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Saturday, June 14, 2003
"beat up a white kid"
Apparently there is another May Day tradition I didn't know about.
A May Day ritual described as "beat up a white kid" resulted in delinquency charges of feloni ous assault, ethnic intimidation and aggravated riot filed Thurs day in Cuyahoga County Juve nile Court against 18 black and Hispanic youths from Cleve land.
Twelve girls and six boys, ages 9 through 15, are accused of beating, kicking and choking a 13-year-old white girl at West 110th Street and Almira Avenue near Wilbur Wright Middle School on May 1.
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[Carmen] Naso[, supervisor of the juvenile justice unit of the county prosecutor's office,] said the girl has black outs as a result of the beating and remains under medical care.
It's going to be so much fun when my daughter reaches school age.
Friday, June 13, 2003
Finally
Roger Clemens, on his 4th try, wins his 300th career game. Fantastic. He appears to be the second last pitcher that will accomplish this for at least the next 25 years. Greg Maddux will probably be the last, assuming that he pitches two more years; and what he will straighten out before this year is over.
Long Way to Go Still
In changing the drug laws throughout the US. Still, at least this beast has been tossed.
It was, until Wednesday, almost always better to be caught with a marijuana cigarette anywhere in Ohio but here.
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Medina Municipal Judge Dale Chase decided Wednesday that the tough, 14-year-old city ordi nance was unconstitutional be cause it conflicted with the law as written by the state legisla ture.
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Last year, police cited 69 peo ple under the city ordinance that says possessing a small amount of marijuana is a first-degree misdemeanor, the same category of offense as domestic violence.
The law defines a small amount as less than 100 grams, but most of those cited under the Medina ordinance had tiny amounts - a burnt roach in a car ashtray, flakes and seeds in a bag.
The rest of Ohio considers possession to be like jaywalking, a minor misdemeanor, punishable by a $100 fine. Minor misde meanors generally do not show up on background checks.
But first-degree misdemeanors do.
Under Medina's law, offenders not only had to serve three days in jail and pay a fine of up to $1,000, but they also were sad dled with criminal records they would have to report on applica tions for a job, a license or col lege financial aid, said lawyer Robert Campbell, who chal lenged it.
Wednesday, June 11, 2003
Ugh.
Jeff Weaver is insuring his return to the bullpen with yet another subpar effort and loss. It's not as if he allowed the big inning. It's just that he kept making mistakes each inning to allow a run here, a run there. So that by the time he left he had allowed 5 runs in 6.1 innings. It didn't help that the Yankees were no-hit for the first time since 1958 by 6 Astro pitchers -- the most pitchers ever used in a no-hitter.
The game was on ESPN2, with David Justice delivering the color commentary. Justice might be good down the road, but he only retired after last season. He's identifying too closely with the players to provide much useful insight. He doesn't want to say anything bad about the players. I think he's got the needed dark streak to be a good commentator, but he's holding back right now. I half expected him to be running down to the field to high-five the Astros pitchers after the game.
Hyporcisy and Modesty
Oh, that damned line.
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
Cleveland Convention Center Crap
Last week I noted the new proposal by Forest City for the location of a new convention center. The Cleveland Plain Dealer architectural critic, Steven Litt, gave some useful details about the proposal while critiquing it.
It's a squeeze and it might not be pretty. But it could work.
That's the primary impression left by the proposal to put Cleveland's next convention center behind Tower City Center, on a site overlooking the Cuyahoga River.
Sounds like a winner.
If you actually do support a new convention center, the first three words should make you very nervous. "It's a squeeze." Anyone in the convention business has said that 350,000 square feet is the bare minimum these days, and there should be room to expand down the road. This proposal barely meets the minimum size standard.
The other issue is the ability to load and unload trucks. There needs to be a huge area for multiple bays for the trucks, not to mention plenty of room for them to maneuver and be parked. So, how does this design look for that part of the logistics.
The top layer of this box would be occupied by truck docks and a 350,000-square-foot exhibit hall. Spaces underneath would be hollowed out along the river's edge, making room for parking, a public atrium, retail shops, maybe even a marina. Big windows and observation decks could be sliced into the box on the upper levels.
But columns supporting the structure would have to be planted close to the riverside, creating in effect a 17-story cliff at the water's edge. Instead of terracing down to the water, the convention center would be a big, overbearing mass.
Even less appealing is that the exhibit level would be elevated 35 feet above the Huron Road side of the project - and 135 feet above the river. Trucks docks serving the exhibit hall would be on the same level, hidden behind screens overlooking Huron Road. This wall would be located directly opposite the Hard Rock Cafe in the Tower City complex.
Getting the trucks up that high would be a challenge. The architects' drawings call for funneling trucks from Canal Road, near the river's edge, into a circular truck ramp climbing 100 feet up to the main exhibit level. The ramps would be enclosed in a concrete cylinder 180 feet in diameter.
Forest City and the architects believe this heavy lifting is required because the exhibit hall and truck bays could not be built on a lower level, either next to Huron Road, which is 100 feet above the river, or underneath Huron. Will Voegele, Forest City's director of regional development, said the area underneath Huron Road, which is part of Tower City's basement, would be too expensive to excavate.
So, the trucks will have to wind their way up a steep cylinder to the very top of the building. This just sounds like a complete mess.
Litt, also notes that there appear to be some real hidden costs to this structure
Raising a convention exhibit hall 135 feet above the ground means the public - which will pay for this thing - would have to buy a lot more structural underpinning and a lot more elevators and escalators than it would for other sites under consideration.
Kind of makes that claim by Forest City last week that this structure could be built for under $400 million, look a bit more like fantasy.
Despite the many problems Litt sees with the proposal, he thinks it deserves consideration for the potential it offers to riverfront development. He concedes that Forest City knows this and is offering bait; but the bait may be more like fools gold.
Just as important, a convention center on the river could spark a dramatic revitalization in the Flats, the waterfront district where hundreds of acres of former industrial land await redevelopment.
Here, Forest City is dangling a huge carrot in front of the city. The company controls development rights on 50 acres of the Scranton Road Peninsula, a brownfield directly across the river from Tower City.
If the convention center lands on the riverfront, Forest City officials say they will invest $300 million to build 2,400 units of housing on the peninsula. This could help repopulate the city, and raise land values throughout the Flats, sparking a sweeping riverfront revival.
Ah, but the catch is that development of the peninsula would require public investment in roads, utilities and repair of steel bulkheads along the river's edge, which are falling apart. Forest City isn't saying yet how much public money it would take to trigger the housing project. And they're saying they can't invest in housing if the market fails to respond.
The city and county are, like most other places in the country, in a huge budget crunch. It has been a challenge and a lot of number manipulation to avoid running deficits in the budgets. Cleveland's innerbelt is crumbling, and in dire need of repairs and rebuilding, Deadman's Curve needs straightening (a 6-10 year project); and the city would have to make massive public investments for roads and utilities in an area that Forest City might consider developing for housing, but won't really commit even if it gets the CCC on its land. Here's a hint. If they don't have much interest without the CCC, then the profit isn't there for them and they would still back out of the deal.
Nevertheless, the one-two punch of a convention center plus riverfront development could be fantastic - if the city and Cuyahoga County can negotiate the best possible deal for the public.
One word: Gateway.
Not that it matters how bad the site is to the PD Editorial Board (you knew I had to get to them eventually) which just wants action.
If the people of Cuyahoga County are to vote this fall on a proposal to build a new Cleveland convention center and perhaps to support other development projects, then it's time to make some key decisions and commitments - on both the public and private sides of what must be a true partnership.
At present, a coalition of business groups is assessing the pros and cons of at least six possible sites for a downtown civic center. They hope to complete their analysis this month, although that deadline is complicated by the emergence of two new proposals in the past 10 days. The assessors may recommend a single site or rank each possible location according to criteria, including cost and potential to generate spin-off development.
Partnership? The public pays for it, and the private benefits. I guess the PD Editorial Board (PDEB) has finally come to believe in trickle-down economics.
But choosing a location for a new convention center only sets the stage for whatever package will go to the voters. The site will, to some degree, dictate the projected costs of a new meeting hall. But it is possible, even likely, that voters will be asked to approve an even larger sale of bonds - and the taxes required to pay them off. Some elected officials want to subsidize local arts organizations, themselves a key part of this region's economic future. Others want to underwrite development projects in city and suburban neighborhoods.
The sad thing is, the arts community will probably believe that they will actually see some of the money.
Part of this debate is driven by policy, part by politics: Almost no one today believes that voters can be enticed to support only a convention center. The question thus becomes how much to sweeten the package. Let us suggest that the components of any package must be included only if they are likely to spur development, not merely to win a few more votes.
The PDEB is doing its damndest to avoid listing the expected combined pricetag of roughly $1 billion. I do love the high-minded, principled statement: Let us suggest that the components of any package must be included only if they are likely to spur development, not merely to win a few more votes.
I'd also like to offer a high-minded and principled statement: Let me suggest that those who claim this project will revitalize downtown, create jobs and be more than the latest in a series of expensive public works boondoggles; explain clearly how they create the economic models that claim the level of jobs and revitalizations without an oblique reference to a "study."
For now, the elected leaders of the city and county seem to think they can resolve this after they get a site recommendation. They also think they can decide critical governance issues, notably who will own and operate the center. But why wait to shift these discussions into high gear? They must agree on a total package by late August if the voters are to get their say in November. That's a little more than two months away. Given the difficulty of organizing anything during vacation season, the sooner the hard bargaining begins, the better.
Elected officials aren't the only ones who must step up. If this community is to make a substantial public investment in a convention center - which would be built at roughly the same time that the public will be spending $250 million to rebuild Euclid Avenue - then this city's private sector must also be prepared to come forward and say what it will do.
I think you could make an argument that they are being smart to wait as long as possible to officially decide and spring it on the public. The longer it percolates, the more time people have to remember the similar claims for The Rock Hall, Science Center, Browns Stadium, Gateway, Galleria, and so on.
The most intriguing aspect of the latest Forest City Enterprises suggestion - to build a convention center on the riverfront - is the developer's pledge to expand Tower City and to strongly consider building several thousand homes on the Scranton Road Peninsula. We prefer a firmer commitment on Scranton Road because such a development could dramatically transform Cleveland's core. But the company's willingness to link public and private investment is a dramatic breakthrough. Other business leaders also need to demonstrate a willingness to open their pocketbooks if the people of this county open theirs.
Unbelievable characterization. Their architectural critic was more honest and cleareyed about how empty the promise really was.
Monday, June 09, 2003
Baseball, Draft and College
I can only hope this isn't just more of Peter Gammons fantasy world.
The GMs know statistics prove they can get a major-league right-handed starting pitcher out of the high school ranks in the 20th round as predictably as the first. One general manager predicts "in two years we'll be down to 25 rounds, there'll be a push to get the high school kids to college and maybe Major League Baseball to underwrite wooden bats for the NCAA. The savings to the industry, in terms of signings, wasted mistake dollars and the lower minor leagues, would be dramatic."
The only reason I doubt the unnamed GM's prediction, is that MLB underwriting the cost of wooden bats has been something Gammons has harped on in the past. It's the sort of thing he wants to hear and report. While I do think it would be great, I doubt it will happen anytime soon. A year or two ago, aluminum bat companies threatened lawsuits against the NCAA when the NCAA was trying to set certain standards for aluminum bats to try and make sure pitchers wouldn't get killed by a line drive. Can you imagine the lawsuits if they eliminated aluminum bats in the colleges?
The notes on the draft made me feel really, really old ( You are old. Shut up!).
Eric Young's son, Eric Jr., was selected by the Rockies in the 30th round, but likely is headed to Villanova.
The Yankees took Taylor Mattingly, Don's son, in the 42nd round. Hey, Don went in the 19th round.
More and more offspring of baseball players only a few years older than me are getting drafted. How soon, 'til I start muttering about how I rember how good these kids' old men were?
Meters Maintained
The bizarre plan to extend downtown Cleveland's parking meters operating time until 10pm on weekdays has died (for now).
City Council President Frank Jackson said yesterday that council will not vote on the legislation Monday, the last day it meets before recessing for the summer.
He did not rule out bringing the ordinance back for debate later this year, but its supporters will have a tough sell.
"The proponents have not made their case," Jackson said. "I don't think anyone understands what they're trying to accomplish."
Mind you, that didn't stop the Cleveland Plain Dealer Editorial Board from blindly backing the idea while ignoring the cluelessness of the idea and glossing over the vagueness of the bill. The PD Editorial Board saw a good idea, even if no one else could
But critics like Councilman Zachary Reed said the parking-meter law would only have led to more parking tickets and created another reason to avoid downtown.
"We're in competition with the suburbs, with neighborhoods like Tremont," he said. "This keeps our competitive edge alive."
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Jackson said he had several unresolved questions about the measure, including an amendment to review the impact of the parking changes after six months. There were no specifics as to how that review would be conducted, Jackson said.
He also wanted to know what would happen to workers and students who rely on the free meters.
Backers of the plan said they reached an agreement under which workers could park in certain lots for $2, but that agreement was not built into the ordinance.
An unspecified, indeterminate manner of review; no actual written agreement for providing affordable parking for downtown workers in the evening who would definitely need a replacement for free parking (bartenders, waiters, cleaning and maintenence staff for the office buildings) -- not that the supporters of this stupid bill actually showed that the workers really were the majority users of the meters or that this would help downtown nightlife; and something to encourage people to just stay in the suburbs where they don't even have to worry about paying for parking. I can't believe this bill didn't become a law.
Jumping Back
Well, I'm back. I may write a little about my trip later, but I am still trying to catch-up with the rest of the world. Spent the entire trip blissfully ignorant of most news.
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