'Vision' thing not working for Toledo
3/24/2007While it is important to have a vision of what Toledo can or should be, the monetary cost of having an All-America City, Renaissance City, or Elegant City has placed Toledo in the financial bind that now exists.
Safety of the citizens and maintaining the infrastructure has taken a back seat to delusions of grandeur (i.e. the Erie Street Market, Marina District project, etc.). If private developers saw the potential of profiting from the Marina District, they would have done it. We live in a global economy and there is no shortage of corporations willing to invest in a city that has potential.
City Council has too many members, which adds to the problem as well. At-large district council seats have enabled "special interests" to buy seats in city government. City Council was intended to be composed of people from the voting districts who had a vested interest in improving their area.
Now it takes money, as evidenced by Councilman Ellen Grachek's expected departure because of her disdain for having to raise funds to serve her community and the in-fighting among other council members.
It saddens me to drive down the streets of Toledo and see once-proud neighborhoods that now look like Appalachia. It saddens me to see the elderly afraid to go to the grocery store for fear of coming home and seeing their home burglarized.
Toledo was once a great city in which to raise a family. Now it's a nice place to catch a baseball game and dinner along the river before returning to the safe confines of the suburbs.
It may be time to return to the city manager form of government and hire someone degreed in urban planning or public administration. After all, we know what's not working.
Frank Ramirez
Palmer Street
The supposedly more intelligent in the evolutionary chain, the human species, is undoubtedly the most unnatural species on this planet.
We cause the most harm to this planet via pollution, removing natural habitats, overkill of wildlife, mining, drilling for oil, etc.
We are biased, bigoted, prejudiced, hateful, spiteful, vengeful, and morally inept.
We, under the name of God, wage war after war against our brothers.
We cheat, steal, kill, maim, and illicit fear among our family, friends, and community, all with a clear conscience.
We condemn those who are not like us. We label homosexuals, transsexuals, and transgenders as deviants. However, until we've walked in those shoes we'll not know, will we?
We pray on Sunday and condemn on Monday.
We've separated ourselves from our creator and unfortunately made our God into the likeness of ourselves: judgmental, vengeful, and jealous.
It's a fine mess we superior homo sapiens have gotten ourselves into, isn't it?
Judy Helsel
Hoops Drive
So Detroit is gaining 1,000 jobs with casino expansion.
The casino has openings in all areas. All these jobs will come with a full benefit package with competitive wages.
Why can't the do-gooders in Ohio go along with gambling? Look at what it is doing to Detroit. It could do the same for some of the cities in Ohio.
People would come to Ohio to spend money, It would create new jobs in restaurants and just about everywhere.
These people are going to gamble and they are going to drive or fly to do it and spend money.
If they had a big casino hotel in Toledo, maybe Toledo would not face the cuts in the budget that the mayor is proposing.
I think Ohio is missing out on a lot of tax money and will be taxing the general public in other ways.
I do not gamble, but a lot of people do. Let the state of Ohio get on the bandwagon and not listen to the do-gooders.
Craig Boehk
Swanton
A recent head-on collision on U.S. 24 near Defiance was yet another serious accident in a long line of serious accidents to occur on this dangerous northwest Ohio highway over the years. My wife and I grew up in Defiance and now live in South Toledo and use this road frequently.
We have seen so many serious/fatal accidents over the years, my wife having experienced her own crash with a truck. It is truly disheartening that the State of Ohio has recently considered withdrawing money allocated for, and/or delaying, the long-planned "Fort-to-Port" widening and rerouting project.
These improvements are desperately needed because this highway has so very little margin for error that slight mistakes can turn into major catastrophes.
Hopefully, ODOT and the newly elected administration, with the help of our state representatives and senators serving Lucas, Henry, Defiance, and Paulding counties, will realize public safety is the highest public good a government can provide and continue to move this project forward.
Hans Rosebrock
Wildwood Road
"Logic! Why don't they teach logic at these schools?" is what the professor bemoans in the children's book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Like the professor, I'm wondering where the logic is in The Blade's March 12 article, "Advocates hope new Ohio health czar will go beyond abstinence-only sex ed."
The article stated that "teen pregnancy rates have dropped over the last decade in Ohio " Despite this victory, Mary O'Shea, director for public policy of Planned Parenthood in Greater Cleveland, is hoping that they (Planned Parenthood?) will be able to expand sex education programs in public schools in Ohio to include more than just abstinence-until-marriage programs. She wants students to be taught to make "responsible decisions regarding sexual behavior."
It seems to me that it is illogical to mess with success. Planned Parenthood wants more tax dollars and classroom time to teach our children to dance their way onto dangerous highways. Instead of teaching our kids to dodge cars and sending them out onto the freeways, schools should continue to teach the students to stay off the freeway. Planned Parenthood in other states has for decades brought birth control training into classrooms, creating the illusion of safe sex with abysmal results. Let's not mess with success!
Jenifer Christiaanse
Coldstream Road
It's not often that I open The Blade and read a story that makes me cry.
No, it wasn't about global warming or the lack of health benefits. The story was actually about people helping other people. Can you imagine that in this age of finger-pointing and denial?
The story was about the 10 African immigrants killed in a fire in New York. There, in a city that sees much crime and sadness, goodness and humanity prevailed.
There were donations of money for the families totaling nearly $200,000. George Steinbrenner offered to pay for the funerals. Air France offered to fly the bodies home to Mali and contractors offered to rebuild the house free of charge. Wow, amazing stuff.
Can you imagine what our world would be like if we all did simple things like this to help our fellow humans?
Can you believe this story wasn't on the front page? You got it, page four next to the conclusion of Toledo's infamous Wi-Fi debate.
Holly Johnson
Whitehouse
In 1993 then-Attorney General Janet Reno made a clean sweep of the ranks of federal prosecutors, firing 93 of them to "clean the slate for the new administration." The fact that some of these prosecutors were investigating questionable dealings in the state of Arkansas, including links to the Whitewater scandal ah, so who is calling the kettle black? Further, I thought these prosecutors worked at the will of the President, not Congress.
David Lockert
Meadowvale Drive