We had a small victory in East Cleveland this week. Some days ago, Vic Voinovich and I met with representatives of GE and Nela Park. Although they expressed concern about the long term trends in the city, their most immediate concern was far more mundane: fixing the traffic light at the end of their driveway.

Yesterday, Alfred Miller sent around an e-mail to let us know that the light had been fixed. After nearly six months of GE trying to get the light fixed, it's done.

The light had become a symbol of how desperate East Cleveland has become. The City is simply stressed beyond limits. Day to day functioning cannot get done.

We can easily find problems and excuses. But on this day of Thanksgiving, we should set aside some time for deeper questions. What are our shared responsibilities, especially to the children of East Clevleand?