Imagine if the county had spent that $100 million on lead poison eradication, and now spent the additional $35 million/year in sales tax revenues from the MedCon fund on the same - we would have rehab'd and made safe all our urban and xurban housing stock and neighborhoods, improved education and the workforce, reduced crime, lowered costs for providing most social services and reduced healthcare and incarceration expenses - saved $ billions. But hey, those Shriners sure do drink beer, and the MedMart guarantees the success of the new Cleveland+Strippers Zone in the Flats, so perhaps conventions are the best way to spend taxpayer money?!?!

Why do we do this? Because we were lead poisoned.

Disrupt IT

Laura - Is this book in the Library yet? I think this might need to be required reading for realneo readers. I certainly want to add it to my reading list. Thanks for the heads up Roldo!

Carol joined Ed Hauser, Martha Eakin and me as a consulting party on the ODOT Innerbelt issues. She is brilliant and clearly has done the research on Cleveland, buildings neighborhoods and government. Carol has written extensively on the region; see her books here. Wouldn't it be great if our elected officials included people like Carol, Roldo and David Ellison? People who know the history and could help to untangle the web of corruption that seems to exist here...

Tom Johnson, Mayor of Cleveland from 1901 to 1909, carried on a vigorous campaign against 'Privilege.' His comments on the proper strategy for change are instructive:

"There was a certain river and many human beings were in it, struggling to get to shore. Some succeeded, some were pulled ashore by kind-hearted people on the banks. But many were carried down the stream and drowned. It is no doubt a wise thing; it is noble that under those conditions charitable people devote themselves to helping the victims out of the water. But ... it would be better if some of those kindly people on the shore engaged in rescue work, would go up the stream and find out who was pushing the people in. It is in this way that I would answer those who would ask us to help the poor. Let us help them, that they may at least fight the battle (against) Privilege with more strength and courage; but let us never lose sight of our mission up the river to see who is pushing the people in."

I think that one thing we continue to do here at realneo is to go up stream and find out who is pushing us in. The banks are slippery and rocky however, so I am most appreciative of the guidance given us by those who have been at this longer than we have. Carol, David, the League of Women Voters, Roldo, Ed Hauser are a few. Who are the others? Norm Krumholz? Kathleen Barber? Who else?