• City of Cleveland joins with Universal Basic Employment and United Way to launch two-year pilot program

       (Plain Press June 2024) On May 22, 2024, the City of Cleveland, Universal Basic Employment (UBE), and United Way of Greater Cleveland announced the launch of a two-year research and development process with Founder Devin H. Cotten to explore the launch of a UBE pilot in Cleveland.    The announcement followed a news conference held at…


  • Poor People’s Campaign plans rally in Columbus on March 2, 2024              

    PHOTO BY LIZ MAUGANS 2022 Poor People’s Campaign march in Cleveland. Plans are underway to hold another Poor People’s Campaign March in Columbus, Ohio, on March 2, 2024. by Bruce Checefsky (Plain Press January 2024) The Poor People’s Campaign was created in 1967 when Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., at a staff retreat for the…


  • Tax incentives waste resources and cripple efforts to end child poverty

    By Chuck Hoven      (Plain Press January 2024) The City of Cleveland’s policies are not only not producing growth in population, but they are also driving people out of the city. One resident opposed to an inappropriate development proposed for Lorain Avenue and some residential areas north of Lorain between W. 45th and W. 44th…


  • Crucial water assistance for low-income Cuyahoga County households extended to March 2024

    (Plain Press, October 2023) Originally slated to close applications at the end of this month, Step Forward’sLow-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), designed to help eligible households with water and wastewater bills, has announced a significant extension. The program has been extended until March 31, 2024, providing crucial support to eligible households for an additional six months.…


  • 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…


  • New Neighborhood Housing Court Kiosk opens at the South Branch Library

    New Neighborhood Housing Court Kiosk opens at the South Branch Library by Bruce Checefsky Plain Press, August 2022        Cleveland Housing Court and Cleveland Public Library have teamed up to bring the court to the community. Starting this month, the new Neighborhood Housing Court Kiosk at the South Branch of the Cleveland Public Library, located at…


  • 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…


  • PB CLE stages community event at ThirdSpace Action Lab

    PHOTO BY BRUCE CHECEFSKY Sunday, May 15, 2022; Participatory Budgeting in Action event, ThirdSpace Action Lab, 1464 E. 105th Street: Laylah Allen, Chief Executive Officer of The Missing Link, COPE Inc., and David Van Horn, a community artist and organizer for Art Block, participate in this effort to have citizens help determine how a portion of…


  • 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…


  • Participatory Budgeting Cleveland presents its 2022 Action Plan

    Participatory Budgeting Cleveland presents its 2022 Action Plan by Bruce Checefsky Plain Press, May 2022             Molly Martin took the microphone to address Cleveland City Council on the need for Participatory Budgeting using The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding. In her three-minute talk, Martin, a member of the PB CLE (Participatory Budgeting Cleveland), a coalition of individuals…