Elephants on Bicycles

On Thursday June 25, 2009 several bloggers (including myself) were invited to Sandbox Columbus to meet with Mayor Coleman to discuss the Issue 1 income tax increase.

I’m going to link up Walker Evans recording of this meeting because I think it is well worth the listen if you really want to hear exactly what is going on – you can listen here.

My feeling about this hasn’t changed but was strengthened after having this chance to sit down with the mayor. I think it is crucial that this tax increase be approved by the voters. The health of Columbus directly effects the health of all of Central Ohio.

At the end of the day Mayor Coleman made the point that all we’re trying to do is to maintain the (already marginalized) city services but if the people of Columbus would be ok with having even more services cut then that is their choice; one available to them at the polls.

Early voting starts July 6 (I think) and the polls will be open August 4. My hope is that you get out to the polls (or mail in your ballot) and vote YES on ISSUE 1.

Governor Proposes 50% Cut in Library Funding

On June 19, the Governor proposed an additional cut in the Public Library Fund (PLF) of $112.5 million in fiscal year 2010 and $114.8 million in 2011 as part of his “framework” to fill the $3.2 billion gap in the budget that must be balanced by Ohio General Assembly’s Conference Committee by June 30. This will mean a more than 50% cut in funding for many of Ohio’s public libraries.

With some 70% of the state’s 251 public libraries relying solely on the PLF to fund their operations, the reduction in funding will mean that many will close completely, close branches, or drastically cut hours and services. The Upper Arlington Public Library is one of about 30% of Ohio’s public libraries that have local property tax levies that supplement the state’s funding. However, with the Governor’s proposed drastic cuts in the PLF, we will face decisions regarding substantial reductions in hours of operation, materials, and staffing. The UAPL would lose approximately $1.4 million in state revenue annually.

You can help by immediately contacting the Governor and our state legislators. Tell them to keep library funding stable for the benefit of all Ohioans. The state budget must be approved by June 30th, so your support is urgent.

Click here to help and for contact information.

The summer has shaped up to being full of interesting projects; not the least of which is this week’s speaking engagement at The Ohio State University’s Knowlton School of Architecture conference “Communicative Cities”. I’m honored to be speaking with Lily Shirvanee (University of Cambridge – “The social viscosities study: Mapping social activities in public space”) and Andrew Taylor (Lincoln Street Studio – “Multiple commitments: Practicing diffuse ties as a mode of civic engagement”) from 3pm to 4:30pm on Friday, June 26, 2009.

For a quick reminder of what I’ll be talking about take a look at this post about Hyperlocal Strategies which is a basis for what I submitted. Since things are changing all the time the presentation will reflect the learning since I posted this submission.

If you’d like more information on the conference and/or would like to attend check out the registration info and schedule here. I hope to see you there!

Friday night was a great time seeing friends, making new friends and watching some great Ignite Columbus presentations. I don’t dare try and choose a favorite one from the evening but the top three were probably Dan’s Mechanical Turk, the DynamIT guy’s Infinity (wish he had 10 minutes for this one though) and the presentation about Kurdistan which was excellent. As you may remember I also presented about the Digitalocracy. Below is the video of all of the presentations (mine begins at about 2min 30sec) and below that is my Slideshare if you want to see the slides I used a little more easily.

I was honored to be a part of hosting one of the intial planning meetings for ID09. Several members of the Couchfire Collective who were key to organizing this great event last year gathered on Sunday, along with many new volunteers, to discuss plans for this year’s event. The wonderful folks (particularly Ryan) at the Wild Goose Creative provided meeting space and coffee so we could began the discussions about getting sponsors, getting volunteers and getting talent out at this September event once again this year. If you’d like to give your two cents, or better yet give some blood, sweat and tears then please start by getting in touch with the Couchfire Collective here.

Airs on Thursday 6/11/09 on WOSU or listen to audio here.

WOSU Commentary by Andrew Miller

Our families and communities are facing greater challenges than we have seen in several generations. When faced with such challenges I find some comfort by looking to our history, for the ideas of our fore fathers.

Consider these wise words written by Walt Whitman about the Civil War.

In his poem States! Whitman wrote; “States! Were you looking to be held together by the lawyers? By an agreement on a paper? Or by arms? Away! I arrive, bringing these, beyond all the forces of courts and arms. These! To hold you together as firmly as the earth itself is held together…”

As you read the full text of Whitman’s poem he doesn’t talk about financial windfalls or victory through the defeat of others. Whitman instead defines the word “These” as friendship, camaraderie, innovation and countless linked hands. “These shall tie and band stronger than hoops of iron, I, ecstatic, O partners! O lands! Henceforth with the love of lovers tie you.”

These are the bonds of community created by our souls.

The current recession has reminded many of us that it is not the agreements on paper that have built the greatest parts of our society; these institutions have been built through the use of collective resources and public funds.

Libraries, schools, community centers and green spaces; food pantries, shelters and free clinics; fire, police and public works departments – these are the institutions that bring us together. They require that you participate in the social exchange which in turn creates community.

Like a potluck, or the story of stone soup, we each contribute one small piece of the recipe to build something much greater than our individual effort could afford. Unfortunately, the common response as of late has been that we are turning our backs on “liberty” – becoming “socialists” by joining such collective efforts.

Whitman answers this in his poem by stating, “The most dauntless and rude shall touch face to face lightly, the dependence of Liberty shall be lovers, the continuance of Equality shall be comrades.”

When we remind ourselves of the history of our nation it is evident that no singular important event happened based on pure individualism, but on a community of individuals working together for the greater good. Standing united, in solidarity, for the sake of community; for the sake of love and compassion. This was the birth of our nation.

My hope is that we listen to those wise words that Walt Whitman put forward; when individuals and community organizations reach out we must meet them with open arms.

In these trying times we must again hold together as firmly as the earth itself.

This is what Nationwide Arena and the surrounding Arena district can look like on an event night; alive and vital. The arena has helped to turn a blighted part of downtown into an economic powerhouse and boon to surrounding areas. The Short North may have come back on its own but the Arena District has magnified even the Short North’s success.

Tonite I, along with a few other bloggers, were invited to have a talk with Columbus Blue Jacket Senior VP Greg Kirstein and PR VP Todd Sharrock about the struggles facing both the team and the district in light of the apparently failed attempt to use a sin tax to support the arena itself.

I wasn’t surprised to find out that private arenas are nearly non-existant in the US for NHL and NBA teams – for that matter there are almost no top ranking professional sports teams playing in stadiums, parks, arenas etc. that are privately owned. Here in town we have Crew Stadium which I believe is subsidized, the new Hunington Park which is a Public/Private partnership and Nationwide Arena which up until now is Privately owned but must somehow be subsidized as well. According to Greg Kirstein, even selling out the arena all next season (that’s every game and scheduled event) the arena would still lose money.

This fact makes many people jump to the conclusion that if a business can’t support its space then the business shouldn’t exist. I think this pure market ideal is severely misguided and I hope that the community of Franklin County sees this as well.

The arena district as a whole, due to the anchor building – Nationwide Arena – generates thousands of jobs and millions of dollars that otherwise wouldn’t exist. In this instance we must look at the Blue Jackets and other events at the Arena as catalyst businesses which should be allowed to succeed on thier own without the burdon of property management, per se. The arena must be looked at as a vessel for a neighborhood and as such we should all be willing to invest in that neighborhood; to invest in our community.

If you still aren’t getting it then think of it this way. How many businesses would be able to do the work they do if they had to pay to build all of their own personal roads instead of sharing the cost and privelege of use with the larger community? In fact you could reference the recent announcement of 1500 new jobs at Chase that Columbus secured through a set of tax breaks and other enticements.

In this economy we especially need to look for opportunities to make public/private collaborations to maintain (or gain) employement opportunities and community opportunities.

There’s no answer as to how this will be reworked but the financial bleeding must be stopped. I’d recommend contacting the County Commissioners as well as the City of Columbus Mayor’s Office and City Council if you’d like to see an answer brought forward.

I snapped this photo on my way out and I would hate to think this could be the fate of Nationwide Arena on a day-in day-out basis. What about you???