The Observation Deck

What does the decline in business at Cleveland Hopkins tell us about Lakewood Hospital?

http://www.clevescene.com/?utm_source=S ... b-36069701

Well, for starters the Scene is the only news outlet reporting the decline in a business that is key barometer of local business conditions. Forget all the happy talk about how wonderful things are. Northeast Ohio continues to lose people and economic activity. If you want the truth forget the Plain Dealer.

How is that related to the fight about Lakewood Hospital?

The Mayor and the people at Build Lakewood are behaving as if everything is fine and that some magical development will replace 1,500 well paying jobs. Like the Plain Dealer and "community leaders" they ignore all the contrary evidences. They hope that that if they pretend hard enough everything will turn out fine.

The truth is that NOTHING is going to replace those 1,500 jobs and all of the economic activity they bring.

The fight over the Hospital is more than a fight about healthcare; it's about the economic survival of a community.

My fear is that an apathetic community will simply accept Build Lakewood's big lie.

Take a drive down Detroit and talk to local business owners. Business isn't all that good. They all seem to know something that Mayor Summers and Build Lakewood do not know; Economic development in Northeast Ohio is a zero sum game.

Anyone who travels has seen the decimation at Hopkins. We have very few direct flights anymore. When I travel now I'm forced to take multiple stops, adding to the likelihood that I'll be delayed or rerouted. International flights from CLE are almost non-existent, yet it wasn't always that way.

For a leisure traveler, it might not be a big deal, but for a business traveler, it's a real hurdle. Companies are hesitant to locate in cities without good air service. Our loss only continues in our inability to attract the new and the best due to the downgrading of our air hub.