Hundreds of Fans Contributed to the New Welshly Arms Music Video
Update: The Cleveland-based alternative rock band Welshly Arms has just released a fan-centric music video for their new single “Stand”— a song the band wrote to unite and inspire people to band together. To create the video, the band asked fans to take photos of themselves in quarantine while holding up a handwritten sign of…
Michigan-Based Beyond Juicery & Eatery Will Open in Downtown Cleveland
Beyond Juicery & Eatery, a Michigan-based chain that recently signed a deal to open 20 franchises in Ohio, will plant a flag in Cleveland at Public Square in the spot most recently occupied by J. Gumbo’s. Cheers to @Beyond_Juice for breaking ground on their first Ohio location in @DowntownCLE Welcome to the neighborhood! #BUILDsomething pic.twitter.com/yxlKOCaMeX…
In Place of a Postponed Reunion Show, the Mike Farley Band to Release a Collection of B-sides and Rarities
Back in the ’90s, the Mike Farley Band was ubiquitous on the local music scene. The group has since disbanded, but it had planned to play a 20-year reunion show next month at Brothers Lounge. Because COVID-19 derailed those plans, the group has postponed the show until 2021 at the soonest. In place of the…
New Book Features the Work of Akron Cartoonist Web Brown
Akron-born writer Tim Carroll published his previous book, World War II Akron, last year with Arcadia Publishing, and the esteemed publishing house has just released another of Carroll’s books, World War II Cartoons of Akron’s Web Brown. An Akron Beacon Journal cartoonist, Brown was one of the best political cartoonists in America during World War…
The Postal Service is a Lifeline for Rural Ohioans
COLUMBUS, Ohio — U.S. Postal Service leaders have been warning about its increasing financial woes, before and during the pandemic, and concerns are intensifying over how a system collapse would affect rural communities. For the estimated one in four Ohioans who lives in a rural area, National Rural Letter Carriers Association president Ronnie Stutts said…
Gov. DeWine Clarifies That Employees Must Wear Masks But Customers Should But Don’t Have to After Saying Widely Recommended Practice Was Completely Optional Earlier Today One Day After Saying It Was Mandatory But Also Do Wear a Mask Please and Thank You
Update: Around dinnertime this casual Tuesday evening there were clarifications from the governor’s office that this afternoon’s press conference announcement that masks were optional for employees and customers at businesses as they reopen really meant that employees were still required to wear masks but that the recommended practice was optional for customers and clients. This…
Ohio Class-Action Lawsuit Argues that Business-Interruption Insurance Should Cover Coronavirus-Related Losses for Restaurants
Most small business owners purchase business-interruption insurance to cover the loss of income as a result of events like wildfires, hurricanes, burst pipes or even power surges. But as many restaurant owners have sadly discovered recently, loss of income as a result of COVID-19 is not one of those events – at least according to…
HIV-Positive Inmate, Denied Early Release, Opens Up about COVID-19 Fears in Ohio Prisons
Marion and Pickaway are the two Ohio correctional institutions that have garnered the most headlines for the spread of COVID-19, and for good reason. At the height of infection, more than 2,000 inmates (80+ percent of the population) had tested positive at Marion. But other Ohio facilities where comprehensive testing has not yet occurred are…
Feds Appeal Judge’s Order to Release Medically Vulnerable Inmates at Elkton
Federal prosecutors have filed an appeal to the decision of U.S. Judge James Gwin to release or relocate medically vulnerable inmates Elkton federal prison in Ohio where seven inmates have died from COVID-19. Gwin had issued the temporary injunction last Wednesday and ruled that prison officials identify all inmates over the age of 65 and those…
New Roots of American Music Podcast Features Interviews with Local Musicians Struggling During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The locally based Roots of American Music (ROAM) will continue its Garage Sale/Garage Band program this spring with some new elements added to make the program accessible to the Cleveland community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of holding fundraisers at local venues, the program has shifted online via a podcast series called The Pandemic Tapes,…
Baldwin Wallace to Offer a Music Industry Studies Major in the Fall
Earlier this week, Dr. Sean Murphy, an Assistant Professor of Arts Management and Entrepreneurship at Baldwin Wallace University, announced that the school will launch a new major in Music Industry Studies in the fall. The program will build on the success of the school’s Arts Management & Entrepreneurship Degree program. “After receiving all of our necessary…
Constantino’s Market Has Closed its Uptown Location
Constantino’s, the local, independent grocer, has closed its Uptown location in University Circle. The Uptown store opened in 2012. The original market, which opened in the Warehouse District in 2005, is unaffected. “It is always disheartening when something does not go according to plan, and especially when it is a business closing,” says company representative Andrew…
Mini Zoom Readings, History, and Plenty of Donations — How Local Theaters Are Responding During the Coronavirus Crisis
Remember when you used to get enraged at somebody slowly opening a plastic hard candy wrapper during a play? Right now, most of us would give our right arm (okay, our left arm) to once again hear that irritating crinkly flurry—because that would mean the world was back as it used to be. We don’t…
Wrapping Up the Browns’ Draft — The A to Z Podcast With Andre Knott and Zac Jackson
Andre and Zac discuss the Browns’ draft, building an identity and staying sane through quarantine. Subscribe to A to Z here or stream below.
Gov. DeWine Announces Dates to Reopen Offices, Manufacturing and Retail in Ohio, Restaurants and Hair Salons Not Included Yet
Ohio’s economy will slowly start opening in phases on May 1 as laid out by Gov. Mike DeWine today. “My heart aches for the businessmen and women who have not been able to work, who are looking at savings going down every day, the people who work in those businesses, people who are unemployed —…
Truman’s 216, H.E.L.P. and Dante’s Restaurant Group Team Up to Serve the Local Community
Truman’s 216 and Dante’s Restaurant Group have teamed up with the locally based charity H.E.L.P. to provide food to local community services during the COVID-19 crisis. The groups are giving meals to front line responders and Clevelanders in need and have been donating and delivering 500 meals per week to hospitals, police stations, alternative housing…
VA to Close Clinic at Ohio City’s McCafferty Health Center, Move Operations to Parma
Though it denied it was planning to do so last month, the Northeast Ohio VA announced Monday that it will close its outpatient clinic at the Thomas F. McCafferty Health Center on Lorain Avenue in Ohio City and will move all operations to its Parma location. Scene had heard rumors from medical providers that, unrelated…
ACLU Airs Ads in Columbus to Pressure DeWine into Releasing Ohio Prisoners
The ACLU of Ohio, in partnership with the Union Theological Seminary, has launched a series of television advertisements in the Columbus market to apply pressure on Gov. Mike DeWine and state lawmakers to release Ohio prisoners. The COVID-19 infection numbers being reported by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction are jaw-dropping. Two Ohio prisons,…
Ohioans Show Wide Approval for DeWine’s Handling of Coronavirus Crisis, Uncertain of Reopening the Economy, BW Poll Shows
Ohioans widely approve of how and when Gov. Mike DeWine has taken measures to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, don’t have much faith in how President Trump has responded to the crisis, and the gap between the two has grown over the past month. Those are a few of the takeaways from the…
Rock Hall Releases Footage from the 2000 Induction Ceremony
Over the weekend, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which is currently closed to the public to help stop the spread of coronavirus, released more footage from the 2000 induction ceremony on its YouTube channel. That class included acts such as Hal Blaine, Eric Clapton, Nat “King” Cole, King Curtis, Clive Davis, Earth, Wind…
Not All Service Industry Pros Eager to Return to the Job
Later today, Governor DeWine is expected to announce his plans to reopen the state’s economy. While owners like Tony George are urging nothing short of a “full-fledged” reopening of businesses, such as his many restaurants, employees who staff those restaurants – bussers, servers, bartenders and cooks – are rightfully concerned about safety and the ability…
Lakewood Artist Allison Hennie is Using the Pandemic to Challenge Herself and Lift Up Fellow Artists
Openings are canceled, galleries closed, programming postponed, funds tightened, and morale low. But even as the coronavirus has altered the landscape of the arts and cultural community in Cleveland, artists are still working, finding ways to engage themselves and the community during this unprecedented time. For Allison Hennie, the pandemic shutdowns have been a time…
Local Filmmaker Launches Collaborative Online Film Project
Ever since Ohio issued a shelter-in-place order last month, local filmmaker and business owner Matt Pallotta, who runs Frame One Media, has taken to making multiple short movies that address the complexities of quarantining. “I’ve been doing video production and making indie films for close to two decades,” says Pallotta. “I went to Kent State…
It Has Come To My Attention That I Know Way More Than Dr. Anthony Fauci
If you’ve read the comments section of any respected website over the past year, certainly you’re aware of my expertise ranging from, but not limited to: The Constitution. Venezuela. Libtards. The Founding Fathers. Regulating the uterus. Martial arts. Jesus. World of Warcraft. Babes. And how the ’97 Olmsted Falls Bulldogs would have totally won state…
COVID-19 Could Mark a Turning Point for Juvenile Justice Reform
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The COVID-19 pandemic could mark a turning point for juvenile justice reform. A new survey of juvenile justice agencies in 30 states, including Ohio, reveals a 24% drop in the number of young people held in local detention centers in March. The Annie E. Casey Foundation funded the survey, and Nate Balis…
Frank Jackson is Alive and Well, But He’s Failing as Cleveland’s Mayor at the Worst Possible Time
There were at least three serious revelations disclosed by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson during a media-only teleconference late Friday afternoon. But the tone of the coronavirus briefing—banal to the point of hypnosis—was such that nothing seemed particularly newsworthy. Jackson opened with the same pat advisory material he’s been dishing out since he declared a civic emergency…
Chagrin Documentary Film Festival to Host Online Q&A with Director Erika Cohn
Earlier today, the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival added three new films to its Docs on Demand series. The titles include Silicone Soul, A Girl Named C and Buried Seeds. “We had already been exploring offering streamed film content but accelerated it fairly quickly to begin offering the Docs on Demand Series now,” says Festival Director Mary…
Two Terrific Local Singer-Songwriters Team Up on New Single
As a result of communicating through Instagram direct messages, Gretchen Pleuss and Adam Reifsnyder (Honeybucket, Astronymer, the Fairdowells) — two of our favorite local singer-songwriters — have just released “Pining,” a duet that they hope “provides solace amid this unsettling time.” The collaboration began last year when Pleuss posted an unfinished interlude on Instagram. Reifsnyder loved…
Ohio Politicians Kindly Remind Constituents Not to Ingest Disinfectants
During his coronavirus press briefing on Thursday, President Donald Trump brought up two ideas to help cure COVID-19: to “hit the body” with powerful ultraviolet or “very powerful” light and bring it into the body through the skin or to possibly inject disinfectant into the body. “I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in…
Cuyahoga County Board of Health Releases Updated Zip-Code Breakdown of COVID-19 Cases
The Cuyahoga County Board of Health today released this week’s updated zip-code breakdown of the COVID-19 cases in the county. There have been more than 1,500 total cases so far, with 340 recovered patients and 2,942 identified contacts. Eighty-eight county residents aged 53 to 93 have passed away due to the virus since March 20.…
Will This Shark Costume Protect Me Against Coronavirus? I Asked a Scientist
If it’s done nothing else of any use to anyone, at least the coronavirus has caused people to get creative. With a worldwide lack of personal protective equipment leaving even medical professionals — let alone average Joes — vulnerable to catching the virus, people have been coming up with increasingly interesting ways of keeping themselves…
Four New Movies Added to Cleveland Cinemas Virtual Screening Room
It’s Friday, the day when new movies used to open at your local cineplex. In quarantine, most of us have had to settle for scrolling through new and popular titles on Netflix, Hulu, Kanopy and other streaming services to fill our homebound evening hours and to sate our weekend jones for the silver screen’s latest…
Ohio Restaurant Association Drafts Recommended Guidelines for State Restaurant Reopenings
As Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine leads the state to a gradual reopening starting May 1, many are wondering what that looks like for restaurants… including restaurants. While no specific information has yet been finalized on the local level, if you look toward the White House’s guidelines for reopening America, dine-in restaurants are some of the…
How Are Child Welfare Workers in Ohio Being Protected?
COLUMBUS, Ohio — With or without COVID-19, Children Services workers in Ohio still have to ensure the safety of children. And they’re currently balancing protecting children and their own health. Kristi Burre, director of Children Services Transformation with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, says responding to reports of child maltreatment already is…
Dead & Company Cancel Summer Tour, Including July Date at Blossom
Dead & Company — a Grateful Dead offshoot featuring members of the iconic Jam Band (Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann) plus John Mayer and a couple other musicians — have decided to cancel their summer tour in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. This includes their slated July 27 show at Blossom. The…
Tyler Cornack’s ‘Butt Boy’ Flushes a Great Premise Down the Toilet
By its very title alone, Epic Pictures’ “Butt Boy” should be a winner. The film, co-written, starring and directed by Tyler Cornack, follows a police detective struggling with alcoholism who begins to suspect that his AA sponsor is a serial killer who makes people disappear up his own ass. That’s right. He absorbs people with…
CDC Says Two New York Cats Contracted Coronavirus
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories have just confirmed two separate cases of SARS-CoV-2 — the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 — in pet cats in New York state. These are the first cats to test positive in the United States, although cats (and dogs)…
Safety Plan in Place, Local West Gears up for Reopening
Jon Mavrakis opened Local West (7402 Detroit Ave., 216-417-7001) five years ago, but he closed his doors on March 24 to regroup. “We were allowed to stay open, and we we’re doing pretty well because we do a ton of delivery and carry-out anyways,” he explains. “We closed because there was so much disinformation out…
Beck Center for the Arts Launches Online Arts Education Program
For the first time in its 86-year history, Beck Center for the Arts has launched online-only arts educational art programming. Currently closed to the public, the arts organization now offers everything from private music sessions tailored to specific personal goals to online arts education lessons. “I invite you to bring us into your home with…
Chagrin Falls Man Reaches Settlement With Ohio Attorney General in N95 Mask Price Gouging Lawsuit
Mario Salwan, the Chagrin Falls man sued by Ohio for allegedly hoarding thousands of N95 masks and selling them at a gigantic mark-up as the pandemic spread and frontline workers dealt with severe shortages of PPE, reached a settlement yesterday with the state. In a statement issued through his attorney along with the court order,…
Armond Budish Made Planting Trees a Centerpiece of 2019 State of the County Address. What Happened?
Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish devoted at least a third of his 2019 State of the County address to unveiling a countywide climate action plan. He outlined seven specific areas that he said would make Northeast Ohio a “trailblazer” in climate change policy. “I want to be able to look [my children and grandchild] in…
Cleveland Museum of Art Launches Extensive Online Initiative
Due to coronavirus concerns, the Cleveland Museum of Art closed to the public last month. It won’t open anytime soon, but until then, the staff has worked to amp up its online engagement. Its new digital program, “Home is Where the Art Is,” seeks to “meet a range of audiences through multiple offerings that appeal…
Best CBD Oils 2020 – Top Products Reviewed
CBD oil is a popular supplement for a myriad of different health conditions. Some of the most common examples include arthritis, chronic pain, anxiety, or sleep deprivation. Others use the supplement for its general health-promoting benefits. The problem is that not all CBD oils work as advertised — it’s important you order products from a…
Tommy’s Restaurant to Reopen for Curbside Pick-Up on May 4th
Tommy’s Restaurant (1824 Coventry Rd., 216-321-7757) in Cleveland Heights, which has been shuttered since March 16, will reopen for curbside pickup beginning Monday, May 4th. Orders will be placed online and over the phone, paid for in advance and picked up outside. The hours of service will be noon to 7 p.m. seven days a week. All…
Two of America’s Top Five Coronavirus Hot Spots are Ohio Prisons
Two Ohio counties were among the top five coronavirus hot spots in America due to state prisons located within them. The county with the most cases of COVID-19 per capita as of April 22 was Marion County, Ohio, thanks to the Marion Correctional Institution (MCI). And another of the state’s counties, Pickaway — home to…
COVID-19 Is Putting America’s White-Grievance Industry to the Test
As often as one hears slavery described as America’s original sin, it’s apparently been far too easy for Americans to avoid considering what that means. Given the incomprehensibly massive amount of wealth generated by the extraction of billions of hours of labor annually from 15% of the population for most of the first 100 years…
This Year’s Gathering of the Juggalos in Ohio Has Officially Been Postponed Due to Coronavirus
Now would be the time to let out a guttural and sorrowful “Whoop Whoop!” as this year’s Gathering of the Juggalos has officially been postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Down with the clown, indeed. The annual Psychopathic Records-hosted event, dubbed “the biggest family reunion on the planet,” was slated to take place Aug. 5-8…
Bandcamp Will Waive its Revenue Share to Help Cleveland Bands Impacted by COVID-19
It’s no secret that the shutdown of live music in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic decimated independent venues and the artists who play their stages. The carnage continues this week as those venues and artists mark a month of being out of the spotlight. And while buying music and merch like T-shirts, koozies and…
Citizen Pie Roman Café Now Open on E. Fourth Street
Update: With waves of businesses closing permanently or temporarily due to COVID-19, a rare and welcome opening has arrived in downtown Cleveland. Citizen Pie Roman Cafe is now slinging Roman-style pizza on East 4th street. “It is focaccia-ish, but it’s not bready at all,” chef Vytauras Sasnauskas says of the style. “It’s light as a cloud…
Cleveland Native Wins Red Bull’s New Songwriting Competition
Red Bull has just announced that Ramii, a producer who grew up in Cleveland, has won The Cut, its new songwriting series. Hosted by multi-platinum record producer and DJ OG Parker, The Cut features 18 unsigned songwriters and producers who pair up to compete for a publishing deal with Red Bull Songs. Contestants must create…
Ohio Ranks in Top 10 States for Speed of Coronavirus Response
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton (and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted) have placed the state within the top 10 in the nation in terms of quickest government reaction times to the coronavirus crisis, according to the financial site Finder. Finder’s report ranks how all 50 state governments responded…
The Only (Yes, Only) Theater Showing First-Run Movies in America Right Now is a Florida Drive-In
There’s only one theater in America showing first-run movies right now, and to get there you’re gonna have to drive your car to Ocala, Florida then park it at the local drive-in located at 4850 S. Pine Ave. Writer Ernie Smith took to Twitter on April 15 to say that, “We live in a world…
Savage Love: You Can’t Be a Good Husband to Her, But You Can Be A Decent Ex-Husband
I was raised in a religious home and didn’t lose my virginity until the embarrassing age of 26. I was told by the church to save it for marriage, and I was a virgin until I met the woman who would become my wife at a party. I said to hell with it — we…
Federal Judge Orders Release of Elderly and Medically Vulnerable Prisoners at Elkton
A Federal district court judge in Cleveland has granted an injunction requested by the ACLU of Ohio which compels officials at the Elkton Federal Correctional Institution to identify and release medically vulnerable inmates due to the spread of COVID-19. Judge James Gwin agreed that the threat of COVID-19, which has already claimed the lives of…
Rebuilding a More Equitable Economy in Northeast Ohio After the Pandemic
When he learned the covid-19 crisis would cause people to lose jobs and schools to close, Walt Patton called six close friends and got to work. They set up a volunteer distribution network at Friendly Inn and Garden Valley Neighborhood Home — social service agencies in the Central and Kinsman neighborhoods of Cleveland — delivering…
Greg Dulli Reschedules Beachland Ballroom Date for Sept. 15
Afghan Whigs singer Greg Dulli originally intended to embark on a spring tour in support of his terrific new solo album, Random Desire. Due to coronavirus concerns, he had to scrap the dates, including a Beachland Ballroom gig. Earlier today, he announced rescheduled dates for the tour. He’s now slated to perform at the Beachland…
Ben Bebenroth Discusses the Death of Spice Kitchen and the Uncertain Future of Dining Out
What’s next for Cleveland restaurants? Don’t ask Ben Bebenroth of Spice, who answers that question with the confession: “I’m lost, and I’m okay with being lost for now.” Five weeks ago, Bebenroth made the decision to permanently shutter Spice Kitchen, his widely acclaimed farm-to-table bistro in Detroit Shoreway and the face of a thriving culinary…
Rewind: 47 Years Ago This Week, Scene Interviewed Peter Gabriel
This July, Cleveland Scene will turn 50 years old, and in advance of the occasion, we’ve decided to dig into the archives on a weekly basis to republish something that appeared in the paper on that date (or thereabouts) during Scene’s first decade. This interview by Crocus Behemoth (Pere Ubu’s David Thomas) with Genesis frontman…
Texas Lt. Governor: ‘There Are More Important Things Than Living’; Ohio State Rep: “Death is Inevitable”
You’ve got to give Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick credit for staying on message — even when a lot of people think his message is nuttier than a goddamned PayDay bar. After drawing national derision last month for telling Fox News that elderly people should be willing to die during the pandemic to save the…
Cleveland Reports 28 New Cases of COVID-19, Five New Deaths, Largest Single-Day Increases Yet
Cleveland’s Department of Public Health reported 28 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the city Tuesday, accompanied by five new resident deaths. These are the largest single-day totals in both categories since the first two cases of the virus were confirmed in Cleveland on March 14. The city now has 475 cases total, with 18…
Why Did Michigan Get Hit By the Coronavirus Harder Than Ohio?
As Ohio cautiously looks toward restrictions being eased in May, Scene’s sister paper in Detroit this week looked at why that state has seen far more death and devastation than its neighbors. The answers experts are finding are informing how Michigan, and Ohio, may move forward. The coronavirus was rapidly spreading across the U.S., with…
Cuyahoga County Public Library to Layoff or Furlough More Than 300
The Cuyahoga County Public Library system will layoff or furlough the entirety of its contract and seasonal workforce to prepare for a projected $5 million budget shortfall due to the coronavirus pandemic. More than 300 staff members will be laid off or furloughed, according to a statement by the regional library system Wednesday. Additionally, the…
Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center Tests New Treatment to Try to Prevent Ventilator Need in COVID-19 Patients
The Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center has launched a new clinical trial for COVID-19 patients. It is the first in the state to use continuously pulsed inhaled nitric oxide to try to prevent the progression of respiratory disease “in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19-related pneumonia,” says a release. The goal is to keep…
