Here’s how honest Jeff Jacobs is.

"O mio babbino caro" - Gianni Schicchi - Puccini - performed by Amy Irvine (August 9, 2009)

Many beautiful worlds collided the evening of Sunday, August 9, 2009, at "OPERA IN THE ITALIAN CULTURAL GARDEN", a free outdoor evening concert of favorite Italian opera classics, beautifully performed by Opera Per Tutti (Opera For All), held in the spectacular Italian Cultural Garden, in one of the greatest public parks in the world, The Cleveland Cultural Gardens, presented by the Italian Cultural Garden Foundation, Northern Ohio Opera League, and the Cleveland Cultural Garden Federation.

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is planning to drop “Transit” from its name. You can tell that because it keeps eliminating transportation for people. In fact, it can change its name to the Greater Cleveland Downtown Pleasing Authority.

How pathetic can you get, Pee Dee?

Read the comment by East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer on the Plain Dealer. He's responding to an article on county reform by the Pee Dee.

It's amusing and informative.  See here: http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/08/entrenched_interests_are_fight.html

Now is the time for those who believe Mayor Frank Jackson isn't the Mayor Cleveland Needs. PREPARE. Not for election 2009 but for the next election in 2013.

RTA has decided to cut the services to the most transit-dependent. Not enough money, they say. Can’t you just accept that? What are you crying about?

This is not a summer reading list but a list of reading for anyone who wants to know more about Cleveland, its people - the good and bad - and its history.

Mayor Michael White almost helped derail tax abatement in the late 1990s when his brutal attacks to portray Cleveland teachers as greedy backfired.

Can this be catching on? Parma Heights turns down a tax abatement request by Tony George, a political connected guy.

While I was sitting behind Food On The Move, at St. Clair and East 140th, where a friend works, I noticed a pear tree in the lot next door, full of rippening pears. While the lot is well tended, and does not appear "vacant", the lone pear tree is the only occupant. And nobody seems to notice it is there, despite its bounty of free food. There are 100s of pears on the tree - in a market, they would be worth $100s. This lot could contain dozens of pear trees - perhaps 100s - producing $10,000s in income for the owners and those who tended them.

Enough! This is how cities should greet greedy, hands-out corporate interests that want to play one off against the other. Home Depot doesn’t deserve welfare.

I was passing by the Park Building on Public Square and Ontario recently and stopped to ask about the new condominiums promoted for the old office building.

The Plain Dealer did an excellent job of displaying and explaining the divisions of the County Reform ballot proposal the newspaper supports. But I’m wondering if “division” isn’t the operating word in its presentation.

How will the 2010 census define our country? Is it time to change the way we census the United States?

You could hear the envy in his voice as he grumbles that when Jeff Johnson walks into a room all eyes moved to him. He takes the air out of the room, said a friendly rival.

 From August 12-14, Mayor Frank G. Jackson will host a three-day summit, bringing together a diverse group of people vested in and dedicated to Cleveland to use their vast knowledge and imagination to create an action plan for building a green economy for Cleveland’s future. This summit will be facilitated by Dr. David Cooperrider of the Fowler Center for Sustainable Value (my teacher, advisor, mentor and friend) at Case Western Reserve University, my alma mater (x2).

Every Sunday the residents of Garden Court play a spirited game of kickball and share dinner al fresco at WC Reed Field in lovely Brooklyn Centre.  People of all shapes, sizes, ages and colors, and ethnic backgrounds.  Not such a hard thing to do.

Editor Susan Goldberg of the Plain Dealer called to say that the attempt to lure resident out of Cleveland by an “over aggressive” salesperson was sent to only one mayor – in Rocky River and has been stopped.

The Plain Dealer should desist and apologize for trying to lure city employees to the suburbs.

Civic corruption comes in many forms. We have been hearing a lot about corruption these days. However, the focus is very narrow. Unnecessarily so.

I believe the actions of "Blackheart Cleveland" as an association and some "members" individually consititute some variation of Cyberterrorism, Cyberstalking, Cyberharassment, and/or Cyberbullying. It appears Blackheart Cleveland exists to disrupt the business of REAL COOP and attack REALNEO members personally, to cause personal and financial harm to members. I believe this is illegal.

The Cuyahoga County Public Library system’s threat to close libraries on Sunday - which they say is its busiest day – makes no sense at all.

Cuyahoga County Commissioners dug themselves a big financial hole by purchasing the Ameritrust property from Dick Jacobs. Now they are getting ready to dig a bigger hole for the Medical Mart.