Does it make sense for a school district to abandon buildings, defer maintenance on all,  demolish and rebuild some buildings at enormous cost, when the district is strapped for operational funding? 

Well, that is what CMSD continues to do.  Is that Sustainable Cleveland?

I was reviewing emails from last week and read, from the EPA, "EPA Proposes Tightening Standards for Lead-Safe Renovation Practices and Lead Paint Dust to Protect Children", which reports "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is marking National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week by announcing several actions the agency proposes to take to prevent lead poisoning."

Do you remember hearing anything in Northeast Ohio about last week being National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week? 

The Social Sciences Department of the Cleveland Public Library is facilitating a non-fiction book club.  Our discussion will be Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 12:00 PM in the Social Sciences Department.  We will discuss the book entitled, "Sex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation," by Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham. 

Confessions of a bibliophile:  I read the Plain Dealer every Sunday for the book section and I am so grateful that the Plain Dealer understands the extreme regional importance of the BOOK.

Follow Karen Long here and please note that the PD has twitterized their site for the readers, so you will have to register to become a follower :)

I'm pleased to see a candidate for East Cleveland City Council has joined REALNEO... finally, someone to talk with about politics on the East Side. Welcome, Ephraim Abdullah, Candidate For East Cleveland City Council, Ward 3 - Tell Us Your Vision.

I have noticed, in the reader comments at Cleveland.com to their coverage about the great "Crisis at FirstEnergy" Lightbulb rip-off scheme, that many people in Northeast Ohio don't quite grasp this is an example of extreme monopoly corporate corruption of government - big, bad corporation using corrupt lawyers, lobbyists and politicians to steal $ millions from hard working citizens. That is not the work of Tree Huggers. Yet, the tone of Plain Dealer readers is to shoot the environmentalists, and Obama.

I realize there are many people of NEO who will blame even the worse corporate corruption, like this, on the most innocent people, like environmentalists, and have wondered why.

Over the past four years, since I became involved with the Greater Cleveland Lead Advisory Council, I have been astounded by the lack of concern about childhood lead poisoning among our largely DINK and empty-nested, baby-boomed, sprawled, childhood-lead-poisoned suburbanite sustainabilly Illuminati, who view today's lead poisoning issue as a poor, urban, peeling-paint code enforcement problem of little societal importance, other than proof the poor are pigs. They think old, suburban farts are not harmed by lead poisoning, and lead is not of long-term interest to them.

If we are going to have zoos and aquariums at all, we should use them for more than entertaining the masses... like for real education, including for enhancing real early childhood development, including having a preschool at the zoo! Sound too innovative for NEO? Yes... this is in Real NWO... Toledo, Ohio...

a Plum Academy Forum Tuesdays October 6, 13 & 20 6:30pm | SPACES Gallery | 2220 Superior Viaduct | Cleveland, OH 44113 | Phone: 2166212314 | Email: info [at] spacesgallery [dot] org

Series Theme: Engineering & Technology: Growing Your Own Best Workforce

Speaker: Dr. Roy A. Church, President, Lorain County Community College
Title: Specialized Talent Development for the Technology Industry: The Role of the Two-Year College

Registration begins at 7:00 a.m. Earn 1 Continuing Professional Development hour.

Program Sponsorships available.

Location

Severe Particulate Matter 2.5 Hourly Reading in Cleveland at 8:00 AM on 09/23/09 - see current here

There is clear evidence the leadership of Northeast Ohio has failed to create an environment encouraging world-class monitoring, analysis, research, notification and controls of pollution created in our region of Ohio, and the consequences on residents and society. As a result, the people of this region have suffered significant health consequences, including early death, and impaired learning ability, crippling our schools and workforce, and society and the regional economy have suffered greatly. As much of our pollution is exported beyond our region, our failure to be world-class addressing pollution here causes harm world-wide.

The Social Sciences Department of the Cleveland Public Library is facilitating a non-fiction book club.  Our discussion will be held on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 12:00 PM in the Social Sciences Department.  We will discuss the book entitled, "A Rip in Heaven: a Memoir of Murder and its Aftermath," by Jeanine Cummins.  This intimate memoir tells of one family's immediate and widely publicized story of surviving a shocking crime and suffering in the

It recently came to my attention that one of the most serious sources of pollution in Cuyahoga County is literally in my back yard. Less than two kilometers upwind from my home are the coal and natural gas fired external boilers at the power plant shown above, at University Hospitals, operated by Medical Center Company (MCCo), polluting the surrounding neighborhoods since the 1930s.

For the 30+ years of my life spent in Northeast Ohio, in childhood and as an adult, University Circle has been at the center of my universe. What Place is at the Center of Your Universe?

Thanks to REALNEO's lmcshane for pointing out one of the most interesting developments in the American "sustainability movement" ever - what appears to be Chicago's real news source, The Chicago Reader, broke the news, September 4, 2009, that "The Green Mayor's Green Policy Maker Leaves for Vancouver". This is the story of former Cleveland and Chicago area sustainability guru Sadhu Johnston, now set to become the deputy city manager of Vancouver.

The Real Coop Local Food and Info proposal submitted to Cuyahoga County, for new economic and workforce development in Northeast Ohio, is designed to create 1,000s of new jobs in Northeast Ohio in career fields as diverse as journalism, communications, engineering, building trades, farming, food processing, warehousing and transportation.

 The Whitehouse.gov website has provided an advance copy of the prepared remarks of President Obama's Back to School speech, which has some parents in an uproar. I embedded the player for the speech below, and will put it in our calendar...

Location

The Social Sciences Department of the Cleveland Public Library is facilitating a non-fiction book club.  Our discussion will be held on Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 12:00 PM in the Social Sciences Department.  We will discuss the book entitled, "Teacher Man," by Frank McCourt.  Frank McCourt's critically acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller is about how his 20-year teaching career in the public schools of New York City shaped his

Drove by William Rainey Harper School on Cleveland's near west side. 

Looks like planned abandonment is the agenda for this school, too.  Along with the Cleveland School of the Arts, John Marshall and other local landmarks. 

Is anyone herein aware of the HUMANWARE TASK FORCE with the CMSD? 

The Cleveland Public Library is sponsoring an Adult College Fair on Tuesday, August 4, 2009 (11 AM to 2 PM) in conjunction with the Cleveland Area College Consortium. The focus of this fair is to promote educational opportunities for adults interested in furthering their education or retooling their career. There will be sixteen area college and university representatives available to answer any questions. This event is free and open to the public. No appointment is necessary!

Dear REAL NEO,

I had an idea to start a scholarship fund in Ward 14 for graduates of Lincoln West High School, honoring Rocco Olivero.  I wrote up all the concepts from my experience to motivate and promote civic involvement and inspire community service from our local students.