The Observation Deck

Bill

This is nothing more than NOACA funneling more funds to City Architecture.

All of the money is for studies.


.

Jim O'Bryan wrote:All of the money is for studies.

Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.

I'm confused (per usual). Why is this a bad thing?

Matthew Lee wrote:I'm confused (per usual). Why is this a bad thing?

Matt

I cannot speak for Bill, though I am sure it has something to do with Lakewood being passed
over, or the studio is aimed at keeping people out of Lakewood through various means.

Myself

I find City Architecture over used and underwhelming, and generally the receiver.
of these funds for studios

Again, speaking for myself, not saying good or bad, just Observations. Time, and facts will
help color in the rest of the photo.

I find myself explaining to many people today, I am rarely "This is bad" unless I feel it is
bad, and then I will say it, like implantation of Common Core. A lot of my post and
comments are nothing more than my Observations.

.

Jim O'Bryan wrote:
A lot of my post and
comments are nothing more than my Observations.

Me too

Matthew Lee wrote:I'm confused (per usual). Why is this a bad thing?

When I see this I see red:
http://www.tri-c.edu/campuses/brunswick/Pages/Home.aspx

Why? I'm glad you asked!

Every economic study about Northeast Ohio I have ever seen predicts that Northeast Ohio (aka, Our Region) will continue to lose population, political power, jobs and wealth. Which begs the questions:

Is our decline reversible?
If so, what can we do to reverse the decline?

Before we can find an answer to those questions we need to answer this question:

Is our decline the result of the choices our local leadership makes or is our decline the result of forces beyond our control? Since I think we are captains of our fate I believe that our decline is the result of the choices we have made over the last 30 years.

Here is just one example:

When I had my interview for the Ward 2 Council position I spoke mostly about how our regional institutions like Tri-C and the Cleveland Clinic are actively undermining Cuyahoga County. Their actions lead to the dispersal of population and the impoverishment of Cuyahoga County.

How is that? Well, when Tri-C, which is funded by Cuyahoga County, opens new campuses in Lorain and Medina County they move jobs and economic activity from Cuyahoga County to Lorain and Medina. The really insulting part of that policy is that the residence of Cuyahoga County are forced to pay for that development.

Somewhere there was a recent article about the Tri-C campus and the new Clinic facility in Brunswick. In that article Brunswick City official said that the campus and Clinic building would bring new jobs, tax revenue, people and economic activity to Brunswick. He is right. However, the unspoken part of that statement was that the jobs, tax revenue, people and economic activity would be coming from Cuyahoga County. They are not adding value they are just moving it around.

A similar statement can be made about the new Lorain County Tri-C campus and the new Clinic Hospital in Lorain County. They are not adding one job to the region. They are not adding one person to the region and they are not adding one dollar in economic activity to the region. They are just moving it out of Cuyahoga County.

The City of Lakewood is over achieving on many levels. However, it's going to get harder and harder to maintain that level of achievement when our regional institutions engage in practices that push people further and further from the central core.

Lakewood and other cities in Cuyahoga County are in a vice grip; Cuyahoga County government is draining the resources of the inner ring to subsidize downtown development and regional institutions like Tri-C are using Cuyahoga County tax dollars to encourage people to move further and further from Cuyahoga County.

The brass on the boat can be highly polished, the crew can be highly efficient and the passengers can be fat and happy but if someone is flooding the bilge the ship is going to sink.