12

The Fraze Freeze out

by David Esrati on March 10, 2010

in guide to living in Dayton

The economy is bad. Unemployment in Dayton is high. Want to treat the family to something special for next to nothing? The answer used to be to go sit outside the Fraze Pavilion and listen to the show.

Well no more:

People who like to listen to Fraze Pavilion concerts without paying to get in are the targets of a new plan to end the practice.

The city and some private property owners near the Fraze, 695 Lincoln Park Blvd., want to prohibit trespassing in areas along Lincoln Park Boulevard between Isaac Prugh Way and Commons Way. The boulevard splits at Isaac Prugh Way and Commons Way and surrounds the concert venue.

“Private property is not going to be available,” Mary Beth Thaman, Kettering’s director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department, told Kettering City Council members during their Tuesday, March 9, work session.

The city plans to add no trespassing signs in these private property areas and increase police patrol when necessary, City Manager Mark Schwieterman said. The city also wants to make sure the sidewalks near these private properties are opened up for traveling pedestrians.

via Tailgating at Fraze coming to an end.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Fraze, it’s an outdoor concert venue in the middle of a beautiful boulevard. It seats 4,300 and has free shows as well as huge national acts. Sheryl Crowe did her live DVD there a few years back- it’s a nice joint. Personally, I prefer the lawn seating to the front row- or the bleachers in the back, but, for some- the best seats are along the sides of the boulevard stage left or right.

It’s these areas that the City is now going to turn into a no-fan zone. You won’t even be able to park your pickup and sit in the back from the way it sounds. Ah, America- home of the free- only sometimes.

The area to the rear- where the gates are, used to be a good spot too- but, over the years, they have moved the ropes further and further out- to push you nearer to the fountains- that run during shows and create “white noise” to sort of kill the sound. They also close off the access to the public restrooms to anyone other than ticket holders- all of this helping create the problems that they now want to solve with draconian measures.

It was 9 a.m. when Greg showed up- wanting to tape today’s edition of the Dayton Grassroots Daily Show on this very topic. (We can’t upload video till everyone leaves the office- since it eats bandwidth.)

I understand the qualms of the private property owners, however, there may be room for compromise. After all, the taxpayers did fund this beautiful facility- and their ability to benefit from it should be maximized even if they can’t afford a ticket.

We’re open to suggestions for solutions.

Enjoy:

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5

Bad ad or cheap PR

by David Esrati on March 10, 2010

in Random thoughts

Is this a chapter from the Duke’s/Dominic’s court battle, or just bad advertising? It seems the Connor Group wants to find tenants, and thinks the happy hour crowd is its target market:

The craigslist advertisement offered “a great bachelor pad for any single man looking to hook up.”

But where some might see a clever slogan, the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center saw discrimination, and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission agreed.

The center filed a federal discrimination lawsuit Friday, March 5, against The Connor Group, owner and manager of about 1,900 apartment units in the greater Dayton area.

Connor’s local properties include Stonebridge Apartment Homes in Beavercreek and Chesapeake Landing Apartments in Dayton.

The lawsuit seeks more than $25,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and a mandate that Connor Group employees receive fair housing law training. The center also wants to monitor Connor for compliance with federal and state laws for the next three years.

Officials with The Connor Group did not return a call for comment.

via Apartment ad campaign under fire for discrimination.

Of course, as one DDN commentor [UPDATE: 11:20 am The DDN removed all comments and closed comments] pointed out- how is this any different than places that advertise senior 55+ communities? There are other places that have reputations- including the Cannery Downtown which has a nickname that I won’t repeat.

Considering an ad campaign in the DDN, coverage by TV news- etc. costs more than an ad campaign, the $25K fine is chump change and probably will increase the level of awareness by their target market.

No one would have gone to Dukes based on the reputation of the original Duke’s Golden Ox- but, the knowledge that they had Dominic’s former chef sure helped business.

Considering advertising media is even more fragmented and ignored- PR stunts like this may be more common in the future- and definitely offer more bang for you buck. I know one thing is for sure- hiring an ad agency to do real marketing would cost more, but if the Connor Group is interested- I think I know one.

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32

Is that a gun on your belt, or are you just happy to see me?

by David Esrati on March 9, 2010

in hot button issues

While Ohio just recently made it legal to carry a concealed weapon with permit, what many people don’t realize is that if you just strap it on in the open- it’s legal. Do you feel safer already?

And although I know a few people who have a CCW permit, and have been around my share of cops who pack off duty, I’ve not seen anyone carry a sidearm unless they worked in a gun shop.

Those days may be ending.

In recent months, the “open-carry” arm of the gun-rights movement, which advocates that gun owners carry visible weapons as they go about their daily business, have been exercising their rights. They’ve been proudly displaying their sidearms in public places, sometimes meeting up in groups.

via The Associated Press: Politics and retail a no-win mix.

We’ve always had people who are staunch supporters of the 2nd Amendment, and some states have always been more gun friendly, but this recent movement to “normalize” the carrying of firearms is a step in a direction I’m not sure I’m comfortable with. That doesn’t mean I don’t think people should be able to own guns, I just think the idea of having one on you at all times is a recipe for disaster. When guns are more accessible- more people get shot (one of the reasons we have more people dying by getting shot in this country every year than any other industrialized nation- and I should take some time to dig up a source- but, it’s not that important to make this point).

Although I’m perfectly comfortable around guns, when with people who are trained and responsible, I’m not sure that everyone walking around with a pistol has society’s best interests at heart. We’ve already got a ridiculous number of people in prisons- do I really want every Tom, Dick and Dirty Harry playing judge, jury and firing squad if they think a crime is being committed?

In today’s Dayton Grassroots Daily Show, Greg Hunter and I (both gun owners) discuss our feelings about this hot-button issue.

If anyone knows what the open carry rules are in Dayton, Ohio, I’d appreciate it if you post in comments. We’d also like to hear from members of the Dayton law enforcement community what their views are on open carry. Does it make your job easier, safer or more dangerous?

Got something to say?                 Have you read the Esrati plan for Dayton?
9

Are unions still viable?

by David Esrati on March 8, 2010

in America in Crisis, Esrati on the Economy, The Economic Divide

An interesting thread started in the comments of the post asking if Congressmen should recuse themselves from votes where there is campaign cash involved- and it came down to business vs. union.

Jeffrey of Louisville (former publisher of the much missed Daytonology blog) contributed this comment after we’d already taped today’s Dayton Grassroots Daily Show- on the very topic. Greg and I aren’t near as well informed on the history of Dayton’s union movement:

The Dayton business community had a very successful history in crushing unions. In the 1890s about 40% to 50% of the workforce was unionized. The business community was able to organized and destroy these unions, rendering the city mostly union-free by 1910 or so (the industrial sector). Then the streetcar union was busted (but not without some violence, riots on West Third Street at the carbarns). So the city was virtually union-free. The only problem is the workers started voting for socialists. This was busted via municipal reform government.

It took the CIO organizing drives in the 1930s to bring unions back to Dayton. This only worked because of two things…the CIO union active here, the UE, used disciplined and committed CPUSA cadre to organize, and there was a big influx of briars from the coalfields of Appalachia, who were favorably disposed to unions due the UMWA and John L Lewis. It was this Appalachian workforce that signed those cards and brought the unions back to Dayton.

That era is over now, the private sector union has had its day. The unions that need to be busted today are the public employee unions, which includes the FOP as well as the NEA and AFCSME. People don’t want to touch the cops and firefighters but public safety payrolls and pensions are the big line items in local government budgets.

via Congressman, recuse thyself? NEVER..

The reality is that some of the benefits that unions expect like pensions require the business to continue and grow- just like the base for Social Security- or the funding system breaks. When the car manufacturers reduced skilled labor due to automation, or sending jobs offshore- the backs of the existing labor force were made to carry a heavier load to support the pensions promised.

Also, pension plans are hugely tied to the Wall Street Casino- which means the crash also wrecked a lot of pensions.

As Jeffery points out, the public employee unions are creating an even greater drag on the system- since they are backed by the government, not by companies that actually have to make money. Who ends up paying the price? All of us, as our debt responsibility to these pensions grows, it creates an even greater tax burden, which in turn, drives more jobs overseas.

There are huge arguments in Europe going on about their retirement plans: Germany raised its retirement age by 2 years to 67, while being asked to bail out Greece which still has 60 as the checkout age. As life expectancy gets older, the costs continue to rise.

The old model is breaking- and the unions don’t have answers either. With the adversarial model of unions vs. management, no one seems to be winning. One thing is for sure, the only guaranteed retirement plans these days belong to government workers and the CEOs of the Wall Street Casino ilk.

The rest of us- well, try to get a government job?

Here’s our show for the day- watch at your own risk.

Note- these shows aren’t pre-scripted or discussed before we start. We pick a topic and go. Sometimes we’re just bouncing ideas as they come- and are here for you to share in the discussion. We value your input, and hope that you find something stimulating in the discussion.

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8

The real costs of our local government

by David Esrati on March 7, 2010

in Dayton Regionalism, Montgomery County Ohio Issues, The Dayton Daily News isn't your friend

Regular readers will know this subject is nothing new- we’ve got too many chiefs for a shrinking number of Indians. Not only that, but the Indians aren’t getting enough work since paying for all those chiefs costs business a bit more than it does in other states. But, it’s not just a matter of too many chiefs, it’s a question of are any of them any good?

If they want to keep trying to work with the system we have, the answer is simple: Nope, none of them are worth even the time it would take to think about recalling them (another issue in Ohio is it is almost impossible to depose anyone- no matter how incompetent). Of course, no one listens to local logic- nope, we have to wait for some out of town consulting firm or thinktank to tell us the obvious (in this case it’s the Brookings Institute):

School districts are not the only thing Ohio has in spades. It also has some 3,800 local government units, including 250 cities, 695 villages and 1,308 townships. The result is that “total local government payroll in Ohio is 10 percent above the national average and 17.5 percent above the peer state average,” according to Brookings.

None of this government is free, which leads to another finding: Ohio residents have the ninth-highest local tax burden in the country, compared with the 34th highest for state taxes. To know that fact is to understand that concentrating all the political fights about taxes in Columbus — as if state taxes alone define our competitiveness — is missing a big cost of doing business and living in Ohio.

via Editorial: Ohio’s rebound depends on cities | A Matter of Opinion.

But then again, even with reducing the numbers of fiefdoms, we’d still have to have someone to run the show. In Montgomery County, that job falls to Deborah “Teflon” Feldman, our County Administrator. She’s the “CEO” of the County- one that’s been hemorrhaging jobs and property value over the last 15 years. Of course, no one wants to blame Deborah, because she’s so good at what she does- mainly, keep the County Government out of the limelight and letting the city of Dayton sink or swim on its own. Not her problem- and not one she wants to take on. Of course, the problems she faces seem to get to be someone else’s fault every time- the buck never stops with her. Read what the DDN editorial written by her friend Ellen Belcher says:

Lesser embarrassments have cost people their jobs. But no one in high places is pointing a finger at Deborah Feldman, Montgomery County administrator. In fact, quite the opposite, they defend her fiercely and say they’re heartsick that she’s had to do most of the explaining publicly for the SCLC debacle.

The support for her stems from history, relationships and capital built up over almost 30 years.

via Ellen Belcher: County’s Feldman will weather SCLC storm | A Matter of Opinion.

Of late, even though we seem to have a bi-monthly scandal, no one wants to look at the top. The SCLC getting handed Federal funds without follow up, the Sheriff and his sister, the 911 dispatch system, the attempt to sneak in a vote to raise the hotel/motel tax to pay for a hockey arena at Austin Road, the big donation to the Dayton Development Coalition so that it could hire Congressman Turner’s wife on a no-bid contract- nothing seems to stick to her or her very slick aide de camp, County Economic Development Director Joe Tuss. No one is asking the hard questions about how this brilliant ED/GE fund is working at turning our community around. Nope, none of it is her fault, although she’s the second highest paid public employee in the County (after Dr. Stephen Johnson at Sinclair).

I’d still like to see an investigation into how the City of Dayton bought the old Sears building downtown from an investment group including Feldman’s husband and father in law at an enormous premium to put up the Riverscape fountains (and btw- how did that work out for us?).

The Dayton Grassroots Daily Show discusses both of these editorials and hopes that after reading and watching this- you have questions of your own.

Enjoy:

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0

Want to sell to D.O.D.?

by David Esrati on March 7, 2010

in Economic Development in Dayton OH

As some of you know, I’m the owner of a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business (those of you who are smart- realize that makes me an SDV). The Federal government has a law on the books from 2004 that is pretty much ignored- that 3% of all Federal spending should attempt to be sourced from SDVOBs. Considering that the wars in the gulf are creating quite a few Service Disabled Vets- it would be nice if Boeing, BAE, General Dynamics, Halliburton and others- actually did a better job of trying to subcontract their requirements.

A few of us former paratroopers began a group for Veteran Owned Businesses- called VOB108- about four years ago. We’re still learning our ropes when it comes to getting government contracts, but we do host what we call “Teaming meetings” once a month- where we have speakers come in and talk about how to improve your odds of landing a government contract. Here is the info on this Thursday’s FREE meeting:

VOB108.org feature speaker for the 11-Mar 2010 meeting will be Mr. Carl D. Hayden, Academic Dean for the Defense Acquisition University DAU, Midwest Region. Dean Hayden’s presentation will explain the mission and purpose of DAU. He will also speak about Federal Procurement Certification, along with what procurement classes and instructions are available through DAU. DAU offers not only formal classroom instruction, but Internet instruction as well. All of which are available to government employees and government contractors throughout the Region.

via Defense Acquisition University teaches Vet owned biz how to sell to the DOD — VOB108.

The meeting is from noon to 2, it’s free, but an RSVP is required. Please click on the link to find out more- including location.

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6

Let’s be original: the “Creative Class” reset

by David Esrati on March 6, 2010

in Dayton's future, Dayton's low self-esteem, Economic Development in Dayton OH

It seems we’ve been snookered.

Richard Florida of “The Rise of the Creative Class” fame, is now back-pedaling hard on his theory that places could be saved by being more tolerant (coupled with technology and talent). Just focus on the gay geeks and all your troubles will go away was his tune, and DaytonCreate was born, money invested and the process begun.

It’s time to ask for a refund.

Now Richard says places like Austin and Boulder will make it- and places like Dayton won’t. Here are some excerpts from an excellent article from “The American Prospect”

All along, his detractors have been chipping away. Geographer Jamie Peck penned the most exhaustive broadside, Struggling with the Creative Class, in 2005. Conservatives have questioned Florida’s elevation of gay-friendliness as an economic driver and noted that, by some measures, yuppie idylls like San Francisco and Boston have lagged behind unhip, low-tax bastions like Houston and Charlotte, North Carolina. Liberal critics have noted that his creative hubs suffer high inequality, and argued that other cities should develop their own human capital — including that of the low-income minorities who have little place in Florida’s universe — instead of chasing a finite number of laptop professionals.

In a standard version of this critique, Amy Liu of the Brookings Institution — with which Florida was once affiliated — praises him for debunking “smoke-stack chasing” as economic development but says he has replaced that with another flawed “attraction” strategy. “The problem is that he omits a whole group of cities and parts of the country that would never be magnets for talent,” she says. “Most of the places that really need economic development are cities that must grow skills and talent from within.”

…it’s another thing for Florida now to be declaring, from his high-profile perch, that many of these same cities are not part of the country’s strategy for future growth simply because their prospects as creative magnets are too daunting….

“It’s funny that the roots [of his argument] were in Pittsburgh — which is now lauded as the only [city] that believed in itself enough to reinvent itself.”

via The Ruse of the Creative Class | The American Prospect.

The idea of an economy based purely on knowledge workers is only relevant if you have a population of people capable of being knowledge workers. This is the part that Florida ignored. What do you do with the elevator attendants in the information age?

And here is the key: The idea of luring business by marketing or with incentives is absolute bunk. Advertising that Dayton is a great place to live and work- doesn’t work unless people believe it. The idea of buying business with incentives is also pointless- since other places have bigger checkbooks- just ask NCR. Until Dayton starts to believe in itself- there will be no reinvention- and the way that happens is from within. We need to attack our own problems of too many fiefdoms, and refocus on delivering first-class living experiences. If you need an example- I point to Kettering with good schools and great athletic and arts programs for its residents. I point to the works of Five Rivers Metroparks and their bike paths, parks and programs.

If you want this city of your dreams- it’s time to start making the best use of what we have here. Richard Florida was never the answer.

Here’s our Dayton Grassroots Daily Show with the “told you so” edition

Enjoy:

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2

Bad when Georgia does it: Good when Montgomery County does?

by David Esrati on March 3, 2010

in Dayton Regionalism, Economic Development in Dayton OH, End corporate welfare

We had no problem crying foul when the State of Georgia “stole” NCR world HQ from Dayton. Those dirty rotten bastards used $100,000,000 in tax incentives to buy our jobs out from under us. Bad, evil people in Georgia.

So, what’s the difference when Montgomery County decides to give tax dollars to local company Motoman to move their business from West Carrollton and Troy to Austin Road interchange- not a damn thing.

If you were Troy or West Carrollton- you should be pissed off.  West Carrollton is losing one of its largest employers – about 6% of its annual revenue. What did they do to deserve that screwing?

And, the people of Montgomery County? What do they get? Other than the bill? Montgomery County doesn’t collect income taxes- just property taxes. Sure they steal a few jobs from Miami County- but, the damage they are doing to West Carrollton? Then the poor taxpayers in Montgomery County are forced  to help move these “entrepreneuring” corporate banditos- who are robbing from the poor to “keep their business here.”

It seems to me, we lose both ways if we play this way.

Here’s the story from the Dayton Business Journal, which hasn’t met a tax break it did not like:

Robot maker Motoman Inc. plans to stay in the Dayton region, but will leave its West Carrollton headquarters and two other sites in Troy.

Tom Schockman, vice president of finance and chief financial officer for Motoman, said Tuesday the company had whittled potential new locations down to a site in southern Montgomery County or northern Warren County. Both locations are near the pending Austin Road interchange off Interstate 75. Financing and incentives need to be finalized before a decision is announced.

“We’re hopeful that within a month or so we’ll have all that done,” Schockman said.

A new Motoman facility is expected to be about 300,000 square feet and cost $17 million to $18 million. It will consolidate as many as 275 workers into the new site, including about 75 in Troy and 200 in West Carrollton.

Schockman declined to name the builder.

The move will be a blow to West Carrollton since Motoman is one of the city’s largest employers.

Bill Covell, director of economic development for West Carrollton, said the city will lose about six percent of its revenue, or about $300,000 annually. The reality is that it may take as much as two years before the company vacates the West Carrollton site, Covell said, making it tough to fill right now.

He said the city has been working with one company to lure new jobs, and is a finalist, but wouldn’t disclose any more detail.

More than a year ago, Motoman said it was evaluating its three local facilities — the West Carrollton headquarters and two facilities in Troy — because the leases expire in 2010.

via Motoman to move headquarters – Dayton Business Journal:.

My question is what kind of performance bond is the company going to put up to guarantee the jobs, payroll and investment? What will the County do to make West Carrollton whole? And, where is the cost/benefit analysis for the county that demonstrates that this is a net gain for the taxpayers and the county- not just the developers, land owners and Motoman.

We should also see full disclosure on who the property owners are, the construction companies and investors before the tax breaks get approved to make sure there aren’t conflicts of interest.

It’s really time to place a ban on this kind of “investment” by taxpayers nationwide- but, our legislators are too used to getting huge campaign contributions from the beneficiaries of these kinds of deals.

What happened to value for the taxpayer?

Here’s today’s Dayton Grassroots Daily Show on the subject:

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15

30 days is a joke: Unemployment benefits aren’t the answer

by David Esrati on March 3, 2010

in America in Crisis, Change the world, Our Broken political system

How many Senators does it take to screw in a lightbulb? First you have to teach them that the power is out and changing the light bulb won’t make a difference.

We have an epidemic problem- band-aids aren’t doing anything to stop the spread of the virus.

That one Senator was able to hold this up- while no real solutions are being offered is a sign of the total and complete break down in Washington:

The Senate ended a politically charged impasse over unemployment pay on Tuesday night, voting to allow jobless Americans in danger of exhausting their benefits another month of aid.

The bipartisan 78 to 19 vote in favor of the extended compensation came after Senator Jim Bunning, Republican of Kentucky, dropped his objection to extending unemployment compensation in exchange for a largely symbolic vote on paying for the aid.

via Senate Ends Impasse Over Extending Jobless Benefits – NYTimes.com.

How about a total suspension of trading on Wall Street until unemployment drops to 7% Extend it to a halt to all foreclosure proceedings, an instant cap on interest rate hikes on consumer credit for missed or late payments, and an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and cessation of “nation building” activities overseas until we’ve built our own country back?

Now is the light bulb flickering?
And before you say it can’t be done, remember that in war time- anything is possible. We had rationing in WWII. Trading stopped after 9/11 Life can go on, but we can’t with this aimless leadership.

It’s time to put Americans back to work and pay them well. It’s what a great nation does. A third world country lets its people slip into poverty and despair.

Where is our leader?

Got something to say?                 Have you read the Esrati plan for Dayton?
3

Military insubordination? First signs of a coup? Or are we getting smarter?

by David Esrati on March 2, 2010

in America in Crisis, Government in general

When General MacArthur made political statements, he lost his job.

Times have changed:

The military will have to do its part when Washington makes decisions on how to reduce the nation’s growing budget deficits, the commander of the Air Force Materiel Command said Monday, March 1.

“At some point, we’re going to have to start addressing debt. We’re on an unsustainable path as a country,” Gen. Donald Hoffman told the Dayton Rotary Club during a speech at Sinclair Community College. “As the military, we’re part of that.

“Right now, we’re at war. The funding is there to support the war.”

If the war on terrorism should abate, the military would have to closely examine its spending priorities to reduce operating costs wherever possible, said Hoffman, a four-star general who oversees the AFMC, its acquisition, sustainment and research and development missions and its $52.5 billion annual budget and 79,000 employees. The 10-base command has headquarters at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

via Military will have to help reduce nation’s budget deficits, general says.

With the recent statements from the generals about gays in uniform- and the knee jerk reaction from John Boehner, are we seeing a move to an activist military? This is a totally new landscape and we made it the main subject of today’s Dayton Grassroots Daily Show- with a bit about Thorium reactors as well.

And, I don’t know what Greg was on today- but, I think we all need some of it.

Got something to say?                 Have you read the Esrati plan for Dayton?

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