Hotel Bruce

Welcome to the Bruce blog—a weekly update on news, events and issues affecting life in Cleveland. Reporting as it happens on transit, development, planning, environment and arts & culture.

Basically, we write about creative ideas forming, talk to the people who have an inside track on the issues, and sometimes offer a commentary of our own. (For disclosure purposes, Bruce blog is a local, independent writer who also works part-time with nonprofit organization EcoCity Cleveland. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of EcoCity or any other organization).

The saga over Whiskey Island’s future continued last week as Cuyahoga County commissioners tabled their decision to sell the 60-acre jut of land where the Cuyahoga River meets Lake Erie to the Port. In the meantime, environmental advocates Ed Hauser of the Friends of Whiskey Island and filmmaker Peter Griesinger are screaming that the emperor has no clothes – that the deal stinks for the public. At the center of the proposal are the hundreds of millions it would cost to expand Port operations on Whiskey Island, not to mention to unforeseen cost to the city as it proposes to build an 800-slip marina on the eastern 1/3 of Whiskey Island (land donated by the port as part of the deal). Who does that leave out in the cold? That's right – the public. At least, the public interested in seeing Whiskey Island retain some of its natural character.

From an economics standpoint, the Whiskey Island deal passes muster if you buy the city’s big vision for the lakefront. First, we have to pony up half a billion to move the port operations from the east bank to Whiskey Island, and lose prime park land for a low quality use – bulk storage. One suspects that the county and the port know this isn’t very palatable to a city looking for a ‘quality’ lakefront, and that’s why no economic impact analysis has come forth to shore up their proposal – meaning, we don’t know how many jobs are at stake in making the bid for Whiskey Island as a shipping operations post.

Urbanists and planner types have remained fairly silent about this because we’re being sold a vision by the city – the far-reaching Cleveland Lakefront Plan. In it, we sacrifice Whiskey Island in exchange for building up the lakefront on the east bank. We’re promised one continuous neighborhood from the new Flats neighborhood to the more tenuous but certainly attractive chunk of developable land behind the Rock Hall known as Dock 32. Here, the city’s vision calls for a dense development of housing, retail, and recreation including a bike path stretching for miles in both directions.

To complete the city, we’re told by Mayor Campbell’s Administration, we need Dock 32 and the adjacent land abutting the east bank. This would create value from the to-date senseless investment in the RTA Waterfront line and fill in the gap between Warehouse District and Lakefront. Where the east bank has access, Whiskey Island’s Achilles heal is its lack of decent public access. So, in short we lose Whiskey Island but gain a Chicago-like lakefront. Do we buy it?

Ohio funds next step toward high-speed rail

In June, Ohio threw a lifeline to those trying to build a passenger rail network connecting the state’s major metro areas. The Ohio Hub System received $500,000 from Ohio Department of Transportation to conduct an economic impact study for a high-speed passenger rail system that connects Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, according to the Ohio Passenger Rail News. The funding “will allow Ohio Hub analyses to advance to a point where the project should become eligible for federal construction dollars,” the newsletter, published by the nonprofit Ohio Association of Railroad Passengers, states. What to watch – the House Appropriations Committee last week proposed a $550 million budget (55% below current federal funding) for Amtrak. That’s just enough to continue most short-distance routes while eliminating long-range routes. The bill also threatens operating subsidies to intercity passenger rail, reports OARP. Click here for more info.

In an attempt to loosen the noose of air pollution and traffic congestion around the sprawling mega-opolis of Denver, Colorado state legislators are considering a proposal for a multi-billion dollar transportation plan that includes a new passenger rail line. As the metro region of Denver continues to grow, it has fallen into ‘non-attainment’ of the EPA’s air pollution standards – which means it faces stiff fines if it doesn’t address the biggest source – cars and trucks. Gaining traction is a 2003 study put out by the Colorado Department of Transportation which calls for a new $388 million passenger rail service between Denver and low-density exurbs along the US 34 corridor. A second phase calls for light rail from Denver to Boulder and Fort Collins. The proposal is gaining allies on both sides of the aisle in the state assembly. Then again, Amtrak’s funding threatens its future before it even leaves the station. Click here to read more.

In a raw and sensational style, the Plain Dealer in June launched a year-long special series called “Crude Awakening,” an investigation of Peak Oil (the point at which global oil supply peaks). The article reports that a number of scientists and even an oil market analyst or two predict that Peak Oil will occur in our lifetime. When that happens, it will make the oil crisis and the tripling of gas prices of the 1970s look like a walk in the park. Observers note that smart money is on alternative fuel development.

Bruce blog has engaged in a number of conversations with observers of Peak Oil, and we’re told that a frontrunner in ‘alternative’ fuels is liquefied coal. According to one observer, BP has the technology to liquefy coal at a cost of $43 per barrel (at this writing, oil closed at an all-time high of $61 per barrel). BP and other major energy companies have been unwilling to invest in the infrastructure to produce liquid coal until the Bush Administration admits that climate change is a result of human activity and cuts a deal on caps on the carbons we pump into the atmosphere. Until Bush sets the limit on carbon emissions – thus delineating how “clean” the liquid coal needs to be – big business will refuse to invest the hundreds of millions in new infrastructure. Will that happen this week in Scotland as Bush and the G8 Summit address, among other things, climate change?

In response to the limited selection of artists (80) appearing in the NEO Show opening this Sunday at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the NEO + ONE show features a group of emerging and established artists working in a variety of media. The artists selected for NEO + ONE are a sample of the new guard of Cleveland artist. (Two NEO artists and three NEO + One artists have been featured in Hotel Bruce’s Raw Materials section). Dates: July 9 - Sept. 3, 2005. Opening Reception this Saturday (July 9) from 6-10 pm. Location: Murray Hill Galleries, 2026 Murray Hill Rd., Room 103 Cleveland, OH (216-721-1722).

Speaking of Hotel Bruce’s Raw Materials section, in the latest issue Hotel Bruce visits with a group of fifth and sixth graders at Charles H. Lake Elementary School in Glenville (the focus area of the issue). The article is now posted. In it, we pair a photographer/videographer with an environmental outreach specialist to explore with students the wildlife and environment of their neighborhood. In addition to this interactive feature, Hotel Bruce presents an eerie and captivating photo feature on the stone bridges that span MLK Drive.

Tonight (July 7) at Mi Pueblo restaurant, 11611 Euclid Ave. in University Circle experience El Tocayito. Hosted by Pepe, the evening features regional Mexican cuisine including Cactus with mushrooms and “comida del campo,” special drink prices and the sounds of Noche Bohemia. For more info. or to RSVP, call 216.791.8226 or email

Sustainable campuses

On July 13 from 9-noon, the Natural History Museum hosts, “What does a sustainable campus look like?” How can higher education institutions measure themselves against that elusive ideal? This all-day workshop is designed to be both informative and interactive, with portions of the program alternating between presentations and small group exercises. Contact Linda Robson at 216-233-9560 for more info.

Taste of Tremont

Enjoy art, food, and entertainment at the 3rd annual Taste of Tremont on Sunday, July 17 from 1-8 p.m. Live music, area restaurants, shop for unique items all on a stroll of Professor Street in Tremont. Free. Call 216-575-0920

U.S. Senate has now begun consideration of the energy bill, and Senators John McCain (AZ) and Joe Lieberman (CT) may offer an amendment to the energy bill that includes massive government handouts for the nuclear power industry to build the first new nuclear reactor in the U.S. in 30 years as part of an amendment aimed at reducing global warming pollution. We can meet our future energy needs and reduce global warming pollution without increasing our reliance on nuclear energy, which is dangerous, expensive and creates more nuclear waste that we have no way to store safely or get rid of.

To contact your senators about a global warming amendment that includes subsidies for nuclear power, click here.