local bloggers reacting to the tragic arson

By Tales from the Rust Belt
Finding a Balance When Discussing Crime

"I can't speak for the others but I take great pains to address the crime issue the way I try to address any other issue; by taking the time to understand it and suggesting ideas to improve the situation."

"As has been addressed on this site and others, the problem lies with all of us. The worst mass murder in Youngstown just occurred and there isn't a thing the mayor or police could have done to prevent it unless a patrol car was driving by just as that vicious little coward was pouring gasoline on the front porch of the house. You can't legislate behavior. It is up to each one of us to treat each other with respect, to raise our children correctly, to make sure that we all realize we are responsible for the place where we live. It doesn't matter if you don't live in the city."

"So I will continue to write about issues that I see as important and I will criticize politicians when I feel it is appropriate and constructive. I will continue to map the homicides in the city because I feel a visual representation of data is useful for people to see and make decisions. This is what I will try to do to effect change."

Provided here is only a small part of the post. Read more here.

From our Mayor:
On Wednesday's Fire

"Let everyone in this community offer our collective prayers and support for the victims and families of this unspeakable tragedy. It is impossible to comprehend how any individual could commit such a depraved and cowardly act toward another human being. However, we will work without fail to ensure that justice is served."

news: 15 Jan 2008

A Tale of Two Cities
from the Vindicator

"Youngstown City Council will vote at its Wednesday meeting to support the creation of a memorandum.

Williams and Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson as well as members of their staffs recently met in Youngstown to discuss a closer relationship between the two cities."

Funds for e-services in City Schools
from the Vindicator

"The city school district is asking the federal Universal Service Fund to pick up nearly $1.7 million in telecommunications services.

The fund, more commonly know as E-Rate, was created by the federal government to help underwrite the cost of telecommunication and Internet access services to schools and libraries.

The program, run through the Federal Communications Commission, gets its money from a universal service fee charged to companies that provide interstate or international telecommunications services."

Jay Williams Backing Obama, Will Join Campaign
from the Business-Journal
(a great article by George Nelson, a good day to have a subscription)

"Williams and the Obama campaign are discussing other campaign appearance leading up to Feb. 5, or “Tsunami Tuesday,” because of the many states holding primaries that day and the number of delegates at stake. “We are in the process of putting together specifics,” the mayor said.

After attending a fundraiser for Obama last June at the home of McDonald’s franchisee Herb Washington, where Williams and the senator spoke privately, he remarked that Obama “understands the struggles we’re going through here.” As late as last month, Williams said he had yet to settle on a candidate and was uncertain whether he would make any kind of endorsement.

Williams’ support in the approaching Feb. 5 races could be valuable on two levels, said Thomas Flynn of Boardman, an associate professor of political communication at Slippery Rock University. On the surface, Williams is a political independent and a “pragmatic problem solver” associated with an innovative approach to addressing urban issues. While serving as Youngstown’s community development director, Williams was one of the chief advocates of the Youngstown 2010 plan."

Cities Seek Common Ground
from the Business-Journal

“Among the ideas the two cities are considering is a formula to share the gains the communities reap when one business relocates from Cleveland to Youngstown and vice versa, Williams notes.

“We’d like to set up a framework where we wouldn’t poach businesses from one another,” he says. A possible solution could be an agreement to share revenue sharing for a period of time to mitigate the loss of tax revenue should a business relocate."

news: 6 Jan 2008

Opportunites Emerge at Youngstown Business Incubator
the Youngstown Vindicator

"Two new tenants already are [newly] signed. Eris Medical Technologies, a Canfield-based hospital software developer, and Visual Impact Imaging, an Akron-based landscape design software company, are scheduled to move into the incubator this spring.

The incubator also will be part of collaboration to develop the Center of Excellence in Industrial Metrology & 3D Imaging Research. Involved are Youngstown State University, M-7 Technologies, which is a Youngstown precision management company, and the Columbus-based Ohio Supercomputer Center.

The process [of selecting client companies] involves making sure the company’s concept is feasible, testing its product, then asking some of the companies in the incubator’s network to examine it and make sure there’s a market for it. If the product passes these tests, the company will be put under consideration by the incubator’s board."

College Coaching is a Youngstown Thing
the Kansas City Star

"So what does boxing’s most inspirational bout of last year have to do with Monday’s BCS National Championship Game between LSU and Ohio State?

Youngstown, Ohio.

That’s the home of Pavlik and college football coaches spread across the land.

By native-son status or a relationship with Youngstown State, coaches from this Rust Belt city halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh are defining college football with a blue-collar toughness, and Youngstown will stand and cheer no matter who wins in the Superdome."

Valley Needs Community College, says Report

"The results of the Northeast Ohio Universities Collaboration and Innovation Study are in, and they call for a community college in the Mahoning Valley.

The report, released Friday, came after a year of research by officials from Youngstown State University, the University of Akron, Cleveland and Kent State universities and the Northeast Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy.

The result was 18 recommendations aimed at increasing college enrollment and reducing tuition costs.

YSU already has taken the lead, without state sanction, in developing plans for a local community college, after a directive from its board of trustees to come up with a plan."

Review of the Mayor's State of the City Address
the Youngstown Vindicator

"He focused his discussion of the year to come on detailing plans for a new crime-prevention program, known as Operation Ceasefire.

The strategy calls for aggressive law enforcement and prosecution — gunshot detection systems and video surveillance and gang suppression through grass-roots community initiatives. It was shown to be effective in curtailing lawlessness in Boston.

Williams encouraged members of the community to keep their heads held high in spite of adversity."

“There is nothing wrong with Youngstown that cannot be fixed by what is right with Youngstown,” he said. “When faith is not enough, we must still believe.”

Leadership not Perfection

Mayor Jay Williams explains in his blog the details on the upcoming special city council meeting. Read more here.

Before any media spin/frenzy ensues, I have decided to articulate the details on the upcoming special city council meeting. At my request, City Council has agreed to hold a special meeting this Friday, December 28, 2007 to amend legislation related to management compensation. There is sure to be much speculation as to reason behind the reconsideration; the best explanation is the truth.

As leaders we must be willing to set new precedents and send new messages; at times that can be difficult to say the least. Leaders must also be willing to weather the criticism and detriment that invariably comes with the imperfect process of making those difficult decisions. It’s often referred to as “The Penalty of Leadership.”

we can prevail

Mayor Williams reflects on a double homicide that took place.

"Back to the issue at hand, I love this City. I believe in the goodness of this City. It is why I sought and intend to re-seek the Office of Mayor. Even on days when Youngstown is seemingly at its worst and it would appear easier to quit, I know that I cannot quit. We cannot quit. As tempting as it might be to write this city off, we, just, cannot, we just will not. We must press on in the face of this unyielding epidemic of violence. As many as there are who would love to see us surrender, there are more who believe, like I do, that we can prevail.

I have to believe that there must be solutions to this issue. No, not the dim-witted and impractical opinions which flow from the peanut gallery of cowards who stand on the sidelines and play armchair quarterback. Instead, I am referring to real life battle-harden solutions for people who are willing to continue the fight on the front lines. We must seek solutions that can bring sustained results to a problem with complexity beyond measure."

the voters have spoken

Mayor Williams provides his opinions on the recent election at his blog

"The citizens selected six new members of the City’s legislative body and returned an incumbent (congratulations to all of the winners.) On second thought, congratulations also to all of those who had the courage and conviction to put their names on the ballot and go through the grueling campaign process, even if in the end they were not the elected candidate.

The voters also chose to instill greater accountability in the City’s Park & Recreation Department through the approval of three out of four charter amendments. (Thank You)"

Click here to read more.