Stories

“A lot of times,” he says, “folks don’t want to talk about the good things in the city of Cleveland.”

The Land launched a Lakewood Community Journalism program in 2025. See some of the great stories our students wrote last year!

Here are five stories that inspired dialogue, change and built community this year.

Gov. Mike DeWine has signed legislation eliminating Ohio’s four-day grace period for late-arriving mail-in ballots. The Republican said Friday that he reluctantly signed the bill to avoid chaos in next year’s critical midterm elections.

Originally a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus, Christmas has evolved into a global cultural event. Early Christians didn’t commemorate Jesus’ birth annually, focusing instead on his resurrection. The tradition of celebrating on Dec. 25 began in the fourth century, possibly aligning with pagan festivals.

Clevelanders became obsessed with a microwave this week. AJ DiCosimo fell into its vortex and he’s here to explain the fascination.

A former Cleveland officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice has been fired from his new post as a ranger in West Virginia. It’s the fourth known time in seven years that Timothy Loehmann left a small department amid community backlash.

A steep rise in criminally charged people with severe mental illnesses has all but halted patients’ ability to get care in Ohio’s state psychiatric hospitals.

Since 2023, Renee Jones has led a Global Initiative program that has significantly empowered Malawi, Africa, one of the world’s poorest nations, to combat human trafficking.

If the Cleveland Orchestra has seemed a little more welcoming of late, you’re not hearing or seeing things. You’re noticing the work of Jejuana Brown, the group’s director of inclusion and community relations. 

It’s been called an “epidemic” of loneliness and isolation. The “bowling alone” phenomenon. By any name, it refers to Americans’ growing social disconnection. Americans are less likely to join civic groups, unions and churches than in recent generations.

“Years ago, I was walking across Detroit Avenue around Mt. Carmel Church near W. 65th Street, and a guy came up to me, 25 or 30, a little down on his luck, and he said, ‘You show up on those buses with Christmas gifts at Mt. Carmel.’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘When I was a kid, that was my Christmas.’ That made my day. You’re seeing all those kids, people coming through, and it’s magical.” 

Amy Schwabauer’s play, a dark comedy, “I Wear My Dead Sister’s Clothes” runs through Dec. 20 at Cleveland Public Theatre and explores her grief journey as she both laughs and cries while cleaning out her deceased sister’s house.

Polensek (with an accent on the second syllable) is Cleveland’s longest-serving council member at nearly 48 years and counting, dwarfing a predecessor who died in office after 34 years.

“Warm weather shelters, cold weather shelters, specifically in our current climate, in communities like Cleveland and other places that have harsher winters or are even harsher summers, are lifesaving interventions.”

A new AP-NORC poll finds this holiday season isn’t quite so merry for American shoppers as large shares of them are dipping into savings, scouring for bargains and feeling like the overall economy is stuck in a rut under President Donald Trump.

A proposal to build a $21 million SpringHill Suites by Marriott hotel on East 90th Street between Hough and Chester Avenues faces a few hurdles before it can move forward.

A new art exhibit will highlight the works and legacy of Cleveland Arts Prize winners.

Maple Lanes feels frozen in time, which is just how co-owners Barb Rodgers and Annette Abranovich like it.

A worker’s demotion after releasing court records to The Marshall Project – Cleveland led to a lawsuit alleging retaliation and witness intimidation.