Okay, on to more important matters - one school of thought contends we can resolve prevailing conditions of racism and bias by simply ignoring them and focusing on the positive core and align best strengths - people, institutions, and organizations have to offer our community. When you try to function as a change agent within networks, the goal is to help manage conflict and help others see new solutions to problems together. So coming together and appreciating one another can be done in a slower way or more rapid way.

A recently-released article in the Boston Herald offers some remarkably similar points to those I made recently on the Cleveland Planning group on Facebook - and have since been deleted - but in the grand scheme of things, this serves the greater good quite well.

Below is a heartfelt appeal to those to reach out with their social networks to demand inclusion of key legislation that would curtail regional and state funded programming and could have many negative consequences as a result.  This particular piece of legislation, still up for debate is the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund.  The importance of this particular element is elucidated here for your perusal. 

It's been quite interesting attending events like the recent Local Foods conversation held at AJ Roccos and coordinated by Josh Klein of CityFresh, among others. Reading through the main tenets of the recent co-proposal of the Land Lab of Kent State's CUDC and Neighborhood Progress, Inc provided a good overall game plan with a systems-oriented lens - certainly an understanding of all of these various systems as part of a greater system comprising our region was heartening to see.

County Commisioner Jimmy Dimora   (photo: www.coolcleveland.com)

The lastest GCLAC Lead Safe Living meeting this past Monday, July 14, at the Lutheran Ministries building on the west side was an informative and particularly timely session, given the imminent arrival of Ohio Lead Awareness Week, July 21-25.  Events have been planned in conjunction with this statewide effort by various collaborators comprising the GCLAC to offer important educational and testing services.  All children 6 and under will receive free lead screenings throughout the week and a special press conference, featuring Mayor Eric Brewer of East Cleveland, (among others) will kick things off.

Back in January of 2007 I first proposed the application of innovative, sustainably powered aquaponics in tandem with organic farming to uplift underprivileged communities and resolve urban blight.  East Cleveland, where we have worked for years now, to facilitate positive change, remains a tremendous opportunity for Urban aquaponics integration, especially given the extraordinary connections falling into place recently toward the Star Neighborhood Vision.  A two-year quest to secure financially viable and socially redeeming use for the old Hough Bakeries building has finally manifested, through trial and tribulation, with the likely emergence of multiple schools at the Star Village, as it is now called, on Lakeview in East Cleveland.  REALNEO and Star Neighborhood Development founder Norm Roulet deserves kudos for perservering through political turbulence and facilitating the key connections to make this work.  

Having recently attended the Greater Cleveland Lead Advisory Council (GCLAC) Annual Meeting, which focused on Challenges and Affordable Solutions in Lead Poisoning and Urban Redevelopment, I feel re-invigorated by the energy and culture of collaboration driven to rectify a debilitating lead toxicity problem that is particularly profound in underprivileged communities like East Cleveland.  Held in the welcoming confines of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, a full breakfast was served while the various parties collaborating on this critical social justice, health justice, and environmental justice issue were recognized for their considerable efforts.  Following this introductory, Keynote Speaker David E. Jacobs (pictured) of the National Center for Healthy Housing delivered a stirring oratory which sharply illuminated a drastically underfunded and undersupported health concern and epidemic. 

I thought I'd share some reflections after just spending Cinco de Mayo facilitating dialogues around regional economic development in Akron, Ohio.  I, like so many other colleagues who have participated in various phases of the Voices and Choices process had my fair share of reservations and issues with various aspects of the two-year, multi-million dollar investment and experience.  While I found great value in working hard to facilitate regional dialogues with a healthy mix of participants representing diverse demographics, I learned firsthand how difficult it is to drive meaningful outcomes from such activity.  I, like so many others, was very candid about the many difficulties endured and faced during the process - perhaps the most prolific of which was a failure to have the mechanisms in place to capture the heightened energy and activation of the masses in an effective and timely manner to drive meaningful and positive outcomes.  A candid conversation I had today with Advance Northeast Ohio's communications director, Chris Thompson, completely validated my feelings, as he was in complete agreement on this point.  I laud Chris for such candor and really appreciated his astute comments. 

Those following the race for the Democratic presidential nomination closely enough to understand the main tenets of each candidate's economic agenda can surely appreciate the importance of green-collar workforce development as a vital economic development and community development opportunity.  The buzz around sustainability seems to have reached a crescendo these days, and a legion of local eco-activists has much cause to feel much vindication as a result.  The word is really getting out!  To borrow from Gestalt philosophy, raising awareness is the critical first step necessary to move any system to the point of meaningful action.  It would really behoove our communities to prepare intelligently for this inevitable time with sound research and due diligence. This is the time to look to the most charismatic, capable, and cogent leaders and follow their example.

Today, March 22nd, is World Water Day and while most people don't know this, I thought I'd take the time to give H2O its just due.  Sometimes it helps to bring things down to the elemental level - as NEO residents so many of us take the 6 quadrillion gallons of fresh water that comprise our Great Lakes for granted.  Few people seem to be aware that lake water levels are at historic lows, or what a rapidly dwindling freshwater supply globally has been doing to extinction rates of dependent species of wildlife.  The formula is simple: freshwater use is exponentially increasing while supply is most definitely not.  We use over twenty times more water per person in the U.S. than we did a century ago, and the energy costs involved with agriculture, waste water treatment, and industrial use are growing at staggering rates as well.  I find it ironic that the most highly developed nations in the world are setting this kind of example.  The problem is exacerbated in the most underprivileged parts of the world, which, not coincidentally, face the greatest dearth in freshwater supply.  Primitive technologies and grossly inappropriate waste management and disposal practices (95% of sewage and 75% of industrial waste is returned to surface waters untreated) are the biggest problems in these nations.  Global climate change throws even more uncertainty into the mix.

A nice writeup in the Plain Dealer by freelance contributor Terri Mrosko on the front page of today's Employment section provides a positive portrayal of our region and its ideal positioning as a region poised for significant economic progress.  The article makes strong points in mentioning a growing manufacturing sector and rising economic growth and employment numbers despite national indicators pointing to a deep recession.  As Mrosko points out, technology underpins these successes across the board -whether represented by a solid foundation of expertise in healthcare, engineering, and manufacturing technologies or the inspiring near-future potentials in alternative energy technology and nanotechnology.  While higher paying jobs in NEO are growing at a rate exceeding national averages (boosted by double digit growth in high tech, biomedical, and professional services), the region retains a double-digit advantage over national averages for metropolitan areas for cost-of-living.  A growing populace is living well!

Technology is such an important wildcard in the social consciousness picture, whether we speak of the most innovative approaches to community development using WI-FI and FOSS in tandem or we celebrate some of the latest advances in product development.  While bumbling bureaucratic banter restricts radical progress at the nexus of environment and technology (current Ohio legislation insiduously inculcates clean coal and nuclear power measures as green and renewable technologies and considers a 35 MPG mandated standard by 2020 significant) some very innovative R&D experts have launched their media campaign to expedite progress by demonstrating how very close we are to a 100 MPG standard.  I was heartened by a full page ad which recently manifested via a variety of media outlets - I happened to catch the one in this week's issue of US News and World Report.

Over the years I've valued RealNEO as a place to share diverse writings ranging from simple sustainability strategies we can inculcate into our regular lives to grandiose and futuristic visions of entire new worlds crafted within our own. I take pride in being with this team and community since inception and contributing our website's taxonomy and providing engaging content.  I've even found the opportunity to express myself more artistically through poetry. At much risk, and at times, with controversial unabashed candor I've shared personal hardships and anguish - and I can now say doing so has only enriched my personal development on physical, emotional and spiritual planes. 

I just received fantastic news from Annie Stahlheber with the Cardiovascular Task Force and Cuyahoga County Board of Health.  East Cleveland won one of only three $25,000 grants awarded nationally by Kaboom! as Playful City, USA.  This awards video reviews all the winners, from honorable mentions to grand prize grants.  East Cleveland's award is presented at the conclusion of the video and includes a nice bit featuring Mayor Eric Brewer and a select group of East Cleveland's young players. 

I've long believed that one particular angle or lens from which the facilitation of environmental consciousness and awareness can be fostered is via creative use of technology. Socially conscious websites such as REALNEO help build voice and community around issues that really matter to communities and their vitality.  I was particularly energized and enthused by a recent article in the latest issue of Inside Business which elegantly articulated the efforts of local social entrepreneur Craig Zamary, who sold a successful market research firm to focus on a driving passion for environmental awareness.

I thought I'd share some meaningful revelations and reflections regarding participation in the OHEJ Environmental Justice forum recently held at beautiful and idyllic Deer Creek State Park, located just south of Columbus in Mount Sterling, Ohio.  This weekend retreat offered a valuable experience and opportunity to contribute toward the delineation of a cogent and comprehensive statewide environmental justice policy.  I was happy to be invited to partake in this experience, for which I was offered a generous scholarship to compensate for lodging and transportation.  The event was co-sponsored by two grassroots organizations propelling meaningful work around EJ issues - Ohians for Environmental Justice (a project of the Center for Health and Environmental Justice) and the Environmental Support Center, based in Washington D.C.

Years have past since our REALNEO team first presented a vision for a holistic and sustainable East Cleveland transformation at a town hall meeting held by former Mayor Saratha Goggins.  Since then, our team has pushed forward with a diverse group of advocates for positive change and today we are poised to introduce many of the concepts we originally envisioned as part of the Star development project.  

As I've continued to plug away and progress with East Cleveland technology plans with fellow RealNEO partner Norm Roulet we thought it would be fitting to share some exciting  developments. This terrific Tudor transformation at 1894 Roxbury has been a joy to behold and though the historic preservation piece makes for a great story in its own right, I've been more invigorated by the potential to incorporate a series of sustainable strategies to ensure that this becomes a model green and smart home for East Cleveland homeowners to aspire to. This has offered a wonderful practical, experiential consulting opportunity. The technology coming into play to make this all happen has been another great learning point.  I now sit typing from the Roxbury estate with the luxury of a Skype smart phone, top of the line iMAC 24 inch widescreen desktop and the makings of our very own test server at my fingertips. I also had the good fortune to (just yesterday) secure thousands of dollars of computer equipment to enable the creation of an actual computing lab, hacking site and cluster at the Hough /Star Complex in East Cleveland. Now I am in the process of securing the latest Ubuntu downloads for both server and desktop whilst writing this very blog post. Our WiFi is up and running here , humming along at a robust and hardy 11 MBps.

I've been a REALNEO regular and member since site inception and I feel that I must add a rallying cry to many of the other posts responding to a very potent question.  Though REALNEO has been encumbered by technical difficulties many have worked through these or indicated or demonstrated the resolve to help navigate what has been a great learning and social networking experiment.  I, for one, believe we have had far too many successes and collectively contributed far too much rich and innovative content to consider any aspect of our ongoing efforts a failure.  Consider how little funding we've had to work with - most of us have funded all we've accomplished from our own pockets.  We haven't had the luxury of million dollar budgets to throw at advanced technologists.  We define lean and mean!

It was somewhat reassuring to note today's PD article on City Economic Development Director Chris Warren's strategy for regional economic development.  In broad strokes the plan calls for main facets we have been advocating for years now: more collaborative (synergy building) joint ventures, shared tax systems,  smart, green, energy efficient design standards like LEED, and revitalization of abandoned property.  Validation is sweet.