• 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…


  • 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…


  • 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…


  • Primary Election set for May 3rd

    Primary Election set for May 3rd Plain Press, May 2022             Registered voters may select a Democratic Party or Republican Party ballot when they vote in the Primary Election on May 3rd. For those voting in person the polls will be open from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on May 3rd.       Early in-person voting can also be…


  • Four area schools slated for renovation or new construction

    PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN Thursday, March 17, 2022; Marion Champlin Seltzer Elementary School Building, 1468 W. 98th Street: The Cleveland Metropolitan School District plans to build a new school next to the current building on land that sits behind Cudell Recreation Center. Once the new school is completed, plans call for the current building to be…


  • 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…


  • 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…


  • Domestic violence is more than physical abuse; help is available 

    Domestic violence is more than physical abuse; help is available  by Tonya Sams (Plain Press, January 2022)           Many people think the label “domestic violence” applies only to violent acts against a lover, but it is much more than that.     Domestic violence describes regular, consistent acts of physical, emotional, verbal, and sexual abuse. It not only occurs…


  • Help for youth aging-out of foster care

    Help for youth aging-out of foster care by Tonya Sams (Plain Press, December 2021)                 Aging out of the foster care system can be a very challenging time for youth who are also navigating the transition from childhood to adulthood. Without a birth certificate, social security card, or other identifying documentation, it can be extremely difficult to…


  • 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…