• Towpath Trail Lantern Parade

    PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN Saturday, March 12, 2022; Towpath Trail Lantern Parade, Sokolowski’s Overlook at east end of Abbey Bridge: Jeff Niesel stands with a beehive shaped lantern called “Beelightful”. The lantern was constructed by artists Samantha Fryberger and Darla Arnold using upcycled sweet tea bottles, lightbulb packaging, candle lids, rope, newspaper, clothes baskets, Frappuccino…


  • Merrick House celebrates reopening of newly refurbished gym and tech loft

    Merrick House celebrates reopening of newly refurbished gym and tech loft (Plain Press, March 2022)    Merrick House celebrated the reopening of its newly refurbished gym and tech loft on February 18th with a ribbon cutting ceremony, speeches, a live DJ, a slam dunk contest, and ball handling drills for the children. Merrick House in a press…



  • Canines at upscale doggie bar and park complain about homeless humans

    Canines at upscale doggie bar and park complain about homeless humans To the Editor, (Plain Press, January 2022)           I have been a resident of the Near West Side of Cleveland for 25 years. Lately I have noticed there has been an increase in new canine residents in the neighborhood. It’s nice to know new dogs are…


  • 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…


  • 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…


  • In Memory

    Michael O’Brien 1945-2021 (Plain Press, November 2021)                  Michael O’Brien, a librarian turned bookseller, came to the Near West Side as part of the Catholic activist movement to the neighborhood in the early 1970s and joined the Thomas Merton Community living in their house on W. 38th and Clinton.      O’Brien was the proprietor of the Six Steps Down…


  • 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.…


  • Tremont Arts & Cultural Festival


  • Ohio Department of Transportation seeks public input on replacing Buhrer Avenue Pedestrian Bridge over I-71 in the City of Cleveland

    Ohio Department of Transportation seeks public input on replacing Buhrer Avenue Pedestrian Bridge over I-71 in the City of Cleveland The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is proposing replace the Buhrer Avenue Pedestrian Bridge over I-71 in the City of Cleveland.  The Buhrer Avenue Pedestrian Bridge will be closed for a period of eight months…