Man Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Kidnapping Son, Bringing Him to Cleveland Under Fake Name
Update: Today, Judge Cassandra Collier-Williams sentenced Bobby Hernandez to four years in prison for kidnapping his son from Alabama more than a decade ago and bringing him to Cleveland under a fake name, while noting that the story is a mother’s worst nightmare. It was an emotional morning in the courtroom as Hernandez’s son and his…
Lineup Announced for 10th Annual Rock on the Range (Updated)
The big hard rock festival that takes place in Columbus in May, Rock on the Range has aded a few key acts to the bill. Organizers have just announced that Deftones, the Shrine and Adam Watt will join the fray. “Rock on the Range has always been a show we enjoy playing, and to be…
Will Anyone Challenge Tim McGinty in Prosecutor’s Race?
Update: Mike O’Malley got the Cuyahoga County Democrats’ city leaders recommendation this morning over Tim McGinty. City ward leaders take that recommendation to the executive committee, which meets Dec. 17. That’s when an official endorsement in the prosecutor’s race would come. *** (Original story 12/1/2015) We’re getting pretty close to the time when anyone hoping…
Reinvigorated Indie Rockers Sleater-Kinney to Play House of Blues
When indie rockers Sleater-Kinney went on hiatus back in 2006, the band did so quietly. While a certain amount of drama often accompanies band break-ups and breaks, that wasn’t the case for the Portland, Oregon-based trio. Rather, singer-guitarist Corin Tucker and guitarist Carrie Brownstein remained friends. At the end of 2011, Tucker suggested she and…
LeBron Turns Taskmaster in Pointing Way Toward Trophy
LeBron’s got plenty of reasons to be angry. His fairytale return story was foiled by a Gonzaga hippy and some baby-faced Warriors. He watched them celebrate on his home floor. He watched the Finals MVP go to a guy a reserve over arguably the greatest one-man show in Finals history. Along the way he watched…
Cleveland Public Library Unveils New Card Designed by Local Artist
Our good old public library released a new card for members as part of its Landmark series. This time around, the card, available for free, was designed by local yet world-renowned artist Amy Casey. The new design marks the third in the series. (The first, pulled from Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland, was unveiled in 2012.) According to Cleveland.com,…
Tennessee Company Eager to Talk Business with Lakewood Hospital Association
Surgical Development Partners, a Tennessee-based “team of seasoned health care executives,” submitted a non-binding letter of intent to the Lakewood Hospital Association outlining a proposal for the property at 850 Columbia Road. In short, the document presents and proposes a $9-million offer for the medical office building and ambulatory surgery center — the Westlake Medical…
‘Off the Wall’ Events Complement Holiday Shopping Season
With the holiday shopping season in full force, nearby neighbors the Cleveland Print Room and Zygote Press are hoping to help local artists cash in by hosting “Off the Wall” collections of local artwork. In celebration of its members, the Cleveland Print Room hosts an opening reception from 5 to 9 p.m. this Friday, Dec.…
Stay in the ‘Christmas Story’ House This Christmas
Fans of the Christmas classic A Christmas Story have another chance to experience Christmas in the original house where the movie was filmed this year. Bidding begins Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. for a two-day and two-night stay that includes scheduled activities for four, as well as tickets to the Great Lakes Science Center. Activities…
Roots Rockers Donna the Buffalo Bring ‘The Stampede’ to Kent Stage
The members of Donna the Buffalo, the terrific roots rock band that plays a mix of bluegrass, Cajun/zydeco, rock, folk, reggae and country, originally met activist Ben Cohen (of Ben and Jerry’s fame) years ago. They brought him to their Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance outside of Miami and he did a…
Suburbs Rally Against “ShopCLE,” Plain Dealer Delivery
The city of Cleveland Heights, through “focused citizen pressure” and the work of law director Jim Juliano, has negotiated mail delivery of the Plain Dealer’s Shop Greater Cleveland advertising flyers, “ShopCLE.” The flyers, which are sheathed in a translucent plastic bag and are distributed on Wednesdays to 645,000 households in the region, had been previously…
Cleveland Metal Holiday Food Drive Returns to Beachland
Each year, WJCU 88.7 FM, Auburn Records, the Exchange and Iron Ingo Stührenberg outdo themselves in presenting the annual Cleveland Metal Holiday Food Drive, a fundraising event for Friends of the Cleveland Kennel and the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. Set to take place on Saturday, December 5, at the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern, this year’s…
Melt Bar & Grilled to Open First Summit County Location
Since opening his first Melt Bar & Grilled in Lakewood almost 10 years ago, Matt Fish has been on an unstoppable roll. He and his grilled cheese compadres have since opened up shops in Cleveland Heights, Independence, Mentor and a pair in Columbus (Short North, Easton), not to mention satellite spots at the Jake and…
Black Keys Singer-Guitarist Dan Auerbach Explores His Experimental Side with the Arcs
“I’m back home in Nashville,” says the Arcs singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach via phone just after he returned from France, where he played a show on the day of the recent terrorist attacks. You can tell from the tone of his voice that Auerbach, an Akron native who also fronts the Black Keys, is relieved. He’s…
Cleveland Cinemas Announces Late Shift Schedule for First Half of 2016
Whether a movie made big money at the box office or bombed has little to do with whether it becomes a cult classic. In fact, many cult classics were commercial failures. Cleveland Cinemas acknowledges as much each year when it announces its schedule for Late Shift, its cult film series. The local theater chain has…
Disastrous Cleveland Browns Season Was Set Up to Fail From the Start
One year ago, Mike Pettine puffed a fat cigar outside the tunnel of the Georgia Dome dressed in a sharp suit and an orange tie. Red-faced with elation following the last-second win, team owner Jimmy Haslam greeted his first-year head coach with a warm embrace and his booming southern accent. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and…
Wine, Food, Cleveland Broadway Stars and More to Ring in Theatre’s Inaugural Gala
Need another reason to check out local musical theater? Well, we have three: wine, food, and Broadway-level entertainment. Look for all this and more at the Cleveland Musical Theatre’s debut event, “DREAM: The Inaugural Gala” in January. The gala will include performances by local Broadway stars including Tony Award winner Alice Ripley, Corey Cott from Newsies, Corey Mach,…
Little Italy’s La Dolce Vita Brings Back Monday Night Opera
Need another reason to dine in Cleveland’s Little Italy? Look no further than La Dolce Vita which recently re-infused its Monday night service with live opera performances. Tonight, as well as Dec. 7, Dec. 14, and Dec. 28, the Mayfield Road eatery will host Claire Connolly (vocalist), Brian Skoog (vocalist), and Adam Whiting (pianist) as they perform…
Rock Solid Summit to Scrutinize Local Music Scene’s Economic Impact
Believe it or not, Cleveland’s music scene ranks with the best in the country. Four years ago, the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC) and Cleveland State University released a study called Remix Cleveland that documented research showing the economic impact of music in northeast Ohio. Local companies such as Gotta Groove Records, which…
Maid Myriad Singer Jeff ‘JCK’ Klemm to Release Solo Debut
Local singer-songwriter Jeff “JCK” Klemm has spent the last decade touring and recording with the rock band Maid Myriad. Now, he’s announced he’ll release his first solo album, Burying the Shadows, on Dec. 11 through Diskette Records. “The songs were mostly written and recorded over several weeks last winter in the grips of fever delirium…
Plane ‘Overweight’ in 2014 Crash that Killed Four Case Students
The plane that crashed in Willoughby Hills last year — killing four Case Western Reserve University students — was “overweight,” according to a new report published this month by the National Transportation Safety Board and shared locally by the News-Herald. William Felten, 20, of Saginaw, Michigan; Lucas Marcelli, 20, of Massillon; Abraham Pishevar, 18, of…
Internet Outrage Machine Goes to Work Against Medina Walmart Manager
In the latest example of our great Ouroboros Internet hate machine creating a Mount Vesuvius out of a mole hill, the manager of the Walmart in Medina has been receiving death threats and demands for her to be fired for the past few days, according to a WEWS report. Why? Here’s how it goes: Some…
Local Rockers Second Hand Dogs to Play CD Release Show at the Bevy in Birdtown
For several years, the local rock band Second Hand Dogs has worked the local scene and played shows throughout the region. Highlights include playing Dick Godard’s Parade of Pets in 2014 and performing at the Ohio State Fair for the past three years. Now, the band has just announced the release of its debut album.…
Local Singer-Songwriter Liz Huff to Release Christmas Album
A Cleveland Institute of Music graduate, local singer-songwriter Liz Huff will celebrate the release of her first solo CD with two shows this week. She’ll perform at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at Brothers Lounge and then will play from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, at the Beachland Ballroom as part…
New Expert Reports, Released by Rice Family Lawyers, Call Shooting Death of Tamir “Unreasonable”
Two new reports released Saturday night by lawyers for the Rice family call the shooting death of Tamir Rice in November, 2014, objectively unreasonable. The reports were written by independent use of force experts from California and stand in contrast to three previous reports commissioned by County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty, which called the death of…
Runaway Kangaroo Takes a Jaunt Around North Ridgeville
Police across the country were on high alert this weekend, given that the Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest bar times — and DUI times — of the year. But no police department, perhaps, had as odd an apprehension this weekend as the North Ridgeville unit. At approximately 5 a.m. on Friday, police received…
Bassist Stuart Hamm Brings his Power Trio to Nighttown
Even as his career heads towards its fourth decade, there are still moments where bassist Stuart Hamm gets no respect — or at the very least, he has to do a bit of convincing. “You know, half of my life, dude, is just like convincing people I know what I’m doing,” Hamm says with a…
The Old Angle Tavern Could Be Best Soccer Bar in America
NBC Sports is running a nationwide poll to determine the best bar for English Premiere League soccer in the United States. Cleveland’s The Old Angle Tavern, on W. 25th St., is among the current 10 most popular bars in the poll. It’s the only bar in Cleveland in the competition. It’s not a traditional poll…
5 Concerts to Catch This Weekend
FRIDAY, NOV. 27 The English Beat When the English Beat emerged in the late ’70s, the UK group fused punk rock brashness with old-school Jamaican ska beats. The results were striking and the band delivered hits “Mirror in the Bathroom” and “Too Nice to Talk To.” Though the band took a long break in the…
Local Rockers So Long, Albatross to Play Free EP Release Show at Beachland
Genre-defying local rockers So Long, Albatross celebrate the release of their new EP with a free show tonight at 8 at the Beachland Ballroom. Recorded at Painesville’s Suma Recording Studios (Pere Ubu, Black Keys, Wild Cherry, Grand Funk Railroad), the EP finds the band in good form. “Something in the Way” sounds like a cross…
Cavs Lose, and Lose Their Way in Foreign Land
Sports hold a unique place in our heart because it possesses justice the real world lacks. We watch politicians, bankers and sometimes our neighbors prove little more than every day grifters, going along to get along and following the path of least resistance to undeserved success. Karma’s even more backlogged than our judicial system. But…
Former Dead Boys/Rocket from the Tombs Guitarist Fights for His Right to be on Facebook
Formerly of classic Cleveland punk bands such as the Dead Boys and Rocket from the Tombs, guitarist Cheetah Chrome has lived such a colorful life that he even wrote a book about it back in 2010. While the Dead Boys have dissolved and Chrome no longer tours with Rocket from the Tombs, he still records…
Tandul to Bring the Flavors of India to Tremont
In the handful of years since the Hotz Valley View Café in Tremont shut its doors, the storefront space at 2505 Professor Avenue has been two separate Turkish restaurants: Istanbul Grill and Dervish Grill. Both operations suffered from the same issue, namely a lack of talented Turkish chefs to prepare the food. “There is a…
Nonprofit Grants Wishes for Thanksgiving Meals to Families in Need
Founded in 1982, A Special Wish Foundation is one of the first wish-granting organizations in the United States. The Cleveland Chapter began in 2013 and has been granting the wishes of children under the age of 21 who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening disorder ever since. At present, the organization grants wishes for patients…
92.3 The Fan Caller Breaks Down in Tears Talking About Johnny Manziel’s Partying
There’s really nothing else to say besides the details in the headline except to point out that Bill called into the Bull & Fox show and got very, very emotional talking about his love for the Browns and his disappointment in Johnny Manziel. We are all Bill, whether we like to admit it or not.…
Loud in Cleveland Podcast with Cities & Coasts
Loud in Cleveland returns this week, ushering in their “second season” and looking forward to a busy winter here along the north shore. This time around, hosts Drew Maziasz and Michael Cornacchione talked with Cities & Coasts singer/frontman Nathan Hedges. The band will be releasing a new single, “Finer Than Gold,” this weekend. From Drew and Mike:…
Rally Reminds City That Transgender Legislation Has Been Tabled for Two Years
Remember last November when City Council discussed an ordinance that would include “gender identity or expression” in its anti-discrimination language? That was a long time ago — and that meeting itself came a whole year after the ordinance was originally introduced. So here we are, two years after the ordinance shows up, and no action has…
Johnny Manziel, Buckeyes and More With Ben Axelrod from Bleacher Report — The A to Z Podcast With Andre Knott and Zac Jackson
Today the fellas are joined by the Bleacher Report’s Ben Axelrod. They talked a whole bunch of Johnny Fucking Football (note: it was recorded before yesterday’s demotion), plus some Buckeyes vs. Michigan and more. Subscribe to A to Z on iTunes here. Android users can find the RSS feed here. Download the episode directly here.…
PHOTO: Kyrie Irving Shares Baby News on Instagram
The Cleveland Cavaliers Point Guard shared some exciting news on Instagram last night — he’s a dad! His daughter, Azurie Elizabeth, was born on Tuesday evening. Azurie Elizabeth Irving 11/23/15 35 hours of labor from her great mother and she came into the world to bring a shine to my world that I never thought…
It’s All Good at the Beginning in Bob: A Life in Five Acts at convergence-continuum
Is there such a thing as a play having too good a beginning? If it’s possible, a case in point might be the start of Bob: A Life in Five Acts by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, now being produced by convergence-continuum. In this play that attempts to paint a panoramic mural of optimistic American dreams on…
A Slew of New Releases Open at Cleveland Theaters This Week
‘Tis the season when the holiday film release schedule heats up. This week alone, a handful of new movies open at area theaters. There’s something for everyone: animation for the kids (Good Dinosaur, which didn’t screen in time for us to review), period pieces (Trumbo, Brooklyn), action (Creed) and horror (Victor Frankenstein). Here’s a rundown…
The Growing Pains of Cleveland’s Newest Westside Neighborhood
THE VICAR Even if he weren’t a deacon at St. Patrick’s Church on Bridge Avenue, Franklin-Clinton Block Club president Bill Merriman would be held in saintly regard by his neighbors. He’s a former mailman with the U.S. Postal Service and the owner of multiple homes on Church Avenue between West 29th and West 32nd. For…
Where to Build Your Own Bloody Mary
When it comes to the beloved Sunday ritual of the Bloody Mary bar, people are so set in their ways that Francesca Harris had to steer devotees to something new the only way she knew how: by telling little white lies. As beverage manager of Flat’s-based craft rum bar Portside Distillery, Harris jokes that more…
Mely’s Kainan Is the Only Place in Cleveland to Score Filipino Cuisine
When we walk into Mely’s Kainan, the lone seat in the shop is occupied by Violeta, sister to namesake Mely. She is hunched over a small table cluttered with a cutting board, a bowl of seasoned ground pork, and a never-ending stack of spring roll wrappers. With the instinctive moves of a Cuban cigar maker,…
Band of the Week: Cities & Coasts
Meet the Band: Nathan Hedges (vocals, guitarist), Michael Gould (drums), Mike Drury (bass, vocals), Scott Griffin (saxophone), Stephanie Trivson (guitar), Anthony Zaro (vocals), Jon Bryant and Bri Bryant (vocals) In the Beginning: Back in 2007, Hedges was signed to a small Virginia label and released a solo album. As he started to put a backing…
Genghis Con Shines Light on Rust Belt Comics and Cartoonists
It’s no secret that Northeast Ohio has a rich history of comics and cartoonists. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s Superman, Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes, Zap Comix’s R. Crumb, Derf, Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor (with Gary Dumm) and Marvel Entertainment’s Brian Michael Bendis all got their start in and around Cleveland. Less familiar are the…
