Letters To The Editor

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. 

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.)

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.

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.

To the Editor:

On May 7, registered voters in Lakewood will have the opportunity to choose our children. 

By voting yes on Issue 14, we will continue the Lakewood tradition of providing the means for Lakewood’s city schools to deliver a quality education to our community’s children. In Lakewood that’s not something we take for granted. Lakewood City Schools has historically provided the opportunity for every child in our community to have a high quality education and I’m very proud of that.

Did you know that a provision in the Lakewood City Charter can make you, as a homeowner, liable for decorative street improvements regardless of need or desire? Here’s a scenario: You live on a street in Lakewood with perfectly serviceable street lights that are paid for and maintained by the city, using the taxes collected for this purpose. A handful of your well-meaning neighbors decide they want decorative street lights to beautify the tree lawns. They are able to petition the residents, write a resolution and present it to council, who then can approve the resolution as a special assessment that forces all residents on the street to pay for the decorative lighting—in this case, approximately $1831 per household for 13-15 lights. Of course, you can spread the cost over 10 years as a non-deductible tax assessment—while paying additional interest fees.

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.

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.

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

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. 

The Executive Board of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1043 Public Works would like to address the current lay off situation our union is facing in the city of Lakewood.  There are two sides to every story; we would like to present ours.  A total of six employees, of a total work force of 120 covering six divisions, are currently out of work. These six are on top of those employees that have retired within the last year. We believe these lay-offs could have been avoided. A recent proposal from Mayor Edward FitzGerald included a request to change our current health care package for five months – from August 1 through December 31 of this year - pending future negotiations.  The change requested was to go to a 90/10 plan in which our members would incur further economic burdens beyond already in-place monthly contributions.  These extra costs could potentially reach 10% or more of their yearly salary.

The trade-off to this request was that the Mayor would be willing to fill already existing positions using enterprise funds in the city.  The six Refuse Department employees that were given their lay-off notice would have been placed into these pre-existing open slots within the divisions of Sewer Collection, Water Distribution, and Waste Water Treatment Plant, all financed with enterprise funds. The purpose behind this offer was that members would no longer be paid salary and benefits through the ailing general fund.  Then, by our current negotiated contract, the positions would be assigned in an expedited manner to ensure the rapid placement of thes employees away from the general fund.  The positions would then be posted union wide and filled based on knowledge, skill, ability and seniority; the six temporarily re-assigned workers would be retained in the positions of whoever won the jobs on a permanent basis.

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.

 

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?

The shock of the shootings at Sandy Hood elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut is fading and we have just passed the first anniversary of the school killings in our own neighborhood of Chardon. Thankfully the subject of gun violence is at last continuing to be debated.

Gun enthusiasts proclaim without shame that guns save lives. If this is true our country should be the safest, most secure in the world since we are awash in guns. In truth, we lead "civilized" nations in the rate of homicides and it is getting worse all the time. We have a culture of gun violence which will soon disqualify us as being rated a civilized nation.

While mass killings shock us and demand our attention, the slaughter of our innocents goes on every hour and every day.  Young people who live in certain parts of our cities have never known a life without fear. All too many of them have witnessed killings of friends and family members. What are the consequences of living in an environment little better than a war zone?

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.

Lakewood Mayor Ed FitzGerald at the October 5th Lakewood City Council meeting said regarding efforts to revive the discontinued Lakewood Circulator Bus service that:

-    The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit System (RTA) has decommissioned its Circulator equipment; however, the buses are not being decommissioned at once, so he is still waiting to acquire free Circulator buses from RTA.

-    The Mayor is bothered by the fact that RTA is asking for an assessment by RTA for its proposed one-day Circulator-replacement service.

-    He has not ruled out the City of Lakewood doing something on its own (as far as having its own Circulator service).

-    Although Lakewood has its own mechanics, there are hidden costs involved in running a Circulator bus route.

-    For Lakewood to run its own Circulator system, start-up money is needed which would have to be made up later.

-    There is a possibility for Lakewood to run its own system making a profit or at least breaking even.

-    Approaching institutional users and beneficiaries of a Circulator route in Lakewood such as Lakewood Hospital, Giant Eagle and other Lakewood businesses for funds is another possibility.

-    A super-Circulator route covering Lakewood and West Park may be feasible, which could have a combined annual ridership of about one million.

-    RTA’s decision to eliminate the Circulators goes not only against the needs and desires of the people, but also against common sense.

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. 

 

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?

The Lakewood Board of Education’s recent approval of a motion to place a new 3.9 mil operating levy on the May 2013 ballot is yet another example of a well-intended effort to treat the symptoms, not the problems we face in funding public education.

Funding the increased cost of education through property tax increases is becoming a short-sighted and reactionary solution to the problems of ever-increasing expenses coupled with declining tax collections and State of Ohio funding.  Nonetheless, justifications abound. Superintendent Patterson has proclaimed, “It is needed to maintain excellence.” Co-Chair of the levy campaign committee Christina McCallum has said she believes, "the levy is essential.” Who are we to believe? As recent as June 7, 2012, in a Sun Press cover article titled “Schools Revise Financial Forecasts,  Lakewood Treasurer Rick Berdine is quoted as saying, “for fiscal years 2012 through 2016, real estate taxes which had been predicted to increase to 8% will not change.”

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 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!

 

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

 

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

 

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

 

Dear Editor,

We wish to thank Lakewood Hospital, Hospice of the Western Reserve in Lakewood, WalMart of North Olmsted, First Federal of Lakewood in Fairview Park, Keller Williams Realty in Westlake and all the volunteers and gift givers who helped make the holiday community service program, Elves for Elders, such a success.

Through the generous donations and efforts of our community, many seniors in need who might have been overlooked this holiday season received a gift and a little bit of companionship. We were able to provide over 400 gifts to Cleveland’s Westside seniors this season.

Thanks to ALL those who helped us brighten the holidays for seniors in our community.

Sincerely,

Joe Orlando, Caring Tree Senior Care, 440-386-4660

Our mother tongue, the English language, is being murdered. And this language-cide seems to be constantly getting worse. It is perpetrated not only by preschoolers or other uneducated persons, but by language professionals, such as radio and television personalities, movie stars, college graduates, and even people with doctorates. What is going on? Is grammar no longer taught in school? Or is it deemed unimportant? The misuse of grammar, caused by muddled thinking, in turn causes more confused thinking.  

Who are you trying to kid? We, the riders of the Circulator, knew before the Shopper Shuttle started that it was set up to fail. Once day a week from noon to 6pm is not sufficient time for those who work and need bus service in the evening. Special pick-up and drop-off stops set many blocks apart are not compatible to successful ridership. Forcing us to use the #26 Detroit bus is not a good alternative to the Circulator. We cannot get to where we need to go without the Circulator. Especially since RTA also cut the North-South line #70 Bunts Rd. bus, as well as the weekend and evening services of the #25 Madison bus. We are left stranded!

Come on powers that be- wake up! RTA is more interested in special traffic lights and pretty bus shelters than they are in getting people to their destinations. How can RTA possibly think that cutting service will increase ridership elsewhere?

Give us back our Circulator!

I work for a grocery chain store, not the most glamorous job in the world but it's work. And work I do.
Besides the normal tasks my job entails such as checking that all the deli cases are full, that temperatures are at the proper settings in the coolers and freezers, the cleaning and maintenance of equipment, the unloading and unpacking of products and, of course, that safety requirements are all met, then there is you, the customer.

To Whom It May Concern:

Our country was created of the people, by the people, and for the people. We chose representatives to do OUR will for OUR BENEFIT. It seems that the peoples' will and benefit doesn't matter to politicians anymore. The will of bureaucrats, big business and profits are getting top priority- not the needs of the people. It's time for "we the people" to stand up, take notice- and act. We cannot let the mismanaged bureaucracy continue to run us into the group while claiming it's for the greater good. It is not true!

I am specifically writing about the way our cities and countries are spending OUR money. As a taxpayer and citizen, we expect the money received by the government to be used for the things we NEED and WANT as a society and will benefit from. The politicians that we vote for to represent us in government are supposed to see that our hard earned dollars are used appropriately to better our society.

In this time of unemployment when funds are scarce throughout the country and especially bad in Northeast Ohio- we really need to look at our priorities. Personally, I think the needs of people come before things that politicians want. New buildings, new roads, new bus shelters, and beautiful plants are not as important to the citizens of Northeast Ohio as food, shelter, health care, and transportation. Why would politicians and political appointees think that these things would be more important to us than the well-being of our fellow citizens?

Why should you care about the recent “Community Engagement” meetings?

If you have kids they deserve to go to an "excellent" school for years to come. If you have no kids in the Lakewood schools, you still own property or rent and pay school taxes. If you own property - your property value can be affected by the school where you live. People like to live in cities with strong schools.

I care, so over the past 6 weeks I attended 7 of the Community Engagement meetings our school administration held concerning school funding and the looming 3 year $16.5 million deficit. I am very familiar with our financial concerns since I ran for School Board on just that issue.

Change of Management for Humankind

(why women should lead)

Structure determines behavior.  The biological human structure will influence personality, attitude, thus behavior.  Simply put: what you look like and what physical things you can do will influence who you are.  Three examples: If a male is an agile Mesomorph attending high school he will probably play football.  If a person can run the hundred in less than 10 seconds they will probably be on a track team.  Sitting in the front seat on the left hand side of a car going 60 MPH determines a different behavior than being in the back seat. 

We knew it was coming. A special session of Council was held to deal with the issue of whether or not to invest tax dollars in a new, state of the art emergency response center – how ironic. Fire Chief Scott Gilman arrived right at 7:30 p.m. and said more than 40 emergency storm related calls had already been received. We knew it was going to get worse. The lights at City Hall began to flicker as we adjourned an hour later.

The next morning was quite a scene. “Superstorm Sandy” blew down hundreds of trees, left one in four Lakewood residents without power and caused minor or major damage to at least 35 homes. I sat in on a meeting Mayor Summers held with his directors that Tuesday while the winds were still wild. The Mayor’s team was focused on inventorying all the damage, clearing roads for the electric crews, securing dangerous areas, providing key information to First Energy for its power restoration plan and providing immediate food and warmth to the most vulnerable. Work was also underway to make sure the medically fragile had access to Lakewood Hospital and conversations were beginning with the American Red Cross to deliver meals to specific buildings and set up a shelter at Garfield Middle School. (Let’s remember that our police officers and firemen were performing regular duties while working overtime on the recovery effort.)

I am very pleased to announce the establishment of a non-profit called “Friends From The Start” Foundation. Our objective will be to provide resources and services to individuals diagnosed with cancer. 

On August 2, 2010, I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. On May 28, 2011, I received a bone marrow transplant, and while much occurred between those two dates, the bottom line is I received a clean bill of health at my 9 month check-up just a couple of weeks ago. I truly feel blessed!

Dear Councilpersons:

I was astounded to read the recent Public Works notice that garbage cans may no longer be used for yard waste. And the reason is they, "Didn't realize how many residents would use garbage cans." Is this some sort of bizarre joke? I have been a Lakewood resident for over 20 years, committed to recycling from the day I first learned of the Berea Road facility. My household rejoiced when curb pickup service service began and applauded when recycling became mandatory, despite those who found the policy heavy-handed.

Remember the fundamentals of resource conservation: REDUCE, RECYCLE, REUSE.

 

How many of us remember the days of our drives to "Grandma's house" when we heard the plaintive cry of a child from the backseat, "Are we there yet?" Well here we are fellow Americans, having to ponder the prophetic analysis of the Austrian economist Friedrich A. Hayek in his provocative studies of European economies and governments in "On The Road To Serfdom."

Government of the people, by the people, for the people is in dire danger of disappearing from the Earth. The current system seems to operate on the premise of "one dollar, one vote," not one person, one vote. The top 1% of the population have the resources to control most of the media outlets. 5% of the population controls 85% of the wealth. We are on the verge of becoming an oligarchy.

Ohio is facing many challenges right now. We have rising health care and energy costs, education needs that we have to fulfill, and there are many unemployed and underemployed people in this state that want a full time job. I want to ask you for your vote this November because I am passionate about solving these problems for Ohio’s residents, and I am looking to solve them in the Ohio House of Representatives. The Ohio General Assembly has passed many bills that have been good for job growth; Ohio went from 48th in 2010 to 4th in job creation in the nation today. There is still more work to be done and I want to represent you in the Statehouse to finish the work that has been started. 

Here simply is why I will not vote for any Republican candidate this election: They think that people are simpletons and they disguise what they really want to do under misleading terms like "freedom" and "liberty." They think corporations and rich people should have the freedom to do just about whatever they please in pursuit of profits.

To the Editor:

Afraid to watch TV these days? So many misleading, negative ads pollute the airwaves that reasonable people DVR past them or simply click “off.”

To the Editor: 

This letter was delivered 3/17/2010: 

Dear Mayor Fitzgerald and Councilman Summers,

On behalf of Grant Elementary PTA, we are pleased to inform you of the PTA's recent vote to donate $100 to the levy campaign. This contribution was made to Charlie Page on March 10, 2010, and is in addition to the $250 Grant Elementary PTA contributes annually to the levy fund.

Grant Elementary PTA is extremely proud of Lakewood City Schools' Excellent designation by the State of Ohio and, as Grant was also rated Excellent, we're proud that Grant contributes to this rating. The breadth of programs available to Lakewood's students, the quality of our teachers, and the ultimate successes of students beyond the classroom are invaluable not only to the children, but to the larger community. Grant PTA is pleased to support these endeavors as they pertain to Grant School.

With that in mind, Grant PTA further voted to formally endorse the 2010 School Levy. As you know, National PTA advocates for students across the U.S. in a variety of areas. Grant PTA believes its levy endorsement is one way to advocate for students at the local level.

Thank you for investing your time and efforts on behalf of Lakewood's students.

Sincerely,

Christina McCallum and Bobbi Sheehan

Co-Presidents

Grant Elementary PTA

 

The presidential election of 2012 is estimated to cost $2.5 billion dollars. Given the current state of our economy and the fact that many citizens are unemployed and/or just struggling to get by, the word that comes to mind in describing this outrage is obscene. Some say that this entire election cycle might costs as much as $7 billion. A good deal of this money is being spent on television commercials, especially in battleground states like Ohio. These ads neither instruct or inform, their only purpose is to demonize “the other guy,” often with innuendo or outright lies. The result is that more and more Americans become cynical about politics and don’t go to the polls, believing that both candidates are dishonest and incompetent.

I am legally-blind. I live in Lakewood. I am also a graduate student in the School of Social Work at CSU. I am stating this to prove that I rely on public transportation to get around.

Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Affordable Health Care Act, otherwise known in the US as “ObamaCare”, is not in violation of the US constitution. And so incremental progress toward enabling healthcare to a broader portion of the US population will continue, at least until the Republicans have enough strength to mount a legislative repeal effort.

Much of the opposition to ObamaCare is centered on a constructed narrative that this health care plan brings the US closer to what Republican candidate Mitt Romney describes as “European socialism.” This despite Romney instituting a substantively identical plan in the US state of Massachusetts while governor of that state. Conservatives in the US and their followers use the term “socialism” with full knowledge of its pejorative connotations within American society. The term, whether this makes sense or not, conjures images for many Americans of Soviet gulags and the threat of communist world domination. This extends to members of more extreme political fractions seeing any government involvement in the economy as inherently bad. Such an unbalanced view, that considers more individualism and less collectivism unwaveringly good and the opposite necessarily bad, leads us where? To a lawless frontier town in the American west as the epitome of economic and political freedom?

"Joe the Plumber" was asked about statements that he made on marriage for same sex couples the slur "queer" and the notion that someone who is gay lesbian bisexual or transgender (LGBT) is likely to molest kids. He has not learned that as a straight male he is more of a threat to molest his own kids than someone who is LGBT. It’s time for "Lester the Molester" to start using facts before he tries to run for office on opinions. The "n-word" was originally a neutral noun for a person with dark brown skin from Sub Saharan Africa. Would he use that term when talking about someone who is black?

A recent article in the New York Daily News touted that,

“The 2012 London Olympic Games have already been christened the "women's games." Women seemed to dominate the television programming, the personal interest stories and more importantly for America, the medal count. Female athletes contributed 55% of America's total medals and 66% of the golds. Without women pulling more than their fair share, America would probably have finished a distant second behind China in the medal count. Make no mistake; Title IX won the Olympics for America."

America’s women have benefitted in a myriad of ways from the 1972 Title IX landmark legislation which opened up opportunities for women’s access to sports, education and leadership. Athletic advances of women are only one aspect of U.S. women coming into their own in our colleges and universities, in the workplace, in boardrooms, and at the ballot box. While it is easy to take those advancements for granted, we must remember that women had to fight for those precious rights we enjoy today.