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The Glass City Opry - Live Bluegrass Music right here in Northwest Ohio.

Great cd & record store - Cricket West

Great new self-titled album by a band called Fleet Foxes. This young band is all about melody and harmony - they clearly have listened to "Pet Sounds" often enough that it is part of their DNA. Any band that has a Pieter Bruegal the Elder painting on the cover understands there is a fabric to life - this is one colorful thread.

"MySpace page HERE.


This guy, I call him


Willy (as in Willys Jeep, as in Irish and German immigrants) is a very cool mascot for our hockey team. I can't wait to toss my first fish on the ice after a big goal.

It has been 30 years since Warren Zevons seminal album "Excitable Boy" came out. Its most famous song is Werewolves of London but its best songs are a trio of ballads: Veracruz, Tenderness on the Block, and Accidently Like a Martyr. It's jam-pack with the greatest talent available in 1978 and the song writing is sublime. Get this album.

Get Warren into the R&R Hall of Fame - sign a petition HERE.


Check this out - Suggs (of Madness fame) doing the Beatles' "I'm Only Sleeping" - HERE.

You need to buy this brilliant album by Liam Finn. Visit his website HERE.

February 20th, 2008 photo of the lunar eclipse

Help get Chuck Ealey inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Visit Induct Chuck, a website dedicated to this mission.

Check out Ron Sexsmith and his terrific album, "Time Being." Go to his MySpace page to preview the album.

This Old World - The Front Page


September 24, 2008
Sub-Prime Crisis

For the sake of clarity: in my view, yes, the $700b (or some such number) is necessary to stabilize the entirety of the US banking industry. The lack of controls and, again, oversight built into the original proposal were insufficient. Finding a way to use the money without rewarding bad behavior by bankers is also very important.

Stupid people who bought more house than they could afford will be a more difficult issue to address. The regulations (and, frankly traditional standard banking practices) that were supposed to prevent people from getting loans they could not afford had been removed at the behest of the banking industry - so where does the blame belong? Bankers who had prudent regulations removed; Presidents and Congress who did the biding of the banks and removed such regulations; or with those who accepted loans they had no business being offered in the first place.

These loans are a sophisticated business. Could the average citizen be relied upon to actually know enough about financial institutions and these loan instruments to recognize the peril? Not reasonably. Just as there are government standards for many other forms of commerce such as building construction or food safety, citizens can not be expected to know all things about all subjects.

Because of the complexity of the banking system, citizens should be able to rely on government to set regulations that ensure a stable and appropriate system. Government did not

September 23, 2008

It is deja vu all over again listening to Treasury Secretary Paulsan brow-beat Congress regarding passing the $700 Billion bailout of the financial services industry - trust us; do it now; don't change anything. Last time the Bush administration brought us this kind of song-and-dance it was the Patriot Act. That legislation was disasterous for the average citizen (through loss of tax dollars and civil liberties) while heaping benefits on the wealthy (Halliburton and Blackwater).

This sub-prime mortgage crisis has been nothing more than a pyramid scheme that relied on home prices to escalate at unsustainable rates. While the difference between the current crisis and the circumstances that led to the Great Depression seem distant and different they really are not. Out of control greed of financial institutions and the inability of our elected officials to keep their eye on the ball and not get sucked into the glamor of the high-roller big-spending life styles of Wall Street types.

For long-term stability, we need legislation that sets a fair and restrained set of rules that allow financial institutions to make appropriate returns and rewards picking innovation and productivity. Our financial institutions got caught up in betting on inflation in the housing market rather than real economic stimulation.

Notably absent from the discussion as to the root problem of our current crisis is campaign finance reform.

What gave rize to the black hole that is the sub-prime lending debacle? A lack of a regulatory structure that would prevented bad loans and then the further leveraging of those bad loans. And why was the regulatory scheme not in place? It had been dismantled over the last 25 years by Presidents that have been friendly to the desires of Wall Street and Congresses that have been unable or unwilling to resist the death of regulatory oversight.

And why did Presidents and Congresses feel compelled to not regulate fiancial institutions. Bankers and and those running investment firms are large financial contributors to politicians and they operate sophisticated lobbying programs; our government allowed policy to be set by the regulated.

The US needs to change election law substantially. Until we do, we can expect a government that continues to cater to the rich and influential and, as such, we should expect corporations and the wealthy to continue to realize undue benefit from the government at the expense of the middleclass.

September 18, 2008



TARTA Control

September 5, 2008

TARTA's recent decision to reduce costs in the face of rising fuel is short-sighted. Cutting hours of operation, number of routes, and frequency of runs to save money and increasing fares to generate more cash completely nullifies the opportunity it is being presented by world events. What they are presented with is the opportunity to increase market share, greatly reduce overall fuel consumption in our region, allow a greater number of people full access to jobs and markets, and improve environmental conditions here and for the world.

Our current dilema is a result of the confluence over the last 60 years of the rise of the suburbs, the growing reliance on the automobile over mass transportation and the relatively low cost and stable production of fuel from the Middle East. However, recent years have brought the "race to the bottom" economics of WalMart types corporations and the complicity of the Federal Government in trade policy and standards that, combined with changing Middle East geo-politics and the nationalizing of th oil industry, have changes that equation.

The relatively booming economy and high disposable income of the 1970s - 2000 easily allowed inflationary increased fuel costs to be absorbed. This is not so in todays economy. This presents TARTA with the opportunity to re-establish mass transportation, increase market share, and actually help people in their daily lives - people who can no longer reasonably afford an automobile (or 2 or 3) and all of the related expenses.

TARTA must recognise that they are at a nexxus... a tipping point... a paradigm shift... insert your own fav metaphor here... and should make every effort to expand hours of operation, frequency of runs, increase the number of routes, and revert the transfer fee back down to a nominal fee.

What Real Urbanism Looks Like


August 19, 2008

Because of the non-sense that happens with policy, development, and urban design in Toledo, it can feel as though the only thing that gets written here has its source in bile rising from the gastrict district. So, here to remind us of what Toledo can be like, the promise it holds, is a picture of what Toledo did look like.

Notice the mixed-uses of residential, commercial, and office. This is Madison at 10th so we know there are churches and government uses around the corner. Also of importance is that owner-occupied residential units that enter from the sidewalks is the predominant type - not condos, or apartments, or "townhouses" that enter off a center courtyard.

People were able to walk to almost anyplace they needed to and for longer trips trolley lines were located within a block or two of virtually the entire City.

The Stranahan Building - Update Updated

August 13, 2008

Landmarks Preservation Council and the Historic District Commission both came out against demolition of the Stranahan Building at a meeting Tuesday evening.

The building is interesting and unique - it IS NOT architecturally significant and even the Historic District Commission could not make that case, catagorizing it as merely "contributing." It would be generous to call the building attractive.

It is interesting to see these two groups voice an opinion on saving a building. Both organizations were silent when it came to saving 6 or 7 buildings at the new arena site. Both were silent when 10 or 12 buildings (some very significant ones at that) came down for 5/3rd Field - in fact Landmarks people helped clear the hurdles with the State of Ohio people in charge of historic buildings.

Of course it is easy to stand up for buildings and neighborhoods when you don't have to go against politicians and publishers but rather just the board of a non-profit that doesn't want to disturb the public. It is notable that the Stranahan family is nuetral, wanting the United Way to do what is best for the organization.

August 12, 2008

In the abstract, I want to save the Stranahan Building.

I definitely want the UT Law School downtown.

It is just the prospect of the confluence of these two desires that I find repugnant. Through the lense of an actual proposal, that is to say, putting people I know in that building for specific purposes, makes me realize the Stranahan Building just has too many limitations for all but a few uses. The Law School in particular would be poorly served by it.

It would require significant changes to the structure of the building in order to allow it to work for re-use - too significant to be cost effective and worthwhile I suspect. The spaces are too irregular and, frankly, that makes them uncomfortable to work in. Add to that the infrequent and odd window placement and you wind up with offices and classrooms that would be dark and inhospitable.

I think the idea of bringing the Law School downtown would truely support Dr. Jacobs' contention that Toledo is a college town. It would support student by combining objectives efficiently: proximity to firms, educational resources, and urban residential opportunities. It would bring vitality to the streets of Toledo on a 24 hour basis, create demand for commercial interests, and add a mixture of uses so important to a downtown.

I particularly like the idea of the Law School in the first eight floors or so of the old Fiberglas Tower. The floor foot print works well for the variety of classroom types and sizes that would be required. Obviously it would work for arranging the large number of offices that would be needed. Some additional floors could house residential units or even a law firm or two. Let's get it done!


Use the demolition of the Stranahan Building to reconnect St. Clair and Orange Streets to improve the safety and walkability of the downtown. The yellow line above would be the path of the new road.


(This section originally posted on May 22, 2008)

Just out of college I worked in the Stranahan Building, now the United Way Building for a couple years. It is an odd building with lots of quirky angles that waste space, exterior rooms with no windows, it is ugly, and it has slow elevators.

The Blade reports that the building is being considered for demolition. Dispite its architectural problems and due to my preference for preservation, I might be inclined to keep the building... except for this - the prospect of reconnecting St. Clair and Orange Streets and thereby improving the street grid pattern.

The grid in downtown Toledo has been under attack for years with several streets going one-way in the 1960s and, starting in the 1970s, various civic projects closing many streets down altogether (and still happening today). Add to that the fact that the United Way Building is configured as though it was set in the suburbs, set back from the street with a large surface parking lot directly beside it - totally in conflict with its urban setting.

I understand this is probably too much to hope for under the current administration, property ownership, and financial constraints. However, until such time as these types of physical changes begin to be implemented (re-implemented?!), any number of other efforts to revitalize downtown are bound to fail.


The Civic Auditorium

August 7, 2008 Update

I think Headliners has potential grounds for a lawsuit against the City of Toledo. They had a business relationship with Croak and the Black Keys' concerts was supposed to be held at the Headliners facility. The City stepped in and interferred and cause a harm to Headliners - the City's proceeds from that show should have been Headliners.

The protests about Croak being the victim of Carty's actions are only half correct. It is Carty's fault that he involved Croak. But Croak knew, or (legally speaking) should have known, he was not allowed to act as a contractor. You and I, unless properly licensed, can not offer ourselves as contractors. Further, Mr. Collins asserts that Croak owes $100k in income tax and $28k in property tax - I'm pretty sure he knows he owes that money.

Lindsey Webb must have been a drama major - she is sooo fake. Her quote in the Blade today "I have lost all faith in this administration" is such horse-feathers. So out of character from the Mayor's past behavior - just shocking! This disbelief from the person who lied to half of her colleagues that she would support Michael Ashford for President of Council and then supported the Mayor and the republicans on Council in electing Sobczak. Oh yes, Webb, something does stink in Denmark and you are standing in it.

To me, Carty obviously intentionally broke the law by breaking the project into small subcontracts - like Radar from M*A*S*H stealing a jeep by mailing home one piece at a time. But are there no remedies written into the law for people who break these laws?! Are the remedies there but not enforced? Who would have the standing to bring the action? Citizens... City Council?... If not removed from office, can Carty be put on time-out for bad behavior?

August 1, 2008

Lots of issues swirling around the Mayor and his recent actions with the Civic Auditorium at the Erie Street Market.

The Mayor's actions to exclude City Council from approving the expenditures to rehab the Auditorium are illegal and should have every taxpayer/voter up in arms. This is not a monarchy or a fifedom run by an absolute ruler - almost eight years of bush/cheney illegal absolute power have given our Mayor the inspiration to rule in a similar manner (citing economic development instead of national security).

If TetraTech has plans that include the redevelopment of the Civic Auditorium as the Mayor has stated, let them do the work - or show the public those plans so we can see where they are going. I suspect this project is in trouble and that the Mayor again spoke out of turn about a potential developers plans.

Why in the world is the Mayor having the City compete against private business again. The Civic Auditorium is in direct competition with Headliners, an established bar/entertainment venue that has been working the scene for years with their own private funds. The Mayor stole their concert promoter, Rob Croak, and shows previously intended for Headliners are now going to be held in the Civic Auditorium. Nice signal to the business and development community. And what is that sign? - nothing gets in the way of Carty's re-election campaign.

Croak's past wrongs have been documented and he deserves a chance to move beyond those. However, Croak is the person the Mayor contracted with to make the changes to the Civic Auditorium and I find it hard to believe that he is a Licensed Contractor. In the name of expediance and the appearance of actual progress, the Mayor again caused the City to break its own laws.

Lots more to write about the Market and Auditorium at a future date.


Port Authority

July 21, 2008

There are lots of apologists for James Hartung, the embattled leader of the Port Authority. Powerful people of all stripes seem to believe he has done a good job at the Port.

It is hard to tell one way or the other from the outside. The airport seems to be doing poorly with passenger service but pretty well with shipping and that indeed may be the wave of the future for cities in our position - too close to Detroit Metro and other passenger terminals but well suited as a hub of package shipping.

The move toward becoming an intermodal hub is a good idea but the Port seems to behind the curve in this process. 170 years ago when the city of Toledo was founded, it was understood that we had a geographic strategic advantage - we just couldn't get the swamp drained fast enough before other (less well located) cities became established.

In any case, Hartung may be the visionary well-connected leader that Toledo does need. I'm willing to believe our leaders who have kept him there and paid him well - except...

...unless he did have an affair with someone who materially benefited from expenditures made by the Port Authority and then solicit others, such as the City of Toledo, to contract to materially benefit that person as well. That is just plain graft and corruption and he should be prosecuted and fired.

Granted, Carty has been exploitive and hypocritial. The Mayor, I would guess, probably knew this information for quite some time prior to exposing the matter and likely tried to use it to get Hartung to comply with his wishes. The accusations only came to light when Carty was not able to get his way. But there would have been no charges to begin with, in all likelihood, if Hartung had behaved in the proper way.

The affair, if it occured, would have been strictly a personal affair if it had not included the allocation of public funds. The affair with the public funds would make Hartung a tax-payer funded "John", using the contract as leverage for his escapades.

If there was an affair and if there was a contract, no proof of a "quid pro quo" is needed - it is wrong on the very face of it and Hartung should be gone without any compensation, without any doubt. Nice and talented guy who displayed terminally bad judgement.


Konop is wrong again

June 18, 2008

County Commissioner Konop is being a tool... again. Now he wants to create part-time, non-benefit, probably sub-poverty level jobs at County expense and place these people at non-profits. He sees this as job creation and economic development - he is either dillusional or attempting to use tax-payer dollars to buy votes. I guess both.

He hopes everyone at these non-profits will remember him at the next election as the guy who helped out their agency. He further expects the people who get these jobs to look at him as the guy who tried to give them a hand up. At $7.50 an hour these people will be doing janitorial work, mowing lawns, or filing papers.

Tell you what Ben. How about using that money to actually train them for real world careers or to fund start-up companies; companies that hire lawn and cleaning services all by themselves. This is the classic case of give a man a fish versus teach a man to fish.


Youth Movement

May 21, 2008

Periodically there are calls from many quarters for greater participation in civic life of the young upwardly mobile professionals around town. It is claimed that these future leaders need to step up and the old guard need to stand down in the name of progress and for the good of the community. Even the old guard who foist their antiquated views on the community sometimes call for this.

But what has the periodic youth movement given us? Karyn McConnell, Frank Szollosi, Ellen Greychek, Lindsey Webb, and Ben Konop in recent years. Each and everyone one of them has proven to be too inexperienced for the job. Each has shown an overly developed sense of melodrama and self-centeredness - "the job is about me." That some young pols do pretty well, Wade Kap... and Joe McNamara come to mind, is probably due to their having the wisdom to listen to good mentors.

But I'm doubtful that we really want 20 something year olds serving on City Council or as County Commissioner. Let the next generation start by serving on some boards and doing volunteer work. Let's rather find some 40 year olds to run for elected office who have good experience, balance, and have raised children and therefore know to not behave like one.


First Blush Assessment of the Proposed Swan Creek Riverwalk

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Based on news reports in the Toledo Blade, attending the Mayor's press conference, and reviewing the legislation the Mayor has sent to City Council, I must say that, overall, I really like the project. Because the project is limited in scope and the number of property owners is relatively small, it appears to be feasible to do and would be a valuable community asset.



First and foremost, this riverwalk should be viewed primarily as a project for current or future residents of the the neighborhoods that are adjacent to the project area. The project area runs from Collingwood Blvd to the confluence of Swan Creek and the mighty but muddy Maumee River, just about 1.5 miles as the river flows.

The idea that this will be an out-of-town destination is nice but, if that happens, it will merely be icing on the cake. This must primarily serve our urban neighborhoods as an amenity and convenience. Local citizens will use the path for getting where they need to go and for excercise and as a place to shop for daily goods. It will be vitally important to the long term health of the riverwalk to support existing and in-fill housing and mixed-use development in the adjoining neighborhoods, especially the Warehouse District.

My concerns are these -

- What part of the design of the San Antonio Riverwalk was Tetra Tech actually responsible for (as the old saying goes, success as in San Antonio, has many fathers while failure is an orphan)? Water engineering is their specialty; was that their only role in San Antonio? Did they do master planning? Urban planning? Architecture? Do they have experience as overall developer of this type of project?

- The City is offering existing public parks as part of the land sale to Tetra Tech (Boechenstein Park). A public park is different than land that the City merely owns. Is this an overall good policy for the City to engage in? This was done at International Park with overall good results but also with a loss of public use of the park, especially east-siders who had an expectation that it would be an Ottawa Park type facility.

- It is the intention of Tetra Tech as part of their plan to either deed back to the City (or some other entity) the property adjoining the creek OR grant an easement through all of these properties along the creek so that the new riverwalk would be open to the public?

- Over the 1.5 mile length of Swann Creek from Monroe Street to Collingwood, there are 6 bridges and 2 roads that dead-end into the creek. The remaining access to the creek is through private property. What will be the strategy to assure there is plentiful access along the length of the riverwalk?

- There are several properties being offered by the City that are not adjacent or in very close proximity to the riverwalk. These properties are also very valuable assets - specifically the parking lot at Central Union Terminal and the old Federal Building site at Promenade Park. Are these strictly assets to make the project viable for Tetra Tech or is there some associated use to tie these locations into the riverwalk project?

Is there a formal relationship between St. Clair Rubber and the City that St. Clair Rubber properties were included on the "Exhibit B" list? What is that relationship?

Why are several properties listed in both "Exhibit A" and "Exhibit B" lists?

What is the status of the land bounded by Collingwood, the Anthony Wayne Trail, and Swan Creek - the Auditor's website does not list an owner?

There are relatively few owners that Tetra Tech would have to deal with and whether these other entities are brought into the deal or bought out, it appears this project could work in every respect; for the City, for the residents, for the development community.

There are, of course, lots of property deals to be negotiated, political horse-trading to be haggelled over, financing hoops to jump through, and design issues to sweat. The project has been proposed and studied dozens of times over the last 100 years but this is the most momentum and perhaps the best chance to succeed a Swan Creek Riverwalk has ever had.


TARTA's suburban problem

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The move by several local Toledo suburbs to pull out of the TARTA system reveals a real lack of leadership by politicians in those communities and short-sightedness by the residents. At a time when gas prices are soaring and roads, especially in the suburbs, are woefully inadequate to handle traffic volumes, opting out of a regional transit system will prove to be a mistake.

The suburbs, especially the "don't tax me" townships, are not in a position to remedy the problems they face in the future. The current housing finance crisis has shown just how many people are over-extended. As lower property values in sprawl communities cause tax revenues to drop and expenses continue to rise because of energy prices, these suburbs will be in a real revenue crisis. They have most often avoided responsibility in the past but there is a price to pay for living in distant sparsely populated areas.

If you want low taxes, live in a neighborhood with 35' X 140' lots and live in a real urban environments OR... stay out in the township, dig a well and septic tank, and have a fire department that serves as a "basement saver". The problem arises when people want all the services and advantages of living in a town, they just don't want to carry their fair share of the burden, taxes or otherwise. This becomes more difficult and less tenable in tough economic times.

To a certain extent, blocking TARTA service is yet another attempt to block the poor and minorities from moving into these communities. But simultaneously it is restricting the movement of the elderly, teenagers, the handicapped, the health conscious, and those wishing to live a "green" or frugal life.

Soon, due to inflation from the cost of everything becoming more expensive as fuel prices continue to rise, many more from every community, those feeling an economic pinch (hard as it is to admit to that) will be in need of public transportation. And really, it should be available.


Famed architect Predock to give lecture in Toledo

Monday April 7, 2008

To launch the annual 2008 AIA Toledo "Celebration of Architecture" events, distinguished architect Antoine Predock, FAIA will be the keynote speaker for the 2008 AIA Toledo Lecture Series entitled "The Art of Architecture" on April 8, 2008 held in Panther Hall at the Owens Corning World Headquarters. The keynote address starts at 7:00 PM and is open to the public at a cost of ten dollars. University students with a valid student ID can attend the lecture for free.


The Haughton Elevator Site Considered

Wednesday April 2, 2008

While it would appear a good thing that the City of Toledo has finally taken action to encourage or force, if you will, the owners of the old Haughton Elevator manufacturing site to remove the rubble from demolishing the old factory, let's consider a couple things.

First, the owners have a proposal for the site before the City Plan Commission and Toledo City Council this month and are likely looking for incentives from the City and the State. The owners were going to move forward with removing the rubble themselves in order to accommodate Council and prepare the site for the construction season and the City was certainly aware of this.

It seems likely that the Administration, looking for positive spin for themselves, decided to chastize the owners and portray themselves as protecting the neighborhood's interests. In exchange, the developers will get cooperation from the City in garnering various government monies for the project.

Secondly, and not to beat a dead horse, it has now been eight months since the City had the Sports Arena demolished and pulverized and they have yet to remove that debris - it is truely an eyesore but, more importantly, shows the Administration is both hypocritical AND doesn't understand what a drag that kind of image is on economic development.

The City of Toledo should have required the Haughton Elevator site owners to clear the site long ago but didn't. They only pushed the issue once the clean-up was imminent. They should see the importance of clearing the Sports Arena site for marketing and building civic pride and participation but they don't. Dysfunctional government


The current landscape of Toledo

Friday March 18, 2008

March 18 - Have you had enough of the plastic bags with unsolicited newspapers or, worse, advertising circulars accumulating in your driveway and front yard? My neighborhood gets yellow and blue bags; what color are yours.

These bags and contents constitute littering by the people cruising by in their cars and tossing these out their windows. It is one thing if these were newspapers to which people subscribed. It would be another thing if these were delivered in the mail. It would be yet another thing if these were hung on your front door handle. But as it is, they are merely tossed out a window of a moving car and this is just plain littering.

These bags and papers have become a real nuisance and eyesore. Call your city or township representatives and make it clear you want these activities stopped and if necessary prosecuted.

Strickland wants to re-evaluate Ohio rail system

Friday March 7, 2008

Very good news in an AP story from The Blade today. The governor has asked Amtrack to study the viability of bringing back a more extensive passenger rail service network in Ohio.

Not only would rail service help combat higher energy costs and decrease polluting emissions from delivery trucks and passenger vehicles, improved rail lines will contribute to the revitalization of our cities and increase the mobility of the elderly, the poor, and others such as student - how many Toledo kids go to school in or near Dayton, Cincinnati, or Columbus?!

The Governor has shown himself to be a progressive leader. Intermodal transportation links have always been a vital geographic advantage in Ohio and the failure of past administrations to protect that interest is in part why Ohio's economy lags.

This possible new intiative along with alternative energy production research, growth of "new economy" jobs, and strong continueing education programs that help retain important manufacturing jobs will go a long way toward bringing back our State's economic strength.


The Blade endorsement

Thursday February 28, 2008

I am of two minds when it comes to The Toledo Blade.

Five years ago or so, the Blade had a cadre of top flight reporters, writers, and editors across all departments (except, of course, sports which leaned heavily toward Airport Highway - exclude Hack from that comment). A couple dogs existed of course, fritz the weazel comes to mind, but that only made the contrast with the very good journalists more apparent.

The evil twin of this fine group of newsies is/was, of course, the publisher who at least had the good sense to notice things were humming along at the Blade and left the City to pursue more sophisticated possible love interests in Pittsburgh. The publisher's foibles still had to be tolerated occasionally: some coverage, mostly editorials, and other whims that usually are accompanied by either a personal service contract or the lack of a green card.

Two Pulitzer nominations and a management lock-out later, the Blade staff has been decimated by losses and dis-spirited by management. There are some very good people left but their numbers continue to dwindle and replacements are either not coming or are very young.

In this light, the publisher has made his endorsement for President (admittedly, I no longer subscribe to the Blade but I do try to check out the on-line edition and if the content seems worthy, I buy it from a box). That endorsement, for better or worse, is for Obama.

I like Obama; I will vote for him once or twice in the next 9 months. But honestly, the way the publisher has been fauning over Obama and their editorial board meeting has been kind of gross - ala George Castanza and his man crush on Elaine's boyfriends in one Seinfeld episode.

It is not as though the publisher made some difficult decision such as endorsing early or when Obama was behind. No, the readers are ahead of the publisher again and the publisher is merely the clanking weathervane, stating the obvious. And, really, brother Allan Block's half page ad welcoming Obama to Toledo should be counted as a campaign contribution. I haven't seen these two gush quite this much since the photo of them with Jerry Springer at the Kentucky Derby.

The publisher obviously could not wait to get his picture taken with Obama. One can practically hear the strings welling in anticipation and, then, their intellects met and, nirvana. Ironically, however, the publisher, betraying his lack of leadership, courage, and vision, left himself an out claiming this is NOT an endorsement for the general election in November. Might the winds change again or is he lining himself up for another round of glad-handing with Mr. Obama?

For me, The Blade endorsement would have been meaningful or at least insightful if it had been made/written by Tom Walton... or jeez, Roberta, Pollock, Troy, the religion guy, or maybe even MAP.


WI-FI for Toledo

Friday February 22, 2008

The Toledo Blade noted yesterday that the company that had been approached about the contract to install wireless internet service city-wide in Toledo has reneged on their deal with several other cities. These other cities had been told by California based MetroFi that they would get their systems installed for free with, I assume, incomes streams being generated by advertising as part of the frame of the internet screen.

This business model has not proved to be a reliable path to success in the past so it is not surprising that MetriFi is now attempting to get these municipalities to make significant payments to complete systems that are already underway. There are no freebies and the internet is still a nebulous entity - each new technology that is associated with it must figure a plausible economic value.

The point really is this: installing free WI-FI was a very good idea. The problem is setting an unrealistic goal of doing too much for too little. As Tom Walton, former editor at the Blade, pointed out in an editorial the other day regarding other issues, even when the Mayor is right, he gets it wrong, snatching failure from the jaws of success.

The City of Toledo would have been smart to have paid a fair price to have WI-FI installed in several neighborhoods in the near downtown as part of a strategy to support entrepreneurs in business incubator areas around the Central Business District. Wire the Warehouse District, Uptown, and Main Street on the east side. This would assist start-up businesses such as attorneys, artists, IT companies, light manufacturers, and residents in these regenerating neighborhoods.

Installing WI-FI in these defined areas would have been a manageable and affordable project that would have shown the City was serious about developing the neighborhoods around downtown as mixed-use. As part of a larger strategy that directed CIP spending on other infrastructure improvements in these areas and the other financial incentives already available, the City of Toledo could make progress toward the much sought reputation as a "creative-class" friendly environment, set the table for technology jobs, and start to make serious progress on job creation.


1900 map of Toledo

Tuesday February 7, 2008

Interesting map of Toledo from 1900. For scanning purposes the map is presented in a 2 row and 4 column format with generous overlap. In the features section they are posted in a large format to permit the best viewing of detail.




Was it really imperative that the Sports Arena come down? - 6 months on

Tuesday February 5, 2008

The City and the County, perhaps in their desire to once and for all quiet the residents of the east side of the river, rushed in and tore down the old Sports Arena. And then, as if to rub their noses in it, have left the piles of rubble on the site for the east siders and other visitors to look at everyday. Sure, plant flowers, put up fountains, plan round-abouts at entry points to the downtown on the west side of the river - leave the remainders of a beloved institution in heaps along the roadside on the east side. It is kind of like how ancient Rome would put the heads of their enemies on spits along the roadway to remind all of the fate of those who opposed their leaders.



It seems unlikely anything quite so adversarial was intended but it sure reeks of additional benign neglect at least. Nevermind, as previously mentioned, that Toledo suffers from a shortage of available ice rinks and that the administration has considered building a NEW ice rink as part of the Marina project. With no developer in sight (or on site) and the plans evolving in significent ways, what was the hurry?

The elected officials in our area play far more politics with development than in other cities. With deals being made away from public scrutiny, with favors and no-bid contracts being granted, and with the media being obsessed with saving one far off county courthouse while the fabric of their home city disintegrates, it is little wonder that outside developers don't come to Toledo. The unfortunate result is what we have around us now: bad economic conditions, an urban center that can not regenerate, and sprawl on the periphery.


Welcome to City Council

Tuesday January 4, 2008

There were several moments of levity during the January 2, 2008 Toledo City Council meeting but the greatest display of slapstick pratfall humor was the audible gasp that occurred when Lindsay Webb, new Democratic Party District Councilwoman for Point Place, reneged on her promise to vote for Michael Ashford for Council President. This resulted in a tie that allowed the administrative branch of City government to choose the leader for the legislative branch.

Never mind that Ms. Webb voted with three Republicans, an independent, and only one other Democrat (the opposing Council President nominee) or that she voted against six other Democrats. Never mind that she supported a Mayor who regularly shows himself to be out of step with the citizens of Toledo and regularly chides and goads City Council. Never mind that the very independence of City Council was compromised.

Most important is that Ms. Webb didn't have the courage to tell the truth; she lied with her very first vote to her fellow Council Members about who she was going to support. Not surprisingly, she commended herself for making the tough decision; for "showing leadership" - what she really did was show that she can never be trusted. Who knows what pressures were brought to bear but once a politician goes back on their word they are damaged goods. She instantly made herself irrelevant.

Welcome to Council - looks like it will be one and out for yet another member.


Citifest, Erie Street Market, and the Administration

Thursday, December 13, 2007

So, Citifest was unsuccessful at managing the Erie Street Market. They join a long list of failed managers for the City of Toledo owned indoor market.

The Mayor saddled Citifest with the responsibility of running the Erie Street Market without providing them with proper training, staff with expertise in administering a retail market, authority to make changes in the operation and mission needed make the market work, nor the working capital start-up businesses need. In short, the Mayor set Citifest up for failure and in all likelihood did so intentionally to shield himself from the blame; blame he rightly deserves to have placed on his shoulders,

Citifest was not formed to manage retail operations. As their name suggests, the people at Citifest have expertise in running City of Toledo sponsored special events such as parades, concerts, and festivals. This misplaced responsibility is not unusual, however. The Erie Street Market has had a long line of managers ill-suited to the position. Community Development Corporations, city government department heads, and political lackeys have all taken their turn at the helm of the Market and had the same dire results.

None of these organizations or managers have actually had the support or patience from the City to implement the original (and correct) vision for the Market of a true broad range, locally grown, multi-cultural indoor food market. This original vision was developed through much research and countless trips to markets throughout the country.

These markets can and do flourish elsewhere and could very well do so here in Toledo as well. However, this administration suffers from a kind of collective attention deficit disorder. Rather than coordinate programs and budgets and policy to create all of the conditions necessary to make a project successful, they address only one aspect of a problem, throw some money at it, expect it to work, and when it doesn’t it is the staff’s fault.

It is like having a room with four windows. In the middle of winter if all four windows are open and you only close one, you have not solved the problem and turning the thermostat up is not going to help.

The original vision for the market was good but it was quickly corrupted by impatient management. Several of the early vendors were exactly what was envisioned for the market and matched those vendors at successful markets elsewhere. These included small produce farmers, specialty non prepared food retailers such as meat, cheese and fish vendors, and ethnic food operations. When filling all the stalls early on proved difficult, however, the decision was made to allow restaurants, niche prepared food retail, and non-food nick-knack retail. These would have been acceptable as very small operations outside of the main hall and in support of the main market, but placing them inside the Erie Street Market itself ruined the very nature of the operation itself.

It did not help that many of these operations were start-up operations with suburban moms coming in and starting boutique businesses rather than experienced hard-nosed operations that knew what they were doing and were committed to making it a success. The failure to hold the line and ensure the correct mix of vendors has been an important component of the on-going failure at the Erie Street Market.

The City never tapped into additional ethnic food from our diverse neighborhoods. At its location at Erie Street and Nebraska Avenue directly adjacent to the old south end, how did the ESM never get a tortilloria on board. There are a plethora of Mexican markets and bakeries within a mile yet the City and the administrators never reached out to that community.

Additionally, Polish, Hungarian, African, southern, Chinese, and other ethnic foods and ingredients were never available at the ESM. This lack of diversity was debilitating.

Any indoor market relies on a regular group of residents who will use it as their regular shopping venue; tourist shopping is the icing on the cake and can be very profitable but an on-going successful market is based on regular clientele. The Warehouse District has the potential to be a major component of that base for the ESM. Typically, a neighborhood such as the Warehouse District becomes home the to very creative class that enjoys urbanism, a multicultural environment, and the do-it-yourself optimism that would support the vision held for the Erie Street Market.

But many of the projects approved by the City of Toledo in the Warehouse District in the last decade have seriously hindered the development of a dense mixed-use neighborhood. In its place the City has developed a kind of playground for wealthy suburbanites who want to have a Disneyland version of urbanism that they can visit for a few hours a couple times a month but then flee back home to the safety of their suburban McMansion in their SUV.

The projects that have been approved by the City of Toledo have torn down dozens of buildings that once provided the very fabric of what made the Warehouse District so appealing in the first place. The “Any development at any price” mentality has taken a serious toll on the development of the Warehouse District. In the place of the buildings that have been taken down are parking lots and carports, walled apartment communities, and yes, even our sports venues.

It is easy to make the argument against parking lots and suburban apartments in the middle of an urban neighborhood, but many bristle at the thought of questioning the location of 5/3rd Field. Be clear, it is only the specific location of 5/3rd Field that was a mistake in the development of the entire Warehouse District and, by extension, in support of the Erie Street Market.

Be honest, would it have mattered to you (whether you went to the ballpark straight from work downtown or went back home first and came back with friends or family) if the ball park were three blocks to the east near Swan Creek or three block north near Michigan Street – not really in all likelihood. The beautiful new stadium would have been the same major success at any of a number of near downtown locations.

But the difference a different location would have made to the development of the Warehouse District was huge. The placement of 5/3rd Field at its present location required the demolition of 16 buildings, most which were occupied, most of them 80 – 100 years old, all of them in good shape, and all of them important to the redevelopment of a mixed-use residential based neighborhood. The stadium also required the closing of Superior Street which had been the main street connecting downtown with the Warehouse District

Successful urban neighborhoods are characterized by small block size and the human scale of their architecture and the year-long buzz of street life. The stadium created a “superblock” which has limited activity; when it is busy it is very busy, but it is mostly beautifully silent. The architecture is generally very nice but on a cold rainy day, the Huron Street and Washington Street facades offer little to the residents of an urban neighborhood.

Additional issues that link in to and support the basic discussion of helping ensure the success of the Erie Street include investment in infrastructure, transportation, and strategies to keep jobs in the downtown. These concepts all work in concert if there is an over-arching policy and plan rather than a piece-meal, finger to the wind mentality. Integrating all of these components will be the only way to stop the musical chairs of managers at the ESM and allow it to be a public institution that adds to the quality of life and economic health of the City.


Debate about the structure of the Toledo City Council

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

The current discussion about reconfiguring Toledo City Council and reducing the salary of the Mayor is politically motivated retribution, theater, and maneuvering.

“Retribution” in that the Mayor, in a tit for tat exchange with several Councilmen, forwarded this proposal in order to put these Members in jeopardy. Joe McNamara, particularly, and other Council Members are the flies that have been buzzing around Carty’s head. This new proposal for Council realignment is the newspaper intended to swat them away.

It has been “theater” in that the savings proposed from both the Mayor’s reduction in salary and the reduction in the number of Members of Council is a trifling in relation to the total budget and the associated shortages – this melodrama is a gaudy gesture to the voters declaring “I am fiscally responsible.”.

Finally, it is “maneuvering” in that the Mayor wants to make “his” office less attractive to potential rivals by cutting the salary. Most people who would seriously run for Mayor and, frankly, be seriously qualified for the office, have higher income potential than what being Mayor pays. By reducing the salary, potential candidates with mortgages and perhaps children in college might think twice about running.

The voters should not fall for this ploy. We need a very highly qualified Chief Executive for the City of Toledo and should be prepared to pay a decent and fair price for that person. But perhaps the citizens should rethink the composition of Toledo City Council.

Here is my proposal:

Make Council a nine (9) member body each elected by district. With nine members, an odd number, City Council is less likely to have a tie. The Mayor, the head of the administrative branch of City government, would NOT be given the tie-breaking vote in City Council, the legislative branch of City government. The Mayor has this vote under the current system. This unnecessarily bogs down the legislative process and the Mayor should not have both a vote and a veto.

Council should be elected by district because, under the current system of mixed district and at-large Council Members, people in wealthy neighborhoods tend to be over represented and poor neighborhoods tend to be under-represented. The at-large Members, tend to disproportionally represent wealthy, non-minority communities. Wealthy suburbanites have greater personal wealth to fund their campaigns and tend to have similar friends, business connections, and neighbors who contribute as well.

Given that campaigns are as much about connections as they are about ideas, candidates from disadvantaged neighborhoods tend not to be able to compete City-wide in this type of system. This tends to skew Toledo City Council away from the democratic principle of “one person one vote.”

Another result of the current system has been very different job descriptions for the two types of Members of City Council. The “District” Members spend a significant amount of time performing constituent service that “At-Large” Members are generally spared. By making everyone “District” Members, that constituent workload gets dispersed among more people – this provides better service for the community and gives all Members of Council equal responsibilities.

Council should, however, be recognized for what it is, a part-time job. Council Members have one full Council meeting a week (alternating between the regular Toledo City Council meeting and, on alternate weeks, the “Agenda Review” meeting were most of the serious work is done outside of public view). On most weeks, Council Members only have 1 or 2 other Council subcommittee meetings per week. Add in several hours of research and taking care of constituents concerns and on the average week, Toledo City Council Members should only need 18 – 24 per week. The actual work-load for Council Members is not heavy enough to justify full-time status.

On top of this, each Member of Toledo City Council has a part-time employee working directly for them, doing research, providing constituent service, writing reports. The usefulness of these positions should be studied by the Clerk’s office to determine their effectiveness and continued need.

Further, we should not be paying City Council Members for the time they spend running for office. Many press conferences, public appearances, and much research time are actually Council Members campaigning.

The $27,500 that Toledo City Council Members get is too little to pay for a full-time job and too much to pay for a part-time job. Further, reducing the pay for City Council Members and the number of hours they are expected to work will make it more likely that Council persons are neighborhood activists and advocates rather than people posturing for their next higher elected office. I would set the half-time pay at $18 – 20,000.

On the other hand, the professional staff at the Clerk of Council’s office should be fully staffed. These are the people who do the heavy lifting - independent research, conferring with the administration, constituent service work, compliance, and writing – that makes for sound legislative policy and smooth running City operations. This office has run 2 or 3 person short for several years and at times it can not help but show the effects of that.

The City of Toledo has too many politicians right now and not enough trained staff and neighborhood advocates. For perhaps the wrong reasons, the Mayor may be right that it is time to change City Council around.





Sunshine come on back
another day,
I promise you I'll be singin'
This old world
she's gonna turn around
brand new bells'll be ringin'

from "Sunshine" by Jonathan Edwards


In Brief...

Keith's website

August 25 - Former Representative Jim Leach, a Republican from Iowa, delivered a brilliant speech in support of Barrack Obama last evening at the Democratic National Convention. Mr. Leach had always been a very principled, independent, and intellectual voice during his many years in Congress. It is not surprising that he would rise up against the incompetence of the Bush administration in support of Obama and, really, in support of what the old loyal opposition of the Republican Party once stood for.

Full text of the speech is HERE.

August 24 - Funny watching the McCain campaign insert themselves in Democratic Party politics by questioning why Biden got the VP slot over Hillary. They have sent failed HP CEO Carly Fiorina out to be their pitbull and attempt to call out Dems for rejecting a woman as VP. The neo-con Bushies who have joined the McCain campaign, are terrific fear and hate-mongers... but not so good at actually running government or following the Constitution. They would be disasterous on women's issues. I suspect Hillary will make a strong case to her base of the importance of electing Obama and will be a tireless campaigner from here out.

August 4 - I have noticed a plethera of new books about the history of Toledo. Most are primarily pictorial rather than first person accounts or serious research documents. This leads to a couple possible concerns. It seems these books are being put out by employees or close associates of the Toledo-Lucas County Library staff - are these employees benefitting privately from the holdings of the Public Library; are the materials in our archive safe and secure in the hands of those in charge of over-seeing them and; are the rules for the use of these materials well established and followed by staff. I periodically see photos on eBay that appear to come out of the TLCPL collection and I'm concerned for the documents of our collective history.

July 21 - The provision to require union workers be employed to build the Marina District was rescinded and correctly so. Frank Sz (Mr. Ready, Fire, Aim himself) has a way of self-destructing that is vaguely humourous. The answer to "living wage" issues needs to be answered in a national if not international context and while unions are an answer to that question, they are not the only answer. Salaries and benefits that strengthen the middle class are a paramount concern but an isolated application of it at the Marina District would prove the financial ruin of the project and further hinder Toledo's economic situation.

June 16 - Since the City of Toledo redesigned its web-site last year, it has been unbearably slow for those that use dial-up internet services. Sure most people in Toledo have high speed internet but a good number of people do not. It would seem to me that it would be incumbent upon the City to ensure that all citizens can reasonably access City information. This should include the poor and the disadvantaged, groups who are most likely to use dial-up. Look how simple google's website is, how effeciently it operates, and yet how much information it can access: that should be the City's goal. Simplify the site and improve access.

March 7 - Toledo Public Schools got it right and appointed Bob Vasquez to fill the vacancy - a hard-working no non-sense community minded guy. Fischer had to vote against it, of course. When Terry Glazer was the burr under the saddle of the School Board at least it was based on sound and principled reasons. Fischer is just obstinent for her own ego's sake.

august 5 - Just when you thought it could not get less pedestrian friendly Westgate Village Shopping Center did (more).

august 3 - The City of Toledo should have already changed traffic patterns around downtown to alleviate traffic problems during construction on the arena (more).