Those are some fantastic goals for the new year. We talk about a lot of stuff here, but topics like lead poisoning are really serious and need to be addressed (get educated, people: we're raising generations of kids in this city that are going to be challenged far  beyond their economic conditions by problems like lead poisoning).

That said, I would also like to see a more subtler goal make some progress this year: aesthetic. We are building a very ugly world solely for the sake of practicality and economics.  We go to gigantic, grey-painted box-stores with only a faint notion that it is an ugly place. Look around a little, form some opinions on what is really beautiful in this world and WHY.  We are visceral people and the physical conditions we surround ourselves in affect our psychological condition. Over the long-term, people don't want to linger in places that are ugly. This aesthetic applies to everything: from architecture to web design. Think about it.

Thanks for asking- "What are some things you are working on that you'd like to share - perhaps interest the support of others...?"

Here are my Top-5 Civic Interest Goals, that I would like to follow up on this year, and hopefully get some support from fellow citizens and our public officials:

1) Get Mayor Jackson to revisit Mayor Campbell's "Cleveland Lakefront Plan" to build upon the positive aspects of the plan and remove the negative aspects.  The most hideous, costly and unnecessary part of that plan is relocating the Port Authority west of the river, to the breakwall and Whiskey Island.  Building a new 100-acre port facility for $600 million on the breakwall, a quarter-mile out on the lake, is unsightly and unacceptable.

2) Get ODOT to reconsider the Southern Bridge Alignment Alternative for the Innerbelt Bridge.  The bottom line is that this is one of the most costly  public projects in the history of Northeast Ohio.  The final alignment selection will have tremendous economic and aesthetic impact- either good or bad.  To make logical decisions, we need more information on both the North and South bridge alternatives.

3) Get public access to the historic Cleveland Harbor Coast Guard Station on Whiskey Island.  This Cleveland Landmark has nearly fallen into disrepair under the watch of the City of Cleveland.  With the city's help we need to get this landmark "minimally repaired" (properly boarded up) and get safe access on the pier to where our American Heritage River greets our Great Lake.

4) Find a home for the historic Hulett Ore Unloaders and resurrect them.  The Huletts are another Cleveland Landmark on Whiskey Island and Cleveland's Industrial icon. The Port Authority's agreement to store them for five years expired one year ago.   It commissioned an engineering study on the feasibility  of relocating the Huletts and how much they can get for scrap.

5) Get the Port Authority to reinstate its mandate to conduct public hearings for its future land use development plans.  In April 2001, the Port sucessfully lobbied the state legislators to repeal the sections of the Ohio Revised Code  that mandated public hearings for its future development plans.  In 2002, with pressure from local public officials, the Port added those sections to its local Rules and Regulations.   Last year, the Port Authority deleted those sections.  Once again, the Port is completely unaccountable to the taxpaying public that support them.  Now, the Port does not have to  explain any future development project or gather public comments.  That would include relocating to the west breakwall for $600 million.