Monday, November 19, 2012

Local Progress: A National Municipal Policy Network



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                      November 19, 2012
www.localprogress.net                                                             Contact Benjamin Linsley: (347) 985-2374

AFTER MAJOR VICTORIES AT THE POLLS, LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS
SHARE BEST IDEAS FOR CREATING A MORE FAIR AND JUST SOCIETY

New coalition of municipal leaders is founded to advance a
progressive vision for America’s cities and towns

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the heels of a historic election, City of Cleveland Councilmember Brian Cummins traveled to the nation’s capital this past weekend to learn about innovative ways that elected officials around the country are strengthening their local economies and providing better public services to their constituents.

Councilman Cummins joined more than 40 other officials from over 30 small towns and large cities representing 20 States to participate in the founding of Local Progress, a new national municipal policy network dedicated to
“broadly-shared prosperity, equal justice under law, sustainable and livable cities, and good government that serves the public interest effectively.”

“I had a busy weekend meeting some very committed public servants and some policy experts from around the country,” Cummins said. “I’m excited to be a founding member of this new network of progressive local leaders which I know will help me in Cleveland develop a more strategic legislative agenda.

Participants began the gathering by discussing ways to rejuvenate the economy through the creation of good, middle class jobs. “We kicked it off with lively presentations about how cities can foster smart economic growth,” said Wilson Goode Jr.,
the Philadelphia City Councilman who led the conversation.  “Everyone agreed that we have to build an economy where workers are paid a living wage with adequate benefits, sick leave, and the security they need to support their families.”

The elected officials discussed ways in which cities can make government services more accessible for immigrants, create green jobs and vibrant livable neighborhoods, empower community residents to participate in city budgeting decisions, and support parents by strengthening schools and making work rules more flexible.

The attendees said they planned to continue sharing best practices online and in person over the coming months and years. “We’re building a movement for a more fair and just society,” said Nick Licata, the Seattle City Councilmember who is chairing the Local Progress network. “And we’re off to an amazing start.”

Local Progress includes two core partner non-profit advocacy organizations: the Public Leadership Institute and the Center for Popular Democracy.

Local Progress founding conference held November 16 - 18, 2012:



L-R: City Councilmembers - David Alvarez (San Diego, CA), Nick Licata 
(Seattle, WA) and Brad Lander (New york, NY)


L-R: City Councilmembers: David Chiu, (San Francisco, CA), Chuck Lesnick 
(Yonkers, NY), Brian Cummins (Cleveland, OH), and Bill Henry (Baltimore MD).
Progressive States Network & Local Progress reception held Friday evening -
Marcus Madison (Councilmember, Elyria, OH) (left) and Dan Ramos
(Rep. House Dist. 56, Lorain, OH).


Summary of Agenda and Speakers,
Local Progress founding conference held 11/16-18/2012:

  • Mary Kay Henry, International President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
  • Policy Panel I, Economic justice:  discussion of policies cities can adopt to create and improve the quality of jobs (living wage laws, paid sick days, green jobs, and community benefit agreements).
  • Policy panel II, Strengthening neighborhoods:  discussion of policies cities can adopt to create livable neighborhoods? A discussion of safe and affordable housing, foreclosure accountability from banks, and transportation policy.
  • Jay Williams, White House Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Relations.
  • Policy panel III, Civil rights and immigrant rights:  How can cities ensure that all residents are treated equally and lawfully? A discussion of policies that affect immigrants and people of color.
  • Organizational development discussion and official formation of Local Progress.
  • Voicing Our Values - Message Framing for Progressive Elected Officials : The coauthors of the book Voicing Our Values: A Message Guide for Candidates will offer a highly interactive workshop on research-based language that progressives should use to address a wide range of domestic issues, including highly-controversial matters like abortion, same-sex marriage, immigration, gun control, and voter ID.  See the Policy Resources and sign up for the Message Guide.
  • Joel Rogers, Director of Center on Wisconsin Strategy, who will provide an overview of his work (COWS, Efficiency Cities Network, State Smart transportation Initiative) and demonstrate a brand-new resource for local elected officials, www.ALICElaw.org.



Thursday, November 15, 2012

2012 Annual Report - Stockyard, Clark Fulton & Brooklyn Centre Community Development Office.

This annual report was issued at the SCFBC's Annual Meeting held at Lincoln West High School on October 11, 2012. For more information about community development programs and services, please call SCFBC at 216-961-9073.  You can also sign-up to receive their bi-weekly e-newsletter by sending them your email address using this form.

2012 Annual Report - Stockyard, Clark-Fulton & Brooklyn Centre Community Development Office

Friday, November 2, 2012

Mayor Jackson Holds First Energy Accountable for Hundreds of Potentially Hazardous Down Wires.


NEW ADVISORY - City of Cleveland --

Families encouraged to attend City sponsored Big City Boo held at city recreation centers from 6-8 p.m (Children 12 and under). this Saturday, November 3 and to NOT have children trick-or-treating on City streets this Saturday.  The Big City Boo and Trick-or-Treating was postponed from Wednesday to this Saturday, both from 6:00 to 8:00 pm

-------------------------

CLEVELAND - Late last night, the City of Cleveland received information from First Energy regarding potentially hundreds of locations with wires down that could pose a safety risk. The Mayor immediately called a series of conference calls and required First Energy to establish a plan to assess the reported locations and mitigate the risks as quickly as possible. First Energy has been providing hourly updates regarding their progress and have committed to having their review completed by nightfall today.

Due to this information and in light of yesterday’s tragic event with a 12-year-old child being hurt after touching a downed power line, the City of Cleveland is encouraging families with children twelve and under to attend its annual Big City Boo celebrations held at city recreation centers from 6-8 p.m. this Saturday, November 3.

The City of Cleveland is also asking that families refrain from trick or treating in the interest of safety.

“This decision comes out of an abundance of caution to help keep our residents and children safe from harm as we work to resolve the fallout from Hurricane Sandy,” said Mayor Jackson. “We will continue to work to identify and mitigate risks from power lines and restore power to our residents.”

Cleveland Public Power is also required to regularly report its progress regarding downed wires and power restoration to Mayor Jackson. The process of identifying potentially hazardous downed wires is ongoing and the number of reported wires down is constantly changing as we assess each location and we receive new calls.

Friday, 9:00 am 11.2.2012 Superstorm Electricity Outage UPDATE


Cleveland Public Power
CPP estimates that less than 500 CPP customers are without power at this time.
If you are still without power please call 216-664-3156. 

As of 10:00 pm last night CPP crews cleared up all known locations of wires down and had restored service to all known pockets of outage areas on the east side of Cleveland. Damaged mainline wires across the City are being cut, removed and replaced.  The west side saw significant downed trees and branches that impacted feeders, mainlines, transformers, cross arms, single service lines down and other ancillary equipment.

Major areas with mainlines and feeders cleared in the last 12-hours include: East 149 and St. Clair; East 127 and Lancelot;  East 55th and East 66th; Stickney & Galaxy Avenue area. There still may be instances of individual outages or new wire down locations that were identified from CPP's overnight survey of locations with wires down. These are all individual locations being addressed today.

A double shift of Trouble crews worked overnight. Mainline wires were installed at three locations on the west side. Service was restored to St. Patrick’s Church on Bridge and cleveland Animal Protective League. The Trouble crews cut mainlines in the clear in 15 locations on the west side based on info received from visits to 144 “wire down” locations. There were 18 verified locations where mainlines will need to be put up (beyond the 15 that were cut in the clear last night).. About a dozen poles still need to be installed as part of the service restoration process.

Once repairs are completed to the overall CPP infrastructure, efforts will turn to individual locations of service disruptions, where problems like wires down to individual houses or fuses blown on individual pole mounted transformers are causing customers to still be without electricity. The exact number of those locations is unknown and will be primarily driven by outage calls from customers in areas where our primary distribution infrastructure has been repaired.

FirstEnergy (for outages cal 888-544-4877)

There are approximately 17,500 FirstEnergy customers remaining without power in the City of Cleveland.  There are estimates of 58,500 homes in Cuyahoga County that are still without power; 1,770 without power in Lorain County, and 3,700 in Lake County.

Workers restored electricity to about 47,000 customers in a 24-hour period that ended mid-afternoon Thursday.

CITY OF CLEVELAND - Situation Report, 11.2.2012


  • Cleveland Public Power: All feeders back online. Focus is now on primary and secondary wires. Poles have been broken. Most remaining outages are individualized. Hope to be completed by Friday night (11/2/12). Approximately 58 crews working. Reports of child fatally energized by down CEI line in Collinwood area. Reporting outages, down lines: 664-3156.
  • WPC: All pumps back online. Flood water receding, 664-2513
  • Water: Delivery not impacted. Brecksville tower is on generator, tree cleaning still ongoing. Small, precautionary, boil alert in Parma for 3 apartment buildings until tomorrow morning.
  • Mayor's Office: CEI outlined plan for City officials. Still about 22,000 customers without power (Cleveland). Have regular calls scheduled with CEI. Public Works has had over 400 calls for service, 26 right-of-ways still blocked, trash collection on time. Recreation centers - 16 in service as of yesterday (10/31/12) evening. Mayor hosted meeting with Council, CPP, CEI. 11/7/12 public utilities committee meeting – response to this storm will be discussed.
  • American Red Cross - Current shelter update as of 2:30 PM: Cleveland (31 occupants), Brooklyn (17 occupants, facility will be open overnight), Mentor (location changed to reception center at Fairport Harbor 8 am-8 pm), Lorain (shelter going to Avon Lake, open about 7 PM, waiting on address), Lakewood (92 occupants). Still calling for warming/sheltering. No reported security issues. 216-431-3010
    SHELTER LOCATIONS:American Red Cross will staff shelters, provide food, and cots for sleeping. 

    •  Solon Community Center, 
    35000 Portz Parkway, Solon•  Rocky River Civic Center21016 Hilliard Rd. , Rocky River•  Helen Brown Center
    16100 Euclid Ave, East Cleveland
    •  Seven Hills Service and Rec Center, 7777 Summitt View Drive, Seven Hills•  Thurgood Marshall Rec Center, 8611 Hough Ave, Cleveland• Garfield Middle School, 13114 Detroit Rd, Lakewood• Bedford Rec Center, 124 Ellenwood Ave, Bedford• Mentor Senior Center, 8484 Munson Rd., Mentor• Brooklyn Senior Center, 7727 Memphis Ave, Brooklyn
  • United Way 211: Will get specific call numbers in AM. Dial 211.
  • Cleveland Public Health: no new info.
  • Law Enforcement: LE Staffing of shelter (Thurgood Marshall) will be maintained. 621-1234,http://www.facebook.com/ClevelandPoliceDept
  • Cuyahoga County OEM: No further community requests to office.
  • EOC JIC: Developed one page resource list (utilities, etc) as requested by City Council. Still pushing health/safety/debris clean-up messaging. Flooding concerns forwarded to Water Pollution Control.
  • Public Safety: Normal operations for Kennel, Police, Fire, EMS. Police maintained at approximately 12 locations with downed wires. Will send out updates every four hours, beginning at 8 AM. Fire IP phones not working. EMS network connection down. Both are being addressed by OIT/ITS.
  • Dept of Aging: Increasing reports of no power to Aging office.