Homeowners Prefer to Stay in Areas Marked for Change

CNN has this story about homeowners in Youngstown who prefer to stay in their blighted neighborhoods rather than accept the city's buyout offer. The city is offering up to $50,000 dollars in enticements for residents to move from their houses. The Youngstown 2010 plan calls for these areas to be transformed into greenspaces by demolishing the houses and tearing up the streets.

While it may be frustrating for everyone who worked on the Youngstown 2010 plan to see obstructions stand in their way, it is good to see that city planners see the relocations as voluntary at this point and do see the need to invoke eminent domain. Such action would immediately stop negotiations with homeowners and lead to lawsuits that could take years to resolve.

Additional enticements and discussion could lead to some residents understanding what the city is trying to accomplish by planning its shrinkage. There is no future growth planned for these areas so homeowners do not have to worry they are getting a fair shake from the city.

There has always been a resistance to change in the Mahoning Valley so no one should be surprised that where some see dilapitated houses some see the place they have always called home. City officials should do everything possible to help these last holdouts leave voluntarily so that the progress of the 2010 plan isn't tainted with hard feelings. However, those residents who are holding out should ask themselves if staying in their homes is worth blocking the progress of a plan that is vitally important to the city. Youngstown deserves every chance to succeed and needs the help of everyone who can lend a hand.

Vindicator Coverage of Attorney General Issue is Uneven

As a subscriber to the Vindicator and a frequent user of information from the paper, I have to question the recent coverage of the sexual harrassment scandal at the Attorney General's office. Readers have endured uneven coverage of an issue that may end up being much ado about nothing and a lot of chest thumping by Bertram de Souza.

The "scandal" started out with the usual salacious ingredients. It has older men in charge seemingly taking advantage of young, attractive women subordinates. There was drinking, a wrecked state vehicle, emails that would not be released and a setting right out of "Animal House"

But did anything of substance occur?

From the charges filed by the victims, it appears that Director of General Services Anthony Gutierrez is one of those icky bosses that needs to be reigned in by a good human resources manager once a complaint has been filed. Of course, filing a complaint is easier if you don't go out for drinks with the guy like the supposed victim did. The situation gets even sketchier when the AG himself invites both parties over for pizza and they accept, then take a nap. Not that I'm blaming the victim but everyone needs to take responsibility for their actions.

Once this ball started rolling, the Vindy sent its number one political gunslinger, de Souza, to score some good shots. His scathing criticism in a front page editorial boiled down to him saying that he had been right all along, and that Dann should never have hired old friends like Gutierrez and Leo Jennings to run top spots in the AG office. A glorified "I told you so" is pretty poor top-of-the-fold headline material.

So, it seems like we're left with sexual harrassment charges the Columbus police won't press, emails that contain more silliness and made up drama than a reality TV show and a guy who may or may not have been a creepy boss who still hasn't explained the damage to his state owned car.

So I'm left pleading with the Vindicator; There is either a story here or there isn't. If something occurred, please investigate. If you find something, please tell us. If that something doesn't deserve a salacious banner on the front page of your website, please take it down.

Oh, and speaking of that salacious banner on your website, the Attorney General spells his name with a "C" not a "K".

Baracky: The Movie

Senator Obama may have taken a hard punch in Pennsylvania but that means he'll just have to fight a little harder. Hmmm...that reminds me of another guy who overcame tough obstacles.

Feeding the Fish at the Linesville Spillway

The rebuilt Linesville Spillway in Pymatuning, PA is a far cry from the small, crowded attraction my folks took me to as a kid. Instead of a small outcrop of concrete on the side of the road, the area has been built up into a large area where folks can park their cars, get something to eat and buy bread to feed the unbelievable number of carp, ducks and geese that call the reservoir home.

If you are looking for someplace to take a nice little drive this summer, the spillway makes a great destination. Kids will enjoy throwing bread to the fat carp and mom and dad can relax on a bench overlooking the water. Grab a Coke and something to eat from the concession stand and you have a relaxing couple of hours.

There is plenty to do once you watch the carp crawl all over each other trying to score some bread. And if you watch the video, you will see that they literally crawl over one another for those tasty morsels.



It's about 45 minutes from Youngstown and the surrounding area. Go straight north up Route 7 to Andover, turn right on Oh 85, cross over the reservoir, turn left on Church Rd. (follow the Spillway signs because there isn't a road sign for Church Rd.) and turn left on Linesville-Hartstown Rd. The Spillway is on the right. Just look for the jumping carp.

Maureen Dowd's View on the Iraq Senate Hearings

The always excellent Maureen Dowd gives her view from the Senate floor during the hearings on Iraq. Is the surge working, what can we hope to accomplish and just why is the president of Iran more popular there than we are? All excellent points discussed in her Sunday column.

A confused Chuck Hagel asked the pair: “So, where’s the surge? What are we doing? I don’t see Secretary Rice doing any Kissinger-esque flying around. Where is the diplomatic surge? ... So, where is the surge? What are you talking about?”