The Cuyahoga County Board of Health is offering free home inspections and repairs to eligible Lakewood residents looking to remove lead hazards from their homes. Up to $10,000 in grant assistance is available to income qualified homeowners and tenants who have children ages 5 and under. Those children must reside or spend significant time in the home.

 

In forty-two years of life I have never cried about a Presidential election until this week. In fact I cried throughout the entire day after Barack Obama was elected president and I haven't cried from joy since my children were born. For weeks before the election I removed myself from the emotions of this election. Firstly, because I realized my emotions were too strong, and secondly, because I was so afraid to get my hopes up. I have been so disheartened and disillusioned by the disintegration of our country...

How would you describe a person who, through adoption, has changed the lives of not just one, but two young men? What would possess a single 38-year-old middle school science teacher to embark on an emotional journey to fatherhood and family life?

I first met Drew Goddard in September 2007 in the midst of selling hot dogs, candy, and nachos while volunteering for the LHS Athletic Boosters in the concession stand at the Lakewood High School Football Stadium. I was struck by his kind, genuine personality and sense of humor. One week later and back behind the concession counter, Drew and I talked more about our children. I learned that he had a son Devin, who, at that time, was an 8th grader at Garfield Middle School. Devin played football and basketball and was looking forward to running middle school track in the spring. Something in Drew’s eyes sparkled as he spoke about his son. It seemed different than the typical “macho-ness” of a proud father. That evening I was introduced to Devin when he stopped up to check in with his dad. Like his father, he had a beautiful smile and warm demeanor. ..

The Lakewood Democratic Club urges all Lakewood voters to cast their ballots for endorsed Democratic candidates and ballot issues on Nov. 4!

It has long been rumored that many of the old houses in Lakewood are home to spirits and ghosts of time gone by. But there is one house in Lakewood whose third floor is home to a whole host of monsters… Oops! Make that Munsters. That’s right, Munsters, as in ‘The Munsters’ television show of the 1960’s. Herman, Lily, Marilyn, Grandpa, Eddie and even Woof Woof have taken up residence in the attic of Ian Memmer’s home. For over ten years, Ian has collected memorabilia from that classic 60’s sitcom. Hailed as having one of the largest collections of Munsters memorabilia, Ian continues to build up his collection through toy and memorabilia shows and antique stores throughout the country...

Taylor Hanson, together with his brothers, Isaac and Zac, believes that our generation can, and must, do what it can to make a difference for the world. Though the Hanson brothers are most commonly known for their 1997 single, "MMMBop," and are often still thought of as those high-pitched, long-haired teens, they are now mature indie-rockers with families who should be known both for their current musical endeavors and their dedication to making the world a better place. The trio, inspired by friends in their hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, felt compelled to take a trip to Africa several years ago, and their efforts to help those struggling with the burdens of poverty and HIV/AIDS have not ceased since.

"Hi, this is Katie."declared the voice on my answering machine.

Katie who? I wondered. Katie from a campaign or a credit card company or one of the countless other solicitors who squeak through the loopholes in the Do-Not-Call registry?

Katie went on to explain,"I must have pulled up behind you at the ATM machine and when it wouldn't take my card, I noticed the screen was asking if I wanted another transaction. I hit the 'no' button and your card popped out! Since your car was nowhere in sight, I called 411 and they gave me your phone number."

The library, Detroit branch, is, of course, full of books, full of all kinds of books, and CD's and magazines. And I only come to Word process.

On the most beautiful day in recent memory (and my memory, at times, reaches back only a couple of days), I am glued to the screen of computer A3, to Word 2007 and to the Internet. But I do know when I've had enough, and after some time I push myself out of the chair and head out into the coolness of today, the breezy relief near a sweltering summer's end.

Hillary Clinton visited Lorain County Community College on Sunday afternoon to speak about issues that are important to greater Cleveland voters. It was her first time in the county since making a primary campaign stop at Admiral King High School last spring...

Phil Donahue will return to his hometown of Cleveland on Sunday, September 14, to receive Ohio Citizen Action's 2008 Howard M. Metzenbaum award. The event, which will take place at 7:00 p.m. at The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, will include a viewing of Donahue's stirring documentary Body of War and a question and answer session with Donahue.

Recently at the Lakewood Post Office, we have put together a strong safety committee to help abate problems found in the station as well as problems when the carriers are in the street. The reason the committee was put together was the high number of accidents involving vehicular damage or personal injury...

I have always ignored the Police Blotter page in that other newspaper. Anyone can get arrested. A better question is: Who is found guilty? Or, where were they when they got caught? Or, where do they live? So, let me express a challenge to the community. And, a way to meet that challenge...

“Finally! The end of camp!” Was heard several times on August 8th. All LSA travel soccer players were excited about the end of camp pool party later that day at Madison Pool. We had a great time! There was pop, pizza and (of course) swimming! The water was freezing, but we still had fun. Most of my friends came but some had other plans. We didn’t swim a lot because of the temperature .We talked about...

Pillars of Lakewood, the young professional arm of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, recently announced they will be hosting a 5K race and a Wing Crawl on Saturday, August 23, 2008. The two events were established with economic development and community building in mind. Funds garnered from the Green Lakewood 5K will go to support Help to Others (H2O), a service learning program for middle and high school students, to provide the bins and containers needed to implement a recycling program at Lakewood high school. Future events will extend this project to reach the elementary and middle schools...

Barack Obama’s speech at Wednesday’s town hall meeting in Berea was eloquent and bold, if slow to start. While a packed gymnasium of supporters sweated the heat and the anticipation, the senator arrived half an hour late. The crowd remained patient with surprise appearances by Governor Ted Strickland and Senator Sherrod Brown, both of whom exuberantly entered the stage and exalted their praises for the Democratic nominee. Obama then greeted the room, the crowd on its feet, and remarked, “I can tell this is a feisty crowd.” And with that understatement, a man at the back of the gym (later identified by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as John Quinn, a free-lance photographer from Parma) shouted over Obama, who had begun by speaking about energy, and demanded that he recite the Pledge of Allegiance. More gracefully than most could proceed after being so impertinently interrupted, the senator apologized for his hastiness and invited the man to join him in leading the Pledge...

As a Lakewood citizen who circulates this wonderful city by foot as much as by car, I am hardly impressed by the level (or lack thereof) of courtesy demonstrated by many drivers...

The challenge is simple: Listen, review, and change. So, here goes...

Financial professionals will tell you there are three primary sources you can look to as sources for your retirement income: employer-sponsored plan, social security benefits and personal savings. They often refer to this as the “three-legged stool.” However, these days, it’s looking more like a single legged stool. More and more, your own personal savings is becoming the most critical and controllable source of your retirement income...

Cox Communications announced today it’s taking further steps to limit the spread of child pornography online by signing on to a historic agreement among cable Internet providers. Cox is one of 18 members of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) which will partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to limit the distribution of child pornography...

I’ve been having a conversation by email with Stan Siebert for some time now. Stan is a Professor of Economics at the Business School of Birmingham University, Great Britain. We’ve been discussing some of the economic problems that we see here in Lakewood and nearly identical problems that are occurring in his country. He’s made a number of insightful observations, some which sound quite bizarre at first blush but rather logical after further study...

I have always been a news junkie. And now I am also a citizen journalist. Imagine my curiosity when I learned (from a newspaper article) that there was a new museum in Washington D.C. devoted to those two passions appropriately called the Newseum.

 

I travel to our capital several times a year and each time I try to focus on one museum or historical site. Most of the museums in D.C. are under the Smithsonian umbrella and admission is free. They range from the arts and history, to junk and technology. Many of the government departments have their own museums. History buffs would probably find the National Archives the most relevant of these museums.

 

I generally enter a museum with no preconceptions and let the curator’s intentions and plan chart the path for my visit...

The descent into Baghdad was unremarkable. One hundred thirty-three of us, squeezed into the back of an Air Force C-17, sweating beneath our body armor and helmets, while we craned our necks to see what we could of Iraq from either of the two small portholes in the plane's fuselage. As the pilot banked we could catch a glimpse of trees or houses, but most of what we saw was sky. The pilot lowered the landing gear with a gasping tear and minutes later we were on the ground...

Traveling with the family is not easy! There's planning, packing, stressing over which liquids are allowed on board, in the luggage, or on your person; getting to the airport, checking luggage and ultimately going through security. And all this with time constraints. We decided to make it a fun event and got ExpressJet Airlines to organize it for our Playdate on May 13th, 2008...

On Saturday, May 17th, Lakewood Lodge #601, Free and Accepted Masons, celebrated its 100th anniversary with a Ceremony of Reconsecration at the Lakewood Masonic Temple on Detroit Avenue at Andrews...