Remembering Bus 17

My family moved in the middle of the school year in 1976. Though we only moved a block, it moved us from one school district's busing to another.

And that meant a new bus. That bus was Bus 17.

When I first rode it, I think it was the oldest bus I'd ever seen and the oldest driver too.

The driver was a stereotypical bus driver. Though I can't remember his name, his stubborn streak was unforgettable.

If you were late to the stop, even if he saw you running to it, he'd keep going. More than a few of us can remember looking through the windows in the folding door up at him. He'd ignore us and keep accelerating.

Fortunately for those of us who lived at the far end of the city limits and the subdivision, we had the last laugh. Miss the bus at our house and all you had to do was run through the backyards and catch up with the bus at the Wachtels' house. Worked every time.

Then there was the "Bus 17 Bruiser." I don't remember her real name either, but her stubborn streak was unforgettable. She was ready to fight everyone, no matter how big.

There were plenty of stories.

We all had to laugh at the first graders that were sent home by the teacher with tape on their mouth and who obeyed her enough to wear it all the way home.

I have vague memories of people getting kicked off the bus for smoking (one person rolled up wisk broom pieces) and fighting (I was three seats back from a knife fight in fifth grade). I and my ears somehow escaped the ear-flicking thing and bic pen spit wad shooting.

Wish we had video cameras on cell phones back then. Then I might remember more of these things.

If Bigfoot Were Found. . .

The 52,500 references on YouTube wouldn't be worth watching.

The past documentaries and books, numbering into the hundreds, maybe thousands, would be instantly worthless.

Think about it.  If Bigfoot were suddenly found, the hunt would be over.  The mystery would be gone.

It's the same way for Jimmy Hoffa's body. The sensation would end if someone found it.

That's my thinking on a dig that our Port Authority is doing. 

I won't stir things up too much telling you what we are looking for when we dig.  However, we are over 1,600 days in talks with federal regulators burdened with hunting for something that is immobile, buried underground, and hypothesized to be over 300,000 feet long but is more elusive than Bigfoot and Hoffa combined.

That's all I'll say about that.

I'm just hoping we'd find it.  Then, we'd be done.

Holding The State Fair Outside of Columbus?

The Ohio State Fair opens its 157th year this week, but it wasn't always held in Columbus.  Indeed, Wikipedia tells us that at least 13 different places have hosted the Ohio State Fair.  Even Licking County hosted the state fair.

Wouldn't someone have a butter cow, though, if the state fair was proposed to be moved outside of Columbus?
 
No one would even think of moving the state fair now.
 
However, after 20 years of Stark County hosting the state high school football championships, a push by Columbus and Ohio State resulted in a political, proverbial punt.  Now, Columbus will host the championships for two of the next four years, maybe longer.

Though I now live closer to Columbus than I do to my hometown Massillon, I think someone should have a cow about that Ohio High School Athletic Association's decision.

Ohio Stadium and its 100,000 seats will host games with cities' teams playing where the combined two cities don't have 100,000 population.  There will be more empty seats covered by tarps than seats covered by people.

I know because I attended a state Division I title game in Ohio Stadium in the early 1980's.  It was cavernous.

The 20,000-seat stadiums at Massillon and Canton are just ideal in size.  Plus, the volunteers in these cities serve to make the games family-friendly and the competitive atmosphere fun. 

A generation of players knows getting to Massillon or Canton as their ultimate goal every year.  The 20-year history was worth preserving.

Moving the games should have been thought of like moving the state fair.  Wish it was.

Perfect Attendance in Rotary

The Procedures and Customs of the Newark (Ohio) Rotary Club reads:  "A Rotarian's interest in their Club, and the Club's value to them and their value to the Club, are in direct proportion to their contact with their fellow Rotarians at Club meetings."

Attendance is important to Rotarians.

My grandfather had 50 years of perfect attendance in Rotary.

His badge of honor was, often, my curse. When I joined the same Club as him in 1995, his attendance record put a big spotlight on my lack of attendance record. 

In celebration of the start of a new Rotary year, the Newark Rotary Club recently saw 37 members recognized for a year or more of perfect attendance.  Impressive.

Even more impressive is the top list of those with years of continuous perfect attendance.

John Weaver, 57 years
T.D. Griley, 52 years
Don Gunnerson, 45 years
Ray Wilson, 44 years
Rick Battat, 40 years
Glenn Abel, 39 years

Even I made the list of having one year of perfect attendance this year.  My grandfather would be proud.

A Year on Facebook

The Port Authority, unceremoniously, hit the one-year mark on Facebook.  See  http://www.facebook.com/OhioPortAuthority where 270+ fans have been seeing almost-daily updates since the first one on July 20, 2009.

Facebook has over 500 million active monthly users and the Port Authority manages to peal away the tiniest of a fraction of them.  However, our 270+ active users are a quality audience.

We count leadership of our customers, members of Congress, and news media contacts among our followers.  Our first executive director, Wally Horton, is there too.

Amazingly, and I don't beg for more of this, we've only had one back-and-forth encounter of a negative nature and, with that one, it was better to see what was being said than never know it was being said and have no way to respond.

No question.

The Facebook decision was a good one.  Year Two sees more of the same.

Sheeps Feet or Sheepsfoot?

One of these is hard at work on our construction project.  It's a sheepsfoot roller designed to compact the soil in preparation for a building pad.

The roller has knob-headed spikes on the drum that work to compact the earth.

It was only this past weekend when I learned at least one origin of the term.

During construction of the Ohio-Erie Canal where soils were sandy and the sides of the canal couldn't be sustained, the workers brought in clay.  The clay-sand mix wouldn't compact so they deployed sheep to walk up and down the side walls of the canal.  The sheeps feet would compact the clay, allowing the walls to hold their place and the canal to retain water.

Ironically, the sheepsfoot roller is at work today on the Horton Building.  Just a few thousand feet away was the Licking Summit where ground was broken for the Ohio & Erie Canal on July 4, 1825.

Ohio & Erie Canal Still Flows

My youngest kids have now ridden a canal boat three times in their short lives.

That's a phrase that any parent could have written in Ohio in the past 180+ years, but we shouldn't take it for granted.

From the groundbreaking in Licking County in 1825 and the first traffic flowing in 1828 to the revival of excursion-like boat trips in Canal Fulton and Coshocton that still operate today, the Ohio & Erie Canal has continued to flow for a long time.

Here's hoping it continues and the Ohio & Erie canal keeps flowing knowledge even though it no longer flows freight.

Understanding the development of Ohio and transportation's importance to it, is an important economic development lesson every person in Ohio should learn and understand.  Nothing like riding a canal boat to more deeply understand it.

Inflation

Doing a NewspaperARCHIVE.com search the other day, I encountered a story from July 1965 where my Dad's first job out of college made the news.  His monthly gross salary was included in the article--$525. 

He was paid just $6,300 a year?  Yikes.

Today, that monthly amount wouldn't pay for any one of my mortgage, three kids' Catholic school tuition, or car monthly payments.

I guess that's what 45 years of inflation does.

The Jello-O Economy II

"The economy feels kind of like Jell-O. You can't get your hand on it, and when you try to, it goes the other direction."


That was my answer to Reporter Kent Mallet for Sunday's story on the economy. Is this a "W" (aka double dip) or a "V" (still rising) recovery? That was, essentially, the question Kent asked.

I'm not an economics expert, and I don't claim to be.

I'd much rather write and talk about positive trends. The negative gets plenty of press on its own and doesn't need any help from me.

The truth is, though, that its hard to get a handle on what is going on out there. It really is like Jell-O.

Though we would have liked to have been happily surprised, few of us where surprised that a positive, five month trend in Licking County of seeing employment rise saw its first decline for 2010. As reported, the employment numbers dropped 100 for June to 76,400 people employed.

Don't count me on the pessimistic band wagon just yet though.

A one-month down tic is NOT a trend. Only time will tell.

There were some people who, months ago, were cautioning against optimism and predicting that June's unemployment rates would be bad because June was when U.S. Census temporary jobs would be eliminated.

That was predictable. They were right.

There were at least 5,000 Census jobs in Ohio and probably at or near 100 such jobs in Licking County.

That could explain the down tic just as well as a "double dip" economy could.

People may have gotten their hands on that Jell-O. Time will tell.

The Emerging Fringe Bias

Steve Layman's latest blog on commercial development celebrates the idea that the "metropolitan fringe" will continue to see commercial and residential growth for the next twenty years.

I join Steve in being thrilled to see authors and thinkers who reverse the urban bias permeating certain corners of our nation and state.

Despite all the "smart growth" advocacy for denser highways, denser schools, and denser living places to the contrary, the thinking remains strong that real life, in Ohio and elsewhere, won't go for it.  No one can be that dense.

It's time for the "fringe" bias to earn back a little policy turf.

A Year on Twitter

Monday at 8:22 p.m. marked my one-year anniversary on Twitter. 

Though the jury's still out for the day-to-day business value, I've seen enough in the first year to say its been worth my time investment heading into year two.

My time spent on Twitter is pretty small really.  The results can be large.

I tweeted earlier this year and got an appointment with a member of Congress during our DC Fly-In with our customers' leadership.  Lobbyists can charge tens of thousands of dollars for helping do the same thing.

Our Port Authority, stalled looking at text message alert systems for emergency alerts to our customers that cost $3,000 a year or more, opted to go to Twitter instead.  That was free.  There's a decision that's already showing value in the thousands of dollars.

My entire staff is now on Twitter, including intergrating our Twitter message into our last Holiday Open House.  What's the value of getting your team to be more tech-saavy?

Now, I'll send out a tweet about my blog about Twitter.

More Negotiating

I had a few moments before a public review committee meeting recently and saw it as a chance to empower the committee to feel and act as if they had more control of the situation than they appeared to think they did.

More than three months after he imparted his wisdom, Jack Kain's talk on negotiating to my Vistage group still sticks with me. I shared my memory of Kain's imparted wisdom like something extracted from a fortune cookie.

"There's an old saying" I found myself saying.  "When a person's mouth conflicts with their feet, believe their feet."

I went on to explain that if the people are saying they don't like the deal or vigorously saying it doesn't work for them, but they are still standing there and still coming to talk to you, you have a conflict of body language verses verbal language.

Which do you believe?  The verbally-stated unwillingness to deal or the body language fact that they are still standing there talking to you.

Kaine would say, believe the body language.  They still want to make the deal, even if the terms are not perfect to their liking.

Behold. 

I don't believe in coincidence.  It was the most productive meeting of this committee in 5+ years of watching them function.

Thanks, Jack Kaine.

Another Case for Social Media

I'm an early Generation Xer. I can remember a world without computers and without video games, but just barely. I've been using a computer and playing video games for 33 years of my 43-year life.

Most of my generation who has worked in an office has worked in one with computers.

Facebook and other social media are commonplace to our generation.  And half of today's workforce is comprised of Gen X and Gen Y.

We are perfectly comfortable in places just a few years ago were thought to be only for kids.

My 25th high school reunion is about to take place and planning for it began on Facebook where 40% of our classmates are members. Yes, 80+ of our 200-member class is on Facebook.

And then there's the line I use when someone says they aren't on Facebook.

If you aren't on Facebook, think again.

There are countless photos of school classes, work places, and family events on Facebook. Thus, if you aren't on Facebook, your face is.

Yep, social media matters.

Yep, Social Media Matters

Generation X and Generation Y are on Facebook and LinkedIn and other social media outlets in big numbers.  As consumers, these combined generations are a force.

I heard a stat yesterday that further sells me on the idea that so-called social media is not merely a fad and that the social part is a misnomer.  Social media is business, personalized.

We are now at the point where one half of the worforce consists of Gen X and Gen Y. 

David Nelson, a Pittsburgh-area social media consultant, gave this fact during his Vistage webinar on Friday.

It's a telling stat that Nelson ably used to demonstrate the point that social media matters to business, or should.

The Jell-O Economy

We'll see if it makes print.

I was asked by a business reporter to describe the economy based on some statistical trends and, just, my sense of things.

Is this a "W" (aka double dip) or a "V" (still rising) recovery?  That was, essentially, the question.

I'm not an economics expert, and I don't claim to be. My answer was one that sounded good to me when I said it, but I don't know how it will look in print (if it makes the edit.)

I was honest.

"I don't know.  This economy is like Jell-O.  You can try to get your hands on it, but you just don't know where it's going to go."

Will that fly?
------------------------------
UPDATE:  It ran.  Here's the story link.  This was the quote that ran:  "The economy feels kind of like Jell-O. You can't get your hand on it, and when you try to, it goes the other direction."

Happy 94th Birthday, Boeing

Boeing logo on the Aerospace Center building at Heath, Ohio

I learned it this morning on Twitter from @BoeingCorporate.  William Boeing incorporated his company on July 15, 1916.

We like Boeing.  So does Ohio.

Besides being the Port Authority's largest customer, we like the impact Boeing has on Ohio.


 

$4,780,316,038

The 10-digit dollar figure above is the actual amount Boeing spent in Ohio in 2009 with over 500 vendors.

That's over 1% of Ohio's Gross Domestic Product and it didn't go down with the Great Recession, either.

One company buying 1% of a state the size of Ohio's GDP?  Impressive.

Thanks, Boeing.

All Ohioans should do a toast to Boeing's birthday with hopes for more to come too.  The more the merrier.
------------------------

See the impact report online at Boeing.com.

Horton Building Update

Two milestones on the Horton Building yesterday.

The Planning Committee of the Port Authority Board accepted the staff recommendation to continue negotiations with the most qualified proposer from our recent RTP for clean room specialists.  We're aiming towards a design-build scenario for the build-out, on spec, of our first of five clean room modules in the new building.

The other is the construction for the building and its shell got more visible with the first visible work on the site's foundations.  See our YouTube video for the latest.

Remembering George Steinbrenner

Just got a breaking news alert that George Steinbrenner has died.

I met him and shared an elevator with him once.

I was in New York to catch a day-night doubleheader at the old Yankee Stadium between my Cleveland Indians and the Yankees.

For the nightcap, my Dad had seats in a loge.  I was adorned in my Indians' Chief Wahoo cap and riding the elevator to the loge when we pressed the wrong floor and went to the press level.

There, George and the Indians' GM at the time, John Hart, got on the elevator too.  Both looked straight at me.  It was an, elevator after all and I was the only guy with a Wahoo cap.  Neither said anything.

For a change and out of respect for my Dad who was a little sheepish about taking me into his New York friends' loge, I bit my tonque and didn't say a smart word either.

That's it.

All I can about George is that I wish he was successful in his first attempt to buy a Major League Baseball team.  He was turned down for the chance to buy the Indians. 

That was a shame.

R.I.P. George Steinbrenner.

A Messy Desk Isn't My Fault, It's Genetic

It's been 18 months, at least, since my desk looked as clear as it does today.  Last Friday, something inspired me to finally clear off those long-complete projects or long-dead prospects into folders filed off away. 

My staff has to be wondering, "Is he leaving?"  "Is there another Chamber of Commerce event coming?"

Neither.  I'm staying put.  The Chamber's after hours event was one of my past reasons to clear my desk.

The custodial contractor joked a tornado must have gone through.  Nope.

I just came back from vacation, and I just got motivated.

Besides, a messy desk is not my fault.  It's genetic.  Yeah, that's it.

I remember going to my Dad's office in the early 1970's.  It was a fairly small space, but loaded with piles.  I recall a window partially obscured by paperwork.

He started his own business in the mid 1970's and that just meant more unfinished business and an office as big as he wanted.  He would set up folding tables with a pile for every project and every prospect within reach.

During my working life, that's pretty much been my system too.  I have a big office and big desk now, but I still look for a desk annex where I can place folders and piles for every project and every prospect.

The Platt's are not alone.

My old friend Wally Erhnfelt was the Mayor of Strongsville for years.  Wally had a big desk with so many piles of papers and folders that, even, I was astonished.  I watched one fourth of his desktop sway when he went looking for a precise piece of paper.  He got it and the swaying piles sustained.  That was skill there.

You could go to Weirton City Manager Gary DuFour's desk today and, I'd bet a handsome sum, his desk is piled high with papers too.  Gary's a projects and prospects guy too.

I bet their fathers were the same.

We messy deskers all have a common trait.  We know where everything is, as long as no one touches anything.

Steve Layman's Reason #49 for Liking Newark and Licking County

See Anderson Layman Blog's Sunday piece titled In Praise of a Community Bank.

In particular, read the "Try to imagine. . ." that Steve references and the scenario of the bank selling out to a larger bank. 

I watched it in another town in which I worked.  Steve is right on.

The community bank sold out to another bank.  The big bank came to town instead.

Pretty soon, the bank officers disappeared from Rotary, the Chamber, and other community-betterment organizations.  Pretty soon, the largest United Way contributor was hardly involved with United Way.  Pretty soon, the very downtown buildings they occupied got sold off to self-minded owners instead of community-minded ones and the jobs shrank. 

The community did not do well in that sale.  Not at all.

Steve's right.  We need to value community banks like Park National Bank and the impact they have on our community.

Movie Review: Last Airbender or First Film Vendor?

My son earned a reward and asked to see The Last Airbender.  Since it was PG and not PG-13, I said, "Yes."  We went.

I warned him that one time he says he is scared or acts scared, we are out of there.  As he is a young seven year old, I was surprised he didn't get scared.  We watched the whole thing.

The problem is that the "whole thing" is not descriptive.  The movie ends with the start of the next last airbender.  So, though we saw this first of the Last, we didn't see it all.

I guess I should have known more about this movie and knew this was going to be the case, but I've never been a fan of movies that do that to you--leave you hanging for the next movie which is way off.

My son was ready to see the next one next week.  I told him, if he's lucky, maybe next year.

I just hope he takes his mom next year.

This movie does not get my recommendation. 

This is merely the first film vendor as more are to come.  Look for The Last Airbender, Second Contender next to a movie theater near you.

Movie Review: Despicable Me is For Me

I just returned from the theater after Despicable Me 3D with my wife and kids. Summer gave us another funny, multi-generational film.

Mr. Gru, predictably, turns out not so despicable. The carnival scene is most memorable. You'll forget who the despicable one is.

The little yellow minions didn't steal the show like the over-hyped advance marketing made me fear. It's a cute movie.

The 3D was worth it too.

It's a family must-see in my book.

That's All I Have to Say About That

I predicted LeBron would stay, wooed by the chance to be a hero in his hometown and home state of Ohio.  I predicted wrong.

Obviously, so did Cavs owner Dan Gilbert.  His open letter was astonishing to say the least.

But that's all I have to say about that.

I am going to share some comments from my Facebook friends though.

There were the humorous:
Leanne H.:  PLEASE...let the door hit you where the good Lord split you Lebron on your way out.

David M.: New listing! 35,000 sq ft mansion in Bath twp. formerly occuppied by a King, Owner relocating to Miami. Call for details...

Shannon J.: RT @kobrien_pd: I'm going to miss LeBron. For about 7 more seconds.

Paul B.: Better job tomorrow? BP oil executive or Cleveland Cavs manager of season ticket sales?

There were the reflective:
David P:  Hey Modell wasn't such a bad guy after-all...at least he didn't f*** Cleveland fans on a prime-time tv special.

Dwayne S.:  Quote of the night by Jake S. - "If LeBron had gone to college, he would have been smart enough to stay in Cleveland."

Tim A.:  I never thought I would say it, but I think Art Modell is no longer the most hated man in Cuyahoga County sports history.

Tony T.: Lebron just joined the ranks of Art Modell.

Jennifer S.: CLE needs to quit crying and move on to more important things like creating new jobs. Let's see investing in keeping one man in town or building thousands of jobs. . .hmmmmm.

Then, there were those on the watch list:
Mark Z.: LeBron's neighbors are happy... I assume because of the fireworks.  [I believe this person was actually at LeBron's neighborhood, too.  Scary, Mark.]

Jim T.: TRAITOR! LeBron, Dead! Neidemier, Dead! Dean Wormer, Dead!


That's all I have to say about that.

The Loss is LeBron's, Not Ohio's

When you get a chance to be a hero in your hometown, you take it.

LeBron James' decision to go elsewhere will be portrayed as Cleveland and Ohio's loss. It's truly not.

It's LeBron's loss.

Workforce Shortage Coming. . .to Ohio?

Huh?

Unemployment is as high as at any point in 20+ years.  Doom and gloom continue to be the national consensus about the job market.  Yet, the NY Times is writing about a shortage of workers for industry.  And in Ohio?

See this article from July 1.

The article is about Cleveland area companies finding a shortage of skilled workers for manufacturing.

Yikes.

The article reads, "Local leaders worry that the skills shortage now will be exacerbated once baby boomers start retiring. In Ohio, officials project that about 30 percent of the state’s manufacturing workers will be eligible for retirement by 2016.”

I'm not worried.

Licking County's answer to the problem is Workenomics, a trademarked, unique approach to marrying workforce and economic development.  It's been around for 5+ years, but it hired a contractor last year to help do more spade work preparing for that workforce crunch.  Kent Trofholz is organizing efforts to make sure Licking County never has to see skilled jobs go unfilled.

Ohio can solve this too as a state.

Ohio has a supply that few states have. There are homesick Ohioans, people who graduated from our finest technical schools and universities but who, for whatever reason, felt the place to work was outside of the state.

The Mom Network, aided by Ohio colleges, can help lure back those homesick to fill vacancies.

The Mom Network is the moms (and dads) who want to see their kids who left the state for work come back to the state for work. Oh, yeah and bring the grandkids too.

The workers gain. They get a job and they get that job back in their beloved Ohio. So, let's start firing up these networks, and soon.

No Ohio jobs should go unfilled.

LeBron to Sign with Cavs

This is my headline prediction that could come true as soon as today sometime or tomorrow.

I'm predicting LeBron James will soon announce he will accept the Cavs offer and stay put in Ohio.

He'll get the maximum that collective bargaining agreements will permit and stay in Northeast Ohio for the rest of his career.

It's an Ohio thing.

It's that Ohio draw, though, not the money or even the basketball that will be the reason.

It will be, in the end, his desire to be the person who brings a national championship trophy to Cleveland, something that hasn't been seen since 1964.

LeBron wants to be a hero.

And he can be.  He can do it.

------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE:  ESPN reports it will host a 9 p.m. 1-hr special show Thursday, July 8 with the announcement by LeBron James on his team choice.

W or Not?

Cultural Offering takes on the question that has been building for months now:  W or Not?

See CO's blog here.  Be sure to also follow CO's link and watch the Stuart Varney interview.

I continue to ask:  Will the fear of a "W" recovery actually cause a "W" recovery?

TV Review: Phineas and Ferb are Fun

I spent the morning of my Independence Day Monday holiday off with my kids.  We watched Phineas and Ferb on the Disney Channel.

I like this show.

My son, John, said, "I like that creature" referencing Perry the Platypus.  I do too.  Perry is a pet to Phineas and Ferb but a secret agent too.

The story is pretty complex for a cartoon.  The drawings are simple (that's a good thing) but the stories are what makes it complex.  The one we watched this morning had a science fair complete with a "Portal to Mars" followed up by a redux that explained some of the in between parts.  It was literary genius, really.

I think there's a science is fun and cool message contained in there too.  That I especially like.

This Dad recommends Phineas and Ferb.  They are fun.

Stimulus Wood

Readers of this column have read my pet peeves about stimulus dollars spent on asphalt paving. 

Mere asphalt stimulates nearly nothing.  Highway projects must include opening up land for new development or redevelopment to truly be worth of stimulus status.

What of using stimulus act dollars to buy wood?

This is the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware in 2009.

Here it is in 2010.

What's the difference besides me with my kids in front of the camera this year and the Dolles sign's flourescent paint fading?

The answer is stimulus wood.

Delaware and the City of Rehoboth Beach chose to put stimulus dollars to work replacing the concrete portion of the boardwalk where it meets Rehoboth Avenue with wood.

Since the ocean is only a few feet to the east, there's no room for development on one side of this stimulus project.  There's also the fact that the family photo album photos will more clearly show a boardwalk instead of a sidewalk.

Not too stimulating there.

Even so, I rank wood ahead of asphalt in the stimulus category.

Stimulus or not?  I'll leave the jury out on this one.

233 Years and 364 Days After. . .

. . .the signing of the Declaration of Independence at the place where it was signed, the Platt family visited. This was the mandatory history day on our vacation. We made a stop at Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.

It wasn't prolonged so I suspect we made memories, good ones, with a dose of American history added in too. Mission accomplished.

LeBron Tests Ohio Draw

Today started the NBA rule-laden free agent open market process. LeBron James is the prime free agent today.

Ohio has a certain draw on its natives. This is as big test of that theory as we've ever seen.

I am hopeful our Akron native son picks to stay with his native Ohio team, the Cavs.

Come on, LeBron.