HUD is unloading vacant homes in the City of Cleveland.  Call your council representative and demand some accounting for the fate of these homes. 

Community Development Corporations (CDCs) are picking up these HUD homes for $100.00 ($1.00?).  The CDCs are evaluating these properties for restoration and demolition.  Most will be demolished quickly and with little recourse.  Demolitions will take place using Community Development Block Grant funds (your money).  Ask who is getting these demolition contracts?

Just wondering if folks could elaborate on the strengths and weaknesses of these open source content management platforms?

http://wordpress.org/

http://drupal.org/

Wordpress has more Facebook fans, so I guess it's the more popular of the two--but is popularity everything?

This book revisits a very difficult time to have to remember in recent history, but the telling is especially important now. The author will speak at Cleveland Public Library, this Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

This building on Euclid is coming down this weekend...another piece of Cleveland history bites the dust.  Craig Bobby calls it a sea of holes...and in the comments Tim Ferris explains why young people give up on this town.

This month's April Cleveland Magazine, for once, features some of the folks that make CLEVELAND...

That's right, folks ... in the CITY, not the region, not the suburbs, but CLEVELAND...great.  One of those people is Mitch Paul of Shaker Cycles.

Yesterday's daily ethical transgression--Lottery Director Dolan's distribution of tickets to a state trooper--was discussed and my sister, the artist, referred me to the work of Mark Lombardi.

It's how conflict of interest makes for slippery slopes.  I hope that I don't offend any of the wrong people by mentioning the reference.

I rode my bike by the Kingdom Come Church of Ministry at 2136 Broadview today.  Joyful voices rang out from behind the closed doors of the tiny old storefront.  The were singing Loves Me Like a Rock.

Coloring my world. I am thinking about the recommendation of neighbor Anthony Green to find the jazz in Cleveland.  He steers me to Jazz28, which, lo and behold, can be found on Cleveland's west side.

I am going to make a bike trek there soon, and in the meantime, the Cleveland Jazz Project motivates me to clean my house on a blue Sunday.

Just a quick review of the Transportation for Liveable Initiatives Communities Plan for Pearl Rd. to be submitted tomorrow on the same day as the fate of Ward 15 is decided by Cleveland City Council, reveals more of the same old sh_t.

Tonight, approximately 200 residents of the Ward 15 neighborhoods of South Hills, Brooklyn Centre and Old Brooklyn took the time to protest the divisive redistricting of Ward 15.

Today, I was fortunate to hear Sandor Katz discuss microorganisms and understanding how communities can determine our overall health.  Sudhir, Jenita, Frank G. and many more were in attendance today, so you will hear many reports.

From Brooklyn Centre artist and musician Darren Hamm..click on image for more details

"Things like this just don't happen in Maryville," Mayor Larry Gulledge said

In the late 1990s, then Mayor Michael White butted heads with developer Richard Jacobs, when it was discovered that Jacobs was the shadow player in the Figgie International development team.

Taxpayers footed the bill for the Harvard Ave. interchange that serves the Chagrin Highlands development, just as the taxpayers also funded the Avon interchange that also benefited Jacob Group. 

A lot of folks will want to further write off downtown Cleveland after the recent violent shootings of two Clinic employees.  The violence can happen anywhere.  It's time that we looked harder at ourselves.

You may not be familiar with Charles Chestnutt, but he was a Cleveland writer who first broke the color line with his popular novel, House Behind the Cedars.  

The war is on.  Bombs away....From Cuyahoga County Planning Commission blog:

Tim Russo noted this first on his blog . Jennifer Brunner has a senate website up and running at www.jenniferbrunner.com. And, the contenders?? Lee Fisher, PLJ? Nada.

Despite corruption and cronyism galore, Ohio does have it's bright and shiny moments of good and brilliant. Here's a way to make history come alive for your kids (from ODOT!) http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D06/Maps/Pages/OhioUndergroundRailroadMapsPage.aspx

We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go.

Shout out to Slavic Village Sandy, who is the voice of NEO. Thanks for the heads up!

Ohio City Near West Development Corporation is launching a new on line publication Ohio City Argus via the Observer news service (with print installments). This is a throw-back to a publication that served the City of Ohio City (yes, before it joined Cleveland after a little war). The previous Ohio City publication is described as Notes: Published on Thursday. "Whiggish in its tendencies but not very partisan."

Last year, my sister and I went to Puerto Rico to find some sun. We had a great time and the weather was perfect. Yesterday, Cleveland had perfect weather, too. It is a matter of luck and how you look at the world. This is Cleveland, too.

 (Heroin addicts lined up for clean syringes in Old San Juan :(

Are the clay tea cups used in India GREEN?

Good afternoon. Today, I delivered the City of Cleveland ’s 2009 operating budget to Cleveland City Council. For the fourth year, I am proposing a balanced budget without layoffs or reductions in service delivery. However, in these hard economic times, I pledge to you that I will remain vigilant and that my Administration will continue to seek efficiencies, reduce cost, increase economic development and raise revenue. Please click here to find out more about this year’s proposed budget.

The City of Cleveland's website got a makeover. What do you make of it?