On Wednesday Morning...

[Bridget Conant]

Missy

The sad truth is that if Summers is re-elected, and he and his buddy Fitzgerald are successful at closing the hospital, I suspect you'll see A LOT of For Sale signs as people get out while they can.

Why stay in Lakewood with some of the highest taxes in Cuyahoga County when you can move to low tax areas like Avon or N Ridgeville that will also have real hospitals?

We will be facing increased taxes to replace the loss of the hospital, and if Summers continues his plan, increased taxes to fund a recreation center we cannot afford.

[Lori Allen _]

Common folks in Lakewood will not be able to afford it, but Summer's friends can! They should name it the Michael P. Summers Country Club.

[Alex Belisle]

One Wednesday morning if Skindell is the Mayor elect be prepared for an all out assault on Lakewood.

There was more to the Hospital deal than closing the Hospital and moving 1,500 jobs to Lorain County. There are other agendas at work including the desire of Cuyahoga County power brokers to weaken cities like Lakewood. Their goal is a regional hegemony dedicated to downtown development and urban sprawl that leaves cities like Lakewood weak, impoverished and controlled.

On Wednesday morning the fight will just begin. The Clinic has a lot to lose. The regionalists have a lot to lose. Downtown power brokers have a lot to lose.

Wednesday morning is not the time for some kumbaya moment; it's the time for doubling down.

I think Bill might be right? I watched this happen in NYC covering real estate developer conferences and shooting political events while listening in to conversations I probably wasn't supposed to hear. Gentrification, real estate deals and encouraging the disenfranchisement of the impoverished were de rigeur. The poor don't vote, don't speak as a unified voice and were not a electorate to be concerned with.

Money and power are powerful drugs and certainly not to be trifled with. Moving here from NYC, I figured this stuff was going to happen, but so soon? Creating a hegemony makes rich people richer and isn't this the professed goal of American capitalism? The poor will always be with us but better if they were invisible and/or being subsidized by the Federal government.

But Lakewood - is it going to happen here? Probably, just hopefully not so soon.

[Brian Essi]

Do you think that Summers has a contingency plan with the Lakewood Police if riots break out Tuesday night?

Judging the BLers' aggression at just the Kucinich presser, how might they react their "BIG DREAM" ends on Tuesday night?

Gary,

Get that banjo tuned up and plugged into an amp, just in case.

[Lori Allen _]

Brian,

At Dennis Kucinich's meeting, David Stein was so mad, I thought he was going to have a stroke! Hopefully Nurse Becky will be by him to save him. Since Lakewood Hospital can't treat strokes anymore, I hope he makes it to Fairview or Metro!

[Charlie Page]

Wednesday morning we need to heal. We need to be neighbors again. We need to stop the fighting. Each side truly ran for what they believed in. And no matter your feelings, you have to give them credit for that.

One side ran for what they truly believed in backed up by facts.

The other side ran on lies, smoke and mirrors and deceit motivated by a "what's in it for me" mentality.

How do you come together and be neighbors after that? That's a very tall challenge. And it's not about holding a grudge...it's about the very nature of our being, it's about how we are put together, it's about our underlying values as human beings. How do I look at people using such despicable tactics and put on a fake smile when I see them around town and pretend all is well? I'm not very good at fake smiles and idle chit chat....I guess I'll have to work on that...

[Gary Rice]

Not so fast.

I've been around this town since 1958, and while I've seen my share of local discombobulations, I've also seen some wonderful stuff happen here too, and its still happening.

Look, no matter how you might feel about how this hospital thing is going down, or how it's been handled, there's just too much GOOD going on in Lakewood to start thinking about giving up on the place.

Living here for fifty-seven years, I feel very confident that we will weather this storm, as we have weathered many storms in the past. Going back to the turn of the century, even then, there have been those who wanted Lakewood to join with Cleveland, as West Park and Old Brooklyn did years ago. We stood our ground then, as we are doing now. People of means have always been among Lakewood's foremost defenders in the past, and when the chips were down, all parts of Lakewood have repeatedly come together to show others what we are collectively capable of.

By the way, in case you haven't noticed, this hospital thing has NOT divided us along rich-poor lines. All sorts of demographics have aligned on both sides of the issue.

As for me, I'm looking forward to leading a sing-a-long one day on those solstice steps.

Back to the banjo...

[Leo Wetula]

Happy Wednesday morning thoughts...

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