More cash means more stability for children and families

More cash means more stability for children and families

by Will Petrik

    All children and families, no matter where they live or what they look like, deserve stability, security, and basic human dignity. But for decades, certain state and federal lawmakers have prioritized tax giveaways for the wealthy while 46% of Cleveland children lived in poverty in 2019.

    On July 15, tens of millions of families across the nation received their first child tax credit payment, which was part of the American Rescue Plan, the federal COVID-relief bill. The deposits of $300 per child under age six, and $250 per child ages 6 to 17, are the first of six monthly payments going to households with children this year. The expansion of the child tax credit will give children the opportunity for a brighter future, take some stress off struggling families, and put more money in peoples’ pockets to spend at local businesses and support the economy.

    The overall payment is $3,600 a year per child under age 6 and $3,000 per child 6 to 17. The first half is going out to families in monthly payments and the other half will come in a lump sum after parents or heads of households file their 2021 taxes next year. This could be a game-changer for an estimated 389,000 adults in Ohio who reported recently (data collected between June 9 and July 5) that children in their household were not eating enough because they couldn’t afford enough food, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University estimate that the changes to the child tax credit will reduce child poverty in Ohio by nearly 49%. Families will have additional resources to help with food, diapers, safe housing, health care and other basic family expenses.

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Tremont Brainery Hosts its First Workshop at Limelight, Electric Gardens on 8-4-21

by Jack Ricchiuto and Keri November

In every community, there are amazing varieties of unknown talents. People have talents in things like cooking, gardening, languages, technology, repairs, writing, speaking, leadership, startups, parenting, grandparenting, exercise, nutrition, wellness, sports, games, arts, crafts, travel. 

Tremont Brainery is a volunteer effort hosting Tremont neighbors teaching neighbors in any area of interest you can imagine. 

Neighbors include anyone who lives, who works, or who is friends with people in Tremont. 

Free classes are available – some virtual and some in person. Sign up to be a teacher or learner.

Background

During 2020, we all did our best to distance ourselves from those we care about for their health and our own until things started to look up. It was incredible to see how the community of Tremont came together during such a difficult time. 

Now that we’re gaining some semblance of normalcy, we wanted to discuss ideas to keep that sense of community going. 

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What’s new Tremont?

Ask around once you get to the central and west Lake Erie coast area and go to the waterfront spots that are suggested…so many fun little spots.

Old Tremonster Talks About His New Neighborhood and Some Learned Perspective Being Away

by Josh York

Well, I suppose you’ve figured it out, I no longer live in Tremont. In fairness, I admit I haven’t actually lived in Tremont for some time. I have written many an article for the Tremonster while living in the far-off lands of Westpark and Parma Heights. How can I write about Tremont then, you ask? I felt as though I could still write poignant pieces based around the perspective of the average Tremonster for two reasons; For one, I still worked my day job in Tremont, keeping me roughly in the buzz. And for two, the Tremonster has always been a publication that is supposed to represent what any neighborhood can aspire to be, by advocating local-based thinking and inclusion, wherever your neighborhood may be and whatever form your neighborhood takes.

Which brings me to the point of the piece; The dust has settled somewhat after the pandemic shutdowns and reopenings, and I have found myself in a different industry, working in Vermilion! Which is indeed as far as it sounds. Living, working and parenting in three completely different regions can show you some pretty stark realities about what you thought you knew about human beings, and their feelings and perspectives. And that is why I thought it was appropriate to do a first piece back, about how zany my new neighborhood is, how many cool things there are to see along the central coast of Lake Erie, and how we all can find common ground with those that, at first, we may find off-putting.

Now, you may be inclined to think I am about to go into how different the neighborhoods are in Vermilion compared to Tremont or something like that, but that is not the way I am seeing things at all these days. I look at the area that I cover regularly, which spans from Vermilion to Lakewood to Parma Heights and down to Akron, as my ‘one big neighborhood’. My world is large now and I am loving it. It gives me a chance to hike, kayak and ride in new parks, and I have food and beers in countless small towns, mid-size suburbs, country areas, urban areas, and various neighborhoods. I meet people of every degree on the conservative/liberal spectrum. I have been yelled at and openly made fun of for wearing a mask upon walking into establishments. I have been yelled at and harassed by fellow customers for standing up to shift my coat under my butt on a bar stool while my mask top was just below my nose. I exist in places where the fringes of different social sets brush against each other, and in a large enough area that I can start to understand the finer nuances of what we may write off as one group or another.

Let’s be honest too, this country has been polarized by so many different ideas and events, many political in nature and many involving difficult health decisions, and it’s a shame that we are drawing these lines with one another. In doing so, we are buying into an idea that you must be 100% on the side of one topic. And that means that the other side must be 100% exactly opposite of your side. In thinking like that, we are banishing ourselves into informational deserts, with little chance to find common ground. I am mostly liberal, and definitely did not agree with the storming of the Capitol. But when I heard that the QAnon Shaman was boycotting food because he only eats organic and whatnot, it made me go, “Hunh.” I support organic eating, too. I bet you if it never came up about QAnon or the Capitol, he and I would have a decent conversation about whole foods.

I am not out to make this piece heavy in its tone, I am only wanting to throw out a few observations in my travels back and forth and to and fro. Let’s keep it light and get to it.

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The Movement Project: patch[works] voices amplified

The Movement Project: patch[works] voices amplified will consist of multiple staggered performances at the Pivot Center. Tickets are available through online pre-sale only.

by Rebecca J. Leuszler

Inspired by the vibrant sounds of electronic composers Laurie Spiegel and Suzanne Ciani, The Movement Project welcomes you to patch[works] voices amplified, an evening of new works set to the groundbreaking sounds of electronic music’s unsung trailblazers. Join us July 17th at the Pivot Center as we transport audiences through a visceral movement experience filled with brilliant sounds, hypnotic color and intricate patterns in this exuberant exploration of movement and sound.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS

Date: Saturday July 17th, 2021

Location: Pivot Center 2937 W 25th St, Cleveland, OH 44113 (Tremont)

Parking: Free onsite parking lot.

Price: $16 (Online Pre-sale Only)

Time & Schedule of Events: 6:00 pm (SHOW 1) & 8:00 pm (SHOW 2)

To ensure the safety of all our patrons, performers and staff, TMP has created a responsible evening of works to be enjoyed in a distant setting. Below are details on how the evening’s events will unfold.

When patrons purchase their tickets, they will be assigned an arrival time for check-in to ensure social distancing.

Arrival/Check-In Times
     SHOW 1 (6:00 PM):
         Group 1 Arrival/Check-In: 5:30 – 5:40 pm
         Group 2 Arrival/Check-In: 5:40 – 5:50 pm
     SHOW 2 (8:00 PM):
         Group 1 Arrival/Check-In: 7:30 – 7:40 pm
         Group 2 Arrival/Check-In: 7:40 – 7:50 pm

To purchase tickets, learn more about this performance and to review all safety protocols and procedures in place visit our website: http://www.themovementproject.org/jul-17-patchworks

Family members who lost loved ones to police action speak at community meeting on Consent Decree

NEXT CLEVELAND CONSENT DECREE COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS 6:00 PM JULY 14 & AUGUST 11

By Rich Weiss, for Neighborhood & Community Media Association of Greater Cleveland

The Neighborhood and Community Media Association of Greater Cleveland is providing monthly reports on a series of community conversations about the 2015 Consent Decree negotiated between the US Department of Justice and the City of Cleveland regarding the policies and practices of the Cleveland Police Department.

Four local community members who lost loved ones to Cleveland Police Department (CPD) use-of-force were the Zoom panelists for the June public input meeting on the Cleveland Consent Decree.  United Way of Greater Cleveland and the Cleveland Branch of the NAACP co-sponsored this and five previous public conversations on the Consent Decree and its ramifications for our Cleveland communities.

Background: The Cleveland Consent Decree is a court-enforceable agreement that resulted from an investigation into the CPD by the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (DOJ).  The DOJ is the agency of the federal government that has the authority to investigate and prosecute alleged violations of citizens’ constitutional rights by the CPD.

After a 21-month investigation, the DOJ found the CPD had engaged in a pattern of excessive force.  The Cleveland Consent Decree was agreed upon by the City of Cleveland and the DOJ to “…repair community trust and protect the constitutional rights of the people of the City of Cleveland.”  The Consent Decree was signed into effect by Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr. and the DOJ on June 12, 2015.  The agreement mandates “…the City will file a status report every six months thereafter while this agreement is in effect.”

The agreement also calls on “the community” of Cleveland to be a part of the reform process by serving on various Consent Decree committees and/or by attending local community meetings such as this to share concerns and real-life experiences from the community, and for the community to make recommendations for policy change. 

Photo of Angelo Miller and son courtesy of Alicia Kirkman

Alicia Kirkman was asked to be a panelist at the June public meeting on the Cleveland Consent Decree because her son, Angelo Miller, died in 2007 in an incident involving CPD use-of-force. 

Kirkman told the Zoom attendees, “Angelo was my everything.  Angelo was 17 years old, and I was still dropping Angelo off at high school and Angelo would still give me a kiss like he was still my 5 year old.  Still that loving, funny Angelo, he brought joy to all of us, to my whole family.  And he had two sons—Angelo was a father and his two sons didn’t get a chance to know their father.  I continue to fight for justice.  I want murder charges against the officer that killed Angelo.  We need charges.  The whole thing—when it comes to settlements and the families being paid—we need cops to be charged with murder.  If we get more charged with murder, they’ll stop killing.  They’ll stop killing.”

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Ohio bill to reform electric rates aims to preserve coal plant subsidies under attack in wake of corruption probe

This Avon Lake Power Plant, a 680.0-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station near Avon Lake, Ohio, is scheduled to fully close in September of 2021. In 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency found GenOn (then owner) and its Avon Lake coal power plant guilty of excessive ozone emissions, and the plant’s coal unit 7 and coal unit 9 were scheduled for deactivation by April 2015. These units continue to operate today under a Mercury and Air Toxics extension granted by the Ohio EPA (source: Global Energy Monitor; Photo by Bien Stephenson).

A plan to end Ohio’s long-criticized Electric Security Plans comes from a primary sponsor of HB 6, the 2019 law at the heart of a $60 million corruption case.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski

This story is from the Energy News Network in collaboration with Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism. Please join Eye on Ohio’s  free mailing list or the mailing list for the Energy News Network as this helps Eye on Ohio and The Tremonster provide more public service reporting.

A new plan is on the table to phase out rate programs that have let Ohio’s electric utilities collect billions in subsidies over the past dozen years. But the bill aims to continue coal plant subsidies and cuts authority for utility energy efficiency programs. 

Critics also worry that vague wording will continue cross-subsidies in another guise.

For years, consumer advocates, environmental organizations and conservative groups have pushed to end so-called Electric Security Plans, or ESPs, which allow utilities to add riders and other charges without full regulatory review. Many of those produced cross-subsidies that ratepayers can’t avoid.

In one extreme example, a Cleveland neighborhood group received a $70 monthly bill in 2019 for a single lamppost, with only 38 cents going to electricity.

A 2017 bill tried to end the practice, but it stalled in the Ohio House.

Now, House Bill 317 would slash statutory provisions for the plans. The bill, introduced last month, comes from Rep. Shane Wilkin, R-Hillsboro. Wilkin was a primary sponsor of HB 6, the 2019 nuclear and coal bailout law that also gutted the state’s clean energy standards. And it aimed to recession-proof” utilities by letting them guarantee revenue levels under their 2018 Electric Security Plans.

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Towpath Ribbon Cutting Celebrates Completion with Tremont Community

By Michael Jankus

TREMONT — Tremonsters turned out in droves to witness the ribbon cutting for Stage 4 of the Towpath Trail at historic Camp Cleveland at 2 p.m. on a hot and sunny June 9 that was forecasted to bring rain.

The Civil War landmark, located at the northernmost end of West 10th Street and the corner of University Road, overlooks the sweeping Cleveland skyline, serving as the perfect setting and backdrop for such a significant occasion. The Camp Cleveland site is commemorated by new historical elements as part of Stage 4 in addition to the Towpath Trail, in honor of its importance.

Canalway Partners brought 35 years of dreaming and planning to realization on Wednesday afternoon, and shared a vision of a bright future in a place with a rich and winding history. Where President James A. Garfield once worked as a canalman along the mule trail, local walkers, kayakers, cyclists, birders, canoers, and joggers will forge a history of their own for generations to come.

“That’s why we’re here,” said Chris Ronayne, chair of Canalway Partners and president of University Circle Inc., “to interpret the heritage of the place from which we come, here in Cuyahoga Valley.”

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Community members needed to join sixth Cleveland Consent Decree Community Conversation sponsored by NAACP- Cleveland Chapter and United Way of Greater Cleveland: 6:00 pm, June 09

By Rich Weiss, for Neighborhood & Community Media Association of Greater Cleveland

If you missed your chance to attend the May 12th public input meeting on the Cleveland Police Consent Decree, your input is still needed for the upcoming Consent Decree Community Conversation at 6:00 pm on June 9 (on Zoom).  This public meeting (co-sponsored by the local chapters of the United Way and NAACP) seeks your opinions and questions on progress of the Cleveland Division of Police in the areas of Families and Communities Building Resilience.

Rosie Palfy, who is a a community advocate, a homeless advocate, a veterans advocate, and a member of the city of Cleveland Mental Health Response Advisory Committee since it was created in 2015, said, “I think that the event was really well received…and I’ve got nothing but positive feedback from the community. Strangers have reached out to me on social media, and it’s a small world out there. So somebody knows somebody, who knows me and they send me an email, and so I’m really glad I participated in it and I actually felt empowered afterwards. I was very pleasantly surprised at how it went.”

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Tremont Residents (and Their Dogs) Rally to Save Lucky Park

After Lucky Park was listed for sale, Tremonsters rallied to call for keeping the valued Tremont neighborhood plot as green space (photos by Michael Jankus).

by Michael Jankus (mjankus@thetremonster.org)

TREMONT— More than 50 Tremont residents gathered at the corner of Starkweather Ave. and Professor Ave. on  May 23 for the Save Lucky Park Rally to speak up for one of Tremont’s most adored green spaces.

Residents of all ages, and at least a dozen of their dogs, met Sunday evening at 7:00 pm to take a photo at Lucky Park and share what the park has meant to them in light of the recent news of its for sale status.

The 3,000-square-foot patch of greenery has been placed on the market by the property owner for $109,000. Tremont West Development Corporation will bid on the space.

Tim Harrison, co-chair of Tremont’s South of Jefferson Block Club and one of the rally’s organizers, recounted the park’s journey through the years and the ways the community has come together to care for the park, improving and maintaining it themselves for decades.

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