Program Directory

 
Feagler and Friends - State of the City
Feagler and Friends
 
 
 
Newsmaker: Mark Rosentraub, Dean, Levin College of Public Affairs, Cleveland State University. 20 years ago, the City of Cleveland instituted a program of residential tax abatements in an attempt to lure homeowners back to the central city. Recently, the city asked Cleveland State to conduct a study to find out if abatements are working. The answer appears to be yes. The CSU study says abatements have clearly led to an increase of new housing construction in Cleveland and the property tax take has grown despite abatements.

Roundtable: Mark Naymik, politics reporter, The Plain Dealer; Sam Fulwood III, columnist, The Plain Dealer; Deborah Burstion-Donbraye, political consultant.

State of the City: Tax abatements, growth and new development are all on the front burner at City Hall. Mayor Frank Jackson reviewed his first full year in office and spelled out his plans for the next twelve months and beyond during his second State of the City address Thursday afternoon.

Flats Deconstruction: A developer wants to start tearing down old buildings on the East Bank of the Flats. That's where Scott Wolstein plans to build a large mixed-use development that will include 300 residential units. The city has issued demolition permits for Wolstein-owned properties, but existing property owners object saying demolition now will prevent them getting top dollar for their buildings.

Keystone Casino: Another casino opened this week less than a day's drive from Cleveland. The new Presque Isle Downs and Casino opened at Erie, Pennsylvania. At just 100 miles, it's the closest casino to Cleveland. It's owned by the same company that operates the Mountaineer complex in West Virginia, just over 100 miles away. Like Mountaineer, Presque Isle is expected to draw heavily from northeast Ohio.

Presidential Race Comes to Cleveland: The 2008 presidential race is almost two years away, but the Ohio primary is not. So the presidential parade started this week with Democrat Barack Obama making his first Cleveland appearances. His fund-raisers helped fill his campaign coffers and a speech at Tri-C in Highland Hills attracted an enthusiastic overflow crowd.
March 5, 2007