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$2.00/APRIL 9 - 15, 2012
Sorry streets, slow cash flow stressing cities
2012 ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM INDUCTIONS
Municipalities now forced to piece together funds with state, federal support waning By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com
JASON MILLER
Kim Monroe is the program manager for the new SiriusXM channel being broadcast from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
ROCK ON THE RADIO SiriusXM DJs play quiet roles in city’s music scene
By TIMOTHY MAGAW tmagaw@crain.com
T
he Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and the city it calls home will take the national stage this week during the Rock Hall’s 27th annual induction ceremonies. But nestled deep inside the museum in a studio named after Alan Freed — the man who many call the father of rock and roll — is a cadre of SiriusXM satellite radio disc jockeys serving up the sounds of the Rock Hall to a national audience on a weekly basis. See ROCK Page 5
Cutbacks in state and federal money, as well as declines in local tax revenue, have cities throughout Northeast Ohio scrambling to keep their streets smooth and free-flowing. It isn’t just the rebuilding of the Inner Belt link into downtown Cleveland that has been thrown into limbo by tight finances at the Ohio Department of Transportation. Road work takes long-term planning, and gridlock in Washington over transportation dollars coupled with less money filtering down to the local level in the current state budget is leaving more communities to fend for themselves in maintaining their roads. Cities are reacting in different ways,
depending on their finances. “When essential major road and bridge projects are not funded by the federal government or by the state, the impact of those decisions extends to the smaller projects as well,” said Ken Silliman, chief of staff to Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson. “If you have to piece together funding for a major project, the small and midsized projects have to wait longer.” Despite a decision by ODOT to delay the awarding of state money for the widening of a section of Pearl Road, Strongsville Mayor Tom Perciak says he plans to move ahead with the $11.9 million project. “What we’re doing is staying on our aggressive schedule of what we had planned,” the mayor said. “We See CITIES Page 17
CORRECTION An April 2, Page One story on a foreclosure case filed by U.S. Bank against the owner of the Tower at Erieview failed to report that the bank is acting as a trustee
on behalf of C-III Asset Servicing LLC of Irving, Texas, which is handling a $44 million mortgage on the office property. U.S. Bank is not the lender on this building.
IN MEMORIAM: E.M. DE WINDT
Former Eaton CEO’s influence still felt across Cleveland
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Few business leaders have left their imprint on Cleveland like Edward Mandell de Windt, who died last week at the age of 91. Better known as Del, Mr. de Windt’s legacy not only can be seen in the strength of Eaton Corp., the industrial giant he ran for nearly two decades, but also is found in the civic organizations he helped form — notable among them, Cleveland Tomorrow and the Greater Cleveland Roundtable. To mark his passing, Crain’s is reprinting here a profile of Mr. de Windt that ran 22 years ago this
month in our 10th anniversary issue. It gives a true flavor of Mr. de Windt and the role he played as corporate and civic leader at critical junctures in the lives of his company and his city. By DAVID PRIZINSKY
To E. Mandell de Windt, it was Christmas-time 1979 when the future of Cleveland began to take shape. During that holiday season, the city’s corporate leaders in just a few days raised $800,000 to finance
EDITORIAL: Few CEOs have touched their companies and the community as Del de Windt did. Page 8 a private business task force which would help Cleveland City Hall straighten out its financial mess. Mr. de Windt, who spearheaded the fundraising drive, said the fast accumulation of cash was proof of the private sector’s eagerness to work with Mayor-elect George Voinovich in restoring the city’s financial health and in repairing the city’s
battered image. But the business community’s involvement in the remaking of Cleveland didn’t stop with throwing money at a situation. “We had one-third more loaned executives than we thought would be the minimum needed,” said Mr. de Windt, longtime chairman and chief executive officer of Eaton Corp. He was referring to a program in which executives lent their financial and management expertise to the city. See INFLUENCE Page 9
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SMALL BUSINESS Entrepreneurs find writing books provides proper outlet for life experiences ■ Page 13 PLUS: BEST BETS FOR PITCHING BLOGGERS ■ & MORE
Entire contents © 2012 by Crain Communications Inc. Vol. 33, No. 15