Columbus was described as "hip-sans-snootiness!"  

"Columbus? Hip and happening? Yes, it's true"  is the headline of an article in last Sunday's San Diego Union Tribune. Writer Laura Walcher  visited Columbus for a long weekend this spring writes as if being a "Cow Town"  is a bad thing...  "Cow Town? Nope. NOW Town.  Other than that it is a great article about Columbus.                 

Subtitled : "Ohio capital sheds image as a Podunk town"

By Laura Walcher
May 21, 2006

"These days, Columbus, Ohio, qualifies for heavy-duty respect and guaranteed never-boring fun for visitors."
                          

The Short North and German Village (GVS site)  are Columbus neighborhoods that get a nod in Walcher's article.   The only restaurant that got a mention is Schmidt's in German Village, a Columbus tradition.  Maybe Walcher was dieting during her visit and one Bahama Mama and a cream puff put her over the edge?  I wondered if she did not have a chance to visit other great Columbus restaurants  during her visit.  

Events mentioned included Oktoberfest, The Quarter Horse Congress, ComFest,  Vaud-Villities and the upcoming Columbus Arts Festival...  

Places Walcher mentioned (and actually visited)  included the Franklin Park Conservatory site of this weekend's Asian Festival.  Also mentioned but not by name, The Schott.

Do we have the worlds largest population of Amish in Columbus? In the city of Columbus?  Ohio has an Amish population, but Columbus?  Walcher wrote of the diversity of our Columbus population, Somali, Ethiopian but missed the Hispanic and Asian populations...here's what Walcher wrote of Columbus:

"The population of nearly 750,000 adds rich diversity to Columbus, where Somalis, Ethiopians, Russians and more find gentle hospitality, reasonably priced housing and job opportunity. "

"Tolerance is the name of the Columbus game � whether toward its ample Jewish community, gays (the third largest enclave in the country, after San Francisco and New York), Afro-Americans (BET, 2002: �the best city in America for Afro-American families�), Appalachians, who move from the mountains in Kentucky to the city, and of course the largest population of Amish in the world."

Columbus is a  good place Walcher goes on to observe we still have trees:

"Leave it to Columbus, amid the vitality of its community, cultural, commercial and educational development, to keep enough trees to remind us all of our American roots."  

Maybe Walcher could not see the cows for the trees?

Previously on Columbus Best Blog:

Asian Festival

German Village Neighborhood

Short North Neighborhood

More Short North Neighborhood

Even More Short North Neighborhood

Columbus is sometimes called a Cowtown

What's Happening - Local Weekly Guides Central Ohio

Copyright 2006 Columbus Best Blog and Maureen McCabe    

I have had landscaping questions come up on two properties I sold, recently.  One during the transaction, the other months later when the utility company got aggressive with the trees at the back of the lot. 

There has been  concern about trees in utility easements after the Christmas 2004 power outages in Worthington, Clintonville and other northside Columbus neighborhoods.  

 A recent REALTOR Magazine Column written by an attorney recommended:

• Know the boundaries. Find the property boundary line on a surveyor's map. One of these maps should have been made or provided to the owner at the last closing. Dig out the document and study it before starting. Look for the metal posts or rebar at the corners that correspond to the map.

• Stop at the line. Prune trees, shrubs, hedges, and plants that are encroaching from the neighbor's yard, but stop at the boundary line. If your clients go past the line, theyre trespassing. Use proper pruning methods or contact a professional service.

I was surprised to find in tracking down a survey for buyers after a closing that the survey does not always show the utility easement.

Tree Battle   Waco Texas battle between home owners and utility company from Inman Blog.  

The information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice.  Columbus Best Blog  does not guarantee or is any way responsible for its accuracy, and provides said information without warranties of any kind, either express or implied.

Copyright © 2006 Maureen McCabe & Columbus Best Blog All Rights Reserved. 

Holiday Show Franklin Park Conservatory starts Friday.

November 25, 2005 - January 1, 2006

Annual poinsettia tree

More than 100 varieties of vibrantly colored poinsettias

More than a dozen varieties of holiday trees will be displayed

• spruce
• pine
• fir grown 

Candlelight Nights
Candlelight Night Dinners
Breakfast with Santa