Plain Press

  • Residents urged to contact Planning Commission to prevent demolition of Farnsworth House and Byelorussian Church

    Residents urged to contact Planning Commission to prevent demolition of Farnsworth House and Byelorussian Church To the editor: Plain Press, May 2022             The full Planning Commission meeting where the MetroHealth (MH) demolitions and temporary 3-acre park concept plan may be voted on has been moved to May 6th @ 9am.       I’ve been talking with some of…

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  • Cleveland’s approach to community development should put people before developers’ profits

    Cleveland’s approach to community development should put people before developers’ profits by Chuck Hoven Plain Press, May 2022             The City of Cleveland’s tax abatement program is coming up for renewal at the end of May. For many years, the City has used tax abatement as a means of attracting new residents and improving its housing stock…

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  • Participatory Budgeting Cleveland presents its 2022 Action Plan

    Participatory Budgeting Cleveland presents its 2022 Action Plan by Bruce Checefsky Plain Press, May 2022             Molly Martin took the microphone to address Cleveland City Council on the need for Participatory Budgeting using The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding. In her three-minute talk, Martin, a member of the PB CLE (Participatory Budgeting Cleveland), a coalition of individuals…

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  • Cleveland City Council wants better system for tracking nuisance complaints. Will the City step up? 

    Cleveland City Council wants better system for tracking nuisance complaints. Will the City step up?  by Lee Chilcote Plain Press, May 2022             Spring in Cleveland may bring warmer weather, but for City Council members, it also brings a raft of complaints about trash, tall grass, and weeds in their communities.      At a meeting of the council’s Health,…

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  • Equity is on the (Transit) line: Two transit riders nominated to RTA board

    Equity is on the (Transit) line: Two transit riders nominated to RTA board by Aja Hannah Plain Press, May 2022             Leaning into the street, a resident flags down her bus. She wears thick gloves as she holds onto the bus stop sign. A light rain falls, washing old salt and snow down a nearby drain.       There…

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  • Four area schools slated for renovation or new construction

    PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN Thursday, March 17, 2022; Marion Champlin Seltzer Elementary School Building, 1468 W. 98th Street: The Cleveland Metropolitan School District plans to build a new school next to the current building on land that sits behind Cudell Recreation Center. Once the new school is completed, plans call for the current building to be…

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  • Near West Design Review Committee tables MetroHealth park proposal

    COMMUNITY INPUT SOUGHT TO DETERMINE FATE OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN Sunday, March 19, 2022; St. Nicholas Belarusian Orthodox Church building, 3518 Scranton Road, SW: A proposal by neighborhood resident Bob Gardin seeks to save this building from demolition. MetroHealth medical center proposed to demolish the building as part of a plan to…

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  • Participatory Budgeting Cleveland wants public involved in decisions about spending of American Rescue Act funds

    PHOTO BY TAURUS KINGS PHOTOGRAPHY Members of the Participatory Budgeting Cleveland Team:  Gwen Garth, Trevor Pollack, Laylah Allen, Molly Martin, Austin Davis, Robin Brown, Loh, Daniel Ortiz, Angelique Salizan, Kayla Knight, Chrissy Stonebraker-Martinez, and Jonathan Welle. Participatory Budgeting Cleveland wants public involved in decisions about spending of American Rescue Act funds by Bruce Checefsky (Plain Press,…

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  • Transit advocates want to decriminalize fare evasion on RTA buses and trains

    Transit advocates want to decriminalize fare evasion on RTA buses and trains by Bruce Checefsky (Plain Press, April 2022)         In 2017, two transit police officers boarded a Regional Transit Authority (RTA) HealthLine bus and demanded passengers show proof of payment. When Ronnie Williams could not produce a fare card, he was removed from the bus and…

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  • Teach-in outlines efforts to protect renter’s rights

    Teach-in outlines efforts to protect renter’s rights by Bruce Checefsky (Plain Press, March 2022)      Edmikia Minter, a resident of Ericsson Apartments in East Akron, and an organizer for The Freedom BLOC, was elected in 2021 to lead the Ericsson Apartments Tenant Union. The Black Led Organizing Collaborative (BLOC) builds Black political power in the Black community…

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