Latest / Chuck Douglas / Downtown Columbus changes

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Downtown Columbus changes · Chuck Douglas

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Greeting, salutations, and welcome my friends to another readership at
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: the Power Hour. I'm Chuck Douglas. You know who you are,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: and we take it from there. We get one hour together,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: which means I talk really faster and you must listen
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: even faster. My number eight two one nine eight eighty
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: six A two one WTVN. My morning began, My morning began.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: My morning began with some truly beautiful music. M M.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: All right, hello, what's the crowds?
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  Speaker 1: His name is Marcus Dixon. He is a senior at
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  Speaker 1: my beloved West High School. I was there this morning
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  Speaker 1: because I had the honor of being chairman of the
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  Speaker 1: scholarship committee for the West High School Alumni Association. And
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  Speaker 1: the presentations were this morning, all the awards that were
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  Speaker 1: handed out and everything to the kids, and it was
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  Speaker 1: absolutely wonderful. Marcus is he's going to Ohio State University,
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  Speaker 1: and I want you to know he's outstanding. They say.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: As a member of the West High School football team,
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  Speaker 1: he's alignment there. He also performs the pre game and
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  Speaker 1: during halftime with the marching band while wearing his football uniform.
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  Speaker 1: And he will be attending the Ohio State University as
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  Speaker 1: a music student on a full ride scholarship. Bless his
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  Speaker 1: heart and the crowd reaction. Those were all Racus High
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  Speaker 1: school kids out there sitting in dead silence listening to
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  Speaker 1: the playing of our national anthem. From this young man.
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  Speaker 1: He captured the room. It was a wonderful way to
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  Speaker 1: start all of the awards presentations today. And as I said,
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: the scholarship commit great, great work and not an easy task,
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: taking all the applicants, doing interviews with him and narrowing
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  Speaker 1: it down, and we I believe it's an organization the
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  Speaker 1: Alumni Association helped out greatly. I don't want to congratulate
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  Speaker 1: our winners, Elizabeth Andris and Trimble Bartley and Grant Burns
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: and Alexa Espinos Malarisa. I think it's correct. Martin. We
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: had it spelled one way, it's pronounced another way. Genesis Morales, Rodriguez,
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  Speaker 1: Lyzethe Padilla, Martinez, Shilin Chante, Roddy and Vanessa Galvin Salinas
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  Speaker 1: all receiving scholarships from the West Athletic or of the
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  Speaker 1: West Alumni Association this morning. And I guess I'm all
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: excited about this because as a cowboy, as a Westside cowboy,
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: as I told the kids this morning, after I graduated
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty three, everything just kind of went downhill.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: I mean, my absence causes this, I understand, But in
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  Speaker 1: the last couple of years the trajejectory at the school
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: has changed tremendously. Last week they graduated from Columbus State
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: for students who won't even graduate high school until next week.
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: But they did. And that is the most of any
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  Speaker 1: Columbus City school. They've got. The whole technology thing is
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: just growing there by leaps and bounds. The school pride
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: is up. Daniel Roberts, doctor Daniel Roberts, is the principal
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: over there, and if he is Batman, his Robin is
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: Matthew Eyer, who I believe is official title is secretary.
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  Speaker 1: But those two guys, they've just the school is on fire.
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  Speaker 1: And it was wonderful, with such a positive experience to
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  Speaker 1: see and be a part of all of this today.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: Because the we gripe about young people all the time,
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: and oh my gosh, it's wrong with these kids, and
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: we gripe about schools, especially Columbus City schools, all all
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: the time. And here is this one beacon in the
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: darkness of what we presume to be our daily reality.
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  Speaker 1: And when it comes to our youth and our and
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  Speaker 1: our Columbus schools, this moment in time is just emblazoned
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  Speaker 1: in my mind, and I'm grateful that I got a
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: chance to be a part of it. And uh, I
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  Speaker 1: just you know, like I did that video from downtown
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  Speaker 1: this weekend, when I was walking around downtown and finding
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: all these little nooks and crannies and restaurants and shops
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  Speaker 1: and so forth that you don't see when you're driving through.
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  Speaker 1: You don't see what's going on anywhere with anything when
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  Speaker 1: you've got the cruise control set and you're moving through.
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: And these are two events that have happened to me
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  Speaker 1: in the last two and a half days where the
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  Speaker 1: song that I quoted on Facebook over the weekend is appropriate.
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  Speaker 1: Slow down, you move too fast. We got to slow
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  Speaker 1: down and start looking around because there's a lot of
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  Speaker 1: positive to be seen. And I'm so very proud of
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: of all of these young people today and and of
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  Speaker 1: MI alma Mater West High School. So I just wanted
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  Speaker 1: to let you guys know. After after a few days
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  Speaker 1: off and laying in enough little bed and eating huf
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  Speaker 1: middle boot, I came out and I got a chance
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  Speaker 1: to start the day that way, and it was wonderful.
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  Speaker 1: You ever get back to your high schools that I'm
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: assuming you went to high school? Do you ever get
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: back to your high school? No?
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  Speaker 3: I don't really. It wasn't a big thing. Wasn't a
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  Speaker 3: big thing.
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  Speaker 1: Now we'll see you because if you but if you
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  Speaker 1: went back, it would probably inspire people. You've got this,
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: you know, multimillion dollar long care business, long repair business, schooling.
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  Speaker 4: Now they ask me to come back and do speeches,
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  Speaker 4: but they don't pay me enough. Yeah, why am I
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  Speaker 4: going to drive down there waste my time for like
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  Speaker 4: one hundred grand?
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  Speaker 1: Well, I'm sure they put you up in the motel
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  Speaker 1: six or something like that.
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  Speaker 3: They don't even have a motel in the town.
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  Speaker 1: You're kidding me.
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  Speaker 3: No, no hotel, nothing.
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  Speaker 1: We'd leave the light on for you.
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  Speaker 3: There isn't one.
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  Speaker 1: There ain't no building. Yeah, that's sad.
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  Speaker 3: It's time, very tiny town.
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  Speaker 1: You should go back. All the more reason to go back,
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  Speaker 1: just just you know, you never know what your influence
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: might do for it, and you never know how they
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: might influence you.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't want to be influenced by that.
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  Speaker 1: You need to be influenced by good educated young people. Okay,
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  Speaker 1: so you can go out there and be a responsible
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  Speaker 1: part of society, cast your votes appropriately, and so forth.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: Speaking of voting, Speaking of voting, did you see the
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  Speaker 1: numbers from the Franklin County Board of Election regarding our
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: May election?
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  Speaker 3: I mean, there were so many people.
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  Speaker 4: They didn't have that many ballots County, oh Castle, There's
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  Speaker 4: just so many people came out to vote.
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  Speaker 1: I'm insulted when we only have like eighteen percent of
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  Speaker 1: the vote in and off year election. Official totals in
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  Speaker 1: Franklin County show that seventy five, eight hundred and seventeen
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  Speaker 1: out of nine hundred seven thousand, six hundred and seventy
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  Speaker 1: four eligible voters actually cast votes. That equals eight point
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  Speaker 1: three five percent. And I'm not going to CHASTI city
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  Speaker 1: won because I was among the ninety one point sixty
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  Speaker 1: five percent that didn't vote. Because, as I said before
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  Speaker 1: the election, it was just it was pointless. You know,
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  Speaker 1: you know the state issue is going to pass, you
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  Speaker 1: know that the you know, the endorsed lefties and Franklin
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  Speaker 1: County are going to win everything. It just there was
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: no there was no zest, no reason for me to participate,
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  Speaker 1: and I of obviously was not alone in my thought
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  Speaker 1: process issue too, which was the statewide issue reauthorize that program,
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  Speaker 1: which will provide two point five billion dollars for Rhodes
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  Speaker 1: Bridges and other needed local infrastructure over the next decade.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: It was renewed and expanded, but I'm not sure how
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  Speaker 1: much and how that expansion is reflected, whether it's millage
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: or what, which is kind of funny. At the same time,
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  Speaker 1: we're talking about, you know, eliminating the property taxes or
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: were coming up with a new money to spend. Sorry,
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: don't get it. Don't get it. Also, what I'm thinking
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  Speaker 1: about the city of columb is that down there at
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  Speaker 1: the the Scioto Mile. You know the Psoto Mile, don't
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: you said downtown? No, it's about a mile long. They
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  Speaker 1: had a restaurant. They had a restaurant in there. I
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: was called Milestone two twenty nine. Did you ever eat there?
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  Speaker 3: No? I never heard of it.
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  Speaker 1: Milestone right there? What is that town and Marconi? I
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  Speaker 1: think it is.
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  Speaker 3: You know, way more about this.
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  Speaker 4: Look there once you go past Tilliard towards downtown.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm lost, really lost.
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  Speaker 3: I have to use my GPS.
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  Speaker 1: I never go anywhere, so alrighty, then well.
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  Speaker 3: I love it. I just don't.
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  Speaker 4: I don't just like go down there for no reason
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  Speaker 4: or drive around or whatever. I just stick to my
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  Speaker 4: own little corner of the world.
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  Speaker 1: This shows you how disconnected I am becoming with the
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  Speaker 1: workings of ninety West Broad Street Club City Council. Nick
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: Bankston don't even recognize it. I have no idea who
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: Nick Bankston is. We go way back, way, probably way
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  Speaker 1: back to the late fifties. Nick Bankston sponsoring an ordinance
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  Speaker 1: for the City of Columbus that will lease the facility
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  Speaker 1: that milestone two twenty three or two twenty nine. Nice
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  Speaker 1: facility by the way, right, they're overlooking the water and
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  Speaker 1: lease the facility to get guess what, guess what? Just
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  Speaker 1: think about it, right, got it? Got it to two
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  Speaker 1: food trucks. I'm sorry, is that ghetto? I mean, you've
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  Speaker 1: got a nice facility there over They and the City
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  Speaker 1: of Columbus, I guess, must own it. So they're trying
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  Speaker 1: to get their own tenants and two food trucks.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, are they Is there such a thing as like, uh,
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  Speaker 4: fine dining food trucks?
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  Speaker 1: I don't think so. Otherwise they be called restaurants.
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  Speaker 4: Okay, I was just trying to figure out a way
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  Speaker 4: what two food trucks would take.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know of anybody that ever ate there when
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  Speaker 1: it was Milestone that I can think of, and so
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  Speaker 1: apparently that's probably one of the reasons they closed. They
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  Speaker 1: weren't as big of a draw as perhaps they could
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  Speaker 1: have been and should have been. So okay, let's put
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: some other dining in there, but two food trucks.
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  Speaker 3: Do they know what the food trucks are going to be?
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  Speaker 1: I have no idea. I have no idea if this.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think the ordnance can be specific to the
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  Speaker 1: food trucks because then you'd be favoring a vendor. I
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: guess they would just have to change whatever zoning change
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  Speaker 1: to put two food truck spaces in there. But it's
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  Speaker 1: just so I hated when they built this thing, okay,
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  Speaker 1: because we needed money for other stuff in the city
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  Speaker 1: of Columbus, and I railed against that. Plus the bridge,
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: that's stupid bridge with the deer on it. You ever
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: go through there, and now because you don't have a GPS,
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  Speaker 1: but there's a fake deer stand on the bridge that
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: looks out over you know, the water when the site
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: would have some in it and up and because I
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: mean even when it's at full capacity, it's like fourteen
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  Speaker 1: inches deep. It's not it's not a real river when
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: it flows through downtown.
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  Speaker 3: It's a kit It's a creek.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah it's it's the crick. It's not even a creek.
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: It's a crick a creek and uh it's But there's
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: this stupid deer statue thing. I don't know why it's there.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: I have no idea what it would have made more
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: sense to put, you know, a statue of brutus or
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: something on there, but it's a stupid deer. Anyway. We
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: spent or authorized twenty million dollars is what they authorized
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  Speaker 1: council to spend on the construction of this new bridge,
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: and when all was said and done, they actually spent
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: I think it was sixty two million, but I don't
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: recall any reauthorization votes for additional funds or anything like.
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  Speaker 1: They just kept moving money around. So I was not
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: happy that we spent sixty some million on a twenty
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: million dollar approved bridge, and on the fact that the
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: kublic just needed other stuff and it's a nice area aesthetically,
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: I'll tell you, to be honest with you, The last
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: time I was down there, I did not care for
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  Speaker 1: my surroundings when it came to the human inhabitants. There's
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: a bunch of little thugs down there, just they were
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: waiting for something to do, and I knew exactly what
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: they were doing. I saw what they were doing. I
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: saw their little girlfriends or little thug what do you
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: call them, thuggets? That's the proper turn, the little thugets.
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  Speaker 1: They were over on the other side of MARCODI like
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: a corner of a building, kind of hiding out, watching
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: their thug boys over there waiting to jump on somebody
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: or steal a purrs or who knows what they are.
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  Speaker 1: But I said, okay, I'm gonna get the hell out
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  Speaker 1: of here, for I had to hurt somebody. So I
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: left and I haven't been back since. And it's sad
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: because it is beautiful. The swings are nice. It's a
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: nice view over the river. You got Kosai on the
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: other side of the river. I'm sorry the crick the
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: swings out there. You can sit with your little sweetie
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: and sling on the swings and the beautiful flowers. It's nice.
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: But I need to see some cops walk in the beat,
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: and and I need to see something other than food
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: trucks in that food trucks really