Katy Perry’s parents bring hope, joy & love to Cleveland
What’s a nice Christian girl doing in a place like this? While pop singer Katy Perry licks her wounds from her impending divorce from actor Russell Brand vacationing in Hawaii, her parents booked a getaway to the chillier climes of Northeastern Ohio. Keith and Mary Hudson, evangelical pastors who work under the banner of Keith…
Dimora Judge Blocks Media from Live Tweeting
We’re gonna miss that scruff. It’s day one in the Trial of the Century — at least the local one not featuring a serial killer. All kidding aside, today former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora steps into a federal courthouse in Akron to face charges that he was the dark star anchoring a system of…
Obama gives Ohio’s Rich Cordray a recess appointment
The rumors started to fly yesterday, and today they were confirmed: President Obama is using executive recess appointment powers to appoint former Ohio Attorney General Rich Cordray to head the newly created Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. He’s expected to make the formal announcement this afternoon when he speaks at Shaker Heights High School. Republicans had…
Mark Nolan Leaving WKYC
Goodbye, sweet handsome rich prince. It is with sadness that we pass on the news that Mark Nolan, dreamy dream Channel 3 anchor, will be leaving the station in the coming months. Forecast: 95% chance of misty eyes. MediaBistro confirmed with Nolan that he will let his contract, which technically ends on March 14, run…
Tweet Police: Ohio GOP Says Obama and Brown Playing “Hide and Seek”, or Something Like That
Words — kind of important, politically speaking. Even though it’s on Twitter, it still has to make sense. Now that we’re in the sweet spot of the political season, both parties have rolled up their sleeves for the usual rhetorical fisticuffs. A kind of lower life form on this stage of battle is the lobs…
Rolling Stone’s New Cover Boys: The Black Keys
Former Akronites turned Nashvillians the Black Keys are on the cover of the new issue of Rolling Stone, which comes out on Friday. Among some of the things we learned from the excerpt now online: —Drummer Patrick Carney is engaged to someone named Emily. —Even though he recently moved to Nashville, he rents a place…
Man Arrested for DUI After Cops Track Footprints in the Snow
If we have three main beats here at Scene, they are as follows: Michael Stanley, moms who get DUIs with kids in the car, and criminals caught because of footprints in the snow. Sure, there are other areas that fill up our reporters’ notebooks, but those make up the majority of the wheelhouse. Which brings…
Forbes: University Circle is Pretty
We like lists, particularly when something about Cleveland or C-town itself makes a list. This week, University Circle made Forbes’ list of the ten prettiest neighborhoods in the U.S. In addition to all the culture in the circle, the magazine mentions high-end food and the “cool mishmash of people.” And University Circle is in good…
And Now, G. Love Singing About Hot Sauce Williams
Why not? We’re going to take baby steps into this real work week. A side of collards and a Polish Boy really helps.
Nina Turner leaves the field
In case you were tuning out the news during the holiday weekend, one big local story was dumped into the news purgatory of a Friday before a holiday weekend: state senator Nina Turner dropped her challenge to incumbent congresswoman Marcia Fudge in the 11th district Democratic primary. Since the eastern Cuyahoga district is overwhelmingly Democratic,…
Santa Got Drunk for Christmas
A little reminder from the Lakewood police blotters on Patch that not even Saint Nick himself is immune to the tempting tidings of liquor during the workday. Here’s to Santa’s designated driver, a hero who tackled no small feat in navigating the sled and reindeer (aka: the pick-up truck) while Mr. Claus took a nip.…
Top Ten Scene & Heard Stories From 2011
Top ten. Morning Cleveland, and Happy New Year. If we can extrapolate from years past, your probably doing your best right now to navigate a rough patch here, desperately mainlining caffeine, trying to chemically spark some workday enthusiasm on this, the Worst Monday Morning of All Monday Mornings, 2012 Edition (even though the calendar says…
Pic of the Day: Gordon Park, 1908
Who doesn’t love some good history porn? (Via Shorpy and Reddit)
Happy New Year from all of us at Scene
We don’t know what kind of year you had — we hope it was a good one. But we hope you have an even better 2012. We know there will most likely be less rain since this past year set a record — but we have a torrent of political ads to look forward to…
New Year’s Day Eye-Opener
Bella Sin shakes her assets Everybody’s got a party going on New Year’s Eve, but January 1 is typically a little dead. If you’re one of those people who likes to keep the party going, head on over to the Beachland Ballroom to see check out some of Northeast Ohio’s burgeoning array of burlesque talent.…
Gov. Kasich puts Ohio on Politico’s 2011 “blunder” list
2011’s biggest gubernatorial screw-up? Governor John Kasich has gone above and beyond the call of duty in putting Ohio in the national spotlight in his first year in office. Unfortunately, it’s been mostly for things like this: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70882.html Politico’s “Top 10 political blunders of 2011” devotes nine slots to national political snafus and the slapstick…
Creep of The Week: Two-Time Sexual Offender Caught With 9-Year-Old Girl in Kent
Ewww. If you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution to keep, here’s a good one: Sign up to receive sexual offender alerts from your county sheriff’s department. These will tell you what types of miscreants are travelling your hood and you’ll even know their names and what they look like. A 51-year-old Ravenna man who…
A Greenhouse Grows in Cleveland
It’s been a year since Tim Smith launched Community Greenhouse Partners at the former St. George Catholic Church at East 67th and Superior. He brought with him ambitious plans and projected an ambitious budget of more than a million dollars. The only thing Greenhouse Partners was missing: a greenhouse. But not anymore. With the cost…
The Quality of Cleveland Life Report
Drinking & Driving Up Overtime Pay: State Highway Patrol to step up police presence on New Year’s Eve. The move contradicts evidence that extra patrols are necessary around the holidays, but confirms reports that Ohio excels at buying shit nobody needs. Holster the Colt?: Browns won’t rule out QB Colt McCoy playing Sunday against the…
Occupy Cleveland Gets an Office
Occupy Cleveland has no intention of giving up its tent village on Public Square, but it has succumbed to the corporate trappings of a real office. The group moved into rented space in the City Club building about two weeks ago and plans to throw a public office-warming party as soon as security issues are…
Updated: Florida Gets Acquainted With Ohio’s Master of Charter School Disaster
The tale of Mark Thimmig is a reminder that not all Ohioans who depart for Florida leave in search of fruity drinks and leathery skin. Some simply seek new marks for their scam. From 2001 to 2005, Thimmig was the CEO of White Hat Management, the outfit that runs one of the country’s largest for-profit…
We Get Mail
Drink Up or Shut Up Distributor strong-arm tactics? No, it’s brand loyalty [“Christmas Ale Cabal,” December 7, 2011]. Why should these cherrypicking bars get access to the most demanded product when they don’t push the Great Lakes brand the rest of the year? If you want the golden eggs, feed the fucking goose. By the…
Film Capsules
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (R) — David Fincher’s thrilling take on the first chapter of the Millennium Trilogy doesn’t reinvent the story of an investigative journalist who gets involved with a pierced and tattooed troublemaker, but it does cast it in a new, eye-opening light. The plot remains the same: Writer Mikael Blomkvist…
Drink of the Week
When it comes time to toast the New Year, a classic cocktail always seems so deliciously urbane. And what could be more classic than a flip — a punchy blend of spirits topped with a head of frothy egg white? At Crop Bistro, the Ohio City Flip ($11) is all that and more: a powerful…
Flawed Perfection
We took some time out from our week-long egg nog binge to poll Scene’s movie writers on their favorite flicks of the year. After a very complicated and totally scientific process that involved high-powered calculators and banana-fueled monkeys working around the clock, we came up with the Top 10 movies of 2011. Don’t even think…
The Envelope, Please
The good news is the world didn’t end in 2011. The bad news is that the doomsayers now are gearing up for annihilation in 2012. If life as we know it is headed down the crapper, we might as well crack open that 60-year-old Macallan single malt and consider the best (and worst) of what…
Local Band in Focus
Meet the Artist: The singer-songwriter often plays solo, but when she does full gigs, she calls on former Odd Girl Out bandmates Victoria Fliegel (guitar), Brian Bretton (drums), and Chris deHaas or Derek Poindexter (bass). Something to Talk About: Antes’ first performance was when she was five or six years old at Red Horse Hollow,…
Rust Belt Never Sleeps
The biggest music news to come out of Cleveland in 2011 had to do with a skinny white rapper who likes to stir up trouble for suburban mall cops. After two popular mixtapes and a handful of buzz-worthy festival performances, Machine Gun Kelly signed a record deal with Diddy’s label at Interscope. His debut album…
Order Up!
Like a burbling pot of paprikash, Cleveland’s 2011 dining scene was constantly in motion. Old spots shut down, new spots popped up, and chefs fluttered between venues like picnic napkins in a summer breeze. In other words, it was pretty much business as usual. Here’s a look back at some of the high points. A…
What They’re Having
Northeast Ohio is awash with great watering holes, so where and what we choose to drink has a way of saying a little something about us. Blue-collar bars, exotic smoothie shops, gingerbread bistros, neighborhood pubs — Cleveland has ’em all. But what’s your ideal destination for good atmosphere, fine drink, and fun times? We decided…
CD Review: Zach and the Bright Lights
(zachmusic.net) John Mayer’s insensitive blowups have left a surprisingly large void in Nice Guy Rock. So why can’t this veteran singer-songwriter fill it? On his 14th album, Northeast Ohio softie songsmith Zach and his Bright Lights sound like they deserve the place in the sun that Blessid Union of Souls and Shawn Mullins momentarily enjoyed.…
Get Out!
Thursday | 29 Fresh Air Skate, Sled, and Play at Akron’s Lock 3 Take a spin on Ohio’s largest seasonal ice-skating rink. Zip down a 150-foot sledding hill. Then check out the exhibits of Akron-made pottery and playthings at the American Toy & Marble Museum. That’s just some of the fun you’ll find at Lock…
2011: The Year We Did Not Suck
It’s easy to get caught up in the dreary headlines and bitter economic news that seem to dominate our particular corner of the galaxy these days. We’re here to remind you that there’s also plenty to be thankful for throughout our own humble burg — signs of life, signs of growth, and signs of prosperity…
Concert Calendar
Mushroomhead We can’t think of a better way to celebrate the new year than to dress up like it’s Halloween and spread a little mayhem around town. Mushroomhead will help say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012 this weekend with a potent dose of alternative metal at their annual Old School Christmas Show at…
On View This Week
At 1point618 Gallery: Identity, Society, Etc. The unique patterns on our hands are markers of individuality: reminders of the uniqueness literally at our fingertips. At the same time, superstition attributes the power to forecast destiny to them. In her Blueprints exhibition at 1point618 Gallery, CSU professor Qian Li takes inspiration from both notions. She uses…
Stay In!
VIDEO Design for Living (Criterion) Ernst Lubitsch’s pre-code comedy makes its Blu-ray debut, and it’s still as funny and spicy as it was in 1933. Three Americans in Paris (Fredric March, Gary Cooper, and Miriam Hopkins) enter an open relationship that gets bumpy once the woman in the middle must choose between a playwright and…
Savage Love
Dear Dan: Three months ago, I started a fuck-buddy relationship with an old friend. As we are both not seeking a serious romance, I thought it would be a good idea. My assumption was that the relationship was “open.” But when I asked him how he’d feel about me dating another guy, he got defensive…
At the Arthouse
Blind Shaft The art museum’s week-long holiday film festival featuring recent Chinese movies continues with this 2003 thriller about two coal miners who hatch a plan to kill a co-worker, make it look like an accident, then collect cash from their boss to keep it quiet. Cleveland Museum of Art’s Morley Lecture Hall. At 1:30…
