First Republican Debate in Cleveland (Columbus, Cincinnati: rent, loans, neighborhood)

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by WRnative

Thanks, Minervah. Very interesting, especially the appreciation of Cleveland's walkability. Of course, it will be interesting to see how ridership balloons on the Red Line and Healthline bus rapid during the Repubican convention as visitors try to get to Little Italy and University Circle.

According to an article in cleveland.com a month or so ago, there's some consideration of closing the Rapid to the general public during the GOP convention and just using it to shuttle conventioneers to/from their hotels and the airport, which would suck imho.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by TheProf

According to an article in cleveland.com a month or so ago, there's some consideration of closing the Rapid to the general public during the GOP convention and just using it to shuttle conventioneers to/from their hotels and the airport, which would suck imho.

Only in Cleveland, such as when Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson closed the Shoreway during rush hours for filming crews.

If the Republicans monopolize the rapids for their convention, that would be a good way to loose a tight Presidential election vote in Ohio. Talk about preferential treatment that probably would register with mass transit users throughout Ohio.

You would think that the Republicans instead could schedule convention events around rush hours, when the rapids are relatively empty.

I wonder if the Republican powers-to-be are worried about having delegates interact with and possibly be influenced by real Clevelanders.

[ZnGuy]

When DEM convention was in Charlotte it kind of was a cluster ** in the city and they closed the public transportation station downtown next to the Time-Warner arena. I don't think these convention planners are too concerned about disrupting the regular folks daily life.

[Delahanty]

What I think is that I can't wait until September 16, the next debate. And I hope Trump is there for entertainment value alone. I love trying to imagine the moderators' faces (usually not shown) during some of those answers.

[deskjockey]

Originally Posted by Delahanty

And I hope Trump is there for entertainment value alone. I love trying to imagine the moderators' faces (usually not shown) during some of those answers.

Trump speaks bout issues other dare not, so his presence adds value to the debate.

[Geeo]

I think the winner in the debate was Cleveland. Put aside the political antics on stage, the debate brought national press and side stories about Cleveland and its successes of the last few years. I live in Pittsburgh (don't kill me!), and it was kind of like when the G-20 summit came to town in 2009. The attention focused on the changes the city had made, its solid economy, new industries attracting young people, great walkable neighborhoods and that it had the capacity to host something so international.

Both Pittsburgh and Cleveland have worked very hard for many years to recover from the 1980s de-industrialization and it's finally starting to pay off. I think any national attention focused on either city is good for the whole northeast Ohio/western Pennsylvania region, because we're pretty close geographically.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by Geeo

I think the winner in the debate was Cleveland. Put aside the political antics on stage, the debate brought national press and side stories about Cleveland and its successes of the last few years. I live in Pittsburgh (don't kill me!), and it was kind of like when the G-20 summit came to town in 2009. The attention focused on the changes the city had made, its solid economy, new industries attracting young people, great walkable neighborhoods and that it had the capacity to host something so international.

Both Pittsburgh and Cleveland have worked very hard for many years to recover from the 1980s de-industrialization and it's finally starting to pay off. I think any national attention focused on either city is good for the whole northeast Ohio/western Pennsylvania region, because we're pretty close geographically.

I agree. Both cities are very fun as well, but in different ways. NHL vs. NBA, etc. Despite the football rivalry, both cities support each other. Cleveland old-timers remember how Dan Rooney and Steeler fans vociferously opposed the move of the Browns to Baltimore.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clevel...on_controversy

Most Clevelanders I suspect root for the Steelers in the play-offs, just as we root for other Big Ten teams in he Bowl games. I can say this because I'm anonymous.

[Geeo]

I know, I try and stay out of the sports rivalry thing.

Both cities are so similar in some ways, but each offer something a little different. Cleveland is flat and has the lake and Pittsburgh is hilly and has the three rivers. Both have old-time ethnic neighborhoods. Both are blessed with great parks systems. Both were major industrial centers that have managed to reinvent their economies and are now on an upward trajectory again. I love the architecture in Cleveland, especially downtown and along Euclid Avenue that harkens back to the robber baron era.

Of course, both cities still have problems and obstacles to overcome; every major urban area does. But I think we're all heading in the right direction.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by Geeo

I think the winner in the debate was Cleveland. Put aside the political antics on stage, the debate brought national press and side stories about Cleveland and its successes of the last few years. I live in Pittsburgh (don't kill me!), and it was kind of like when the G-20 summit came to town in 2009. The attention focused on the changes the city had made, its solid economy, new industries attracting young people, great walkable neighborhoods and that it had the capacity to host something so international.

Both Pittsburgh and Cleveland have worked very hard for many years to recover from the 1980s de-industrialization and it's finally starting to pay off. I think any national attention focused on either city is good for the whole northeast Ohio/western Pennsylvania region, because we're pretty close geographically.

I wholeheartedly agree...

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by WRnative

Only in Cleveland, such as when Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson closed the Shoreway during rush hours for filming crews.

If the Republicans monopolize the rapids for their convention, that would be a good way to loose a tight Presidential election vote in Ohio. Talk about preferential treatment that probably would register with mass transit users throughout Ohio.

You would think that the Republicans instead could schedule convention events around rush hours, when the rapids are relatively empty.

I wonder if the Republican powers-to-be are worried about having delegates interact with and possibly be influenced by real Clevelanders.

This would even be more ironic and upsetting given that Republicans have been the biggest enemies of public transit in recent times. Republican governors and legislatures bag promising rail transit projects like African safari hunters (gulp) bag lions. Shortly after his first electoral victory, NJ Gov. Chris Christie killed a much needed project to double NJ transit/Amtrak capacity into Manhattan; Rick Scott killed Florida's high-speed rail project and, most recently, Maryland's Gov. Hogan killed Baltimore's Red Line LRT that had been in the works for 10 years (with $250M already spent)... Right in our own state, pres. candidate John Kasich made it one of his first official acts, following his 2010 election, to kill the Amtrak 3-Cs rail plan to connect Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati... Even though Cleveland's transit system is good, it like the other Ohio big city transit systems, have been starved by our state government... And which party has the keys to Ohio govt (as in the Gov's seat and both houses)? ... take a wild guess.