Spencer has a list of the locations here.

Iraq War Fatalities

Don Iannone writes:

Ohio’s business leaders and policy makers should be less concerned about manufacturing plant closings and pay more attention to creating new businesses and new jobs, says Sandra Pianalto, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. I agree!

So do I. Do you? How do we get this done?

Don also links to a study by The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration with illustrates that home computer owners are slightly more likely to become entrepreneurs than non-owners. How do we encourage this?

What other ways can you/we think of/do?

“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” - John F. Kennedy

Importing Blogger entries causes Wordpress some problems:

after pulling my hair out for 3 hours i finally figured it out. log into your admin, and go to the Users section. then click on Authors and Users. If you have any users that are not supposed to be there, then delete them.

i believe when you do a blogger import, it creates a user with no name and with an email address of user@cafelog.com or something like that. for some quirky reason, that causes posts to show up as Anonymous.

I only worked on it about an hour. I took a break, came back, searched again and found this post. Hopefully, this post will save someone some trouble.

This EDPro Weblog post got me thinking.

Is innovation competition or is innovation just a competitive tactic? If you’re really focused on being innovative, are you even thinking about competition? Vice versa, if you’re concerned about beating the competition, how innovative can you be? What paradigm are we starting with? Which lens are seeing with?

From The Full Cleveland blog:

The only way we can make our region more appealing to immigrants is to affect both sides of the labor equation. This means we must apply our regional focus on creating demand for labor and spend less of our precious resources determining how to make the region more appealing to immigrants. They will tell us how to do that when they arrive.

It’s my opinion that if we focus our collective resources on creating demand for specific skills and labor, problems like immigration and many of the other Quiet Crisis symptoms will remedy themselves.

Got a question or two about this. How are immigrants going “tell us how to do that when they arrive”? Do we even know who they are? What about the illegal immigrants? What sort of jobs (applying “our regional focus on creating demand for labor” means creating jobs, right?) are immigrants legal or otherwise) seeking? Are these the same kinds of jobs that Cleveland’s impoverished or unemployed would be competiting for?

Anyone else have some questions they’d like to ask?

I got an email from a BFD reader wondering what I thought of a comment he left me:

I played by the rules, and worked like an elephant to get ahead, and have a small company that has literally (currently) been taken over by Wells Fargo. I will make it out of the hole again, but for what?

When Enron was turning out the lights, I kept the company running.
When the economy changed, my company changed.
When the type of work morphed from games to the internet and to design, and now off shore, my company has changed.

My company has weathered the Bush economy and the crappy end to the Clinton economy. I personally have worked 18 hour days and put in ample time for my customers who continually want things for free. And there is still a small revenue stream to show for it. But not enough to purchase the American Dream - a home. And if Wells Fargo has any say in it, I will never rise out of poverty. You see, when I call them and bitch about them taking $300.00 from me, or creating situations that cause the account to be overdrawn, what do they do? They charge me for the telephone call.
Oh, right, I have a choice, to move from one bank to the other. Is this your response? After damaging credit, what bank will take a customer with bad credit? Oh, don�??t be negative jay, it�??s just business…

My company started from nothing out west when I said yes to more work than I could handle - so what did I do? - I hired people to help and before long I was paying their rents. And yes, I could not have done any of this if these people had formed a union against me.

Some people have children, I had employees.

I did what I could, and right now I am homeless in cleveland watching the game. And believe me - it is a game.

I have lived the american dream, and it is simply that - a dream. A rude charade put in motion to keep suckers going, in the purest way, to keep modern PT Barnum�??s blushing. In case you don�??t know what I am referring to, PT Barnum said, �??A sucker is born every day�?�.

And yes, I feel like a sucker…

Honestly? It totally bums me out. I was sitting in a focus meeting of elderly men and women. One woman said she wouldn’t want to be between the ages of 40-65 nowdays.

If I’m not feeling terribly optimistic, I feel the same way. There’s so much suffering in the world, it can be overwhelming.

I’m trying to find a way to wrap up this post, and you know what? I can’t. I can’t think of some platitude to dispense, or someone wise to link to. I was thinking of talking about breathing, or getting a good night’s sleep and waking up and giving ‘em hell the next day… but it all sounds kind of hollow.

Any suggestions?

Canadian Dave Pollard paraphrases a speech by Robert Kennedy Jr.:

There is no significant difference between Democrats and Republicans, progressives and conservatives on core values. What there is is an information gap, caused by the fact that most Republicans and conservatives get all their news from mainstream media sources that are either propaganda arms of the neocon, Christian ultra-right wing, or cowed, timid networks that lack the courage to report what Americans really need to know, for fear of attracting the wrath of this ultra-right wing group, and for fear that it would cost them corporate advertising revenues, and hence their jobs.

That’s the first thing you should think about/comment on.

Next:

There were quite a few Americans in the audience, and I took the opportunity to ask them afterwards what they thought of this comment. I got three different responses in roughly equal amounts:

* He’s right.
* He’s wrong — there are real differences in American core values, not attributable to the media, which actually plays a fairly modest role in shaping people’s values.
* There is no difference between the Republican and Democratic party, and neither represents the core values of Americans. All their squabbling and rhetoric is a sham, a smokescreen to keep Americans from realizing that both parties are in the pockets of corporate America, and that between the two parties it’s only a matter of how quickly the sell-out of America to rich, corporate interests will occur, and which corporations will benefit most from government kickbacks for their campaign donations.

What intrigued me about this third viewpoint was that it was espoused by almost as many self-proclaimed conservatives as progressives. What this implies is that there are a significant number of Americans who are revolted by Bush’s anti-environment and anti-worker laws, regulations and positions, but who don’t believe the Democratic Party will do a significantly better job in either area, and who vote reluctantly Republican because they prefer their conservative moral stance.

Make sure you head over and read his entire analysis, but before you do, let this sink in:

Apathy, acedia, learned helplessness, hopelessness. These, and not ignorance, are the real enemies of our time. We will not overcome them with rhetoric, or with knowledge. We might overcome them through a few charismatic and independent leaders, though they are as likely to take us down a worse path than a better one. We might overcome them by inventing and talking about a better way of doing things — a better social, economic, political, legal, environmental, and educational system — but will even that be enough to pull people out of their resignation?

Barring that, we can only wait until the situation gets much worse, until the pain of doing nothing exceeds the pain of revolution. Until, in other words, there is nothing more to lose.

I need a walk.

From the Cool Cleveland Blog:

Look, man. I AM Cleveland. What do you want to know? Strong? Wrong? I am Full Freaking Cleveland�?� dig? I have my blue-collar AND artsy moments�?� I have my less-than-zero moments�?� I am all of you and I read the �??Arts Section�?� and �??Sports Section�?� that you believe you could be�?� I am who you are and today I went to see the Battle of Ohio wind up�?� Baseball will always beat out a heatwave�?� the SZQ was at a baby shower, which puts the CHQ at a game, after the ol�?? flowers and lawn have been watered�?�

Want to hear about the game? Check out the Cleveland/Cincinnati stats on either side of Interleague play and you�??ll see �??Where It�??s At.�?�

Poker players are all over the Flats all day and here I am, telling you that the media in Cleveland and the �??callers-in�?� are short-changing what this team can do…

From The Neighborhood Retail Alliance blog:

[The NY Post] also published a scathing cartoon of the decision with the tagline �??Sold to the politically wired developer,�?� also points to the potential growth of a unique liberal-conservative alliance on this issue remarking:

“It�??s ironic that the conservative justices are the ones who sound like the New York liberal voices that rise to block almost any sort of economic development.”

This theme, of course, fits directly into our conservative case against Wal-Mart (more…)

Stopping at your local coffeeshop this morning? Make sure you think about this before ordering:

I am here in the Divinity Library of the Stop Shopping Church, musing, praying, pulling on my chin and then occasionally bursting into song. I’m trying to integrate my fragile personality with an absurd economy. We have three Starbucks on the corner, and we are living in a Starbucks hologram of myriad invented liquid desserts, and yet I read that the children who are in the coffee trees getting Starbuck’s beans are malnourished, can’t go to a doctor or get an education… child mortality from various kinds of starvation in the coffee producing areas is soaring…

What are you doing to celebrate Independents Week next week?

Who are your favorite independent Cleveland businesses?

Let me know!

See Chas Rich’s NeoBabble here and here.

Steve FitzGerald’s Lakewood Life here.

Adam Harvey writes:

Where in Cleveland are men’s clothing stores? I need to buy some black pants before Wednesday. I’m picky. I want flat fronted, heavier-than-dress-pants material, black pants… Unfortunately, still being a relatively new Clevelander, I have no fricking clue what local clothing stores exist, where they are and what their price ranges are. Help!

Anyone? Do we even have and local independent clothing stores anymore? Haven’t they all been driven out by competition?

Management Prof Sandy Kristin Piderit writes:

I’m breaking my self-imposed blogging silence to mention that I just received an email from the Dean of Weatherhead stating that Ed Morrison is leaving the Center for Regional Economic Issues, effective immediately.

Does anyone know what happened?

You mean besides Ed speaking his mind and pissing off the powers that be?

Props to Derek Arnold of Liberal Portions for pointing it out.

Ed, if you’re reading BFD, drop me a note or give me a call…

UPDATE: Jeff Stacklin of Crain’s Cleveland Business emailed me a link to their article.

Ed Morrison returned my voicemail.

When I asked him what happened, he replied:

“I got fired for doing open source economic development…<snip>”

I’ve set up time to talk with Ed next week, so expect a podcast.

I also talked with my friend Jack Ricchiuto, who said that CASE is hosting a panel discussion featuring Ed tomorrow.

Ooops.

UPDATE: Ed called and asked me to soften the statement he made. He’s posted a better statement to the EDPro Blog here. An excerpt:

Unfortunately, the new Dean of the Weatherhead School and his business supporters did not see a future in this approach to regional economic development. He fired me today. In his view, my vision of regional economic development does not fit with his vision of the school.

So, on to the next frontier. I will continue to develop Open Source Economic Development as a new model for regional economic development. I will continue to speak the truth as I see it. And I will, undoubtedly, pay a price every once in a while for my candor. But, in the end, that’s what a good economic development professionals should do.

Mindy Childress writes:

i love my neighborhood. love all of the people that i have come to know. love lazy afternoons at talkies, reading in the evenings at the wine bar, getting sloppy at the garage, walking to shelly�??s for weekend catch-ups. love sitting on my porch and talking to perren on the sidewalk. watching the kids at the west side community house play on the playground. the magic and community of near west. saturdays at market square, impromptu dinners at the old angle. walking up and down side streets, discovering new houses and community gardens. wandering through monroe cemetery or sitting on the grass at fairview park watching a pick-up baseball game.

yesterday morning, i woke up and immediately decided to go for a walk. i threw on shorts and a t-shirt and ran down the stairs and out the door. only to be met by the sunday afternoon gawkers.

i don�??t know where these people come from exactly, but they take over ohio city on the weekends. throngs of them in groups of 4 or 6 or 15. they wander down the streets, looking in windows, talking about how charming and wonderful and adorable everything is. yesterday, after i locked my door and walked out my gate, a man from one of the throngs opened my gate and came up to my house and started touching the brick, telling the rest of his posse about what kind of brick it was.

ummm�?�.okay. i�??d love to go to this guys house in strongsville or medina or solon and come into his yard and start feeling up his vinyl siding and see
what he has to say about it.

How do you feel about your neighborhood?

Rewriting history

Originally uploaded by GeorgeNemeth.

Don’t you mean “under destruction”?

From Crain’s Cleveland Business:

This afternoon, Mr. Roman was not available for comment. A voice message seeking his comments was left for him.

Jeff Bendix, a spokesman for Case, replied to follow-up phone calls seeking additional comment from Dr. Roomkin. Mr. Bendix said in an e-mail message, “Ed Morrision has left the university. For privacy reasons we can’t say anything beyond that.”

Who’s privacy are they trying to protect?

I love this picture Jeff Hess posted. The big bold letters say its Economic Development, so it must be.

From Mel:

I welcomed the new day on my front porch thinking about how much our lives have changed because of my unemployment and how much more change I might have to foist on my family because it just not going to happen for us in Cleveland anymore.

I thought about how much my kids are going to miss going to the westside market early Saturday mornings, the Asian Plaza whenever the whim strikes us or just strolling Coventry. Or going to our favorite “joints” for weekend family breakfasts: John’s Diner, the Borderline and the Highlander - where the white-haired men fresh from their lap swimming at Lakewood Y would order a side of bacon for just for my son (as a toddler) when he would join them in the corner booth while the blue-haired ladies would braid my (as an older toddler) daughter’s long hair and flirt with the buff guys in the corner booth.

Playing with our lab at Rocky River beach, community parades and festivals. And spending many afternoons in amazing libraries. Will our next community have amazing libraries? Will I be able to take a van-load of teenagers to see Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight? Will we find a place like Malley’s to celebrate every school concert and science fair?

These are only a small handful of things we take for granted as a family. Now I struggle to find ways to make my family excited about the “possiblities” of forging new favorites and memories. I received a relocation kit in FedEx last week which freaked out my older kids - as if to say “I’m not bluffing about this move thing…” Needless to say they really freaked out…

When can we get around to some real economic development here? Or do we need to talk about creating jobs or wealth?

Geoff Beckman writes at Callahan’s Cleveland Diary:

Ed Morrison is gone. Morrison says Joe Roman couldn’t stand him; Roman has no comment. Joe Roman runs what used to be called “Cleveland Tomorrow.” The organization folded– if you prefer, it merged with something called the “Greater Cleveland Growth Association” and something called “The Cleveland Roundtable” shortly after Cleveland officially became a second-class city (cities with populations under 500,000 can’t qualify for the best federal funding) and slightly before it became the poorest city in the country.

I’d like to note, for the record, that the Growth Association presided over this unparalleled population shrinkage– Cleveland lost close to 30 percent of its population in the 1970s, another 13 percent in the 80s, and five percent in the 90s. Since one out of every five white residents left and 6.5 of the black population migrated– possibly because only 6.5% could afford to leave– one could argue that this city faces a rather bleak Tomorrow. My question: How did Roman get in control after the merger? As long as the Cleveland Roundtable still has a round table, they’re the brains of the troika. (Although maybe they lent it to MDL for their hedge fund meetings and never got it back, so they ended up flipping a coin and Roman won.)

Anyway, Roman is the guy who ridiculed and impeded a genuine grassroots attempt to do regionalism because (a) it would have taken power away from the Port Authority (AKA, the Business Community’s swiss bank account) and (b) because the group wouldn’t support the Republican plan to grab power in county government. Roman is also (apparently) cool with an attempt to gut One Cleveland.

Funny. Last night I was pondering the same issue. I didn’t have the time for such a great post, and I’m glad Geoff did. My favorite part - “the Growth Association presided over this unparalleled population shrinkage”. Too bad all the good business leaders left town long ago.

From the Economic Development Futures Web Journal:

One interviewee said that change-making was a “conscious choice;” that is you must decide and plan to bring about transformational change in economic development. She also said that change-making requires “skill;” that is it is a learned competency that combines vision with the ability to work very effectively with other people, especially those people that you hope to change. She added that “being a bull in the china shop is unlikely to work in economic development, especially if you are a woman.” Instead, she suggested that “change-making economic developers” must use great finesse in achieving a mega-change agenda. Vision alone won’t cut it.

The rest said: 1) they would like to be more of a change-maker, but their leadership (board of directors, governmental body, etc.) was not ready for transformational change; 2) starting revolutions was not part of their job description; 3) change-making was just one of many roles they must play as a successful and balanced economic development leader; and 4) change-making has its place; that is you can’t be stirring the pot all the time; and 5) if you want to be a successful change-maker you must be a good change-manager.

A very nice post. I wonder if Don interview Joe Roman or any of the other board members of the Greater Cleveland Partnership?

In a comment here on BFD, Anthony Houston, Executive Director of the City of Cleveland’s Empowerment Zone and member of the Board of Regents writes regarding the Ed Morrison fiasco:

Why is this okay, and what does this say about the influence on academic freedom and university-based policy centers, when those in power from the outside, silence the possiblities for collaboration, and unique strategies for change? What is the ulitmate outcome of all our collective energies in supporting and advancing Ed�??s work and those of many economic development professionals and civic changes agents, if we do not, right here, and right now, respond?

Indeed? What does it say? How can we change civicly without change?

Blogger, CMSD teacher, and RAMTEC organizer MaryBeth Matthews writes:

Ed Morrison, through his promotion of Open Source Economic Development and the REI Tuesday discussions, gave Greater Clevelanders - anyone who wanted to pareticipate, an opportunity to listen, and an opportunity to be heard. By providing a regular space and a format for discussion, he provided the fertile ground for the seeds of innovation to take root.
Ed believes in communication and grassroots involvement.
He recognizes the stifling dangers of hierarchal control, black-box discussion, and backroom deals. He is not afraid to speak his mind and he doesn’t wait to get permission.

Cleveland’s hierarchy was threatened.

Open Source development works.

In his short tenure as the director of REI, a number of groups have organized, beginning to implement the changes we felt would improve our community.
Ed sees himself as a consultant, an Economic Development professional.
I see him as a visionary, as a mentor, as a teacher…

Catalyst. Don’t forget, catalyst.

Per my request on Ed Morrison’s behalfthis article has been updated. Of interest is this explaination, which is either new or I overlooked it yesterday:

“The actual mechanics of the dismissal were straightforward. The dean issued directives to me that I found unacceptable. They included getting prior written approval of all correspondence, including e-mails. When I refused to follow the directives, I provided grounds, in his mind, for dismissal.”

Prior written approval of all correspondence? Does that sound like micromanagement? I wonder if that’s what Hundert was looking for when he hired Roomkin?

From Crain’s Cleveland Business:

Although I�??m not big into these think-tank economic development initiatives, I always enjoyed reading and hearing what Mr. Morrison, as well as his predecessor Richard Shatten, had to write and say. They certainly had what appeared to be well-thought opinions and positions.

What frightens me about Mr. Morrison�??s termination, though, is what it says about Case. Although I�??m sure we haven�??t gotten the full story from Case, the revolving door sure is spinning at the university. Those folks being escorted out seem to be the ones with ideas contrary to the current regime.

I don�??t know if that�??s a good thing for any university.

Seems to be indicitive of Cleveland’s business culture. When the region’s top business school names a dean know for his management and administration and he takes his cues from executives in the region - there isn’t room for opinions the differ from the regime’s, no matter how well thought out they are.

Who’s going to change the city’s poor ranking on business climate? Who’s going to help us change our most impoverished city status if we get rid of people with ideas different then ours?

Got an email from one of Ed Morrison’s colleagues today. Since I’m posting this without permission, it’s only an excerpt:

“He provided opportunity when things were lookin’ pretty bleak a while back.”

Maybe she’ll comment on this because her daughters are reading BFD and will point it out. Maybe Ed will read it and feel appreciated for the work he did. Maybe the people who made resource allocation decisions will wonder why so many people are outraged.

Ok. Maybe that last part is wishful thinking.

Jack writes:

My friend Ed Morrison who directed the economic development team here at CWRU was yesterday canned and the program hijacked by university officials. With Ed’s leadership, the program fostered self-organizing civic efforts aimed at higher levels of community dialogue, connectivity, and innovation - the prime drivers of surprise.

It reminds me of one of the themes of “Accidental Conversations”, that the purpose of the formal organization is to prevent surprise. That’s why there the talk is all about predictability through conformity and control.

And that’s exactly why we look to the edges of ecosystems for signs of new life because that’s precisely where they tend to emerge, and thrive.

Make sure you click through and read the comments. Leave one of your own while you’re at it.

From a BFD comment:

From the perspective of another employee of Ed, he gave me an oppotunity to make a difference. This was probably one of the only jobs I could have found for the summer where I could be taken seriously. It�??s funny that way, Ed�??s open source economic development didn�??t just allow average joes from the street to have their voices heard, it allowed students like me to work towards something more meaningful than just a paycheck. And now Ed�??s gone, my jobs in jeopardy, and even if it still exists when the smoke clears, will I even want it anymore? I went to work for Ed, not Case, and now this amazing opportunity has been taken from me, as well as all the other students that worked at REI, as well as all of the future students that would be given this amazing opportunity.

I’m grateful Stephen took the time to share his story. I’d appreciate anyone of you who’d like to share your experience good or bad with REI and Ed Morrison. What do will you remember about REI? Please invite your friends to do the same…

From the Crain’s Cleveland Business article titled Hisrich exits Case :

Gary Baney, CEO of Boundless Flight LLC, who taught at Weatherhead for about five years, but left two years ago, said, �??I�??m being told the new dean is cleaning house. I�??m being told it goes all the way to the top,�?� referring to Case�??s President Edward Hundert.

�??Weatherhead is being treated as a stepchild,�?� Mr. Baney said. �??The whole environment there seems very chaotic. I don�??t think Hundert cares. Weatherhead doesn�??t have his attention.�?�

Another CASE student comment:

Let me start my comments with an old Chinese saying: always no rewards for a gentleman. Mr. Ed in particular is a very nice gentleman. His capability to surf on the tide of globalization has found no place in Case. I don�??t believe it is a bad thing for him and for communities truly in need of his good efforts and great contribution. As an international students who set feet on a new country, I was so dumbed and confused at the begining in the MBA program at Weatherhead. Everybody wants to help me, I have to admit, but only Mr. Ed knows how. He has the right passion and solid multicultural experience to help everybody who is open to the whole world. As the result of his great guidence, I am now working with a Fortune-50 company. I benefit a lot from my followship at REI, working with him.

Thank you! Any more stories about Ed’s tenure @ REI?

He’s back! From a BFD comment:

An �??economic development�?� center in a university should either be DOING research or DOING economic development (helping firms, organizations achieve outcomes). REI�??s outputs appears to be neither meeting high standards for research nor leading to true outcomes. It is somewhere in between �??taking the easy way out and TALKING about research and TALKING about economic development, under the umbrella of a university. Not really doing anything much or new. Does not appear that REI in recent times built on Richard�??s foundations or legacy.

Yes, it is a good thing to get people together - particularly disenfranchised, voiceless public for discussions, thoughts, ideas. However, is that a good enough reason to support a center �?? purported to �??doing�?� economic development. Your site, coffee houses, other past initiatives to connect �?? talk �?? dialog have done that. Should REI be doing this �?? or better yet, MAINLY doing this as its raison d�??etre? No, one would suggest.

(In fact, this is not just an REI problem �?? the silly/cynical idea of 18 months of discussions by other local foundations simply extends a poor local history of talk �?? Mayoral talk fests, tech �??czar�?� talk fests, economy �??czar�?? talk fests - while problems are obvious. �?� and people are literally seeing their lunches disappear�?�

Click through and read the whole comment. Then, leave your own.

We never did have that cup of coffee, Mr. Galt.

The Cleveland Society of Professional Journalists have launched a new website.

Check it out while it still has that new website smell…

*Looks around for the blog*

Andy Timithyposts a picture of Tremont cooks who donated their time and food to help Bernard Sokolowsk and his family pay medical bills from the hit/skip accident in April.