Pic of the Day: O-H-I-O Snowmen
That takes some skilled snow architecture. (Via the Chronicle Telegram)
Tim Hagan’s History With Metro
With Tim Hagan recently landing a plum job as a senior advisor with MetroHealth Medical Center, it’s worth looking back at the longtime county commissioner’s history with the county-owned, publicly funded facility. As commissioner, Hagan appointed trustees to the hospital’s board and helped run levy campaigns that fund it. If such support greased the wheels…
Med Mart Tenants Big on Furniture, Not So Much on Medical Technology
Cleveland’s Medical Mart project, touted as the nation’s future showcase for cutting-edge health-care innovation, is coming along nicely — as long as you consider aromatherapy and comfortable office chairs to preside on the cutting edge. During groundbreaking festivities last Friday, project developer MMPI shared a list of 58 companies planning to lease space when the…
The Quality of Cleveland Life Index
You’re Over the Hump A British psychologist used math to declare the third Monday in January the singularly most depressing day of the year. You not only survived that, but also every Browns Sunday from September to January. Touch That Dial! Rumors have WKNR sports talker Tony Rizzo shifting away from his weekday-morning slot. To…
Pic of the Day: The Pain Dealer
A friend of the paper took this picture awhile back and only recently got around to sharing it. We love it on approximately 17 different levels.
John Kasich Declares March 17 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
New Ohio Governor John Kasich has apparently confused St. Patrick’s Day with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, at least that’s what this proclamation, declaring March 17, 2011 as MLK Day, seems to indicate. Plunderbund pulled this from the Governor’s site and saved a screengrab, which is helpful because Kasich has since pulled the incorrect document.…
New Ohio Parks Boss: Drill Baby, Drill?
Eying the Emerald Neckless? You can really size up the state’s budget woes when the bureaucrats start considering drilling in the state parks, a cash grab that really gets a lot of brows furrowed. But, hey, it’s 2011 and China and Oprah are the only ones not leaning on the McDonald’s $1 menu to get…
Brother Stabs Sister in Face in Backseat Fight
It’s all fun and games until someone pulls a knife. Brothers and sister fighting in the backseat of a car while the parents pull their hair out in the front and threaten to pull the car over right now — we’ve all been there. What makes this sibling squabble different? For one, the children weren’t…
80 Stranded When Ski Lift Fails
That’s probably not what we meant by “stuck on a ski lift,” but whatever. A ski lift at Alpine Valley in Munson Township had a little hiccup Saturday afternoon and stranded 80 people dangling on their chairs about 30 feet above the ground for three hours until authorities could wrangle them down. No one was…
Late-Term Abortion Ban Could Come to Ohio
The Republican-dominated Ohio House will consider a bill that would ban abortions after 24 weeks, or 22 weeks if the fetus is “viable.” It would also allow exceptions “if the physical health of the woman is at serious risk but specifies that does not include a condition related to the woman’s mental health.” House Bill…
Pic of the Day: Lego Ohio Stadium
Columbus Dispatch Paul Janssen spent two years building this intense Lego replica of Ohio Stadium. The final tallies for the awesome Horseshoe: 1 million Legos, 8 feet by 6 feet, over 1000 hours, seating for 6000 Lego people, and years of planning and acquiring the necessary pieces before he even began construction. Read the whole…
Woman Receives Three Speeding Tickets in One Hour
“Didn’t I just pull you over?” One speeding ticket? It happens to everyone eventually. No biggie. Some immediately go back to driving in excess of posted speed limits because that’s just how they drive; some might temporarily be more inclined to slow it down. Now, if in less than an hour from your first citation,…
Mike Trivisonno Has a Message for Tony Rizzo
Mike Trivisonno had that to say on Twitter today about the long-rumored but still not official move of Tony Rizzo from the 9 to noon morning slot on ESPN 850 WKNR to the afternoon drive-time slot, where he will go head-to-head with Triv, the long-standing ratings king of the afternoon. This could get fun.
Men Demand Everyone Get Naked After Cell Phone Goes Missing
Losing a cell phone can be a stressful experience. You’re disconnected from the world, you lose a bunch of numbers for people you may or may not care about, and there’s a strong chance that if someone finds your cell, those nudie pictures will be on the internet post-haste. But that does not give you…
Morning Brew: ‘Take Shelter’ at Sundance, Frozen Pier, Stolen Puppies, and a Bartender Gets Punched
Good morning, Cleveland. Here’s some stuff to read while you give the bartender the evil eye after she tells you to stop eating the free popcorn. — Two men stole a puppy from a pet store. While we don’t condone stealing, there’s a solid chance the puppy will have a better life with the criminals…
Map: The First Internet
Via Gizmodo, here is a map of the first internet. The year was 1972 and the “internet,” which was actually called ARPANET, connected the Pentagon and various universities, including Case Western.
Craig Balzer, 1970s Cleveland Rock Catalyst, Dies From Cancer at 61
Craig Balzer, left, with December’s Children. Guitarist and singer Craig Balzer, a sparkplug of Cleveland’s music scene in the ’70s, died January 7 of cancer at the age of 61. He fronted American Noise, which released a self-titled album in 1980 on Elektra subsidiary Planet Records and became a WMMS favorite and spearhead of its…
Craigslist Ad of the Day: Old Straight Guy Seeks Young Lesbian With Wife and Ferret
If anyone can help out this old straight guy in his search for the young lesbian with a wife and ferret, he’d probably appreciate it. Britney with the ferret – m4w (Cleveland westside) I feel so stupid doing thisI am the ugliest guy you ever met and oldand you are the prettiest gal I have…
First Look: Washington Place Bistro
Despite my job title and description, I don’t take pleasure in criticizing restaurants. I fully comprehend the tremendous amount of time, money, passion, and toil that go into serving a single meal at a new establishment. That is precisely why I don’t race to be the first person to offer a public opinion of a…
Pic of the Day: The Moment Cleveland’s Fortunes Changed
Did you feel a wave of optimism flutter over you at 11 a.m. this morning, Cleveland? Because you may remember this time and date as the exact moment when your fortunes turned. In dueling exhibitions of ceremony, the Cleveland Browns announced Pat Shurmur as the new head coach at 11 and a bunch of people…
Ohio Mayor Sexts Underage Teens
It probably looked like this, except with, ya know, a penis and not a thumb. Chris Barringer, the mayor of Bairdstown, OH, is facing a heap of trouble after investigators say he sent pictures of his penis to a 13-year-old boy, a 17-year-old boy, and possibly others. And, to make it worse, if that’s even…
State Republicans Seek to Change “Eyeball” Speeding Law
Would you trust her to judge how fast you’re going? It wasn’t that long ago that courts ruled that cops were legally permitted to pull drivers over and issue speeding tickets without verifying speeds by radar. Currently, if a police officer thinks your pedal is too close to the metal, that’s good enough to turn…
Ohio Guns Sales Spike After Tucson Tragedy
Nothing quite like a senseless tragedy to send Americans sprinting toward the gun stores. In the wake of the shootings in Arizona, gun sales have surged across the country. Arizona saw a 60% increase, which makes sense both because Arizona is a veritable Wild West of gun enthusiasts and because citizens there witnessed the carnage…
Map: Ohio Abortion Rates
CBSNews.com compiled abortion rates by state and made a fancy map. Ohio falls in the bottom half.
Morning Brew: TVs Pulled From Police Station, Heroin Bust, Counterfeiting at a Motel 6, and an Interim CEO for Cleveland Schools
Good morning, Cleveland. Here’s some stuff to read while you raise your voice over the din of Judge Judy to try and get the cop’s attention.— The Elyria police chief has yanked TVs from common areas in the department over concerns they were becoming a distraction to the cops. He said if cops want to…
Man Offers $5,000 Bribe To Get Out of DUI
Our favorite police blotter item of the day, from the land of North Olmsted: DRUNK DRIVING, FITCH ROAD: A habitual drunk driver tried to bribe a tow truck driver to pull his car out of a ditch Jan. 7 after crashing his vehicle on an icy road. The tow operator called police after the suspect…
OU Greenlights Coed Housing
Coed roomies, school sanctioned at last. Well, it’s happened. Way back in October, we told you about Ohio University’s tentative plans to let guys and gals share the same dorm room, a social experiment dubbed (cue the drum roll) “gender-neutral housing.” At the time, critics were worried such a set up would be a one-way…
Cleveland Man Talks About Surviving Gunshot to Head
Jory Aebly was one of the two men shot execution-style near E. 12th by robbers back in 2009. His friend, Jeremy Pechanec, died. Aebly not only survived, but has enjoyed a miraculous recovery. With the tragic shooting of Congresswoman Giffords, MSNBC talks to Aebly and others who have survived gunshots to the head. Nearly two…
And Yet Another Criminal Caught Because of Footprints in the Snow
Hopefully he was wearing a jacket when he was out in the snow. Chronicling criminals collared because of footprints in the snow has been among our favorite pastimes of the dark, cold months. We have another entry. 19 Action News Reports: 22-year-old Lex Cole was arrested around 4:30AM Thursday morning. Police were called to the…
Pic of the Day: Prettying Up Cleveland’s Dead Storefronts
Fresh Water Cleveland has a nice little piece on a group dedicated to livening up the dead storefronts in downtown Cleveland with art. That may be how this movie begins, but Robert Carillio and Joan Smith aim to change how it ends. They are the dynamic duo behind Cleveland Storefront Art, a small but mighty…
Churches Not Just Window Dressing
By Kathy Ewing Despite the closing of over 30 Catholic churches in the city of Cleveland, “the Church” does still remain in the city—in the form of surviving Catholic parishes, the many mosques and Protestant churches who haven’t left, and the volunteers and city residents who work to make Cleveland a better place. To assert…
Campbell’s Popcorn Shop Set for Expansion
Campbell’s Popcorn Shop (216-574-2899, campbellsweets.com) is about to explode. Since 2004, Jeff Campbell has operated his uber-popular popcorn and confections business from his wee stand at the West Side Market. But come late spring, he will have all the room he needs to continue expanding his business. That’s when he’ll open a roomy retail shop…
Morning Brew: LeBron Faces Karma, New Browns Coach, Wrong Way Driver, and Rehab for the Golden Voice
Karma is in fact a bitch. Good morning, Cleveland. Here’s some stuff to read while you debate whether to tempt karma by cheering LeBron’s misfortune. — So the Cavs lost by a gazillion to the Lakers, LeBron tweeted that “Karma is a bitch,” claimed it wasn’t about the Cavs after the fact, then went out…
Man Claims He Didn’t Realize He Was Having Sex With a Dead Woman
No matter how badly you think your romantic partner performs in bed, and even if you compare him/her to a dead fish, it’s still hard to miss all the signs that they are technically alive. If you’re not one of those sickos into necrophilia, then those vitals — breathing, warmth, heart beat, etc. — are…
FYI: You Can Not Dress a Deer on the Side of the Road
If you find a dead deer in Ohio, you’re more than welcome to reap the bounty of your score if you’d like. There’s nothing like a little venison chili when it’s this cold outside, so if you’re not queasy about dressing the deer yourself, or if you know someone who’ll do it for you, a…
Rebecca and Steve Warden, No Criminal Masterminds, Run Long Scam on Bank
Had the Wardens’ rolled like this, they would at least gotten a book deal out of it. Sometimes a scheme can be so incredibly simpleminded — so blatantly obvious it could have been cooked-up over rounds of juice boxes on a chalkboard by a gang of precocious third graders — that it works beautifully. For…
Video: Black Keys Stump for Stephen Colbert’s Grammy Vote
The Black Keys squared off against the lead singer from Vampire Weekend last night on the Colbert Report in a debate on which band’s songs were used in more commercials. The winner would get Colbert’s support. Enjoy. The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c <td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'MeTunes – Grammy Vote…
Cutting Coffee and Newspapers Will Not Save Lorain’s Budget
Tom Williams, noted penny pincher. Public officials are still adjusting to the pauper lifestyle most cities are forced to live these days. Declining tax bases, rising deficits, and perpetual budget problems are forcing them to cut expenditures and look for spare dough. You may joke that they’re looking for loose change under the couch cushions,…
Carjacker Tosses Baby Into Snow
You would think even the most hardened car thief would take pause if, in the process of a carjacking, he finds a unattended toddler in the car. Not Jose Quiros Collazo, an Ashtabula man who not only didn’t let the child quell his desire for the vehicle, but decided to dispose of a 1-year-old kid…
LeBron James Revels in Cavs’ Historic Loss
LeBron James wants you to know that karma is a bitch. Following the Cavs’ historic 112-57 loss the Lakers, this is what King James had this to say on Twitter.
Carnegie Kitchen and Dining Opening in Old Juniper Grille Spot
Despite the fact that Verve lasted just one year at the former Juniper Grille spot on Carnegie, there was no shortage of interest in the available restaurant. Well, consider the space officially “off the market.” As soon as January 24, Carnegie Kitchen and Dining (1332 Carnegie Ave.) will be open for business. Operated by chef-owner…
Morning Brew: Historic Cavs Loss, Mayor Gets Water Shut Off, Couple Caught With Pot, and More Golden Voice Guy
Sexy. Good morning, Cleveland. Here’s some stuff to read while you whip out a stack of dollar bills and pose like a badass. — Police found a half pound of pot in the car of a Norton couple after they were pulled over for weaving. They also found this picture showing Lonnie Morris posing with…
Some Assembly Required
There is no question that Battery Park Wine Bar makes a wonderful addition to its up-and-coming corner near the Gordon Square Arts District. But whether it fits the classic definition of a “wine bar” is largely up for debate. Industrial to the core, scantily decorated, and occasionally boisterous, this is no cozy wine cave, to…
On View This Week
Poster Boys Two Cleveland artists put the pop! in rock. You know those great rock-show posters and fliers you’ve seen around town for the past 15 years? Chances are that John G. or Jake Kelly was behind them. The two artists have created more than 1,800 such posters, most of which are on display now…
CD Review: Ciara
Why so angry, Ciara? The R&B singer kicks off her fourth album with a song all about the haters, which seems a little out of place in her usually smooth, sexy world. Things pick up with the slow-grooving “Ride,” clubby “Gimme Dat,” and the retro soul-pop of “Heavy Rotation.” Still, Ciara strips down parts of…
CD Review: Cage the Elephant
Cage the Elephant’s self-titled 2009 debut was filled with lots of greasy countrified rawk, served with steaming sides of fat bottom end and hard-rock brio. But besides the catchy Rock/Alternative Top 10 single “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” it’s not a very memorable record. The Kentucky band’s second album, Thank You, Happy Birthday, widens…
CD Review: R. Kelly
R. Kelly drops the freaky shit on his 10th album, settling instead into the role of a smooth old-school R&B singer for grown-up lovers. And he slides into it comfortably. With the subject matter toned down, Love Letter mostly falls back on Kelly’s basic vocal, production, and songwriting talents, all of which are on strong…
CD Review: Ghostface Killah
Ghostface Killah’s last album, 2009’s Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City, confused the rap vanguard, who called it an R&B experiment even though the Wu-Tang Clan’s most reliable rhymer didn’t sing on it. Simply put, hip-hop fans don’t like change. So here’s Apollo Kids, an entire album based on the popular 2000 cut of…
At the Arthouse
Carlos This biopic about terrorist/revolutionary Carlos the Jackal is one of 2010’s most acclaimed movies. It originally aired as a three-part, five-and-a-half-hour TV miniseries. The Cinematheque is showing the 166-minute theatrical cut that snagged so much praise last year. It’s a stunning piece, charting the rise and fall of the charismatic Venezuelan at the center…
Home Movies
Once Upon a Time in America: Special Edition (Warner) In 1984, director Sergio Leone (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly) returned after a 13-year hiatus with this breathtaking epic about Jewish gangsters. He made up for lost time: His masterpiece spans a huge chunk of the 20th century and runs nearly four hours. Robert…
On Stage This Week
Altar Boyz: Produced by Beck Center, Altar Boyz is an irreverent parody of pop music told by way of five musical heartthrobs trying to save the world, one fan at a time. January 13 though 30 at the Hanna Theatre, 2067 East 14th St. Tickets $10-$39.50; call 216-241-6000 or visit playhousesquare.org. Backwards in High Heels:…
Stay In
TOP PICK – CD Jayhawks reissues (American/Legacy) These two albums by the popular roots rockers — 1992’s breakthrough Hollywood Town Hall and 1995’s follow-up, Tomorrow the Green Grass — feature the band at its purest. Hall, their best album, includes five bonus tracks; Grass gets a whole extra disc filled with “The Mystery Demos,” 18…
Bunny Slope
Rabbit Hole is a tough sell. It’s based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play, not a hit video game or comic book. (Goodbye, teen viewers!) The two leads — Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart — are best known as actors, not stars who put asses in theater seats. Plus, the subject matter — a middle-class couple…
Choice Concert Picks
Bayside Bayside aren’t the first band to whine about how much they hate the way you make them feel. And they’re not the first group of Christian rockers to shred away the post-hardcore blues either. But for all of their whining and shredding — not to mention their occasional neo-classical pretensions — Bayside often land…
We Get Mail
The Bonus Round of Sucking Pretty sad that Larry Dolan is charging $27.50 for two hours of fun at kids’ expense [“Indians Losing Money on Snow Days,” at the Scene & Heard blog]. Most parents are working-class folks who cannot afford to take two children and themselves at $110. That’s grocery money for their families.…
Local Band in Focus
Meet the Band: Bassist-singer Aaron Dallison, guitarist Dana Embrose, drummer Will Scharf, and guitarist-singer Chris Smith History: The guys have been playing together since the early ’90s, but Keelhaul didn’t officially form until 1998. What They Do: Keelhaul play a dense, punishing, and mostly instrumental hybrid of hardcore and metal. Who They Sound Like: Isis,…
Tale of the Tape
You’ve probably noticed that vinyl records aren’t just for snobby purists anymore. Watch David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, or even Jay Leno (if you must), and you’ll see them hold up an old-school vinyl record rather than a CD when they bring out musical guests these days. Now that the vinyl trend has moved out of…
CD Review: Vice Verses
The second album from the Kent-based hip-hop trio Vice Verses is all about “music as movement.” So you’ll find plenty of socially conscious rhymes here, as they take aim at consumer culture (“Back to the Basics”) and the environment (“Drop One”). While the grooves are low-key, Vice Verses aren’t a particularly subtle group — more…
Blue Collar Rhymes
Freddie Gibbs isn’t a hashtag MC, punch-line rhymer, or a lyrical samurai. And his hip-hop isn’t a place for stand-up comedy routines. You won’t find one skit on his breakout mixtape from last year, Str8 Killa No Filla. This doesn’t mean the Gary, Indiana-bred rapper (who now lives in Los Angeles) doesn’t have a sense…
Get Out!
Thursday | 13 Top Pick: Altar Boyz at the Hanna Theatre Winner of the 2005 Outer Critics Circle award for best off-Broadway musical — and one of the longest-running shows in off-Broadway history — Altar Boyz opens tonight at the Hanna Theatre. A pointed parody of the world of pop, it tells the story of…
Product Placement
Born and raised in Shaker Heights, 25-year-old rapper Product A.D. lived in Northeast Ohio until he was 17. He now calls Atlanta home, but he hasn’t forgotten his roots. “I remember writing my first verse when I was 11 or 12,” he says. “At the time, I was listening to Bone. They influenced me a…
The Ballad of Beefcakes Bickel
Strongsville’s already been swallowed up by nightfall. It’s early December, and the temperature is flirting with the teens. With rush hour shelved for the day and dinnertime done, the storefront monotony of Pearl Road is closed up for the starless, moonless night — all except for Cleats Club Seat Grille, tonight’s unlikely setting for a…
Bites: Crop Move Delayed
When entrepreneur Henry Leui moved to Asiatown seven years ago, the neighborhood was very different. “A lot of the buildings were boarded up, there were homeless people on the streets, and nobody came out on the weekends. Even I felt scared,” he says. Fast forward seven years, and things have never looked better for this…
Film Capsules
Blue Valentine Blue Valentine (NC-17) – This portrait of a relationship’s beginning and end has a gift for realizing and capturing the unvarnished slivers of everyday life. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams possess the subtle intelligence and controlled bravery to realize the two lead characters as utterly fallible human beings. The movie cuts between a…
Northeast Ohio Beer Sampler Held Up By Government
You ahead, you know you want to. The Holy Ark of all area beer drinkers has been caught in a web of government red tape for months now, but, hopefully, fingers crossed, Hail Mary Full of Grace, the stuff might be on shelves soon. The backstory (according to Crain’s Cleveland Business): 12 Northeast Ohio breweries…
