Letters To The Editor

On January 17, the Obama Administration announced that it was pushing to get the 50 state attorneys general to agree to a mortgage fraud settlement with America’s largest banking institutions. However, a key fraudulent practice will not be part of that proposed settlement--the “robo-signing” scandal. This ongoing scandal involves bank employees signing names not their own, under titles they did not have, attesting to the veracity of documents they had not seen or reviewed. Much evidence exists that it was an industry-wide practice, dating back to 1998 at the earliest, and that it has, in fact, clouded the titles of millions of homes. If the settlement is agreed to, it will let bankers off the hook for crimes that would land you and me behind bars--fraud, forgery, securities violations and tax evasion.

Each fall for the past few years, bright yellow tree-lawn signs have proliferated throughout Lakewood, indicating that we should “BRAKE 4 KIDS”. Though a well-intentioned slogan and suggestion, designed to protect our children from the harm imposed by reckless and irresponsible drivers, I feel we may be missing the mark. A small percentage of Lakewood’s population is affected by traffic mishaps, and is certainly something to be avoided, but a much larger disservice is done to our children through parent non-involvement with a child’s education. If we compare the number of children that are hit by a car, versus the number of children who have no motivation for success in the classroom, I am sure the second scenario would have the overwhelming numbers. There are plenty of studies that indicate parent involvement in a child’s education does have an impact. Encouragement, support, help, and direction to our children’s success in school should bring favorable results, if everyone would participate. The article below was written 22 years ago, but the message is the same today.

January 10, 2012

Dear Lakewood Observer Editor,

I have been going to the Convenient store on Madison Avenue for years. Service is always good.

The owner, Neil McReynolds, showed me a letter he got from Chief of Police Timothy J. Malley. The letter said the police Narcotics/Vice unit did "compliance inspections" on December 2, 2012, trying to identify stores that sold alcohol to underage kids.

The letter said Neil's store was among those that refused to sell to underage buyers, and the Chief thanked Neil.

Dear Editor:

Thank you for your article, "Annie, The 9-Year-Old Greyhound, Finds A home In Lakewood," Dec. 1, 2011.

Kudos to Dan Alaimo for opening his heart and his home to beautiful Annie, and for educating the public as to the realities greyhounds face as racers. Congratulations to all involved at Erie Shore Greyhound Adoption of Ohio for their dedicated work placing ex-racing greyhounds into well-deserved loving homes.

What an amazing fifth year for LightUpLakewood. Kudos to Ian Andrews, Shannon Strachan, Tamara Karel and the too many to list sponsors and volunteers. The event, parade and weather were fantastic! The fireworks- Thank You to The Universiry of Akron, Lakewood- were spectacular. The new lights on the Hospital- wow! Though something was definitely missing. Where was the Lakewood High School Marching Band?

I had quite an awakening this week as I found myself stopped at a green light in front of Harding School.

I didn't know why I stopped. Something just made me. I looked up, saw the green light and started to move. At that time, I noticed the panic on a little face as he just passed my vehicle, he looked up and noticed he did not have the right of way. I did not honk the horn or anything; he looked scared enough. Following that, I looked up and thanked God for having me stop during a green light.

The feeling that I almost hit a child is still with me.  And I am thankful of it, a constant reminder to slow down and be aware. Kids and parents can not hear it enough times to BE CAREFUL when crossing. Parents, BE CAREFUL when driving. This is not a question of who has the right of way, but rather saving a life!

Chris Perry and Bret Callentine both made valid points in their Lakewood Observer articles of Oct. 18. It is true, as Mr. Perry states, that the richest 1% of all earners collect nearly 24% of all taxable income in the United States, an increase from 9% in 1980. This upward shift has depressed middle class incomes. Corporations do have too much power. They finance the campaigns of candidates for political office and spend millions of dollars on lobbying. There can be do doubt that they get something for their money. It is in their short-term interest to exploit the planet's resources without concern for it's effect on the environment. They want to keep taxes low and government small and without responsibility for the poorest and most vulnerable in our society.

Dear Lakewood Observer,

I recently moved to the Westerly in Lakewood. I realized I needed this and that from a hardware store. A friend had found Lakewood Hardware at 16608 Madison and was impressed. I had a list of items when I went on Friday. The gentleman who assisted me listened, found the articles I needed and brought them to the counter for me. My list was completely filled in no time. Not only was he helpful, but courteous as well. He made the all around experience very pleasant. So, I just wanted to hand out a verbal bouquet to the store. Buy local, they are our neighbors.

Sincerely,

Betty Carson

It is the mass movement match of the 21st Century: Occupy Wall Street vs. The Tea Party.

Proposed legislation in the U.S. House would weaken existing protections against mercury pollution emitted by industrial boilers. While I urge our lawmakers to strengthen, not weaken, regulations around boilers, another major source of mercury and other air pollutants is coal-fired power plants. Many power companies are taking steps to upgrade their facilities to minimize pollution--or better yet, investing in efficiency or clean technologies.

To the Editor:

I read a full page Letter to the Editor in last week's Lakewood Observer in favor of voting no on Issue 2.  Really?  Let’s get out the violins and yank on your heart strings, or, if you are gullible enough, please believe all those TV ads which tell you that your police and fire departments, your schools, your hospitals, will all be empty of staff if you don’t vote no on Issue 2.  

Here is the reality: they are telling you that the city council man/woman you elected are criminals who want to steal your safety.  Mayor Michael Summers wants to have your granddaughter burn up in a fire. Right?  So instead of giving your elected officials the right to represent you, you prefer some unnamed, unelected, and unchecked union boss?  God help us.  Every time I see some city council voting to condemn SB5, I see a bunch of people who are saying I can’t be trusted, give my job to the union boss, because they are the ones really paying me.

My wife and I recently took our two young children down to Cleveland Public Square. It was our intent to join the Occupy Cleveland crowd gathered there to protest Wall Street greed as part of the Occupy Wall Street movements sprouting up across the nation and expose them to one of history’s most important acts--civil disobedience.

My family and I attended the Fallen Firefighter Memorial Ceremony on September 11, 2011. We were deeply moved by the unveiling of the new memorial created using two steel beams from the World Trade Center. Touching those beams unleashed a wave of emotions about what took place that day. Reflecting on the events that have unfolded in the ten years since that attack still leave us with much to grieve about--not only the loss of life that day, but a lost decade for America.

The attacks of September 11, 2001 were many things. Among the most important, we can see now that a decade has passed, is that they were a portal into an alter-reality world, which America has wandered through ever since. Four hundred fifteen firefighters and law enforcement officers--public workers--died that day and were justly honored at that time as heroes. That is a fact we would do well to remember today, as their counterparts, and all public workers for that matter, are pilloried as gluttonous anchors on the economy and denigrated as needless government bloat.

This summer, my family finally gave up on McDonald’s. It shouldn’t have taken this long—we saw Supersize Me when it first came out (seven years ago). We read Fast Food Nation and discussed its horrors with our friends. We’ve known all along that when it came to nutrition, McDonald’s was at the bottom of the barrel. But we thought an occasional foray to the Golden Arches was forgivable. Everything in moderation, right? And we never went without a good excuse. “I was dying for ice cream, but I only had a dollar in my purse.” Or, “A promise of fries on the way home was the only way I could get the kids to go to the store without a tantrum.” It was just a drive-thru. A blip in our day. We threw the bag away and forgot we’d ever been.

September 8 is International Literacy Day, created 45 years ago by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to celebrate literacy and remind the international community of the obstacles that still remain to global literacy.

The various books, magazines and websites I read often contain various charts that include statistical and scientific data on the economy and the environment. The foundation of such charts begins with vertical and horizontal lines used to graph the trajectory over time of the arc, bend or curve of important research facts and findings.

I had the opportunity to spend some time in Seneca Falls, New York this summer. It was my third visit to this “must do” destination for all feminist pilgrims in search of a few hours of inspiration and immersion in our women's rights history. Seneca Falls is home to the Women's Rights National Historic Park, National Women's Hall of Fame, and the historic home of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, human rights activist and convener of the first Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls back in July of 1848.

Dear Editor.

I am writing regarding the article, "Can the Worst Be Avoided," published in the July 12, 2011 Lakewood Observer.

I attended Emerson Junior High School 1942- 1944 and rode my bike there every day, including on winter snow days. No problem. My route originated at 1494 Cohassett Avenue, (where my sister still resides- she mailed me the article), then north on Cohassett to Detroit, west on Detroit to the crossing in front of Garfield School, crossed Detroit with crossing guard (a regular cop at times), west on the north side of Detroit to Clarence Place, north to Hazelwood, west on Hazelwood to Nicholson, north on Nicholson to Emerson, crossing Nickel Plate Road Tracks where there was a crossing watchman weekdays and finally, west on Emerson to Emerson Junior High School.

After spending too much of my precious spare time reading and researching the current federal government debt ceiling deal drama playing out in Washington, DC, I could not help but look back upon November 4, 2008, the day I cast my vote for Ralph Nader for President of the United States. As a true progressive and one deeply concerned for the loss of the American ideal born out of the trails of selfless workers and activists who sacrificed so much for all of us from 1900 to 1970, it was a way to express opposition and challenge the anti-middle-class orthodoxy of the corporate state, corporate media and the corporate political parties. The fact is, despite being a lifelong registered Democrat (mainly for third party disenfranchisement issues in primary elections), I have voted for Ralph Nader in three of the last four Presidential elections.

Dear Editor,

I am writing to you concerning the current state of the school board for the Lakewood City Schools. From my perspective, the board is at worst broken and at best seriously damaged. As a lifelong citizen of Lakewood and a graduate of Lakewood High School I find the processes and procedures used by the current members of the board to be disturbing. This school board keeps telling the public that it is completely transparent, yet they continue to pass policy in violation of their own bylaws and with sleight of hand that would make Houdini proud. I maintain that they do not operate transparently but under a cloak of invisibility.

To the Editor:

Some thoughts in response to Brett Callentine's typically intelligent and forceful argument about what he regards as the un-constitutionality of the so-called "insurance mandate" in the health reform law requiring everyone to buy health insurance....

Arguably what congress is seeking to regulate is not the “inactivity” of not buying insurance, but the activity of using healthcare services without a means to pay for them.  This is not remotely an isolated or incidental or chance occurrence. The provision of uncompensated medical care to uninsured individuals is a daily occurrence in the United States, an enormous burden to hospitals and local economies, and a signal feature of the dysfunction of the health system generally.

It must be wondered why there is so much anger over the franchise owner of a McDonald’s restaurant wanting to build a new restaurant on the property of the recently-closed Detroit Theater at 16407 Detroit Ave. Maybe if it were a Starbucks there might be less opposition.

After reading the quotes included in Cody Peck’s report “McDonald’s plan concerns residents” in the Sun Post-Herald, June 23, 2011 and the letter by Steve Gannis in the same issue, which is also included as an opinion piece in the June 28 issue of the Lakewood Observer, you would think a sinister plot was underway.

Is it the tearing down of the old movie theater that is bothering people or the building of a McDonald’s restaurant? Gannis called McDonald’s food “junk food” in his letter. But for many, McDonald’s is a happy memory, from when a father cashed his check to purchase the only ready-made meal he could afford for his big family; when a mother was so happy not to have to cook or wash dishes; and when all the kids had a dinner they all loved.

Over the past few years, Lakewood has realized millions of dollars of reinvestment along the commercial districts of Madison and Detroit Avenues. Some of this has created housing as well as business structures. As the majority of Lakewood’s housing structures approach 100 years of age we must be open to a number of options to ensure our 17,000 housing structures are sound, efficient, and, in some cases, modernized. (Note – Lakewood may have up to 1,000 distressed properties. That is, way behind housing code and standards, foreclosed upon, tax delinquent and/or abandoned.)

There has been much talk lately about the necessity of a shared sacrifice in regard to our current state and federal budget deficits.

Unfortunately, there is a skewed definition of shared sacrifice emanating from our capitols and statehouses whose reverse-Robin Hood agenda proposes sacrifices almost entirely from the poor and middle classes to pay for tax breaks and tax loopholes for corporations and the rich.

Instead of cutting state and federal budgets, the United States should crack down on the corporate tax dodgers thumbing their noses at us.

Edina Demirović is looking for her father, Mustafa Cosic. He is 69 and according to Edina his last known address is 1446 Mars Avenue. If you have any information about Mr. Cosic and his current whereabouts, please contact Edina. Thank you!

My birth name is Edina Cosic. Im looking for my father. I hope he is there. Please help me.

Mr. Chris Perry’s article, “Class Struggle Ever-Present” in your opinion section, has all the elements of a socialist agenda. He doesn’t even know how great it is to live in a capitalist country where people are free to make money. Where people are free to succeed, and equally free to fail.

I don’t think Mr. Perry is using the word "capitalist" however, to define a person who uses capital (money) to make money. I think he means rich people. People who have so much money they just don’t know what to do with it but spend it. They are the people who own things, like banks, and steel mills, and sugar plantations, and factory farms, and publishing companies. 

In his splendid article in the May 2 edition of the Lakewood Observer Chris Perry makes a very credible case in arguing that class struggle continues to be an element of our society. I can't disagree with his description of how our present economic system is tilted to benefit the rich and powerful. I am troubled by framing it as class warfare. In the long run we all benefit from a just society and are harmed by the fact that so many of our fellow Americans live in poverty. We all depend on the commonweal and need to contribute to it. Enmity and hatred will not get us to where we want to go.

After again reading more comments on the proposed CVS building on Detroit, the rumors of McDonalds and all the concern, I pose this question to the residents of Lakewood- "Do I support Lakewood businesses?"

I’d like to respond to Liana Cawley’s letter to the editor about my article, “From Steeples And Stained Glass To CVS."  While I am amused by her opinion that it was “pure Pollyanna” suggesting some naive, I must correct some of the interpretations regarding the article. 

I made no opinion in my article as to my perspective, hence the reason it was published under Lakewood City News. The article was a report of the specific details of the CVS project as presented by the developer’s representative and it was a report of issues block clubs presented at a meeting concerning the CVS project.  Nowhere did I suggest that readers not be concerned about the CVS project. 

We want our kids to be successful. We tell them to work hard and get good grades. Higher grades will be rewarded, we say. That may or may not be true. There ARE rewards, however, at the high school level. There are potential scholarships and prestige at stake for those with high GPAs. 

In 1979 French theorist Jean Baudrillard published, “L’ordre des simulacres.”[1]  In this germinal essay, Baudrillard asserts that the profusion of screened signs and images would not just mask a reality, but they would become reality. The image would be so fully entrenched in our psyches that it would take the “real” out of culture entirely. Like so many French thinkers, Baudrillard’s ideas are spookily prescient; if you are skeptical of his theory, scan your Facebook friends—how many of them have you seen “in the flesh” in the last month?

Sometimes you can fight wrong-doing and ineptitude by City Hall politicians and RTA - and win, as I recently did, simply by making an intelligent effort. On Wednesday, February 23, I e-mailed Lakewood Mayor Mike Summers and City Council to stop the unpopular, un-needed, Clifton Boulevard remodeling project by Lakewood, Cleveland and RTA because it would make Clifton worse and cost Lakewood $482,500 initially, plus unknown costs of maintaining it for many years. It would be a waste of our tax money, which would be better spent to expand Lakewood circulator bus service. In response, a day later, February 24, Mayor Summers told Cleveland Councilman Jay Westbrook (Clifton goes thru his ward) that Lakewood cannot afford to pay for this Clifton project. So now the project is apparently dead.
 
Riders To Bring Back The Daily Lakewood Circulator, which I founded, still wants a daily circulator back, which RTA wrongfully eliminated. The Friday afternoon circulator has less riders because it inconveniently runs only every 90 minutes, does not stop at all RTA bus stops, and stops running at 6 p.m. This schedule prevents the many Lakewood residents with day jobs from using it to go shopping, to the Lakewood Public Library, or elsewhere in Lakewood. We believe it should run until at least 8 p.m., hourly, and stop at all RTA bus stops on the route. This may require a return to the original 50 minute route, with a ten minute break for the driver, but not extended to the West 117 Giant Eagle in Cleveland, since Lakewood has a Giant Eagle and other supermarkets.

In January 2011, I attended both special council meetings to discuss increasing the salaries/compensation of our Mayor and Council members. At these meetings, members of the Council discussed several ideas, concerns, and thoughts regarding their possible decision to increase the salaries/compensation of our Mayor and Council members. At the end of both meetings, there was a period for public comments. 

At both meetings I stood up and stated the following concerns:

1. Our financial position in Lakewood is not exactly on solid ground. We are currently in a recession in which the city has had to layoff numerous employees, cut back hours and reduce worker salaries.  Looking forward, the state has indicated that it will be cutting aid to Lakewood on both the city budget (worst-case scenario $2 million) and school budget (worst-case scenario $3 million) in an effort to balance its budget. Given this negative financial outlook, is it prudent to be raising politicians’ salaries without a vote of the people?
2. The financial position of Lakewood residents is not on solid ground, as we are still dealing with layoffs, lower salaries and higher taxes (school board taxes just started hitting).  
3. Three of the politicians (the Mayor and 2 council members) ultimately voting on this resolution to increase their own salary/compensation were not elected to their current positions. 

I'm not trying to become a regular feature here, but I want to extend to the Observer, firstly, a heartfelt thank you for printing my letter in the last issue ("Anti-Semitism or Lack of Proofreading", LO, Vol. 7, Issue 2, January 25, 2011), and for your thoughtful and gracious response to my mother's and my concerns over any possible shades of ethnocentricity in the story in the previous issue about Lakewood's Gentile community, by a local writer.

I would like to thank all of the wonderful people who have stopped to help me in this snowy weather.

I'm in an electric wheelchair and have gotten stuck in places were people have not shoveled snow. I have people stop, men and ladies young and old, because some businesses on Detroit Avenue do not believe in clearing their sidewalks. Some will do their sidewalks, but do not do the crosswalks. I do thank these people for their efforts very much.

The people of this city are always helpful and willing to do what they can. Why can't these business do the right thing?Shovel your snow. With the number of disabled and elderly in this city, and the fact that this is the Main Street in our town mean it should be made accessible for all.

The Lakewood Observer appreciates Mr. Edelstein's letter and shares all proper concern over any anti-Semitic implications suggested by a typographical error that needlessly foregrounds gentile rather than genteel. In Volume 3, Issue 3 of the Lakewood Observer, Herbert Gold brought to the front page with "Lakewood, Ohio, 1930s" the difficult history that Lakewood's gentile imagination can uncharitably impose on Jewish neighbors. Please forgive the error.

The City of Lakewood should use the City of Brunswick’s Transit Alternative community circulator transit service as a possible model to restore a daily circulator bus route in Lakewood.

The City of Brunswick is successfully operating the Brunswick Transit Alternative (BTA) which is a service of the Northeast Ohio Area Coordinating Agency (NOACA) and the City of Brunswick. The BTA consists of two fixed community circulator bus routes that loop the city. This service operates using buses of 20–30 passenger capacity between the hours of 6:20 am and 7:20 pm, Monday through Friday and 10:20 am to 4:20 pm on Saturday. Overall supervision and administration of the system is provided by Buckeye Transit, Inc. with the support of the City of Brunswick.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Dear Editor,

Today President Obama gave his second annual televised speech to students from Masterman School in Philadelphia.  Yesterday, I — like all parents of Lakewood Public School students — received a voicemail message from school administration informing me that the president’s speech would be screened in district classrooms at 1:00 p.m., and that any parent who did not want their child to view the speech could be assured that their child would be taken to an alternate space.*

At first, this message confused me. As the school year begins, I thought to myself, what parent would object to a message from the president about the importance of education and citizenship? Then I remembered news reports from last year, in which right wing conservatives asserted that Obama was going to indoctrinate children with his “socialist” political agenda. Upon realizing that school administrators were perpetuating the “Obama=socialist” discourse created by extremist conservatives, I called Superintendent Joseph Madak’s office to ask him why the administration chose to perpetuate this ridiculousness with a mass voicemail to every parent of a Lakewood City School student. Madak was out of town, but my call was returned by Mark Gleichauf, Director of Teaching and Learning.

The Lakewood Community Relations Adivsory Commission endorses the important work that the Lakewood Outdoor Basketball Committee (LOBC) has been committed to for the past eighteen months. With the development of the city's diverse youth population in mind, LOBC has laid the groundwork for the return of free outdoor basketball.

Communities across northeastern Ohio have been solid in their support of outdoor basketball and recreation. In fact, Lakewood is one of the few cities that does not provide such to its youth. With a lack of a recreation center and mainly a pay to play recreation department, LOBC has worked feverishly with the City to provide a viable alternative. With community support, basketball will return in a safe and constructive way. The first court will soon open at Kauffman Park and we hope that LOBC, the City and the Police Department will cooperate with one another in making sure free basketball works. In this age of childhood obesity and pay to play recreational activities, LOBC's mission of advocating an alternative, free outdoor basketball, is one way to assist Lakewood's youth and children in a healthier childhood.

Our Comission's commitment to diversity and engaging the community in thought provoking dialogue, has prompted the Community Relations Advisory Commission to make this important endorsement. We encourage stakeholders in our city and its government to follow our lead.

For the Lakewood Community Relations Commission

Paula Maeder Connor, Chair