BLOGGER'S BLOCK: I don't know why I haven't gotten this thing back in gear for two weeks. Strange as it may seem, there are days when I can't bring myself to bloviate, and twelve of them just showed up in a string. Maybe it was the weather. Or allergies. Or a rare attack of good sense. Whatever it was, I think it's over.

And just in time, because...

THEY'RE BAAAAAACK! aWal-Mart, that is. Channels 3 and 5 are running the news that Steelyard Commons, aka Wal-Mart Commons, aka Schneider's Folly, is back on track with a full-service SuperCenter in the anchor slot. Here's Channel 5:

The retail giant agreed Tuesday to do the project in a proposal that does not require City Council approval.

Council Member Joe Cimperman accused Mayor Jane Campbell of sidestepping council.

"The mayor has shown that she would rather go around and do stuff under the cloak of secrecy instead of an open trusting relationship," said Cimperman.

But Campbell's chief of staff Chris Ronayne said this is not the case.

"What the developer always said to us: 'I have the zoning. I have the money. I have a plan. Work with me. And please don't stand in the way of retail opportunities in the city of Cleveland,'" said Ronayne.

Wal-Mart was brought back to the table with the assurance that it would be able to operate a grocery store alongside its retail business.

So, let's review some things we've learned in the last three months:

1. There was never a Steelyard Commons plan that didn't include Wal-Mart.

2. Wal-Mart was never going to put an anchor store in Steelyard Commons without a grocery operation.

3. Therefore, there was never a plan for Steelyard Commons that didn't depend on sucking spending and jobs out of unionized grocery stores in other Cleveland neighborhoods.

4. The Mayor either knew this all along, or got rolled. In either case, she's now in a position to take full, uncontested credit for the whole thing. She now gets to run for re-election as the Wal-Mart Mayor.

5. Be careful what you wish for, because you might get it.
a