Forget Lordstown. I hate to tell you--Youngstown is not only near Cleveland, it's becoming Cleveland: a geographic/demographic/economic "Invasion of The Body Snatchers." And, alas, we did everything except put out the "Welcome" mat. Greed, hubris, racism, and a confounding sense of entitlement have left the door ajar and now we got company.
The drumbeat for regionalization has long echoed through the community--get the suburbs to cooperate with the city, a unified school system, regional government, consolidation of services, etc. Nobody is buying in. So what happens? This area becomes a minor satellite of Cleveland/Akron while we were fighting amongst ourselves. They're heeeeere: Akron Children's Hospital, WKSU News on WYSU, Cleveland Clinic offices...now that's regionalization on a grand scale. The media have made steady inroads into this market as well. And let's not even bring up financial institutions.
As long as the fiefdoms of the Valley battle for autonomy and total independence, we will be at the mercy of larger, more progressive thinkers who will sense opportunity and suck every last bit of local identity from our veins.
Posted on August 14 at 11:30 a.m.
Enough about Traficant. It's going to be Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme Bobblehead Night at the Scrappers game.
Posted on June 29 at 5:17 p.m.
Forget Lordstown. I hate to tell you--Youngstown is not only near Cleveland, it's becoming Cleveland: a geographic/demographic/economic "Invasion of The Body Snatchers." And, alas, we did everything except put out the "Welcome" mat. Greed, hubris, racism, and a confounding sense of entitlement have left the door ajar and now we got company.
The drumbeat for regionalization has long echoed through the community--get the suburbs to cooperate with the city, a unified school system, regional government, consolidation of services, etc. Nobody is buying in. So what happens? This area becomes a minor satellite of Cleveland/Akron while we were fighting amongst ourselves. They're heeeeere: Akron Children's Hospital, WKSU News on WYSU, Cleveland Clinic offices...now that's regionalization on a grand scale. The media have made steady inroads into this market as well. And let's not even bring up financial institutions.
As long as the fiefdoms of the Valley battle for autonomy and total independence, we will be at the mercy of larger, more progressive thinkers who will sense opportunity and suck every last bit of local identity from our veins.