• Forum examines protections for tenants

    Forum examines protections for tenants by Jack Barnes On March 17th Organize! Ohio hosted a zoom forum event called “Expanding Tenant Protections: Pay to Stay and Source of Income” as part of the Ohio Fair Lending & Vital Communities Brown Bag Forum series. Moderated by Cuyahoga Affordable Housing Alliance (CAHA) Chair Phil Star, meeting attendees heard from…



  • Cleveland City Council’s three women share their reflections on politics and public policy

    by Jack Barnes Plain Press, March 2021      On January 26th the Cuyahoga Democratic Women’s Caucus organized a “Conversation with Cleveland City Councilwomen” via Zoom hosted by its Chair, Cynthia Demsey. The hour-long event featured all three of the women on the 17-person Cleveland City Council reflecting on their paths to public service; on being women in…


  • City Council Health and Human Services Committee seeks information about the status of City of Cleveland’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution

    City Council Health and Human Services Committee seeks information about the status of City of Cleveland’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution by Bruce Checefsky Plain Press, March 2021  The City of Cleveland COVID-19 vaccine program has been anything but easy. A shortage of vaccine supplies on the federal level has hampered the distribution process coupled with miscommunication on…


  • COPING WITH COVID-19: 

    Isolation, lack of technology concerns for seniors during pandemic by Brie Zeltner (Plain Press, February 2021) Angela Smith can’t access her email– she has no computer, no tablet, no high-cost data plan, and the library’s closed. Smith, 48, is taking care of her 74-year-old mother, Minnie, in the Cedar Extension High-Rise senior apartments on East 30th…


  • CareSource invests $5 million in fund to make Cleveland homes lead safe

    (Plain Press, February 2021) CareSource, the state’s largest Medicaid managed care organization, will invest $5 million to help Cleveland families and property owners protect children from lead hazards in their homes.  The commitment, which the Dayton-based nonprofit called “unprecedented,” recognizes the profound effect that housing has on health, CareSource officials said. Exposure to the brain-damaging environmental…


  • Precinct Committee members select Martin Sweeney to represent District Three in Cuyahoga County Council

    (Plain Press, February 2021) At a January 14th virtual Candidate Forum, three candidates –Brendan Heil, Ryan Ross, and Martin Sweeney — vied to be the representative for Cuyahoga Council District 3 for the remainder of the term of retiring County Council member Dan Brady. The term expires in 2022. The candidates were not seeking a vote of…


  • Industry changes over time, some still survives on Madison Avenue

    by Alana Whelan (Plain Press, February 2021)             Madison Avenue has largely been a hub for industry and residential housing, both dating back to the 1890s, when the National Carbon Co. office was built at W. 117th Street.     Madison Avenue stretches all the way from W. 58th Street in Cleveland, into Lakewood, and ends perpendicular with Rocky…


  • “Defund the Police” Is A Misleading, Irresponsible Slogan

    To the Editor: (Plain Press, February 2021) As Cleveland, Ohio embarks on a new election season, I’m concerned about the growing narrative pitting communities of color against police officers.  I support the principles embodied in most versions of Defund the Police legislation.  But citizens rarely hear these principles. Instead, we repeatedly hear the misleading and irresponsible Defund the…


  • Reader seeks answers about purpose of surveillance camera

    To the editor: Dear Members of the Cleveland City Council Safety Committee, (Plain Press, February 2021) My name is Paula Miller and I live on the near west side of Cleveland near Fulton and Lorain. I noticed there is a surveillance camera located in the parking lot of McCafferty Health Clinic on Lorain Avenue.  The camera…