UPDATE: Christmas Grinch Steals Salvation Army Donations
The Grinch has been caught. On Wednesday, Jeffrey L. Gregg, 55, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft in Painesville. Detectives used surveillance videos to catch Gregg, who made off with an estimated $300 to $500. Gregg has no permanent address, and has been sleeping in his car. It is unclear whether or not he received coal…
Internet Troll From Mansfield Busted By Feds For Child Pornography After Tormenting Girl For Three Years (updated with 911 call)
Michael Kisling, 24, pressured an eighth-grader from Wisconsin to send naked pictures then hacked into her facebook to post them when she did. Pictures of Kisling are from his Facebook and Youtube accounts. *** Update ***Scene obtained the 911 call Michael Kisling placed in Sprinfield, Ohio, to turn himself in after he ran out of…
Elias Acevedo Agrees to Plea Deal in Murder, Rape Cases
Acevedo Elias Acevedo pleaded out three cases of murder and rape today. He was in court facing charges of kidnapping, rape and murder of Pamela Pemberton and Christina Adkins (in 1994 and 1995, respectively). He also faced dozens of unrelated charges of kidnapping and rape. The plea agreement totals 445 years in prison. That prison…
Ohio Lawmakers Raise State’s Minimum Wage (But Not Enough)
Good news, Ohio. In the new year, hourly workers will earn more money. Well, a little bit. Not enough for sure. Ohio is one of 13 states and four cities that will see an increase in the minimum wage in 2014. Hourly minimum wage will increase by 10 cents, to $7.95 per hour, for employees who…
Christmas Day Fight Over Apple Fritters Sends One Sister to Hospital, Another to Jail
There’s nothing new about family arguments around the holidays, but this year two Akron sisters took petty bickering to a whole new level, all because of apple fritters. Yes, you read that correctly. apple fritters. Apparently, the two sisters were “play fighting” over the fried pastries on Christmas night when things got heated. One of the sisters, Tamara D.…
Winter Escape: 750 ml Wines
In 2008, 750ml Wines opened in Akron (2287 W. Market St., 330-794-5754, 750mlwines.com), bringing the retail wine bar concept to that part of town. A few months back, owner Karla Walters expanded the concept to Brecksville (8309 Brecksville Rd., 440-526-8100), where business has been “overwhelmingly good,” she reports. Named after the quantity of wine in…
Rob Chudzinski Fired, but the Chud Muffins Were Exquisite
The Browns announced last night that they were firing head coach Rob Chudzinski after only one miserable season, and the news has been all over your various feeds today. The senselessness sort of speaks for itself. Chud will be given a gaudy $10.5 million severance package, and in some respects he’s escaping from under the…
30 Northeast Ohio Restaurants Still Accepting Last Minute New Year’s Eve Reservations
If it looks like you’ll be ringing in the new year from your couch, watching Drew Carey’s televised countdown and nursing a pack of leftover Christmas Ale, consider, at the very least, going out for a New Year’s Eve dinner. As of 9:30 a.m. today, there are at least 30 northeast Ohio restaurants still accepting…
Cleveland Beefs Up Downtown Security for New Year’s Eve Celebration
Photo Courtesy of Cleveland Police, Facebook As Clevelanders from east to west flock to the city center on Tuesday to usher in the new year, security in downtown Cleveland will get a bit of a boost. Police confirm they will be taking extra security precautions before and during this year’s New Year’s Eve celebration due,…
Night Ranger delivers ‘some real good American rock ‘n’ roll’ at Hard Rock Live
During a conversation with Scene for this week’s paper, Night Ranger bassist/vocalist Jack Blades made it very clear that the band was well-prepared for its upcoming Cleveland show. No matter what the weather conditions might be (and as it happened, things were actually pretty good for late December in Cleveland), he pledged that they would…
Top 10 Albums and Singles You Didn’t Hear in 2013
This past year saw some amazing outputs by lesser-known bands. While none of these groups have garnered as big of a following as, say, Kanye West, artistically they are reshaping the muscial culture. Whether it’s through remixes, video game soundtracks or even posthumous releases, these musicians challenged musical norms. 1. Thundercat, ApocalypsePart electronic, part funk,…
Bacchanalia Gourmet Market to Open in Lakewood
Since purchasing Grady’s Fine Wines in Rocky River almost three years ago, owner Manny Nieves has transformed the formerly sleepy little carry-out into a bustling neighborhood market. The chef and wine pro — he was the sommelier at the ultra-posh Classics restaurant — stocks every square inch of his west-side shop with the best beer,…
Basketball Coach Charged After “Butt Bumping” Spectator
We’d wager that this is the first time “butt bumping” has popped up in a North Ridgeville police report, and for that we are thankful. It seems Brian Chrosniak, basketball coach at St. Peter in North Ridgeville, took the art of fundamentals and lessons from the Round Mound of Rebound to a new level of…
Ethnic Gem: Taste of Europe Market
You likely have driven right by Taste of Europe’s inconspicuous Lakewood storefront (15512 Madison Ave., 216-521-9530) and not even noticed it. Located directly across the street from the popular Buckeye Beer Engine, the shop is run by Dafina Bedini, an Albanian proprietor who stocks an amazing variety of specialty European products desired by the wide…
JiBARO Food Truck Begets a Brick-and-Mortar Spot
Elvis Serrano launched his popular JiBARO food truck three years ago, dispensing gourmet-style tacos, burritos, pulled pork and Cubano sandwiches to an adoring following ever since. Starting January 6, he’ll become an easier target for his fans. Serrano signed a one-year deal to take over the cafeteria operations at the Carl B. Stokes Public Utilities…
Scene Podcast: The Best Movies of 2013
This week, host Craig Lyndall and Sam Allard discuss some of the year’s most critically acclaimed films as Sam labors to complete his annual Top 10 list for next week’s issue. They also weigh in on the 10 biggest box-office hits of the year and highlight some of the limited-release indie flicks you may have…
Whiskey Dogg to Bring Gourmet Hot Dogs and Hooch to N. Olmsted
Joe Kahn, owner of the popular Barrio taco shops in Tremont and Lakewood, is working with Joe Longo to reconcept the old 2nd Floor Lounge in N. Olmstead to the Whiskey Dogg (24532 Lorain Rd., 440-716-0825). Slated to open January 8, the “hot dog saloon” will specialize in gourmet hot dogs, craft beer and whiskey,…
Interview: The Sax Man of Cleveland
Many Clevelanders know of the “Sax Man” as a mainstay downtown, belting out songs on his saxophone, but few know more about him. A group of local filmmakers hope to change that after they put their finishing touches on a feature-length documentary on Maurice Reedus Jr. — the Sax Man’s real name — due out…
Former Indians’ Broadcaster Mike Hegan Dies at 71
Mike Hegan, the Cleveland Indians color commentator alongside Tom Hamilton for 14 years, died Tuesday morning in South Carolina, surrounded by family. Via the PD, Hegan’s health had been failing, but his death still came as a shock to Hamilton, who called Hegan “as good a broadcaster as anyone who has done the game of…
Q & A: Drew Carey on New Year’s Eve in Cleveland, the Browns, the Seattle Sounders, and Banishing Irrational Sports Hatred From His Heart
We chatted with Drew Carey about a bunch of things. Our conversation is below. Cleveland’s hometown, daytime TV guy will be in town to help ring in the new year on Public Square. We talked about that, but we mainly talked about sports and John Elway and the Price is Right. Enjoy. Scene: Hey, Drew.…
Ben Stiller comes up short with The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Actor Ben Stiller is well suited to play Walter Mitty, a daydreamer who often spaces out to the point that he neglects to pay attention to the physical world around him. Stiller has got the right amount of boyish charm, and he capably comes across as a nerd-do-well. (He’s certainly better at the role than…
Bubbles, a Buying Guide: How to Select a Bottle of Champagne
The only thing more intimidating than opening a bottle of champagne is buying one. That’s why folks like Kenneth Bement are in such high demand come the holiday season. For a quarter century he has dispensed a healthy dose of knowledge along with every bottle from his amazing Madison-based shop Wet Your Whistle (6663 N…
Rum: The Spirit That Used to be America’s Drink
Thanks in part to a never-ending supply of molasses and cane juice imported from sugar plantations in the West Indies, rum hit its high-water mark in the Americas in 1733, when consumption reached a staggering 3.75 imperial gallons per year for every man, woman and child. That year, Parliament taxed the molasses trade in an…
The Cleveland Bucket List
It happens with startling regularity. You’ll be talking with a family member or friend who’s lived in Cleveland their entire life, and you’ll bring up a quintessentially Cleveland event or place — say, the Rock Hall, or the Velvet Tango Room — and they’ll mention that they’ve never been. Huh? But? How? Why? Really? We…
Red Brings the Modern Steakhouse to Downtown Cleveland
Red, the Steakhouse might be the only restaurant in town with the balls to serve a $50 entree on a stark white plate without so much as a parsley sprig for embellishment. When you’re selling the best steaks in town, you neither need nor want anything – be it parsley, sliced tomato, your server –…
Shop Like a Chef at KJ Greens
Growing up, Jeremy Lisy’s family always tended a robust but small family garden, and he has fond memories of the intense flavor of freshly picked veggies with “good, old-fashioned sweetness and a lot of love” making their way from the backyard garden to the dinner plate. After working as a chef for a number of…
The Clit’s the Thing!
DEAR READERS — Sophia Wallace, the NYC-based conceptual artist behind the amazing Cliteracy project, was a guest on my podcast recently. During our chat, Wallace told me that a column I wrote years ago about the importance of the clit had a big impact on her as a teenager — in fact, she still had…
Annie is Back at the Beck Center, With the Songs You Love (Or Hate)
Do you really need to see Annie again, and hear once more that piping, dog-whistle tribute to procrastination in the signature song “Tomorrow”? That’s a rhetorical question; of course you need to see it. For one thing, it’s fun to watch Republicans in the audience squirm in their seats when President FDR extols the virtues…
CD Review: Instrusaurus
instrusaurus.com If the name Instrusaurus makes it sound like the guys in this band are a group of old-timers, well, that’s appropriate, because they are. Produced by Ronnie Silverman, a guy who’s old enough that he can claim to be an original member of the late, great James Gang when it first formed in 1966,…
Band of the Week: Aliver Hall
Meet the Band: Lance Ballard (drums), Jim Garibaldi (bass), Alex Hall (guitar, vocals) Jim Tauscher (guitar/vocals) Starting Small: After a stint of other musical projects, Hall and Garibaldi finally met up to begin Aliver Hall in 2010. Ballard would jump in with the band in 2012, and although he’s from the Cleveland area, the whole…
Review: The Wolf of Wall Street
The one thing you need to know about Martin Scorsese’s new film The Wolf of Wall Street, which opens everywhere Christmas Day, is that it’s a full blown party — and not just because of the drugs, sex, and money. It’s a party because its highs are highs and its lows are lows and ultimately…
Spotlight — Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Terrific acting aside, director Justin Chadwick’s new film, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, is laborious to watch, as if it were a take-home assignment for a college course in African studies. The film feels more like an academic biopic you should watch, rather than a Hollywood hit you choose to watch. Idris Elba stars as…
Keller Williams Brings the Freak and Funk to Cleveland
Lined up along a shelf, the Keller Williams’ canon forms an always-incomplete puzzle. Album titles like Bass, Kids, Dream, Laugh, Freek and plenty more mesh together, telling a tale of one man’s jagged journey into, as he’ll tell you, the land of the different. Bass — that’d be the album Williams spent fleshing out his…
Night Ranger Reflects On Its Cleveland Connection
The brand new Hard Rock Rocksino at Northfield Park is officially open for business and they’re kicking things off in style with musical entertainment from a few veteran bands and artists that have deep history with Cleveland. Joan Jett handled the official opening duties earlier this month with a hard rockin’ set that knocked a…
