Former East Cleveland Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Sexually Assaulting Two Women With Sex Toy During Traffic Stop
Update: Former East Cleveland police officer Kenneth Bolton Jr. reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in advance of a trial for sexually assaulting two females during an illegal traffic stop. He was fired by the department earlier this year after admitting to numerous misdemeanors and felonies stemming from an illegal traffic stop of two women…
The Boiler 65 in Detroit Shoreway is Now Open
Update: Hey seafood fans! The long wait for spicy boiled shrimp, crab, lobster and crawfish is over. The Boiler 65 has opened. Grab a bib and check it out. Here’s the original story that Scene published back in April: *** When Boiler 65 opens in Gordon Square in a couple of weeks, it will be…
Cleveland Chef Jonathon Sawyer Second to Leave ‘Iron Chef Gauntlet’: UPDATE
Update: Cleveland’s own lauded chef, Jonathon Sawyer, was the second contestant chosen to leave the Food Network competition Iron Chef Gauntlet last night. Although he did not lose the episode’s Chairman’s Challenge, which involved butchering a whole hog, Sawyer was selected by the winner of that challenge (Chef Sarah Grueneberg) to square off against the…
CNN Will Host a Town Hall With Gov. John Kasich to Talk About Trump’s First 100 Days, Kasich’s New Book
[image-1] Ohio’s governor will take on host Anderson Cooper next Monday during a CNN town hall. Touting his upcoming book, Two Paths, America Divided or United, the program will also focus on Gov. John Kasich’s 2016 presidential run and Trump’s first 100 days in office. In a recent tweet, Kasich described his excitement for the…
Medical Marijuana Aerial View: Q&A with Brian Vicente, Author of Colorado’s Statewide Cannabis Policy
Ohio’s medical marijuana program has been legal and operational and, by all accounts, chugging along since September 2016. But it’s not fully implemented yet, engendering much statewide confusion. We published an extensive feature on some of the people involved in the different arenas of this law — businesses, city governments, hospitals, patients across Ohio —…
Dan Gilbert Personally Lobbied Cleveland City Council Member Opposed to Q Deal, Opposition Stands Firm as Vote Awaits
At last night’s city council meeting, Council President Kevin Kelley decided to postpone the vote on the Quicken Loans Arena renovation legislation. The delay was an odd one, on first blush, as the ordinance seemed to have enough support for passage. The controversial ordinance (305-17) would have green lit the city’s contribution to the public…
23 Years After Being Wrongfully Convicted of Murdering His Girlfriend, Evin King Will Finally Be Released in Cleveland
This week, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office vacated the 1995 murder conviction of a Cleveland man. For 23 years, Evin King has been pushing his case for innocence, including a long, dirty fight over DNA testing. With King’s upcoming release, the spotlight is back on Cuyahoga County’s ongoing issues involving bad justice. King was arrested and charged…
Facebook Murderer Steve Stephens Killed Himself in Erie, Pa., According to Police
Erie police are confirming that Steve Stephens killed himself in Erie, Pa., this morning. From the Erie Times-News: “Steve Stephens found dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound in white Ford Fusion on Buffalo Road, Erie police confirmed. State police had been following the car as it was headed west into the city of Erie.” Police are…
Arts Renaissance Tremont and Five More Classical Music Events to Catch This Week
This week’s recommendations span nine centuries — from the Medieval to the contemporary. Oberlin soprano Christine Jay — with the assistance of a set of mannequins — will bring Hildegard von Bingen’s 12th-century liturgical drama Ordo Virtutum to 21st-century eyes and ears on Wednesday, April 19 at 6:00 pm at Trinity Cathedral in downtown Cleveland.…
Steve Stephens Update: “Either He’s Dead Somewhere, or Someone’s Holing Him Up”
Law enforcement agencies nationwide have yet to locate fugitive Steve Stephens, but local investigators have received nearly 400 tips from locations as far away as Texas, authorities said in a press briefing in Cleveland Tuesday morning. The Cleveland Division of Police, the FBI and the U.S. Marshalls’ Office offered their assessment of the investigation so…
Cavs Survive More Last Stanza Thrill-Seeking to Dispatch Pacers
If the Cavaliers were the proverbial gift horse, they would have some kind of intestinal distress that killed all grass and low-flying insects in a five-foot radius. Yet they’d be as smart as Affirmed and as fast as Seattle Slew – at least until the last quarter mile where they lollygag by the rail, ramping…
In Advance of His Show at the Agora, Former My Chemical Romance Guitarist Frank Iero Talks About Launching His Solo Career
The former guitarist for emo heroes My Chemical Romance, singer-guitarist Frank Iero says he didn’t initially set out to launch a solo career when he began recording the demos that would become his 2014 debut, Stomachaches. “It was weird because when we stopped My Chem, I wanted to go try other stuff,” he says in…
Infamous Cleveland Swindler Oscar Villarreal Shot in Back in Mexico Amid Bizarre Beachfront Property Battles
The infamous Cleveland swindler Oscar Villarreal, who fled to Mexico from Gates Mills in late 2013 to escape the probings of the Securities and Exchange Commission, was shot at his home in Tulum last week. Villarreal is known locally for luring more than 50 of Northeast Ohio’s most powerful corporate leaders into phony investments several…
Ohio’s Prisoners Are Smuggling Suboxone In Record Numbers
Prescription Suboxone is gaining a national rep as an increasingly useful solution for millions of Americans hooked on heavy-duty drugs. A low-dose opioid itself, the drug administered along with a doctor’s care has proven to be key in freeing folks from the addiction to heroin and prescription opiates. But Suboxone reportedly has become popular with…
A Trip to Cleveland Was a ‘Price is Right’ Showcase Prize Today
One lucky winner is heading to Cleveland to check out the Rock Hall and stay at the Hyatt after a trip to Mr. Carey’s hometown was featured as a showcase showdown prize this morning. Just saw something I've never seen before on a #PriceIsRight showcase #CLE #ThisIsCLE pic.twitter.com/tgjVkFHECi — Tracey Carroll (@tc1057) April 17, 2017…
‘Cars 3’ Promotional Event Headed to Public Square
In order to help hype the upcoming release of the new Disney-Pixar film, Cars 3, a promotional tour dubbed Road to the Races will roll into town next week on Tuesday, April 25, and set up shop at Public Square from noon to 4 p.m. At the free event, patrons can take part in a…
City of Green Donates $10,000 in Legal Fight Against Nexus Pipeline
The ongoing struggle to prevent the approval and construction of a natural gas pipeline in Summit and Medina counties — and elsewhere in the state — has brought in funds from the city of Green. City Council last week agreed to donate $10,000 to the Coalition to Reroute Nexus (CoRN), which intends to file a…
Medina Residents Debating Fate of Opiate Addiction Support Center
The latest controversy in Medina illustrates how visibly the state’s heroin addiction crisis has seeped into Main Street America. At issue is a proposed addiction support center planned for a vacant restaurant near Public Square on West Liberty Street. The old Medina Steak & Seafood building, one of the oldest buildings in Medina, is located…
Iconic Perry Memorial on South Bass Island Closed For Maintenance in 2017
“Don’t give up the ship.” This summer, Ohio tourists won’t be able to fully bask in those immortalized words of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, as the Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial on South Bass Island is set for major exterior and interior renovations. The National Parks Service says the maintenance on the 350-foot tall…
Casablanca to Screen, Libations to Flow, at Swanky Capitol Theatre Gala Friday
The Friends of the Capitol Theatre group and the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization will host a gala Friday evening to raise money for the Capitol Theatre in the Gordon Square Arts District. The movie theater, owned by the local CDC and operated by Cleveland Cinemas, has been struggling since it opened in 2009 to…
Police Update: Steve Stephens ‘Could Be Nearby, Far Away, Anywhere in Between’
After a night with little in the way of information — but plenty of social-media hysteria — Cleveland police and the mayor offered a brief update on the Steve Stephens case this morning. Essentially: No new victims have been identified in connection with Stephens. He remains missing — and could be literally anywhere, according to…
Austin-Based Singer-Songwriter Carrie Elkin to Perform at New Venue in Leroy Township
Now under new ownership, Sugar Lake Lodge, an event center and concert venue located 30 miles east of Cleveland in Leroy Township, will begin hosting concerts on a regular basis. New owner Stephen Todd has renovated the former Girls Scout camp that sits on 135 acres and features a 7-acre lake, cabin rentals and luxury…
Whereabouts of Facebook Shooter Still Unknown, Police Alert Residents in Nearby States
At around midnight, the Cleveland Division of Police issued a press release advising that an aggravated murder warrant had been issued for Steve Stephens, the 37-year-old man who recorded himself shooting and killing a man earlier Sunday and who posted the video to Facebook. But more importantly, after following up on leads all afternoon and…
Cavs Struggle To Break Bad Habits, Pacers’ Will
The footlights came up at the NBA Playoffs and Cleveland did its act, but it didn’t slay. The Cavs ran through their best material and it scored to design, but the Cavalier defensive nonchalance showed up as well like nose hair-wilting halitosis. Those weren’t tears of joy streaming down the faces of Cavalier fans after…
Cleveland Police Looking for Man Accused of Murdering Someone While Streaming on Facebook Live
Cleveland police are currently looking for Steve Stephens, who allegedly shot and killed a man today while streaming the murder on Facebook Live. The victim was later identified by police as Robert Godwin Sr., 74. The shooting took place around 2 p.m. East 93rd, just south of I-90, and police are reportedly searching several nearby areas.…
‘Repo Man’ Screens Tonight at the Capitol Theatre as Part of the Late Shift Series
Cleveland Cinemas’ Late Shift series, a program dedicated to the nostalgic cult and camp cinema that we love and cherish even though it’s certainly not Oscar-worthy material, has been a fixture at the local chain of theaters since 2006. The 2017 schedule continues tonight with Repo Man, a caper about a car thief (Emilio Esteves)…
Second Edition of Behind Glass Electronic Music Series to Take Place Tonight at Coda
The second edition of Behind Glass, a new series devoted to “forward-thinking electronic and electroacoustic music,” takes place tonight at 9 at Coda in Tremont. Quicksails’ Ben Billington, an electronic musician originally from the Cleveland area who has spent the past decade of his life in Chicago, headlines. A percussionist and synthesizer wiz, he’s touring…
Country Singer Hunter Hayes to Debut New Songs at House Blues Show
When most kids were still figuring out how to crawl, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist had already embarked on the path that would lead to a successful musical career. His grandmother gave him a toy accordion when he was only 2 and by 4, he had begun making appearances on local and national TV shows. He…
Cleveland Art Museum to Screen ‘Downtown 81’ in Conjunction with Basquiat Exhibition
Earlier this year, the Cleveland Museum of Art opened Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks, the first major exhibition of the late Jean Michel Basquiat’s notebooks. The exhibit features more than 150 pages of rarely seen documents, including sketches, poetry, wordplay, personal observations and more. Related works on paper and large-scale paintings accompany the exhibit that explores Basquiat’s…
In Advance of his Music Box Concert, Singer-Guitarist Bob Mould Reflects on His Remarkable Career
During the course of his decades long career, veteran singer-guitarist Bob Mould has often paired bright melodies with dark lyrics. That formula works to perfection on his latest effort, last year’s Patch the Sky. The shimmering opening tune, “Voices in My Head,” establishes his approach from the beginning as Mould barks the vocals over an…
‘Tax Day March’ in Cleveland Will Protest President Trump’s Budget Plan
[image-1]President Donald Trump has proposed a federal budget that mirrors his policy promises — most visibly by cutting environmental protection funds and boosting defense spending. Think of it as replacing the majesty of Moab, Utah, with the earth-shattering power of a MOAB bombing regimen. With that backdrop, Clevelanders will march downtown tomorrow. The Tax Day March…
Rapper 21 Savage To Bring His Hypnotic Street Tales to House of Blues
On April 25, House of Blues plays host to the gritty frontier of hip-hop’s ever-evolving zeitgeist. 21 Savage rolls through Cleveland, headlining a packed lineup of fascinating new archetypes in the rap industry. Savage and his straight-forward, hypnotic street tales represent one of the most insightful case studies on Atlanta’s establishment as hip-hop’s capital and…
Comedian Norm Macdonald Performs Tonight at Hard Rock Live
It’s easy to appreciate comedian Norm Macdonald’s dry, deadpan humor on TV, but he’s even better in his live performances. Nothing is off limits to him, and topics range from death and defibrillators to what it’s like having a gay son in Harvard. His twisted, yet highly logical, observations on the most mundane occurrences are…
Mansfield Frazier Enters City Council Race, Ward 7 (Hough) a Toss-Up
The journalist, activist and non-profit vintner Mansfield Frazier, he of Chateau Hough, has announced that he’ll enter the race for City Council, vying for the seat in Ward 7. That seat is currently occupied by T.J. Dow, who is thought to be one of the more vulnerable councilpeople this fall. The Real Deal Press first…
Comedian Dan Cummins to Perform at Hilarities This Weekend
[image-1]In the past several years, comic Dan Cummins has been extremely busy. He’s released three albums, appeared on all the usual late-night talk shows and toured his ass off. Though his delivery is much more manic, the thirtysomething comic comes off a bit like Jerry Seinfeld as he jokes about the trials and tribulations of…
Here’s Sisqo Singing His MVP Choice (LeBron) to the Tune of the Thong Song
Sure, why not. It’s playoff time, Cleveland. EXCLUSIVE: @OfficialSisQo sings his NBA MVP choice #LeBronSong pic.twitter.com/CwjfemB6Mh — Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) April 13, 2017
In Advance of his Grog Shop Show, Singer-Songwriter Sondre Lerche Discusses Finding Inspiration in Juxtaposition
Norwegian musician Sondre Lerche has had a career that most artists would kill for. In his early thirties, he released eight studio albums, composed a film soundtrack and embarked upon numerous international tours. He got his start in the early 2000s, making the sort of smooth indie pop you would expect to hear in a…
LeBron James Is Debuting Snippets of Kendrick Lamar’s New Album Via Instagram
Kendrick Lamar’s highly anticipated album Damn doesn’t hit until tomorrow, but followers of LeBron James’ Instagram account got a dose of what’s to come on the record — in 15-second-long releases. Because of course LeBron not only got to hear Drake’s new album before everyone else, he gets early dibs on Kendrick’s too. Premiering bits…
Local Hard Rock Act Nine Shrines Launches National Tour with Nonpoint on Monday at the Agora
Nine Shrines might be the best local hard rock act you’ve never heard. The group, which recently signed a deal with the Mascot Label Group, just issued its debut EP, Misery, and will start a national tour this month with Hinder and Nonpoint. The band plays at 6 p.m. on Monday at the Agora Ballroom…
Dennis Kucinich Decries Syria Strike, Wants Tribe Scorecard to Monitor Military-Industrial Complex
Former Cleveland Mayor and Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich, a man for whom a pierogi and kielbasa fundraiser was held to help pay for a mayoral portrait, has recently been making the media rounds to decry the U.S. missile attack on a Syrian airfield late last week. That attack was launched by President Donald Trump Friday…
Kevin Love Loves His New Signature Underwear Line
If you’ve ever wondered what Kevin Love is sporting beneath his basketball shorts, you now know. The Cavs star recently unveiled his new line of sporty underwear, in partnership with Saxx Underwear Co. — the folks behind internal mesh paneled fabric and the patented BallPark Pouch. (Get it? Right?) The fresh undies, which come in five…
5 Concerts to Catch This Weekend in Cleveland
FRIDAY, APRIL 14 DeadPhish Orchestra/JiMiller Band The Grateful Dead and Phish often get lumped into the same sentence anytime some mass-media figure wants to make a reference to “hippies” or “patchouli.” It’s more off the mark than one would like, but, of course, the two iconic American bands share a fair bit of DNA. DeadPhish…
Fake Movie Money Strikes Again, This Time in Unsuspecting Mentor-on-the-Lake
[image-1]In sleepy Mentor-on-the-Lake, fake “for motion picture use only” bills have been discovered at multiple establishments, including a thrift store, prompting local police to warn businesses that they should double check the cash they receive for payment. Channel 5 reports that fake $20 bills were used for a queso purchase at Burrito Loco. Subsequently, fake…
Cleveland Will Host USA Triathlon National Championships in 2018 and 2019
The city of Cleveland will play host to the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships in both 2018 and 2019. Nearly 6,000 athletes nationwide are expected to compete in both an Olympic-distance qualifier and a sprint triathlon on August 11-12, 2018. David Gilbert, CEO of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, announced the news at a…
Akron Uber Driver Accused of Sexually Assaulting Rider Turns Himself in to Police
Brandon Franklin, 33, has turned himself in to Akron police after a 33-year-old woman accused the Uber driver of sexually assaulting her on March 25. On that night, the woman was drinking with some friends, one of whom called an Uber to take her home to East Akron. Around 10:45 p.m., the woman told police,…
Locally Based Recording Engineer and Producer to Talk About His Career at the Music Box
With Cleveland Stories Dinner Party, a weekly series that pairs fine food with storytelling, the folks at the Music Box Supper Club hope to help raise awareness of the mission of the Western Reserve Historical Society’s new Cleveland History Center. The club’s owners consider the Cleveland History Center to be “one of the most interesting…
MLB Commissioner Wants Indians to Ditch Chief Wahoo
In what looks to be MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s first official, public comments signaling a clear opposition to the Indians’ continued use of Chief Wahoo, an MLB spokesperson told The New York Times Manfred has made it apparent to the team his “desire to transition away from the logo.’’ The statement follows an offseason in…
Two Shocking Ohio Balcony Deaths Tuesday Morning
One fell and the other jumped, but Tuesday morning, two men in Ohio died after plunges from balconies. A 25-year-old man from Virginia died after falling from his room’s balcony at Kalahari resort in Sandusky. The man, later identified by the Erie County Coroner as Derek Vancleave, had a “history of traumatic brain injury.” Vancleave’s…
Video: Here’s Some Awful Stuff Tribe Fans Said to Chief Wahoo Protesters Yesterday
As they have for years, a small group of protesters demonstrated outside of Progressive Field yesterday against the racist red Sambo otherwise known as Chief Wahoo. And as they have for years, many Tribe fans reacted by verbally attacking them with taunts like “Go home, get a job” and making drunken mock Native American whooping…
Kent Reggae Jam Returns to Downtown Kent on April 21
An annual event, Kent Reggae Jam aims to promote “reggae rhythms, free flowing jams and other island sounds.” This year’s event takes place at 14 different venues in downtown Kent on April 21. The lineup features a who’s who of local reggae and jam acts, including Outlaws I & I, the JiMiller Band and Rhodes…
Butcher and the Brewer Finally Unveils its Butcher Shop and Market
This week, Butcher and the Brewer (2043 East Fourth Street) finally unveiled its long-anticipated butcher shop, which is located in a space that is separate from but connected to the rest of the operation. The original plan was to open the shop soon after the rest of the operation debuted, which was two and a half…
Warren Taylor to Give Keynote Speech at CWRU Food Week
Few success stories start with a glass of milk. Even fewer with kefir, the oldest cultured milk product known to man. It’s a tart and yeasty cross between buttermilk and yogurt, a favorite of Warren Taylor, founder of Snowville Creamery, a small dairy production plant in Pomeroy, Ohio. He hoists a glass of the homemade…
Get Out: The Things To Do This Week (April 12-April 18)
WED 04/12 Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors The Cavaliers conclude the regular season tonight at the Q with a game against Eastern Conference rivals, the Toronto Raptors. If all goes according to plan, the Cavs and Raptors might meet again in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavs have had the Raptors’ number this season and haven’t…
Savage Love: Hard Limits
Dear Dan, I’ve read your column for as long as I had access to the internet and was interested in sex, so here goes: I’m a 27-year-old male with a 42-year-old girlfriend. We met at work; we were both going through divorce. At the beginning, holy moly! My dream girl in the bedroom. We’ve been…
A Lot of Bluffing and Some Poignant Redemption in ‘Between Riverside and Crazy’
Picture a stage full of Sideshow Bob-style rakes sitting all over the floor. And just like that intrepid clown from The Simpsons, who steps on the teeth of one rake after another and slaps himself in the head with the handle, the characters in Between Riverside and Crazy keep stepping on their own stories, and…
State Laws Allowed AT&T to Exclude Cleveland’s Poorest Neighborhoods From High-Speed Internet Service
It’s Friday morning, and Howard Barksdale is running late. He drives in from Bedford to Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood twice weekly to attend classes at Ashbury Senior Computer Community Center, and today he got caught up in the slow service of the BMV. Slow service is everywhere these days. Internet download speeds are glacial once you…
Band of the Week: Drumplay
MEET THE BAND: J. Scott Franklin (trumpet, flugelhorn, lead vocals), George Lee (acoustic bass, whistling, vocals), James Onysko (djembe, bongos, bells, conch shells), John Stebal (drum kit) IT STARTED WITH THE SAMBA SCOUTS: Drumplay formed out of an earlier percussion group, Samba Scouts, which was active in the late ’80s until end of 1991. During his…
Garrett Weider Had a Revelation and Brought a New Artistic Focus to Cleveland
Almost exactly eight years ago, local artist Garrett Weider was laid off from his job at American Greetings. Turning an obstacle into an opportunity, Weider pursued his personal creative interests, freelancing and creating large-scale murals filled with imagery celebrating his hometown. Weider returned to American Greetings in 2011, and has happily worked part-time for the…
Young German Actress Wows in Francois Ozon Beauty
In Frantz, the new film from French director Francois Ozon which opens Friday at the Cedar Lee Theatre, the young German actress Paula Beer plays Anna, a woman whose fiance died on the front lines at the tail end of WWI. Without a family of her own, she has taken up residence with her fiance’s…
Spotlight: ‘Tommy’s Honour’
Tom Morris and his son Tom Morris Jr. (nicknamed Old and Young Tom Morris) are two of golf’s most important pioneers and innovators. Historians credit the Scottish father-and-son duo for establishing the modern game of golf and for broadening the sport’s popularity. They get the biopic treatment in Tommy’s Honour, a new historical drama based…
