• 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…


  • Southern Christian Leadership Conference President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Charles Steele denounces Sherwin-Williams

    Southern Christian Leadership Conference President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Charles Steele denounces Sherwin-Williams by Bruce Checefsky (Plain Press, December 2021)                 Dr. Charles Steele, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO0 of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), co-founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., traveled to Cleveland last month to meet with the CEO of Sherwin-Williams. …


  • Legislation introduced to establish Ohio City Entertainment District

    Legislation introduced to establish Ohio City Entertainment District (Plain Press, December 2021)           Ward 3 City Council Member Kerry McCormack has introduced emergency legislation to Cleveland City Council to approve the application of Ohio City Legacy, LLC to establish an Ohio City Entertainment District. The entertainment district is designed to benefit prospective hospitality industry tenants in the…


  • Council of Cleveland Neighborhoods presents concerns to mayoral candidates 

    Council of Cleveland Neighborhoods presents concerns to mayoral candidates  by Bruce Checefsky (Plain Press, November 2021)        With the majority of registered Cleveland voters staying home and choosing not to vote in the mayoral primary, it remains uncertain whether they’ll decide to cast a vote in the general election on November 2 for either Justin Bibb or…


  • Ten Clevelanders address City Council Meeting during its first Public Comments period in over 100 years 

    (Plain Press, November 2021)   Ten Cleveland citizens took part in a historic event, the first Public Comments period at a Cleveland City Council meeting in over 100 years. The occasion was the Monday October 4, 2021 meeting of Cleveland City Council. The ten citizens taking advantage of this public forum to speak to their fellow citizens…


  • Ward 12 City Council Candidate Survey

    Ward 12 City Council Candidate Survey (Plain Press, November 2021) The three community newspapers that serve areas of Ward 12 – Neighborhood News, Tremonster and the Plain Press — collaborated in creating this survey. The survey questions were asked of Rebecca Maurer and Anthony Brancatelli, the top two finishers in the City Council Primary Election.…


  • 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…


  • Cleveland needs leaders with a moral compass

    Cleveland needs leaders with a moral compass by Chuck Hoven (Plain Press, August 2021)       As Clevelanders prepare to select a new mayor and consider their choices for city council representatives for the next four years, we may be asking ourselves how do we best judge who will make a good mayor or city council representative? What qualities…


  • 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…


  • City Club hosts Clevelanders for Public Comment in a forum and a mock public comments session

    City Club hosts Clevelanders for Public Comment in a forum and a mock public comments session by Chuck Hoven (Plain Press, May 2021)      The resident led movement, Clevelanders for Public Comment, now has a majority of Cleveland City Council — nine members — committed to passing legislation written by Near West Side activist Jessica Trivisonno that…