Plain Press

  • Primary Election features low voter turnout

    (Plain Press, October 2017) Despite the large number of candidates in the Cleveland Mayoral race and some hotly contested City Council races, the majority, of Cleveland’s registered voters, did not vote in the September 12 Primary Election. City-wide, 31,276 voters cast ballots in the Mayoral election representing only 12.35% of the 261,285 registered voters in…

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  • IT IS JUST THE SAME OLD STORY—SELLOUT!

    IT IS JUST THE SAME OLD STORY—SELLOUT! by Roldo Bartimole (Plain Press, September 2017)     Fifty years ago, this headline appeared in the Plain Dealer: “NEGRO PASTORS TO SHUN ORGANIZER ALINSKY” Things don’t change much in Cleveland, do they? Not in 50 years anyway. Unless you truly understand—they do change. They get worse. I wrote that story…

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  • QUICKEN ARENA DEAL OFF/BACK ON: AS PREDICTED

    QUICKEN ARENA DEAL OFF/BACK ON: AS PREDICTED by Roldo Bartimole (Plain Press, September 2017)     (As this was being written the biggest sell-out in Cleveland history and likely the most damaging one for a community activist group in America took place. The Greater Cleveland Congregations, just as Mayor Jackson, Kevin Kelley, Armond Budish, Dan Brady, and…

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  • Roldo weighs in on Ohio Supreme Court Decision on Quicken Loans Arena Referendum JACKSON, KELLEY: PURPOSEFUL BUNGLED BLUNDER

    Roldo weighs in on Ohio Supreme Court Decision on Quicken Loans Arena Referendum JACKSON, KELLEY: PURPOSEFUL BUNGLED BLUNDER by Roldo Bartimole The Ohio Supreme Court ruling really says that Mayor Frank Jackson and Council President Kevin Kelley played an underhanded trickster game not only with the people of Cleveland but with democratic process itself in…

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  • Cleveland Lead Safe Network works to make Cleveland homes lead safe

    by Chuck Hoven (Plain Press, August 2017)   The Cleveland Lead Safe Network, a group of dedicated volunteers, wants “to change the way the City of Cleveland treats its youngest citizens.” The group’s goals include “enacting a lead safe housing ordinance; holding elected officials accountable for reducing and eliminating lead poisoning in our community; and…

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  • Cleveland Primary Election set for September 12 – early voting begins August 15th

    (Plain Press, August 2017)   The City of Cleveland will have a primary election on September 12th.  Early voting begins on August 15th. To get an absentee ballot application you can contact the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections at: www.443vote.com or by calling 216-443-3298. Citizens, age 18 and older by the general election date (November 7,…

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  • Cleveland City Council should reject giveaway of $121 million in future school taxes

    by Chuck Hoven (Plain Press, August 2017)   For at least a decade, the City of Cleveland has had a policy of not giving away the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s portion of the property tax when giving a commercial tax abatement or providing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for a development project. Cleveland City Council should stick…

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  • Lying by ignoring

    by Roldo Bartimole (Plain Press, August 2017)   Why is it so hard for the Plain Dealer (and TV news and Ideastream) to tell the truth about major league sports and the costs to this community? Why can’t they take hard looks at the dollar/revenues of the three major league sports teams? It reveals how…

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  • Cleveland Leadership Program seeks 2017 applicants

    (Plain Press, July 2017)     The Neighborhood Leadership Development Program (NLDP) is a free, 16 session community engagement training program for residents of Cleveland, and its inner ring suburbs, who are working on projects within the City of Cleveland and who are determined to make a positive impact on their communities. In 2006, the Jack, Joseph…

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  • Linda Johanek, Chief Executive Officer of the Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center, plans move to new venture

    (Plain Press, July 2017)     Linda Johanek, Chief Executive Officer of the Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center for the past nine years and a member of their staff for the past 22 years, has announced that she will be resigning her position effective August 3rd of this year. Johanek says she plans to join Morino…

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