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Plain Dealingwill returnnext week.

SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2008 SECTION D

THE PLAIN DEALER

‘Forever’ a good valueNorandex plans Hudson moveas tax-sharing effort falls short

Postal stamp that can be used indefinitely is strong sellerTom BreckenridgePlainDealerReporter

A company’s planned jump tonearby Hudson has Macedonialeaders skeptical of HudsonMayor Bill Currin’s crusade tobuild collaboration among theregion’s communities.Macedonia took the highly un-

usual step of asking state officialsto reject a company’s request fortax credits, part of a $600,000 taxbreak deal that Hudson and Ohiohave offered to Norandex Distri-bution Inc.Despite Macedonia’s appeal,

the Ohio Tax Credit Authorityapproved $59,000 in tax breaksfor Norandex last week.Norandex, a distributor of

building materials, appearsready to move less than six milesfrom its Macedonia office build-ing, nestled against Interstate271, to the vacant, former head-quarters of Dairy Mart, a stone’sthrow from the Ohio Turnpike inHudson.

Both the Ohio Department ofDevelopment and Hudson sayNorandex will leave for Pennsyl-vania without the tax subsidies.Hudson rejected an 11th-hour

proposal — brokered in part bySummit County Executive Rus-sell Pry — to split 50 percent ofNorandex’s income tax with Ma-cedonia. The unique deal wouldhave softened the blow to Mace-donia of losing a multimillion-dollar payroll.Apart from Norandex, Currin

is promoting the concept of shar-ing taxes from new growth in theregion. But to Macedonia’s cha-grin, Currin and others in Hud-son aren’t ready to take the tax-sharing plunge unless a lot ofother communities jump in, too.“You get a little jaded about

their opinions of regionalism,”said a frustrated Steven Brunot,Macedonia’s finance director.Currin said he understands

Macedonia’s anger.see HUDSON D3

Stephanie BarryNewhouseNewsService

Nothing lasts forever, or sothe saying goes. Well, there isthe odd exception.If one had the foresight to

stock up on “Forever” stampsat 41 cents apiece today, theywould hold their value decadesfrom now.“Forever means forever. If

you bought one today, youcould send it 20 years fromnow and it would still be good,” as U.S. PostalService spokesman Robert Boisselle said.The relevance of the Forever stamp is being

tested for the first time since it was introducedlast year. The price of first-class postage for a1-ounce letter will rise a penny, from 41 to 42cents, starting May 12.Of course, buying these in bulk would be the

mark of a true penny-pincher, as the savingsare 2.38 percent, or $1 for 100 stamps.While postmasters are readying with a sur-

plus of 1-cent stamps, many consum ers havetaken advantage of the “forever” guarantee.

With the price hike just aweek away, Americans arescooping up 30 million Foreverstamps a day, postal officialssay. The Postal Service soldabout $268 million in Marchalone, up from around $208million in February and about$115 million in January.Since the stamp’s debut,

more than 6 billion have beensold.The stamp — which features

an image of the Liberty Bell —has officially been labeled a success, Boissellesaid, and likely will remain so since Congresspassed a law last year that ties postal prices tothe rate of inflation. Rates are expected to riseannually.Books of 20 stamps now retail for $8.20. For-

ever stamps are not available in 100-stampcoils, Boisselle said. However, five books of 20may be purchased at the same price: $41.Post offices have seen similar runs on the

Forever stamp. “It’s picked up considerablyover the past three weeks,” Springfield, Mass.,Postmaster Michael Mannix said this week.

How far the Cavaliers advance in the NBA playoffs remains to be seen.But the business community already has cause for celebration. A professionalsports team, especially a successful one like the Cavaliers, is an economic jugger-naut, channeling millions of dollars to and from companies here and across thecountry. In Cleveland, the team has spent $30 million over the past threeseasons sprucing up The Q. Tracy Marek, Cavaliers senior vice president

of marketing, said as a rule the team tries to employ Northeast Ohio basedcompanies whenever possible. Beyond that, she said, the team relies onpreferred vendors recommended by the NBA. “We’re lucky,” she said. “We’re in abustling area, and there’s a lot of business close to home.” But forget the contestitself, if you can. To appreciate the Cavaliers as an economic driver, look nofurther than the pre-game show. — Zachary Lewis

The Cavs rely on a lot of players

TRACY BOULIAN | THE PLAIN DEALER

THE COURT

THE CROWD

MOONDOG

Q-TUBEPrior to tipoff, four giant, swashbucklingswords manufactured by Sigma Servicesof Plant City, Fla., emerge from the corners ofthe “Q-Tube” scoreboard and transform intoflamethrowers, shooting out 15-foot streamsof fire fed by four 20-pound tanks of propanecourtesy ofWestside Supply in Cleveland.While players are being introduced, airbursts go boom near the flames, rattling thearena in an effect provided by Pyrotecnico,an aptly named company near Pittsburgh.The Q-Tube itself, featuring four TV screensmeasuring 30 feet by 20 feet, was madeand installed in 2005 through a collabora-tion between ANC Sports of Purchase, N.Y.,andMitsubishi Electric. Together, they keepLeBron James looking larger than life.

THE COURTArguably the most important part of thearena, the court was manufactured by Rob-bins Sports Surfaces of Cincinnati for about$175,000. The company’s clients includemany NBA teams, plus an array of colleges,fitness clubs and schools across the coun-try. Like most NBA courts, The Q’s is madeof maple and measures 112 feet by 60 feet.The design of the floor’s visual componentscomes straight from the NBA, but at leasttwo Northeast Ohio companies got piecesof the action: Sherwin-Williams, whichprovided the paint for the permanent fea-tures, andWise Brothers, a painting outfitin Rocky River, which applied the twoplayoffs logos, each measuring 3 by 10 feet,near center court.

MOONDOGThe Cavaliers won’t say who made thecostume for Cavaliers mascot Moondog,or howmuch it cost, insisting the spiritedpooch, named after iconic disc jockey AlanFreed, is a real creature. All Marek said isthat the costume is not made locally.Moondog’s main duties consist of beatinga drum, rousing the crowd and performingthe occasional slam dunk. During timeouts,however, the mascot packs heat, manningone of two minibasketball guns.The machines, made by FXinMotion of NewBerlin, Wis., use two tanks of pressurizedcarbon dioxide and are capable of shootingup to 200 balls at various speeds to mostpoints of the arena.

THE CROWDFans do more than inspire the team.They also help finance it, creating businessfor other companies in the process. In otherwords, it’s no coincidence everyone’swearing yellow. Through sponsorship byCleveland-basedMajestic Steel, nearly23,000 fans at Wednesday’s game weregiven yellow “Rise Up and Ignite” T-shirts.Fans also got white towels, courtesyof InkStop. Both items were printedby Promotions Plus Apparel of WestBloomfield, Mich. As for the seats, all 20,562were manufactured by American Seatingof Grand Rapids, Mich., and installedby KGE Seating of Russell Township.

Q-TUBE