THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED/CANCELLED.

In support of  the Sierra Club's Ready For 100 Campaign - an effort to urge the City of Cleveland to commit to 100 percent clean energy by the year 2050 - the Lake Erie Development Corporation (LEEDCo) is asking northeast Ohioans become part of a human wind turbine, which will require more than 100 bodies this Sunday, Aug. 14 at 3 p.m. at the Abbey Road Overlook, 1402 Abbey Ave.

Participants are asked to wear orange or brown to be most visible for the planned aerial photo. Refreshments will be provided.

Sign up here.

An officer's voice came over the police radio: "I have a group of people fighting -- one of them is dressed like a robot."

Another officer, in reference to a group of protesters on Wednesday night: "They’re playing duck-duck-goose in the park."

Such was the radio traffic during the Republican National Convention, where officers' voices on the publicly available radio broadcast conveyed the tension, monotony, and occasional humor involved in keeping Cleveland safe.

Get the whole story from USA Today here.
 

Starting this Wednesday, the Ohio City Merchants Association will offer Wednesdays on the Square, a family friendly concert series featuring two local performers from  6 to 9 p.m. in Market Square Park on the northwest corner of Lorain Avenue and West 25th Street. There will be a variety of local merchants selling their goods and activities for kids and adults alike. The event aims to carry on the good vibes from July's Ohio City Stages and keep the community coming together on Wednesdays in August.

The line up is as follows:

August 3: Morgan Mecaskey and Shawn & Shelby

August 10: Jul Big Green and Corduroy Season

August 17: Samfox and The Mason District

Everyone is invited to this free mid-week booster.

All eyes are on Cleveland, with concerns waxing over Ohio's open carry law.

From the New York Times: Dallas Shooting and Open-Carry Laws Loom Over Cleveland Convention Plans
 
Cleveland officials are promising increased security during the Republican gathering, with resources from city, state and federal authorities. And within the convention area, the Secret Service will set up a smaller perimeter near the Quicken Loans Arena that will have stricter security and prohibit guns. Delegates to the convention, for example, will not be able to take their guns onto the convention floor.

From TIME: Why Guns Won’t Be Allowed at the Republican Convention

Delegates to the Republican national convention would do best to leave their guns at home.

The Secret Service and the Quicken Loans Arena hosting the convention next week are both barring firearms within the convention, though state law allowing open carry will still apply to unsecured areas within the convention’s event zone.

From NPR: Some Delegates May Carry Guns Around Cleveland During Republican Convention

The list of items banned from downtown Cleveland during this month's upcoming Republican National Convention includes tennis balls, grappling hooks and canned goods.

But not guns.

 

The city of Pittsburgh will send a team of police officers to Cleveland to help keep the peace during the Republican National Convention via legislation Pittsburgh City Council approved preliminarily on Wednesday.

Cleveland originally requested 70 Pittsburgh officers. After assessing resources available and local needs. Pittsburgh is planning to send 23 city police, including seven traffic officers, 12 SWAT officers, four members of the police command staff, and one legal adviser from the city law department. Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay, said an additional 35 crowd-control officers could be sent to Cleveland in the event of an emergency. They all would be part of a security force of several thousand police assembled from various jurisdictions.

Read the whole story from Pittsburgh's Action News 4 - WTAE here.

Trustees of Burton D. Morgan Foundation voted this month to make a grant of $10,000 to benefit those impacted by the recent terror attack in Orlando. The grant was made to Volunteer Florida Foundation, which is administering the Florida Disaster Fund. 
 
The Foundation primarily supports entrepreneurship initiatives in Northeast Ohio, but occasionally supports programs unrelated to entrepreneurship that benefit the surrounding community, or communities experiencing natural disasters or unprecedented tragedy. 

“Our Morgan Foundation trustees and staff are deeply saddened by the recent tragedy in Orlando, Florida," said Deborah Hoover, foundation president and CEO in a release. "We believe it is important to demonstrate our support for the victims, the families affected by the tragedy, and the entire Orlando community, as residents cope with loss and recovery," she added. 

"It is about one community reaching out to another with hope and encouragement."
 


 

Per Politico:

A slot at the Republican National Convention used to be a career-maker — a chance to make your name on the big stage and to catch the eye of the Republican donors and activists who make or break campaigns.

In the year of Trump: Not so much.With the convention less than a month away, POLITICO contacted more than 50 prominent governors, senators and House members to gauge their interest in speaking. Only a few said they were open to it, and everyone else said they weren’t planning on it, didn’t want to or weren’t going to Cleveland at all — or simply didn’t respond.

Read the whole story - including who they queried - here.

Tomorrow, June 25, from 2 – 5 p.m. in Lincoln Park on W. 11th Street in Tremont, the fourth annual Cleveland Big Wheel Relay to benefit the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center will roll out.

Adult teams have raised funds to compete in a tournament racing Huffy Green Machine three-wheel bikes, which are designed to handle adult bodies. This year, an additional track will allow individuals to participate in timed, individual races. The event is free to attend.
 
The Big Wheel Relay is organized and hosted by the New Partners of Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center (CHSC), an associate board of young professionals focused on advancing CHSC’s mission both through service and fundraising. For more details about CHSC New Partners and this event, please visit this page.
 

It seems Cavs fever has spread to news outlets far and wide and .... above.

Laramie, Wyoming, loves LeBron as evidenced by this local fan roundup: "Larry Shyatt recently stepped down as the Wyoming men’s basketball coach. In 1964, he was there to see Cleveland win its last championship before Sunday night, when the Browns beat the Baltimore Colts 27-0 in the NFL Championship Game, two years before it was dubbed the Super Bowl."

Ever concerned about the high and mighty dollar, earlier this month the San Francisco-based Market Watch explained Why it pays to be a Cleveland Cavaliers fan.

And then there was this from the Manila Times ahead of the historic Game 7 win: "Despite the feat of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving pulling the Cleveland Cavaliers within 3-2 in the ongoing best-of-seven series of the National Basketball Association Finals, the majority of Filipino NBA fans see the Golden State Warriors retaining the crown."

Or not.

But perhaps most notably, the Onion reported this from The Heavens: "Despite allowing the Cavaliers to win the city’s first major sports championship in 52 years, God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, confirmed Sunday that He still hates Cleveland fans. 'I just figured that enough is enough, so I decided to throw them a bone and finally give them a title, but believe me, I still can’t stand Cleveland teams or their fans,' said the Lord."

Well then, perhaps we can win God Almighty over for the Indians during this year's World Series.

Tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. at the Market Garden Brewery, 1947 West 25^th St., local publisher Belt Books will launch its Cleveland Neighborhood Guidebook with readings by Janice Lowe, Sally Errico and Sam McNulty. Several contributors and sponsors will be at this free event.  
 
As a preview, the publishers have shared the following "Editors' Pick" from the volume, an "homage to The Velvet Tango Room."

Visiting Cleveland for the first time? Have an event to celebrate? Go to the Velvet Tango Room.

Paulius Nasvytis was early to the cocktail trend when he opened this inimitable, only-in-Cleveland bar in 1996. Nasvytis’s staff mix Pisco Sours and French 75s for loyal patrons, suits, local politicos, and out-of-towners who make it a destination spot. Finding it is part of the experience, as the VTR is located on a desolate stretch of a post-industrial street that is always neither here nor there.

Signs outside are off-putting, warning “no big hair” and “no golf shoes,” but everything inside is inviting. Somehow the VTR manages to be pretentious and down- to-earth at once.

Nasvytis is a first-generation Lithuanian immigrant who opened the bar after working for years at Cleveland’s upscale French hotel restaurant, Classics. Many nights he floats throughout the bar, dressed in a three-piece suit, sometimes presenting women with long-stemmed roses. VIPs are ushered into the hidden “members only” back room where, because everything is surprising at the VTR, busts of Lenin, Mussolini and Mao—“deposed dictators doomed to live in this capitalist hell,” Paulius explains — line the shelves.

The backstory, location, and atmosphere of the VTR mix Cleveland ambitions, failures, and distinctiveness, and the drinks are no less complex and delightful. The staff make their own maraschino cherries, ginger ale, and bitters. The bartenders have ripped biceps from shaking cocktails by hand. They flambee orange slices and shake egg whites into soft peaks for Ramos Gin Fizzes. It is expensive (for Cleveland) and cheap (for what you get) at once. At the VTR, some weird alchemy makes it all work.
 

Dear fellow journalists,
 
On June 11, the following headline ran in your admirable publication:
 
"It looks like Cleveland's championship curse will continue"
 
What followed was an opinion piece by the venerable Randy Hollis, who went on to suggest that Cleveland was the "City that always weeps" amid other transcendent observations such as "And now, with LeBron James and the Cavaliers just one loss away from succumbing to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals for a second straight year, it looks like the "Cleveland Curse" is about to continue."
 
Oh dear ….
 
Now then, we appreciate your jocularity and have been trying to find a way to return the favor. Perhaps Mr. Hollis is the "writer who shouldn't have said a peep" or the Deseret's good editor, Mr. Paul S. Edwards is the "editor that didn't go too deep," but we can probably all agree those are a bit clunky to say the least.
 
No matter.
 
As our esteemed colleagues, we also appreciate that you would step up to the plate – perhaps one in Progressive Field, wherein the Indians (which are leading in the in the AL Central) bested the White Sox in the 10^th inning just yesterday – and offer commentary on sports franchises 1,700 miles away. After all, while you do an excellent job of covering high school soccer, we certainly understand the desire to stretch one's legs.
 
We also note you describe your mission thusly: "to be a leading news brand for faith and family oriented audiences in Utah and around the world."
 
Hm. Too bad that faith didn't extend to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
 
As you can imagine, here in Cleveland we are busy bathing ourselves in wine and gold, but we felt a need to check in just the same. As for Mr. Hollis, perhaps he should focus on "copy editing and page layout/design" and leave the sports predictions to those who are a little closer to the game.  

With our warmest regards,
 
Erin O'Brien
Managing Editor
Fresh Water Cleveland
 

From Jeremy W. Peters for the New York Times:

A series of delays and questions about security and fund-raising are causing Republicans to scramble as they finish planning their nominating convention just weeks before the party gathers in Cleveland.

Among the complications facing Donald J. Trump, the presumptive nominee, and his team is that only on Friday were they finally able to gain access to Quicken Loans Arena, where the convention will be held, because it was being used by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who won Game 6 of the N.B.A. finals there on Thursday night. (The series will end on Sunday night, with a decisive Game 7 on the Golden State Warriors’ home court back in California.)

“LeBron, good luck in the series,” Mr. Trump said the other day as he noted the predicament with a sense of resignation. “Of course, the longer it goes, the less time we have. But that’s O.K.”

Get the whole story, including preparation and funding details, from the New York Times here.
 

In August 2014, rainbows bloomed from Lakewood to Akron when the Gay Games came to town. The region asserted itself as welcome and inclusive; and Northeast Ohio's friendship with the Federation of Gay Games and all the people it represents was public and proud.

Hence as the country mourns the Orlando victims, Fresh Water respectfully offers the Federation's formal statement.

As the world mourns the tragic events that took place at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando this past Sunday, 12 June 2016, the Federation of Gay Games family extends its condolences and support to the victims, their families, friends and associates, and the citizens of Orlando, Florida.

This act of violence directly impacts the global Gay Games family. Four years ago, the City of Orlando was a bid candidate to host Gay Games 10 in 2018. Pulse Nightclub was a local supporter of that effort. In addition, athletes and artists from Orlando have participated at each quadrennial Gay Games since 1982.
 
Whenever the LGBT community and our allies come under attack, as it was in Orlando and the recent murder of activists in Bangladesh and Honduras, we strengthen our resolve to fight on in honor of those lost. The events of June 12 are a reminder to all of us how precious life is, and why we must continue to work together to promote acceptance and inclusion to defeat homophobia, sexism, racism, and other forms of discrimination worldwide.
 
The Federation of Gay Games will continue to lead this effort through the use of sport and culture to promote our founding principles of Participation, Inclusion, Personal Best™, and encourage our sisters, brothers and allies to join us for Paris 2018 Gay Games 10 with our message of “All Equal”. Together, we are stronger.
 
On behalf of the FGG Board of Directors, our Assembly, and Honorary Life Members, we remain yours in sport and solidarity,
 
Joanie Evans and Kurt Dahl
Co-Presidents