Weblog: Week of March 31

Saturday, April 6, 2002

An inch from catastrophe — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is blasting FirstEnergy for failing to notice that acid was eating a deep hole in the reactor lid of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant west of Cleveland. According the the New York Times, "If the lid had ruptured it would have created a leak far larger than any yet experienced, although probably still theoretically manageable by the plant's emergency system. The lid did not burst, but was on its way; the only remaining steel was half an inch thick, and it was bent." Davis-Besse is on the shore of Lake Erie, and a major release of radiation could contaminate the water supply of millions of people.

Dennis steps up — Rep. Dennis Kucinich is drawing attention as the lone peacemaker and champion of civil liberties on Capitol Hill. In a recent column, longtime Washington journalist Helen Thomas wrote, "Kucinich puts to shame his congressional colleagues, who bowed in silence to the chipping away of our liberties last October when they passed President Bush's anti-terrorism bill, the USA Patriot Act. It gives the government greater power to conduct searches, detain or deport suspects, eavesdrop on Internet communications, monitor financial transactions and obtain electronic records on individuals."

Great birding — Last night at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, writer Carolyn Platt and photographer Gary Maszaros talked about their latest book, Birds of the Lake Erie Region. They marveled at the quality of birding right in our own backyard — as good as anywhere in the world. And they remarked that the range of certain bird species — including Cardinals, Titmice, Great Egrets, and Carolina Wrens — was shifting northward because of global warming. A 100 years ago, Ohio's state bird, the Cardinal, was uncommon in northern Ohio.

Thursday, April 4, 2002

Real reason for Huletts' removal? — The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority wants to move an iron ore dock operation from Lorain to Whiskey Island on Cleveland's lakefront. The facility is used to transfer ore from large ships to smaller vessels that can make it up the twisting Cuyahoga River to the steel mills. Lorain isn't sorry to see the dock moved, according to Crain's Cleveland Business, since it only employs a handful of workers and the move will free up valuable land for redevelopment. Cleveland's lakefront will then be taken up by a facility that is estimated to save the new owner of LTV Steel a measly $1 million a year in shipping costs. In preparation for such a bulk cargo operation, the Port Authority removed one of Cleveland's best historic structures—the Hullett ore unloaders.

Pressure points — Big box retail continues to sprawl over Avon in western Lorain County. Costco is the latest chain to move in. And residents in Berea are concerned about drainage problems created by industrial development on land annexed from Olmsted Township.

Word of the day — "Ruburbs," rural suburbs, also known as exurbs (overheard on a National Public Radio commentary).

Wednesday, April 3, 2002

Quite a crisis — As part of its "Quiet Crisis" series on the lagging regional economy, the Plain Dealer is pushing for a regional visioning process in Northeast Ohio. A select group of civic leaders has been talking about hiring the planning firm ACP to run the process.

Cars vs. people — Has anyone noticed the irony that Shaker Heights is planning to narrow Chagrin Blvd. to create a more pedestrian-oriented environment, while in Woodmere a few miles away ODOT wants to widen Chagrin to handle more cars? (Woodmere isn't letting them do it.)

The wild returns — There is no real wilderness left in Ohio, but there are signs that it could come back if we could make room for it. One recent sign: black bears are moving into the state from Pennsylvania and West Virginia. They've come as far at Geauga County.

Tuesday, April 2, 2002

Biggest threat — After attending a classified security briefing at the Perry Nuclear Power Plant yesterday, Senator George Voinovich said he was impressed with all the guards and automatic weapons that are protecting the plant from terrorists. But for a completely scary and authoritative assessment of nuclear plant vulnerabilities, see the Nuclear Control Institute. The bottom line is that the hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on 9/11 passed close to the Perry plant and very easily could have smashed into the reactor or the high-level radioactive waste stored on site. And a major release of radioactivity into Lake Erie could poison the water supply of millions of people. Good-bye, Cleveland. (And that's just the terrorist threat — the reactor lid at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant west of Cleveland almost rusted through before anybody noticed.)

Historic emergency — Still saddened by the loss of Kirk Middle School in East Cleveland, historic preservationists are alarmed by the Cleveland Public Schools' recently announced plans to tear down and rebuild 46 school buildings. Nearly half of the buildings are considered historic. The school district—and the state officials overseeing the building program—need a crash course in restoration. Or the schools should work with neighborhood development organizations to find adaptive reuses for the buildings.

Healing brand — Cuyahoga County Planning director Paul Alsenas has been saying it would be great if Cleveland could develop a new identity as a healing place. We could teach the world how to heal people with advanced health care, clean water with advanced pollution prevention technologies, and restore ecosystems with advanced practices of ecological restoration.

Ohio? — A goal of the Ohio Bicentennial Commission is the get people to "identify more as Ohioans." Hmm...Ohio seems like such an arbitrary state. Does anybody think of himself or herself as an Ohioan? Do you?

Spring — If you look closely, the grass is getting greener.

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