Perry Nuclear Plant is Leaking, But it’s No Big Deal
The PD reports that a water sample outside the Perry nuclear power plant contained nearly double the concentration of Tritium, as regulated by Federal law. It’s just a minor leak, all the relevant officials have hastened to insist, and no other radioactive isotopes have been found anywhere else, including in the plant’s underground drainage system.…
Dispatches from Cuyahoga County’s Public Sin Tax Meeting
ERIC SANDY/SCENE Cleveland Journalism Hall of Famer Roldo Bartimole speaks publicly against the sin tax extension. Members of the public listened to impassioned pleas from Indians, Cavs and Browns’ top brass today. The sports management leaders, in short, want to continue the running tap of tax dollars to rehab their stadiums. The teams’ reps rattled…
Desperate Cleveland Browns Fan Posts Bid for Coaching Position on Craigslist
A desperate Browns fan has posted a bid for the new coaching position on Craiglist. His pick? Himself. Despite having never played more than Madden and a little pickup football, this chap thinks he’s more qualified than the other fogies the team’s head honchos have been interviewing (he may be right). His other attributes include…
Board of Zoning Appeals Rules in Favor of Ohio City, Denies Permit to McDonald’s
Sam Allard Ohio City residents stand to offer testimony. Tuesday morning, the Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to uphold the Cleveland Planning Commission’s decision to deny McDonald’s a conditional use permit in Ohio City which would have allowed the mega-corporation to build a restaurant on the corner of Lorain Ave. and W. 38th St.…
Will Grocery Delivery Become a New Fad in Cleveland?
Cleveland.com published an article this morning profiling a new Cleveland-based company, Presto Fresh, which delivers groceries right to the doors of Cuyahoga County residents, 7 days a week. The interworkings of Presto Fresh are fairly straightforward, the article states: Customers browse among the 3,500 items on the www.prestofreshgrocery.com website (including about 300 organic items), and…
Renovations Begin Today on First Energy Stadium
Back in November, we reported on the slew of extravagant improvements proposed for Browns’ stadium, including “experience enriching” scoreboards and escalators, as well as the city’s plan to throw the football organization $2 million a year for the next 15 years to fund said enhancements. Today, despite much back and forth between city officials and…
Piccadilly Artisan Yogurt Divulges Plans for Third Shop
Brothers Adrian and Cosmin Bota already have made waves in Cleveland Heights and Ohio City thanks to the delicious organic frozen yogurt they dispense at their Piccadilly Artisan Yogurt shops. Well, plans are in the works for a new Cleveland location at Euclid and E. 115th, across the street from the Cleveland Institute of Art.…
Black Dog Kitchen Closes, Another Eatery to Open
It shouldn’t be too difficult for diners to locate the new TB’s Restaurant, Bar and Lounge (2015 E. 8th. St.), says owner Tim Smith; he’ll just direct them to the massive mural of a black dog, painted on the wall of the City Club Building. That mural was painted about a year and a half…
Scene Podcast: CDC Growth in Cleveland, Public Square Police, and More
This week, host Craig Lyndall chats with two of our staff writers, Sam Allard and Eric Sandy, about this week’s news. Along with our feature story on CDCs in Cleveland and the challenges they face on the near East and West sides of town, topics include an increased police presence on Public Square after some…
Would a Bike-Share Program Thrive in Cleveland?
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Cleveland may pursue a network similar to New York’s Citibike. With news that City Council is endeavoring to add dozens of miles of bikeways to Cleveland’s streets, many are wondering how well a bike-share program would work here. The city’s Bike Share Task Force is planning the specifics (locations, rates, safety measures), based…
Goodyear Blimp Won’t Fly “Pimp,” But Compromises with Ice Cube Fans
Goodyear has compromised with an impassioned group of Ice Cube fans which has been raising money to to pay the Akon-based company to display “Ice Cube’s Pimp” on its blimps today. The events in Ice Cube’s hit song “It was a Good Day” reportedly transpired on Jan. 20, 1992, based on deductions by the folks…
Clevelander Captures Beautiful Photo of Terminal Tower on Foggy Morning
Over the weekend, Cleveland photographer Steve Moose posted a beautiful photo of the Terminal Tower on Instagram. Photo enthusiasts, he shot this picture with a Holga on Arista 400 film. For more incredible photography, follow him on Instagram: a_moose_in_cleveland.
First Look: Kafeteria
Zack Bruell’s latest concept, Kafeteria (200 Public Square, 216-298-9131), might seem at first to be a major departure from his typical upscale bistro spots. But while the format has changed, diners still can detect influences from his other restaurants and cuisine at the station-based outpost, which opened last week. The playful use of “K” instead…
“Tribal Warfare”: Listen To The 1948 Radio Broadcasts Of The Cleveland Indians-Boston Braves World Series
A quote from the radio broadcast of the 1948 Indians-Braves World Series The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Braves to win their last World Series in 1948 and, man, the radio broadcaster had a field day with the matchup of two teams with Native American-themed names. The series was “tribal warfare,” their stadiums were “wigwams,”…
Vermilion Car Salesman Sent to Hospital After Being Bitten by Spider Monkey: UPDATE
Adorable spider monkey. UPDATE 2: According to the Erie County Health Department, Brodi did not have rabies. After the spider monkey was euthanized today, the rabies test came back negative. *** UPDATE: Pending approval from the Ohio Department of Agriculture and barring a forthcoming legal challenge, the spider monkey that bit a man in Vermilion…
Hudson Native is Finalist for Dorito’s Super Bowl Commercial Contest
Hudson High School alumnus Steve Olson has a shot at Super Bowl fame. He and his team are among five finalists in Dorito’s “Crash the Super Bowl” commercial contest. Check out the ad below (it’s terrific). Voting ends in 10 days. Visit the official page to cast your favor. The “Office Thief” team has its…
MAP: City Council Plans to Add Over 70 Miles of Bikeway to Cleveland
Cleveland City Council has announced a new plan to add more than 70 miles of bikeway to Cleveland by the end of 2017. That’s approximately a 250% increase to existing infrastructure. via a write-up on clecityhall.com The overall goal of the City’s bike plan is to provide cycling amenities in every Cleveland neighborhood, whether for…
Davone Bess Had An Incident in Cleveland Back in December
Davone Bess’ personal struggles have been very public lately. There was the Instagram post of him, presumably, smoking weed. There was the Browns excusing him from practice and eventually excusing him from the final two regular season games back in December. There was his continually bizarre Instagram feed after leaving the team. There was the…
ViralNova.com is Run by One Solitary Dude Chillin’ in an Ohio Suburb
I literally died when I saw this. You won’t BELIEVE how ridiculous this is. You’ve heard of ViralNova.com, right? Along with Upworthy, it’s probably the most Facebook-shareable site on the web, what with its “tantalizingly impossible-not-to-click headlines” — you know, things like “This Island Was Used For Top Secret Chemical Weapons. I NEVER Expected What’s…
Porcelli’s Tremont Closes; Another Bistro to Open
Porcelli’s Bistro closed its Tremont location at 2391 W. 11th St. after less than one year in business (no changes to the downtown spot). But the Tremont space, home to Bistro on Lincoln Park and Sage Bistro, to name a few, already has been spoken for. As soon as early February, Faozou Ligali will open…
10 Things Going on in Cleveland This Weekend (January 17-19)
Get ready for the weekend, Cleveland. There are tons of high energy events to help you power through the mid-January slump. DJ Rihannon will be spinning tunes Friday night at Barley House. As the self-proclaimed “world’s hottest female DJ,” her tracks are just as hot as she is. Smokey Bones is having a party…
Latest CJR Dispatch Paints Fractured Picture of Plain Dealer Newsroom Culture
Big Changes at The Plain Dealer/Sun News/Northeast Ohio Media Group have been in effect for a while now, and the Columbia Journalism Review (already not the biggest supporter of Advance Digital’s business model) has seen fit to check in and update the public on how it’s all going down at 1801 Superior Ave. The article…
Experimental Austin band the Young Mothers to play Mahall’s on Sunday
In the 2008 film Throw Down Your Heart, banjo man Bela Fleck takes a trip to Africa to discover the instrument’s roots. It’s a fascinating look at how wildly different styles of music can be connected. It even inspired Norwegian bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, who leads the experimental jazz/indie rock/hip-hop group the Young Mothers, to…
Security Heightened in Cleveland’s Public Square
In light of a recent attack on an unarmed, unsuspecting teen, Cleveland’s Public Square is getting a security boost. Ladies and gents meandering around the square on their lunch hour will have to weave through not one, not two, but three types of officials. Cleveland police, RTA police, and school district officers will be a…
Davone Bess Arrested in Fort Lauderdale
Bess’s Mugshot CBS Miami is reporting that Browns’ wide receiver Davone Bess — he of the weedstagrams — was arrested for assaulting a police officer-slash-firefighter early this morning. Bess was reportedly taken into custody by police at Fort Lauderdale’s Airport around 6 a.m. This is now the latest in a series of incidents indicating demonstrably…
New E-V Single Features Lorine Chia and Machine Gun Kelly
Local DJ E-V has teamed up with locals Lorine Chia and Machine Gun Kelly on his catchy new dancefloor-ready single, “GoodTime.” Sounding a bit like Nicki Minaj, Chia dominates the track but MGK shows up mid-song to drop some rhymes. “I’m trying to change the world with one drink, motherfucka,” he aggressively raps. The song…
Jim Tressel Will Have “Important Role” with Detroit Lions
Welp. Looks like the assertive 10-year-old girls who advocated for Jim Tressel as the new coach of the Cleveland Browns with such conviction and sisterly aplomb will be disappointed: ESPN.com has reported that Tressel will join Jim Caldwell in Detroit in an important role. The prescient folks at Wikipedia are already calling Tressel the Lions’…
Ohio City’s Newest Bistro Comes out of Hiding for its Winter Debut
For the past year, Diane Miller has been quietly at work turning a handsome brick storefront on a quiet block in Ohio City into a restaurant. Miller has done her best to keep the details of the project under the radar (despite my attempt last year to pry the story loose), but given that opening…
Phantasy to host tribute to late soundman Dale Lucas
On Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8, the Phantasy Nite Club will host a benefit and memorial for its longtime soundman Dale Lucas, who passed away on Jan. 4. The first night will feature pop, rock and metal bands, and the second night will be devoted to industrial and Goth acts. “Anyone that has…
There’s a State-Sanctioned App for That: David Yost’s Office Releases Anti-Fraud Tool for Smartphones
The app’s home screen Lending even an iota of power to the people is always a welcome endeavor, especially when it comes from as high up as the state auditor’s office. That’s kinda what David Yost did when his office released the “Ohio Stops Fraud” app for iOS, which at press time was still unable…
Two Men Kidnap, Rob, Rape Canton Pizza Delivery Woman
In this week’s awful news, we have a troubling story of a Canton pizza delivery driver who was kidnapped, robbed, and raped as she made her delivery rounds on Monday evening. Reports say a female pizza delivery person was robbed at gunpoint by two men, then placed in the trunk of her delivery vehicle and…
Fox 8 Writes Touching Obituary for Blackie, Cleveland Zoo’s Oldest Hippo
Blackie the hippo passed away on Monday. He was 59. Fox 8’s Jessica Dabrowski has penned a humble and heartwarming commemoration of the life and legacy of North America’s oldest hippo, Blackie, who, until yesterday, took up residence at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. In the obituary, Dabrowski writes of Blackie’s arrival to Cleveland in 1959,…
Haslam Pens Uninspiring Letter, ESPN Analyst Says Browns Sitting Pretty
Here’s Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslam’s letter to season ticket holders, published on WFNY this morning: All that gratitude and reassurance goes a long way, Jimmy, so thanks for taking the time. We’re delighted that you think the vacancy is so attractive. I mean it’s almost endearing that you maintain that view when just about every…
Cellar Door Rendezvous 2014 Announced
The next incarnation of the now-beloved Cellar Door Rendezvous is set for March 14-15 at the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern. The lineup is robust, proving once again that Cellar Door is gainfully plugged into the main nerve of Cleveland’s buzzing music community. If you want to catch some of Cleveland’s best bands in one place…
Video Tribute to Brunswick Student Matthew Homyk Accompanies Push for Anti-Bullying Measures
Homyk Brunswick High School is reeling this week after two student suicides shocked the community in the past week. School administrators have tried to quell the conjecture surrounding the deaths of Matthew Homyk and Anthony Gill, but many students have cited bullying and rallied around possible solutions. (Homyk is featured in a tribute video, embedded…
Could Cleveland Really Be the Next Mars? You Bet!
About a month ago, Slate economics blogger Matthew Yglesias wrote a piece suggesting that Silicon Valley’s major techno-corporate entities should migrate en masse to Cleveland — Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Farmers Only, the whole gang. Northeast Ohio could be the “Next Silicon Valley,” he opined, largely because of available housing stock and a populace who’d…
Warehouse District Development Will Open Up Secret Courtyard of Mystery
ERIC SANDY/SCENE The secret courtyard of mystery doesn’t look like much in the dead of winter, but it attracts curiosity throughout the year. Outside of the ocean of parking spaces, the Warehouse District is bursting at the seams with residential and commercial development these days. Hell, there are even plans in the works to convert…
Savage Love: Quickies
Dear Dan — I had an odd bit of awkwardness over the holidays. One of my wife’s nephews recently came out as gay, which is no problem at all for us, but it created friction in his immediate family. We were at a big extended-family dinner together, and after we sat down, I made a…
Exactly Right: The Woman Inside The Man is Fully Realized in Exact Change at Cleveland Public Theatre
Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo said of his work: “I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.” Such is the harrowing struggle Christine Howey reveals in her remarkable one-woman show, Exact Change, now playing at Cleveland Public Theatre in…
Your Complete Guide to Cleveland Concerts (January 16 – 22)
THURSDAY JAN 16 Bad Boys Jam: 9 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Cleveland Foodbank Benefit with the Grace Sturmberg Band/Oldboy: 8:30 p.m., $5. Beachland Ballroom. Chris Hatton (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m. Brothers Lounge. Hillbilly Idol/Rebekah Jean/Chartreuse: 6:30 p.m. Barking Spider Tavern. Jam Night with Tower City Blues: 8:30 p.m. Grillers Pub. Joe Lovano and Kenny…
Band of the Week: Stems
Meet the Band: Justin Seeker (guitars, vocals), Joel McAdams (guitar, vocals), Joshua Weiss (drums, vocals) and Michael Voris (bass) Party People: Bassist Michael Voris knew singer Justin Seeker for 10 years before the band formed about 2 1/2 years ago. “We formed to play a skate ramp party in Kent,” says Voris. “We were having…
See Spot Drink: The Spotted Owl Will Bring Cocktails, Life to a 160-Year-Old Building in Tremont
At the corner of West Seventh and Jefferson in Tremont there’s a warren of 15 brick buildings that date back to pre-Civil War times. Together they form the Union Gospel Press building, now a residential complex called Tremont Place Lofts. The oldest building of the bunch was erected around 1850, and in the lowest level…
Southern Hospitality: Peachtree Serves Up Comfort Food and Comfort Atmosphere Down in Hudson
Chef Matt Mathlage found himself in familiar territory when he secured the keys to 200 North Main Street in beautiful downtown Hudson. Almost 20 years prior, Mathlage helped open the Old Whedon Grille, a popular restaurant that existed in that very spot until it closed last year. Mathlage, of course, moved on from the Whedon…
The Cleveland Craft Beer Report
A new year means new opportunities. No matter what personal goals have been set for 2014, every craft beer drinker should make a “New Beer Resolution” to ensure that the next 12 months include as many tasty new brews as possible. Whether one strives to sample more brands or styles of beer, support local breweries…
Sax Appeal: Cleveland’s Favorite Street Musician Gets His Big-Screen Debut
Many Clevelanders know the “Sax Man” as a downtown mainstay. But few people in town know more about him than that. A group of local filmmakers hopes to change that with a feature-length documentary due out next year. We talked wtih director Joe Siebert about Maurice Reedus Jr. — the sax man’s real name —…
Unevenly Spread: What Neighborhood Development Really Means in Cleveland and the Challenges Facing CDCs on the Near East and West Sides
Raise your hand if you’ve been to the corner of E. 83rd and Holton. Keep ’em raised if you’ve been over to E. 69th and Falcon. What about Grand and anything? Have you even heard of these streets? Clevelanders driving from the West side to East — to University Circle, say, or to the Cedar…
Film Spotlight: The Square
The images of political revolution at Cairo’s Tahrir Square have been well documented since the events leading up to President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in early 2011. In The Square, which screens at 9:25 p.m. on Friday and at 7:40 p.m. on Saturday at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, documentary Director Jehane Noujaim, who grew…
Film Review of the Week: Fateful Findings
Much like Troll 2 or Birdemic, writer-director Neil Breen’s new film, Fateful Findings, is so bad, it’s good. Or something like that. Plenty of movies feature the same kind of primitive, low-budget production and amateur acting. But what distinguishes Fateful Findings, which screens at midnight on Saturday at the Capitol Theatre, is its storyline. The…
Milwaukee’s Finest: Singer-Songwriter Paul Cebar Embraces an ‘Omni-Pop’ Sound
Much like Cleveland, Milwaukee gets a bad rap as a dying town that doesn’t have much going for it. But for Milwaukee-based singer-songwriter Paul Cebar, the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. He distinctly recalls attending an arts festival that left a huge impression. “Somehow the booking agent was pretty hip,” he says. “[He…
Back in Black: Terry Lee Goffee Returns to Headline Annual Capricorn Party at House of Blues
Last year, local singer Terry Lee Goffee had another good year of paying tribute to the Man in Black. The husky-voiced singer sounds like Johnny Cash even when he speaks. Goffee recently phoned in to talk about his upcoming show at House of Blues where he headlines the 10th annual Capricorn party put on by…
Regional Beat: Johnny Habu and the Rebel Salmon
Johnny Habu & the Rebel Salmon Sababa! (Rebel Salmon Records) facebook.com/johnnyhabu Not sure why Johnny Habu decided to kick off his latest disc with “Tuning,” a droning song that sounds a bit like a dying elephant. Thankfully, the rest of the disc isn’t as dissonant. The music here aspires to be something like the gypsy…
