@@marilynblake2188 Yeah... He's 91 and he was sick and missed a couple weeks leading up to the show but I think he was strong here. My mildly Appalachian voice was singing in the background.
We always have... excuses... You are 100% correct about people driving their children to school. Bridgeport is the worst. (I was late for work 1 day at BMS 6-8 years ago b/c I did not know I had to arrive before 7 for a 7:45 am check in because it took me 25 minutes to get from Johnson Ave. & Hall St. down to the schools. 25 minutes to go less than 1/2 mile! All of the traffic was parents dropping off their children! Can't they even car pool with their neighbors?
Bridgeport people stereotypically play keep up with the Joneses more than any other place in the county. If you live there you don’t want your kid riding the bus because people will you’re poor. But also a lot of kids that go to school at Bridgeport don’t live in the Bridgeport district. They couldn’t take the bus if they wanted to.
I don't know about Clarksburg, but I have an example of transparency in action. Pooing with the door open and your partner is home. Too expound on why I used this as an example, true transparency only happens in a trustful relationship. Nice hat and nice first name.
But surely the vehicle gave a new measure of safety comfort and range and independance i mean walking everywhere or by horse back becomes tiresome and the vehicle connected isolated communities and lead to more unity
...and paved over much of the best farmland. Around here -- southern Vermont, and New England generally -- so much former river bottom, the best soil and drainage, is paved over for parking lots, gas stations, malls, stores, etc. The insanity of massive rush hour traffic every day, stop and go, then stop... highways packed with cars, almost all with only one person in them, wasting fuel, polluting... it's crazy on the face of it. Well said, sir. You seem, if anything, to be understating the case.
AMERICANS NEED TO FEEL THE CONSEQUENCES OF GIVING PERMISSION TO EVERY NUT IN THE COUNTRY TO INFLUENCE POLITICAL DIRECTION AND IMPOSE THEIR CRAP BASED ON THAT GREAT AMERICAN INVENTION,,,,, ENTITLEMENT. I THINK IT WILL TAKE A LITTLE LONGER FOR THE INSTITUTIONS TO FINALLY GROW A PAIR,,,, AND SAY ,,,NO,,,, THIS FAR AND NO FURTHER,,,,,,,,,, BLM ,,,TRANS RIGHTS ,,,,, PUBERTY BLOCKERS,,,, INTERNATIONAL MEDDLING,,,,, SEGREGATION,,,,,, AND THE AWFUL NOISE OF ,,,, IM AN AMERICAN,,,,,,, NO ONE GIVES A SHIT ANY MORE,,,,,,, AMERICA IS COMPLICIT IN THE DEVALUATION OF HER INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION,,,,, AND ITS CITIZENS ALL MISERABLE.
The U.S. and Germany are both mixed economies, but I said nothing about what mix is better. I was talking about traditional building styles vs sprawl and the preservation of our cultural heritage vs destruction of it.
My maiden name is Frank and I am 50% southern German. Paternal & maternal! I love your insights. I saw the shutting down of American industry beginning with the 81 recession. That's when the steel mills closed... then there was less need for coal... then glass was replaced with plastic (foreign made). Now we are on a downward spiral. People are "flocking" here to join in the destruction of the greatest country on earth.
What I said in earlier takes of this video was that so much money is spent on amenities "for the children." But it's spent in places that aren't easy for all the kinds to get to or require resources many of the children can't afford. All the children have to see the downtown. When the city won't do basic things like maintain the parking garage or accept a FREE park someone was going to give them, what does it tell the children? It tells the ones who have the means to get out that they should leave when they become adults because the town is hopeless. And it tells the ones who can't leave that they might as well blast the mind away on drugs because they're stuck in a town that's hopeless. Nobody is going to move to Clarksburg because of a splash pad in Nutter Fort. Let Bridgeport spend the money on those things. Clarksburg should spend its money preserving the things that actually set it apart from Bridgeport.
I think Mayor Malfregoet and maybe Will Hyman are considering the fact that Tiffany Fell sounded extremely frustrated at how doing anything in Clarksburg is like pulling teeth. They really don't want her to leave quickly and be searching yet again for a city manager. The problem as I see it is that most of the leaders in Clarksburg cannot get out of a suburban middle class mindset. Clarksburg is a decayed Rust Belt inner city. I don't think anyone is going to pick Clarksburg over Bridgeport because of a splash pad in Nutter Fort.
Check out the restored First Ward School School Apartments just down the street on Davis Avenue in Elkins.10 years ago or so a local historic preservation non-profit bought the school on an online auction for $1 dollar because nobody wanted it,it could have been demolished but instead they got the necessary funding using state and federal grants and credits around 4 million dollars to restore the old school building into luxury affordable senior housing,turning a liability into an asset.
Or the city leaders of Clarksburg can just look a block down Main from City Hall and see what VANDALIA was able to accomplish with the Palace Building. It currently has the highest tax-assessed value of any building in the downtown and pays about $300k/yr in property taxes. Of course most of that goes to the county and the school board, but it's still as you said, turning a potential liability into a revenue producing asset.
This past weekend was pretty top tier with entertainment options in Harrison County, while Rock might not be the dominant genre the Summerfest and Dysfunctional Family Picnic [a benefit concert for Historic Clarksburg WV Cemetery Preservation Alliance] brought some good quality names and acts to Shinnston
The dobro player that performed last night is considered to be the best dobro player of all time. They had a banjoist there that taught Bela Fleck, who is probably the best banjoist alive today and behind only Earl Scruggs and Ralph Stanley. They had other good pickers and fiddlers there also. Folks with multiple Grammys. It might not be an exaggeration to say that the best bluegrass that happened anywhere on earth last night happened in the Robinson Grand. Way bigger deal than a lot of people realize.
Could save a boat load of money by decriminalization of Marijuana for recreational use, and hell could even make money by taxing it and allowing the legal sale, cultivation and distribution of it
I’m all for full legalization of cannabis, but according to an article that I can’t find now by the lovely Erin Beck, at least the WVSP does not pursue marijuana arrests except to detain people involved more serious crime such as selling a harder drug. That’s their own policy as stated by the head PR officer in St. Albans. The police are against legalization only because they use marijuana arrests as the pretext for arresting people they want for something else. State lotteries and video poker played a big role in breaking the back of the Cosa Nostra. When you keep something illegal that most people think should be legal, you enable organized crime. Maybe use the taxes from legal marijuana to fund drug treatment for hard drug addictions.
I was in San Diego last week,best weather in the world especially during the summer.I live in ZephyrhillsvFlorida now nicknamed the City of Pure Water probably better than Clarksburg water.Have you ever heard of Zephyrhills Spring Water probably available at Krogers there.
Good commentary. I lived in St. Louis for about a year before moving to Clarksburg in 2011. I lived in City View Apartments in downtown. It had its problems with crime, but really rich in culture, plenty to do, and a fantastic public transit system. During my time there as a social worker I learned so much. Thank you again for sharing your experience!
I had to look up City View Apartments. I remember them now because of the church in the middle that I walked around and the fact they’re painted. It reminds me of pictures you’d see of Kyiv or Ukraine, where they paint what would otherwise just be drab cement buildings. They had the street dug up between the park and the apartments and were replacing either water or sewer lines when I was there Monday.
I visited San Diego today,the homeless situation is out of control there as expected,million dollar condos being built downtown along with homeless encampments about every other block took the trolley to the mexican border to Tijuana, border,homeless tents everywhere down on a 15 mile stetch.The nearly perfect weather is probably the main attraction for the homeless there.Saw a Padres game,beautiful stadium.Just very expensive to live there.
This structure, as well as the homes on Washington behind the fire department, were infested with vagrants and everyone knew they were going to burn. Demolition is more visible than proper boarding. It also allows city leaders to create scapegoats for their own failures of governance. Our leaders can’t campaign and win on good ideas because they don’t have any. They go for what allows them to post and posture almost 💯 of the time.
The Ritz Theater was a nice family theater in the 60's when I grew up but in the early 70's it went porn.The Waldo then had the Riverboat Lounge which was a strip club that was torched in 1979.The Waldo also had a massage parlor that was shortlived in the 70's that really wasn't legit.The Pools Halls posed as a front for illegal gambling and prostitutes would hang out in front.The Ritz was demolished in late 1974 for the new library.I remember it all but Clarksburg still had a thriving downtown which I really enjoyed as a kid,the stores had practically everything..Sears,JC Penneys,Montgomery Wards,GC Murphys,Woolworths,McCrory's,OJ Morrisons all the national chains,Downtown was the retail mecca of North Central West Virginia.The real start of it's demise was when Middletown Mall in Fairmont opened in 1970 and then the Meadowbrook Mall and Eastpointe in the early 80's was the final nail in the coffin in the early to mid 80's.
After Watergate, the FBI was shaken up and rebuilt. They got pretty effective at dismantling organized crime, especially the Mafia families. Clarksburg’s associate organizations were rattled pretty hard between 1985-1990. A lot of people have noticed that at least the older, more organized crime figures kept the sleaze confined to certain areas and handled people who pushed it too much in the face of polite society. They weren’t moving dope through abandoned houses on every block.
She also ran on crime which usually favors Republicans, on prioritizing diversity in boards and was endorsed by Emily's List and the gay advocacy group that recommended against travel to Florida. The tokenism of her being the first female was echoed during the election; she's got blue all over. Her opponent outraised her and got DeSantis who just won a historic election. These and the hyperlocal reasons you mentioned helped but cannot account for bridging the gap and breaking the historical trend; it's clear the macro background played a role, just like it did with in the midterms all over the country and continue to happen as it did in Wisconsin's Supreme Court election a month ago. It's the same pattern of results; record Dem percentages since 1995, and winning independents as well as many Republicans.
I am an unaffiliated voter and I recognize that issues like abortion have absolutely nothing to do with a city or county race. Unlike a state supreme court, there is nothing the official can do to stop abortions or to protect abortions. If I see a candidate bringing that subject up in a local race it tells me they don't care about the job they're seeking. I do not think I am alone in this. I have seen local candidates try this kind of partisan posturing in central West Virginia and it does not work. People want their local government do give them clean drinking water, to adequately remove sewage and trash, and to send the cops, fire, and EMS in a reasonable amount of time when there is an emergency. Jacksonville was failing at most of that stuff and the Democrat won not be cause she was a Democrat or because she was a woman, but because she addressed the things the voters wanted their local government to do. Ron DeSantis won Duvall County by 12% last year. If it was about partisan iss, his endorsed candidate would have won this week. But people know that mayor and governor are two completely different jobs with different responsibilities and focuses.
Letting a home rot away for deprecation is NOT what an intelligent investor would do, you are correct. Keeping them home in good condition, you will increase your wealth annually by rough 3% nationwide appreciation , PLUS you can still write off the deprecation at a fixed rate for 27.5 year, AND you can reap the cashflow benefits from having it rented out (mortgage paydown as well if you have a debt service on the property)
The RG would have to make $1200.00 every day of the week on average just to cover its debt service. That's not taking into account utilities, payroll, taxes, or any other overhead. Out of curiosity you should FOIA a P&L/Financial Statement. I'm legitimately curious of what kind of revenue it brings in.
I am also curious. I wonder if anyone outside of the RG management and city finance director even know. They are never clear about P&L. Ryan Tolley insisted the RG was turning a profit but he didn’t count the mortgage payments because they’re made by the city, not the RG. I also don’t think he counted the salary of the three full time staff. At a budget meeting this year, the finance director said the RG turned a profit “if it started the year at zero.” What does that mean? It stood out to me because I don’t know what’s really being said there.
The “structural damage” was a crack in the glass veneer by the base of the front steps. They also claimed a photography studio violated the zoning regulation. Unfortunately I talked to them too late in the process for them to go to BOCA or PZA. Jim Llaneza did it to them. After he died things got better in Code Enforcement as far as new problems but they wouldn’t reconsider old condemnations. Unless you were on council or something.
Village Square. Hundreds of people came in from New York to gamble and stayed in hotels along the Interstate. In the early days of the Goings/Bowden council they inquired about putting a hotel there. The problem as I understand it is wetlands protections there for the mouth of Davisson Run at the West Fork River. A lot of illegal infill had already been done and the Corps of Engineers wasn't going to play ball. Rehabbing the Waldo wouldn't have been any more expensive than grading that area and building a new hotel. After historic preservation credits it would have been cheaper. It didn't go anywhere because Martin Shaffer was associated with the Waldo. But why-- was it just pure spite? Possibly. But maybe it's something else. The Waldo isn't laid out well to be a big casino but there is enough space on floors 1-3 for a restaurant, bar, or two as well as some gaming. Having 80-100 rooms above it means that many people downtown every night. There is no other project that I've ever heard of would pay for itself in this way and spur growth. It can't just be ignorance and spite.
I never liked Harry Fulk as a city manager.Mark Kiddy would be a better candidate for city manager,he knows the landscape.They need to hire someone local,who is going to stay.
I liked Harry well enough at first but it was a desperation hire and he took the job out of desperation. I don’t know if they need a local but they at least need someone who will move there. Kiddy doesn’t want to be the manager. He took the job because the other proposed names were… Let’s just say he felt he had to do it. But he gave them almost eight months, two months longer than he first said. If they can’t get it done then there’s bigger problems than lack of a manager. Which was kind of my point- it’s hard to imagine them finding someone good that’ll work 20-30% below market rate and put up with the BS in Clarksburg.
Same weather here in Zephyrhills Florida,temperatures in the single digits,visited Clarksburg last Saturday through Tuesday and left Clarksburg to St. Petersburg via Allegiant at the NCWV airport on Tuesday,the roundtrip ticket was only about $80,glad I got the hell out! Happy Holidays!
Lexington-Fayette County Ky ha a population is larger than Cincinnati just up North.Nashville-Davidson is another consolidated city.The city of Jacksonville will surpass 1,000,000 residents sometime this decade.The second largest city in area in Florida is Bunnell Florida in Flagler County but has a population of 3,300 but is rapidly growing being next close to the fast growing city of Palm Coast.
I forgot about Lexington. I am familiar with it. It also has an urban growth boundary. Lexington metro area pretty much ends at the growth boundary. The city is a lot denser than most. Cincinnati sprawls and there’s not a clear place where I-75 communities stop being Cincinnati metro and start being Dayton metro.
If you count the three beach towns as part of Jacksonville, it’s already over a million. I guess unified county government does leave these gray areas. “The consolidated government has and shall have jurisdiction as a chartered county government and extend territorially throughout Duval County, and has and shall have jurisdiction as a municipality throughout Duval County except in the Cities of Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, and Neptune Beach and the Town of Baldwin.”
@@willbygosh4887 everybody forgets Baldwin. I was looking into Columbus-Franklin. Columbus makes up the majority of Franklin County but they haven’t unified. Marion Township got absorbed by Columbus, and Columbus exists “within” Montgomery Township, with the latter existing only on paper. In the Dayton area, Kettering, Beaver Creek, and Huber Heights converted from townships to cities. A portion of the old Wayne township covers part of Wright-Patterson AFB and couldn’t be incorporated so a part of it remains on paper outside of Huber Heights.
I remember the first time I went on A1A back in 1970,beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean then,St. Johns County had a population of 30,000 then now around 300,000,Flagler County had a population of around 4,000 now over 100,000.
O'Reilly's is moving to the old Krogers on Pike Street.There was a permit for $550,000 but with no contractor chosen so I,m guessing,they'll be using the present building.
