China is a magical place filled with over 20 ethnic groups, 11 provinces, 10+ different dialects of the Chinese language, amazing food, and great personality. I have traveled all across this wonderful country and experienced things that some people can never understand without coming to do it themselves...

It can’t get any better than this. (Hillary vs. Barak) vs. John. These guys are our best, right? Well, lets take a look...

A recent comment on the Lakewood Observer Deck about teachers “not being as good as they used to be” and that an education degree was “easy” to obtain left me reflecting (after steaming) about the whole education field...

Members of Lakewood High School Student Council and H2O, “Help to Others”, youth volunteer program are joining forces to sponsor a collection of personal items and non-perishable food/snacks for U.S. troops overseas. Lakewood High students hope the entire community will join in their “Support Our Troops” campaign...

 

 

Calling all players!! H2O’s “Guitar Hero” Video Game Tournament is being held at Lakewood High School on Saturday, April 19th from 11am – 1pm. A crippling snowstorm on March 8th, the original event date, threatened to spoil the fun; but H2O was able to reschedule its popular new event. So now, players still have time to sign up for a day of virtual guitaring in the East Cafeteria of Lakewood High School...

Lakewood is a lovely name for a city. It is such a nice name that cities in other states have chosen it too. No other one has such a valid claim to the name as our fair city of Lakewood, Ohio. We are situated on the shore of one of the great lakes of the world...

Following the primaries in Ohio and Texas, Sen. Barack Obama has lost some of his sheen. As a supporter, I think this may not be a terrible thing; he will now have to campaign without the glow of a media and fan-following that some had begun to suspect amounted to a personality cult...

Former Preisdent Bill Clinton made a stop at Lakewood High School this past weekend, 2000 plus people filled the Lakewood High East Gym, for a Hillary Clinton for President Rally. Photo by Ivor Karabatkovic.

View more photos of this event, as well as the Democratic Debate at CSU by visiting:

http://lakewoodobserver.com/photoblogs

Taverns, as anyone who has ever been in one knows, are wonderful arenas for political debate. A gathering of friends and acquaintances, a couple of pints, and the free flow of information almost necessarily follows. With the presidential election in full cry, we thought we would share some insights from some of our readers and contributors. The following comes to us courtesy of Peter Sackett, who tells us this “debate” took place at one of his favorite haunts in Buffalo, N.Y. and where he was the primary responder...

With the housing market on the decline and the national economy heading into recession, it is imperative for citizens of the 10th District to know who they want as their elected representative. In the present, it is the West side's own Dennis Kucinich.

Congressman Kucinich knows Cleveland very well. At the age of 31, he was elected as Cleveland’s youngest mayor, in 1994 he was elected to the State Senate and in 1996 he represented the region as the Congressman from the 10th District. He has fought for the region since his career began in 1967. He knows the psychology of the people of Cleveland because he has been a part of it his entire life.

“My life has always been one of service,” Kucinich explained in a candid interview at his Lakewood office. “Also, to speak the truth, which is an obligation to those of us who serve” he added...

 

New to parenthood or new to Lakewood? Dreading one more day stuck at home with small children? Don't despair. It's that time of year when parents and children are trapped at home by the cold weather. Boredom has kids bouncing off the walls and parents are second guessing their decision to have kids in the first place...

When my lovely bride-to-be gave me a French Press for Christmas, I couldn't have been happier. I think I said once in passing that I wanted to get a French Press; how she remembered that I wanted one is beyond me. Being the coffee geek that I am, this is one of the best gifts I have ever received...

As we enter the fourth and final year of the 2008 presidential election race, please try the little quiz below. Are you smart enough to be among the pundits, commentators, so-called news networks, and other experts who have been making a lot of money, talking way too much, and getting very little right?

Mayoral Address January 5th-6th, 2008

First I want to thank the students from Lakewood High School who performed “America the Beautiful.” That was just wonderful, and I would suggest to Superintendent Estrop, who is in attendance here, that he extend your winter break by one week... 

With the New Year around the corner, “How to Lose Weight” will be covering magazines at the grocery stores, leading the broadcast on the Today Show and hitting you in between eight-minute segments of your favorite reruns...

In 2006, Americans threw away 251 million tons of solid waste. That averages out to 4.6 pounds per person per day. More than half of this waste is discarded in landfills, and more than half is coming from homes and apartments (rather than businesses)...

The Lakewood Observer congratulates the winners of the 2007 general election. It was a long, tough race. No doubt, all seats were won through intense, grass-roots campaigning. Now, it's time for the community to come together, connect with new representatives and support them in their work to imagine and realize a brighter present and future for our city.

Chances are you've heard a lot about global warming and environmentalism of late, but it's also likely a lot of that information was focused either on scaring you into paralysis or putting doubt in your mind as to whether there is even a problem. I aim to do neither of these things. Rather, my goal is to provide simple tips, suggestions, and information for the curious conservationists like myself who would like to be doing something to help but may not know exactly what.

Check out the New Curves!

Post primary hangover has left the people of Lakewood looking for a glass of tomato juice with a shot of sensibility. The field of three mayoral candidates has been narrowed to two.

Geiger's Favorite Memory Contest Offers $750 Top Prize

If you go to foxcleveland.com and locate their “hot list” of favorite small businesses, you will find Lakewood’s best kept secret, The Coffee Pot, in historic birdtown, nominated for best home fries.

With the recent release of the Disney/Pixar film Ratatouille, the spotlight has once again been shed on French cuisine.

On Tuesday, September 11, a young woman was mugged in front of Madison Park. It happened just before 10 a.m. in the morning on an otherwise dismal day. Six years after 9/11, violence still occurs daily. Unfortunately for the victim and the suspect, on this day it occurred in Lakewood.