Your Boozin’ Could Support New Ohio Businesses
“Ma, it was fo jobs!” Ohio lykes itz likcore and beer. Itz a state nown fer tippin’ back a few, maybe mor than a fyew, maybe in the middel of the da, on tha regulr. But that liquor consumption may soon lead to something more than liver disease and ugly spouses. Under a new proposal…
Cleveland Ranks 51st on List of Socially Networked Cities
Men’s Health named the top 100 socially networked cities and Cleveland came in at No. 51 on the list, something you probably already know if you’re on Twitter or have hordes of Facebook friends. The mag tallied cities’ LinkedIn and Facebook users, then figured in the number of tweets sent from the respective locales, then…
Local Site Tracks Drunk Driving Checkpoints
The arrival of warm weather means the return of drunk-driving season across Northeast Ohio, as partiers slink out of hibernation and into their favorite liquor establishments. It also means the return of another fair-weather fixture: Sobriety checkpoints. But one area attorney wants to help you keep tabs on Johnny Law’s dragnet plans. Since June, Brian…
Pic of the Day: The Plain Dealer Was Crowdsourcing News Back in 1924
Via NPR’s Andy Carvin, the front page of the PD on February 4, 1924, which announced news of President Woodrow Wilson’s death.
Historic House of Wills Funeral Home Could be Hosting Art Shows By End of the Year
A longtime house of the dead may get new life as a house for the arts. That’s the goal of Cleveland artist Erich Freeman, who purchased the historic House of Wills funeral home at 2491 East 55th Street and has begun the arduous task of renovating it. He hopes to have the building functional by…
Woman Arrested for Assault With Pitchfork, Sort Of
You can imagine how thrilled we, careful students and ardent fans of bizarre crime, were when we saw this first line from a Lorain Morning Journal story: A 42-year-old Elyria woman was arrested and taken to the county jail for assault after allegedly knocking on her neighbor’s door with “the look of death in her…
The Quality of Cleveland Life Report
Your guide to thriving in fabulous Cleveland. Welcome to the Money Pit: Cuyahoga County to invite Tom Hanks and Shelley Long to ribbon-cutting ceremony at Juvenile Justice Center. Appearance fees considered a relative bargain compared to $3,000 ribbon.College Town : Local officials laud arrival of deep-pocketed tourists for the NCAA tournament until five frat guys…
Afternoon Brew: DUI Suspect Drives Into Rocky River, Prisoners to Pay $1 for Elecricity, Hell’s Angel Conviction, and a Special Announcement from Dick Goddard
Good afternoon, Cleveland. Here’s some stuff to read while you wish you were as tough as Dick Goddard. Hey, you know what’s a great way to bring unwanted attention to yourself if you’re intoxicated? Drive down a 200-foot hill and into the Rocky River in the Metroparks. That’ll do it. (NewsNet5) — In an effort…
West Side Market, Cleveland to Host International Public Markets Conference
In a coup that will draw literally hundreds of tourists to town, Cleveland has landed an 2012 International Public Markets Conference. It’s not about the tourists though, of which there will be about 300. It’s about the impact of bringing the conference to the West Side Market, showing off Cleveland’s gleaming sustainability and local food…
Great Lakes Brewing Takes Home 3 Gold Medals at 2011 World Beer Championships
They may never produce a nectar as sweet as Keystone Ice Light, but the folks at Great Lakes Brewing Company make some damn fine brew. Don’t take our word for it though, which is wise since we just vouched for Keystone Ice Light. At the 2011 World Beer Championships, the hearty and well-lubricated GLBC took…
Ohio Home Sales Down From a Year Ago
Back in the day . . . or . . . right now . . . still What with tsunamis, Libyan air raids and Charlie Sheen holding down the high profile spots in the news cycle these days, who has time to worry about the housing crisis? The housing crisis? You look a little confused,…
Dennis Kucinich Calls Obama’s Decision for Military Strikes in Libya an “Impeachable Offense”
Dennis Kucinich is a fervent anti-war lefty Democrat, so it should come as no surprise that he came out strong against America’s military strikes in Libya. Kucinich, however, took it a step further toward full-loon territory as fellow liberal Dems voiced anger that President Obama ordered the strikes without consulting with or getting the approval…
Man Puts Cat in Oven (Updated)
Tigger, pictured outside of an oven. Update: 18-year-old Randy Atkinson received a $500 fine, five years of probation, counseling, and an order that he can’t own any animals as punishment for putting his mom’s boyfriend’s cat in a hot oven. (Fox 8) *** Every once in awhile a story pops up to remind us that…
Randy Black, Armed with Crossbow, Leads Police on Interstate Chase
The latest in home protection. A crossbow-totting speed demon led eight different police departments on a cross-county chase Sunday, a steamroll of crazy that probably shot right across your ‘burb. According to the Chronicle-Telegram, Randy D. Black, 40-years-old and hailing from Quincy, Ill., was hot on the police radios as missing and possibly armed when…
Drunk Woman Arrested After Sleeping In Back of Her Car
If you are drunk and need to nap in the back of your car, a couple of groundrules: 1) Park your car somewhere safe and inconspicuous, not, for example, in a random person’s driveway. 2) Best to dispose of any open containers before shutting your eyes, lest the cops show up and find you nuzzled…
Tiger Woods’ New Girlfriend Is From Cleveland
In your you’ll-say-you-don’t-care-but-you-really-do news of the day: Tiger Woods’ new girlfriend is a native Clevelander. He’s reportedly dating Alyse Lahti Johnston, a 22-year-old Florida college student. According to The Daily Mail, Johnston is the step-daughter of a high-ranking executive at IMG, the sports agency that represents Woods and has offices in Cleveland. Daddy must be…
Video: Lightning Show Over Lake Erie
Those up in the wee hours of Monday morning were lucky enough to catch quite the lightning show over trusty Lake Erie. NewsNet5 compiled video for those of you who were asleep.
Charlie Sheen Picks Akron to Go All the Way
From his penchant for Indians’ gear to the public effort to have him throw out the first pitch at this year’s home opener, there’s a lot of two-way love between walking headline Charlie Sheen and Northeast Ohio. Ricky Vaughn will forever be a hero in this land, and Sheen seems to know it. Like just…
Hero of the Day: Woman Blockades Street Over Potholes
Rosalind McAllister had enough. The 57-year-old had called about the potholes on Broadway by her house, watched countless cars suffer flat tires at the hands of the concrete beast, and was getting nowhere with the city. So on Wednesday, her birthday, she took efforts into her own hands. She parked her car in the middle…
Pic of the Day: Car Ends Up Vertical After Accident
Via NewsNet5, here’s a picture of a car accident at Stokes and Carnegie the other night. The driver apparently got his car stuck on a wire somehow, leaving his whip standing straight in the air.
Quicken Loans Says It Doesn’t Owe Employees Overtime (Updated)
Update: A federal jury sided with Quicken Loans, saying the company does not owe over 300 employees overtime pay because “sales” were not their primary job responsibility. (AP) *** Quicken Loans is embroiled in a federal trial up in Detroit right now. Former employees are claiming they are owed overtime for working upwards of 60…
Arrests Down, Madness Up at Cleveland’s 2011 St. Pat’s Parade
What’s orange and green and black and white and bloody all over? Cleveland’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade by about 3 p.m. A mix of perfect weather, plentiful booze, and thousands of stumbling drunks resulted in one of the most festive St. Patrick’s Days in downtown history — but also one of the most chaotic. Fights…
Woman’s Ear Bitten Off in Brawl (Updated)
Earless, but not undone Update: Jacqueline Ricks was sentenced this week to six months in prison for gnawing off part of Lachelle Johnson’s ear during a fight last June. (WOIO) *** Must be the heat. The details are slim right now, but 19 Action News is reporting on a backyard brawl that turned Tysonesque. According…
Bone Home
Two British nerds (Shaun of the Dead’s Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who also wrote the script) traveling across the U.S. in a rented RV to check out UFO landmarks find a pot-smoking, foul-mouthed alien (voiced by Seth Rogen) on the run from mysterious men in black. This geekfest crams in tons of sci-fi references…
We Don’t Object!
After a leisurely intro, The Lincoln Lawyer develops into a taut legal thriller starring Matthew McConaughey as Mick Haller, a quick-witted and fast-talking defense attorney with a chauffeur and a sexy Lincoln sedan. Mick is willing to take risks to make money, and he’s good at his job. So when real-estate heir Louis Roulet (an…
Drug Dealer
Director Neil Burger turns Alan Glynn’s modern Faustian tale The Dark Fields into a viscerally exciting techno-thriller about the folly of ambition. Bradley Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a slovenly and creatively blocked novelist who is dumped by his exasperated girlfriend. A chance meeting with his Mephistophelean ex-brother-in-law introduces Eddie to a mysterious designer smart drug…
Lorain Police Chief Questions Nancy Smith Conviction in Tapes
Update: The follow-ups cometh. Both the Plain Dealer and Morning Journal have good articles today on the recent recordings of Lorain Police Chief Cel Rivera questioning the conviction of Nancy Smith in the Head Start case. But an unsurprising development is who sprung the latest leak.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, You Drunks
Posting will be slow, if existent at all, on Thursday around these parts. So we’ll take this opportunity to say have a safe holiday out there. Here’s to hoping your St. Patty’s Day leaves you as free, happy, and intoxicated as this young Clevelander. It’s also a good time to remind you that not everything…
Democrats Looking at Ted Strickland as Next Chair?
Politico is reporting that “top Democrats” are looking at former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland to replace Tim Kaine as chair of the Democratic National Committee, should Kaine opt to step down to run for the U.S. Senate from his home state of Virginia. “Even though he narrowly lost his reelection bid, Strickland was seen by…
The Anniversary of Ricky Davis’ Wrong-Way Triple-Double
Eight years ago today, Ricky Davis became “Wrong Way” Ricky Davis, solidifying himself in Cavs and NBA lore forever. The Cavs were up by over 20 with under 10 seconds to play against the Utah Jazz and the Cavs were inbounding the ball. Ricky Davis was one rebound away from a triple-double and Ricky wanted…
Poll Shows Sherrod Brown Would Beat Drew Carey in an Election
Senator Sherrod Brown’s camp must be breathing easier today. A new Public Policy Polling survey shows that should libertarian Drew Carey stop hosting The Price Is Right, separate himself from his darling Seattle Sounders MLS franchise, and throw his hat into the campaign ring, Sherrod Brown would win. Whew. The tally came in at 49…
Vasectomies Skyrocket In March According to Cleveland Clinic Doc
What’s the most popular month for men to get snipped? March, by a longshot, says Dr. Stephen Jones, a urologist at the Cleveland Clinic. There’s usually a 50% increase in vasectomies during the month. And the reason has everything to do with recuperation time. Why March? NCAA basketball. If men are going to have a…
Cops Unable to Investigate YouTube Threat Because Police Station Blocks YouTube
Lots of businesses block certain website from being viewed on their network. Porn is an obvious target, but so are time-wasting sites and those that chew up a large chunk of bandwidth. That often means no YouTube, Pandora, or similar outlets that stream video and audio. This counts for police stations, too. You don’t want…
Man Calls 911 From Inside Jail to Report the Cops
911 dispatch operators are used to bizarre calls, but they probably have never had one from a man calling from inside a jail to complain that he was being held against his will until this week. Cops were called to the Water Street Bar in Sandusky after 3 a.m. on Sunday after Joseph Walsh, a…
$1 Million of Pot Seized in Traffic Stop
“Transportation is precise business.” — Frank, from The Transporter A traffic stop yesterday in Lorain by the Ohio State Highway Patrol led to the seizure of 188 pounds — $1 million street value — of pot. The Ohio State Highway Patrol fires off press releases now and then announcing some huge drug bust on the…
Charlie Sheen Bringing His Live Show to Cleveland
With two live shows already sold out in Detroit and Chicago, trainwreck extraordinaire Charlie Sheen announced three more additions to his bringing-crazy-to-the-heartland tour of America. Cleveland is one of them.”Charlie Sheen Live: My Violent Torpedo of Truth” will be at the State Theater on April 5. Tickets go on sale tomorrow; you can buy them…
One Fine Philly
People often toss around the word “revelation,” though rare is the food experience that truly rises to that level. But the moment I sunk my teeth into a cheesesteak from Twinsburg’s Original Steaks & Hoagies, I knew that every future Philly I tasted would be compared to the one in my hands. In Philadelphia, “steak…
Straight to Video
“Now an important announcement for ventriloquists and collectors!” intones a broadcaster, right before a creepy-looking dummy with a side part and red turtleneck appears onscreen. By the time the minute-and-a-half clip winds down, the dummy’s head has been severed from the rest of the body (to show how his mouth and eyes work), and “Jerry’s…
Film Capsules
The Adjustment Bureau (PG-13) — This muddled story about a popular politician (played by a coasting Matt Damon) whose fate is in the hands of some mysterious agency loses itself between worlds. There’s a love story, with Emily Blunt as a dancer who stumbles into his life the night he loses a big election. Then…
Elephant in the Room
Three years ago, Julian Koster released a new record by the Music Tapes, one of several bands he’s played in since the early ’90s. He used old-timey instruments — like the singing saw and banjo — for the set of fuzz-folk music that sounded a lot like Neutral Milk Hotel, another, more popular band he…
The Sound of Shamrocks
There are plenty of reasons to love St. Patrick’s Day. Mostly it’s the green beer, but Ireland has also given us many great artists, most of whom sound even greater after a pint or two or four. Here are 10 of our favorites, plus the album of theirs you should be listening to during your…
Cellar Dwellers
About eight years ago, Justin Markert and a buddy opened Cellar Door Coffee & Music in Madison. Indie bands on their way to Cleveland would play the small club, which also promoted plenty of local music. Encouraged by the artists’ DIY approach, Markert started Cellar Door Records, which released local music compilations in 2003 and…
Eat, Drink & Pee Merry
On March 17, 1867, a loose assemblage of the town’s Irishmen marched, sang, and danced their way through their West Side neighborhood, unwittingly ushering in the beginning of Cleveland’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Plenty of rich history has elapsed between that first parade and the one happening this week, but what’s most important is…
CD Review: New York Dolls
On their 2006 reunion album — and first record in 32 years — the New York Dolls ran the gamut from classic punk mimicry to straight-up Andrew W.K. imitation. Since they’re unlikely to ever top it, or their two 1970s classics, the Dolls (only singer David Johansen and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain remain from the original…
Drunk by Dawn?
On March 17, bars throughout our great land will throw open their doors before the sun comes up. And, bedecked in leprechaun hats and ridiculous green beads, folks will line up for green beer and whiskey and eggs, angling for 11 on the blotto meter before the morning news is over. Yes, the Feast of…
CD Review: Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco has already caused a shit storm with his third album, disowning Lasers before it was even released. Four years in the making, and tweaked and delayed numerous times along the way, the album is a hodgepodge of styles, producers, and guest singers. It’s a more pop-oriented and less focused outing than the Chicago…
On View This Week
The Vinyl Takeover: Could customized Qees be the art of the future? Tri-C interactive media student Rick Sans figures blank vinyl dolls could be the future of sculpture, transforming passive audiences from appraisers of static objects into playful collectors of personal quirks. Whether Sans and his kind will change the art world has yet to…
Local Band in Focus
Meet the Band: Chris Walker (drums), Steve Fade (bass/production), and Ryan Hodson, aka “Bruce” (keyboards/production) Road to Glory: After a few months of jamming in the basement, the Cleveland trio made a memorable Beachland debut in 2010, opening for Zach Deputy with a nonstop, 30-minute improv set. “We left the crowd both intrigued and confused,”…
Save Your Receipt
Obsessions, science, and doses of visual poetry — from color-coded maps and quirky lists, to deadly sins and even a “50,000 pound woman” — are sampled at this year’s biennial 4U exhibition held at Zygote Press. The show skims the cream from the printmaking efforts of students based at four area university art departments. Though…
CD Review: Carina
(myspace.com/carinarock) “Far Away,” the lead cut on this Akron trio’s debut album, immediately steers into Nickelback territory. So yeah, Carina don’t break any new ground on Paradise Push, but they have plenty of testosterone to spare. They wear their baseball caps backward and look like they spend way too much time at the gym, but…
At the Arthouse
Pinned Never mind that Pinned happens to be a local story chronicling the determination of two Lakewood high school wrestlers in their quest for championship glory. The film by Clevelanders Mike and Patrick Norman is a universally scintillating portrait of the inconceivable lengths taken by young grapplers — from debilitating workouts to starvation to, in…
Shakespeare on Steroids
As humans, we have a penchant for reducing large things so they take up less space or time. This curious inclination has resulted in “achievements” such as the Smart car, Reader’s Digest edited novels, and aerosol cheese. Then there’s The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), the maniacally loopy compression of the Bard’s canon now…
CD Review: Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne has been making snotty records about skater boys and bitchy girls for almost a decade now. On her fourth album, she grows up. Being a 26-year-old divorcée will do that to you. Written and recorded as she was splitting from one of the Sum 41 dudes, Goodbye Lullaby trades brassy kiss-offs for a…
On Stage This Week
Cleveland Public Theatre Survival of the WittiestAn early contender for the year’s Most Enjoyable and Engrossing 70 Minutes, Darwinii: The Comeuppance of Man is a one-man tour de force, spinning you through a funny and thought-provoking story involving Charles Darwin, his still (!) controversial ideas, and the dangers of getting up in somebody’s niche. As…
Bites: SoHo Kitchen Coming to Ohio City
Chef Nolan Konkoski has signed a lease to take over the former Lelolai Bakery space on West 25th Street, which recently closed after 10 years. By late summer, he and partner Molly Smith will open SoHo Kitchen and Bar, the “SoHo” being short for southern hospitality. “Southern is a cuisine we always liked, and when…
Concert Calendar
The Blasters When Phil Alvin first belted out the lyrics to brother Dave’s “American Music” years ago, he didn’t just celebrate musical roots. He also offered up a list of styles and sounds the Blasters had reclaimed for their own. The band’s own roots reached far into blues, R&B, and rockabilly. But what put them…
Meet the DJs
Hot Mess’ Keith Swet (Keith West) and Vacate (Corey Faulkner) have been spinning separately for about a decade. But together the Columbus dubstep duo have made some big noise over the past year. — Michael Gallucci What song do you never leave home without? Doctor P’s “Big Boss” (Vacate); J. Rabbit’s “Energy Legs” (Keith) What’s…
Get Out!
Thursday | 17 St. Patrick’s Day Go Green, Save Green All dressed up in your St. Paddy’s Day finery, and nowhere to show it off? Wear green today to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and get half off your regular admission. Better still, go green in the recycling sense — by bringing in an old cell…
Drink of the Week
“Meat … Greet … Eat” is the motto at Hudson’s Flip Side, but don’t be misled: The potential for drinking at this handsome burger joint is pretty awesome too, thanks to an impressive lineup of craft-brewed beers just right for St. Paddy’s Day tippin.’ During a recent stop, we counted more than a dozen brews…
Home Movies
Hereafter (Warner) Clint Eastwood gets metaphysically messy in his latest movie, a slow-moving rumination on the afterlife that juggles three separate stories in three separate countries, before everything comes together in the end. There’s one knockout scene — the first one, in which a tsunami rips through Indonesia. And one interesting story — reluctant psychic…
Stay In!
TOP PICK — CD Dropkick Murphys: Going Out in Style (Born & Bred) We can’t think of a better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than with the latest album by these Boston punks. In the past, Dropkick Murphys always seemed to take the easy way out. But Going Out in Style — a concept…
