The view from the Idea Center

With every presidential primary season, criticism of Iowa’s caucuses grows. Iowa’s Democratic Party gave naysayers another arrow in their quiver of complaints with the bungling of last night’s delegate count.

“The Democrat Caucus is an unmitigated disaster,” President Trump tweeted. “Nothing works, just like they ran the Country.”

As long as he’s in office, he said, “Iowa will stay where it is” on the presidential primary calendar.

President Trump delivers his third State of the Union address tonight, on the eve of his likely impeachment acquittal by the U.S. Senate. You can catch his speech live on ideastream.org or 90.3 WCPN at 9 p.m.

I’m going to stay with the critical mood of the day and point you toward this story about a long-standing proposal to build an apartment building on Cornell Road in Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood.

The Board of Zoning Appeals finally signed off on variances for Hemingway Development’s project after nearly two years of debate on its size and scope. The approved project will consist of 44 units, down from as many as 66 in a previous proposal.

Many residents told the zoning board they still think it’s too big. The revised proposal doesn’t address their concerns about traffic and neighborhood character, either.

Will those criticisms be tackled? Will the complaints about the caucus mess in Iowa be addressed? In Little Italy, the developer is promising to listen to feedback from residents. In Iowa, I don’t think the Democratic Party knows how to respond. They’re still trying to figure out what went wrong.

See you bright and early tomorrow morning on the radio,
Amy Eddings

Need to KnOH

Headlines from Northeast Ohio and Beyond

• Cleveland's Woodhill Homes Is Finalist For $35 Million Federal Grant
• Cleveland Bail Project Has Paid Bonds For 175 Defendants
• Lawsuit Filed Against State Over Recent Changes To EdChoice Program
• Italian Artist Claudio Orso Explores Cleveland Immigrant Experience
• CWRU President Barbara Snyder Stepping Down Later This Year
• Trump Delivers State Of The Union As Impeachment Vote Looms. So Did Clinton

Your ideas

Author and literary critic  John Freeman was on The Sound of Ideas this morning talking about his new book “Dictionary of the Undoing." Freeman and host Mike McIntyre also touched on Jeanine Cummins’s controversial novel “American Dirt”, “…our publishing industry is largely white, and the kinds of discussions we’re having right now cut to the core of the lack of representation in the industry," Freeman said. "It’s the same with Hollywood, do you trust a story as crucial as the story of the safety of your family with someone who has a very different experience than you?”

Have you read “American Dirt” and if so, what did you think? Call us at  (216) 916-6476, comment on  our Facebook page or join the conversation in Public Square. We'll feature some of your thoughts and comments here in Noon(ish) and on Morning Edition.