Feds seize nearly a ton of weed headed to Cleveland
If pot in Cleveland seems unusually scarce, now you know why: nearly a ton of marijuana on its way to the city was seized at Mexican border. Canton-area residents Ray Sanchez, 46, and Andy Fagan, 29, were arrested in the plot and charged with conspiracy to possess marijuana with intent to distribute. The feds say…
Amy Waldman’s The Submission, A Book Review
At the center of Amy Waldman’s beautiful novel, The Submission, lies a dilemma—a dilemma so haunting, so ironic, and so painstakingly plausible that it blurs the line between what actually happened in the fallout of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the stuff of fiction. Waldman’s first book is written with grace and guts, and…
Doing The Wind Farm Dance: LEEDCo Promotes Offshore Turbines in Lake Erie
On Thursday, Rep. Marcy Kaptur is set to join Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and all sorts of alternative energy stakeholders for a Big Event downtown. People from across the state will gather at the newly christened Cleveland Convention Center to hear about Lake Erie Energy Development’s “POWER UP for Offshore Wind” energy project. Here’s the…
Dish of the Day: Mofongo @ Rincon Criollo
Tucked among the trendy restaurants and bars of Gordon Square is Rincon Criollo, a true Latin American classic that’s been dishing up flavorful home cooking-style food for years. And when it comes to Puerto Rican comfort foods, nothing beats mofongo con camarones ($11). The beloved dish starts with fried plantains, which are mashed with garlic…
Ariel Castro’s Lawyers Did a “Mitzvah” Representing Him
Thanks to WCPN’s @NickCastele for tweeting out this picture of the Cleveland Jewish News’ front page from Aug. 16. The folks from CJN got an exclusive interview with Ariel Castro’s lawyers Craig Weintraub and Jaye Schlachet. The full story is available here. “We knew that we picked an unpopular cause to champion,” Schlachet told the…
15 of the Best Pizza Places in Cleveland, East to West
Both Chicago and New York City are the two pizza capitols in the U.S., and Cleveland is fortunate to be smack in the middle of both of them. Having that central proximity has no doubt provided influence to the pizza makers of Northeast Ohio. Whether you fancy thin crust, fold over New York style, or…
Backlash Over LGBT Stance Prompts Cedar Point To Cancel Wedding Contest
Cedar Point officials were going to select 13 couples to get married at the park on Sept. 13 (Friday the 13th, the opening of HalloWeekends). Not anymore, though; the contest was canceled following outcry over its regulations. The park maintains that it was following state law by opening the contest to only male and female…
Cleveland Browns’ Joe Haden is Concerned the New NFL Pad Requirements are “Unfashionable”
Some pro-football players are voicing their disapproval of the new NFL rule which requires them to wear thigh and knee pads- not only because of the discomfort, but because the pads are unfashionable. Cleveland Browns’ cornerback Joe Haden told the Akron Beacon Journal that he “wasn’t a fan of it at all.” He and several…
Ravenna Burglar Takes Nap Mid-Burglary
PORTAGE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPT. Dustin Applegate broke into a Ravenna home to steal some things, which sounds fairly pedestrian as far as local crimes goes. But as Portage County sheriff’s deputies explain, while Applegate was stashing the goods into a backpack, he started getting awfully sleepy. So Applegate curled up the homeowner’s clothing and feel…
Get in Line for Michael Symon Book Signing
Michael Symon will be signing copies of his new cookbook, “5 in 5: 5 Fresh Ingredients + 5 Minutes = 120 Fantastic Dinners,” which he co-wrote with Scene dining editor Douglas Trattner, at the La Place location of Williams-Sonoma (2101 Richmond Rd, Beachwood, 216-839-1780) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 7. The book officially is…
Alleged East Cleveland Serial Killer Appears in Court this Morning
Alleged East Cleveland serial killer Michael Madison is making a pre-trial appearance at 9 a.m. this morning. He is accused of killing three women, Shetisha Sheeley, Angela H. Deskins, and Shirellda Terry, whose bodies were found wrapped in plastic trash bags last month. Madison faces a whole slew of charges, which includes the likes of…
30 Incredible Photos of Cleveland from Scene’s Photo Sharing Contest
My, my, Cleveland- you sure know how to take some truly incredible photos of our lovely city. We couldn’t believe the response we received to our first-ever photo sharing contest, What Does Cleveland Mean to You? From nearly 200 submissions, we’ve whittled the ranks down to the best 30 photos. For those of you who…
Cleveland radio show host ‘defends’ Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu Mike James, host of the sports-themed local radio show “Defend Cleveland,” has taken on the cause of Pere Ubu, the famous pro to-punk act that originally formed in Cleveland. While the group regularly tours the globe, it’s recently had trouble securing visas for two of its members who live in the UK. “[It]…
Ken Lanci Asks to Debate Jackson; Jackson Ignores Request
Ken Lanci is currently fielding questions at the Cleveland City Club in an event his campaign billed as a mayoral debate with Frank Jackson. It’s anything but. Turns out Lanci really wanted the luncheon to be a debate — according to PD’s Leila Atassi, Lanci set a ‘Frank Jackson’ placard on an adjacent empty seat…
Abandoned Ohio: 25 Photos of Ohio’s Deserted Schools
In this week’s installment of Abandoned Ohio, we take a peek at the deteriorating remains of several deserted Ohio school buildings. Through the photographs of Jeffery R. Stroup from Great Lakes Urban Exploration, we explore the abandoned hallways, classrooms, and auditoriums of four northeast Ohio schools- Stanard School in Cleveland, Chesterland School in Chesterland, Mason…
Ohio Man Finds 285 Pounds of Weed in a Gun Safe He Bought
Now, before you all run out and buy up thousands of dollars worth of gun safes off the Internet, it’s worth pointing out that the sort of thing you’re about to read is fairly rare. But here goes: A Sidney, Ohio, man purchased a six-foot-tall, $1,700 gun safe off the Internet only to find $425,000…
Political Contributions Muddy Latest News Out of Ohio Ethics Commission
First off, a bit of a groan re: this Columbus Dispatch lede: The Ohio Ethics Commission delivered a double-barreled shot yesterday to those questioning possible conflicts of interest involving Gov. John Kasich’s secretive job-creation efforts. The issue here is that the “double-barreled shot” language is WAY more illustrative and damning than needed. To wit, the…
Cleveland Browns to Feature All-White Drumline?
Below you’ll find a video, originally posted by Fox 8 Cleveland, of the Cleveland Browns “drumline auditions” yesterday. And oh my. The drumline is one of several new additions to First Energy Stadium’s entertainment repertoire this year. Evidently, the putative percussionists will not only “keep the excitement going” during games; they’ll also be out and…
Scene Podcast No. 3: Talking People Issue and Food With Doug Trattner
Welcome to Scene Podcast No. 3. Pants not necessary for enjoyment. This week host Craig Lyndall talked to Scene food writer dynamo Doug Tratter about the Cleveland People issue, his long interview with Andrew Zimmern, and why you’ll never see the hashtags #foodgasm or #nom on his Twitter feed. Enjoy.
Plain Dealer Staff Will Be Moved Out of Plain Dealer Building, Replaced by Northeast Ohio Media Group Staff
The great bifurcation of Northeast Ohio’s largest daily paper is done, if still messy and confusing even to those within the organizations. There’s the Plain Dealer staff, protected by the union, populating Cleveland.com with stories. And there’s the Northeast Ohio Media Group, which claims in its ranks plenty of former PDers who took the offer…
The 10 Ultimate All You Can Eats Near Cleveland
If you’re looking for a haunt to keep both your belly and wallet full, this week’s Q104 segment is for you. Our dining critic @Jasonthefood has taken the liberty of naming the 10 ultimate All-You-Can-Eats in and around the Cleveland area. Think Sushi buffets, unlimited breakfast, and barbecue galore. Here’s our top 10 list for…
20 Photos of Lakewood’s new GV Art and Design Boutique
GV Art + Design is the newest art boutique in town. The locale opened up its doors last week at its grand opening ceremony on Detroit Avenue in Lakewood. Founded by brothers George and Greg Vlosich, GV Art + Design specializes in original artwork and design, which has received both national and international attention as…
BREAKING: House Explodes In Euclid (Update)
Cleveland.com reports that the house which exploded earlier this morning was a vacant two-story bungalow. The home had been unoccupied for approximately six months. Neighbor Krystal Bruce told Cleveland.com that she heard a noise that sounded “like a bomb went off.” “I was outside talking to some of my house guests, and then all of…
An Ohio University Ran Out of Dorm Rooms, Students Slated to Live at Fort Rapids Waterpark
Photo Courtesy of Fort Rapids Water Park Columbus, Ohio’s Capital University is making a splash in local news today after announcing that some of their students will temporarily reside in suites at Fort Rapids, the largest indoor water park in Central Ohio. That’s right- water park. Due to high enrollment rates and an increasing demand…
Cleveland Artist Frank Oriti, A Former Steelworker, Profiled in New York Times
A selection of Oriti’s paintings from his website (click to go to site) Frank Oriti no longer works at Cleveland’s American Tank and Fabricating. He’s a successful artist now, but he is still connected to his former life as a steelworker and upbringing in Parma. The New York Times just wrote about Oriti, 29, who…
Orale Mexican Kitchen to Double in Size, Add Tequila Fueled Bar
Orale Contemporary Mexican Kitchen is making waves on W. 25th Street with news that it will expand into the adjacent space and add a bar and liquor license. “Everybody on the street has a bar,” says chef and owner Roberto Rodriguez. “We need to be able to compete and complement with the rest of the…
5 Must-See Movies This Weekend
Here’s our recommendations for this weekend’s offerings at the movies. This list is of course limited. If you haven’t seen Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi action romp Elysium or the road trip comedy We’re The Millers, starring Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Anniston, both from last week, those are worth checking out too. Also, Lee Daniels’ The Butler…
An interview with Buckcherry, who play the Rock Factory on Tuesday
Ever since its sixth studio album, Confessions, dropped earlier this year, Buckcherry has been on the road playing to capacity crowds. Not bad for a band that many critics left for dead after it dissolved in 2002. But after that short hiatus, band founders Josh Todd and Keith Nelson reformed the group in 2005 and…
30 People Who Help Make Cleveland The Best Damn Place in America
Welcome to our first-ever edition of Cleveland People, an issue where we celebrate some of the finest folks calling Northeast Ohio home. We know: How do you whittle down the hundreds of thousands of residents doing mind-blowingly awesome things in this city down to a list of 30? Good question. It’s an unenviable task and…
The Alleged Ariel Castro Knife on Ebay is Probably Bullshit (updated)
Update (1:51 pm): looks like the supposed Ariel Castro knife is no longer for sale. The posting disappeared from Ebay some time in the last two hours, but the seller’s other six items are still up. The url for the pocket knife (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ariel-Castro-Pocket-Knife-/221267759615?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33849611ff) now directs to an Ebay search for Little Mermaid-related (the mermaid was…
Mike DeWine Wants To Disrupt A Dying Man’s Wish: UPDATE
Update: The temporary restraining order has been extended through the end of the year. Oral arguments are slated to begin Dec. 18. ***Originally posted Aug. 12 John Arthur and James Obergefell have been in love for more than 20 years. The Cincinnati couple got married in Maryland recently, though their home state certainly doesn’t reflect…
Sneak Peek: 20 Awesome Designs You’ll See at the 2013 Weapons of Mass Creation Fest
The annual Weapons of Mass Creation Fest, which features dozens of speakers, graphic designers, and bands, will kick off it’s 3-day festival tomorrow evening at the Gordon Square Arts District on Detroit Ave. Now in its fourth year, Weapons of Mass Creation is the once-a-year fest that brings together young grassroots artists who seek to…
Shazam’s Top 20 locally tagged songs for last Week
Each week, the folks at Shazam, the company responsible for creating the app that lets you identify songs you hear on the radio or in clubs, compiles the Top 20 songs that have been tagged in Cleveland. Here’s last week’s tally, topped by August Alsina’s breathy R&B ballad “I Luv This Shit.” 1. “I Luv…
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at Cain Park: Concert Review
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s 20th anniversary tour rolled into Cleveland Heights last night, melding the past with the present via the sweet sounds of big band swing music. The evening’s first set covered a wide swath of new material and old classics from the band’s career. The mood at Evans Amphitheatre…
The 10 Most Critically Acclaimed Movies Filmed in Cleveland
When the Russo brothers politely stormed into Cleveland earlier this summer, they arrived with knowledge of and respect for the legacy of iconic filmmaking in Northeast Ohio. It’s a legacy of which they are a distinguished part. With any luck, their hotly anticipated Captain America sequel will be on this list after its release next…
Burning River Ramblers’ New Album ‘To Color A Fool’ Drops Today
Burning River Ramblers – “To Color A Fool” The Burning Rivers Ramblers – “your friendly neighborhood alt/rock/funk/reggae/folk band” – will be releasing their second album during a show at Vosh in Lakewood tonight. We featured the band in the Aug. 15 issue of Scene. Singer-guitarist Conor Standish described the album as more collaborative and expansive…
Backstage Pass: Havok frontman David Sanchez talks about the band’s new album and tour
We caught up with Havok frontman David Sanchez at Pirates Cove/Peabody’s just after the band had finished soundcheck. The band headlines tonight as part of a multi-band bill. Sanchez (along with his bushy hair and beard), who was reading Friedrich Nietzsche’s Anti-Christ when we first spotted him backstage, spoke about the band’s terrific new album,…
10 Cool Cleveland Items Currently on Ebay (1850-1936)
You can find pretty much anything on the online auction site, Ebay. Most of it is useless but sometimes, mixed in among 75-cent Sega Genesis games and old bobblehead dolls, some good stuff gets posted. Of the thousands of Cleveland-related items up for sale, here are 10 interesting items from Cleveland’s past currently on sale.…
The Unconventional Therapist: Kristen Olsen
For artist and art therapist Kristen Olsen, everything in life revolves around transformation and growth. From her earliest years to the present day, Olsen’s left her mark on the world around her. “I always gravitated toward creating—painting and drawing and, really, everything,” she says. Growing up in a household that encouraged the arts, the catharsis…
Review of the Week: Blue Jasmine
Many critics have rightly called Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, which opens Friday at the Cedar Lee Theatre and Valley View, his best movie in years. Like all his movies, this one features an ensemble cast. You’d be hard pressed to find another director able to make a movie with so many high-caliber stars. But everyone wants…
The Inquisitive Mind: Rachel Dissell
As Rachel Dissell and her Plain Dealer coworkers began asking questions about how sexual assault cases are handled in Cuyahoga County in the wake of the Anthony Sowell case, they discovered troubling answers. “We asked police, ‘Have these rape kits or this evidence been tested? How many of them? How are they stored?'” Dissell says.…
The Caring Heart: Yvonne Pointer
When Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight arrived at Metro shortly after being rescued from Ariel Castro’s house, Yvonne Pointer immediately went to the hospital. She asked Cleveland Police Deputy Chief Ed Tomba what she could do to help. Could she sit with Michelle Knight? Of course she would. Knight didn’t have any family…
Film Spotlight: Blackfish
Blackfish, a documentary about Tilikum, a killer whale that attacks its trainer, opens with the gripping 911 call that was placed after the incident took place at Sea World in Orland in 2010. That sets the tone for this terrific film that examines the world of training the huge creatures. The incident, we learn, is…
The Facilitator: Daniel Dudley
Rife with entrepreneurial spirit, Daniel Dudley moved to Cleveland and set to work on interpreting the needs of the city’s budding startup scene. He started a little outfit called Lakework+ early this year before putting the project on hiatus in July to travel and share his experiences at seminars. The concept behind Lakework+ is one…
The Record Store Throwback: Charles Abou-Chebl
In 1999, shortly after he opened his record store, My Mind’s Eye, on Madison Avenue in Lakewood, Charles Abou-Chebl was ready to give up. “I hated where I was located almost immediately,” he says one afternoon from the store that, with its wide selection of everything from 7-inches to CDs and fanzines, is a throwback…
Fantastic Four: Weapons of Mass Creation Fest 4 Gets Bigger and Better
Shortly after graduating from college a few years ago, Jeff Finley, the main mastermind behind the Weapons of Mass Creation Fest 4, a music and graphic design festival that takes place this weekend at Cleveland Public Theatre, began attending indie punk rock festivals. Locally, he went to DIT Fest in Kent and Berea Fest in…
The Tendress: Erica Coffee
Erica Coffee had every intention of becoming a chef. For her junior and senior years of high school, she elected to go to vocational school for cooking. Upon graduation she was accepted into the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, where she earned a degree. Fresh out of culinary school, she landed a job at a…
The Quiet Painter: Dana Oldfather
Self-taught painter Dana Oldfather could boast that she is one of only a handful of working Cleveland artists with a Wikipedia page dedicated to their biography. But if she were to brag (unlikely—when we last spoke with her, she was reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain), she would more likely bring up…
Regional Beat: Turning Force
Speak 4 Yourself (self-released) With their latest album, self-proclaimed “groovus rock” duo Turning Force offers up a cool collection of bluesy tracks that showcase singer Roddy Roeser’s penchant for grit and glamour, though it isn’t the end-all, be-all in power ballad artistry. With the “march forth” drum beat and soaring vocals of opening track “Cleveland,”…
The Entertainer: Brent Lewanski
It seems that every few years a new entertainment hot spot pops up in Cleveland, the new must-go for clubbers and barflies. There were the Flats, and East Fourth, and Ohio City and the rebirth of the Flats. West Sixth, for all its tawdry tales and uneven reputation, has been a mainstay on the scene,…
The Man on Wheels: Tim Yanko
Tim Yanko’s been on eight little wheels almost his entire life. “I was seven,” he says when asked when he started rollerskating. “My little sister’s girlfriend who lived across the street was an only child. Her mother always did really fun stuff and included us. She was taking the girls for skating class on Saturday…
Savage Love: Vacated
Dear readers: An excellent writer stepped in to answer the Savage Love Letter of the Day while I was on vacation, and I wanted to share his response in the column this week. (The SLLOTD appears daily—cough, cough—on Slog, The Stranger’s blog, and is blasted out to folks who have the Savage Love app.) Daniel…
The Investigator: Scott Taylor
The “Investigator” moniker might not technically belong to Scott Taylor – Tom Meyer over at WKYC has laid claim to that – but the effervescent 19 Action News reporter is one of the reasons the WOIO team continues to be among the best news sources in Northeast Ohio. Sure, it’s TV news, and that domain…
The Bike Guys: James Rychak and Travis Peebles
Travis Peebles and James Rychak have about them that certain hipster-cyclist vibe. The jocund co-owners of Blazing Saddle Bike Shop on Detroit Avenue, just west of Gordon Square, are so eminently mustachioed and complexly pierced (respectively) that they could very well be poets from Akron. This is their second full season in the space…
Savage Love: Vacated
Dear readers: An excellent writer stepped in to answer the Savage Love Letter of the Day while I was on vacation, and I wanted to share his response in the column this week. (The SLLOTD appears daily—cough, cough—on Slog, The Stranger’s blog, and is blasted out to folks who have the Savage Love app.) Daniel…
The Challenger: Basheer Jones
Inspired by the Ward 7 residents who nurtured his own growth and success, Basheer Jones is running for Cleveland City Council. You may have heard his voice on the radio — his motivational pipes have talked news, politics and social issues on both Cleveland’s Radio One and 107.9 FM. And it’s no accident that’s he’s…
The Lyricist: Atari Jones
It’s Saturday morning and, apart from that vat of Cocoa Puffs you’re about to dive into, you’re in need of some serious rap on the ol’ headphones. Atari Jones has got you covered, thankfully. He comes to you, dear listener, from the vein of “indie stoner rap,” the sort of chillwave-meets-trance-meets-EDM stuff that originated in…
Band of the Week: Uzizi
Meet the Band: Craig Matis (vocals, guitar), Noel Howard (drums, percussion), Jim Van Cleef (lead guitar), Darren Frate (bass), Reed Simon (violin and fiddle) Stability Now: Singer-guitarist Craig Matis started the band in 1982 as a three-piece, but the band has changed line-ups several times since then. After countless incarnations, the group has finally solidified,…
The Welcoming Face: Nicole Gillota
Sipping on a luscious blueberry smoothie at one of the sturdy wooden tables at Gypsy Beans & Baking Co. on the corner of Detroit and W. 65th St., owner and proprietor Nicole Gillota surveys her clientele. “It’s weird calling them customers,” she says. “They’re really more like friends, you know? I had a guy who…
The Pizza Purist: Marc-Aurele Buholzer
Chefs often put their own culinary stamp on pizza, but Marc-Aurele Buholzer of Vero Pizza Napoletana (12421 Cedar Rd., 216-229-8383, veroclevland.com) in Cleveland Heights chooses to go back in time and focus solely on making the most authentic Neapolitan-style pizza he can possibly make. Born in a village outside Geneva, Switzerland, Buholzer and his family…
Without Missing a Beat, the Burning River Ramblers Dish Up a Killer Second Album
Crossing over years and the north-south freeways of this fair state, a group of young musicians managed to find one another among the bricks and burnt-umber fall leaves of Athens. That was awhile back by this point, and, as an homage to Northeast Ohio’s infamous Cuyahoga, they called themselves the Burning River Ramblers. They began…
The Sandwich Artist: Josh Kabat
If you live or work downtown and happen to see a big, green pickle running up and down Euclid Avenue, don’t be alarmed—it’s just Dilly, the larger-than-life Cleveland Pickle mascot. When chef Josh Kabat opened his teeny sandwich shop in March of 2012, he did so in one of the sleepier pockets of downtown. Ninth…
The Monastery Salesman: Will Keller
Just about 10 years ago, Will Keller moved Monastery Greetings, the monastery-themed mail order business he runs, out of his home and into an office space in an old torpedo factory in Glenville. Since then, he’s expanded to the point that his business now takes up several rooms in the building. “It was very hard…
The (English) Beat Goes On: Dave Wakeling Talks About Band’s Continued Relevancy and his Love of Scooby-Doo
When the English Beat emerged in the late ’70s, the UK group fused punk rock brashness with old-school Jamaican ska beats. The results were striking and the band delivered hits “Mirror in the Bathroom” and “Too Nice to Talk To.” Though the band took a long break in the late ’80s and ’90s, singer Dave…
The Man in the Kitchen: Terry Bell
Life is made better by joining friends at the table for a good meal. And basketball players, coming together as a tight-knit family, know how to eat well, and have to. As the founder and owner of TGB Professional Food Services, Terry Bell oversees the massive culinary operation behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mornings start early…
Chicks With Balls: An Exhibit of Paintings that Feature Just What the Title Says
Solon painter Judy Takács is displaying 19 portraits of women she knows at Bay Arts. They are the grittiest gals, in her opinion: Chicks with balls, figuratively, and as she displays them literally too. The show delivers all the cheekiness the title suggests. Takács posed her models topless with various sporting balls clutched to their…
Culture Jamming
TOP PICK A Band Called Death (Drafthouse) This documentary about the black Detroit punk band didn’t generate much revenue at the box office during its short theatrical release (that included a one-night stand in Cleveland) but it provides an in-depth look at a seminal act. The inclusion of so much of the band’s music is…
Fizz and Pop: Mike Gulley Brings Homegrown Cleveland Soda to Market and Bar
It used to be that practically every town had its own homegrown brands of sodas. When Prohibition laid waste to the brewing industry, many of those same operations refocused their efforts to making “soft drinks,” igniting a national trend that outlasted the ban on booze. But then folks got greedy. “About 20 years ago, all…
The Bread Man: Adam Gidlow
When Adam Gidlow and his wife Jennifer opened On The Rise in Cleveland Heights a dozen years ago, they were taking a blind leap of faith. The close-knit eastside community already had Zoss and Stone Oven, two wonderful and much-loved bakeries, and only time would tell if there was room for another. “We picked a…
The Cleveland Craft Beer Report
If the unseasonably cool Northeast Ohio weather hasn’t yet stimulated thoughts of tailgating and falling leaves, a glance at the new-release shelf at any craft beer store will. Like back to school sales, seasonal beers come out earlier and earlier each year as brands scurry for precious shelf space. By August, summer suds practically have…
The Funny Guy: Adam Richard
The Cleveland comedy scene has grown enough in recent years that describing it as “burgeoning” doesn’t really do it justice. It’s arrived in full force. No matter the night of the week, no matter whether you’re in search of a touring comic or a local open mic, there’s somewhere to go and someone to make…
The People Issue
Welcome to our first-ever edition of Cleveland People, an issue where we celebrate some of the finest folks calling Northeast Ohio home…
The Healer: Dr. Joan Papp
As she watched patient after patient walk through the emergency room at Metro dealing with opiate-related afflictions—overdoses, withdrawals, infections, etc.—Dr. Joan Papp was seeing firsthand what was going on in the community. Heroin has reached epidemic levels in Northeast Ohio in recent years. The drug is cheaper than oxycodone and more accessible. Younger and younger…
The Baker: Britt-Marie Culey
Like just about every other person watching late-night TV that evening, Britt-Marie Culey wasn’t happy, couldn’t sleep, and was dreading that another day of work was fast approaching. Her job as a medical technician in a hospital earned her decent money, but the passion just wasn’t there. Worse, the decision of whether or not to…
How Bizarre: A long Chat with Andrew Zimmern
While he’s often described as the “guy who’ll eat the testicles off any living thing,” Bizarre Foods America host Andrew Zimmern more accurately is a “culinary anthropologist”—a man who explores the culture of a place through its food and people. He was in Cleveland doing just that when I sat down with him and had…
The Writer: Dan Chaon
Cleveland’s biggest name in fiction is an unassuming Irishman who loves Parnell’s Pub on Lee Road and is psyched about the library he’s built in his Cleveland Heights home. “I wanted the builders to install a secret room behind one of the shelves, but they wouldn’t go for it,” says Chaon (pronounced Shawn). “But it…
The Theater Maker: Patrick Ciamacco
Being big and green should be enough to make a person interesting, but Patrick Ciamacco has a lot more going on than that. Sure, he recently starred as the ogre in Shrek at Mercury Summer Stock, but that was just a busman’s holiday from his regular gig. As the artistic director of the two-year-old Blank…
No Ifs, Ands or Butt Plugs: The Candid B & D Action is Mostly Hinted at in the Often-Amusing Spank!
When exactly does a formerly furtive sexual kink go mainstream? Well, in the case of Fifty Shades of Grey, it’s when the prisoners at Guantanamo request that book more than any other, as was reported recently. Yes, masterful dudes and their female slaves are getting their freak on. And it’s now being parodied in a…
The Doer: Hilary Gent
Artist and curator Hilary Gent doesn’t want art sidelined to galleries, being talked about by other artists. “I reach beyond gallery walls to get art seen and recognized by other people,” Gent says. Her Hedge Gallery in the sprawling former factory space of 78th Street Studios hosts some of the most fascinating shows in town.…
The Printer: Liz Maugans
In 1995, along with three other artists, Liz Maugans founded Zygote Press, a printing workshop that has since evolved into a premiere display space, and an outlet for affordable but gorgeous and relevant art works. But this was only her first contribution to the region’s aesthetic economy. Zygote’s international fellowship and international exchange programs infuse…
Also on Stage
Peter Pan, A Musical Adventure Mercury Summer Stock This production at Mercury Summer Stock, so visually arresting in many respects, has a firm grip on the magical idea of a flying fairy carting off three earth-bound kids to Never Never Land. But there are a number of air pockets in this supposedly soaring show, where…
The Right Hand Man of Soul: Roosevelt Johnson
On one of his first trips to Cleveland, funk legend James Brown met Roosevelt “R.J.” Johnson backstage and asked him to hold his brown leather coat. The teenage Johnson eagerly obliged, making no fuss about the pistol he found in its pocket. He clung to that coat with such determination, Brown would eventually hire him…
