It’s not everyday in the hustle and bustle of our 21st century world, that we can both regress and progress at the same time.  The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes’ new Stewardship Center, being constructed out of cob and straw bales, is exactly that kind of unique opportunity.  By volunteering to participate in the Center’s construction this month and next, you can relive the mud-pie making days of your childhood but create the future home of our volunteer corps.  You can learn an art of homebuilding that dates back the ancient communities of Mesopotamia, but today is being hailed as a modern technological solution to energy-intensive, conventional buildings.   Buildings across the US consume 40 percent of all energy resources and emit a third of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere (Nature Resources Defense Council).  Join in on any of the activities outlined below to celebrate the best of the past and collaborate on the best of the future.  And while it may be an innovative green building project, it’s still a building project---check our website often for up to the minute workshop details!  Thanks all.

Join the FUN, bring a FRIEND - Build and Craft the Cob Walls
 Participate in the Stewardship Center Green Building Events. Sign up at  www.shakerlakes.org or call Sara Thorne-Briechle at (216) 321-5935 x 237.
Target Dates: Sept. 22-Oct. 28, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. OR  1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Volunteers Needed: 6-per shift
Description: Volunteers will use prepared cob to build Stewardship Center walls; prep and clean up projects as needed; mix and apply natural plaster; and work with local artist Katherine Chilcote to install artwork in and on the walls. View the chronology here:

Norm--I LOVE today's GIMP header of a flooded Rockefeller Park.  I think of Masumi Hayashi and John Jackson.   And, it makes me want to reread Love in the Ruins by Walker Percy. 

It is official - "Cuyahoga County commissioners voted 2-1 today to raise the sales tax a quarter of a penny to help bring a Medical Mart to Cleveland." Perhaps you'd like time to think about this more, and the opportunity to vote with other citizens on how you are taxed.  Other citizens feel the same and have formed a committee to "Put It On The Ballot"- a grass-roots campaign to collect enough signatures to force the 1/4% sales tax increase to be placed on a ballot. This Friday, July 27, there will be an Excellence Roundtable at The Inner Circle where some of the people involved with this campaign will join a discussion on this issue, from all directions.

To learn more about the campaign, visit http://putitontheballot.com - you'll certainly read more about this initiative on this site and on REALNEO throughout the coming months. 7GEN (developer of REALNEO) is providing this Drupal site for this initiative, and I look forward to learning more about the campaign and all related issues.

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Two weeks ago saw the second birthday of REALNEO. I started REALNEO in October, 2004, to provide “Regional Economic Action Links for North East Ohio” and implement for the region some exciting open source social networking technology. While the outcomes have not been entirely what I expected, and these years have in ways been rough, I've been thrilled to help drive and support some great developments in the community.

THIS IS A FIRST TIME EVENT: See Cleveland in a whole new way: WITHOUT YOUR CAR!

Rockefeller Park and the Cultural Gardens will be open for you to enjoy

because MLK Dr will be closed to cars... TWO SUNDAYS IN AUGUST!

New for 2006, “Walk and Roll Cleveland” will be Sunday August 6th and Sunday August 13th, from 11am until 5pm. MLK Drive between Rockefeller Greenhouse and the tennis courts is 2.1 miles which is a perfect distance to encourage bicycle riding, rollerblading, walking, jogging, picnicking and exploring.

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THIS IS A FIRST TIME EVENT: See Cleveland in a whole new way: WITHOUT YOUR CAR!

Rockefeller Park and the Cultural Gardens will be open for you to enjoy

because MLK Dr will be closed to cars... TWO SUNDAYS IN AUGUST!

New for 2006, “Walk and Roll Cleveland” will be Sunday August 6th and Sunday August 13th, from 11am until 5pm. MLK Drive between Rockefeller Greenhouse and the tennis courts is 2.1 miles which is a perfect distance to encourage bicycle riding, rollerblading, walking, jogging, picnicking and exploring.

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I am really appreciative, this morning. After posting what was certainly the saddest news I can imagine, about the hardship my staff has suffered as a result of a lack of appreciation from my former business associate, Peter Holmes, I opened up this week's CoolCleveland and found that their crew had featured TWO postings from REALNEO. I am very touched and thankful to Thomas and his team for noticing REALNEO and taking an interest in the thoughts posted here - thank you. Please show appreciation back to CoolCleveland... if you are not a member, see what you've been missing... subscribe at CoolCleveland - all free - this is a real NEO must,  and send feedback to CoolCleveland letters at the links below, and supporting the upcoming CoolCleveland/Tech/Ingenuity party at Fat Fish Blue, July 13, and the Ingenuity Festival, as described below... but first, here's the nice write-up about REALNEO from CoolCleveland today, July 5, 2006:

 The following story with its links ran in CASE Daily (Case's online newpaper) today. Do feel like you have entrepreneurial genes? I think I do! Please post your thoughts
"Do genes influence who will be entrepreneurs?"

ABC News (Reuters), June 5, 2006
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2041245

Prelude2Cinema second in a series of fundraisers to support the Studio Expansion and the creation of a New Industry in Northeast Ohio. This Dinner is at Massimo's da Milano and takes place May 4th from 5pm to 7pm. It features a free dinner and a cash bar. The cost is only $20.00. Celebrities are expected to attend. You must RSVP by http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/alexmichaels@prelude2cinema.com/fundthestudio

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Ohio Congressman Bob Ney is certainly entitled to have the facts proved before he’s considered guilty, but it’s a disservice to voters to claim the charges against him are “just politics” or “the way things work in DC.”  By asserting that these allegations are “the way things get done,” supporters drag politics and government lower and give disgusted voters more reasons to give up on government.  To really understand the accusations and why the allegations are more than routine, readers need to understand the nature of the charges and the facts at hand.

Today's Tuesdays@REI on Doan Brook was electric with community interest and involvement. Issues were discussed involving water quality, energy, restoration, historic assets and active use.

The plans and options presented were clear and ambitious. They demonstrated that clear, clean water can be a magnet for business. Our water assets must no longer be taken for granted.

Today's Tuesdays@REI topic on "The Doan Brook Watershed Partnership" attracted the attention of many people and organizations, as the issues discussed connect to many important initiatives that concern water, as a natural resource and a source of positive economic impact.

[Picture (source) : Fishing in the pond near the former Mount Sinai complex at Rockefeller Park and Doan Brook]

These presentations represent the variety of facets coming together
throught the Doan Brook Partnership. These (large) Powerpoint
presentations give you a broad perspective.