Archive for the ‘uncategorized’ Category
hearing January 9th at Estabrook, on the CREG Center
A member of our household who no longer blogs sent this to me by email, and I decided to share it here. It’s about the proposed CREG Center, which seems not so much proposed as implemented without asking. At the links you will find dates, times, and places. We plan on attending.
SE Kiwanians,
Mulling over the effects of this incinerator proposal, I remembered that the Kiwanis Club of SE Cleveland had as one of its missions or objectives the mitigation or eradication of unnecessary causes of respiratory problems in humans. This gasification project will create problems with its incinerator itself; it will cause problems with the creation of diesel hot spots in areas affected by the 500+ additional trucks daily required to keep the plant at a break-even level; and it will also cause problems when the trash pellets it produces are burned again to produce electrical energy.
Not much attention has been paid to collateral costs to the community; this is not a green project, it will not create many jobs at all for the amount spent, and its an unproven technology promoted by an administration with no history of sensible undertakings.
There is a public hearing Monday on this issue, and it was mentioned in the PD just recently. I think that Kiwanis involvement is appropriate at this time, given the stated mission of the local chapter. The Ohio EPA is trying to sneak this one by the federal EPA; they are not acting in the best interests of the community, the way Gloria and I see it.
It affects the area in which your club operates; it is said that it should have an adverse impact up into the Cleveland Heights/Shaker Heights area.
Please see more about the hearing at the following links and if, after giving this stealth project a cursory inspection, you decide it might not be in the best interests of the people and businesses of the Cleveland area, please lend your support to efforts to promote health and wellness, which probably entails the scuttling of this gasification fiasco as soon as possible.
http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/the-mysterious-mister-tien/Content?oid=2772517
http://topics.cleveland.com/tag/gasification/index.html
http://epa.ohio.gov/dapc/permitsonline.aspx
http://realneo.us/events/ohio-epa-hearing-city-cleveland-incinerator-monday-january-9th-2012-6-pm
http://ohiocitizen.org/?p=11256
http://www.friendsofbigcreek.org/CREGhearing9Jan2012.pdf
Note also that the PD editorial stance on this project is to be in full-cheerleader mode, as they sell full-page advertisements to this CREG group promoting the project. Conflicts of interest do not exist for the shameless. We hope to see as many of you as possible at the hearing, and later, in the fray. There are lives and property values in play here.
Feds Link Water Contamination to Fracking for the First Time – ProPublica
Now we begin the process of conserving our true wealth.
In a first, federal environment officials today scientifically linked underground water pollution with hydraulic fracturing, concluding that contaminants found in central Wyoming were likely caused by the gas drilling process.
The findings by the Environmental Protection Agency come partway through a separate national study by the agency to determine whether fracking presents a risk to water resources.
Multimedia
Drilling Regulatory Staffing in Your State
Graphics
Slideshows
Video
</:ASIDE>
In the 121-page draft report released today, EPA officials said that the contamination near the town of Pavillion, Wyo., had most likely seeped up from gas wells and contained at least 10 compounds [1] known to be used in frack fluids.
Feds Link Water Contamination to Fracking for the First Time – ProPublica
IMPORTANT: Bradley Road Landfill Meeting July 13, 2011, at 6:00 P.M.
I sent this as a email today to our distribution lists and am sharing it on the blogs and social media sites as well. This is a critical issue that is not receiving the attention it deserves, and it makes you wonder, “Whose interests are being served here?”
Hello everyone-
On April 18, 2011 the Board of Zoning Appeals denied the application made by the Baumanns, Bradley Road Landfill, Landsong Environmental, Inc. and Ty, Inc. for the variance to allow the strip mining of the topsoil at Bradley Road Landfill.
On April 25, 2011 the denial was to be ratified but the City of Cleveland asked that BOZA rehear now that there is a letter of intent. BOZA agreed and said that they would IF certain things happened.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CLEVELAND BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS that the parties have shown good cause to rehear Calendar Nos. 10-194,
10-259 and 10-260, which the Board shall set for a rehearing upon the filing of a joint stipulation between the City and the Appellants that a
pre-rehearing conference was held by the principals of the City, the Appellants, the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation, and
the directly affected property owners to discuss the previously mentioned Letter of Intent, including a Settlement Agreement and Consent
Decree involving litigation in US Northern District Court of Ohio Case No. 1:04-CV-1757.
http://www.oldbrooklyn.com/BradleyRdMining/BZAresolutionrehearCP6849.pdf
To get an idea of the seriousness of the proposed plans for this landfill and the impact for a much wider community than is included in the invitation list for Wednesday’s meeting:
GO TO www.oldbrooklyn.com click on Bradley Road Road Mining http://www.oldbrooklyn.com/BradleyRdMining.htm
Be sure to read these letters to:
OH Dept of Natural Resources http://www.oldbrooklyn.com/BradleyRdMining/Brady_to_ODNR_6-11.pdf
Army Corps of Engineers http://www.oldbrooklyn.com/BradleyRdMining/Brady_to_ACofE_6-20.pdf
Watch for words like "yellow cake" and "radioactive." Note the number of people potentially affected, just in contiguous areas.
Tomorrow is the meeting for the "affected" land owners requested by BOZA.
Here are the details:
WHAT: Bradley Road Landfill Meeting
WHERE: Knights of Columbus Hall, 4730 Pearl Road
WHEN: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6 pm
WHO: City of Cleveland and
WHY: Board of Zoning Appeals condition for reconsideration of Request for Variance
As you know this landfill has been problematic since its inception, and its impact is much greater than they would have you believe.
Air quality, water quality, real estate valuation effects everyone’s quality of life and impacts our WHOLE community.
This will probably be the usual "sit, be quiet, and listen" kind of meeting held in the City of Cleveland with few questions and fewer answers, BUT
We should attend so that they will see by our numbers we are concerned about our community.
MAKE THEM GET MORE CHAIRS!!!
GCRTA Health Line Controversy From a Rider’s Point Of View
When this story first hit, I wondered how many of the attorneys and employees of the “Rights” groups touting unfair targeting had ever ridden the Health Line or any other RTA bus other than the high end commuter buses from the suburbs. Regular riders on the 79, 35, 20A and 26 myself included often wait patiently as a bus driver explains to someone with no fare why they can’t ride for free “just this time”. More often, we are shuttled on to the bus because the fare box is not working. For years, I have wondered how much fare money is lost because of these fare boxes. Do I feel guilty when I can’t pay, no, because I had every intention to honor my agreement with RTA ”I pay you, you get me where I am going on time. Of course, I probably have had to start my journey an hour and a half before my appointment, but that’s another post.
The Health Line has become a regular route on my forays around town. It allows me to meet friends and colleagues for coffee with little hassle because of the coffee shops along its route. I travel the route from downtown out to University Circle and back again. I now know how to buy tickets at the stations thanks to two very helpful Case Western students. Actually, I might still be at the station in front of Thwing Hall if not for those two. Let me say that I found the instructions on the fare board more confusing than helpful. I continue to avoid 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm whenever possible because the crush of high school students is very intense. I have, at times, not been able to avoid rush hour which is another crushing time, but I am well equipped to pay my way although I often feel like I am one of the few who do pay regardless of age.
Two of the things I like best about the Health Line are: the display board telling you when the next train will arrive and the space for waiting for the “train/bus”. When I first started hopping the Health Line, I had some trouble finding where I should validate my card. I did what I always do in a situation where i don’t know what to do, I observed the other people at the stop. Imagine my surprise when not one person swiped their card. Each and every one of them stood, hands in pockets, avoiding eye contact. Finally, I ventured over to the fare card box and figured out how and what I needed to do. That day, one man and myself were the two who paid fares before boarding the train. For a year and a half, I have from my own observation believed that the pay rate for the health line was probably somewhere between 15 and 30 per cent excluding people transferring from other buses. I have yet to see people step up to swipe a card or buy a fare more than once or twice while waiting for a train.
Last week, I met a friend for coffee at Moko Cafe. As I walked to the 14th Street stop, I decided I would make sure I counted each person who paid a fare. I knew I would be waiting six minutes for the next train. I had just missed one. Granted, some riders may have transferred from another bus, but the majority would probably hop on from one of the office building around the stop. Twelve people waited at that stop in the middle of the day-four with book bags, three with cold hands stuffed in pockets, two with briefcases, a lady with a baby in a stroller, me, and a young man who sprinted across the street hopping into the train just as the doors closed. I figured he was probably the rider transferring from another bus. How many did I see pay? Me. Not one other person bought a fare or swiped a card. Every other person arrived after me. Now, I understand from an article in the Plain Dealer that this “quick on honor system” was a concession to receive federal money for the project. Well, it doesn’t work.
There is a lot of talk about targeting certain riders for non payment, but I can say to you that the group I waited with was very diverse and NO ONE paid except me-the white haired white lady. So, stop a full train, target any population, and I am willing to bet that you will find that the percentage paying is probably around 30 to 40 per cent. Cross socio-economic lines, ethnic groups, age groups, and you will find the same numbers. It should not be about targeting any one group. It should be about a stupid “honor” policy that does not work in the real world. If anyone had asked regular riders of the RTA how such a system would work, we could probably have told you that it wouldn’t. Of course, when the need for federal money to finish a project or to start a project outweighs the practicality of an “honor system”, we know which one wins, and now, we have a community again targeted as “discriminatory”. The Health Line is discriminatory, but not for the reasons cited in this Plain Dealer article. It discriminates against me and every other Clevelander of any color who pays their way on the bus line.
If it were free to each and every rider what would the economic benefit be to the businesses and employers along that line? If it were free, would more college students use it to attend classes at CSU and CWRU stopping to eat lunch or have a cup of coffee with a study group? If it were free how much revenue would the parking lots lose along Euclid Avenue? If it were free how much would the carbon emissions in Dontown Cleveland be decreased? If Cleveland’s carbon footprint was enhanced how many federal $$$ would that mean for Cuyahoga County? Would people use it to reach Playhouse Square? How would gridlock be eased during rush hour on snowy or black out days? Would people feel safe and secure along the route if it was used night and day? We do know the “honor system” is not working. Have we looked at innovative and creative ways of solving the problem? Or have we simply slipped into punitive, unenforceable mode?
Holy Cross Magazine – In Memory of Fr. Miller
We missed this in December of 2008 and wish to share it with you now, one of our favorite guys talking about another.
In Memory of Fr. Miller
Homily delivered by Holy Cross president emeritus, Rev. John E. Brooks, S.J., ’49 at the funeral Mass for vice president emeritus for development, Rev. Francis X. Miller, S.J., ’46 celebrated at the Campion Health Center, Weston, Mass., on Dec. 3, 2008, the Feast of St. Francis Xavier
Homily delivered by Holy Cross president emeritus, Rev. John E. Brooks S.J., ’49 at the funeral Mass for vice president emeritus for development, Rev. Francis X. Miller S.J., ’46 celebrated at the Campion Health Center, Weston, Mass., on Dec. 3, 2008, the Feast of St. Francis Xavier
We gather this morning on the Feast Day of St. Francis Xavier to express our temporary “good-byes” to our beloved brother, Francis Xavier Miller, to celebrate his passage from this life, through death, to a new and everlasting life in the presence of our loving God, and to offer all the comfort and consolation we can possibly command to Frank’s sister, Mary, and to those relatives and many friends who have repeatedly experienced Frank’s kindness, patience and love over the years.
My words this morning can only constitute an inadequate labor of love, for there is nothing I can say, or that any of us might say, that would begin to do justice to the fullness and the richness of the life lived by our good friend Frank Miller.
Frank and I enjoyed a deep, personal understanding of each other. Each one knew that he could ask the other whatever he would, and it would be given. The simple knowledge that Frank was my friend, that I had his affirming, unconditional love, has from the early years of my Jesuit life made me feel a much better person than I am. It gave me courage to do things I would not have attempted otherwise. Such is the power of love.
It’s hard to define the precise moment when friendship is formed. It is as filling a vessel drop by drop, and there is at last a drop which makes it run over.
At what point in my relationship with Frank Miller my cup runneth over, I cannot really say. It all began so many years ago—66 years to be precise—in the fall of 1942 when both Frank and I enrolled as freshmen at the College of the Holy Cross. A violent World War II soon interrupted as each of us volunteered for military service—Frank to the U.S. Navy and eventual assignment to the island of Guam in the Pacific; I to the U.S. Army and assignment in June 1944 to France in the European Theatre of Operations. Once hostilities ceased, we returned to the Worcester campus with Frank graduating in 1947 and I in 1949. Following his graduation from Holy Cross, Frank journeyed to New York City and entered the Chase Manhattan Bank’s prestigious and highly competitive executive training program where his industry, talents and personal skills were quickly recognized. At the end of fall 1949 semester, I departed graduate school to enter the Jesuit novitiate at Shadowbrook in Lenox, Mass.
One morning in early August 1951, I was told that the Novice Master, Fr. John Post, wanted to see me that afternoon at 4 p.m. in his office. Given the 17 months experience I had had in that particular environment, I spent the entire day wondering what I had done now that was about to be corrected. Promptly at 4 o’clock, I knocked on the door of Fr. Post’s quarters, entered the room, sat down and waited. Fr. Post looked at me and said, “Brother, a Holy Cross friend of yours will be entering the novitiate and joining you on August 14.” Before he could tell me who it was, I said, “Father, I don’t think any of my Holy Cross friends are likely to be coming here.” Unmoved by my comment, the Novice Master informed me that the new novice would be Frank Miller—and so it happened. Frank Miller and I were reunited, and for the next 57 years we were blessed, we were given that gift of time. We traveled much the same path down through the years, diverging here and there, as paths do in the woods, but always coming back together again.
In 1973, Frank returned to Holy Cross where his father had served as College Bursar for 47 years, joining me and working as the Vice President for Development and College Relations. For the next 22 years we traveled the United States together, visiting 40 to 50 cities a year from Maine to Florida, from the East Coast to California, meeting with individuals and addressing countless gatherings of alumni and friends at receptions, dinners and in private homes—seeking always their generous support of Holy Cross. On flights from one city to another, Frank would “prep” me as to who would be in attendance at our next gathering—providing me with names of alumni, graduation years, job titles, spouses’ names, number of children and schools they attend. As the years went by, people began to comment on the wonderful memories we appeared to have—the truth, of course, being not so much that our memories were strong, but rather that whatever memory skills we did display were due directly and solely to the detailed preparation Frank had executed prior to our departure from campus.
That preparation, coupled with the immense respect and admiration alumni across the country had for Frank, were the keys to the College’s ability to engage nearly 60 percent of its alumni as donors each year to the Annual Fund—clear evidence of the truth of the old fundraising axiom that “people give to people”—people gave to Frank Miller.
The late German Jesuit theologian, Karl Rahner, in a classic essay taking the form of an address by St. Ignatius Loyola to contemporary Jesuits, tells us that a Jesuit must be selfless and serviceable, and that the ultimate task of a Jesuit is to help others experience God directly and realize that the incomprehensible mystery we call God is present to us, and is someone to whom we can speak and with whom we can converse. That being the ultimate task of a Jesuit, it follows that whatever one does as a member of the Society of Jesus—be it an academic, pastoral, administrative, social or political activity—must be tested to see that it serves that purpose.
Frank Miller’s long career in the Society of Jesus earns high grades on that test:
• his strong and exemplary commitment to service to the New England Province of the Society of Jesus and to the College of the Holy Cross
• his vast and intimate knowledge of Holy Cross
alumni and their families
• his approachability by and accessibility to everyone
• his personal warmth and genuine kindness to all without exception
• his integrity, his trustworthiness, his humility, his loyalty
• his work ethic and administrative skills
• yes, even his great love and genuine respect for the game of golf.
All of these attributes have, over the years, served to bring relatives, friends, co-workers and brother Jesuits to a reassuring experience of God and to a knowledge of Christ’s presence among us.The famed French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once wrote, “I am more keenly aware that for the rest of my life my task is to develop in myself, humbly, faithfully, doggedly—and at the same time to impart it as much as possible to others, that form of spirituality which makes one seek God in every single thing and in all one’s activity.”
That statement seems to me to have a peculiar pertinency to the life of Frank Miller. For the secret and source of Frank’s amazing energy, his complete dedication, his countless acts of kindness and his boundless but hidden charities was that, like Teilhard, when he looked at the world, he saw people not in their nameless, unlovable collectivity, but with the face and heart of Christ. He saw his vocation (and that of all Christians) to recognize and find Christ everywhere in the world, to find that divine, personal Omega point who alone is capable of drawing all women and men to Himself, and of changing the world into a better, happier place by the power of His love.
Was not Frank Miller’s life a fulfillment of the life described by Teilhard? His life of service to the Society of Jesus, to Holy Cross and to his many admiring friends, both Jesuit and non-Jesuit, was an extension of his priesthood.
This is the “moral virtue” that filled Frank’s life—a life whose main thrust and unwavering direction was his priestly calling as a Jesuit.
May his soul now join that of his beloved brother Jesuit, St. Francis Xavier, in the welcoming embrace of our loving God.
Sound Walls and Fury / WCPN.org, initially aired Thursday, July 29, 2010
Here’s an easy link to the podcast replay of the Ideastream initial session on the ODOT sound barriers and the flawed process that puts them in place.
Cleveland: Angry residents fight highway noise wall
Here’s the coverage from WKYC of the ODOT debacle on I-71.
CLEVELAND- Interstate 71 between Fulton and West 25th Street is on Ohio’s top 25 list of noisy stretches of highways.
But the Department of Transportation’s wish to put in noise walls is sparking a very noisy debate.
The Brooklyn Centre neighborhood that surrounds the highway is battling to keep its identity and avoid being confused with Old Brooklyn.
"We are the gateway to the city of Cleveland. (Those walls) look like a welcome to East Berlin, " neighborhood activist Tim Ferris said.
ODOT wants to put in faux brick concrete walls already installed further south on the highway.
"We’re not a typical suburb. We don’t want a typical suburban noise wall," said Councilman Brian Cummings.
Trees abutting the access roads were cut down this week sparking more outrage.
Opponents say ODOT needs to have some green-friendly alternatives for noise abatement.
They are proposing a vegetation noise wall concept being used in Europe and Canada. It’s about a dollar-cheaper per square foot than concrete. But ODOT’s concerned about possible maintenance costs.
ODOT says it will study green alternatives for the future. But it wants to act fast to build walls to make sure more than $2 million of Federal money is not lost.
"What they are proposing is something that has not been tested or proven in Ohio," said ODOT spokeswoman Jocelynn Clemings.
"I’d like to get a say. I’m a taxpayer. It’s going to make us more forgotten than we are now," said resident Laura McShane.
Some residents who live close to the highway want the walls.
Awilda Soto’s backyard is a showplace of statues and landscaping. She’s lived next to the highway for 25 years.
"I like it because we’re not going to have as much wind or noise and will have privacy. I wish it here tomorrow," she said.
This situation is the latest of many where residents or businesses feel ODOT is pushing its own agenda without regard for their concerns.
ODOT rejected proposals to put a bike line on the Innerbelt Bridge.
Midtown businesses are upset ODOT plans to eliminate Innerbelt interchanges they regard as essential routes for their customers.
A task force recently recommended ODOT update its transportation planning process to allow more consideration of human, economic and environmental impacts of what it builds.
6:30 PM tonight, Friday, June 18th: Flash Mob in Brooklyn Centre protesting ODOT’s marring of our landscape, I-71 access road. Be there!
I just got this email from Tim regarding a flash mob protesting the destruction by ODOT district 12 of the gateway to our park neighborhood. Please, be there. We’re going to try FaceBooking this as well. It should be a salutary way to start a Friday evening.
Dear XXXXX–
I just got off the telephone with Tom Beres of WKYC Channel 3 News. He has time in his schedule tonight to do a spot at 6:30 PM (1830 if you want to think this is a military operation) about ODOT ‘s unwelcome incursion into the previously green and peaceful Brooklyn Centre.
We need as many people out there as the berm and the access roads can handle–there’s more room now since there are fewer trees. We will be assembling between Fulton Road and Pearl (West 25th Street); I will try to get police support to control traffic and keep things moving. (We will be past the rush hour.)
All of us in Brooklyn Centre are affected by what ODOT has done by destroying the trees against our wishes. Everybody visiting the zoo or MetroHealth is affected. People entering the city from the western approach are affected. It is not too late to make ODOT put the trees back and make a natural, green solution for our noise problem.
Please, show up, especially if you live in Brooklyn Centre or in Tremont and will have to pass by the enormous monstrosity of ODOT’s 20-foot high walls daily for the next few years, closing our neighborhood off, limiting admittance of light and air–the negative impacts are many and varied.
If you despise government overspending and pork, show up. These things are 165% of the cost of a superior green solution, at least.
If you despise bad design, show up. Canada and Germany and now Vermont have viable green solutions that look and function better than this ODOT concrete crap.
If you are offended at having government workers operate with arrogance and impunity, and immunity from adverse consequences, show up. These ODOT punks answer to no one; Lee Fisher and Ted Strickland can’t control them; having ODOT determine our neighborhood’s future is tantamount to being walked by your dog.
If you think first impressions count, show up. Brookside Park, the ZOO, Brooklyn Centre, Riverside Cemetery, and MetroHealth are all part of the same visual approach, welcoming people to the neighborhood and to the city. These hot concrete walls, devoid of trees, change the entire visual statement. Instead of saying welcome to our park neighborhood, welcome to the Forest City, they shout out, Welcome to Cleveland, Now go home.
Again, we’re getting together to get our pictures taken, all of us, at 6:30 PM tonight on the access road to the south of I-71, behind Riverside Avenue, entering from Fulton and proceeding towards Pearl.
This is what the young people call a Flash Mob. We will assemble, have the TV people do what they can, get our pictures taken, and demobilize.
The more the merrier. See you there. Car pool, ride bikes, walk, ride motorcycles, do what you can to conserve space, but show up a little prior to 6:30 PM.
–Tim Ferris & Gloria Ferris
(writing to assemble a media event for Tom Beres, which, as he pointed out, rhymes, sort of–Ferris/Beres)
from the ODOT site, some search results: “waste, fraud, and abuse”
If you feel that, in the handling of our genuine, sincere, authentic objections to the concrete sound-barrier walls in the Brooklyn Centre and Tremont neighborhoods, we have been given short shrift, been ignored, been given the run-around, or unfairly foreclosed from the process of determining our own destiny, then perhaps you might want to click the link at the end to report your suspicion of waste and/or fraud and/or abuse. We are located in ODOT’s district 12, which has a recent history of mismanagement, fraud, kickbacks, and theft.
Why else would a transportation department of a state want to pay 165% more than a green, sensible solution would cost, unless there were arrangements of which the public knew nothing? We’ve been objecting as neighborhood groups to the concrete barrier walls since 2005, and yet ODOT seems intent on delivering them, despite our objections, and they refuse to investigate greener solutions.
All this is happening in a department where the director’s bio at its outset advertises her position on green issues as being in consonance with the governor’s (emphasis mine):
Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jolene M. Molitoris strengthens Governor Strickland’s commitment to moving Ohio into a prosperous new world, by investing in a safer, more multi-modal, greener transportation system to create jobs and revitalize Ohio’s cities and towns.
Seems this new world, too, is determined to handle the natives roughly. Here are some guidelines for us native types for registering a report of suspected waste, fraud, and abuse:
U.S. DOT, OIG Hotline Page 1 of 2
OIG Hotline Complaint Center
Introduction:
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) maintains a Hotline to facilitate the reporting of allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement in U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) programs or operations. You may report such allegations through the contact information listed on this page.
Allegations may be reported by DOT employees, contractors, or the general public. OIG’s Hotline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is operated by a third party contractor.
The OIG Hotline is obligated to expeditiously forward all safety-related complaints to DOT’s safety regulatory agencies.Issues that should be reported:
Contract, Procurement, and Grant Fraud
Environment, Health, and Safety Violations
Computer Crimes
Product Substitution and Suspect/Counterfeit Parts
Bribery, Kickbacks, and Gratuities
False Statements and False Claims
Conflicts of Interest and Ethics Violations
Travel Fraud
Theft and/or Abuse of Government property
Stimulus Abuse: American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009 (ARRA) violations
Other Violations of Federal Laws and Regulations
Callers are encouraged to provide relevant and specific details of their complaints, including the identity of the person, company, or organization alleged to have engaged in wrongdoing; a description of the alleged impropriety; the DOT facility and program affected by the alleged misconduct; contract numbers; date(s) of alleged wrongdoing; how the caller is aware of the alleged impropriety; the identity of potential witnesses; and the identity and location of supporting documentation.
Complaint processing:
Upon receipt of a specific allegation of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement, the OIG may take any one of the following actions: open an investigation or audit; refer the matter to DOT management for appropriate review and action; or refer the allegation to another Federal agency. Allegations with limited specificity or merit may be held in abeyance until further, specific details are reported.Callers may remain anonymous:
Individuals who contact the Hotline, via telephone or letter, are not required to identify themselves to the Hotline operator. However, persons who report allegations are encouraged to identify themselves in the event additional questions arise as the OIG evaluates or pursues their allegations.Confidentiality:
The Office of Inspector General will protect the identity of complainants to the maximum extent possible by law. Confidentiality is established by Section 7(b) of the Inspector General Act of 1978, which precludes the IG from disclosing the identity of a DOT employee who reports an allegation or provides
information, without the employee’s consent, unless the IG determines that disclosure is unavoidable during the course of the investigation. Non-Department of Transportation employees who report allegations may specifically request confidentiality.http://www.oig.dot.gov/Hotline 6/25/2009
Contact:
If you want to report an allegation of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement at the U.S. Department of Transportation, you may do so by using one of the following methods:
On-line Complaint Form
Call 1-800-424-9071 (toll free).
Fax your concerns to 540-373-2090.
E-mail your concerns to hotline@oig.dot.gov
Mail your concerns to: DOT Inspector General, P.O. Box 708, Fredericksburg, VA 22404Other Resources:
1. Our online privacy policy can be found at http://www.oig.dot.gov/privacy.jsp.
2. Inquiries about DOT press releases, programs and operations, publications, and energy information data can be made at the DOT home page or by calling the DOT Public Affairs Office at 202-366-5575.
3. If you would like to locate a DOT employee, please call the operator at 202-366-4000.
4. Questions about motor vehicle registration or state drivers’ licenses should be directed to state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. A listing of state Departments of Transportation may be found here.
5. If you are concerned about motor vehicle recalls or would like to file a complaint about defective motor vehicle, you should contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or visit the NHTSA Hotline website.
6. For questions involving your rights when moving household goods, please visit our Household Goods Movers Media Room.
7. If you are seeking consumer-related information, http://www.consumer.gov is a "one-stop" link to a broad range of Federal information resources available on-line. It is designed so that you can locate information by category, such as Food, Health, Product Safety, Your Money, and Transportation. Each category has subcategories to direct you to areas within individual Federal
websites containing related information.
8. If you are a Federal employee or job applicant with concerns regarding prohibited personnel practices, including non AR A whistleblower reprisals; Hatch Act violations; or other workplace improprieties, please visit the Office of Special Counsel’s website at http://www.osc.gov for more information.
9. If you have a safety-related complaint concerning FAA, such as an aircraft incident or violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR), you may contact FAA’s Safety Hotline, which is open 24 hours a day, at (800) 255-1111. Their website is http://www.faa.gov/safety/.
10. If you feel your employer or a driver is violating the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and/or the Hazardous Materials Regulations, or if you have been victimized by a household goods moving company, broker, or any other carrier, you may file a complaint with the FMCSA National Consumer Complaint Database, http://nccdb.fmcsa.dot.gov/HomePage.asp. You may also call 1-888-DOT-SAFT (368-7238), Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 AM and 9:00 PM EST, to speak to a representative who will assist you in filing a complaint.
11. Additional information regarding ARRA and related whistleblower protection can be found at www.oig.dot.gov/recovery/whistleblower_protections.jsp, www.oig.dot.gov/recovery/, and at
www.recovery.gov.
OIG
U.S. DOT, OIG Hotline Page 2 of 2
http://www.oig.dot.gov/Hotline 6/25/2009
Tuesday’s ODOT thread about best practices, and bringing current practices into compliance
The thread left off around 10 PM last night, and continues with Darren’s post just after that, carrying forward to Tuesday. Frank Mestnik found out that The Living Wall costs $750 a meter. At $2,000,000 a mile, ODOT’s solution should cost $1,242 a meter. The ODOT solution is 165% of The Living Wall solution, and we still have not verified the cost of the wall installation at this proposed site. The contract, we hear, was awarded to Great Lakes Construction, presumably the one from Hinckley
1 meter = 3.2808399 feet
Here is the ongoing conversation:
DARREN HAMM:
Johanna and Joe (et.al.):
Attached is copy of the ODOT Sound Barrier survey that I circulated with Tom Sorge from ODOT in August. We spent the evening covering a large majority of the targeted area.
My perception of the outcome, though never confirmed, was that the survey participants were split fairly evenly and those farther east in the area far more in favor of seeing the barriers installed. However, I was definitely pushing those I spoke with to consider the long term implications and alternatives. So long as that information was presented, it seemed many were interested in green or similar solutions.
I guess it should be noted that this is in the hands of an entity that believes greening efforts are not considered a viable abatement strategy and that trees are a deadly hazard to "their" roads. I’d be happy to share more information and research if necessary.
Darren
GLORIA FERRIS:
Dear XXXXX–,
We’ve taken the thread of yesterday’s emails concerning ODOT’s surreptitious handling of the sound-wall issue and assembled it on a few of our blogs. One of them is here:
We believe this discussion should be expanded in that it affects not only those people with contiguous properties but everybody who lives in a neighborhood and who would have to drive by high-prioced bad design every day, never knowing what was on the other side of the wall. We happen to have a park neighborhood which we are reclaiming and restoring, and we are proud of what we have; we don’t want to be walled off by expensive, intrusive structures. We are still waiting for a presentation of natural alternatives to abate sound–this is ostensibly the purpose of the ODOT walls.
What we do here in Brooklyn Centre by way of design impacts the entire city, and these walls are at odds with a city and a state that claim they are "green" and cost-conscious and wanting to attract people who have those same values. We are the gateway to the city, we have much green space, and we can be more attactive than we already are if ODOT would augment the barriers we already have by installing more natural barriers; the fact that ODOT has already maintained the side of the right-of-way poorly is no reason to erect walls to hide a record of bad practice.
The cost of natural barriers is, I have been told, about 1/5th of the cost of the artificial barriers, which I was also told cost approximately $2 million dollars per mile, on one side. This is an election year; cost, waste, extravagance, pork, insensitivity, and plain old just not listening to constituents can really be meaty issues. Certain people have offered to contact Strickland and Fisher on these points on behalf of those of us who want more sensible solutions than what ODOT is forcing on us.
The surveys conducted by ODOT are another issue; they seem slanted and need to be vetted to make sure they are more fair. Why are they on such close hold, even with the trees about to be cut any moment?
How well we implement from this point forward has a huge impact on our future; wasteful spending and poorly designed installations are things we must put behind us. Simply stated, we cannot afford dumb stuff at high prices. We would like to show some intelligence in what we do and how we live.
The city would do well to have guidelines in place for intelligent design, friendly to the environment, in consonance with the existing built environment. Has Watterson’s office dealt with this at all, and if so, what was the outcome?
Anyway, please share the synopsis of yesterday’s thread as widely as possible with people interested in seeing a living city emerge and thrive, with people who consider the barrier walls something akin to a "concentration camp."
With the money we save with a natural sound-barrier installation in Brooklyn Centre, perhaps we can repair the walls out by the airport, which are a regional disgrace and which should have been maintained long ago.
If there is no money for maintenance and repair, why should any city allow the state to install these in the first place? What are the incentives, because all we can see from our vantage point are negatives.
http://save-our-land.blogspot.com/2010/06/todays-thread-concerning-odot-district_14.html
JOCELYNN CLEMINGS:
Dear Frank:
I just wanted to let you know that the records you requested will be ready later today. As you also know, there is a meeting being scheduled regarding the issue for today. Hopefully, we’ll have the records to you prior to that meeting.As part of ODOT’s 2010-2011 Business Plan, we are committed to using the best environmentally-sensitivity practices in our operations and pilot new green initiatives as ODOT leads by example in embracing environmental stewardship and reducing energy consumption. I’ve passed this along to our Office of Innovation, Partnerships and Energy and ask that it be something they look into further for possible consideration in future projects. We would be very interested in working with Mr. Ferris in the future regarding the initiative.
From my very quick Web search of the topic, there appears to be very little research on Living Walls for noise abatement purposes and even less information on the cost of such a proposal. In fact, so far, the only research done on a Green or Living noise wall was done by WisDOT entitled “Living Noise Wall – Final Report" dated January 1998. A failure in the plastic cribbing caused a collapse of a portion (100’) of the structure. We will certainly need more research to ensure this type of wall meets federal requirements for addressing noise conditions and can withstand northeast Ohio conditions.
Although we didn’t propose a living wall for the location along I-71, we do have a research project underway that will build and test a section of green wall along a 400 foot section of Interstate 70 in Licking County near Columbus. That test section will use the "Deltalok" system which is similar to what Mr. Ferris proposed. Here is the Web site for more information: http://www.deltalokusa.com/. It’s a different concept than this one, so down the road, we can study an option like this one to compare the different types.Please feel free to pass this along to whomever you feel appropriate!
For more information on our "Go with Green" initiative please follow the link below:
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/policy/Initiatives/Pages/StrategicInitiativeSix-10-11.aspxSafe and pleasant travels,
Jocelynn Clemings, Public Information Officer
Ohio Department of Transportation
District 12: Serving Cuyahoga, Lake & Geauga Counties
Ph: 216.584.2006
"Moving Ohio into a Prosperous New World"
JOCELYNN CLEMINGS:
Dear Mr. Ferris and Ms. Ferris:
Please see the below e-mail written this morning to Mr. Mestnik. I think it will address many of the questions you posed in your previous e-mails. Please feel free to contact me or Transportation Planning and Programs Administrator Dale Schiavoni (who is copied on this e-mail) again if you have any other questions.
Mr. Schiavoni will also be available at today’s meeting regarding the I-71 noise walls.
Safe and pleasant travels,
Jocelynn Clemings, Public Information Officer
Ohio Department of Transportation
District 12: Serving Cuyahoga, Lake & Geauga Counties
Ph: 216.584.2006
"Moving Ohio into a Prosperous New World"
TIM FERRIS:
Jocelynn—
Thanks. I know of no meeting today. Tell me more, with detail, please. This is short notice. The last thing we heard from Councilman Cummins was something about Thursday.
We were promised that the dialogue would be far more extensive than it has been, that ODOT would make an attempt to save money and also do a more “green” implementation, in line with other things we do.
We are nowhere near done talking here. As things stand for us, the proposed ODOT implementation not only costs way more than it needs to cost, and cheapens the surrounding area in the process. This is a perverse dynamic.
SHARON MARTYNOWSKI:
I would like to point out that the neighborhood that ODOT is so intent on “Walling off” as if we were some dead zone from a science fiction movie is the home of the Cleveland Metro Park Zoo, one of the foremost ranking Zoo’s in the country and the single most visited recreational destination in the County. It is also the home of Riverside Cemetery, one of the oldest, historical and most picturesque park like Cemeteries in the city of Cleveland. It is also the neighborhood that has recently received three of the ReImaging Cleveland grants which is an initiative that has received Federal funds to help the City of Cleveland transform vacant city-owned land bank lots into community assets and create new and sustainable land reuses of those vacant lots. This program was applauded by Mayor Jackson as a way to “bring a progressive outlook to a sustainable vision in our neighborhoods.” Cleveland claims to be striving to be more eco-friendly. We have all heard the new catch phrase “A green city on a blue lake.” The local politicos and movers and shakers are all giving lip service to being environmentally aware and “thinking green.” But they are all willing to turn a blind eye and let ODOT do whatever it wants, regardless of what the community wants, just so they can justify spending money and justify their existence. Why not use that money to fix the broken walls that are already in place? Oh, that’s right, ODOT claims, there is no money to fix the walls or to maintain them. Then why do they think we would want MORE walls?
I’d like to know what the people at ReImaging Cleveland think about this issue. How about the Neighborhood Progress folks? Sustainable Cleveland? And what about all the other groups and organizations out there trying to improve our Cleveland neighborhoods? What do you think Mayor Jackson? You’re the one asking us to provide a progressive outlook in our neighborhoods. How do concrete walls fit into that vision?
TIM FERRIS:
Good one—I’ll post it with today’s collection late this evening
BRIAN CUMMINS:
Dear residents and stakeholders,
This message is intended to update and inform people regarding the status of the ODOT Noise Mitigation project: I-71 from Pearl Road/W. 25th Street to Fulton Avenue.
Summary timeline – ODOT concluded its noise analysis back in April of 2009 and at that time prepared various potential alternative designs for noise mitigation walls based on their noise analysis of the project area.
Project meetings were held by ODOT with the public through September – October of 2009 (north and south sections of the community) and public outreach on the streets immediately affected continued through November as well as in February/March of 2010.
We’ve recently learned that ODOT went to bid with project in March 2010 and Greatlakes Construction received the $2.5 million contract in April. Surveying began in June and as many of you are aware trees began to be marked for removal this past week.
We’ve learned that construction is anticipated to be from July through October 2010 with tree and drilling work first and then wall placement to follow.
In communications with ODOT over the past month my office sought clarification regarding the final plans for walls and requested to have input into those plans before they were implemented. We had a meeting scheduled with ODOT officials for Thursday of this week, but through our discussions ODOT agreed earlier this morning to meet in the field today. Johanna Hamm and I spent several hours in the field with ODOT officials this morning reviewing plans and discussing operations.
Plans for a Public Meeting - We are coordinating with Applewood Centers to secure their auditorium/gym for a public meeting for either Wed/Thurs. June 30th/July 1st at 6:30 pm. We’ll send out an email as soon as we confirm this as well as work with local area CDCs to help flyer notices.
The Project – We are working with ODOT to ensure that noise barrier walls will only be placed in areas between Pearl and Fulton along I-71 where the majority of homeowners expressed a strong interest in them. ODOT’s plans were to install walls the full length of the access road on the south side of the freeway and from the Jones Home (W. 25th St.) to W. 39th Street on the north side, leaving the portion that abuts Smith Avenue as is – with no wall installed.
In our discussions today ODOT is willing to considering changing their plans to eliminate the installation of a wall from W. 39th St. to Fulton on the southern side of the freeway. There are a majority of property owners that would rather not have a wall in this area and to maintain the lush tree growth instead. Other changes we hope to influence include backing the wall off of the eastern entrance and exit of the access ramps at Pearl Road/W. 25th Street to better protect the viewsheds of that corridor, and additional discussions are occurring with property owners in these areas to help delineate where the walls would begin. In addition, we walked the project area and reviewed the trees that are marked for removal and the contractor will be working to try to save as many trees as possible given the 10-foot width requirements for installation.
NOTE: See the enclosed reference map. The project area only consists of the areas labeled NSA3 and NSA4. NSA 1, 2 & 5 are not being considered for a wall. Also, the area to the north beginning at W. 39th and extending to Fulton Road will not see a wall installed and we’re working with ODOT to ensure a wall will not be installed on the south side of the project, also from W. 39th to Fulton.
In terms of a green-structure alternative to the cement walls, ODOT has stated that they will not be considering this as an option. They have responded that they need more research to ensure this type of wall would meet federal requirements (There is an example that has been given in Canada provided by resident Ken Wohlgemuth) for addressing noise conditions. And, that without that, this type of solution would not be available at this time.
My perspective on this issue is that it is a tough balancing act to 1) be responsive to the majority of residents that are most negatively impacted by the sound of the freeway – many of them have expressed their frustrations over the last 6-years that it has taken this long to get a project of this kind funded. And, 2) on the other, with all of the greening activities we’ve seen in the last 5-plus years with groups like Friends of Big Creek and the Brooklyn Centre Naturalist and recent Reimagining Cleveland Projects (BCCA & BCN) projects we’re aware of the desire by many oppose such noise walls in our neighborhood or loss of any existing trees.
As a compromise we want to work with ODOT as described above in terms of limiting as much as possible the installation of the walls only where they will mitigate noise for a majority of residents who want them, and also see if we can either reallocate/apportion funding out of this project or seek out additional funding for more landscaping and buffering for the entire area covered by the project. We also want to work to see what can be done for better landscaping and improved fencing at the end points of the project (entrance and exit ramps) where on the western end Metroparks has been helpful in maintaining and improving the areas, and to work with and learn from the Tremont neighborhood’s implementation of a vegetative screening in lieu of noise walls in their neighborhood.
If anyone has any questions please contact me and please feel free to post comments as well on the pages referenced above.
Sincerely,
Brian.
———————————————
Councilman, Ward 14
Cleveland City Council
City Hall, Room 220
601 Lakeside Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44114
216-664-4238 office
216-664-3837 fax
bcummins@clevelandcitycouncil.org
Johanna V. Hamm
Executive Assistant, Ward 14
jhamm@clevelandcitycouncil.org
NOTE: This information will also be posted as a link on the at the Realneo.us blog site and the Brooklyn Centre Community Association facebook page
