the urban news for the week ending Sunday, July 27, 2008
 Arena District
The Clippers and its board of directors think your company's name would look nice in the program, on a plaque or shining on the snazzy electronic scoreboard sponsored by The Dispatch Printing Company, publisher of The Dispatch.
Developer Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd. on Monday said it has signed Big Bang Dueling Piano Bar to open this fall in the neighborhood anchored by Nationwide Arena, where the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets play.
Arts & Culture
Columbus will be without its largest arts organization at least until December.
Amid a contract negotiations stalemate, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra has canceled the first two months of shows in its 2008-09 classical concert season.
City Scene
A regional airline that runs connection flights for five Port Columbus International Airport carriers is cutting 57 workers from its Columbus base in September.
Republic Airways has informed Ohio officials that it expects to lay off 57 workers in Columbus by Sept. 10.
For More Information: John Ivanic, 645-6798 FIRE TRAINING COMPLEX UPGRADE: Areas of low clearance can create some of the most perilous conditions a firefighter can face. Public Safety Committee Chair Andrew J. Ginther is sponsoring legislation that will allow Columbus...
Officials recently promised NetJets Inc., a firm owned by Berkshire Hathaway, $26 million in tax rebates for a $195 million expansion here of the aircraft-ownership company's facilities.
The credit crunch that has consumed the real estate and banking worlds is now threatening $2.6 trillion worth of municipal bonds, which help pay for everything from bridges and tunnels to hospitals and schools.
The Main Street Bridge won't be open until late 2009 at the earliest. The now-closed Town Street Bridge won't be demolished until next summer and its replacement is years away. Could the project have been planned better?
Downtown
The city is permanently closing a 90-year-old Columbus bridge, effective Tuesday evening, because of safety concerns.
Grandview Heights
D.B. Hartt, the planning and development consultant firm based in Cleveland that has been hired by Grandview to perform a third-party "blighted area" study in the city's commercial district, is expected to present its findings at an economic development committee meeting today, July 23.
Real Estate Affairs
James Newton, the chief economic adviser for Columbus-based Commerce National Bank, says a large-scale walkaway would destroy the market and make it tough for others to get loans.
Lost equity means property owners have no skin in the game -- if they ever did. Nationally, the median down payment for first-time buyers was 2 percent in 2007, but 45 percent purchased with no money down, according to a survey by the National Association or Realtors.
The foreclosure crisis has rippled through the city budget this year, increasing costs to board up vacant homes, cut the grass and respond to crimes such as metal theft.
The central Ohio housing market continued its prolonged slide in June, with sluggish sales and declining home values.
While a continued shrinking of Central Ohio's housing inventory could mean good news in the future, the Columbus Board of Realtors on Thursday reported another decline in existing home sales and prices in June.
RiverSouth
ââ¬ÅIt is going to create a neighborhood,ââ¬ï¿½ said Councilwoman Charleta Tavares, who also serves on the committee, ââ¬Åthat will be more inviting to people who want both the Downtown feel ââ¬â the downtown amenities ââ¬â but also the neighborhood feel.ââ¬ï¿½
Short North
One of the Short North's premier mixed-use developments finally will break ground next month, according to its developer.
Transportation & Roadways
Even without a tax freeze, the fund is projected to finish 2009 with a deficit of $3 billion. That could grow as Americans drive less and buy less gas because of higher prices.
Office of the Mayor City Hall I 90 West Broad Street Columbus, Ohio 43215÷9014 614/645÷767 1 FAX 614/645÷8955 TDD 614/645÷6200 TO: Council President Michael C. Mentel Members of Council FROM: Mayor Michael B. Coleman DATE: July 21, 2008 " ...the...
A three-c corridor has been discussed before, but now it's getting some attention from the federal government.
The principal source of funding for highway projects will soon hit a big financial pothole. The federal highway trust fund could be in the red by $3.2 billion or more next year.
In many cases this means fare hikes and service cuts. So far this year, nearly half of metropolitan bus operators surveyed by the APTA said they had increased prices to address the strains of rising fuel costs; 19 percent said they had reduced service.
The 90-year-old Town Street bridge over the Scioto River closed six months early yesterday, after the Ohio Department of Transportation determined the bridge might not be safe.
Representatives from the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority drove one of its newest fleet acquisitions -- a 62-foot hybrid articulated bus -- giving COTA employees and officials a test ride Thursday, July 17.
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