The Lakewood Observer is happy to announce that Melissa Page will be carrying on the good work of Justine Cooper, leading the Madison Avenue Merchant Association. MAMA was started about three years ago by a few Madison Avenue small business owners and was championed by the Lakewood Observer.

We all look forward to “Mel” Page building on MAMA’s successes. Lakewood has already benefited greatly from Melissa’s service to the community. She is involved in many civic organizations and has had her hand in many positive Lakewood efforts.

This November, while millions of American adults head to the voting booths to determine the next President of the United States of America, Lakewood students in 5th through 8th grade will have the opportunity to choose their own elected leader as a part of the Lakewood Public Library’s “Election!” program. This fall, the Children’s and Youth Services Department is asking student participants and the community at large to help decide who will become the first President of the United Streets of Lakewood, our fictional foray into the world of politics and the electoral process...

Join us as Jack Mizenko and Gary Rice lead their audience in songs from the “hippie” era and beyond on Sunday, October 19th, at 2:00 p.m. in the main library’s auditorium. The “Hippie Hootenanny” is an extension of the Monday evening acoustic jam sessions that have taken place since 2002 at the Lakewood Phoenix coffeehouse. The Lakewood Public Library is happy to give a new forum to these talented musicians. Since it is a hootenanny, the audience is encouraged to sing right along, so please come and participate! This event is free to the public...


Eat out in Lakewood and do good! Partnering with the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce and Hey Butler.com, the following Lakewood restaurants will donate up to 10 percent of their sales to United Way of Greater Cleveland from October 8 to 11...

Artists and art lovers will fill the sidewalks and businesses of Madison Avenue on Saturday, October 11th for the third Madison Avenue Lakewood ArtWalk. This is an extraordinary event. The the City of Lakewood has marked October as Arts and Humanities Month as part of the National initiative. ARTober is here to stay in Lakewood!

Thousands of years before there were push-up bras, red lipstick and high heels, there was belly dancing. But belly dancing is about more than just sensual movement and flirtatious expression. In fact, it originally was a dance performed in the Middle East for women by women; a distinctly female mode of self-expression and celebration..

Lifetime Lakewood resident Vernon Bogner has enjoyed breakfast at the Detroit Avenue Burger King in Downtown Lakewood every morning for years. On Monday, September 22nd, his usual routine was anything but ordinary when he arrived to discover birthday wishes posted on the restaurant's outdoor sign...

Founded in 1907, Lakewood Hospital is a 400-bed acute care, community-oriented hospital located on Detroit Ave in the heart of Lakewood’s Main Street. A member of the Cleveland Clinic health system and leader in Northeastern Ohio’s healthcare community, Lakewood Hospital provides high quality and innovative patient care for more than 130,000 patients each year, including a large percentage of Lakewood residents...

LakewoodAlive will present its next forum, "A Healthy Partnership: Lakewood Hospital's Impact on our Community," on October 8 at 7 p.m. at Harding Middle School, 16601 Madison Ave...

Grab your best canine costumes, dig out your coolest doggie duds and kick off the Halloween season with Lakewood’s first-ever Spooky Pooch Parade on Oct. 18...

Lakewood resident and former councilman Ryan Patrick Demro recently graduated from the United States Army Infantry Center’s Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Adjutant General Corps, Demro has been appointed as the Human Resource Officer for the 983rd Engineer Battalion with headquarters based in Monclova, Ohio...

Lakewood Hospital established an Employee Care Fund (ECF) in late 2004 to assist its employees facing an urgent, unforeseen financial emergency. Lakewood Hospital employees, physicians and volunteers have raised money for the ECF primarily through the annual Hospital Employees Reaching Out (H.E.R.O.) Campaign. Included in the total raised was a gift of $10,000 from Lakewood Hospital's Medical Staff. An estimated $70,000 has been given to 81 Lakewood Hospital employees to prevent them from being evicted from their home, having their utilities shut-off, and for basic items such as food...

During the week of September 7, 2008, Lakewood Senior Health Campus celebrated National Assisted Living Week. The week was kicked off with a Grandparents’ Day Social on Sunday, followed the rest of the week by events for the residents and staff...

Entrepreneur Sarah Russell-Aerni is pleased to announce the grand opening of her petite spa, Simply Esthetics, at 18401 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood's western corner on October 1,2008. After working in various locations in and around the Cleveland area, Russell-Aerni opened the initial Simply Esthetics on the near West side of Cleveland in April 2007. Following a very successful year at that location she felt the need to expand and was thrilled to find what will be her current home at the corner of Maile, on the lot adjoining the popular India Garden Restaurant...

Previously Heaven & Earth Yoga, Westside Yoga Studio is set to open it's doors with a Studio opening celebration on Friday Oct 10th from 6-9 PM. Please save the date as we are opening the doors to the community for all to attend and share in the joy and festivities. Come and see this lovely renovated space, meet the wonderful yoga instructors and find out the details for the new class schedule. Plan for a fun enjoyable evening of socializing and munching on savory vegetarian treats. Our new home is located at 17100 Detroit Ave corner of Bonnieview, across from Jonny Malloy's Gepetto's...

Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Lakewood will host a presentation about how families can help minister to refugees in our midst, including the growing Burmese population. The hour-long presentation will take place from 10:15 to 11:15 am on Sunday, Nov. 2 in the Gethsemane downstairs fellowship hall, 14560 Madison Avenue. Brian Upton of Building Hope in the City, an organization committed to strengthening urban ministry, will present...

From time to time, even the savviest Lakewood Public Library patron discovers a service or program available to them that they had never imagined. Here are three ways the Library works to make access to resources and information better and easier...

Have you ever sat waiting for a delayed airline flight and had nothing to read? Or you are sitting waiting for your car to be repaired and found that the only reading material available in the waiting room is a National Geographic magazine from 1982? Worse yet, you’re waiting in the dentist’s office and see the perfect recipe for a dreamy double chocolate cheesecake to take to dinner at your in-laws only to find the page with the ingredients and directions torn out? These disappointing scenarios could easily been avoided with a trip to your local library...

The most requested film in the (relatively short) history of Lakewood Public Library’s digital cinema is finally here. Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 masterpiece, Seven Samurai will be shown on Saturday, October 11 at a special time—5:00 p.m. in the Main Library Auditorium. The show starts early because of the nearly three-and-a-half hour running time, including intermission. Dialogue is in Japanese with English subtitles, but don’t worry. Masterful action and adventure cross the language barrier easily. Subtly beautiful cinematography is universal. Admission is free and so are snacks—as long as you bring your own from home. This film is Not Rated by the MPAA, though it should be noted that we don’t recommend it for small children...

It’s that time of year again. School is back in session which means homework. Instead of dreading those homework assignments, why not come to Homework ER at the Lakewood Public Library.

Our brand new homework room offers a quiet space for study and all kinds of educational resources to complete your homework. Students who take advantage of Homework ER will find many of the Lakewood schools’ textbooks, reference materials and basic school supplies. There are also friendly and knowledgeable librarians available to give guidance and direction and empower the students to utilize the library and help themselves answer questions...

Lakewood Public Library’s “Sunday with the Friends” series is proud to present an intimate acoustic concert with singer/songwriter Alexis Antes on Sunday, October 5 at 2:00 p.m. in the Main Library Auditorium. This free event is generously funded by Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and the Friends of Lakewood Public Library...

The National Merit Scholarship program is an academic competition which students enter by taking the PSAT as high school juniors. More than1.5 million students in over 21,000 high schools entered the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Competition, with 16,000 top scorers named Semifinalists...

Superintendent Dr. David Estrop pleased to share with everyone that the District accomplished all of the Board of Education approved 2007-2008 Goals and Objectives. It was a very successful year for the Lakewood City School District. As one can see, “It’s Lakewood’s Time!”

When the West Shore throws a party, it throws a party! What a Celebration! Reminding everyone that the arts, as well as arts and communication education are not only alive, but thriving on the West Shore. The Lakewood, Bay Village, Rocky River, and Westlake School Districts, along with the Beck Center for the Arts celebrated in fine fashion the evening of September 18th...

In the midst of Lakewood High School's annual Spirit Week, many of LHS' active student organizations and sports teams gathered together to participate in the LHS Spirit Parade...

The last time the St. Edward Eagles lost to Benedictine, Bill Clinton was in the White House and gas was just $1.00 a gallon.

St. Edward (5-1) combined an overpowering defense, with just enough offense to defeat the Bengals 31-7 in a non-league game last Saturday night at Lakewood Stadium. The win gives the Eagles 11 consecutive wins in the series that dates back to 1957.Benedictine's last win against St. Edward was a 28-13 victory in 1997...

Soccer is about great rivalries, Argentina vs. England, Manchester United vs. Liverpool, and St. Edward vs. St. Ignatius.

Whenever these Westside all boys’ parochial school powers meet in any sport it promises to be memorable and last Tuesday was no exception. St. Ignatius forward Denio Leone received an Alec King throw-in at the top of the penalty box and found the back of the net for the games’ only goal with 10:09 remaining as the Wildcats defeated St. Edward 1-0 in front of a standing room only crowd at St. Edward’s Coughlin Field...

Lakewood High School Cross Country teams competed Saturday September 20, 2008 at the Strongsville Cross Country Invitational. The Strongsville course is a flat course considered fast by most competitors...

Hillary Clinton visited Lorain County Community College on Sunday afternoon to speak about issues that are important to greater Cleveland voters. It was her first time in the county since making a primary campaign stop at Admiral King High School last spring...

A few years ago, I was doing my usual hike through one of our local flea markets with a friend who shares my love of music. As we were talking, I wondered whether he had ever heard of my grandfather, who had been an old-time fiddler. My friend acted as if he had been hit by a thunderbolt, and said that not only had he HEARD of my grandfather, but he had his records as well! Thanks to my friend, I found out many things concerning a grandfather whom I'd never met...

It’s been a quiet week here at FOB McHenry, on the edge of the Tigris River Valley. It’s somewhere near the peak of summer, that transition from July to August when everything moves slower at midday. The dogs down at the burn pit amble aimlessly about, too hot to rummage for scraps in the swirling cinders. Waves of distorted air shimmer in your vision, and the concrete blast barriers soak up so much heat, they radiate long into the night, too hot to sit or lean on, even when the night air has reached a comfortable temperature. Cool beverages and air conditioned shipping containers are our respite. The mess hall has Gatorade and bottled water, we have a small PX that sells pop and energy drinks, and our Iraqi vendor, Jacob Azraf, has bottled beverages based on combinations of fruit nectar for those willing to step away from their normal drinks. There are no ice dispensers or ice makers, though occasionally we have ice shipped down from one of the larger FOBs if it is needed to support an operation...

Though many of us probably wish it were otherwise, summer has ended and it is now officially autumn. Though the warmth may yet linger awhile, before we know it, the leaves will be falling, and, if you expend a tiny amount of effort, those leaves will provide a useful addition to your garden: leaf mold. Despite the unpleasant name, leaf mold is just the name for the fibrous organic soil conditioner created as leaves break down. Since trees have roots that extend deep into the soil, they are able to absorb useful minerals that other plants cannot. Some of these minerals end up in the tree's leaves and allow those leaves to break down into a useful product...

As Will Rogers said, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” These words might have been the motto for the individuals who helped build today’s Beck Center. Thanks to the indomitable spirits of those who refused to accept the status quo, a once struggling little theater evolved into the thriving cultural arts center that now inhabits 17801 Detroit Avenue. “We didn’t see ourselves as pioneers back then,” says actress, Helen Corns. “It was a labor of love. When you believe in something as much as we believed in the theater, you go above and beyond what’s expected of you.”

Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood has reunited the original cast and creative team from the very memorable production three years ago of Urinetown…The Musical. This encore presentation is running from now until October 12...

On Saturday September 27, 2008 the Lakewood High School Cross Country teams competed at the 44th Annual McQuaid Invitational cross country meet.  This meet is held at the scenic glenn in Genesee Valley Park, on the southern outskirts of Rochester New York.  Lakewood Cross Country teams have competed here for 21 years.  McQuaid, known as one of the largest meets in the country, draws competitors from over 13 different states and Canada.  This year saw over 6000 competitors....