Hotel Bruce

Welcome to the Bruce blog—a weekly update on news, events and issues affecting life in Cleveland. Reporting as it happens on transit, development, planning, environment and arts & culture.

Basically, we write about creative ideas forming, talk to the people who have an inside track on the issues, and sometimes offer a commentary of our own. (For disclosure purposes, Bruce blog is a local, independent writer who also works part-time with nonprofit organization EcoCity Cleveland. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of EcoCity or any other organization).

For the second time in less than a decade, Shaker Square has a new owner. Peter Rubin is a local developer with a grand vision for the Square, yes, but tempered this time around with a homespun retail philosophy. Bruce blog dispatched contributor Lee Chilcote to interview Rubin and find out how he plans to bring Cleveland’s 75-year-old classic outdoor shopping mall back from the brink.

Click to read the interview...

Momentum seems to be gathering once again for a wind farm out on Lake Erie. While a number of groups around town are looking seriously at the market potential, an analysis of the macro economics and, thus the competitiveness, of wind may be determined by at least two factors. The passage of the production wind tax—the federal tax credit to companies that build wind turbines—is one. The other is the marketing and eventual purchase of ‘green tags,’ or private market subsidies where consumers pay a premium to renewable energy providers like Green Mountain Energy to subsidize the cost of producing wind power.

This market-based solution of giving customers the option of paying a "green price" to support utility company investments in renewable energy, is available in some states. The U.S. Dept. of Energy site Green Power Network describes how to purchase green power and provides a database to see what state's have this option (so far, none exist in Ohio).

Meanwhile, a Cleveland Leadership group of volunteers calling itself H2Ohio, has produced a preliminary report on wind power market feasibility in Cleveland. Consisting of big wigs like Thomas W. Bunn, President of KeyBank’s Corporate & Investment Banking Group and Ronn Richard, President of Cleveland Foundation, H2Ohio’s report focused on economics and public approval as the key to winning a wind project.

The group would like to avoid the PR fiasco that befell the large-scale wind project off the coast of Cape Cod by ensuring the proper public participation. The group’s report followed on the heels of a $75,000 study ($50K was kicked in by the Cleveland Foundation) initiated last summer and lead by nonprofit Green Energy Ohio to build a wind monitor on the intake crib on the lake.

H2Ohio is making no small plans—it would like to see “100 turbines in Lake Erie more than one mile offshore, generating a total of 200 megawatts: This could generate 1,752,000 megawatt hours per year, which is slightly more than the 1,592,181 megawatt hours sold by Cleveland Public Power in 2002,” according to the report. That’s enough juice to power 60,000 homes.

GEO will review that project and financing options for wind at the upcoming Ohio Wind Power Conference, a gathering of the Who’s Who in the international wind power field taking place on November 9 & 10 at the Sheraton Cleveland.

Bruce blog observed while driving over the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge a quiet victory for cyclists: The resurfacing of the outer two lanes. What's so great about that? Whether intended or not, the Cuyahoga County Engineers’ office re-striped the bridge’s five-foot shoulder, which is being used as an unofficial bike lane for bike commuters coming downtown from Ohio City, Tremont and points west. Unlike the higher profile Detroit-Superior Bridge, which has its official bike route status, Lorain-Carnegie did not get a bike lane symbol or a Bike Route sign (probably because the intersection at Carnegie and Ontario is such a mess that they don’t want the liability). Still, it’s a good sign that bicyclists are getting their fair share of the road.

Also, Bruce blog has learned that the city, through a private donation, has acquired a bike lane stencil and is prepared to use it! The city could begin experimental bike stenciling on the road as a prelude to more bike lanes or routes.

With the ground-breaking ceremony for the Euclid Corridor this week highlighting the new cache in creating smarter streets—including the city’s first official bike lane—it's only a matter of time before bike lanes are sprouting up all over the place. Perhaps the city can beat itself to the designation of ‘first official urban bike lane in Northeast Ohio’ by striping in another before the Euclid Corridor project is complete (a few years away).

At the recent opening of its sparkling new EcoVillage/W. 65th Rapid station, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority CEO Joseph Calabrese expressed his hope that the ‘green building’ features here would become a motif at future mass transit stops.

Indeed, behind the scenes, RTA is busy experimenting with new information systems, some powered by small solar panels.

Inspired in part by the city of Akron, which has test sites for bus shelters with roofs covered by solar panels, RTA’s more modest approach involves something called ‘I-poles.’ These are push-button touch screens mounted to poles at bus stops that dispense transit information. Reportedly, RTA is testing the I-pole, which costs around $1000 a pop, at Euclid and E. 79th Street and near Parmatown Mall.

In addition, RTA is interested in the Akron experiment in solar-powered bus shelters. Click for more information or email RTA.

Neighborhood News, an excellent e-newsletter from NeighborhoodLink (in CSU's Levin College of Urban Affairs), published a letter from a reader last week who points out the legal implications of Issue 1, a statewide ballot initiative euphemistically known as a "defense of marriage act." The reader notes that Issue 1 "will not only define marriage in the Ohio Constitution as being between a man and a woman, but will also nullify (or make invalid) benefits and legal rights extended to same-sex couples, civil unions, and domestic partners.

"Issue 1 could prevent them from being able to give each other legal control over their health care, pension benefits or other assets," the letter writer states, quoting The Cincinnati Enquirer. And according to the League of Women Voters of Cincinnati, this action "would test the validity of adoptions, custody orders, wills, powers of attorney, and other legal arrangements between both same-sex and unmarried opposite-sex couples."

For more info on both the pros and cons of Issue 1, visit The League of Women Voters.

Urban Paradoxes is a company and insightful blog— both are the offspring of Frank Mills, a "cultural sociologist and psychologist who has extensively studied urban culture and architecture." Mills' latest essay deals with a range of topics, including a definition of urban versus urbanism. It also delves into a study produced by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) to look at the cost of development for government. Not surprisingly, the report found that housing with tax abatements are a loss. But, so are multi-family units (in some instances, depending on the community and the developer).

Single-use development like commercial and industrial, even retail, continues to create positive income at a county level analysis. The essay concludes with, what seems like a call for mixed-use development: "...properly done new retail, office, and industrial development generates more income for a city than does new housing alone. Yet, it is sometimes beneficial to encourage certain types of development, such as housing, if the net fiscal costs are outweighed by the social benefits to a neighborhood..."

October 27
"Green Bag Lunch: Wind power in Ohio," noon- 1 p.m., at the Cleveland Environmental Center, 3500 Lorain Ave. in Ohio City. Professor Don Shearer of Bowling Green State University will discuss the wind turbines in Bowling Green and give an overview of the status of wind energy in Ohio. Katya Chistik of Green Energy Ohio will provide an overview of current GEO projects.

October 28
Pumpkin Carving Party to Benefit HeightsArts Collaborative, 6-9 p.m. at Phoenix Coffee, 2287 Lee Rd., Cleveland Hts. Pumpkins donated by Heights Garden Center and more available for purchase. Carving tools, newspapers, tealights provided but bring your own tools if you have them. Hot apple cider too!

October 28
Place Matters: Cities and the 2004 Election, 6 pm, CSU's Levin College of Urban Affairs, 1717 Euclid Ave. What impact will this year's election have on cities? How have candidates incorporated urban areas into their agenda? Dr. Todd Swanstrom, professor of Public Policy Studies at Saint Louis University, will discuss these questions and many more. Free and open to the public. Call 216-523-7190 for more information.

October 29
"Happy Endings" a solo exhibition by artist Amy Dickey (AKA Amathin) at 1300 Gallery, 1300 W. 78th Street. Opening reception, 7-10 pm. Cleveland artist, Dickey, describes the work in the show thusly: "Its almost entirely new work, all using the backdrop of children's literature as metaphor. This means you can expect to see references to Oz, little Golden Books, Highlights magazines, nursery rhymes, and fairytales. The works are not illustrations of these stories, but make reference to them..." For more info.

October 29
Best-selling authors and totally shameless rock star wannabees (including Dave Berry, Amy Tan and Scott Turow) calling themselves the Rock Bottom Remainders, will roll into Cleveland, 8:30 p.m., at the Rock Hall. All proceeds from the concert will go to support the nationwide after-school program, America SCORES, and its local affiliate, Cleveland SCORES. “We are going to rock the nation’s Heartland so hard there could be bruising as far away as the nation’s Spleenland, and possibly even the nation’s Kidneyland!” said Barry, the Remainders’ Pulitzer Prize winning guitarist.

October 30
Ohio City Bicycle Co-op is leading a "Ghost ride," 9 p.m. to Midnight, a 10 mile night ride to visit scary places in Cleveland's Flats, followed by a costume party, live music, food, fun at the co-op located at 1823 Columbus Rd., Cleveland.

November 11
The Ohio City Knitters are gathering their wool for their first autumn meeting, 7 p.m. at Talkies Coffee Bar. Anyone interested in knitting is welcome to attend. Experienced knitters are there to offer assistance on projects. The group plans to also do some charity knitting for Lutheran and Providence House.

I arrived in Cleveland from Chicago as a journeyman actor in 1986. Not knowing the cityscape, I drove up and down the main drags from University Circle to downtown to get a feel for the place. Very depressing drives.

However, having a sense of history, I could see what once was a thriving metropolis.

The Hotel Bruce caught my eye. "What went on in there?" I would say to myself. "What a dive!" It was a source of endless fascination and inner dialogue.

Thank you for sustaining what I thought was a distant memory.

—Andrew May
Associate Artistic Director
Great Lakes Theater Festival