blogs

Boating Camp helps more of the region appreciate our Great Lake

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Thu, 08/03/2006 - 10:08.

This week East Cleveland clerk of City Council Mark McClain has a very fun and energetic group of kids from East Cleveland down at Whiskey Island Marina learing water safety and boating in a very cool program Mark leads with local charities.

7GEN Visioning East Cleveland Squared

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 08/02/2006 - 12:19.

The area in the city of East Cleveland and Cleveland that is most certainly blighted is the corner bounded by Euclid Avenue on the North and Lake View Cemetery on the west and south, which is a serious dead end in two ways. One is the lack of flow through of traffic and healthy human activity. The other major issue is that the most remote inner corner of this dead end happens to be in Cleveland, isolated in East Cleveland away from the rest of Cleveland by part of Lakeview Cemetery (it's just east of the gates on Euclid). So this corner does not get good Cleveland police and other services and has deteriorated into a very rundown and unhealthy area - the impact zone extends about four or five blocks east into East Cleveland. At that point, the neighborhood becomes lovely, with large historic homes that tend to be largely well kept. Investment in helping this historic zone really fix up their homes and heighborhood would really pay off for homeowners and the city.

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Server Upgrade Yesterday: Sorry for inconvenience

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 08/01/2006 - 03:19.

You may have noticed REALNEO was off line some Sunday and on Monday, for the first time since we moved to our current server. We apologize for the longer-than-anticipated down time. We literally relocated the physical server where REALNEO and lots of our other sites are served to fasted bandwidth (this is all in California). So now that is done and we should be up and running again for another many years without interruption

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Tom Bier on eminent domain and the definition of "blight"

Submitted by Martha Eakin on Sun, 07/30/2006 - 19:13.

    Given the recent court decision on eminent domain and the upcoming decisions on how to define "blight", CSU professor Tom Bier's testimony on the issues is important reading.  Go to http://www.greaterohio.org/policy/policy.html and click on "testimony".  And while you're there do some other reading.  Clearly the state's policies encourage sprawl.  Sprawl is not good for our air, our land, or our water.  We need a coup in Columbus.

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latin artist does corn art installation

Submitted by Susan Miller on Sun, 07/30/2006 - 15:33.

 

corn art

I just had to share this. It is so cool (to me anyway)...

http://www.martinbonadeo.com.ar/23_chocloen.html

This discovery follows this one made earlier this year:

n/a
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Dave Matthews Band and climate change changes

Submitted by Susan Miller on Sat, 07/29/2006 - 16:54.

My 18 year old, who yesterday learned to make a rain barrel, today turned me on to what one of his favorite band's is doing to lend a hand to the climate change awareness.
http://www.dmband.com/news/view/0c7d1589d4993d6f6263d71c8d1f9f5d The band is buying energy credits for all CO2 emissions for the band's touring activities since 1991. He's not the only corporation who is partnering with these guys.


Native
Energy is a privately held Native American energy company.  In August 2005, the Intertribal Council On Utility Policy (COUP) acquired a majority ownership interest in NativeEnergy on behalf of its member tribes, marking another significant step in the Great Plains tribes’ historic effort to power America with Native wind. Learn more about COUP’s investment in NativeEnergy

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We as society can do much to control the lifelong health of our community members

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sat, 07/29/2006 - 15:00.

There is a very interesting article in the NYTimes on line today observing "one of the most striking shifts in human existence — a change from small, relatively weak and sickly people to humans who are so big and robust that their ancestors seem almost unrecognizable." The lengthy article, found here, concludes: "Today, Mr. Keller says, he is big and healthy, almost despite himself"... "Maybe it was his good fortune to have been born to a healthy mother and to be well fed and vaccinated." "I don’t know if we have as much control as we think we do”.

I find the point of the article is that we as society can do much to control the lifelong health condition of our community members, if we focus on controllable factors like prenatal environment and health care - especially addressing pollution exposure for pregnant women. While leaders and citizens of NEO hate to think and talk seriously about such issues as pollution and our environment (hell, the powerful Ohio coal industry lobby still challenges the finding there is human behavior related global warming),  the NYTimes article cites research that indicates Northeast Ohio is a place where lifelong good health and longevity of life are especially controllable, as we have a most unhealthy environment and so more, higher risk factors than most regions of our country. From the City Mayors website: "Parts or all of 11 Midwest cities (in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin) rank among the 25 worst for year-round particle levels, while six also rank in the 25 worst for short-term particle pollution."

New research from around the world has begun to reveal a picture of humans today that is so different from what it was in the past that scientists say they are startled. Over the past 100 years, says one researcher, Robert W. Fogel of the University of Chicago, humans in the industrialized world have undergone “a form of evolution that is unique not only to humankind, but unique among the 7,000 or so generations of humans who have ever inhabited the earth.”

Personal NEO Excellence Roundtable: Bill MacDermott, Proprietor, Cleveland Solar and Wind

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Fri, 07/28/2006 - 23:26.

I'm very appreciative of REALNEO members who responded to my posting "Recommendations for taking this old house solar, and better...", for responding to my challenge: "Can anyone recommend a short path on how to get solar potential assessment of a property and suggestions for other alternative energy and conservation approaches."

Based on this experience, the region's truest champion of social computing and alternative energy visioning in action is Bill MacDermott, of Cleveland Solar and Wind, who John MacGovern referred to my challenge (thanks again for stepping up, John). At John's suggestion, Bill contacted me by email about the challenge with specific suggestions, and made a point to drive by the properties I may influence to go green, and today met with me and my parents to investigate the potentials at their old Shaker home, show some solar products in action, and educate my family about how solar works in this marketplace and context - I call this a personal NEO Excellence Roundtable and it offers lessons to learn for this community (Bill also added valuable content to REALNEO, directly providing knowledge to the community at large). I'll definitely plan a full NEO Excellence Roundtable for Bill to share his broad expertise more directly with a concerned audience, but here are my observations from our discussion today.

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Proposal for NEO community to develop REALNEO, May Show and Cleveland School

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Fri, 07/28/2006 - 01:43.

I returned to Northeast Ohio, over two years ago, to help drive forward progress with regional economic development and arts and culture, focusing on helping the community leverage free and open source software (FOSS) and social computing to transform how we collaborate, communicate and operate. For nearly 10 years, my belief has been if we, as a region, focus on using the best available information technology (IT) in the most effective ways possible, that will provide us with competitive advantages. My intention for REALNEO has been to demonstrate that purpose.

I am now more certain than ever that is the case, but I have found it personally difficult to bring people together around a collaborative strategy to make that happen. Just as critics of economic development progress in NEO claim the leaders of the economic development space do not collaborate well in some ways, I find they are not open to collaborate on sharing information technology purposes... perhaps from a sense of competitiveness, lack of understanding of next generation IT, lock-in and loyalty to legacy IT solutions and providers, resistance to change, and the unfamiliar purposes and intentions demonstrated by FOSS and social computing.

To address all these challenges, consider an outcome of two fascinating on-line REALNEO discussions with a member in the UK - one on collaboration and the other on NOLA Lessons Learned for NEO - which developed a formula for collaboration that may be applied to this situation and open doors for a remarkable outcome for this community:

collaboration=dialog+inclusion+knowing+intention+purpose

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Call for Artists

Submitted by Susan Miller on Thu, 07/27/2006 - 14:54.

July 27, 2006

In addition to the 52 Weeks 52 Works Desk Calendar, all selected artists will have the opportunity to show their work this January at The Pop Shop Gallery!!!

If you are an artist living and working in Northeast Ohio and you’d like your artwork to be included in 52 Weeks 52 Works, ACT NOW!  In addition to your artwork being included in the 2007 AGC desk calendar 52 weeks 52 works, all artists who are selected will also have the opportunity to show their work at the 52 Weeks 52 Works Artist Art Show sponsored by The Pop Shop Gallery this January! I kindly ask that you please forward and/or distribute this information to any artist(s) you think might be interested in this creative opportunity.

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File for Carl

Submitted by Phillip Williams on Thu, 07/27/2006 - 10:22.

Click here

For the Full version of TinyMCE with all scripts loaded

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More to come soon, from Rocket From The Tombs (and, yes, it was the best)!

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Thu, 07/27/2006 - 00:58.

To Clevelanders who missed RFTT at the Beachland - oops. To Pittsburgh and the rest of the tour, see Rocket From The Tombs... more to post when my ears stop ringing...

 

Check, check, checking out Rocket From The Tombs - a discussion with David Thomas, also of Pere Ubu and Projex Ubu

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 07/26/2006 - 19:51.

 

I was really thrilled to get access to photograph the Rocket From The Tombs show tonight at the Beachland Ballroom (if you are reading this before 10 PM - get over there now and read the rest later) - but when I got a call this afternoon from their publicist Ilka saying if I wanted to drop by the soundcheck at 6:30 to do a quick interview with lead singer and founder of RFTT and Pere Ubu and all sorts of other art music projects that I love, I was exstatically intimidated, as I've seen both RFTT and Pere Ubu (many times) so know in every way David Thomas is larger than life - and his music and words foretell a seriousness and directness that doesn't give the sense this is an easy person to chat with... and I was right. But nothing worthwhile is easy, so I took my chances and Evelyn and I hit the Beachland for the treat of hearing a seminal musical force tune their sound, and then be intimidated by the man Pere Ubu in person... well worth the punch.

The sound check was clearly a challenge - David and band belted through core works to force into submission a sound system ill-prepared for the force of the Rockets, in a room not easily yielding to the range of rock blasting forth. Just hearing these talented artists work through the challenges of honing their sound was a great experience to behold, and with the right adjustments the show is set to rock very hard and loud tonight... more on that later.

That David Thomas would still sit down for 15 minutes, after an exhausting sound check, shows he is not a man to be feared - but he is a massive artistic force with an intellect to be respected, and addressed with great respect - super-smart, precise, articulate, certain of himself and his work - uber-artist I wish I had a better opportunity to learn from and observe in action... I'd follow the tour if I had the time and money - I will follow up with the other band members later to get more persectives on their whole phenomenum as it is all so impactful - this is a rare group of talented masters of their arts and the art of music.

Here are a few quick notes from my discussion today with Thoms, which I'll clean up and fill in more as I have time to think about what we discussed, and after the show that starts up in less than an hour... your your sake, I wish you would be there... I'll share photos and insight as I'm able to grasp what I may.

WHAT ARE CLEVE. FOUND'S WIND OBJECTIVES AND WHO ARE THEY WORKING WITH NOW TOWARDS THEIR GOALS?

Submitted by Jeff Buster on Wed, 07/26/2006 - 13:45.

Nantucket Wind resistance

LET'S LEARN FROM NANTUCKET AND DO WIND TURBINE MANUFACTURING AND USE DEVELOPMENT WITH SINCERE PUBLIC  INVOLVEMENT IN NEO and across all 5 Great Lakes!

 

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Cleveland Foundation President Richard writes: "Region should be a hub of the power business"

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 07/26/2006 - 11:46.

It was terrific to see Cleveland Foundation President Ronn Richard write an opinion column in the Plain Dealer today expressing his vision for developing an alternative energy industry in Northeast Ohio. This has been a topic of considerable discussion in Cleveland for two years, going back to several excellent Tuesdays@REI, back in the day, and more recently wind has become a visible promise on the horizon of Cleveland, with the installation of a turbine in front of the Great Lakes Science Center.

Ronn clarifies below what are his objectives for wind in NEO, which is not just to take as much of the region off the traditional electric grid as possible, but to build alternative energy technologies here, as a workforce and industrial development for the future. There is not doubt that is an excellent strategy with strong support in the region, and absolutely no opposition.

At the end of his column, Ronn writes "We're pressing for a move to advanced energy as an imperative for national security, local economic security and a healthier planet. Won't you join us?... Call Richard Stuebi at the Cleveland Foundation to get involved: 216-685-2011." There is also an opportunity to hear Mr. Stuebi speak at Case tomorrow - see http://realneo.us/SURES-RICHARD-STUEBI.

I took the picture at the top of this posting from Ronn Richard's office at the Cleveland Foundation, several months ago, and he spoke with complete confidence in his ability to make the alternative energy industry a strength of this region, so I am completely confident this will occur - those interested in that outcome should read Ronn's complete column below and follow through on his request - contact the Cleveland Foundation and get involved!

Preview: If you don't Rocket From The Tombs, you don't rock Real NEO

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 07/26/2006 - 05:31.

How would you describe (Rocket From The Tombs) show to someone that has never seen you playing live?

It is truly one of the great rock experiences you will have. We wouldn't bother otherwise. The people in this band do not belong together. Touring with this band has been the most miserable experience of my life. The only reason I do it is because what we do on stage is so satisfyingly hot.

RFTT have been described as one of the godfathers of punk, a kind of a bridge between the Stooges, hard rock and a more arty sound. What's your opinion about that?

RFTT was, in my opinion, not a punk band. We were a logical step along the progression and evolution of rock music. Our roots seem very obvious. People say the music is so angry you must be rebellious. Yeah, I don't know. It seems to me, as I remember it, what we were angry about was ordinariness. The mainstream rock bands who played in all the clubs were SO ordinary and unambitious, were satisfied with so little when there so much that could be done. That's what I remember. That doesn't seem too punk to me. But I'm not a chicken-hawker either.

What kind of reaction from the crowd did you get while touring? Which kind of feedback from your performances?

Audiences were stunned and extremely happy.

 

- David Thomas, of Rocket From The Tombs, Pere Ubu, and Cleveland

 

These quotes, from the liner notes from the 2004 RFTT Rocket Redux release of luminary Cleveland-honed, UK-based David Thomas, founder of globally significant Rocket From The Tombs (RFTT) and Pere Ubu, offer Clevelanders just a hint of what is in store for them tonight, July 26, 2006, at the Beachland Ballroom - the first show of RFTT's 2006 fast-track blast across the USA...in other words:

Cleveland CleanTech Blog

Submitted by johnmcgovern on Tue, 07/25/2006 - 07:04.

In trying to keep up with what's happening in Cleveland regarding the development of green technologies, I've never been able to find anything that tracks it on a local basis. 
Chris Varley at TechFutures  is likely the most prolific local blogger covering cleantech and posts often about the promise of clean/green tech and a bit about the burgeoning and growing movement here in NEO. 

Opportunities to address the gang problem in NEO : Stark county awarded federal monies

Submitted by Sudhir Kade on Tue, 07/25/2006 - 00:41.

Please visit this blog post for comments regarding the current situation with gang violence in our region and steps being taken by local activists and civic organizations to address this threat to the safety and quality of life in our region.

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East Cleveland looking for help with planning RECYCLING!!!

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 07/25/2006 - 00:38.

I had the pleasure of joining a group of East Cleveland residents of Ward 2 (the neighborhood nearest to University Circle), hosted by Ward 2 Councilwoman Barbara Thomas, where she gave citizens the opportunity to discuss their issues and seek insight and solutions - one of the things I love about East Cleveland is this small-town form of government... you need to experience it. One topic was trash, and that led to recycling, and I know realneo members love that! So... who wants to plan some more recycling?

Watershed restoration reaches a critical stage

Submitted by Sudhir Kade on Mon, 07/24/2006 - 23:05.

Putting the pieces together to form a comprehensive GIS map of our region is a formidable task but as i mentioned earlier - very possible with the proper resources, planning, collaboration, and expertise.  The open source proposals for East Cleveland will be exciting opportunities to do this innovatively on a smaller scale with cutting edge technology.  Demonstrating transformational outcomes delivered with a novel approach and toolset could open the eyes of many to the greater opportunities open source provides.

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a social networking future?

Submitted by johnmcgovern on Mon, 07/24/2006 - 22:07.

While researching Lewis Thomas' essay collection entitled "Lives of a Cell", I came across the following article from July 2004 Technology Review.

Conincidence?  I think not.  Lewis Thomas laid the groundwork for much of James Lovelock's "Gaia" philososphy which theorisizes mother earth as massive superorganism seeking homeostasis.

The following article should prove interesting fodder for realNEO/Tribe folks as social networks provide holarchic transfer of knowledge,  thereby enabling a knowledge economy or a spontaneous dodgeball game in the E. 5th alley...

Social Lives of a Cell Phone

New wireless services will maximize your connections to others and minimize your need to plan ahead

Train Avenue/Walworth Run UPDATE

Submitted by johnmcgovern on Mon, 07/24/2006 - 20:21.

The following story appears in the Summer 06 issue of Ohio Canal Corridor's newsletter .

Walworth Run – The Next Branch for the Towpath Trail?

It was back in 1996 when Ohio Canal Corridor led a planning charette in the ClarkMetro neighborhood that looked for a new vision for Train Avenue.  The daylong event was one of a half-dozen plans that were hatched throughout the city.  Others included a new park in Tremont where West 7 Street and West 10 Street merge along Railway Avenue and a park honoring surveyors in the Warehouse District between West 6 Street and West 9 Street/ just south of the Shoreway Ramp.  The exercises culminated in a booklet titled:  Green Spaces/People Places and was a component of the Lila Wallace/ Reader’s Digest funded park initiative under the direction of ParkWorks.

Ohio Canal Corridor immediately afterwards included Train Avenue in its annual RiverSweep program with the intent that this idea of a trail connection to the Towpath would not be lost, but rather that the neighborhood, through its represented Community Development Corporation, would awake to its potential. Thankfully, Clark-Metro has done just that. Last year, they teamed with a number of adjoining CDCs to submit a request to NOACA for funding under its Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative (TLCI) . Though they were unsuccessful, they regrouped and resubmitted again this year and were awarded $64,000 towards a $80,000 study that would explore a trail alignment and provide some estimated construction costs, identify benefits and spin-off development opportunities, and list potential funding sources. NPI contributed $12,000 towards the project and Ohio Canal Corridor (OECA) along with a number of stakeholder CDCs (Clark-Metro, Stockyards Development and Tremont West) have each added $1,000. As it stands, the planning will begin in 2007 and conclude in 2008.  Public input will be required and sought.  If you are interested in this project, please contact Abe Bruckman at Clark-Metro: 216-741-9500.

Additional ideas for Train Ave / Walworth Run can be found at
CSU's Levin College of Urban Affairs

Master of Urban Planning, Design, and Development (MUPDD)
PDD 611 Planning Capstone, Spring 2004
Train Avenue/Walworth Run Corridor

The Course Description contains the following information about Train Ave / Walworth Run

The corridor runs approximately two miles from W. 65th St. eastward to the Cuyahoga River. In the western end, the corridor is located directly to the south of the I-90 interstate; in its eastern third, the corridor study site turns northward toward the Cuyahoga River. Train Ave. is so-named for its proximity to several rail lines that run in the corridor. These railways were placed in the area in the late 19th and early 20th century as the west side neighborhoods of Cleveland developed. The trains were located in a natural ravine, which contained Walworth Run, a small tributary stream that emptied into the Cuyahoga River. Walworth Run was a valley riparian corridor containing several ponds, and drew early settlers, livestock businesses and slaughterhouses. The stream was gradually culverted and eventually buried underground, becoming part of the city's growing sewer system during the early 20th century.