Round up the usual suspects

It is Monday morning and time to round up the usual suspects. You , over there. Yes you , the fatuous one located at East 18Th and Superior a.k.a . da p.d. , da pee dee , or whatever pathos in newsprint you fancy these days. Line up against that wall and shut up already. The Sunday April 6 ,2008 editorial Put It On The Map ,is another great reason why the publisher of a daily newspaper should not sit on the board of director's of a major local institution as in this case the Cleveland clinic. The plain dealer shilling for the Cleveland clinic may be considered business as usual by the slap happy editorial board gang at da p.d.. Others of us find it more to resemble business as unusual at the very least. This editorial makes yet another unashamed plug for a proposed three mile highway linking Interstate 480 with the Cleveland clinic. Dubbed the " opportunity corridor" , one begs to inquire ... Whose opportunity? Yes , the correct answer students is the very Cleveland clinic who da p.d. publisher Terrance Egger sits on the CC Board of Directors of. As we said here some months ago when da p.d. ran an earlier editorial begging for this same self serving road. We said just say no! Governor Ted . Keep saying no to this selfish little land grab. Governor Ted Strickland represents eighty seven other Counties in Ohio as well as Cuyahoga , and in all fairness , short of succeeding from the other eighty seven , the other counties need the public infrastructure funds as well as Cuyahoga does. Last time I looked the entire State of Ohio is looking seedy , aged , and way frayed at the cuff. So consider the rest of the State of Ohio's political opinion concerning the proposed future of basically a private road in Cuyahoga County Ohio? Not very much interest I would guess , and da p.d. should at least be bright enough to admit to this fact. The plain dealer boast in this skewed editorial is " Cleveland can't and won't wait." Suggesting that da p.d. will go negative on Governor Strickland , and work against him politically . To quote this Superior Road gang's own words. " and if Ted Strickland can't promise results ,, it may be tough for Northeast Ohioans to promise votes for this bond plan." Scary kids , scary. OOOOH Scary OLD PAIN DEALER. A hollow threat from the weak and slack jawed jowls of da paper tiger that is da p.d. 2008. ............wcpn the yawning midget of public radio in our listening area should check it's sad self into a hospital to see if they possess a beating pulse much less a heart? Well , no news is old hat at wcpn so line up against the wall you phony " idea stream" cheerleaders. This morning 's nine to ten a.m . gambit was yet another public relations dog and pony show toutin' and shoutin' and placing a positive spin on the 200 million rta Euclid avenue corridor project. No subjective or critical examination needed of the corridor project and the adjoining land usage according to wcpn. Just a jolly good old public relations lovefest...Noted journalist Roldo Bartimole seems to believe differently in that a series of speculative real estate transactions featuring both public and private concerns , and the a list downtown players roles in real estate transactions along the downtown part of the Euclid avenue dedicated bus line is worthy of examination and critical reporting. Roldo's Point of View on this matter is a well described and documented read on the political and private business transactions occurring at the southeast corner of East Ninth and Euclid . Yes , that corner the one with the significant architectural truck in a International stature in the form of the Marcel Breuer Cleveland Trust Tower. This historic corner should be celebrated , as well the remaining buildings on the south side of Euclid Avenue eastward to the point at Huron street. These historic Euclid Avenue buildings are all worthy of rehabilitation . Comprising a nice slice of older commercial buildings perfect for apartment , loft , or condominiums . This building cluster should be included on any Cleveland citizen who is architectural preservation minded map and radar screen, concerning the pending $35 million Willoughby based development plan currently pending transaction with Cuyahoga County. History is at stake here. Short of building the second Breuer Tower on the site , saving these older structures gives a nice model window of what a handsome block of rehabilitated buildings with all the original interior trimmings can be...What is at stake here is a real crosstown intersection for any hospital workers who care to live or relocate to a residence downtown , as option to current suburban digs and the daily drag of an automotive commute. Calabrese of the RTA outfit promises a ten minute trip on the quick side of time between downtown and UC via the " silver line". As little as five or seven minutes in quickest imagined time spent in a simple commute. A new bus leaves the station every five minutes. That is an upside in any event , and only time will tell if any of the proposed developments will really have much impact in terms of retail growth , business start ups , and a critical mass of citizens living close enough to this bus line to fall out of bed and into a bus on the EAC. The true test of social justice will be East Cleveland's share of the project as it continues on to it's eastern point at the Windemere Rapid station. The happiness boys on hand at wcpn received only six telephone calls during the allotted hour , and the final call was from a man in East Cleveland who identified himself as Ojo , and claimed he was a constant caller always given short shrift by wcpn. Guess what? Ojo was once again given short shrift , and his critical comments concerning issues of poverty and employment on the rta silver line ledger were given a cursory kiss off by the wcpn gang. It is not just downtown and the University Circle neighborhoods that this Euclid Avenue corridor bus line should concern itself with. The neighborhoods that border this project have needs that need to be addressed as well. These neighborhoods are unfortunately all victims of terminal poverty ,and are as follows. Hough , Fairfax , and Central. It would be an original "idea stream" , if perhaps one of the Einstein invalids in the wcpn news department could see there way clear to have representatives from these three Cleveland neighborhoods plus East Cleveland , Ohio comment and discuss the impact that the " silver line" might have on their citizens lives. Stay tuned..... It is easy to see that spring is in the air , and perhaps the two news sources discussed above should open their stultified windows and air out some actual Cleveland citizens real time public interests. The proposed " opporotunity corridor ' , is merely a means yet another land grab for the Cleveland clinic , and would do more harm to any hopes of improving the current neighborhoods that it proposes to tear through than help. If the Cleveland clinic is serious about having their workforce closer to theie Euclid avenue campus , perhaps they should consider building housing along the Euclid Avenue corridor. Yet another highway is only a means for automotive futures , not feet on the pavement urban lifestyle futures. Da p.d. seems to only jump as high on their editorial page as the Cleveland clinic asks them to. That is tragedy , and should be addressed from an neutral ethical viewpoint before this matter of an "opportunity corridor " , receives even a lousy penny in Ohio tax funds. If this road is so damn important to the Cleveland clinic and the parasitical pee dee , let them build it.

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