It doesn’t. For those of you not “in the know” SPA stands for Strategic Planning Area- a government nom de plume to designate those areas of a town or city that will divvy up the federal funds allotted to that town or city.In the past, these areas reflected the neighborhoods of Cleveland. Presently, SPAS are being combined and a many neighborhoods will no longer be the designated as a SPA.  Some neighborhoods will be combined with others, essentially, wiping out that neighborhood’s name on the map.  Here in Cleveland, as we have all know by now the $$$ that we send to the federal government that come back to us by way of HUD and other entities are constantly shrinking. Let’s pause for a moment- our dollars going to the government, the government taking a cut, and then, our much leaner $$ come back to us. Of course, those “in the know” would tell you that this routing of money is “fairer” because those areas that are “poorer” benefit from the largesse of the communities that have “more”. I never have truly believed this statement, but neither have I taken the time to research it. It just seems to me that a community that can keep money recirculating within the community rather than constant side trips would prove more useful.

It is my understanding that for an SPA to work well, the area must have a certain amount of “designated poverty” neighborhoods so that the area will qualify for federal funds, hence, the necessity to gerrymander the existing SPAS into “new and improved” areas. Over the past few days, my Gmail account has overflowed with the new nomenclature suggested for these SPAS. My question to you all is “why”? Why are we caught up in a discussion on “naming rights” and not the more important question of how does this benefit each neighborhood of the city?

A strategic planning area is NOT a neighborhood and does not replace a neighborhood. It is something created around a table by a group of planners, political wonks, and elected officials for doling out federal monies. It does not define your neighborhood or you unless you allow it to do so. Kamm’s Corners, Stockyards, Brooklyn Centre, Tremont, Barbara, North Broadway, Mt. Pleasant, Glenville, Shaker Square-each and every one of these neighborhoods will survive as long as the people within that neighborhood identify with that community of people. A neighborhood dies when the last person who knows its origins stops relating memories about its past and stops striving to keep it alive and well.

For some, the problem arises when neighborhoods are split in two or those on the edge of an SPA are not given clear direction as to who, what and where their services are provided. I personally have witnessed this situation during the creation of the Ward 14 CDO (community Development Organization.  An organization created before the NEW designations, and therefore, many neighborhoods have experienced confusion, frustration, and inadequate services. This problem is something that certainly needs to be addressed with the creation of these new SPAS. I for one would hope that ward boundaries would not designate how services are dispensed because they will continue to shift throughout the years. Rather, I would suggest that neighborhood boundaries be considered when creating new SPAs so that no neighborhood is split in two and that each neighborhood knows how services will be dispensed.

Side by Side comparisons of how the existing SPAS work and how new and improved SPAs will be better should be done before any changes are made.  In the long run, when SPA boundaries shift throughout the years how can metrics be compared and how can we know that monies are used efficiently and for best practices.  If SPA areas combine how will statistical data be used to make sure that the neighborhoods encased in a given SPA area are receiving the best value for the dollars invested,  and, if they are truly receiving the dollars that should be invested there.

I think we are on a slippery slope when our identity as a neighborhood is verified or nullified by an SPA designation. I serve on the Ward 14 steering committee, and I have asked my colleagues to resist the urge to name the organization with a combination of the three neighborhoods presently associated with the CDO because it was apparent that this debate would soon be upon us. In my mind, it is better to name the “thing” and say that the neighborhoods of Stockyards, Brooklyn Centre, and Clark Fulton are served by the “thing”. Right now, Brooklyn Centre is served by two councilmen and two CDOs. Who knows what our fate will be when all the new lines are drawn?

What I do know: Brooklyn Centre was settled in 1812, in 2012 it celebrates its 200^th birthday, and my neighbors and I are working hard to ensure that it survives another 100 years as a strong, prosperous community. Will we use the services of our local government? Absolutely! Will we demand accountability and transparency from our elected officials? Absolutely! However, strength and prosperity will come from the residents and businesspeople within the neighborhood, and therefore, it is imperative that we all understand and acknowledge what a neighborhood is and does. A neighborhood reflects the values and aspirations of its residents and business owners, not the name given it by the people who work for it. Neighborhoods will not be destroyed by people around a table; rather, they will die of natural causes when the last neighbor is gone. An SPA on the other hand will continue to shift as the dollars shrink and the workers gather around the tale.

may just have something to say about all that.

As more people opt for walkable bikeable communities with boutique commercial districts, South Euclid’s elected officials buy into an outmoded business model with the promise of it  “being green”.  You tell me how taking 144/54 acres of green space and replacing it with much less is  “being green”.  Obviously, someone is keeping South Euclid’s government occupied so they don’t see all the studies showing that those communities with parks for walking and biking are the ones where people are now settling.  I haven’t seen any studies lately on the hordes of people moving to be close to “big box retail”. I have seen a lot of news articles about the eyesores and blight left behind when “the big box” moves to the next community willing to sell its soul.

I am thankful for my friends Susan and Carla and so many others  willing to devote precious free time to combating Mitch Schneider’s latest venture to make his investors and himself rich and to make South Euclid/Cleveland Heights poorer.  Here is the link to their face book page:

 https://www.facebook.com/#!/citizensforoakwood

Here is an email I received from Susan earlier today.  I asked her if I could post it on my blog because I want her reasons for standing up against this development known.  Please sign her petition asking for sustainable land use and take the time to read what she has to say. It’s good stuff. Oh and those of you talking about “class warfare” shame on you.  We are into this together and when we allow what makes us all “rich”- the beauty of our land to be plundered- those “selling out”  for the short term are the ones who are waging class warfare. You are taking what made our area prosperous and selling us all into poverty.  

If you feel that we have enough big box retail in the Heights Hillcrest area and need not destroy precious green space to build more, you may wish to add your name to the petition linked here:

http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-ripping-up-green-space-to-build-shopping-centers-support-sustainable-land-use?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=email

Here’s the long story of why I’ve directed so much time and attention to this:

You may or may not know that I have been involved with a group called Citizens for Oakwood. We’re trying to save 144/54 acres of green space – the former Oakwood Country Club. We’d like to see it become a public park (and improve it’s ability to be a sponge for stormwater by allowing it to be a passive park). First Interstate/Legacy Capital Partners would like it to be big box retail. Of course, Jane Goodman, city council person in South Euclid where he’s begun the rezoning for big box process, promises that this will be a green infrastructure exemplar. Since South Euclid is in such a fiscally dire situation, it is clear to most that it is not a lack of retail, but rather downward (economic) pressure that is driving this. I think most adults know that we can’t buy our way to prosperity. Some are still fooled I guess. What was that Bush said about fool me once, keep right on foolin’ me – I’m feelin’ foolish?

It has raised three issues for me and for many of us.

1) Golf clubs are dying – Landerhaven was first, Oakwood is now, Acacia is next (now that it’s out of litigation). Then which golf/country club private course will fall to a developer? Seneca just sold to Metroparks. Hmmm… Which golf course will go next? While the focus will undoubtedly be on our poor relation, the City of Cleveland, you are aware, I’m sure, that poverty is creeping outward, just as population has. Now it’s also the inner ring that’s feeling the pressure. Please consider the golf courses and work with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy to help these clubs to stay green space. By the time all the planners have finished their studies and identified the "value" of green swathes to our Lake, big box retail may have ruled the day and the tiny municipal governments in South Euclid and Cleveland Heights despite our efforts. I have tried to make the argument that this is more valuable to South Euclid and Cleveland Heights as open green space from a water quality and quality of life standpoint, but I don’t have the metrics. Tacit knowledge is much harder to convey in a world where everything is a transaction. South Euclid just rewrote their entire comprehensive plan to accommodate this development. They did it in two weeks with two people. For golf courses, the WRLC exemplar is Orchard Hills – admittedly "out there", but still a good example of what could be "in here".

2) The downward pressure might be lessened if these balkanized municipalities had merged years ago. I’m going to keep exploring this for our future. It would be good to fold in the value of water absorbing green space when that muni mapping becomes a part of that discussion. The idea? What if Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, University Heights and South Euclid were one suburb? What white collar efficiencies might be gained? And could those efficiencies result in some greater resiliency and redundancy in our shared green space?

3) At a forum sponsored by Future Heights on land use and Oakwood, Terry Schwarz mentioned that the metric for jobs and parkland is 1 job per acre. I realized that agricultural land has no metric. Why is this important? Because, growing food, farming in the city has no value. It may not now, but it will shortly. The day will come (sooner than later in my estimation) when refrigerated trucks from the valleys of California will not arrive in NEO. We will need to be reliant on what can be grown and raised locally. We may tear down buildings just to be able to farm. Impending doom – energy crisis? Yes. It is upon us. We may look back and say, "Boy! We sure wish we’d saved this land for growing food!" 154 acres is a substantial bit-o-farmland. I’ll be meeting with farmland and farming experts to discuss how to discover per-acre metrics for ag land so that local food can enter these planning discussions.

In an article in Ecowatch Journal, it is noted that new project efforts at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens will include this issue: "Based on existing work being done in the region and success stories in other cities, identify barriers to implementation of green infrastructure as targets for future action and develop strategies to overcome them." Funny. I asked NEORSD if there might be a land use aspect to their big stormwater plan. You know like, residents of municipalities that have retained green space would get a tiny automatic  credit. They said – no, NEORSD doesn’t get into land use. I guess NEORSD will be in these discussions though. Land use and such best management practices as downspout disconnects where appropriate (most places in NEO) are the low hanging fruit of addressing our water quality issues. Mother earth is a filter. We have abused her mightily, no doubt, but she is still there, still willing like any mother to help her children.

It may be too late for Oakwood unless we all come together to stop this madness. We’re not giving up, but South Euclid’s government seems to have. They’re in a deep hole at Cedar Center – $19 million deep. What could be another piece of Ginny Aveni’s County Greenprint – the Emerald Lace that connects our Emerald Necklace, the Cuyahoga River Valley and Lake Erie, may be paved to put up a parking lot. No pink hotel, no boutique – big box retail. We don’t plan to stop our arguments now and we hope you’ll raise your voice as well and participate in this democratic practice. We need to do everything we can to keep the bulldozers from rolling over Oakwood. At rallies for SB5 I heard the now familiar chant, "This is what democracy looks like!" Letting our elected officials know how we feel is democracy. Democracy isn’t just voting; it’s a state of being, a way of life.

My son has graduated from college and moved away to Seattle for work. There he can take public transportation, ride his bike, pay his college loan instead of a car loan and visit the wonderful parks that the city has protected. How I hope that someday he can move back to Cleveland Heights and appreciate similar amenities here – NEO – the region that woke up and got busy turning what seemed like a burden into a blessing! This  would be an even better story of how Cleveland beat Wall Street. That’s the story I want to hear when I’m passing into another world.

Currently we’re all feeling the downward pressure. It’s palpable in Cleveland and the region, in the state, in the nation. We just want our fellow citizens to look farther, longer and with an eye to water quality, air quality, quality of life. We want them to see that there is a world water crisis that will not bypass the Great Lakes. We want them to think not so much about the hardship they’re enduring, which will increase in the near term, but to consider the outcomes in the long term, however difficult that may be. We’d like to make a gift to future generations. As Ellie Strong said speaking of the "little old ladies in tennis shoes" who saved the Shaker Lakes, "to each generation there is something to save."

Susan

Bob’s email:

Friends:
I try to limit my political views, but I can only do so to a point. I was at a community meeting earlier this evening where a local public official noted that it’s good we’re going to see "change" during this election. He didn’t clarify however whether he was referring to just county offices (thank god were seeing change there) or to all levels of government. (state and national) Just that we’re "going to see change".

What the hell is going on in this country that so many people are sitting back, accepting and even believing the Republicans, Tea baggers and other right wing extremists as they continue with their distortions and the type of political philosophy that got this county in the economic mess we’re now in? Not to mention their troubling domestic and international policy agendas.

Make no mistake folks, the bulk of the American public lies closer to the middle, despite the efforts of the major media (Plain Dealer included) that naively struggles to bring "balance" to their readership by steering them towards the extreme right. I’m afraid due to their success and the lack of courage on the part of so many others, this country will take a drastic turn for the worse. Please everyone – many of you being public officials yourself – prove me wrong, speak-up and spread the word that we need to stand up to the extremists and stay, and even strengthen the course, before its too late.  
Feel free to forward this message.

Robert H. Gardin
Cleveland, Ohio 44109

My response:

Well said, Bob!  Besides being an educated voter and voting EVERY time, I think that as citizens we need to do what you do Bob and attend these meetings and voice our opinions.  Unfortunately, I see too many people –elected officials, government employees, private citizens who do not express their opinions in public, and therefore, we have no dialogue only demagoguery.  We need to allow for differences of approach and ideas in civic engagement, but too often there is no civility.  I believe we need to embrace freedom of speech and have "true" town hall meetings.  Too often, one side or the other takes the reins and shouts down everyone else, and therefore, our society as a whole is made poorer because we have not been enriched by many ideas and actions, but are governed by only a few, not because the plan was made by using best practices but the loudest. 

My friend Jill Miller Zimon  has been incensed by how many well-qualified women candidates have either been vilified or ignored  by so many citizen and mass media journalists. My apologies for the choice but the title is just so wonderful and it gets readers to where I wanted them to go.   She has also called out Josh Mandel and his ill-disguised attempt to use religious intolerance to capture “voting by fear”. my term not hers.  How sad to see how far we have fallen because of silence.  I am truly blessed to have friends like Bob and Jill.  They keep me centered.

Today was the day that the Cuyahoga Board of Elections started to mail ballots to those who have applied by mail.  In September’s primary 29,000 voters voted by mail while 4000+ trudged to the polls.  All of that early voting, essentially, changed the way that voters find out about issues and candidates.  Forget candidates night the week before the November 3rd election-more than 3/4 of the voters will already have mailed in their votes. 

How will voters find information concerning issues on the ballot.  Right now, the casino ads on television pro and con are more style than substance.  Don’t expect the Plain Dealer to offer any investigative reporting or even any balanced reporting of both sides of the issue so that a voter could make a decision on fact rather than bias.  And then, there is the County Reform issues.  There is no doubt which plan the Plain Dealer endorses, but then is that the role of the daily newspaper? Maybe again the role should be balanced reporting to allow the voter the right to make an informed decision rather than one fanned by a corruption scandal that said newspaper MUST have had an inkling was happening years before or were they truly so clueless.

How will candidates reach the voters now? Party endorsements essentially close the door to any other candidates speaking to local ward clubs. At least, this has been the Democratic Part way under the leadership of Dimora and Russo.  Alas, I don’t see it changing much with a change in the guard. Newspapers choose endorsed candidates, and then, essentially close campaign reporting.

So how are voters to be well-informed before voting? I have decided to take part in this democratic process by writing what I see, hear, and know. I intend to offer what I know to voters so that they can decide for themselves who and how to vote on election day.  I will begin tomorrow since many of you will be voting early.  I would suggest keeping the ballot handy, read it over, and then, look for information about ALL the candidates and issues . 

I am walking into territory where I have never been. I have always kept my political votes to myself, but I am tired of remaining silent when all I see are new players with the same old machinations getting endorsements and having the inside track.  The internet should make this a new day in the republic, and we should each do our part to make it so.   

I have always thought that GET OUT THE VOTE promotions where canvassers go to shopping centers, RTA bus stops, and other places where there are large numbers of people are problematic.  First of all, you haven’t identified a VOTER you have probably identified someone who cannot say “no” and they find it easier to fill out your form and let you go away thinking that you have just signed up a voter for an upcoming election.  NOT!!  7 times out of 10 these people have no intention of going to the polls to vote.   In my estimation, this type of GOTV effort is a waste of time.

On the other hand, a neighborhood canvas identifying people who have recently moved into the area as well as those who have lived there but never registered to vote is a step up.  I would still maintain that you have not identified someone who will VOTE.  You have simply added another registration to the rolls.

And so this brings me to my estimation of this Republican version of “the Sky is Falling”   that there will be rampant voter fraud on election day.  Poppycock!  Talk about much ado over nothing.  Should canvassers who submitted multiple cards with the same names and addresses be fired?   Yes!  Should organizations that clog the voter rolls with bogus registrations be reprimanded? Yes!  Should they be warned if the registrations that they submit continue to have problems that they will not be welcome to help in GOTV efforts? Yes!  In fact, there should be a way of not allowing these organizations to participate at all. Would this include the Republican Party that sent out faulty registration cards?  Hmmm!

Again, I assert that many of the people demanding satisfaction don’t have a clue as to what they are screaming to achieve.  Or maybe they do.  Voter suppression is a much more likely outcome than any voter fraud.  People may stay away from the polls because they don’t want to be harassed when trying to vote.  More likely, they will stay away because they fear long lines and waits to vote.  Neither a good reason to stay away from the polls.

Anyone who knows who they are and where they live will probably have acceptable identification to take with them so that any challenger would not do so.  So go vote!  And to those of you so willing to say that there will be rampant voter fraud I ask how many of you are working as a poll worker in your county?  It is imperative for Ohio and the nation that we have a smoothly run election this November.  I ask what are you doing to make it so?  How sad when our political parties find it more advantageous to spend precious time in a courtroom rather than working together to make our national election safe, efficient, and credible. 

Oh and those questionable registrations by new “voters”.  They aren’t going to show up at the polls anyway.  But, wow, haven’t they created a “tempest in a teapot”.        

Fast forward to the pirates of today, and it is hard to see where the loyalties of these modern day pirates lie.  Basically, it seemed more like a feeding frenzy of sharks who had been given the hapless pirate who “walked the plank”.  Needless to say, I thought my early morning musings farfetched and fanciful so I parked them in the dark recesses of my mind doubting that they would see the light of day.  And then, today, I read this article from  the October 15, 2008 Science Daily which comments on the recent writings of Dr. Peter Hayes, Senior Lecturer on Politics at the University of Sunderland     

No longer so far-fetched.  But now, my mind wanders to dinosaurs, evolution, and how some species become extinct.  And, as I wander I wonder, is it time for these dinosaurs to die?  And if they die, what will evolve to take their place? 

We received the following letter from our U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. I feel a whole lot better knowing some of  his thought process on the $700 Billion “bailout”.  I am sure that he shared the same thoughts with all of his constituents who wrote him concerning this issue so I am sharing it here.

Thank you for expressing your concerns with the problems in the financial sector and how we address them.

A lot of Ohioans, including me, are angry at the thought of bailing out people who made a lot of money making bad business decisions that created problems in neighborhoods across Ohio. I agree that we need to avoid rewarding excessive risk taking. These institutions made unwise decisions, and taxpayers should not be expected to simply cover their losses.

On September 20th, Treasury Secretary Paulson sent a proposal to Congress that would have given him almost unfettered authority to spend $700 billion purchasing troubled assets from financial institutions. A few days later, my colleagues on the Banking Committee and I held a hearing at which Secretary Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, and others testified.

They made a strong case for the need to act quickly to prevent further damage to our economy. The turmoil in the credit markets has the potential to do great damage to a lot of innocent bystanders. I am afraid that if we do not act, the economic instability could affect thousands of American jobs and the savings of countless middle class families.

But Secretary Paulson’s proposal was not the right answer. No Secretary should be given a $700 billion blank check. Taxpayers must be given an opportunity to recover their money, and assurances their tax dollars will not fund lavish pay and golden parachutes. We need strong rules to guard against abuse and we need to ensure that Ohio is helped and not just Wall Street. The legislation adopted by the Senate, with my support, makes each of these changes.

This was a difficult vote. But Ohio has already lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs over the past seven years as our unemployment rate has spiked. Retirement and college savings accounts have shriveled. Credit is becoming more expensive for small businesses. We cannot gamble on even greater economic dislocation.

This week’s vote was not the end of our work on this issue. In the months ahead we need to enact tough rules to govern our financial markets to ensure we never find ourselves in this situation again.
Sincerely,
Sherrod Brown

I will post U.S. Senator George Voinovich’s reply when received.

Warren Buffett knows if you are going to take on great risk, be sure to negotiate a hard bargain and at least have the option to make millions.  I just received my latest edition of The Economist where I learned this. 

I haven’t seen anything on line about the $700 Billion Bailout of the banking industry.  Personally, I like the idea of loaning them the money.  You see, when they get behind on their loans because they haven’t the money to pay back the American taxpayer, we can have our servicing agent, the government, tell them that their “client” has informed them that they can no longer work with them and that they are in default.  We, the taxpayers, will then own the banks.  In other words, we can foreclose on them. Turnabout is fair play.

Why in the world would we the American Taxpayer give the money to the banks without getting something in return?  Shouldn’t we let the free market decide which banks would survive and which would become part of the collateral owned by the United States?  After all, I believe that is what U.S. Treasurer Hank Paulson recommended not so long ago when told that the housing bubble had burst and that the walls were crumbling down.

Of course, no one knew just how far the rolling stones would fall and now that retirement and pension funds, local and state governments will be affected by this debacle, something should be done.  But I ask you, why should we give them this money with no strings attached so that they can again “play the game” with no repercussions for the reckless way they played “the game” this time?

Could that be the problem with this whole scenario?  It wasn’t a game, it was people’s lives, it was people’s savings, it was America’s way of life.  It was only a game to those who saw only the numbers and never the faces behind those numbers.

I see no reason that we the American Taxpayer should bail out the financial industry without receiving something in return.  After all, according to the investment gurus, our world revolves on ROI (Return on Investment).  Maybe not so much.

Shannon Okey has asked for help in getting the word out about this latest attack on individual Intellectual Property.  Her article here says it better than I ever could.  Be sure to use the sidebar to gain knowledge of why artists, bloggers, small business people, and anyone else who believes in freedom of expression should do what Shannon asks of us.

Notify your congressperson that you are against this latest attempt to tie our hands, our tongues, and our minds to a mindless buisness  bureaucracy when innovation and creativity should be keywords in any endeavor in our country today. 

Please note the clandestine way that these examples of special interest legislation become part of our law that governs us.  Does anyone else get a shiver up their spine when the chance to object is limited to fifteen minutes and when no objection is recorded within those fifteen minutes the legislation passes by unanimous consent with no roll call vote?  WOW!

I do.  Look we never asked to be the focal point of the 2008 General Election.  Who knew that the phrase “lipstick on a pig” would become the most important topic on the political scene with just six weeks left until the American Public vote for their next leader?

There hasn’t been this much to talk about in the barnyard since Orwell wrote that terrible book depicting us pigs as power-hungry despots. Actually, discourse among humans has decidedly deteriorated since that book was written.

We sure wish that the news media thought there was more to talk about than just us pigs.  Oh yes, we listen to  the news quite frequently.  No self-respecting farmer fails to have a radio in the barn.  They may be busy, but they keep informed.  So sad that politicians and news moguls think that the American voters are morons and would rather be entertained than informed.  Us pigs are quite concerned that we may have to take over barnyards all over the United States just as George Orwell predicted in Animal Farm.  Oh wait, somebody just told me that book was a satire.

Well, I’m not sure that pigs running things wouldn’t be a step up.  At least we already know that lipstick on a pig looks ridiculous and no self-respecting pig  would wear it.  People look down on us because we wallow in our own, well you-all-know-what.  I ask you what is different about what you humans are doing? 

I told my friend Suey the other day, well at least they aren’t talking about making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear or are you?

h/t to my friend Gloria who let me borrow her blog.

Patchouli Porker