Step It Up Cleveland Heights announces the second round of Best Suburb Dinners, where a diverse group of Cleveland Heights residents come together to share a meal, get to know each other and to talk about what they value about their community. Step It Up arranges each dinner to create a mix of people from different neighborhoods, newer residents and long-timers, people of differing races, ages and backgrounds. A host opens their home and provides a main course. Guests bring a dish to share, stories and even photos of the community at its best. During the dinner, the co-hosts collect ideas for making Cleveland Heights the best suburb in the nation.

Ninety years ago, on Aug. 26, 1920, women gained the right to vote with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. It has been said that no other single event in the 20th century has had a more profound influence in shaping our country, our government and our lives. It is commemorated each year on Aug. 26, as Women’s Equality Day.

It’s been only a year, but it seems like forever. After taking a year off from the event, the Heights Community Congress will present "Imagine If . . . ," the 33rd Heights Heritage Home and Garden tour. The tour is a community-wide celebration of diversity in Cleveland Heights—its people and the homes in which they dwell.

Every now and then, it strikes me that I really do very little that affects the greater good. Every day (OK, most days), I try to have a positive impact on people I come in contact with and events that I have an opportunity to touch. No matter, the feeling always revisits me that I am doing little to cause a farreaching benefit to those outside my immediate sphere.

The Metroparks Zoo Crew, made up of teen volunteers, ages 14 to 17, have been working in Forest Hill Park this summer. They have been clearing trees from a sapling circle that had grown up under one of the venerable old oaks in the Great Meadow.

The sapling circle originated with the idea that the saplings, while still small, could be dug up and sold individually as part of a fund-raising effort to help with the care and feeding of all the big oaks in the meadow.

When community organizer Kirk Noden asked members of FutureHeights to name problems facing the city, the room buzzed.

FutureHeights, a nonprofit dedicated to civic engagement, honored four Heights residents at its annual meeting in June by inducting them into the Innovators Circle.

Gina Cheverine, board president said, "FutureHeights created the Innovators Circle in 2009 to honor the vision and efforts of people who exemplify the organization’s mission of promoting active and dedicated citizens who give their vision and energy to make our communities the best they can be."

Tuni and Lee Chilcote, Heights residents for more than 40 years, were honored for their involvement in community issues. Lee Chilcote, an attorney, served on Cleveland Heights City Council. Tuni Chilcote was involved in numerous volunteer projects at her church and neighborhood school. Through their family foundation, The Katherine & Lee Chilcote Foundation, they invested in numerous Heights initiatives, including the launch of the Heights Observercommunity newspaper.

 

The Heights Parent Center has exciting news. Effective Aug. 1, HPC will merge with Family Connections, its partner family support center in Shaker Heights. HPC and Family Connections have a long history of working together and sharing the same mission. The partnership enables these two centers for families with young children to become stronger and to offer expanded services. The new entity will use the Family Connections name, as it best reflects the organization’s focus on programs that enhance relationships between parent and young child, parent and other parents, and families and other community organizations.

Hugh Williams is engaged.

TC Boonyapataro is engaged.

Hank Kornblut is engaged.

Jewel Moulthrop is engaged.

Kelli Fontenot is engaged.

More than 500 volunteers are engaged with FutureHeights. Isn’t it time for you to get engaged?

As part of a monthly series on seeking the right job opportunity, Careers In Transition is presenting “The Secrets of Social Media” on Saturday, July 17. Mike DeAloia will host the program as he looks at how-to-use the medium in a job search. 

Maria Chan was presented with a Zonta scholarship award for the second year at the “Cocktails and Cabaret” event at Executive Caterers at Landerhaven on April 17. Chan was selected because of her outstanding leadership, community service and scholastic achievement. She has just completed her freshman year at MIT where she is studying chemistry and Arabic. She plans to eventually earn her Ph.D. in biochemistry.

During her freshman year, Chan contributed to service projects, such as court-appointed social advocates. She recently joined the Lippard Research Group's chemistry department with the goal of learning nitric oxide’s role in the human body.

Chan traveled to India this past January and had the opportunity to study contemporary and Mughal architecture. 

To find out more about the Zonta Club of Cleveland, visit our website, www.zontacleveland.org.

The Home Repair Resource Center’s annual spring fundraiser was a tremendous success. This year the event, which ran from April 19 through May 2, was held at Bremec Garden Center on Cedar Road.

In the past, the fundraiser featured a bagged mulch sale. Supporters placed advance orders for pick-up or delivery, with a portion of each sale donated to HRRC. This year Bremec donated a portion of every sale accompanied by an HRRC voucher, which were widely distributed and advertised in the Heights Observer.

HRRC’s executive director, Kathryn Lad, said, "This year’s event was terrific, and generated much excitement in the community about HRRC and Bremec on the Heights."

We know you care about what happens in the Heights and we want to join with you to continue to provide great programs, such as the Heights Observer community news, that enable Heights residents to become engaged and make a difference.

Now is the time to become a member of FutureHeights, and assist us in making a difference.

We have been given a terrific opportunity, through an anonymous donor, to double your gift to FutureHeights this summer. Act now—this offer is good only through July 15!

The Heights Observer will host a radio-oriented citizen-journalism workshop on Tuesday, June 22, at 7-9 p.m. in the Klein TV studio on the first floor of the O’Malley Center at John Carroll University. Citizen volunteers interested in learning how to record sound for print, Web and radio news stories are encouraged to attend

Since 2008, FutureHeights’ Heights Observer citizen-journalism project has partnered with the university’s student-run radio station, WJCU 88.7 FM, to bring hyper-local, Heights-centered news to the airways. Each day Heights Now, a two-minute local news segment, broadcasts on a rotating schedule. The segments are also available on the station’s website, www.wjcu.org.

Learn how to make a beautiful lawn the easy, inexpensive way when the Home Repair Resource Center, a Cleveland Heights nonprofit, sponsors an information session titled “Lawns on a Budget,” Wednesday, May 26, at 7 p.m. Stop by the Lee Road Library, 2345 Lee Road, to hear long-time master gardener Larry Cirillo share his knowledge about fertilization, mowing, and watering, as well as how to control weeds, insects, and fungus in a lawn.

More than 160 people partied to the music of Sarah’s Girl at the Great Lakes Science Center on April 24. Guests enjoyed food and drink and cheered the winner of the 2010 Carolyn Grossman Award for extraordinary commitment to families and children. Terri Davis, the director of Family Health at Beech Brook, received this year’s award.

The silent auction featured commissioned portraits, a handmade quilt, a wine tasting, and nights at the Ritz and in Amish Country among many other attractive items. A highlight of the evening was the live auction, conducted by Steve Presser of Big Fun. Lively bidding ensued on a weekend private plane trip, Christmas roof and yard decorating, the chance to have one's children appear on Channel 3’s Bus Stop Kids and two Continental tickets to anywhere from Alaska to the Caribbean. 

Looking for ways to get the most out of your housing dollars? Do you know how to protect your rights as a renter? Is now a good time to refinance your home?

To answer these and other questions of concern to Heights homeowners and renters, the Cleveland Heights/University Heights Family to Family Collaborative is hosting a community housing resource fair at the Cleveland Heights Community Center on Saturday, May 15 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Lake Erie is the source of our drinking water. The lake provides a valuable fish habitat and a place for boating and swimming. Everyday actions affect the quality of our water.  

Dugway Brook is in the Lake Erie Watershed, which means that runoff from the brook ultimately ends up in Lake Erie. 

Dugway Brook is located in Cuyahoga County on the east side of Cleveland and the surrounding suburbs. The watershed is approximately nine square miles in size. Most of Dugway Brook has been culverted, which means it flows underground through pipes called storm sewers. The majority of the brook is within the cities of Cleveland, East Cleveland, University Heights and Cleveland Heights. Small portions are within the boundaries of Shaker Heights, South Euclid and Bratenahl.   

Here are 5 easy things you can do to protect water quality: 

Beyond Pesticide’s 28th National Forum, April 9-10

Spring clean your electronics, April 17

P.E.A.C.E. Park spring cleanup, April 17

Regina Brett gives book talk, April 20

In a repeat performance lakeside at the Great Lakes Science Center, the Heights Parent Center will hold its annual benefit on Saturday, April 24 at 7 p.m. 

All proceeds support the parent education and family support programs that HPC runs at Taylor School, at the Lee Rd. Library and in all the CH-UH elementary buildings.

On a blustery day in February, Maria Gershanovich became a United States citizen at the age of 87.

The day may as well have been like any other in Cleveland in February. She arrived at the U. S. District Courthouse at 8 a.m. on Feb. 19, ready to begin a new chapter late in her life.

An Earth Day Fair Trade Sale will take place on Thursday, April 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the DJ Lombardo Student Center at John Carroll University. The Student Center is located on S. Belvoir, between Carroll Blvd and Washington Blvd. Fair trade supports artisans and farmers in developing counties. The sale is environmentally friendly, offering organic and environmentally safe products. For more information, visit www.jcu.edu/fairtrade.

Have you ever been baffled by judicial elections? Perhaps there is a name, or maybe two, on the ballot that you recognize. Maybe you have a lawyer friend to ask for advice before heading to the polls. But, chances are that, like most voters, you are left wondering who deserves your vote. Does casting a vote for someone you don’t know much about do more harm than good?

Ruffing Montessori School in Cleveland Heights will cap off the school’s celebratory year with a Golden Bead Gala on April 17 at 7 p.m. at the Heights Rockefeller Center, 3099 Mayfield Road in Cleveland Heights. The gala will feature a sit-down dinner (catered by Doug Katz of fire food and drink), signature cocktails, a live auction with exciting local, coastal and international trips, a raffle and dancing to the Echoes band.

The 2nd Annual Dugway Brook Watershed Festival will take place on Saturday, June 26, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Forest Hill Park boat house in East Cleveland. Learn about the Dugway Brook Watershed and how it relates to Lake Erie, our drinking water, and our watershed community. 

Benefit supports arts in CH-UH schools

“C’est la vie” is the theme of this year’s benefit and auction to support RoxArts, a nonprofit that brings enhanced arts education to students at Roxboro Elementary and Middle schools. The annual fundraiser will be March 5, at 7 p.m. at the Heights Rockefeller Building. Tickets are $25 in advance; $30 at the door. To make reservations, call Susan Ford at 216-932-2223. For general questions or to donate items, call Chesca Hadden at 216-932-7169.

Jeff Milchen, cofounder of the American Independent Business Alliance, will speak Wednesday, March 24, 7 p.m., at the Cleveland Heights Community Center.

Milchen, a nonprofit entrepreneur, writer and speaker best known as an advocate for independent businesses, community economic vitality and representative democracy. He frequently facilitates trainings for communities organizing independent business alliances, "buy local" campaigns, prolocal policy and other programs designed to enhance local economic development centered on local entrepreneurs.

The Home Repair Resource Center’s Home in the Heights subsidiary is about to complete the renovation and reclamation of another previously vacant and foreclosed property in Cleveland Heights, at 3519 Edison Road. 

The public is invited to an open house on March 20 to see the results of this energy- and green-conscious overhaul that includes a new roof, deck, bathroom fixtures, and heating and air-conditioning systems; a new kitchen complete with a bamboo floor; rebuilt front steps; and a remodeled basement complete with rec room and working fireplace.

Like many young Clevelanders, I twiddled my thumbs after graduation and looked for jobs in exotic (and expensive) cities. But unlike most of my peers, I discovered that the universe had other plans. I received a phone call announcing that an internship had opened up at International Partners in Mission, a small international nonprofit based in Cleveland Heights.

Escape the winter doldrums by spending the evening at Fairmount Church Cooperative Nursery School’s Second Annual Winter Carnival. After the fantastic turnout for the 2009 carnival, the school is again preparing for a fun-filled night of great food, raffles, carnival games with prizes. The festival is the main fundraiser for the parent-run cooperative preschool. Dinner tickets are $8 for ages 6 and up, $5 for ages 3-5 and free for ages 2 and under. The school is located in Fairmount Presbyterian Church as 2757 Fairmount Blvd. (at Coventry) in Cleveland Heights. For more information, contact the school at 216-321-5800.

Christina Hidek is a volunteer at Fairmount Presbyterian Church.

Heights High is the common link that brings together two Lee Road neighbors, Reaching Heights and Clyde’s Bistro and Barroom, for an event on March 8 that benefits the Heights schools.

Clyde’s is the new restaurant in the former diners at Lee and Overlook, next door to the Reaching Heights office. Considering that Clyde Mart, the bistro’s namesake proprietor, is a 1949 Heights High graduate, it was a natural fit when Reaching Heights sought a venue for a benefit dinner. The result: Hot Jazz on a Cold Night: Reaching Heights Night at Clyde’s, which will feature the musical stylings of a jazz ensemble of current Heights High students to accompany Clyde’s culinary stylings.

Heights Community Congress has scheduled its Heights Heritage Tour for the weekend of Sept. 25 and 26. The preview party is Saturday night, Sept. 25, and the tour of homes and gardens will be held Sunday afternoon, Sept. 26, rain or shine.

The tour will feature several Cleveland Heights homes and gardens, showcasing a diverse array of architectural styles. For more information, call Heights Community Congress at 216-321-6775.

Sally Fahrenholz is a volunteer with Heights Community Congress.

C’est la vie: Good food. Good friends. Good times.

That’s the theme of this year’s benefit and auction to support RoxArts, a not-for-profit organization of parents and community members who share a common goal: to bring enhanced arts education to students at Roxboro Elementary and Middle schools in Cleveland Heights.

The annual fund-raiser will be held Friday, March 5, at 7 p.m. at the Heights Rockefeller Building (3101 Mayfield Road, at the corner of Mayfield and Lee roads) in Cleveland Heights. Party-goers will enjoy French food, drinks and live entertainment, while bidding on fine arts and jewelry by local artists, tickets to sporting events and museums, a vacation getaway and much more in silent and live auctions.

Without a doubt, Cleveland has made its mark on the culinary map. And while we may have an opportunity to occasionally dine at the most celebrated independent local restaurants; it's a rare treat when we can enjoy cuisine from more than 7 prominent chefs – all in one evening, at one event!

“This would meet many of our needs!” That was the sentiment of one of 30-plus attendees at a meeting to discuss community currency and exchange systems in the Heights. The Jan. 20 meeting, sponsored by FutureHeights and the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee, addressed how a local complementary currency could help both area residents and small businesses who may be short on dollars but plentiful in goods, services or time. A community currency is a tool to facilitate exchanges of goods or services that otherwise wouldn’t take place.

You are invited to the League of Women Voters' First Thursdays speaker series featuring Ohio's Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. The event is open to the public free of charge and is set for 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 4 at Trinity Commons (The Art Gallery) at Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. There is free parking for attendees behind the Cathedral off Prospect Avenue.

Titled "A View From the Top," Brunner's talk will cover the collaborative effort across Ohio to reverse the trend in the state's administration of elections. She will share the highlights of three years in office and how the state worked to provide an efficient and successful 2008 Presidential Election, and continues to work on election reform with the state legislature.

Heights Community Congress (HCC), one of Cleveland Heights’ oldest nonprofit organizations, which works to eliminate housing discrimination and promote diversity and community engagement, is making some changes. Beginning January 2010, HCC will be located at The Rockefeller Center, 2475 Lee Boulevard, Suite 2G, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118. 

“We’re excited to relocate to a historical landmark, such as the Rockefeller,” says Kasey Greer, HCC Executive Director. “It’s a beautiful building that can only be found in a community like ours.” 

HCC was established in 1972 as an advocate of social justice, a monitor of fair housing and a facilitator of community building. To find out more about HCC, visit www.heightscongress.org or call 216-321-6775.

Heights Community Congress celebrated 37 years of work in fair housing, social justice and community building in November and presented its HCC Community Awards to Les Jones and the Cleveland Heights High School Performing Arts Team.

Happy Holidays! We’ve accomplished a lot in 2009 and we couldn’t have done it without you. Community support helped us achieve amazing growth. A year-end gift to the annual fund of any amount will be a tremendous help—allowing us to stay the course in 2010.

Here are a couple of great illustrations of just how your investment in FutureHeights empowers the community to tell their stories, get active and stay involved.

Heights business owners Dawn and Alex Quintana have found the Heights community spirit and FutureHeights shop local programs support their independent business in a tough economy.

 “When we relocated our business to Cleveland Heights we learned about FutureHeights and its fierce focus on supporting local merchants and educating the public on “buying local.” We believe the reason we are sustaining our business in a down economy is due to being part of a community that values us as a local business. FutureHeights programs, such as the Heights Observer, online auction and the Best of the Heights Awards, help build awareness and keep our business strong.”

Dawn and Alex Quintana, owners of Quintana’s Barber and Dream Spa

The shelves of the Heights Emergency Food Center are growling with hunger. Stock is dwindling. They are looking to YOU for canned goods and dry goods, baby food and diapers.

Updated application guidelines for Cuyahoga Arts and Culture’s two principal funding programs are now available on the Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (CAC) website (www.cacgrants.org). CAC General Operating Support (GOS) and Project Support (PS) guidelines, each presented as a separate document, detail for prospective applicants—and the broader community—the processes by which grant dollars will be distributed to arts and cultural organizations in 2011 and 2012.

FutureHeights, the nonprofit publisher of the Heights Observer, raised over $13,000 during its recent online auction.

"Auction revenues were about 20 percent lower than last year, but that was to be expected, given how tough times are now," said Board President Gina Cheverine. "We're grateful for the generosity of the community and the way they've embraced the work of FutureHeights, particularly the Heights Observer citizen newspaper. We're working hard to keep it going, and this money certainly helps our bottom line."

Its motto is "building global friendships" and Children’s International Summer Villages does just that. CISV, a nonprofit, nonpolitical volunteer organization, is also a unique youth travel program that promotes peace, education and cross-cultural friendships.

CISV’s Northeast Ohio Chapter will host an information meeting on Sunday, Dec. 6, at the Lee Road Library in Cleveland Heights. The meeting, which begins at 3 p.m., will provide an opportunity to learn more about travel opportunities for 2010 and meet local students who participated in recent trips and exchange programs with Spain, Brazil, Italy, Norway and Mexico.

PAWS was called when a kind woman found a sweet mother cat and her four young kittens. The mother cat has nursed her kittens to be big and strong and now it is time to find her forever home. Sugar is everything her name suggests...sweet as can be! She loves belly rubs or any other attention that can be lavished on this beautiful brown/orange tabby girl.  Sugar is up to date with routine vaccines, spayed, tested negative for FeLuk/FIV and litter box trained. Can't your home use a little sugar? If interested, please contact PAWS at 440-442-PAWS or visit www.pawsohio.org.

The Heights Observer will hold a Photography Workshop Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. in Room A of the Lee Road Library, 2345 Lee Road. It's the third in a series of workshops for people interested in volunteering for the Heights Observer or any other citizen journalism project.

Faith was found all alone in the woods behind a PAWS foster home. She was taken in and bottle-fed until she was ready to eat kitten food...and she has barely stopped for a breath! She is a fabulously cute grey tiger with a lot of spunk! Faith doesn't want to let a single second get away without giving it her all. She is litter-box trained and will be completely vetted ready to go to her forever home!If interested in Faith, please contact PAWS at 440-442-PAWS or visit www.pawsohio.org. Photo courtesy PAWS.

“We want everyone to think globally but shop locally to support the local economy this holiday season,” says Deanna Bremer Fisher. The executive director of FutureHeights is talking about Shop Around the Heights, a holiday shopping extravaganza presented by her organization, so that Heights residents can take advantage of shopping where they live.

Consumers can pick up a passport and shopping bag at one of several starting locations on Nov. 21 and shop from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Locations include the Brew N Bistro at Fairmount Circle, Macs Backs in Coventry Village, Appletree Books at Cedar Fairmount, Boommodern and Heights Arts Gallery in the Cedar-Lee area and Quintana’s Barber and Dream Spa in the Cedar-Taylor district.

On Dec. 11, 1918, the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra delivered a benefit performance at the historic Gray’s Armory for Saint Ann Church. Some of you may know the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra eventually evolved into the world-famous Cleveland Orchestra. However, most of you probably do not know that it was Father John Powers, pastor of Saint Ann Church, to whom, as Plain Dealer music critic James Rogers wrote at the time, “[Clevelanders] are indebted for this opportunity.”  Father Powers, according to Donald Rosenberg’s The Cleveland Orchestra Story, was instrumental (pun intended) in orchestrating (intended, again) this early version of our present-day Cleveland Orchestra.

The holidays are quickly approaching and what better way to show your holiday spirit than to purchase fair trade items? John Carroll University will host "Gifts That Give Twice," an annual fair trade holiday sale on Tuesday, Dec. 2 and Wednesday, Dec. 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and on Sunday, Dec. 6 from 7 to 11:30 p.m in the Lombardo Student Center.

The pre-K class of Fairmount Cooperative Preschool enjoys a beautiful fall day at Forest Hill Park. Beverly Dobrea teaches the four-day-a-week pre-K class and field trips are a favorite way to enrich the curriculum. Photo by Christina Hidek.

If you drove on Monticello Road this summer, you might have noticed surprising new growth at Forest Hill Church in the form of tomatoes, peppers, cabbages, and dozens of vegetables and herbs.

Church members and friends planted and tended a new vegetable garden in the churchyard near the intersection of Lee Road and Monticello Boulevard. The volunteers harvested more than 300 pounds of fresh produce from the garden for visitors of the church's food pantry and the Heights Emergency Food Center.

With the economic crisis hitting the Cleveland area hard in early 2009, the timing was right for the church to engage in a sustainable project that creatively connects participants to each other, their neighbors, and the earth. More than 20 members volunteered to tend the garden regularly, and dozens more helped

 

Jack and Milo arrived at PAWS after their owner became ill and needed full-time medical care. Jack and Milo have been together since they were kittens and because we want them to stay together, we are offering a special adoption fee.Jack is a food nut! He is mischievous, lovable and sweet. He loves to have his face rubbed and rolls on his back from attention. Milo is a sweet, gentle curious boy who loves to observe the day's goings on from a perch. He, too, loves belly rubs. These boys do everything together: eat, play, sleep and groom. Could your home be their real forever home? Both have been neutered, tested negative, litter box trained and ready to go home! If interested, please contact PAWS at 440-442-PAWS or visit www.pawsohio.org.

The League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area invites citizens to an informative program that analyzes the competing charter reform issues on the Nov. 3 ballot (Issue #5, #6). Join the League Thursday, Oct. 15, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Cleveland, 2728 Lancashire Road, Cleveland Heights.

The presentation spells out the key provisions in the proposed charter (Issue #6) and explains how those changes can improve county operations. It also describes the charter commission option (Issue #5) and why the League has determined that route is not needed.

For more information, including a list of other Charter Reform meetings, visit www.LWVCuyahogaArea.org.

The second annual Ride for Miles was held in September in memory of Professor Miles Coburn. More than 400 people registered to complete the 15-mile ride.

The League of Women Voters is presenting a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation on the Cuyahoga County Reform Initiative, Issue 6. The program will take place at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Cleveland, 2728 Lancashire Road, Cleveland Heights.

Situated in the Heights Rockefeller Building in Cleveland Heights, the nonprofit organization Facing History and Ourselves will open its nationally acclaimed interactive multimedia exhibit to the public on Oct. 22. The exhibit, "Choosing to Participate," will run through Feb. 26, 2010 at the Western Reserve Historical Society.

The organization, headquartered in Brookline, Massachusetts, produces classroom resources and educational strategies that promote student engagement, critical thinking, and a scholarly approach to the study of history. With nine offices in North America, and another in London, Facing History engages students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and anti-Semitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry.

Home Repair Resource Center has two special events in October to mark Financial Literacy Month.

“Maxed Out,” an award-winning documentary from James Scurlock that exposes the inner workings of the credit card industry will be shown at the Lee Road Library at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8. Deemed “eye-opening and necessary” by the New York Press, “Maxed Out” paints a picture of a national nightmare.

Thinking about adding insulation or replacing doors and windows with more energy-efficient models? You can benefit from the new energy tax credits. Michael Higgins from the Ohio Department of Development will speak on “How to Reduce Energy Consumption: Energy Star Ratings and Energy Tax Credits” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Lee Road Library.

Volunteers are needed to spruce up the Coventry P.E.A.C.E. Park, located at the intersection of Euclid Heights Boulevard and Coventry Road, on Saturday, Oct. 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Each spring and fall Coventry P.E.A.C.E. organizes a day to clean the grounds and repair the playground equipment at the park. The nonprofit organization stands for People Enhancing a Child’s (now a Community’s) Environment and evolved from a Coventry Elementary School PTA group charged with rebuilding the Coventry School playground in 1991.

Heights Community Congress has decided to postpone the 2009 Heights Heritage Home and Garden Tour that was scheduled for September. This would have been the 34th annual tour and had been the organization’s largest fundraiser.

“It was one of the hardest decisions we’ve had to make,” said Executive Director Kasey Greer, “but it’s the right thing to do.” Greer said increased costs and anticipated lower revenues due to the weak economy drove the board’s decision.