We’ve all received unpleasant and annoying letters in the mail imploring us to take action. "We need you to send us proof of residency." ... "You’re late on payment for city services." One Cleveland councilman is bucking that trend with a gentler approach. His notes imploring residents in his ward to fix code violations are being well-received and leading to repairs. Ward 13 Councilman Kris Harsh is almost finished driving the Old Brooklyn streets to survey every home in his ward for infractions. He has sent letters to more than 7,000 people since taking office in 2022. Some inform property owners they have some issues to fix, small and large. Most notes — he said 77 percent of letters — simply thank them for doing a good job maintaining their home. Letters include resources and he offers to provide a list of home-repair programs. However, he puts homeowners on notice, telling them he will refer the code violations to the city’s Building and Housing department if he doesn’t hear back from them. — Kristen Davis |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
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Ward 13 Councilman Kris Harsh has sent 7,100 letters to property owners in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood since he took office in 2022. (John Pana, cleveland.com file photo) |
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Home repairs: Ward 13 Councilman Kris Harsh has taken on the task of surveying every home in his ward for code violations — and sending thousands of letters to property owners to encourage repairs, reports Sean McDonnell. These aren’t official city citations, but they’re getting results, Harsh said, because they’re putting homeowners and landlords on notice. Browns stadium: Ohio lawmakers have drafted budget language detailing how they might authorize $600 million in state-issued bonds to help pay for a new Browns stadium in Brook Park. Jeremy Pelzer reports state limits on stadium funding would be relaxed so that the bond money could cover a quarter of the expected $2.4 billion cost to build the new, covered stadium near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Board battle: Mayor Justin Bibb has called timeout on his bid to kick a Browns official off the North Coast Waterfront Development Corp. board, Rich Exner reports. Bibb’s request to set up a meeting to oust David Jenkins, chief operating officer of both the Browns and the Haslam Sports Group, came last week amid a public back and forth between the Browns and the city over the team’s planned move from downtown Cleveland to Brook Park. Bibb vs. Browns: For decades, the Browns have treated Cleveland like an ATM — a place to withdraw money when the team needed a new scoreboard or luxury suites. Other mayors played along. Bibb said no. But columnist Leila Atassi writes the mayor now needs to figure out how to walk away from the table with something — anything — that makes the pain of losing the Browns a little less raw for Cleveland. |
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College funding: While Ohio currently bases a higher-education funding on course completion, certificates and degrees, Gov. Mike DeWine wants to expand this approach by rewarding colleges for their graduates' employment outcomes. Laura Hancock details three things to know about the proposal. Sherrod Brown institute: Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown announced Monday that he is launching a new non-partisan, non-profit Dignity of Work Institute to promote policies he pursued in Congress and touted on the campaign trail, Sabrina Eaton reports. Brown, who has not ruled out seeking public office again, said the new Columbus-based organization will be dedicated to the people who make the country work, to creating an economy and a society where Americans’ work is valued, and where everyone can afford a decent standard of living. EPA battle: A second battle is being fought between the U.S. EPA and the Ohio EPA over how much phosphorus municipal sewage plants should be allowed to discharge into Lake Erie, Peter Krouse reports. Phosphorus is the main ingredient in the potentially dangerous stew which produces a toxin called microsystin that’s harmful to people and animals. Fracking makeover: Ohio’s biggest state park is in for a $9.6 million makeover, paid for by a signing bonus from a fracking lease for natural gas thousands of feet underneath it, Jake Zuckerman reports. |
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Racist letters: After receiving racist and hateful letters at her home, Cleveland Councilwoman Jasmin Santana is sharing those messages online to shed light on the fact that she and other Latinos have become targets of harassment, Sean McDonnell reports. The messages come at a time when issues of race and immigration have become a flashpoint in national politics under President Donald Trump’s administration. NASA headquarters: More than 150 political and business leaders from across Northeast Ohio offered their support behind a bid to relocate NASA headquarters to Brook Park in a letter sent Monday to Vice President JD Vance and Donald Trump’s nominee to head NASA, Rich Exner reports. Parma house fire: Parma firefighters pulled a mother and her 5-year-old son from a burning house Monday morning on State Road in Parma. Crews were called to a home around 7 a.m., where they used a chair as a step and pulled them both to safety. Housing for homeless: A new project in Cleveland Heights aims to convert a church rectory into transitional housing for homeless women and children, particularly in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school district, reports Kaitlin Durbin. The facility will serve women with children under the age of 16 for up to 120 days. |
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Cleveland-Cliffs layoffs: Cleveland-Cliffs has announced plans to temporarily stop operations at two of its mines in Minnesota, Molly Walsh reports. As a result, about 630 workers will be temporarily laid off, the company said. Affordable housing: Nonprofit CHN Housing Partners and Enterprise Community Partners, a housing credit investment organization, announced Hope Homes I, which is set to deliver 30 single-family homes for low-income Clevelanders across the city’s southeast side, Megan Sims reports. They’ll be built across three East Side neighborhoods. Buckeye-Shaker Square and Lee-Harvard each will have nine units, while Mount Pleasant will have 12 units. Winery solar panels: Debboné Vineyards in Madison, Ohio, installed solar panels in February, which supplies about 60% of the winery’s total power needs, Marc Bona reports. Owner Tony Debevc said he hopes to save about 50% of power on average every month, plus in good months bank about 25%. |
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Illegal gun selling: Two Cleveland men are accused of selling 10 guns to undercover federal agents posing as gun runners for a Mexican drug cartel, Adam Ferrise reports. Yarquimedes Rodriguez Hilario, 32, and Adison Lopez-Ramirez, 34, sold nine assault rifles and one handgun to agents in St. Petersburg, Florida, for $16,000, according to federal prosecutors. Child's death: An Akron man is accused of forcing a 12-year-old boy to take long ice baths and do push-ups in the hours before the child died Saturday, court records show. Anthony McCants, 23, was charged Saturday in Akron Municipal Court in the death of Jadako Taylor, 12, of Akron. McCants was charged with endangering children, Olivia Mitchell reports. Hit-skip plea: A Cleveland man has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in the hit-skip crash that took the life of a 7-year-old boy, David Gambino reports. Donald Mynatt, 33, pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count of failure to stop after an accident, a third-degree felony, for the death of Amir Prewitt on Aug. 16, 2024. Arson fire: A West Side car dealership is set to be demolished today as authorities continue to seek information on a fire that has been ruled an arson, Olivia Mitchell reports. BYRIGHT Auto Sales, located at 4810 Lorain Ave., suffered heavy damage during a fire on Dec. 9, which spread to a two-story office building. The office building is also scheduled for demolition. Marshals arrest suspect: A suspect wanted in connection with a fatal shooting in East Cleveland was arrested Monday by U.S. marshals, Olivia Mitchell reports. The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force apprehended David Wayne Garner, 40. East Cleveland police accused him of killing Rashawn Brinkley, 40, on Jan. 20. |
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Tunnel tours return: The Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument on Cleveland’s Public Square is bringing back its popular Tunnel Tours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on April 26 and April 27, reports Paris Wolfe. Tours last about 30 minutes and include a guided walk through the monument’s tunnels and guest speakers in the Memorial Room. Bill Murray: Actor Bill Murray & His Blood Brothers will bring their mix of classic-rock covers and originals to the MGM Northfield Park on Nov. 8, Malcolm X Abram reports. Tickets for the show go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday. 1960s show: Fans who remember The Summer of Love -- or at least wish they could -- can get a taste of those Boomer halcyon days when the “Happy Together Tour” stops at The MGM Northfield Park on Aug. 7, Malcolm X Abram reports. The tour features hits and hitmakers, including The Turtles, Jay And The Americans, Little Anthony, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, The Vogues and The Cowsills. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday. CIFF begins new chapter: The 49th Cleveland International Film Festival opens Thursday at Playhouse Square and runs through April 5, Joey Morona reports. This year’s CIFF is the first under Executive Director Hermione Malone, who joined the organization in June. Beachland memories: As Beachland Ballroom’s 25th Anniversary month comes to a close, we asked readers to share some of their favorite moments at the club, reports Peter Chakerian. Read stories from readers about their lasting memories at Beachland. |
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Man convicted of 2021 slaying at Coventry Township home Read more South Euclid City Council President Ruth Gray is resigning and moving to Arizona Read more Kiwanis Club honors Orange High School seniors for volunteer service Read more Cleveland Heights residents voice concerns over short-term rentals Read more Protestors peacefully gather at Lyndhurst Tesla dealership, hoping to confront Sen. Moreno Read more Brook Park City Council approves storefront renovation program Read more Berea Board of Education continues push for fair public school funding, end to vouchers Read more Freezing temperatures accelerate deterioration of North Olmsted’s Dover Center Road Read more |
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