Questions for My Cleveland Grandma

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I had the opportunity to sit down with my grandmother and listen to some of her stories about Cleveland and our family. My grandmother grew up on the lower east side during the 30' and 40's before moving out to the west-side suburbs in the 50's. She had stories about Euclid Beach, Halle's, and countless other Cleveland institutions. At times I felt like I was reading a nostalgic Dick Feagler column.

Over the Christmas holiday I plan on sitting down with her again. Armed with my computer, I plan on recording her stories.

Surely some of you have lost a parent or a grandparent and didn't get a chance to ask them questions. What questions do you wish you could have asked? What questions should I ask my grandmother?

Ohio's Newest State Senator

The election of Mark Mallory as Mayor of Cincinnati left a vacancy in the Ohio Senate. There has been much speculation over who would be appointed to fill the seat. Today the mystery is over. Eric Kearney has been selected to fill Mallory's Seat by the Senate Democratic Caucus.

Who is Eric Kearney?

Kearny, a lawyer and businessman, is a major player in Cincinnati's black community. He is CEO of Sesh Communications which publishes the Cincinnati Herald. He attended high school at St. Xavier (Cincinnati's St. Ignatius) and college at Dartmouth. He received his law degree from UC.

Kearny seems like a pretty solid pick. He's young, he's savvy, and he's got the money to run an election campaign.

Welcome to the Senate Eric.

RON Issues Fail

In bellwether Lake County, Issues 2-5 failed by wide margins with all 217 precincts reporting. It is impossible for the issues to fail this dramatically in moderate, independant-heavy Lake County and pass state wide. Here are the results from the Lake County Elections Board:


State Issue 2 - No fault absentee

YES 34.80%
NO 65.20%

State Issue 3 - Campaign Finance Limits

YES 32.72%
NO 67.28%

State Issue 4 - Redistricting Board

YES 28.37%
NO 71.63%

State Issue 5 - State Board of Elections

YES 27.70%
NO 72.30%


This is a sad day for fair play in Ohio. The radical partisans from both parties killed these good government reforms.

Campus in Autumn...

Fall is a great time to be a college student, especially at Ohio State. Walking around campus these days, you feel like you're walking through one of those glossy college advertisements bulk mailed to high school seniors.

Here's a view of the South Dorms across South Oval. This time last year, 40,000 people gathered here for an appearance by Bruce Springsteen and John Kerry.

Here's a view of The Oval, the epicenter of campus. The Oval was fenced off last year, much to the chagrin of the student body, while the lawn was replaced. The Oval was officially rededicated at the beginning of this quarter.

Here's a view of the Senate Office Building where I work in downtown Columbus. The Senate Office Building is at the eastern end of the Statehouse. Once two different buildings, they are now connected via an enclosed atrium.

Worse Than Art

In Cleveland there are few people hated more than Art Modell. In 1995, Art Modell abruptly moved our beloved Browns to Baltimore. Modell turned his back on the Clevelanders that had supported his team for decades. While Modell's actions still cause indignation in the hearts of many a Clevelander, they come no where near the level of treachery displayed recently by Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints.

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, killing 1300 people and submerging large portions of the city, Benson went to work planning to permanently move the Saints to San Antonio, Texas.

"For them to be openly talking to other cities about moving is disrespectful to the citizens of New Orleans, disrespectful to the Saints fans who have hung in with this franchise through 30-something years under very trying times," New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said.

The Saints joined the NFL in 1967. In 1986, Benson was part of an ownership group that bought the team to ensure it would stay in Louisiana. Benson eventually bought out other members of the group.

The attempted move has been compared to Art Modell's move to Baltimore.

"I'm ready to go to the NFL and to (commissioner Paul) Tagliabue and say, 'Give us the Cleveland plan,'" Nagin added, referring to the league awarding Cleveland an expansion team almost immediately after the Browns moved to Baltimore after the 1995 season.

"Whatever the Saints want to do, you let them leave, but they can't take our logo, they can't take our name, and you give us a promise to give us a franchise when this city's back."

This happened last month, but now Tom Benson is back in the news, saying he will no longer attend Saints home games at LSU because he fears for his life. Apparently people in Louisiana are mad at him. Who would have thunk?

From Cleveland to New Orleans: Go to Hell Benson!