Submitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 07/19/2010 - 13:40.
C'harm'ing Little Italy Double for rent - free cancer brought to you by MCCO, Green City Blue Lake Institute University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University and 20 other great non-profits
As shall be made abundantly clear before August 10, 2010, when "EPA Hosting Public Hearing to Discuss Citizen Concerns Over MCCO University Circle Coal Powerplant Permit Renewal", over 20 major University Circle institutions including Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals and the Cleveland Natural History Museum - home of the "sustainability"-oriented "Green City Blue Lake Institute" - are connected to utility services provided by the Medical Center Company, which burns coal in the heart of a residential community of University Circle, bordering East Cleveland, Cleveland Heights and the Little Italy neighborhood of Cleveland. Burning coal causes pollution that kills people and the MCCO coal plant is very old and very dirty - one of the most polluting point sources in Ohio.
It should not have taken the trail of Dan Burns to conclude that the oversight at the Cleveland school district is insufficient. The major gap in the plans of the District is the lack of any objective and transparent review of the ways in which the management and governance of the District impact on schools, teaching, and community engagement.
Without these the case for what is spun as a transformation plan is weak. Anyone who has attended Board and other District meetings, read the documents, and tried to learn how the District makes decisions, has experienced warning sign after warning sign that the District isn’t yet ready to transform itself. We are in the midst of a more expensive and ambitious version of what we have seen before.
Years of governance and management dysfunction are poorly accounted for and decision makers have little grasp of their own contributions to the extreme disengagement of the District from the families and neighborhoods served.
Depending on how you read the tea leaves, support for some sort of marijuana legalization might be at an all-time high among Americans.
The results of an Associated Press/CNBC poll released in April showed 55 percent of Americans opposed an end to prohibition. But when those polled were asked to compare the hypothetical regulation of marijuana to that of alcohol, 56 percent said marijuana regulation should be the same or less strict than the regulation of alcohol.
In Ohio, Democrat State Rep. Kenny Yuko of Richmond Heights, a Cleveland suburb, recently introduced House Bill 478, which would legalize the use, growth and dispensing of medical marijuana for persons suffering from debilitating conditions including cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease.
“This is a very easy remedy for therapeutic relief,” Yuko says.
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 06/16/2010 - 11:32.
On June 3, 2010, I reported on realNEO "our air around Northeast Ohio has been unhealthy by most standards every day for the past week, and is never nearly healthy enough" and asked "why the hell was air quality in Cleveland and so Northeast Ohio, the region, the state and the world so "UNHEALTHY" last night, while we slept, and why is it so unhealthy RIGHT NOW - and HOW UNHEALTHY really, where, as indicated above?"
The diagrams above and below are actually from today - June 16, 2010 - two weeks later. In checking the same pollution monitoring service of NOACA to see current pollution conditions, I find our regional pollution control house of cards has completely collapsed, with NOACA "near real time" pollution monitoring systems (which should be data driven and perfect) still reporting we had "SEVERE" levels of MP2.5 pollution in Northeast Ohio over the past 24 hours (see line and rose charts at bottom of diagram below) - for many hours reading over 300, leading up to these charts - yet NOACA posting an "OFFICIAL" explanation that "NOTICE: The PM2.5 monitors are experiencing difficulty this week. Data shown is incorrect. Local air agencies are working with the monitors. In addition, high humidity is being reflected. We appreciate your patience."
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 06/14/2010 - 14:45.
A short virtual tour of Middlebury College's biomass plant, which opened in January 2009.
In exploring alternative fuel sources for the many coal burning powerplants in Ohio, biomass is an obvious alternative. Our bright green proposal is to make hemp biomass the center of a bright new economy in this state. Below is how one great university has used wood biomass (as UNC plans) to move to carbon neutrality and the forefront of bright, green college leadership. But, they don't use hemp... no university does, yet...
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Thu, 06/03/2010 - 13:54.
Why do I hate the leadership of OHIO?!?!?!
Why the hell was air quality in Cleveland and so Northeast Ohio, the region, the state and the world so "UNHEALTHY" last night, while we slept, and why is it so unhealthy RIGHT NOW - and HOW UNHEALTHY really, where, as indicated above?
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 19:08.
Geneva, May 21, 2010 - PR/2010/643
On the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) on May 22, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry underlined the Organization’s commitment to ensuring that the intellectual property (IP) system plays a positive role in safeguarding biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components and the sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
WIPO is an active participant in international discussions relating to the Convention on Biological Diversity. WIPO’s program on traditional knowledge, genetic resources and traditional cultural expressions aims to empower states and indigenous and local communities to negotiate a fair share of benefits derived from the exploitation of biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge. Upon request from member states, WIPO undertakes a wide range of capacity-strengthening activities to support this.
Submitted by Keith Winston on Mon, 05/10/2010 - 18:51.
Today I walked through one of the most exciting plants in the Collinwood community. and I learned that this plant is for health, and I saw some of the most interesting things. And seeing the product that this company produce is incredible. This company is producing something that is good for us all, and also trying to create jobs for the community, and as needed how cool is that.
A group of clean energy activists braved the cold rain Tuesday to hear a leading climatologist make his case against coal.
Speaking in front of UNC’s Cogeneration Facility, a power plant a half-mile from campus that burns coal and natural gas, Columbia University professor James Hansen challenged all universities to eliminate coal use and push for clean energy.
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 05/03/2010 - 19:28.
Friends of Charlie Mosbrook (seems nearly everyone in Cleveland) have been concerned for his sudden health issues this year, and gladdened to see him back up, around, and performing stronger than ever. Featured above is a video from Charlie's website - inspiring, as is all his work - and he has many events upcoming - two in Lakewood may interested realNEO readers (we have lots of traffic in Lakewood)...
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sat, 05/01/2010 - 13:43.
I received an email with breaking news and these photographs from a realNEO field reporter - I'll let her file her story later...
Norm. I shot a few pics in the last 30 mins of marchers as they marched from clark down Fulton. Their chant: "If you are not Native American, you are an immigrant. Boycott AZ. Because I am Latino does not make me illegal. Because I am an alien, I am not unworthy"!
Can you post it for me if you think that it looks ok?
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Fri, 04/30/2010 - 22:25.
I was watching the Pere Ubu "We Have The Technology" video over and over today and I was thinking why doesn't everyone in NEO appreciate David Thomas like they appreciate LeBron James. Not in tennis shoe sponsorships, but with pride and celebration. Do area residents realize the king of ubu projex is from Cleveland and still makes this his home court? Very few places in the world may make such an important claim to modern cultural significance, and David Thomas is in his prime.
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Thu, 04/29/2010 - 14:24.
Whether you care about childhood lead poisoning or not, I think you'll be interested by important insight on Lead, Diabetes, Hypertension, and Renal Function that everyone in the world should understand. Think of the cost of this on society - the suffering, reduced quality of life, and lost years for so many people, caused by lead harming kidney function. Here's the intro and abstract - you'll need to set up an account on WebMD to read the rest (apparently free - this is not an endorsement of WebMD... I am not a member... I will join to read the rest of this and let you know my thoughts)...
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Thu, 04/29/2010 - 13:58.
While I have never considered Issue 1 - the Third Frontier - offered me direct opportunity, as an Information Technology entrepreneur I do recognize this relatively low-burden, low-exposure state funding offers great opportunities for many other important technology initiatives across Ohio. The results are well documented by the well organized supporters of Issue 1 - see their message posted below - and I certainly expect this will pass by a large majority (if not, I will be shocked). Assuming this passes, I'd like to see changes in the processes for how Third Frontier money is used in the future, as I believe all our processes in the state and region must become brighter and greener. But we can't try to accomplish that without this funding being available for the technology sector. I'll vote for Issue 1, and then become active making sure the money has as great an impact as possible - results so far provide a good foundation. I recommend you do the same... see the official story below:
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Thu, 04/29/2010 - 10:38.
I've been asked what our traffic looks like over time, so I pulled a few quick charts of the number of visitors to realneo since we started using Google Analytics, and what they have visited, to measure performance of this site - and we've grown by pretty much all counts I've considered important by 30-100% since then - in some cases by 1,000s% - in less than a year-and-a-half.
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 04/28/2010 - 10:39.
I just received great news from our friend Max Eternity - very inspiring developments for him in Atlanta, including saving a Breuer (why we all met Max in the first place)... CONGRATUALTIONS AND THANK YOU MAX!!!!!!!!!!!!
Family, Friends and Colleagues:
When I was asked the other day to be interviewed by Architects + Artisans, it caught me by such surprise that all I could do was laugh. You see, in the last several years I've spent so much of my time thinking, talking and writing about others--advocating for various causes--that it had become unfamiliar to actually have someone want to write about who I was, my art, and what I was doing personally.
For a piece entitled "To Write, Paint and Save a Monument", the Editor of A +A, Mike Welton, who has written for The New York Times, Interior Design Magazine and Dwell Magazine, writes in part:
Now that he’s saved Marcel Breuer’s last building from the wrecking ball, Max Eternity has returned his attention to the things that really matter, like painting and publishing.
Submitted by Young Audiences on Wed, 04/28/2010 - 08:06.
04/28/2010 - 09:00
06/01/2010 - 17:00
Etc/GMT-4
Young Audiences is seeking submissions of art to be featured as the cover design for our 2010-2011 Program Guide.
Submission Guidelines
--Entrants must be a student (PreK-12) --Entries must be 8.5” wide x 11” tall --All entries must include the attached entry form --Use any medium you choose (2 dimensions) --Have fun!
Please mail all entries to:
Program Guide Cover Art Contest Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 04/27/2010 - 13:43.
"Kudos on providing a forum for hatred, racism and trolling. Hope you considered this project a "success"" - believelandd. I couldn't say it better myself... this comment by a Cleveland.com reader, posted on Cleveland.com today, condemning the departing "Chief Executive" of the smoke and mirrors PlainDealer/Newhouse's wretched little portal to spam. Hard to calculate anything that has harmed development of the new economy in Cleveland so much in our history... and so The Chief Executive is being universally trashed in departure.
