Now That Is Spin
Last week I
noted the report on the declining convention business coupled with the glut of new convention centers. Even the
Plain Dealer Editorial Board, couldn't pretend that report didn't exist. So it got, shall we say,
very creative.
Among his key findings: Thanks to massive investment in new or expanded convention centers around the country, the supply of exhibit space grew by 51 percent between 1990 and 2003, with still more under construction. But the demand for that space, which seemed boundless to local leaders and their consultants when the construction boom began, has declined to levels last seen in the mid-1990s. Very few cities are seeing the extra business they expected, and as a result, many have resorted to deep discounts and other incentives to woo major conventions. Now there are some in the convention industry who will dismiss anything Sanders writes out of hand. He has long been a critic of large, publicly funded convention center projects, arguing that they are likely to be successful economic catalysts in only a handful of cities. Even some who accept Sanders' assessments of supply and demand - and it is hard to argue when even popular convention destinations such as New Orleans are hurting - caution against drawing conclusions about individual projects based on industrywide numbers.
In the case of Cleveland, that caution may apply. The city's current convention center has 345,000 square feet of exhibit space, and the current discussion involves building or renovating a hall of roughly the same size. So a new center here would not add to the national glut. What it would do is enable this city to compete more effectively for available customers, many of whom say they like Cleveland's amenities and location but simply will not come to an 83-year-old building with low ceilings and poor sight lines.
[Emphasis added.]
I've had to read that a few times over the week until I could get to a point where I could read it with out laughing or shouting. I just want to see if I have this straight. All those other cities that have renovated, built anew or expanded their convention centers -- they have added to the glut. But if Cleveland does it, it is merely to keep up and compete better?
Compete for what? The number of conventions are shrinking. Face it. You are talking about a project that will easily cost $500 million dollars just to build. A project that will require ongoing and continuous subsidies, that even the staunchest supporter admits will be required. And for what? You are not going to get a lot of big conventions coming to Cleveland from roughly November through February. Most Clevelanders aren't that wild about being here in those months.
If I didn't already drink, this stuff would have me start.
No Mystery, No Conspiracy
You want to know why Republicans in Ohio control the state? It isn't any conspiracy. It isn't that the rural population will never vote for a Democrat. It isn't that the Democratic candidates are too far to the left. It isn't some great play of voter disenfranchisement. It is that the Ohio Democratic Party is even dumber and more incompetent than the Ohio GOP. I've been in Northeastern Ohio for 10 years now. In a state that has consistently shed jobs and population. All while Republicans have had control, and seen that control get even firmer. All because the Dems at the State level are complete and utter fools. There is no other way to put it.
I
noted before how in 2004 the Ohio Democratic Party gave Jerry Springer their Dem of the Year award. The sad/funny thing, was that you couldn't find the info on the Ohio Democratic Party Website, but the Ohio GOP site had plenty about it. Now, Jerry, having flirted a couple times about running for Senator is now talking about
running for Governor of Ohio in 2006. Ultimately, I doubt he'll run. Springer just seems to like the attention and toying with the idea of trying to be credible again.
You can get an idea about the possible field of
Dems running for Gov. in Ohio. The two guys giving their opinions were the two Chairmen of the Ohio Democratic Party from 1974-1990. Since then, there hasn't been a Democrat elected Governor in Ohio.
Some
Democrats are openly against Jerry. Of course, they might be running for the nomination themselves.
And the Questions Are Being Asked Openly
Talking once again about the
Nate Gray indictment. Making even more people nervous, has to be this story detailing how many years the Feds have been
working towards nailing him.
For years, the federal government locked an eye on Nate Gray, suspecting shady deals and dirty business, and finally -- after months of bugging his phones -- agents were getting close in 2002 to nabbing the reputed kingpin of a nationwide racketeering scheme.
But before agents could even flash their badges, the government discovered the phone taps were not properly authorized, which meant earfuls of dirt heard over two months of undercover work were useless.
The government's case dangled by dead wires.
And the heat was off Gray, the elusive, street-savvy businessman from Cleveland's East Side -- at least for a while.
The government tossed the evidence, removed the agents and prosecutors from the case and started from scratch with a new team.
That was back in February 2002. It would take three more years to finally slap the cuffs on the man who prosecutors say was at the center of a public corruption scandal reaching into four U.S. cities.
The United States of America vs. Nate Gray is the story of an investigation into a 10-year-long criminal enterprise involving public officials and contractors seeking to get rich on taxpayer dollars, court documents say.
Among those who are now facing charges is a local attorney who was close with Gray.
Now even the
Cleveland Plain Dealer is openly asking, well, reporting on those who openly start asking:
will this go back to former Mayor Mike White?
Fifteen years later, White's friendship with Gray looms over a federal indictment unsealed last week. Gray is accused of corruption involving bribes. So is attorney Ricardo Teamor, who made a lot of money from City Hall work during White's administration. Oliver Spellman, who was part of White's Cabinet as the director of parks, has pleaded guilty to bribery charges linked to Gray.
No court records, including the indictment, make any reference to White, and the contracts that prosecutors say were rigged were proposed in 2002, after White had left office.
Yet questions persist about his relationships with those charged, particularly with Gray, who was the best man at two of White's weddings. U.S. Attorney Gregory White refuses to discuss the former mayor, which prompts many to speculate how the case affects Michael White.
...
Gray and White became friends in the late 1970s. In 1989, Gray worked hard on White's campaign, chauffeuring him through the city's neighborhoods. Once White was in office, Gray's business - and status - rose.
During White's administration, Gray's firm, Etna Parking, gained millions of dollars in contracts across the city and at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. He also was a confidant to the former mayor.
Using his Cleveland work as a foundation, Gray, a native of Shaboota, Miss., became a consultant in the 1990s for national businesses looking for work in urban markets. His work for those companies in 2002, when White was out of office, led to the 45-count corruption indictment filed last week.
Teamor also was a member of White's inner circle. White proposed using Teamor's firm to represent bankers arranging $635 million in loans for airport construction in 2000. City Council blocked the plan. At the time, Councilman Michael Dolan called the relationship between White and Teamor too cozy.
"I just wanted to see some of the city's work spread around and not going to the normal cast of characters who got big city contracts," Dolan said in an interview this week. "This is a city with talented people, and I would hear a lot of people complain about never getting any work."
After Dolan's appeal, Teamor blasted the councilman before the full council. Teamor said he had the experience and credentials for the job.
From 1996 through 1999, Teamor's law firms earned $817,000 in fees from Cleveland. Teamor's firm also received more than $1.4 million from the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority in the past seven years.
You can't help but wonder who is on those wiretaps for which the government failed to get proper authorization.
