Plain Press

  • Ohio Fair Lending and Vital Communities Conference examines housing issues in Cuyahoga County

    by Bruce Checefsky      Frank Ford, Senior Policy Advisor, Fair Housing Center for Rights and Advisor with Vacant and Abandoned Property Action Council (VAPAC), presented the preliminary findings of a mortgage lending analysis in Cuyahoga County during the 33rd Annual Ohio Fair Lending and Vital Communities Conference. In a six-year review of home purchases and…

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  • New owner of the Variety Theater shares her vision for its future

    PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN Saturday, September 10, 2022; Variety Theater, W. 118th & Lorain Avenue: Westown Executive Director Rose Zitello says the Variety Theater has new ownership. The new owner, Kelly Flamos, former co-owner of Mahall’s in Lakewood, is working on the restoration of the entire building with hopes of opening the theater as a…

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  • Ray Petro, owner of Ray’s Indoor Bike Park, hosts “The Great Reveal”

    PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN Friday, September 9, 2022; The Big Reveal, Ray’s Indoor Bike Park, 9801 Walford: Artist Eileen Dorsey joined with Ray Petro, owner of Ray’s Indoor Bike Park, to design a mural for the entrance to the bike park. A scene of an outdoor mountain bike path now greets guests to Ray’s Indoor…

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  • MetroHealth shares preliminary plans for senior citizen housing project and police station

    MetroHealth shares preliminary plans for senior citizen housing project and police station (Plain Press, October 2022)  At a September 22nd community meeting at the BridgeCLE/Family Ministry Center on Fulton Road, MetroHealth Medical Center’s CCH Development Corporation shared its plans for a new senior housing project to be built at W. 25th and Trowbridge Avenue along…

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  • Cleveland City Council: September 26th Meeting

    Cleveland City Council passes legislation to regulate recreational vehicles in residential neighborhoods (Plain Press, October 2022)  At its September 26th meeting, Cleveland City Council passed legislation enacting new Section 337.19 to regulate parking recreational vehicles in City residential districts.  The legislation addresses problems of jamming large recreational vehicles on tiny lots or in between properties;…

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  • City of Cleveland Planning Commission begins pilot program to place signs at Board of Zoning Appeals case sites

    SCREEN SHOT BY LAURA CYROCKI Monday, August 22nd Virtual Meeting of the Cleveland Board of Zoning Appeals: At the end of the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) meeting on August 22nd, Maurice Ruelens, Chief City Planner for the Cleveland Planning Commission, shared with the board information about a new pilot program. Ruelens said he will…

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  • Renovation updates for Cleveland Public Library’s branches and StoryWalk introduced at Carnegie West Branch

    Renovation updates for Cleveland Public Library’s branches and StoryWalk introduced at Carnegie West Branch by Bruce Checefsky Plain Press, July 20220                             Cleveland Public Library (CPL) ranked fourth among America’s Star Libraries, earning a prestigious Five-Star rating from the Library Journal, the oldest and most respected publication covering library service. The Library Journal index, published annually, compares…

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  • Cleveland City Council passes new tax abatement legislation

    Cleveland City Council passes new tax abatement legislation Plain Press, July 20220                             At a special meeting held on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, Cleveland City Council passed legislation that will restructure the City of Cleveland’s tax abatement policy.       A press release immediately following the meeting from Cleveland City Council Chief of Communications Joan Mazzolini explains the new…

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  • Local and state politicians show more empathy to developers than to Cleveland’s children

    Local and state politicians show more empathy to developers than to Cleveland’s children by Chuck Hoven Plain Press, July 20220                             Cleveland’s new tax abatement policy set to start on January 1, 2024, while better than the current policy, does little to address the glaring need to substantially increase the flow of property taxes to the Cleveland…

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  • Neighborhood Leadership Development Program & Community Development Corporation Leadership Program seek 2022 applicants

    Neighborhood Leadership Development Program & Community Development Corporation Leadership Program seek 2022 applicants Plain Press, July 20220           If you are passionate, committed and dedicated to taking an active role in improving your community, you may be excited by, and ready for, one of two valuable leadership development programs. NLDP and CDCLP are programs of the Jack,…

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