Looking to be thrifty this holiday season? 

Check out the Heights Parent Center's Nifty Thrifty Holiday Gently Used Toy Sale. Browse their selection of gently used toys, games, books and other kid-friendly gift items.

Patience is a virtue in the development business. Patience paid off ten fold in the case of 2917 Mayfield Road, just west of Honda Motorcars. The building, vacated by In House Furniture a few years ago, sat forlornly, watching the thousands of cars make their daily commute downtown. Its patience was rewarded when Cleveland Heights resident Yanbing Chen purchased the building in January 2008.

If you spend time in your automobile in Cleveland Heights, you may wonder how the city decides which streets to maintain and when. Carl Czaga, assistant to the city manager, capital projects, is responsible for any city project exceeding $25,000. Czaga offers some enlightenment.

An empty lot on Lee Road will become green space until a new development project becomes available.

Situated between Meadowbrook and Tullamore roads, the empty lot was planned to be the site of the Terraces on Lee, a mixed use condominium and retail development, by Al Neyer, Inc. The project fell through when not enough condominiums were presold. The current housing slump and economic downturn makes finding a new developer unlikely in the near future.

With the new year fast approaching, Cleveland Heights leaders are once again facing the prospects of a tough financial year. The national economic crisis has wreaked havoc on local government budgets and the mortgage foreclosure challenges have further plagued many communities.

Cleveland Heights City Council passed a resolution at their September 15 meeting to establish an Owner-Occupant Down Payment Assistance Program for the purchase of one- or two-family homes and condominiums in the city.

I had the honor of attending the Height’s High production of Leonard Bernstein’s "West Side Story" on November 7 and 9. I came to the show to support my son in his first performance. My son attends Oxford Elementary School and was a member of the choir. The choir provided vocals for “America” and “One Hand, One Heart.” I came expecting to see the typical high school play, what I saw was a Broadway quality production.

Dominion East Ohio Gas is a trustworthy company. Do not be so sure when buying their water heater repair and replacement plan for $4.95 a month. You may end up spending more than if you hired a private plumber.

The World Wide Web is a great source of information, entertainment and services to people of all ages. But the plethora of sites can make navigating it time consuming and confusing.

This winter the library is offering a series of programs designed to introduce you to some of the best services the web has to offer. The web trends classes highlight free services you might be curious about, including blogging, Wikis, digital photos and downloadable music.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2008

All board members present.

Dobama

A contract with Dobama has been signed. With a 6-1 vote (board member Kevin Ortner abstained) the board approved Julia Criscione, AIA, who worked on the Main Library renovation, to be the project manager of the Dobama project. Criscione will oversee the legal requirements of the building code, insurance and the guarantees of the contractors.

Life upon the stage may seem glamorous, but life behind the curtain is not always so glitzy.

In fact, these volunteers spent time over the weekend of November 15-16 readying Dobama Theater’s newly completed office space in the Heights Library’s Activity Center. Grabbing paint brushes, left to right, are Library Director Nancy Levin and Dobama Board members Spencer Caress and Sura Stevastopolous. Also painting, but not pictured, were Dobama Board President Bill Newby and his wife, Barbara, and Dianne Boduszek, managing director of the theater.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 6

(All council members present)

Tribute to Oliver Schroeder

Mayor Edward Kelley asked for a moment of silence for Oliver Schroeder, who passed away recently. Schroeder had served on city council from 1956 to 1977, including one term as mayor. Kelley pointed out that Schroeder’s leadership helped keep the city viable when it chose to be integrated and diverse.

Monday,OCTOBER 20, 2008

Council members Peter R. Bernardo, Frankie Goldberg, and Kevin Patrick Murphy excused.

Quorum

Law Director Ken Fisher noted that four members of council were sufficient to do business and could vote on items that required a simple majority.

Every summer, Cleveland Magazine publishes its Rating the Suburbs issue and injects another dose of steroids into outer-suburban development. No surprise: the ratings are meant to affirm what matters to the people who advertise in Cleveland Magazine.

But these numbers are of little use to people who want to live in a close-in place like Cleveland Heights, University Heights, or Lakewood. We need a rating that measures the things that matter to people who value culture, walkable neighborhoods, aesthetic quality, true community diversity, easy access to urban amenities, a strong presence of local independent businesses, and, of course, good schools, good property values, and reasonable taxes. Call it the WMI: the What Matters Index.

The Heights Observer is looking for people, ages 1-100, to get involved in the paper. After all, the Heights Observer is all about citizen journalism and its power to tell local stories at a grassroots level. We are looking for volunteer writers, photographers, designers, and illustrators. It doesn't matter if you are a professional or amateur, our editorial staff will be glad to have you.

Turn on the local TV news at 6 p.m. and you won’t find it. Flip through the pages of any local “news” paper, free or otherwise, and you won’t feel satisfied. Sit down at your computer, search for “Cleveland Heights Local News,” then sift through banners and pop-up ads, and you might get lucky. You would probably learn more while sipping a mocha at the local coffee shop, or walking down your sidewalk hoping to encounter a talkative neighbor. All you want to know is what someone (anyone) in your community thinks about the new housing development being built down the street, or when that new restaurant on Lee Road is going to open, or when that pot-hole riddled road around the corner is going to be repaired.

None of this news is terribly important on a national or even regional level, but it is, perhaps, the information that is most relevant to your daily experience. And, it is information that has not been easy to find.