Thursday, November 30 2017

How to spend the perfect 12 hours in charming Westerville, just 30 minutes from downtown 🌳

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Hello Thursday. It's James.

Downtown gets so much attention in Columbus local media, that today we are launching a look at quick and easy day trips from Columbus, which will include looks at the best things to check out in each suburb, as well as trips that are a little further out.

Columbus suburbs in general have undergone a renaissance since the 2008 recession, and Westerville is no exception, with some great places to shop and eat, and some of the best and most interesting parks in central Ohio.

Thursday Weather 🌡53 - Showers likely, otherwise mostly cloudy. 🌧

Navigator Originals ✏️Anthony Precourt Now Has Everything He Says He Needs To Stay In Columbus … Why Is Austin Still On The Table?Mayor Ginther released a letter detailing exactly what Columbus outlined in the meeting between city officials and Crew owner Anthony Precourt, which included potential stadium sites at Berliner Park, Dodge Park on the river in Franklinton, or a large investment in redeveloping the current stadium site. So much if this process has been strange, primarily the fact that Precourt has dangled the possibility of staying in Columbus, but doesn't seem receptive to actually working through potential stadium scenarios. At this point, one has to assume there's something going on with the Austin location that is unknown to everyone. Maybe an unknown stadium investor or a not yet known plan to move again at a later date?The Penthouse At The Jackson Is For Sale For The First Time Ever And It’s Totally BreathtakingThis penthouse is predictably gorgeous, but you have to see the view.Ohio State Is Building A Huge New Hospital And It’s Kind Of A Big DealThis new hospital tower is going to be bigger than The James, which is 21 stories tall, and it's worth noting that "The New James" cost over $1 billion to construct, giving a potential ballpark starting point for this new project. Dublin Named Safest City In Ohio, Columbus Also Ranks HighlyDublin has been named the safest city in Ohio (or at least the safest among cities with populations of 42k and more), but Columbus didn't do too badly either, ranking as the safest larger city in the list, beating out the usual suspects in its "weight class" like Cincinnati, Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, and Toledo.

Around Town 🏘The Columbus Crew lost to Toronto FC in the conference finals last night, 1-0, losing the series in the aggregate 1-0. Not the result anyone wanted, but it's tough to be upset with two conference final championships in the last three seasons. It's a shame Precourt's cloud has hovered over a really entertaining run. [SI.com]Cincinnati is one of 4 finalists for the next round of MLS expansion. A concern with Crew relocation is whether or not MLS views Ohio as one market. The other three expansion finalists are Nashville, Detroit, and Sacramento. Nashville seems to be a lock for one of the lots, with a publicly financed stadium in the offing. [Cincinnati Enquirer]A charity called Cops for Kids that solicited donations in every Ohio county is accused of misleading donors of how their donations would be used. The charity collected $4.2 million, giving $3.34 million to the for profit solicitation company with which it worked, and spent the remaining $802,662 on salaries and overhead. The charity claimed to provide educational and recreational activities for Ohio youth while working with law enforcement, but - get this - it mostly sent a few teddy bears here and there to Ohio police departments. A timely holiday reminder to know where your charity dollars are going. [NBC4]

Picture of the DayPenthouse living at the Jackson. You'll want to see the rest of it, but here's a peek. (📷:  Coldwell Banker)

Longread 💊How a home-schooled teenager became an oxy kingpin.Pacific Standard: King of Boise

Something to say? Hit reply - we read it all.- James