Standin' on the corner, waitin' for the bus

Ok, meant to write about the WRTA a week ago but got sidetracked. Thanks alot, teabaggers.

The Sun is back, for the interim, which means that travel has suddenly become exponentially less suicidal for Ohioans. No car scraping, no salt-stained pants, no grey hairs stemming from hitting a patch of black ice, no rituals of pre-preparation just to leave the house. Going places is fun again! Well, except for that one ever-looming black cloud of gas prices (which, literally, becomes a black cloud, depending on your exhaust system).

We all complain about it, we all hate seeing our money turned into a gaseous vapor floating away above the interstate, but we all remain fiercely devoted to our cars. People around here tend to enjoy driving a lot more than they probably should — maybe its the GM/Rust Belt mentality, and decades of pro-automobile sentiments instilled into us. We like cars, we like people to buy our cars. But IN THIS ECONOMY (editorial cliche #241), one cannot afford to cling to tradition.
A solution? Take the WRTA.

In most metro areas, taking the bus is common. Professionals, students, families, the elderly — all are encouraged to take advantage of public transportation. Around here? Not so much. Maybe it's because the city is small, and traffic is minimal. Maybe it is because people simply don't know when the bus comes, or where it goes. Maybe it an idea that the bus is full of bums, or that it is dangerous. Either way, the taking the bus can be a good option for just about about anyone in the city.

The WRTA services downtown, YSU, Belmont, both city hospitals, West Side, East Side, South Side, Struthers, Cornersburg, Boardman, Southern Park Mall, and not one, not two, but THREE Walmarts. There are suburban bus loops in Canfield and Boardman. There are discounts for seniors and YSU students. The rides don't take much longer than driving, and there are stops within walking distance of just about anywhere. Or, you could park downtown or by the mall and ride the bus, and let it drop you off back at your car. This can be helpful if you are bringing back groceries or heavy bags.

Despite all of these conveniences, both funding and ridership went down in recent years.
In 2005, the then-unthinkable $3 gas prices did not generate additional riders for the WRTA. Jim Ferraro, longtime director of the WRTA, said that most riders do not have a car, so they ride regardless. He said that people, especially downtown work commuters from the suburbs, don't see the point of taking the bus to save a 20-minute car ride.

In 2006, Ferraro and other employees of WRTA took a pay freeze in an effort to save money and to avoid cutting services.

IN 2007, the WRTA faced state and federal funding cuts of $2 million. Riders and supporters took to the WRTA downtown office to protest the cuts, which resulted in the cutting of routes.

Ferraro pushed for a levy in 2008. It would have used a 0.25 percent five-year sales tax to fund the bus service. That issue was defeated 50,570 to 38,519 in the March primary. After public outcry, the issue was switched to a county sales tax and later passed 62,212 to 49,664 in November. It funds the WRTA with an estimated $7 million a year.

Ferraro has been a tireless advocate for the bus system. He represents the people, rather than the county. Ferraro has always kept the people informed on the state of the bus service, and never minced words when they were in trouble. Thanks to his efforts, not only did the 2008 levy finally pass, but in 2009, the WRTA received $2.2 million in federal stimulus aid for an expansion project. Ferraro planned to put local contractors and businesses to work on expanding the nearly 25-year-old WRTA office. The expansion from being a city to a county agency also made this expansion necessary.

Other improvements have also resulted from his dedication. Routes have been expanded to the suburbs. Park-N-Ride services are in talks for YSU. The Dial-A-Ride program allows residents to be picked up from their homes for appointments or the grocery store.

In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit I have never taken the WRTA. I have either lived too close to work to take the bus, or too far away. If i need a few things from the store, there's one within walking distance. It is easy to pretty much exist in a two-mile radius in this city. But that's no excuse — there were many times where taking the bus would have saved me money and gas. I feel ashamed — taking advantage of good deals is usually my forte.

SO therefore I pledge to take the bus someplace in the next month. The mall, Austintown, Sparkle, wherever. Someplace where I won't have bags of heavy and/or frozen stuff. I will print out the bus schedules and keep them handy so I know when and where the next bus is coming. You do it too, kids. You never know, you may find some kind of adventure. You may end up on the Violent Femmes bus.

LINKS LIKE CRAZY:
http://www.wrtaonline.com/index.html


YSU Route Schedule
http://www.wrtaonline.com/schedules/ysu.htm

Austintown Routes
http://www.wrtaonline.com/schedules/tt40-austintown.htm

Fifth Avenue Schedule
http://www.wrtaonline.com/schedules/TT33-FifthAve.htm

South Side/Southern Mark Mall Schedule
http://www.wrtaonline.com/schedules/TT35-South.htm

MVOC = Not ACORN, Karl Marx or The Devil

Recently, U.S. Rep Tim Ryan (aka The Destroyer of HUD Hopes according to Vindy.com commenters) postponed a meeting at Youngstown Community Health Center because of potential danger and threats against himself and other figures. Not altogether unreasonable, based on the threats and actions against other local politicians like John Boccieri. It seems reasonable to wait until things cool down instead of trying to get business done amidst tumult and controversy that would detract from your work and purpose. Right?

Despite the lack of meeting or attendees, teabaggers (oh, how I am enjoying the excuse to use that word in print) showed up anyway to protest healthcare/socialism/puppies or something, with signs that seem to have been made by putting a bunch of controversial buzzwords into a hat and then pulling them out in random order. "Obama?" Check. "ACORN?" Check. "Socialism?" Boy howdy. "MVOC?" It has initials, why the hell not?

Freedom of speech is awesome. Where else can you see the incredible, brave expressions of pride, frustration and noble American spirit mixed in with goofy hats, shock photos downloaded from the least reliable Web sites on the Internets, and the whitest people who ever sliced bagels? Protest signs can be inspiring, or late-night talk show fodder. More often the latter.

However, freedom of speech trumps responsibility, unfortunately. Most people who are intelligent, informed and moved enough to get involved in protests also feel that internal duty to represent truth and fact instead of spin. These people, not so much.

The Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative was the subject of a few of their signs. "MVOC = ACORN." "If this HC Bill was Sooo Wonderful, Why does M.V.O.C. Have to Sell it 4 You?"

While the MVOC is not without its drawbacks (I'll get to that), it is surely not ACORN. ACORN was about 10% federally funded, while the MVOC gets that sweet, sweet Wean Foundation money and other grants. ACORN is concerned with national issues, while the MVOC remains largely Valley focused. ACORN is subject to national scrutiny about its funding and funneling of money, while the MVOC's funding and scope remains pretty simple and local.

They do both have similar concerns. They are both community organizers, and were both for affordable housing and voter registration, but against predatory lending (which is bullshit — I voted against the payday lending bill, because it would not only put local lenders out of business, but it would also give more free reign to credit card and mortgage companies to charge high fees, since the lenders' fee of around $18 per hundred borrowed would still be less than a late fee or bounced check. It was a good temporary option for those who paid back their loans on time to avoid being massacred by fees.) But better neighborhoods, schools and voter turnout are issues that are important to almost all community groups, so this is no revelation.

The MVOC, being privately funded, they operate largely outside of politics. Its board and staff are made up of ex-high-school principals, law enforcement, educators, military, clergy and citizens.

The MVOC had little to do, publicly, with the recent health care bill protests and passage. They have pretty much not expressed any public opinion or agenda about this issue until after the bill had already passed, when they sponsored a meeting explaining the bill to area seniors. They focus mainly on local progress in the form of housing, properties, local elections and neighborhood groups.

The signs confused me, since ACORN didn't have anything to do with the health care bill issue either. Maybe it was because the other day the infamous "pimp" video came out to have been heavily edited and manipulated (like that he wasn't wearing a pimp outfit when he was actually talking to the staff), and the ACORN officials were not found guilty of any criminality. They aren't even called ACORN anymore — get with it, neocons.

In fact, the MVOC weren't the biggest fans of Tim Ryan either, posting a petition on their Web site calling him to justify and explain the rejection of all that HUD money. Like many, the MVOC pinned blame on Ryan for the Mahoning Valley not getting any money (see previous posts), when it had nothing to do with him, but the CDA official in charge of the grant application and ... drumroll ... THEMSELVES! since an MVOC official had actually reviewed the failed application! But still, even after all the HUD details unraveled, they left the petition on their site naming Ryan as the man to go to with your complaints — not the CDA with whom they work locally. I guess blaming Tim Ryan for everything is a practice that has transcended party lines. But I guess you cannot accuse the MVOC of being leftists, like the teabaggers were doing.

The MVOC and its affiliated groups have been ASSISTING IN (edit) the sale of a number of vacant properties to BUYERS (edit) who come in to profit from the next-to-nothing home prices. While at a community event at Wick Park this fall, a couple from California discussed their plans to buy homes in the area in cooperation with the MVOC and its related groups and rent them out, while still residing in California. While they expressed a genuine altruistic desire to turn around neighborhoods and improve the community, this can have adverse affects on local renters, landlords and homeowners. C'mon, Joe Pedaline needs another pot factory! I will not throw out the dreaded "g" word, but some of us can't afford to live in a nice neighborhood! That's a joke. I guess that's what the East Side is for. Another joke.

Speaking of sides, the MVOC lastly should focus efforts evenly. The bulk of their programs focus on the "historical district" of Wick Park, YSU and the North Side. Renovating a home in a historic neighborhood near campus would be more profitable than, say, flipping houses and land on the East Side, though both would be beneficial to the residents. This raises concerns that the efforts may be based in profitability. However, the Idora Park/corner store projects in conjunction with other groups are a good step in the equal-opportunity direction. The Eastside Coalition is another. I'd like to see them branch out further into the Mahoning Valley, everyone needs a hand nowadays. Trumbull County folks should help out too! There is a Warren office — 394-3801.

IN CLOSING: MVOC GOOD — JUST DON'T BECOME GREEDY SOULLESS REAL ESTATE MONGERS. We've all seen GlengarryGlenRoss, right?

And lay off Tim Ryan, everybody. He doesn't even have a condo full of hot young interns to have pizza parties with like SOME people.

* EDIT - My paranoid real estate plot fantasies come in part from watching too many 1940s gumshoe detective movies, and my secret wish to have a REAL GlengarryGlenRoss in my town and that Alec Baldwin will come here. Alec Baldwin from the 90s, not Alec Baldwin now.

The Riots of Spring

It's springtime, the time of year Youngstowners emerge from their caves and celebrate the fleeting five months of good weather we are rationed out by God as some sort of punishment that the Midwest must have committed. All winter long, especially since the first of the year, a good portion of the crime in the city largely went unwitnessed, as us sane citizens stayed warm indoors merely counting the gunshots, as opposed to being outside and having to bear witness.

Usually, it seems that the first warm snap garners a fair share of violence and crimes, but the past few weekends have been relatively uneventful. The real bender was at the first of the year, when several murders occurred within a matter of weeks. I guess snow is good for people wanting to get away with crimes, since no one is hanging around outside. But the more people strolling about it seems, the more petty thefts and fights and random gunshots there are. And the bigger chance a passer-by may be caught up in trouble.

The gunshots, strangely enough, are not too unsettling, as our neighbors in yon Trumbull County know well enough when the four-wheelers start revving up and hunters start coming out of their camo and into their yards. Shots can either mean people hanging around outside bored blowing off a pellet gun, or something more sinister. But the nice weather almost seems to guarantee an upswing in crimes both big and small, or at least ones that we witness.

In either spring or winter, reporting gunshots or a fight or a theft to the YPD can go either smoothly or incredibly irritatingly. First off: Call YPD, not 911. I have found that this is faster and easier, especially if you live near downtown. Save the number in your phone - (330) 742-8900. Mahoning County 911 call center covers a wider area and are often busier.
Second off, be specific. If you hear shots, know how many. If you see a car drive off, make a note of the make and model. This will help both you and the police - the more details you have, the more seriously they will take the call.
Third off, just make the call. Shrugging off shots as an everyday occurrence is just another roadblock from having a safer city. Call every time - be an asshole, that's what we pay cops and dispatchers for. Don't let unreported shooting become a way of life.

So take care, everyone, but when shit goes down, be prepared.