"On Restaurants | Taverns fuel owner's love: civic involvement" The Columbus Dispatch

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Bill Chronister
The Columbus Dispatch
May 13, 2008

..."What I've always sought is the power to cause change," said Lessner, 34. "People always say you have to be motivated by the money to open a restaurant. But I've always wanted something to generate some money so I could do things socially."

Lessner has three successful restaurants: She started with Betty's Fine Food and Spirits in 2001, and followed up with the Surly Girl Saloon in 2005 and the Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails in 2007.

She just took possession of the former Queen Bee Restaurant, 248 S. 4th St., and plans to turn it into Dirty Frank's Hot Dogs by mid-July...

"COTA ridership grows as gas prices rise" The Columbus Dispatch

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Time Doulin
The Columbus Dispatch
May 13, 2008

The more gas prices rise, so does bus ridership and carpooling.

From January through May 4, COTA recorded about 5.2 million rides, up 7.2 percent compared with the same period last year. Ridership in April alone was up 17.5 percent over the same month in 2007.

“That is big,” said Marty Stutz, Central Ohio Transit Authority spokesman. “We had 1.4 million rides in April.”...

"Bicycle Boulevards Part Of Path Plan" nbc4i.com

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nbc4i.com

...And if bikes are becoming more of a necessity, so goes the city's bike paths.

With that in mind, city announced new transportation plans Monday, which marked the start of Ride Your Bike To Work Week.

Within the next 20 years, the number of bike paths and trails in Columbus and the surrounding suburbs will increase to more than 700 miles, Coleman announced Monday.

That's 10 times the paths riders have now. Coleman planned for the number of paths and trails to double within the next few years...

"Coleman spokesman stepping down" The Columbus Dispatch

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Robert Vitale
The Columbus Dispatch
May 13, 2008

...Brown, 33, was part of the mayor's first campaign in 1999 and has been his spokesman since Jan. 1, 2000.

He said he's ready for a change in duties. He'll take a newly created job on Coleman's policy staff, shepherding issues such as streetcars, transportation, the arts and other quality-of-life initiatives for residents in and around Downtown...

"City sweetens deal for Express expansion" The Columbus Dispatch

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Robert Vitale
The Columbus Dispatch
May 12, 2008

City government will sweeten the deal to keep an apparel company in Columbus.

City Council members approved $1 million in incentives tonight for a corporate-headquarters expansion planned by Express, the former Limited Brands apparel division that was sold last year to a San Francisco-based private-equity firm.

The Ohio Department of Development approved nearly $1.1 million in tax credits for the company last month...

"New ballpark: 'You can start to feel it'" The Columbus Dispatch

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Jim Massie
The Columbus Dispatch
May 11, 2008

Huntington Park suddenly is more than a $56 million dream or hole in the ground sandwiched between Nationwide Arena and the Buggyworks building. The Clippers will move their triple-A baseball operation from Cooper Stadium to this state-of-the-art ballpark for the 2009 season. The Coop, born Red Bird Stadium, has been the historic home of Columbus professional baseball since its opening in 1931.

"This is the oldest triple-A stadium in the country," Schnacke said. "The only older major-league facilities are Yankee Stadium, which is soon to be replaced, and Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, which have had tons of renovations."

Talk of building a stadium for the Clippers at a different location had circulated for the past decade. Proposed sites have ranged from the Brewery District to River South, Grandview and Easton...

"Troubles in bunches" The Columbus Dispatch

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Amy Saunders
The Columbus Dispatch
May 11, 2008

...As the chamber promotes Columbus as a place for business, it is advertising the advantages of Ohio State and other universities, the assets of surrounding counties, and the concentration of resources in certain industries such as transportation.

Rather than trying to make Columbus known for one industry, it should be known for its business diversity, said Milbourne of the Columbus Partnership.

"Columbus is a relatively unique city in that it's a state capital, it has a major research university, and it's the home of some very large companies that tend to be in industries that are growing," he said. "There are a lot of cities in America that would love to be in this position. We're one of a handful that is."...

"Orchestra's demise huge loss for city" The Columbus Dispatch

Link: Orchestra's demise huge loss for city
Letter to the Editor
The Columbus Dispatch
May 11, 2008

...Sadly, Columbus' city leaders appear not to have similar notions about its arts culture and, therefore, don't consider a symphony orchestra fundamental to a robust city.

I beg to differ. Unless and until Columbus and its major employers consider a symphony orchestra fundamental to its local culture, it will not and cannot succeed.

"Group raises some eyebrows by razing old Firestone home" The Columbus Dispatch

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Mike Pramik
The Columbus Dispatch
May 12, 2008

The Columbus Foundation wants to create a majestic block along E. Broad Street, one worthy of the history embodied in the old governor's mansion that serves as its headquarters.

To do so, last week, the charity demolished a century-old home that the foundation said didn't fit with its $7.8 million project.

The Joseph Firestone house at 1266 E. Broad St. had been vacant for years and last was used as an office. Columbus Foundation President Doug Kridler said the charitable organization considered saving the building as plans came together for renovation of the site. But the house's structure made it too impractical and expensive to be converted to meet the foundation's needs...

Mayor Coleman and Councilmember O’Shaughnessy Unveil details of Bicentennial Bikeways Plan during Bike-to-Work-Week

For Immediate Release
May 12, 2008
For more information:  Mike Brown, Mayor’s Office, 614-645-6428
Ruth Milligan, Consider Biking, 614-348-0760

(Columbus)  Dozens of bike riding commuters came together at the Ohio Statehouse this morning with Consider Biking, Mayor Michael B. Coleman and City Councilmember Maryellen O’Shaughnessy to hear details on the City’s 20-year Bicentennial Bikeways Plan.

“The soaring price of gas is helping jump start a transportation revolution in Columbus, and we are proud to promote biking as an alternative to the automobile for commuters as well as recreation,” said Mayor Coleman, who biked from his Berwick home to join today’s rally.  “We’ve committed $20 million by 2012, and are looking to making biking a safer, easier way to get around Columbus’ neighborhoods and to jobs and activities downtown.”

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"Public housing might be halved" The Columbus Dispatch

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Rita Price
The Columbus Dispatch
May 12, 2008

...The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority wants to tear down six of its largest and oldest public-housing communities and give the residents Section 8 vouchers so they can rent privately owned places...

...Maplewood Heights and Bollinger Towers, both senior public-housing complexes with a total of 171 units, probably would be sold to a CMHA nonprofit affiliate and converted to Section 8. Residents would not be affected.

The city supports the restructuring, according to a letter from Mayor Michael B. Coleman to Guest.

"We know there are going to be long and hard discussions, and the city of Columbus will be sitting at the table," said Boyce Safford, city development director. "But I think deconcentration has good economic benefits for the community."...

"Gas Prices Send Surge of Riders to Mass Transit" New York Times

Link: Gas Prices Send Surge of Riders to Mass Transit
Clifford Krauss
New York Times
May 10, 2008

DENVER — With the price of gas approaching $4 a gallon, more commuters are abandoning their cars and taking the train or bus instead.

Mass transit systems around the country are seeing standing-room-only crowds on bus lines where seats were once easy to come by. Parking lots at many bus and light rail stations are suddenly overflowing, with commuters in some towns risking a ticket or tow by parking on nearby grassy areas and in vacant lots.

“In almost every transit system I talk to, we’re seeing very high rates of growth the last few months,” said William W. Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association...

"Bexley condos getting new life as Capital apartments" Business First of Columbus

Link: Bexley condos getting new life as Capital apartments
Carrie Ghose
Business First of Columbus
May 9, 2008

A Bexley development that went bust as a retirement community is filling with tenants from the other end of the age spectrum.

Capital University has purchased the former Woodsview at Bexley LLC condominiums for $4 million and will use the rechristened Capital University Apartments as independent housing for juniors and seniors.

Only 11 of the 30 condos sold since the three-story building went up in 2004 a block from Capital's campus, according to Franklin County property records. After the college bought the complex, students nabbed all available spots for this fall in two days, said Susan Tate, Capital's vice president of business and finance...

"Columbus Symphony Orchestra" The Columbus Dispatch

Link: Columbus Symphony Orchestra
Web-only letters to the editor
The Columbus Dispatch
May 9, 2008

The Columbus Symphony board and community leaders are strangely silent in their concern for our Columbus Symphony. When a business or organization is having financial difficulties, one must look at its management. Why haven't corporations been asked to support the symphony in addition to those generous businesses currently supporting the symphony? What endowments are available to maintain our symphony? Why isn't management tapping support from individuals as well? Why haven't concerts and other symphony offerings been aggressively marketed?...

Arts & Culture at the Core

Is the plight of the Columbus Symphony and its budget shortfalls and troubled musician contract negotiations an indicator of a greater problem for the traditional and established arts & cultural institutions we have in Columbus? Is the symphony just the tip of the iceberg with regards to arts organizations having more and more difficult times trying to stay afloat without heavy subsidization?

I went to the symphony for the first time this past Saturday, something my girlfriend and I had been planning to do for a few months now even prior to the budget woes going public, and the experience was a bit gray for me because I knew what storm clouds were hanging overhead for the whole organization.

Without question I enjoyed both the experience and being able to take in the music and the talent. I'd like to be able to do it again. But will I be able to? That question is a hefty one and for me, it goes beyond just the currently undetermined fate of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. What might this potential loss mean for downtown?

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