Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Read the letter and tell us what you love about Cleveland
Chef Michael Symon, owner of Eton Plaza's B-Spot and other area restaurants, showed a little emotion and a lot of Cleveland pride in a touching love letter to Cleveland for The Huffington Post today. Raised in North Olmsted and a graduate of Lakewood's St. Edward High School, he reminisces about places all over the area: I remember when I was young and I would spend my entire weekends with you and my grandfather: heading to the Eastside and staying with my grandparents; taking the rapid Downtown; shopping at the Westside Market with all its fabulous aromas of smoked meats and baked breads. It is here I found my true love for food, for going to the historic Terminal Tower to pick up my Grandma at Higbees and heading back east to cook split …
What do you think about this Service Employees International union president's open letter to GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney?
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Wednesday, May 16
Dear Mr. Romney: Your welcoming letter to President Obama felt a little sketchy to me. I remember, as I am certain my fellow Ohioans remember, you supporting actions, or in many cases inaction, which would have cost Ohioans their jobs, their homes and their rights. You, Mr. Romney, made it clear that you don't understand how average Ohioans live and support their families. That is why you did not support the auto industry bail out and in fact said "Let Detroit go bankrupt." Unlike you, President Obama understands that the auto industry is the backbone of livable-wage jobs for Ohio's middle class and without those jobs they could not feed their families or pay their mortgages. That is why President Obama bet on the America worker and as…
Saturday, May 12, 2012
We want your bird photos, your bird observations. Heck, we'd even like to see your birding videos!
Seriously, my favorite radio station is any public radio station and I often pester the editors with re-enactments of the stories I hear. So when WCPN featured The Cleveland Natural History Museum's Harvey Webster in a show all about birding I was inspired to reach out to you directly. In the program, Webster mentioned the Audubon Society's weekly bird watching events at parks across the region and several great local bird blogs. But I'll bet Avon and Avon Lake has some undiscovered bird bloggers. And I personally invite you to start your own blog on either Avon Patch or Avon Lake Patch and share your bird photos, observations, heck you can even post a video if you have it. Are you already blogging about birds? You can post your blog …
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Should children see their new sibling be born?
Recently, Moms Council member Julie Short posted a link on Facebook about parents asking about their children being present in the delivery room for the birth of their new baby. The article said that older children can be less jealous of their new sibling if they are there when it's born. A Boston Globe article told of 2- and 4-year-old children yelling "Push, push" during delivery, and a 7-year-old cutting the umbilical cord. One hospital requires that each child in the delivery room be assigned to an adult for supervision and care. Today, let's talk children and childbirth. Does this make sense or have these parents just completely lost their minds? Would you be able to deal with contractions and your other children at the same time, or…
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
FBI arrested five men Monday night who officials say had a plan to blow up a bridge in Brecksville.
Five men were arrested by the FBI Monday night on charges they planned to blow up a bridge in Brecksville's portion of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The FBI said in a press release the public was not in danger, and an undercover FBI employee had controlled the explosive devices. In addition, the explosives were inoperable. Arrested were: Brandon L. Baxter, 20, of Lakewood; Anthony Hayne, 35, of Cleveland; Joshua S. Stafford, 23, of Cleveland; Connor C. Stevens, 20, of Berea; and Douglas L. Wright, 26, of Indianapolis. The five men each were charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of attempted use of an explosive, said Mike Tobin, public affairs specialist for the U.S. Department of Justice, Northern District of Ohio. …
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Share your ideas for scrapbooks, photo displays, online storage and more!
As far as home movies go, this beats the family waving at the entrance to Disney World. Frans Hofmeester shot video of his daughter Lotte every week from when she was born. Recently, he edited all that video into a home movie that shows her growing up before your eyes. From drooling baby to the threshold of adolesence, he distilled her 12 years into two minutes and 45 seconds. Lots of parents may get misty-eyed as they remember all the changes they've seen in their own children. Today, lets talk photographs and memories. How have you chronicled your childrens' growing-up? Some may use colorful, creative scrapbooks. Others may shoot home movies. Some journal. Many may be trying to figure out how to organize all the photos, both digital and …
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
What tasks get in the way of on-the-parenting-job bliss?
With the recent huge MegaMillions jackpot, I'm sure some of you parents thought about ways such money could make your family life better. Did you think about outsourcing some of your parenting duties? A recent article in Psychology Today inspired Cafe Mom writer Julie Ryan Evans to think about what parenting tasks she would outsource if she could. Her choices included cutting fingernails and taking the children to public restrooms. So, what tasks would you outsource? Diaper changes? Barf clean-up? Grocery shopping? Driving the kids to all their activities? Share your ideas in the comments. Joining us, as always, is our smart 'n savvy Moms Council. Julie A. Short is a freelance reporter who has worked with Patch and is also a communications…
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Actress says she feeds her son from her own mouth
Has Batgirl gone bat-guano crazy? That's the spirit of the talk surrounding actress Alicia Silverstone, who has revealed that she will pre-chew food for her son, Bear Blu, and then transfer it to his mouth. Seriously. It's been called "bird-feeding." Silverstone posted about it -- complete with video and a photo -- on her blog. As you may imagine, Silverstone created a small sensation online, most of which can be summed up in one word: "EWWWWWWWW!" Silverstone defended what she is doing, describing it as an old-school feeding practice and weaning process. One post on Cafe Stir called shenanigans on that, saying, "It's weird. It's disgusting. And in a world where you can pick up a food processor for $50 at Target, it's unnecessary!" Today…
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
School's out until April 16!
After classes end at Avon Local Schools today, Spring Break begins! And it's a long one. Classes resume on April 16. If you celebrate the Easter holiday, this weekend's covered. What are you doing the rest of the time? Some families may be taking advantage of the long break with an out-of-state trip, like to Disney World. Others are staying home, with scheduled activities interspersed with do-nothing time. Today, let's share ideas for Spring Break. What are the differences between your expectations and what your children want out of the time off? Share suggestions for day trips, or afternoon excursions. Do you have ideas for craft projects? Or ways to get the kids involved with spring cleaning? Maybe a charity project is up your sleeve. …
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Consumer Reports survey rates best and worst grocery stores in the country. How would you rate stores in the Avon area?
With Walmart planning to expand its Avon store to a supercenter with a grocery section, and Whole Foods coming to Rocky River, grocery shopping options are growing for Avon residents. Consumer Reports released its annual survey of favorite grocery store chains this week. Two stores in or near Avon -- Costco and Trader Joe's -- rated in the top five. Upstate New York-based Wegmans was the top store in the survey. Tell us what matters to you when deciding where to buy your groceries. Does price trump everything else, or do selection and service come into play? What would you tell local retailers to do or change about their stores? Price is a big factor for shoppers today. Consumer Reports said that 43 percent of those surveyed had switched …
SharEd
2:44 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Cleveland and the surrounding area has it all! Moved here in '96 from FL and have never looked back. You never run out of things to do, places to see, and it's beautiful too. Some areas look like Europe or New England -- charming towns with gazebos and commons. There's so much to do and the summers are glorious! Fall too! I love the sun shining on crystal snow and huge snowflakes falling! I've … more ›