at OSUOSL, which I hopefully thought would be Ohio State University Open Source Lab, but was of course Oregon State) and I noticed a promo that "Ubuntu on Dell now available in the UK, Germany and France" with support from Canonical... one promo said this is available in the USA as well. This is a major development for Linux and for Ubuntu, and for open source development in the world. For the first time ever, I am a Dell fan... I'll be interested how pricing will differ between comparable Dell Ubuntu and Windows boxes... especially after you add Office (v.s. free OpenOffice)... more below and here.

I spent the afternoon at the Burning River Fest on Whiskey Island.

When the Cleveland population dipped below 500,000, the population basis for many federal grant formula, the ability of the federal partner to help on our urban problems was constrained, as the City became one of only many cities across the country, rather than one of the larger, most impactful cities on its own. So strategies to increase the city population deserve special consideration, yes? Well, perhaps not.

 

A brief time-out on “point of view” blogging to simply share some exciting information. The City of Cleveland released information about the the Cleveland Midtown Innovation Center at Euclid Avenue/East 44thStreet.

An important addition was made to The John and Mildred Putnam Sculpture Collection, located on the campus of Case Western Reserve University and the grounds of University Circle, with the installation of a fantastic steel sculpture by masterful sculptor and Cleveland Institute of Art President David Deming, which is titled "Inner Circle". Located by the Case residential village, across from the Starbucks, at the intersection of East 115th, Juniper and Bellflower, this work is a great addition to an important art collection, curated by Evelyn Kiefer, that makes University Circle a much more inspiring and remarkable place, with public art.

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http://bp3.blogger.com/_saDN0NfMlYY/Rru3yMc2n5I/AAAAAAAAAEU/xRx0i4KcKyY/s1600-h/PVC+Free+Company+List.jpg

What ever you do, DO NOT click here if you want to avoid bearing witness to a total, unabridged,and fully explicit pollution in its rawest form.   Sedimentation transported gently on the waves of mother nature and towards our fair lake via stormwater runnoff.   Play our youtube.com footage at the link above for the whirlpool video that is taking the stormwater scene by storm

I grew up and lived in Cleveland and, other than school, stayed here until I moved away for about ten years. Since coming back home, one distressing thing I've noted is that decision-makers, at all levels, closely guard information, almost as if a Captain who would rather go down with the ship, than loosen up and perhaps not go down at all.  The Medical Mart non-debate has all those strange dynamics.  Is it possible, I wonder, if a true, public-private partnership on a Medical Mart/Convention Center/Urban Design District might actually make sense after all?

This week's Crain's Cleveland Business commends the efforts of Convivium33's Alenka Banco and the design team of Nottingham-Spirk. Preserving the past to give us hope for the future. Bravo.

From Crain's Cleveland --Repeating history Monday August 6, 2007
For the business owners and others who opt to bring new life into old buildings, high costs, years of work and a slew of other challenges await. Is all that time and trouble worth it? Yes, insist some who have renovated rather than built new. 

The Tyler Elevator building project is another encouraging story.

Who's my candidate, the pollster asks?

I will pledge to support what ever candidate does more to make the world hate America less. At the outset, I want to say how truly appalled I am at myself for having such an abysmal standard for evaluating candidates. How can I tolerate, much less espouse, such a bleak, cynical prism to separate the candidates? Yet, I am more troubled by America and an America political system that is content to operate in denial.

Once again, Cleveland's daily is excited about the latest “drive-by shooting” of the film industry, reporting that 'visitors to the Rock Hall got an extra treat — watching Rainn Wilson, chief geek from “The Office,” shoot scenes for his upcoming movie “The Rocker.” Once again, however, we are missing the big picture ... literally.  While one day's shooting in Cleveland warrants the media attention, the “The Rocker” will be shooting forty-five days in Toronto, Ontario.

I think that a real disservice is done when PLJ is painted with the same broad brush as those other two. Without Peter, there would be no referendum petition.  If the commissioners had voted unanimously to levy the sales tax we would not have had the opportunity we have today.  Therefore, Peter Lawson Jones is a key player in slowing this runaway train down so everyone can take a breather. I can only imagine the pressure exerted on him to change his vote so that we would not be pounding the pavement day after day getting more and more signatures and more and more support.  One of the biggest pluses has been the fact that the resolution states "general fund".  People stop and say, "wait a minute Jimmy Dimora PROMISED it was the Convention Center, but then, suddenly it goes into the general fund coffers.

Fools rush in -  if you are for a sales tax to build a con center and kennedy mart - you honestly believe that this will trickle down and improve the NEO economy - then you should READ the resolutions (sales tax, use tax) passed by Cuyahoga County Commissioners Hagan and Dimora.  Look at the second line of either resolution.  "money goes into general fund".   There is no language in the resoluions that says that either the sales or use tax is for a  con center and kennedy mart.  This tax will go on for 20 years sucking in about a million a week.  Where will Hagan and Dimora be in 2008 when their terms expire?  Promises, Promises.  Printed in the Plain Dealer.

And Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones, who voted "against" the tax is in fact complicit.  If he was really against the tax but for a con center (with support from hotel bed taxes as he said) Mr. Jones would have raised in the public hearings the fact that the resolutions were for money going into the general fund, not into a con center account.  Omitting to exercise this ringing argument puts Mr. Jones in a catagory of strong doubt about being "against" the tax.

So, if you REALLY want a concenter and kenmart you would do well to sign a referendum petition right away to help putitontheballot.com this spring.  Then you can vote the present resolutions down, and insist that the Commissioners introduce and pass   new resolutions which spell out specifically in the resolutions what the sales tax will be used for. 

But then again, maybe you were born yesterday. 

'Make it Your Own Awards' by The Case Foundation

The Case Foundation is looking to award grants up to $35,000 to individuals
or teams working to connect people to discuss what matters, find smart
solutions, and take action.   Any individual, 14 years and older, is
eligible to apply (individuals cannot apply on behalf of organizations).
Application deadline is August 8.   For more
information on the 'Make it your Own Awards' please visit the Case
Foundation Website at http://www.casefoundation.org/make-it-your-own/awards.

Who Can Apply

We're looking for passionate individuals, or individuals working with small, local organizations or groups, who reside in one of the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico, to submit an idea for one of these same locations (no international projects). Applicants must be 14 years of age or older.

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The dynamic leader of Habitat for Humanity will discuss the REstore program (http://www.gchfh.org/Restore/index.htm) at their offices as well as how providing affordable, sustainable housing helps end a cycle of poverty. http://www.gchfh.org Many opportunities to contribute in this worthwhile, ongoing project in Greater Cleveland will reveal themselves through this lively discussion. And if we are lucky, we may just get Jeffrey to veer off topic a bit and talk about his other life as a performance poet.

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Some good news for my neighborhood-the Treadway Creek Project is off-the-ground and recycling may be coming back to the City of Cleveland thanks to the efforts of Councilwoman Donna Brady.

See how many of the wood products you purchase for your remodel can be FSC or Forestry Stewardship Council certified.   It accounts for about 60% of the wood purchased by Home Depot nationwide.   The logo is often MUCH smaller than the ones on these doors.

Following are images of the concepts which were received by Sally Levine and David Ellison for the reuse of the Marcel Breuer designed Ameritrust Tower in Cleveland Ohio.  I extend my appreciation to the designers for their generous dedication and creativity.  I will endeavor to number each of the entries  so that comments can be directed to  specific designs.  I will also  try to make legible the text which is important on many.  A submission from Italy was especially poignant in its text.   Designers, please feel free to log in and amplify your presentations.   This is very cool that so much volunteer creativity went into this event.   Here's my hoping that all the designers who contributed will reap a referred commission or two from their contributions....

It is official - "Cuyahoga County commissioners voted 2-1 today to raise the sales tax a quarter of a penny to help bring a Medical Mart to Cleveland." Perhaps you'd like time to think about this more, and the opportunity to vote with other citizens on how you are taxed.  Other citizens feel the same and have formed a committee to "Put It On The Ballot"- a grass-roots campaign to collect enough signatures to force the 1/4% sales tax increase to be placed on a ballot. This Friday, July 27, there will be an Excellence Roundtable at The Inner Circle where some of the people involved with this campaign will join a discussion on this issue, from all directions.

To learn more about the campaign, visit http://putitontheballot.com - you'll certainly read more about this initiative on this site and on REALNEO throughout the coming months. 7GEN (developer of REALNEO) is providing this Drupal site for this initiative, and I look forward to learning more about the campaign and all related issues.

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I found this site today: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=97396