Best of luck, Neveah

We have learned that Neveah is leaving it's location and moving to the former Sweetie-Fry location in the Cedar-Lee neighborhood. If a business from Cleveland Heights was moving to South Euclid the usual losers would cry "POACHING" and announce a boycott. We will be content to wish chef Eric Rogers "good luck and we hope to see you soon."

Will the REAL John J. Currid please stand up?

Aww gee. The Sun stole my thunder by endorsing Sunny Simon. But for your amusement I'll post these shots from John Currid's own facebook page and website. Don't believe the Best Cuyahoga feel good crap he spouts. Here's what John J Currid really stands for.

FLASH: Heights drug-dealing Activist cops plea, gets slap on wrist

0

After over a year vowing he would fight drug trafficking charges to the bitter end Garry Kanter agreed to a plea bargain in exchange for a reduced sentence. Garry was caught in early 2013 with 59 marijuana plants and 5 pounds of hash oil. Not even someone with Garry’s insatiable appetites is capable of smoking that much pot on his own so this was clearly a case of “intent to distribute.”

Nancy Margaret Russo who’s known as one of the most passive aggressive mood swingers to ever sit in a judge’s seat accepted the plea and was nice enough to give Garry a slap on the wrist.

In exchange for his guilty plea, Kanter had to turn in 3 cell phones, 2 digital scales and a gun. Again, if he didn’t “intend to distribute” the pot he wouldn’t have been weighing it so carefully. Garry will be under probation for 1 year and can only use his car for business related driving. I hope Garry understands that business driving does not refer to the “business” he was just forcibly retired from. But I hope he can find a steady job and pay down all those credit card and tax debts he’s run up. See for yourself at the County Court Database. Maybe it’s time to reestablish debtors prisons?

FLASH: Forbes Magazine praises Obama!

Forbes magazine is not exactly known as a liberal bastion. So I was surprised when they favorably compared Barack Obama to conservative icon Ronald Reagan.

 

Read Forbes full article by clicking here.

 

The Death of Severance Town Center

Severance Town Center has filed for bankruptcy.

Given the conditions at Severance is anyone surprised by this news?

I’m sure not. It’s easy to blame Oakwood Commons and South Euclid for the problems at Severance Town Center. Easy but not factual. As if moving Wal-Mart and opening four small stores at the mostly empty Oakwood killed a much larger shopping center that once boasted numerous large and medium sized tenants, not just the WalMart.

How easily Fran Mentch, Garry Kanter, and their minions forget that Borders went out of business depriving Severance of a large tenant which attracted desirable customers. How easily they forgot that Bally’s gym closed which drew people daily. Then Blockbusters. Those who worked out at Bally’s or went to Borders or Blockbuster often visited the other tenants there. How easily they forget that the Home Depot at Severance is by far the worst run Home Depot in an area with an already generous supply of hardware stores. How easily they forget that there was a superior Borders up the road at La Place, to say nothing of Barnes and Noble. How easily they forget the shooting at IHOP which was probably the final nail in Severance’s coffin. Yeah, it’s all because Wal-Mart moved. Sure.

It’s easy to say South Euclid and/or Mitchell Schneider “poached” Wal-Mart thereby killing Severance. Easy but not factual. Poaching? Think again. Poaching in business is defined as the practice of attracting workers from a rival company with better pay and conditions. It could also be defined as one city using tax incentives or other discounts to attract a nearby business. You want an example of poaching? Look how Beachwood poached Eaton Corporation from downtown Cleveland? That’s poaching. And the irony is, Eaton is not even an American company. It’s “officially” headquartered in Ireland to avoid paying US taxes! So to those who accuse South Euclid of poaching Wal-Mart I ask: what did South Euclid offer Wal-Mart? A property tax break? An income tax break? And to those who accuse Mitchell Schneider of poaching Wal-Mart I ask: What did Schneider offer Wal-Mart? Did he sell the Wal-Mart’s Oakwood parcel on the cheap?

The answers to all the above are a qualified NO. Qualified only because South Euclid’s property taxes have historically been lower than Cleveland Heights outrageously high property taxes. But guess what. Since that part of South Euclid falls under the Cleveland Heights University Heights school district Oakwood pays Height’s high taxes anyway! No wonder home owners in Cleveland Heights are leaving in droves.

Severance used to be a great place to shop but that was a long time ago. I remember being dragged there by my mother at back-to-school time in the 60s. By the 70s, I was going there on my own. I saw Star Wars multiple times at the theater there. But by the 80s I felt things were going downhill. Storefronts were starting to empty out and there was less foot traffic. Richmond Mall duplicated a lot of the stores that Severance had, so Severance lost traffic from easterly suburbs from Lyndhurst through Mayfield Heights. Randall Park Mall had been built and was a lot bigger with more variety so Severance lost traffic from Warrensville Heights and other southerly suburbs. Beachwood Mall with its more upscale stores probably siphoned off the higher end customers from all nearby areas. In the 90s I was disturbed by the clientele there. (For those of you about to call me a racist, it had nothing to do with race. When you see people walking around aimlessly, looking over their shoulders as if expecting or looking for trouble, you sense there’s danger.) I remember telling my kids “I don’t want you going to Severance anymore.” They rolled their eyes at me “Why?” Shortly thereafter there was a shooting in the food court and I told my kids “THAT’S why.” The old Severance was dead. Then it was buried. Then it was turned inside out and rebranded as Severance Town Center. I decided to give it a try. But I found most of the stores there were poorly run and duplicated elsewhere. I never saw a full parking lot at the new Severance except for Wal-Mart. But when I went there, I found the store in a messy state, with long lines and too many unmanned registers, and parents letting their kids run amuck assuming the parents were even there. I never revisited the store.

It says a lot about the priorities of Severance’s owners that they forked over thousands of dollars to the “citizens” for Oakwood but did nothing to improve their own property and make it more attractive. Did they ever make a good faith effort to attract new tenants? Doubt it.

The owners of Severance have collectively defecated on the good name of John Severance who did so much to build our city.

Severance Town Center is dead. If Fran Mentch still wants her beloved park here’s her golden opportunity. We’ll see if she puts her money where her very large mouth is. I’m not holding my breath.

GK's stash

Who carries 3 cell phones, 2 digital scales, and a gun? And who had to surrender them as part of a plea bargain? And why has the PD not reported on this?

Answers to follow sometime after 9/22.

Cleveland's Baseball Team: Time to Rebrand

I’ve been bouncing around this Cleveland Indians thing since the Wahoo controversy reignited just before opening day. At one point I suggested to someone that team management should have a contest inviting people to come up with a new team name and logo. I tried to think of something that was uniquely Cleveland and considered several names.

The Cleveland Eries?  Nah. Sounds like something out of Halloween, after the baseball season’s over.

The Cleveland Lakers? The Laker’s name is already taken.

The Cleveland Burning Rivers? No way we want to be reminded of that disaster.

Then I remembered the Falcons which perch on the Terminal Tower – itself a tried & true symbol of Cleveland. The “Falcons” name is already taken by the Atlanta football team although I don’t know if it’s against the rules or would be confusing to have two teams with the same name even though they’re different sports.

Technically, the birds at the Terminal Tower are Peregrine Falcons, which is one of many types of Falcons. What I like about the Peregrine name is it’s derived from the Latin term Peregrinus, originally meaning "one from abroad", that is, a foreigner, traveler, or pilgrim. Well, our Cleveland is home to many peoples from many lands. So the name itself is a salute to the diversity that most of us except types like those who sing Chief Wahoo’s praises hold dear.

So here is my suggestion for a Cleveland’s new baseball team: The Cleveland Peregrines

Mascot: Boomer the falcon
Uniform: Blue and gray with variations for home & away games.
Logo: A fierce Peregrine Falcon in profile.

My fellow Clevelanders: It's time to put this embarrassing chapter in Cleveland's history to rest. It's time to rebrand the Cleveland Indians as the Cleveland Peregrines.

FLASH! Patent for Washington Redskins logo struck down

May Chief Wahoo be denied as well.

 

 

Douchebag of the year: Edmund Aviv

It almost seems like piling on to comment on this case which has made national headlines. But here goes. Going back to at least 1997, Edmund Aviv of 887 Trebisky Road engaged in a pattern of harassing his next door neighbors. Why? Because the Prughs, a white couple, had adopted disabled children who happen to be black. He spat on the mother (legally that’s assault), called her “monkey momma”, built a contraption to spew kerosene laced air toward their house (because he didn’t like the April-Fresh smell of Downy that came from the Prugh’s house), smeared dog crap on their car and wheelchair ramp, and cut down shrubbery in their yard.

The Prughs took Aviv to court at least four times. Yet this jerk continued his disgusting behavior. South Euclid’s Judge Gayle Williams-Byers was fed up enough to sentence Aviv to 100 hours of community service, anger management classes, counselling at the Diversity Center of Cleveland, 15 days in jail, and 5 hours holding the sign as seen at this link. It remains to be seen whether Aviv will change his behavior in the long term. But at least the judge gave him the good sound spanking he’s so richly deserved.

For those who think this sentence was too harsh, you should go to the South Euclid court’s website and look through Aviv's prior case history.

1997: Aggravated menacing - fined $250 and suspended 60-day sentence.
1999: Disorderly Conduct - fined $200.
2011: Destruction of neighbor's property (trees) - fined $200.

The above doesn’t include a case for curfew violation which may be related to a previous sentence, and running 49 in a 35 zone that appears unrelated to this case.

It's obvious that the piddling sentences that were passed down by the previous judge were ineffective. Edmund Aviv continued his pattern of sick behavior. There comes a time when you have to say "enough." Judge Williams-Byers has said just that. I think her sentence was appropriate. Back in the founders' day, this d-bag would have been put in the stockade with tomatoes thrown at him by an angry crowd. So by those standards the sentence seems pretty lenient. I'm sure that neighborhood will become a lot more pleasant while Aviv serves his time in jail.

When I look at this creep’s mug, I'm reminded of the dearly departed John Demjanjuk. But with hair. Aviv’s as much of an embarrassment to South Euclid as Demjanjuk was to Seven Hills. Maybe more since there are plenty in Seven Hills who still defend Ivan the Terrible. And that’s why we name Edmund Aviv Douchebag for 2014.

Douchebag of the month: Phillip Morris

Phillip Morris - black racist, Wahoo defender and douchebag.

Yes, it's sad but true. There are black, excuse me, African-American racists out there and Phillip Morris is one such example. I can't believe in the 21st century we still have a racist mascot like Chief Wahoo in a town that's trying to sell itself as America's Comeback City. Those like Morris who still cling to this pathetic symbol of a perpetually losing team are bathing in the stench of phony nostalgia. They are no better than Southern Whites who dined at the Coon Chicken Inn or the Orthodox Jews by the old Milliken school who gripe about the Schvartses moving into "their" area.

As I've said before, Native Americans or American Indians are the last group of humans that it remains acceptable to parody with mascots like this. No one would accept an insulting logo like Wahoo if it portrayed Italians, Irish, Jews, Asians, Africans, or homosexuals.

So Phil, in honor of your douchebaggery, let's rename the team the Cleveland Darkies, and change the mascot to Sambo. How does that sit with you, buddy?

Fran Mentch in JAIL

Convicted of assault in the infamous hair-pulling case. We note that the facebook posts defending Fran Mentch's actions and claiming she was on trial for being an "activist" have been taken down.

Fran Mentch's Pity Party

Everyone’s favorite activist Fran Mentch has issued a new fatwa:

“I am on trial on Tuesday for being an activist. I am one of many who asked the Cuyahoga County Public Library Board and the director Sari Feldman to be fiscally responsible and respectful of the community's wishes and not sell Telling Mansion.”

Her mouthpiece at the Save the Telling Mansion as the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Public Library repeated Fran’s lie: “Fran Mentch is being tried for being an activist.”

It’s the old Goebells Nazi propaganda tactic again. Take a lie repeat it ad infinitum, and people will eventually believe it.

But not so fast.

Fran Mentch is not on trial for being an “activist”. She’s on trial for assault. How do I know that? Simple. There are plenty of other activists who tried to stop the library from moving. Some of them were reasonable. Some were almost as obnoxious as Fran. Are any of them on trial? No. Why? Because they didn’t stroll over and yank Sari Feldman’s hair like a playground bully. Fran knows she did it. The Parma cop Fran confessed to knows Fran did it. Sari Feldman certainly knows Fran did it. So why not simply plead guilty, pay the fine, and get on with the rest of her life?

Fran is pushing this case for one reason. She has a martyr complex and craves the attention. Fran doesn’t gain attention by accomplishment. Fran gains attention by having temper tantrums when her latest cause fails, which is always. I guess I’m feeding her craving by devoting this post to her. So be it. The fools who follow Fran like the Pied Piper along with low information voters need to be reminded about what a loon this chick is.

Lighten up Frances. You’re not above the law. Hopefully the jury will recognize that. The Fran Mentch's and Garry Kanter's of this world do a disservice to their own causes and the concept of committed citizenship. They are angry birds of a feather than need to flock together. Straight to the slammer.

Shots fired at Brush

There was a shooting at Brush High School in Lyndhurst Tuesday night. As someone who went to Brush and saw my kids graduate from there, this news is very upsetting. Even when I was a student at Brush, there were rough edges there. Not that it could be compared with Heights High which was so dangerous there was a drawing of someone carrying a knife on their yearbook. In my day, it was mostly the druggies and jocks who caused the problems.

Probably no high school is devoid of problems. Of course, the incident Tuesday night made the papers and the other media. And then everyone had to chime in. Isn’t it interesting how the usual trolls at Cleveland.com used a shooting in Lyndhurst to jump on the “bash South Euclid” bandwagon?

It’s doubly amusing because the shooting at Brush had NO CONNECTION with South Euclid, other than the fact that it was a South Euclid patrol car that was hit by the bullet. The two teen thugs who’ve been charged were from CLEVELAND and MAPLE HEIGHTS. They had a dispute with the third teen, another 17 year old from Cleveland, over a girl. We fought over girls in my day but it never involved weapons and usually took place in the baseball field behind the Methodist Church on Green Road.

Remember this: the worst school shootings over the last 20 years have been in so-called “safe” suburbs like Chardon, Littleton, and Newtown. We can only be grateful that no one at Brush was injured Tuesday night. To all of you who’ve abandoned South Euclid remember this: Don’t think you’re safe because you live in some white bread town like Mentor, Beachwood, or Strongsville. This kind of thing happens when and where you least expect it.

It's a SIN!

As you’ve heard on the news, the Cuyahoga county council has voted to place the Sin Tax extension on the ballot. The tax will apply to cigarette and alcohol purchases made in our county, and will pay for renovations/upgrades to Cleveland Municipal - Cleveland Browns - First Energy Stadium, Jacobs – Progressive Field, and Gund – Quicken Loans arena. Believe it or not, America’s football, baseball, and basketball leagues are all non-profit agencies!

I don't even smoke and rarely drink so the tax is not an issue for me personally. But it's the principle of the thing. Why should Cuyahoga residents foot the bill for something that people from Lake, Geauga, Summit, Lorain County, etc. will enjoy? We already pay for the wear & tear they put on our roads. To say nothing of the many who don't even care about sports but have to pay for this stuff. The sports teams are a regional draw even though they mostly stink, so it should be paid for regionally and paid for by those who use it.

So let those who enjoy seeing our teams lose pay for the privilege. They’re already masochistic, so charging them a few more bucks will hardly hurt. The corporate welfare has gone far enough! If the Indian Browns and Cavs management want to improve their stadium, let them fund it through increased ticket prices or other means. But leave the taxpayers out of it.