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$1.50/FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 6, 2011
Mistrust fuels Kasich’s bargaining bill Muni officials: Relationships already built allow constructive talks By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com
Reno Contipelli sees both sides of the public employee collective bargaining squabble that is roiling the Midwest. Indeed, he has been on both sides of the negotiating table. A union firefighter in Cuyahoga Heights,
Enigmatic Optima eyes
next NEO property Miami concern quietly builds local portfolio By STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com
Mr. Contipelli also is president of the Cuyahoga Heights School Board, where he negotiates contracts with union teachers. Mr. Contipelli, who as a firefighter accepts that he cannot strike, believes, as a school board member, that teachers also should not be able to strike. But he doesn’t see Senate Bill 5 — the proposal that
would take away many of the bargaining rights of public employees across Ohio — as solving what he sees as the real problem: longstanding suspicions harbored on both sides of the table. “Most negotiations come down to relationships,” said Mr. Contipelli, who noted that his first years on the school board were marred by
SPECIAL REPORT
mistrust on both sides of the table that led to contentious negotiations. “But the school board built trust with the union and since then we’ve had nothing but positive (negotiations).” While some public officials are solidly behind the Kasich Republican proposal that would increase their negotiating position with their union employees, others, including Mr. Contipelli, are
not sold on much of the package of changes Gov. John Kasich and the Republican majorities in the state Legislature are trying to enact. They say they have built relationships across the table that have allowed for reasonable contract settlements. This legislative foray is coupled in the minds of several municipal See BILL Page 27
UP IN THE AIR A look at the future of air service in Northeast Ohio and what it might mean for the region
The aviation industry is in the midst of change — from Continental’s merger with United Airlines to Southwest’s deal with AirTran Airways — and no one knows for sure what it might mean for Northeast Ohio. We examine the latest in this special six-page report. PAGES 21-26 PLUS: INTRODUCING TWO AIRPORT DIRECTORS ■ PITTSBURGH, POST-US AIRWAYS ■ WHAT IS A HUB? ■ & MORE
Less than three years after Optima Management Group of Miami opened its wallet to buy properties in downtown Cleveland, it holds a collection of four skyscrapers, nearly 2.9 million square feet of commercial space and more than 2,000 parking spaces. By a nose, Cleveland-based real estate giant Forest City Enterprises Inc. remains downtown’s largest owner of office and retail buildings, with six skyscrapers and nearly 3 million square feet of properties. But publicly traded Forest City has been buying and developing buildings downtown since the 1970s. On the other hand, family-owned Optima began acquiring properties here in May 2008, when it shelled out $82 million in cash for the One Cleveland Center office building at 1375 E. Ninth St. Nearly $188 million in Cleveland acquisitions later, Optima has said little about why it’s buying so much property here. Industry insiders say the tipping point in determining Optima’s strategy in Cleveland may be coming soon should it buy another property —
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How do downtown Cleveland restaurateurs view the new casino? We asked ■ Page 3 PLUS: FAIRVIEW HOSPITAL’S NEXT MOVE ■ PAGE 3 ST. VINCENT CHARITY FORMS FOUNDATION ■ PAGE 4
Entire contents © 2011 by Crain Communications Inc. Vol. 32, No. 9