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George Nemeth · Wishes for Cleveland
December 24th, 2008
Christine starts a list. What would you add?
I want Cleveland to learn to laugh at itself.
I want everyone in Cleveland to pick one little corner of it to save.
I want all of the jobless to find jobs. Or at least realize their potential as professional citizens.
I want Cleveland to embrace itself as it is and dream big dreams about its future.
I want more walkable, thriving neighborhoods thru out the city.
I want more locally grown food.
I want this list to have more then 100 wishes for Cleveland in 2009.
If you can give Cleveland a holdiay gift or make a new year’s resolution for this city, what would it be?
Really Bad Cleveland Accent: What I Want for Christmas.
Last 5 posts by George Nemeth
- 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
- O Opens - February 5th, 2010
- I high rec seeing CityMusic CLE - February 4th, 2010

December 24th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I want Cleveland to love it’s self more. It deserves it
December 24th, 2008 at 11:22 am
It might handy if someone could start a facebook group for this. It would be easier for many to keep updated on this. Sorry to pass the buck. Me 2 busy
December 24th, 2008 at 11:25 am
I want cleveland to start thinking out of the box.
December 24th, 2008 at 11:31 am
My wish is that we don’t get fooled again
December 24th, 2008 at 11:44 am
I also wish we can shift from use coal and other fossil fuels to renewable, sustainable energy.
December 24th, 2008 at 11:50 am
I want Cleveland to have a real plan for downtown development, based on being a walkable and exciting place to live & work instead of signing on to some developer’s latest get rich scheme.
December 24th, 2008 at 11:51 am
I wish we become the first major city school system to pay and retain teachers based on merit and effectiveness, not seniority.
December 24th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
I want Cleveland to have restaurants and promenades along the lake–not in 10 or 20 years, but NOW!
December 24th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
I wish Cleveland’s self esteem didn’t correlate to the performance of its professional sports teams.
December 24th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I want people to actually commit to living in Cleveland, not as an experiment, but as a reality that brings interesting people of all ages and cultures together.
December 24th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I want every Cleveland restaurant to always be as busy as Nate’s Deli was this afternoon. Holy mackerel!
December 25th, 2008 at 11:40 am
My 1st wish for Cleveland in 2009 is that we take economic development seriously.
A suggested New Year’s Resolution:
The Mayor conducts a bi-weekly news conference devoted to news about specific actions he is taking to stave off the death of our city, and his office’s progress on such matters.
Joel Libava
December 25th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I want the people who are in control/power of Cleveland and those who want to be in control/power of Cleveland to listen to others and pay attention to the amazing talent and love that exists in the population here. It is the most precious yet least utilized asset – heartbreakingly so.
December 25th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
1. I want Cleveland to get more police officers. (Beat Cops like NYC. Look what it did for Times Square. It cleaned it up.)
2. Get rid of Burke Lakefront Airport and develop the land into a mega complex. (I was hoping for a casino.)
3. I wish that Cleveland was a 24 hour town like NY.
If I could give the city of Cleveland one gift…It would be a great big casino or Coney-Island type attraction on the lakefront.
December 25th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I want Cleveland to remember that thrivancy and peace start at home and move out through the community with small acts.
December 25th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Indeed. I want Cleveland not only to dream big dreams about its future, but also to act upon those dreams.
December 25th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I want there to be more viable apartments, condos, new homes to attract and encourage working people to live in Cleveland.
December 25th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I wish Clevelanders would stop asking newcomers: “Why would you move here?”
My wish for Cleveland is that the residents would take control of their future (and in reference to another post) stop waiting for the boss to tell them what to do. (The boss is almost always wrong)
My wish for our country is like George’s, that we won’t be fooled again by those who insist wealth equals wisdom.
December 25th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
My wish list for Cleveland:
-A new midfield terminal at Hopkins Airport
-Relocate I-90 off the lake front and south along the RR tracks through University Circle.
-Turn abandoned rail lines into light rail transit
-A new signature bridge to replace the Innerbelt.
December 25th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
My wish for Cleveland: group therapy to help solve the self-esteem issues this town has… everyone should pick five of their curmudgeonly crabbo-Cleveland friends and turn their heads around about this town… then tell those people to pay it forward.
And ya know, one big event (I don’t mean social or planned — something historical) to help galvanize people here for a while… that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, either.
December 25th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
I wish Cleveland would realize it’s vast capital – humans – and think positively abut it’s existence and future.
December 25th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
i wish clevelanders would get over their nearly universal *we are such losers* attitude.
December 25th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
I wish we would come together as a community and move forward instead of being pulled in so many directions… this would include leadership from within to find some common ground and make monumental, vital decisions one way or the other.
There is no way to move forward if we’re always afraid to fail…
December 26th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I wish Cleveland and Clevelanders would would quit doing the same things that they’ve always done and expecting different results.
December 26th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Would love to see us individually and collectively make a concerted effort to find authentic, demonstrative ways to model restoration of trust. The dismantling of trust is a global crisis, but one that will be fixed 1-to-1, face-to-face, by example. The world needs shining lights to believe in and to follow.
Can we lead? Can the rustbelt become a new model of hope? Or honor? The Trustbelt? What does that look like? What bubbles up? A new form of collaborative community banking? Centers of collaborative creativity? It should be more than symbolic. But symbolism also has its place.
December 26th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
I have a laundry list of wishes for Cleveland that would not only improve our quality of life and self-esteem but also make this area attractive to young professionals and businesses looking to relocate. In my mind, that includes an appealing, accessible, recreation-friendly lakefront; more downtown retail and living options; more parks and green space; continued development and improvements to our unique neighborhoods (Ohio City, Tremont, etc.); greater commitment to green initiatives, including walkability/public transit, sustainable energy, local food, etc.; and perhaps most importantly, a fostered sense of community and pride in our town.
A tall order, I know, but not out of reach.
December 28th, 2008 at 11:13 am
For Cleveland’s closed-and-hidden festivals (Rib Cook Off, Taste of Cleveland) to be moved into Public Square and its main streets to help the city come alive.
December 28th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
When people start making comparisons, I’d like Cleveland to come up in the sense of “look what Cleveland’s doing,” and not “Cleveland should be doing this…” Unfortunately, we need to be DOING things worthy of mentioning with some degree of consistency…
December 29th, 2008 at 7:59 am
Because we cannot thrive without jobs that bring money into the region, I wish Cleveland would once again become the premier manufacturing center for a product the rest of the world wants/needs
December 29th, 2008 at 11:48 am
I love all of these comments. I also agree, we need Cleveland residents to be “proud” of Cleveland because there are many, great things here especially the “Lake.”
We do need jobs but going a step further, how can Cleveland redefine itself so people will want to “move” here.
We do need a viable Lakefront. I ride my bike along Lakeshore Blvd. all Summer long and it would be nice to have activity along the Lake. I don’t think a Casino is it, however. Something unique that people CANNOT get in the Suburbs. We need people to venture into Cleveland and be apart of the city.
December 29th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I wish that NEO makes real progress towards alternative energy. The planned use of the stimulus money does not give me confidence–
http://www.noaca.org/amendstimulusres.pdf
But the advance of Wind Energy in the US does–
http://www.sustainlane.com/news/
U.S. Replaces Germany as World Leader in Wind Generation
December 31st, 2008 at 6:23 pm
My wish for Cleveland in 2009 is that all those who actually DO instead of TALK are able to share their work and their vision with the broader community. And that for once their voices rise above the idle chatter of civic and business leaders who lack their passion, vision and can-do spirit.
December 31st, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I think they also need to TALK with more people, and share with the rest of us what they’re TALKING about.
December 31st, 2008 at 6:46 pm
I wish that we stop looking for other businesses to “bring” to Cleveland and start seriously focusing on creating our own. Stop talking about “Brain Drain”. What about the people that still live here? As mentioned before, create things based on the resources we currently have, especially the lake. Use this as our New Year’s Resolution: Actions speak louder than words. Happy New Year!
January 1st, 2009 at 8:18 am
I also wish that everyone would commit to one small act of good citizenship each day, even if it is just shoveling your sidewalk or picking up trash.