So much for regionalism; what I'm sure was an off-handed remark to a couple hundred Cleveland big shots reflects more of the real thinking along the lakefront when it comes to regionalism and just how far folks will go in turning "Cleveland, Akron, Canton Youngstown" into Northeast Ohio.
Kudos to Tom Beres of WKYC Channel 3 news for even including the comments from Continental President Jeff Smisek in a "plea" (Beres' description) during a meeting to discuss Burke Lakefront Airport. "Don't fly Akron Canton", Smisek is quoted as saying, in a bid to pump up the volume at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE). There wasn't exactly an outpouring, according to the Beres story, of folks downplaying airport wars.
So much for raising Northeast Ohio by bringing everyone up.
To be fair it is perfectly understandable why Smisek is pushing CLE over CAK; they have a HUGE investment in their Cleveland hub (just as they do at Newark and Houston, their other major hubs) and more traffic equals bigger expansion leads to more profits and more jobs in Northeast Ohio. Granted as well CAK has been a pesky competitor to CLE, what with easier parking, less hassles in the terminal and even getting those massaging lounge chairs for long waits before Hopkins. Also note AirTran just loves CAK over CLE and the smaller airport takes their own shots at "that other airport" in their ad campaigns to the point where Cleveland's TV and radio ads now spend valuable time talking up just how highly Hopkins ranks in passenger satisfaction ratings.
But this is more about political leadership. I've said for years Cleveland always talks regionalism unless Cleveland has to give something up; TBC (The Big City) primped and fluffed when the Plain Dealer built their new production facility off I-480. There was substantial grumbling behind the scenes when radio giant Clear Channel moved to Independence; I've got to believe the Cleveland Mayor's office wasn't happy with the Cavaliers building their new practice facility in Independence, even after Cleveland stole back the team from Richfield after Nick Mileti bought the promises of extending rail lines and commuter service into Summit County when he built the Coliseum. Those promises were worth about 20 years of regionalism and Cleveland drivers learning how to go south of the Turnpike; now Cleveland holds the cards again, northern Summit County is still a drive, not a rail commute, and the Coliseum is home to trees and birds, not the NBA and future Larry Birds.
Both Cleveland and Akron have their regional water systems but both cities still run the departments, not regional boards; the sewer system at least is regional in Cleveland but in Akron the City still sets rates for non-city customers who don't have a voice in the management of the system. Mayor Jackson says Cleveland would be foolish to give up the Hopkins plum to a regional group.
Seems like local governments talk a good game about regionalism so long as it comes to taking money out of our pockets, but it is a different matter when it comes to representation and actual control of these institutions. Cleveland Plus is still more about marketing, a canard to convince northeast Ohioans we all get along and we're all in it together -- until the time comes to actually pony up. At least with Akron's JEDD agreements participants have a voice; note Copley's foot-dragging that cost time and effort to find a new home for InfoCision. Copley's loss eventually became Bath Township and Akron's gain, and while the decision may have been short-sighted by Copley at least they had some control over their own destiny rather than being swallowed up by Akron.
Then it becomes Cleveland Minus.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It's vexed me for the longest time that the Akron-Canton area is treated as the "red-headed stepchild" of Northeast Ohio by many of those in the Cleveland area.
ReplyDeleteI so wish the Akron-Canton area could be more of an independent metropolitan area and get out of the clutches of the Cleveland area in terms of media, marketing, and almost everything else.
It's annoying as heck to see the Akron-Canton area being treated for the most part as an afterthought when watching advertising coming from Cleveland.
Maybe it's time to remind those folks up north that those of us "down south" aren't "chopped liver" and tell the folks up in Cleveland that without Summit, Stark, Medina, Portage, and Wayne counties the Cleveland "region" would be significantly smaller in terms of size as a marketing area and a media market.
Evidently, Park Ford wants to suck on the government tit.
ReplyDeleteIt was recently reported that Ohio will receive a $190,000,000 grant from the Federal government to tear down condemned homes and crack houses in poor communities across the state which desperately need a hand up to help them recover from years of red ink, neglect and deindustrialization. This Federal grant will help those poor Ohio communities by reducing the health and safety risks associated with condemned homes, improving the appearance of those communities riddled with blight and making long abandoned properties more appealing to potential buyers. In other words, that money will help to clean up our state.
In response to this report, Park Ford's commercially sponsored talk radio goon publicly called for that money to be given instead to privately owned companies like Park Ford so they can expand their privately owned business.
Are you kidding me? That's what profits are for. That's what RIDICULOUS auto service charges are for. The owners of Park Ford are rich already. If they want to expand their business in order to get even richer, they should do so by spending their OWN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR PROFITS. NOT BY SUCKING ON THE GOVERNMENT TIT.
Park Ford's commercially sponsored talk radio goon is calling for the worst kind of socialism. The sold-out kind which helps the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. Meanwhile, the poor communities of Ohio riddled with blight and crime will get NOTHING. That is EXACTLY what Park Ford's HIRED TALK RADIO GOON is calling for.
The same talk radio goon has also been calling for the Federal government to give handouts to the oil industry because gas prices and big oil profits are FINALLY down. This after several years in a row of record high profits and charges. What a sold-out pig.
The hell with Park Ford, the hell with ridiculous auto service charges, the hell with big oil greed, the hell with corporate welfare, the hell with government handouts for the rich and THE HELL WITH THEIR SOLD-OUT TALK RADIO GOONS.
By the way, did I mention that the richest 1% of Americans already own 42% of America's total wealth? Yes, really.
The rich don't need anymore government handouts.