Latest News

Recycle yard signs Nov. 5–24

Yard signs from a past recycling drive at the Cuyahoga Solid Waste District's warehouse.

The Cleveland Heights Green Team, in partnership with the Heights Libraries and the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, will collect campaign and other yard signs Nov. 5–24.

The signs will be transported to the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District (CCSWD) facility, where arrangements will be made for their recycling. Unwanted yard signs are not recyclable via curbside recycling.

Sign materials such as plastic film, corrugated plastic and cardboard, and metal stands are recycled by Northcoast Recycling Specialists in Wickliffe. The plastic is marketed to compounders that convert the material into pellets for making items such as plastic bags and plastic toys.

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Volume 17, Issue 12, Posted 11:18 AM, 11.04.2024

Latest News Releases

Legal Aid’s 119th Annual Meeting with keynote speaker Ruby Bridges, awards presentation
- Legal Aid, November 1, 2024 Read More
Legal Aid Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Can Help Resolve Tax Issues
- Legal Aid, October 16, 2024 Read More
Changes in federal law require new reporting for small business owners
- , September 18, 2024 Read More
Jam for Justice returns to The Beachland Ballroom for 2024
- Legal Aid, July 15, 2024 Read More
CH announces development agreement for Severance Town Center
- City of Cleveland Heights, June 27, 2024 Read More

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Coventry PEACE preps for annual Lantern Fest

A scene from the Lantern Festival 2023.

On Dec. 14, join Coventry PEACE Campus (CPC) for a magical celebration of light, creativity, and community—a day filled with free activities, the beloved Lantern Procession, and more.

Due to the owner’s decision to close the Coventry PEACE Building, this year’s Lantern Festival will be CPC’s final public event. The group invites the community to join in celebrating the creativity, community, and joy CPC has shared within the building’s walls, while it looks to the future with hope and gratitude. 

On Friday, Nov. 22: CPC will host a Lantern Making Happy Hour at B Side Lounge.

On Saturday, Dec. 14: CPC will host a day of free activities, including:

  • Coventry Village Holiday Festival
  • Coventry School Alumni Reunion
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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 4:19 PM, 10.31.2024

Dobama brings playwriting programs to schools

Dobama Theatre partners with schools and community organizations to bring the art of playwriting to language arts and drama classrooms all over Northeast Ohio, including multiple schools in the CH-UH district. In addition to providing arts education, the program reinforces essential literacy skills in conjunction with established curriculum.

The Young Playwrights Program (YPP) is taught by professional playwrights and theater artists in the classroom. The wide-ranging resources available include single workshops, residencies (three or more workshop sessions), instructional videos, and a fully adaptable curriculum based on grade level.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 4:18 PM, 10.31.2024

FHC launches landmark loan-forgiveness program

Rev. Jermaine Ross-Allam is picutured at center, in black. To his immediate right, in front, are co-chairs Marina Grant and Sonji Kenyata, and Mark Chupp. To his left are Rev. Carmen Cox Harwell and Jeannine Gury. In the back row, from left, are Danielle Cosgrove, Quentin Smith and Gordon Landefeld.

Forest Hill Presbyterian Church (FHC) has introduced a racial-equity initiative to address the financial burden of student-loan debt among Black women. The church is accepting applications on a rolling basis for its Racial Repair Education Debt Program, which will pay off undergraduate loans for eligible applicants.

The program will give priority to Black individuals who self-identify as female or non-binary, are residents of Cleveland Heights, and have graduated from a post-secondary institution. To request an application, make a contribution, or get more information, e-mail office@fhcpresb.org.

The program, which launched in September, marks a first-of-its-kind effort in Ohio that is drawing national attention.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 4:15 PM, 10.31.2024

Racial Equity Buddies hosts two community events

Racial Equity Buddies (REB), a multifaith, multigenerational, multiracial group that organizes events, learning experiences, and community-building, invites community members to join in two November events.

On Tuesday, Nov. 12,6:30–8:30 p.m., at Forest Hill Church (3031 Monticello Blvd.), the group will host a community event focused on post-election healing, regardless of the results of the November election. The group is excited to welcome local award-winning poets Quartez Harris and Kortney Morrow, who will lead a poetry-writing session. Harris and Morrow will be joined by Chiq Montgomery, who will engage participants in artistic journaling. The evening will begin with a vegan meal and include music and time for connecting, as well.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 4:18 PM, 10.31.2024

2024 marks two anniversaries for Flowerville

Michael Day has owned Flowerville for 40 years. [photo: Michael Day]

Flowerville, a full-service florist in University Heights, celebrated two significant anniversaries this year. Aug. 1, 2024, marked the 75th year the company has been in business and the 40th anniversary of the current owner’s purchase of the business.

Flowerville was founded by Max Meltzer, who started selling flowers in Cleveland in 1949. He opened his first brick-and-mortar store in East Cleveland shortly thereafter. In 1962, he moved to a growing area with a lot of new construction—the intersection of Warrensville Center and Silsby roads, in University Heights. Originally, the shop was located at 2261 Warrensville Center Road, in the building now referred to as Silsby Center.

Flowerville's current owner, Michael Day, started his own florist business as a high school student at St. Ignatius, creating bouquets and corsages for his friends for proms and other special occasions.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 4:16 PM, 10.31.2024

Demand fair representation

Dictionary.com defines gerrymandering as “the dividing of a state, county, etc., into election districts so as to give one political party a majority in many districts while concentrating the voting strength of the other party into as few districts as possible.”

A fair system depends on legislative maps that reflect the overall preferences of voters. Fairly drawn maps lead to competitive districts where candidates have to earn the support of voters, and, once elected, participate in the legislative process in good faith and find common ground with the opposition. A supermajority achieved through maps designed to concentrate power in one party erases checks and balances within the legislative process. It is corruption at its worst, and that is what we have in Ohio.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 4:17 PM, 10.31.2024

Annual Fun Run draws international participants

The city’s Happy 5k/10k & 1 Mile Fun Run and After Party has become a branded event for Cleveland Heights. It is a major regional run attracting people not just from Cleveland Heights and other cities in Northeast Ohio but also from 10 other states and two other countries, Canada and U.K. In fact, 73% of the 665 participants were not from Cleveland Heights.

This year the event added an after party.  With Lee Road closed from Silsby to Meadowbrook, activities encompassed the street. There was a popular bouncy house, face painters, Bubblepalooza, a balloon artist who delighted the kids, and DJ Lily Jade and the band Footprints to delight the adults.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 4:17 PM, 10.31.2024

CH writer publishes first book

Cleveland Heights resident Sid Lenington’s book-length debut, Donovan’s M.I.A., is filled with taut, lyrical, and funny dispatches from the front lines of the Anthropocene.

He will be joining Dan Chaon, author of, most recently, Sleepwalker, for a reading and discussion as part of the Coventry Village Author Series at the Coventry Village Library on Thursday, Nov.  21, at 7 p.m.

The book comprises two short stories and two novellas filled with images of garden hoses, donuts, lost puppets, troubled characters, and Rust Belt rot. It’s a glimpse into a mind which, blasted and cratered from decades of drinking, is beginning to heal after 13 years of sobriety.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 3:49 PM, 10.31.2024

Heights Libraries seeks new board members

Heights Libraries' board members cut the ribbon at the June 2024 grand opening of the renovated Noble Neighborhood branch.

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library is accepting applications for two open board positions. Applications are due Friday, Nov. 22, by noon. The new board members will replace current board chair Vikas Turakhia, who is rolling off the board after serving his full seven-year term, and Melissa Soto-Schwartz, who is stepping down after two years.

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to attend an information meeting about library board service on Monday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m., or Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. The meetings will take place at the Lee Road Branch, 2345 Lee Road, in the administrative office located on the second floor of the library.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 3:52 PM, 10.31.2024

Rest in power, Coventry PEACE

Witnessing the long, slow demise of Coventry PEACE Campus since its acquisition by Heights Libraries has felt like looking on while a couple you love battles their way to an excruciating divorce. 

The acronym PEACE originally stood for “People Enhancing a Child’s Environment,” PTA-led volunteers who came together in the early 1990s to build and maintain a then-state-of-the-art playground for Coventry Elementary School.

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights schools closed Coventry in 2007, depriving Coventry Village of a beloved anchor. By 2017, Ensemble Theatre, Lake Erie Ink, FutureHeights, Reaching Heights, ARTFUL and other nonprofits were renting space there, producing a hive of creativity and collaboration.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 4:19 PM, 10.31.2024

Library entrenched in march to waste PEACE building

The annual Art of Community Exhibit at the Coventry PEACE Building.

On Oct. 8, at a joint meeting of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library and the cities of Cleveland Heights and University Heights, library leaders revealed their planned future for the Coventry PEACE Building. It involves the smell of mothballs. The library’s director, Nancy Levin, and its trustees say that a boarded-up building is worth more than a lively art center currently populated by local nonprofits.

The meeting, which you can watch at bit.ly/CHUHLibMtgVid, exposed tensions between the library and the nonprofits, with Levin referring to the nonprofits as “those people,” suggesting the library doesn't see the organizations as part of its community.

The meeting was intended to explore solutions for preserving the Coventry PEACE Building.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 4:20 PM, 10.31.2024

Her first 10 years on the planet, and mine

Bob Hope, who grew up in Cleveland Heights (and whom I didn't meet that time in 1959), was a minority owner of the Cleveland Indians from 1946 to 1986, which included the seven years Woodie Held played for the team, and lived in Cleveland Heights, starting in 1959.

This month marks my elder grandchild’s 10th birthday. That’s a big deal. I can tell she’s feeling pretty grown up, and, I mean, her age is in the double digits now, so she’s practically almost 20. Well . . . halfway there. But a lot closer than she was 10 years ago, which seems like nothing to me now.

It doesn’t even seem like much time has passed since I turned 10 myself. (Until I try to recall everything that has happened since.) I remember Cleveland Heights in 1959 well.

On my 10th birthday, I got my first new bike, a black Schwinn from Pee Wee’s Cycle Shop, which was right around the corner from my house.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 4:16 PM, 10.31.2024

Cheers for UH's new recycling program

Loose curbside recycling has begun in University Heights.

It's an early Tuesday morning on Glendon Road in University Heights. Today is special—we are experiencing our first curbside pickup of loosely recycled items, deposited directly into an automated recycling truck. We neighbors cheered the service workers in this moment of glee.

It's been a long journey to reach this milestone in our community.  Several years of resident surveys addressing trash collection, arguments over the surveys themselves, more arguments over the survey results, local candidates running for office with trash collection preferences stated on their platforms, the powers that be ultimately realizing that the majority of residents wanted to ditch the blue plastic bags for recycled items (irony noted), and lots of negotiating at various local government meetings led to this morning. Opt-in loose recycling with curbside pickup in University Heights is now official.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 4:12 PM, 10.31.2024

Turkey Ridge should not be developed

We live in a city known for its natural beauty (especially its trees) and climate awareness. Cleveland Heights has been designated as “Tree City USA” for over 20 years and prominently features a tree in its logo. Upon his election, Mayor Seren outlined sustainability and climate action as cornerstones of his new government, hiring a sustainability and resiliency coordinator and announcing the creation of a Climate Action and Resilience Plan.

Seemingly, Mayor Seren and the Cleveland Heights government have failed to remember the importance of these ideals in active governance.

From 2011 to 2017, Cleveland Heights saw a more than 10% decline in tree canopy.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 3:53 PM, 10.31.2024

Forced migrants are already our neighbors

I’m a Cleveland Heights resident who’s been working in solidarity with forced migrants for the past year. While I’m very new to this work and have much to learn, I know enough to be concerned by Alan Rapoport’s August 2024 opinion in the Heights Observer: “Illegal migration is potential problem here.”

Mr. Rapoport gestures toward a hypothetically dire future if a range of “what-ifs” occur, while invoking, seemingly without irony, the xenophobic height of Cold War Red Scare media. But he does little to explore what’s already happening for forced migrants in Greater Cleveland, and how many in Cleveland Heights are already taking action to ensure that this remains a safe and flourishing community for everyone who lives here—no matter what citizenship they hold.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 4:09 PM, 10.31.2024

Survey seeks to measure single-use plastic consumption

Aladdin's General Manager Carson Zagger with a plastic utensils-free take-out order.

According to data from Upstream, 561 billion disposable food items are used every year in the U.S., from which a staggering 79% comes from takeout and delivery. Take-out plastic and plastic accessories are used for a few minutes or not at all, and they never disappear. Most plastics are not recyclable, and end up littering the environment, filling landfills, contaminating water, or being incinerated into dangerous breakdown products and greenhouse gasses.

“We see the impact of single-use plastic pollution in every cleanup and green-space beautification we conduct in the Heights. Most of the waste we collect is discarded take-out single use plastics,” said Dr. Kathy Smachlo, a member of the Cleveland Heights Green Team (CHGT) and team liaison to Beyond Plastics, a national organization that works to end plastic pollution.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 4:14 PM, 10.31.2024

District to explore renaming Monticello

From 2017 through parts of COVID, I, along with other community leaders and parents in the CH-UH school district and Oxford Elementary PTA, identified an issue of equity within our elementary and middle schools that would have a long-term effect on our children's education. Through our then PTA program, we launched Courageous Conversations and held workshops and panel sessions to press the district to answer our long-unanswered questions and encourage parents to speak out. At the time, our specific focus was Oxford Elementary and Monticello Middle schools. What were we eager to bring visibility to, you ask? Redlining and a lack of resources.

As years went by, we continued our fight, and soon 2020 was here and COVID touched all our doorsteps.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 3:57 PM, 10.31.2024

Heights merchants must learn to compete with Amazon

The recent Heights Music Hop was a great success. It showed how local merchants can provide the public with some services that Amazon cannot offer. Such a success should inspire Hop organizers to expand the concept on future occasions.

There are not enough promotional events for local merchants in Cleveland Heights or in University Heights. It did take a lot of work to organize the Hop. It might not be practical to have frequent Hops. But less ambitious events in commercial districts certainly could be staged on multiple occasions.

More retail shops should have stayed open at night during the Hop. This was a missed opportunity.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 3:54 PM, 10.31.2024

Heights grad takes command of USS Asheville

Cmdr. Michael DeBoer passes through sideboys during a change of command ceremony for the USS Asheville (SSN 758) onboard Naval Base Point Loma, Sept. 6, 2024. [Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron Smith.]

Commander Michael DeBoer, a 2001 graduate of Cleveland Heights High School and son of CH residents Glenn and Kathleen DeBoer, has taken command of nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Asheville.

Known as the “Ghost of the Coast,” Asheville is an improved Los Angeles Class submarine. Home-ported in Apra Harbor, Guam, it is one of four forward deployed fast-attack submarines in the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

After graduating from Heights High as a self-described "lackluster" student, DeBoer enlisted in the Navy and became a sonar technician. While serving aboard the USS Kinkaid, he was selected to attend the United States Naval Academy, from which he graduated with honors in 2007.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 11:59 AM, 10.28.2024

A message to U.S. House candidate Rapoport

I've lived in Cleveland Heights and University Heights for most of my life. I have a good idea of what kind of people live here. And I know that using rhetoric that dehumanizes those that seek asylum or simply a better life is not a great way to solicit votes in this specific part of Ohio.

Referring to undocumented immigrants crossing the southern border as "invasions by criminals, terrorists, and drug dealers" is incredibly xenophobic, harmful, and innacurate. Multiple studies show that immigrants, both documented and undocumented, are far less likely than U.S.-born Americans to commit crimes.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 4:10 PM, 10.31.2024

Seeing Cedar Lee through new eyes

Gabrielle enjoying the Stone Oven patio this summer.

Before our daughter came into our lives, my husband and I frequented the Cedar Lee district, just a five-minute walk from our house. Those were simpler days, filled with leisurely strolls, spontaneous date nights, and discovering all the hidden gems this neighborhood has to offer.

Now, as parents, it's incredible to realize how seamlessly Gabrielle has fit into our beloved routine. Cedar Lee has not just remained our go-to spot, but has evolved with us, supporting our family in ways I never anticipated.

As a new parent, my appreciation for local businesses has shifted. These places have become touchstones of our community—spaces that have embraced Gabi just as they did us.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 3:50 PM, 10.31.2024

UH Symphonic Band to perform free concert Nov. 3

The University Heights Symphonic Band will present its free, annual fall concert at John Carroll University's (JCU) Dolan Science Atrium on Sunday, Nov. 3, at 3:30 p.m.

The building is located near the Fairmount Circle entrance to the campus, just behind Hamlin Quad where the band's outdoor concerts are annually held.

This year's program, titled Distant Travels, will musically take the audience around the world, and beyond. Conducted by Music Director Devlin Pope, the performance will include the following selections: Four Scottish Dances by Arnold, Sea Songs by Williams, A Nordic Trilogy by Erickson, Metroplex: Three Postcards from Manhattan by Sheldon, Afterlife by Galante, and a percussion feature by Hazo titled A Zillion Nickels.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 11:58 AM, 10.28.2024

Heights Arts' holiday store and concert series get underway

Close Encounters audiences enjoy an intimate orchestral performance in a unique local home. [photo: Heights Arts]

On Friday, Nov. 1, Heights Arts opens its 23rd annual Holiday Store to the public, offering unique, handmade gifts created by more than 100 local artists. The store holds its general opening 6–8 p.m., following a Heights Arts members-only preview 5–6 p.m. The 2024 Holiday store will be open through Dec. 30.

Shoppers will find an array of distinctive items, including decorative boxes, candles, jewelry, ornaments, and a wide variety of artworks such as prints, paintings, photography, sculptural glass, and ceramics. The Holiday Store not only provides an opportunity to discover one-of-a-kind gifts, but also supports local artisans and celebrates the creative spirit of the community.

Also in November, Heights Arts kicks off its signature concert series, Close Encounters, with a performance titled "OUVRAGE DE DAME: Music for Winds by Women" on Sunday, Nov. 3, 3–4:30 p.m.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 11:57 AM, 10.28.2024

FutureHeights awards mini-grants to seven groups

This year's Coventry PEACE Campus Lantern Festival is planned for Dec. 14.

In October, the FutureHeights Neighborhood Mini-Grant Committee convened to consider applications for its fall round of awards. It granted funds, totaling $5,850, to seven groups, to support their neighborhood-level work in Cleveland Heights and University Heights.

Coventry PEACE Campus (CPC) was awarded $1,000 for its “Lantern Festival.” The Lantern Festival brings community members to Coventry PEACE Campus to make art together before they parade into Coventry Village. CPC will use the funds to hire dancers, puppeteers, and musicians to accompany the procession. Funds will also contribute to advance workshops for a small group of arts interns from Heights High who will make individual lanterns for the procession. A dozen nonprofits in the PEACE Campus contribute to the event, providing financial support, food, supplies and music. The event is slated to take place on Dec. 14.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 9:48 AM, 10.22.2024

CH Historical Society receives state award

The Cleveland Heights Historical Society is a recipient of a State Historic Preservation Office's Public Education and Awareness Award for 2024.

Nominated specifically was the organization's “View from The Overlook” journal series, of which there have been 50 issues thus far; a 51st journal will soon be printed and sent to historical society members.

All 50 issues are accessible on at the historical society’s website: clevelandheightshistory.org.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 9:47 AM, 10.22.2024

Noble Neighborhood Library manager to retire

Noble Neighborhood Library Manager Constance Dickerson.

With 16 years and two major renovations under her belt, Noble Neighborhood Branch Library Manager Constance Dickerson will retire at the end of November.

Dickerson’s time at the branch was characterized by a keen understanding of, and appreciation for, the Noble neighborhood, both its needs and the rich resources it offered.

“More than just a library services manager, she's truly been a member of the neighborhood working alongside so many others to find creative ways to cause us to thrive,” said Brenda May of the nonprofit organization Noble Neighbors.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 9:46 AM, 10.22.2024

Library to 'mothball' Coventry PEACE Building

On Oct. 8, Cleveland Heights City Council and the Heights Libraries Board of Directors held a joint meeting to discuss Coventry PEACE Campus (CPC)—the building and its tenants.

The library-owned building’s current tenants primarily comprise a mix of nonprofit and arts organizations. Nine tenants failed to renew their 18-month leases by the April 1, 2024, deadline; the library subsequently permitted them to renew for six months, June through December 2024, with a month-to-month renewal option thereafter, subject to termination by tenant or landlord with 60-days’ notice. Three new tenants signed new 18-month leases last spring, effective July 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2025.

At the meeting’s start, CH Council President Tony Cuda noted that those present had gathered “in the spirit of collaboration,” to discuss the future of CPC.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 9:55 AM, 10.15.2024

Free seminar offers estate-planning tips

On Oct. 10, join in a “YouTalk I Listen” seminar, hosted by Cleveland Heights City Council Vice President Davida Russell and K&M Partners, to learn essential information on estate planning. The seminar will be held in Cleveland Heights High School’s small auditorium, and will begin at 6:30 p.m.
 
This event is designed to provide vital information for individuals and families who own homes or other assets that they want to ensure are properly protected.

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Volume 17, Issue 11, Posted 9:42 AM, 10.07.2024

Heights resident works to 'mobilize the vote'

Sue Dean Dyke, right, and Heights resident Nicole Major go where voters are to find people to register.

Democracy only works when citizens participate. But Ohio’s voter registration can be hard for some citizens: for example, seniors, young people and renters have to reregister every time they change their address.

That doesn’t sit well with Heights resident Sue Dean Dyke. She started Mobilize the Vote NEO to connect with disenfranchised and disengaged voters, develop relationships, and empower people to participate in government. She has inspired more than 700 volunteers working in the Heights and beyond.

“You’ve probably seen us in our neon orange T-shirts,” said Dyke.

Mobilize the Vote goes where the voters are—food banks and farmer’s markets, concert lines and community festivals, HUD apartments and downtown high rises—making it easy for people to register to vote.

“We’ve registered thousands of voters. And we follow up with them to make sure every vote counts,” Dyke said.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:32 PM, 09.30.2024

Hexagon Books opens a door to world literature and language

Owner Manuel Chincilla inside his new Lee Road bookshop.

Hexagon Books opened at 2184 Lee Road in July. The store is focused on literature from all over the world. And for those who would like to read in Spanish or Italian but could use a little help with their proficiency, classes in those two languages are offered right in the store.

Owner Manuel Chinchilla explained that, in August and September, he offered multiple sections of beginning Spanish and Italian for adults, with both morning and afternoon sessions to accommodate different schedules, and one section of each of those languages at the advanced level. He hopes to add children's workshops in Spanish and Italian in the near future.

In an exciting signal of ambitions to grow the reach of the business, Chinchilla added, “I’m hoping to hire more instructors to teach Spanish and Italian lessons for adults next year.”

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:30 PM, 09.30.2024

Dobama presents Heights Halloween Fest Oct. 19

On Saturday, Oct. 19, 4–7 p.m., Dobama Theatre will present its fourth Annual Heights Halloween Festival in the Cedar Lee Business District.

This free, family-friendly event will feature costumed characters, large-scale puppets, face painting, a DJ, dancing, games, a scavenger hunt, and circus performers from Wizbang.

The Heights Halloween Festival will also include the beloved, traditional Candy Crawl, so families should dress up and bring their goodie bags to be ready to trick-or-treat at participating businesses throughout Cedar Lee.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:30 PM, 09.30.2024

How to combat the spotted lanternfly

Adult spotted lanternflies are easy to identify by their spotted wings and bright red hindwings. They're about an inch long. [photo: Mark Derrickson]

The long-anticipated spotted lanternfly invasion has reached Cleveland Heights and University Heights. Cuyahoga is one of 12 counties in the state that are under quarantine by the Ohio Department of Agriculture for having an established population of the pest.

Tree-service companies (like ours) have been fielding phone calls from concerned residents who have found the pests on their property. 

The host tree for the spotted lanternfly is the Ailanthus tree, commonly known as the Tree of Heaven. Both the tree and the insect originally came from China, and both are considered invasive.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:28 PM, 09.30.2024

New coordinator hopes to build on UH's commitment to seniors

Karen Malone Wright

Walter Stinson set a legendary path before me, and now it’s easy to see the dozens of ways University Heights has changed since he accepted his first position with the city in 1976.

When I first moved to University Heights 37 years ago, Walt was one of my first visitors, presenting my husband and me with a friendly, personable smile and a Welcome Basket of information. He seemed to be truly interested to learn what made us choose University Heights for our home, and how he might be able to help us become acclimated to the community and our neighborhood.

Today, my home is a five-minute walk to Walter Stinson Community Park on Fenwick Road, familiar to residents, their children and even their pets. I wasn’t surprised when Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan chose to honor Walter in 2019 at such a community-focused site.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:27 PM, 09.30.2024

Library Media Lab helps launch Gather Well podcast

Gather Well Cleveland Heights founders Eric Yarham and Julie Walker outside the HKIC Media Lab

When Julie Walker and Eric Yarham founded Gather Well Cleveland Heights, a grassroots organization focused on creating community connections, they knew a podcast had to be a part of their vision.

“We reached the decision to do the podcast because the medium wasn't being used to spread all the good work happening in Cleveland Heights and University Heights and beyond,” said Walker.

A chance meeting with Heights Libraries Director Nancy Levin led the pair to the media lab at the library’s Heights Knowledge and Innovation Center computer lab.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:26 PM, 09.30.2024

Mr. Mayor, let us swim

I did something I never expected to do on Sept.3. I went to the Cleveland Heights City Council meeting in my bathing suit. I wasn’t the only one in swimwear; I was joined by the strong and proud swimming community of Cleveland Heights.

We have been asking repeatedly for the return of public lap, water aerobics, and family swimming hours at the new high school pool, which we enjoyed as a community until 2020. Prior to this, we had available swimming hours for years at the South Pool in the old high school building.

Our community has grown tired of Mayor Seren and the school board pointing fingers over the logistics of this amenity offered by countless other communities in Greater Cleveland and beyond.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:21 PM, 09.30.2024

Hang out at the UH Fire Station Oct. 6

The UH Fire Station will host its annual open house on Oct. 6.

This year, Fire Prevention Week is October 6–13. Join your friends and neighbors at the University Heights Fire Station on Oct. 6, noon to 3 p.m., for the annual University Heights Fire Department Open House.

Have fun, while learning how to keep your household safe from fires. This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you,” strives to educate everyone about the importance of having working smoke alarms in the home.

In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed Fire Prevention Week a national observance, making it the longest-running public health observance in our country.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:21 PM, 09.30.2024

Do right by Dugway Brook

Many of us know the name of Doan Brook, which traces the southern boundary of Cleveland Heights and was dammed in the 1830s by the Shakers, to provide waterpower for their mills.

Less familiar is Dugway Brook, which originates at Lyman Circle, on a high spot in Shaker Heights. As it flows downhill, Dugway divides in two. Following roughly parallel courses, its east and west branches head northwest, through seven communities. As they enter Bratenahl the branches reconverge to form an estuary, which continues north to Lake Erie. On their way from the Heights, they have taken on runoff, stormwater, refuse and debris from an 8.7-square-mile area—the Dugway watershed.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:20 PM, 09.30.2024

Church hosts fall flea market Oct. 17–19

United Women in Faith host a biannual flea market at Church of the Saviour.

The Church of the Saviour (2537 Lee Road) will host its fall flea market Oct. 17–19.

All proceeds of this popular, bi-annual event benefit local and global missions of the church’s United Women in Faith.

In addition to the variety of flea-market items, plants, soup, and baked goods also will be available for purchase.

It will cost $10 to shop the first hour of the sale, Thursday, Oct. 17, 3–4 p.m. Admission thereafter is free:

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:17 PM, 09.30.2024

Bidding Danny Williams goodbye

Cleveland Heights Mayor Seren now has failed in his second attempt to fill the position of City Administrator. And this was not for lack of finding excellent candidates. First, he failed to retain Joe Sinnott. Now he has failed to retain Danny Williams.

I once wrote in the Heights Observer that Mayor Seren found a good man when he hired Danny Williams. Mr. Williams has the right skill set. He is an experienced administrator. He always has worked well with others. As critical as I have been about Mayor Seren in the past, I thought he got something right this time.

Mr. Williams will quit at the end of the year.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:14 PM, 09.30.2024

My racist teacher, in 'the good old days'

This is Cleveland Heights, at Fairmount and Lee, in the 1890s, the era my elementary school teachers, and their ideas, came from.

My grandchildren love their fourth- and second-grade teachers at Fairfax Elementary School. They’ve loved all of their teachers there, so far. I did not have anywhere near that kind of experience at the old Coventry School. Most of my teachers had been born in the 1890s and their ideas were as old as they were.

I know my third- and fourth-grade teacher (the same person) and fifth-grade teacher wouldn’t last long as teachers today, at least not in Cleveland Heights. (They might be okay in the deep South.)

My third-grade teacher was super-racist, and blatantly obvious about it, not trying to hide it. She displayed it proudly.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:16 PM, 09.30.2024

Dobama delivers big laughs this election season

Dobama Theatre will present the Cleveland premiere of Selina Fillinger’s Broadway hit and three-time Tony Award-nominated farce, “POTUS: or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive.” Performances are Oct. 4–27.

When a presidential PR nightmare triggers a domino effect, unraveling layers of personal and political catastrophe with escalating worldwide implications, seven women scramble to save a White House in shambles. In “POTUS,” outrageous antics and irreverent conversations abound. The show provides contemporary commentary on the timeless concerns of gendered power structures and dynamics—while also delivering an endless stream of laughs.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:08 PM, 09.30.2024

Year-round program promotes library careers

Library Experience intern Josephine Halushka organized donated books that are given away each summer through the Book Bike program.

Heights Libraries continues its efforts to encourage high school seniors and college students to consider a career in libraries with its Library Experience Program.

The program includes a general orientation to the library, various learning opportunities, and the hands-on experiential activities needed to fulfill the requirements of a variety of unpaid practicum or internships at high schools and colleges.

College student Josephine Halushka was this summer’s intern.  

Currently a student at the College of William and Mary, Halushka worked with Youth Services Librarian Anne Tisch at the Lee Road branch. Halushka, whose family lives in Northeast Ohio, shadowed Tisch as she performed a wide range of tasks, including providing reference services and helping with multiple programs at all four branches: American Sign Language Storytime, an Inclusive Playdate program that welcomes children with different needs, the Exploding Watermelons STEAM program, the Lee Road Puzzle Swap, and more.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:08 PM, 09.30.2024

Classrooms are powerful places

Policymakers in the Ohio legislature keep sowing seeds of discontent with public education, casting public schools as failed institutions and disinvesting in the common good. I can imagine how educators in our school district and across the state feel knowing that powerful people ridicule their work and happily reduce it to test-taking compliance, missing the full sweep of what education is meant to achieve.

If we want to preserve public education, we have to keep fighting the failure narrative. I needed inspiration to fight on, so I turned to books by Mike Rose, a hopeful education researcher who spent years as an educator and classroom observer.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:12 PM, 09.30.2024

Award-winning mystery author to give Nov. 9 talk

Award-winning author Amanda Flower will discuss her latest mystery at P.E.O. International's Nov. 9 event.

Chapter Q of P.E.O. International will present “An afternoon with Amanda Flower” on Saturday, Nov.  9, 2 p.m., at Forest Hill Presbyterian Church. While the program is free, donations are encouraged. All funds raised will support women’s education through P.E.O.’s educational projects.

At the event, two-time Agatha Award-winning and USA Today bestselling author Amanda Flower will discuss her latest mystery, To Slip the Bonds of Earth, released in March 2024.

Flower’s radiant historical mystery novel was inspired by the real sister of the Wright brothers. While not as famous as her older siblings Wilbur and Orville, the celebrated inventors of flight, Katharine Wright was actively involved in her brothers’ aviation achievements. In the novel, Katharine is equally as inventive as her brothers—especially when it comes to solving crimes.

Making a connection between her writing and P.E.O.’s mission to educate women, Flowers had this to say: “Women's way of knowing and learning certainly impacted my writing. I write historical mysteries about women who have used their education and experience to uplift their life and the lives of the people around them.”

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:04 PM, 09.30.2024

Help, dying while CH council and mayor ramble on

Fellow Citizens:

Have you ever attempted to watch a Cleveland Heights City Council meeting and found yourself hunting for your therapist's number? I have, and the rancor, disjunction, and verbosity has got to stop now.

When citizens sign up to speak before council, they are given a time limit: three minutes. That might not seem like a lot, but if one is prepared, that three minutes is ample time to make one’s positions known.

When some elected officials speak, it appears that the goal is to win by attrition: If they go on long enough, citizens will either give up or die.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:10 PM, 09.30.2024

Save the date: UH Civic Awards are Nov. 13

Siaara Freeman

University Heights is gearing up for a night of celebration and recognition as the annual Civic Awards returns on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The event will honor those who have made significant contributions to the community.

To recommend a UH resident for recognition, send an e-mail to info@universityheights.com by Oct. 15.

The Civic Awards—free to all—will again take place at the Jardine Room on the campus of John Carroll University.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:03 PM, 09.30.2024

Request a free tree and help combat canopy loss

Volunteers at a Coventry Urban Mini-Forest Spring 2024 planting day.

The Heights’ tree canopy is facing unprecedented challenges. Aging heritage trees, severe weather events, and ongoing canopy loss are impacting the community’s environmental health and beauty. Residents can make a difference in their own front yards, however, by requesting a free tree from Heights Tree People (HTP). 

HTP supplies and plants trees in people’s front yards for free. The nonprofit group is now accepting tree requests for the fall 2024 planting season.

To request a tree, fill out a short form at www.heightstreepeople.com/request-a-tree.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:01 PM, 09.30.2024

Keep Judge Clary on county court

As a former colleague of Judge Timothy Clary, I am heartened to see our Cleveland Heights neighbor's endorsement by the Plain Dealer.

Having served in civil and criminal law, as an assistant prosecutor for the state, and for community members as an assistant public defender, Clary has a breadth of experience that is refreshing to see in a member of the judiciary. His ”excellent” ratings from five of six bar associations who evaluated candidates demonstrate the superior qualifications he has accrued over his 13 years of practice.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:02 PM, 09.30.2024

Classical gets a modern twist in new concert series

The Resonance Project's concert series hope to gain new fans for classical music by telling the stories behind the compositions.

Featuring a lineup of artists that include Grammy winners, Apollo’s Fire members, and Cleveland Institute of Music faculty, The Resonance Project carefully curates a musical series that bring ideas and worlds to life. 

New to Cleveland Heights, the classical group will perform a series of concerts at Forest Hill Church (3031 Monticello Blvd.), accompanied by compelling visuals and narration, where storytelling becomes just as important as playing.

The Resonance Project’s performances feature a diverse range of genres, and delve into the work of lesser-heard composers.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 12:00 PM, 09.30.2024

Crowdsourced Conversation yields ideas for Heights parks

Discussion groups at the Crowdsourced Conversation explored ideas for Heights parks. [photo: Sarah Wolf]

On Aug. 29, FutureHeights hosted a Crowdsourced Conversation at Forest Hill Park, focused on the community's vision for public parks in Cleveland Heights and University Heights.

The forum was informed by the responses of 300-plus residents who participated in a survey designed to assess frequency of and reasons for Heights residents' visits to local green spaces, including playgrounds, community pocket parks, and other gathering spaces.

According to the survey results, 66% of respondents felt satisfied or very satisfied with their park experiences, 70% indicated they felt safe or very safe in the parks, while 7% reported not visiting any city parks over the last year.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 2:36 PM, 09.22.2024

Freecycle swap meet planned for Sept. 21

Flyer designed by the Nature Center.

The Cleveland Heights Green Team (CHGT) will co-host a “freecycle” community swap meet on Saturday, Sept. 21, 1–4 p.m., at Shaker Heights’s Main Library, 16500 Van Aken Blvd. This community-driven event encourages Heights residents to exchange gently used items, promoting sustainability and reducing waste.

"We're thrilled to once again co-host this Freecycle event in partnership with the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, and Shaker Heights Libraries," said Natalie Elwell, CHGT's co-founder. "It not only helps reduce waste and give new life to no longer needed household items, but also strengthens our community bonds. We encourage everyone to participate and take advantage of this chance to give and receive."

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 1:57 PM, 09.15.2024

CH City Administrator to retire at end of 2024

Danny Williams

Cleveland Heights City Administrator Danny Williams announced at the Sept. 3 meeting of CH City Council that he plans to retire at the end of this year. He said he was making his plans known now “to give the mayor ample time to find a suitable replacement.”

Williams cited personal and professional reasons for his decision.

“At the end of this year,” said Williams, “I will have outlived my father by a decade.” That realization, he said, coupled with losses he has experienced over the past year, prompted him to think about where he wants to spend the rest of his life. 

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 1:18 PM, 09.08.2024

Noble Gardeners' Market moves to Noble library in September

Noble Gardeners' Market (NGM) is moving to Noble Neighborhood Library, 2800 Noble Road, each Saturday in September, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The market will set up on the lawn at the corner of Noble and Kirkwood roads, in a section of the inviting, people-enveloping landscape at the newly renovated library. It features picnic tables and a tiered performance space.

On Saturday, Sept. 7, NGM will host performances by Freaky Bob, a Heights High barbershop quartet. 

The FutureHeights Music Hop, supported by Noble Neighbors, will feature performers at the market on Saturday, Sept. 28.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 1:50 PM, 09.05.2024

Heights alum will blow your mind Sept. 8

Cleveland Heights High School has its share of accomplished alumni. Authors and educators, doctors and inventors, artists and entrepreneurs, professional athletes and . . . bubblers?

Yes. Bubblers. Gary Pearlman, class of 1976, is a world-renowned bubbler and has held 15 Guinness World Records for his bubbling feats. We’re talking soap bubbles—the kind you blew through a ring when you were a little kid.

Pearlman, aka Dr. U. R. Awesome, may be a grown man but he makes his living (and makes his mark) blowing bubbles. 

He started out as a magician, a job he had for 40 years. His friend and fellow Wiley Junior High and Heights High classmate, Steve Presser, eventually invited Pearlman to perform his magic tricks at Presser’s famed Coventry store, Big Fun.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 1:34 PM, 09.05.2024

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS / University Heights City Council meeting highlights

SEPTEMBER 3, 2024, regular meeting

  • Public comment
  • City council committee reports
  • Council action
  • Staff reports

Present were Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan and council members Michele Weiss (vice mayor), Christopher Cooney, Brian J. King, John P. Rach, Sheri Sax, and Win Weizer. Threse Marshall was excused. Also present were Clerk of Council Kelly Thomas, Law Director Bradric T. Bryan, Finance Director Dennis Kennedy, and City Engineer Brenda Mockbee. The meeting ran for three hours and 20 minutes.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 2:39 PM, 10.29.2024

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS / University Heights City Council meeting highlights

AUGUST 27, 2024, special meeting

Present were Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan and council members Michele Weiss (vice mayor), Brian J. King, Threse Marshall, John P. Rach, Sheri Sax, and Win Weizer. Christopher Cooney was excused. Also present were Clerk of Council Kelly Thomas, Law Director Bradric T. Bryan, Finance Director Dennis Kennedy, and City Engineer Brenda Mockbee. The meeting ran for 50 minutes.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 2:38 PM, 10.29.2024

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS / Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education meeting highlights

AUGUST 27, 2024, work session

  • Consent agenda
  • Strategic plan goal four, staff
  • Strategic plan goal five, operations
  • Strategic plan goal five, finance

Present were President Jodi Sourini, Gabe Crenshaw, Dan Heintz, Malia Lewis, and Phil Trimble. Vice President Malia Lewis attended by Zoom due to illness. Also present were Superintendent Elizabeth Kirby and Treasurer Scott Gainer. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. and adjourned at 7:50 p.m.

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Volume 17, Issue 10, Posted 2:37 PM, 10.29.2024