the urban news for the week ending Sunday, March 2, 2008
If you followed last weeks editorial, I mentioned the fact that I was going to start a guided analysis that looks at the benefits of a streetcar system in Columbus. In order to do that, I had to dive into a new piece of functionality on RetroMetro that would enable moderated discussions (otherwise known as Discussion Forums in web-tech terms) so that my streetcar exploratory efforts would at least have the opportunity to gather some public input in a structured manner. You may or may not have an interest in participating in the discussion and since the effort is just getting started, things are going to be a little rag-tag as I work out the kinks. However, I would encourage you to start wrapping your mind around sounding off on the topics I get into here on RetroMetro as things move forward. In RetroMetro's effort to move away from one-way communications, you'll be seeing more of my weekly efforts divert away from just writing and moving more towards interactivity with a few new initiatives I have up my sleeves. I'll be posting regularly over the next month in terms of my streetcar analysis effort, so keep an eye out. For know, you can get a look at what I've gotten started over the last week and jump in if and when you feel like it...
Paul Bonneville  
 City Councilwoman Priscilla Tyson established a beautification fund this week that will offer grants of up to $1,000 each to garden clubs and other civic-minded groups who plant and water flowers and trees, spread mulch and trim bushes in city gardens.
The so-called 315 Research & Technology Corridor would bring 50,000 jobs to an 8-mile stretch along the freeway between Riverside Methodist Hospital and Downtown, with areas for people to work, live and play.
High Street, Columbus, Ohio
$24 Million Renovation Transforms Landmark Bank Building into Extended Stay Hotel
The former Buckeye Federal Savings & Loan building made its debut Monday as the Residence Inn by Marriott.
Hynde and restaurant manager Daniel Duplain are looking for sites in the Downtown area for a second edition of their VegiTerranean Restaurant and Bar.
I finally squeezed in some time to add the Fifth by Northwest Area Commission's nieghborhood to the Urban Neighborhoods section of RetroMetro.
Though Columbus recently established a parks beautifications grant program, the German Village Garten Club is not expected to seek money for its annual planting.
Beck Place, an area condominium project, is expected to be ready for buyers in mid to late summer this year, despite initial plans for the project to open in summer 2007ââ¬Â¦
Starting early next month, Pistacia Vera, an area dessert boutique, will adjust its business hours and add more seating...
Columbus residents who want their recyclables picked up at the curb will have to pay more starting in June.
Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio has notified the city of Grandview Heights of its plans to build an affordable housing development at 1280-1290 Norton Ave.
The city of Grandview Heights will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Monday, March 3, at the Municipal Building, 1016 Grandview Ave.
Merion Village is hoping to be among three neighborhoods chosen to pilot a new Columbus conservation program.
Job growth is faltering, consumer confidence plunging. The fallout from the worst housing slump in a quarter-century grows. Wherever you look, the signs are unmistakable that the economy is in trouble.
Sales of existing homes fell to the lowest level in nearly a decade in January while the median price for a home dropped for the fifth straight month.
The backlog of unsold homes continued to pile up in January, a sign that home prices will continue to drop as would-be buyers hold out for better deals.
The number of homes facing foreclosure jumped 57 percent in January compared to a year ago, with lenders increasingly forced to take possession of homes they couldn't unload at auctions, a mortgage research firm said Monday.
After seeing an updated presentation on the proposed streetcars by the mayor's Chief of Staff Mike Reese last week, I know that he would agree when I say that a lot of education needs to take place so that every citizen in the City of Columbus, and our surrounding suburban cities for that matter, has an opportunity to understand why we may be building a streetcar system and what it means.
This is a shot of the Short North when the Bollinger Tower was being constructed (1982-83)ââ¬Â¦
Following a year of unprecedented regional and national acclaim, culminating with Ohio Magazine proclaiming the Short North Gallery Hop the "Best Arts Event in Ohio," and with Experience Columbus bestowing its 2008 Expy Award upon the Arts District, the Short North is now preparing for an even stronger 2008. The Short North Business Association (SNBA) set the tone when it unveiled its calendar of events at its Annual Meeting Wednesday, February 20.
The Short North Business Association (SNBA) has been steadily fine-tuning the makeup of its Board of Trustees for 25 years. As issues, challenges and opportunities have evolved so has the mix of the organization.
The administration's directive is an effort to improve customer service by making sure that agencies are fully staffed during business hours. It's not uncommon for some state offices to be lightly staffed on Friday afternoons.
Ohio apparently has lost out on a $1 billion steel plant because of a lack of movement on Gov. Ted Strickland's electricity-regulation bill, which could affect power prices for years to come.
The state has pretty much declared Ohio's funding mechanism broken, potentially putting future road projects in jeopardyââ¬Â¦
Norfolk Southern Corp.'s long-awaited intermodal cargo terminal near Rickenbacker International Airport is set to open March 3, none too soon for those dealing with the railroad's overburdened Discovery Park yard off Alum Creek Drive south of Columbus.
A "structural change" is occurring in the housing market : a major shift in the way many Americans want to live and work, moving social problems out of the city and into the suburban fringe.
For 60 years, Americans have pushed steadily into the suburbs, transforming the landscape and (until recently) leaving cities behind. But today the pendulum is swinging back toward urban living, and there are many reasons to believe this swing will continue.
Oil prices rose to a new intraday high near $102 a barrel today as a slide in the U.S. dollar prompted investors to pump more money into energy futures as a hedge against inflation.
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