Scene and Heard: Scene's News Blog

Update: The Vicktor Schreckengost Museum is being delayed again. Where have we heard that story before? Oh, that's right.

What was supposed to be a Spring 2011 launch got pushed back after what sources told us was some hinky conduct by its former director. The reasons this time around are much less sinister and more practical: they don't have any money.

The AP reports:

The new foundation backing the museum didn't achieve nonprofit status in time for the scheduled opening, and didn't have its first official meeting until December, Edward "Ned" Hill, dean of the Maxine Goodman Levin College at Cleveland State University and president of the board, told The Plain Dealer.

The foundation has no cash but is laying plans to add more board members, create a clear mission, start raising money and hire museum staff, Hill said. The foundation has a lease on gallery space in an early 20th-century factory turned into an office and loft building.

"It's way too premature to say whether an exhibit is in the offing," Hill said. "Step one is to make sure we have a viable organization."

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The planned opening of the Viktor Schreckengost Museum has been pushed back once again — this time amid hints of misconduct by its former director.

Update: Remember Officer Jody Showalter from Sandusky? Read the section below if you need to brush up on your current events. Showalter, who has been involved in four traffic accidents while on duty, is now being sued by a mother and daughter who say they were injured when Showalter ran a stop sign and hit their car. (Sandusky Register)

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Sandusky officer Jody Showalter was on patrol Wednesday night when he stopped his cruiser to chase after a teen. Unfortunately, he forgot to put the cruiser in park, so it rolled on down the street, crashing into two cars. The department is investigating the incident, reports the Sandusky Register, which could be bad for Showalter: less than two months ago he was involved in a crash that sent two adults and a kid to the hospital. For that, he was suspended three days without pay and ordered to take a driving class. Coincidentally, or not, that driving class was to be on June 21.

POV video of the second incident below, via the cruiser's dashboard camera.

• Are you surprised?

Update III:

The theme of this morning's blog posts: Ohio is really f&*king strange, and without a doubt, winning the "Ohio or Florida?" game this week.

Our next stop: Shelby.

If you don't remember Peter Bower, he's the mid-Ohio fella who was recently in the news because of his love of having sex with dogs. Bower even wrote a love letter to one canine named Maggie. Yup. As if it couldn't get worse, Bower also fornicated with an inflatable sheep.

Bower admitted to the zoophilia, but Ohio has no law against bestiality, so the full power of the law was pretty powerless to do anything. The best they could do was animal cruelty charges, but authorities couldn't even get those to stick. 10 TV explains:

In order to prove animal cruelty, prosecutors had to prove that the animals were injured because of the sexual contact Bower had with them.

“The prosecutor moved to dismiss several charges that he felt he could not prove due to the fact that he could not show the actual harm to the animal,” Shelby Municipal Court Judge Jon Schaefer said.

Schaefer said both sides agreed to a plea deal. In exchange for a “no contest” plea to charge of injuring animals, Bowers was sentenced to community service, mandatory counseling and was banned from owning animals again.

Sure, that'll stop him.

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Update: Racetrack slots may have fallen slightly into the background this summer as Actual Casino news piles up along with casino job applications, but some news this morning on the 7-7-7 front: Governor Kasich wants to have a system to monitor and run the slots up and and ready in the next four months, according to the PD's Mark Naymik. That would put you in front of some virtual cherries with your oxygen tank by the first month of 2012, three months before the Cleveland casino will open its doors. Intralot, the company that manages the Ohio Lottery, is given first chance to develop the system because of a provision in its 2008 contract with the state. (Cleveland.com)

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The stalemate between John Kasich and Dan Gilbert officially came to an end today with the state of Ohio extracting millions of dollars from Rock Gaming which will allow Rock Gaming to resume construction on its two cash printing presses casinos.

Here's the lowdown, via the PD:

Dan Gilbert and Ohio Gov. John Kasich today unveiled the terms of a multiyear casino deal that will bring the state tens of millions of dollars in additional fees and jump-start construction on Gilbert's casinos in Cleveland and Cincinnati.

The agreement between Ohio and Gilbert's company, Rock Gaming LLC, and its casino partner, Caesars Entertainment Inc., will require the developer to pay the state a total of $110 million over 10 years in annual installments.

[snip]

In exchange for the additional payments, Rock Ohio Caesars will pay the state's Commercial Activities Tax, 26 cents on every $100 for the right to do business in the state, on its casino revenue after winnings are paid out.

In addition, John Kasich announced that Rock will be allowed to add slots at the six racetracks the company owns. For more on that facet of the agreement, refer back to Scene's cover story on video slots at tracks from earlier this year.

Update II: Another step was taken yesterday in the march to build a new McDonald's on the site of the vacant Detroit Theater, bringing happy meals and increased traffic for all.

Micky D's got conditional approval for the site's building and signage from the Lakewood Architectural Board of Review (you can see the designs here, via Lakewood Patch) after retooling the building and traffic flow to alleviate concerns. Except the traffic concerns aren't really alleviated.

Yesterday's meeting was packed, and plenty of folks in attendance worried that Woodward, where McDonald's will have an exit and where the city is planning on removing a stop light, will become congested with cut-through seekers and hordes of Egg McMuffin cravers.

McDonald's Rep Michael Lewis thinks the company has listened carefully to Lakewood citizens, and that they will totally love it once the Golden Arches go up. The Sun News reports:

“We feel we have created something that they (community members) will embrace,” said Representative Michael Lewis in his opening remarks. “We have been here for 47 years and we feel this development is something we’ll be proud of for the next 47 years.”

An October meeting is scheduled with the Planning Commission where traffic issues will again be addressed, undoubtedly populated by plenty of residents who think Michael Lewis is full of shit.

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• Careful, she's armed.

Update III: The final cost of the breast-milk-to-the-face escapades: two years probation and $200. (Fox8)

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Update II: The AP reports Stephanie Robinette pleaded guilty Friday to two charges: assault and obstruction of official business. Her lawyer says she's super embarrassed, wants to get on with her life, and hopes to avoid spraying her breast milk anywhere it shouldn't go. She's not expected to be sentenced to any jail time. — Grzegorek

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Update: Josh Cribbs lost his tumultuous battle with Cleveland Heights today and must pay the fine plus court costs. Geez, hope he gets a job soon.

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As residents of the fine Cleveland Heights area, we don't need to be told that the city has a less than stellar reputation for parking. Anal might be an appropriate word for their parking measures and enforcement, but that's probably not accurate enough to aptly describe the situation.

Ever-popular Browns star Josh Cribbs got intimately acquainted with Cleveland Heights' dramatic and oftentimes draconian enforcement recently, and his experience proves the city's enforcement can sometimes lurch over the line and become... well... wrong.

Witness his ticket infraction (that'll be $15, thank you) and the 8 minutes remaining on his meter. Hmm.