Goodbye Babycakes

Remember all those obnoxious hysterical mailers from No on 96? With the stock pictures of trees being felled and the rest? One listed several “local” people opposed to rezoning, including two business owners.

One of those was Regina Henderson, the proprieter of Babycakes on the corner of Mayfield Road and South Belvoir. Ms. Henderson is listed as the owner of Babycakes on the flyer. In fact her daughter is the owner. Babycakes closed earlier this month.

But my question is this: How could Ms. Henderson NOT know that store was about to close in October when the mailer went out? Any decent business person plans months in advance. I can only conclude that Ms. Henderson already knew her store was about to close, and was “persuaded” (read: $$$) by the anti-Oakwood crowd to put her mug on this mailer. My theory is confirmed by this article in which Regina’s daughter Kim, who owns the store, said as much back in September, before the mailer was sent out! Since she was leaving anyway, putting her mug on the mailer was Regina’s way of giving the finger to the people of South Euclid.

The Sorest Loser

I hope you had a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Joyous Festivus, Kwanzaa – or, if you’re completely secular, a nice relaxing weekend.

It’s been almost two months since the voters of South Euclid voted to approve the rezoning of the defunct Oakwood Club and allow developer Mitchell Schneider make productive use of that privately owned land. Most of the local world has moved on. Fran Mentch said her weepy piece. The commenters at the Plain Dealer website did their post-mortem. Construction has begun at Oakwood.

But there is one sore loser who just can’t let go: Garry Kanter. For the last few weeks, he’s been begging for help to launch a suit against the city of South Euclid to prevent construction of Oakwood. He’s been on the “Citizens” for Oakwood’s facebook page, the Cleveland Heights Patch, and now his letter has been published in the Sun Messenger. From what I can see, even the activists who oppose development at Oakwood are maintaining a discreet silence – afraid to say what they really believe: this guy is 75 cents short of a dollar.

Let’s talk about the substance of Garry’s rant: Garry says that the zoning at Oakwood is unconstitutional. He also brings up the Shemo case. For those who don’t know, Shemo was the developer who wanted to build the Costco in Mayfield Heights. Some residents were opposed to it, so they pressured the city to deny the zoning variance. Shemo sued the city and won, the Costco got built, and I’d bet money that most who were opposed to the Costco are now members. Garry says that the situation with Shemo and Oakwood are not comparable because the Costco site was a barren field next to a highway and Oakwood is a green space. But those distinctions are irrelevant. Why? Because the very attempt spearheaded by the anti-Oakwood group to get South Euclid city council’s zoning change overturned backfired when the citizens of South Euclid voted in favor of rezoning. The issue was placed on the ballot, the people voted. But the vote didn’t turn out the way Garry & Fran wanted. At least Fran has had the sense to move on and focus on the Cleveland Heights portion of Oakwood, which will need a zoning change if the senior housing Schneider wants built is to go forward. How do I feel about Schneider’s plans for the Cleveland Heights part: I think it’s a great way to retain residents in an area that has been shrinking in population. And that’s the last I’ll say about it, because that’s not my town and not my business. I’ve said my piece. Time to move on to other issues, like trash collection and recycling, and figuring out who on the new council and on the planning board is going to be naughty and who’s going to be nice. And what’s the next plan of attack from South Euclid’s perpetual critics?

You see, Garry’s problem is he just can’t let go. He doesn’t know when it’s time to stop. Judging from his appearance, he doesn’t know when to push back from the table at the end of a meal either. And as a dedicated Heightster, he can’t handle the fact that the people of South Euclid made this decision for themselves and actually had the gall to defy the wishes of a few activists in Cleveland Heights. HOW DARE WE?!

Follow up December 29:
True to form South Euclid Oversight has published Garry Kanter's and Fran Mentch's letters: http://southeuclidoversight.blogspot.com/2011/12/sad-year-for-oakwood.html

Also Garry Kanter is posting comments on the Sun Messengers' web page under one of his many sockpuppets. See the original link for up to date comments.

Sore losers on the attack

Robert Schoenewald got a grand total of 25% in the election. But that hasn’t stopped him and his latest crusade. Banging the drums for a petition outlawing the city from creating a garbage collection fee. No fee has been proposed, but Schoenewald his buddies Bob Frey and Mike Fortner are launching a preemptive strike against one.

Really, what this is about is this group doesn’t have any real issues to pursue against the city. The city is ending this year with $2.5 million in reserves, about a million more than they expected. Our credit rating is also above average. So, the sore losers have to invent an issue.

Speaking of sore losers, Joe Liptow has been keeping quiet since the election. Maybe his way of protesting a garbage fee is to put his blue recycling bag on his front walk four days before trash day. But at least Liptow recycles!

If YOU want to keep the city’s costs for trash collection down, don’t fall for phony petition drives. Recycle your aluminum, glass, and paper. The city makes $50/ton for recyclables, against paying $42/ton for landfill use. Recycling is good citizenship and it’s good for your wallet.

Dr. Miller is pissed and he has a right to be.

More griping from the sore loser's gallery. Bystander75 aka Garry Kanter is foaming at the mouth again. Read the article and come back here, I’ll wait for you:

http://blog.cleveland.com/sunmessenger/2011/11/south_euclid_council_president.html

OK. Welcome back. Let’s call bullshit on Garry’s post about "unfounded" allegations of racism. No one in went into a public forum and said the N-word. Even the anti-Oakwood people aren’t that stupid. But anyone who thinks there wasn’t a racist element to the anti-Oakwood group is blind, delusional, or in denial.

Click on this picture and read Rich Sones’ highlighted section here. It originally appeared on the Heights Observer blog but has been deleted. Cover-up, anyone?

When you have a candidate for city council office going to an anti-Oakwood meeting and saying he’s against Oakwood Commons because it will bring the “wrong element” to South Euclid, you don’t have to read between many lines to understand what he means. Especially when that same candidate has made it a personal hobby to be a pain in Dr. Miller’s ass. More so when that same candidate spat on a city worker after a shouting match. Even more so when his cronies at South Euclid Oversight post vandalized photos of Dr. Miller and Mayor Welo.

When you have anti-Oakwood people most of them not even from South Euclid, harassing yes on 96 people and telling them to go back to East Cleveland, that’s racism.

Just how many African-Americans in South Euclid or even Cleveland Heights opposed Issue 96? The only one I saw was in one of their silly videos.

You don’t have to spout the N-word to be a racist. There are people who will say “some of my best friends are black.” But they’ll lash out when their black “friends” get too “uppity.” And that’s exactly what happened with the anti-Oakwood crowd.

Miller may have a thin skin, and his language was rough. But his animosity for these peeps was justified.

Election Wrap-up

Well the election is over. In all my years in South Euclid I’ve never seen anything like it. And I’ve been here a loooooooong time.

Mayor Welo was reelected and it wasn’t even close. What’s amazing is she hardly even ran a campaign! She didn’t go to the candidate forum at Brush, just sent out a few mailers and knocked on some doors.

Miller and Fiorelli are back on council and Marty Gelfand is replacing Tony Caroscio. Hothead Joe Liptow and child abuser George Martin were at the end of the pack. I call Martin child abuser not “alleged” or “wrongly convicted” because court documents confirmed he at least beat his adopted son and an adopted daughter. South Euclid voters were wise to reject these two. Anyone who had these two losers’ signs on their lawn must be embarrassed as hell.

Oakwood Commons is coming and the speeding camera is going. Heightsters heads are exploding and leadfoots are rejoicing. I will continue to report on the speed camera location until it is officially retired.

I won’t even go into the statewide elections except to say that with the defeat of Issue 2 the Tea Party in Ohio has been shown the door.

Speeding Camera update: 11/8 - 11-14

Tuesday – Wednesday: Maywood Rd
Thursday – Friday: Campus Rd
Friday – Tuesday: Wrenford Rd

Anti-Oakwood Heightsters hold flash Mob

This person resides in South Euclid, but is guilty of Heighsterism by association. Drinks from paper cups - not environmentally friendly.

DON'T eat so much - methane is bad for the environment.

Personal Hygiene, look into it.

Anti-Oakwood RACISM exposed

The stain of racism has once again raised its ugly head among the anti-Oakwood creeps. Anti-Oakwood activist Bruce Knarr posted on the Yes 96 facebook page making allusions to people from East Cleveland, stating that we don't want THEM shopping here! This is part of a continuing pattern going back months. How many African-Americans are there among the anti-Oakwood set? The only one I've seen canvassing is an old woman with a Saturn station wagon.

Read my original post from March here: http://iheartsoutheuclid.blogspot.com/2011/03/heightsters-hidden-agenda-racism.html

Follow up: Rich Sones, the original anti-Oakwood racist, lives at the anti-Oakwood handquarters on Bainbridge in Cleveland Heights.

Follow the money: a detailed look at No on 96 funding

I've sharpened my pencil and here are the numbers behind the No on 96 campaign.

 

No on 96 campaign contributions as of 10/27/2011:

 

$ 2,995.00 - Total contributions from Cleveland Heights residents
$ 1,495 – Total contributions from outside Cleveland Heights (broken down below)

• $ 695.00 - Total contributions from South Euclid residents ($500 of that from one person)
• $ 225.00 - Total contributions from Cleveland residents
• $ 250.00 - Total contributions from Shaker Heights residents
• $ 100.00 - Total contributions from Seven Hill residents
• $ 200.00 - from one Avon resident under Sierra Club name
• $ 25.00 - from one Euclid resident

 

 Big money donations:

 

$ 8,260.44 Total contributions from Severance SPE LeaseCO LLC (owner of Severance Town Center)

$ 25,000 Total contributions from Donald McTigue, Columbus based attorney for No on 96 and treasurer for Ohio Fact Check – a demonstrably phony front organization created by No on 96 campaign, and in no way related to the prestigious FactCheck.org run by the Annenberg Foundation.

 

Follow the money. This isn’t people power; this is the owner of Severance Center. Rather than making his own mall a safe and desirable place to shop, he’s trying to shoot down a developer with a better track record.

 

 

 

 

 

You can review scans No on 96's actual documents here:
http://iheartsoutheuclid.blogspot.com/2011/10/follow-money-documents-reveal-no-on-96.html

Speeding camera update: 11/1 -11/7

Tuesday - Thursday: Liberty Rd
Thursday - Friday: Plainfield Rd
Friday - Monday: Princeton Blvd

This will be the last speeding camera update until the election. Issue 97 is on the ballot which will determine the fate of speeding cameras in South Euclid. A No vote will retain the camera, a Yes vote will remove it. We take no position on this issue other than that you should vote your conscience.

Follow the money: Documents reveal No on 96 funding - it ain't people power

Here are scans from county and state documents revealing the REAL people behind the No on Oakwood campaign. As I have stated on this blog before, the driving factor here is activists from Cleveland Heights. There are relatively few donations from South Euclid residents. Many of those come from one person: Linda Pagon of Parkside Blvd. The biggest donations come from Donald McTigue, the lawyer for the No on 96 brigade, and Severance SPE Lease Co, LLC, the owner of Severance Center. Here are scans of the documents. You can click on each document to read at full size.

FLASH: Council candidate Martin convicted for sex crime, child abuse

Click the link for the story:

http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-i-team-south-euclid-candidate-controversy-txt,0,1335453.story

Council candidate George Martin was convicted in 1989 of sexually molesting his adopted teenaged son. Martin says he's not guilty, but he accepted a plea deal in exchange for a lighter sentence. According to the trial report, Martin also psychologically abused the boy, making racist comments about the boy's Korean parentage. He also emotionally and physically abused an adopted daughter, punching her in the face. Martin's conviction was overturned in 1993 by a 2-1 vote due to prosecutorial misconduct. Read the ruling here:

http://georgelmartinforcouncilatlarge.com/Full%20text%20United%20States%20Court%20of%20Appeals.pdf

Take particular note of the dissenting judge's comments:

"Martin's generally abusive conduct towards his other child or children...the questioned testimony of the victim's adoptive sister about the petitioner-defendant's abusive conduct towards her was at least arguably admissible."


Sorry, I don't buy Martin's claims of innocence. Nor do I buy his claim that the "details remain a private matter within the family for which forgiveness has been given long ago". Who forgave who? If the son forgave the father, then the father clearly must have done something bad that needed to be forgiven. If the son made false accusations and the father forgave the son, then the son would surely come forward and tell people that "I made it up. My father is innocent."

A lie goes whimpering into the night, but the truth shouts from the highest mountaintop.

Who the hell is Joe Liptow, and why is he so angry?

The most reliable annual events in South Euclid are the Memorial Day Parade and Joseph Jerome Liptow running for office. He ran for city council in 2009 and lost. He’s running again this year and will probably come in dead last. Liptow ran for Cuyahoga County Council in 2010 and failed to get the nomination. He ran as a Republican but claims to be non-partisan. His political views come straight from the Tea Party. He deviates from the Tea Party dogma when it’s convenient for him. In other words, he’ll say anything to bash South Euclid’s elected leaders. He does just that at nearly every council meeting, and you can see council’s and the mayor’s eyes roll when he approaches the mike. They must wonder “Is my salary worth dealing with this nut?” There are times he can manage to keep a level head, but often as not he shouts and screams and scares the hell out of everyone in the room. Back in August Liptow went as far as to assault South Euclid employee Keith Benjamin, spitting on him.

It’s obvious that Liptow’s political agenda is to serve his own interests. As the owner of a home he inherited from his parents, he wants to abolish estate taxes. His family sold part of the land which is now the Cutters Creek development directly across the street from Liptow’s home to a developer. Another part of the land was sold by St. Gregory’s church. But Liptow, a Catholic, fails to note this. He blames the elected leadership of South Euclid for the development, as if they had the power to veto a private real estate transaction. Liptow fought the development of that parcel tooth and nail. He has cited various reasons for this, including the tax abatement being used as an incentive to buy. But he has never come clean about his own family’s involvement in this matter. Nor the fact that the Liptow family allowed the abandoned buildings to deteriorate and the land to lie fallow for decades. Liptow's actions delayed the development breaking ground for over a year. By the time the first units were built, the financial meltdown of 2008 had begun and the rest is history. So Liptow personally cost a local developer hundreds of thousands of dollars. LIPTOW HAS HURT OUR LOCAL ECONOMY.

As the parent of parochial school students, Liptow has fought against every public school levy ever put on the ballot. He’s also supported school board candidates whose agenda was to cut cut cut.

But there is another agenda to Liptow’s rants: He automatically opposes everything the current South Euclid leadership favors. His big issue this year has been, you guessed it, Oakwood. He’s spoken against the development both in public and using a number of sockpuppets. On Cleveland.com he’s known as cautiousman and SoEUCLIDFOREVER. At South Euclid Oversight, which is run by a cohort named Emilie DiFranco, he’s posted under his own name and anonymously. There is one frequent poster there who types in all CAPITAL letters, and I’ve suspected this is Liptow. That suspicion was recently confirmed in a recent post, where Liptow did everything but state his name to drop hints that it was him. It seems that Joe is hell bent on getting his message out, whatever that is. His rants in capital letters and normal case have bemoaned the presence of minorities in South Euclid, called the transaction at Oakwood a Jewish insider deal, and accused councilperson Jane Goodman of being a hypocritical environmentalist. Agree with Jane Goodman on Oakwood or not, but she lives what she espouses. She does not drive a giant SUV and live in a giant energy consuming house like Joe claims. She drives an older Toyota Prius and shares a small bungalow with her sister. Joe drives a Ford Excursion although technically he’s not supposed to be driving anything. More on that later.

I’m sure that if South Euclid’s leaders had been opposed to Oakwood, Liptow would be for it and complain about the city blocking progress. He’s that obvious.

Liptow has also foamed at the mouth over speeding cameras. This is understandable, since his license was suspended at least once! It’s not easy to get your license suspended in Ohio, you have to be either caught for DUI or build 12 points on your license within three years. But Joe has managed to do that so at least he’s accomplished something. Joe is the friend to leadfoots everywhere. I wonder if he would still be opposed to cameras if his kid was hit by someone’s speeding car!

Here’s a link to a South Euclid Oversight video of Joe speaking in 2009. Look at the eyes. They’re crazier than Michele Bachmann’s.

Being realistic

Meet unreality:

Meet reality:

Vote based on reality, not fantasy. VOTE YES ON ISSUE 96!

South Euclid Oversight caught in lie

The guttersnipes at South Euclid Oversight have done a parody post, posing as a pro-Oakwood letter. Here are the screen grabs. You decide.

Here is the grab from South Euclid Oversight. Note their inflated numbers for the No on 96 group.

Here are the grabs from the groups actual facebook pages - taken yesterday morning. South Euclid Oversight is run by two residents of Fairview Park. These two clowns, Joe Liptow, the three people who post over & over again on the yes96 page are trying to paint the no on 96 crowd as a vast movement of involved people. When it's mostly a few crybabies from Cleveland Heights, and a few would be polticians with an ax to grind. The real numbers tell a different story.

DON'T BE FOOLED. VOTE YES ON ISSUE 96!

Speeding Camera Update: 10/25 - 10/31

Monday - Tuesday: College Rd
Wednesday - Thursday: Plainfield Rd
Friday - Sunday: Grosvenor Rd

Halloween will be from 6-8pm, Sunday. Use caution when driving!

Is Schoenewald channeling Nixon?

      Have we got a deal for YOU!

OK. I may be revealing my age here. But do any of you out there know how Tricky Dick Nixon got elected in 68? It wasn’t because of the economy because we were going great gun back then. It was because of Vietnam and because enough Americans were fed up with protesting drug taking hippys who later grew up to be anti-Oakwood activists. But enough on that part of it for now.

Nixon said he had a “secret plan” to get us out of Vietnam. Enough Americans bought Nixon’s line to elect him, and his secret plan basically meant bombing the crap out of Laos and Cambodia.

Bob Schoenewald has offered NO SPECIFICS about how he’s going to deal with South Euclid’s alleged budgetary problems. He must have a “secret plan” too, or maybe he just doesn’t have a clue. Being able to count to 10 without your fingers doesn’t mean you have the vision to run a city of 20,000 people. And unlike what Nixon did in Vietnam, Schoenewald will have to work with city council.

Cedar Center and Oakwood update

Did you see the latest flyer from the anti-Oakwood group? I won’t give them the free advertising by scanning it in here. But it’s a very slick clever document. It’s done up in Brush High School's colors, brown and gold so that at first I thought it was from the school district. Nope, it’s from southeuclidfactchech.org. It trots out the usual talking points about how Oakwood is baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. The developer is from Solon! Oh no, not Solon! We’ve heard it all before. Southeuclidfactcheck.org says it’s a project of Ohio fact check. But enter ohiofactcheck.org into your browser and it redirects to southeuclidfactcheck.org. Go ahead, try it. I’ll wait.

As Nixon said, “follow the money.” Who’s paying for this flyer? There’s no information to be found on the flyer or online.

~

OK, you back? Meanwhile, Coral Company announced the following tenants for the new Cedar Center:

Panera
Chipotle
Five Guys Burgers
Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches
China Gate

Chipotle was at the old Cedar Center. So was China Gate which is locally owned/operated.

Coral also announced that an Italian restaurant, a coffee shop, women’s hair salon, and pet supply store are also slated to sign on. I’d bet that the coffee shop will be Caribou, since there’s a Starbucks nearby and a Phoenix coffee at Mayfield & Green.

So things are at last looking up at Cedar Center. It would be a pity to dump Mayor Welo when her efforts to improve things around here are just beginning to blossom.

Re-elect Mayor Welo. And vote YES on Issue 96.

Cracks in the anti-Welo coalition

South Euclid oversight the blog run by two people with a bunch of bones to pick about our city's elected leadership, has been in league with several opposition candidates in the past few elections. This year they've hosted videos by mayoral challenger Robert Schoenewald and council candidates Michael Fortner and Joe Liptow.

The comments on that site are almost always anonymous and usually from some lunatic who always types in CAPITAL LETTERS. So imagine my surprise when I saw this comment:

Our city has been better days. How much of that is due to Welo's performance and how much is due to the national economy and poor leadership at the state level I'll leave you to decide. But if all the opposition can offer up is a goofy bean counter, an senile old man with no ideas, a ranting lunatic with a suspended driver's license, and a Republican only watching out for his own interests, then we're in worse shape than I thought.

South Euclid oversight has also been vocal in their opposition to Issue 96. These guys are so un-fair and un-balanced they're worse than Fox News. But Oakwood commons is the only thing standing between South Euclid and fiscal armageddon. If Issue 96 fails - last one out, turn off the lights.

Watch and Learn

Who are the "citizens" for Oakwood?

Fran Mentch = 1413 Lynn Park Dr, Cleveland Heights
Susan Miller = 3165 Berkshire Rd Cleveland Heights
Garry Kantor = Cleveland Heights
Bruce Knapp = Ardoon Rd, Cleveland Heights
Charlie Mosbrook = Cleveland Heights
Rich Sones = 3790 Bainbridge Rd, Cleveland Heights
Deanna Bremer Fisher= Cleveland Heights (also runs Future Heights)
Bob Rosenbaum = Cleveland Heights (blogger at heightsobserver, published by Future Heights)
Adele Eisner = 2932 Clarkson Rd, Cleveland Heights
Carla Rautenberg = 3065 Berkshire Rd, Cleveland Heights
Richard Wong = 2654 Exeter Dr, Cleveland Heights (CH planning director)
Kathy Schaeffer = 1172 S Belvoir, South Euclid
Jerome "Joe" Liptow - 4501 Anderson Rd, South Euclid
David Furry = 3867 W. 226th St, Fairview Park
Emilie Difranco = 3867 W. 226th St, Fairview Park


DON'T BE FOOLED BY HEIGHTS ACTIVISTS, THEIR LACKEYS IN SOUTH EUCLID, OR GUTTERSNIPES WITH AN AX TO GRIND.

VOTE YES ON ISSUE 96!

Update 4/24: I received a note from Emilie DiFranco claiming neither she nor David Furry were members of Citizens for Oakwood. We apologize for the mistake. Judging by their  post history they were definitely fellow travelers.

Oakwood opponents stink of desperation

Did you see the latest flyer from the "citizens" for Oakwood? They're sending one out every few days, so it may be hard to keep track. Where are they getting all the money for these?

So, this latest missive, which I didn't bother to scan before putting it into the circular file, ranted about the "rich developer from Solon." DUH! Of course Mitchell Schneider's wealthy. He's one of the area's most prominent developers, and he's good at his job. I suppose the anti-Oakwood crowd would prefer a POOR developer, as long as he's from South Euclid.

Friends, DON'T be fooled by the desperate rantings from a coalition of Heightsters, greenies, and candidates with an axe to grind. VOTE YES ON ISSUE 96!

http://voteyes96.com/index.html

Speeding Camera update: 10/18 - 10/24

Tuesday - Wednesday: Princeton Blvd
Thursday - Friday: Felton Rd
Saturday - Monday: Bluestone Rd

Did the Sun let the cat out of the bag?

The Sun Messenger has endorsed a YES vote on Issue 96. Click to enlarge and read the full editorial here:

The passage in question: “Mayor Georgine Welo is strongly supportive of this project even though it will put a big hurt on her husband’s hardware store in the city.”

A Super WalMart would not cause a “big hurt” in a local hardware store. But a Lowe’s would.

VOTE YES ON ISSUE 96.

FLASH: Anti-Oakwood Treasurer NOT South Euclid homeowner

Every political campaign in Ohio is required to list its treasurer on all ads and signs. It doesn't matter whether the campaign is for a candidate or an issue. I've done some research on the treasurers of both sides of issue 96.

Beyond the fact that the ringleader of "Citizens" for Oakwood Fran Mentch lives on Lynn Park Drive in Cleveland Heights, they also list an address on Bainbridge Road as their contact address. The treasurer of "Citizens" for Oakwood, Maria Bernardo, lives in an apartment on Cedar Road - just barely on the South Euclid side of the border. That's right folks, the person allegedly in control of the money for the anti-Oakwood campaign which will determine the fate of South Euclid for decades to come DOES NOT OWN PROPERTY IN OUR CITY!

The treasurer for the Yes on 96 campaign is Rocco Dilillo, and long time South Euclid resident who owns a home on Dorsch Road. You know his loyalties are with the long term viability of South Euclid.


Don't be fooled by Heights activists who just want to keep their bootheels on South Euclid's neck. VOTE YES ON ISSUE 96!

Speeding Camera update: 10/11 - 10/17

Tuesday - Friday: Wyncote Rd
Friday - Monday: Wrenford Rd

How will Warrensville Center Road handle so much traffic?

As these pictures demonstrate, Warrensville Center Road is currently underused. Traffic on that road peaked around 1970, when the population of the area also peaked. Independent studies have shown that Oakwood Commons will, at most, bring traffic back to 1985 levels.

Some noisy people have complained that the increase of traffic will increase accidents, one even going so far as to bellow that Mitchell Schneider would have "blood on his hands" if someone was killed. But the fact is that people tend to speed on underused roads like Warrensville Center currently is.

Have I mentioned that First Interstate will pay for ALL improvements on this road, including a new traffic signal and sidewalk?

By the way, Taylor Road in Cleveland Heights is being narrowed due to under-utilization.

A message from the People's Republic of Cleveland Heights

Click to enlarge

Speeding Camera update: 10/3 - 10/9

Monday - Tuesday: Elmwood Rd
Wednesday - Thursday: Stilmore Rd
Friday - Sunday: Princeton Blvd

The camera's frequent appearances on Princeton Blvd continue.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: South Euclid municipal court will soon be posting case information online. The public will be able to search criminal, civil and traffic court cases.

Oakwood: FINALLY someone gets it!

People are finally talking sense on the anti-Oakwood page. Jane Goodman points out the lie about locally owned businesses. And Hank Drake calls out CfO's REAL agenda: stifling competition.

Will those posts be deleted by Fran or her minions? She's admitted doing it before, she may do it again.

Click to enlarge

Yes on Issue 96 mailers

Finally, mailers in favor of the rezoning at Oakwood have gone out, and they point out the lies being propagated by the anti-Oakwood activists.

An anti-Oakwood person, Aimee Ursic Grabski made the following complaint:

Say what? Look again, the postage permit is in plain sight. Don't make accusations unless you can back them up. Ms. Grabski, do you even live in South Euclid?

Moody's: South Euclid's credit rating "Above Average"

http://blog.cleveland.com/sunmessenger/2011/09/south_euclid_gets_above_averag.html

No doubt the usual suspects will say this is a conspiracy between the Sun, Moody's, and the South Euclid city government!

Speeding Camera update: 9/26-10/4

Monday - Tuesday: Avondale Rd
Wednesday - Thursday: E. Antisdale Rd
Friday - Sunday: Rainbow Rd

NOTE: The speeding camera is usually moved early Monday morning, so there may be some carry over from the weekend.

Issue 96

"Shall Ordinance No. 05-11, proposing to amend the zoning map of the City of South Euclid so as to change certain property known as the Oakwood Club from its existing Class R-75 'One-Family Residential District' to C-2 'General Commercial District' be approved?"

Vote YES!

Speeding Camera update: 9/19-9/26

Monday - Tuesday: Telhurst Rd
Wednesday - Thursday: Bluestone Rd
Friday - Sunday: Ardmore Rd

Keith Benjamin’s preemptive strike

After years of delays, construction is finally set to begin at Cedar Center North. Keith Benjamin made a preemptive defense of the city’s purchase of the old strip after years of enduring the rants of guttersnipes like Joe Liptow and his buddies at South Euclid Oversight.
Benjamin admitted that South Euclid will probably never recoup its costs for purchasing the old strip, but defended the decision anyway:

“The city has a chance to do nothing, or do something for the good of the community. Inner ring suburbs have a choice, and you can drive around and see the cities that have done nothing.”

Benjamin is right, but he doesn’t go far enough. Can you think of any suburbs which have not improved their public spaces? East Cleveland comes to mind, and even they have partnered with University Circle to improve part of their city. Do the naysayers want South Euclid to become the next East Cleveland? Some probably do, especially those who don’t actually live here.

Full article here:
http://blog.cleveland.com/sunmessenger/2011/09/building_on_first_phase_of_ced.html

Heights Observer article criticized for bias

On August 29, 2011, the Heights Observer published an article about Oakwood by intern James Helmsworth that was extremely innaccurate and one-sided. Read it here:

http://www.heightsobserver.org/read/2011/08/29/legal-battle-rages-over-oakwood-greenspace

Cary Seidman, a Cleveland Heights resident and teacher, has responded:

http://heightsobserver.org/read/2011/09/10/where-were-the-editors-ononesided-oakwood-article

It's nice to see that there are SOME people still remaining in Cleveland Heights who have a lick of common sense. Seidman correctly points out that Oakwood is not greenspace. Nor has it been so in the lifetimes of anyone on this planet. It is a herbicided, pesticided golf course. Now, it's is "well on its way to becoming a weed-infested eyesore". Environmental activists like Susan Miller say that's just nature reclaiming Oakwood, but few of us see it that was.

Speeding camera update: September 12 - 19

The speeding camera will only be at two locations this week.

Monday - Wednesday: Winston Rd
Thursday - Monday: Oakmount Rd

FLASH: Ohio S. C. rules that Oakwood rezoning must go to ballot

Read the full ruling of the Ohio Supreme Court here:


http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/pdf/0/2011/2011-Ohio-4485.pdf

Speeding Camera update: 9/7 - 9/12

Tuesday - Thursday: Campus Rd
Friday - Monday: Grosvenor Rd

The camera is only in two locations this week due to the Labor Day holiday. The city has placed the camera on these roads several times - but has yet to place it in the vicinity of Brush and Memorial schools. Why is this?

Speeding Camera update: 8/29 - 9/6

Monday - Tuesday: Maywood Rd
Wednesday - Thursday: Liberty Rd
Friday - Tuesday: Princeton Blvd

The cameras stay on Princeton is because of the Labor Day weekend.

FLASH: SE-L schools DOWNGRADED

The State board of education has downgraded South Euclid-Lyndhurst schools from Effective to Continuous Improvement in their annual report.

Full details here:

http://blog.cleveland.com/sunmessenger/2011/08/south_euclid-lyndhurst_school_16.html

FLASH: Speeding Cameras to be on ballot

Click link for story:

http://blog.cleveland.com/sunmessenger/2011/08/south_euclid_voters_will_decid.html

The Sun Messenger errs and plays into the hands of the opponents of these devices when they call it a traffic camera. It is a speeding camera - it does not monitor other issues such as compliance with traffic lights, stop signs, etc.

NOTE: This blog does not take a position on whether the speeding camera should be retained or removed from service. We support the right of the citizens of South Euclid to vote on this issue. We also believe this debate should be free of influence from both the camera manufacturer Redflex and professional activists on the other side.

This blog does agree with anti-camera proponents on an important point: side streets are being used as a cut through because Mayfield is zoned at 25mph. There is no justification for this and we believe that the entire stretch of Mayfield should be zoned at 35mph, just as it is in Lyndhurst and Mayfield Heights.

Speeding Camera update: 8/22 - 8/29

August 22-23: Lilac Rd
August 24-25: Oakmount Rd
August 26-29: Ammon Rd

Speeding Camera update: August 15-22

August 15-16: Covington Rd
August 17-18: Verona Rd
August 19-22: Wrenford Rd

Again, the western part of the city is being covered. Is that because of speeders originating in the Heights?

Fran: It's all about the deer

Fran Mentch is at it again. Her latest letter to the Sun Messenger says the development of Oakwood should be stopped because of the potential for deer collisions!

http://www.cleveland.com/sun/all/index.ssf/2011/08/deer_as_a_traffic_hazard_will.html

This has got to be one of the dumbest letters ever printed in the Sun. How stupid is it? It's even stupid by Fran's measure for stupidity. Based on Fran's reasoning, all of us who live in neighborhoods with deer nearby should tear down our houses and leave.

If anything, developing Oakwood will reduce the incidence of deer activity along Warrensville. The deer will migrate to another wooded area, like the Metroparks.

FLASH: Candidate Liptow Busted

Perennial city council candidate and angry-man Jerome "Joe" Liptow, known for his rants at city council meetings, South Euclid Oversight, and the Sun Messenger, was caught driving under suspension while returning from Monday's City Council meeting. Read the Sun's full report here:

http://blog.cleveland.com/sunmessenger/2011/08/possible_candidate_for_south_e.html

Not noted in the news report is that Liptow's home on Anderson Road is at most a ten minute walk from City Hall. Why did Liptow, who touts himself as an environmentalist and defender of nature against Mitch Schneider, have to drive to and from the meeting? Knowing him, he probably drove that big gas-guzzling ugly red Ford Expedition too.

According to the report Liptow is under a 12 point suspension. No wonder he's so vocal in his opposition to traffic cameras.

D'oh!

South Euclid city council has rejected Citizens for Oakwood's petitions for a zoning referendum, claiming they were improperly filed. You'd think with all the legal help Fran claims to have, someone could have told her or her South Euclid minions how to file a petition.

http://www.cleveland.com/cleveland-heights/index.ssf/2011/08/south_euclid_city_council_reje.html

Speeding Camera update: August 8-15

August 8-9: Okalona Rd
August 10-11: Argonne Rd
August 12-15: Princeton Blvd

Speeding Camera update: August 1 - 8

August 1-4: Grosvenor Rd
August 4-8: Princeton Blvd

Speeding Camera update: July 25-August 1

July 25 & 26: Bexley Blvd
July 27 & 28: Liberty Rd
July 29 - August 1: Campus Rd

Speeding Camera Update: July 18-25

July 18-19: Ardmore Rd
July 20-21: Brookline Rd
July 22-25: Wrenford Rd.

More on the "flash-mob" phenomenon and thugs

Please read the article at this link.

http://heightsobserver.org/read/2011/07/13/emotions-run-high-at-community-forum-on-youth-issues

My Comments: First, Lewis Pollis is a very impressive young reporter. Now, onto the moment at the meeting that really got my hackles up:

In what was perhaps the tensest moment of the evening, Kathy Wray Coleman was booed by the audience for her assertion that the new curfew laws are “targeting the black community.” She said the curfew violates the 14th Amendment and suggested that, next, “we will have to ride in the back of the bus.”

Bill Swain from Revolution Books agreed with Coleman, calling the curfew “totally racist” and “an actual Jim Crow.”



Swain is an avowed Communist. So he wants mobs, public disorder and violence because it will further damage America's "evil" capitalist system. His agenda is transparent and I will leave him alone for now.

But matters are not helped when we have people like Kathy Wray Coleman turing the flash-mob problem into a race issue. For her to say that the curfew is just a foot in the door to putting African-Americans in the “back of the bus” is a slap at the memory of Rosa Parks and others who faced real discrimination. Uncivil behavior by unruly mobs of youths is not a racial issue – it is an issue of conduct and it is driven by bad and inattentive parenting. If any of you think thug behavior is a “black” problem, pay a visit to Parma and see the white thugs hanging around Pearl and Ridge Roads.

The curfew is not perfect, and it seems to me that Cleveland Heights leaders are trying to find their way through a difficult situation. They will undoubtedly tinker with the curfew until the right balance is found. If a law is well intentioned but not perfect, the right solution is to improve the law – not throw it out. The Constitution has been amended time and again over the centuries for the same reason.

I wish the Heights council the best of luck. Because lack of respect for adult authority is a disease and it will spread to neighboring communities.

South Euclid Police Prevent a Flash Mob

A few weeks ago I posted about the recent “flash-mob” at the Coventry Street Fair. Cleveland Heights police were caught unaware as the mob of youthful thugs formed and ruined the last hour of the event.

What a contrast in South Euclid, where our police department proactively shut down a “flash-mob” before it could form in Bexley Park. Part of that was by monitoring social media like Facebook and Twitter. The youth behind the mob event, Malik Wallington, wound up moving it to Cleveland.

Here’s a link to the Cleveland Heights Patch article on the averted Bexley incident. Take note of the anti-South Euclid Police comments, no doubt from hippy-dippy Heightsters.


http://clevelandheights.patch.com/articles/park-closing-follows-flash-mob-rumors

The South Euclid police department has come under a lot of criticism from the anti-traffic camera crowd, from South Euclid Oversight, and opposition candidates like Michael Fortner. But I’d like to take this moment to congratulate them on a job well done. None of the above mentioned entities have praised their efforts here – but you can bet your bottom tax dollar they would have been the first on the bandwagon if a disruptive event had taken place.

Mobile Camera update: July 11 - 18

The mobile speed camera will be in the following locations from 7-11 to 7-18-11:

July 11 & 12: Felton Rd.
July 13 & 14: Bluestone Rd.
July 15 - 17: Grosvenor Rd.

Speeding Camera Update: July 7 - 11

July 7 - 8: Dill Road
July 8 - 11: Princeton Boulevard

Oakwood opponents stink of desperation

Members of the anti-Oakwood group are canvassing South Euclid streets begging for signatures for their "ballot referendum." Check out Susan Miller's tweet below:

Funny. Susan has been spending the last six months bashing South Euclid, now she praises our "lovely neighborhoods."

In the end, it doesn't matter. The land was approved for development by the city council, who are our elected representatives. It only remains for the Planning Commission to approve First Interstate's plans and issue the building permits. A referendum would be pointless because the use of the land is grandfathered in. Read your Constitution: You can't make a law retroactive per the ex post facto clause.

Some Heightsters are desperate to keep their bootheels on the throats of the people of South Euclid. As usual with these folks, it's too little too late.

Stifling competition

I saw this sign outside DiStefanos the other day. This is what America has come down to. A grocer who wants to stifle competition. Is he taking on Walmart? No. He's protesting a farmer's market. Small farmers who grow food naturally and sell it to citizens. DiStefano wants you to buy his imported food instead. How do the buy local greenies from Cleveland Heights feel about DiStefano wanting to stifle competition?

City Council passes Oakwood rezoning

The city council did a great thing in facing down another unruly mob of Heightsters and approving First Interstate’s zoning request. Citizens for Oakwood has already said they’re going to try and get a referendum on the ballot – but it’s going to be too little, too late. That’s par for the course (golf pun intended) for them. They failed to get the money raised to buy the old club. They failed to persuade the Planning Commission or the City Council with their scare tactics.

After they’ve sent out two waves of propaganda postcards, with the scary Walmart logo, they were unable to persuade the critical mass needed to make their case. All that money raised for their cause. How much of it was spent? How much is left? And who decides what happens to any remaining funds. I’ll give you three guesses. I could sense the desperation of the anti-Oakwood crowd at Monday’s meeting.

Kathy Schaefer’s blood lust was revolting. She is a traitor to the people of South Euclid. In the olden days, someone like that would be banished from the town.

New traffic signals will improve safety on that stretch of Warrensville. Consider this: when the area was at its peak population in the 1970s, there were more cars in that area than at any other time. Not only that. They were bigger, more dangerous cars. All the studies had shown that the increase in traffic will not even reach the 1985 levels!

Say NO to tax increases. Say YES to Oakwood.

Hoards of Heights thugs spoil Coventry Street Fair

For those few of you who haven’t heard, a “flash mob” of youths disrupted the Coventry Street Fair on Sunday. This is the second time this has happened in two years. This is another black eye on Cleveland Heights’ reputation as a safe community for kids and adults. That reputation is now long in the past. Last year, there were two incidents at Severance Center: one in the walkway that cuts through the strip, the other at Walmart which involved dozens of kids riding bikes in the store. This is one of many serious incidents at Severance going back decades, including a shooting in the food court that brought about the closure and tear down of the original mall.

Defensive Heightsters are claiming the youths responsible were not from the Heights. How do they know that? Did they personally card each offender? Geography dictates that the majority of the youths involved were local. Especially on a Sunday when the buses weren’t operating on a full schedule.

Coventry used to be a charming bohemian neighborhood. I remember seeing students play hackey-sack on the corner of Coventry and Euclid Heights Boulevard in the 80s. But in the 90s, the neighborhood changed from the artsy area it was to a commercial more generic place. The movie theater closed. A new corner building was built and chain restaurants moved into the neighborhood. The area has lost much of its charm, not all of it but most of it, and this can be seen by the type of people who walk the streets. Urban thugs. When I say “thugs” that is not a code word for “black.” Thuggery comes in all colors. Just take a look at Parma to see that.

Part of the problem is Cleveland Heights’ police force. They spend too much time watching for speeders and issuing parking tickets before the meters expire. But assaults at Nighttown and Coventry are overlooked, rape kits are not examined, innocent dogs are euthanized. There is a serious mix up of priorities in that city. Cleveland Heights has been going down the tubes for 20 years and we can only pray it doesn’t take South Euclid and other nearby communities with it.

That’s why I have to laugh when some claim that Oakwood Commons will bring more thugs to the area. Bring them here? They already are here! Rioting at Severance, and now at Coventry two years in a row! Cleveland Heights: get your cops out of their cars and walking the streets and shopping centers. Get your priorities in order!

Speeding Camera update

Corrected from previous entry.

The mobile speed camera will be in the following locations from June 27-July 5:

June 27-30: Campus Rd

July 1-5: Victory Road

Source: City of South Euclid website

Traffic Camera Update: June 27-July 4

Here's where the traffic camera will be next week:

June 27-30: Campus Road

July 1-4: Victory Drive

Wearing the tin foil hat

Another safely anonymous loonie with a conspiracy theory. Tornado Joe says the real reason behind Oakwood is to provide a site for the government to irradiate and brainwash citizens. This will take place at the Walmart that Fran and her groupies insist is coming to Oakwood. 

http://dprogram.net/2011/06/21/sky-lift-fema-style-guard-towers-at-wal-mart-locations-and-x-ray-vans/

Traffic Camera Alert: June 20-26

The Traffic Camera will be placed in the following locations:

*June 20-22: Elmwood Road
*June 22-26: East Antisdale Road

Source: Sun Messenger

Note the stupid comment by renarf in the article. Renarf says that speeders will "speed somewhere else".  Except for hot rodders, drivers in these areas are not speeding for its own sake. The majority of speeders just don't pay attention to their speed and have heavy feet. 

Traffic Camera Update: June 13-19

The Traffic Camera will be in the following locations June 13-19:

June 13-14: Wrenford Road
June 15-16: Elmwood Road
June 17-19: East Antisdale Road

So far the Traffic Camera has been placed on streets in the western part of the city. Which leads to the question why are they being placed there? Is it to catch speeders coming from the Heights?

Jane Goodman's takedown

Read Jane Goodman's letter to the Sun Messenger at the link below. It's a point-by-point takedown to those opposed to Oakwood:

http://blog.cleveland.com/sunpress/2011/06/letters_to_the_sun_press_counc.html

Somebody likes himself

Read Joe Liptow's letter to the Sun Messenger. Then read the comment and question from one "cautiousman." Talking to oneself is a sign of mental insanity.

http://blog.cleveland.com/sunpress/2011/06/letter_to_the_editor_south_euc.html

Is this guy stupid?

I truly hope Tom Schuster didn't go to SEL schools, because this letter would be a poor reflection on them.

http://blog.cleveland.com/sunpress/2011/06/letters_to_the_sun_press_shine.html

Tom doesn't grasp that the Oakwood land has already been sold. Metroparks doesn't want to buy the land, never has. On top of that, if any golf clubs were interested in buying the land, it would have happened already. Ever see Jerry Macguire? Show me the money!

Traffic Camera Update: June 6-12

The traffic camera will be placed at the following locations:

*June 6-7: Grosvenor Road
*June 8-9: Verona Road
*June 10-12: Wrenford Road

Source: Sun Messenger

New tax proposed by rich Heightster

This time, it's Shaker Heights, not Cleveland Heights.

http://blog.cleveland.com/letters/2011/06/plastic_bag_fee_would_help_cit.html

Mark Cassell has the gall to call this an "out of the box" solution. New taxes, out of the box? What planet is this guy from? This is what's known as a consumption tax, and it's regressive. That means it hits lower and middle income people the hardest.

It's all very easy to call for a new tax when you live in a $300,000+ home in Shaker Heights as Mr. Cassell does. It wouldn't be so easy for people who have to pay those fees. And NEWS FLASH, some of us use those plastic bags to hold our recyclables.

Another stupid letter from a stupid Heightster

Good morning.  Check this letter out and try not to choak on your cereal.

http://www.cleveland.com/sun/all/index.ssf/2011/05/keep_cleveland_heights_clean_b.html


First of all, the section of Oakwood that's to contain Oakwood Commons in NOT in Cleveland Heights, it's in South Euclid. G. Michael Bowen must be either an idiot or smoking some of that northwestern pot to have forgotten his basic geography. Then again, he did go to Heights' crappy schools, so that could explain it.

ONCE AGAIN: If the Oakwood land is not rezoned, it's going to be turned into housing. It's NOT going to become a park. Housing is worse for the environment than retail: more use of water, more fertilized lawns. Housing will also cost more by the city to maintain: South Euclid will pay for trash pickup and road maintenance. If it's retail, the business pays for trash pickup and the landowner pays for maintenance. There will also be income taxes paid on the salaries there. No one with the money to turn it into a park is interested in buying the land. WAKE UP PEOPLE. Fran and her cronies are selling a bridge to nowhere, and South Euclid taxpayers will end up with the bill!

Traffic Camera Alert: May 30 - June 5

The traffic camera will be in the following locations:

May 30-31: Princeton Blvd
June 1-2: Ammon Road
June 3-5: Grosvenor Road

Source: Sun Messenger

South Euclidians face down mob of Heightsters

A small group of angry Heightsers stood outside South Euclid city hall on Wednesday. The Heights Observer numbered the crowd at over 50, but I saw two dozen at most. The Observer article was written by Deanna Bremer Fisher, who runs Future Heights which opposes development at Oakwood, so she’s hardly an unbiased source. 

Anyway, the usual suspects were there: Susan Miller, Fran Mentch, and their cronies. The overwhelming majority of these people come from Cleveland Heights. But they’ve been able to sucker a few South Euclid residents into taking their side, like Dan Shramo, a local “musician” and marijuana legalization activist.

Over 200 people packed city hall for the meeting. 50 South Euclid residents spoke. Most were in favor of rezoning. People are finally getting it: South Euclid has a right to exert home rule and make its own decisions, not be dictated to by larger suburbs. I haven’t been so proud of my town since we dumped that stupid regulation about not eating in cars.

That must really get some Heightsters panties in a bunch, like Susan Miller. She’s been one of the ringleaders of the anti-Oakwood crowd. Miller, a fulltime activist, does the heavy lifting for Fran. Miller’s contempt for the people of South Euclid was demonstrated when she, a chain smoker, tossed her cigarette butt onto the sidewalk.

I stood near Miller at the meeting. There’s something that I noticed at the meeting that you wouldn’t get from her posts on the "Citizens for Oakwood’s" facebook page: she smells. She obviously doesn’t bathe regularly, which is taking this green thing a bit too far in my opinion. I’ll be posting an in depth exposé of Miller’s antics and crazy ideas in the very near future.

Traffic Camera Alert, May 23-29!

While some websites are complaining about traffic cameras in South Euclid, we will be keeping the good people of South Euclid up to date on where they are located. 

Here is where the cameras will be placed from May 23-May 29:

Ardmore Road
Liberty Road
Princeton Boulevard

If you have a chronically lead foot, you are advised to avoid these roads, which are residential in nature. Otherwise, drive within the posted speed limits, which is what you should be doing anyway.

Source: Sun Messenger

FLASH: Planning Commission votes to approve rezoning!

On April 14, our city’s planning commission did a great thing. They voted in recommendation for the old Oakwood Club to be rezoned commercial. This will not only bring jobs to our area, it will increase tax revenue to South Euclid and hopefully stave off an income or property tax increase which will hopefully bring more residents. Even better, First Interstate will take over development of Cedar Center North. Considering the poor job Coral Company did with University Square and their constant asking for handouts like tax deferments, this is a good thing for South Euclid. It’s also a good thing for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school district, since speedy development of that property will increase funds there. Of course, Heightsters will never admit to that, they will just whine about the temporary reduction in funds to their lousy schools which the unfortunate kids in that section of South Euclid are forced to go to.

The easy thing for the Planning Commission would have been to vote against rezoning. It would have taken zero political courage, because those opposed to Oakwood have dominated the debate with hysterical claims & a mailer loaded with speculation and innuendo. Jennifer West at the planning commission said that “probably about 98%” of opposition comes from outside of South Euclid. That’s probably an exaggeration, since there are a number of South Euclid households surrounding the old Club which are mostly opposed. But the primary driver of opposition has been a coalition of Heights businesses, greenies, advocates of “regionalism”, would-be politicians who will oppose anything our elected leadership favors, and Heightsters who think allowing South Euclid to make its own decisions will hurt the Heights.  They all have different background agendas. The greenies are secretly pleased that the population of Cleveland and the first ring suburbs keeps dwindling – they’d love nothing more than for our area to become an urban farm. The Heights businsses fear development will draw people away from their overpriced boutique shops, especially since Cleveland Heights meters much of their parking. (This fear is patently absurd. Who would stop going to Passport to Peru because a Lowe’s opened at Oakwood?) They also want South Euclid’s income and property taxes to increase, which will make South Euclid less desirable and by extension the Heights moreso. Most of these people probably wouldn’t even give each other the time of day in other circumstances. But nothing can unite divergent people like a common enemy. One wacko even suggested that South Euclid should be annexed by the surrounding suburbs, as if we were Lindale! These people are bullies, picking on a small suburb in order for them to enhance their own position. The Planning Commission stared them down. Let’s hope the council at large shows the same fortitude.  

A recent post on the Citizens for Oakwood facebook page even lamented the construction of Gordon’s Food Service at Cedar Center North. Why would anyone oppose a specialty store which is not direct competition for any store in the area? The nearest Gordon’s in in Mentor, for chrissakes. It’s laughable, because these are the same people who say “develop Cedar Center North first”, but only if they approve of the stores that are built.   

There has been another factor to opposition at Oakwood, and it has never been mentioned.  But anyone who reads the comments section at Cleveland.com can see it: anti-Semitism is once again rearing its ugly head.  I would not be surprised to see this in a place like North Olmsted which is crawling with Muslims. But it’s sad that this would happen in an eastern area like ours, since South Euclid, Beachwood, and the various Heights have substantial Jewish populations.  The chief offender is a poster named “cautiousman”, who never comes forth and actually says it, but the tone of many of his posts dealing with the sale of Oakwood and Mitchell Schneider’s involvement have that slant. I have a pretty good idea who this “cautiousman” creep actually is. Can you guess who I’m thinking of?  

SNO: In violation of tax laws?

Click the image to enlarge

I received this in the mail the other day. Now we have an idea where Fran Mentch and her cronies have been spending the money they’ve been soliciting.

Here’s what got my attention in this mailer. Note the menacing smiley-face graphic. This is obviously meant to give people the Wal-Mart scare. Nowhere is it mentioned that Mitchell Schneider bought this land fair & square. Nowhere is it mentioned that members have been trying to sell the Oakwood
Club on & off since 1994. I almost overlooked the small print at the bottom: A project of Severance Neighorhood Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
What’s a 501(c)(3)?  It’s a tax exempt organization, usually a charity. 501 (c)(3) exemptions apply to corporations, and any community chest, fund, cooperating association or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, to foster national or international amateur sports competition, to promote the arts, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. (Description from Wikipedia)  Not only are they tax-exempt, if you donate to them you can deduct your contribution from your taxes.

But SNO is not a charity, and Citizens for Oakwood is certainly not one. They are activist, political groups. The tone of this mailer is political, an attempt by an outside group to exert pressure on South Euclid’s elected
leadership with the threat a referendum. And if there is a referendum, you can bet that money from the SNO will go into financing banners for their side.  That’s political advertising, and that’s in violation of federal
law. See, while some in and out of South Euclid are calling for scrutiny of our elected leadership, no one is looking deeper into these fringe political groups.

Fran Mentch and her cronies have tried to paint this as some kind of spontaneous “people-power” movement. But CfO is no more spontaneous than the phony TEA party that was started by ex-Congressman Dick Armey and the Koch brothers. This is a group that includes professional activists, disgruntled South Euclid taxpayers, bordering property owners who are only thinking about the value of their homes, entrenched Heights business interests, and naive greenies.

Someone needs to investigate these people. Fran Mentch is on the same moral plane with televangelists who bilk elderly shut-ins for cash with promises of prayer. Where is this money going?

By the way, with all the talk about the trees, the environment, the animals at Oakwood, I have a question. Is this mailer even printed on recycled paper?

South Euclid excluded from Oakwood forum

You would expect that the person proposing development at Oakwood would be invited to a forum about Oakwood.  You would also expect that South Euclid citizens would also be invited.  Not the case when pushy Heightsters are involved.  Read on:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/52289886/Future-Heights-Forum-Excludes-Developer-and-South-Euclid-Residents-Letter-to-Future-Heights

Fran puts her hand out AGAIN

Fran Mentch, Severance Neighborhood Associations ringleader opposing development at Oakwood Commons, must know the end is coming for her cause. South Euclid's planning commission is likely to vote in favor of rezoning Oakwood as commercial. The letters to the Sun Messenger from Fran's group keep repeating the same irrelevant points, such as wanting to keep the Oakwood Club as a park. Of course, they neglect to specify who would pay to buy the land from First Interstate, to build this park or to maintain it.  But in the same breath, the claim to worry how South Euclid can afford to build a park on the 21 acres they will be given by First Interestate. The Sun Messenger's comments section is the most active battlefield left.  Here the tone of those against Oakwood is increasingly strident and desperate, especially one "cautiousman" who has taken to posting in all capital letters (this is called "SHOUTING" in netspeak) and making vague threats against Mitchell Schneider. I have my suspicions about "cautiousman's" true identity, but I'll keep that to myself for now.

Meanwhile, on the Citizens for Oakwood's facebook page, Fran Mentch is letting others like her own daughter and Susan Miller do the heavy lifting. But that doesn't prevent Fran from sticking her hand out and begging for cash. She did it just today:

What a cruel April Fools joke to play on the unsuspecting and naive. Mentch has failed to provide an accounting of what has happened to the money that has already been donated. Which makes me wonder, does Fran really care about Oakwood or is she just using this cause for personal gain? After all, the Oakwood Club's stakeholders have been trying to dump that land since 1994. Where were these neighborhood activists during all those years?

Return of the DOUCHEBAG

LeBron James returned to Cleveland yesterday, and provided more evidence that he's a DOUCHEBAG. He tried to park in the Cavaliers' reserved parking spaces, he showed up for practice wearing a Long Live the King t-shirt, and he showed up on court late because he was in the bathroom (probably puking).

Then he and his precious Heat lost the game!

Parents, don't let your kids grow up to be Yankee lovin DOUCHEBAGS like LeBron James.