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George Nemeth · CLE need some positive publicity
October 31st, 2008
From my cubicle neighbor @AdamZuccaro:
You can list a park bench as an address
2nd Ugliest Building in the World (thanks again, Forbes):PS – Why is this just making headlines today? The ranking came from Forbes in 2002!!
Traveling Cast of A Chorus Line mugged in Cleveland; slams city on blog
Got a link to a positive story re: Cleveland? Please share it (or link to it) in a comment.
Last 5 posts by George Nemeth
- My letter to the Brad and Joe show - June 10th, 2011
- Creating Conversation - June 7th, 2011
- Justin Bibb on CLE and DET - August 23rd, 2010
- Cleveland International Film Fest Year 34 - March 18th, 2010
- A tale of town city workers - February 8th, 2010
October 31st, 2008 at 3:52 pm
G,I truly wish I had one to share despite my criticism of Cleveland in the past. I’m afraid we’re in for a real rough patch here. But it is not like some of us did not see this coming.
Thankfully, the internet exists so the common person, like you, who is trying to make a change for the better can get out the word. If we’ve learned one thing it is that regardless of what initiative you get behind you need to make sure it can stand the test of time during these downturns.
Unfortunately, a large chunk of our local initiatives backed by our public/private leadership won’t be able to stand the current test of time. Call it Karma or whatever but we’re going to find out just how extremely dysfunctional our local government is and what we’ve seen so far is just the beginning.
In fact, I find it interesting that there isn’t more of an uproar over the fact the feds have had to get involved to stop the wide-scale corruption. I guess when you’re just trying to make ends meet you become numb to it all.
October 31st, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I’ve been trying to focus on the postives all week on my blog because I agree with you George, there are good things happenin’ round here.
Some time today (if I ever finish working!) I’ll be posting about our neighborhood mtg last night. It rocked (Ward 20 Summit)
Today’s positive: The weather has been amazingly wonderful since June, if you get right down to it and the next five days look sunny on the weather maps. Not too shabby
October 31st, 2008 at 4:24 pm
What exactly is negative about an Ohio court decision that makes it easier for homeless citizens to exercise the right to vote?
October 31st, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Bill, be serious, and be honest. Is the polis improved by their voting?
October 31st, 2008 at 7:02 pm
I’m not Bill, but yes. We did away with poll taxes decades ago for a reason.
October 31st, 2008 at 7:03 pm
J Murray, how can you be so heartless? Really–I would like you to say that to the family of five, that I personally know–a family forced to uproot their kids from school and live with relatives until they could find another place to live after their unscrupulous landlord collected rent from them on his foreclosed property and they were given two days to vacate.
October 31st, 2008 at 7:39 pm
I really, really wish I had something to add, but I’ve sort of been waiting for someone to give *me* some positives. Today is my one year anniversary of moving back to Cleveland, and right now if you asked me if I’d do it over again I’d say “I’m not sure.” My feelings are mixed, but it may just be that the honeymoon period is over and I’m in the midst of forming a more mature perspective.
Last weekend my husband and I stayed in a B&B in Buffalo. There was another couple there from Cleveland, and another from Canada. The Canadians told us about visiting Cleveland – they thought it seemed nice, but when they asked the concierge at their hotel (the Renaissance) about someplace to go for dinner, the concierge said, “don’t under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES walk around downtown at night!!!” I just thought that was such a *Cleveland* thing to say. Jim and I and even the other Cleveland couple (who were not *super* positive about Cleveland in the first place) all agreed that was taking it a bit too far.
October 31st, 2008 at 8:59 pm
I have been really impressed with the new RTA Healthline.
It is a good alternative to getting to Midtown and Downtown from the UC circle area and points east.
Travel times are slightly slower than a car, but that is more than made up by not having to find parking.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Okay, most of us yakking on this post and many others feel grassroots and neighborhood involvement is a great idea. I am so pleased that my neighborhood is doing this and starting to roll up my sleeves and help in any way I can. Here is a post I did (hope tiny url works here) about our Ward 20 Summit (last night)(the one that kept me from the Foreclosure Rally). http://tinyurl.com/5eqled
November 1st, 2008 at 12:29 am
small but nice story today a man came in to my bakery. he is in cleveland working for obama. he had been in earlier in the week to buy some pasrty. he told me he retired finland a few years back and came back to the u.s. to volunteer for obama. then he said since he had been back the bakery was the first place that had really good food and coffee and reminded him of finland. he was very nice and amazed that we were still open considering how devastated the neighborhoods in the inner city had become. he wished me luck and good cheer. he did say he had met many wonderful locals in cleveland in his travels.
November 1st, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Walking around…Christine, I can honestly say that I am not afraid to walk around my neighborhood, Brooklyn Centre, EVEN at NIGHT. Last night, was Halloween and the kids were streaming up and down Archwood, laughing and shouting Trick or Treat well into the night. I haven’t surveyed any damage this morning. It was the first Halloween in many years where our community has taken back the holiday for their kids. I know that a lot of MOMs (and teachers and some DADs) invested their time and energy into making the haunted house at Denison School a success, too. The older students had the opportunity to decorate the school and create a haunted school for the kindergarten, first graders and second graders. It was a truly memorable event for these kids and I am happy to see that we are finally realizing how important it is to INVEST in these kids.
November 1st, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Mark, universal suffrage is not, automatically, a good thing. Vulnerable citizens can easily be manipulated by cynical political forces, which happened frequently in the 19th Century and was the genesis of voter registration laws.
lmcshane, I’m not talking about the family you describe, but the wino who can be exploited by ACORN to vote the way they want him to, for the price of a drink. I thought we did away with those types of practices last century.
November 1st, 2008 at 4:52 pm
And, vulnerable homeowners can be exploited into bad loans. And, naive consumers can be manipulated into credit card debt.
And, where is your proof Jonathan that ACORN is exploiting winos?? I did, however, see an ACORN representative downtown a few days ago trying to help people deal with foreclosures.
November 1st, 2008 at 6:49 pm
JMurray–respectfully how do I know that you shouldn’t be counted among the “vulnerable.” Has your vote been manipulated? Have you been exploited?
November 1st, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Frankly, you should see how ordinary citizens are being screwed JMurray. How about a working man/colleague being charged double the interest rate I pay on my mortgage? Guess what? His skin color is a little darker than my own…does he have time to take it to court and fight the “MAN.” No, he bought his house and he is paying it off as soon as he can…JMurray, I recently worked with a woman from the Dominican Republic, who has been denied a checking account with a bank. How do you function in society without a bank account? You go to these pay day lender loan sharks…sometimes, people don’t have the time to fight the fight. If your family felt this pain, I am sure you would understand their plight.
November 1st, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Jonathan — by “vulnarable citizens” who “can be easily manipulated” I assume you’re talking about all those people who once (and maybe still) believed that Saddam Hussein attacked the World Trade Center, and all those people who are now convinced that Barack Obama a) is a Muslim, b) was not born in the United States, etc.
But I don’t know of any evidence that these highly manipulable Americans are particularly likely to be homeless, or even poor. Do you?
November 2nd, 2008 at 7:38 pm
lmcshane, people pay different rates in markets based on their perceived credit risk. What was your colleague’s credit history? Do you know?
The woman who was denied a checking account: was she here legally? If not, would the bank have been able to open an account for her under law? If so, would she have been a profitable customer for the bank? Do you know?
It’s easy to blame everything on discrimination and seek a remedy in court. That’s not usually the problem or the solution, though.
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:19 pm
“Easy to blame discrimination?” I think that you need to feel discrimination to understand it. Now, if you excuse me, I am going to have a good cry, because I am one of those vulnerable women, who probably shouldn’t vote, because I am so emotional.
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:16 am
btw I think there could be a concerted email effort to forbes magazine. They are nuts! Have you ever been inside when the sun is setting? It’s a spectacular building design, inside and out! Architecture is like that though, usually no ‘in between’ opinions. But give me a break, there is no way this is true.
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Dennis Kucinich is interviewed by The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2008/nov/01/dennis-kucinich-ohio
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/uselectionroadtrip/2008/nov/02/dennis-kucinich-cleveland-ohio
[gratefully it's not the News of the World or Daily Mirror...]
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:24 pm
I have to leave a positive comment as well about Cleveland. I love it here. I have volunteered for the Obama campaign the last few weeks and all the volunteers who have been here from such areas as New York and California say that the people here are great. I did not hear anything negative about our city.
I also think the hotel concierge should be fired for not giving his guests any dinner recommendations. There are many restaurants in the warehouse district and wonderful places on East 4th like Lola’s. Give me a break.
I have never had any problems walking alone on the downtown streets. But, I am also aware of my surroundings and I do walk with a little bit of attitude.
In conclusion, there are many great things there. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Tremont, (The Banyan Tree), the Westside Market, and Ohio City, etc., etc.
November 14th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Yeah, Jonathan, can you back up your assertion that ACORN is buying votes with alcohol? I’d really like to see some “proof” of that.
I mean really dude, it’s like you’re not even trying anymore.