POLICE OFFICER - CIVIL SERVICE EXAM IN MAPLE HEIGHTS

CITY OF MAPLE HEIGHTS

NOTICE OF CIVIL SERVICE

EXAMINATION

 

For the Position of:

CADET POLICE OFFICER

SALARY: $45,965.40

 

The City of Maple Heights is seeking individuals who are interested in a rewarding career as a Police Officer. The Civil Service Commission will conduct a written examination for this position on Thursday, October 4, 2012. Applications for this examination will be available at Maple Heights City Hall, Human Resources located on the 2nd floor of 5353 Lee Road, Maple Heights, Ohio 44137 between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. Monday through Friday.

 

The Deadline to return completed applications is Friday, September 28, 2012, at 4:00 P.M.

 

Applicants for the Cadet Police Officer examination must be at least 21 years of age by the date of examination and must be a high school graduate or GED equivalent.

 

For identification purposes, applicants must have a recent photograph of a valid Ohio Driver’s license along with ID to enter the testing site.

 

Also a copy of Form DD214 in order to obtain Veteran’s credit if applicable.

 

All applications must be fully completed with documentation and hand delivered to HR by September 28, 2012.

 

General Information Sheets, listing additional requirements and identifying extra credits for which candidates may qualify, are available at no cost at City Hall. Interested individuals are strongly encouraged to obtain and review the General Information Sheet before requesting an application.

 

THERE IS A $35.00 NON-REFUNDABLE CASH FEE FOR EACH SUBMITTED APPLICATION.

 

NO CHECKS WILL BE ACCEPTED. THE APPLICATION FEE WILL BE WAIVED FOR RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF MAPLE HEIGHTS WHO PROVIDE ACCEPTABLE PROOF OF RESIDENCY.

 

By Order of the Maple Heights Civil Service Commission.

 

Paula Price, Chairwoman

An Equal Opportunity Employer

NEED FREE LEGAL ADVICE?

"Get help  with foreclosure and other housing problems, suspended driver's licenses, contracts, divorce, child support, public assistance, special education, employment and immigration problems.

Get free legal advice between 1 and 3 p.m. Friday at The Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland, 12201 Euclid Ave.; 9:45 to 11:45 a.m. Saturday at the Spanish American Committee, 4407 Lorain Ave.; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Maple Heights Senior Center, 15901 Libby Road."

 

[They do not handle criminal matters.]

 

Free legal advice for low-income Greater Cleveland residents  by Donna Miller, July 11, 2012

THIS IS WHO? IT'S MITT ROMNEY YOU IDIOT.

I just had to post an excerpt from David Brooks article called "The Real Romney".  The article is priceless and if you have a book of favorite and priceless articles, this should top the list.

 

Excerpt:

"Mitt Romney was born on March 12, 1947, in Ohio, Florida, Michigan, Virginia and several other swing states. He emerged, hair first, believing in America, and especially its national parks. He was given the name Mitt, after the Roman god of mutual funds, and launched into the world with the lofty expectation that he would someday become the Arrow shirt man."

 

Read the entire fabulous article HERE 

MYTH OF A BLACK PRESIDENT

"the Atlantic" fascinating and deeply insightful article by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a must read.   Please read the entire article on "the Atlantic" website.
 

 

"As a candidate, Barack Obama said we needed to reckon with race and with America’s original sin, slavery. But as our first black president, he has avoided mention of race almost entirely. In having to be “twice as good” and “half as black,” Obama reveals the false promise and double standard of integration."
 

 

"The irony of President Barack Obama is best captured in his comments on the death of Trayvon Martin, and the ensuing fray. Obama has pitched his presidency as a monument to moderation. He peppers his speeches with nods to ideas originally held by conservatives. He routinely cites Ronald Reagan. He effusively praises the enduring wisdom of the American people, and believes that the height of insight lies in the town square. Despite his sloganeering for change and progress, Obama is a conservative revolutionary, and nowhere is his conservative character revealed more than in the very sphere where he holds singular gravity—race.

 

Part of that conservatism about race has been reflected in his reticence: for most of his term in office, Obama has declined to talk about the ways in which race complicates the American present and, in particular, his own presidency. But then, last February, George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old insurance underwriter, shot and killed a black teenager, Trayvon Martin, in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman, armed with a 9 mm handgun, believed himself to be tracking the movements of a possible intruder. The possible intruder turned out to be a boy in a hoodie, bearing nothing but candy and iced tea. The local authorities at first declined to make an arrest, citing Zim­mer­man’s claim of self-defense. Protests exploded nationally. Skittles and Arizona Iced Tea assumed totemic power. Celebrities—the actor Jamie Foxx, the former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, members of the Miami Heat—were photographed wearing hoodies. When Rep­resentative Bobby Rush of Chicago took to the House floor to denounce racial profiling, he was removed from the chamber after donning a hoodie mid-speech."

 

"The moment Obama spoke, the case of Trayvon Martin passed out of its national-mourning phase and lapsed into something darker and more familiar—racialized political fodder. The illusion of consensus crumbled. Rush Limbaugh denounced Obama’s claim of empathy. The Daily Caller, a conservative Web site, broadcast all of Martin’s tweets, the most loutish of which revealed him to have committed the un­pardonable sin of speaking like a 17-year-old boy. A white-­supremacist site called Stormfront produced a photo of Martin with pants sagging, flipping the bird. Business Insider posted the photograph and took it down without apology when it was revealed to be a fake."
 

 

Read the entire article, complete with an excellent interview with Ta-Nehesi HERE 
 

 

 

Related:

The Fifth Column dedicates page to Trayvon Martin

 

Follow the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case

 

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY: THE PARTY OF NO

By Michael Grunwald

 

"TIME just published “The Party of No,” an article adapted from my new book, The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era. It reveals some of my reporting on the Republican plot to obstruct President Obama before he even took office, including secret meetings led by House GOP whip Eric Cantor (in December 2008) and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (in early January 2009) in which they laid out their daring (though cynical and political) no-honeymoon strategy of all-out resistance to a popular President-elect during an economic emergency. “If he was for it,” former Ohio Senator George Voinovich explained, “we had to be against it.” The excerpt includes a special bonus nugget of Mitt Romney dissing the Tea Party."

Read the rest HERE

GERIATRIC DRESS CODE

My thanks to Louise, my facebook friend, for allowing me to share. Her daughter passed it on to her, and I couldn't stop laughing:

GERIATRIC DRESS CODE

Many of us are over 55, on the WAY to 55, or way over 55. We are quite confused about how we should present ourselves. We're unsure about the kind of image that we are projecting and whether or not we are correct as we try to conform to current fashions. Despite what you may have seen on the streets, the following combinations DO NOT go together and should be avoided:

A nose ring and bifocals

Spiked hair and bald spots

A pierced tongue and dentures

Miniskirts and support hose

Ankle bracelets and corn pads

Speedo's and cellulite

A belly button ring and a gall bladder surgery scar

Unbuttoned disco shirts and a heart monitor

Midriff shirts and a midriff bulge

Bikinis and liver spots

Short shorts and varicose veins

In-line skates and a walker

And the ultimate 'Bad Taste' in fashion:
Thongs and Depends

Please keep these basic guidelines foremost in your mind when you shop.

HOW IS PROPERTY VALUE ASSESSED?

"Values in a neighborhood can decrease for numerous reasons: too many listings, foreclosures, short sales, market correction and/or the quality of the neighborhood has gone down. Given enough time, the neighborhood will most likely rebound if it is a good quality neighborhood. However, if values have decreased because the neighborhood has gone to the dogs, then there is little hope for a rebound in price for that neighborhood.

Nadine Cius, Broker, Harris County, TX  (seen HERE)
 

 

 

Foreclosures and short sales have had the most detriment effect on certain neighborhoods. So overall the sale of these properties will impact the other homes that are not foreclosures or short sales. "

 Amanda Nicodemus Accredited Buyer's Representative, Agent, Harris County, (seen HERE)

 

 

Property assessment, taxes, and decline-in-value applications, oh my

 

"A property assessment is the way the local government determines how much property tax a property owner must pay. The assessment is normally made up of two values.

 

 

• The unimproved or land value of the property

 

• The improved or building value of the property

 

The land or unimproved value is determined by the highest and best usage of the land as if it were vacant and ready to be developed. Land value, governed by the dynamics of the local real estate market, decreases when the supply exceeds the demand and increases when the demand exceeds the supply. Because the land value fluctuates, or has the potential to fluctuate, a yearly property assessment is important as it reflects the amount of taxes a property owner has to pay.

 

The improvement value of the land is determined by Improvements are any fabricated objects that are permanently attached to the land, such as buildings, wells, fencing, and private roads. Anything not permanently attached is personal rather than “real” property. Personal property can include furniture, fixtures, commercial equipment, appliances and even entire manufactured homes which are not installed on a permanent foundation. A yearly assessment is important here because any changes to improved land can cause a property owner’s taxes to fluctuate.

 

 

Therefore, a property assessment is a yearly assessment of the value of improved and unimproved land to determine the amount of taxes the owner of the property must pay to the local government."

 

 

Related:

 

Cuyahoga County home values fall average of 9 percent

 

 

Northeast Ohio schools might be insulated from falling residential property values

 

 

Property assessment, taxes, and decline-in-value applications, oh my

 

 

The Causes of Declining Housing Prices

 

 

Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer Website

 

 

Assessed Property Value Vs. Total Land Value

 

Getting a Property Tax Reassessment Due to a Decline in a Home's Market Value

 

 

The Causes of Declining Housing Prices by Eliah Sekirin

 

 

Cuyahoga County Land Bank

 

 

Communities First Association Andy Batten (Plain Dealer article on Batten and Lighthouse Inc)

 

 

REQUESTS FOR MAPLE HEIGHTS GOVERNMENT PUBLIC DOCUMENTS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION

In the spirit of promoting "open government", this is a public disclosure of requests that were made ( by me) for Maple Heights government public information/records that as of this date [update: August 23, 2012] have not been provided by the parties contacted.  Maple Heights public employees have either not responded, or claimed they never received the email (that it probably went into their spam folder),  (appears) feigned ignorance about the subject and/or contents of  the  request, or decided not to answer questions.

I do want to state that the finance director, Mr. Dean, has been forthcoming with financial information relative to the business of the City of Maple Heights.  He is to be commended.

What is most troubling, we have a law director that when a request was made for affirmative action agreements (and it took 2 requests - the first made on June 18, 2012) replied on July 11, 2012:

"Dear Ms. Stone,

Please accept this response to your June 29, 2012, email concerning documents allegedly negotiated or authored, by a “Frank Ross”.  After researching the matter, the city is not aware of any such documents.  I would suggest you contact the Maple Heights Schools to see if they have records in this regard.  In response to your question regarding the Mayor’s approval, the Mayor’s duties do not allow him to devote time to records requests.

Hopefully this answers your questions.

Sincerely,

John Montello

Law Director"


I was not only able to find those agreements (one dealing with our schools, the other police/fire/etc), I was also able to locate the chief negotiator of those historic agreements, Mr. Ross.


When I did a search of  Mr. Ross's name on the Internet, I found an  (2009)  article about him in the Cleveland Plain Dealer with his phone number.  I called him, and I with a group of African American Maple Heights residents, met with him last month.  The scanned copies of those agreements are on this blog.

Maple Heights has a problem.  African Americans, who are an estimated 73% of the population in Maple Heights are  significantly under-represented in Maple Heights government (public employees).  There is (I believe) only 1 African American that heads a major department in Maple Heights government, and there have never been any Black fire-fighters, and as of August 2011, there is only 1 Black full-time police officer.  In my opinion, this is not just disgraceful, it is an insult to the African Americans who live in Maple Heights.  In my opinion, this  problem is indicative of the leadership in Maple Heights government.

Ask Mayor Lansky how many African Americans has he appointed to be in his inner circle?  Ask him why he didn't appoint/hire an African American as fire chief (which would have been an historic achievement)?  Ask him of all the African Americans who applied to be a full time police officer on the police force, how many were actually hired during  his tenure?  How many of the full time African American police officers who were hired before he became mayor, are still there?  Ask the mayor how many African American auxiliary in the police force became full-time police officers during his time in office?

_________________________________________________________________________________

Update August 23, 2012 (see end of this post for the reply):  The law director has replied that the request for public information (as relates to the information that was asked of Vopat on July 31st , and same information asked of Ms. Albers, and same information that was asked of him on July 31st) is denied.


In the future, an entire  page will be dedicated to publish the requests submitted to various government employees/departments/agencies for public information and documents. *Requests and replies submitted after August 24th.


Starting with July 17, 2012:

July 17, 2012

Maple Heights Human Resources Department

"Dear Ms. Waller,

I am requesting information on all City of Maple Heights employees (need employee status, employee name, city of residence, job title, hourly rate, salary, sex, ethnic code, employment date) for 2010 and 2012.  If there is a problem obtaining these stats for 2010, please let me know.   If there is a cost, please provide at least cost possible outside of a public inspection.  Please use the grid format (requested last year) that is attached.

Also, let me know if the law director has to approve this request.

Please respond by fax, or email, or by regular mail only within 10 business days.****

Thank you,

Elaine Stone"

_________________________________________________________________________________

July 20, 2012

Maple Heights Economic Development Dept

"Dear Ms. Gambosi,

Please provide a list of contractors used from January1, 2008 to present (name of the business, address, contact names and phone numbers, ethnic code).

Please provide a list of all projects from January 1, 2008 to present, contractor used, when the project was started and completed, brief description of the project, total cost of the project (if project is not completed, provide cost to date), and how the project was funded (ex. state, federal, county grants, property taxes, or if other-provide explanation).

Please provide the name of the person who must approve this request (if any).

Please respond by email, or fax, or regular mail only within 10 business days, and provide the information requested within 14 business days. 

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Elaine Stone"

__________________________________________________________________________________

July 29, 2012

Council President

"Dear Ms. Albers,

1. Can an individual or business use the Maple Heights Senior Center to conduct their business and/or profit monetarily from its use? (ex. dance classes)

2. If so, under what circumstances?

3. Can an individual or business use other Maple Heights (government) facilities to conduct their business or profit from its use?

4. If so, under what circumstances?

5. Also, if so, what law, or section of city charter, or written policy allows this?

6. Was a non-resident Maple Heights government employee (either as an individual or business) allowed to use the Maple Heights senior center for dance classes; and it was understood they could profit monetarily from its use?

7. If a contract was drawn up between Maple Heights and this individual/business, please provide a copy of the contract.  If there is a cost for the copy, please let me know in writing.

8. If this request, or parts of this request, must be made to Linda Vopat and/or the law director, please provide Ms. Vopat's email address.

Please respond by email, or fax, or regular mail only, and within 10 business days. 

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Elaine Stone"

_________________________________________________________________________________

*****A request for the above and following was also sent to Ms. Vopat  in Human Services.  The request was faxed to Maple Heights City Hall, addressed to Ms. Vopat.******

July 31, 2012

Human Services Department

Dear Ms. Vopat,

1. Can an individual or business use the Maple Heights Senior Center to conduct their business and/or profit monetarily from its use? (Ex. dance classes)

2. If so, under what circumstances?

3. Can an individual or business use other Maple Heights (government) facilities to conduct their business or profit from its use?

4. If so, under what circumstances?

5. Also, if so, what law, or section of city charter, or written policy allows this?

6. Was a non-resident Maple Heights government employee (either as an individual or business) allowed to use the Maple Heights senior center for dance classes; and it was understood they could profit monetarily from its use?

7. If a contract was drawn up between Maple Heights and this individual/business, please provide a copy of the contract.  If there is a cost for the copy, please let me know in writing.

8. If this request, or parts of this request, must be made to the Maple Heights law director, please let me know.

Please respond by email, or fax, or regular mail only, and within 10 business days.

Thank you.

 Sincerely,

Elaine Stone

Fax: 270.568.3830

__________________________________________________________________________________

July 31, 2012

Maple Heights Law Department

"Dear Mr. Montello,

1. Can an individual or business use the Maple Heights Senior Center to conduct their business and/or profit monetarily from its use? (ex. dance classes)

2. If so, under what circumstances?

3. Can an individual or business use other Maple Heights (government) facilities to conduct their business or profit from its use?

4. If so, under what circumstances?

5. Also, if so, what law, or section of city charter, or written policy allows this?

6. Was a non-resident Maple Heights government employee (either as an individual or business) allowed to use the Maple Heights senior center for dance classes; and it was understood they could profit monetarily from its use?

7. If a contract was drawn up between Maple Heights and this individual/business, please provide a copy of the contract.  If there is a cost for the copy, please let me know in writing.

8. If this request, or parts of this request, must be made to Linda Vopat, please provide Ms. Vopat's email address.

Please respond by email, or fax, or regular mail only, and within 10 business days. 

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Elaine Stone"

_________________________________________________________________________________

Requests for the information below was also emailed to my councilman Charles Crews Jr. on June 29, 2012 and July 29, 2012

August 7, 2012

Maple Height Human Resources Department

"Dear Ms. Waller,

I am again requesting information on all City of Maple Heights government employees (need employee status, employee name, city of residence, job title, hourly rate, salary, sex, ethnic code, employment date) for 2010 and 2012.  If there is a problem obtaining these stats for 2010, please let me know.   If there is a cost, please provide at least cost possible outside of a public inspection.  Please use the grid format (requested last year) that is attached.

Also, let me know if the law director has to approve this request.

Please respond by fax, or email, or by regular mail only within 2 business days whether you will honor my request. 

Thank you,

Elaine Stone"

_________________________________________________________________________________

August 7, 2012

Maple Heights Economic Development Department

"Dear Ms. Gambosi,

On July 20th, I requested the information below.  I asked you to respond within 10 business days.  It has been over 10 business days.  Please let me know within 2 business days if you will be complying with my request for the information I requested, and also let me know if there is a reasonable cost (according to sunshine laws) involved for any copies of documents/

"Please provide a list of contractors used from January1, 2008 to present (name of the business, address, contact names and phone numbers, ethnic code).

Please provide a list of all projects from January 1, 2008 to present, contractor used, when the project was started and completed, brief description of the project, total cost of the project (if project is not completed, provide cost to date), and how the project was funded (ex. state, federal, county grants, property taxes, or if other-provide explanation).

Please provide the name of the person who must approve this request (if any).

Please respond by email, or fax, or regular mail only within 10 business days, and provide the information requested within 14 business days. "

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Elaine Stone"

_________________________________________________________________________________

August 20, 2012

Maple Hts Law Department

"Dear Ms. Seidenwand,

Since I did make a verbal request (not casual inquiry) to Ms. Gambosi several months ago (regarding the same information I requested in my July 20, 2012 and August 7, 2012 emails), and she stated she would provide that information (I gave her my personal email address), from here on, all phone conversations from my home to city hall, and to my home from city hall, will be on the record, as are all emails, faxes, mail,  and phone calls made by Maple Heights government employees,  regarding Maple Heights government public documents and Maple Heights government public information.  Please inform all your departments.

Please acknowledge that you have received this email within 2 business days, by a reply to this email only.  Ignore and do not respond to previous email dated Sunday, August 19, 2012, because it did not specify Maple Heights government public documents and Maple Heights government public information.

Sincerely,

Elaine Stone"

_________________________________________________________________________________

The email below, was sent to the Maple Heights Law Department not only because of  the stated purpose, but also because of Maple Heights (including government) history of intimidation, discrimination, and racism towards minorities (specifically African Americans).

August 20, 2012 / 10:03AM

Maple Heights Law Department

"Dear Ms. Seidenwand,

As relates to my previous August 19, 2012 and August 20, 2012 email, ... to be clear, "on the record" refers to requests for Maple Heights government public documents/information and requests for Maple Heights government public documents/information, and replies to such requests.

Furthermore regarding "on the record", conversations from city hall to my home, or any conversations:  Maple Heights government, or Maple Heights public employees, or any person or authority, does not have my permission to surveil my home or my property or to tap my phones, monitor my emails, or mail, or use any kind of surveillance on me, or release any personal/public information on me for any reason, unless written permission is given by me (to that person/authority/government) from this date forward.

While this may sound frivolous to you, because I've used the words "Maple Heights government public document/information", I don't wish to be misunderstood.

Please acknowledge receipt of this email, by reply to the email within 2 business days.

Elaine Stone"
________________________________________________________________________________

Update (August 21, 2012) - Request added:

To All Parties Involved:

All requests for Maple Heights government public documents/information (beginning July 17, 2012) to Ms. Gambosi, Ms Waller, Ms. Vopat, Ms. Seidenwand, Mr. Montello, Ms. Albers, are now published online on the Maple Heights African American Gazette.  Mr. Crews has been noted to have received a request by me in reference to same information asked of Ms. Waller. [Please note any terms and conditions on site]

I have not, as of yet, published replies from the people to whom the requests have been made. 

Where an attachment is noted in the request, I have not published the attachment.  If you have not received the attachment, and you feel you need it to fulfill the request, please let me know within 2 business days by email, or fax, or regular mail only.

If there are any fees required with these requests please inform me within 2 business days by email, or fax, or regular mail only.  If any request is to be directed to another individual, please specify who the individual is, how to contact them by email, or regular mail, and please let me know within 2 business days by email, or fax, or regular mail only.  If there is some ambiguity involved with these requests please inform me within 2 business days by email, or fax, or regular mail only.

After 15 days, or after 15 days (after any fees, if required, are paid), my requests are not honored, the request process (with full disclosure) will go to the state agency who mediates these requests. 

All future requests (including this one) will be published on the Maple Heights African American Gazette.  [The Maple Heights African American Gazette is searchable.]

Thank you,

Elaine Stone

_________________________________________________________________________

Update: August 23, 2012

received from Mr. Fussner (CBO Director of Building and Housing) at 11:48am

Ms. Stone,

Your request for records has been forwarded to me, I will be glad to prepare the information you requested, I will however need you to explain in detail what records you are requesting, including the projects involved in your request.

Paul Fussner, CBO Director of Building and Housing.

-------

Response to Mr. Fussner: August 23, 2012

Dear Ms. Fussner [later apologized for not stating Mr.],

Please provide a list of contractors used, or businesses (who entered into a legal contract with the city) from January1, 2008 to present (name of the business, address, contact names and phone numbers, ethnic code).

Please provide a list of all city projects from January 1, 2008 to present, contractor/business used, when the project was started and completed, brief description of the project, total cost of the project (if project is not completed, provide cost to date), and how the project was funded (ex. state, federal, county grants, property taxes, or if other-provide explanation).

Should you not be able to fulfill the request for all city projects, please direct me to the party who can provide the additional information requested.

If there is a fee for any copies over 10 pages please let me know; however, this request if for information , and not for documents (unless you feel that I need to request a specific document in order to fulfill the request).

Please respond within 10 business days by email, or fax, or regular mail only.

All request and replies are "on the record".

Sincerely,

Elaine Stone

 _________________________________________________________________________________


August 23, 2012

Received from Mr. John Montello, law director, City of Maple Heights regarding fax to Linda Volpat, which was also emailed to him (July 29th)  for public information.  [Note: copies of emails sent to me from August 15, 2012 to August 23, 2012 from Mr. Montello, were also Cc to the mayor.

Dear Ms. Stone,

I have reviewed your inquiry dated July 29,2012 to Linda Vopat, Director of the Department of Human Services for the City of Maple Heights.
I have determined that your inquiry does not qualify as a public record request under the O.R.C. 149.43.  As such, no response will be forthcoming.
Thank you for your attention in this matter.

John J. Montello
Law Director
City of Maple Heights
______
My reply same date:

Dear Mr. Montello,

The request is for public information, and should be provided to the resident who requests it.  Since you have chosen not to respond, I deem this as obstruction to provide what is public information as to determine if residents can use Maple Heights public facilities, if favoritism is being given, if a person can profit from use of a Maple Heights public facility.

Elaine Stone

_____

I also sent the following after the above to Mr. Montello:

Dear Mr. Montello,

Did Ms. Vopat or you, or another Maple Heights public employee enter into a legal contract with a public employee, or other individual or business for the sole purpose of providing dance lessons at the Maple Heights senior center?

If so, I am requesting the name of that business, individual, or employee, and a copy of that contract.

Is there a record or public information that relates to using a Maple Heights public facility for profit?  If that answer is yes, please provide a copy of that document, or where I can obtain that information.

Please reply within 2 business days by email, fax or regular mail.

Elaine Stone
__________________________________________________________________________________

August 23, 2012
Request to John Montello, law director

Dear Mr. Montello,

I am requesting copies of all letters (and letters are considered public documents) Ms. Vopat sent to obtain donations for the 2012 Music in the Park series, and copies of all letters in reply to those specific requests for donations.  I am also requesting copies of all requests/applications for (federal, state, or Cuyahoga County)  grants  (from 2009 to present) from the Human Services department/Linda Vopat.

I am also requesting copies of all contracts entered into by the city of Maple Heights (or a Maple Heights government employee acting on behalf of the city of Maple Heights) and the music groups (that performed/or will be performing at the 2012 Music in the Park series).   I am also requesting copies of all contracts  entered into by the City of Maple Heights, (or a Maple Heights government employee) and the music groups who performed/or will perform at the 2012 Mayor's Splash Parties.

And just so we are clear, I am requesting a copy of the written contract (if the contract was verbal, please specify) that was entered into by the City of Maple Heights, or a government employee of the City of Maple Heights, with the individual/s or business who is/or will be holding dance classes at the Maple Heights senior center this year.

Also please forward this request to Ms. Vopat.

If there is a charge for those documents, then please inform me within two business days by email, or by fax, or by regular mail. 

Elaine Stone

__________________________________________________________________________________

Ohio Public Records Law

Ohio Sunshine Law

Maple Heights City Charter

THE OWNERSHIP- MONEY CIRCULATION PRINCIPLE

THE OWNERSHIP- MONEY CIRCULATION PRINCIPLE

For the last 20+ years, I've focused on ownership; and although there have been trials and tribulations along the way (and continue to be trials and tribulations), I still believe that ownership is key to a diverse/vibrant community/city where residents thrive.  With ownership comes/or should come pride and stability. 

As a New Progressive, I believe in the "Ownership-Money Circulation Principle" (OMCP). 

The principle holds true no matter where you live (with rare exceptions).  New Progressives, while embracing the OMCP, also believe in "Medicare for All" and "Social Security", and would never want to privatize either.  Even more awesome is residents having ownership in their own non-profit community hospital or non-profit clinic where every resident receives free services .

I'll be talking about the OMCP in the coming months.

Elaine Stone


Related:

5 Reasons Co-Ops Are So Awesome, by Jesse Donaldson


UPDATE MAY 2013:  BioCellars - Reviving Cleveland Neighborhoods: Mansfield Frazier at TEDxCLE 2013
 

MAPLE HEIGHTS LEADERSHIP NEEDS TO GO
 

Communities First Association Andy Batten (Plain Dealer article on Batten and Lighthouse Inc)


Pay special attention to question and answer segment:  Dr Joy De Gruy- Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (19/19)  


Related articles regarding money circulation (something Maple Heights does not do and one reason why this city is in financial trouble):

Black buying power increases, but circulation of dollar within community remains low Nov 30, 2011

'Money is like blood – it needs to circulate for local economies to survive' Feb 20, 2013

Buying Local: How It Boosts the Economy June 11, 2009

Group Economics

Where you spend your money is important | Business Connections July 29, 2013

Black Wall Street

Durham's "Black Wall Street"

Taking Care of Business by Lee Jenkins

Why local money flows matter

New Study: Spending locally generates four times more economic benefit Sept 3, 2012

Know Your Worth: If We Don't Know, We Can't Grow Our Community Sept. 24, 2012


  

MAPLE HEIGHTS LEADERSHIP NEEDS TO GO

The Ownership-Money Circulation Principle


We all know, or should know, that when money circulates within a community/city, that community or city thrives.

We all know, or should know, that when most residents work in the city where they live, and own businesses in the city where they live, that city is more likely to thrive.

If this is not the case in your city (and it is not the case in Maple Heights), then the leadership needs to go.

If your city (community) leaders are not laser focused on making sure you (and all the residents) personally make money, keep that money, and grow that money, then the leadership needs to go.

If your leaders are not laser focused on making residents owners, and talking ownership constantly, then the leadership needs to go.

What does ownership mean? It means you own your home. It means you own your own business. It means you’re part owner in a co-op and credit union.  It means you have a significant voice in the decisions that are made about the community (city) you live in, and the policies and legislation that are enacted in the city you live in, which also includes total transparency in public information about your city.

 

Your mind must be laser focused on ownership, getting (and staying out) of debt, and achieving financial freedom, and your community/city should be focused on helping you do that. 

 

If your mayor and members of council are not laser focused on making sure you have ownership, that you keep ownership, that they will do everything within their power to help you maintain ownership, and that they will help protect what you own, then they need to go.

Ask yourself, .. Did my mayor and city council do the above? If not, then they need to go.

Beware:

Any city or community that is deep in debt, and  where the majority of the public employees live outside the city, is devastating to that community. It means that a large chunk of your money is leaving your city when it should be circulating within your city so your community/your city thrives, and you thrive.

© 2012  Elaine Stone

BUILD A CULTURALLY DIVERSE VIBRANT COMMUNITY WHERE EVERYONE IS PROSPEROUS, AND RESIDENTS ENJOY THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

OVER 550 FORECLOSURE FILINGS IN MAPLE HEIGHTS IN 2012

Related:


5 Reasons Co-Ops Are So Awesome, by Jesse Donaldson


UPDATE JULY 31, 2013: Richmond's pioneering eminent-domain threat


UPDATE MAY 2013:  BioCellars - Reviving Cleveland Neighborhoods: Mansfield Frazier at TEDxCLE 2013


2012 International Year of Cooperatives

BLACK WALLSTREET


Pay special attention to question and answer segment:  Dr Joy De Gruy- Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (19/19)  



Owner of Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods Gives Is Company to His 209 Employees

I give a "pat on the back" to:
Communities First Association Andy Batten  (Plain Dealer article on Batten and Lighthouse Inc)

THE OWNERSHIP- MONEY CIRCULATION PRINCIPLE




Related articles regarding money circulation (something Maple Heights does not do and one reason why this city is in financial trouble):

Black buying power increases, but circulation of dollar within community remains low Nov 30, 2011

'Money is like blood – it needs to circulate for local economies to survive' Feb 20, 2013

Buying Local: How It Boosts the Economy June 11, 2009

Group Economics

Where you spend your money is important | Business Connections July 29, 2013

Black Wall Street

Durham's "Black Wall Street"

Taking Care of Business by Lee Jenkins

Why local money flows matter

New Study: Spending locally generates four times more economic benefit Sept 3, 2012

Know Your Worth: If We Don't Know, We Can't Grow Our Community Sept. 24, 2012

Electric Cooperatives


May 2013:  Chicago Workers Open New Cooperatively Owned Factory Five Years After Factory Occupation

WHY HAS SUPERINTENDENT KEENAN ALLOWED SAGGING PANTS IN HIS SCHOOLS?

There’s been a lot of talk about African American young men wearing sagging pants. Residents and people who don't live in Maple Heights have commented on why sagging pants are allowed in Maple Heights schools. If there's a dress code, why isn't it enforced?

In an article by Kirsten West Savali, dated July 12, 2012,

Kirsten states "The price tags on our youth’s sagging jeans are nothing more than potential inmate numbers in disguise."

"Even more than the misappropriation of the word “nigga” as a term of endearment, the cultural phenomenon of sagging pants speaks exclusively to the institutionalized brainwashing of black America.

If hip-hop is the voice of a generation, ass-sagging pants is the

uniform. And both are rooted in a rebellion so entrenched that many black men proudly regurgitate, through words and attire,
the tell-tale sign of psychological ownership. If we could delve beneath the often exploitative lyrics of poverty, violence, drug consumption and slangin’, we might recognize that the price tags on our youth’s sagging jeans are nothing more than potential inmate numbers in disguise."

 

 

 

 

“In prison you aren't allowed to wear belts to prevent self-hanging or the hanging of others,” Judge Greg Mathis said in a 2007 interview for Jet magazine. "They take the belt and sometimes your pants hang down. ... Many cultures of the prison have overflowed into the community unfortunately,” continued Mathis, who spent time in Detroit’s Wayne County Jail as a youth. “Those who pulled their pants down the lowest and showed their behind a little more raw, that was an invitation. [The youth] don't know this part about it."

Please read the entire article:

Sagging Pants: Prison Uniform Represents Wreckage of Black Communities?

Related:

Durrell Brooks Sentenced To Three Days In Ohio Jail for Sagging Pants

Black boys/men and sagging pants, by Lynn


Sagging Pants [Wikipedia]

WE'VE LOST OUR WAY

A friend and I were talking this morning about different races and cultures.  Italians, Hispanics/Latinos, Greeks, Jews, Muslims, and other races and cultures embrace who they are.  What is wrong with us (African Americans)?  Is the legacy of slavery so entrenched that we’ve lost our way?

 

We come from (are descendants of) Kings and Queens, a people who built an awesome legacy/civilization.  You/We have just temporarily lost our way.  We can find our way back.  You can become Kings and Queens again.  We all (no matter what race) can become Kings and Queens.

We just have to get out of each other’s way and concentrate on what it means to be equal, free, healthy, prosperous, and vibrant; and how our communities can become places that are diverse, healthy, prosperous, vibrant and truly joyful.

On a national level, the now (in power) right-wing radical Republican Party is a false prophet.  They will lead all of us into the wilderness, and we see the weeds/thorns of their ideology already.  Moderate Republicans are upset with the direction their party is going in.  They are leaving their own party.

Progressives in the Democratic Party are upset with corporate (New) Democrats.

Unless there is true equality, where everybody wins, most of us end up losing.

This nation has lost its way; I believe Maple Heights under the present leadership has lost its way.  It’s time to find our way back.

Elaine Stone  


Related:

For The People interview with Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop (African Origin of Humanity  / biography

Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop