48
When we’re conscious,
our stories are about what exists.

Everything we call a lack,
deficiency, failure, regret,
problem, or weakness
represents something that doesn’t exist.

When we’re unaware,
we’re obsessed with what doesn’t exist.

We sour otherwise pleasing meals
and keep ourselves and each other up at night
with breathless banter
about what doesn’t exist.

When we’re conscious,
we’re far too engaged with
what does exist,
to be distracted
by what doesn’t.

© 2007 Jack Ricchiuto

Preview and pre-order Conscious Becoming here.

Jill Miller Zimon is determined:

We’re the voters, we’re the public, we’re the taxpayers.

We don’t like something that they’re going to do without our up or down vote? Then we need to find a way to stop the process so that our opinion not only is heard but governs. The commissioners are not our helicopter parents looking out for us. That’s not how it works in a democracy. We will suffer the consequences if our choice - to not build a new convention center - destroys our lives, now and in the future.

But that’s our choice to make. Just like it was your choice to vote for whichever county commissioners you wanted. (I know I did not vote for Jimmy Dimora and I’m pretty sure I didn’t vote for Tim Hagan. I may have voted for Peter Lawson Jones but I don’t remember.)

So - how does one research how to stop the commissioners…?

What follows is a very detailed post on trying to find the levers the public can use to stop the cram down from happening. I’d highly recommend any resident of Cuyahoga County to read both the post and the comments.

I’d also recommending signing this petition that was sent to me by a BFD reader to send a message to the boys downtown that while the talk the regionalism tallk, they’re not walking the regionalism walk:

Without asking voter approval, the Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners appears poised to approve a 0.25% increase to the existing 7.5% sales tax in Cuyahoga County, whose citizens already endure the highest sales taxes in Ohio, while at the same time, has some of the poorest and over-burdened residents in the nation. In the proposal, the purpose of this increase is to build a new Convention Center and to attract Medical Mart to the community in an unproven effort to generate revenue for Cuyahoga County. The Convention Center and its funding have been controversial from the beginning with the public, and this is just a way for the Commissioners to circumvent voter approval. Additionally, other communities around the country, including nearby communities in Ohio (Columbus, Cincinnati) and in Pittsburgh, have required private contributions from companies who stand to benefit from publicly funded construction (examples: sports stadiums and Pittsburgh’s arena/casino plan). Those who will benefit most are not the citizens funding the construction through the tax. As usual, it will be a small number of corporations who benefit. Instead of exacting the entire burden of the project on the public with an increase in the sales tax, we are asking the Commissioners to look at other possibilities for Convention Center funding, including asking those who will profit most from the Convention Center (Forest City, Medical Mart) to contribute private money OR put the sales tax proposal to a public vote.

Writes Like She Talks: How to stop the Cuyahoga County Commissioners

“[T]o the shock of no one, the Plain Dealer Editorial Board can’t support the County Commissioners sales tax to pay for a new convention center fast enough” says Chas Rich:

I just have to point to a clear bit of confusion within the paper itself.

It could mean 50 medical trade shows, 300,000 visitors and $330 million in direct spending, each year. Attendance at medical trade shows is up. And these participants take longer trips and spend more, as Sarah Hollander reports in her story today on Chicago’s experience with a merchandise mart.

[Emphasis added.]

Whoops. There is no story today. I’ve torn apart an actual print version looking for the story. There’s nothing in a name search for her on the site (and don’t even get me started on the “convention center” section). Apparently the PDEB has read the story and finds it good. Too bad we don’t even see it. Maybe tomorrow.

cleveland.com: Weblogs

One of the great things about having a blog around as long as BFD has been (or Callahan’s Cleveland Diary) is that we’ve archived a ton of stuff. Perhaps our public officials have forgotten, but I haven’t. If we set the wayback machine (well, maybe not-so-wayback) to June of 2005, there’s a post and mp3 files of Heywood “Woody” Sanders talking to a group at Artefino:

One of my favorite parts was when Chas Rich asked him about multipliers and Woody called them bullshit. He said most studies assume a 3 day stay, which isn’t based in reality. When was the last time you went to a conference and stayed 3 days? While we’re on it, if you visit a city for a conference, how often to you get out into the city to visit attractions? But I digress. The numbers that proponents of the convention center are tossing around? Cut them by two-thirds. Now we’re getting closer to market reality.

You know, I think I’ll drop Woody an email and ask him what he thinks about this Medical Mart BS.

Brewed Fresh Daily » BFD podcast: Heywood Sanders

“RoastCoffee” by spinneyhead

Our priorities as a city/region/whatever are screwed up:

If you were going to raise and spend $400 million in public money to spur private economic activity in Cuyahoga County, would you buy a Convention Center?

Here are a few alternatives to consider:

* One Convention Center @ $400 million, or

* 400 megawatts of utility-scale wind generators (with no debt to pay off, so the power would be very cheap)
* Full-ride tuition at Cleveland State for more than ten thousand county residents
* 8,000 street miles of optical fiber at an average cost of $50,000 per mile (1,300 miles would cover the entire city of Cleveland)
* Major weatherization and furnace replacement for 60,000 to 80,000 homes. (While you’re at it, you could probably throw in lead paint abatement.)

Callahan’s Cleveland Diary » Blog Archive » If you ran the county, what would you buy for $400 million?

[QUICKTIME http://www.coolcleveland.com/files/video/PeterLawsonJones2.mov 320 257]

As every post on BFD, please feel free to add your comments.

I’ll be tuning into FA tomorrow:

Tuesday, June 26, Internet broadcasters come together to support a Day of Silence to demonstrate what the Web would sound like if music streaming was forced to shut down due to increased royalty rates. Folk Alley has decided not to go silent but instead to be loud and proud. Please, if you feel strongly about our service, tell your U.S. Senator and Representative…

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Don’t let the record labels and the government dictate what you listen to. Imagine how homogenized music would be if we all relied on companies like Clear Channel to market bands?

Folk Alley (( June 26, 2007 is a Day of Silence for Internet Radio ))

For a crash-course in Cleveland politics, read Roldo’s columns. Below is an excerpt of this week’s Cool Cleveland column:

Hagan, Petro (and Mary Boyle) in the 1990s voted two bond issues, one for $75 million and another for $45 million to make up for the shortages.

We – County taxpayers - are still paying bondholders each January for those borrowings. They have cost taxpayers, mostly from the County general fund, $7 to $8 million annually.

More than $100 million – some from the city (see below) – has been paid since. We will continue to pay until at least 2023, longer if required by shortfalls.

Hagan’s arrogance has no bounds.

At one meeting, the commissioners took 30 seconds to vote for a multi-million bond issue for Gateway.

During another discussion of county bonds for Gateway, Hagan, as soon as it came time for the public to speak, showed his utter disdain for the taxpayer.

“I don’t have to listen to this,” he told the audience. He then invited a band of construction workers there to support spending millions tax dollars to join him in the next room for coffee. He left the public to talk to other commissioners.

Hagan haughtily backstabs other politicians.

Cong. Louis Stokes opposed the tax so Hagan labeled Stokes a “front” for tobacco interests. His reasoning: cigarette taxes hurt sales, therefore, anyone opposing him and the tax favored smoking.

Sharp reasoning, no?

Hagan also accused Stokes of “rewarding people that are doing a terrible disservice to the poor and minorities…by glamorizing the use of booze…” Further, that Stokes contributed “to the infant mortality rate.”

Such blatant nonsense as trying to portrait Stokes as anti-black qualifies as a “Willie Horton” smear by Hagan.

Hagan – who has never seen a regressive tax he didn’t embrace – said, along with his sidekick Mayor Michael White, that he wanted public debate on those 1990 issues. Debate is important, he claimed.

I’m sure he’ll do the same this time, claiming the two phony meetings he has set up to inform the public about the need for the sales tax increase as the “public debate.”

His idea of debate, however, is one sided…

CoolCleveland.com - Roldo Link Hagan The Backstabber At It Again

Cleveland’s leaders are mired in a thirty year old Thing Theory of economic development. The Thing Theory directs cities to build one more thing — in our case a convention center — to create economic prosperity.

Smart regions are moving toward building brainpower…the core competitive advantage regions have left in a rapidly globalizing world.

Folks in Dayton have figured this out:

Susan Bodary, executive director of EDvention, which group sponsored the event, said the meeting today is the first step in forming a region-wide action plan and participants will be asked to make commitments to continue their involvement. EDvention was formerly known as the Miami Valley Math and Science Education Consortium.

Dayton leaders gather to increase student interest and success in math and sciences

In a fourteen county region in Indiana around Purdue, we have set the goal of having Project Lead the Way in every middle school and high school in our region.

And what, exactly, is Northeast Ohio’s regional strategy for science and math education?

But the bioscience sector in Northeast Ohio has been steadily growing in recent years — enough to warrant the first “Bio Boot Camp,'’ an information-cramming session for inventors, business executives, graduate students and potential investors.

Bioscience field expanding

Is reinforcing it’s position. Can you compare economic development professionals to talented software programmers? I may have to send Bruce Perens (who developed an alternative license never sold the rights to his book to a conventional publishing firm) an email…

Tech Futures: The Limits of Open Source

Fortunately for us, we don’t have to rely on the conventional wisdom of business publications. Our social network connects us with people like Bruce, who wrote the book on open source, and who work with the stuff every day. I asked him to respond to Chris Varley’s post at Tech Futures. His reply:

Regarding leadership like that of Linus, the interesting thing about Open Source is that the community could walk away from Linus and continue the work without him if they didn’t think he was a good leader. Linus has no legal hold over them. Sure, there is a filter in place because a filter is useful. But who’s the boss if they could all walk away? It’s not Linus.

Regarding complexity, that is the nice thing about Software. It is so modular. I helped put Debian on the space shuttle when I was project leader and had only met one of the 200 people on the Debian team. All the pieces worked together. The Debian team wrote a manual several inches thick to keep us all coordinated on the details that required coordination. If we had all shared a conference room, a lot of that would not have been written down, and it would not have been thought out as carefully.

I would like to hear what product they think is too complex for Open Source. The only software product I would not give an Open Source team to do is TurboTax. It’s not written for love. It’s not written by programmers at all.

Regarding the economics and subsidy, he has a little bit of the picture. Read the economics paper at perens.com for more.

Back to you, Cathedral…

Economic development experts say that if Northeast Ohio is going to turn its struggling industrial economy into a thriving high-tech hub, it’s going to take a lot of collaboration from some unlikely partners.

To succeed, share and tell, firms are told

More from Fast Company: A Problem Shared Is a Problem Solved

More on Proctor and Gamble: Reinventing R&D

Apparently there’s one person in the City’s Department of Development that gets it and is willing to talk/blog about it:

The near West Side at the time was a working-class, middle american neighborhood that was torn asunder by a federal highway project. Eminent domain forced thousands, not hundreds mind you, but thousands of tax paying working class out of the culturally rich neighborhoods of Cleveland and into the suburbs. The original plan for I-90 was to also go right through the east side (i.e. - Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights - but those neighborhoods were a bit more wealthy and more vocal about the highway) but was quickly scuttled. The west side of Cleveland had no such hope. I-90, then, became an accelerator for the loss of the population base for the City. Opened the far west side of Cuyahoga County for development (hey no I-90 no Crocker Park, no Avon Lake, no Westlake). All in the name of progress. I am a bit shocked at the number of people who lost their homes and made way out to the burbs. Thousands! Just imagine the sense of neighborhood that could exist if I-90 were built a few miles south. Instead a great neighborhood with a dramatic history were cut to the bone.

This excerpt comes from the end of his post. I strongly recommend you click thru and read the beginning. Props to Michael for sharing his experiences.

The I-90 Accelerator « Tech Czar Notes

0 coffee cup cortado http://www.flickr.com/photos/playpuppy/645929843/

“DSC05188” by erikflickr

. Make sure you check out erikflickr’s coffee and cigarettes set too.

Had coffee this morning with Jamie. We spent some time talking about this, which I think is a fun idea. It’s a blank space that you can do with it what you want:

In the St. Clair Superior neighborhood there is a vacant lot ready for development. A new concept recently emerged through thought leadership by a few great people, including Keith and David at PURE. Build boxes. Simple, square boxes. Clean, edgy, customizable, inexpensive, industrial-vibe, Dwell Magazine-esque, and again - inexpensive. It is new construction, with new plumbing, new windows, new electrical, but you would get that old Cleveland warehouse feel. What if you could buy a basic box for $100,000? Two years later, you could bi-sect your space vertically by adding a second floor and stairs, or by adding walls for bedrooms…

Thoughts?

St. Clair Superior Neighborhood: Buy a Box

FYI:

• Send a blast e-mail to NEO-base employees letting them know about the brand, encouraging them to be ambassadors and directing them to the Web site (we have a template e-mail you can personalize);
• Sign up for the Cleveland Plus Marketing Alliance’s monthly e-newsletter for residents and pass it on to your employees or use some of its contents for your own internal communications. Sign up at www.clevelandplus.com
• Play the video in public company lobbies (it works well with or without sound);
• Post the video on employee intranets or your company’s internet
• Link your company’s Web sites to www.clevelandplus.com
• Promote the new name and give the Web address on outdoor electronic signs
• Apply vehicle signage: for those who have company vehicles such as service vans or delivery trucks, request Cleveland+ stickers
• Request a Cleveland+ speaker to come to speak to a group of employees (may be of particular interest to employees involved in employee recruitment)
• For those with large buildings, we may be able to offer a 25’ x 50’ Cleveland+ “We’ve got it all. Together.” banner and install it.

Where do I get my CLE+ stickers?

Greater Cleveland Partnership

Sounds good enough to try myself:

The meatballs are made of ground pork, scallions, leeks, ginger, chopped hot chiles and sesame oil (along with a bit of flour and cornstarch and salt and pepper), browned in olive oil. They smelled exactly like pot stickers: so much so that Sienna The Dog came in to the kitchen to investigate.

The meatballs were then cooked in a sauce of soy sauce and coconut milk, with Foodgoat ramping up the Indian flavor with his own curry mix, which leans Bangladeshi. He also added tomatoes, fresh ginger, and, because everything he cooks has them, paprika and sour cream.

I think some wine must have gone in too because when I went to refill my glass the bottle was empty.

And instead of serving them on cabbage or lettuce, Foodgoat served them on Hungarian dumplings…

Foodgoat … something tasty every day: Sometimes Foodgoat Amazes Even Himself

Textbook case of word of mouth:

My Thanks go out to the guys at Fred Baker Audi on the Bedford Auto Mile. I have never had such a positive and professional car experience before. My A4 started misfiring yesterday. At first a little, and by the time I made my second stop for the day, it had pretty much dropped a cylinder. I was close to the dealership, so I called and told them it was acting up and asked if I could bring it right in…

All4Drive.com » Blog Archive » Thank you Fred Baker Audi

Swingin’ hard:

Growth is a four-letter word in Cleveland. Why? Because it demands R-I-S-K. If we treat our region as a business, we must decide if we’re focused on growth or income when planning. The former demands investment with risk. The latter involves leveraging existing assets to produce steady, stable returns. Unfortunately, our region is looking to those who can afford to lose to take the risks that will lead us to growth. These leaders, however, are focused on maintaining income and not growth, yet we continue to put our fate in their collective hands…

The Full Cleveland: Growth is a Four-Letter Word

Not sure what other cities you can do this in, but Cleveland’s a small world network. From Michelle:

I thought it would be cool to get to know our local chefs a little better and feature a new Q&A every few weeks. I sent an e-mail with 10 random questions to a bunch of chefs to see if they would be game. Within 20 minutes of sending my e-mail, Michael Symon was the first one to respond! Seriously, how cool is that? Thanks, Michael, for being the first. Hopefully you won’t be the only…!

cleveland foodie: michael symon rocks

Check out these thoughts from John:

are those orange stickers on vacant houses a really bad idea?
With population declining in some neighborhoods in the city, inevitably some houses are vacant.

And as summer progresses, many of these homes have high grass growing around them, extending many inches (if not feet) into the air.

To notify the owners that their lack of grass cutting has broken a city ordinance, the city has placed large orange stickers on the windows of the main entrances to the home to notify the occupants of the situation.

But to solve the primary problem, is this policy creating a secondary problem that’s even worse…?

i will shout youngstown: are those orange stickers on vacant houses a really bad idea?

I think Bill Callahan sums it up best with the phrase “devoid of actual information”:

Last August the Census Bureau told us we were down to 414,000 people in 2005, now they tell us it was 444,000 in 2006… and the PD splashes both numbers all over its front page with a straight face and no explanation?

Yes, they do. Apparently the editors have decided that nothing sells papers like pimping out a nice, edgy Census report. So now the PD has two ritual Summer Front Page Census Stories, based on:

* the annual Population Estimate, which comes out in late June (i.e. today); and
* the annual American Community Survey, which comes out at the end of July or the beginning of August.

Both of these publications consist of extremely approximate estimates based on obscure, tricky data manipulations and projections. I’ve bored you all repeatedly with explanations of this; if you really want to know more about the grimy details, read this and this. My point today is simpler: The two report’s methodologies (i.e. manipulations and projections) are very different, so of course they produce very different estimates… both of which the PD front-pages as Official Federal Facts…

Callahan’s Cleveland Diary » Blog Archive » Another Census guesstimate, another PD front page

The rest of the post from Tim re: Breuer is great too:

If you buy a building for $22M and then demolish it, what is left? The value of the land? The value of the other building? What is the difference between wasting an asset through demolition (let’s face it, you just don’t “deconstruct” anything from the raw-concrete “brutalist” school) and giving it away to another entity, an entity that could use the tax credits in a mixed-use-development (MUD) format? When you add up the cost of acquiring the asset, abating the asbestos, tearing it down, and building new at a time when construction costs are escalating and all that’s available is non-Cleveland steel, doesn’t it make more economic sense to give it away for nothing or sell it for a nominal sum to a developer experienced with MUDs who can use or sell the tax credits to lower the net cost, give the county an economic benefit in lease abatement equal to or greater than what their original cost of the acquisition was, and manage the property properly when we finally get around to reducing the size of county government, or when we go regional and all the smart management decides they want to be in Akron? (am I just kidding?)

Anyway, there’s been no creative work done with the numbers, because the current two go-go boys on the county commission, Jimmy and Timmy, have no concern for what this will cost us, our kids, or our grandkids. (Heck, our kids, half our immediate family, have already left for Tennessee and Georgia, with our encouragement…)

Tim Ferris: innumeracy running rampant in PD editorial

Max Mulready picks the best events for kids every week. This week’s include the Great Lakes Science Center and Wendy Park.

Cool Cleveland Kids 06.29.07

Your friend and mine Thomas Mulready shares some cool events: Take a Walk on the Wild Side, Lacrhmere Flea Market, and the Cleveland Wine Fest.

Cool Cleveland 06.29.07

Sad day for Cleveland. Will the city always have to bow to the will of the county? What does that say about “regionalism”?

This is the first news post I could find about this today. From WKYC:

CLEVELAND — By a 5-2 vote, the city planning commission has given the green light to a plan to demolish the Ameritrust tower at the corner of East 9th and Prospect.

Cleveland vs. The World

Don Pedro

Originally uploaded by Darkmere

Great pic of a vac pot in action…

From Michael DeAloia:

A few weeks ago I had a pretty profound conversation with Phillip Lane of New America Energy at the Design Show held at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Phillip is working on a very provocative electric car concept and had a small car factory in the City of East Cleveland. Cool stuff. The car is a beautifully designed vehicle that holds great promise and appeal. What struck me from the conversation was a quick comment from Phillip about how “post-sputnik, there has been only one national policy on manufacturing….to outsource it to other countries.” My father is a machinist and for many years he had a steady job at one firm. For the past ten years he has moved from one job to another. He is an amazing craftsman and the instability in the country’s manufacturing base has prompted personal reflection…

Post-Sputnik « Tech Czar Notes

On a Saturday Safe Social Ride with the Ohio City Bicycle Co-op in Ohio City.

“On the saturday ride” by mint tea

From my friend Jack:

We need to stop paying attention to any media that keeps us in our place as spectators and consumers. He suggests an hour of bowling would be a far more effective social structure to create community because it’s so boring, people have nothing to do but interact.

jack/zen » Blog Archive » Media is not the answer

Another day, another shoody editorial from the PeeD editors that a NEO blogger takes down hard:

How to consolidate offices? Communicating stairs can be used to connect multiple floors which can be cut open to create grand spaces for each department and can radiate from centrally located meeting spaces (which can be shared).

Low floor to floor for all the new technology and ‘hi-tech’ wiring? Really? As our technology increases we need MORE SPACE? Doesn’t that seem counter intuitive? Exposed spiral ductwork, radiant slab heating/cooling (you only need to add a 2″ topping slab to the existing - which could also enclose electrial and telecommunication conduit), soffited plumbing around the perimeter which would not obstruct views from the windows, those are some ideas off the top of my head. Heck, the most hi-tech of all wiring systems is to go, well, wireless.

Windows are leaky? So, replace the glass. That has to be cheaper then replacing the entire skin of the building.

Asbestos is pervasive? Please look at these photos of the Tower under construction and notice that the panels appear to be fastened to the bare steel. The asbestos must have been used primarily as fireproofing and is not as ‘pervasive’ as mentioned. Regardless, rehab or demolition, the panels would have to be removed and cleaned with either option. The only difference is whether they are reinstalled or thrown out….

TOI Studio: Plain Dealer offers fact and fiction, up to readers to figure out for self.

Bright Side of the Road from the album “The Best of Van Morrison” by Van Morrison

Nice work Carole:

I’m not an investment broker and I don’t even play one on television. I’m in real estate! But this site, The Motley Fool, caught my eye. This post focuses on investing in NE Ohio and it is a good read! It talks about neighborhoods (Kamms, for example), and recommends Eaton Corp for it’s leanness and long term stable growth potential. They cover a good cross section of info. My hats off to them for readability. Here is a quote from it (relating to investing in one of our signature areas, heavy metal…)

Cleveland Real Estate and News: Investing In Cleveland or as This Guy Puts it: In Your Own BackYard

Interesting PDF comparing/constrasting the retail (I emphasize retail because it’s not economic development) development strategies Cleveland Heights and Euclid. Make sure you check out the Best Practices and Conclusion.

Dead Euclid

In case you missed the email from the Tech Czar—CoolCleveland.com, BFD, and MTB are media/exhibitors at the Best Damn Tech Show Period in November. From the press release:

“We’re jazzed to be involved in the hottest tech show in the country,” said Thomas Mulready, president of Cool Networks LLC and editor and publisher of CoolCleveland.com. “This is a fantastic opportunity for us to be showing off our Web 2.0 features such as our BizTech coverage, our CoolCleveland Videos, our Podcasts and CoolCleveland Kids Podcasts, and our recent affiliation with Northeast Ohio’s top economic development blog, BrewedFreshDaily.com. In addition, we’re pleased to be shooting live CoolCleveland Video Interviews of all key exhibitors, direct from the floor of the Best Damn Tech Show Period.”

I can’t tell you the last time it was for me, but I think I’m going to spend this particular afternoon @ the beach:

For Immediate Release
For information, contact:
Sarah Gyorki, Arts Collinwood
216-692-9500

Arts Collinwood Hosts 5th Annual Sand Sculpture Contest
Artists Get Shot at $300 Prize

Arts Collinwood will be hosting its popular Sand Sculpture contest for the 5th year running, on Sunday, July 15 from 1-4 pm at Wildwood Beach. The event has grown over the years to become a mainstay of summer fun on North Collinwood’s lakefront. Each year one hundred or more children and families have turned out to build creative castles, forts and more. One year the innovations extended to a life-size VW Bug. And this year looks to hold even more creativity.

For the first time, Arts Collinwood has added an artists category ot the community event, with a $300 cash prize to the best entry. Although the competition was initially advertised with a $5 registration fee for artists, organizers have said they’re happy to waive that fee for the event’s first year. “We’re interested in encouraging participation, in exploring the creative potential of found materials and the opportunity for people of all ages to shape their environment,” says Sarah Gyorki, Executive Director of Arts Collinwood and the event’s organizer. “The beach is a wonderful place to create and explore, and we want to offer the entire area a chance to celebrate this wonderful feature of our community. Any money we raise is simply to offset the expenses of making the event possible. Inclusion is our priority.”

Participants are encouraged to bring their own shovels and pails, and maybe a picnic as well. Some tools are available at the event, and light snacks and drinks will also be offered. Artists are welcome to begin their pieces any time the morning of July 15. The event officially begins at 1:00pm, and judging will be at 4:00pm.

Wildwood Beach is part of Cleveland Lakefront State Park. Enter off Lake Shore Blvd, across from E. 174th St, and follow sings along the walking path from the parking lot. For more information, call Arts Collinwood at 216-692-9500, or visit their web site at www.artscollinwood.org.

I haven’t looked yet, but I’m asking—who supported this resolution?

Proposed Resolution (passed by the CPC June 29, 2007 by 5-2 vote - Kuri and Krumholz voting Nay)

For future reference.

Save Our Land: CPC resolution on the Breuer Tower, 06/29/2007

First, Lev:

Kudos to the Cleveland Plain Dealer for its editorial today on Ohio’s disappointing broadband report card. A special call out to the analysis and more in depth report by Shaheen Samavatai of the Communication Workers of America’s commissioned research report called Speed Matters published two weeks ago.

The blogsphere reported it first. The National Press Club brought a panel together to discuss it and generated a powerpoint and a video. Each year, for the past 6 years the United States finds itself falling further and further behind on three key measures; (1) percentage of the population connected to true broadband (in which several studies show we’ve gone from 1st to around 20th), (2) the actual broadband speed available to the population in which we’ve gone from first to about 15th), and (3) the cost of access (in which,on average, consumers in the United States find themselves with among the very most expensive broadband access among the OECD countries). Without pulling punches we pay way too much for way too little and the result is that too few Americans have joined the broadband age. Indeed, in this country, more times than not, we find the debate being whether broadband is a “nice to have” or a “must have” infrastructure investment…

Next, Bill:

Today the Plain Dealer editorial page raps the Strickland Administration’s knuckles for slow motion on statewide broadband deployment, complaining that “Strickland has paid little attention to this once-prominent element of his campaign platform”.

But two months ago, that same editorial page was calling on the Ohio Senate to strip the phase one funding for the Governor’s Broadband Ohio strategy out of the budget, labeling the proposed $20 million setaside of Third Frontier funds “A money grab”.

Luckily, the Senate ignored the PD and left the S20 million in. So now the Governor has the funds he needs to integrate all the state’s optical fiber and other high-speed network assets into a single “NextGen” public network, and begin building that network out to parts of the state that lack “middle mile” backbone access, just as he promised in his campaign platform — using Third Frontier bond proceeds, just as he told the voters he would.

Despite the PD’s editorial effort to stop him.

Incidentally, the Communications Workers “study” featured in today’s editorial and a business page article Tuesday was a great PR stunt to push a mostly legitimate message, but it wouldn’t get the authors a passing grade in “Intro to Research Methods” at CSU. (Unless it proved the need for more tax abatements or a convention center, of course…)

What’s your opinion?

Along these lines, earlier in the week, I had a short conference call with Kathy Wallman, the chief organizer for the Coalition for Free Broadband Now. If you’re so inclined, there’s a petition there to let Congress and the FCC know we want free broadband.