Sometimes you have to wonder whether Plain Dealer editors read their newspaper. Now at times I can’t blame them for that, however, it might come in handy at times, too.

Sunday, the PD again helped Tim Hagan and his two buddy Cuyahoga County commissioners sound the “we’re out of money again” cry and offer as a solution another buyout. Just as the one Hagan took (retired & ran and re-elected) and now is back on the job pulling down a full salary.

Here's today's Summer's Bliss List.  I have to say this for the PD: Karen R. Long is a goddess!
Cleveland Public Library carries all the titles, so please find these great reads in a library or a locally-owned bookstore such as Visible Voice (west)  and Mac's Backs (east).

I was thrilled to receive news today that one of my favorite NEO artists, Pamela Dodds, a REALNEO artist of the Day, has been awarded a $25,000 Individual Support Grant from the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation. The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation was established by American artist Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974) and his wife Esther.  The foundation provides large grants to ‘serious, fully-committed artists,' ‘regardless of their level of commercial success.'  This year the foundation received 482 applications from which twelve artists were selected to receive awards. I'm proud to say Evelyn and I have one of Pamela's inspiring and impressive linoleum cut prints in our collection... "Drift", above... perhaps it is time for more area collectors to seek out her work... website here!

When people wonder what is the value of a local daily newspaper, I must point to the story of Shaw High School Band, which was invited to China to perform but could not afford to do that. The Plain Dealer article "Bang a Drum, Proudly", by Connie Schulz, raised enough attention and funding to get them there, from where they just returned in triumph (nicely covered in the PD here, today)... a $500,000 whirlwind phenomenon all occurring in less than 6 months!

Now that my family has land that we may use for a while, we are growing our own food... and enough for many other families, it seems. One $1.07 packet of radish seeds planted in May is already many pounds of crisp, bright, beautiful, healthy fresh veggies... and eating my first fresh radish of my life taught me radishes are actually delicious. Same for Kale, and all the varieties of lettuce covering our farmland... really fresh pesto is to die for... can't wait for the carrots and shallots!

I never fell into the category of teen drawn to goth and vampires, but now I understand the attraction. I just finished Twilight by Stephenie Meyers.  It has become the de rigeur rite-of-passage book for the current generation of humans.

I love art, and much in the Cleveland Museum's collection, and the old and newish CMA, but I am not convinced the current reengineering of the museum is economically positive for the region, and I am very displeased with their new slogan "art is back" as shallow and disrespectful to the real NEO arts community, which has never left. The museum needs to better explore its identity and role here, as so many arts organizations, our population and economy transition, and the CMA takes a proportionately larger share of the arts funding pie. If CMA is spending $100s millions constructing new edifices for old mold and cobwebs, I will be very disappointed. I'm waiting to see Rub put his shine on anything, other than proclaiming art is back in a place it never left. What do you think... did art leave?

Under Mike White's administration, Abram's Creek in the Rocky River watershed was buried to make way for the expansion of Hopkin's Airport.  Fourteen million dollars in mitigation funding was allocated to restore the Doan Brook watershed.  What happened to the money?

Is REALNEO safe for lurkers?

Identity is a crucial part of social software systems, but it can (and should) take time for an identity to reveal itself. Certainly, you can be invited to join an existing community by a friend—and that’s something we specifically designed for—but, even then, when you start to reach out from your “safety blanket,” your own identity comes to the fore. What do you do when you first hear of a new site to visit? I don’t know about you, but generally I’ll head on over and perhaps even sign up. As I poke around, I’m essentially anonymous. I have no ties to anyone or anything, and am free to move about without any recognition. This anonymity is important. It allows a new visitor to look around and get a feel for the place, and choose when and how to get started.

-- George Oates, Community: From Little Things, Big Things Grow (A List Apart)

How are we encouraging the lurkers to ditch their safety blanket and begin to participate?

UDAG HEAVEN FOR JACOBS, RATNERS

Will Cleveland Council members let Mayor Frank Jackson, Chris Warren and developers steal away UDAG repayments in the millions of dollars from depressed, declining and diminishing neighborhoods?

Leave it to Cleveland politicos--if there is a way to sell sewage, they will do it, and call it GREEN.

Take a close look at the Denison Proposal in Ward 15.  Could the PD make an attempt--just try--to look up the history of Neighborhood Revitalization Partners and subsidized senior housing projects in Toledo and in Akron.  Ten years ago.  Same old tricks.
 

We all know that taxpayers were very, very generous to the owners of Major League sports teams in Cleveland. It has cost Cuyahoga County taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars since the 1990s.

What we don’t realize is that the subsidization continues for hundreds of ball games in Progressive Field and Quicken Loan Arena each year. The subsidization also suggests that city taxpayers in their neighborhoods are being deprived of services as the wealthy sports team owners are provided with the safety force protection.

It’s been quiet on the medical mart & convention center front of late. However, no news may not be good news.

Wonder why it’s so quiet since the Cuyahoga County Commission voted (privately) to pass a $40 million a year tax to go, go, go.

I don’t know about you but I live in Cleveland Heights and when I pick up my morning paper I’m interested in Cleveland, not Columbus, not Cincinnati, not Toledo, not Akron and not Dayton. But Cleveland.

by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 06.22.08

It’s always difficult to talk critically about the dead, especially the recent dead.

However, the incredible outpouring of glowing tributes by the news media over the sad death of Tim Russert forced everyone to genuflect to a media celebrity and ignore all faults.

So it’s up to someone as Alexander Cockburn in his Nation column “Beat the Devil” to bring some reason to the Russert sanctification by his fellow journalists.

Cockburn starts with “The delirium in the press at Tim Russert’s passing has been strange. As a broadcaster he was not much better than the average, which is saying very little. He could be a sharp questioner, but not when it really counted and when courage was required.”

With all the adulation, I think Cockburn brings some reality to the elevation of Russert to journalistic sainthood.His full column can be found here: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080707/cockburn

Improvising Schema got photos of the destruction of a modern landmark this morning. I commented there, so if this "not identifiable" blogger posts the comment, you will be able to see my response.

Here is a good account of the alternative newspaper sale from John Ettorre on Working with Words. It helps fill out the details of the story:

Two people reported to be HEK and MAK were reportedly arrested, May 30th, 2008. Jeff Buster and I have had a great interest in the work known all around NEO as HEK, and we both seem to wonder if there is really anyone to "arrest" as HEK, for HEK, as HEK seems the identity of many... the voice of many... and is today's Art of the Day.