Latest News

CH City Council leaders to host Feb. 26 community forum

CH Council President Tony Cuda.

On Wednesday, Feb. 26, Cleveland Heights Council President Tony Cuda and Council Vice President Davida Russell will present their shared agenda for 2025.

The Q&A forum will take place at the Cleveland Heights Community Center, Rooms 1A and 1B, 7–8:30 p.m.

"One of the most important responsibilities of elected officials is to communicate effectively with our residents," commented Cuda. "To that end, VP Russell and I will hold our fifth 'Town Hall' style event since being appointed president and vice president of city council just a little over a year ago."

The forum is open to the public. No registration is required.

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Volume 18, Issue 3, Posted 10:26 AM, 02.17.2025

Latest News Releases

Ohio State Fire Marshal Continues to Investigate Cause of Cleveland Heights Apartment Fire
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- Legal Aid, November 18, 2024 Read More
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- Legal Aid, November 1, 2024 Read More

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London stage actors bring Shakespeare to JCU

Actors From The London Stage (spring 2025 season)

John Carroll University (JCU) welcomes the internationally renowned Actors From The London Stage (AFTLS) for a six-day residency, Feb. 17–22. The residency, supported by the Gerard Manley Hopkins Professorship in the Department of English, will feature engaging classroom workshops and performances of William Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, "Hamlet."

The five-actor troupe will arrive on Feb. 17. Throughout the week, AFTLS will host nearly 30 interactive classroom workshops, offering JCU students a dynamic and hands-on approach to topics such as Shakespearean verse, acting techniques, rhetoric, public speaking, and the power of body language.

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Volume 18, Issue 3, Posted 3:04 PM, 02.16.2025

Neighborhood Mini-Grant program now accepting applications

Do you have an idea for an innovative project in your neighborhood? Do you need a little funding boost to turn your idea into reality? Look no further! We’ve got you covered with Future Heights Neighborhood Mini-Grants. 

This program awards up to $1,000 for grassroots projects that benefit Cleveland Heights and University Heights neighborhoods. The intention is to offer support for groups that wish to build community by working together to start or sustain a neighborhood project or initiative.

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Volume 18, Issue 3, Posted 3:27 PM, 02.16.2025

CH leaders sign protect-and-resist pledge

CH City Council Member Jim Petras (at right) reading the SURJ protect-and-resist pledge. Adin Mann, the event emcee, is next to him. [photo by Anne Kmieck]

On Feb. 1, three elected Cleveland Heights officials affirmed a pledge to protect the rights, safety and dignity of people in our community and resist the Trump’s administration’s agenda.

CH City Council Members Gail Larson and Jim Petras and Mayor Kahlil Seren publicly signed the pledge as part of a national campaign organized by Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ). They were among the 37 leaders who signed that day. Council Member Anthony Mattox Jr. reported he signed the pledge after the event. 

Petras stated, “I signed the pledge because it's important for us to speak up during this time when the values that we care about and the people who we love are under attack!”

About 60 people attended the cold but sunny morning rally in front of Cleveland Heights City Hall. The organizers and participants pledged to provide support to city leaders in upholding the pledge. Knowing there will be many opportunities ahead to put these commitments into action, they vowed to work alongside city leaders when those moments come. Sixty similar actions occurred across the country, with more occurring later.

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Volume 18, Issue 3, Posted 2:42 PM, 02.10.2025

CH allocates balance of ARPA funds

CH lead-abatement specialist Zach Ravanelli at work.

Following a year when the Cleveland Heights’ Housing Preservation Office tripled its lead-abatement project spending to reach $600,000 in federal Housing Urban Development (HUD) funds to remove lead from windows and doors, the city is poised to invest $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds in 2025 to continue remediating lead and repairing the city’s rental and owner-occupied homes.

The city plans to spend another $2.5 million of ARPA funds in home-repair programs to help Cleveland Heights residents who qualify (those who earn less than 120% of area median income), including an exterior home-repair program to replace driveways, trees, sidewalks, and detached garages.

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Volume 18, Issue 3, Posted 11:56 AM, 02.10.2025

FutureHeights names Lee Chilcote housing program manager and executive director

Lee Chilcote

FutureHeights welcomes Lee Chilcote as its new Housing Program Manager and Executive Director. A Cleveland Heights native, Chilcote brings a depth and diversity of experience to FutureHeights at an exciting point in time for the organization. 

As housing program manager, Chilcote will be responsible for the execution of FutureHeights’ new Housing Rehabilitation Program, which will support neighborhood stabilization through strategic acquisition and rehabilitation of distressed residential properties. Following rehabilitation, the homes will be available for lease/purchase by income-qualified residents. Chilcote’s experience in home rehabilitation and historic preservation will ensure homes are rehabilitated to the highest quality while also on-budget and on-time.

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Volume 18, Issue 3, Posted 9:13 AM, 02.04.2025

PEACE Park ribbon cutting to be short on speeches, big on fun

The red cardinal is a prominent feature of Coventry PEACE Park's new playground. [photo: Jack Valancy]

On a glorious, sunny Sunday last July, friends, neighbors and community leaders gathered for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the new Coventry PEACE Park. Wearing hardhats and with shovels in hand, groups posed for photos in front of big earthmoving equipment.

The old playground had been demolished the previous November, and trees had been removed so as not to disrupt bat nesting season (seriously). Chain-link construction fences were up; the park was closed. 

Behind the fence, Coventry PEACE Park was being transformed.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:37 PM, 01.31.2025

Development partner outlines process for revitalizing Severance

The city has entered into a partnership to redevelop Severance Town Center, which is largely unchanged in the two years since this photo was taken. [photo: Kim Sergio Inglis]

New York-based real estate development firm MPact Collective, known for its innovative approach to downtown revitalization, has commenced its process toward the transformation of Severance Town Center.

MPact aims to redevelop the struggling Severance mall into a vibrant, mixed-use community through a public-private partnership.

The Cleveland Heights initiative is a joint venture between MPact and Namdar Realty Group, Severance’s owner. While Namdar’s reputation has presented challenges in gaining community trust, MPact Collective is leveraging its history of success to bridge the gap.

The partnership's 20-month planning phase includes community engagement, rezoning efforts and a conceptual plan to redefine the Severance site. MPact acts as the master developer and brings in co-development partners to build components of the project under rules established though community and municipal collaboration and codified in the zoning and land-use regulations.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:00 PM, 01.31.2025

Swim Cadets 'turn super' in winter show

This year's Swim Cadets are (top row) Gwendolyn Kinsella and Josephine Norton, (second row) Emily Barr, Sophie Petersal, and Samira Sisson, (third row) Lev McFarland and Margaret Dyck, (fourth row) Amelia McCann, Kat Welfley and Ella Bain, (fifth row) Nora Dew and Tasha Bell, (bottom row) Ruby Jolivette, Clara Walker and Remy Polk. Not pictured: Celia Lyford and Celia Pentecost.

The Cleveland Heights High School Swim Cadets will present “Swim Cadets Turn Super,” the club’s 86th annual show, Feb. 27, 28, and March 1.

The synchronized swim team will perform at the Heights High Natatorium, 13263 Cedar Road, Thursday through Saturday evenings. Each show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12 each and available in advance from Swim Cadet members. A limited number of tickets will be sold at the door.

The oldest club at Heights High, Swim Cadets has been entertaining audiences every winter for nearly nine decades. Club members choreograph original routines and collaborate on show themes and music, costume designs, and lighting. The club is self-funded, and relies on its own fundraising efforts, donations, and ticket sales to cover the costs of the show. 

Having a synchronized swimming team is not typical for a high school. The Heights High Swim Cadets has a long history in the Heights community, with generations of family members participating over the years, including Maeve Hackman, who is in her third—and final—year as club advisor.

Hackman was a Swim Cadet from 2014 to 2017 and became the club’s advisor after graduating from college.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 11:57 AM, 01.31.2025

CH officials decline to speculate on cause of Cedar-Lee fire

Cleveland Heights Mayor Kahlil Seren and Fire Chief Jim Harry.

After the “devastating fire” that destroyed part of the Marquee development complex over the weekend, Cleveland Heights Mayor Kahlil Seren said the city is committed to “rebuilding after the initial process of investigation.”

Flanked by other city officials, Mayor Seren said at a news conference on Monday, Jan. 27, that there is no timeline yet for the investigation.

According to CH Fire Chief Jim Harry, first reports of the fire came in at approximately 7:05 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24. When fire crews responded, a “heavy body of fire” was already in the roof and ceiling.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 11:00 AM, 01.28.2025

CH issues statement on alleged ICE raid in Coventry Village

On Jan. 27, at 1:56 p.m., the city of Cleveland Heights issued the following statement regarding multiple social media accounts of an alleged Jan. 26 ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raid on Cilantro Taqueria in Coventry Village:

"A report of a raid by federal ICE officials on the business establishment operated by Cilantro Taqueria located at Coventry and Euclid Heights Boulevard in Cleveland Heights has come to the attention of the City and its Division of Police.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 3:10 PM, 01.27.2025

FutureHeights thanks Wolf for her many contributions

Sarah Wolf, FutureHeights' community-building programs manager.

FutureHeights begins the new year with the news that Sarah Wolf, its long-standing community-building programs manager, has decided to pursue other interests and transition to new opportunities at the end of January.

Wolf has been a dedicated member of the FutureHeights staff, and her work in furthering the Heights community’s interests stands as testament to the importance of grassroots organizing and citizen engagement. She excels at both.

Wolf has left an indelible mark on the nonprofit organization. The torch she lit has sparked conversations among crowds throughout two cities, bringing them together as one community.

It is with sincere gratitude and great honor that FutureHeights carries the torch into this new year, and beyond.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 10:28 AM, 01.21.2025

Brennan will not seek third term as University Heights mayor

Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan.

As a candidate for mayor in 2017, Michael Dylan Brennan promised he could lead University Heights to “reach new heights.”

In less than two terms, “every goal has been met,” Brennan said. “The things I came here to do, I have done. The things that remain that I have started are well underway and will be done.”

Brennan informed UH City Hall directors and chiefs on Jan. 14 that he will not be seeking a third consecutive term as mayor in 2025.

In his time in office, Brennan said, he has not held back: “You see that in our record and results.”

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 10:56 AM, 01.14.2025

Beth El hosts 'fun-draising' trivia night

Beth El-The Heights Synagogue, 3246 Desota Ave., will hold its second annual Trivia Night on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 7:15 p.m. Rabbi Michael Ungar will be the event’s MC. 

A fundraiser that is "more fun than funds," proceeds will fund a new Torah scroll, scribed by soferet Rabbi Rebecca Richamn, who lives in Cleveland Heights and is a member of Beth El. (Sofers—males with the skill to inscribe a Torah—are rare; female soferets even more so.)

Gather a table of eight or fewer participants, and register by e-mailing the names to Natalie Barratt, at nmbarr@gmail.com. Pre-registration is required by Feb. 10.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:42 PM, 01.31.2025

Workshop series unlocks door to homeownership

For many, the journey to homeownership starts with a dream—a charming colonial on a quiet street, a yard for the dog, or simply a place to call one’s own. Yet, the path to making that dream a reality can feel overwhelming. Where do you begin? How do you navigate the complexities of today’s housing market?

In 2023, University Heights Library Manager Sara Phillips noticed a growing need for reliable, practical guidance about the housing market. She reached out to two realtors whose expertise in the Heights area made them the perfect partners. Together, they crafted a series of workshops to help renters, first-time buyers, and even seasoned homeowners navigate the often-confusing world of real estate, providing practical tools and strategies.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:40 PM, 01.31.2025

How Cleveland Heights got point of sale inspection

Last November, many Cleveland Heights homeowners found in their mailboxes a 6-by-11-inch postcard declaring, "POINT OF SALE REQUIREMENTS POSE THREATS TO THE AMERICAN DREAM." For the two of us, receiving that mailing, funded by Akron Cleveland Association of Realtors (ACAR), was like reliving a bad dream.

Next month we will discuss ACAR's efforts to mislead a new generation of would-be home buyers and sellers, and how Cleveland Heights and neighboring communities can resist. For now, we will address how and why, 50 years ago, Cleveland Heights instituted point of sale inspection (POS).

It's easy to assume that things have always been the way they are now—or even that they used to be better.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:25 PM, 01.31.2025

JCU students host benefit for Hunger Network

John Carroll University students are taking crucial action to combat hunger in Northeast Ohio with the return of “Blizzard Bash” on Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Beachland Tavern.

All proceeds of the annual charity concert series will benefit the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland.

The students aim to break last year's record of donating more than 12,000 meals through the power of music.

“Hunger doesn’t end in December, the time of giving is truly year-round,” said Zachary Sinutko, events director for WJCU 88.7 FM.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:28 PM, 01.31.2025

Stop blaming ODOT, Mr. Mayor!

John Gall lives at the T-bone intersection of South Taylor Road and Fairmount Boulevard in Cleveland Heights. On several occasions, speeding motor vehicles traveling southbound through that intersection have crashed into his house. One crash resulted from a police chase. There used to be a guardrail facing the intersection on Gall’s tree lawn. The city had it removed. Mr. Gall believes that removal has deprived his house of protection from such collisions.

Mayor Seren insists that removal of the guardrail merely “adhered” to guidelines of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). The mayor has offered alternative solutions, such as bollards, wooden posts, field stones, or concrete barriers. He even offered to buy Gall’s house. The city now has placed two large boulders on the tree lawn. But Mr. Gall still wants a guardrail. The city still refuses to allow one.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:10 PM, 01.31.2025

COTS resumes blood drives

For the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak, Church of the Saviour (COTS), located at 2537 Lee Road, has resumed its regular hosting of American Red Cross blood drives.

The church re-launched its efforts on Jan. 6, at the start of National Blood Drive Month, and on that first day received enough donations to save up to 75 lives.

Going forward, COTS will host two to four blood drives monthly, with the goal of becoming the largest blood-donation source site in the community.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:35 PM, 01.31.2025

Heights Dems host Feb. 8 resistance fair

Remember waking up on Nov. 6? Or possibly you didn’t go to sleep. For many of us Heights Democrats, everything that could go wrong did. We lost all our election races: Trump was elected again, Sherrod Brown lost, Issue 1 to end gerrymandering was defeated, and the Republicans retained control of the Ohio legislature, took both the U.S. House and Senate, and the Ohio Supreme Court.

I felt devastated and for a few weeks wallowed, maybe drank too much, considered taking up smoking, and was pretty difficult to engage with. It was bad. So many of us put so much energy, time and money into this election. We felt devastated, uncertain what to do next.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:04 PM, 01.31.2025

UH's curbside recycling gets successful start

UH's new curbside recycling program is saving the city money.

First reviews of the new University Heights curbside recycling program are in, and residents are crushing it. Not only are residents recycling, they are recycling right.

Under the former recycling program, the city was paying $105.92 to have a ton of recycling collected.

Under the new program, residents are recycling so well that, in January 2025, Waste Management will rebate the city $16.75 per ton of recycling.

An audit from Oct. 1 through Dec. 4 of last year shows that University Heights residents are taking advantage of the new opportunity to recycle cardboard boxes, with cardboard making up 28.76% of all materials recycled.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:31 PM, 01.31.2025

CH makes questionable leadership decision

Cleveland Heights must really be desperate! Instead of expanding its search to recruit from all of the highly qualified and successful professionals with municipal government experience and potential, Cleveland Heights chose to make Akron’s former mayor, Dan Horrigan, one of its top officials?   

What an embarrassment! Cleveland Heights deciding to hire Horrigan as the new city administrator is akin to any municipality deciding to have Timothy J. McGinty, Michael O'Malley, or Jimmy Dimora represent it. It's distasteful and a poor reflection.

By doing so, Mayor Kahlil Seren finally revealed how inexperienced, uninformed and gullible he is to ineffective, out-of-touch-with-reality, underperforming career politicians who are merely recycled rejects from a neighboring city that suffered primarily due to [extremely] poor leadership.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:12 PM, 01.31.2025

I did the math (eventually)

This is not one of my classes at the old Coventry School. But it could have been. See that kid raising his hand? That was never me. And see that kid who's laughing? That was always me.

I have a grandson who’s in the second grade at a Cleveland Heights public school. I was in the second grade at a different Cleveland Heights public school in the 1950s. I had an experience in the second grade that—I’m fairly certain—was life-changing. My grandson will probably not experience that, because I was in school at the height of the Cold War. 

Mine went like this (and I’ve told parts of this story before, but not the whole thing): One day, I was sitting in my second-grade class when a man walked in, someone I’d never seen. He was tall and thin, with a silver crew cut and wearing dark-rimmed glasses and a charcoal-grey suit. He conferred quietly with our teacher in a back corner.

One by one, the teacher called each kid to the back of the room to sit at a little desk with her and the man.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:45 PM, 01.31.2025

K–12 alternatives will break the bank

Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District Treasurer Scott Gainer has an interesting responsibility that I stumbled across in my recent effort to understand K–12 education options in Ohio: He is responsible for approving home-schooling requests that exempt children from Ohio's education requirements.

While public schools are free to all and available everywhere, Ohio families can legally participate in four nonpublic alternatives—charter schools; chartered nonpublic schools (i.e., traditional private schools); home schooling; and non-chartered nonpublic schools, which are religious schools that choose, based on beliefs, not to be chartered by the state.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:19 PM, 01.31.2025

Make new memories at Coventry PEACE Park

This winter, Coventry Village is abuzz. The unveiling of the new Coventry PEACE Park is upon us, and Fund for the Future of Heights Libraries (FFHL) could not be more excited to share it with the community.

I’m writing this not just to invite you to FFHL’s ribbon cutting on Feb. 16, at 3 p.m., followed by our Cabin Fever Family Friendly Fundraiser at the Grog Shop (although we do hope to see you there). 

In the spirit of the new year and an “out with the old and in with the new" mindset, this is a 20-something’s tribute to her old stomping grounds.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:03 PM, 01.31.2025

Those nasty little degrees

I can no longer sit idly by and stay silent. And while I realize the 2025 budget has priority, the mayor and the city council need to work together in the spirit of transparency and collaboration to do something about these nasty little degrees which inhabit our city.

This morning (Jan. 9) on my way to Stone Oven for morning coffee, I stopped by Marc's on Coventry to buy a New York Times. As I stepped out of the car, I heard a wily little snicker ask, "Cold enough for you old man?" I turned to see a rather grubby looking group of about 18 short little degrees, laughing and pointing to me as they chuckled and sneered. Mean. These guys were just downright mean.

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Volume 18, Issue 2, Posted 12:06 PM, 01.31.2025

Cast your vote for 2025's Crowdsourced Conversations topics

Crowdsourced Conversations explored the future potential of Severance Town Center. [photo: Sarah Wolf]

The Crowdsourced Conversations community forum series explored four community-selected topics in 2024, and is looking ahead to 2025.

A program of FutureHeights, co-sponsored by community partners, the series puts the spotlight on residents’ voices by emphasizing action-oriented small-group discussions on topics voted on by residents. It is intended to inspire and empower residents to find ways to become more directly involved in their community in ways that feel meaningful, and meet other residents who hope to accomplish the same.

Voting to determine the 2025 topics is underway and will conclude on Wednesday, Jan. 15.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:21 AM, 01.02.2025

Heights organizations expand hard-to-recycle collection efforts

Jeff McNaught recyles EPS foam at his Rocky River facility.

While curbside recycling is a cornerstone of waste management, Heights residents are taking their efforts a step further by recycling beyond the blue bin.

Traditional recycling programs focus on paper, plastic, glass and aluminum. Hard-to-recycle items are mostly destined to end up cluttering basements and, eventually, landfills.

“We recognize that recycling beyond the blue bin is a critical evolution in waste management,” said Catalina Wagers, co-founder of the Cleveland Heights Green Team (CHGT). “By organizing drives that provide Heights residents with options to dispose of hard-to-recycle items, we are not only reducing our environmental footprint but also, more importantly, fostering a culture of sustainability.”

Since 2021, CHGT, in partnership with Heights Libraries and the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, has coordinated 14 recycling drives, collecting medical equipment, e-media, household goods and electronics, and yard signs and holiday lights.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:29 AM, 01.02.2025

JCU and UH move ahead with Gateway North project

JCU's Gateway North project aims for a completion date of December 2026.

John Carroll University’s (JCU) transformative Gateway North project, a mixed-use retail and residential complex, has taken a significant step forward with approval from University Heights City Council on Dec. 16. The project—which will be located at Fairmount Circle, bordered by Warrensville Center Road, John Carroll Boulevard, and Milford Road—is designed to enhance the student experience, add modern student-living accommodations, and provide vibrant retail options for the community.

Standing five-stories tall, the Gateway North development will feature retail on the first floor, including a specialty grocer and space for a restaurant, with student-living accommodations located above.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 9:56 AM, 01.02.2025

CH council president looks back at 2024

There is no way to do a comprehensive review of 2024 in 600 words, but I’m going to give it a try anyway.

Since I became CH City Council president, VP Davida Russell and I have done a number of things to improve the way city council operates. In order to save space in this article for other important topics, please go to our website: www.clevelandheights.gov/524/City-Council and look under “2024 Council Leadership Accomplishments.”

Regarding the recent budget controversy, here is a summary of the many concerns most members of council had while evaluating the mayor’s proposed budget:

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:52 AM, 01.02.2025

CH names accessory dwelling unit design winners

Winners of the Cleveland Heights ADUs Design Competition are (from left) Tristan Ruffin-Williams, Cade McCue, Jamie List, Phillip Talley, Chuck Miller, Tommy Chesnes and Conner Deck. Not pictured: Jon Novak.

The city of Cleveland Heights recognized five winners in its Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) Design Competition at an Awards Showcase held at CH City Hall on Dec. 4.

The showcase featured original designs for ADUs—small, second homes that can be built on the same property as a primary residence—submitted by 28 professional and amateur designers.

The two People’s Choice award winners—Cade McCue of Kent State University, and Tristen Ruffin-Williams of Hawken School—were selected through an online vote.

The three winners in the juried competition, chosen by a panel of residents and design and planning professionals, were: Chuck Miller of C2, Charles C. Miller Architect LLC; Connor Deck, Jon Novak and Tommy Chesnes of Onyx Creative; Phillip Talley and Jamie List of City Architecture.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:03 AM, 01.02.2025

Former Akron mayor is CH city administrator nominee

Mayor Seren with Dan Horrigan, his pick to be the next CH city administrator.

On Monday, Dec. 16, Cleveland Heights City Council held a confirmation hearing for Dan Horrigan, the former mayor of Akron, who is Mayor Kahlil Seren’s nominee to serve as the next city administrator of Cleveland Heights.

The hearing, a special meeting of the Council Committee of the Whole, can be viewed on the city’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2aNUPafnTY&t=20s.

According to the mayor, Horrigan was one of 42 applicants for the position, and the only one whom Seren interviewed—via a “series of conversations about his experience and interest in continuing in public service.” The mayor noted, “I wanted to jump on this opportunity and move forward.”

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 9:50 AM, 01.02.2025

A report card for Cleveland Heights properties

Grades—whether applied to schoolwork, job performance or real property—are inevitably somewhat subjective. Evaluating a grade entails knowing not only the criteria applied, but the frame of reference and qualifications of the individual who assigned it.

Recently, Cleveland Heights participated with Euclid and South Euclid in a Western Reserve Land Conservancy (WRLC) project to comprehensively survey all properties in each city. The end product, First-Ring Property Inventory (https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3b0f978b6d63493c8e11fd56d92385b5), is a voluminous data set, potentially a tool to help shape future housing policies and programs.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:12 AM, 01.02.2025

Heights of Democracy columnists address readers

To our readers:

Thank you for your encouragement during the eight years since we started our "Heights of Democracy” column. We enjoy hearing from you and appreciate your suggestions of topics for us to write about.

From time to time, particularly in recent months, some of you have asked us to cover breaking news and developing stories about ongoing crises in Cleveland Heights government.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:22 AM, 01.02.2025

Jan. 31 concert will be 'A Spanish Affair'

Guillermo Salas-Suarez (baroque violinist) and QinYing Tan (harpsichordist) in rehearsal. 

CLE Concierto, the Cleveland Heights-based early-music ensemble founded in September, continues its inaugural season with a captivating program of Spanish music—A Spanish Affair—on Friday, Jan. 31, 7:30 p.m. The concert will be performed at Forest Hill Church, 3031 Monticello Blvd.

The concert will feature renowned violinist Guillermo Salas-Suárez, a specialist in Spanish violin music, alongside Brian Kay (historical plucked instruments and percussion) and a harpsichordist. The repertoire will include Felix Lopez's lively “Variaciones del Fandango;” José Herrando's evocative “El Jardín de Aranjuez,” which conjures the birdcalls and lush imagery of Madrid’s famous gardens; Luigi Boccherini’s rarely performed yet brilliant violin and harpsichord sonatas, and more.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:14 AM, 01.02.2025

CH's personnel and finance problems are concerning

If there are any two subjects of crucial importance in governing the city of Cleveland Heights, they would be personnel and finance. Mayor Seren has shown poor skills at delegating the management of either.

Put aside for the moment the loss of not one, but two city administrators. Forget about the loss of a finance director and the need for a temporary acting finance director. Now the city is faced with the loss of that temporary director and the mayor’s desire to install a second “temporary” finance director.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:31 AM, 01.02.2025

Chamber Collective performs free concert Jan. 12

The Cleveland Chamber Collective will present a free concert, Music of America VII, on Sunday, Jan. 12, at 3 p.m., at Disciples Christian Church in Cleveland Heights. The program will feature works inspired by sounds from around the world—from India to Buenos Aires, Bali and Manhattan.

Blaze, by Reena Esmail, brings Hindustani violin virtuosity to the Western concert hall, showcasing Emily Cornelius on violin and Dylan Moffitt on tabla. Salad Bar, by Cincinnati composer Ellen Ruth Harrison, is a unique duo featuring violist Brian Slawta and flutist Linda White. The work is inspired by the climate by the Baltic Sea (as well as a pretentious menu the composer encountered while on holiday). Also included in the set is a lament for the Jews deported from Szczecin, the first German Jews to be taken to the camps in Poland.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:33 AM, 01.02.2025

A sad day for nonprofit unity

Cleveland Heights stands out in our region for its rich civic culture. The city is home to a treasure trove of nonprofit organizations that focus on the needs of our residents.

As a nearly all-white, elite suburb in the 1960s, Cleveland Heights’ civic life was limited to the League of Women Voters, garden clubs, a business group, and church service clubs. In 1964, things began to change. Community groups began mobilizing residents to take charge of the future and defend the community’s increasing racial diversity.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:25 AM, 01.02.2025

Are you now or have you ever been . . . a folksinger?

David Laibman on the front cover of one of his CDs, in a pose that is exactly the way he used to sit on the wall of his front porch when he was a teenager and I was a little kid.

When I was about 8, I used to wander down to the other end of our (fairly short) block, on Belmar Road in Cleveland Heights, and talk to a guy who was seven years older than I, because I had started guitar lessons a year earlier, and this guy, also named David, would sit on his front porch or front steps playing his guitar. I used to ask him to show me how to play things on the guitar that my ancient, old classical guitar teacher would not and could not teach me.

I was taking lessons at Motter's on Coventry Road. Back then, there were very few dedicated guitar teachers in music stores because there just weren't that many guitar players—until 1958, when the Kingston Trio started the big commercial folk music wave, and then, again, in 1964, when the Beatles arrived in the U.S.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:07 AM, 01.02.2025

Dobama warms up winter with 'The Hot Wing King'

Dobama Theatre will present Katori Hall’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "The Hot Wing King," in a production that opens Jan. 24 and runs through Feb. 16.

The play explores themes such as family, community, masculinity, loss, self-acceptance, and Black and queer joy. It has been described as “theatrical comfort food, a satisfying concoction of amusing and touching—sweet, salty, and of course, spicy.”

Playwright Hall said the most important thing to her while writing the play was “that it not really be about them being gay. That it be about them being human; that it be about them loving each other; that it be about them supporting each other.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:36 AM, 01.02.2025

CH installs traffic-calming demos with $800,000 federal grant

Cleveland Heights streets crews installed a demonstration roundabout at the intersection of Caledonia, Winsford and Dresden roads as part of the city's traffic calming program.

The city of Cleveland Heights won a $800,000 Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The city will use the grant to install demonstration projects from the SS4A federal program, intended to improve safety conditions for pedestrians and cyclists in Cleveland Heights.

The city will add $200,000 from its general operating fund to the $800,000 grant for an immediate infusion of $1 million in roadway safety improvements.

"This grant will enable a faster turnaround for our traffic calming program and getting demonstration projects in place that encourage sustainable forms of transportation in Cleveland Heights," Mayor Seren said.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 9:59 AM, 01.02.2025

Energy-savings contract is part of CH Climate Action Plan

Mayor Seren (seated) signs the Leopardo Energy contract with (from left) the city's Sustainability and Resiliency Coordinator Andy Boateng, Assistant Law Director Christopher Heltzel, and Law Director William Hanna.

On Dec. 10, Cleveland Heights signed a sweeping “energy savings performance” contract with Leopardo Energy that will generate for the city $1.8 million in savings per year for the next 20 years.

At the heart of the $25 million contract are renovations to five city facilities and replacement of the city’s streetlights with energy-efficient LED fixtures. The city will create 387 union jobs to update power systems and repair City Hall, the two fire stations, the service garage, and Cain Park.

“We are acting today for future generations by extending the life of our properties and committing Cleveland Heights to a path for energy savings and carbon reductions prioritized in our recently released Climate Action and Resilience Plan,” Mayor Seren said.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:04 AM, 01.02.2025

CH observes Trans Day of Remembrance

Mayor Seren addressed those who gathered for Cleveland Heights' Transgender Day of Remembrance.

On Nov. 20, TransOhio and Pride in the Heights, in collaboration with the city of Cleveland Heights, hosted a Trans Day of Remembrance event at the CH Community Center. More than 75 people attended.

Trans Day of Remembrance is an annual vigil held by communities across the world to honor transgender people who lost their lives to discriminatory violence. A portion of the ceremony is devoted to reading the names of those killed that year.

"We’re here tonight to acknowledge and grieve people who lost their lives to bigotry," Mayor Seren said. "Their deaths were meant to be a threat to us all about how fully we realize ourselves, and how true we are to our own identities. Which is why these public gatherings are crucial: We must come together to affirm and celebrate our individuality and self-expression, and we must collectively mourn when that right is violently taken from any of us."

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:00 AM, 01.02.2025

PEACE Park sledding hill is closed this winter

The Coventry PEACE Park sledding hill in November. The hill will remain closed through spring, to prevent erosion of the hillside.

Sledding at Coventry PEACE Park is a popular winter activity for residents of Cleveland Heights and surrounding communities. Not as big as Cain Park’s sledding hill, the PEACE Park hill nevertheless attracts crowds of kids and families each year—drawn not just to the hill but also the playground next to it. Add to that easy parking, and plenty of restaurants close by for an after-sledding snack, and you have the makings of a perfect winter day.

This winter, however, will be a little different due to Heights Libraries’ comprehensive renovation of the park.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 12:18 PM, 12.16.2024

Recycle holiday lights and cords to benefit Cleveland zoo

Rachel Weller of the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes at the Cleveland Zoo Recycling Center, dropping off lights collected during last year's recycling drive.

Cleveland Heights Green Team (CHGT), in partnership with the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes and Heights Libraries’ Lee Road branch, will collect broken, burned-out string lights, extension cords and power strips, to benefit the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's Lights for Lions program.

Since 2021, when this recycling-drive program launched, Heights residents have recycled more than 3,200 lbs. of string lights and extension cords.

Beginning Saturday, Dec. 28, drop-off bins will be available at the parking-lot entrance to the Lee Road Library. A collection bin is already available in the Nature Center’s lobby.

The recycling drive will end on Saturday, Feb. 1.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 12:11 PM, 12.16.2024

Library welcomes new board member; reappoints another

Heights Libraries newest board member, Anastasia McIntosh.

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library is pleased to announce the appointment of its newest board member, Anastasia McIntosh. Her seven-year term will begin in January. 

McIntosh, a five-year South Euclid resident (a small portion of South Euclid falls in the library’s service area), is a project manager for the Riverside Company, a global investment firm. She holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience, with minors in linguistics and anthropology. She is an avid community volunteer, having participated in neighborhood cleanups, Neighborhood Connections programming, and refugee support, among other activities.

"I can’t overstate how central to my life libraries have been,” said Mcintosh, “as sanctuary, inspiration, safe haven, knowledge center, and stable place for me to belong.”

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 1:47 PM, 12.16.2024

CH council is committed to responsible budgeting

As a member of Cleveland Heights City Council, I want to reassure residents that we are committed to ensuring the city has a 2025 budget that meets the highest standards of fiscal responsibility, transparency, and planning. We understand the critical role a well-crafted budget plays in maintaining the services, infrastructure, and quality of life our residents deserve, while also safeguarding the city’s financial stability.

Unfortunately, the proposed 2025 budget presented by the mayor during November budget hearings lacks the information necessary to guide our city effectively through the challenges ahead. As of Dec. 9, the State Audit of 2023 was not complete. Council had not received October and November 2024 financial reports.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 12:40 PM, 12.13.2024

CH City Council can't approve an incomplete 2025 budget

According to the Cleveland Heights charter, the mayor is responsible for preparing the city’s budget “in such detail as the Council may require” (Article IX, Section 1). City council’s role is to carefully review the proposed budget to ensure it meets the city’s needs and is financially responsible before approving it. This ensures that the administration engages in high-quality budgetary and financial management. To fulfill this duty, council members must be fully informed by the mayor about the city’s financial actions, status, goals, and plans. Without comprehensive information, council cannot make decisions that best serve the city and its residents.

The mayor’s proposed 2025 budget is incomplete and disorganized, raising significant concerns. A strong municipal budget should present clear, measurable goals, detailed departmental spending estimates, and separate operational and capital budgets for transparency.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:39 AM, 12.13.2024

Mayor’s proposed budget could risk CH's bond rating

Cleveland Heights currently holds respectable bond ratings of Aa3 from Moody’s and AA- from Standard & Poor’s (S&P), signaling strong financial health and low credit risk. These ratings allow the city to borrow at lower interest rates, saving taxpayers money and enabling investments in critical infrastructure, services, and community projects.

However, the incomplete and underdeveloped 2025 budget proposed by the mayor raises serious concerns about the city’s financial stability and could lead to a bond rating downgrade. 

This outcome would carry cascading financial consequences, affecting Cleveland Heights’ ability to borrow affordably, fund vital services, and attract new residents and businesses.

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Volume 18, Issue 1, Posted 10:14 AM, 12.13.2024