Ask for a DEMOCRAT BALLOT and VOTE SHONTEL BROWN  Congressional District 11!

If you are a Democrat and even if you are a Republican, ask for a Democrat Ballot and Vote Shontel Brown

Why should I do that if I prefer Republicans? And what about my voter registration?

The answer is that in November, when the winner of this Democrat primary runs off against the Republican, Laverne Gore, all conventional wisdom says that the winner of the Democrat primary is a shoe-in to be elected. The reason is that this is a Democrat district by design, read gerrymandered, no Republican has won since Voinovich in the 80s. In fact, in the last similar primary, the Republican did not even get 20% of the vote. In November, you can support Laverne Gore. Right now, it’s important to VOTE SHONTEL BROWN, for the following reasons: [Read more…]

I am afraid that Israel advocacy might be a band-aid solution to a surgery-level problem.

This is something I’ve been holding in for a long time. I share it despite the fear of anger from some in the hope that the deeper message may shine through.

I’m not saying that Israel advocacy isn’t important. What would we do without band-aids? Paper cuts would ruin our day. Young children’s knees would be suspect to the dangers of the air’s breeze after scraping the pavement. Shirts would be stained after blood donations and vaccines. Band-aids are here to stay!

I deeply respect all of my friends and colleagues who dedicate their time and are personally passionate about Israel advocacy. It is at the very least a measured and rational contribution to an obvious problem. Anti-semitism is real. Anti-Jewish and Anti-Israel sentiment is and always has been rampant. It shows up in policies, contributes to societies of individuals looking to do harm to Jews, and is evidently making an impact on worldwide playing fields like the UN. Hundreds of millions of dollars a year pour into organizations to advocate for Israel and to teach young Jews how to do the same.

But if someone’s artery is bleeding and all you had was band-aids, of course, you’d use millions trying to solve the problem. But it won’t be enough.

Aryeh ben Yakov is a native Clevelander who moved to Israel when he was 18 years old in the 1940s. When his parents challenged his bold decision he was confused why they would want to stop him from “going home.” He fought in every war in Israel against every enemy. He now lives in a neighborhood up on a hill called Misgav Am; one of the northernmost in all of Israel. Surrounded by unfriendly neighbors, the citizens of Misgav Am are armed at all times and prepare to defend themselves from attack. Aryeh, himself, admits that he has had to wield his weapon to defend his neighborhood on more than one occasion.

After a lengthy talk to a group of my students on a trip to Israel one summer about the strategic significance of that hill and the reality of the anti-Jewish hatred we all face, one of the students asked him a simple open-ended question. “What do you think is the biggest danger to the Jewish people today?”

I’m sure that every educated person in that room was prepared for continued rhetoric about the nations that surround Israel and the necessity of having a strong defense force, etc. But Aryeh’s response widened every eye in the room. Without a moment’s hesitation, Aryeh responded, “Disunity.” He continued, “We can’t get along. We’re all family and we can’t see it. It’s killing us. That’s our biggest danger.”

His clarity was as sharp as his tongue. The reason why he was able to live in a community putting him in constant danger of his life was the same reason why I would sacrifice everything I have for my own family. To Aryeh ben Yakov, we were all family. That’s what it takes to be unified.

Aryeh’s reality sits with me until this day. Would I live in Misgav Am, dedicating my life to be the constant front line of fending off danger for the rest of Israel? Would I be willing to take a bullet so that everyone else could be in the land that belongs to us? Or would I be content just to live in that land and appreciate those who sacrificed for me? Did I really believe that every Jew is my brother or sister?

When God instructs Moshe to go up the mountain to see his last days on earth, Moshe pleads with Him to choose an appropriate leader for the Jewish people. “Do not let the nation of God be like sheep without a shepherd (Bamidbar 27:17).” Are people without a leader not enough of a plea? What is the intended message of the Jewish people being like sheep? When sheep do not have a shepherd looking over them two things can happen. The sheep can spread apart from each other, become detached from the single unit, and get lost. And the sheep can be attacked by wolves.

For some reason, we continue to see these two outcomes as disconnected.

In the tale of the 3 Little Pigs, the big-bad-wolf is able to infiltrate each of the first two pig’s houses until he gets to the third house. The first two were made of straw and sticks; those he could handle. But the third one is made of brick, which is too strong for him to breakthrough.

My brothers and sisters, the takeaway of this tale is a lie. Could the wolf not enter the third house because of the bricks? Or could he not enter the house because it was the first time all 3 pigs were together as one family?

The reason Israel Advocacy is a band-aid is that we see the world attacking us and we see the Jewish people divided and we continue to see them as disparate concepts. The best solution to a severed artery is the massive surgery needed to sew it up. It is only going to be when we care about each other like true sisters and brothers that the wolves will stop their attack. The bricks we amass through Israel advocacy absolutely must be built. The house itself is imperative. In the meantime, the more the world associates with Judaism and Israel in a positive way, the better off we all are. Even more so, the potential of Israel Advocacy to bring Jews closer to God and His land is too valuable to pass up. But in the end, if we’re not all living together in that brick house, it will soon be blown over like the rest. The anti-Semitism will continue. The anti-Israel and anti-Jew rhetoric won’t go away. The wolves won’t stop. Not until the Shepherd comes back to oversee us.

But it is first upon us to come together.

Excerpt from cleveland.com

On Sunday, July 26, I awoke to the news that my business, Mika’s Wig Boutique and Spa in University Heights, had been defaced by graffiti. The news was stomach-turning, but my thoughts turned first to my store manager and how she must have felt, walking up to the store that morning to see symbols of hatred painted on our walls.

Read the full article at cleveland.com

It is healthy for our community, and our society, to respectfully (but passionately) debate political and other issues. I believe that a vote for President Trump is both misguided and dangerous from a Jewish point of view.

The President, from his campaign days onward, has demonstrated disdain for the rule of law. He has berated not only politicians, but journalists, judges, and others, who disagree with him as not only incorrect, but treasonous. He has consistently praised authoritarian rulers such as Vladimir Putin, leaders in whose countries you can be killed or imprisoned for opposing the government. Authoritarian regimes always lead to social intolerance, and invariably Jews are among the first to be targeted.

The President has empowered right-wing elements in our society which are anti-Semitic. His infamous comment after the Charlottesville march about there being “fine people” among those carrying torches and wearing swastikas was terrifying to anyone who knows Jewish history. Nor was this an isolated incident. He has inspired those who seek to make the United States into an exclusively white and Christian country. He has supported conspiracy theories such as QAnon which feature anti-Jewish messages and images. It is no coincidence that physical attacks against Jews are at their highest rate in decades in this country. And, while many in our community express their concern over BDS groups (as they should), these are not the people who have taken up arms to kill Jews, as we have seen occur in Pittsburgh, Monsey, and elsewhere.

The President has enacted policies which treat human beings cruelly. Can any of us – particularly after the Shoah – truly support an approach which separates children from parents? Similarly, his initial ban on travelers from selected countries, made law just after his inauguration, left innocent people stranded in airports and in strange countries, not knowing fpr days what would happen to them. In both cases, a more well-considered and humane policy could have accomplished the same goal of securing the country’s borders.

The President’s casual and careless attitude about COVID has caused the U.S. to be one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic. In fact, he has repeatedly played down the warnings of doctors and scientists, who have been trained to guide the country in such situations. We know how devastating the disease has been, and how frum communities like ours have been hit hard. Can we not expect to do better, in a country that spends more on health care than any other? And should we not also be ashamed to see fellow religious Jews, sporting Trump shirts and banners, opposing COVID restrictions by rioting in the streets and assaulting other Jews who disagree with their tactics? Could this really be how bnei Torah behave?

The President has made lying and insulting others his preferred mode of behavior. If we look at the behaviors for which we said “al chet” on Yom Kippur, we see many that have characterized his time in office: “tumat sefatayim” (making our lips unclean), “lashon hara” (speaking badly of another), “azut metzach” (arrogance), to name a few. Can we simply ignore those and give our support to a person whose conduct is antithetical to the values we revere? Can we tell our children to act one way, and enthusiastically vote for someone who embodies the opposite?

Did we not just read on Yom Kippur what is “the fast that I [Hashem] choose?” It is to “Loosen the bindings of evil, and break the slavery chain. Those who were crushed, release to freedom….Break your bread for the starving and bring dispossessed wanderers home.” (Yeshayahu 57: 6-7; translation by R’ Jonathan Sacks). Concern for the other is paramount to the Torah’s vision of a healthy society. The current Administration has not demonstrated such concern.

Some will make the argument that the President, despite his flaws, is the lesser evil of the two major candidates on the ballot. This is incorrect, for two main reasons. Jews have thrived in America because it allows freedom of religion, without the government imposing a particular set of religious and social norms. The more those norms are set by the state, the less freedom we will have to act according to our traditions. It is therefore better for us when others are also allowed to live as they choose – even when we disagree with their choices – without government interference. The Democratic Party’s policies are more likely to preserve our communal autonomy.

Secondly, the President has attempted to describe Joe Biden and all Democrats as “socialists”, people who will take away Americans’ money and liberties. It is worth remembering that key programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, among others, were opposed when first introduced, by people who feared that the government was putting itself into areas where it did not belong. We all benefit from these programs today, as well as similar government programs. Many of these would not exist if so-called “socialist” legislators had not enacted them. These were people who believed in using government to achieve social good.

We must be guided, as always, by the values of the Torah. We cannot allow them to become secondary to those of any political party or leader. Considering these values, I urge members of our community to look past the rhetoric, consider the long term, and vote for Joe Biden.

Alan Goldman
University Heights

Why we vote: Usually this is where I remind you of the importance of voting. This time, please forgive me, but I’m going to rant first.  I have to get this off my chest. Voting is not enough, and not enough of you are voting!

Let’s be clear. Voting IS a mitzva. Which you ask?  Kakasuv? I once heard how logically  it could fit under Lo Saamod Al Dam Reicha.   You never know when you or your neighbor will need something, and no askan can get an elected official’s  attention to assist you or your neighbor if they don’t come from a voting Kehilla because politicians get their power from the people via their vote. So, my oft used line, we have no voice without your vote is true.  Locally, I know homes that have been saved, extensions given instead of fines on violation repairs, contacts made, families with immigration status facing deportation – all resolved. This is not imaginary. It’s how the system works.

This election is too important to sit back. Everyone must vote. This is the first time that certain rabbonim have spoken to me about national issues. They impressed the need to get out every vote.  Their concern is great. Our voting turnout must be too.

And yet, our recent voting record has been abysmally low  That’s right. Too many have relied on their neighbors to be yotzei them with their vote. Pardon my stating the obvious, but it doesn’t work that way. One person, one vote.  They only add up if you show up. You and not your friend. You and not your spouse. You and not your neighbor. There is no angel of the election upon whom to rely. Downtown, the Board of elections has records on exactly who voted and who did not.  We just came through a period of Teshuva. In that spirit, let’s get our voting record back up to 95% or greater. We used to be there. We need to be there again.  Stand for the kehilla. Each and every one. Please vote.

How to vote: In the news, you may have heard that vote by mail is less secure.  Let me clarify. That does not refer to Ohio where we vote by absentee application. In some states, ballots are simply being mailed out without request to homes where someone is registered. Since voter rolls can be inaccurate and not updated, it’s possible for someone to have died or moved out of state and still be receiving a ballot at their old address.  In Ohio, you have to request an absentee ballot by mailing in an application. That The BOE then checks the application against the signature on file . Again your signature on your ballot is rechecked.  Multiple such checks make your vote in Ohio more secure, and we aren’t first timers at it here.  Some of you may wish to drop off your ballot at the actual post office instead of a local drop or even downtown at the board of elections where there is video surveillance, however the odds of anyone working for the post office risking their job, pension and jail to grab a few ballots aren’t high. In summary, don’t let the news articles about fraud keep you from voting.  As a swing state, we are even more important.

There will be no community drop off due to legal concerns about ballot harvesting. If you do vote by mail, do mail it in to be postmarked no later than the day before election or take it downtown personally by Tuesday, 7:30, election day.

 If you requested a ballot that didn’t arrive on time or if you prefer to vote in person despite your request, you can still do that. When you get to the polls, they will have your name on a list of those having requested a ballot and will offer you instead of a regular ballot, a provisional ballot. When the votes are counted election night, yours will be held over until they can compare it with the mail in version and verify that they are only counting one.

Planning to vote by mail? Request your ballot early to avoid being late. Do it now.  For more information about how to request a ballot, go to the J-Vote website or Cuyahoga County Board of Elections website.

Voting in person? Voting sites may have changed. Covid sympathetic policy has removed polling places from complexes housing the elderly. Please verify your new location at the BOE website.

Action Items: On a similar topic, there are those on JVote in Cleveland Heights, the Agudah and others that participate in the democratic process on committees and behind the scenes. Most volunteer many hours and deserve your support when they reach out for it. Respond to the emails. They are saving you money, time and effort taking up issues and doing the leg work.  They are pulling the weight. Don’t make them drag you along kicking and screaming.  Honestly, it’s frustrating to have to work so hard to provoke small action.  We shouldn’t have to beg. Respond when asked. Please.  It’s basic citizenship, and the asks aren’t that hard.

Milikin Petiton: There are a few asks on the table. J-Vote, Blanche Neighbors and Taylor Neighbors Association have teamed up to weigh on the disposition of the Milikin property in our backyard. I worked with Rhonda Davis Lovejoy to draft the petition. See articles by me and Chavi Jessica Cohen in Heights Observer if you want more details, and PLEASE sign the petition at J-Vote. Org. School Board responded to a small group of protesters when the took the proposition off the table despite its overwhelming support by CH City Hall. That group asserted the playground was prime. It can be moved and put into any new housing project easily. It’s only six swings and turnythingy. For that they recommended leaving all that acreage alone.  It’s a quick click and a sign, but only if we can demonstrate overwhelming support for seeking bids to develop housing, single or townhouse, will the School Board put the project back on the table. The potential in future tax revenue to the city and school district will ameliorate the future need for raising so many funds directly from you later. It will bring profit to both the city and the district in property taxes.  So unless you love your taxes going up, please take the moment and click on the petition. All Cleveland Heights University Heights adults.  It is not a legal document. You do not have to be registered to vote. Please make sure all adults in your household also sign.  Go on. Do it now. The rest of this article will still be here when you are done.

There, that was easy wasn’t it. Now let’s try another.

Defend the Community:    IF you are on social media: Facebook or Next Door…IF you read Height Observer…IF you can string together a nice paragraph or two, we need you.  And you probably know why. The amount of lies in print about our community is mounting and ugly.  Worse, it remains unanswered. Our community has become the scape goat for certain advocates, but the facts are on our side though the same writers cannot be the only voices out there. I am not asking anyone to go online that isn’t already there. If you are, J-Vote is seeking to put together a small group that can respond when given the facts. We will support you with the facts on relevant topics. The rising number of such ugly calumnies should provoke a slew of (politely worded! Always politely worded) responses expressing outrage for the outrageousness of them.  For the sake of brevity, I omitted the paragraphs filled with examples. When these accusations remain unanswered, the sinister images stand.  We need you to stand up for us. Please! Contact J-Vote to volunteer!

Thank you for your patience reading the above and your support all these years.  We need more people to become civically engaged. Please reach out if you are interested.

Please consider the following suggestions when you vote.

President:  See comments below (R)

11^th Congressional District: Marcia Fudge (D) or Laverne Gore (R). See comments below

State House 9^th District: Janine Boyd (D)

Member of County Council: Cheryl Stevens (D)

State Board of Education 11^th district: (1) Rocky Nealy

Justice for Supreme Court: (2) Judy French, Sharon Kennedy

Eighth District Court of Appeals: (2) Groves and Forbes

Court of Common Pleas (4) Callahan, McClelland, Jones, Realli

Issue 6 – Clarification of date for gathering signatures for candidates for Cleveland Heights Mayor: Yes

Issue 39 – 4.8 mil CHUH Tax Levy – See comments below

Expanded Edition

President  President Trump and former VP Joe Biden leave much to be desired in their race to the White House. Both have significant deficits and yet both can point to laudable goals, and in many cases, past successes that our community should laud and appreciate.

However, in this extremely polarizing time and partisan environment, we need to look beyond the candidates themselves and look at where the current party momentum behind them is.  In so many ways, the Democratic party, nationally, appears captive to an agenda that is at best, not hospitable to so many of our communities needs and interests. The contrasts and potential impact cannot be overstated  Vote Republican.

Congressional District 11.  Incumbent Marcia Fudge  is a high ranking member of Congress.  And yet, when it came to getting funding for anti-terrorist equipment for Jewish schools, she was supportive. Her constituency support has included helping our community resolve passport issues. While her voting record is troubling, in this district, her seat is considered and safe seat. She is due thanks for her support of our issue when needed.  For that reason, and because we want someone in office who will take our calls and look at us favorably for the next few years, it should be simple answer that our vote should go to Marcia Fudge. These are compelling reasons.

That said, her challenger, Laverne Gore,  is another Black woman singing our song on the Republican side of the aisle. She supports law and order. She supports Ed Choice, and economic development and has plans to combat the high illiteracy rates in poorer communities.  It is believed that there is a Black turn, slight but perhaps enough, that is supporting President Trump that could push more votes in her direction. In 2016, Trump challenged the Black community to vote for him since they had nothing to lose. There was a slight nudge in the R column, but since, many have been pleased with his results in economy and education and see the Democrats as providing them with more of the same that hasn’t helped and don’t appreciate the race baiting.

This seat has been solidly Democrat since 1983 and held by a Black woman since 1999 making this challenge by another Black woman who is Republican fascinating. Further, Marcia Fudge is taking the race for granted and has hardly bothered to campaign here, following her pattern of not spending much time in Ohio or having much constituency support. Laverne Gore, by contrast,  is not only working hard but has name recognition from her popular radio hour. Gore’s background in public health, a boon these days, and all around makes and interesting alternative.

Unfortunately, if you got the impression she might win, the answer is unlikely. The likely outcome is that she will get closer than any other republican has in any county wide race since the 80’s but not actually overtake Marcia Fudge.  I have therefore not taken an opinion on what the community should do on this race when my heart is with Laverne Gore, but my head says it’s still not the smart vote.  No Recommendation

Janine Boyd and Cheryl Stephens both have solidly supported our community when called upon, have a relationship with our activists and deserve our support. They know us. We know them. Please join me in voting for them for their respective offices.:

Issue 6: Cleveland Heights Charter Amendment.     Last year we passed a charter amendment creating the ability to elect our own Mayor, beginning with the 2021 November election. For that to happen, there are several transition steps that Citizens for an Elected Mayor Transition Subcommittee (full disclosure, I’m on it) felt needed to happen. City council has already set the salary for Mayor, so that potential candidates can make an educated choice in deciding to run. The amendment also calls for the Mayor to appoint a City Administrator whose salary range needs to be set.  There are also city ordinances that apply to the City Manager currently whose position will end when the Mayor is instated.  Those ordinances should be reviewed by the legal department and flagged.  The changes will be made to be consistent with the charter amendment. On some of these, there is latitude to give the power to the Mayor or keep it with Council, so council will be busy preparing prior to the transition.

An informative forum sponsored by Citizens for an Elected Mayor took place last week and will be available on line. It covered what a Mayor does and their relationship with Council and with a wonderful panel of local Mayors.  Another is being scheduled to cover topics specific to the needs of Cleveland Heights and what issues will need to addressed. This too is part of the transition, and I’m just updating you what’s happening.  So what is Issue 6?

The process of electing a Mayor begins with the candidate collecting signatures. If there are more than two candidates, then there will be a September special election primary and the top two vote getters would run off against one another in the general November election.  Our group discovered a small problem with the original amendment wording and brought it to Council’s attention. It calls for petition signatures to be gathered a certain number of days ahead of “the election”. It’s unclear which election is intended – the primary or general election.   Issue 6 is supposed to be the clarification. It is important that we get this done ahead of the first election to avoid confusion for mayoral candidates. When Citizens for an Elected Mayor brought this to council’s attention, they acted quickly to put it on the ballot.

Unfortunately, in an attempt to streamline the process, the wording sent in for the ballot by city staff also included the city council positions, but there are no primaries for council. Council candidates run all in November and the top 3 or 4 vote getters take the open seats. This inconsistency may have to be fixed later. To be fair to council, it should be noted that this problematic wording was not what council passed but a “fix” that came after by well meaning staff who sent the wording to the Board of Elections.  So while this confuses the council race, it fixes the mayoral one and should be voted in even with the knowledge that we may have to vote again to fix the fix.  Vote Yes on Issue 6.

Issue 69. CHUH  School Levy increasing taxes by 4.8 mil for two years before another levy.  There are pros and cons to this issue. It is worth noting that the electorate voted recently against a 7.9 mil levy that would have been good for 3 years.  4.8 for 2 years is almost the same thing.  I am making to firm recommendation on this like I didn’t last time. For more information on both sides of the issue without my rewriting it all out, go to Jvote.com and click on each button for the yes and no campaigns.   While you are there, please sign the petition asking the Board of Education to put back on the table the proposals or development of Millikin they recently took off the table. Additionally, see my article and Chavi  Jessica Cohen’s article in the Heights Observer about the use of Millikin to produce income for the district.  In response to questions about what level housing might end up in our backyard, the minimum of $350,000 in property values assures the district of real profit.

 Also go to Heights Observer and see the letter by Tony Cuda (I’m one of the 18 signors, some are pro levy some anti) calling for adjusting our medical insurance package to something more in line with our neighboring cities. Currently, we are paying 60% more. He illustrates three ways it needs to be brought in line and the savings would be about $7 million per year.

Additional pros and cons to consider:

PRO – State funding changes have impacted the amounts coming in to the district to the detriment of the budget.  Vote yes if you feel that it should be made up from the local tax base. The Board of Ed has been tougher on the Union’s demands than in the past. It is a first time, and a strike is not off the table as a result.  Vote yes if you feel that supporting more income to the district will benefit our neighboring students and if you feel that supporting the board for its strong stance will empower them to continue to be fiscally responsible.

CON – Perhaps it won’t. Recently, the BOE voted not to continue negotiating with the Union holding firm on its toughest offer yet responding to the letter by  Cuda mentioned above.  That offer, however will only result in about 2 million in savings tops.  That’s not enough to even promise the levy will last longer.  After the levy, if it passes, the Unions will likely argue that the new flush budget means support for continued high benefits. Failing the levy will send the sincere message that, no matter how much we love our teachers, we cannot afford to continue paying so much more than the surrounding districts. We are already at the top of the tax rates for Ohio. In July, Cleveland Heights reported 20% unemployment. Times are tough.  Some may feel that the Board should be exploring this option and developing Milikin into a tax producing property (see articles on that mentioned above) before coming back to a beleaguered constituency.

Higher taxes suppress housing values and sales according to local realtors, and hurt poor families, some of whom will lose their homes. Some of those poor have young school age children. Others are elderly on fixed incomes. We already support the district by paying the highest taxes in the state.  Vote no if you feel the increase is unaffordable or counterproductive to the city.

Related Action Item Repeat

If you haven’t yet done so and no matter how you vote on the levy, please go now to sign the petition at JVote.org to support development at the Milikin site.  And please contact JVote to volunteer.

COVID and Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur by Mendel Singer PDF (Full version with appendix)

We’re all tired of COVID. Tired of hearing about it. Tired of having our lives revolve around it. Tired of wearing masks, not seeing elderly relatives who are isolating. We just want things to be normal again, even more so with Rosh Hoshana/Yom Kippur coming up. Can we just have a normal yomim n’oraim? Doesn’t Klal Yisroel need it now?

We are all suffering from Corona Fatigue. Hashem, take this away! Let us daven and learn in peace, let our children have normal school.

Nonetheless, like it or not, Rosh Hoshana/Yom Kippur raises substantial and unique challenges we don’t face on a typical Shabbos and this needs to be carefully considered by shuls in their ongoing heroic efforts to maximize normalcy and safety for their kehilla, and by individual making their person choices about where to daven. In this public letter I will discuss the special health challenges of Rosh Hoshana/Yom Kippur, and end with a moshul. After that is an appendix that addresses the following questions for those willing to read longer:

1. What is the state of COVID in our community and in the county?
2. It is so confusing! Things keep changing and there’s so much conflicting information!
3. Hospitalization and deaths are down – why? Has the virus mutated into a less lethal form?
4. Where do we stand in terms of treatment for COVID?
5. Immunity after having COVID
6. Fair expectations about a vaccine
7. Herd Immunity

Why trust me? I write from my perspective as a professor of public and population health for 25 years (and a Vice Chair for 6 years) at the distinguished medical school of Case Western Reserve University with over 70 publications in peer-reviewed journals, despite my primary focus on education. These publications include research in infectious diseases: HIV, Tuberculosis, Rotavirus, Hepatitis A and C, and antibiotic resistance in respiratory infections. I have worked with the county health department, and been honored by it with a resolution after a mumps outbreak in our community about 10 years ago. I have done one study of my own related to COVID, recently published in the top Rheumatology journal, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. Since I have taken hydroxychloroquine in the past for my auto-immune disorder and am supposed to go back on it long-term, it was personally disappointing to determine that this drug provided not the slightest benefit in preventing COVID. As I tell my students, never apologize for results – the truth is the truth. Just be sure you have the right methods. I know good study design and proper statistical analysis. My opinions are totally driven by what the data says and what it doesn’t actually answer.

Let me preface the discussion by stating that as a professional I can supply information to help people and Rabbonim understand the health situation and risks. I am not going to make specific
recommendations for the following reasons:

1. There are differences in shuls in terms of: how many elderly or otherwise high-risk congregants, available space, air circulation, windows, or the outdoor space or economic wherewithal to
   create optimal solutions such as davening outdoors. Obviously, in terms of other communities, there are differences in numbers of cases.
2. Solutions have to work for the kehilla. Rabbonim are constantly doing a balancing act. Prioritizing safety is important, and so is shalom – always a key ingredient at a time of judgement of Klal Yisroel. There will always be people who think measures don’t go far enough and others who think those same measures are too extreme.
3. The decisions end up involving criteria that are way above my pay grade, e.g. halacha and hoshkofa.

Have rachmonis on your shul Rav! The pandemic has put enormous burden and stress on our Rabbonim. And we certainly can’t just dismiss it by saying “that’s why they get the big bucks”!
Remember to be extremely sympathetic to, and be mispallel for our Rabbonim – an amazing group that distinguishes our community.

Shalom!!! The pandemic creates a situation that is rife for machlokes, and at the time of year when shalom is most important! People are stressed and have conflicting opinions about COVID. Some of us, myself included, have had tense situations over COVID.

What are the special COVID health challenges of Rosh Hoshana/Yom Kippur?

Transmission of the virus is very dependent on the volume of exposure. Think of other viruses and when one child gets it, a sibling that sleeps in the same room is more likely to get it than other family members. And even though every family member will have some exposure, some won’t get it. Exposure is dependent on length of time, distance, air circulation, wearing face coverings to reduce how far droplets go, the force of the droplets (regular speaking voice vs. projecting one’s voice to speak loud or sing, speaking vs. coughing vs. sneezing). Volume of exposure not only matters in terms of getting infected, but it can also affect severity of infection. When a small volume of exposure does cause an infection, it is more likely to result in an asymptomatic or mild infection.

The risks posed by Rosh Hoshana/Yom Kippur are so much greater than a typical Shabbos that it requires greater vigilance for the following reasons:

1. The very long hours together means great exposure to those davening nearby. More people walking around at times. Many people using the same bathroom. More time for people to cough or sneeze.
2. Lots of singing and louder davening means voices being projected and more droplets being released and with greater force, carrying further.
3. Crowding. Whatever limitations shuls put in place for Shabbos may not be sufficient for our holiest days. More women want to come to shul, and that often means more children who are also capable of both getting infected and spreading COVID. While there is some weak evidence that kids under age 10 may be less likely to get infected or transmit, it is still far from clear to what degree that is true since we don’t generally test kids.
4. Let’s face it, everyone desperately wants to be in shul on our holiest days! Any Rav can recount the many times people have not taken important medications or fasted on Yom Kippur when their health demanded differently. It’s awfully easy to say “it’s hardly even a cough”. A little sneezing –“probably allergies”. A fever? It’s yom tov and you can’t take your temperature. How easy it is to say it’s probably just a little warm in the house. Maybe the slightest low-grade fever, “that’s nothing”. How can I daven at home on Yom Kippur? I need the zechus of being judged with my kehilla. This may be the greatest threat, that people who are actually mildly symptomatic and very infectious may come to shul, be there for many hours, singing and davening loudly and using the bathroom creating substantial exposure to others. A possible solution that would require a halachic question to your Rav: can a shul pay a goy to do a no touch forehead temperature scan on people before they enter the shul on Shabbos or Yom Tov? Maybe done on the 1st evening and each day of Rosh Hoshana, and the evening and day of Yom Kippur? Again, way above my pay grade.

I will end the main letter with a moshul (followed by an appendix). When COVID first broke out, we all searched for the cure – the treatment that was already out there that would end this pandemic. Early on there were times we got our hopes up. Some treatments worked so well in the lab! But not so well in people (this happens all the time). Then we got our hopes up that a vaccine would come quickly and end the disease. But even with heroic efforts all over the world and over a hundred different vaccines in progress and everything being fast-tracked to the extent possible while maintaining safety, it still takes longer than we hoped. We continue to wait.

Meanwhile, face masks and social distancing have been effective in reducing transmission. And we’ve been chipping away at the disease. While everyone’s attention was on a cure or a vaccine, we’ve been making progress in managing the illness and reducing mortality. Steroids have been shown to cut mortality in patients on ventilators by as much as 20-30%. Some other drugs have shown modest reductions in mortality. We’ve learned when to use ventilators and when less invasive sources of oxygen can be used (including some very creative reworking of existing equipment). The disease is still around, but all these measures together have reduced the number who are hospitalized and the number dying.

In this moshul, COVID is the yetzer hora. We often hope we can find a cure for the yetzer hora, some major transformation through radical change in our avodas Hashem. Sometimes that works. More often, it doesn’t. The vaccine represents Moshiach, the ultimate cure that completely ends the yetzer hora, which we must daven for and work towards making a reality. The face masks and social distancing – this is keeping away from situations where we are more likely to yield to the yetzer hora, as we are taught that it is better to stay away from temptation than to challenge the yetzer hora on his turf. All the treatments and improvements in clinical practice in managing the disease – this represents the little by little approach to teshuva recommended by the baalei mussar and chassidus. Yes, sometimes we can make jumps and sustain them. In between, we try to keep chipping away, improving little by little. When we stop and look back, we be quite surprised to see that we’ve come a long way! The tried and true approach to teshuva.

May our tefilos this Rosh Hoshana and Yom Kippur be successful! May we merit the ultimate spiritual vaccine, Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days!

Kesiva v’chasima tova!

Mendel E. Singer, PhD MPH

Printable PDF of Susan Efroymson’s 2020 Primary Voting Suggestions: www.localjewishnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Susan-Efroymsons-2020-Primary-Voting-Suggestions

Due to the Coronavirus containment protocols, all polling places that are usually located in senior citizens housing will be moved. Those who normally vote on Warrensville Rd or Severance will be voting at City Hall.

This is a primary.  That means that each party is electing the candidates that will square off in the November elections to determine then who will actually hold office. No matter who you support at this juncture or which party you vote for, you can still vote for whomever you choose come November and are not tied to your choices now.

In a primary you must choose to vote either as a Republican or as a Democrat (or Issues Only) and your choice defines your party until you change it by voting under a different party in another primary. Practically speaking, in our area only Democrats are elected for the lower state and county offices, therefore voting Democrat in the primaries is where the selection for those offices is made and that is why I recommend that many of us do so. Your choice now has no bearing on the general election in November.

Republican Ballot

In this election there are almost no contested Republican races.  The sole race of interest is:

11^th District Congressional Representative: Vote Laverne Gore

Democratic Ballot

President: Joe Biden

11^th District Congressional Representative: Marcia Fudge

Court of Appeals 8^th District:  Rinni, Forbes

State Representative 9^th District: Janine Boyd

Common Pleas: O’Donnel, Realli

County Council District 10 : Cheryl Stevens

All Ballots

Issue 26: School District tax increase: if passed, will add $277 in annual property tax per $100K home value, for a new total of $4077, aside from any other increases.

Issue 33: Health and Human Services Renewal and small tax increase: Yes

Expanded Version

Democratic Presidential Candidates:

When the ballots went to print, there were eleven candidates. Today, the race is only between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. So Moderate vs. Socialist: Choose Moderate – Joe Biden.

Biden is endorsed by the mainstream candidates like Kamala Harris, Buttigieg, and Klobechar. Sanders is endorsed by Jesse Jackson.  Sanders surrounds himself with known anti-Semites like Susan Rice and Linda Sarsour, and is endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. Biden has the more friendly relationship with our community. The ties go back longer and stretch through his career, and despite his position on the Iran deal, he has been supportive of Jewish causes and values at other times in way that cannot be said of Sanders. Vote Joe Biden.

Lower offices:

Congressional Representative 11^th district. Marcia Fudge has stood with our community when it came to securing anti-terrorism funding and it is our hope she will continue to respond positively when called upon.

Laverne Gore running for the same office on the Republican side has some interesting support in this district and will be worth following if she wins the nomination.

State Representative: Janine Boyd began her career in our city and comes home to Cleveland Heights Blvd., a hop skip and jump from us. As such, she is well aware of our community and its needs and was supportive of the Elected Mayor initiative at the beginning of the discussion before citizens took over.  We should continue to support her because of the strong support she’s given our neighborhood when she was on City Council and continues to take our calls and support us in Columbus. Please vote for Janine Boyd.

County Council: Cheryl Stephens started her career in Cleveland Heights, retiring as Mayor before assuming County office. In her own words, “I am committed to supporting community and economic development protecting services for children, seniors, and veterans safety and sustainability and being responsible with taxpayer dollars.” She reaches out to learn of issues relevant to our community. Stephens played a role in bringing the Metro Emergency Room and hospital wing to our neighborhood and as a friend to our community deserves our support.

Judges: All selections have been solely based on Judge4yourself.com which is an amalgam of ratings of various bar associations. Because it has its biases, I try to get corroborating information from local attorneys. However this time I was unable to obtain such information and am passing along the website’s recommendations as-is.

Issues

There are two tax levies to consider. Out of order, the easiest one first.

Issue 33 –  Cuyahoga County Health and Human Services tax renewal and increase of .8 mills adding $41 annually to your bill per $100,000 in home valuation

This supports the neediest in the county and many within our community have children with special needs that benefit. It is the right thing to support and frankly we wouldn’t want to live in a county devoid of these important services.

Issue 26 –CHUH School levy raising taxes 7.9 mills. At nearly 8 mills, that would add $277 annually to your tax bill bringing it up to $4077 – per $100,000 valuation. Double that if your home is valued at $200,000 etc. Most of that goes to the schools.

Aside from the Human Services Levy which is likely to pass, there are other costs coming up. In September the CH contract for recycling services expires. Unlike the previous contract which made a profit for the city, the recycling will instead begin costing $40-$80 per ton. Additionally, they will no longer take the blue plastic bags. The city is looking at providing bins for both garbage and recycling and automating our pick-ups. The costs associated with that will likely be a $2-$4 monthly increase assessed on you water bill as a landfill fee, currently at $11.50 per month. The current recommendation is that the city will provide one container each and the homeowner may purchase additional containers at the bulk pricing. Keep these other increases in mind when assessing whether to support the School Levy.

PRO

Vouchers have created a deficit in their budget making it difficult to negotiate contracts. That shortfall has caused contracts to have fallen to one year instead of three, the much stronger position to be in.

There is discussion in Columbus about rejiggering the method of school funding, which could result in more funding for the district. The Board of Education has therefore offered not to collect the tax in the event that happens however, that remains an unlikely outcome.

CON

There is a growing movement among the citizenry to contain costs at the district level and bring them in line with similar districts. They claim that a no vote will send that message to the board of education. Some of their arguments include:

The district, in recent years went far over budget when building the high school and has failed to bring per pupil costs into line with comparable districts.  Salaries, benefits and other capital costs have left our per pupil cost about 1/3 higher, despite a declining student population. They also are maintaining underutilized buildings that don’t generate revenue for long periods of time. The fact is that many homeowners are struggling to pay their tax bills and take care of their own familes, while the school district employees’ salaries are continually raised. Businesses, whose revenues would raise funds for the city, choose instead to locate in other nearby cities where rates are lower.

How many seniors who planned to live out their days in their homes will be forced out?  Cleveland Heights has a very low rate of seniors living within its borders because this has become the frequent worry of empty nesters.

For more information, please see the Cleveland Heights University Heights School Board website. A counterpoint view can be found at Tigernation4lowertaxes.com.

The signs are in the front yards all around Cleveland Heights and University Heights for and against the school levy. The anti-levy signs make clear that they want to keep the Heights affordable. Signs in favor of the levy don’t have any catchy phrase like that of the anti-levy signs. But they shouldn’t need to.

One may think that families of private school students may not benefit from funding for public schools. But that person would be wrong. The district covers school transportation for all students, including those of private schools. It also covers administrative costs for EdChoice students across the district.

Many families from our own community have benefitted directly from the CH-UH schools. Our daughter has spent most of her school years in the CH-UH schools because of her special needs. The teachers have all been wonderful. They have all gone the extra ten miles to give her an education that will last a lifetime. She will continue in the CH-UH system until there is a program for special needs kids in the Jewish schools. If or when that happens, I will still support the levy. I will express my gratitude to the CH-UH district for the many years of superb education.

We should be concerned for quality education for all students. We should be as concerned for the school district as much as public school families are. Good public schools keep a community together. It makes the community appealing to families who want to move here. It will make our housing appreciate, and it will boost the local economy.

As citizens in the school district, we should acknowledge that the district is having difficulties for many reasons. The way schools are graded by the state sets the public schools up for failure. The state grading system does not account for important student experiences and teacher expertise. Grading schools based strictly on student grades and test scores completely misses the point of quality education. If the state assembly does not pass recommended legislation, the number of schools noted as failing will go up from 500 to over 1,200 in the next state report card. That will be an extra burden on the school district.

The Ohio Supreme Court has found state funding for Ohio’s public schools to be unlawful, according to Ohio’s constitution, four times since 1997. Despite years of effort, corrective legislation still dawdles.

All citizens of all districts, whether their students go to public schools or not, should be concerned for the welfare and education of all its student population. When public schools deteriorate, the district loses population, and that brings housing values down, which then affects the local economy. The kids suffer the most. A good education, an education that teaches the unquantifiable skills as well as the hard skills, lasts a lifetime. And that makes better citizens for tomorrow. That benefits everyone.

I urge all to vote Yes on Issue 26.

Daniel Schlossberg
Cleveland Heights

Printable PDF of Susan Efroymson’s 2020 Primary Voting Suggestions: www.localjewishnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Susan-Efroymsons-2020-Primary-Voting-Suggestions

Due to the Coronavirus containment protocols, all polling places that are usually located in senior citizens housing will be moved. Those who normally vote on Warrensville Rd or Severance will be voting at City Hall.

This is a primary.  That means that each party is electing the candidates that will square off in the November elections to determine then who will actually hold office. No matter who you support at this juncture or which party you vote for, you can still vote for whomever you choose come November and are not tied to your choices now.

In a primary you must choose to vote either as a Republican or as a Democrat (or Issues Only) and your choice defines your party until you change it by voting under a different party in another primary. Practically speaking, in our area only Democrats are elected for the lower state and county offices, therefore voting Democrat in the primaries is where the selection for those offices is made and that is why I recommend that many of us do so. Your choice now has no bearing on the general election in November.

Republican Ballot

In this election there are almost no contested Republican races.  The sole race of interest is:

11^th District Congressional Representative: Vote Laverne Gore

Democratic Ballot

President: Joe Biden

11^th District Congressional Representative: Marcia Fudge

Court of Appeals 8^th District:  Rinni, Forbes

State Representative 9^th District: Janine Boyd

Common Pleas: O’Donnel, Realli

County Council District 10 : Cheryl Stevens

All Ballots

Issue 26: School District tax increase: if passed, will add $277 in annual property tax per $100K home value, for a new total of $4077, aside from any other increases.

Issue 33: Health and Human Services Renewal and small tax increase: Yes

Expanded Version

Democratic Presidential Candidates:

When the ballots went to print, there were eleven candidates. Today, the race is only between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. So Moderate vs. Socialist: Choose Moderate – Joe Biden.

Biden is endorsed by the mainstream candidates like Kamala Harris, Buttigieg, and Klobechar. Sanders is endorsed by Jesse Jackson.  Sanders surrounds himself with known anti-Semites like Susan Rice and Linda Sarsour, and is endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. Biden has the more friendly relationship with our community. The ties go back longer and stretch through his career, and despite his position on the Iran deal, he has been supportive of Jewish causes and values at other times in way that cannot be said of Sanders. Vote Joe Biden.

Lower offices:

Congressional Representative 11^th district. Marcia Fudge has stood with our community when it came to securing anti-terrorism funding and it is our hope she will continue to respond positively when called upon.

Laverne Gore running for the same office on the Republican side has some interesting support in this district and will be worth following if she wins the nomination.

State Representative: Janine Boyd began her career in our city and comes home to Cleveland Heights Blvd., a hop skip and jump from us. As such, she is well aware of our community and its needs and was supportive of the Elected Mayor initiative at the beginning of the discussion before citizens took over.  We should continue to support her because of the strong support she’s given our neighborhood when she was on City Council and continues to take our calls and support us in Columbus. Please vote for Janine Boyd.

County Council: Cheryl Stephens started her career in Cleveland Heights, retiring as Mayor before assuming County office. In her own words, “I am committed to supporting community and economic development protecting services for children, seniors, and veterans safety and sustainability and being responsible with taxpayer dollars.” She reaches out to learn of issues relevant to our community. Stephens played a role in bringing the Metro Emergency Room and hospital wing to our neighborhood and as a friend to our community deserves our support.

Judges: All selections have been solely based on Judge4yourself.com which is an amalgam of ratings of various bar associations. Because it has its biases, I try to get corroborating information from local attorneys. However this time I was unable to obtain such information and am passing along the website’s recommendations as-is.

Issues

There are two tax levies to consider. Out of order, the easiest one first.

Issue 33 –  Cuyahoga County Health and Human Services tax renewal and increase of .8 mills adding $41 annually to your bill per $100,000 in home valuation

This supports the neediest in the county and many within our community have children with special needs that benefit. It is the right thing to support and frankly we wouldn’t want to live in a county devoid of these important services.

Issue 26 –CHUH School levy raising taxes 7.9 mills. At nearly 8 mills, that would add $277 annually to your tax bill bringing it up to $4077 – per $100,000 valuation. Double that if your home is valued at $200,000 etc. Most of that goes to the schools.

Aside from the Human Services Levy which is likely to pass, there are other costs coming up. In September the CH contract for recycling services expires. Unlike the previous contract which made a profit for the city, the recycling will instead begin costing $40-$80 per ton. Additionally, they will no longer take the blue plastic bags. The city is looking at providing bins for both garbage and recycling and automating our pick-ups. The costs associated with that will likely be a $2-$4 monthly increase assessed on you water bill as a landfill fee, currently at $11.50 per month. The current recommendation is that the city will provide one container each and the homeowner may purchase additional containers at the bulk pricing. Keep these other increases in mind when assessing whether to support the School Levy.

PRO

Vouchers have created a deficit in their budget making it difficult to negotiate contracts. That shortfall has caused contracts to have fallen to one year instead of three, the much stronger position to be in.

There is discussion in Columbus about rejiggering the method of school funding, which could result in more funding for the district. The Board of Education has therefore offered not to collect the tax in the event that happens however, that remains an unlikely outcome.

CON

There is a growing movement among the citizenry to contain costs at the district level and bring them in line with similar districts. They claim that a no vote will send that message to the board of education. Some of their arguments include:

The district, in recent years went far over budget when building the high school and has failed to bring per pupil costs into line with comparable districts.  Salaries, benefits and other capital costs have left our per pupil cost about 1/3 higher, despite a declining student population. They also are maintaining underutilized buildings that don’t generate revenue for long periods of time. The fact is that many homeowners are struggling to pay their tax bills and take care of their own familes, while the school district employees’ salaries are continually raised. Businesses, whose revenues would raise funds for the city, choose instead to locate in other nearby cities where rates are lower.

How many seniors who planned to live out their days in their homes will be forced out?  Cleveland Heights has a very low rate of seniors living within its borders because this has become the frequent worry of empty nesters.

For more information, please see the Cleveland Heights University Heights School Board website. A counterpoint view can be found at Tigernation4lowertaxes.com.

Printable PDF of Susan Efroymson’s 2020 Primary Voting Suggestions: www.localjewishnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Susan-Efroymsons-2020-Primary-Voting-Suggestions

Due to the Coronavirus containment protocols, all polling places that are usually located in senior citizens housing will be moved. Those who normally vote on Warrensville Rd or Severance will be voting at City Hall.

This is a primary.  That means that each party is electing the candidates that will square off in the November elections to determine then who will actually hold office. No matter who you support at this juncture or which party you vote for, you can still vote for whomever you choose come November and are not tied to your choices now.

In a primary you must choose to vote either as a Republican or as a Democrat (or Issues Only) and your choice defines your party until you change it by voting under a different party in another primary. Practically speaking, in our area only Democrats are elected for the lower state and county offices, therefore voting Democrat in the primaries is where the selection for those offices is made and that is why I recommend that many of us do so. Your choice now has no bearing on the general election in November.

Republican Ballot

In this election there are almost no contested Republican races.  The sole race of interest is:

11^th District Congressional Representative: Vote Laverne Gore

Democratic Ballot

President: Joe Biden

11^th District Congressional Representative: Marcia Fudge

Court of Appeals 8^th District:  Rinni, Forbes

State Representative 9^th District: Janine Boyd

Common Pleas: O’Donnel, Realli

County Council District 10 : Cheryl Stevens

All Ballots

Issue 26: School District tax increase: if passed, will add $277 in annual property tax per $100K home value, for a new total of $4077, aside from any other increases.

Issue 33: Health and Human Services Renewal and small tax increase: Yes

Expanded Version

Democratic Presidential Candidates:

When the ballots went to print, there were eleven candidates. Today, the race is only between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. So Moderate vs. Socialist: Choose Moderate – Joe Biden.

Biden is endorsed by the mainstream candidates like Kamala Harris, Buttigieg, and Klobechar. Sanders is endorsed by Jesse Jackson.  Sanders surrounds himself with known anti-Semites like Susan Rice and Linda Sarsour, and is endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. Biden has the more friendly relationship with our community. The ties go back longer and stretch through his career, and despite his position on the Iran deal, he has been supportive of Jewish causes and values at other times in way that cannot be said of Sanders. Vote Joe Biden.

Lower offices:

Congressional Representative 11^th district. Marcia Fudge has stood with our community when it came to securing anti-terrorism funding and it is our hope she will continue to respond positively when called upon.

Laverne Gore running for the same office on the Republican side has some interesting support in this district and will be worth following if she wins the nomination.

State Representative: Janine Boyd began her career in our city and comes home to Cleveland Heights Blvd., a hop skip and jump from us. As such, she is well aware of our community and its needs and was supportive of the Elected Mayor initiative at the beginning of the discussion before citizens took over.  We should continue to support her because of the strong support she’s given our neighborhood when she was on City Council and continues to take our calls and support us in Columbus. Please vote for Janine Boyd.

County Council: Cheryl Stephens started her career in Cleveland Heights, retiring as Mayor before assuming County office. In her own words, “I am committed to supporting community and economic development protecting services for children, seniors, and veterans safety and sustainability and being responsible with taxpayer dollars.” She reaches out to learn of issues relevant to our community. Stephens played a role in bringing the Metro Emergency Room and hospital wing to our neighborhood and as a friend to our community deserves our support.

Judges: All selections have been solely based on Judge4yourself.com which is an amalgam of ratings of various bar associations. Because it has its biases, I try to get corroborating information from local attorneys. However this time I was unable to obtain such information and am passing along the website’s recommendations as-is.

Issues

There are two tax levies to consider. Out of order, the easiest one first.

Issue 33 –  Cuyahoga County Health and Human Services tax renewal and increase of .8 mills adding $41 annually to your bill per $100,000 in home valuation

This supports the neediest in the county and many within our community have children with special needs that benefit. It is the right thing to support and frankly we wouldn’t want to live in a county devoid of these important services.

Issue 26 –CHUH School levy raising taxes 7.9 mills. At nearly 8 mills, that would add $277 annually to your tax bill bringing it up to $4077 – per $100,000 valuation. Double that if your home is valued at $200,000 etc. Most of that goes to the schools.

Aside from the Human Services Levy which is likely to pass, there are other costs coming up. In September the CH contract for recycling services expires. Unlike the previous contract which made a profit for the city, the recycling will instead begin costing $40-$80 per ton. Additionally, they will no longer take the blue plastic bags. The city is looking at providing bins for both garbage and recycling and automating our pick-ups. The costs associated with that will likely be a $2-$4 monthly increase assessed on you water bill as a landfill fee, currently at $11.50 per month. The current recommendation is that the city will provide one container each and the homeowner may purchase additional containers at the bulk pricing. Keep these other increases in mind when assessing whether to support the School Levy.

PRO

Vouchers have created a deficit in their budget making it difficult to negotiate contracts. That shortfall has caused contracts to have fallen to one year instead of three, the much stronger position to be in.

There is discussion in Columbus about rejiggering the method of school funding, which could result in more funding for the district. The Board of Education has therefore offered not to collect the tax in the event that happens however, that remains an unlikely outcome.

CON

There is a growing movement among the citizenry to contain costs at the district level and bring them in line with similar districts. They claim that a no vote will send that message to the board of education. Some of their arguments include:

The district, in recent years went far over budget when building the high school and has failed to bring per pupil costs into line with comparable districts.  Salaries, benefits and other capital costs have left our per pupil cost about 1/3 higher, despite a declining student population. They also are maintaining underutilized buildings that don’t generate revenue for long periods of time. The fact is that many homeowners are struggling to pay their tax bills and take care of their own familes, while the school district employees’ salaries are continually raised. Businesses, whose revenues would raise funds for the city, choose instead to locate in other nearby cities where rates are lower.

How many seniors who planned to live out their days in their homes will be forced out?  Cleveland Heights has a very low rate of seniors living within its borders because this has become the frequent worry of empty nesters.

For more information, please see the Cleveland Heights University Heights School Board website. A counterpoint view can be found at Tigernation4lowertaxes.com.

Dear Fellow Cleveland Heights-University Heights Citizens:

A critical election will soon be upon us.

In the March primary election, The Cleveland Heights-University Heights school board will place on the ballot a levy for a huge tax increase, amounting to $276 for each 100,000 of your home valuation ($7.9 million).

Please make no mistake: This levy can and will pass if we do not vote!

For those who are new to town, or simply who have never voted before, you can still register to vote, but hurry, registration closes February 18. You can register at any library.

We have defeated levies in the past and we can defeat this one as well, but only…only, if we all get out and register and vote.

Thank you very much,
Eliot Gutow

A critical election will soon be upon us.

In the March primary election, The Cleveland Heights-University Heights school board will place on the ballot a levy for a huge tax increase, amounting to $276 for each 100,000 of your home valuation (7.9 mil).

Please make no mistake: This levy can and will pass if we do not vote!

For those who are new to town, or simply who have never voted before, you can still register to vote, but hurry, registration closes February 18. You can register at any library.

We have defeated levies in the past and we can defeat this one as well, but only…only, if we all get out and register and vote.
Thank you very much,
Eliot Gutow

by Jessica Chavi Cohen

For over 16 months, I ran out of my house at 6:55pm twice a month, leaving my husband to manage dinner and bedtime for our four children all by himself. I was honored to be appointed to the Charter Review Commission in 2017 and took my responsibility seriously. I was even more honored to be elected vice chair of that body a number of months later when the Commission’s first vice chair resigned altogether.

I applied to the Commission because, as a 10-year resident of Cleveland Heights and a long-time student and practitioner of public policy, I was distraught by what I had characterized by a lack of vision and leadership in the city. I began my journey on the Commission open-minded. I saw the Commission as an opportunity to learn more about the structure of our city’s government and determine for myself, based on the evidence presented, whether the lack of leadership in the city was a structural or personnel issue.

I joined the Commission frustrated with the lack of attention to core infrastructure issues like water and sewer. Both of these issues had to get “cleaned up” only when it finally got so bad it became a crisis. And the bill to solve both of these issues landed in all of our wallets. Our city manager on staff when those problems were germinating and the council that supposedly oversaw that city manager failed to adequately identify the issues and pursue long-term innovative solutions. In return, we were subjected to a consent decree from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and are still paying water bills that never end. Our own former finance director stated clearly to the Commission that infrastructure was not given the attention it warranted in years past under the city manager system. Where was the city manager with the vision and leadership to ask the question — what infrastructure planning and management does our city need, not just today, but for the next 20 years?

For over 8 years I have complained to city council members about the disgusting state of garbage regulations in the city. Prohibited from having garbage cans, our streets end up strewn with garbage each collection day, attracting vermin and significantly diminishing the aesthetic appeal of our city. While this issue languished between the lack of response from the city manager and the lack of time and attention from city council members, other municipalities modernized and addressed their aging sanitation systems. Here in Cleveland Heights, it has only been in the last year that finally a citizen taskforce has been appointed to address the issue. I was grateful to the relatively new City Council member who saw the seriousness of the issue and drove action to address it. It was too late, however, to save the tens of thousands of dollars we have wasted on rehabilitating old sanitation trucks while we wallow in the decision-making (years behind!) as to what next generation of sanitation trucks the city should purchase. Where was our city manager with the vision and leadership to ask the question — where does our sanitation system and ordinances need to be to serve our city not just today, but for the next 20 years?

And perhaps most disappointingly, our city has lagged behind in economic development efforts. Severance Center, practically in my backyard, heaves its dying breath every day with only mourners in site but no one with the wherewithal to bury it and create it anew. And the Commission heard clear and convincing presentations from some of the region’s most esteemed developers and business owners that when they sought to do business with Cleveland Heights there was no one home to make the decisions needed to move development deals forward. Where was the city manager with the vision and leadership to ask the question — what is the next industry, business, area of development that we need to cultivate to serve our city not just today, but for the next 20 years?

Our city manager system is so shrouded in personnel files and the management of seven bosses, that over all these years even the most attuned resident could not really see the lack of vision and leadership. And we can’t fix or demand change for something we can’t see.

After four months of presentations, research, and listening to all the public comments at our meetings, I concluded that, indeed, our government suffers from a structural deficiency. Where other cities of our size and type have elected mayors — and in the particularly compelling case of Shaker Heights, a chief administrative officer as that mayor’s partner and city manager — Cleveland Heights has only a city manager with a very part-time elected body of seven bosses, none of which can claim lead or sole oversight of the city manager.

On March 15, 2018, I shared my vision for a new government for Cleveland Heights with the Commission and the public — a directly elected full-time mayor who governs and leads with a full-time city administrator managing the operations of the city. Precisely the type of government that will be on the ballot for a yes vote this November.

Why is this the ideal government for our city?

We are in desperate need in Cleveland Heights for vision, accountability, leadership and effectiveness that makes our city a place where people want to live, work, play, and do business. We need transparency about how decisions are made. We need someone that has the vision about where our city needs to be and a full-time presence to oversee the city administrator’s management of operations. And when things fail or don’t go right, we need an elected mayor that we can call to get answers, who feels accountable to the residents, and who knows we are watching each election. We also need an administrator with experience in and knowledge of city government that can manage the day to day operations of a city like Cleveland Heights. It is the partnership of these two roles that makes this the government structure that Cleveland Heights desperately needs.

Former Mayor Earl Leiken, who presented before the Commission, admitted that he could never have done what he did in Shaker Heights without serving full-time. Now Shaker boasts the enviable Van Aken district, a flourishing housing market, and a strong and growing commercial base. I see the accountability Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan demonstrates via his communication with his residents on social media. There is no question who is in charge in University Heights these days and who is responsible for making things better for residents.

Yet here in Cleveland Heights, we dutifully email our 7 council members all at once, ccing our city manager, and hold our breath wondering who will be the city council member to take our inquiry seriously. Inevitably there is a response — and I am grateful for the hard work and dedication of our council members who, for a mere pittance, devote hours and hours to serving our city — but it’s just not enough to allow Cleveland Heights to flourish the way we need it to today.

As someone who worked for the 107th and 108th United States Congress and made the federal legislative branch of our government the focus of my undergraduate work at Harvard University, I revere and respect the role of the legislative branch in representing the citizenry and making laws that are responsive to its constituency. However, the legislative branch is only as successful as the vision and leadership of the executive branch allows it to be. We see that ever so clearly in our federal government today. But, Cleveland Heights currently has no executive branch, just a figurehead voted into mayor by four votes of his or her fellow council members. And there is no way for the residents to have any say in who wears the title and role of Cleveland Heights Mayor…

Yet.

Until we vote YES this November for an elected mayor and city administrator.

I hope you will join me.

by Jessica Chavi Cohen

For over 16 months, I ran out of my house at 6:55pm twice a month, leaving my husband to manage dinner and bedtime for our four children all by himself. I was honored to be appointed to the Charter Review Commission in 2017 and took my responsibility seriously. I was even more honored to be elected vice chair of that body a number of months later when the Commission’s first vice chair resigned altogether.

I applied to the Commission because, as a 10-year resident of Cleveland Heights and a long-time student and practitioner of public policy, I was distraught by what I had characterized by a lack of vision and leadership in the city. I began my journey on the Commission open-minded. I saw the Commission as an opportunity to learn more about the structure of our city’s government and determine for myself, based on the evidence presented, whether the lack of leadership in the city was a structural or personnel issue.

I joined the Commission frustrated with the lack of attention to core infrastructure issues like water and sewer. Both of these issues had to get “cleaned up” only when it finally got so bad it became a crisis. And the bill to solve both of these issues landed in all of our wallets. Our city manager on staff when those problems were germinating and the council that supposedly oversaw that city manager failed to adequately identify the issues and pursue long-term innovative solutions. In return, we were subjected to a consent decree from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and are still paying water bills that never end. Our own former finance director stated clearly to the Commission that infrastructure was not given the attention it warranted in years past under the city manager system. Where was the city manager with the vision and leadership to ask the question — what infrastructure planning and management does our city need, not just today, but for the next 20 years?

For over 8 years I have complained to city council members about the disgusting state of garbage regulations in the city. Prohibited from having garbage cans, our streets end up strewn with garbage each collection day, attracting vermin and significantly diminishing the aesthetic appeal of our city. While this issue languished between the lack of response from the city manager and the lack of time and attention from city council members, other municipalities modernized and addressed their aging sanitation systems. Here in Cleveland Heights, it has only been in the last year that finally a citizen taskforce has been appointed to address the issue. I was grateful to the relatively new City Council member who saw the seriousness of the issue and drove action to address it. It was too late, however, to save the tens of thousands of dollars we have wasted on rehabilitating old sanitation trucks while we wallow in the decision-making (years behind!) as to what next generation of sanitation trucks the city should purchase. Where was our city manager with the vision and leadership to ask the question — where does our sanitation system and ordinances need to be to serve our city not just today, but for the next 20 years?

And perhaps most disappointingly, our city has lagged behind in economic development efforts. Severance Center, practically in my backyard, heaves its dying breath every day with only mourners in site but no one with the wherewithal to bury it and create it anew. And the Commission heard clear and convincing presentations from some of the region’s most esteemed developers and business owners that when they sought to do business with Cleveland Heights there was no one home to make the decisions needed to move development deals forward. Where was the city manager with the vision and leadership to ask the question — what is the next industry, business, area of development that we need to cultivate to serve our city not just today, but for the next 20 years?

Our city manager system is so shrouded in personnel files and the management of seven bosses, that over all these years even the most attuned resident could not really see the lack of vision and leadership. And we can’t fix or demand change for something we can’t see.

After four months of presentations, research, and listening to all the public comments at our meetings, I concluded that, indeed, our government suffers from a structural deficiency. Where other cities of our size and type have elected mayors — and in the particularly compelling case of Shaker Heights, a chief administrative officer as that mayor’s partner and city manager — Cleveland Heights has only a city manager with a very part-time elected body of seven bosses, none of which can claim lead or sole oversight of the city manager.

On March 15, 2018, I shared my vision for a new government for Cleveland Heights with the Commission and the public — a directly elected full-time mayor who governs and leads with a full-time city administrator managing the operations of the city. Precisely the type of government that will be on the ballot for a yes vote this November.

Why is this the ideal government for our city?

We are in desperate need in Cleveland Heights for vision, accountability, leadership and effectiveness that makes our city a place where people want to live, work, play, and do business. We need transparency about how decisions are made. We need someone that has the vision about where our city needs to be and a full-time presence to oversee the city administrator’s management of operations. And when things fail or don’t go right, we need an elected mayor that we can call to get answers, who feels accountable to the residents, and who knows we are watching each election. We also need an administrator with experience in and knowledge of city government that can manage the day to day operations of a city like Cleveland Heights. It is the partnership of these two roles that makes this the government structure that Cleveland Heights desperately needs.

Former Mayor Earl Leiken, who presented before the Commission, admitted that he could never have done what he did in Shaker Heights without serving full-time. Now Shaker boasts the enviable Van Aken district, a flourishing housing market, and a strong and growing commercial base. I see the accountability Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan demonstrates via his communication with his residents on social media. There is no question who is in charge in University Heights these days and who is responsible for making things better for residents.

Yet here in Cleveland Heights, we dutifully email our 7 council members all at once, ccing our city manager, and hold our breath wondering who will be the city council member to take our inquiry seriously. Inevitably there is a response — and I am grateful for the hard work and dedication of our council members who, for a mere pittance, devote hours and hours to serving our city — but it’s just not enough to allow Cleveland Heights to flourish the way we need it to today.

As someone who worked for the 107th and 108th United States Congress and made the federal legislative branch of our government the focus of my undergraduate work at Harvard University, I revere and respect the role of the legislative branch in representing the citizenry and making laws that are responsive to its constituency. However, the legislative branch is only as successful as the vision and leadership of the executive branch allows it to be. We see that ever so clearly in our federal government today. But, Cleveland Heights currently has no executive branch, just a figurehead voted into mayor by four votes of his or her fellow council members. And there is no way for the residents to have any say in who wears the title and role of Cleveland Heights Mayor…

Yet.

Until we vote YES this November for an elected mayor and city administrator.

I hope you will join me.

I would like to express a thank you to the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Security Division for their amazing patrol and vigilance during Rosh Hashanah in the Taylor Rd. area. I also would like to thank the Cleveland Heights Police Department for the special patrol cars assigned to the Taylor Rd. area during the Holiday.

I would encourage all of our residents to write a letter of thanks to both the Federation and the City of Cleveland Heights Police Chief.

Rabbi Sruly Wolf

Erica Rudin-Luria, President
c/o Jewish Federation of Cleveland
25701 Science Park
Beachwood, OH 44122
erudin-luria@jcfcleve.org

Chief Annette Mecklenberg
c/o City of Cleveland Heights Police Department
40 Severance Circle
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
chief@clvhts.com

Submitted by Shimeon Weiner

Dear Berkowitz-Kumin-Bookatz Memorial Chapel,

I would like to share a suggestion for improving your service to the Jewish Community. I am sure you are familiar with the Jewish laws pertaining to a Kohen’s coming in contact with or being in the same room as a corpse. Currently, a Kohen who attends services at your chapel and wants to properly observe the laws of ritual purity does not have any suitable facility for sitting and shelter from the elements. I recently found out about a chapel in Harrisburg, PA called Kesher Israel Congregation which does offer those accommodations to Kohanim. Surely if Harrisburg, PA can accommodate Kohanim in a respectful manner, then all the more so a larger, growing city like Cleveland.

By providing appropriate facilities for a Kohen you will be serving mourners at many funerals and perhaps educating many who may be a Kohen and aren’t familiar with the laws of ritual purity. I would appreciate your consideration of this matter.

Thank you,

Shimeon Weiner

I am writing in support of the Ohio Issue 1 that is on the ballot this year. If you have not yet voted, I encourage you to read this so that you can make an informed decision about how you would like to vote.

Ohio is at the center of the national drug addiction crisis. This crisis is everywhere and affects every community, even our own. When you reach the levels of addiction and overdose deaths that Ohio has, you start to realize that the face of an addict is not what you might picture. There are addicts of every gender, age, color, religion, marital status, socioeconomic status, and level of observance. Every type of person is susceptible to this. But especially young people, precious teenagers who have full lives ahead of them.

The goal of Ohio issue 1 is to provide more non-prison support systems so that those inflicted with addiction can separate themselves from their addiction, recover, and move on with their lives. Doctors, nurses and many people who work in law enforcement support Issue 1 because it will reduce the number of drug users who go to prison and funnel resources to recovery services. Healthcare professionals agree that prisons do not solve addiction and that more resources are needed to provide services that help end the horrible crisis we are in.

There is also a dollars and cents logic here as well. Financially, it is incredibly taxing on law enforcement agencies and prisons to deal with drug addiction, especially because they are not trained to do so. Issue 1 would help put dollars where they are most impactful – into recovery resources.

Lastly, there is no current solution to this crisis. If you are worried about drug addicts on the streets, THEY ALREADY ARE. That is the crisis! This effort would help provide resources for them to get better, not be housed in a prison, a hotbed of criminal activity, which will often do more harm than good.

I’m happy to provide resources on Issue 1 to anyone who is seeking to learn more. It has been heavily vetted by non-political actors and I can send reports and testimonials to people upon request.