I never fell into the category of the teen drawn to goth and vampires, but now I understand the attraction. I just finished Twilight by Stephenie Meyers.  It has become the de rigeur rite-of-passage book for the current generation of humans.

This in via email from the office of Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak:

Commissioner Wozniak to Seek to Alternative Walking Location for Area Residents as Southwyck Mall Closes

In light of the recent Southwyck Mall closing, Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak will meet with representatives from the Area Office on Aging, the University of Toledo, and the YMCA of Greater Toledo to identify alternative exercise locations for displaced mall walkers.

For many area residents, particularly senior citizens, the Southwyck mall was an ideal walking location due to its size, ample parking, comfortable temperature, location, and convenience.
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Today an editorial focuses on Why Scott should be saved in the Blade. It’s a recommended read for those of you following the Scott High School story and it also should be pointed out that:

The Ohio Schools Facility Commission of the Board of Education of the Toledo City School District, Lucas County, Ohio, will hold a meeting in room 309 of the Thurgood Marshall Building, 420 East Manhattan Blvd., Toledo, Ohio, 43609-1267, on Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 1:00 p.m.

The OSFC Committee will meet for the purpose of discussing items for the special Board Meeting to be held on Tuesday, July 28, 2008 as well as to consider other items as may officially come before the Committee.

Jeff Blankenburg had a Blankenthought today about the developer community, what your peers think of you, and how the social networking sites out there that let us review each other are pretty empty. So, he's come up with a Blankenholiday called Contribupendence Day.

If you're on any social networking site out there where you can review your peers (like LinkedIn and Plaxo), you should participate in this holiday. And if you're not on them, then get on them and join in on this celebration of the developer community.

Go read Jeff's post on how to take part in Contribupendence Day 2008!

When Justin Kalmes of the Toledo Free Press contacted me last week to ask me if after reading the AP piece ” Everything seemingly is spinning out of control,” would I like to comment I didn’t realize it was going to be the cover story of this week’s Toledo Free Press. Not all of what I shared was included, but the main jist of my point was shared except I think the reason why we are more focused on negativity is because decades ago our primary source of news was the nightly news and one or two newspapers. With the internet and the birth of the 24/7 cable news channels not everything has changed for the worst, it’s that we now have access to much more information about what’s happening in other parts of our world that before unless you knew someone who lived there? Chances are you didn’t hear about it.
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While I don’t like to jump to assumptions, it seems clear from the reporting in the Blade that the 54 year old woman was living in the shed:

The body was covered with a blanket and lying on its side in an eight-foot shed with a missing door behind a business at 5225 Southwyck Blvd., near Reynolds Road. It was discovered about 8 p.m. by a local artist who was considering renting the building. Bags with women’s clothing and personal paperwork also were found in the shed.

Debra Pioterek once had a home, something happened where she ended up not only living in a shed behind an empty retail spot on Southwyck but dying alone of yet to be determined causes. Hopefully her death while alone was a much more peaceful one than happened to Anthony Waters in Cleveland who was beaten to death as cars slowed down to watch…
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Leave it to Cleveland politicos--if there is a way to sell sewage, they will do it, and call it GREEN.

Take a close look at the Denison Proposal in Ward 15.  Could the PD make an attempt--just try--to look up the history of Neighborhood Revitalization Partners and subsidized senior housing projects in Toledo and in Akron.  Ten years ago.  Same old tricks.

As a previous Springfield Township resident, a frustration expressed from time to time was the lack of TARTA services, but it was very clear that the Township Trustees were not interested. An article in the Maumee Mirror on the topic of “TARTA Sales Tax Proposal Doesn’t Sit Well With Trustees” is an interesting one. This statement made by Marilyn Yoder caught my attention:

Yoder said in 32 years, she has had only three residents call and ask for bus service.

That would mean besides myself in the past 32 years only two other people called? Seems a bit odd, but even before blogging I was a bit of a rebel. There was a number of elderly residents who had to rely on cabs because there was no public transportation, as well as younger people who could not yet afford a car. Unless something has magically changed in the years since I’ve left the township that need is probably still there.
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This in via email from a reader sharing some good news:

WTOL is reporting:

Preliminary totals show volunteers collected nearly $100,000 in cash.

If you didn’t donate? There’s still time, Give Autism the Boot.

This in via email:

PIZZAPAPALIS TO BREAK GROUND ON NEW TOLEDO DINING EXPERIENCE

WHO: City & County Officials and Local Business Leaders

WHEN: Friday, June 20, 2008 2:00 p.m.

WHERE: Corner of Monroe and southside of Huron Street (near Fifth Third Field)
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In this week’s The Sojourner’s Truth the focus of the “This Strikes Us” column is the belief that an Obama victory will substantially erode support for affirmative action.. Some thought provoking poll numbers and other facts are presented in this article that is a highly recommended read.

Toledo City Councilman Michael Ashford sees fields of greens where they shouldn’t be and more detail is gone into about his belief that his District is not getting the level of services that it’s residents are entitled to. Ashford made this point also during the recent City Council meeting during the first call portion of the meeting.
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I've been feeling extremely annoyed today. I spent half my afternoon (or maybe it just seems like it) on the phone with Dell and with the USPS, and the other half (again, maybe it just seems like it) deleting junk mail. To top it off, all I seem to see or hear about on the news is people lying to, insulting, cheating, stealing from, or physically or psychologically abusing each other.

Well, in order to prevent myself from having to run out of the building screaming, I decided to do a dogpile search on the phrase "get over yourselves" just to see what would turn up. And . . . I rediscovered the wonderful writer and speaker Loretta LaRoche, who wrote an article titled "Get Over Yourselves and Join the Community" for the Patriot Ledger back in January.

Maybe the reason we're so angry is because we don't feel truly connected to each other. How did this happen? I'm not sure, and maybe that's not all that important. Maybe what really counts is how we go about fixing it.

Visit Loretta at www.lorettalaroche.com, and enjoy, because, as she says, "Life is not a stress rehearsal."

This in via email:

On June 24th at 5:00 p.m. at the Downtown branch of the Lucas County Public Library in the McMaster’s Center:

Planned Parenthood of Northwest Ohio’s (PPNWO) Education Department will have a screening of the Pureland Picture release, All of Us, a documentary about the effects of HIV/AIDS in the African-American female population. The movie focuses on an Ethiopian-American female doctor and her research on the variables of why HIV infection and death are over-represented among African-American females.

If you are interested in attending the movie, please email me at sarah.lazenby@ppnwo.org for tickets. This is a free showing; however tickets are needed at the door.

As an editioral note, a great website to learn more about the movie can be found here

From my zoo buddy Kyle Primous, who also worked Cain Park with my sister (artists!), when we were young (oh so long ago):

THIS AIN'T YOUR GRANDMAMMA'S WIZ!!!

The preview is this Thursday, June 19th at 8:00.  Tickets for the preview are only $10.  Tickets for opening weekend (June 20-22) are only $13 for the entire weekend (compared to $22 for the rest of the show)

 

The show runs Thursdays through Sundays at 8:00pm from June 19th through July 6th.  There is a replacement show on July 2nd instead of a show on July 4th, but all that is explained at the web site:

 

www.cainpark.com

 

Visit the web site for more information, and come see us!!!

 

We frequently hear from regular readers / commenters and enjoy the opportunity to learn “what’s new” for your business. Recently we heard from a few ‘friends of the site’ who have newly published an interesting article; or launched a new blog; or have a viewpoint on issues important to small business owners.

It’s always worth the time and effort to check out what people have to say. So here is a thumbnail on a couple new sites and items of interest:

Matthew Bandyk, reporter for US News and World Report, is writing a new blog called Risky Business. Matthew spotlights issues of importance to the small biz owner and also his fav blog picks of the day.

In a recent post he touched on the super trendy topic of social networking and whether Twitter is worth the investment in time. At first skeptical, Matthew shares one example where Twitter is connecting with customers and making a difference.

Twitter definitely involves a time commitment …. But if you have a business heavily connected to the online social world, with customers who would use or be impressed by the feedback you’re getting at Twitter, that commitment might be worth making to shore up your brand and make potential customers feel more at ease.

Marc Michaelson of Glowan Consulting Group is getting ready to launch a blog focusing on leadership but in the meantime had a manifesto published at Change This entitled The L3 Leadership State of Being. The “L3″ stands for 3 leadership attributes, including Leading self, Leading others and Cultivating a Great Place to work. This 34-page document offers a holistic approach to leadership. One of the things that struck me as valuable was the fact that in the “leading self” section, Marc includes a leader’s entire life which leads to life/work balance. Interesting stuff. I look forward to the blog launch that will hopefully provide regular updates on leadership.

Emarketing 4 Business is also a relatively new blog focusing on basic questions a new small business owner might pose. One of the questions struck me as particularly valuable in light of the fact that we may be conducting more business over the phone vs. face-to-face due to rising gas prices. The post Is Your Phone Voice Running off Customers asks the reader to consider the fact that how they sound over the phone may be hurting the impression they leave with callers. Andrea advises calling a friend who will be honest, to learn how you sound over the phone:

Take the time to find out how your voice is coming across on the phone and make any modifications you need to.

I’d like to end with a tip of the hat to Brent Leary whose guest article on Social Customer Relationship Management was recently included in the WebEx community newsletter. Brent’s company, CRM-Essentials, focuses on providing CRM solutions and Brent writes a CRM Blog. Brent is also one of our Small Business Experts. Congrats, Brent on the exposure!

We are always grateful for those who visit and join in the conversation here at Small Business Trends. Thanks so much for sharing your important announcements with us.

This is a post from: Small Business Trends

Community Happenings: New Blogs and Other Good Stuff

After my father died, the first few Father’s Days that happened were rough ones for me, while I can’t say that his birthday or the anniversary of his death were days I escaped some moments of tears, this is the first Father’s Day that while I thought about him quite a bit, and I still miss him very much that I didn’t have to head for the tissues. Of course sitting here and writing this may push me beyond what I’m capable of.

My father was such a huge part of my life and in many ways he still is. I can imagine what type of mischief he would cause if he were here today with the political nature of my blogging and with some of the events that I go to. He was a conservative, though I know he’d disagree with me very vocally on some of my positions, I can hear him now “JEEZUS Christ Leese! he’d roar at me when we disagreed, he rarely called me Lisa, it was almost always the shortened version Lis which sounded like “Leese.” I know he’d be puffing his chest and telling anyone that would listen to him about me. Maybe that’s why I suck at self-promotion, when my father was alive I never had to worry about that (smile).
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If you have ever attended a political rally, the phrase “Fired up and ready to go” is one often heard, but in this week’s Toledo Free Press, the term “fired up” has a different meaning, the cover story focuses on the Smoking Ban and how the Senate introduced Bill 346 would give some of the decision making process on smoking versus non-smoking back in the hands of some of the business owners as it was felt the original voter approved issue was supposed to provide.

It’s always hard for me to acknowledge compliments, but after I read Michael Miller’s piece it confirmed for me that I’m doing what I need to do. Some of you won’t agree, but I found the Captain Ahab quest for power ala Lucas County Republican Party a good read. Karl Rundgren focuses on beyond intermodal and raises some excellent points about moving more than just freight. Related to the topic of intermodal, it could be said that Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop is “fired up and ready to go.”
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The Ohio 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force is bringing all Ohioans to the table to explore the broad spectrum of transportation issues facing the state. With your input, ODOT will prioritize how the state balances the movement of people and freight, promotes safety and reduces congestion, creates jobs and encourages responsible growth, helps to build sustainable communities, and links all modes of transportation - connecting highways to rail, aviation, water ports, and transit.

Good neighbor Gloria finds out that Positively Cleveland is a members-only club.

So there hasn’t been much going on at oliveaurora lately has there?  After a huge increase in interest and visits during the school levy campaigns, i have become apathetic.  How Aurora-ish of me!

Additionally, I do not want to engage in legal battles to operate this blog. And I don’t want to be personally blamed for what other people write.  I also saw some readers go after another reader,  anonymity allowed the freedom for some to turn into  A#1 jerks.  I think this blog could be useful and entertaining but I don’t know if it is worth it.

So feel free to comment on this or do it elsewhere. I don’t care.

Peter Lawson Jones did a good job on Bob Conklin’s “In the Spotlight” TV talk show on Ch. 15 within the hour.

He appeared without his Republican opponent for County Commissioner who apparently ducked the questioning, and who also didn’t send a surrogate, according to Conklin.

This in via email as an update for those of you who have been following this situation:

Letters have been sent to Medicaid Aged Blind and Disabled consumers to announce Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield will no longer be providing Medicaid ABD managed care services, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Medicaid Managed Care Enrollment Center (MCEC).

Because ODJFS must offer Medicaid ABD members a choice between at least two plans, Northwest region ABD consumers will be allowed to choose between regular Medicaid and CareSource. After choosing, ABD consumers have a three-month grace period, during which time they can choose a different plan if it better meets their needs.
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About This Forum

In 1967, when Carl Stokes became the first black Mayor of a major American city, Cleveland was still a top-10 city, with a population of more than 750,000 – down from it’s peak of close to 1 million in 1950 but nearly 300,000 more than today. At that time, about 35% of Cleveland’s population was black. Nearly one in five whites voted for Stokes.

Last week, the kids were treated to a magic show from a fabulous neighbor in Brooklyn Centre.  Now, I have more than one "seer" in the group of kids in this neighborhood, but one family, especially,  has become the resident "genius" family in the 'hood ranging from little Lily on up to her brainiac brothers, their mechanically-inclined father and their fierce supermom, the defender of the clan. 

Neighbors over on St. Louis Street have been complaining for years about two properties owned by Neighborhood Housing Services and as you can see by the Blade article nothing has been done. The ultimate irony in this is that Neighborhood Housing Services is listed on the brochure that the Toledo Housing Court puts out as a resource see for yourself on page four. Ironic considering they don’t seem to follow the law nor do they seem to have to be held to the same standard as everyone else.

A glaring example:

Kattie Bond, director of the city’s neighborhoods department, said nuisance abatement had issued orders on 505 St. Louis St. as early as 2003 and in July, 2005, issued orders to board up the house.
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Reading the Blade article made me think about a post I wrote on Liberal Common Sense back in 2005 for the 30th Anniversary of the November 10th incident where the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. There are some additional links and photos on that older post, and below is video that was taken from MSU in 1989 from a submersible camera:
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James Levin (seated) with the Brew Crew at Carnegie Hall - photo by Sandy Kish

Today, Gloria, Tim and Rudy really deserve credit for trying to make the obvious apparent to our collective political machine with the workshop they organized for NOACA's Liveable, Walkable Communities. 

Brooklyn Centre has been chosen by NOACA as the site for one of four workshops in 2008 conducted by the National Center for Biking and Walking (NCBW).  NCBW will be conducting the four- hour workshop that will identify real-world problems and hands-on solutions for making our community a more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly place.

The workshop will include a powerpoint presentation, a walk through the neighborhood, breakout sessions, and a “next steps” action plan.

The workshop is free, and the public is invited to participate, but seats are limited.  Please contact Rudy Hauret and Gloria Ferris, coordinators for this event sponsored by Brooklyn Centre Community Association.

There are a few slots left so if you have the free time during the middle of the day, go to upcoming for the details.

   

On May 31, 2008 NEO bid a fond farewell to the University Circle dining instution for three decades, namely That Place on Bellflower.  That Place, located specifically at 11401 Bellflower - has always carried a singular charm that has long permeated the historically significant Tudor-themed Coach house.  The space has long been accented with contemporary overtones like eclectic sculptures and an impressive collection of Joseph Glasco abstracts. The unique layout of the eatery exposes entrants to the kitchen space immediately upon entry and opens into a lovely bar room featuring a gorgeous wine rack and strong Tudor accents.  This room opens up to a lovely patio garden as well as an extension of the restaurant with additional seating and adjoining conference room.  Staff response was uniformly one of somber acceptance reflecting upon the imminence of permanent closure - many confide that this was 'a long time coming' - 89 year old matriarch and owner of the establishment Isabella Basile has determined that the time was right to close permanently.  She looks forward to enjoying retirement and the fruits of a still-significant set of real estate holdings throughout the UC area.  The vibrancy and spirit cultivated by Isabella and Co will be missed by thousands of regulars who've frequented this Circle institution.  Many of her loyal staff, including head Chef Tom Crane have remained with her and the restaurant for decades and will also be missed.

Where do the tracks take us?  Pondering the fate of trains in America.

This shot was taken with a simple, plastic box camera--no gizmos.

An Aurora manufacturing plant of a German company will be getting an $82 million expansion and 150 new jobs.

Rotek Inc., which manufactures large diameter bearings for such things as radar systems, wind energy turbines, tunnel boring machines and rail vehicles, will begin construction at the end of this month with the plant expected to begin expanded production in the first quarter of 2010.

Rotek, a subsidiary of Dortmund, Germany-based Rothe Erde, announced the investment on Tuesday. Rothe Erde is part of the ThyssenKrupp Technologies Group of Dusseldorf, Germany.

The investment includes what is called a second ring mill at the Aurora facility to serve its own expanding large diameter ‘’slewing ring” production and help meet the growing demands in the United States for seamless rolled rings.

The manufacturing plant will increase by 116,000 square feet and add new machinery, tooling and production lines, said spokesman Matt Rhodes.

In a press release, Rotek President Leonard F. Osborne said, ”The planned expansion is an integral part of the company’s growth strategy. This significant investment represents our continued commitment to provide the highest quality products and customer service possible.”

ThyssenKrupp Rotek received funds from the State of Ohio Department of Development for job creation and training, as well as machinery and equipment purchases. In addition, the city of Aurora offered the company property tax abatement and funds for road infrastructure improvements.

In the news release, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said, ”Rotek is developing and manufacturing components for several high growth industries, including wind energy, where Ohio has become a national leader with a strong competitive advantage. We welcome Rotek’s growth and the 150 new jobs in the City of Aurora.”

The company said it will create 150 new full-time jobs within three years and retain the 215 existing full-time jobs in Aurora at the plant and local headquarters. The hiring process will begin in the fall. (more…)

Do you have favorite family recipes that you cherish? Is there a special dish, bread, or dessert that your Grandmother or Mother always made for certain holiday celebrations? Is there a story behind some of the family celebrations that you pass along from generation to generation? If so, you are not alone. Families share favorite recipes and pass along treasured stories that accompany them. More and more families are preserving these stories in the form of family cookbooks. On Saturday, April 12th from 1:30 – 3:30, the Aurora Historical Society will host Dr. Martha Pallante, (more…)

It looks as though Geauga Lake will be auctioned of in its entirety June 17th and 18th. Here’s your chance to get a ride for your backyard. My kids want the Space Needle (think zoning would allow it?)!  The end for the once grand park.

http://nortonauctioneers.com/upcoming.htm

Olive readers might have noticed that there weren’t any new postings or comments the past 4-5 days. The site has had problems with a variety of issues from content to spam to glitches or hacks. But the primary reason for no new posts was nobody was changing anyones minds with their rhetoric. So, in fairness, there were no pro-comments or anti-comments. I am still hoping that this site will be a place for thoughtful discussion rather than name calling, nasty rumors, and personal attacks and untruths. I did not have the time to verify anything. Oliveaurora had the potential to rapidly deteriorated into a crass and vulgar site. So i put everything on hold.

Olive wanted the levy to pass, that should be no secret to readers. I had a horse in this race as they say. In most cases anti-levy comments were published as well as pro-levy comments. A two-sided conversation is always more interesting.
To the voters who said this will be a real hardship to seniors and that some will not have the money: I don’t think anyone who voted for this levy is happy about that. It would be great if the community could help those who are going to need the help.

Many hope this entire experience was significant to the school board and the administration. And that there will be more involvement from the community and openness from the board in the coming months and years.Our community, however divided right now ought to realize that that people in Aurora passed their levy and is looking toward the future. Most other school levies failed!

Congratulations to all the volunteers in Aurora who made this pass, it was a group effort. What do you think?

Here is a breakdown of the results. It failed only in Geauga Lake and 2-B. Support was way up everywhere since the last election. Click on it for a larger view.

The IB program had become controversial in the Aurora schools due to recent financial pressures. The Cleveland Plain Dealer has written a story about IB in Northern Ohio. It seems that Aurora is ahead of the trend. Other schools are looking at the IB progams as part of their cirriculum.  Read about it here

You might not know his name but, Dan Melcher had an enormous effect on the City of Aurora.  He was a long-time member and past president of Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland and a member and Vice Chairman of the Planning Commission. He was an environmental advocate. A great deal of the present Aurora zoning code was affected by his presence on the commission during the rewrite. He was instrumental in the land conservation efforts in Aurora and obtained the 40-acre Molnar Sanctuary on Page Rd for Audubon.

The two other Audubon sanctuaries, the E. Pioneer Sanctuary and the Novak Sanctuary on Townline Rd. both were maintained, in a great part to his efforts, and the completed Education Center at the Novak Sanctuary was his project too.

Dan fought for greenspace preservation in Aurora and saved many 100s of acres from development. Without his efforts, Aurora would be a different place today. Dan died Sunday February 23.

We had our differences over the years, but he would still say hello to me. Today, by coincidence my kids wanted to go for a walk at the Pioneer Trail sanctuary, they were loud and boisterous, rolling down the snow covered hills and generally having a great time. Not exactly birdwatching, the way Dan would have preferred. But they laid on their backs in the snow for a long while, silently looking up at the beautiful snow-covered trees, and they heard the birds slowly begin to twitter and chirp and they heard a woodpecker.

My daughter’s friend got up, after a bit of snow hit her face, and said “that interrupted my beautiful moment!”

Hopefully those beautiful moments of our kids lives will encourage them to preserve and enjoy the outdoors. Dan is gone, and somebody else will have to carry on the fight. Maybe these kids will.

Get out and enjoy the greenspace, the parks and the trails of Aurora.

And, I am not talking cigarettes, here.  I am talking this year's
Cleveland Arts Prize: recognizing men in aprons--Michael Symon and Michael Ruhlman.

I received an email from a regular reader who is very concerned about what is happening right now with Medicaid benefits to Aged, Blind and Disabled (ABD) members of our community. Here is the basic information she provided to me via email and I have some additional information that I’ll share at the end of this post that confirms/provides more details:

More than 4,700 disabled people in Northwest Ohio may need to find new doctors in June.

For some, it will mean seeking out new specialists and enduring long waiting periods for new patient appointments.

Buckeye Community Health Care, one managed care company contracted with Medicaid for the Aged, Blind and Disabled (ABD), will be discontinuing service to the Northwest region, including Lucas and Wood counties. In all, 4,730 people across 18 counties will be affected.
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The parking lot at the Metroparks Zoo was filling up to capacity as I rode my bike over the Brighton-Brooklyn Bridge today.  I was intrigued to note that some of the pedestrian crossing signal changers were gone--notably the street level boxes that allowed pedestrians to cross at Denison, ALDI's and Archwood.*  I looked up and saw the sign advertising the new program at the zoo.  The sponsor is TCP.  Who is TCP?