• Cleveland City Council passes resolution calling for cease fire in Gaza

         (Plain Press April 2024) After months of protests and public commenters at Cleveland City Council meetings asking Cleveland City Council to call for a cease fire in Gaza, Cleveland City Council passed a ceasefire resolution at its March 25th 2024 meeting.      Following the meeting, Cleveland City Council Chief of Communications Joan Mazzolini released…


  • City Council members listen to residents’ concerns about inequities in City’s budget

    PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN Tuesday, February 13, 2024; Estabrook Recreation Center, 4125 Fulton Road, Ward 7 City Council Representative Stephanie Howse-Jones interacts with residents at a meeting hosted by some City Council members to talk with residents about the City of Cleveland Budget. PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN Tuesday, February 13, 2024; Estabrook Recreation Center, 4125…


  • Open letter urges Mayor Bibb to save Cudell Commons

    To the Editor: (Plain Press February 2024) Dear Mayor Bibb and Area Leaders:      We are writing to you to voice our concerns about Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s plans to build a new Marion Seltzer Elementary School on what is now parkland at Cudell Commons Park, land that was gifted to the City of Cleveland…


  • What’s on the Ballot? – November 2023 general election

    (Plain Press, November 2023) Below is a summary of candidates and issues that will appear on the November 7, 2023, General Election ballot. Registered voters can view a sample ballot by going to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections website at: www.cuyahogaballot.boe.ohio.gov Voting      Registered voters can vote at the polls on election day, vote…


  • Voters to decide fate of People’s Budget proposal, Issue 38

    PHOTO BY BRUCE CHECEFSKY September 26, 2023; Public debate on People’s Budget Cleveland ballot measure, Little Theater, Cleveland Public Hall, 500 Lakeside Avenue: Jonathan Welle, Executive Director of Cleveland Owns, makes a case for voters to support Issue 38, the People’s Budget. by Bruce Checefsky    (Plain Press, November 2023) Supporters of the Peoples Budget…


  • Irishtown Bend Park construction underway 

    PHOTO BY BRUCE CHECEFSKY August 25, 2023; Rivergate Park, east bank of the Cuyahoga River, across from Irishtown Bend:  Master of Ceremonies Ward 3 Councilman Kerry McCormack kicked off the announcement of the beginning of the Port Authorities’ riverbank stabilization project for Irishtown bend.  A park is planned for the site once the riverbank stabilization is…


  • Cudell residents save historic trees for now

    PHOTO BY MARY JO HOVEN Monday, September 4, 2023; Cudell Commons Park, W. 98th Street, just North of Madison Avenue: A view of the Bald Cypress tree from below. The tree is one of about forty mature trees that Friends of Cudell Commons Park would like to save from being torn down to make way…


  • City of Cleveland needs to address the needs of those in poverty through its public policy

    by Chuck Hoven      In a national call for a moral revival in America, Bishop William J. Barber II, Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign for Moral Revival makes a case for ending poverty in America. “Today, poverty is the 4th leading cause of death nationwide. It is a death sentence for Americans. It is…


  • Have the Haslams and Gilberts been priming the pump?

    by Chuck Hoven      What should local politicians do when billionaires come calling for a handout?      A recent post on a social media site featured a photo of Star Trek’s Spock, a character dedicated to logic. Underneath the photo is a comment about billionaires who claim they need a public contribution to make a…


  • Cleveland Planning Commission posts analysis of 2020 Census data

    The City of Cleveland Planning Commission has posted some analysis of the 2020 United States Census results on its website. Neighborhood Data      The Cleveland Planning Commission looked at Census data by Statistical Planning Areas to show which neighborhoods gained or lost population over the past decade. The Planning Commission also compiled neighborhood level data…