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Last Activity: Yesterday at 03:25 PM |
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Location: Cleveland, OH |
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Country: United States |
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Member Since: March 30, 2006 |
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Number of Posts: 3045 |
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Age/Gender: 34 / M |
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Zodiac Sign: Taurus |
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Status: Single |
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Sexual Preference: Girls |
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Open To: Friends, Casual Dating, Relationship, Playmates |
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About Me: Single guy, living in Ohio. Into punk, goth, metal, movies, books and comics. Sci-fi/horror/fantasy are my favorite genres, though I enjoy mystery and historical items as well. CONFIRMED MEMBER: A.S.S. (American Sex Society) Oversexed, Undersupplied, and Always, but Always Ready
My Amazon.com wishlist:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/11IH2J3ZRDURM |
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Body Alterations: None yet, kinda mulling over getting some tattoos once I save some money. I give blood on at least a semi-annual basis and I'd hate to give that up because they don't take people who've recently gotten tats. |
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Favorite Bands: Iron Maiden, Metallica, Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Primal Fear, Nox Arcana, Sinergy, Mob Rules, Hammerfall, Rhapsody, Queensryche, Iced Earth, Heaven's Gate, Queen, Blues Traveller, Meatloaf, Warren Zevon (RIP) |
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Favorite Movies: Highlander, The Howling, Blade Runner, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, The Grudge, House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, The Ring, Three Colors trilogy, Name of the Rose, Bubba Ho-Tep, Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas, The Big Lebowski, The Terminator, Star Wars eps 4-6 and ep 1, LotR trilogy, Rankin & Bass' Hobbit, The Last Unicorn |
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Favorite Books/Authors: Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Margaret Frazer, Christopher Golden, Katherine Eliska Kimbriel, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Edgar Allen Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, William Shakespeare, Hunter S. Thompson, Arthur Miller, Al Franken, Michael Moore, Molly Ivins |
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Likes: Women, wine, beer, heavy metal, swords, maces, axes and daggers, punk, goth, politics, reading, writing. |
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Pet Peeves: Assholes, Republicans (really the same thing these days), dishonesty. |
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Posted: 08/07/08 at 05:05 PM |
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| Greater Cleveland RTA up to deception and thuggery. |
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RTA's board of directors, along with general manager Joe Calabrese, want to eliminate two dozen bus lines — including all community circulators, drastically reduce service on twenty-seven other routes, and raise fares to ridiculously high levels. The service cuts, scheduled to take place in October, would bring to an end the sole means of vehicular transport for thousands of workers, students, and patients in the Greater Cleveland area. This is unacceptable.
Compounding the decision, Calabrese lied to riders who attended several meetings held the week of August 4th, citing bogus numbers about ridership, national fare averages, and other subjects. This he did in an attempt to blame a projected $20-29 million deficit for 2009 on cuts in state funding and increased fuel costs. The numbers, however, do not add up. For one thing, according to research by the American Public Transportation Association, ridership has not going up for the last five years. For example, a comparison of December 2006 and December 2007 shows that ridership actually declined from 4,607.1 to 3,882.0. What's more, ridership dropped from 4,423.2 in January 2008 to 4,141.3, then went back up again in March to 4,260.2. That last number is lower than figures for March 2007, which was 4,982.
Source 1
Source 2
As to average fare rates, according to the following link:
Source 3
Average fare paid per unlinked trip was $1.12. For bus, it was $0.89, commuter rail $4.22, paratransit $2.45, heavy rail $1.10, and light rail $0.72. The proposed fare increase for RTA riders? From the current $1.75 to $2.25, more than double the national average for 2006. Unfortunately, I don't have the 2008 average, but I'm certain it's not even close to what Calabrese and his fellow goons stated at the public hearings.
That Joe Calabrese is lying is evident. The question that must be asked is, "Why?" Why lie about these things? One theory suggests that decreased state funds and rising fuel costs are not the primary reason for the projected deficit. My guess is that the Euclid Corridor project, which is costing taxpayers around $200 million — 80-83% of which comes from the federal government, leaving the remaining $40 million or so to come from somewhere else, probably the operating budget — is the primary culprit. Another factor for consideration is the expensive replacement of the nineteen years-outdated fare boxes which, according to many riders, are experiencing numerous glitches.
Something fishy is going on, and I suspect it has to do with fiscal mismanagement at RTA by the administrators. This is worth looking into, as it affects the lives of thousands of people whose lives depend on the routes up for elimination and reduction.
Citizens of Cuyahoga County must rally not only to save the targeted bus and circulator lines and keep fares where they are; we must petition for the removal of Joe Calabrese and the RTA board of directors. |
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