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.
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.
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.”
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).
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.
Joyo York from The Rustic Belt.com reflects on how the hunt for an elusive springtime mushroom led to lessons in happiness, ideas for new normals, and a pandemic mascot
by Josh York
“What did you do during the Quarantine?” It had been silent for a few minutes, aside from the sound of bar knives slicing through lemon rinds against cutting boards. The question made me chuckle, especially coming out of the silence. It reminded me of being back in school, when they would ask about your summer break and make you write something about it on the first day.
Well, it’s my first day back at the restaurant after our forced, long, spring break sabbatical. And let me tell you, I didn’t realize it till now, but it feels a lot like being back to school after the summer. Everything is mostly the same, but shinier and more organized. But it’s also different because you are in a new grade, so every process has changed from the way you were used to. I don’t know if it was the new color that was painted on the walls or the spread out floorplan of socially distant tables, but I was surprised at just how strange it felt to be back. I looked up at the young host, and through my mask responded, “Oh you know, the usual stuff. Hiked, biked, cleaned, cooked. Foraged ramps. Spent a lot of time trying to hunt down those dang morels too!” Another coworker joked, “You mean hunting down some morals? Good luck with that.” I retorted, “More like hunting morale, those little suckers are impossible to find!” Everyone laughed except the young host, and when the laughter died down, she asked, “What’s a morel?”
Mom, Dad, and Walter (photo courtesy of Walter Checefsky)
A Call With My Parents: Part II
by Bruce Checefsky
I worried about visiting my parents for the Memorial Day weekend because of COVID19. I hadn’t seen them since last December. They live in northeastern Pennsylvania. We weighed the risks, watched the weather forecast carefully so any visit would remain strictly outdoors. I rented a hotel for two nights nearby in a renovated 1930s train station. A few days before driving the seven hours east to visit, I still had my doubts. I was uncomfortable knowing that I might have been exposed to the virus and not know it. Both my parents are 89-years old and their health is what you might expect at that age.
I phoned dad to ask him what he thought.
“I have old A.G.E,” he said with humor uniquely his own. “Whatever you decide is fine.”
Benefit to Support Metanoia Project for the Unsheltered Homeless
Musicians for Metanoia is a benefit concert at CODA Tremont raising funds to support the work of the Metanoia Project, an overnight hospitality center for unsheltered homeless men and women that is dedicated to building relationships & responding to systemic gaps personally & creatively. Continue reading
After meeting with First Energy this morning regarding the severe tree trimming in the neighborhood, at my request they have agreed to come and speak with residents and to hear community concerns TONIGHT from 5:30pm – 7:00pm at Rose-Mary Center 2346 W. 14th St. (formerly OLA-St. Joseph Center). Please attend this very important meeting.
Thank you,
Kerry
Kerry McCormack
Cleveland City Councilman, Ward 3
(216) 664-2691
