Rust Wire has previously highlighted Donald Carter, the David Lewis Director of the Remaking Cities Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. (Take a look at our prior post on Carter’s efforts to trade the term “Rust Belt” for “Water Belt” and change “Sun Belt” into “Drought Belt.”)
Here’s a piece by Carter from Sunday’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discussing The Mayors’ Institute on City Design, which took place last month with mayors from Springfield, Illinois; Elkhart, Indiana; Canton, Ohio; Charleston and Huntington, West Virginia; Kenosha and Racine, Wisconsin.
See if you agree with …

Take a look at this column from the Gary Post-Tribune.

This Indiana city has had casinos since the 1990s, and yet they haven’t really brought the economic development that was promised, this writer believes.

“The Gary casinos haven’t been a complete flop. They have provided jobs and tax revenue of up to $25 million a year to the city,” he writes. “But, the economic development hasn’t followed.”

And keep in mind…Gary is just a short drive from the metropolis of Chicago. And one of those casinos had the Trump name on it, according to the story.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has recommended the city of Gary merge with another political entity to ward off financial shortcomings.
The recommendation comes as a new state law will lower the allowable tax rates in the state, threatening the impoverished city’s revenues.

Which begs the question, what city, county or other political entity is going to voluntarily merge with Gary, Indiana?
When are midwestern states going to stop treating their cities as enemies?
This isn’t leadership, this is negligence.
-AS

Ohio’s water quality along Lake Erie received a failing grade in an annual report from the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Lake Erie beaches in the Buckeye State exceeded health standards only 19% of the time, just behind Indiana’s 18%, according to the report. Louisana came in a distant third with 29%.
The most common bacteria found floating in Ohio’s waters is E. Coli, according to the report.
Regional sewer district officials in Cleveland joined the NRDC and the Ohio Environmental Council and Environment Ohio at a news conference to announce the annual report yesterday at Edgewater Park …

If you aren’t on Jackson media overload, take a look at this story examining Jackson’s legacy in his hometown of Gary, Indiana.
Gary was founded as company town for U.S. Steel.
Jackson’s father, Joseph Jackson, was a steelworker here.
The share of people living below the poverty line in Gary, a city of about 97,700, grew to 33.2 percent in 2007 from 25.8 percent in 2000, according to Census statistics cited in the story.

The Environmental Defense Fund has launched a new ad with Braddock Mayor John Fetterman, claiming carbon caps could offer relief to former steel towns.

Wow.

Monday’s L.A. Times has an interesting article about how President Obama will have to tread lightly for fear of alienating auto workers and auto retirees in the auto swing states of Ohio and Indiana.
“…politics could prove unavoidable, given the president’s ties to the UAW and his election campaign’s reliance on auto-heavy states such as Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.”
The story goes on to add, “White House officials have moved in recent days to minimize future strains on union ties by offering at least supportive words for the UAW’s arguments. An administration …