Stadiums: Not So Good.

Ever driven down 71 through Cincinnati and noticed the side-by-side stadiums? Well it'd be hard not to, but with the promise of money for the schools and increased property values--at the expense of aesthetics--it was a hard bargain for tax-payers to pass up. Problem is, the benefits have not only been undelivered...they're actually making it worse!

CINCINNATI — Years after a wave of construction brought publicly financed stadiums costing billions of dollars to cities across the country, taxpayers are once again being asked to reach into their pockets.

From New Jersey to Ohio to Arizona, the stadiums were sold as a key to redevelopment and as the only way to retain sports franchises. But the deals that were used to persuade taxpayers to finance their construction have in many cases backfired, the result of overly optimistic revenue assumptions and the recession.

Nowhere is the problem more acute than in Cincinnati. In 1996, voters in Hamilton County approved an increase of half of one percent in the sales tax that promised to build and maintain stadiums for the Bengals and the Reds, pay Cincinnati’s public schools and give homeowners an annual property tax rebate. The stadiums were supposed to spur development of the city’s dilapidated riverfront.

But sales tax receipts have fallen so fast in the last year that the county is now scrambling to bridge a $14 million deficit in its sales tax fund. The public schools, which deferred taking their share for years, want their money.

The teams have not volunteered to rewrite their leases. So in the coming weeks, the county plans to cut basic services, lower its legal bills and drain a bond reserve fund with no plan for paying it back.

“Anyone looking at this objectively knows it’s a train wreck,” said Dusty Rhodes, the county auditor. “I told them they were making a big mistake, but they didn’t want to hear me.”

I have mixed feelings about stadiums. While they do encourage city pride and really elevate a city into a national scene, they come with an enormous price tag. They do spur economic activity, but often without prolonged sustainable business opportunities And it's pretty hard to argue that they are somehow environmentally friendly...regardless, this should just be a lesson to not roll with campaign promises and vote out of desperation.

Overheard in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis, Nicollet Ave

Obama campaign volunteer getting out the vote: Sir! Have you voted today?
Drunk incoherent man on the street at 5pm (slurred): I ain’t even had sex in 10 months!

(Via Overheard in Minneapolis)

In The News.

Hey, so I heard there's some kind of pageant today?

Free Coffee!

Starbucks will give you a free cup of coffee if you vote tomorrow. Sweet!



Does it apply to early voting? I sure hope so... :-/

The Reasons to Vote Early in Ohio.

I received a great e-mail and thought I'd share it with you. I'm going tomorrow to vote early because of it!

I encourage EVERYONE in Ohio to vote early. And here's why:

1. If you vote early, you save the campaign valuable time and money, because they no longer have to spend their resources targeting you and making sure that you get to the polls. It costs a lot of money to run the phone banks, mail literature, and drive canvassers out to your place.

2. Instead of wasting their efforts on a staunch supporter, they will be able to target and contact new and undecided voters. And their lists of election day GOTV targets will be whittled down, making them easier to read & follow for the hundreds of election day volunteers and staffers.

3. It gets even better if you persuade someone else to vote early. That's another person not in line on Nov 4. Not only do you bank their vote, you stop the campaign from inadvertently annoying them with calls and canvassing (of which too much of can be a turn-off). It IS possible to annoy your supporters with too much contact.

4. You'll do a great service to the brilliant number-crunchers at HQ, because they'll gradually get a better picture of how things are shaping up, which precincts to target, and how to move votes. Their models are definitely going to appreciate the numbers you give them.

5. And best of all, you'll reduce the odds of GOP operatives 'challenging' you at the polls or forcing you to stand in artificially long lines on election night. By voting early, you REDUCE the possibility of election fraud by the GOP.

Come on, Ohio!!!...do you realize what an advantage we have, that other critical states like Michigan can only dream of? Please don't waste it. It's not enough to just early/absentee vote yourself, REACH OUT to help others early vote.

COLUMBUS Vote Early location-

Franklin County Vets Memorial
300 West Broad St in downtown Columbus
FREE PARKING back of bldg.
Mon--Fri 8 AM--7 PM
Sat: 8 AM---5 PM
Sun: 1 PM--5 PM

Find other counties' early-voting location/hours -- www.voteforchange.com