planter sitters

Not much improvement with the planter sitters today. I was out of town yesterday so don't know what happened except that this morning I cleaned up 35 butts which is above average. Seems like chasing them off didn't last very long. Jeff next door called the police this afternoon about the panhandler sitting on the planter opposite our stores, begging from everyone who passed by. He was gone down the street when the officer came, but just in time to point him out.

fountain renovation

The renovation of the Vasbinder Fountain is under way today. I've been wondering about the sandblasting going on in the open air so close to the playground. I suppose they're keeping an eye on the wind direction...?

miracle mile fatality

This morning's News Journal: "The miracle mile has been a trouble spot for city police for years because of people cruising."
That's true because the city administration has flip-flopped on enforcement over the years, and the police have been caught in the middle. In the early 1990s cruising, primarily in cars, not only involved the miracle mile, but extended all along Park Avenue West in the city. At some point in time after the drag racing fatality in 1993 police cracked down on trespassing in the parking lots lining the miracle mile.
I think the cruising started to come back with the advent of the bike race weekend at Mid-Ohio. That annual event has drawn increasing numbers of motorcyclists and administration policy shifted toward trying to keep a lid on the miracle mile insanity without discouraging it. There's been a police presence and a lot of tickets written, but no effort to shut it down.
The extent of what is tolerated is evident each year after the bike weekend by the condition of the pavement on the mile; not just burned rubber, but even melted pavement.
Coinciding with the increase number of high performance bikes and the advent of the bike weekend phenomenon, has been a shift toward "celebrating the automobile" by businesses on the mile as a way to bring people and business back to the stretch. This shift has helped drive the administrations approach. The trouble is, the old cruising problem...kids in cars making the loop, gathering in parking lots, occasional fights...was tame compared to the problem the high performance motorcycles have brought to the strip.

sculpture

Here's the King sculpture in the morning light, and a photo of King from a similar angle.

king monument unveiled

The King monument was unveiled this evening. I missed the ceremony, but walked over tonight to have a look. I'm happy to report the Auto Workers Credit Union rock I posted about previously is the first in line at the edge of the sidewalk, and the only one of the 39 with a slogan that smacks of advertising.
The bust is fantastic. The News Journal has been passing along some negative comments about it not looking like King, including a letter to the editor published yesterday. But that was before the unveiling!, so I'm convinced this perception was based on the picture on the publicity brochure the group circulated to raise funds, not on the actual sculpture. He has an odd tilt to his head and smile in the brochure that doesn't come across in person. I'll have another look in the morning and try to get a picture to compare.
Here's the picture from the brochure. The actual sculpture looks older also.

paver

The Midtown Parking lot next to Jimmy's bar is being repaved and they've been taking up the old asphalt. This would be the site of the James Purdy residence back in the mid 1800s, and later the Purdy building built in 1895 occupied the front half of the lot. I picked up a paver brick that would have been in the courtyard or alley between the Purdy building and the building on the back half of the lot (a garage in the 1940s). Here's a picture of the paver. There's a town named Trimble Oh in Athens County.
No big deal...I just enjoy seeing the tangible remains of the old buildings that used to be around here.

school levy

Dr. Lloyd Martin, Mansfield Schools Superintendent, spoke at Thursday's meeting of the Mansfield Board of REALTORS Directors. He made some excellent points and a convincing argument to support this school levy. There is no doubt he is absolutely passionate about getting this levy passed and moving on to turn the system around. He made one point in particular that should resonate with any property owner, and that is that if this levy doesn't pass property values in the district will continue to drop at a cost far exceeding the additional cost of the levy if passed. As he put it, it's another case of "pay me now, or pay me later".
The schools haven't had an increase in funding since 1993, and in the face of all of the increases in costs since that time including health insurance, it's ridiculous to expect the system to function without a new levy.
The board voted unanimously to support the levy, joining an unprecedented show of support from business leaders, groups, and organizations who have all come to realize the economic fate of this region depends on the financial and academic well-being of the Mansfield schools.

OAR Spring Conference

The Ohio Association of REALTORS held their Spring conference at Easton in Columbus earlier this week.
The big news for Mansfield REALTORS is that Barbara Murray, the MBOR executive officer, has been recommended to OAR leadership to be appointed as 2008 Vice Chairman of the Association Executives Committee!
Action items of the Directors meeting included unanimous approval of a resolution supporting HB 110, SB 83 which will rescind septic system rules which became effective 01-01-07 and revert back to rules previously in effect, adopting new rules by 01-01-08 after reevaluation of the economic impact and drafting new rules.
Also passed unanimously was a resolution to support the recommendations in the report of the Task Force to Study Eminent Domain. The recommendations provide both procedural and substantive protections for property owners whose property is taken by a governmental agency through eminent domain, without unduly restricting the use of eminent domain for legitimate public purposes. The recommendations augment the Ohio Supreme Court ruling in the Norwood case, which held that the state constitution forbids the use of eminent domain for solely economic purposes.

B17G at mansfield 20 years ago

I shot this video nearly 20 years ago. B17G Sentimental Journey leaving Lahm field after a fly-in that brought over 2,000 people out to the airport on a workday morning. Give the video a couple of minutes to load (broadband). www.alanwigton.com/B17G.htm

home of tomorrow

The home of tomorrow is back on the market now at $214,900