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.