Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers Could Soon Open in Strongsville
Update: Northeast Ohio is closer to getting its first Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, after the Strongsville City Council unanimously approved the rezoning of the 1-acre plot of land marked for the restaurant’s construction last week. Now changed from a general business district to a restaurant-recreational services district, Raising Cane’s would be allowed to build on…
An Amazon Fulfillment Center Officially Comes to Former Randall Park Mall Site, Needs Workers
Update: Amazon.com is officially taking over the former Randall Park Mall site with a new fulfillment center, and with the move comes more than 2,000 new jobs. We first heard about a proposed plan for the site earlier this summer (see below). While we don’t yet have details on how to apply for the jobs,…
10-Foot Prescription Bottle in Public Square Draws Attention to Opioid Epidemic
Yesterday afternoon, people strolling downtown were (naturally) drawn to a nearly-10-foot pill bottle planted in Public Square. The orange tube was plastered with information on addiction, and housed various men and women for about 15 minutes at a time. The pill bottle was part of the city’s “Know the Risks” campaign, and organized by Metrohealth…
TanZ SummerFest to Take Place Over Labor Day Weekend on the East Bank of the Flats
Last year, TanZ SummerFest, an outdoor music festival that took place on West 6th Street in the Warehouse District, sent summer out with a bang. Along with Grammy-winning headliner Afrojack and Grammy-winning support artist Cedric Gervais, the music festival’s lineup included Apster, LondonBridge and local talent DJ EV, Corrupt and Derek Armstrong. The festival returns…
Ohio’s First Execution in Three Years Set for Wednesday; Last-Minute Legal Actions Under Way for Ronald Phillips
Barring an intervention from U.S. Supreme Court, Ronald Phillips will be executed tomorrow. His will be the first lethal injection by the state of Ohio since 2014. That execution, in which the state killed Dennis McGuire, did not go smoothly. McGuire gasped and snorted audibly and took more than 15 minutes to die once the drugs…
The Free Arts in August Series at Lincoln Park is Back, and Here’s What You Need to Know
Each year, Tremont West partners with Ward 3 Councilman, Kerry McCormack, LAND Studio and Cleveland Public Theatre to present free professional dance, theatre and music in Lincoln Park during the month of August. Raymond Bobgan, the Executive Artistic Director of Cleveland Public Theatre, curates the performances. This year, the Arts in August series opens with…
Au Bon Pain, Starbucks, Conference Rooms and Vacant Space — The Sorry State of the Global Center for Health and Innovation
[image-1]The Global Center for Health and Innovation, the $465-million, four-year-old, publicly financed complex is a) 20-percent vacant, b) unable to draw new tenants and c) without a leader, as it has been since June of 2016, thirteen months ago, when Fred DeGrandis departed the managing director position. If you think that the frustratingly dumb misuse…
TubaSummer, the Orchestra at Blossom and Four More Classical Music Events You Should Check Out This Week
This last week of July, you have a choice between indoor and al fresco events (may the weather gods smile on concerts in the great outdoors). On Wednesday, July 27, the Kent/Blossom Music Festival wraps up its faculty concert series in Ludwig Recital Hall on the Kent State campus with chamber music featuring Cleveland Orchestra…
Las Americas is Back and Better than Ever in Bedford Heights
For the past couple years, East Side Mexican food fans have been hitting up a small but bustling Latin carry-out in Bedford Heights called Las Americas. The shop sat in the middle of Perkins Plaza, a dusty-old strip near the I-271 off ramp. Regulars tolerated cramped quarters, a confusing process and strict cash-only policy in…
Singer-Songwriter Judith Owen Releases Clever Video to Promote Upcoming House of Blues Show
When she performed at the State Theatre earlier this year with headliner Bryan Ferry, singer-songwriter Judith Owen immediately endeared herself by greeting the crowd with a “Hello Cleveland” as she began to play a 30-minute set of Norah Jones-like mellow jazz/pop tunes. As she explained, she had every right to use the phrase since her…
Squeeze to Perform at the Goodyear Theater in November
When Squeeze performed at the Beachland Ballroom nearly two years ago, the veteran UK-based pop act divided its show into two sets that included material from its back catalog as well as songs from the solo careers of main songwriters Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook and material from the band’s recent album, Cradle to the…
Fuckton of Butter Used in Ohio State Fair’s Butter Sculpture This Year
The Ohio State Fair is upon us, which means a few of things: Glorious candid shots of John Kasich enjoying the festivities, fried foods (including fried tacos this year), and butter sculptures. On the latter front — hoo boy, are fairgoers in for a dazzling display of dairy design. By our untrained eye, a generous…
Here’s a First Look at the Cavs’ New Uniforms for Next Season
It might not be the most important Cavs news regarding the 2017-2018 season, but here’s a first look, according to a photographer, at one version of the Dan Gilbert All Stars’ new uniforms for whoever is left to play alongside LeBron next year. The same photog who posted the photo to Twitter said there’s an…
Two Kent State Students Finally Meet On TV This Morning, After Years of Tinder Messaging
There’s nothing like meeting for the first time in three years, on TV, in front of millions of viewers … But that’s exactly what two Kent State Students, who’d kept up a Tinder conversation for more than three years without ever meeting up for a coffee, hookup, or otherwise, did on Good Morning America this…
Few Winners and Lots of Losers in Rowdy East Side Mayoral Forum
Seven Cleveland mayoral hopefuls threw off their gloves in a raucous barroom brawl billed as a “candidates forum” in Cleveland’s Lee-Harvard neighborhood Monday night. It was the second such event hosted by the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus, and this one, co-hosted by the Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition and held at the Harvard Community Services…
Cleveland Man Shot Over $10 Yard Work Dispute
It began simply enough when a Cleveland resident told two men he’d give them $20 to cut his grass last Thursday. But the lawn owner only had $10 on him, so he said he’d pay the other half if they returned on Saturday. However, after a dispute over the money, the man ended up with…
Pere Ubu to Deliver Hour-Long Set of New Songs on Just-Announced Tour
We consider Pere Ubu/Rocket from the Tombs singer David Thomas to be one of the more creative people to ever have his name in the Scene masthead. Thomas worked here at the paper in the early ’70s before he would launch Rocket from the Tombs and then Pere Ubu. Thomas continues to tirelessly record and…
Xinji Noodle Bar in Ohio City Set to Open July 26
Back in January we shared the news about Shuxin Liu’s plans to open Xinji Noodle Bar, a Japanese-style ramen shop at 4211 Lorain Ave. Following a quiet soft opening, the Ohio City eatery will open to the public on July 26. Liu, a cook of two years at Momocho, has created an attractive space on…
Space: ROCK Gallery to Open Burlesque Photo Exhibit in August
Six years ago, Bella Sin, founder of the locally based burlesque troupe Le Femme Mystique, began hosting the Ohio Burlesque Festival, a three-day event featuring regional, national and international talent. Next month, Space: ROCK Gallery, the gallery located next to the Beachland, the site of this year’s event, will host All That Glitters: Burlesque at…
Former MetroHealth Employee Indicted For Stealing $300K From Case Western Reserve Research Grants
Cleveland resident and former MetroHealth grant specialist Carol Lott is charged with stealing almost $300,000 worth of grant money from Case Western Reserve. Lott, 53, worked alongside East Cleveland resident Andrea Mittman-Thomas, to manipulate the grant process and funnel the university’s money into a shell corporation. The pair is facing dozens of felony charges, including…
Rick’s Cafe to Close July 25; New Eatery to Open in 60 to 90 Days
Partners Michael Schwartz and Shawn Monday had every intention of keeping Rick’s Café alive and open through the end of summer at least. The team, which also operates the restaurants One Red Door, Flip Side and 3 Palms, purchased the iconic 40-year-old Chagrin Falls eatery last month with plans to eventually install a new concept.…
Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Program Will Likely Expand to $11 Million
[image-1]The Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program was allotted $5 million last month in the state budget, and today the Ohio Department of Commerce and State Board of Pharmacy intend on requesting $5.6 million more. The nearly $11 million total, Ohio regulators say, is necessary to cover a medical marijuana tracking database, a toll-free help line…
Clevelanders React to Twist Creative’s ‘Pickles’ and ‘Butter’ Billboards Around Town
A strange series of billboards have popped up around Cleveland this summer. They contain one word, an item you would typically find on a grocery list, along with a beautiful landscape portrait in the background and a small URL at the bottom. Twist Creative, the Cleveland ad agency behind the billboards, says the series is meant…
As It Faces an Uncertain Future, the Coventry PEACE Campus Hosts a Community Weekend of Events
Stating the building needs $1 million in repairs (including $750,000 for a new roof), city officials in Cleveland Heights announced plans in May to sell and redevelop the former Coventry School site, six acres in total, including the building, playground, field and sledding hill. The unexpected announcement came as quite a surprise to the building’s…
Northeast Ohio Literary Festival Returns to Cleveland This Week
Cleveland Inkubator, the largest literary festival in Northeast Ohio, returns to Cleveland for the third time today through Saturday. This free event strives to unite readers and writers in the Cleveland area. And this year’s Inkubator, located at Cleveland Public Library’s main branch, is the largest yet, featuring a book swap, an open mic night and…
Opposing Sides Lay Out Q Deal Arguments Before Ohio Supreme Court
Last week, lawyers for both Cleveland Law Director Barbara Langhenry and City Council Clerk Patricia Britt, as well as lawyers representing Cleveland taxpayers, filed briefs with the Ohio Supreme Court in a case which could determine the outcome of the Quicken Loans Arena renovation deal. (You can read all the court filings here.) At issue…
Indie Duo Tegan and Sara to Bring ‘Robust Pop Show’ to House of Blues
As the indie pop duo Tegan and Sara enters its twentieth year (the band started writing songs in the mid-’90s but didn’t issue its full-length debut until 2000), singer Sara Quin says she regularly reflects on the journey she’s taken with her sister, singer Tegan Quin. “I think more than ever before, the reflection is…
First Look: Oak and Embers Tavern in Hudson
Way back in October we shared the news that Oak & Embers Tavern, a three-year-old barbecue joint in Chesterland, would be opening a second location in Hudson (7774 Darrow Rd.). The plan was to be up and smoking by the holidays, but Christmas, Hanukah and New Year’s Day all came and went without a single…
Video: Here’s a Teaser Trailer for “My Friend Dahmer”
“My Friend Dahmer,” the feature-length film based on Derf’s graphic novel of the same name, was a buzzy hit at the Tribeca film festival earlier this year and picked up a nationwide distribution deal. That won’t happen til the fall but a teaser trailer for the film, which follows serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s childhood, was…
Kyrie Wants Out. Wait, What? — The A to Z Podcast With Andre Knott and Zac Jackson
Andre and Zac go full flat-earth madness with a discussion on the timing and ramifications of Kyrie Irving’s trade demand.
“We Screwed Up Badly;” Dan Gilbert Pulls Tone-Deaf Ad Campaign in Detroit
While just about every outlet in Detroit began circulating content over the weekend reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the city’s 1967 summer of civil unrest, a photo from present-day Detroit went viral — causing many to reflect instead on the state of race relations in Detroit in 2017. The photo showed a window wrap…
Cleveland Rockers Third Wish to Play Reunion Show at House of Blues in August
During a six-year run in the ‘90s, the local rock group Third Wish put out three CDs and played more than 200 shows in 22 states, performing with acts such as Guster, They Might Be Giants, Cowboy Mouth, Sister Hazel, Jackopierce, OAR and the Jayhawks. After a ten-year hiatus, the group just announced it’ll play…
Adam Lambert Brings a Contemporary Sound to the Queen Concert at the Q
Queen + Adam Lambert made their Cleveland debut last night at a packed Quicken Loans Arena. They did not disappoint the diverse audience comprised of parents with their teenagers and long-time Queen fans. And plenty of Glamberts were there to support the former American Idol contestant too. You can see a slideshow of photos from…
Hermes Cleveland is Suing St. Malachi’s For Literally the Dumbest Reason
Hermes Cleveland, known primarily for its road races in the region, is stupidly suing St. Malachi Church because the parish — buckle up for this one — had the audacity to use its own name for its annual run. Hermes has organized the St. Malachi Run, an annual west side tradition since 1981, for years.…
Summit County Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Not Guilty To Rape Charges
Antonio Williamson, a 46-year-old sheriff’s deputy from Summit County, pleaded not guilty Friday to rape charges. Williamson turned himself into authorities Thursday after he was accused of assaulting and raping a 26-year-old woman in a parking lot in March. Reports say he was wearing a police uniform and driving a cruiser at the time of…
A Healthy Dose of the Beatles Originally Inspired the Shins Frontman and Songwriter James Mercer
Flake, the hard rock band that singer-guitarist James Mercer fronted in the early ’90s before forming the Shins in 1996, had a decent following. The band could draw a 100 or people to its shows. But Mercer had started writing songs that were a bit too poppy for the group, so he started the proverbial…
Kyrie Irving Wants to Create His Own Self Sustaining Community Because Life is Expensive
Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving has admitted he wants to spend his NBA money on a “self-sustaining community.” Recently appearing on the Short Story Long podcast, Irving told host Chris Pfaff about his “big aspirations” for the next 20 years saying: “We’re just working on a plan where, ultimately, we can accomplish that on a grander…
Bring It! Live Comes to the State Theatre
The stars of Lifetime’s Bring It!, Miss D and her Dancing Dolls return to the stage with the Bring It! Live 2017 summer tour. Last year, the hip-hop majorette competition that toured theaters across the country featured “fierce, original, high-octane performances that brought motivation, inspiration and formation.” This year’s event promises to be “hotter-than-ever” and…
NBA Tells Cleveland: If Q Construction Not Underway by September 15, No All-Star Game in 2020 or 2021
Attached to an amicus brief that the Cleveland Cavaliers filed with the Ohio Supreme Court Thursday was a letter from the NBA’s Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum. It advised David Gilbert (of Destination Cleveland and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission) that if construction on the Quicken Loans Arena renovation isn’t underway before…
Local Rock Act Who Hit Me Debuts New Music Video
A four-piece rock/alternative band, locals Who Hit Me have played around town for more than two years now with acts such as Dune Rats, Radkey and Dinosaur Pile Up. “We’ve met a lot of great people in the community and love being part of it,” says drummer Rex Larkman. The group has just produced a music…
Cleveland Turns 221, And You Can Celebrate Today With Free Ice Cream
Cleveland Founders’ Day may land officially on Saturday, but you can celebrate the city’s 221st birthday today at Wade Oval in University Circle. Thanks to University Circle, Clevelanders free from work (even if just on a quick lunch break) can partake in free birthday ice cream and cake from noon to 2 p.m — just the way…
Van Aken Beer Garden Returns to Shaker Plaza Tonight
The only thing better than a beer garden is an outdoor beer garden. Tonight from 6 to 10, the Van Aken Beer Garden returns to Shaker Plaza. The event takes place outside, in the plaza’s west parking lot at the corner of Farnsleigh Road and Van Aken Boulevard, and inside, in the storefront next to…
Cleveland Metroparks Celebrates 100 Years in Spectacular Fashion This Saturday
Turning 100 is kind of a big deal. And Cleveland Metroparks is celebrating its centennial year by throwing a party this Saturday at Edgewater Park. The event kicks off with live music at 2:30 p.m. including local food trucks and the newly opened Edgewater Beach House. Performances run all afternoon leading up to a big…
6 Concerts to Catch This Weekend in Cleveland
FRIDAY, JULY 21 Lady Antebellum/Kelsea Ballerini/Brett Young Country superstars Lady Antebellum, the group made its debut in 2007 as guest vocalists on Jim Brickman’s single “Never Alone.” It has subsequently signed a deal with Capitol and released seven studio albums with the label. Their latest album, Heart Break, features the single, the funky, horn-driven pop…
Scene’s Ale Fest Rescheduled to Saturday, August 5
Due to scheduling conflicts with the park, Scene’s 9th annual Ale Fest has been moved to Saturday, August 5th. It will remain at Lincoln Park in Tremont and VIPs will enjoy early entry at noon with general admission at 1 p.m. The event goes until 6. Tickets purchased for the original date will be honored,…
Coast Guard Rear Admiral June Ryan to Retire, Stay in Cleveland
June Ryan, the Rear Admiral of the U.S. Coast Guard’s 9th District (headquartered in Cleveland) has announced her retirement. She told Cleveland.com that she and her family made the decision because they’d been bitten by the Cleveland bug. Ryan’s daughter, a student at St. Joseph Academy in West Park, loves the school and Ryan didn’t…
John Kasich Will Monitor Ohio’s First Execution in Three Years Next Week
Ronald Phillips is slated to be executed by the state of Ohio next Wednesday, July 26. It would be the state’s first execution in three years after a series of legal and governmental delays after the last execution, of Dennis McGuire, during which the state used an untested cocktail of drugs, including midazolam, and which…
After a 13-Year Hiatus, the Lobster Pot to be Resurrected in Willoughby Hills
Chris Haffey’s father opened the Lobster Pot in S. Euclid back in 1972. The family ran the seafood restaurant for more than 30 years, apart from a break in the early 1980s. Haffey says that he’s been itching to revive the old institution for years but hadn’t found the right property. “I haven’t found the…
Civility Now! Corey Lewandowski Ignites Free Speech Debate in Cleveland
In what was surely the most hot-button episode of WCPN’s Sound of Ideas in months, City Club of Cleveland CEO Dan Moulthrop appeared alongside local attorney Subodh Chandra* and the ACLU’s Elizabeth Bonham Wednesday morning to discuss the City Club’s recent announcement that it’ll be hosting fired Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski on August 3.…
Tremont Businesses Launch the Sign Guy Instagram Scavenger Hunt Challenge
Better known as the Sign Guy, Dave Witzke creates fire-breathing cats, deranged rabbits and other bright, cartoony characters that can be found around almost every corner of the west-side Cleveland neighborhood. Originally a graffiti artist, the Sign Guy sells his work online, at local businesses and at festivals. He created the murals on Prosperity Social…
Justin Nelson Scratches Cleveland’s Punk Underbelly at SPACE: ROCK
These days social media has become the new staple-ridden telephone pole on which bands and artists can promote themselves. And with the advances in cell phone technology, Instagram has become the new gateway meat into concert photography, which is why we found newcomer Justin Nelson’s exhibition at SPACE: ROCK interesting. Among the myriad of Instagram…
The Verne Collection Features Work by Gallery Manager and Cleveland-Based Artist Yuko Kimura
Unlike most galleries, with regular exhibitions rotating every few months, the Verne Collection showcases only one artist and exhibition per year at its gallery on Murray Hill Road in Little Italy. The rest of its efforts are focused on art fairs and exhibitions throughout the U.S. and annual trips to Japan to visit artists and…
Masthead Brewery Takes Over Tremont’s Spotted Owl
As some of the brightest names in the spirits world gather this week in New Orleans for the annual Tales of the Cocktail, the premier cocktail festival, they will be joined by Will Hollingsworth of the Spotted Owl. “We’re going to be doing an extended pop-up at SoBou, a restaurant that is part of the…
An Opera to Benefit Refugee Children and Four More Classical Music Events to Hit This Week
The Oberlin Cooper Violin Competition turns serious this week as the original field of 24 violinists, ages 13-18, gets trimmed to 6 for Wednesday’s recital rounds (July 19 at 1:30 and 7:00 pm), then to 3 for Friday evening’s concertos with Jahja Ling and The Cleveland Orchestra (July 21 at 7:30 pm in Severance Hall).…
Two Sandusky County Jail Inmates Escape Through Unlocked Emergency Door
Two inmates escaped from Sandusky County Jail Monday afternoon, taking advantage of an unlocked emergency door. According to Sandusky County Sheriff Chris Hilton, Mickley Hardy and Jordan Chapman escaped together. “There was a mechanical failure in one of our doors in our outdoor [recreation] area, and it was just one of those things that they took advantage of a bad situation,”…
Man Threatens to Shoot South Euclid Fast Food Employees Over Poorly-Made Sandwich
Police responded to a South Euclid fast food restaurant Tuesday, after an extremely unhappy patron threatened to shoot a restaurant employee. All this because the sandwich the man ordered was supposedly not made up to snuff. When police arrived on the scene, they found the man in the restricted area of the kitchen trying to…
Cleveland-Based Steadfast Records Returns After a 17-Year Hiatus
In the past, the locally based record label Steadfast Records released albums by national acts such as Zao and Brandtson. But then, some 17 years ago, label founder Matt Traxler put the label on hold so he could focus on playing guitar for Brandtson. Now, he’s revived the local label, which will release World War,…
First Look: Seafood Shake on Coventry, Opening this Weekend
We first revealed Hangchun Zheng’s plans to open a seafood-in-a-bag concept on Coventry in Cleveland Heights in late winter, but he’s been hard at work transforming the former Winking Lizard space for close to a year. All that work will begin to pay off this Friday evening, when the doors officially open to the public.…
Energy and Heart Has Us Overlooking the Flaws in “La Cage Aux Folles” at Mercury Theatre Company
When a show has a surplus of heart, it proves that other problems are greatly minimized. Take La Cage Aux Folles, now being produced by the Mercury Theatre Company in South Euclid. With great songs by Jerry Herman and a witty book by Harvey Fierstein, it has all the elements necessary for success. Still, it…
Brianna Jones
Stepping into Lush and Lovely Floristry in Ohio City for the first time, your nostrils are bombarded by an earthy sweetness. It’s an entirely unique sensory experience for visitors, but for owner Brianna Jones, it barely registers any more. This is the building where she spends most of her time, after all. When not on…
Lynn Hampton
When the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association voted not only to endorse a presidential candidate for the first time in the union’s history but also to endorse Donald Trump, it might have been the first time that many Clevelanders became familiar with Lynn Hampton or realized that the CPPA isn’t the only police union in the…
John Panza
Since he launched the Panza Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to support local indie rock acts, a couple of years ago, John Panza has become one of the most outspoken proponents of the local music scene. He is, of course, many other things, including a cancer patient, an active member of a number of local…
Mike Paramore
Long before he found himself on stage in front of a mic, Mike Paramore really wanted to play football. Like many Pee Wee football players, he wanted to make the NFL. Thing was, coaches along the way had similar ideas, including the staff at the University of Akron. They recruited Paramore, who played linebacker at…
There’s Trouble Afoot in ‘Neighbors’ By Convergence-Continuum
When you glance at the program before a play begins and notice that some of the characters are named Mammy, Zip Coon, Sambo, Topsy and Jim — and that they’re all members of the Crow family — you get the sense that subtlety will not be a predominant aspect of the evening’s entertainment. And that…
Pamela Eyerdam
“I’m a proponent of teachable moments,” says Pamela Eyerdam, the manager of special collections and fine arts at the Cleveland Public Library. Right now, she’s showing off a few of the “profile sheets” she’s put together to highlight bits and pieces of the CPL’s John G. White Chess Collection, the largest of its kind in…
Kasumi
There are few better ways to describe a modern artist who explores all types of artistic mediums and fields, from film and drawing to performance art and theater, than as a modern renaissance woman. And it’s just about the best way to characterize Cleveland Heights-based artist Kasumi, who sort of defies and explicitly works against…
Pandora Robertson
“If you want to get a visceral sense of how it felt to be swept up in the Hough riots, Incendiaries will take you by the hand through that hellscape.” That’s how I described Incendiaries last year, a volatile and risky theatrical piece conceived and directed by Pandora Robertson, the co-director of the Ohio City…
Daniel Gray-Kontar
“One thing I know,” says Daniel Gray-Kontar. “I don’t want to be 50 years old, rapping. All due respect to Snoop Dogg, I don’t want to be running around on somebody’s stage, saying, ‘Throw your hands in the air like you just don’t care.'” Gray-Kontar is 46. The dusting of white in his goatee is…
Get Out: Things to do in Cleveland This Week (July 19-25)
WED 07/19 Art of VNTG Earlier this year, VNTG Home opened a 25,000-square-foot retail space in Tyler Village that offers shoppers an “unforgettable treasure hunt” filled with more than 3,000 one-of-a-kind pieces of vintage furniture, art and home decor. Upcycling experts on site can also paint or re-upholster your furniture or any furniture you buy…
Deb Sherman
The Aut-O-Rama in North Ridgeville wasn’t the first drive-in theater in Cleveland, but, in 1972, it was the first to offer two screens. “We actually opened this after the big wave of drive-in theaters in the 1950s,” says Deb Sherman, the owner. “So ours looks a little different. We learned from the others what worked…
Puspa Gajmer
When he was just a child, Puspa Gajmer and his family fled Bhutan amid ethnic cleansing to a refugee camp in Nepal. They spent the next 20 years there. During that time Gajmer learned English and studied music, got a degree from Tribhuvan University and dreamed of a better life. In 2011, he came to…
Eric Rodgers
At the age of 19, and with nothing resembling an advanced degree, Eric Rogers was employed as a file clerk by University Hospitals. His work ethic, confidence and optimistic personality helped him scale the corporate ladder all the way to finance manager. “I’ve always been a hard worker,” he says. “Anything I do, I do…
Ron Ledgard
Journalism hasn’t stopped experiencing seismic changes since the advent of the internet, where new ideas are being attempted every single day. It’s especially true for daily newspapers and doubly true for the sports section. “When you’re involved in and on the newspaper side for as long as I was, then you kind of see where…
Freda Levenson
There will come a time when America’s lovefest with the ACLU will end, or at least taper off. Freda Levenson knows this. The Trump administration and its attendant policies and rhetoric put the legendary civil rights organization in the spotlight, especially after it battled the president’s Muslim Ban. “The ACLU has brought some of the…
Siriphan “Kiwi” Wongpeng
On her first Fourth of July as a U.S. citizen, Siriphan “Kiwi” Wongpeng did the most American thing ever: She went to a friend’s house for a cookout and then took in a fireworks display. Wongpeng, who runs the wildly popular Lakewood restaurant Thai Thai with her mom, dad and brother, says that she was…
Savage Love: Come Again
Dear Dan, I’m a 35-year-old straight woman, recently married, and everything is great. But I have been having problems reaching orgasm. When we first started dating, I had them all the time. It was only after we got engaged that it became an issue. He is not doing anything differently, and he works hard to…
Vice Souletric
<Vice Souletric should be tired. Exhausted even. Married with two kids, he holds down a full-time job and somehow still manages to be one of the hardest working musicians in the city. Given his hustle, he's appropriately wearing a T-shirt that reads, "No days off," when he meets Scene in the Tower City food court.…
The 2017 People Issue
Four years ago, we met around a table, smacked our foreheads and decided it was high time we featured Clevelanders doing cool things in the region. We put together a long list of candidates. The only real qualifications were that we thought our subjects were interesting: They were young, old, black, brown, white, straight, gay,…
Keisha Gonzalez
In the next year or two, Clark/Fulton will boast a long overdue addition to the neighborhood. El Mercado, which will be set in a 30,000-plus-square-foot building on Clark just south of West 25th, will serve as the physical and cultural anchor for the neighborhood, in Ward 14, which has the densest Latin population in the…
W. Daniel Bickerstaff
When architect Daniel Bickerstaff realized, with a start, that he wasn’t just on the design subcommittee for the African-American Cultural Garden, he was in charge of spearheading the design, he went six months without picking up a pencil. “That’s unheard of for me,” says the Shaker Heights resident, speaking at a conference table in his…
AKeemjamal Rollins
Most poets are happy to get a smattering of applause for their efforts, so it’s unusual, and stirring, for a poet to receive a standing ovation. And it’s particularly notable when that tribute comes from your high school classmates. But that’s what happened to AKeemjamal Rollins after he read a poem in school at 13…
Band of the Week: The Speedbumps
MEET THE BAND: Erik Urycki (vocals and guitar), Bethany Svoboda (vocals, keyboards, guitar and banjo), Sam Kristoff (cello), Kevin Martinez (acoustic and electric bass) and Danny Jenkins (drums and percussion) FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS: Though the indie folk band first came together in 2007, singer-guitarist Erik Urycki had been busking with a friend James Richardson on upright bass…
Rose Breckenridge
In the summer, while the Cleveland Orchestra is busy with its Blossom concert series, Rose Breckenridge hunkers down deep inside next season’s music. “Summer is hibernation time,” Breckenridge says. “Don’t call me.” As the instructor and administrator for the Cleveland Orchestra’s Music Study Groups, Breckenridge is currently writing her lectures for the 2017-2018 season, which…
Aparna Bole
We caught up with Dr. Aparna Bole on a classic Cleveland morning, gray skies shifting seamlessly into sunny, cerulean blue and back again. From our vantage point on the rooftop of Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital at UH’s main campus in University Circle, the city beamed with energy. Walls of flowers bordered our conversation as…
‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ Makes the Most of Its Special Effects
How do you impress an audience that’s almost entirely desensitized to special effects? Flawless computer-generated effects are no longer a novelty; they’re expected. Even this summer’s Wonder Woman was criticized for what people perceived to be lackluster special effects, despite its $150 million budget. Post- Avatar/Star Wars/Avengers, there’s not much we haven’t seen before in…
Shel Greenberg Erba
Shel Greenberg Erba sits cross-legged on a yoga mat that reads, “Unfuck the world.” She is not sitting in some cozy studio with natural light pouring in through glass windows, but instead at Mahall’s, the bowling alley, concert venue bar and restaurant, which makes perfect sense. Here she is free to teach her brand of…
Greg Coleridge
“The problem isn’t that the government is broken,” Greg Coleridge says, whipping out one of many activist slogans he’s been repeating so long they’re inextricably threaded into the fabric of his speech. “It’s that it’s fixed.” “Fixed as in rigged,” he says, leaning in, making sure the message is clear. Coleridge’s central issue is…
Brandon Luis Santiago
One thing that Brandon Santiago does is cart around small pieces of finished lumber and leave them places, like small tokens or like a special bonus tip when he’s leaving a restaurant. Sometimes he just gives them to people. Today, when he comes to meet Scene at Working Class Brewery in West Park, he’s carrying…
Stamy Paul
Stamy Paul has used one of the last taboo art genres to make a powerful, positive impact on the city and community. By day, Paul works at Airgas’ division headquarters in Independence as division vice president of human resources. By night (and weekends), she runs Graffiti HeArt, which she founded in 2013 after being inspired…
Jen Brumfield
One of the great and mostly rare joys in life is to take a passion from childhood and build it into a sustainable career, a way of life as an adult. We should all be so lucky, and Cleveland Metroparks naturalist Jen Brumfield is among the few who can claim that thrill. “I swear to…
‘Maudie’ is an Uneven Portrait of a Canadian Folk Artist’s Life
To get a sense of the folk art movement’s lasting legacy, you don’t need to go to a proper gallery. Walk into any House of Blues, and you’ll see the stuff hanging from the concert venue’s walls. That represents the degree to which the artwork became pervasive. Maudie, a new biopic about the life of…
Brett Jones
Lights, lettuce and laundry. It’s alliterative shorthand for employees of Evergreen Cooperatives that basically describes the employee-owned operation’s three areas of business. There’s Evergreen Energy Solutions (lights), which encompasses work in LED installation and construction; Evergreen Laundry Cooperative (laundry, of course), which does large- and small-scale work for nursing homes, hospitals and more; and Green…
Drawing Lessons From Cleveland’s Underground Charcuterie Scene
To get to the restaurant’s curing room, the chef led me down a staircase, through a mechanical room, finally stopping in a dimly lit back hallway. There, he moved aside a tall stack of cardboard boxes and other items that were carefully arranged to conceal a walk-in cooler. When he flung open the door I…
Jeremy Umansky
Despite a very inauspicious culinary start, Jeremy Umansky seems to be incapable of making an ill-timed move. After speaking up for fellow students and staff at the Culinary Institute of America, telling the New York Times that, “The C.I.A. … feels like a corporation that is pumping students out for the benefit of the industry,”…
Wooden Pallets and Great Coffee Find a Home at Lakewood’s La Maison Palette
Cleveland is a caffeinated city. Beloved local roasters like Phoenix and Rising Star have garnered the city national recognition from Travel and Leisure magazine, and there are a slew of new shops carving out their own niches as well. La Maison Palette is one of those shops. Located on Detroit Avenue, just west of the…
