West Side Latino Catholics approach the end of their 3.7-mile procession in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, considered the patronness of Mexico and the Americas.

Rain, then snow. Many people took a weather day and stayed home Sunday, Dec. 12, in Columbus.

But not several hundred immigrant Catholics on the West Side. They celebrated a feast day for the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Mother of the Americas. She is said to have appeared to an Indian peasant, Juan Diego, between Dec. 9 and 12, 1531 in Mexico. Within a few years,  millions of  Aztecs converted to the Catholic faith, and the practice of human sacrifice ended. For Mexican Catholics, the three important religious holidays are Dec. 12 in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Christmas Day and Easter.  

I missed last year’s West Side parade for Our Lady of Guadalupe. This year I was determined to see it. As it turned out, my timing was off. The only way I could ensure a glimpse of it was to position myself near the end of the route. Waiting from the comfort of my car, in a residential driveway, I called a friend to catch up on some old business.

Then I heard the drums and horns. The parade was coming, but where was it?  Unexpectedly, it was on my right. I jumped out of the car, took a couple of pictures, put my camera in my pocket. I made eye contact with some of the marchers. They were glowing.

In another minute, they had passed. 

Just a few more steps before mass on Clime Road - and a feast.

In other words, will West Broad safely and comfortably accommodate all users, or will it continue to be unhealthy, unsafe, uncomfortable and environmentally and culturally stuck in the 1970s?

If you support Complete Streets, you have a lot of company. Federal, state and local policy now embraces this design concept. Did you know the National Association of Realtors is one of the partners of the National Complete Streets Coalition?

Here’s how the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission defines Complete Streets:

Complete Streets are roadways designed to safely and comfortably accommodate all users, including, but not limited to motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, transit and school bus riders, people with disabilities, delivery and service personnel, freight haulers, and emergency responders. “All users” includes people of all ages and abilities.

What can I do? Tonight, from 6 to 8 p.m., the City of Columbus and its Division of Mobility Options will conduct a public meeting at 2300 W. Broad St. to discuss a recent parking study. Officials will solicit opinions on various designs for restriping West Broad after it’s resurfaced this summer between Hague and Central avenues. It’s not a debate. Rather, it’s set up to allow you to “vote” by placing sticky dots on your preferred – or not preferred option. If you can’t make it, send a note to the city at PRgrove@columbus.gov

The city is listening to the naysayers and putting enormous amount of staff time into considering their concerns about parking, which currently far outpaces customer demand.

The process has taken so long that we’re at risk of losing the chance to have a Complete Street for the central Hilltop section of West Broad Street.

This would be a serious setback for everyone in central Ohio, as Broad Street in its entirety is a crucial regional corridor that deserves thoughtful planning to accommodate all users safely. What’s more, without a Complete Street, we’ll miss a chance to bring the Ohio to Erie Trail bike route through the Hilltop section of West Broad, a move that would bring thousands of bicyclists and spending dollars to this part of town.

So much is at stake. We can be a leader or we can be stuck in the 1970s.  And that’s not groovy.

Yesterday, the voters of Ohio decided the West Side will have a casino at the former Delphi auto parts plant at Georgesville Road and West Broad Street. The absurdity of amending the state constitution for a monopoly turned into the absurdity of amending the state constitution for an address change to suit business interests opposed to a casino in the Arena District.

So, now our families will have a casino in our back yard.

Here are my predictions:

During the construction phase, the casino will deliver mostly positive economic activity. Construction workers and the curious will need to eat,  fill up their gas tanks, get sundry items and maybe have some fun.

Many West Side residents, as well as people from throughout central Ohio, will land jobs at the new Hollywood Casino Columbus. Experience in karaoke is a plus.

The casino will define the West Side. When we tell someone from Cleveland we live on the West Side of Columbus, the response will be, “Oh, yeah. You live near the casino.”  It will be harder to bring attention to the area’s true assets, such as our early 20th century architecture.

Some commericial properties nearby will redevelop. It will be hard to pin this directly to the casino. Westland Mall is a prime location and underused relative to the rooftops nearby. The economic recovery will dictate the pace of redevelopment more than the casino fate decided yesterday.

Penn National Gaming will build a windowless casino designed to keep patrons inside and spending money. Those patrons will have little interest in tourism or shopping. The core customer is a single, retired woman. Visitation spikes when Social Security income arrives. 

Two years after the casino opens, gas stations and car washes nearby will say the casino has helped their business.

Three years after the casino opens, two or three houses in my neighborhood will foreclose due to gambling addiction. I will hear reports of this foreclosure trend from people in other West Side neighborhoods and elsewhere in Columbus. 

Four years after the casino opens, two to 10 homes in my neighborhood will be owned by someone who works at the casino.

Five years from now, the casino will be a hotly debated local issue, with many defenders and critics. The defenders will say it brings jobs and people to the West Side. The critics will say it leads to gambling addiction or overspending that harms families, neighborhoods and work places. They’ll say it harms nearby business because casino visitors have no interest in anything outside the casino.

Six years from now, I will be among the many West Siders who have yet to spend a dime at the casino.

Mike Blake manages the new Handy Bikes store on West Broad.

Before April 1, the closest bike shop was Handy Bikes’ main store on Fifth Avenue near Grandview Heights.

“We’re talking to our customers to see what they want us to carry and at what price points, says owner Howard Ull. “We’re going to be flexible and carry what people want.”

Managing the store is Mike Blake, who lives on South Harris Avenue near West Broad and has worked for Handy Bikes the last three months.

Blake says foot traffic has been brisk, fueled in part by gorgeous Easter holiday weekend weather. Through Saturday, the store features opening specials of 20 percent off accessories, 10 percent off new and used bicycles and a tune-up special of $35.

“Many of the people who stopped by said they’re bringing their bicycles in for repair,” Blake said near the end of opening day.

Handy Bikes sells quality bicycles, superior to the cheesy two-wheelers you’ll find at Wal-Mart, Target and other big-box stores. The store sells solid brands such as Diamondback, Raleigh and Burley. Prices top out at about $600 for new bikes. The product line includes used bikes, children’s bikes, folding bikes and even an adult tricycle with a big rear basket for shopping.

“We’re not a high-end or upscale shop. Ull said. “We basically serve family needs. Other shops – and they’re good shops – sell $1,000 bikes and up. We like the Westgate area, and we see it as a family community.”

Asked about the prospect of bicycle lanes starting just to the east on West Broad Street, Ull says it’s a good idea. “It makes it easier and safer for bicyclists,” he said of lanes proposed between Harris and Central avenues, and eventually for all of East and West Broad Streets. “I hope it happens. I know the city of Columbus wants it to happen.”

Store hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit the store at 3093 W. Broad St., or call 614-274-0550.

Ron and Skip Bowman operate the only small-run bookbinder in central Ohio.

West Broad Street’s early 20th century commercial corridor has more than a few things to brag about. One of them is Beck & Orr Bookbinders.

Founded in 1888, this Hilltop business is the last bookbinder of its kind in central Ohio. Although some local printers do large binding jobs, no other central Ohio company does the hand-crafted work of restoring old Bibles and heirloom books or binding small runs of books, dissertations, theses or other special publications.

Beck & Orr also binds ritual books for the Masons, trade association journals by volume or year, and small runs of new books, including an author-illustrator’s children’s book. Graduate students also seek Beck & Orr for binding of their dissertations and theses. Franklin County Court of Appeals is a customer, as is an Elvis Presley collector who hires Beck & Orr to repair vintage Elvis books for sale at a store in Memphis.

Ron Bowman loves to talk with visitors at the bindery at the northern edge of the Westgate neighborhood. He joined Beck & Orr as a folding machine operator back in 1959, when the business was located downtown at Oak and Fifth streets. By 1962, he was a co-owner of the firm. In the 1970s, Beck & Orr moved to the South Side, but a fire that destroyed the building in June 1990 forced a decision. At the same time, the company lost a major contract for creating city directories in Southern towns.

 Bowman soon found new space at 3097 West Broad Street, just a few blocks from his Westgate home. He moved the ancient but durable bookbinding equipment he salvaged from the fire. The changed circumstances were a blessing.

 “We made more money with two people than we did with 15,” he said of the new location on the Hilltop.

 Son Skip, a West High School graduate who lives on Salisbury Road in Wilshire Heights, joined his father in the business in the late 1990s after working more than 20 years at The Ohio State University’s print shop.

 Customers find Beck & Orr by word of mouth and through the Internet, but the Bowmans also bid on government jobs from time to time.

 “We don’t do big runs,” said Ron Bowman. “If you need 100 books bound or 20 books bound, we do that.”

 Sometimes the Bowmans farm out the stitching for book bindings to Juanita Hill, owner of Hill’s Alterations next door to their shop. They also imprint book covers using thimble-sized brass blocks they pull from old wooden drawers.

Back in 1959, when Bowman started in the trade, Columbus had six binderies like Beck & Orr. Now, there’s just one.

“If a book is worth keeping, it’s worth being rebound,” Bowman said.

 Want to visit? Beck & Orr Bookbinding, 3097 W. Broad St., is open weekdays until 3:30 p.m. Contact the Bowmans by phone at 614-276-8809 or info@beckandorr.com, or just drop by to visit. The usual entrance is in the rear.

Commander S. Curmode, Chief W. Distelzweig and Deputy Chief G. Thatcher visit Wilshire Heights for last year's National Night Out.

What does it take to change a Columbus police officer’s schedule by just one hour a week? The details of a union contract require the job to be eliminated and a new job created.

How does a deputy police chief in charge of patrol operations for half of the city discuss a reorganization plan with patrol officers under his command?  By contract rules, he can speak to his officers only through the union.

These are two of the undisputed nuances in the contract between the city and the Fraternal Order of Police.  There’s plenty else in dispute after Chief Walter Distelzweig announced in January a reorganization plan for patrol operations, the first big change in nearly two decades.

Despite the controversy, the bottom line for the West Side appears to be positive, at least for the short term.

During a community meeting this week, two top police officials, Deputy Chief Stephen Gammill and Zone 3 Commander Suzanne Curmode, offered some valuable information about the plan’s impact on the West Side.

Our total coverage remains almost exactly the same. The plan calls for Zone 3, an area that covers most of the West Side, to have 186 officers assigned to patrol, down one officer from the 187 currently assigned. Two years ago, Zone 3 had 179 officers.

The plan calls for more West Side coverage during days and times of the highest numbers of service calls. For example, the busiest shift, second shift, will have one more officer, going from 63 to 64 assigned officers. Also, the day mid-watch shift, which spans the first and second shifts, and the evening mid-watch shift, which spans the second and third shifts, also will add officers on duty.

Meanwhile, the first and third shifts will be reduced in size, reflecting lower numbers of service calls during these periods. More officers will work regular days on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, reflecting the busiest days of the week for second and third shifts, and the need to anticipate personal and vacation time off on weekends.

No plan is perfect, Gammill said, and experience will dictate some adjustment.

I say let’s give this a chance. It makes sense, at least on paper. What do you think?

Expect to hear much ado about Issue 2, the new statewide issue on the May 4 ballot. It asks voters to approve moving our new casino from the Arena District to the former Delphi auto parts property on Georgesville Road at West Broad Street. The move requires a new amendment to our state constitution.

About its casino, Penn National Gaming Inc. says this in a news release:

Hollywood Casino Columbus, which is expected to open in the second half of 2012, will be a 180,000 square foot casino with up to 4,000 slot machines at opening, up to 100 table games and 25 poker tables, a 4,000 space parking garage, plus food and beverage outlets and entertainment lounge.

Brandon Lynaugh, a consultant for last year’s successful Issue 3 campaign, this week gave the Hilltop Business Association a preview of the Issue 2 campaign.

Key tactics include:

• A push for early voting for those who favor moving the casino to the West Side. Lynaugh says that support is polling at about 66 percent among Franklin County voters.

• Maximizing turnout and campaign energy on the West Side, including free media coverage of large pro-casino events in our part of town.
   
• A message of faster tax revenue and jobs from a West Side casino compared to one developed at the Arena District site.
   
• All the usual tactics – direct mail, radio and TV spots, volunteers, social media.

Asked why someone in northern Ohio would care where Columbus develops a casino, Lynaugh said, “They don’t necessarily care where we put it — but we have to make them care.”

This will be interesting.

Green Lawn Cemetery in this week's snow.

Green Lawn Cemetery ranks as one of the truly special places in Columbus. Just west of downtown, Green Lawn is one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in Ohio. It’s the final resting place for about 147,000 people, including some notables in Ohio and national history.

Green Lawn also serves as a park, attracting birders, walkers, runners and history buffs – people like me – and maybe you.

Its neighbors include Franklinton, a nursing home, a construction equipment rental business, I-70 and Cooper Stadium, the long-time home of the Columbus Clippers until 2008.

The Clippers moved to Huntington Park in the Arena District, and now Cooper Stadium may have a new life as home to motorsports – and other sports.

Franklin County, which owns Cooper Stadium, has granted Columbus-based Arshot Investment Corp. an option to buy the property. Arshot recently announced details of $30 million plan to develop the 46-acre site as a mixed-use entertainment complex.

Arshot’s proposal for “Cooper Park” includes a mechanic’s school and auto-technology center, plus a hotel, restaurant and conference center. The site also could host rodeos, snowboarding and BMX biking events. The main type of event appears to be motorsports. Arshot enlisted NASCAR star Jeff Gordon and his company to help develop a half-mile race track, and they offered to build sound barriers to prevent violations of the city’s noise ordinance.

It’s not a done deal, as it would require rezoning from the City of Columbus. This project has many merits, and deserves fair consideration. Let’s also keep Green Lawn Cemetery in mind, too. It’s been there much longer – since 1848.

Going up the Hill

Even in the winter, people ride bikes on West Broad Street. Typically, they’re West Siders who are taking ordinary trips other people take by car or bus.

Sometimes they ride on the sidewalks, in conflict with pedestrians.  But who can fault the average cyclist for riding on West Broad’s sidewalks? After all, this section is considered poor for cyclists, and suitable only for cyclists with advanced skills, according to the Columbus Metro Bike Users Map.

Bicyclists are already using West Broad. We could have more two-wheelers, if we encourage them.

Considering a tattoo

Parked at work

Heading west on Broad

At the edge of Westgate

That's me on right

Sgt. Joe Horton with Officers Ryan Sigman and Linda Gibson last summer. Sigman and Gibson were assigned to pro-active policing on the Hilltop.

Change came slowly within the Columbus Division of Police under Chief James Jackson, the longest-serving police chief in America when he retired last spring after 51 years on the police force, 19 of them as chief.

Now, change within the 1,800-member police force is moving faster than a central Ohio thunderstorm.

Last month, Chief Walter Distelzweig announced a plan to restructure patrol operations, the first major change for the city’s front-line police work in nearly 20 years. Patrol officers are furious: their union filed an injunction to stop it, and succeeded in getting a temporary delay.

Distelzweig and the plan’s architect, Deputy Chief Kimberley Jacobs, do not seem ready to discuss the plan with the public through the city’s network of area commissions and block watch groups. On Feb. 2, the Fraternal Order of Police got the first word to citizens on the Hilltop.

Officer Bill Church, off duty from the 19th Precinct and representing the local chapter of the FOP, told about 30 people attending the Greater Hilltop Area Commission that the plan will cut officers on each shift in all four West Side precincts.

As an example, Church said the 10^th Precinct, covering the southwest corner of the city, would have five patrol cars instead of seven per shift.

“They’re robbing Peter to pay Paul,” said Church, noting the plan’s creation of  two new precincts on the sprawling north and east sides of town.

If we lose officers on patrol, we might as well say goodbye to some successful community policing.

Last summer, the 19^th Precinct, which covers the heart of the Hilltop, deployed a successful Summer Patrol Initiative. Sgt. Joe Horton assigned two officers to target crime patterns such as prostitution, drug houses and speeding – problems that are impossible to address when patrol officers are constantly responding to dispatch calls.

We can’t afford to lose this kind of work.

Let’s hear from Chief Distelzweig and Deputy Chief Jacobs. The GHAC is working on scheduling a meeting at the end of February. That’s not soon enough, but better late than never. Stay tuned.