• Council members balk at $20M ‘blank check’ for citywide broadband pilot

    Council members balk at $20M ‘blank check’ for citywide broadband pilot by Lee Chilcote (Plain Press, October 2021)   A proposal to allocate $20 million to help bridge the digital divide in Cleveland by creating citywide broadband met with some opposition at Monday’s city council meeting, with some members asking why there wasn’t more community involvement or a concrete plan…


  • Advocates for free eviction help urge increased commitment by the City of Cleveland to fully funding the program

    Advocates for free eviction help urge increased commitment by the City of Cleveland to fully funding the program by Chuck Hoven      United Way of Greater Cleveland, the Cleveland Legal Aid Society and CHN Housing Partners have teamed up in a public private partnership with the City of Cleveland to offer free help to qualified Clevelanders…


  • Rally to show support for Afghan people


  • Redistricting: What’s the Big Deal?

    Redistricting: What’s the Big Deal? by Joel Gorski (Plain Press, September 2021)      Monday morning, August 23, Cleveland State University’s student center ballroom was filled with a standing-room-only crowd estimated at 200 people.  Many were preparing comments and questions for Ohio’s very first Redistricting Commission as they waited. Most, if not all, of the attendees at this first…


  • Guarantee citizens the right to food, clothing, shelter, and medical care

    Guarantee citizens the right to food, clothing, shelter, and medical care To the editor: (Plain Press, September 2021)      With all the debate recently for amending the United States Constitution in favor of certain issues and/or those constituencies, perhaps a more appropriate amendment should guarantee each citizen of the United States the right to food, clothing, shelter,…


  • Participatory Budgeting Cleveland (PB CLE) to launch budget recommendations

    Participatory Budgeting Cleveland (PB CLE) to launch budget recommendations by Bruce Checefsky (Plain Press, August 2021)     Town meetings were first established in the earliest New England settlements as a form of direct democracy in which most or all members of a community come together to discuss policies, laws, and budgets for their community. The first town meeting was…



  • If elected mayor, State Senator Sandra Williams promises to rebuild Cleveland

    If elected mayor, State Senator Sandra Williams promises to rebuild Cleveland  by Bruce Checefsky    State Senator Sandra Williams was greeted by supporters as she entered the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections on June 8 where she filed petitions to run for Mayor of Cleveland. She pledged a campaign focused on a new, better Cleveland. Williams, who has held positions in…


  • Election information for voters residing in the 11th Congressional District

    Election information for voters residing in the 11th Congressional District (Plain Press, July 2021)       A special Congressional Primary Election will be held on August 3, 2021 in the 11th Congressional District for the seat that opened up due to the appointment of former Congressional Representative Marcia Fudge to be the United States Secretary of the Department of Housing…


  • Ohio’s 11th Congressional District Primary Election date set for August 3rd

    Ohio’s 11th Congressional District Primary Election date set for August 3rd by Bruce Checefsky Plain Press, June 2021     Ohio’s 11th Congressional District is heavily gerrymandered to favor Democrats. The district is shaped by irregular lines as it snakes south from city of Cleveland and its prosperous eastern suburbs through Summit County and parts Akron and represents more than 700,000…