Plain Press

  • TRUTH IS: WE CAN NO LONGER AFFORD PRO SPORTS

    Truth is: We can no longer afford pro sports by Roldo Bartimole    If the Browns domed stadium in Brook Park tiff tells anything it says loudly that Cleveland and Cuyahoga County taxpayers can no longer afford the rapacious desires of billionaire sports owners.    We simply cannot pay their tab any longer.    It…

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  • GATEWAY PROMISED 28,000 JOBS;

    THREE YEARS LATER – 35,000 JOBS LOST GATEWAY PROMISED 28,000 JOBS; THREE YEARS LATER – 35,000 JOBS LOST by Roldo Bartimole   In 1990 when Cleveland politicians and top business & legal leaders were preparing to sell the first sales “sin” tax for our sports team owners, they promised 28,000 “good paying jobs for the…

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  • Media should reveal what public funds are subsidizing at Brook Park dome

    Media should reveal what public funds are subsidizing at Brook Park dome by Roldo Bartimole (Plain Press, July 2025) Now that the Republican state legislators and Gov. Mike DeWine have shoved $600 million FREE dollars into the hands of the Haslam group to build the property tax free domed stadium it’s time the public be told…

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  • History says Browns stay put

      by Roldo Bartimole (Plain Press June 2025) Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne is trying to save Cleveland.    He has put his foot down on rejecting a get-out-of-town demand from Browns owners – the Haslam family.    They’re asking for a $600 million input from County residents. Borrowed, the cost will likely double for Cuyahoga County…

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  • Cleveland leaders ignore their people

    by Roldo Bartimole      (Plain Press November 2024) Where are the political activists? Where are the Citizens?      Cleveland needs them badly.      The city has sunk into a silent obedience of acquiescence. Voters are in hiding. Leaders hide from them.      This is a serious problem.      A prognosis for a dead city.     …

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  • 2017 – A terrible year for democracy here

    by Roldo Bartimole (Plain Press, January 2018)                      As we slide toward the end of 2017 it’s hard to see this as a year of progress or advancement. Quite the opposite. Yes, Cleveland elected the familiar, if not exciting, Frank Jackson for a record four-year, fourth term. A Cleveland caretaker mayor. Not the first nor…

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  • IT IS JUST THE SAME OLD STORY—SELLOUT!

    IT IS JUST THE SAME OLD STORY—SELLOUT! by Roldo Bartimole (Plain Press, September 2017)     Fifty years ago, this headline appeared in the Plain Dealer: “NEGRO PASTORS TO SHUN ORGANIZER ALINSKY” Things don’t change much in Cleveland, do they? Not in 50 years anyway. Unless you truly understand—they do change. They get worse. I wrote that story…

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  • QUICKEN ARENA DEAL OFF/BACK ON: AS PREDICTED

    QUICKEN ARENA DEAL OFF/BACK ON: AS PREDICTED by Roldo Bartimole (Plain Press, September 2017)     (As this was being written the biggest sell-out in Cleveland history and likely the most damaging one for a community activist group in America took place. The Greater Cleveland Congregations, just as Mayor Jackson, Kevin Kelley, Armond Budish, Dan Brady, and…

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  • Roldo weighs in on Ohio Supreme Court Decision on Quicken Loans Arena Referendum JACKSON, KELLEY: PURPOSEFUL BUNGLED BLUNDER

    Roldo weighs in on Ohio Supreme Court Decision on Quicken Loans Arena Referendum JACKSON, KELLEY: PURPOSEFUL BUNGLED BLUNDER by Roldo Bartimole The Ohio Supreme Court ruling really says that Mayor Frank Jackson and Council President Kevin Kelley played an underhanded trickster game not only with the people of Cleveland but with democratic process itself in…

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