20101011-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_--
10/8/2010
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$1.50/OCTOBER 11 - 17, 2010
Vol. 31, No. 40
RAYS OF HOPE IN THE FLATS Business owners, city leaders see better future in district as recreation picks up By JAY MILLER and STAN BULLARD jmiller@crain.com, sbullard@crain.com
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et ready for the new Flats. It won’t be the same, alcohol-fueled party central as the old Flats, pronounced dead years ago. At least that’s what Andy Halko is thinking. Mr. Halko, president of Insivia Marketing & Interactive Web Design, is moving his 14-person firm from Superior Avenue on the eastern edge of downtown to 2020 Center St. in the middle of the Flats. “We’re excited about having access See FLATS Page 20
Andy Halko moved Insivia Marketing & Interactive Web Design to the middle of the Flats.
Downtown officials see buildings such as the old B&O Passenger Terminal as assets.
The Cleveland Rowing Club will move to Columbus Peninsula from Scranton Peninsula.
Survey: Lack of faith in NE Ohio economy persisting By DAN SHINGLER dshingler@crain.com
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Northeast Ohio businesses agree on many things — that the federal government should reduce its borrowing and spending, for one — but they can’t seem to agree on whether the economy is improving. When the Deloitte accounting firm did a survey of 133 Northeast
Ohio businesses in INSIDE: Responses economy was “well into August and September, recovery,” while a few to Deloitte survey it found a bit of bifurmore, 10.5%, said the questions. Page 22 cation when it asked, nation was entering a “Where do you believe the U.S. is in double-dip recession. terms of current economic cycle?” In other words, 43.6% of those One-third of the respondents surveyed were pessimistic, while said the U.S. still was in a recession, 45.9% were optimistic — a nearly while 42.1% said the nation’s even split with the remainder economy was in the beginning of undecided. a recovery. A few, 3.8%, said the On the local economy, they
generally were more downbeat. A whopping 81.2% said they were either “not particularly confident” or “not at all confident” in it, while only 18.8% said they were “very” or “somewhat confident.”
So who’s right? “It depends on the company and the industry they’re in,” said See SURVEY Page 22
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SPECIAL SECTION
SMALL BUSINESS Area auto dealers adjust to tough sales by offering used cars, other products ■ Page 11 PLUS: THE DREADED BED BUG ■ GRAND OPENINGS ■ & MORE
INSIDE Analyzing privatized economic development Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich’s plan for a nonprofit to take over the state’s economic development efforts isn’t a sure winner, in the view of experts. Page 3