Mayor Ed FitzGerald presented a plan to City Council to automate refuse collection in the City as part of the 2009 Budget Hearings focusing on Refuse which took place on November 18, 2008. City Council will consider this plan as they make decisions about the City’s 2009 Budget.

The Green Refuse Initiative proposes to automate the City’s refuse collection system. This system will be more efficient, more economical and more environmentally responsible than the current system. The plan calls for all homes in the City to receive a refuse collection container which the city will provide. Residents will place this container on their tree lawn on their collection day and a refuse truck with a mechanical arm will lift the container off the street, empty it into the truck and return the container to its original position. Collection of recycling and large item collection will remain the same. Cleveland, Akron, Columbus, Cuyahoga Falls, Solon, Beachwood and Bowling Green already use an automated refuse collection system...

Dear Goddess Blessed,

 

Walking into your store is like taking the time to give myself a big hug! Whenever I feel that I am tapped out and I get that tired look on my face, I know it’s time for a little nurturing of the mind, spirit, and body. I am grateful your store is right down the street to help me do that. Thank you for your book selection especially geared towards women for reference and inspiration. Particularly, Christian Northrup’s books about women’s health issues have been a godsend...

Inspired by the festive Higbee’s Twigbee shop, young volunteers in the city of Lakewood’s H2O “Help to Others” program are busy as elves creating inexpensive holiday gifts for a Santa shop that will open during this year’s Light Up Lakewood event on Saturday, Dec. 6...

Be a part of the magic this holiday season when downtown Lakewood transforms into an old-fashioned main street during the second annual Light Up Lakewood, from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, December 6.

The holiday kickoff and downtown lighting will feature musical entertainment, ice carvings, sleigh rides, refreshments, a visit from Santa and friends, an official holiday lighting ceremony and plenty of good cheer...

On the first Saturday evening of the month contra dancing is going on here in the heart of Lakewood. Contra dancing takes place at college campuses and urban and rural communities nationwide. Every age finds enjoyment and exercise from the traditional American community dance. It stems from the 17th century English Country Dance and the music is mostly traditional Irish, English, and Scottish jigs and reels. The band, Mud In Yer Eye, currently consists of about forty musicians from all over Northeast Ohio...

Today, Mayor Ed FitzGerald, Lakewood City Council and the Lakewood Veterans Committee hosted the City of Lakewood's Veterans Day Ceremony. The ceremony took place at the recently renovated Veterans Memorial at Lakewood Park. With a somber mood marking this moment of remembrance, there was not a dry eye in the park. The memorial was rededicated this morning at 10:30 immediately preceding the Veterans Day Ceremony.

The memorial is nearly completed, with construction having been delayed by three days due to the Palin rally last Monday. According to sources, the rally interrupted the renovation work that was scheduled to be completed in time for the ceremony. Despite delays, the new memorial is a stunning addition to Lakewood park, complementing other recently added amenities."I am pleased that we are able to hold our annual Veterans Day Ceremony at the new, beautifully renovated Veterans Memorial," stated Mayor Ed FitzGerald. "This project is a wonderful example of how the City and a community group can work together to accomplish great things."

Photos by Mary Breiner

"It takes a movement to get it. This wasn't just a campaign, this was a movement." That's April Stoltz, lifelong community activist and member of the Lakewood Democratic Club. Though filled with pride and hope for a new dawn in American leadership, Stoltz remains cautious. "The movement has to continue." Indeed, Stoltz and President Elect Barak Obama hold a shared belief in the power of community organizing, the power of a people to remake a nation. Obama's character and charisma have inspired citizens throughout the nation to come together in the creative act of community building...

At the October 20th Lakewood City Council Meeting, Mayor Ed FitzGerald presented his 2008 Housing Initiative to Lakewood City Council. The mayor’s housing working group presented suggestions earlier this year which were incorporated into the comprehensive program.

“The quality of Lakewood’s housing stock is a key factor in its success or failure in the years to come,” state Mayor FitzGerald. “New challenges demand that Lakewood reassess its housing strategy. While Lakewood cannot control national economic downturns or banking policies, it can control its own investment strategies and building code enforcement efforts.”

Mayor’s FitzGerald’s housing initiative takes a two-pronged approach: it encourages investment by homeowners, while streamlining and toughening enforcement measures. It is hoped that this balanced approach will help sustain Lakewood’s housing stock, much of which is now entering its second century.

The following is a summary of the 2008 Lakewood Housing Initiative:

Lackluster.

That is the one word that could accurately describe the Palin “Road to Victory” rally on Monday.

Attending the rally as press, and therefore unaffiliated with either party, I was anticipating something along the lines of the numerous sound bites readily available on any news feed or mainstream media coverage. Palin's rallies have received so much attention from the press in the past for their rowdy conclusions and high energy level that it was not outlandish for me to assume that the Lakewood rally, while I hoped it would not take on a hateful sentiment, would at least be lively. 

Well, I was wrong.

A dreary Monday morning in Lakewood was spiced up by a last-minute “Road to Victory” campaign stop for the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, Governor Sarah Palin. What could be called a relatively small and halcyon audience greeted the White House hopeful along with several local Republicans on northeast Ohio tickets. Volunteers were surprised by the size of the turnout, claiming it to be larger than expected, considering only two days notice.

In response to our current economic situation, and the number of vacant homes in and around the city, I have decided to forgo my usual financial banter and write about the situation that effects all of us and has raised questions from the people I meet on a daily basis and my current clients. This may be a little dry but I am going to try and reveal some facts of what has happened with our economy and some certainties for the future...

Over the past few years many companies have been using less manpower and more automation. The main reason given is cutting costs. The Post Office is no different. Currently at least 70% of all letter mail is computer generated. Within the next few years, magazines and other mail pieces will be processed the same way, leaving very little mail for the carrier to sort in the mornings. This can be both beneficial and detrimental. This is beneficial because a greater number of mail pieces can be processed in a shorter period of time, saving costs. However, it is is detrimental because mistakes cannot be caught and corrected since it is not being handled by clerks or carriers...

You may be acquainted with Madison Avenue and you pass by her all the time, but do you know that Madison Avenue is worth getting to know on a more intimate level?  No, Madison Avenue isn’t looking so fresh and glamorous like other shopping centers you may leave town to visit these days.  But she’s full of character and heart and soul...

You may be acquainted with Madison Avenue. You may pass by her all the time, but do you know that Madison Avenue is worth getting to know on a more intimate level? No, Madison Avenue isn’t looking so fresh and glamorous like other shopping centers you may leave town to visit these days. But she’s full of character, heart and soul.

Due to space restrictions we cannot publish the League of Women voter's guide for the 2008 election. However, the voter's guide is available online, providing the volume and depth of information required to accurately inform our readers about the many offices and state issues on this November 4th ballot.

Please visit the League's guide at http://www.lwv2008vote.info/ for detailed information about November 4th ballot issues, offices and candidates. Or contact them at 216.781.0555...

It's that time of year again...the leaves are falling, the temperature's dropping, and Lakewood's being turned into Halloween central! That's right it's time for the 4th Annual West End Halloween Window Walk. Since 2005, The Lakewood Chamber and the Beck Center have had Lakewood school kids transform the store fronts in the West End of Lakewood along Detroit Avenue into a spooky outdoor art gallery. For the past few years, many West End stores have allowed kids in grades K-12 to paint their front windows with ghosts, pumpkins, and many other Halloween spirited creatures...

On Saturday, October 18th, Lakewood Mayor Ed Fitzgerald attended, and was the featured speaker, at a breakfast at the Lakewood United Methodist Church on Detroit Ave. Mayor Fitzgerald spoke about current issues with housing stock, street repairs, community services, and Lakewood's cooperation with other local communities in areas beneficial for all concerned. Mayor Fitzgerald entertained questions from the breakfast participants for an extended period of time...

When it comes to political philosophies and picking a presidential candidate, Lakewood residents William and Terese Memmer and Michael Pomerantz could not be more different. Registered Republicans for the past thirty years, William, an accountant, and Terese, a manufacturer’s representative, named their Catholic faith as a template in reaching any major voting decision. In a separate interview, Michael Pomerantz, a Democrat, artist, and former Cleveland school teacher, described his assessment as a search for the candidate with ideas most like his, “who will be the best for the most people”.

Pomerantz, who has displayed his endorsement on the side of his van with a larger-than-life portrait of Barack Obama, says he was neutral until the Iowa caucus. “I didn’t think he had a chance because he was new to the scene, because he had a funny name, and because he was black.” The Memmers, however, have maintained their support for John McCain since long before this year’s presidential race - they supported him through his loss to Bush in the primaries in 2000. And while both sides projected their candidate as best for the country and bound for the White House, that is as close as they came to a common ground...

I was initially skeptical when my sister invited me to a recent gathering of Obama supporters at Lakewood cybercafe Bella Dubby for a training on using 21st Century tools to make neighborhood connections. Following politics online is a hobby of mine, sort of like watching soap operas. The cast of characters is every bit as intriguing, and even the plots are similar, with tales of power, money, and sex scandals.

However, this year I’m no longer amused. The country is a mess, the economy in ruins, and everyone is walking around in a heightened state of anxiety, wondering what is going on, and what’s going to break down next. Therefore, I was skeptical when my sister called because I had been to these meetings before, and I know the drill. Someone is always trying to get a commitment for additional time, work, house parties, et cetera. My sister insisted that this gathering would be different; the subject was different, and people attending would be very fun and high energy. (In addition, the ice mochas at Bella Dubby are delicious!) I agreed to go...

Have you ever wished that your oatmeal was more interesting or that your Cheerio's had a little more zing? Did you ever want to put something more than milk in the bowl? Gummi bears? Cookies? Well, now, at Cereal Central, you just might get that bowl that Mom would never serve you...

Q: Why did the LakewoodAlive and Lakewood Community Progress Inc. (LCPI) decide to merge?

A: After a significant amount of discussion and analysis, the LCPI Board of Trustees and LakewoodAlive Executive Committee determined that a merger of the two organizations would create a powerful formula for driving economic development within Lakewood for the benefit of the Lakewood community and its citizens...

The following is excerpted from remarks presented by Mary Anne Crampton, Executive Director of LCPI, when the merger was announced at the LakewoodAlive Lakewood Hospital forum on October 8th:

Lakewood’s debut Spooky Pooch Parade this Saturday, Oct. 18 is sure to bring out the best of our city’s furry friends. Already registered to stroll down Detroit Avenue in their Halloween best are Elvis, Sammy the Cowboy, Charlie the Angel, and Fritz the Butterfly. Join the menagerie this Saturday at 2 p.m. when the parade kicks off at the corner of Detroit and St. Charles avenues and proceeds westward to the Lakewood Public Library. Pet owners and their children are encouraged to come in costume as well. It’s destined to become a Halloween family tradition. “This hilarious new event will bring all of Lakewood together to celebrate Halloween,” said parade co-founder Rhonda Loje. “Come strut in costume through our great walkable city. It will be great fun for dogs and kids,” she said. The first 200 registered participants will receive a goody bag filled with both doggie treats and toys...