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These types of things always remind of JD Power and Associates which were developed to sell Japanese cars to skeptical Americans and later American cars to skeptical Americans.
http://radaronline.com/features/2006/09/jd_power_associates.php

I'd rather have a vibrant culture and economy but a nicely stocked trophy case might make more than a few people happy.

posted by charlatan on Nov 26, 2007 at 02:06:00 am     #

The LivCom awards banquet is being streamed live.

posted by jr on Nov 26, 2007 at 04:47:52 pm     #

Toledo wins 3rd place.

posted by jr on Nov 26, 2007 at 06:00:14 pm     #

2007 LivCom 'Whole City' award winners in Category D for population 200,001 - 750,000 :

• 1st place : Malmo
• 2nd place : Lyon
• 3rd place : Toledo

posted by jr on Nov 26, 2007 at 06:02:27 pm     #

Carty headed to the stage after hearing Toledo announced as 3rd place silver winner.

posted by jr on Nov 26, 2007 at 06:12:01 pm     #

Actually, my favorite part of the ceremony was the music as the winners ambled up to the podium. It sounded like they were at the MTV Video Music Awards.

posted by Ace_Face on Nov 26, 2007 at 08:55:55 pm     #

3rd place in the world; 1st place in the USA

posted by lew on Nov 26, 2007 at 09:30:07 pm     #

Every city at the event competed for the top prize in each of the following categories: Enhancement of the Landscape, Heritage Management, Environmentally Sensitive Practices, Community Sustainability, Healthy Lifestyles, and Planning for the Future. Population didn't matter for these categories.

Then the cities were competing for the "Whole City" award within one of five population categories. So a city could have won more than one medal.

Richmond, Virginia won for "Healthy Lifestyles" and St Cloud, Minnesota won for "Planning for the Future."

St. Cloud also took second place in the "Whole City" category for population of 75,001 to 200,000.

Other U.S. cities also received recognition.

posted by jr on Nov 26, 2007 at 11:57:20 pm     #

And this is supposed to help Toledo how? Did we pay for Scout to make the trip too?

posted by tommy1 on Nov 27, 2007 at 12:17:53 pm     #

This 3rd place award will put an end to things like ...

• At least five injured in boiler explosion downtown. - Nov 23, 2007 Toledo Blade

• Sewer line break closes downtown auto title office - Nov 26, 2007 Toledo Blade

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Bridge will be fully operational.

And the award will probably stifle our drive to be the Venice of the Midwest.

posted by jr on Nov 27, 2007 at 12:39:41 pm     #

LivCom.tv >> LivCom Awards Video Part 2

This video is 110 minutes long, but you can easily fast forward by clicking the play button and then grabbing the slider bar.

A musical act occupies the first part of this video. Handing out awards starts back up again at the 66-minute mark. Category D where Toledo was announced begins at the 96-minute mark.

posted by jr on Nov 27, 2007 at 01:04:16 pm     #

I also heard that the white supremists that held a rally here before will not go into a top 5 city.
Thanks Carty! You're proving again that so many voters can't be wrong!

posted by tommy1 on Nov 27, 2007 at 09:37:44 pm     #

WSPD’s coverage of this yesterday over several hours: ad nauseam. What a tired station.

posted by Offshore on Nov 28, 2007 at 08:05:52 am     #

From jayott.blogspot.com : Carty's Reception at Toledo Express Airport.

Photos are included in the posting. Scout was present to welcome the Mayor. Carty is beaming. A banner is displayed at the airport. I think it says "Toledo Most Liveable Community *n North America."

The banner doesn't appear to mention anything about population categories. Toledo finished third and got a silver medal or whatever. St. Cloud, Minnesota finished second and got a gold. Richmond, Virginia finished second and got a gold. And both Richmond and St. Cloud won one of the criteria awards.

posted by jr on Nov 28, 2007 at 10:26:49 am     #

According a Dec 4, 2007 Toledo Blade story, Carty's sell-job at the LivCom awards was a bit of a fraud. What a shock.

The presentation said the city even had four wind turbines (they're near Bowling Green), demonstrating growing prowess in alternative energy.

So Carty lied, or BG gets to share the 3rd place trophy.

More from Tom Troy's article :

But in reading or watching the portrayal of the community's commitment to environmental and cultural sustainability, some might wonder if they live in the same place as the city described by the mayor and his team. A fact-checking effort by The Blade found that the community described by Mr. Finkbeiner and his staff in its hour-long presentation in London was indeed the greater Toledo area - or maybe an idealized version of it.

Except Carty is not celebrating his award with Perrysburg, Oak Harbor, Monroe, etc. In the Nov 27, 2007 City of Toledo press release titled Toledo was voted the most livable city in North America , Toledo is the only community mentioned. The words 'metro', 'area', and 'region' are also missing from the press release. Carty is clearly using the area to claim a Toledo accomplishment.

I'm not surprised at this. This is typical behavior of Toledo-based politicians who view the area as how can other communities serve Toledo, instead of how all the communities together can help the region.

Also from this Blade story :

The mayor also said that deer, foxes, and bald eagles are seen within Toledo's borders.

The above is true. I've seen red fox in Woodlawn Cemetery. A few years ago, bald eagles nested near Cullen Park. Maybe that nest is still active. I don't know. But bald eagles can be seen flying overhead from within Toledo. Bald eagle numbers in the southwestern Lake Erie region have been increasing for years. And of course, deer are everywhere.

posted by jr on Dec 04, 2007 at 09:30:08 am     #

Also from that Dec 4 Blade story :

Katerina Bekyarska, a spokesman for the mayor who helped assemble the presentation, said they did not mislead the judges. "A lot of this is based on the region. A lot of times when we said city we didn't mean the city of Toledo governmental institution, we meant the region."

Again, that 'region' thing is not obvious in last week's city press release.

But here's the worse part of it all, and this shows the rampant ignorance infesting the Finkbeiner administration :

She said the fact that some of the initiatives touted are very new - such as the Rain Garden Initiative and the Garden Partners Initiative, which began in April - shouldn't detract from their value. "Heck, the whole environmental issue has not been around for 30 years," Ms. Bekyarska said.

Holy hell. And we're suppose to believe Bekyarska when she said the city meant the region? The book Silent Spring is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement in the West. That book came out in 1962. Someone in city government needs to inform Bekyarska that's 45 years ago.

Silent Spring facilitated the ban of the pesticide DDT in 1972 in the United States.

That's 35 years ago.

The book documented detrimental effects of pesticides on the environment, particularly on birds. Carson said that DDT had been found to cause thinner egg shells and result in reproductive problems and death.

Carty's presentation, which Bekyarska help create, mentioned Bald Eagles being seen in Toledo. One major reason for the Bald Eagle resurgence is due to the ban on DDT.

Wikipedia Bald Eagle article :

Once a common sight in much of the continent, the Bald Eagle was severely affected in the mid-20th century by a variety of factors, among them thinning of egg shells, attributed to the use of the pesticide DDT. With regulations in place and DDT banned, the eagle population rebounded. The Bald Eagle can be found in growing concentrations throughout the United States and Canada, particularly near large bodies of water.

Again, the mayor's spokesman who helped assemble the presentation, said: "Heck, the whole environmental issue has not been around for 30 years."

So how does a Web master double as the mayor's spokesman?

February 2007 Toledo Talk posting titled Toledo gov plans to redo city Web site, which pointed to a Feb 16, 2007 Toledo Free Press story :

Katerina Bekyarska, new Web master for the City of Toledo, said her first priority is to revamp an outdated Web site that is in dire need of a major overhaul. Bekyarska won't be responsible for designing the Web site's layout and maintaining the software that will manage and place content.

Bekyarska, whose educational background is in communications, said she hopes her work will help visitors to the city's Web site, ci.Toledo.oh.us, access information on city services. She also would like the site to serve as a marketing tool for individuals considering moving to Toledo or companies interested in conducting business in the city.

Bekyarska must sell enough advertising on the Web site to cover her $54,000 annual compensation, which includes fringe benefits, Schwartz said. Her actual salary, he said, is $32,000 a year. “Because of the budget situation, we didn't want to put the burden on taxpayers' dollars,” he said. After reaching the $54,000 plateau, Schwartz said, Bekyarska would qualify for bonuses to be paid after she surpasses designated performance goals. Other additional sales dollars would be put into the city's general fund, he said.

The City of Toledo launched its new Web site in October. The Web master must have met her sales quota for advertising, so now the Web master has time to handle spokesman duties.

Bekyarska is from Bulgaria and has only lived in the U.S. for a few years. Someone might use this info as a lame reason why Bekyarska is unaware of the environmental movement in the U.S. But I would think a Web master would have the ability to do a Google search on 'United States environmental movement' and learn that the issue has existed for more than 30 years.

posted by jr on Dec 04, 2007 at 10:32:58 am     #

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