"SELECTIVE OR MISINFORMATION?

Alot has been posted about all the misinformation, rumors, ect. on this site.
Today I received my February copy of the "Painesville Pride" newspaper. At the top of page 2 was an article "City receives a grant for Streetscape Project." On November 20,2008 the City of Painesville received a grant for $75,000 from the Governing Board of the Northeastern Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency [NOACA] for the City's Transportation for Livable Communities Streetscape project.
Great,was it important to mention anywhere in the article that for the city to receive the $75,000, Painesville had to pony up with $18,000 of their own money or no grant. Was this selective or misinformation? I will let you decide.
So in reality this is a $93,000 study right?

"FIRST GUEST POST"

JT. posted this and I thought it was a good question.

Just what is the goal of having all the cities employees living in the city? Remember that I live here and would never talk down the city. BUT I ask of why they have to is important to you.
Intelligent banter welcome. JT.

"PAINESVILLE AT THE CROSSROAD"

With all the negative things in the economy, I'm hearing good news coming from Colony Lumber. Anybody out there want to share?

"WHAT IS THE PERCEPTION OF PAINESVILLE?"

What is the perception of Painesville, to it's residents and people in the surrounding communities? A poster even suggested that sites like this blog.might keep employers and jobs from Painesville. Does the city having its own utilities bring people to town? Is it enough that we now have five new school buildings. Everyone seems to think that diversity is a plus for Painesville, Are other Painesville services up to par? A community center, senior center, parks and recreation facilitys. What's important to you?

"GYPSY'S,TRAMPS, AND THIEVES"

Went back over alot of the past posts and it seems all the name calling are people complaining about someone who posted something "negative" about Painesville?
Ignorant, idiot, whiners and even racist were always directed to the poster in most cases,why? With the exception of someone calling the city leadership "buffons" who someone else corrected them on their spelling, I could not find posts where anyone from the city or school board were called these names. Why is it that if someone disagrees with someone they use these terms? I don't think it helps anyones argument.
Someone asked about why the different post on the power outage. Receiving no answers from the city, I went to the News-Herald web. site and I was amazed by all the comments left there. I got the impression there are more unhappy people in town than I thought.
Most people want he truth not someone to pretend everything is fine. One poster wanted better communication from the city, others are tired of the power being off three times in a week and could care less why. After the city claimed the outage was on First Energys side of the sub-station? The question from someone was why two of the boilers were off line at the same time, and the city knew power demand would skyrockets around 6:30 it does everyday?.... Proud to be on the list????

"GOOD LUCK MR. PRESIDENT"

CONGRADULATIONS TO PRESIDENT OBAMA OUR 44TH PRESIDENT. THE PUBLICS EXPECTATIONS OF THIS MAN ARE UNBELIVEABLE, HE WILL HAVE TO HAVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BEHIND HIM 100% TO BE SUCCESSFUL. WE JUST CAN'T ELECT HIM AND EXPECT EVERYTHNG TO WORK OUT. WE STILL HAVE ENEMYS THAT WANT TO KILL US, THE ECONOMY TOOK A BIG HIT, UNEMPLOYMENT IS AT 7%. I READ IN YHE PAPER THEIR WAS OVER 400 FORECLOSURES JUST IN OUR CITY. THIS WILL TAKE MORE THAN A QUICK FIX.

"QUICK NOTES"

Council meeting Tuesday might 01/20/09 City Manager stated the electrical outage over the weekend believed was caused by a relay on the First Energy side of the relay substation. Law Director Gurley's report stated that he may oppose golf carts on city streets, legally they can be street driven if thay have all required equipment and are registered. The Fire Chiefs Technical Rescue Vehicle was put on first reading because councilman Werner and Flock voted no. The resolution was rather unspecific, the chief will have to show council exactly what he wants. Water line on Jackson St. approved. Establishing a JEDD fund in the 2009 budget was approved. Police Chief Smith introduced our new K9 officer that was helped sponsored by Mrs. Selma Hall's $500 dollar donation, also gave his annual report, domestic violence took a big jump last year due to a change in the law. The city is fortunate to have a professional police chief like Chief Smith.

POWER OUTAGE

The News-Herald January 19, 2009


Power outage reported in Painesville and surrounding areas


Power is being restored in Painesville and parts of Concord, Perry and Painesville townships this morning after a power outage.

The outage occurred around 6:30 a.m., Painesville City Manager Rita McMahon said.

About half of the customers of Painesville Municipal Electric has had their power already restored.

McMahon said the rest of the customers can expect to have their power return shortly.

The cause of the outage is unknown but McMahon said there was a problem at the Painesville power substation located on Richmond Street.



COMMENTS FROM THE NEWS-HERALD READERS

Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of news-herald.com.

wondering wrote on Jan 19, 2009 8:32 AM:

" I'm a City of Painesville resident. There was a city wide outage yesterday for almost two hours. What's going on? "

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pville resident wrote on Jan 19, 2009 9:14 AM:

" wondering, you are correct there was a outage yesterday also, its keeps becoming more reocurring. Everytime time there is the slight wind the power goes out. "

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Jack wrote on Jan 19, 2009 9:22 AM:

" One of the things I've wondered about as info has come out on the JEDD in Concord Twp containing the new TriPoint hospital is how reliable electrical power to the hospital will be if it's eventually supplied by Painseville power instead of the Illuminating Company. Will Painesville's Mom & Pop electrical operation be up to the challenge of providing & maintaining service to this critical user? "

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perry person wrote on Jan 19, 2009 9:22 AM:

" I called to report the outage yesterday and got a recording that just kept repeating over and over. Where was everyone? I just got my power back on at 9:15 this morning. brrrrr! "

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Indeed wrote on Jan 19, 2009 9:24 AM:

" Indeed this is getting to be a little irksome. Try working for a small business and having the power go out. It puts a severe cramp on the normal business day.
But hey...Its Winter and Ohio...should be commonplace by now. "

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Cold wrote on Jan 19, 2009 9:38 AM:

" Painesville electric is a joke! I've never lost power this much before we moved up here. We loose power at least once a month. This is getting ridiculous! "

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painesville resident wrote on Jan 19, 2009 9:42 AM:

" I'm sooooo sick of our power going out. It has gone out 4 times in the last 6 days. What is going on? Why doesn't a Painesville Power representative tell us why this keeps happening. Not just not, but all the time!!! "

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CONCERNED wrote on Jan 19, 2009 9:44 AM:

" I TOO WAS ONE OF THE ONES WHO DIDN'T HAVE POWER ON SUNDAY AND THIS MORNING. NOT FUN TRING TO GET READY FOR WORK AND 2 YEAR OLD TWINS READY. I HOPE THEY GET IT FIXED SOON. I AM JUST GLAD THAT WE HAVE A GAS FIREPLACE SO WE DON'T FREEZE! "

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Mentor Resident wrote on Jan 19, 2009 9:54 AM:

" My power better not go out, I just went grocery shopping! "

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joe wrote on Jan 19, 2009 10:20 AM:

" anoyher good reason for teachers to take the day off "

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MC wrote on Jan 19, 2009 10:24 AM:

" Painesville has the worst issues with their power! I could sneeze too hard and the power would go out! It was out Thursday, yesterday and today! This is something that has been happening for years. Come on, let's get it together! Made getting ready for work real fun thismorning. "

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typical wrote on Jan 19, 2009 10:31 AM:

" This is typical for Painesville muni power lately! We have lived here for over 4 years and I can expect at least 6-10 outages a year, even when the weather isn't bad. And it always seems to be the same "section" of the town. I would love, as a tax paying homeowner, to see a report of the number of power outages per year and a map showing which areas have the most. Maybe Painesville should start investing money in what we already have, like the power plant and sub-stations and not in buying property and building even more buildings that are going to sit empty for years. I'm all for making Painesville a better place to live, not just a better place to look at. "

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Big Jake wrote on Jan 19, 2009 10:34 AM:

" You can all BLAME MENTOR. The watchdog and I are looking into it! Im on your side! I just got a job with dateline due to my intense community activistity. "

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concered resident with loved ones in painesville wrote on Jan 19, 2009 10:47 AM:

" Actually the power was in and out all night. And is still not back on everywhere. "

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Observer wrote on Jan 19, 2009 11:00 AM:

" In twenty five hours everything will be ok! "

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Outage wrote on Jan 19, 2009 11:02 AM:

" Maybe if Painesville Manager would invest in new Transformer's this would not be happening. Have you people seen the roads, what are our tax dollar's doing for this town? Nothing! We need to get rid of McMahon & have someone that will do something to this Town! This town is reminding me of Fairport! "

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pville wrote on Jan 19, 2009 11:07 AM:

" I live in Painesville also and my power has very rarely gone out, but my mom's is out all the time. Maybe it is time to start looking in to what the problem is and fixing it. This is not the weather to have problems in. "

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oh please wrote on Jan 19, 2009 11:28 AM:

" I used to live off oHio street in Mentor and Everytime it rained hard the power went out for hours.....at a time! Whiners "

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annoyed wrote on Jan 19, 2009 11:36 AM:

" What I want to know is, how are you supposed to report an outage or find out what's going on with the messed up "voice mail" they have at the Electricity Distribution number? "To report a power outage, press 1" - then it kicks you to voice mail and just keeps looping the same stupid message. And you try to call the Power Plant and it just rings and rings. "

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Paines resident wrote on Jan 19, 2009 11:43 AM:

" Yesterday we heard what sounded like fireworks going off at the new richmond road sub station. Then a load banging coming from the power plant itself. Then the light went off. Came back on in the late afternoon. Then went out again early this am. Last year the exact same thing happened only the new sub station caught fire. Whats up with this? "

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jerrey lewis wrote on Jan 19, 2009 12:02 PM:

" President Bush is the best President we have ever had!!! We should put him back in the White House for another eight years!!!All you people who want to bash him are stupid!!! "

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louise wrote on Jan 19, 2009 12:13 PM:

" the city continues to tell us how lucky we are we have our own power plant.
guess they forgot to feed the hampsters again.
this is getting quite annoying.
resident "

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resident wrote on Jan 19, 2009 12:17 PM:

" This has been going on for 2 days now and you can hear a loud noise coming from the plant, hmmmmmmmmmmm.........and no one seems to know what is goin on? Let's all play silly here. "

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Tired of no electric wrote on Jan 19, 2009 12:40 PM:

" I am tired of the outages in Painesville Township. We lost power on Christmas Eve for 2 hours. We lost power last week end for a few hours and numerous times when I get home, all my clocks are blinking. And, where there is an outage, there is no one to call to report it! "

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prb wrote on Jan 19, 2009 12:47 PM:

" I have lived in Painesville City for 33 years.
I can not keep track of all the power failures.
It is Bagdad city, no....the power is more reliable in Iraq.
Wish the investment is made to prevent the problems.
Power failure Fri., Sunday and now today. "

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Power wrote on Jan 19, 2009 1:11 PM:

" I think it's about time that the City of Painesville invests in new gerbils. It's obvious that the little guys are getting tired. "

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michelle wrote on Jan 19, 2009 1:15 PM:

" While we have had a lot of power outages here (today's were rolling blackouts because of a blown transformer), I can not complain because the price of electricy is dirt cheap in this city! (As compared to First Energy). Sometimes the old saying is true...you get what you pay for. "

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Tired of being Amish wrote on Jan 19, 2009 1:25 PM:

" It appears that the City of Painesville was ill prepared for the influx of residents caused by Heisley Park and other new developments in the area. It's time to upgrade systems and transformers to handle the additional strain on the outdated power grid. Spend my tax dollars on something that I can appreciate. "

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KCC wrote on Jan 19, 2009 1:31 PM:

" We are blessed to live in an area where the power is so reliable. I've been in Baghdad (check the spelling prb) and I think you should visit if you think things are better there. Thanks Painesville Power for all your hard work! "

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Ted Sloan wrote on Jan 19, 2009 2:07 PM:

" Who cares, it's just Painesville. "

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it wont be fixed wrote on Jan 19, 2009 2:12 PM:

" It is so much easier for the the City of Painesville Utilities Dept to make excuses and redirect attention on their upset and thus, unreasonable customers rather than make the needed repairs and improvements to prevent this from happening as often.

My power has gone out at least 5 times in the past 7 weeks including Christmas Eve. Each outage lasts from at least 60 minutes up to serveral hours.

While power outages are to be expected once in a while, the frequency of these outages are cause for concern.

It's more serious that a bunch of whiny housewives unable to watch soap operas.

Lack of traffic lights can present a serious safety concern, especially when most people do not treat these interesctions as 4 way stops, and many of these lights are in school zones. While common sense should prevail, it doesn't. It would be nice to see officers at intersections during these outages, but they happen so often that is just not cost effective.

Keeping the power on isn't the only problem faced by this power company.

Last week, I got a bill due January 9. It was delivered by the post office to my house on January 9th. There was a stamp on the envelope that read, "returned for postage." I drove to the utilities office, walked 1/4 mile in below zero windchills with a sick 4 year old just to pay my bill on time. When I showed the clerk the envelope, she said she was sorry.

Yeah. Sorry. Thanks. All better now.

This was the third time in the past 12 months that by bill has arrived after the due date marked on the bill.

Trying to reach someone in that office is next to impossible by phone for any reason whether it's reporting outages or billing questions. I feel like I have no choice but to make a trip to the office.

It is sad to me that the City of Painesville Utilities office does not take their responsibility to provide a necessary service more seriously. Those that complain are written off as inconviences rather than concerned citizens. I do not expect anything to change, though. After all, it's cheaper to make excuses and tell your customers to get over it. "

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JR wrote on Jan 19, 2009 2:20 PM:

" How long is Painesville going to hang on to an old and unreliable power plant? Oh it's cheaper than First Energy but you do get what you pay for, more outages. "

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Gary wrote on Jan 19, 2009 2:22 PM:

" HELLO!!!!! you live in Painesville..... enough said. You want better stuff.... live in a better city! "

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maverick wrote on Jan 19, 2009 2:58 PM:

" enough already use the tax dollars to repair or replace the problem,power stinks,roads stink whats up? "


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Bryan H wrote on Jan 19, 2009 4:08 PM:

" people, calling the power company will not get your power on faster and calling 911 to report power outages still will not get your power on any faster either. also, people need to realize that the police / fire departments do not have ETA's when the power will be turned back on. they will respond to check lines to make sure that they are not arcing/sparking or not in the roadway, they do not do any repairs themselves. people don't quite understand that.

I know first hand from working in police/fire dispatch.

If you need power do to a medical condition, then the fire department will assist but for the most part, just sit and wait like everyone else. "

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Pville Pride wrote on Jan 19, 2009 5:36 PM:

" I hate reading the negative comments about Painesville.

I like living in Painesville. My neighbors and I are hard working people with successful careers and nice salaries.

There are a lot of people like us who work hard to make their homes and neighborhoods beautiful, support the local economy, and volunteer to help make Painesville a better place to live and work.

It's a shame that Painesville Electic contributes to the negative image of this city by failing its mission. "

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livin in da hood wrote on Jan 19, 2009 6:06 PM:

" Why would people call 911 for a power outage? Unless you have an emergency there is no reason to call 911. We all learned that back in school. People have become lazy and stupid in the past years. Call the police they will help me, I am paying their wages! So you are blocking up 911 lines to find out when the power is going to come back on. Maybe one of the thugs in the city is breaking into my house or maybe my child or wife is hurt or ill and I have to get help because you are too lazy to look up the number to painesville power who already know the power is out. We the people need to think, and use our heads. We all need to be a little more self-reliant. There are 4 police officers for all the people in the city. They are busy taking care of the scum that resides in the city. They are not putting on their spurs and climbing up the power pole to fix your power.
THINK...THINK...THINK "

"WHERE WAS THE STUDY"

It has been announced with the repaving of Mentor Ave. between Fern Dr. and Wood St. this stretch of road will become 3 lanes one east bound one west bound and a center turning lane. This road has been 4 lanes since before Interstate 90, RT.2 when RT.20 was the main east west road in northeastern Ohio with major truck traffic and the days of monster 59'Chevy Impalas. Who was in charge of making this decision? Was there any study done to find out how this would affect traffic through the western part of Painesville? Were any traffic engineers consulted? were business in this area asked for there input? If the road is not wide enough in some areas what would be the cost to widen it? Maybe we should do a study to do it the right way, instead of the easy way.
The city manager stated, "We made the decision." It begs to ask who was "We" were members of council,saftey officals, the citizens, businesses ever consulted?
A previous poster stated that maybe when the weather breaks in the spring we make Mentor Ave. 3 lanes to at least test this idea out.

"SAVING MONEY IN PAINESVILLE"

As it seems apparent the economy has stalled, is there any ideas on how the city could save a little money in the coming year? Please serious ideas! If you see things that are a waste or things that could be done more efficently please use this post to comment.

"THING TO DO IN PAINESVILLE"

Riders Inn's coming events
January 18th,

12th Night Medevial Feast
Feast, Costumes, Music, Wassil, Mead, Celebration.
The arrival in Merry Ole England of the Three Wisemen!
Although this is not my cup of tea, its interesting to watch people partake in the goings on. [you pay extra to use silverware] Come see the Merrymen and their Wenches!
$30.00 per person


January 20th,

"Inaugural Open House"

Mr. Joseph Rider opened his cellar as a stop on the "underground railroad" to help free slaves on there way to Canada. SO
Abraham Lincoln could sign...
Rosa Parks could ride....
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. could walk with his dream...
Barrack Obama could run...
Congratulations Mr. President.
Food, Music, Friends
$5.00 donation to be given to Project Hope

"WHATS FIRST TO GO?"

With the economy seeming to be getting worse, what's the first things to go? Cable or dish T.V.? The internet? Y.M.C.A. membership? The Lottery? Health insurance?
Wonder if JT. will cut down on eating out along with the rest of us? Let your thoughts and ideas be known to the rest of Painesville.

"COUNCIL MEETING 01/05/09"

Pretty quiet meetimg, everyone probably wanted to get home to watch the game.
Selma Hall received a plaque, but from where I was sitting the sound is terrible,have no idea for what? congrats anyway Mrs. Hall.[ Mrs. Hall was given the plaque for here $500.00 donation to help pay for the training of a Painesville police dog. God Bless you Mrs. Hall] added 1/16/09
Mary Jo Miller was named citizen of the year.
La Mexicana was named business of the year.
PCIC was named non-profit of the year.
All presented by The Painesville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Gurley said he would soon present the citys views on making golf carts legal on the streets of Painesville. [I am sure there is a state law about this.]
Also a presentation on conserving electricity. by the electric department.

Applying for the grant from Clean Ohio to demolish Lake East was put on hold until July.

One issue thats seems to be on the drawimg boards for this summer is repaving Mentor Ave. The big change is that it will become a 3-lane road one lane eastbound,one lane westbound, and a center turm lane. I cam only hope this doesn't turns into a bottleneck. No passing lanes and either direction. There are at least 6 laketran bus stops between Wood St, and Fern Dr.I wonder who gave the final O.K. on this?
It wasn't council.

Second meeting in a row Ward 3 councilman Robert Fountaine was excused from a city council meeting?