a thirty-year katrina, but this storm is passing

Youngstown, it's not your fault.

It sounds like a line from a twelve-step rehab program, but it was a lesson I picked up from all the Black Monday segments spread throughout the local media this week.

Youngstown, it's not your fault.

Many newpapers all over the country ran a piece by Marilyn Geewax, native daughter of the Mahoning Valley and Economy and Technology Reporter for the Washington Bureau of Cox Newspapers. There was a part of her audio report which referenced the similarities between Hurricane Katrina and the Steel Collapse that began in Youngstown 30 years ago. According to her story, in both cases, these places were "abandoned by the institutions that could have helped" but instead endured.

And that's why the Youngstown story is just so damn interesting. It's a story of struggle and survival. It's a story of missteps and promises. It's a story of remembering the past and living for the future.

Youngstown, it's not your fault.



So now is the time to think about how we are still all in this together.

To realize we are a place and a people with no limits.

no limits.



no excuses, no saviors, no regret.

we are the people we've been waiting for.




In coordination with the editor of the Vindicator, a few local bloggers provided some pieces for reflection. These seven blogs are a sliver of the people that represent Team Youngstown.

Our continuing push is not limited to one generation, and is extended to the many many individuals who are a part of this community. Individuals who represent different groups, of older and younger generations.

This is all our fight.

Keep thinking. Keep doing. Keep getting connected.


Mahoning Valley View
Reinvent the Wheel, or Encourage More Efficient Rotation?

Youngstown Pride
New Leaders, New Business, and a New Way of Getting Things Done

Youngstown Renaissance
Some Environmental Impacts of Black Monday

Defend Youngstown
Post-Steel Generation Fights for Change

Stark Raving Youngstown
From Black Monday to Bright Future

The Stage @ The Oakland
From Rust to Stardust

I Will Shout Youngstown
Youngstown’s Opportunity to Become a More Interconnected Community