Happy New Year to "The Collinwood Observer" and all of its readers. 
May this year bring happiness and blessings to all of you!

The holidays are over, our phony tree is stored away in the basement, and the kids are back to school. But like that spoiled kid who can't stop saying more, more, more.. I want more too, so here's my belated health care wish list:  

Two aspects of our health care system need serious improvement, and candidate Obama promised to address them both. First, some forty-plus million Americans lack any form of health insurance. Second, health care is far more expensive in the USA than in most of Western Europe and people in those other countries get care enough to live healthier lives than us and to live longer.

In this article I will tell you of my experience in forty some years of using Kaiser Permanente as the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) for our family and why I believe the low costs of Kaiser and the quality of their service indicate how both of these problems can and are being effectively addressed.

Since there has been so much media attention on the date 2012, and the Mayan calendar that predicts the end of the world, I expected the movie 2012 to be better than it was. The movie poster (of one lone Himalayan monk standing on the snow covered mountain tops) gave the impression that this would be a spiritual movie...a transcendent movie.

Everyone in the Collinwood area who rides the bus, should know that the RTA is making changes to most of their bus routes on December 13th. (The buses that serve Collinwood and surrounding areas are: #1 St. Clair, #37 East 185-Taylor, and #39 Lakeshore.)  With the new changes, the buses will only run once an hour!  

The Senate is in the process of duking it out over a healthcare plan, and one of the biggest pieces they're debating is the so-called "public option."  The fate of some type of healthcare legislation agreement may ultimately rest on the public option.

This is my first article on health care. The first item on this subject is to set up a human health care Bill of Rights for everyone and not just the uninsured. This Bill of Rights would include everyone alive and being born.

Recently the Plain Dealer ran an article(October 17th & 18th) “BIG MAN ON CAMPUS” on two outstanding athletes from The Sims Raiders Football Team – these two young men have some outstanding goals and opportunities ahead of them along with other team members of The Raiders and the Raiderettes (cheerleaders) who, in this author's opinion, are the best in their league. The author is partial to this article due to being a Sims fan and grandparent.

Previous editions of The Collinwood Observer have asked readers to submit ideas and suggestions for topics that could be included in the paper. As a resident of the Collinwood area, I think a section about what items (street signs, lights, potholes, etc.), need repair in our neighborhood would be very helpful.  A column titled, "What Needs to Be Fixed" would be convenient for everyone.  Readers could submit their suggestions on the website, after signing onto the Observation Deck.

The article, "Health Care Reform" (Collinwood Observer, November 19), raised a lot of questions. While it is true that our current health care system is a "for-profit industry," an overhaul of the system will not change the fact that it is all about making money. The big questions about health care reform still are: How will you pay for your medical care?

Imagine living next to world-renowned health care facilities yet being unable to access medical care. Imagine being forced to choose between purchasing food and life-sustaining prescriptions.  This is reality for thousands of uninsured or under-insured residents in my Congressional District. There may soon be a new reality.

 

When my husband and I opened Blue Arrow Records on Waterloo Road last March, we were oblivious to the large number of feral homeless cats struggling desperately to survive within a few blocks of our business. It didn’t take long before I noticed kittens and adults roaming the neighborhood looking for food. There was a poorly managed colony near our building, where someone was feeding the cats but not tending to their other physical needs. (Feeding cats only keeps them healthy enough to breed rapidly….a pair of cats can produce 2 or more litters per year and the math gets crazy after that.)

I have been in contact with a group of concerned residents in the Euclid Beach area that are volunteering their time and money to manage several feral cat colonies. I have learned a lot about managing a colony.

In neighborhoods throughout Cleveland, trap-neuter/spay-return programs (TNR) have proven to be effective in humanely managing feral and stray cats, while at the same time reducing their numbers. With TNR, the cats are trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated for rabies, ear-tipped and, if they’re feral, returned to their original territories. A trained caretaker then provides food and shelter, and watches for problems or newcomers.

    It seems as if everyone is talking about scary movies this year. One that you should definitely go see is "Parnormal Activity." This movie stars Katie Featherson and Micah Sloat as themselves. The setting is in Katie and Micah's two story suburban San Diego home. Even though the camera work is poor and not nearly as high quality as most films, the plot of the movie is more than enough to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

    Katie is very frightened of the evil entity that a paranormal investigator, Dr. Fredrichs, claims is in their home. When Micah asks her for more information, Katie's only explanation is that the entity has haunted her since she was a little girl. This adds to the coincidence that Micah finds a childhood picture of Katie in the attic.

They read in the papers and hear on the air
Of stealing and killing and crime everywhere
They sigh and say as they notice the trend,
'This young generation, when will it end? '
But can they be sure that it's our fault alone,
That a part of the problem they should claim as their own?
Are they less guilty who place in our way,
Objects and subjects that lead us astray?
Too much hating, not enough love
Maybe we should give peace a little shove
Too much money and too much idle time
Too many movies of passion and crime
Too many books not fit to be read
Too much evil in what we hear said
Too many children encouraged to roam
Too many parents who never stay home
We don't make the movies or publish the books
We don't paint mean pictures of gangstas and crooks
Drugs and alcohol, they trouble our brain
They're done by older folk who are greedy for gain
Delinquent teenagers, oh how you condemn
The sins of a nation and you blame it on them
By the laws of the blameless, the savior made known~
Who shall cast the first stone?
For in so many cases
It's sad but it's true
The title DELINQUENT fits older folk too

Remember the days when newspapers had as much, if not more good news than bad news in their pages? This paper is a good place to revisit those days, in fact, bring back the good old days and let us enjoy the good new days together.

To that end, we're looking to start a Sunshine column to mark the arrival of new babies, celebrate weddings, honor milestone anniversaries, retirements, degrees bestowed, homecomings, and so on. We can even run pictures—the more recognizably Collinwood the better, so a photo of the baby coming home and the proud family welcoming them on the front porch is probably more appealing than those pruney-looking hospital pictures! For example, the Galgoczy's of Baker Candies welcomed an addition to the family last week. Wouldn't we all like to see a photo of her first visit to the shop her daddy and grandma run?

The great Dr. King had dreams, dreams that one day this place in which we reside will become a place where people can resolve issues without violence. Well, sad to say, unlike Dr. King, I have nightmares, nightmares that another mother and father will become childless and that another child will become mother and fatherless. I have nightmares that another young man will die over a street or block that he doesn’t even own. I just pray for the day when my young people realize that a street is just a temporary place that you live, you should be thinking about your future and trying to progress. You’re willing to die for this street or block that you claim. If I come back 20 years later and you're still claiming this same street or block that tells me that you haven’t moved forward or made progress in your life.

 

Hello, my name is Donald Holcombe and I always have been proud of my community, I feel as if it is my duty to be the voice of the youth in our neighborhood. When someone asks me where I am from, I graciously hold my head high and say, “The Lakeshore area.” When everyone says our community needs change, I have this saying, “our community doesn’t need change it just needs to be revised.” I never wanted to be a hero in my community because to me heroes save the world, me, I just want to save one helpless child at a time, and then the world would transform. It has been my effort to make children who are non-believers believe and those who are non-achievers achieve.

As a resident of Collinwood, I want to offer my comments and opinions about The Collinwood Observer, which I have been reading since its debut issue in September.  I believe every neighborhood needs a local paper. And since The Sun Press is no longer published in this area, our residents have needed a community newspaper for quite awhile. The Collinwood Observer impresses me a lot, because it's different than other newspapers, since it "is entirely written by the community."  This gives everyone a chance to get involved, and offer their ideas and opinions, and learn about upcoming events in our neighborhood. 

The Collinwood Observer:

I received the first and second issues you printed from a friend in Cleveland. A local paper representing the views of the community is truly a welcome sight. I wanted to take the time to give it the justice it deserved and read it thoroughly. It surely brings back fond memories.

Every five years, Cuyahoga Community College must go to County residents to get a vote of approval for continued funding. On November 3, the College will ask County residents to support a property tax that will enable the College to continue meeting its mission. 

When a levy expires the College needs to secure continued approval from the County voters to renew and/or replace the monies in order to keep the College tuition affordable, provide quality programs, and remain financially stable. The November 2009 ballot request is Issue 4, a replacement of the current $1.6 million and an increase of $0.3 million for a ten year period.

I am quite certain that by now you are as tired of the commercials for and against Issue 3 as I am. I support this issue because I believe a casino downtown would be an asset for our city. Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, has said that he would not build a hotel as part of his casino, as the other downtown hotels are against that. Many people have commented to me that a casino without a hotel would mean that people from out of town who are staying overnight would have to leave the casino to get a hotel room. This of course would mean revenue for the hotels. Also, because people would not be staying at a casino hotel they would have the opportunity to see the other downtown businesses. I realize that people against the casino have made claims that area businesses would be forced out of business, but that isn't necessarily true. The Q, Progressive Field, and Browns Stadium all have various locations for fans to purchase food and beverages. However, numerous fans patronize area businesses before or after the game. Many cities build a casino in a neighborhood isolated from other businesses, this would not be the case downtown.

Janet and I love Northeast Ohio.  We are proud to call Collinwood our home and have lived in the same neighborhood for over 45 years. We care about our neighborhood, our city and our county. That is why I have fought for decades to keep casino gambling out of Ohio, and Ohioans have seen through the casino gambling sham time-and-time again – voting it down four times statewide.

Today, we are once again being forced to defend against an attack against Ohio’s families and the people who live in our neighborhood. I am especially concerned this time around because I know our state is struggling and many leaders are desperate for what they view as a quick economic fix, which the promoters of Issue 3 are exploiting with their multi-million dollar advertising campaigns.

Issue 2 would “require the state to create the Livestock Care Standards Board to prescribe standards for animal care and well-being that endeavor to maintain food safety, encourage locally grown and raised food, and protect Ohio farms and families.”I don’t comment much on politics, since the Neighborhood Notes are meant for all readers, whether they agree with me or not. But a friend asked me recently what I felt about Issue 2 (the proposal to establish a state board to set livestock-rearing standards) and I had to reply that I knew pretty much nothing about it; neither side has been very talkative. Then I read my favorite column in the Jefferson Gazette (by a retired farmer who gets very crotchety with people who worry about growth hormones in their milk) which restated his frequent assurance that Ohio farmers are dedicated to producing the best and purest food, and went on to declare that the Humane Society of the United States has a concealed agenda of ending animal agriculture and closing down zoos. Which struck me as a bit extreme – and when someone becomes extreme, he becomes less trustworthy..Then I got an email listing the organizations that oppose Issue 2: Ohio Farmers Union, the Ohio Environmental Stewardship Alliance, League of Women Voters of Ohio, the Ohio League of Humane Voters, and the Ohio Sierra Club, as well as the editorial boards of the Columbus Dispatch, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Akron Beacon Journal, and Dayton Daily News.To be fair to the other side, the board is to comprise 13 Ohio residents, including representatives of Ohio family farms, farming organizations, food safety experts, veterinarians, consumers, the dean of the agriculture department at an Ohio college or university and a county humane society representative. (Bear in mind that family farms may be of several thousand acres; bear in mind also that not all big farmers keep their chickens in cages “the size of a piece of paper.”)

Cuyahoga County government is in crisis, and two competing issues have emerged from the fallout of this still unfolding saga. The stated goal of both these Cuyahoga County issues is to improve county government by reforming it. These are Issue 5 and Issue 6, and chances are this is not the first time you have heard of them.

 

Here comes the dollar invasion

Offering continuing education

Upgrade skills

Deviant thrills

Stake your shirt

As you flirt

Lose your house

And sorry spouse

Con cunning mass

Discount local lass.

 

Ante up, ducky!

Today you’re lucky!

**

Dear Clevelander,

…remember the blankets with small pox.

Forecast:

Ohio …. “The Sin State” Cleveland …. “ Sin City of the Midwest”

Personal Misery Indexes shall skyrocket.

The economic bonanza

shall NOT be enough

to bail generations of souls out of hock.

Please re-think your approval of a casino in Cleveland,

Re-think your approval of

Places like the Executive Den and Diamond Men’s Club.

But only do this if you love your mother, sister, wife, daughter,

Female cousin, niece, friend, and yourself.

Scars are lifelong and passed on from generation to generation.

They become “tradition” and “genetic inheritance”

Thank you for reconsidering these fundamental matters.

You can stop the negative-returns cycle.

Say YES to the Growing Bamboo Business!

Say NO to a Casino in Cleveland.

 

August is the month when summer both peaks and begins to end, and we have to remind ourselves that in our beneficent lakeshore climate, gardens will grow on for another two or three months. But in the vegetable patch, August is urgent: everything is ripening at once, we’ve been waiting for it since May and we don’t want to lose a single green bean.