Art Modell Hostage Economics Do Not Keep Cleveland Strong

May 6, 2014

The worst thing about the pro-sin tax (pro-Issue 7) “Keep Cleveland Strong” campaign is that it’s based entirely on a threat that the billionaire owners of the Browns, Cavaliers and Indians would somehow weaken Cleveland if they didn’t receive another $300 million handout to go on top of the $1 billion-plus in public subsidies that […]

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Issue 7 debate on Sound of Ideas: “Here’s one minute of dialogue that encapsulates the real sin tax debate perfectly”

May 1, 2014

Yesterday I appeared on WCPN’s Sound of Ideas for a discussion of the sin tax/Issue 7 with Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley and guest phone appearances by Cleveland Journalism Hall of Famer Roldo Bartimole, and Kent Whitley who was nominally representing the NAACP. We covered a lot of ground over the course of what was […]

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What it really means to say ‘Keep Cleveland Strong’

April 29, 2014

“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” — George Orwell “Keep Cleveland Strong.” — Jimmy Haslam, Dan Gilbert, Larry Dolan and friends ————— As fond as Frank Jackson is of repeating his statement that “the measure of a great city is how it provides for and how it treats the least among us,” […]

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Cleveland Indians force employees to wear pro-sin tax stickers, lie about it

April 25, 2014

Yesterday, Scene published a story about Edward Loomis, a former usher for the Cleveland Indians whose employment was terminated immediately after he wrote an email to his supervisor communicating his refusal to wear a pro-Issue 7 sticker as part of his uniform, as he was instructed to do on Opening Day. Issue 7, on the […]

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Proposal of alternative to sin tax prompts misleading and revealing response from Cleveland’s political and business leaders on Issue 7

April 21, 2014

On April 11, the Coalition against the Sin Tax (“CAST”) formally presented an alternative to the 20-year $260+ million Sin Tax that’s been proposed to pay for maintenance of Cleveland’s three pro sports facilities, on the ballot in Cuyahoga County this May 6 as Issue 7. In response to CAST’s proposal, the political and business […]

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Redface has another big day at the ballpark in Cleveland

April 6, 2014

About 45 minutes before the first pitch of the Cleveland Indians’ home opener on Friday against the Minnesota Twins, I took the below photo just outside of Gate C at Progressive Field, where a protest against the Cleveland team’s name and Chief Wahoo logo was being held by a group organized by the local chapter […]

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Did Major League Baseball force Chief Wahoo’s demotion?

January 16, 2014

Last week, leading sports uniform expert Paul Lukas reported that the Cleveland Indians were changing their “primary logo” from Chief Wahoo to the block-C, but that this would entail no changes to the team’s uniforms. Indians changing primary logo to the block-C. No change to uniforms, Wahoo still on home cap, sleeves. pic.twitter.com/0EEopJ3ph2 — Paul […]

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Dan Gilbert’s land bridge is a blight on the cityscape

December 4, 2013

Here’s a photo of the view north up Ontario Street from Superior Avenue, just off Public Square in the heart of downtown Cleveland. Pictured is the beautiful Cuyahoga County Courthouse, framed as a crown jewel of the North Coast between two more century-old landmarks, the Old Stone Church (which is actually almost two centuries old), […]

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Mayor Jackson’s secret ass-kicking of Joe Banner and the Cleveland Browns

November 22, 2013

On Tuesday the Browns and the City of Cleveland announced a tentative deal by which Cleveland taxpayers will be on the hook for $30 million over the next fifteen years to go toward the recently announced $120 million upgrade to the Browns’ newly renamed FirstEnergy Stadium. This is on top of another $12 million that […]

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Dan Gilbert would like to get on with the suspension of democracy already

October 28, 2013

Detroit’s bankruptcy trial got underway in federal court last week, with lawyers for the city’s various thousands of pensioners challenging the city’s right to vaporize some $3.5 billion in fully earned and unpaid retiree benefits. The pensioners argue that Michigan state law prohibits cutting public pensions, and that the pension obligations should be prioritized in clearing […]

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