The Greening of Youngstown

The Rust Belt has not traditionally been a region devoted to living green. Ironically, now that we are experiencing depopulation, we can reverse deforestation. Our rivers have been turned radioactive from cooling our steel, and now we can pursue biotechnologies that hold promise of their renewal. Demolished houses can be replaced with parks and trees. Abandoned roads are returned to nature, and less heat is trapped in our cities.

Last Saturday, eighteen volunteers from the Youngstown area joined with Campbell residents to clean up the historic Youngstown Sheet & Tube Workers' Housing. Built around 1918, this was the first pre-fabricated concrete real estate in the world. Since the Campbell Works shuttered thirty years ago this month, the houses have slowly been abandoned and grown over.

Sincere thanks to Paul, Alicia, Phil, Heather, Brooke, John, JR, Jessica, Julie, Rochelle, Deb, Maggie, Janis, Mike, Jaci, Boston and Ridley for your time, energy, physical strength and complete immunity to all kinds of revolting things encountered in dark staircases!

Recently, I shared news about GreenEnergyTV. Here's a video about collecting rainwater and the many effects it can have, including saving on your water bill and even conserving tax dollars. Tim Sokoloff and Iron Soup, Inc. are taking this approach to conservation in the Campbell Works' Housing.

Come to the Wick Park Pavilion on Saturday, September 15 at 9am for "Tree Planting for Everybody". This is a community reforestation project by Treez Please, a group I'm very excited about. Check out the sod furniture they'll be planting in pocket parks around the city.

Treez Please acquires empty lots in the city that we landscape with trees and other palntings to create pocket parks in previously marginal spaces. In addition, the organization works with homeowners to help them to select, plan, and care for street trees.

Trees Please seeks tax-deductible contributions of lien-free city land, maintenance equipment, and selected kinds of plant material. For more information, please contact debraweaver2000 (at) hotmail (dot) com.

I love their motto, too, "Let's grow Youngstown!" Indeed!

Nothing Down, $0 a Month, Hammer Required

The New York Times has an interesting article about East Coast programs that take state-owned historical properties and lease them to willing renovators who show they can plan and execute: "WHY would some people willingly spend decades — and hundreds of thousands of dollars — renovating houses they will never own? For a small but growing number of so-called resident curators living in old and cherished state-owned houses up and down the East Coast, the answers include the pleasure of bringing an abandoned landmark back to life, freedom from mortgage payments and the chance to live in the kind of home that would otherwise be out of reach."

Maybe Youngstown could, in addition to demolitions, find some money to buy back historic homes from absentee owners, then find families to renovate them in exchange for living there. One of the biggest threats to our historic legacy are vacant homes. Despite their affordable price in the area, there are many families who have money either to buy a home or renovate it, but not both.

Keeping track of it all

You want to stay on top of everything that's going on, but you don't know how. There's too much information, and keeping track of who's posted a new article consists of running through a list of a dozen blogs individually, then feeling frustrated when the only one with something new was number eleven. Let me suggest a better way.

I've been in technology literally since I was a kid. My mom worked for IBM back in the day (actually, she works for them again now as a contractor, but that's another story), and my brother and I learned to program in BASICA on a PCjr. Obviously, we played River Raid and Jumpman, but we also wrote our own primitive software that flashed colors on the screen and moved dots around. My brother, in a memorably awful tone that haunts me to this day, taught the computer to bleep and bloop the melody to Billy Joel's Honesty.

All that to say, I take it for granted sometimes all the ways in which computers can make life easier, not to mention all the Web-based applications these days that allow you to completely customize your own Web experience. So, when a friend was recently bemoaning the tedium of trying to keep track of all the blogs she wanted to read, I shared with her some of my tools, and now she's able to see at a glance what's new for all the blogs she wants.

iGoogle is where I recommend starting. I think you'll find it fairly straightforward. (Here's a link to help if you get stuck.) Start with the "Add Stuff" link on the right. You'll be presented with lots of prepackaged content, but you can also just add the individual blogs or sites you want to track. For example, to the right, you'll see a "Subscribe in a reader" link. You may be able to simply click that link and add it to your Google homepage, though you might first have to install the Google toolbar (and if you haven't, I highly recommend it; lots of useful features like highlighting, translation, spell-checking, and bookmarking).

If that doesn't work for you, right-click and "Copy Link Location" (Firefox) or "Copy Shortcut" (Internet Explorer) from the blog or site you like, then on the Google Homepage Content Directory, click the small "Add by URL" link to the right of the Search Homepage Content button. Paste the URL into the field and click "Add". Back on your homepage, you can adjust the number of headlines you want to see from each feed and drag the box around where you like. Once you accumulate many, you'll want to group them, and Google lets you create and label tabs to accomplish that.

If you get stuck, feel free to ask me questions and I'll be glad to help. There's so much going on in Youngstown right now, it would be a shame to miss a minute of it!

Bizarre Read of the Day

China Regulates Buddhist Reincarnation: "In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is 'an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation.'"

Meet Christopher Barzak

I secretly want to be an author. I would like nothing more than to spend my days reading and writing about Youngstown. So, I'm particularly envious that a friend of mine has gotten his FIRST NOVEL published! It's called One for Sorrow, and is being published by Bantam Books today.

He's gotten some great reviews: Publishers Weekly says, “Death forges a supernatural bond between two lonely teenage boys in Barzak's first novel. Fifteen-year-old Adam McCormick is haunted by the earthbound ghost of his murdered classmate, Jamie Marks. Barzak admirably defies convention...the novel's approach to familiar material is refreshing.” Jonathan Lethem, National Book Award winning author of Motherless Brooklyn, says, “Barzak's sympathy and humor, his awareness, his easeful vernacular storytelling, are extraordinary,” and Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club, says One for Sorrow is, “An amazing, original debut from an amazing, original writer.” Scott Westerfeld, author of the popular YA series Uglies, calls One for Sorrow, “An honest and uncanny ride through the shadows between grief and acceptance.” Nice!

Chris teaches writing at YSU and recently taught English near Tokyo. His next novel was inspired by some experiences there. I got to hear Chris read the prologue to One for Sorrow at the Oakland a couple of months ago, on his birthday. I'm looking forward to the launch party this Saturday, September 1, from 7 to 11 PM. There will be wine, food, and live music and art inspired by the novel. Barnes and Noble will sell copies of the novel there, and Chris will, of course, be on hand to read from the book and sign copies.

You can also catch Chris here: Borders in Niles, OH, September 15, 2-4 PM; Mac's Backs in Cleveland Heights, OH, September 22, 5 PM; Youngstown State University Poetry Center Reading, October 2, 7 PM; Barnes and Noble in Boardman, Ohio) October 9, 7 PM; and at a local Book Club Discussion Group at Barnes and Noble, Boardman, OH, October 18, 7 PM. Don't spoil the ending, though, I'm still reading!

Turning Heads

It's no secret that I'm an optimist. I believe we are doing great things in Youngstown right now, and we can do even more. But even I am amazed at the latest news.

Inc. Magazine has published the list of the top 25 companies by growth. Note that Turning Technologies has an astonishing 3,907.9% growth over the past three years. Compared with all other companies by growth, Turning places a remarkable 18th on the list. Phenomenal!

But wait, there's more! Let's talk apples and apples. Get this: of the privately held software companies on the list, TURNING TECHNOLOGIES IS NUMBER 1!

So, the next time anyone asks you why you live in Youngstown or says why don't you move elsewhere, you have permission, if just this once, to show them your finger in response!

Heady stuff

Quite a week so far. I had a repeat appearance on Louie Free's radio show, this time with Tim Sokol to talk about the Campbell Workers' Housing project on Saturday. And two nights in a row I was interviewed by German television network ARD. Tuesday night was with a group of friends involved in the campaign to save West Federal Street from bad designs. Everyone, I think, got equal time to talk about the shrinking city and the contributions of the young activists and bloggers in it. Why here? Why now? Why us? Und so weiter...

Afterwards, I talked with Klaus Scherer about politics. Apparently, this morning he got a request to do a story to coincide with the upcoming 9/11 anniversary and to get Americans' reactions to it. He asked Chris Rutushin and me about our views on 9/11, the Bush administration, the American image abroad, und so weiter. I enjoyed talking with him, and he was very engaging. The producer, Tara Libert, will be sending us a DVD of the programs once complete. That's seriously cool.

I lived and went to school in Germany during the '92/93 school year. I stayed in Demmin, bei Familie Pagel. They were a wonderful host family, and I studied piano at the Goethe-Gymnasium with Herr Stefan Richter, whose kindly eyes and thin, full beard I'll never forget. There's no question that my year in Germany changed my life. Looking at my own country and language through other eyes gave me a valuable perspective that I lacked. When I went, I thought I knew all the answers. When I returned, I knew there was much more than I knew.

In many ways, I think the people I lived with and met in the former East Germany are like midwesterners: friendly, ready to help, and generous to a fault.

Campbell, Youngstown Residents Team Up for Clean Up

Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Iron Soup Inc. finds support from Youngstown volunteers in advance of Black Monday's thirtieth anniversary

On Saturday, August 25th, residents and local supporters working to revitalize the Campbell Works Company Housing will be joined by a contingent of volunteers from Youngstown to clean up the landscape and secure the many abandoned units that pose a threat to the residents. Built in 1918-20 and recognized as a national historic site as the "first pre-fab concrete estate in the world", the houses and their residents were left to an uncertain future thirty years ago on Black Monday, September 19, 1977, as Youngstown Sheet and Tube closed the nearby mill.

This year, residents formed the non-profit organization Iron Soup Inc. to lead the revitalization of the incredible, historic homes. Volunteers are securing broken windows and missing doors and clearing the neglected landscape. After reading about Tim Sokoloff and Iron Soup in the Vindicator, Youngstown north-sider Tyler Clark decided to help and quickly found an equal enthusiasm from friends.

"The response was immediate and universally positive," said Clark of the feedback from his call to action. "There's a new wave of energy right now in Youngstown that believes anything is possible and is opening its heart to give to the city and the region."

The invitation also spurred donations towards the effort from St. John's Episcopal Church and M-7 Technologies. The group is still seeking loaned commercial mowers and donated lunches and refreshments for the volunteers on Saturday. A list of needed items is online at http://www.altruismcenter.org/ironsoup.

"The outpouring of support since the article appeared in the paper has been overwhelming," said Sokoloff. "From donations to volunteers, it's exciting to see the level of interest in reaching out to and helping our project—our home." Sokoloff touted the innovations his group is planning to incorporate, such as using solar power for street and walkway lighting and stored rain water for irrigation.

About Iron Soup Inc.
Iron Soup Inc. is a non-profit company formed to protect and restore the historic Sheet and Tube Company Homes in Campbell, Ohio.

About the Center for Altruism
Youngstown's Center for Altruism provides human resources and project management for community endeavors.

###

City Hall Minutes

Monday evening, there was a meeting to discuss next steps in the plans for West Federal Street. Carmen Conglose said the focus was on revisiting the plan, engaging urban planners, seeking more diverse input, address the input from the public August 6 meeting, then bring back to City Council. He estimated 3-4 weeks to redesign and pledged to work with Mill Creek Metroparks experts to select the proper tree species.

Mayor Williams emphasized the desire to examine all options while keeping to the original priorities: green canopy, parking, and infrastructure improvements.

Paul Harkey noted they were asked to design the original plan according to the approach on East Federal Street. (So, note it wasn't about finding the best approach for West Federal, it was assuming the Plaza's approach worked all the way along.) He also noted the city owns the street lights and breakers along West Federal and would likely partner with Ohio Edison once the rework is done, which would give the city a lower rate for the electricity (but would they pay somehow for renting or leasing the lights, or how does that work?).

Some other notes: any redesign would have to fit under the existing budget, which is somewhere in the upper $300s. The money is also tied to the electrical upgrades, though I'm not sure of the specific language.

The next meeting is currently scheduled for September 17. The Mayor spoke with a few of us after the meeting and encouraged us to work with the planning department to provide input into the process.

A friend who works for the City of Warren says the transcripts of city meetings are kept and published to a mailing list for public consumption. Is this true for Youngstown? Are transcripts and video of all meetings taken, and how can they be made available? I noticed two video cameras recording the proceedings as a secretary appeared to commit the record to paper. What happens with these recordings and records? We should let the sunshine in and make the transcripts, if not video recordings, available to the public always.

Defend East Youngstown

I appreciate Angie Schmitt's efforts in covering stories about Youngstown's revitalization. Thursday, I read Man gives back to Campbell by fixing Company Houses:

"Taking it back from rats and groundhogs — for three months, they've been slashing through shoulder-high grass, unburying sewer grates and edging sidewalks. Taking it back from absentee landowners — they plan to make a presentation on the issue before county commissioners. Taking it back from vandals and thieves — they've organized a block watch."

After reading this, I thought, here's a guy who's putting it on the line for his community. We should be out there helping him. I sent an e-mail to a group of friends and quickly found they were as excited about helping as I.

I contacted Tim Sokol, and he was extremely excited to hear about the response and the promise of help. We'll be going out Saturday, August 25th, from 8am to 2pm. You can join us by RSVPing to the evite. A list of needed items is here.

After our recent efforts to put a stop to the deconstruction of West Federal Street, Jim Cossler of the YBI said it was all well and good to stop something, but what were we going to start. I had been unable to get the question out of my head until seeing the enthusiastic response to my query about the Campbell Workers' Housing project. Here was an urgent need with real benefit. Through the eagerness of my friends, I was able to connect that need to people power that could get it done. If we could recreate that connection for other projects, we could begin a process of providing human resources to worthy causes and accelerate change.

This weekend, I set up the Center for Altruism. Its mission is to identify and partner with community-focused efforts, augmenting planning, publicity and people. If the next few months are anywhere near as exciting as the past few months have been, Youngstown is going to wake up soon to a palpable new spirit of energy and generosity that has been percolating just below the surface. It started with 2010 and has spilled over into the grass-roots. Now it's being formalized and codified to add legitimacy and facilitate partnerships.

Naysayers beware: the new Youngstown is here, and it's for real.

Ambassador YOU

I've been reconnecting lately with high school dorm hallmates, music camp cabinmates, even a cousin that I'm meeting for dinner next time I'm in DC.

This is the power of social networking. Through Facebook and LinkedIn, I'm even finding connections to people I've heard about and never met.

It's said that who you know is of primary importance. That's why these tools are so valuable in reinforcing and nurturing those connections. Likewise, how do you stay in front of those whom you wish to influence or just keep in contact with? You need to find a way to broadcast yourself. If you haven't yet found a medium that gives voice to your muse, have you tried blogging?

Think about creating a blog. It doesn't have to be profound or win an award. But put your thoughts down, whether silly or serious, and state your views. Even if you focus on a particular topic (hint: Youngstown), don't restrict yourself to just that. Everyone likes and needs an occasional diversion, and if you also provide that, they'll be even more grateful for the focus you apply to your main theme.

Blogging is an opportunity to stand up and do something without actually getting off the couch, if that's where you're most comfortable. The Youngstown Business Incubator is planning soon to host an informational session on blogging and podcasting and the like. I'll keep you posted as plans develop. There's no need to wait for that to get started, but it is intended to be a resource to help you get more comfortable with the format.

Be an ambassador for something you care about, even if it's just yourself. Open up a bit, and let people see what's inside--what you really care about. Chances are you'll find some kindred spirits and expand your world in the process. Your who-you-know will increase by who knows you until you're a you-know-who!

Falcon is Trucking

"Falcon Transport has been putting the pedal to the metal, and people have noticed. The Meridian Road company has grown so fast that a trade publication just ranked it as the 97th-largest trucking company in the nation. Falcon and its sister company, Comprehensive Logistics, posted revenues of $205.5 million last year, a 15 percent increase. They have added 40 office workers in the past two years to manage new business."

I noticed Falcon Transport for the first time when we were driving from Tucson to Youngstown in February. We covered a lot of road, from Tucson to the Grand Canyon, through Albuquerque, Dallas, Memphis, and Bowling Green, we saw lots of trucks. But when I saw "Youngstown, Ohio" on some, I took notice. It's great to see their business thriving.

Logic and the CIC

Here's what I don't understand... The CIC "doesn't want to demolish" the facade of the historic Kress building. Wouldn't the best way to preserve the facade be to maintain the building? Yet, "A roof replacement has been needed for years, but CIC officials opted not to do that on a building vacant for seven years". This after revealing in the preceding paragraph that "Most of the damage was done over the last year or so when holes in the roof led to major water damage."

Why isn't maintaining the vacant buildings until an owner or tenant can be found a primary mission of the CIC as caretakers of these historic properties? The CIC's Web site presents their purpose as follows:

To promote jobs and activity in Downtown Youngstown…
• through the encouragement and support of commercial, retail, and residential activities;
• through the creation of an Arts & Entertainment District;
• through the creation and promotion of a safe and clean downtown environment;
• through the development of promotional and public relations.

So, the problem is that the city entrusted this entity with these properties but did not mandate the prioritization of their preservation. The CIC can then presumably let the buildings rot, declare them unsafe and unable to be salvaged, tear them down, and act as landlords for brand new structures. Haven't we seen this happen already on West Federal? Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself without knowing more of the history here, but it seems that there's an accountability loophole here that needs to be plugged. These buildings are our history, they are our link to a unique and historic past. You can get new buildings in any city in the world. The Kress and its endangered brethren are worth saving because they are priceless. The CIC needs to be held accountable for its care.

Good news, Bad news

This article in today's Vindicator contains both good news and bad news.

At the request of Mayor Jay Williams, Carmen S. Conglose Jr., the city's deputy public works director, will meet with city planners, probably on Monday, to discuss the West Federal Street project.

By the end of next week, city officials will present their suggestions for the project to members of city council and interested parties, Williams said. The mayor expects a final plan to be done by the end of the month.

[...]The city originally had wanted to advertise for a contractor for the project next week, but that's been delayed because of the objections, Conglose said.

We'll start with the bad. Carmen Conglose still doesn't see the light:

Conglose said he was surprised to hear complaints from people — as well as a petition opposing the project signed by about 700 — about the plan.

If there's a way to keep or improve the medians while keeping the proposed new green space and the parking spots, Conglose said he wouldn't object to that. But he says he can't see any way for the medians to remain under those conditions.

"The people who complained hadn't seen the project," Conglose said about Monday's meeting. "The whole thing is crazy. My take on the situation is I've been doing capital projects for 31 years. The only thing on Federal Street that's encouraged business growth in recent history is [removing the pedestrian mall and opening up the Plaza to through-traffic]."

But will there be enough pressure from the Mayor and from city planners in general to help him see the light? How much influence does Bill D'Avignon, the Community Development Agency director have?

After hearing from residents and local business officials, D'Avignon said he's inclined to keep the medians and additional downtown parking doesn't appear to be something needed.

But again, from what was revealed at the meeting, the project is fundamentally about the utility lines under the street. So, the city planners still need to realize that the diagonal parking, whatever it might mean to the plaza, isn't right for the West Federal Street. And there's still the possibility that there could be an alternative approach to providing electricity to the lights and buildings along the street.

Funny story...

I have to drive to Chicago today, so I need to hit the road and won't have much time to blog. I can share a funny story from Wednesday while driving back home from Virginia.

It was getting to be time for dinner. I had been on the road for a couple of hours and was starting to feel the hunger pangs. I'm never sure what fast food place I want to hit, just that I don't want McD's or BK. I usually try to get to DQ, so I can pretend to be there for dinner, while my goal is really a Butterfinger Blizzard. I see the sign for the next exit including several options, one of which is Roy Rogers, which I remember liking from when there was one near the Metro stop in DC at Woodley Park-Zoo, where I used to spend time in the summers long ago.

So, I pull off to the exit and follow the signs for a completely unreasonable five miles before finding the restaurants. Seriously, if I'm going to pull off the freeway for a sandwich and fries, it had better be RIGHT THERE off the exit, not miles down the road.

I pull up to the ordering station, unsure of what I want or what they have, since it's been so long since I was there last. I browse through and finally land on a candidate. I don't really want a burger, but a chicken sandwich would taste pretty good. Hey, this one's got bacon! So, I ask the disembodied microphone man from the lighted sign what's in the "Gold Rush Sandwich".

Are you ready for this? He says, and I kid you not, "Oh, I don't know. I've never tried it." Clearly, the training program at Roy Rogers is top-notch. I was speechless. Sometimes, in situations like this I'll just give up. This is just not worth my time. But there wasn't anything else on the menu I wanted. And I didn't want to order the sandwich just to find out it had onions or mushrooms or tomatoes, something that I wouldn't necessarily be able to see on the menu sign.

I persisted, "Seriously?" (This is a mainstay of my vocabulary and my wife's from too many "Grey's Anatomy" episodes.) "That's all you can tell me about the sandwich? I mean, I can see just from the sign it has chicken and bacon and cheese..."

Here he finally decided he could step up and help me out. "Yeah, and some 'Gold Rush' sauce." Exasperated, I consented, "Alright, I'll take it."

Social Bookmarking

I'm posting this link for two reasons:

1. Online Bookmarking is cool. Firstly, you benefit from having all your bookmarks organized and tagged in a way that allows you to access them quickly and from anywhere. I used to use Spurl.net, but it seemed to get so slow and when I couldn't access it when I needed it, I went to Google Bookmarks, which integrates nicely with my Web History.

2. Social Bookmarking is... well, social! You can share your finds with your network and even with people you don't even know. Examples are Magnolia, Furl and Del.icio.us, featured in the video below.

3. Okay, three reasons. The format of this video introduction to social bookmarking is itself innovative. Check out Social Bookmaring in Plain English from Common Craft.

In the news

Youngstown Renaissance was honored to be in the news on WFMJ's 6pm broadcast yesterday, as part of a feature on local bloggers. Jim and Phil, featured on the segment, were kind to point the reporter, Glenn Stevens, to this blog for the report. I got his call, however, driving to a lunch meeting, after which I had another meeting. Even without the meetings, I was in Virginia!

Yes, that's right, my opportunity to be on the news, and I'm out of town. Oh well. The blog itself was featured prominently, and thanks to the new header graphic Jaci made, it held up proudly, I thought. Nice to see Jim, Mike, Phil and the Mayor featured and talking up the Youngstown blogosphere. Check out these blogs, too:

• Congressman Tim Ryan
• Defend Youngstown
• i will shout youngstown
• Mayor Jay Williams
• Meditations in an Emergency (writer Chris Barzak)
• Mighty Mahoning
• New YTOWN
• Tales from the Rust Belt
• the Stage @ the Oakland
• Youngstown Pride

You might also check out valley24.com and especially subpopular.com.

The Upstart

Good read: profile on Congressman Tim Ryan

The Upstart - Zachary Roth: "Ryan is tall, dark, and broad-shouldered. His speaking style can be fiery when he gets carried away, but in Akron that night, in a suit and tie, he seemed to be making an effort to come off as a sober, thoughtful, and mature adult in front of the local party activists, business and labor leaders, and daily news reporters—many of them twenty or thirty years older than he—in the crowd. Still, as he returned to the theme of a world in transition, a faint edge appeared in his voice. “Our kids and our grandkids are gonna grow up and say, ‘When all this stuff was going on, what were you doing? Were you trying to hold on to something that was no longer existing? Were you the one pushing the edge?’” he warned the crowd. “‘Were you participating in this? Or were you obstructing this natural evolutionary flow of our species?’” He ended by evoking Bobby Kennedy’s promise of “weariness, hardship, and sacrifice.”

Ryan’s listeners appeared to receive his speech as a vague but inspiring call for idealism and public service—“Ryan Presents Concept of Team” was the headline the next day in the Akron Beacon Journal—and the applause at the end was warm. But hidden amid the heroic Kennedy allusions and the slightly self-conscious references to atoms, electrons, and waves of civilization was a profound challenge to the audience: the industrial economy isn’t coming back. He couldn’t, of course, come out and say that directly to a roomful of people for whom the industrial economy represented the greatest period of stability and prosperity they’d ever known, which was why Ryan needed Toffler and his sometimes flaky futurism—to act as a kind of sugarcoating for the pill he was asking his audience to swallow. “In our part of the country, we have a very strong cultural tie to steel,” Ryan told me later. “And whether we like it or not, the world has changed.” The speech, he said, “was a challenge to change your way of thinking.”

Tree lovers win: Plan to be revisited

Was this just Angie's impression or the official word, that the plan will indeed be revisited?
Tree lovers win: Plan to be revisited: "Residents, business people and community leaders packed council chambers, issuing near unanimous criticism of the city’s plan."

"After a long public comment period, however, Conglose indicated plans could still be modified."

"Could" is obviously different than will. But great headline, nonetheless.

Valley's full of economic prospects

I bookmarked this last week when it showed up in the paper and meant to blog about it. Since I'm heading down to Virginia this morning, I'll quickly put it up for your reading pleasure.

One of our key assets is our geography. We need to brand it and promote the hell out of it. "Crossroads of the Heartland"? That's the best I've got before 7am. Post your branding ideas in the comments below.

Vindy.com - Official: Valley's full of economic prospects: "the Cleveland-to-Pittsburgh corridor has about 8 million people, making it the fourth largest population market in the United States. Los Angeles, New York and Chicago are the top three, with the Philadelphia-Baltiomore-D.C. corridor and Atlanta being fifth and sixth.

"Of those six, Cleveland-to-Pittsburgh is the only market that is geographically centered in the middle of five of them," Drake said. "So if you wanted to do business in North America, if you wanted to be in a major market, a major industrial market, this is where you ought to be."

Catching on

Under the headline "A green downtown is a more inviting downtown", someone I've never met published a letter to the Vindicator today about my favorite cause. This means we're getting the job done!

EDITOR:

As a pastor and resident in the city of Youngstown for more than 20 years, I have been extremely encouraged by the significant efforts at downtown revitalization. People are walking the streets and enjoying being downtown. New businesses seem to be opening weekly. Business people are making investments. Outdoor parties and other outdoor activities are complimenting what goes on in Powers Auditorium the Chevy Centre, the Oakland Theater and many YSU venues.

I was happy to learn recently that the Spring Common bridge is undergoing major renovation. It is one of the gateways to the city and adds to the atmosphere created by its neighbors at Anthony's on the River, the B&O Station and the John Young memorial.

I understand that an informational meeting will be held tomorrow concerning the flower and tree-lined strip on West Federal Street. I understand that plans are to remove this aesthetic part of our downtown in order to pour more concrete and create a few more parking spaces. In my opinion, this will take away a major welcoming component of our downtown.

Our mayor often speaks of making our city 'cleaner and greener' so that those who come to visit or do business in our center city will fell 'welcomed.' Trimming the trees in the median and adjusting the lighting to upward spotlights can enhance a natural gateway and focal point that continues to be a major part of the downtown Streetscape project each spring. This median has matured and developed over the years into a wonderfully colorful part of our compact downtown. It provides a softer contrast to the bricks and mortar of the surrounding buildings.

A few more parking spaces seems to be a poor trade-off.

When we visit other towns and cities (as I'm sure our city leaders often do), what attracts our attention is downtown parks, flowering baskets, strategically placed fountains, gathering places and other amenities.

Keep the median clean and green.

The Rev. EDWARD P. NOGA, Pastor
St. Patrick Church
Youngstown

Response to today's Vindy article on W Fed St

[Edit: 8/8/2007; since this did not get published before the pivotal meeting Monday, I've asked the Vindicator not to print this. Mr. Conglose showed courage and humility in rescinding some of the items he is quoted in the paper as saying in front of so many during the meeting.]

To: letters@vindy.com
CC: Angie Schmitt
Subject: Urgent letter: W Fed St Plans response

In Saturday's "City's plans protested" (http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/305526637206329.php), public works deputy director Carmen Conglose claims that parties opposing the plans to turn the scenic boulevard of West Federal Street into a parking lot are operating from outdated information. This is just one of several fallacies in his claims.

When CityScape was asked to approve the latest plans, they specifically requested that the public be brought into the process before the plans were finalized. This is only happening now, mere days before the project goes to bid. Therefore, a substantial group of citizens, activists, bloggers and West Federal Street business owners (and over 350 signed petitioners) have been urgently getting the word out so people can let the city know that we want to preserve the beautiful median landscaping, which has been lovingly cared for by volunteers on a regular basis.

The city's current plans for reconstructing West Federal Street are inconsistent with current leading thoughts on city planning and architecture. Dr. Kathleen Wolf of the University of Washington has published research showing that consumer spending on shopping and entertainment activities are significantly higher in areas with trees than without. Additionally, the size and maturity of tree cover on different roads was found to make an impact on the responses of consumers.

Mr. Conglose's statement that there would be "more green area in this plan than currently exists" is simply incredible. First, the city would have to replace mature shade trees with saplings that would take little less than a generation to reach maturity. Any suggestion that replacing more than a dozen trees lining the center of this scenic boulevard with asphalt and brick would create more green is absurd.

The city claims to add 24 parking spaces. This is a convenient exaggeration. There are currently sixty parking stalls. The new plan shows seventy-two, nine of which are handicapped-only. The increase is therefore only three generally accessible spaces and nine handicapped. In his statement, Mr. Conglose has discounted the thirteen existing 30-minute loading stalls. If truly concerned for ample parking, the city could surely find a way to convert them to regular parking. The city needs to take a long-term look at parking needs.

As the downtown's revitalization continues to snowball, we'll need well-placed decks and/or garages, with adequate signage directing cars to them. And as visitors and residents walk from these spaces to their shopping destinations or apartments and condos, they will become familiar with the storefronts that line scenic West Federal and other streets, and their list of shopping destinations will expand. This can't happen if they pull up directly in front of a business then drive away after.

As for the desires of the business owners on West Federal Street, I have spoken with Jim Cossler of the YBI. Though he stresses the YBI has not taken an official position, he and those with whom he has spoken, including Mike Garvey of M7 Technologies, who's planning to move part of his business and jobs to and invest millions of dollars in the downtown in the next two years, "think the project is absolutely a huge waste of money with no return on investment".

Tyler S. Clark
(...) Fifth Ave
Youngstown, OH 44504
(phone)
http://ytownrenaissance.blogspot.com

McDonald Steel Starts New Walking-Hearth Reheat Furnace

"McDonald Steel Corp. has started up a new, $7.5-million walking-hearth reheat furnace designed and built by Bricmont Inc. (www.bricmont.com) to replace two 80year-old pusher furnaces. The Youngstown, OH, operation, comprising a part of the former U.S. Steel McDonald Works, produces engineered steel bars and shapes from long and flat products."

Louie Free

Thanks so much to Louie Free for his generous time today. I appreciate the opportunity to speak about the West Federal Street issue and the renaissance happening in Youngstown right now. Don't forget to sign the petition, please. And show up Monday at 3pm at City Hall to urge reconsideration of the current plans for deconstructing West Federal Street!

The vision is spreading

This year I started hearing some crazy things out of the Mahoning Valley. Crazy, crazy things. Hearing that people were working hard, creating a new vision of the city they wanted to live in. What?? You mean you can make something what you want it to be?! Hell, I knew that! I sure never tried to apply it to a whole town. Business building is something I am really interested in, but city building? Sounded too big. Maybe impossible.

But then I started to hear all about how it was working.

Oil!?

"Brecksville-based energy firm, Duck Creek Energy Inc. has entered an agreement with the city of Youngstown to drill for oil and natural gas at Henry Stambaugh Municipal Golf Course.
The company is preparing to install four wells at the 81-acre course."

Come again? I can't believe we haven't heard about this. This is some two or three blocks from our house. Maybe we should have them check our backyard. A little oil would go a long way towards paying off our mortgage.

Saguarophone

We talk a lot about arts incubation. I look forward to seeing galleries downtown featuring the work of local artists. In the meantime, I want to showcase an incredible piece by Gilbert Lozano, a friend of mine from Tucson, currently living in California and working for Disney/Pixar. The Saguarophone is an original work, mammoth in proportion, and just unbelievable to see. The thing is seriously heavy; it took four of us to carry it from his car into the courtyard at my old office there to show off to everyone. The sun glinted off the sculpture, creating myriad colors for the eye. Any local business owners looking to make a splash in their lobbies? I guarantee this piece will do the trick. "Sculpted for the Arizona Jazz Festival, this collard lizard is playing a saxophone made of saguaro ribs. Bronze, 52" tall, on a granite base." Only twenty-four of this edition will ever be available.

What A Difference Five Years Can Make

Tech Futures » Blog Archive » What A Difference Five Years Can Make:
Northeast Ohio's economy has grown every year for the last 5 years!

Employment in Northeast Ohio is at its highest level in 5 years!

Manufacturing output in our region is actually higher than 15 years ago!