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by Angie Schmitt | January 6, 2016 · 8:49 am
Peace, Justice and Tamir Rice
I had to roll my eyes at Plain Dealer Editorial Board's response to the grand jury's failure to bring charges against police officers in the Tamir Rice case: "Tamir Rice Protests Must Be Peaceful."
For starters, the whole premise that powerless people, frustrated with the system to the point of boiling over, would be consulting the editorial board of the Plain Dealer before they act is laughable. The Plain Dealer Editorial Board is a super powerful organization in this town, in my opinion. But come on, there are limits.
It's not clear exactly who this editorial is addressed to, or if they are just articulating a worry. Which, to be fair, it seems like a legitimate worry (rioting), given what has transpired in this city over the past year or so. (Although overall protests have been peaceful, and even then some 70 people were arrested on trumped up charges and many held for 72 hours, but that is an aside.)
What really bothers me is the whole premise here — this calling for peaceful protests after the state-supported killing of an unarmed boy — misses the point so entirely. This refrain has been extremely common though in Cleveland. We heard the same thing in the Brelo trial ("137 shots case") just a few months ago.
And of course I don't want protests to be violent. No one wants that. But the idea that the response to this case must be upstanding, while the events that preceded it so clearly were not, I'm just having a hard time understanding why so many people find that argument to be so seductive. It's like they're issuing a reminder: the rules apply to protesters, but not to police officers. And while that, quite frankly, may be true, it is nevertheless a complete load of bullshit.
This whole habit of prematurely condemning protesters for not being peaceful in response to state-sanctioned injustice and violence, in this case against a 12-year-old boy, is exactly the type of double-standard that this whole case is, at its core, about.
The Plain Dealer Editorial Board really ought to understand that justice is a necessary precursor to peace. The whole justice system, in theory anyway, helps safeguard a peaceful society, by providing a fair and impartial check on violence and other anti-social behavior. For example, let's say someone steals your jewelry in absence of a justice system in which to seek recourse. What options do you have? Well, you can forget about it. Or you can try to seize it back and punish the perpetrator, through violent or coercive means.
In a civil society, however, with a justice system, this matter is resolved without violence. And the party with the most muscle doesn't necessarily prevail. Nobody responds with baseball bats. Nobody gets killed. The justice system provides a dispassionate intermediary that helps resolve the matter in peaceful terms. It punishes the "bad guy" and protects the "good guy" — at least in theory.
But the justice system isn't handed down by God, or a dictator, in a democracy like ours. It's negotiated by willing participants. It is entrusted to decide the matter objectively, and in fairness, and without respect to the status of the individuals involved. And if it does so at least to a large degree, its legitimacy won't be drawn into question.
Then we have a case like the Tamir Rice case, and the Brelo case, and the countless others around the country. And here we so clearly have this pattern where justice seems to be being applied unevenly. Where some people benefit and some people are harmed, based not on any consistent moral terrain, but based on relatively arbitrary social characteristics of the victims.
The question for the aggrieved parties in this case — black people in Cleveland (and, zooming out, in other cities around the United States) — is why should they follow the rules if the rules don't apply to other people? How long can people be expected to follow the rules, when it becomes clear that the rules serve to oppress, not protect them? That is the kind of question this case raises.
The Plain Dealer Editorial Board members, in my opinion, are as close an approximation to Cleveland's patriarchy as practically anyone. It's disappointing that they don't recognize that the integrity of our justice system and this question of peace are tied up in each other.
They call for peace, but not for justice, but there can never be one without the other.
–Angie Schmitt
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by Angie Schmitt | October 5, 2015 · 6:22 pm
Why are Rust Belt Cities Shrinking?
This probably sounds like a stupid question, but I'm serious about this. There was a recent round of publicity about a study out of Cleveland State that basically showed *some* growth in young well educated people in central Cleveland, namely downtown.
The authors of the report didn't come out an say it, but the article seems to sort of imply that this "brain gain" is the precursor to real population growth in Cleveland or at least a "bottoming out" something that has apparently been predicted before.
Here's the thing though. Cleveland is still losing population. Between 2000 and 2010, it lost 17 percent of its population; almost 1 in five people living in the city just booked it and left.
If we're going to sort of hypothesize about when Cleveland's going to grow again, as a couple people do in this Plain Dealer article, we've got to understand why people are leaving and I'm not sure we do.
So on one hand we have this study saying younger, well educated people are moving to the city, but not quite enough to stem the decline. So another more numerous group of people are leaving faster than the "brain gainers" are moving in. The question is who are they? Why are they leaving?
That is a question that doesn't get enough attention, I think.
Now, you are probably shaking your head and saying "duh, everyone knows it's the schools dummy!" Or "crime!" But those kinds of explanations, while I'm sure they are part of it, i don't think really explain it. Here's why: I think the Cleveland schools suck — and they do suck, no argument there — BECAUSE all the middle class people moved away, not the other way around. School district quality — I don't have the resources to do a study or analysis — but I have a sneaking suspicion are largely a function of the demographics/economics of the district. In other words, the schools in whatever wealthy exclusive suburb aren't awesome because the district is coincidentally really well managed. Exclusive rich suburbs have schools that are well funded and can afford to hire awesome staff and also and maybe more importantly, they can exclude low income kids who are likely to have academic and personal challenges.
What I'm saying is, if middle class people hadn't pretty much abandoned Cleveland, the schools would be in way better shape. And crime would be reduced too. Anyway, it's debatable I guess. But it's hard to separate cause and effect.
Anyway the reason I took a break from pumping milk out of my breasts (I just had a baby five weeks ago) to write this dumb post is because I wanted to present this theory that I am sort of partial to — the theory of why Cleveland and likewise other rust belt cities and even inner ring suburbs in a lot of cases are shrinking: Filtering!
This is a really nerdy topic, but it'd the favored theory of the few people I trust on demographics in northeast Ohio — Tom Bier of Cleveland State and Jason Segedy of the Akron Metropolitan Planning Study and NEOSCC. What filtering basically means is that people don't like old houses. People are constantly moving to newer houses and leaving the older houses behind for poorer people.
Tom Bier has been sounding the warning bell (and mostly ignored) for years that this is a crisis for Cleveland's Cuyahoga County. The growing areas of northeast Ohio — and there's precious few of them — are the areas where they're building new housing, namely sprawl developments on farmland.
Anyway, it's been a few weeks now, but Jason Segedy recently posited that for Akron to grow again, the city needs a plan to build new housing — a good amount of it too.
Now there are all kinds of obstacles to that: clunky regulations and building departments, urban lots that belong to 15 heirs, not to mention — and this is the big one — a completely terrible housing market, where nearly all new housing needs major subsidies just to bridge the gap between purchase price and construction costs. But what if that were the solution? What if we had a clear idea of what the solution way? Do you think filtering is a good explanation?
by rustwire | May 9, 2015 · 6:24 pm
Michigan's Budding Romance With Modern Passenger Rail
If you have ever ridden an intercity passenger train or a local streetcar, a commuter train, light rail system, or even a subway, you may have noticed the intoxicating feeling generated from riding the rails – the simple pleasure of watching the world pass by as you roll across or under the landscape. Perhaps this feeling is strongest when traveling on an intercity passenger train, but it is there nevertheless. Recently, my wife and I rode the rails across Canada, from Windsor to Toronto to Winnipeg to Edmonton to Vancouver. The glory days of railroading may not be as they once were, but it is clear that all forms of rail travel are a vital cog in any successful multi-modal transportation network. It also had an unexpected effect, in that rail travel invites human interaction unlike any other form of transportation.
During this trip, each of our intercity trains was filled to capacity. In addition, we saw a handsome new railway station in Windsor, and witnessed multitudes of Canadians riding GO Transit commuter trains and historic streetcars in metropolitan Toronto. We observed and rode the rapidly growing SkyTrain network in metropolitan Vancouver. On our return trip, we saw heavy use of Sound Transit's commuter rail lines in Seattle and rode it's CityLink Light Rail system between downtown and Sea-Tac International Airport. Sadly, the only place of any size where we didn't see passenger rail being used to its fullest potential was upon our return to Michigan.
That does not mean passenger rail transportation is not playing a role here. All three AMTRAK routes in our state (Bluewater, Pere Marquette, and Wolverine) have strong and supportive ridership; we are thankfully participating in high-speed improvements to the Chicago-Detroit corridor; the M-1 Light Rail project is under construction along Woodward Avenue in Detroit; and the People Mover system continues to ply its elevated route around downtown Detroit. Other passenger rail routes being discussed include intercity services linking Detroit, Lansing, and Grand Rapids; extending service to Traverse City, commuter service between Ann Arbor, Detroit Metro Airport, and downtown Detroit; and commuter rail service between Ann Arbor and Howell. But, to really make a difference, Michigan needs to stop talking and start acting, by applying additional planning efforts and funding sources towards all modes of passenger rail transportation. In Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver, their professional sports stadiums were constructed abutting the commuter and intercity rail network. In addition, all three have rail links to their airports. Such foresighted transportation planning helps reduce traffic congestion on area road networks, reduces air pollution, and reduces overall dependency on automobiles, while it also increases the lifespan of the road system and interconnectivity between transport modes. Here in Michigan, we are so reliant on the automobile, that it is often our only option. Given Detroit's moniker as "the Motor City," that may seem like a logical conclusion, but
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why can't "motors" include those for locomotives too?
Beyond the transportation benefits of a multi-modal system that incorporates various forms of passenger rail, there is another advantage that became very clear during this trip – opportunity for human interaction. This certainly cannot happen when we drive solo, cocooned in our cars, and is a limited option for a small group of people in carpool and vanpool situations. However, when riding the rails, particularly for middle to longer distances, one has the chance to interact with their fellow passengers on a regular basis. With each and every trip there is the potential of meeting new people. Even as an avid bike commuter, I will admit that opportunities for conversations beyond brief greetings are limited, though it does happen more often than with cars. Meanwhile, during our Canadian cross-country trip, at every meal we were seated with different pairs of passengers. This gave us a perfect opportunity to meet our fellow travelers from all over the world, including other parts of the United States, Canada, India, Australia, England, Sudan, etc. Furthermore, in all forms of passenger rail, one has the opportunity to get up and move around from place to place which generates the potential to meet and connect with new people. In other words, passenger rail can be a social gathering place.
Will Michigan's current romance with intercity passenger rail be a lasting relationship or will we revert to our old lonesome ways the next time gas prices drop or fuel efficiency improves? That's the big question. But, one has hopeful optimism when they observe what's taking place north of the border and in other cities around our country. For it's not just Seattle where the romance with the rails has fully blossomed, but in many other American cities where you would have never imagined it 10-20-30 years ago. Burgeoning cities in the south and west like Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Dallas, Sacramento, San Jose, Houston, Miami, Charlotte, Honolulu, and others have hopped on the train phenomenon. For Michigan to be/remain truly competitive, it must allow our budding romance with modern passenger rail transportation to fully flower. Otherwise, our state risks becoming sidetracked onto an abandoned spur as the world rolls past.
So, come on Michigan, in the immortal words of the O'Jays, let's climb aboard the "Love Train" and thunder our way towards a more promising future.
Ohio House Budget Slashes Measly Transit Budget
This post was written by Tim Kovach and originally appeared on his personal blog.
Yesterday, the Ohio House passed its version of the state's biennial budget, HB 64. The proposed budget, which is the largest in state history (by far), appropriates $131.6 billion in total spending for fiscal years 2016 viagra versus cialis and 2017. This includes $71.5 billion in General Revenue Fund (GRF) appropriations. The bill now goes to the Ohio Senate, which, based on reports from The Plain Dealer, will pay it no mind and develop a budget of its own. The next two-plus months should be…interesting.
Rep. Marty Sweeney was one of three Cleveland Dems that backed the provision shortchanging transit.
HB 64 sets aside more than $700 million less than Governor John Kasich had requested in his budget proposal, which he released in February. Yet, according to Plunderbund, the GRF spending is still 43% more than the final budget passed under Governor Ted Strickland. Moreover, HB 64 far exceeds the cap on increased GRF spending set in twitter.com/drjonesbilly place by the Republican-controlled stated legislature in 2006. As Plunderbund explains, while the State Appropriation Limit law dictates the state cannot increase GRF appropriations by more than 3.5% in any given year, this budget blows that (stupid) limit out of the water. Under HB 64, GRF spending would spike by 11.3% in FY 2016 and 4.7% in FY 2017.
Last month, I noted that the Governor's budget increased GRF spending on public transit by $1 million per year, to $8.3 million annually for FY 2016-2017 from $7.3 million in FY 2014-2015. (According to Ohio Legislative Service Commission (LSC), the state actually spent $10,134,611 during FY 2014.) As I argued at the time,
This proposal represents the first year-over-year increase in state transit spending since 1998. Given that the state has reduced GRF spending on transit by an astonishing 83.5% since its peak in the year 2000, even this modest increase is kind of a big deal. While $1 million is a drop in the bucket in the big picture – it doesn't even take the state back to 2011 funding levels – it may signal that Ohio is at least slowing the rate at which it has slashed transit spending. I mean, even a $1 increase would be notable in this environment.
Well, it looks like even this modest enthusiasm was misplaced. HB 64 does away with this additional funding, locking in GRF spending on transit at $7.3 million for the next two years. Whereas transit accounted for a pitiful 0.035% of the GRF in FY 2014, this number will decrease to just 0.02% and 0.02% in FY 2016 and FY 2017, respectively.
Let's express that in per capita terms, shall we? Based on projections from state's Development Services Agency, Ohio's population will reach 11,549,120 this year. That should grow to roughly 11,554,270 and 11,559,420 in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Accordingly, the state will spend a whopping $0.63 per person on transit each year.
Clearly, Ohio does not prioritize public transit. To show how little our legislators care about this issue, I have collected a few other budget line items from the Ohio House's budget, for comparison's sake:
Ohio Grape Industries (spending to promote the state's wineries): $970,000 per year for FY 2016-2017
Art acquisitions for public properties: $225,000 per year
Choose Life how much is viagra (state issued license plates to discourage abortions): $75,000 per year
Ohio State Racing Commission ("dedicated to the protection, preservation, and promotion of horse racing and its related industry components"): $31,535,000 million per year
Ohio State Fair Harness Racing: $235,000 per year
Coal Research and https://twitter.com/drjonesbilly Development Program (a program to "development and implementation of technologies that can use Ohio's vast reserves of coal in an economical, environmentally sound manner" LOL): $234,400 per year
Coal Research & Development General Obligation Bond Debt Service: $5,991,400 in FY 2016, $5,038,700 in FY 2017
Ohio-Israel Agricultural Initiative (a program to "improve agricultural trade and R&D ties between Ohio and Israel"): $200,000 per year
State printing costs: $21,568,075 in FY 2016, $21,688,106 in FY 2017
This is just a small selection of the things that Ohio lawmakers would rather fund than public transit.
We already know, for instance, that ODOT spends more money to mow the grass alongside Ohio's highways than it does on transit. We'll also apparently spend nearly $1.2 million to find "a less costly and easier way to cut the grass and manage the trees and shrubs along the state's interstates and highways." Oh, and did I mention that the state has set aside more than $200,000 for legal fees to uphold our ban on same sex marriage? But $1 million more for transit is unthinkable.
Sadly, I can't cheap viagra online even say that this budget passed strictly alongside party lines. That's because, while 5 Republican representatives jumped shipped and voted against the bill, 3 Democrats actually voted in favor of it. All three of these legislators – John Barnes, Bill Patmon, and Martin Sweeney – hail from Cleveland, where nearly one-quarter of households lack access to a car.
One day, maybe we'll break the car-centric fever raging through the Statehouse. Until then, we'll just have to muddle through in a state that has no problem spending $429 million on a freeway bypass for a county that's home to 25,000 people, but cannot find another dime for the nearly 250,000 people who ride transit each day (PDF) in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus.
by Angie Schmitt | March 5, 2015 · 9:32 am
Evaluating the Actual Design of the Opportunity Corridor
Ever since the state said it was going to award close to $300 million in borrowed turnpike money to the Opportunity Corridor, a project Cleveland's planning and development leaders had been pushing for more than a decade, it's been sort of a mad scramble to get shovels in the ground.
Project leaders now have the final federal approvals that they need to begin construction. In a few weeks they're going to put sections 2 and 3 — the actual new road portion — out to bid on a quickie design-build contract that gives the engineering firm a good deal of leverage over the design details. And that will be the end of it as far as that goes, I believe. $331 million in spending will turn into a road that will be part of Cleveland's landscape for decades. Pretty much all the leaders involved ceased discussing the design details of the the road months and months ago and have turned their attention toward the development they hope will follow.
They're behind the ball on that already. Land speculators have been buying up properties and putting fences around them. Just last week some key project leaders floated a plan to solicit foundation support to spend $10 to $20 million assembling land they hope they can sell or give to new firms that will employ city residents.
So everything's speeding ahead and more or less final as far as the people with power over the situation are concerned as with the $331 million road project. I'm sort of disturbed about this because the $331 million road project still had a lot of pretty glaring issues it seems just aren't going to get addressed.
One thing I will say is I think the design of the road has gotten better in the last year or so. There have been a few key improvements that resulted from community pressure and public feedback. They are, IMO:
ODOT will no longer dead end 19 through streets, including Quincy, a major thoroughfare. On most of those streets, sort of residential side streets, drivers will be allowed to make right turns. With this change the road will still be a barrier to north-south, short-distance travel, the kind that is especially important to people living near by. But it will be less so.
Minority and local contractors will get 20 percent of construction contracts.This was a deal offered by Governor Kasich in the run up to his reelection campaign and was pushed for by the Black Contractors Association locally. This was always, always, always, at public meetings a big priority for people living nearby.
A pedestrian bridge has been added by the East 55th rapid station. This was a very early change made in response to public outcry. The original proposal from ODOT would have required transit riders to walk a long circuitous route around the road and a retention all to access the rapid station. ODOT caved to complaints and agreed to install a pedestrian bridge that would shorten this distance transit riders will have to travel by a third. (A note about this pedestrian bridge: the fact that ODOT is proposing pedestrian bridges over this road instead of at-grade crossings is pretty good evidence that the road isn't very pedestrian friendly and operates, at least at this junction, much like a grade-separated highway.)
ODOT reduced travel lane widths from 12 feet to 11. 12-foot lanes are the type used on Interstate highways and they encourage fast speeds — far faster than the 35 miles per hour this road is supposed to be designed to accommodate, and faster than what is safe for pedestrians who will have to cross this road. After complaints, ODOT agreed to reduce the lane widths to 11 feet, which is still pretty wide and generous to motorists and not the most pedestrian friendly design but it is better than 12 feet.
That being said there are many, many outstanding issues I'm afraid we're not going to see adequately resolved:
Bike infrastructure:
The one remaining design issue that seems to be getting a lot of attention is the issue of bike accommodations. Bike Cleveland and project manager Marie Kittredge have been making an issue over the fact that the current plan calls for bikes to use an off-road multi-use path on the road's south side. Bike Cleveland director Jacob Vansickle has argued correctly that this is a second-rate way to accommodate bikes and is pushing an on-road protected bike lane.
The project's steering committee is considering this and there seems to be a fair amount of political support. Steve Litt, architecture critic for the Plain Dealer has written about it twice — a sure sign that the establishment is firmly behind this idea. This is sort of an interesting development and I'm encouraged to see people in positions of authority finally pushing back on some of ODOT's generally pretty old-school designs. I think converting the off-street bike path to on street would be an improvement to the design and help make the road slightly more pedestrian friendly.
However, Marie Kittridge told me they are not considering reducing the width of the road, only widening it to add the bike lane. That's disappointing. The road is being built to accommodate all the traffic from every planned development around the corridor for the next 20 years. That's why they were able to justify adding a fifth lane. A lot of the planned development for the area over the next 20 years might not ever happen. Or if it does happen it will take a long time. So the road will likely have excess capacity from day 1.
I am concerned that widening this very expensive road to add bike lanes will turn out to be surprisingly expensive, but that's just a guess. Conducting a road diet on a parallel road like Woodland might be a nice alternative if so. But it will be interesting to see how that shakes out.
That being said, I am sort disappointed we haven't seen the same type of advocacy from those in positions of authority for transit riders and pedestrians on this corridor. I really think those two groups are much more profoundly affected.
Transit riders:
We learned late in the process of this project that RTA, after months of denials, was considering closing both the East 79th Street rapid stations, in the heart of the project area. The RTA board has since decided these stations will remain open. But it is unclear where the money will come from to perform the repairs — which will cost at least $20 million. RTA has a $300 million maintenance bill coming due on its rapid system altogether and it certainly doesn't have the money in its operating budget. RTA was able to negotiate $3 million from ODOT through this project for the East 105th street station, but how it's going to raise the money for those other stations remains an open question. That is a less than 1 percent concession to transit from ODOT in this project, although the road bisects neighborhoods where 40 percent lack access to a car. I don't know how anyone can consider this a fair distribution of transportation resources, but everyone just seems to be resigned to the idea that ODOT won't give anyone money for transit.
Since the existence of the rapid stations was one of the project leaders' primary justification for building the road — the argument was that new development spurred by the road would be transit accessible for people without cars — it's pretty disappointing that this issue was more or less sidestepped throughout the process. Transit was pretty much ignored throughout this process — although this was always referred to as a "corridor," which implies a bigger, more comprehensive project than a road with a side path. Throughout the planning process some of the project leaders have insisted that this area already has good transit access — because it is served by buses and rail — but that road access was the real obstacle (these leaders, I am certain, do not rely on the bus.) Now that whole excuse is sort of our the window, but it's probably too late to develop a more balanced and inclusive approach.
In the end this $331 million investment in what is almost exclusively car infrastructure provides little to nothing for transit riders and that is a real travesty from an equity perspective, especially considering how transit dependent the surrounding neighborhoods are and how much they are going to be impacted by the construction and traffic from this road.
These are the kind of bridge elements ODOT is proposing.
ODOT and Kittredge are planning a meeting tonight, I understand, to invite the public to share ideas for fancy design elements to be added to some of the project's many bridges. It's frustrating to see them focused on this kind of cosmetic detail while all these transit issues remain unaddressed. Furthermore, their eagerness to invest money in this sort of trivial element, while basically ignoring some of the very serious transit concerns in the same area is pretty disappointing, but typical of the highway's-first, nothing else matters approach we continue to see from the powerful old-school bureaucracy that is ODOT.
Pedestrians:
Furthermore, what kind of conditions the road is going to present to pedestrians seems to be another wide open question, which is pretty disappointing at this late stage in the game. Right from the beginning, project sponsor promised this road would be a "pedestrian friendly boulevard" — and it should be. It's an urban road that runs through low-income neighborhoods. We don't want to build a road that becomes the kind of road that low-income get killed trying to cross to get to jobs. It's 2015 and our design sensibilities about these things should be getting more developed.
Now I think when the people who came up with this plan laid out that vision — "a pedestrian friendly boulevard" — they meant it. That truly was their vision. Unfortunately, they needed ODOT to design it and make it happen and ODOT doesn't really do pedestrian friendly, they do highways. What they have put together, at least from what I can tell, is not an urban road but a watered down highway, with trees in the middle and a handful of intersections. And I think the powers that be are so eager to see this money spent and this road built, and accomplish their 10-year goal, they haven't really been willing to do much in the way of advocacy for pedestrians in the project design, which is unfortunate.
That being said, we don't have a lot of details about what the project means for pedestrians, even at this late stage. We know there will be a few additional crossings, even a couple mid-block crossings, thanks to public complaints. But we don't know much of anything about what the intersections will look like. To me it looks like they're going to be really awful.
I actually asked ODOT to give me the pedestrian crossing distances for the corridor. Initially they refused because they weren't "public information" because ODOT itself had never calculated them. That really shows how much effort has gone into thinking about how pedestrians are going to experience this road. They had never even measured it.
Well, I complained about it and they agreed to measure them and give them to me, but only for Phase 1, the widening of East 105th. That's really not the section of the road I'm most concerned with because it is an existing road and though I think ODOT's involvement will probably make it more dangerous and less comfortable for pedestrians, since it was an existing historical road will buildings surrounding it, there's a limit to how badly they can screw it up, in my opinion.
They told me they couldn't give me the pedestrian crossing distances for the other two sections — the sections they're spending all this money to build — because they were going to use a design-build contract and so the engineering firm basically gets to decide. I'm not sure whether the public has an opportunity to provide any feedback in this process, but I'm guessing it would be an uphill battle. Again, this is a really disappointing way to approach such a crucial feature of this project.
I took this screen shot from a video ODOT made showing what the Opportunity Corridor will look like. it looks like a scary suburban arterial, to me, the kind that are most dangerous for pedestrians. Image: ODOT
Even with very little detail, it's fair to say that a lot of the intersections are going to be quite wide. ODOT specifically chose to ignore concerns about the width of the intersections submitted by the public during the planning process — this is noted in the final Environmental Impact Statement and approved by the FHWA.
The road is five lanes for the first portion, and design plans include turn lanes at many intersections — always bad for pedestrians. Add two turn lanes and just the length of the traffic lanes could be as wide as 8o feet, and a lot more could be added if the road allows generous turn radii, which seems to be the plan because of "trucks." Only 2 percent of the road's traffic is estimated to be heavy trucks, and yet still that mode takes precedence over pedestrians in a low income neighborhood where many people lack cars. Wide turn radii would also encourage right-turning cars to speed around these intersections and add to the danger for pedestrians.
Now in some of the information ODOT has sent me, they have extended the boulevard into the crosswalk, more or less, to provide pedestrians a "island." This is a good thing for safety. Even so, 80+ foot intersections are going to be very, very intimidating for the average pedestrian and definitely not the kind that will create a healthy balance of transportation modes or a walkable corridor in the sense most people understand it.
I don't think the road can fairly be called "pedestrian friendly" and I really don't even think there's been a very good faith effort to make it so. I think the version of "pedestrian friendly" ODOT and other local leaders have settled for is "pedestrian friendly compared to a limited access highway," in that it provides the bare minimum in grudging accommodations to pedestrians. It's disappointing that we settled for that and I think we will regret it very soon. It's possible that the moment the road is built, it would be a good candidate for a road diet because it's over engineered and not very context sensitive. I mean this road, from what I've seen in ODOT renderings, looks exactly like the kind of suburban arterial road you see outside a Walmart on North Olmsted, the kind where you never see any pedestrians, or when you do you're afraid for them.
East 55th "jughandle"
Most of this area is currently a densely populated portion of the Slavic Village neighborhood. Image: ODOT
This is a good example. A last and final nagging concern I have about the design is tbe proposal for the beginning of the road at East 55th. ODOT and neighborhood leaders agreed a while back on a "jughangle" design, which is more or less a very small highway cloverleaf. The road will scoop below grade and neighborhood folks hope, relieve some of the nasty traffic that occurs at the awful intersection of I-490 and East 55th. I wasn't around for the negotiations between ODOT and the neighborhood on this design. I assume ODOT presented them with some alternatives — all of them huge, concrete, solutions — and that this was designed to be the best of a lot of bad options from a neighborhood perspective.
I think it's awful. I don't understand how pedestrians are supposed to navigate it. The pedestrian bridge apparently. And Kent State's Urban Design Collaborative pointed out Slavic Village residents won't even be able to access East 55th from the road, at least last I heard. To make matters worse the whole thing is right in front of the East 55th rapid station and will reduce the walkability of that station, already very poor, and reduce the number of households within walking distance — because this area is where the majority of the houses seized through eminent domain are. So basically we're trading a real urban neighborhood for that, and that is "progress,"
Some of us who have been following this project critically suggested that maybe a round-about would be a more humane solution, but I don't think much consideration was given to the idea and I'm not sure 100 percent why. At this point I guess this is more or less set in stone. It's a real shame to see something like that constructed in a neighborhood in this day and age.
We really should be moving toward road designs that are safe for pedestrians. And I understand that so many cars move through this area — and they're trying to funnel them now all into the same area — that that creates some design challenges. We might never be able to create truly urban, pedestrian friendly streets in this context and that's part of the reason I think this whole project is going to help sort of cement some unhealthy transportation patterns for the city at the same time we should be moving in the other direction. Funneling a lot of cars through a single chute really isn't that healthy for cities, or urban.
I think a lot of people's attitude, as far as the design of this road goes — and these are people who don't live nearby — is that the neighborhoods impacted are in bad shape anyway and so these kinds of details don't really matter. And so we're getting a potentially damaging and dangerous design for our $331 million public investment, instead of the multi-modal pedestrian friendly boulevard we were promised and we seem to be willing to accept that, unfortunately.
It's really a betrayal of the neighborhoods impacted I think. "Trust us," they have been saying the whole time, this road will be "a pedestrian friendly boulevard." It is technically a boulevard in that it had trees in the middle, but it's not pedestrian friendly, it's a thoroughfare designed first and foremost to speed high volumes of vehicular traffic with only the most superficial nods to other modes. I think a lot of the people leading this project understand this but have been willing to overlook it because they think the development will make it worth while. But that wasn't the deal. They didn't say, we'll build a road through your neighborhood mainly designed for the convenience of suburban commuters while offering next to nothing to the surrounding neighborhoods, but it will be worth it in the end because of all the great development. They promised a nice, multi-modal urban road. In the end they only came through with the emptiest, most superficial nods to that kind of a vision — designs on large bridges, for example, a second-rate sidepath that doubles as a sidewalk.
This is a project that more than $30 million was spent "planning." And this is the end result? It's disappointing, especially given how high-flying the rhetoric around this project has been. Those of us who have been making these kinds of points are more or less shouting into the wilderness, however, at this point. I'm not very optimistic that anything will improve and we will have blown an opportunity to create something that would be a real asset for urban neighborhoods.
Filed under Featured
by Angie Schmitt | February 10, 2015 · 10:31 am
The Cleveland Clinic Just Doesn't Get it
Disappointing but not entirely surprising news from the Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland's largest employer recently announced that it is closing Lakewood Hospital, in the cozy inner ring suburb, as it expands operations in sprawling Avon. This seems to be fitting with the nonprofit's model of building a new hospital at every interchange opened in the sprawling hinterlands while winding down its hospital locations in the more populous areas of the region. All these hospitals, despite being entirely inaccessible outside of a private vehicle, are LEED certified for their "green" building practices.
The Cleveland Clinic doesn't seem to value being part of a connected, urban community a whole lot, although to its credit, it did sponsor the Healhline, Cleveland's award winning BRT.
The latest news from the Clinic is that it will spend $36 million to construct a 3,000-space parking garage on the southwest edge of its campus. The structure is about what you would expect. Not much of a boon for the neighborhood for the steep pricetag, not much of an advance for healthcare either. The Plain Dealer notes that this garage will be fed by the new $331 million "Opportunity Corridor" highway that will direct commuters from the south and western suburbs to campus.
I wish the Cleveland Clinic was embracing sustainable transportation and trying to make its campus and attractive, livable place. But that doesn't seem to be the hospital's M.O. at all. My architect friends jokingly call the Cleveland Clinic campus "Little Dubai." The campus basically consists of a bunch of monolithic institutional buildings with a lot of dead space in between. It's not really a community. It's not really walkable. It's not really an inviting or fun place to be.
I mean, it's a hospital, so on one hand it's sort of understandable. On the other hand, it just doesn't have to be that way. It could be so great. Just east of the Clinic, a private developer, working with some institutional partners built a really phenomenal transit oriented development called Uptown. The development is mixed-use retail, with very little parking. It's nestled in between Case Western University and Little Itality and it's quickly becoming one of the coolest most attractive parts of the city.
The Cleveland Clinic campus could be like that, or at the very least more like that. But it needs to have less parking garages and more reasons to make people linger — heck even want to live nearby. It needs sidewalk-facing restaurants. There's got to be some Cleveland
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Clinic employees who would prefer not to eat all their meals in a hospital cafeteria.
Here are some alternatives the Cleveland Clinic could have tried before building a $36 million parking garage. These are part of a strategy called "transportation demand
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management" that can save both employees and institutions like the Cleveland Clinic money. Because guess what? Parking is very expensive. Garaged parking spaces run up to $30k a piece or higher. There are cheaper and healthier options that would help keep healthcare costs low, offer employees valuable alternatives and improve the area around the Clinic:
Offer employees free bus passes/refund bus pass expenses for patients. For the price of a $36 million parking garage, the Cleveland Clinic could have purchased free bus passes at full price for 40,000 employees for a year. (The Cleveland Clinic only has 35,000 employees worldwide.) CAVEAT: I don't expect that every employee would take transit to the Cleveland Clinic, but offering that as an incentive would encourage SOME employees to take transit instead of driving. For every employee the Cleveland Clinic could convert from a daily driver to transit commuter, it could save at least $12,000 in up front parking costs immediately. Why isn't the Clinic more motivated to do this? I can only guess lack of imagination or some sort of fatalism/bad attitude about transit and the people that ride it on the part of institutional leadership. That is unfortunate.
Offer employees cash incentives to carpool. It could be as little as free parking passes. Again, this wouldn't work for everyone, but for every employee that could be encouraged to buddy up, $12,000 savings for the Clinic — i.e. healthcare consumers.
Offer employees flexibility in parking passes. It is my understanding that the Cleveland Clinic does not allow its employees to purchase part-time parking passes. This is a problem because folks who might be an occasional bike or transit commuters are essentially penalized, or discouraged from doing so, because they must pay the full monthly parking rate. The Clinic should change this immediately.
Cash incentives to not drive to campus. Some institutions that run transportation demand management programs have found that offering commuters as little as $90 a year not to commute by car can have a surprising effect on solo car commuting.
Another thing the Cleveland could do is get more involved with incentivizing living near work for its employees. I know the Clinic has tried this in the past and it hasn't been super successful. But it should not give up. Urban areas are becoming increasingly attractive across the county as household sizes become smaller and attitudes about urban living evolve. Probably many of their employees who are recruited from cities like Philadelphia and Chicago and Seattle where urban living is attractive. Their recruitment would benefit if they could offer high-quality living near work. Imagine if each of the Cleveland Clinic's enormous parking garages were just one-third apartment housing how much more alive and active the campus would feel. The problem is, people won't move to be closer to the hospital if living near the hospital offers no real advantage over living far away. And right now the Clinic's transportation policies make driving in from far away as easy as possible and living close to the campus not that pleasant.
All of these alternatives would be cheaper than the way the Cleveland Clinic is doing it right now. And they would all promote something the Cleveland Clinic claims to be very committed to: promoting healthy lifestyles among its workers. It's failing to do that if it doesn't encourage its employees to bike and walk to work and to use low-emissions forms of transportation that lower asthma and obesity rates. It's also negatively impacting the communities around it, which hurts the hospital as well.
-Angie Schmitt
Filed under Featured, Headline
by Angie Schmitt | December 15, 2014 · 8:47 am
Cleveland's Police's Telling Response to Tamir Rice and the DOJ Report
So this is the statement Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams issued in response to a scathing Department of Justice report finding the department is "reckless," "poorly trained" and "frequently deprives people of their constitutional rights." I'll spare you the gory details of this report, if you want more info check this out, but in a nutshell the two-year investigation found that officers, among other things, have been pistol whipping suspects and firing guns in a manner that threatens innocent bystanders.
Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams
In light of all, Chief Williams prerogative is to remind the pubic that "the majority of" their "officers do great police work." I want to say, for the record, I have absolutely no doubt that that is true. It is also, entirely beside the point.
Let's say Calvin Williams was the owner of a restaurant. Let's say a bunch of people ate food from this restaurant and got very sick and that the health department came and wrote a report and found there were "systemic" problems with the restaurant's policies and employees that led to the problem. Let's say the report also uncovered other problems — labor violations, vermin in the kitchen, etc. What if restaurant owner Calvin Williams response was, "I want to remind everyone that we served a lot of meals that didn't make people sick." Of course that would be true, but when you're in a position of authority, you don't get to be congratulated for things working as they should — especially in light of shocking evidence that in some important instances they are not.
This should really be obvious to anyone in a management role, but a few bad apples can spoil the bunch. If a few Cleveland Police Officers are out there pistol whipping people in the face like they think they are Scarface or something, that is naturally going to overshadow the good work being done by the majority. That's why it's Chief Williams' job to make sure that kind of thing doesn't happen. And he completely and utterly failed at it. Now he is not accepting responsibility the way a real leader should.
This kind of response from all throughout the ranks of Cleveland leadership is almost more disturbing to me than the findings in DOJ report itself, and definitely helps explain how things could have gotten so out of hand.
Additionally, this insistence from police that because their job is risky and difficult, unprofessional, unethical and dangerous conduct should be excused is just not logically defensible. Because police are entrusted with a great deal of authority and latitude, they are under even more obligation than other kinds of workers to behave ethically and professionally at all times.
When you are in charge of an organization that screws up this badly, and the evidence of the screw up is so completely devastating, there is really only one acceptable way to respond: Chief Williams should apologize to the people of Cleveland and admit that he and other leaders have failed in their primary duty of ensuring quality throughout the department's ranks.
Among those of us who are outraged by what has been uncovered, I think there are very few of us that doubt there are upstanding and hardworking officers throughout the ranks of the Cleveland Police. It's unfortunate, but it's axiomatic to employees within any organization, that their reputation is tarnished when others among their ranks behave unprofessionally and unethically.
It's men like Chief Williams and other superior officers that have let the hardworking and trustworthy officers within CPD's ranks down, by permitting disgraceful behavior by other officers wearing the same badge. The responsibility for the department's tarnished image belongs with them, not misperceptions of the public or the media.
Filed under Editorial, Headline


Divorce and other family law cases are some of the most delicate legal matters. The future lives of individuals and families will be affected by the manner in which the issues are resolved. The impact that these difficult times will have on your life and the lives of your children makes it that much more important that you secure the counsel of an experienced and effective family law attorney.
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Dallas Police want to remove more information from crime reports
2021-11-08T16:42:48-06:00By Christina Hughes Babb|Crime, News|0 Comments
Prepare to see even more of this at dallasopendata.com
The Dallas Police Department intends to remove more information from its publicly searchable crime reports. This raises concerns about department transparency. At a Public Safety Committee meeting Monday, vice chair Cara Mendelsohn insisted the issue be brought before the full City Council.
In an Oct. 15 memo to top City of Dallas officials, the DPD said it had started omitting certain information from reports previously available to press, crime watch groups and the general community through Open Data portal. According to that memo, the police also plan to recommend further redactions and delays, which they say are related to concerns about publishing victim data.
The move, if approved, would be another in a long, subtle reduction in the amount of law enforcement information available to the public.
A similar revamp of the reporting system in 2014 heavily reduced our ability to report on the nature and specifics of neighborhood crime. Before that, online police reports offered limited narratives about crimes — anything from a sentence to a couple of paragraphs describing the crime.
Those narratives could mean the difference between "shooting at Wal Mart" and "a guy reaching for his wallet while in line at Wal Mart accidentally shot himself in the leg." Big difference, and that is a real example.
Today's online reports list the type of crime, location, time and date, but they offer no specific information, no narrative, on the crime. And the department's plan to take it another step or few further does not sit well with those who believe more transparency, not less, is the proper direction.
Mendelsohn, also Dallas' City Council District 12 representative questioned the timing of the initial redactions, wondering why it was necessary considering state laws already allow police to redact information related to sexual crimes, juveniles and anything that would hinder an investigation.
"What happened that made this so critical [you had to] to do it [without] waiting for a discussion? I mean, when we already have state law that says you can hide names of victims of sexual abuse and things like that, what would have caused you to immediately flip that switch instead of waiting until we had a broader policy discussion?" Mendelsohn asked at Monday's committee meeting.
Dr. Brita Andercheck, a city employee who wrote the memo and is working on the reporting redesign for the police department, and the department's chief information security officer made the call related to an undisclosed specific situation, Andercheck said to the committee, to "protect victim information." She said it was related to a specific case.
Mendelsohn said not only is this something that should not happen via memo, but it also is too important to even be a Public Safety Committee item.
"Who else have you consulted? Have we talked to the media, to crime watch groups? Did we get input from residents? I don't think any of that part happened."
Mendelsohn says it needs to go before the full City Council.
The Dallas Morning News' executive editor Katrice Hardy pointed out that when information is redacted from reports, it makes it more difficult for journalists to report on crime. Police Chief Eddie Garcia told The News he supported the changes, noting that we are not the only city who does this.
Just listing other cities have done this — calling it "best practices" for information reporting — did not appease Mendelsohn, who notes that even as a council member she often learns crime news from platforms like Smash da Topic, whose army of micro-local reporters share news on social media, and she says she is "sure they use the portal."
She adds that she "obviously doesn't want to put officers or victims in harm's way," she thinks the community has a right to know what is happening and to follow it.
"I am not so sure this is best practices," she says. "It might be for other cities and it might not be for Dallas."
About the Author: Christina Hughes Babb
CHRISTINA HUGHES BABB is editor at large at Advocate Magazines. Email her at chughes@advocatemag.com or follow twitter.com/chughesbabb.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Addiction recovery is a long, slippery uphill journey. At some point, you'll probably lose your footing and start to slide off the mountain. When that happens, you can catch yourself. Grab hold of everything you've learned in recovery so far and call out to your sponsor for help. After he or she helps you up off the pavement, you can figure out why you fell in the first place and how you can be more careful going forward.
Shame over the past is all that stands in the way of improvement. For recovering addicts, whose behavior was destructive enough to land them in treatment, feelings of shame are natural, but not necessarily logical. Drug addiction changes our behavior and actions. Your sobriety sponsor won't judge you, scorn you, or make you feel like a disappointment. They actually guarantee something not even licensed therapists can offer–real, personal empathy. They're not just volunteers–they're recovering addicts just like you. On top of their own personal experiences, they gain a lot of insight from the hundreds of addicts they encounter in meetings. Their value cannot be overstated.
Sponsors are great in general, but you'll want to pick the best of the best. Ideally he or she will have worked with the 12 steps before. AA isn't the only way to live sober, but if you've chosen it as your route, you'll want the best possible navigator. Also, make sure they're flexible. Relapse-triggers occur unexpectedly, with unpredictable degrees of strength. They don't just follow a schedule.
Lastly, pick a sponsor of your own gender. Nothing gets in the way of spiritual growth quite like romantic feelings. There are many options for forming romantic bonds and getting back into the dating world in recovery but romantic entanglements with a sponsor dilute the supportive nature of the relationship.


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images, and marketing campaigns for great companies.
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This compact CAN device provides virtually endless data acquisition system expansion options. Channel Expansion hub adds up to four freely configurable analog and/or digital channels without occupying or modifying the existing system channels.
Thanks to the CAN technology, wiring squeezes your harness from four cables to one single connection. Using a Data Hub you can also connect to the master logger as many Channel Expansion as needed.


Just like any asset, IRAs may be passed on to beneficiaries upon the death of the accountholder.
The exact inheritance process depends on whether or not you are the accountholder's spouse.
The rules on inheritance also depend on whether the IRA is a Traditional or Roth account.
A Traditional IRA is a retirement savings account available to anyone who can make contributions and is under age 70 1/2. There are no income limits to qualify but the attractive tax benefits are only available to individuals who meet certain eligibility requirements.
Who can inherit an IRA?
Anyone can inherit an IRA, although how and when you can withdraw funds depends on the type of IRA and your relationship to the original accountholder. Here is a breakdown of how you can handle an inherited IRA in each scenario.
If you inherited an IRA from your spouse and are the sole beneficiary, you may choose to transfer the assets into your existing IRA or a new one. With this method, you may also designate your own IRA beneficiary. This is the only method exclusively available to spousal beneficiaries.
For Traditional IRAs, the same contribution and withdrawal rules apply to the inherited account. You can access the money at any time, but normal withdrawal penalties apply before age 59 ½. The one exception is that if your spouse was over age 70 ½ and had not already taken the required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year of death, you must do so regardless of your own age for that year only.
For Roth IRA, the same rules apply as if the IRA had been originally yours. Earnings are usually taxable until age 59 ½ and the account has been open for at least five years.
A beneficiary may choose to open an Inherited IRA and transfer the assets into it. With this method, you may also designate your own IRA beneficiary.
For Traditional IRAs, RMDs are enforced and you are taxed on each distribution. However, you will not be subject to the early withdrawal penalty of 10%. If there are multiple beneficiaries, each should establish their own account by December 31st of the year following the year of death.
If the beneficiary is a spouse and the accountholder was under 70 ½, this option allows you to spread out annual distributions over your life expectancy. However, you must begin taking RMDs by the end of the year she would have reached 70 ½ regardless of your age.
If the beneficiary is not a spouse and accountholder was under 70 ½, this option allows you to spread out annual distributions over your life expectancy. However, you must begin taking distributions beginning no later than December 31st of the year after the year of death.
If accountholder was over 70 ½, this option allows you to spread out annual distributions over your life expectancy or the deceased accountholder's remaining life expectancy, whichever is longer. However, you must begin taking an annual required minimum distribution beginning no later than December 31st of the year after death. In addition, if the original accountholder didn't take an RMD in the year of death, an RMD must be taken from the account by December 31st of that year.
For Roth IRA, RMDs are enforced. Distributions may be taken tax-free, assuming the account has been opened for five years. You will not be subject to the early withdrawal penalty of 10%. With this method, you may also designate your own IRA beneficiary. If there are multiple beneficiaries, each should establish their own account.
If the beneficiary is a spouse, this option allows you to take out RMD beginning December 31st of the year after the year of death or when the accountholder would have turned 70 ½, whichever is later.
If the beneficiary is not a spouse, this option allows you to spread out annual distributions over your life expectancy. However, you must begin taking an annual RMD beginning no later than December 31st of the year after death.
For Traditional IRAs, if the accountholder was under 70 1/2, any beneficiary can withdraw money at any time up to December 31st of the fifth year after the year of death. The full amount must be withdrawn then. While distributions are taxed, there is no 10% withdrawal penalty.
For Roth IRAs, the same guidelines on distributions apply for all beneficiaries and accountholders of any age. The difference is that distributions are not taxed if the account has been opened for five years, and there is no 10% withdrawal penalty.
The last option regardless of the beneficiary's status or accountholder's age is a lump sum distribution.
For Traditional IRAs, you receive the entire amount at once. You will pay income taxes on the distribution but will not be subject to the 10% withdrawal penalty. Note that using this method may cause you to move up into a higher income bracket.
For Roth IRAs, you also receive the entire amount at once. As long as the account has been opened for over five years, earnings are not taxable.
Remember to deal with an inherited IRA in a timely manner. Simply neglecting a few minor details can result in automatic actions being taken in the distribution process. Stay in control of your beneficiary IRA by keeping track of your required next steps.


But I took a break from packing to check out ICFF at Javits, just to see whether anything was happening that required my attention. Not a whole lot is. It's one of those transitional years. The Modernist revival that began in the mid-1990s is winding down. The explosion of green product that boomed a few years ago has slowed to a trickle. The recent fascination with computer-driven intricacy is still around, but not as dominant as it has been in past years. What's new, if new is indeed the proper word, is the influx of retro-looking artisinal-feeling product: rough hewn wooden tables, hand cast metal tchatchkes… Oh, and Kohler is manufacturing brightly colored sinks (designed by Jonathan Adler) displayed in a booth made from a shipping container (a signal that the shipping container fad has finally crested).
1. Peter Stathis, who brought his breakthrough LED task lamp, Link, to the fair in 2008, has started his own lighting company, Light & Contrast. His star product at this year's fair, the Trapeze, is a major improvement on Link (which I still really admire), both in terms of sculptural qualities and the amount of light it sheds.
2. Matthew Hilton, a British designer who has worked for pretty much everyone, including himself, is lately allied with De La Espada. While I have mixed emotions about the revival of wood as a fashionable material, Hilton does it right. He is, at heart, a minimalist, who never does anything that could be described as rough hewn.
3. My favorite large scale object at the fair was the pleated paper booth (see above) by Molo Design, Ltd., a Vancouver B.C. based architecture and design studio. In furniture fairs past, I've noticed eye-catching temporary structures that turned out to be completely unrelated to the products on display within. In this case, Molo's booth is also its product. Very cool.
4. Other good stuff: LED lamps by QisDesign. Claesson Koivisto Rune -designed Air purifiers by Blueair. (Which don't seem to be on the company's US website.) Student design from the University of Lapland. A nice Antonio Citterio comfy chair from Vitra.
After the move, I'm going to try to be a better blogger. Even though blogging is over. Especially because blogging is over.


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Óscar Hernández Campano (San Sebastián, 1976) es un escritor español

Biografía
A los dieciséis años publicó la novela La aventura más excitante de los últimos 10.000 años, pero la fama le llegó en el año 2002 con El viaje de Marcos, novela ganadora del IV Premio Odisea de Literatura, que narra la historia de amor entre dos chicos jóvenes durante los últimos años del franquismo. El boca a boca hizo que la novela se reeditara sin apenas publicidad, siendo el libro más vendido de la Editorial Odisea, especializada en literatura gay. El éxito en ventas hizo que dos años después, la editorial DeBolsillo, sacara a la venta la novela en edición de bolsillo. También tiene edición electrónica y figura en la lista de las mejores novelas gais de la literatura reciente española confeccionada por la revista Encubierta, junto con obras de Susana Hernández, Oscar Esquivias, Fernando J. López y Roberto Enríquez.

En el año 2004 apareció su novela: Esclavos del destino, dentro de la colección Inconfesables de la Editorial Odisea.

En 2014, su cuento «¿Azul o verde?» se publicó en Lo que no se dice, antología de relatos inéditos de autores españoles. El relato de Hernández está ambientado en un caserío, en la zona más rural del País Vasco.

Óscar Hernández se instaló en Valencia y colaboró en algunos medios, como la revista Lupa (donde fue articulista) y el programa de radio La nostra veu, que dirigió y presentó.

En 2016 publicó la novela El guardian de los secretos.

Obra
 La aventura más excitante de los últimos 10.000 años (1992)
 El viaje de Marcos (Odisea Editorial, 2002). Ganador del IV Premio Odisea de Literatura.
 Esclavos del destino (Odisea Editorial, 2004)
 El guardian de los secretos (Egales, 2016)
  El secreto del elixir mágico ( Editorial Sargantana , 2019)

Referencias

Véase también
Literatura homosexual en España

Enlaces externos
 Invisiblemente bellos, artículo de Óscar Hernández
 Óscar Hernández: "La República Española fue una especie de arco iris" (Nación Gay)

Escritores del País Vasco
Escritores de España del siglo XX
Escritores de España del siglo XXI
Escritores en español del siglo XX
Escritores en español del siglo XXI
Novelistas de España del siglo XX
Novelistas de España del siglo XXI
Escritores LGBT
Nacidos en San Sebastián

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: missing gold corpus in a qa system I know that in order to evaluate a QA(question answering) system you need to compare the output(answer) against a gold standard. My question is, in absence of a gold standard, how can I evaluate a QA system?
Thanks in advance!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Majili is putting up big numbers for a Naga Chaitanya film and the actor has been always found underperforming at the box office than expectations. His fans have also shown signs of being fed up of his films as they crossed a threshold.
For all the times, he disappointed them, he is able to make them happy. Ugadi weekend also helped him to propel the business so much that the movie is going to breakeven in the first weekend itself.
Even Sunday is looking to perform very high for the film and the talk seems to help it cross the 30 crores mark at the box office with the help of Summer holidays. Samantha Akkineni is highly pleased by the result.


Say your engine is out and you want to glide as far as you can. What flap settings would you use? Any other tips?
"as far as I can" =maximize E =minimize drag.
No flaps necessary, just shallow dive.
flaps decrease energy, and that's pretty much it.
If you have a decent altitiude, descend so that your speed and altitude allow you the most time in the air. While the flaps provide lift, they also create drag that will slow your plane. As you get closer to the ground and your speed decreases, lower your flaps in increments so that you can have a smooth landing.
At this point you should be in a minimum drag configuration ready to plan a circuit into whatever space is available.
You can probably rearrange this checklist to make it more memorable - but don't mix up your priorities. At low altitude you might not have time to get through the whole list.
Planning is key to a safe glide landing.
If there's no runway it's probably prudent to keep the undercarriage up - that way you greatly increase your chances of stopping the right way up in most types.
Energy management is critical, especially in the early stages - if your engine stops at low level, convert speed to height in order to buy some thinking time.
Once you're below 200 feet or so it really isn't worth cleaning up the aircraft - you're better off watching your speed and making certain that you don't stall at the last minute.
Flaps are not a get-out-of-jail-free card here as they greatly increase drag. You'll probably get most of your lift by the time you're at the "takeoff" detent - thereafter you'll simply increase drag.
It's a good idea to investigate the glide performance of your chosen aircraft offline so that you can make rapid, intelligent planning decisions.
For example, experience tells me that my Fw-190A9 likes to glide at about 250 km/h IAS, and will make about 10:1 if I'm careful.
However, it's a good idea to budget about 1000 m for the circuit in order to leave time and space for error.
It's better to be high than low; it's a lot easier to bin energy than it is to make it when you're deadstick!
If you need to come down faster, sideslip is very effective. If you've taken wing damage make sure not to slip in the critical direction (ie with damage to the left wing, never slip by application of left rudder) as otherwise you greatly increase your risk of departure.
Don't "play" with flaps and gear for approach control.
Once you drop them, leave them down. In game, doing otherwise will greatly increase your cockpit workload at the wrong time, and could leave you "out of sequence".
Don't forget that flaps and gear take time to deploy.
If you use sideslip for approach control, remember to "kick the drift" before touchdown, otherwise you risk ripping the gear off.
Above all, don't forget to dump your external stores ASAP - landing on an SC500 or similar is unlikely to be good for your health, and you don't need the extra drag (which reduces your gliding distance) and weight (which increases your sink rate).
Finally, if it's looking nasty and you've got more than about 800 feet in hand, don't be afraid to use your parachute.
Dead heros are still Dead.
I think you'll find the optimum glide speed is very close to the optimum climb speed.
The only reason I ever drop the flaps is if it looks like I may overshoot my carefully selected landing spot(hopefully an airfield). You only have one shot at it and too much speed is as bad as a stall with no engine.
If you're over 3000 meters and not being shot at, you have plenty of time to formulate a strategy and work things out.
If you really like to have fun and your flying something with a tricyle gear, you can slam it down on an enemy airfield lean on the brakes and hit refly. You'll stil get an RTB.


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Events from the 12 September 2022 Reset
Tunstall and the Tudors: The Calculating Bishop
Meet Cuthbert Tunstall: bishop, scholar, diplomat, builder, and author of England's first maths book, celebrating its 500th anniversary this year. He might just be the most important man in Tudor England that you've never heard of.
31 July 2022 - 31 March 2023
Durham Castle
Paternalism, Children's Health and Parental Rights Workshop
The Paternalism, Health, and Public Policy project (funded by the Wellcome Trust) is pleased to announce its fourth workshop: 'Paternalism, Children's Health and Parental Rights', co-hosted with the Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences (CELLS), Durham University. Further details of the project can be found at paternalismhealthpublicpolicy.org.
Eat Medieval Summer School (Deposit)
Join us for an in-person late summer cookery course exploring the intriguing world of medieval food with 5 days of cooking fun in the medieval buildings of the former 13th century Dominican Priory at Blackfriars Restaurant in Newcastle.
Newcastle and the North East of England


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Ascension launches new framework to listen, pray, learn and act to address racism and systemic injustice
As part of a sustainable and systemwide commitment to listen, pray, learn and act to help address racism and systemic injustice, Ascension, one of the nation's leading and largest nonprofit Catholic health systems, has launched a new justice-focused framework called ABIDE, which is built upon the hallmarks of Appreciation – Belongingness – Inclusivity – Diversity – Equity.
The hallmarks of the ABIDE framework are demonstrations of Ascension's historic mission, values, and commitment to social justice, compassionate action and advocacy for all, especially the most vulnerable.
"We have a shared responsibility and accountability, as individuals and as a ministry, to lead and model the changes we wish to see in our communities of valuing inclusion, justice and equity for all," said Ascension President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Impicciche, JD, MHA. "This will not be an easy journey, but it is one we must take together. We must all ensure that individuals are treated justly and respectfully with equal access to opportunities and resources. We must also provide an inclusive culture where our associates feel valued, appreciated and welcome to contribute fully to Ascension's success and mission as they become agents for positive change in their communities."
In response to the death of George Floyd, Joe Impicciche publicly voiced his support for justice and peace and the need to address racism and systemic injustice with words and actions. He also called upon his leadership team to develop a long-term, sustainable plan to make inclusion, belongingness and social justice a sustained and systemwide effort.
Our commitment to welcome all as we stand against racism and systemic injustice
As a Catholic health ministry, we have a unique obligation and calling – reflected in our very mission statement – to advocate for a more just and compassionate society in words and actions. We share in the call to accountability and advocacy against systemic racism and injustice. All of us share in the responsibility for using our time and talents to work toward eradicating discrimination.
We have recommitted to bring about the just and compassionate society that is so central to our historic mission. We recognize that fostering a more inclusive culture and advocating for social justice can help to provide more equitable employment opportunities for all while also helping to remedy the healthcare disparities that have been perpetuated by racism and systemic injustice.
We also acknowledge that this is only the beginning of a journey that will require open hearts and minds, transparency, courage, humility, determination, truth, honesty and grace along the way as we engage in an ongoing process to learn more about ourselves, our neighbors, and the impact of our operations so we can foster a more inclusive culture – both within Ascension and in the wider community.
We stand firm in this commitment and invite all individuals and communities to engage in ongoing conversation to further this shared commitment.
Listening: A critical step on the path to action and justice
We believe the way forward to address racism and systemic injustice must involve the critical first step of listening. The act of listening with empathy to the voices and viewpoints of others offers an opportunity for us to acknowledge and better understand the different realities many of us experience.
"To help guide and inform meaningful action, we believe it's critical that we create the environment to listen to each other so that we can learn from our experiences with injustice and systemic racism," said Herbert Vallier, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Ascension. "Listening to the personal stories, perspectives and sometimes painful experiences of others, including our associates and colleagues, is the first step of our commitment to foster and sustain an inclusive and welcoming environment across Ascension. It's vital that we understand any biases or blind spots that may contribute to disparities and inequities in how we treat our colleagues and the patients and communities we serve."
Modeling positive change to foster a more inclusive and diverse culture and community
ABIDE is the framework for how we at Ascension seek to live out our mission as a health ministry in a way that celebrates the inherent dignity of each and every person. This work will be ongoing and require participation from everyone in order for changes to be lasting and transformative. We are committed to fostering a culture of inclusion across all areas of our ministry.
"Within Ascension, inclusion is an active and culturally transformative way of living that shows up in how we value differences, welcome individuals to serve with us, ensure that each associate has the opportunity to attain their full potential and flourish in dignity as human persons, and provide welcoming environments and compassionate care to all persons," said Timm Glover, Executive Vice President and Chief Mission Integration Officer, Ascension.
We also realize that the hallmarks of our ABIDE framework provide guidance for a process of learning and improvement that is never complete. As such, Ascension is committed to continuous improvement and has developed various methods to help us review the progress we make achieving the hallmarks of the ABIDE framework in service to our associates, patients and the communities we are blessed to serve.


But I did not want to speak with them or objyas nyat to them something.I decided to write a note, but not was any not cluttered up surface in the house, that to attach it.Therefore I grabbed a piece of carat tone, did in it two holes, passed throughout them ve also hung up a revka to itself on a neck.HUMAN BOMB!!!IF TO BOTHER OR TO IRRITATE WITH IT HER, SHE WILL EXPLODE!!!THERE WILL ARRIVE GUESTS, THE URGENT HELP IS NECESSARY!I with fury turned to work.
goes.V need to be found out, whether correctly the reoyenok is called oliaky by the friend to to the friend on a way of use subjects: for example, furniture table, chair, chair, stool, bench, sofa, chaise lounge; ware plate, saucer, bowl, cup, mug, salad bowl, transport tram, trolleybus, bus, train, electric train.You show to the child subject or the picture with its image, and he calls it.It is necessary to find out, whether correctly the child calls cubs of times personal animals.
gets off on a former defective pronunciation, so say it telny skills did not settle yet.logd the reoyenok insufficiently well perceives the visual material, it cannot remember as letters look.You need to find out: Whether well the child distinguishes similar geometrical figures.Whether he notices a difference between two similar images.Whether he among themselves distinguishes tracings of similar letters.DISTINCTION OF GEOMETRICAL FIGURES Put a circle and an oval before the child you can draw them.
to an aoapa Y about ny in the form of a normal bite.
Side edges of language are pressed to to renny teeth.
On the average line of language the fillet, on kotois formed to rum as in a whistle, there is an air stream.
The tip of language can upi to ratsya both in lower, and in the top cutters.
Current of air accurately moves in the teeth fig.
The sound with has to sound the thin whistle if to whistle certain more rough noise, so increases the sound is mispronounced.


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Henricus de Bracton, född (i Bratton Fleming eller Bratton Clovelly) i Devon, död 1268, var en engelsk rättslärd.

de Bracton var från 1245 domare vid olika lantdomstolar, 1248-57 domare vid kungens domstol. 1257 blev han åter lantdomare i sydvästra England. Som flertalet samtida engelska domare var Bracton kyrkoman, och innehade även flera prebenden och var från 1264 kansler vid katedralen i Exeter. Under Henrik II och Henrik III lades grunden till det engelska rättssystemet genom en rad i romersk och kanonisk rätt skolade jurister och domare vid de kungliga domstolarna, som ofta börjat sin bana som sekreterare i kungens kansli. På grund av sin litterära verksamhet är de Bracton den mest kända av dessa jurister. de Bractons De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliæ (författad 1250-59) är Englands främsta bevarade medeltida lagsamling.

Den främsta utgåvan av materialet publicerades av G. Woodbine i 2 band 1915-20, och har sedan utkommit i en rad upplagor. För utarbetande av sin bok hade de Bracton samlat anteckningar om 2.000 rättsfall. 1884 påträffades manuskriptet till dessa anteckningar av Paul Vinogradoff och utgav av Frederic William Maitland som Bractons note book (1887).

Källor
 Svensk uppslagsbok. Malmö 1939.

Engelska jurister
Personer i England under 1200-talet
Födda 1200-talet
Avlidna 1268
Män
Svensk uppslagsbok


Dallas Messenger is the perfect day to day companion. He is finished with quality and style. The front has seamless magnets so you can ensure your items are always well looked after. Finished with a beautiful side stitching.


Addition of 2 + 1 = ?
Addition of 7 + 9 = ?
In stock we have - King size beds in both light and dark finishes. This is all new stock, and prices reflect recent increases. In the queen size we also have the dark finish available.
The Antoinette style offers a complete suite of accessory pieces see them in the composite pictures or graze other categories. This is one of the biggest full suites I stock - bedsides in two different sizes, a chest of drawers and a tallboy design, dressing table and stool (on order only) cheval mirror and end-of-bed ottoman. This is a superb design for the large bedroom. Not all pieces necessarily in stock in the finish of your choice, but I try! The End-of-bed ottoman (not listed separately) upholstered in cream brocade, dark finish and in tobacco finish which goes well with the standard light finish, is priced at $1050. And, I give a volume discount on a collection of suite pieces, plus shipping is based on volume and the bigger the consignment the lower the base rate.
Base Price/dimensions shown are based on Queen size, add $200 for king size.


On Day 7, PE members traveled to Cap Haitien to participate in a Tourism Focus Group. After touring the Citadel, the largest fortress in the Americas, and San-Souci Palace, PE gave suggestions on how Haiti officials can capitalize on these national treasures and draw tourists to visit. As Ambassador Joseph shared with the team, Haiti is set apart from all the other Caribbean islands: "We all have sand and sea but Haiti has history and culture." Sites like the Citadel and San-Souci Palace will resonate with descendents of Black slaves in America, and even all over the world, because they are standing symbol of the indomitable fight for freedom by a people who would not be denied.
Henri Christophe, a key leader during the Haitian slave rebellion against France, built the Citadel after Haiti gained independence in 1804. PE members were awed by the imposing structure which was built by nearly 20,000 workers between 1805 and 1820. The Citadel is the largest of a number of forts built to keep the newly-independent nation safe from French attacks.
The builders filled the Citadel with hundreds of cannons, many of which still stand within and around the fortress today.
While the feared French attack never came, the Citadel has withstood numerous earthquakes, including the most recent in January 2010.
Sans-Souci's construction is a testament to what Henri Christophe wanted the world to know: that Black people - free Black people - have the ability to construct buildings to rival any found anywhere else (in Europe or other parts of the Americas).
On Day 6, PE traveled to a local church to conduct a Empowerment Day seminar. A mini-version of the previous days' sessions, Empowerment Day was for local business owners who were unable to attend the four-day workshop. Executive Director Deloris Thomas and instructors Lori Threatt and LaMeisha Taylor, taught the 100+ crowd, giving them needed encouragement and practical steps on how to build and grow their businesses.
Today participants received certificates signifying their completion of PE's program. The participants also expressed their appreciation and thanked PE's instructors and assistants for leaving their families and jobs to share much-needed knowledge.
On Day 4, PE members also had the opportunity to tour the businesses of some of its participants. Djimy, a photographer and videographer, owns DRA Production. He attended PE's workshops the last two years and was excited to share how he had implemented what he learned.
Djimy took the lessons on basic accounting and bookkeeping as well as marketing and applied them in his businesses. Djimy has seen growth he could not have imagined and is taking additional steps to build his current location and one day open new ones.
As is the case with business owners in the United States, many Haitian entrepreneurs have opened up shop without taking the legal steps to have their business recognized by the government. On Day 4, participants learned the proper way to register their businesses and why complying with the law is important to their livelihood.
Day 4: Business Profiles, Microlending, and Coffee-Consultation via Skype!
In addition to holding business training sessions, Project Eden also compiled client assessment profiles of each attendee. Our short questionnaire seeks information on the type of business, its location, and the number of employees. We took information on the demographics of their best customers (eg: age, income, family size) and the means they use to promote their business (eg: word of mouth, internet, radio, etc.). Finally, we asked owners about their competition. Specifically, we wanted to know about their products/services, location, target market, etc.
This exercise was not only a way to gather information so PE can offer continued assistance after the conference is over, but so the owners can begin to brainstorm ways they can better serve their clients, increase their clientele, and achieve greater success over their competition.
During our afternoon session, Georgette Jean-Louis, Chief Operating Officer of Fonkoze, a Haiti-based micro-finance institution, explained Fonkoze's services and products, and gave tips on how to prepare for a loan. Since keeping accurate records builds a lender's confidence in one' ability to not only repay the loan but use the funding for the intended purpose, participants gained even greater appreciation for the bookkeeping presentation by Ms. Evans. Our attendees were engaged and asked many questions, signaling to us their desire to use every resource available to achieve business success.
Our coffee team also had a productive breakout session, this time led by our three farmers from Baradere! Given their success with co-op farming, they taught 18 local farmers on the benefits of co-op farming and how to start one. Afterward, everyone participated in a Skype call with a small U.S.-based importer of Haitian products. He provided a technical lesson on measures they could take immediately to improve their coffee quality (eg: keeping the ground clean during the harvest to avoid infecting the trees that have yet to be harvested).
On Wednesday evening, Project Eden was honored to meet and dine with Mr. Raymond Joseph, the former Ambassador of Haiti to the United States. He shared with us his harrowing experiences as an opposition leader against the Duvalier regime. Mr. Joseph also stated that for Haiti to regain her prominence on the world stage, two things are needed: a) an atmosphere where people are assured the land is secure, and b) publicity in the U.S. that Haiti is not as dangerous as media reports have led people to believe. Statistics show that crime in Haiti is considerably less than popular island destinations like Jamaica.
Ambassador Joseph also explained that Haiti was once a tourism destination whose only rival was Cuba. As the world prepares for political changes in Cuba to re-open the doors to tha country, Haiti must similarly be prepared and positioned for explosive rebirth. Project Eden is committed to assisting her!
At dinner, Ambassador Joseph also met our coffee farmers from Baradere. We were all impressed by their perseverance and dedication to join us: they traveled eight hours by car, crossing a river, to attend our conference. We are honored by the time and considerable effort they took to join us!
In addition to holding our business training conference, Project Eden is impacting the coffee sector by assisting local farmers in growing and processing high-quality, specialty coffee. Years ago, Haiti's impeccable climate made it a world-leader in coffee production. In fact, Haitian coffee accounted for more than 50% of the world's coffee. Trade embargoes by the U.S., instituted for political reasons, caused coffee farmers to abandon production and instead, grow other crops.
But Project Eden believes the revitalization of the coffee sector is crucial to Haiti's economic rebirth. On Day 3, we hosted three founding farmers from the CDB cooperative in Baradere, Haiti.
In today's session, PE facilitator Laurie Smith gave them greater insight into the international market by sharing the high demand for specialty coffee and providing strategies for how their cooperative can increase quality and production.
PE facilitator, Demitrus Evans, led a session on marketing and how to attract the foreign market.
On Day 3, Project Eden facilitator LaMeisha Taylor taught a lively morning session on sales techniques and strategies. Using her extensive background as a sales professional, Taylor introduced the concept of the "30 second commercial" and led participants through an interactive exercise in which they practiced introducing themselves, their business, and their product/service in 30 seconds. Taylor explained the importance of building repoire with clients and understanding "relationship buying." In a country where many business owners provide the same or similar products and services, implementing these tips will help set our PE participants apart from their competition.
In the afternoon, facilitator Laurie Threatt taught on pricing and how to widen profit margins. Many participants shared frustration that in order to make the sale, they had to lower their prices to match those of their competitors. In response, Threatt counseled them to consider how they could cut their costs so that even if they have lowered their prices, they have lowered costs so that they can still make a profit. This small piece of advice was pivotal in showing attendees that the concept of profit involves examining every area of one's business.
Also on Day 2, PE members Laurie Smith, Demitrus Evans, and LaDawn Burnett traveled to Jacmel, a town in the mountains, to learn more about the coffee industry. Project Eden has chosen the coffee sector as one if its main industries for impact because re-establishing Haiti's place in the industry is key to economic revitalization.
Pastor Ray Thomas, a seasoned businessman, taught participants the importance of having God's vision for your life and business. Pastor Ray encouraged participants to pursue God's purpose for their lives and know that He will provide every resource and advantage for them. Knowing that your success is already assured by God enables you to step forward with confidence.
Next, PE helps attendees began to master a concept that is challenging for busines owners everywhere: good stewardship.
"Record-keeping" is foreign concept in Haiti. Many business owners only focus on the amount of cash they have on hand and therefore are unable to adequately track their success. PE facilator Betty Evans, a licensed CPA from Chicago, taught our attendees the basics of accounting and shed light on the practical benefits of keeping adequate and up-to-date records. Although initially skeptical, participants began to see how keeping track of what "going in-and-out" will position them to make better decisions regarding their finances. Participants also caught on to the concept fairly quickly. As one observer remarked, "They are understanding this faster than we thought because they've never been taught that this is hard."
Day 1: Project Eden Returns to Haiti!
Project Eden has returned to Port-au-Prince, Haiti! On Monday, July 18 - Thursday, July 21, Project Eden will host its 3rd Annual Business Development Conference at Le Plaza Hotel in downtown Port-au-Prince. The marketplace is our platform and we believe that by training local business owners in basic business concepts, we are helping the people of Haiti grow business entities, strenghten market sectors, and create more jobs.
During this year's four-day conference, our participants will come from all walks of business life, from all parts of Haiti. They are vendors, cyber cafe owners, coffee growers, chicken farmers, and construction workers. Yet, what they all have in common is a desire to learn strategies on how to make their businesses run more efficiently and produce more revenue. And we at Project Eden are more than happy to help them!
This year's PE agenda includes workshops on: Bookkeeping, Sales, Pricing and Microlending. We will also hold sector-specific breakout sessions for our coffee growers and chicken farmers.
We are excited to be in Haiti once again. Please check back each day for updates!