Free Republic

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The second half of property taxes are coming due this week, but 7% of homeowners have yet to pay the first half, according to the county’s treasury. Most of the county’s 564,000 property owners are up to date on their tax payments, according to county data provided to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer through a records request. They’ve paid over $1.5 billion in property taxes, which provide revenue for local schools, cities, villages, townships, libraries and various county-level services. (snip) The higher delinquency came after the countywide property reappraisal, which increased home values an average of 32%,...

A billboard that reads “Yes! I Buy Crack Houses,” put up by what appears to be an out-of-state investor, is drawing sharp criticism across Cleveland. After backlash from community members and city officials, that particular sign has been taken down. But others like it remain in place. Local real estate investors Avery and Tania Mullins said the signs go too far. “To me? It just wasn’t funny,” said Avery Mullins. “What was your point? I didn’t understand,” Tania Mullins added. The Mullins, both born and raised in Cleveland, have seen these billboards pop up across the city with slogans ranging...

The strangeness began when a research boat known as the Blue Heron started experiencing mechanical difficulties during a trip to Lake Erie and was dry-docked for repairs. While investigating the issue, Captain Rual Lee discovered a strange thick, black tar-like substance that seemed to be oozing out of the rudder. Unable to determine what it was, he sent a sample to the University of Minnesota Duluth. When researchers analyzed the substance, they discovered that it contained 20 DNA sequences and while many could be identified, several were completely novel and unknown to science. They concluded that the substance - now...

Chicago, long infested with crime and poverty, keeps crawling ahead of its rivals to remain the champion of one more side effect of its decline. Pest control company Orkin said that the deep-blue Democrat-dominated city is top in the nation in bed bugs for the fifth consecutive year. Orkin bases its list on data from metro areas where the company has been called in to provide bed bug treatments between May 15, 2024, and May 14, 2025. Both residential and commercial calls are counted. ... Although Chicago remains on top, Orkin noted that Hartford, Connecticut, crawled onto its list of...

I love what the @Browns have done this offseason but if I'm a young QB ain't no way I'm going to Cleveland. I would pull a ELI MANNING If possible. #ThinkAboutthat #Truth

Well, this is interesting. Cleveland Clinic decided to track 53,000 employees to see if the flu vaccine prevented them from getting the flu and, well...

After nearly 80 years, the remains of 2nd Lt. Robert T. McCollum, a U.S. Army Air Forces bombardier who went missing in action during World War II, have been identified. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) officially confirmed McCollum’s identification on December 10, 2024, bringing long-awaited closure to his family.McCollum, from Cleveland, Ohio, served in the 565th Bombardment Squadron, 389th Bombardment Group, 2nd Combat Bomb Wing, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force...In 2019, divers from Denmark discovered wreckage of a WWII plane near the last known location of McCollum’s plane, leading to a significant breakthrough. Among the items retrieved was...

Jimmy Haslam confidently stepped through the halls of the Ritz-Carlton Las Colinas near Dallas on a Wednesday in December, unhurried but with purpose. The 70-year-old Cleveland Browns owner wore orangish-brown slacks with an off-white blazer, a folder curled in his right hand, the contents of which are reserved for NFL billionaires. The league's owners meetings had just adjourned. Between greetings to the reporters and league officials scattered in the hotel hallways, Haslam, still on the move, was asked about the state of his team. He acknowledged the three-win Browns had a lot of work to do. When asked what that...

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Cleveland police say a 25-year-old woman is the latest person to be arrested in connection to street takeovers. Officers say they arrested Samantha Olafsson Thursday, seizing three guns and two cars. She was allegedly involved in the street takeovers in September 2024. According to police, Olafsson is facing charges of aggravated riot, disruption of public services, tampering with evidence, possession of criminal tools, and fleeing and eluding. Seized during the investigation, police say, were a 2014 Jeep and 2022 Dodge Charger.

President William McKinley believed in luck. He specifically believed in the luck brought by red carnations, which is why he wore one to the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, on September 6, 1901. When a little girl asked him for the flower, the president gave it to her. Then, Leon Czolgosz shot McKinley in the abdomen

A source just sent me this photo from the VA Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. The VA’s DEI Dept put a shrine to transgenderism on the altar of the Chapel in the Hospital. I will make it a personal mission to ensure the DEI department at the VA is eliminated after Trump takes office.

The 1892 presidential election was a rematch, with Harrison and Cleveland serving once again as their party nominees. Mrs. Cleveland had told the White House staff upon departing in 1889 to take care of the furniture because she and her husband would be back in four years...

Video on X Cleveland City Councilman Richard Starr, who represents Ward 5, said it was disappointing to see such low voter turnout in his ward, but he was not surprised residents failed to show up at the polls. “Look at what the neighborhoods have been since George Bush got elected, since Barack Obama got elected, since all these different leaders, the neighborhoods remain the same," Starr said.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - A peaceful anti-Donald Trump rally was held in downtown Cleveland Wednesday night. The protest started off at the Free Stamp at East 9th and Lakeside headed South on East 9th and marched through the streets of downtown for about an hour. There were no known arrests.

CLEVELAND, Ohio— A Port Clinton woman was arrested on Tuesday and accused of organizing and promoting a street takeover in Cleveland, officials said. Ashlyn Rogers, 23, is charged in Cleveland Municipal Court with aggravated riot and possessing criminal tools, both fifth-degree felonies. She is in the Cuyahoga County Jail awaiting her first court appearance on Wednesday. Cleveland police raided the woman’s home about 7 a.m., according to Cleveland police spokesman Sgt. Wilfredo Diaz. Investigators reported seizing the woman’s 2020 Infinity Q50 and three guns, including a rifle. Police said Rogers was an “active promoter and participant” in the Sept. 28...

Juan Soto belted a three-run homer in the 10th inning to send the Yankees to the World Series with a 5-2 Game 5 ALCS-clinching win over the Guardians on Saturday night in Cleveland. Soto’s historic blast followed Giancarlo’s two-run homer in the sixth inning, which had tied the game at two apiece.

The National Football League’s Cleveland Browns are leaving the shores of Lake Erie. The Browns plan to leave their current open-air stadium in the city of Cleveland for a yet-to-be-built domed stadium in Brook Park, Ohio, according to a press release from Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb that was later confirmed by the Browns owners. Jimmy and Dee Haslam, the principals of the ownership group that owns the Browns, notified Bibb of their plan to move on Wednesday night, according to Bibb. He announced the news in a scathing Thursday press release in which he called the Haslams’ choice “driven by...

Chaotic scenes like a takeover on Interstate 90 left drivers shocked and scared even to be out overnight on weekends in Cleveland.

A woman who authorities say fatally stabbed a 3-year-old boy as he sat in a grocery cart outside an Ohio supermarket and wounded his mother has been found incompetent to stand trial. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John Russo issued the ruling Friday. He said Bionca Ellis, 33, of Cleveland, will remain hospitalized indefinitely and could eventually stand trial if she improves. Her bail was set at $5 million shortly after the attack occurred, and her trial had been tentatively scheduled to start Dec. 9. Authorities have said Ellis was inside the Giant Eagle grocery store on June 3 in...

Ten days after a cybersecurity threat shut down dozens of routine services and threw a wrench into daily city business, Cleveland City Hall is planning—finally—to reopen Thursday at noon. On June 10, the city announced a "cyber attack" had hindered regular operations, leading to a sudden shut down, which meant hundreds of employees working remote and residents shut out from the building. Days later, the attack was categorized as ransomware, meaning hackers had penetrated an open door in the city's digital infrastructure and potentially held files or servers hostage. It's unclear if Clevelanders' personal data was comprised, as is possible...