Plain Press

  • November 8 Election set to change the Ohio Supreme Court

    November 8 Election set to change the Ohio Supreme Court by Bruce Checefsky (Plain Press, September 2022)                         Earlier this year, the Ohio Supreme Court invalidated legislative district maps and sent them back to the Ohio Redistricting Commission for revision, rejecting their fourth attempt at a plan for state redistricting as unconstitutional and unfairly favoring…

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  • Who pays property taxes to support services when the economy is dominated by nonprofits?

    by Stephanie Czekalinski  This is part three of a series examining the tax-exempt status of nonprofit hospitals in Northeast Ohio and how the loss of tax dollars impacts communities. (Plain Press, September 2022)           Fifty years ago, when Clevelanders needed to fund schools, pay for parks, or expand libraries, they relied on booming tax revenue from large…

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  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) interim reports are back!

    Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) interim reports are back! WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Plain Press, August 2022        Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Interim Reports are required for many households six months after an application or recertification. Interim Reports have been waived during the pandemic until now.      SNAP assistance groups that received an interim…

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  • Cleveland nonprofit hospitals get millions in property tax breaks. Many are asking, ‘Is it worth it?’

    Cleveland nonprofit hospitals get millions in property tax breaks. Many are asking, ‘Is it worth it?’ by Stephanie Czekalinski & Michael Indriolo Plain Press, July 20220                             Nora and David Brown live in a two-story single-family home in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood. The modest home on East 100th Street, with a gabled roof and an enclosed porch, is just a block away…

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  • Cleveland City Council weighs proposals to change Cleveland’s tax abatement policy

    PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN Monday, May 16, 2022; Cleveland City Council Meeting, Cleveland City Hall, 601 Lakeside Avenue: During the Public Comment period at the Cleveland City Council Meeting, Ward 4 resident David Beach addresses Cleveland City Council on the issue of the reauthorization of the City’s residential tax abatement program.  Speaking of the Justin Bibb…

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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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  • Changes are coming to Ohio Medicaid: Update contact info now!

    (Plain Press, March 2022)      Don’t forget! Families receiving public benefits should begin updating their contact information now for important changes coming later this year.       A flurry of changes in the Medicaid program are anticipated over the next few months with redeterminations likely to resume (eventually) and the transition to a new slate of managed care plan…

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  • ADAMHS Board CEO Issues Statement Regarding Mayor Bibb’s Decision to Change City of Cleveland’s Diversion Center Policy

    (Plain Press, February 2022)  “I’d like to thank Mayor Bibb for his swift action to eliminate the requirement for a Cleveland police officer to call a city prosecutor before taking a person to the Cuyahoga County Diversion Center,” said Scott S. Osiecki, Chief Executive Officer of the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board…

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  • Twenty groups protest anti-protest efforts that are happening locally and statewide

    Twenty groups protest anti-protest efforts that are happening locally and statewide (Plain Press, January 2022)           Defending Democracy and Dissent, along with 20 other organizations, held a protest on Saturday, December 4th, that began on Public Square and ended in front of the Justice Center. The protest highlighted recent efforts to criminalize peaceful protesting in Cuyahoga County…

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  • Cuyahoga County Department of Appraisals updates information on 2021 property taxes

    Cuyahoga County Department of Appraisals updates information on 2021 property taxes by Bruce Checefsky (Plain Press, December 2021)                 Michael Chambers, Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer, admits most people fail to understand how property taxes work. At the November Lincoln Heights Block Club meeting at the Tremont Taphouse, he talked about an update on 2021 property taxes.      Chambers…

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