Something's Coming to Highland Square

Once again, anonymous construction is happening in the new buildings in the Square. The last time a dumpster and Portajohn appeared in the parking lot and people were moving stuff around inside, Metro Burger happened. This time someone is building out the space next to Metro Burger, leaving two others to be finished. Thus far it looks like they have studs up for the internal wall and are roughing out electrical.

My usually well informed Highland Square elves haven't heard anything, nor has the Neighborhood Association, though they are somewhat preoccupied by billboards. The building permit is posted facing the inside, so whatever-it-is remains a mystery for now.

If you have info, feel free to drop a comment or an email.

Why Isn't Akron Dying?

From BFD we learn why that three Northeast Ohio cities (Cleveland, Canton and Youngstown) and four of the Big Eight (add Dayton) are in Forbes' list of the fastest dying American cities. Setting aside some questions about Forbes' methods or characterization, the list -- and Akron's absence -- is yet another measure of Akron's relative prosperity in a generally depressed region.

Ed Morrison at BFD asks rhetorically what Akron is doing right. John Ettore and Bill Callahan have a good discussion in comments that hits on most of the reasons -- at least those anyone can put a finger on.

Lets start off with what is not the reason. It's certainly nothing to do with a special can-do spirit among Akronites. Talk to folks around here or peruse the comments at Ohiodotcom or listen to a political campaign and you would swear this is the land God gave to Cain. I attribute this in part to a longstanding inferiority complex vis-a-vis Cleveland and in part to the fatalism embedded in Appalachian culture which continues to influence the area long after folks have stoppped coming up from the hollers.

So here's my assessment of what the area has done right, in no particular order. I'm happy to entertain additions and corrections in comments.

First off, seven factors reflecting actual choices made by community leaders:

1. A Generally Competent and Functional City Government. Mayor-for-life Don Plusquellec could have been an overbearing tin-pot dictator presiding over a hopelessly corrupt administration. Instead he has been an overbearing tin-pot dictator running a remarkable efficient administration. One example -- Plusquellec spotted the urban budget crunch on the horizon in the late nineties, before any other big city administration in the area did. He kept spending in line and Akron has thus far remained fairly solvent.
2. A Generally Competent and Functional County Government. Summit County is the only major county to adopt the charter form of government provided as an option by state law. We have a County Council that provides a measure of representative government to outlying communities and a separate elected executive which provides a level of separation of powers. Any county with a major city will suffer divisions as the suburbs and exurbs resent the 800 pound gorilla. We get plenty of that, but it isn't as bad as some places because county government isn't simply a rubber stamp for the gorilla.
3. The Best Urban School System in the State. APS has its challenges, but does urban education as well as anyone in Ohio. The Ellet and Firestone clusters help keep taxpayers living in the city. Boutique schools like Miller South and (soon) the Inventure Place sci/tech school enhance the revenue stream by bringing students in from out of district. APS has also put special programs like Project GRAD into the most challenging schools with some results.
   
4. Development Efforts Have Been Targetted. Aside from the proposed Bass Pro development that ran aground, Akron and Summit generally haven't fallen for the chimera of retail development a la Steelyard Commons. Instead, development efforts have kept employers that provide high-wage jobs with plenty of spillover -- Goodyear world HQ, the Bridgestone research center and Roetzel and Andress's development of the O'Neil's building are prime examples, all using credits and abatements (and in some cases giveaways) to keep high value employers here.
5. The U. When I didn't go to Akron U in the Eighties it was a lot like Cleveland State -- an urban commuter school. A succession of Presidents, in cooperation with the city and others -- have transformed it into a real campus. They added an Honors program to attract well-credentialed students and opened or improved on a number of what are now called "centers of excellence." Polymer is the most obvious example, as are two that your humble blogger has direct ties two -- the law school and the Bliss Institute.
6. The U, Part II: The Research. U Akron didn't just improve academics, the university also built its research side. And it didn't simply build capacity for basic research, it also leads state universities in translating that research into economic applications. Coming back from Colorado my seat mate was an entrepreneur who started MemPro -- a company that basically buys technology form UA and develops it for commercial application. He has no ties to the area but set up his manufacturing and development operations here because that's where the company's basic research happens.
7. Downtown: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. What happens downtown matters. Akron has been blessed with developers who see the value in reusing or repurposing existing buildings. Yr. Humble Blogger is connected with many of them -- Tony Troppe of Historic District fame was a dorm mate in college, I once worked for Paul Perantinides who extended downtown a block north with Courtyard Square and Micheal Owen of Northside and AES fame is a family friend. In addition to private redevelopment, Akron has done some smart shrinking, most notably the Lock 3 project which leveled a block of empty storefronts to create a green public space. As a result, Akron's downtown looks clean, safe and prosperous relative to our NEO neighbors with relatively few of the derelict buildings that make a downtown look like a place to avoid.
   

We should also acknowledge a few factors that can only be chalked up as accidents of history.

1. The Difference Between Factories and Business HQs. Akron didn't just have rubber factories, but was home city to an worldwide industry. As a result, even when the factories closed, a number of high-paying jobs in management and research stayed. In addition, the tire industry happens to be particularly research intensive. State Sen. Tom Sawyer brags that our humble tire is in fact one of the most intesively engineered products anywhere. Back when the tire industry sprung up here, no one knew that it would spin off cutting edge materials research, but Akron survives because it did.
   
2. Akron Started Losing Early. Akron began hemorhaging tire factory jobs before Cleveland started losing auto manufacturing and Canton's steel mills started to close. Back when MTB was covering the Ohio 13th primary Scott Bakalar remarked that Akron is a 21st Century city, while Lorain is still thinking 1980s.
   
3. Akron Has a Stronger Residential Base. The conventional wisdom among urban historians is that Cleveland is one of the more unlucky cities in the U.S. in that it became landlocked relatively early in its development. Unlike many major cities, Cleveland's wealthiest neighborhoods didn't develop a large wealthy section within its city limits. Instead, Shaker Heights, Beechwood and so forth incorporated before they could be annexed. Think of Chicago without the Gold Coast, Manhatten without the Upper East Side or San Francisco without The Avenues and you get Cleveland.
   

Looking over the list, it's far more valuable as a lesson to Akron about what works and what we should hold onto than a set of ideas that the other NEO cities could replicate. Akron has had its missteps (Inventure Place, bankrolling Brennan's hotel) and has its challenges (shrinking population, the lure of warmer climates) but we are doing far better tha anyone expected back when I left in the mid-80s. We have transformed from a rust belt manufacturing center to a university town and tech mecca.

Thought it's premature* start talking about Akron+.

*Corrected on edit.

New Business Coming to Highland Square

For a couple of weeks, trades people have been filing in and out of the retail spot on the west end of the big building (the opposite end from Chipotle). A day or two before we left, a sign appeared:


Based on empty Google searches, it does not appear to be a chain. A free-standing burger joint in the Square would be pretty awesome. Not only can we carnivores get our burger on, it may well prompt some enterprising soul to open a veggie place, which would be far more keeping with the H Square vibe.

So far no chatter on the HSNA website (which suggests they haven't found much to complain about, though the site as a whole has been slow lately.) The front page includes notice that someone (not clear who) will do put a tangram-based mural on "The wall beside Chipotle." I assume this means one of the raw concrete walls. Because it's only on the HSNA front page, the story may disappear from the link over time.

Meanwhile, I'm hearing rumors of a yet another venture opening up across the street. Stay tuned.

(Yes, I'm still in Colorado, but had this ready to go for when some time opened up, which it has. Briefly.)

BREAKING: Enzyte Won't Really Enlarge Your Pen1s

Shocking news from Cincinnati.

The continued viability of Enzyte (the once-a-day supplement for natural male enhancement) has a brand has always been something of a mystery. Obviously, the stuff had to be fake. Yet the parent company not only survived, but had the money to run the brilliant (if fraudulent) "Smiling Bob" ads seemingly during every ESPN commercial break. And they famously sponsored:



Their own NASCAR entry.

Turns out, the whole thing, was not only a consumer fraud, but was an ongoing credit card scam:

When customers ordered a product, the company's goal was to keep charging their credit cards for as long as possible, Teegarden said.

He said first-time customers were automatically enrolled in a "continuity program" that sent Enzyte to their homes every month and charged their credit cards without authorization.

"Without continuity, the company wouldn't exist," he said. "It was the sole profit of the business."

If customers complained, he said, employees were instructed to "make it as difficult as possible" for them to get their money back. In some cases, Teegarden said, Warshak required customers to produce a notarized statement from a doctor certifying that Enzyte did not work.

And what may go down as the best line of trial testimony ever:

"He said it was extremely unlikely someone would get anything notarized saying they had a small penis," Teegarden said.

As a scam it was brilliantly audacious. This wasn't just something from a fly-by-night web-based operation, this was a real company! With ads on ESPN! And a presence in NASCAR!! All designed to make it look like the product must have some value or it just couldn't maintain all that presence.

Which leads to a serious point. Apparently the Feds have been after the company -- Berkeley Pharmaceuticals -- and founder Steve Warshak for a couple of years. They were able to make the case primarily by turning one of Warshak's top executives. Why, we must ask ourselves, is it so hard to make a case when the fraud is so obvious? Could it have anything to do with the anti-regulatory fervor of the current administration and the immediate past Congress?

The Berkeley Pharmaceuticals verdict comes one day after the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot offer stronger consumer protections if Federal law regulates an industry. It's easy to make jokes about Bob's wife smiling no more, but this could be a sign of something significantly less funny.

Electricity Deregulation and Net Neutrality

I took in the Press Club panel about electricity deregulation or re-regulation or whatever they end up doing. Depending on how the weekend plays out, I may or may not post comprehensive summary of the program. But one quick line from the day deserves close attention.

The essential issue is whether it is possible to create a genuinely competitive market for electricity. Everyone agrees that because of the particular qualities of the electricity market, creating a competitive market means more than just lifting regulations, it means ensuring that a number of conditions are met.

According to the panelist from First Energy, one of the sentinel qualities of a competitive market is open access to transmission. That is, each competing provider must be allowed access to the lines to the homes of electricity customers. And that makes sense. The market can't be competing grids, it must be competing providers on one grid, even if one of the competitors owns the grid. Remember, this is the industry

Which is exactly what net neutrality advocates argue for. A truly competitive market for internet content must allow free access to transmission. With cable and phone competing, we have a less ironclad monopoly of the end of transmission, but we have the same barrier to perfect competition -- companies seeking to compete can't simply put up a new transmission grid. If the market for internet services is to remain competitive, content providers must have open access to transmission.

Arguments against net neutrality tend to use "regulation" as a boogeyman and/or argue by metaphor. That's smart tactically because in fact net neutrality regulation seeks to preserve a status quo that has worked pretty well so far. Up until now, net neutrality was guaranteed mostly because the technology didn't exist to allow network owners to discriminate based on content.

Now the technology is coming on line and network owners appear increasingly inclined to use it. Recently the usually prostrate FCC bowed to pressure and is investigating allegations that Comcast is blocking peer-to-peer traffic. And AT&T is considering monitoring traffic, purportedly to block protected intellectual property. In fact the move makes little sense except as a pretense to dismantle net neutrality.

Sometimes progressives favor regulation because we believe a competitive market brings unwanted side effects. But this is a case where regulation is needed not to blunt the effects of competition, but to ensure that the market remains truly competitive.

Updates from All Over Akron

The ABJ carries three pieces today updating stories previously featured here on the Pages. First, the proposed new downtown parking garage that caused the Federal judges such consternation has been redesigned to cross Dart. Ave.

The five-level addition will be constructed across Dart Avenue with a tunnel added for the thoroughfare to continue between Main and Market streets.


* * *


The new addition would be farther from the federal building than the existing Superblock garage, located behind the Akron Centre complex on South Main Street. The expansion would run west across Dart Avenue.

The judges have signed off on the revised plan.

''They are not opposed to what we are doing over there,'' said James Weber, a construction division manager for the city.

Construction is to begin in March and take about 14 months. Dart will be closed during con
struction, reopening when the project is complete.

Also finalized are plans for Portage Path Elementary. Portage Path became a point of particular contention in Akron Public's construction plans when earlier iterations had the school taking up space currently occupied by the Highland Theater.

Finally, a sidebar buried next to the reefer of the parking deck story (not the more logically connected Portage Path story) we learn:

Akron has contacted grocers across the country about a long-promised grocery store for the Highland Square area and now has a ''good prospect,'' Adele Dorfner Roth, an economist for the city, said Monday.

''It's about getting the right thing to work there,'' said Roth, who gave the Akron City Council's planning committee an update on the project. ''We don't want to just throw something together.''

Council members, who have been deluged by e-mail from residents frustrated by the empty corner at North Portage Path and West Market Street, asked Roth to provide a list of the grocers the city has talked to and why they rejected the prospect.

And here is my favorite part:

Council members asked Roth to find a way to better communicate with residents about the progress of the search.

Good luck with that.

No Bass Pro in Akron

Missed this yesterday:

The outdoor sporting goods company, based in Springfield, Mo., has decided not to invest here, Summit County Executive Russ Pry said Thursday.

"It's nothing against the area," he said. "They were re-strategizing where their development would be."

* * *

Bass Pro spokesman Larry Whiteley said the area didn't meet the company's needs. He declined to comment further.

You can find archived posts about area attempts to lure Bass Pro and Cabela's here.

Highland Square Updates and an Information Request

The peasants are revolting.

The Highland Square Neighborhood Association has amped the rhetoric against the city and against property owner Albrect, Inc. Now they are posting bills on utility poles all over the city referring them to a new website "Where's Our Grocery Store?" They are not content to be merely discontent. Now they are waxing conspriatorially. After noting that Albrect is trying to charge $25/square foot for space in the new buildings, they spin the theory:

The argument could be raised that Albrecht is following his more long-term goal to control both the north and south sides of Market Street in Highland Square. A few months of empty units on the north side doesn't compare to the profits that he could gain if he owned everything on both sides of Market. Keeping the units on the north side empty may mean less foot traffic for businesses on the south side, putting even more of a stranglehold on them. Once landmarks like Dodies and the Theater fall, it is much more difficult to launch a good argument for defending the Bucket Shop and Platinum Dragon. In the end, Highland Square could become formed in Albrecht's image, like Walhaven a few blocks up Market Street.

Um, yeah. Lots of arguments could be made. Perhaps we should stick to the ones that actually make sense.

The HSNA had a "Town Hall Meeting" last night about the issue. I've heard that Albrect was planning to attend. So here is the information request. I'm looking for someone who a) attended the meeting and b) is at least open to the possibility that Steve Albrect is not spawn of Satan. If you fit both descriptions and are willing to entertain a few questions, drop me a line: pho197[at]hotmail[dot]com.

We should note that not everyone is on board. Resident and School Board Member James Hardy sent a strongly worded email to the Association. Needless to say when it was posted on the Association forum, the comments were not friendly.

Meanwhile, the Library is set to open Monday August 27, with a neighborhood ice cream social scheduled for Saturday the 25th. And yes, that is the same date as Art in the Square. And Plusquellec is rumored to be coming. Should be fun times.

Akron Jumping on Gay Tourism Bandwagon

The Akron Convention and Visitors Bureau is trodding the now-familiar path toward pitching the city as a gay-friendly travel destination. They are meeting with gay-owned businesses " to see what incentives, promotions and programs it may offer to gay and lesbian travelers."

And by the way, it's a slow news day in the 'Kron when the ABJ off-leads this story.

This is, as I said, a trend. Which means it amounts to little more than keeping up with the Jonesvilles. In other words, other cities are doing it, so we might as well so we don't appear unfriendly and therefore unattractive.

But let's be real here. Akron will almost certainly not become a destination city in any event. We have a smattering of points of interest (the new Art Museum being the newest and arguably most gay-friendly) and events (Soapbox Derby, Inventers HOF Induction, AA Founders day), all of which draw small, discrete crowds. But we don't have mountains or a beach and we aren't a cultural mecca. We'll never be San Francisco or Provincetown or Jackson Hole. I once heard a New Yorker describe some town other than New York as "a nice place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit there." That's us.

What the CVB can do is put together the information needed so that gays who are thinking of stopping by -- to see the Art Museum for example -- aren't deterred by a false impression that we are the sort of intolerant backwater where they would have nothing to do and would not be safe. Which, for that matter, is what the CVB should be doing for any identifiable market segments.

Highland Square in a State of FLUX

I drove through Highland Square today and noticed a sign in the window of, well, of The Part of the Big Building that Doesn't House Chipotle. It says tomorrow night The Part of the Big Building that Doesn't House Chipotle will house a one-night art show called Flux. The show will feature artists local to the neighborhood. As of this morning the floor of the space was gravel and the only art was a large pottery piece recognizably made by a potter who works out of a storefront on Doppler.

Other than the signs on TPBBDHC, I've heard nothing about it. According to the sign, the show is sponsored by Albrecht, Inc. which may explain things. It will be interesting to see how well it is attended by Square folk.

The Mayor on Highland Square.

We all are wondering what the hell is going on with Highland Square. The new buildings are up, but as of now we have only one spot filled -- with a Chipotle restaurant, no less. So far no grocery store and nothing but rumors about other possible businesses moving in.

Highland Square Neighborhood Association waxes conspiratorially about all this. In particular they think that no grocery has moved in because Steve Albrect, who new buildings, doesn't want the competition for his Acme #1 down the street. As for the lack of other tenants, I've heard everything from he charges too much rent to he's holding the neighborhood "hostage" for more parking.

I'm no fan of Steve Albrect, but this is ridiculous. He didn't sink millions of dollars into the neighborhood to let the buildings stand vacant earning him no money. He's a lot of things, but he's not a suicidal businessman and that would be business suicide.

HSNA Gadfly President Lisa Bostwick took this worldview to Monday night's Akron City Council meeting. Council was meeting to consider the Eastgate Urban Renewal project. As the Akron Beacon Journal reported, she spoke out against the project in Goodyear Heights based on the vacancies in Highland Square. Akron News Now has audio of Plusquellec's response which at that point was notably calm, diplomatic and respectful. I've heard that after that response Bostwick continued to press her case and things got testier.

Plusquellec says that both the Albrect and the city have met with potential businesses and that Albrect has turned down a national ice cream franchise because it's not appropriate to the neighborhood. In other words, it might put Akron landmark Mary Coyle's Ice Cream out of business. I heard the rumor of a Hansen's Ice Cream moving in, so now we know what happened to that.

I appreciate the work HSNA did in persuading Albrect against turning the neighborhood into a strip mall. But the way things have devolved into name-calling and paranoia saddens me. They've diminished their victory and may well push the parties into making some decisions that would be truly disastrous for the neighborhood.

It just might be that the difficulty finding tenants may have something to do with the overabundance of retail space in Northeast Ohio. After all, a newly built strip mall off 77 at the Ridgewood Road exit still isn't at 100% occupancy after over a year and for months was home to nothing more than a tanning salon.

More on Bass Pro

The Beacon Journal runs a long, thoroughly reported story by Kymberli Hagelberg about the negotiations to bring Bass Pro Shops to the area. The whole thing is a must read, but here are few highlights:

• Bass Pro may not be done demanding perks. The story runs through a litany of breaks and incentives they've gotten elsewhere.
• The Impact Facilities law under which the deal is being negotiated was passed specifically to bring Bass Pro to the Toledo area.
• The story calls it "Bass" instead of "Bass Pro" throughout. Redhorse gets no respect.
• When justifying the Toledo store, officials claimed it would draw visitors from Cleveland and Columbus. The source for that 50% of customers from more than 100 miles away keeps getting thinner.
• Nonetheless, under the statute the County asks the Director of the State Department of Development to certify that the facility meets the requirements. Once the Director certifies that, it can't be reversed. Once the retailer is operating, the county can ask for a ruling that the retailer isn't living up to the requirements and cut payments. The retailer can appeal.
  
• Locally owned outfitter Gander Mountain has hired a lobbyist to stop the legislative authorization of subsidies to national mega shops like Bass Pro and Cabela's.

PeppermintLisa on Dodies: A Double Dose of Good News on GABB UPDATED

PeppermintLisa reports on GABB that Dodies Restaurant, a Highland Square mainstay, has been given a "reprieve," perhaps until as late as June 22.

Excellent news. Highland Square isn't all about hipsters. Dodies is a slice of Old Akron. They do diner food right -- breakfast all day long, well-balanced sandwiches, flaky-crusted pies.

Tonight was supposed to be the end. Emails went out saying that the judge was closing the restaurant tonight and that the Two Amigos guys were leasing the space. Owner Vaughn would hold it open late for a $10 all-you-can-eat customer appreciation grub fest. Peppermint opines that if Dodies remains Dodies until the 22nd, Vaughn may outlast Two Amigos.

The second bit of good news is that Peppermint is posting on GABB. She announced on Lovers Quarrel that she was leaving that blog and opening a new one to escape a cyberstalker. I invited her to use her posting privileges on GABB and am tickled that she has chosen to do so. Feel free whenever, PL.

UPDATES: Ohio dot com reports that Vaughn Morrison and his Two Amigos-owning landlords are in dispute about whether or not the judge ordered a stay. BTW, I've appeared in front of Magistrate Shoemaker many times and you do not want to piss him off. Hopefully Vaughn knows what he's doing.

In any event, we are unlikely to get clarification before court is open again Monday.

PeppermintLisa, who is wired in to all things Highland Square, leaves an extensive comment with the details on the Amigos' financial difficulties. Relevant excerpt:

It seems like we can have Dodies for a bit or we can have the building in which they are in go into a lien, at which point anyone could buy it. Then there's the fear that Albrecht, Inc. would snatch up that building and promptly knock it down. So no Dodie's anyway.

From what I understand Two Amigos has until July 13 to pay back taxes before they are on a lien.

I've not been a fan of Two Amigos' owners business or social practices (or decorating) but it seems like it would be better for the square to have them pay their taxes and stay, rather than have Albrecht buy up more property in Highland Square.

Summit and Medina Counties Trying to Hook Cabela's

Call it Destination Outdoor Retailer, Part 2.

I've heard rumors that Cabela's might be coming to the area under a deal similar to that proposed to bring Bass Pro to Akron. The PD finally broke the story today. Medina and Summit Counties are each putting together deals to lure Cabela's to set up shop. Medina's is an impact facilities deal similar to the offer to Bass Pro in exchange for opening a store in Brunswick.

Summit on the other hand is looking to "put together a deal that would create a "synergy" between a proposed domed soccer stadium and a Cabela's store. Part of the venture could include a county tax on cigarettes and alcohol that would raise $4 million for the stadium and pour $1 million into county arts groups."

Wait a minute.

Synergies between a domed soccer stadium and an outdoor sports retailer? Aside from the fact that your best bet to find them on TV is ESPN2, soccer has little in common with hook and bullet sports. The next time I see a minivan with a deer carcass lashed to the top will be the first. Do they think people will attend soccer matches then, as long as they are in the neighborhood, go shopping for duck blinds?

In the Topix comments section to the quickie story the ABJ posted today, one commenter says that he has travelled to Michigan to shop at Cabela's -- the quality of the gear is that much better than the big boxes around here. I posted a couple open questions in a comment but, since I wasnt' actively insulting anyone's intelligence, manhood or mother, wasn't made part of the discussion. So I will post them here.

Obvious question: will this affect Bass Pro wanting to build here?

Less obvious question: Since half the customers must come from more than 100 miles away to fall under the "impact facility" law, would two facilities built a county or less apart affect that evaluation? And in what direction?

Finally, some notes about the Beacon Journal's coverage of the story. As I said, the rumor has been circulating. Yesterday, the ABJ published an editorial about the Bass Pro dealer that included the following paragraph:

Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's (another giant outdoor retailer) know their way around local government. The companies have received ample tax breaks and other public subsidies in developing locations elsewhere across the country. Bass would do so in this instance, Heydorn and her colleagues approving a decade of relief from the county sales tax. If the County Council moved quickly, the early details suggest it hardly gave away the store, so to speak, the incentive aimed, appropriately, at a worn urban area.

Just happened to mention Cabela's. Did the ABJ have wind of the Cabela's deal? I've asked and gotten no reply. Regardless, the PD owned them on the story. Reading between the lines, it looks like the PD figured out what the Medina Co. Commissioners were set to do in their meeting scheduled for today. ABJ, as I said, threw a story up on Ohio.com so quickly the headline initially spelled "Cabela's" with two "L's" (and it still looks that way on Topix as of 11:00 Thursday.)

I want to believe that ABJ/Ohio.com can run with their hyper-local model and their current post-purge staffing levels. I really want to believe it. I'm just not seeing it.

Ask a Horse About a Fish

I name-checked Redhorse in yesterday's post about Akron's Bass Pro Shops deal and he reeled it in. Not only does he give a fisher's enthusiastic review of the business, he ventured into the Dark and Scary Place that is the Ohio.com comments section and answered a number of the argumentish rants found there.

He notes the following misinformation in the ABJ story:

Impact facilities are those described as spending at least $50m in land, buildings, and infrastructure over 2 years, creating 100 jobs, providing an educational component, and pulling in visitors from at least 100 miles away according to the Beacon. The PD states the job creation level is 150 and the organization must draw half its customers from more than 100 miles away. The ORC says Zach Lewis of PD got it right.

While Red says people will indeed come from 100 miles away, I am skeptical that half the customers will be from that far off. Contra the comments on Ohio.com, plenty of people around here fish, especially once you get out of Akron and into the townships in Summit, plus Portage, Geauga and beyond. As Red notes, head east of here and you find glacial lake after reservoir after tributary. Point is, there are so many fishing fans who are less than 100 miles away, I don't see getting another half from more than 100 miles. If Bass Pro is serious about meeting that commitment, you will see loads of special events.

According to ABJ staff, this story is on the local/politics beat of Kymberli Hagelberg who was off that night. Kymberli assures me she is tracking down where the deal goes next. Keep an eye on the paper over the next couple of days for that.

Fish Story

County Council voted last night to finalize the tax abatement deal to Bass Pro Shops. Under the deal, Bass will develop one of it's superstores in the old Goodyear complex. In return, they get to keep 75% of sales tax revenues over 10 years or until they make back their investment , whichever happens first.

Yesterday's preview story on the vote described Bass as:

a sprawling destination retailer which typically includes an aquarium, indoor boat showroom, climbing wall and theme restaurant.

The sports equipment retailer has 30 stores in the United States and Canada, including Cincinnati and Detroit, and another 28 in the works, including one outside Toledo.

To fit under the "Impact Law" that allows the abatement, a company must:

have a substantial impact on the area; invest at least $50 million in land, buildings and infrastructure over two years; bring in at least 100 new jobs; have an exhibition or educational component; and attract visitors from at least 100 miles away.

As a development deal, this sounds like a no-brainer. Big retailers just don't set up shop in big cities anymore, much less in an area less travelled like Goodyear Heights. Akron gets an anchor tenant in a building that otherwise might become another blight sight. They get whatever income tax comes from the employees, they get spillover business and, if the store takes, tax revenue from 11 years on. All this for giving up something that presumably Akron wouldn't have without the deal. The Akron Watch crowd will no doubt howl about it, but it sounds like a good deal to me.

I don't know the business well enough to opine on whether having a Bass shop in town is the big deal it sounds like. Redhorse, our resident hook 'n' bullet guy, will no doubt have something to say on that.

Boring asks aloud whether Bass has real prospects of pulling in folks from 100 miles out. Looking at the Bass website, the store sponsors events like pro tournaments, scout camps and in-store promotions that would bring people in from all around. That what will pull folks in. No one is going to drive up here from Mansfield just to buy tackle -- I'm sure there's a Dick's somewhere in between -- but if Bass sponsors a tournament in the Portage Lakes, say, that can bring in the fishing enthusiasts from all around, not to mention the pro teams who are from all across the country.

And by the way, if all that happens, it could lead to a greater awareness of the importance of cleaning up the rivers and lakes around here. If the area is to become a fishing destination, we need good water to fish in. Again, Red can fill you in on the particulars there.

In any event, it's not clear from the ABJ story what the next step is. Presumably, the deal has to go through a state agency to verify that it meets the criteria, but it isn't mentioned in either story. And yes, I have an email in to the reporter per my new policy.

I'm not at all fond of tax abatements. I'm not fond of the trend away from state and federal aid that levels the field among cities and toward a system of abatements in which cities compete to offer the most generous corporate welfare packages. One bit of evidence of the difficulty with the trend is the controversy over keeping the deal secret during negotiations. Keeping negotiations under wraps is exactly how business operates and exactly how government is not supposed to. When the system forces cities to negotiate business deals, the clash between the spheres becomes apparent.

All that said, given that we operate in the world as it is, this deal seems better than most. I hope it turns out as good as it looks.

Good News From Brookings: Akron Economy Less Sucky than Other Ohio Cities.

The Plain Dealer covers a new Brookings Institute study about revitalizing old industrial cities. In the report Brookings spotlights the 65 "least prosperous" cities, eight of which are in Ohio.

In a report to be released today, the Brookings Institution concludes that Cleveland, Canton, Cincinnati, Dayton, Mansfield, Springfield, Warren and Youngstown are among the nation's least-prosperous big cities.

The good news: Akron isn't on the list (and kudos to the PD for running this down).

Jennifer S. Vey, a senior research associate, said Akron's economic performance improved enough to join 16 older cities that dropped off the list from 1990 to 2000. Lorain's overall economic performance was strong enough that it didn't make the list, Vey said by e-mail.

The study ranked cities on two criteria: Economic Condition and Residential Well-Being. For the record, of the 302 cities studies, Akron ranked 217 in economic condition and 183 in residential well-being.

I've been meaning to respond to Highland Square Gadfly Lady whom Village Green quoted at length trashing Akron city government.

I discovered most of the federal HUD Community Development Block Grants have been spent on street and side walk improvements, land acquisition and demolition and administration. Only 5% is spent on programs like senior and youth services and a mere .73% on fair housing activities. Our streets are important, but only a fraction of the grants went to housing and social services. The city's economic development policies are not working and people are leaving Akron in droves, our population is just over 200,000.

I suspect that HSGL is wrong regarding much of her assessment of how Akron spends HUD money and she is certainly wrong in the implication that the road to economic prosperity is paved with more social service spending. But what really got me was the claim that Akron's economic difficulties prove the administration's development policies "are not working." Anyone paying attention knows that Akron is doing better than most similarly situated cities -- the only measure that comes close to making sense. The Brookings report confirms the impression.

Meanwhile, the Brookings Report has some interesting ideas that, according to the PD article, are consistent with how Strickland plans to move forward.

Farms and Food Prices

L.A. Times fronts an article today about food price inflation in Southern California. (h/t Today's Papers) While SoCal is getting hit hardest, the country generally is seeing a spike in food prices:

Nationally, food prices rose 3.9% in April compared with the same month in 2006, and the outlook is equally chilling wherever you shop. It is happening for many reasons: inflation, drought, freezing weather, even the rising cost of corn — highly sought after not only as ingredients for thousands of food products but also to make ethanol.

Food prices in 2007 are increasing at their highest rate in years.

"We are going to see grocery store prices show one of the most rapid increases in the last 15 years or so," said Patrick Jackman, an economist at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The price spikes are attributed to a number of factors, most notably higher fuel prices and much higher prices for corn as the biofuels industry competes with the food sector. Not mentioned in the article is that the prices increases are happening despite the Wal-Mart effect – people on either side of the Wal-Mart debate agree that the company’s economic heft measurably depresses prices for groceries.

Given that I’m not an economist, agricultural or otherwise, I’m way out on a limb here, but this Means Something. For years we’ve been hearing concerns about losing farmland to sprawl and the diminishing returns of agribiz megafarms. We’ve been hearing simultaneously about peak oil and peak farmland. Now we are seeing what the economic effects of each look like. At the same time, a story like this gives, um, fuel to critics of the biofuels industry.

Prices will surely fall again once the summer gas guzzling again wanes, but we need to keep an eye on the long-term trend. In any event, it makes paying to preserve farmland look a little wiser.

Nanotech News

Unsurprisingly, the Nanotech Summit has seeded a small flurry of nanonews.

The biggest is that a Texas firm, Zyvex Corp., is spinning off it's nanomaterials division into a separate firm to be located in Ohio. They are choosing Ohio because of the resident expertise in polymers. According to General Manager Thomas Hughes:

'Every year we try to recruit polymer engineers, and it seems like all the applications come from Ohio. Sometimes we weren't able to attract those people to Texas. Also, most our suppliers are in Ohio,' Hughes said.

As it happens, I was at Hughes' table for lunch yesterday and overheard him getting the interview request from event staff. I didn't realize what was happening at the time or I might have tried a question or two, despite the aura of general unfriendliness radiated by Team Zyvex.

In addition, the State Development Department hooked announcements of some new nano-oriented grants to the Summit.

Also, the ABJ published a pretty by-the-numbers Nano Summit preview and WKSU aired a story today on Your Way Home. The main takeaway is that Ohio is doing very well in nano. More on that later.

I Have Seen Heard About the Future and It Is Impossibly Small.

Let’s get this straight right off; nanotechnology is not about tiny robots. Currently it’s not about small machines at all. Even if, some decades hence, nano-machines come online, they will not be the tiny, vicious superintelligent nanobots of sci-fi/horror yarns.

I did indeed get press credentials to the Third Annual Nanotechnology Summit in town today and tomorrow. Fascinating. A conference like this is all rah-rah, of course. Tonight is the keynote speech which promises more rah-rah. Happily, the conference also offers answers to most of the questions I had about the field. As usual, I’ll try to get into more detail later on, but here are a few basics.

The morning featured a Nano 101 lecture by Dr. Alexis Abramson, a young professor at Case who is on a leave of absence to work as a Fellow in nanotechnology at NorTech. Giving the 101 lecture is a big part of her job and, as a borderline science illiterate, I can confidently say she does a good job.

Nanotechnology goes beyond simply making things smaller. The key principle in nanotech is that when materials are smaller in at least one dimension, they act differently. They may be more or less chemically reactive, they may react to light or electricity differently, or they may have different strength properties, to give a few examples.

Nanotechnology is about exploiting those differences. According to Dr. Abramson, practitioners bicker over the precise definition of nanotech, but essentially it involves the manipulation of materials that, in some dimension, are in a scale of 1-599 nanometers. Nanomaterials may include nanofilms (with a nano-dimension thickness), nanofilaments (nano-dimension diameter) and nanoparticles (just plain tiny all around.)

Nanotechnologies exist now, and commercial applications exist now. To take one mundane example, some of the super-stain resistant clothing on the market today is cloth treated with a nano-application. Indeed, much of the current focus is finding commercial application for the nanotechnologies that exist.

Much of the conference will be posted on the website. It’s all worth a look and worth keeping an eye on. There’s lots more information besides. This is just a small taste.