Boaz Cafe to Open Second Restaurant in University Heights Next Week
Update: Boaz in University Heights officially opens next week. Diners can look forward to a March 9th opening. For more on the second location Boaz, which originally opened in Ohio City, check out our news item below. *** Aladdin’s Eatery unveiled its health-focused, fast-casual spinoff Boaz Café two years ago in Ohio City (2549 Lorain…
Update: Chance the Rapper Cancels Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Concert
Update: After postponing his tour in support of his new album, Chance the Rapper has canceled the entire jaunt, including the show that was slated to take place at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Feb. 4. Over the weekend, he posted his decision on Instagram. “Hey guys I’ve decided to cancel the Big Tour,” he wrote. “I…
Ohio’s Newsrooms Will Continue to Suffer and Die Without Public Support
When the Youngstown Vindicator closes its doors for good at the end of the month, Youngstown will gain the unwanted distinction of being the largest city in the country without a newspaper. But it’ll be right at home in Ohio, where more than 100 newspapers have shuttered since 2004, and where papers in two of…
UH Bikes Ain’t Dead. They’re Just Experiencing Technical Issues.
For several days late last month and early this month, there were a grand total of zero UH Bikes available for rental in downtown Cleveland. Due to a sudden staffing shortage, the bike share system’s operator, CycleHop, was unable to “balance” the fleet, meaning relocate bikes to dense and popular areas. But the fleet itself…
FirstEnergy’s Perry Nuclear Power Plant had an Emergency Shutdown Saturday, Still Not in Operation
The nuclear power plant in Perry, Ohio, operated by the FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC), had an emergency shutdown Saturday evening. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) event log shows that at 7:29 p.m. on July 27, the reactor automatically shut down after a “main turbine trip.” Via the event log’s summary, the trip was “not…
Comprehensive Box Set Pays Tribute to Legendary Local Singer-Songwriter Peter Laughner
Former Clevelander Frank Mauceri founded Smog Veil, a record label that’s dedicated to issuing albums by old and new Cleveland punk bands, in the early ’90s. After the label reissued the Rocket from the Tombs retrospective, The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs, in 2002, Mauceri realized there was more to the…
Large Algal Bloom Grows in Lake Erie
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A midsummer algal bloom again is turning western Lake Erie’s waters green. While it’s predicted to become fairly severe, researchers say it could be worse. The severity of this year’s bloom is forecast to be a 7.5 on a scale of zero to 10. Laura Johnson, director of the National Center for…
Fresh ‘Rust Belt Burlesque’ Book Highlights the Burgeoning Cleveland Performing Scene
Cleveland photographer Bob Perkoski was drawn in by the sights of the first local burlesque show he shot back in 2013. Since then, the FreshWater Cleveland managing photographer has stunningly captured nearly-nude women and men in daring positions at more than 60 shows. When the people at Ohio University Press came to Perkoski with an idea for…
Slash’s Rhythm Guitarist Has an Affinity for All Things Cleveland
Though he’s not a Cleveland native, Frank Sidoris, Jr., the rhythm guitarist in Slash’s band, might as well be thanks to the Cleveland pride that his father, who is a Cleveland native, instilled in him from an early age. Sidoris Jr. will perform with Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators on Thursday at MGM…
Ex-RTA Board Prez Dixon Pleads Guilty to Theft in Office, Will Repay Health Insurance Premiums
George Dixon III, who served for 24 years as the President of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) board of trustees, has pleaded guilty to theft while in office. The former restaurateur has agreed to pay $132,000 in restitution to RTA, which represents a portion of the health insurance premiums he never paid for.…
Local Folk Act Sands & Hearn Teams Up With City Roast Coffee To Promote Their New Single
The locally based husband and wife duo Sands & Hearn has just announced that they’ll release a special Sands & Hearn branded coffee courtesy of City Roast Coffee with a free Spotify stream of the new single “Lonely For My Baby.” They’ve collaborated with the Cleveland/Bristol, VA-based studio/production company the Earnest Tube on the project. “The…
World’s Largest Bounce House Popping Up in Cleveland Area This August
The Guinness Book of World Record’s largest bounce house is set to inflate in Cleveland at the end of the summer. Touring the country since March, Cleveland is one of 40 cities that Big Bounce America is bringing its open-air (meaning, hopefully not smelly) 10,000 square-foot bounce house castle. The rainbow-color inflatable includes a massive…
Ohio Secretary of State Set to Remove as Many as 235,000 Inactive Voters from Registration Rolls
Haven’t voted in awhile? You may get knocked off the voter registration rolls soon. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose last month requested lists of voters who haven’t voted in six years from boards of elections in all of Ohio’s 88 counties. LaRose wanted the boards of elections to send those lists by mid-July and…
Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce Pleased as Punch ‘Christmas in July’ Wasn’t Another Shitshow
The Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce did not dawdle after last year’s unofficial Christmas in July festivities on the island got, as they described it, out of hand, including public intoxication, wall-to-wall golf carts, general and wanton debauchery, and “busloads of visitors from Detroit.” “If you didn’t know any better,” the Put-in-Bay Gazette mused in the…
The Cleveland Orchestra Does Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 and the Rest of the Classical Music to Catch This Week
The Kent Blossom Music Festival concludes this weekend with a variety of concerts presented by both faculty and students. Catch the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio (pianist Joseph Kalichstein, violinist Jaime Laredo, and cellist Sharon Robinson) in an evening that includes André Previn’s Trio No. 2, Ravel’s Trio in a, and Mendelssohn’s Trio No. 1 in d on…
Is Raising the Age Enough to Stop Teen Tobacco Use in Ohio?
Ohioans will now have to be 21 years old to buy tobacco products, but supporters say that isn’t enough to keep teens away from them. On July 18, Gov. Mike DeWine signed the budget bill, increasing the legal age to buy cigarettes, cigars, vaping supplies and other tobacco products from 18 to 21 years old.…
Burning River Baroque Opens Its Eighth Season Aug. 21 with ‘A Mad, Burning Desire’
Burning River Baroque has just announced the schedule of its upcoming season, which aims to shed light on “unconventional 17th-century women and issues surrounding mental health.” The group will open its eighth season next month with performances of A Mad, Burning Desire. A Mad, Burning Desire tells the story of the first English actresses who…
Browns, Blowups and Books — The A to Z Podcast With Andre Knott and Zac Jackson
Andre and Zac talk Trevor Bauer and Freddie Kitchens, then share a couple announcements. Subscribe to A to Z on iTunes here or stream below.
University Circle’s Rent Prices Have Grown Nearly 50 Percent Over Past Year, New Report Finds
When it comes to renting in Cleveland, as with anywhere, you get what you pay for. But over the past year, a handful of neighborhoods have distinguished themselves with astronomical rental price increases. Rent.com recently reported that the following five neighborhoods are seriously hot right now, and are officially the most expensive spots where average…
PD Launching Spotlight-style Investigative Team, Looking for Uniquely Northeast Ohio Name
The skeletal Plain Dealer has assembled several of its most senior reporters and grouped them together as a watchdog team. Individually and as a unit, they’ll tackle investigative and enterprise stories and pursue the solutions-oriented journalism that editor George Rodrigue has championed in recent years. An introductory piece last week noted that the “Spotlight” name…
Sandcastle Contest Hits Edgewater Beach Saturday
Building sandcastles isn’t just for kids. More than 50 teams are spending Saturday putting their design skills to the test at the AIA Cleveland Sand Festival at Edgewater Beach. Each team will be given a 20-foot-squared beach plot as their building site, as well as five yards of sand to work with. Teams are responsible…
Cleveland Could Eliminate Penalties for Various Marijuana Charges
Following in the steps of Akron and Columbus, Cleveland is considering legislation that would eliminate penalties for charges related to growing, possessing and giving out marijuana. Ward 6 Councilman Blaine Griffin told local news outlets that he proposed the bill with the hope of reducing the city’s excessive incarceration for minor offenses and giving people…
Downtown Panini’s Across From the Casino Has Closed
One of the downtown locations of Panini’s has closed. No, not the one that shuttered on West Sixth awhile ago. No, not the one on Huron. The other one, by the casino, which some folks might not even know had existed in the first place. Last Friday was the last night of operation for the…
Ahead of Next Week’s Show at the Agora, Beach House Guitarist Talks About the Dream-Pop Band’s Sound
Alex Scally, half of the dream-pop duo, Beach House, could not be more excited to play the Agora on Tuesday, Aug. 6. “It’s really hard to find new places to play when you’ve been doing it for so long,” says Scally via phone. “We’ve played the House of Blues like a million times.” The soft…
Famous Internet Cat Lil BUB Comes Back to Cleveland This October
One of the most famous cats on the planet is coming to Cleveland again this fall, and feline fans have the chance to meet her. The non-profit Tails From the City is hosting a benefit brunch event, inviting internet sensation Lil BUB and her human Mike Bridavsky back to town on Oct. 19. A select group of VIPs…
Global Waste Limit Surpassed for 2019
COLUMBUS, Ohio – This is Earth Overshoot Day, the day of the year that environmental activists say humanity has used up more natural resources than the planet can replenish each year. The ecological deficit can be blamed on pollution of the air and water, over fishing, deforestation, excess waste, and above all, overloading the atmosphere…
Local Rapper Marcus Smith to Play a Release Party on Thursday at Touch Supper Club
Local rapper Marcus Smith spent the last 15 years as a member of the alternative hip-hop group Black & Broke and the hip-hop trio Sankuro. Now, he’s just completed his first solo album, Nilla. He wrote most of the material in March of this year after he was laid off from his day job, and…
Hootie & the Blowfish and Barenaked Ladies Bask in Nostalgia for the ’90s at Blossom
When Hootie and the Blowfish issued their 1994 debut, Cracked Rear View, the band was already seasoned. It cut its musical teeth on the bar circuit in and around its hometown of Columbia, SC. When they hit the road in support of Cracked Rear View, they initially played small clubs similar to the ones they…
Poll Finds Ohioans Oppose Abortion Bans, Support Background Checks
The majority of Ohioans oppose the banning of abortion after a fetal heartbeat and approve of universal background checks for gun purchases, according to a poll released yesterday from Quinnipiac University. Poll results were broken down by religion, political identification, age, gender, education and race. However, the overall results reported Ohio voters oppose the “heartbeat…
Stinky-Ass Corpse Flower to Open at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Soon
The scent of the rare and extremely shy corpse flower (aka amorphophallus titanum) is said to smell like an overflowing garbage truck paired with, well, death. And Clevelanders can soon get a waft of that heady perfume. The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo just announced their plant is fixing to open sometime soon. EXCITING RARE NEWS!!! The Zoo's…
Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument Damaged After Climber Tries to Look Cool
One vandal was caught on surveillance camera Wednesday afternoon expertly climbing and maiming the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument on Public Square. Before jumping off and leaving with friends, the person reportedly knocked off a bronze piece of one of the statue’s cannons Thankfully, the police have found the missing piece, but it’s now unclear how much…
Pop-Up EDM Party Coming to FWD Day + Nightclub on Aug. 10
Matt Halper and Eli Sones, the guys in the electronic dance duo Two Friends, have delivered viral remixes of “Trap Queen,” “I Miss You” and “Mr. Brightside.” The two have a slew of original releases due out this year, and they’re currently headlining Corona Electric Beach, an EDM-centric pop-up experience that takes place at noon…
Coalition Wants to Make Great Lakes a Presidential Priority
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Democratic White House hopefuls will soon square off once again, and they’re being asked to explain how they plan to protect Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes. More than 160 groups are part of the Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Coalition, and they delivered a platform to the candidates this week.…
CLASH Suspends Citizen Petition Drive with Passage of City Lead Safe Law
Cleveland Lead Advocates for Safe Housing (CLASH), the coalition of activist organizations that has made lead poisoning prevention a marquee civic issue, suspended its second citizen petition drive with the passage of lead legislation earlier this week. While the many amendments that CLASH proposed to Cleveland City Council’s landmark law were not accepted — among them,…
Angie’s Soul Café on Carnegie Will Open in September
It’s been more than a year since we first reported that Angie’s Soul Café would be taking over the vacated Hot Sauce Williams building at Carnegie, but now we have learned that the finish line is in sight. The new restaurant is on pace to open in September, according to Akin Alafin, owner of Soul…
Here’s the $5 Cinema at the Square 2019 Classic Series Lineup
The classic film series Cinema at the Square returns to Connor Palace with a roar next Thursday, welcoming Jurassic Park to the big screen. Now in its 22nd season, the three-week event continues to show off fan-favorite films from across the decades, including the Judy Garland version of A Star Is Born, Jaws and The…
City Seeking New Applicants for Cleveland Community Police Commission
The City of Cleveland is now seeking applicants for the Cleveland Community Police Commission, a civilian body created as part of the Consent Decree with the Department of Justice to ensure that residents’ concerns are incorporated into the police reform process. The 13-member volunteer commission was established in 2015 with 10 members from the public…
Indigenous Peoples’ Day Coming to Cleveland, But Not in Place of Columbus Day
That spot on the October calendar known as Columbus Day will remain the same in Cleveland, city council voted yesterday. But Indigenous Peoples’ Day is also getting recognition, albeit on a separate date. As a compromise to legislation that would have implemented Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the second Monday in October instead of Columbus Day, the council decided to make…
Changes Afoot at Ohio City Galley, With Two Chefs on the Way Out
It’s been about nine months since the Ohio City Galley, a contemporary food hall and bar concept, opened its doors in that neighborhood. Located in the renovated Forest City Bank Building at the corner of W. 25th Street and Detroit Avenue, the galley is home to four different chef operators who had initially planned to…
Drug-Pricing Reforms in Spotlight on Capitol Hill
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Efforts to bring down the cost of prescription medications are intensifying in Washington, and some Ohio groups say relief can’t come fast enough. The U.S. Senate Finance Committee meets Thursday to debate the bipartisan Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019. The legislation would add an out-of-pocket maximum for Medicare beneficiaries and…
Joe Biden Can Beat Donald Trump in Ohio, New Poll Declares
If political polls are to be believed, Vice President Joe Biden could be the only Democrat capable of beating President Trump in Ohio in the 2020 presidential election. At least that’s what one new poll put on by Quinnipiac University discovered. According to the survey of registered Ohio voters, Biden beats Trump by 8 percentage…
A Double Bill Featuring High-Energy Acts Thunderpussy and Hollis Brown Comes to the Grog Shop Next Week
Two bands that look back to classic rock for inspiration, Seattle-based Thunderpussy and the New York act Hollis Brown have hit the road together this summer in support of terrific new albums. Sylvia Massey (Tool, System of a Down, Red Hot Chili Peppers) produced Thunderpussy’s self-titled album that dropped last year. Hollis Brown’s latest effort,…
Get Aggressively Drunk and Smash Things While Mini-Golfing at Yet Another Cleveland Pop-up
A new pop-up event that allows you to get aggressively drunk and smash things is coming to Cleveland Feb. 21. Smash Room Golf combines the childhood joy of mini-golf with the adult pleasures of intoxication and mindless destruction. The mini-golf course and attached bar features plenty of creative holes. There’s one where the goal is to smash…
More Than 20 Films to Screen at This Year’s Cleveland Jewish FilmFest
Celebrating its 13th year, the Mandel JCC Cleveland Jewish FilmFest, which takes place from Sept. 5 to Sept. 16, will showcase more than 20 films from around the world. The festival opens at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 5, at the Atlas Cinemas Shaker Square with The Unorthodox, a film about a man who starts…
6 Concerts to Catch in Cleveland This Weekend
FRIDAY, JULY 26 Guster/Mikaela Davis While often lumped in with the late-’90s alt-rock scene (thanks to breakout hit “Fa Fa”), Guster has actually spent most of its career firmly entrenched in the far more amorphous post-Y2K indie world. With 2015’s Evermotion, the band stretches its legs even further, drifting away from more straightforward rock riffs…
Ohio Light Opera Goes ‘South Pacific,’ Cleveland Orchestra Celebrates Aretha, and Other Classical Music Happenings
Two dozen of the world’s most talented young violinists descended on the small, musical town of Oberlin this past week for the 2019 Cooper International Violin Competition. Following grueling preliminary and concerto rounds, the field whittles down to six for the Recital Finals on Wednesday, July 24 at 7 p.m. in Oberlin Conservatory’s Warner Concert…
Discovering An-Ex KKK Member in My Childhood Hometown of Solon
There are, apparently, logistics to consider when burning crosses, especially when burning them on seven separate black and Jewish families’ lawns in one night. “You don’t just have crosses lying around, see,” says Tim, a 68-year-old man from Solon. “You got to build the crosses, put the wood together, keep off your fingerprints, get the…
Get Out: Everything You Should Be Doing in Cleveland This Week (July 24-30)
WED 07/24 BorderLight International Theatre + Fringe Festival As part of the BorderLight International Theatre + Fringe Festival that kicks off today in downtown Cleveland, there will be 40 unique productions on 14 stages across multiple indoor and outdoor venues. More than 100 artists from nine countries will be on hand. Founded as a nonprofit…
Liz Maugans’ Latest at HEDGE Gallery is a Beautiful Mess
There hasn’t been, in recent memory, an exhibition title more fitting than Beautiful Mess, within which artist Liz Maugans delivers a dynamic collection of serene chaos. At the HEDGE Gallery entrance, there’s a sculpture of a yellow lighthouse, a cardboard beacon that hopes to guide us safely into the harbor of Maugans’ mind. A sign…
Beware, Those Who Enter Palazzo on Detroit Ave.
Like that one guy on Yelp, I really wanted to like Palazzo. I have been captivated by the curious, but vacant, building throughout my entire tenure as a restaurant critic. Vacillating between dilapidated eyesore and Lilliputian castle, depending on the light, the fieldstone-clad restaurant held so much history, intrigue and promise that all one could…
Band of the Week: Nilufer Yanya
MEET THE BAND: Nilufer Yanya (vocals, guitar) THE BENEFIT OF HAVING ARTISTIC PARENTS: British singer-songwriter Nilufer Yanya says that when she was younger, she really didn’t think about the significance of having parents who were visual artists. “Now, I can see looking back at how it helped me choose something creative to do with my…
Savage Love: Fingering It Out
I’m a 36-year-old straight guy, happily married for more than 10 years, and a longtime reader. My wife and I are monogamous. We’re good communicators, well matched in terms of libido, and slightly kinky (light bondage, Dom/sub play in the bedroom). For the last few months, I’ve been thinking about trying prostate play, and I…
