Roundtable: Mark Naymik, politics writer, The Plain Dealer; Harry Boomer, reporter, 19 Action News; Bill Livingston, sports columnist, The Plain Dealer.
LeBron’s Decision— Cavaliers star LeBron James has decided to cast his lot with the Miami Heat, spurning a more lucrative offer to stay with the franchise that launched his pro career. James told an ESPN interviewer it’s all about winning and Miami offers the best chance to do that now. There, he’ll join a stellar cast that includes Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Back home in Cleveland, it’s another low point for a longsuffering town inured to swallowing bitter pills.
Politics Round-up—Gubernatorial candidates Ted Strickland and John Kasich continued sniping at each other from afar as polls show Strickland with a slight lead in the early campaigning. But are their campaigns hitting the mark with voters concerned about the economy and education? Former Congressman Jim Traficant hopes voters will forgive him for his corruption conviction and return him to Congress. But his fledgling campaign apparently failed to gather enough petition signatures to qualify him for the ballot. He may run as a write-in.
Cleveland a Convention Center? Cleveland is among the finalists to host the 2012 Democratic national convention. The city is known as a Democratic stronghold, but does it have the right stuff to host thousands of delegates, politicians and journalists? Cleveland has never been the site of a Democratic national convention. It’s twice hosted the Republican convention, the last time in 1936.
The White Elephant in the Room— The former Ameritrust building, once in line to become Cuyahoga County government headquarters, has now become a money pit. The county commissioners have all but given up the idea of recouping the money they’ve put into the building. It’s on the market, but the commissioners say they’re willing to take far less than the $40-million spent so far.
Not So Swift—High-tech buses running on the Euclid Avenue HealthLine are running at a low-tech speed. The Plain Dealer reported the HealthLine buses are running the Public Square to University Circle route just three minutes faster than the old-style buses they replaced. RTA is adjusting traffic signals along Euclid so the buses aren’t forced to stop so often.