Documentary about Youngstown - Filmed Now on Location

I am so excited about the news! The Vindicator has announced that shooting will begin this week on a documentary about Youngstown. Ray "Boom" "Boom" Mancini and Jim Napoli are producing it. Their plan is to show the city as a fighter. The film crew will make forays into the community this week to find Youngstowners in their element - so look out folks! Mancini calls it "guerrilla film making."

For anyone who has ever dreamt of being in the movies you may have the chance to be caught on film if you make your way to the city. While here, make sure you check out the new Taft Technology Center,. For a glimpse check it out at Youngstown Pride.

Make sure you walk by the revived Davis Building, and have something to eat or drink at one of our fine eateries, awesome bars, or clubs. In the event you just want to be out on the streets,in hopes that the camera will find you there, just stop by and get an ice cream cone at Touch the Moon Candy Saloon, then wander around, chillout,and enjoy the spring.

As of late I have been reading a book called "Destination Branding for Small Cities". It is written by Bill Baker. He defines destination branding as the totality of perceptions, thoughts and feelings that people have about a a place. He states that, "Destination branding is an organizing principle that involves orchestrating the messages and experiences associated with the place to ensure that they are as distinctive, compelling, memorable, and rewarding as possible."

His theory is that many small cities need to develop a brand strategy in order to overcome dated, confusing, or inaccurate images. Youngstown has clearly suffered from an inaccurate image and it is time to fix that problem and change the perceptions of our fine city in the minds of people near and far. The way to do that is to attract more visitors to our downtown and also revitalize the interest of area residents in the entertainment and recreational values of Youngstown. (You really have no idea what you've been missing if you haven't been downtown in a while. I suggest you hang out after work on a Friday night instead of making a dash back to the suburbs.)

The new urban pioneers living in Youngstown are well aware of the exciting things happening in the city, Mancini's documentary will now get the word spread far and wide. Mancini gets it -and Pavlik gets it, and Defend Youngstown gets it - Youngstown folks don't give up - they get up...and what's more they have a helluva lot of fun while doing it. I don't exactly know how to convert this fact into a "brand" per se, but I'm working on it. I'm going to continue reading about the branding of cities and think about it some more. If you have any ideas or thoughts about this please share them with me by commenting on the blog.

How to Save a City - The Greening of Youngstown

Thanks to Jaci Clark for taking most of these fabulous photos.









The Common Ground at Kensington and Broadway on Youngstown's North Side

It's spring and Defend Youngstown found a great post at Celsias about the Greening of Youngstown. I'm thrilled that the "Grey to Green" message of the 2010 plan is spreading far and wide. Meanwhile, this past Saturday, Treez Please planted several hundred trees at the Common Ground. Throughout the day about thirty men, women, and a lot of kids showed up to help. Treezers hope to foster the trees until we find happy homes for them. In the fall we will convert the space into a wild flower meadow.

Also, June 7, 2008 Youngstown CityScape will be having it's 11th annual Streetscape from 8:00 am until 12 noon. Everyone will be meeting at 20 Federal Plaza W. Youngstown,OH 44503. Priority areas for this year's event are: The Wick Park Area;Flower pots along West and East Federal Streets; the oval historic monument in the middle of Market Street and Wick Avenue; The Garden Bunker on the corners of East Federal, Boardman and Champion Street. The stairway that connects Wood Street to Commerce; Gateways into downtown; Smoky Hollow Memorial maintenance and plantings; Hillside between Wood and Commerce Street; and enhancement of the landscape on Walnut Street, Wood Street, and City Hall. For more information contact (330) 742-4040.
[where:20 Federal Plaza West Youngstown OH 44503]

Christopher Barzak Nominated for a NewNowNext Award

Photo by Jaci Clark









Youngstown writer, Christopher Barzak, has been nominated for a NewNowNext Award. This award is sponsored by the MTV networks LOGO channel, which focuses on bringing GLBT friendly programing to television. Chris has been nominated for "Brink of Fame: Author". Chris is the author of "One for Sorrow". His most recent book, The Love We Share Without Knowing, will be available soon.

You can vote for Chris online on the NewNowNext awards show web page. The awards show will be broadcast on LOGO on Saturday, June 7th, at 9:00 pm. If you miss it, you can also check out a full stream of the show on AfterEllen.com, on Monday June 9th, 2008.

Youngstown Buzz on Cool Cleveland

Youngstown's Shout Youngstown and Defend Youngstown were in Cleveland this past weekend with Cool Cleveland's Thomas Mulready. They discussed Thinkers and Drinkers, or as Mulready describes it, "Economic development with a cocktail." The concept is a good idea that is spreading fast. Check out the video on Cool Cleveland and learn how the idea originated and how the sessions work. I've enjoyed a few Thinkers and Drinkers sessions myself and have enjoyed them tremendously. They are always interesting and informative and are a terrific means of social networking. My thanks to the guys for taking the idea on the road and getting the word out about the great things happening here in Youngstown.

Here it is Monday- and I'm already Dreaming About Friday

(The tall guy in the back is the Viking King)
United Way Day of Caring and Grow Youngstown were at the Fairgreen Neighborhood Garden planting and making beds for organic produce. Treezers from Treez Please were on hand to help as well. After working in the garden I then had wonderful afternoon listening to Phil Brady read poetry at Barnes and Noble and then headed out for partying in downtown. Cedars was rocking Saturday night as the Sacksville Rhythm and Blues Band and The Eight Balls performed. It was a warm evening, the patio is open again and we danced until we dropped. So naturally, here on this cold and grey Monday morning, I'm already dreaming of next weekend. Next Friday, May 2, promises to be a blast! First dinner at the newly remodeled Cafe Cimmento located at 120 E. Boardman, Youngstown downtown. The food and wine are superb. After dinner I'm going to see the Full Monty at the Oakland Center for the Arts. The play is a musical adaptation of the Academy Award winning film of the same name. This American version takes place in Buffalo, NY. the recession has hit and due to the closing of local steel mills, a group of blue collar workers find themselves out of work and unable to support their families. the unlikely group of friends join together with a money making scheme that just may save (and expose) their rear ends. The book is by Terrence McNally, Score by David Yazbeck. After the show, I'm putting on my dancing shoes again and I'm off to Cedars to hear Matt Palka, singer/songwriter extraordinaire. Show is $5.00 and starts at 11:00 Cedars Time. Hope to see you there.

Spring is here - and so is Earth Day

Although April 22nd was officially Earth Day, YSU is doing an Earth Day Celebration today, April 23rd. Hope you can make the celebration between 9:00 at 3:00 PM at the Youngstown State University Campus. While you're there check out the table sponsored by YESS, The Youngstown Environmental Studies Society. Please support their important activities. I also need to thank them for turning me on to this great video of Imogene Heap. It expresses the sorrow I and so many others feel when we think about the destruction of our planet earth.
Check out this video: Hide and Seek



Add to My Profile | More Videos

Also,keep in mind that now Spring has arrived Treez Please and Grow Youngstown are out in the dirt, so contact me at Treez Please ,or via this blog, and come on out and get your hands dirty with us. This coming Saturday at the corner of Fairgreen and Ohio Avenue on the North Side of Youngstown we are preparing the land for planting. We'll be there from 9:00 AM until the early afternoon along with all the good people from the United Way Day Of Helping Project.

My good friend Jean Engle had a letter printed in the Vindicator yesterday. I reprint it here as a further reminder to think about the earth.

This is the day to think about the Earth and how we treat it
Published:Tuesday, April 22, 2008

EDITOR:

Earth Day 2008 is the closest we’ve come in the United States to consensus on the Earth’s importance. For the first time, environmental issues are on the airwaves, on the Internet, and in the stores. Even WalMart is using the E-word, and every corporation wants to look green as grass.

That’s all very nice, but how do Earth Day and larger environmental issues play out in our everyday lives? Every flush of the toilet, every flip of the light switch, every trip to the mall, every forkful of food has environmental implications. True, for one person, they’re not large. What’s a couple of gallons of water that, in this part of North America anyway, is relatively plentiful? I only need the light on for an hour — a pound or two of coal at the power plant out of the tons they burn every day. And gas for the car? It’s only a couple of gallons to get to Eastwood and back.

The point, though, is this: our individual choices magnified a billion-fold add up to disaster for the planet. We in the post-industrial nations won’t feel the pain in our own lives for a while. If I read the papers or listen to the news, I’ll know that the Haitians are starving, right in our Caribbean back yard, in part because the price of staples like corn has skyrocketed, now that corn is going into wealthy nations’ gas tanks and not into poor nations’ bellies. I’ll know that the Arctic ice cap is melting rapidly and that the magnificent polar bear is probably doomed. But those of us in relatively privileged nations will be the last left standing, and, while the fate of the polar bear is tragic, there seems to be little we can do to prevent it. Maybe the zoos can keep them going for a while.

So is that all? Do I just shrug and walk away from it? Do I just go fill up the tank and run some errands, buy some more stuff to distract me from the pain I might feel? Maybe. Or maybe I join the millions of people who are finding ways to do things differently, in ways that sustain the environment rather than deplete it. Maybe I change my incandescent light bulbs to low-consumption compact fluorescents; maybe I put up a clothesline — the original solar dryer; maybe I turn lights off when I’m not in the room; maybe I install an on-demand water heater in my house; maybe I plant some new trees in my yard; maybe I ride my bike for short errands and carpool or take a bus to work (and vote for the WRTA levy); maybe I get involved with non-profits like Treez Please and Grow Youngstown that are working to make a difference at the local level. And maybe I send some money to one of the large environmental organizations like Natural Resources Defense Council or World Wildlife Fund that can exercise our collective clout to make changes on a national or even global scale.

For better or for worse, we are here now, being called on to prevent the destruction of our home. It’s all we have, and it’s in grave jeopardy. To borrow from JFK: If not now, when? If not us, who?

JEAN ENGLE

CNN Money - The Incredible Shrinking City - Youngstown, OH

CNN's Les Christie was in Youngstown a couple of weeks ago doing a story about Youngstown. The story has been released today. The story focuses on what is deemed by many to be a radical city plan (2010 Plan). When Mr. Christy was in town I drove him around one afternoon. I had hoped that his story would be a positive one about the city. For the most part I believe this is the case. However, I think his story fails to communicate the excitement and overall positive attitude felt by many here and I take issue with his statement that downtown is derelict. There is undoubtedly room for improvement but it is hardly what I would describe as derelict. For your viewing pleasure here is a photo tour of Youngstown.

Books! Books! and More Books!

Many of my readers may have figured out by now that I'm a bibliophile. I love books, and I collect them by the hundreds. I like the way they look, the way they smell,the way they feel, and more importantly what I can learn from them. Okay, I guess I could go on and on about my passion but I'll spare you all that. However, if you share my obsession, let me know, we'll talk.

The reason that I raise the subject of bibliophilia is because my favorite annual event is about to occur. It is the Westminster Presbyterian Church Annual Book Sale. Now mind you, I have been to many book sales of all kinds. I have run the gamut, from garage sales to church sales to school sales to estate sales... Heck, my idea of a perfect date is to go roaming through a bookstore. I know of what I speak here -the Westminster Book sale is unlike any other and not to be missed. This year marks the 52nd year they have had the sale. The folks who organize this event have it fine-tuned let me tell you. Picture it - row after row of tables piled high with books; books underneath tables, books everywhere. There are books throughout not only the church hall, but also the hallways, and the adjacent rooms. They have every subject covered from fiction to non-fiction. There are children's books, and art books, and religious books and philosophy and first editions. Oop! there I go rambling again... What's more, you can walk out of this sale with a box full of books for a reasonable price. Maybe, it is symptomatic of my disease, but just walking in the building makes my heart pump faster. Adrenalin rushes in and the hunt is on!

I highly recommend that if you're a book lover you attend. Of course,many of my fellow bibliophiles are going to be angry at me for letting the cat out of the bag so to speak. There are among the bibliophiles those who do not want others to find out about this sale for fear that someone else will get there before them. Guess this year we will all be getting to the sale early. The sale is April 23, form 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM and on April 24 and 25th from 9:00 AM until 7:00 PM. Westminster Presbyterian Church is located at 119 Stadium Drive off Market Street in Boardman, OH.

15th Anniversary of the Lucasville Prison Uprising

LUCASVILLE:THE UNTOLD STORY OF A PRISON UPRISING



What actually happened at the Lucasville Prison rebellion 15 years ago?
Who really killed Officer Vallandingham?
What was the aftermath?
What happened to the prisoners who brought about the negotiated settlement?
Why are there five men on death row and 25 others with sentences up to life in prison? Whose notion of justice is being served here?


The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio opposes capital punishment under all circumstances because it violates the Constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. It is administered arbitrarily and unfairly and fails to deter crime or improve public safety.

More often than not, the quality of a defendant's legal representation determines whether or not he or she will be sentenced to death. Many currently sitting and waiting on death row could not afford a qualified attorney.

Another determining factor is whether or not a prosecutor on a case decides to pursue capital sentencing. Unfortunately, the race of the victim often determines whether or not the prosecutor will do so.

In September 2007, the United States Supreme Court heard Baze v. Rees, a case challenging the constitutionality of lethal injection procedures used in Kentucky. As a consequence there have been no executions since the end of September and there will almost surely not be any until after the court decides the case.

Attorney and activist Staughton Lynd, a resident of Youngstown Ohio, (may be seen in an interview on Democracy Now by clicking on his name) wrote a book called Lucasville: The Untold Story of Prison Uprising,which is an investigation into the events surrounding the 1993 prison uprising at Southern Ohio Correctional facility. In the book he raised serious concerns about the integrity of the legal proceedings subsequent to the event. Excerpts may be read at Prisoner Solidarity.

The 15th anniversary of the Lucasville Prison Uprising is just a few days away, April 11 - April 21. A staged reading of "Lucasville: the Untold Story of a Prison Uprising" will be held on April 11, 12th at 8:00 and the 13th at 5:00 PM in the Spotlight Theater, Bliss Hall, Youngstown State University. The reading is directed by Brandon Martin. The reading is based on the book by Staughton Lynd. Cost is $5.00 ($3.00 for students/no one turned away). A donation will be made to CURE-Ohio. For more information contact Susie Beiersdorfer at (330) 881-1050 or slbeiersdorfer@neo.rr.com.

Your signature on the I Dream a World...End the Death Penalty Petition would also be greatly appreciated. I also urge you to contact Govenor Strickland to halt executions. Thank you.

Turning Technologies on ABC's "Ahead of the Curve"

Turning Technologies was recently spotlighted on ABC's "Ahead of the Curve". See the link below for the segment. Tony Deascentis discussed the device developed by Turning Technologies that allows for digital classroom participation and promises to put an end to boring powerpoint presentations. Turning Technologies is located at the Youngstown Business Incubator in downtown Youngstown.

ABC News - Ahead of the Curve

Turning Technologies was also a 2007 winner on the Weatherhead 100 List for being the fastest growing company in Northeast Ohio.