Free Republic

Last week, the Cleveland city council held an emergency meeting to determine its stance on Occupy Cleveland as well as the Occupy movement at large. Resolution 1720-11 was approved by the City Council will a vote of 18 yeas and only 1 nay. With a population of 2,250,000 people, Cleveland joins other large cities like Seattle, Los Angeles, and Chicago in public support of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Excerpts of the Cleveland Resolution, which was sent to President Barack Obama and all members of the U.S. Congress, are reprinted below: WHEREAS, Cleveland community members, like others across the United...

Hundreds gather downtown to rally against cuts to government programsBy: Scott Newell, newsnet5.com Last Updated: 1 hour and 25 minutes ago CLEVELAND - A couple hundred protesters, worried about looming cuts to social programs, loudly raised their voices in Cleveland today, shouting, "No cuts now, no cuts ever." They are worried about cuts to some programs that have become staples for Americans: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. "This is a promise that our government has made to the American people, said protester Wynne Antonio. “They worked in good faith all their lives and paid in to these systems and they...

The Ohio Gun Collector's Association (OGCA) returned to the I-X Center in Cleveland on October 15-16, 2011, for their first event in almost 10 years. The huge crowds that packed the show Saturday made it obvious that they had been missed. As is typical, the show was less crowded on Sunday, but a vendor I bought some supplies from indicated he was actually selling more on Sunday than he did on Saturday. No matter how you measure it, the event was a success. Lots of new members were signing up with thoughts of attending future meetings. For many years, OGCA...

Mayor Frank Jackson declined Monday to commit prosecuting firefighters for taking pay they didn't earn, despite an internal audit documenting the scandal. The audit, COC Fire OT 11 18 2011 Issued.pdf released by the city Friday, found that at least four firefighters collected pay for hundreds of hours they did not work and others manipulated schedules to allow them to live as far as California. "Looks like they've got enough already," Councilman Zack Reed said Monday. "They've got to be moving aggressively to recover this taxpayer money." Jackson spokeswoman Andrea Taylor said only that Public Safety Director Martin Flask is...

The city of Cleveland became a little safer last Thursday—safer for criminals. In what has become an annual spectacle, the city dumped more than 700 firearms into the Number 1 Basic Oxygen Furnace at the Cleveland Arcelor Mittal facility. The formerly useful weapons, collected in “gun buyback” programs in the city and surrounding communities in September, were subjected to temperatures of about 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit and 200 tons of molten iron. Here’s a video of the actual event, but be warned, it’s difficult to watch. It’s not clear how the city could “buy back” something it didn’t own in the...

An “Occupy Cleveland” protester tells police she was raped in her tent over the weekend.

Mark Naymik's Sept. 22 column,"Gun violence swells calls for state action," is typical anti-rights nonsense that suggests politicians in Columbus can simply pass more laws and make Cleveland's criminals leave their guns at home. Cleveland's problem isn't guns; it's bad people who obtain guns illegally. When Mayor Frank Jackson vetoed flash-mob legislation in August, he said, "The law needs to be narrowly tailored to combat the illegal activity, be an effective deterrent to wrongdoers, and not unduly interfere with the rights of law-abiding citizens." Jackson's own words help us conclude that Cleveland's gun ordinances -- which have been nullified by...

Pulitzer Prize winner and Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz resigned today. "In recent weeks, it has become painfully clear that my independence, professionally and personally, is possible only if I'm no longer writing for the newspaper that covers my husband's senate race on a daily basis. It's time for me to move on," Schultz wrote in an email to her colleagues Monday. Schultz had written for the newspaper for nearly 18 years. She is married to Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who will seek re-election to the U.S. Senate next year. Conservatives have criticized Schultz and The Plain Dealer, saying...

SOLON, Ohio -- Vice President Joe Biden will sell President Barack Obama's jobs plan in a speech here this morning. And this afternoon, Biden will try to sell Obama's re-election campaign at a private Shaker Heights fundraiser.

"In this disturbing and brave exposé, a Pakistan-born baroness reveals how some of her countrymen have as many children as possible by several wives so as to milk our welfare system..."

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A volcano that has been erupting for several days in Alaska's Aleutian Islands may be preparing for a more explosive event, scientists said on Wednesday. Cleveland Volcano, a 5,676-foot peak located on Chuginadak Island, about 940 miles southwest of Anchorage, has been in low-level eruption since the end of July, the Alaska Volcano Observatory said. "An eruption for us is any time that magma is coming up from the surface in the ground," said John Power, scientist in charge at the observatory, a joint federal-state operation. "This is very much happening here." Chuginadak Island is uninhabited...

CLEVELAND— A Cleveland police officer fatally shot a dog Thursday after the animal allegedly attacked him, Fox 8 News reports. According to Stephen Loomis, President of the Cleveland Patromen's Association, it happened just before 5 p.m. in the 1400 block of West 48th Street. Officers responded to a residence in that area for a domestic violence incident. While searching for the suspect, two officers entered the backyard through a fence -- unaware that two dogs were on the property. "The dogs were sleeping when [the officers] went into the yard, and [the dogs] woke up when [the officers] were several...

CLEVELAND, OHIO -- Police say man well known for his collection of exotic animals has died after choking on a sex toy. Sam Mazzola, 49, was found dead in his Columbia Station home on Sunday. Last year, Mazzola came under scrutiny when a black bear, named Cherokee, killed an employee of the sanctuary. According to Lorain County Chief Deputy Coroner Dr. Frank Miller, Mazzola was found face down on his water bed, restrained with handcuffs, chains and padlocks. An autopsy determined the preliminary cause of death was asphyxia due to airway obstruction by foreign body. Mazzola had a sex toy...

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) It has suddenly gotten busier with diversions. Joining our earlier noted 767-300 is another United 767-300 from London Heathrow and a 777-200 headed to Frankfurt just landed. The 767-300s in United (new blue, pre CO) are now parked at the FIS at the end on Concourse A and the 777-200 is on pad 1 (in new United/Continental livery). CLE had another unexpected visitor this afternoon. United flight 965, a Boeing 767-300 flying from Moscow to Washington Dulles landed with a medical emergency onboard. CLE medical staff are attending to the passenger. The aircraft is expected...

More than a dozen men accused of taking part in a series of sexual assaults on an 11-year-old girl are expected in court Wednesday in a case that has divided and horrified their southeast Texas town. The 14 men, who along with five juvenile boys are facing charges, are scheduled to be in a state district courtroom in Liberty for status updates. The investigation began in December, after one of the girl's friends told a teacher he had seen a lurid cell phone video that showed the girl being raped in an abandoned trailer. Authorities say the girl was assaulted...

More than 40 Cleveland police academy cadets have joined the force and will now be immediately laid off because of a budget cut. The bittersweet ceremony Friday in Cleveland city hall was filled with tears and applause. It marked the end of a one-month reprieve for the cadets. The city and police union struck a deal in May to allow the 42 cadets to remain in class and graduate as scheduled. That gives them a better chance to find a job by doubling their certification to four years. The layoffs are among 321 city employees in Cleveland, including 81 police...

One of 19 accused of ‘Cleveland gang rape’ now facing new charge for sex with 14-year-oldBy VANESA BRASHIER Houston Community Newspapers Updated: 5:29 pm, Fri Jun 10, 2011 Marcus Porchia, one of 19 males accused of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in 2010, has now been charged with another sexual assault. He was arrested by Cleveland Police Department on the afternoon of Thursday, June 9. At this time, he is in the Liberty County Jail, awaiting arraignment. The new charge against Porchia is not related to the original charge against him for the 11-year-old’s sexual assault. The victim in the...

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Brian Corrigan has ordered Cleveland to stop any enforcement of 19 separate local gun control ordinances, effective immediately. Buckeye Firearms Foundation is the lead Plaintiff in the case, which was filed in early 2009. In the interim, Cleveland sued the State of Ohio in an attempt to have the state's firearm laws declared an unconstitutional usurpation of a city's home rule authority. In December 2010, the Ohio Supreme Court entered final judgment against Cleveland, ruling (for a second time) that the state's laws were valid. The Cleveland ordinances invalidated dealt with gun registration, owner I.D....

Cleveland, OH - The Cleveland Municipal School District, scratching for every penny, could use the nearly $5 million paid to employees who have retired since last summer. Records show that 269 employees cashed in that amount of accumulated vacation and sick leave since the fiscal year started July 1. Topping the list are two administrators who each collected about $83,000, one after working in the system for four years. Nearly 70 percent of the employees picked up at least $10,000 in what the district calls severance; more than 40 percent received $20,000 or more.

A big “X” marked many a calendar today, as McDonald’s held a national hiring day in hopes of corralling 50,000 new workers. According to reports this morning, numerous local locations in Empire of the Golden Arches reported lines out the door. Unfortunately, this afternoon a fight broke out at the McDonald’s at St. Clair Ave. and East 105th Street after applicants were turned away, according to Fox8. Three individuals were injured and taken to the hospital*. Police have arrested one individual and are looking for another.

Cleveland Browns fan sues over NFL lockoutBy THOMAS J. SHEERAN, Associated Press 6 hours, 29 minutes ago CLEVELAND (AP)—A Cleveland Browns fan sued the National Football league and its teams over the player lockout, claiming it violated his contract to buy tickets through his personal seat license. Ken Lanci, a self-made millionaire who ran unsuccessfully last year for the top county government job in Cleveland, filed the lawsuit Thursday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. “It’s a fight between billionaires and millionaires,” Lanci said Friday in a phone interview. “There isn’t any sympathy for multi-millionaires. It’s just not going to...

(CNN) -- An alleged sexual assault of a Texas girl involving nearly 20 people was recorded on cell phones, and a video of the alleged incident was circulating among students in her school district As of Monday, 13 adults and five juveniles had been arrested as part of the investigation, authorities said. A defense attorney for one of the suspects told CNN affiliate KPRC that the number of suspects could increase. "I don't know the exact number of people involved," James Evans said. "I've heard as many as 28 or more." The case has sharply divided the community, according to...

Ohio --(Ammoland.com)- Jeff Garvas and Toby Hoover squared off at the Cleveland City Club on February 4th and the video is now online! You can watch the entire debate here and on YouTube and tell us what you think: So far, the consensus online is that Toby’s arguments were based on emotion, fear, and the unattainable while Jeff Garvas handled himself well in a crowd of hostile questions. The anti-gunners sunk to their usual lows when a supporter of Toby Hoover’s had the nerve to use her opportunity to ask a question to instead ask Jeff Garvas the “emotional tear...

Cleveland Cavaliers snap 26-game losing streak SportingNews.com - ‎40 minutes ago‎ The Cleveland Cavaliers put both of those things to rest Friday with an inspired effort that resulted in a 126-119 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, ... Video: Pistons hand Cavs 26th loss Fox Sports NBA Odds: When Will the Cleveland Cavaliers Get a Win? Doc's Sports Service Bleacher Report - CBSSports.com (blog) - Sports Betting World - Atlanta Journal Constitutionall 1,254 news articles »

"Dozens of American cities throughout the industrial Great Lakes states and Midwest have lost half of their populations over the course of one generation -- places like Cleveland, Youngstown, Detroit, Warren, Buffalo and Flint. This is the first time that so many cities have lost half of their populations in such a short amount of time since the Plague struck Europe in 1348........."

The National Council of Jewish Women’s thinly disguised polemic in the article “Reforming gun safety laws a moral imperative” (CJN, Jan. 21) against gun ownership misses an important point. Making yet another rule banning guns will not protect us against violent crime, nor will enforcing a witch hunt against those deemed mentally defective enhance our security. Without minimizing the pain of Tucson, tragic incidents do not negate the value of armed and trained citizens as a deterrent to crime. Simply put, they make it more risky for criminals. In states with concealed carry laws, violent crime has been steadily decreasing....

One of the most memorable experiences that I ever had was with the Miraculous Medal! It changed my life. In the fall of 1948, the year after my ordination, I was in what we call the Tertianship. This is a third year of Novitiate before taking final vows.In October of that year, a Vincentian priest came to speak to us young Jesuit priests. He encouraged us to obtain faculties, as they are called, to enroll people in the Confraternity of the Miraculous Medal. Among other things, he said, "Fathers, the Miraculous Medal works. Miracles have been performed by Our Lady...

Three people were killed on their way to a funeral in a crash in Montgomery County Thursday morning. The crash happened around 10 a.m. on State Road 47 near County Road 600. A semi tractor trailer overturned onto a vehicle in the crash.

Governor-elect John Kasich began firing state employees this week not protected by civil service rules, including 16 at the Ohio Lottery Commission. Many of the lottery employees, who were told not to report to work on Monday, the day Kasich is sworn in, have Democratic ties. As expected, the Republican is dumping lottery director Kathleen Burke, who was tapped by Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland in August 2009 to replace director Mike Dolan, whose short tenure was marked by success and controversy. It's typical for new administrations to replace agency directors and top officials with close ties to a previous governor....

WASHINGTON -- Ascending to speaker of the House, Rep. John Boehner is ready to take the gavel from Democrat Nancy Pelosi, vowing to "give government back to the people" and bring an end to congressional gridlock. "The American people have humbled us. They have refreshed our memories as to just how temporary the privilege to serve is," Boehner says in remarks prepared for his installation later today as the new speaker. "This is their Congress. It's about them, not us."

WASHINGTON, D.C. --The U.S. House of Representatives adopted a bill Wednesday that makes it a criminal offense to import voracious Asian carp into the United States. The giant carp, which can weigh as much as 100 lbs., were legally imported to fish farms along the Mississippi River during the 1970s, but escaped during floods and spread north into Illinois. They consume vast amounts of food and could destroy Great Lakes fisheries if they evade barriers around Chicago that were designed to block them from entering the lakes. Share Tweet 12 Comments The bill passed the House by voice vote after...

Yesterday, Obama staged a rally at Cleveland State University. Unlike the 2008 era of hopenchange, Obama spoke to an auditorium that had thousands of empty seats. The New York Post notes that event organizers are making excuses for the poor attendance: Shortly before his election two years ago, Obama drew a crowd of 80,000 in Cleveland. Organizers of yesterday’s event tried to explain away the row after row of unoccupied seats by saying the president was competing with football, church and Halloween parties. The RNC retorts — “So we’re clear, the event started at 3pm. Most church services were over,...

US President Barack Obama speaks during "Moving America Forward" rally at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 31. Obama, fearing a ballot-box repudiation just two years into his campaign for change, planned a wave of radio interviews and telephone calls to Democratic volunteers key to boosting party turnout on Tuesday, the White House said. (AFP/File/Jewel Samad)

CLEVELAND—President Barack Obama closed out his 2010 campaign season here with a mocking rebuke of Republicans, in stark contrast to the lofty, hopeful rhetoric that marked his 2008 campaign. With Democrats facing potentially big losses on Election Day Tuesday, Mr. Obama has projected a rougher tone than he did two years ago. The bad economy? Blame Republicans, he said. Bipartisanship to solve problems? No, the president said, the GOP has no interest. Bits of the 2008 spirit were still in evidence in a weekend of campaigning, but Mr. Obama's calls for change now came with caveats. He still exhorted, "yes...

Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video: 2nd Attempt

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 20-year-old Cleveland man was arraigned Tuesday on charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping. Jerry Monroe is being held at the County Jail on a $500,000 bond. Prosecutors say Monroe, two unidentified suspects and 20-year-old Terrance Manningrobbed a 30-year-old man Aug. 26 outside his apartment building at 2806 Cedar Road. "They forced the victim at gunpoint to go up to his apartment. The victim's fiancee and three children, 9 months old, 2 and 3, were home," prosecutor's spokesman Ryan Miday said. The men got to the apartment door, then struggled over the gun. Manning was...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Cleveland's ongoing quest to enforce tougher gun control rules than state law requires reached Ohio's top court on Tuesday. The Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments in a case pitting the city against the state. The city is fighting to govern its residents with its own set of rules rather than those imposed by an Ohio statute. Ohio's constitution allows cities to exercise "home rule" to enforce policing ordinances as long as those local rules do not infringe on state "general" laws, which are considered the unquestioned rule of the land. "One thing the state fails to recognize...

Sladjana Vidovic's body lay in an open casket, dressed in the sparkly pink dress she had planned to wear to the prom. Days earlier, she had tied one end of a rope around her neck and the other around a bed post before jumping out her bedroom window. The 16-year-old's last words, scribbled in English and her native Croatian, told of her daily torment at Mentor High School, where students mocked her accent, taunted her with insults like "Slutty Jana" and threw food at her. It was the fourth time in little more than two years that a bullied high...

LeBron James and his manager say they believe race played a factor in how the two-time reigning NBA MVP's decision to join the Miami Heat was covered this summer. Neither James nor his manager, Maverick Carter, cited specifics when talking to CNN for a story that aired Wednesday night. In the interview, CNN correspondent Soledad O'Brien asked about "The Decision," the one-hour special on ESPN in which James announced that he would play for the Heat, and some of the negative headlines it generated. "It's just about control and not doing it the way it's always been done or not...

President Carter hospitalized in Cleveland President Jimmy Carter has been transferred to Metro Health Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, after experiencing an unknown health issue on a flight to the city, an airport spokesperson said.

According to WKYC.com, "Cleveland residents who want to register their handguns can do so 24 hours a day, seven days a week." Let that idea sink in for a moment. Cleveland has launched a voluntary handgun registration program. For what purpose? We cannot fathom the logic behind this announcement. Are they expecting criminals to register their guns? Not likely. And if any law-abiding citizens register, what will authorities do with the information? It makes no sense. It makes even less sense when you consider the difficult and time-consuming process to register. From the article: Applicants will need to bring photo...

Joe Hallett commentary: Cuyahoga County scandal means more trouble for Democrats Sunday, September 19, 2010 03:02 AM The Columbus Dispatch On Valentine's Day in 1998, Jimmy Dimora, chairman of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, stood at a podium and told 431 members of the party's executive committee that his sex life was just fine. "Boy, do I feel good today," Dimora brayed. "My wife took good care of me this morning." Turns out others have been taking care of the Italian Stallion, according to a 139-page federal indictment against Dimora unveiled last week in Cleveland. Quoting Dimora's wire-tapped conversations, the...

It is a shocking and emblematic photograph that could be of New York City's Boss Tweed, 140 years later: Jimmy Dimora, the most powerful man in Cuyahoga County politics, led away in manacles to FBI headquarters, to federal court, and into infamy. But the picture painted by the 177 pages in indictments made public Wednesday against eight suspects -- including Cuyahoga County commissioner Dimora and two county judges -- is even more shocking, alleging what could be one of the biggest local political-machine corruption cases in recent U.S. history.It also, for the first time, implicates a second commissioner, Peter Lawson...

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- FBI agents arrested county Commissioner Jimmy Dimora early this morning. Witnesses at his home reported he was led out in handcuffs and chains. He arrived at the FBI building on Lakeside Avenue in Cleveland at 7:20 a.m. in a black Dodge Caravan. The arrest comes after a years-long investigation that most recently led to charges against former county auditor Frank Russo.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio - Complete County Corruption Investigation Four FBI agents have entered the house of County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora Wednesday morning and took him away in handcuffs. NewsChannel5 saw the agents enter his Independence home and drive him away in handcuffs. The agents arrived in two vehicles and knocked on the door for a few minutes before someone eventually answered. The agents then entered the home, and left with Dimora in handcuffs. FBI spokesman Scott Wilson confirmed that they are making arrests this morning, but did not confirm if Dimora was arrested. Dimora is considered to be the top target...

Less than two years into his presidency and just 6 years after his first appearance on the national stage, President Barack Obama has obviously lost his rock-star status. Gone are the days of tens of thousands of cheering fans in front of a stage adorned with regal Greek columns. In their place, the recreation center at Cuyahoga Community College near Cleveland, Ohio where students had to be recruited at the last minute to fill empty seats in the audience.

(Middleburg Heights) - Ohio has had it with the Suburban Inn. Attorney General Richard Cordray has filed suit on behalf of the Ohio Health Department to collect $49,000 in fines related to violations of the Ohio smoking ban. Dave Covell is with the Cuyahoga County Health Department. Covell says the bar, which is on Bagley Road in Middleburg Heights, is the only bar in Cuyahoga County in blatant violantion of the law. The $49,000 is the amount of fines, collect costs and interests since they started citing the Suburban Inn in 2007. Covell says the owners, workers and customers all...

Regulators on Friday shut down a big community bank based in Chicago that has been known for its social activism but racked by financial troubles in recent months. It was the 114th U.S. bank to fail this year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over ShoreBank, with $2.16 billion in assets and $1.54 billion in deposits. Urban Partnership Bank, a new institution comprised of several big Wall Street banks and a private foundation, agreed to assume ShoreBank's deposits and nearly all its assets... In an unusual move, the FDIC allowed some of ShoreBank's executives to continue running the restructured bank......

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Defying the authority of their bishop, parishioners and their priest from the closed St. Peter Catholic Church in downtown Cleveland celebrated Mass Sunday in leased commercial space they transformed into a church independent of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese. The move by the new Community of St. Peter puts members in danger of excommunication because they had been warned by Bishop Richard Lennon, who shuttered St. Peter's in April, not to hold worship services in places without his approval. 77 0 89Share Still, about 350 people, joined by their spiritual leader, the Rev. Robert Marrone, gathered for their...

Bully's "Ten Worst American Cities To Live In" List By Ken Wohlrob 10. Seattle Seattle would seem to have everything going for it. Great music, good restaurants, a beautiful landscape, a range of ethnic cultures, and centralized collection of hi-tech businesses that attract brainy folks from places like San Francisco (ever since that city hit the economic slide). So what makes Seattle one of the ten worst cities to live in? Well it's those same techies who fled San Francisco to seek Seattle's venture-capital rich environment, usually after watching the movie Singles, who have turned this once humble and...