For the second consecutive year, East Cleveland Mayor Brewer met with Meet the Bloggers today for a very candid and fascinating discussion recorded on audio for Meet the Bloggers podcast, and on video for other Internet release in the future. I was pleased to participate and found the discussion and Mayor Brewer's insights remarkable. I believe the other participants agreed. I'll post a comment here when the podcast is posted on Meet the Bloggers and you should be certain to listen! For now, some thoughts from this morning...

Here http://www.aweo.org/Lake.html  is another viewpoint on wind turbines which I take seriously, in particular regarding the inconsistent bi-polar goals of corporations and the need for conservation.  I can't give credit to the author because though I Googled I can't get back to original newspaper publication.  Please post author if anyone can.

As my first post since realneo.us became realneo.org, I'd like to propose a program of Intergenerational guitar classes, I believe Charlie Mossbrook will be happy to instruct. There should be a suggested payment for the class, to compensate Charlie. I'd love to see the classes held in East Cleveland - perhaps the Helen Brown Center or MacGregor, or both. The class would be open to all ages from say 12 up. I believe the only other thing we would need is guitars - so I guess we will need to ask for donations.

Thanks to Susan Miller for pointing out an important article in the 02/03/07 Plain Dealer regarding the war to eliminate lead poisoning in our region by 2010 - an outlandishly aggressive objective, as Cleveland ranks among the top five cities nationally for lead poisoning. In 2004, St. Luke's Foundation funded what has been the most important collaboration ever for the future of Northeast Ohio: the Greater Cleveland Lead Advisory Council (GCLAC), aligning over 80 agencies and organizations at local, regional, state and federal levels toward the common objective of lead eradication in our region within the next three years. On February 1, 2007, St. Luke's brought together the leadership of many other foundations for the expressed purpose of convincing as many foundations as possible to join them in funding the next three years of GCLAC initiative. The article states the objective of raising $3 million from foundations to leverage for far greater support from government sources.

These  Five (5) requests regarding the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority (Port Authority): from Ed Hauser are really worth reading. As soon as today the Cuyahoga County Commissioners may reappoint Carney or hold off - that will be very signficiant. Ed is keeping track of all this and asked me to make sure this letter posted below is very visible.

This is just a little plug for those in the know.... we have begun pulling together the final data regarding just how green our major renovation at the Moebius Nature Center really was.

Thanks to an anonymous donor, East Cleveland has received some excellent equipment to start setting up a pilot proof of concept wireless broadband mesh network in some part of the city - location to be determined. The donated equipment is from a similar proof of concept deployment in Washington, D.C., and includes several commercial wifi antennas and routers and cabling to set up a small multipoint demonstration network, running the open source CUWiNWare mesh application and wifiDOG contained portal application, all routing to the city of East Cleveland's open source Drupal community portal, at http://eastcleveland.org. All this, combined with other digital divide bridge programs there, makes East Cleveland approaches to information technology some of the most interesting in America.

 About three weeks ago, I received the first "Letter to the Editor" in the history of REALNEO. Lots of people send me press releases and event info and tips on cool content, but never has someone sent an opinion editorial to be posted for them (probably because REALNEO is open for anyone to create an account and post content and comments themselves). The letter to the editor was titled "Lead Paint - You Are Idiots" and was received from someone named Kim Falk (he authorized publication of his name) and the email address was from Sherwin Williams. A little googling and I learned he is an employee there - a very enthusiastic and loyal one, to be sure... he was responsible for Sherwin-Williams donating paint to help in the repair of the Pentagon after 9/11. So I was not surprised to read he is protective of his company in defense of them being sued over lead. Still, I was intrigued by the language he uses in his editorial, published below.

Your opinions and feedback are important! Attend this Public Open House to Learn About the Next Steps for the Cleveland Innerbelt Plan. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) invites you to attend a Public Open House to review the Recommended Preferred Alternative. ODOT officials and their consultants will be available to answer questions.

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Re: Formal request to get your answer to the questions of : WILL CLEVELAND CITY COUNCIL DEMAND THAT ODOT CONDUCT A VALID ENGINEERING STUDY AND ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY TO COMPARE THE COSTS, FEASIBILITY, AND TRAFFIC INTERRUPTIONS FOR THE NORTHERN AND ORIGINAL SOUTHERN BRIDGE ALIGNMENT ALTERNATIVES?

I can remember when Doug Clifton started as Editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, in 1999. At the time, I had some email correspondence with then Washington Bureau Chief Tom Brazaitis and I had a question about the PD... actually, why Cleveland.com was so weak - and Tom suggested I contact the new editor. It had never occurred to me that the editor of the Plain Dealer would bother reading mail - at that time, they didn't even have email addresses published in the paper... Doug brought than innovation. And he did respond to my email, and others, whenever I had some concern. At the same time, he improved the Plain Dealer in many ways, without trying to be news, or Cleveland or the Plain Dealer himself. And, under his leadership, The Plain Dealer's explored some innovative paths and developed interesting voices - and defended public access to information.

January 26-28 featuring “Major to Minor” and “The Music Room” by Artistic Director David Shimotakahara and “New Work Premiere” by Amy Miller.                                        

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University Circle Celebrates MLK Day - JANUARY 14 & JANUARY 15
Celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in University Circle. On Sunday, January 14, and Monday, January 15, many University Circle institutions will offer free or discounted admission and special programming for visitors. UCI will provide free shuttle buses on January 15.

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I'm loving living in Ohio and America these days. We have a new governor, and everything has changed about Ohio, and we have new leadership in Washington, D.C., and everything has changed about America. Every day is a thrill, and the next two years, leading to the replacement of George Bush, and many bush-league politicians, will take what is already globally significant revolutionary social transformation to much higher levels. But, even in the early days of the new era of progress in America and Ohio, we can count many blessings. Most significant for the form and function of the NEO region, for the next many decades, is our new Governor Ted Strickland's elimination of many of the people who have corrupted ODOT for many years, leading to moronic plans for roadway redesigns across our region that have threatened to destroy the long term potential of our regional economy. Former ODOT Director Proctor has already resigned, and, as reported in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 10, 2007, " incoming Gov. Ted Strickland, who took office Monday, is replacing all 12 district directors who served under Republican Gov. Bob Taft." This means we can throw out all the poor plans ODOT developed for a five-lane bridge out of Cleveland to nowhere, and the destruction of the local economy around the "Innerbelt" trench, as we see all the planners, engineers and contractors of that fired and Strickland's replacements bring sanity to regional planning.

At the recent Green Affordable Housing discussion held at Cleveland Institute of Art, in association with their Home House Exhibit, Cleveland Planning Director Bob Brown stated that Cleveland needs to see more older properties renovated - we have many great old buildings, they add character and quality to our community, and that is the most environmentally sound strategy. Typically, much more energy is conserved by saving an old building than may be saved by building a new building, even if very energy efficient, because the energy required for creating and constructing all the material of a new building is the greatest factor in overall environmental impact, even when factored over a very long time period. So it is very good news for Cleveland and the environment that, just before leaving office for good, Governor Talf signed Sub HB 149 into law, providing critical tax incentives for the redevelopment of historic buildings in older cities and towns. A priority for NEO economic development strategy should including identifying important properties the community would like to see saved and move them on track to take advantage of these tax benefits - make sure as many of the 100 annual statewide projects are NEO project as is possible.

What a great rebirth for Ohio. Sunday night, Ohio swore in our new Governor, Ted Strickland, and within 24 hours he vetoed the corporate and lobbyist planted, corrupt, anti-consumer, anti-American substitute bill 117, which was made to order for scam businesses to harm citizens. As Strickland states, " I will not allow this legislation in its current form, which drastically undermines current consumer protections, to go into effect during my administration." A Plain Dealer article on the veto reports " Strickland also said the curb on suits against manufacturers "prevents cities from being able to seek justice on behalf of their citizens."" "Our new Attorney General Marc Dann, who, like Strickland, is a Democrat, said he would "vigorously" defend the governor's veto." The PD article highlights the fact that the Republican lawmakers who were responsible for the corrupt SB117 are acting as lawyers and judges now, and that they plan to waste Ohio taxpayer money fighting our Governor... " State Sen. Tim Grendell, a Chester Township Republican who voted for the bill, also said the veto is void because the governor acted outside his authority. He said members of the legislature and trade groups were likely to sue over the veto." Go for it... concerned citizens are certain to defend Governor Strcikland, and those legislators who think they can keep acting corruptly under our new leadership will quickly be eliminated from office, as suggested in a previous article on SB117 by Plain Dealer columnist Sheryl Harris, which provides "a list of the Northeast Ohio legislators who voted to curtail your consumer rights". In the new Ohio, such corruption will not be tolerated. Read more about the veto below.

I was interested to realize there are two OneClevelands. One OneCleveland is "a nonprofit provider of community-based ultra broadband networking services and applications that improve our community's quality of life and stimulates economic development," and the other OneCleveland is "a group developed for people in the Cleveland area, who are interested in learning about and getting more involved with ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History. We are building a network of grassroots activists to rally Americans ONE by ONE to fight hunger, extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS. The goal of the ONE Campaign is to get an additional ONE percent of the federal budget for poverty focused development assistance programs that would help meet the Millennium Development Goals to halve world poverty by 2010."

Michael Scharf, professor of law and director of the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center at Case Western Reserve University, will provide an insider’s perspective about the Saddam Hussein trial and its consequences at noon on Friday, January 12, 2007, at The City Club of Cleveland.

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I came across this at Steve Goldberg's "What's in the Bag" blog and it sounds excellent. Quote: "The new year has finally arrived, but the Literary Café Poetry Academy is already well 2 months into their new year, and we have lined up yet another amazing evening of poetry and party. This Thursday, January 11 at 9:30pm (very sharp, pleeeze) the veterans, Daniel Gray-Kontar and RA Washington will be the features. These two have worked together before for delicious displays of verbal prowess and promise to give a show of extraordinary magnitude. Come to the Lit at 1031 Literary Road to witness the excitement."

RA Washington is a writer, musician, a teacher, a publisher, an artist, an independent film actor, and member of The Progressive Arts Alliance. Washington authored a number of books of poetry and novellas, published the literary magazine, Fair Trade, and his short films and paintings have been shown in independent galleries across the east coast, as well as, London, England, and Toronto, Canada. He was the Cleveland Museum of Art’s first ever Poet-in-Residence and is now MOCA’s director of community outreach. Sometimes known as King Freeqy, he can be seen holding court at Civilization coffee shop in Tremont.

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Building blocks for bridging digital divide in East Cleveland 

In a recent article on bridging the digital divide in NEO, "It seems time to open up the OneCleveland network vision of Cleveland Heights, to see if there is value for others", I mentioned "An example of a progressive community building a mesh broadband network environment is found in Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network (CUWiN), which is a world- leader in such grass-roots broadband community service and technology. That is a model we are exploring in trying to help residents of underserved communities of East Cleveland and Cleveland secure access to broadband services, as carriers have underserved their neighborhoods, and poverty there is a significant issue."

Well, I was pleased to start the first work-day of 2007 with the correspondence posted below, from the Executive Director of CUWiN - globally celebrated community computing expert Sascha Meinrath - who is helping us center in on a viable model for East Cleveland and other undersupported urban neighborhoods in the region to bridge the digital divide here. Read on, as we are clearly on the right track and farther along than anyone may imagine. I'll add related insight and next steps as they develop.

One of my Heroes of 2006 is certainly "Citizen" Ed Hauser, who I had the pleasure of working with closely last year. Not only does Ed get credit for driving into public hands Whiskey Island, but he has taken the lead pushing for saving the national Historic Landmark Coast Guard Station, and he has been the #1 champion in the world for holding the Ohio Department of Transportation accountable for their poor management and inept planning in attempting to steamroll through Cleveland a pathetic vision for a new bridge spanning the Cuyahoga River Valley, where the current I-90 span sits, and turning the Innerbelt Trench into a bypass of historic downtown Cleveland to benefit future development by the Lake. Other than Plain Dealer Architecture Critic Steven Litt and a small cult of other friends of Citizen Hauser, Ed has been alone in waging these battles. What he has been up against are some of the most powerful forces in Ohio - the Port Authority - ODOT - and, it turns out, the powerful contractors who buy politicians like trinkets and then make $ billions from ODOT, the port, etc. That fact was made well clear in a Plain Dealer article titled "Gas-tax increase fuels ODOT building boom" on soon to be dismissed ODOT director Gordon Proctor and his ODOT, which have been wasting perverse amounts of public funds on foolishness, which was to include their hack bridge and trench plans for Cleveland. Incoming Governor Strickland will replace Proctor and could not do worse - then we will move on in determining what will happen with ODOT developing in NEO, with Ed championing good solutions. We are so fortunate, as a community, to have this special citizen activist watching over such seemingly immense battlefields where few have the courage to tread. Read below the December 31, 2006 public communication from Ed Hauser to Director Proctor, which will serve as his send-off to the highway (surely we'll see him lobbying or working for one of his contractors soon enough). We of NEO will welcome a new director in this important position leading this multi-billion-dollar state department, and we will expect that public employee to treat our community with the respect we deserve, and we know Citizen Hauser will keep the process honest. Good bye Proctor.

Source: Environmental Health Watch 

In a link on Brewed Fresh Daily today (which has really stepped up to create awareness about lead poisoning in our region), I found an interesting article on former Plain Dealer Cincinnati Reporter Bill Sloat's blog "The Daily Bellweather" titled "U.S. EPA Wants to Fine Midwest Landlord $$$$ Over Lead Paint", which illustrates one of the important steps essential to the eradication of lead poisoning in our region - ENFORCEMENT. In "The Daily Bellweather" report, regarding the EPA, we see "Earlier this month, the agency's Midwestern regional office moved to slap a $52,724 penalty on a landlord for failing to warn tenants and buyers that homes and apartments may contain health hazards from lead-based paint."