After two and a half years of waiting, Lakewood finally has its old friend back.

On June 1, the Lakewood Public Library reopened after extensive renovations which completed the transformation of the well known facility into a Hellenistic-style structure fit for the 21 century.

“The Library was rededicated to the citizens of Lakewood, who are at the end of the day our benefactors,” said Jeff Endress, president of the Board of Trustees for the LPL. “I think the actual ceremony was tremendously successful. We engaged our patrons and provided an opportunity for them to see the culmination of these two and a half years of construction.”

While construction for the LPL Main Branch was largely completed by May, the official Rededication Ceremony took place on June 1 amidst a host of celebratory activities including live jazz music from the Garfield Middle School Jazz Band, refreshments, a poem by Bill Knittel, and some words from the Library’s Director, Ken Warren, Jeff Endress, and architect, Robert A.M. Stern...

BEWARE OF POSTAL VEHICLES. Even though we have newer vehicles, it is imperative that children are taught to stay away from vehicles until the carrier has come to a full stop. Like on most vehicles, the mirrors that we use do not give an accurate distance when backing up, and it is very difficult to locate the front and the rear of the vehicles...

Ian Bell, a third-grader at Taft Elementary, received second place in his third grade category in Reading Rainbow's Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. The contest is in its fourteenth year and had 550 submissions this year. The contest is for children in kindergarten through third grade...

The Lakewood Chamber of Commerce has created a young professionals group, Pillars. Our mission is to cultivate Lakewood’s business development by engaging the city’s demographic of 20-40 year olds. By offering programs that go beyond the typical singles happy hour, we strive to deliver true value and connect residents, employees and business people of the city to their community. Examples of this are events that engage the attendees with one another to create an environment conducive to networking and business development. A couple major events are in the works...

Law enforcement officials from Norfolk Southern, Cleveland and Lakewood will spend May 13 and 14 addressing the dangers of trespassing on railroad property. On May 13 Norfolk Southern Police and Norfolk Southern’s Cleveland Safety Committee will distribute pamphlets and posters to schools, businesses and residences near the railroad tracks between West 110th Street in Cleveland and the border of Lakewood and Rocky River. On May 14, Norfolk Southern agents and local police will patrol this area and issue citations to any trespassers encountered...

April 28, 2008, 7 p.m., Garfield School.

First, I would like to thank Superintendent Estrop for making this wonderful new facility available to us this evening. Garfield School is a perfect example of what Lakewood can achieve when we work together, and it is particularly compelling because this building is a blend of the new and the old Lakewood.

I would also like to thank Council President Mike Dever and all of the members of Lakewood City Council for their attendance here this evening. Lakewood is fortunate to have an excellent City Council, and I say that not just because they have been supportive of my efforts in the first 100 days. Although, I would not say it is often or as loudly if they hadn't been. But, I say it because they have an oversight function, which I respect, and which they have exercised in these 100 days, and our local government is the better for it.

On Wednesday April 23rd, 2008 the Lakewood Police Department received a request for assistance from the Cleveland Office of the ATF. A 33yr old Lakewood man had been electronically corresponding with a juvenile in Indiana. The two were planning to commit a shooting incident at an Indiana school...

Starting this summer Lakewood residents should see more police officers on the streets and in the parks thanks to a public safety initiative Mayor Edward FitzGerald and Police Chief Timothy Malley unveiled during a public meeting on April 23...

Here are some photos from the April 25th Arbor Day celebration at Lakewood park.

On April 5th the Lakewood High School East Cafeteria and Civic Auditorium were teaming with hundreds of fitness and bodybuilding enthusiasts. The "2008 Vyotech Nutritional NPC Natural Ohio Drug Tested Bodybuilding and Figure Championships" received a record number of fans. Hundreds filed into the East Cafeteria for the fitness expo and to buy tickets for the bodybuilding and figure contest...

Read any issue of the Lakewood Observer and you’ll find many articles promoting races, runs, walks and community festivals. Add to that a calendar packed with high school sporting events in one of the region’s best stadiums and you have the recipe for an active, vibrant community...

Lakewood, Ohio, resident Zoe Lukens, ‘09, the daughter of Thomas and Nancy Lukens of Lakewood, presented her research on “The Search for Nationalism: Success and Failure in Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire” at the 32nd Annual Beloit College Student Symposium on Thursday, April 10. She is an Anthropology major...

It was a small public turnout for tonight’s Lakewood City Council meeting. Council President Michael Dever called the meeting to order at 7:37 p.m. Clerk of Council Mary Hagan called the role. All members of council were in attendance as well as Mayor Ed Fitzgerald and all department directors. The docket for the evening was 65 pages with 36 agenda items...

It was an uncommonly quiet Lakewood City Council meeting on Monday, March 31. In fifty minutes and with very little discussion, Council completed the process of approving the 2008 budget. Lakewood City Council President Michael Dever summarized the process that was used to develop the 2008 budget. Considered were recommendations by the Grow Lakewood Task Force, the development of a fiscal strength strategy, a core service survey of 470 city services and functions, and a municipal peer staffing comparison that compares the City of Lakewood’s staffing levels with five regional peers. In addition, the City of Lakewood Budget projections were examined and confirmed by the State Auditor’s office. The results of a performance audit released in a report on March 27, 2008 were also considered...

April is the month for Lakewood residents entering grades 6-9 next fall to register for H2O “Help to Others” Summer Service Camp. Registration forms are available at both Lakewood Public Libraries and Lakewood Division of Youth. Interested families can also access more information or download forms on the Division of Youth webpage at the City’s website: www.onelakewood.com. H2O Summer Service Camp is operated by the City of Lakewood, Dept. of Human Services, Division of Youth...

On Thursday, March 27th, while the FitzGerald administration and Lakewood city council neared finalization of cuts to a crisis budget, our national debt broke yet another record high at $9,412,362,408,343.83, an increase of approximately $18,232,806,983.13 from the preceding day, according to the National Treasury. Only months earlier, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland's office released an estimated budget shortfall of between $733 million and $1.9 billion for the 2008 fiscal year...

In February of 2007, a memorandum of understanding to sell Kaufman Park was signed by Thomas Jordon, Director of Planning and Development under the George administration. The signed memorandum states a sale price of $1,925,000, approximately $192,000 per acre.

The memorandum was signed by the City and Giltz and Associates, Inc, an Ohio Corporation. Not an official sales agreement, the memorandum was subject to “Planning Commission and Council Approval”. It and related documents were obtained through a public records request made to the City in early 2008...

A capacity crowd filled the city hall auditorium on March 27th for the final hearing before the council's vote to approve the 2008 budget. The budgetary process, consisting of at least a dozen meetings over the last three months, has suddenly piqued the publics interest. Many long and tedious hours had already been spent by the administration, council members and a few curious onlookers debating the viability and necessity of each department and division...

A Walkable Lakewood: Why it is important for our health, our economy, and our safety...

First of all, let us begin by thanking all of our customers who kept their sidewalks, porches, and steps free of snow. For those who went the extra mile and put a box at ground level so the carrier did not have to go up steps unnecessarily, special thanks to you!!!

My 21-year-old daughter and I live in an apartment on Clifton Blvd. where parking is not available. We park on the street. On Friday, March 14th, the evening of the big snow storm, a no-parking ban went into effect on Clifton Blvd. For those of us who park on Clifton, we scrambled to find a space on the nearest side street. I called the Lakewood Police Department to check on the status of the parking ban. The parking ban would be in effect through Saturday and side streets would be included, Iwas told. The person on the phone stated emphatically that cars will be towed on Saturday if not moved off the side streets. Neither my daughter nor I could afford the cost of a ticket and a tow so we asked where we could park. The closest location was Lakewood City Hall, about a half mile from our home...

In a Special Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday, March 17th, the Lakewood Board of Education approved a new contract for the Lakewood Teachers Association. The two-year contract will go into effect on August 1, 2008 and will terminate on July 31, 2010.

According to treasurer Rick Berdine, the new contract will not result in cost increases, due mostly to attrition through retirements. Board president Charles Geiger added that the school board and administration have worked diligently to ensure fiscal responsibility through the development of the new budget, staying within the limits of a five-year financial projection...

Expenditure growth has outpaced revenue growth resulting in structural imbalance of the General Fund since 2000 for the City of Lakewood.
The General Fund is the primary operating fund for the City that supports services such as police, fire, refuse collection, and parks. General Fund revenues are generated primarily through income tax, licenses, fees, and property tax collections.
To balance the annual General Fund Balance, year-end fund balances were used resulting in the depletion of this safety net from over $5.6 million at the end of 1999 to a year-end fund balance of under $350,000 in 2007....