Cleveland Scene - March 28, 2024

UPFRONT

FRIDRICH BICYCLE, OLDEST BIKE SHOP IN CLEVELAND, TO CLOSE THIS YEAR

FOR ALL THE CHANGE IT has seen over the past 141 years it’s been in business in Ohio City, there’s been one throughline of consistency: Fridrich Bicycle has focused on making friends across Cleveland a little more than making tremendous profits.

“We give, to my knowledge, the best customer service in the entire bike industry here in Northern Ohio,” owner Charles Fridrich told Scene from a chair in his shop on Thursday. “That’s my belief. Because I insist upon it.”

That warm impression on many long-time Clevelanders’ hearts is why, according to Fridrich and his fans, 2024 is a somber year. As sometime in the next few months, after nearly a century and a half selling everything from discounted Schwinns to toboggan sleds, Fridrich Bicycles will be no more.

Well, at least that’s a possibility. Ever since the start of the pandemic years, Fridrich said he’d been contemplating retirement, a move beckoned by his wavering health and trouble with staffing since 2021. While Fridrich had 15 employees pre-Covid, these days he only has about five.

“I’ve thought about this thing every which way, and sadly, I have no choice but to sell,” Fridrich, who’s 83, said. “We are going to be going out of business... the most honest word I can use for you is, well, eventually.”

Fridrich’s decision to close up shop is also, in part, a reaction to an evolving Ohio City, a neighborhood enamored with a future dotted with more development. One of the three owners Fridrich’s “in talks” with, he said, hinted at tearing down the bike shop to make way for apartments and ground-floor retail. (A similar fate that befell the Old Fashioned Hotdogs diner a few blocks west, in 2020.) Others might try to keep the shop open.

It’s also a wonder to Fridrich how, in the era of four-figure e-bikes and bike lane obsession, a legacy, no-bull cycle shop like his

can once again turn great profits.

Hundreds of similar shops across the country, responding to a December survey by Bicycle Retailer, said that final-quarter 2023 was their worst for sales in recent memory. More than half blamed the Amazons of the industry—the direct-to-door, assemble-it-yourself bikes with West Coast aesthetics that, more often than not, pale in quality compared to traditional competitors.

A trend that is at odds with Cleveland’s current zeitgeist. Just like Slavic Village’s Fleet Bike Shop closing after 53 years in business, Fridrich shutting his doors this spring or summer puts a dent in a local industry that’s been increasingly lobbying, with success, for safer streets. And, after 13 years of advocacy, the Lorain Midway cycle track will be, if all goes according to plan, opening right outside Fridrich’s door later this decade.

Ironically enough, Midway hype or protected bike lanes doesn’t change Fridrich’s mood: “Honestly? I’m rather apathetic about it.”

A Gilded Age business venture at the height of the American

bicycle craze, the original Fridrich shop grew out of a partnership between German immigrant Joseph W. Fridrich and coal entrepreneur August Schmidt. The Fridrichs, according to Cleveland Historical, were eager to tap into a growing market, and opened up a small store on Lorain Avenue. (In 1909, Cleveland Historical suggests, not 1883.)

Come the 1960s, the Fridrichs had solidified their reputation as budget-friendly pals to all. Joseph J. Fridrich, known as “J.J.,” even created, in the shop basement, a competitor to the Schwinns, Columbias and Murrays that dominated the national market. But his was $29.95, half the cost. J.J. called it, probably with a wink, the “Fridrich Cadillac.”

“It was a total value bike,” Charles Fridrich recalled. “Nothing fancy. Just in red or blue. And we sold hundreds of them.”

J.J. died in 1992, above the shop he ran with Charles’ occasional help for three decades. Charles, on the other hand, had just gotten married a second time, and had a pretty passionate career in professional bowling. But his father had died. His four siblings had all moved out West. He had no

choice.

“The company attorney came along, and dumped a big wad of keys in my hand, and said, ‘You got to run this place,’” Charles said. “And that was not my plan.”

Fridrich himself, a white-haired man with a calm demeanor, seems to have shaped his cycle shop to echo his own personality. Bikes are lined carefully parallel to children’s sleds. A framed article in the West Side Sun hangs in front of a random pair of cleats, next to a note to customers that reads, “Take care of your bike.” Everyone who wheeled their Fujis or Raleighs into Fridrich’s on Thursday were greeted on a firstname basis.

It’s why everyone who’s dealt with them has walked away with fond memories.

“One of the last great stores in Cleveland,” Shannon Richey, a former Ohio City resident, wrote to Scene. They “always gave top quality work with fair pricing. Never tried to overcharge or do unnecessary work. A great ethic— and I referred many customers there because of it.”

Yet, is it time for Fridrich to move on? Most of the store’s brickcolored floor looks like it had been

Photo by Mark Oprea

beat up by a roller derby. Out-oforder candy dispensers sit next to two-for-$1 water bottles. Giant white tarps hang close to chipped ceiling tiles, tarps that funnel rainwater into orange Home Depot buckets. “It’s like Swiss cheese up there,” employee Chrystal Smith told Scene, looking up at the roof.

All charm, according to Fridrich.

“People just see an old store,” he said. “They see this creaky floor— it’s part of the ambiance of the place. And they’re just kind of like, ‘Oh, my God, they’re still here. I got my first bike when I was 14.’ Or this or that. And you hear this from so many.”

As Fridrich took a call from the city—his sidewalk outside was in bad need of repair—Dennis Marin walked into the shop. He looked around, and said to clerk Rodger Zanny with his hand at his waist, “Wow, I haven’t been in here since I was this tall.”

When Marin was told that Fridrich, after 141 years in business, would be closing this year, his excitement turned to sadness-tinged nostalgia. He thought of the purple Cool Ghoul bike his dad bought him as a kid.

“I don’t know how else to say it,” Marin, 57, said. “It’s just sad. Sad to see the mom and pops go out of business. And everything just goes more Walmart, Walmart, Walmart.” – Mark Oprea

Irish Heritage Site to Occupy Five Acres of Irishtown Bend Park

When the 25 acres of the land set to be Ohio City’s Irishtown Bend Park were excavated last summer, an archeological team hit apparent historical gold.

More than 60,000 artifacts from the mid-1800s were recovered, and later preserved accordingly: from drinkware to housing frames, coal cellars to Celtic pipes, and a large cistern. It was unclear, at the time, how these relics would be properly stored, or, if incorporated into the park, exactly how they would mesh with a larger design.

The team behind Irishtown’s new phase confirmed last week that one-fifth, or five acres, of the park will be devoted in some way to honoring the relics uncovered during the archeological dig, as well as the families to which they belonged.

The team “has uncovered so much about this forgotten neighborhood—everything from bricks and stone foundations, to

pottery and household items,”

Scott Cataffa, an architect at Plural Design Studio, said in a release. “Each piece contributes to the story of Irishtown Bend. We’re excited to share that story both visually and experientially.”

Cataffa’s vision, shown in a slew of renderings released this week, depict an outdoor museum, rust-colored and industrial brown, that seems to mesh nicely into the actual park aspect of the hillside. To acccomplish that, he’s been collaborating with an Irish Heritage Committee, spearheaded by Irish Honorary Consul General Mark Owens and Margaret Lynch, the executive director of the Irish American Archives Society.

In an interview, Lynch said that she’s been abreast of plans to memorialize the hillside’s Irish population, most of it from Famine-ridden Mayo County, since the early nineties, when it was designated on the National Register of Historic Places. In Lynch’s mind, the park’s homage to thousands that lived and died here might surpass, culturallyspeaking, Ireland’s spot in the Cultural Gardens or the Johnny Kilbane sculpture in Battery Park.

“This’ll be the largest public place by far that celebrates the Irish in this place and in Cleveland,” Lynch said.

Some 100 “neighborhood door” sculptures, with addresses dating back to 1825, will be dotted along the park’s southernmost side, and could act as fixtures in a museumlike audio tour. (With hundreds of red bud trees surrounding them.)

One rendering depicts a gaggle of twenty-somethings picnicking at a table with a 19th-century aesthetic, with a nearby door frame acting as the prop-like entrance.

Along with the actual foundations from a coal dock hoisting rig, used as a kind of place marker along the river’s edge, the park will also include non-abstract historical homages: a rust-colored bird blind etched with a nod to Cleveland’s coal history, and a tabletop street grid that shows how folks might’ve navigated the original Irishtown

At a slated bill of $45 million, less than half which has been raised thus far, actualizing a 25-acre park on a precarious hillside has not been an easy feat.

A legal dispute over a building on its northernmost part between developer Bobby George and Irishtown’s team led to a lengthy excavation delay. The actual stabilization itself, which is “on

track” to wrap up next fall, has been beset by inflation.

When completed in 2026 or 2027, the park will be the final connector between the Towpath Trail and the lake, a huge notch in Cleveland’s overall pursuit of a more unified bike and trail network.

The Irishtown team is asking families with knowledge of or connections to the original Irish immigrants to send their stories in, as to influence further iterations of the project. – Mark Oprea

Lakewood Eyes Expansion of Waterfront Access at Lakewood Park, Looks For Funding

When the Solstice Steps opened up in Lakewood Park in October 2015, those five levels of concrete quickly became, by the following summer, one of the best places to catch dreamy views of Lake Erie sunlight. (See: Instagram.)

It felt long overdue: Just about 90 percent of the Cleveland suburb’s access to Lake Erie is off limits to the public.

“Chicago builds beaches and running trails and Ferris wheels along the lake,” a Lakewood resident told the Plain Dealer after Solstice’s opening. Cleveland “builds airports and factories and fences. So seeing Lakewood actually embrace the water in such a unique way really means a lot to me.”

After eight years of embracing that water—and drawing, one estimate from Placer suggests, 200,000 visitors a year—Lakewood Park is once again on the city’s mind. Late last month, after a year’s worth of drafting up a trio of potential designs, Lakewood’s development team came a notch closer to Solstice’s second stage.

On February 27, three dozen or so Lakewood residents gathered in an auditorium at City Hall to provide feedback on general design for the remaining three acres of land on Lakewood Park’s northern edge. That is, according to its architects at SmithGroup, foreseeing the careful additions of a pier, cobble beach and lakeside terrace.

The idea, as Jason Stangland, SmithGroup’s waterfront market director, told the crowd that day, is to give those hundreds of thousands of visitors what they really, really want. More lake.

“This whole debate about access [to Lake Erie] is interesting to me,”

Stangland said at the meeting. “Is it proximity? Is it getting over the water? Is it dipping my toes in the water? Or, is it all of those things?”

Stangland, who is also helping move along SmithGroup’s work on the Cuyahoga County lake access plan, cited survey data to back up those collective calls for more stuff. Eighty-six percent of Lakewooders labeled “more access” as an extension’s top priority. Sixty-five percent wanted the ability to kayak, boat or paddleboard.

A year’s worth of feedback led Stangland, along with architect Michelle Johnson, to select one of three proposed designs, a layout that calls for a lengthy pier jutting out to the Park’s northeast side, and a cobble beach hugging its south end. (“Not a lay out, sun tan beach,” Stangland said.) And before that beach, 20-inch terrace seating that would mimic the Solstice Steps leisurely lure. “I see yoga done there,” he said.

“That is why the city’s investing along the lakefront: it’s about community,” Stangland said in a phone call with Scene Friday. “Providing amenities for the residents themselves. It’s acknowledging that there’s a demand to, first of all, get closer to the lake.”

And, on the park’s northernmost edge, a “Central Lakeside Terrace,” a tiered platform erected over where a former fishing desk used to stand, one which gives visitors the greatest chance to feel, and not just gander at, Lake Erie. Minding, Stangland warned, its waves.

Despite the potential for a sudden ice bath, Stangland said Lakewood should be seeking a fine balance between beauty and practicality. “Overwhelmingly, what we heard was that [the design] first of all had to be natural,” he said.

Lakewood will be seeking funds through its own Capital Improvement Plan, along with state and federal grants. Stangland said that SmithGroup will finetune the drawings teased in late February after the project goes through its permitting phase. A design report will be finalized by late this week.

An engineer could be hired for the buildout, he suggested, later this year or in early 2025. – Mark Oprea

FEATURE

THE FOILIES 2024

Recognizing the worst in government transparency

By Electronic Frontier Foundation and MuckRock

WE’RE TAUGHT IN SCHOOL about checks and balances between the various branches of government, but those lessons tend to leave out the role that civilians play in holding officials accountable. We’re not just talking about the ballot box, but the everyday power we all have to demand government agencies make their records and data available to public scrutiny.

At every level of government in the United States (and often in other countries), there are laws that empower the public to file requests for public records. They go by various names—Freedom of Information, Right-to-Know, Open Records, or even Sunshine laws— but all share the general concept that because the government is of the people, its documents belong to the people. You don’t need to be a lawyer or journalist to file these; you just have to care.

It’s easy to feel powerless in these times, as local newsrooms close, and elected officials embrace disinformation as a standard political tool. But here’s what you can do, and we promise it’ll make you feel better: Pick a local agency— it could be a city council, a sheriff’s office or state department of natural resources—and send them an email demanding their public recordrequest log, or any other record showing what requests they receive, how long it took them to respond, whether they turned over records, and how much they charged the requester for copies. Many agencies even have an online portal that makes it easier, or you can use MuckRock’s records request tool. (You can also explore other people’s results that have been published on MuckRock’s FOIA Log Explorer.) That will send the message to local leaders they’re on notice. You may even uncover an egregious pattern of ignoring or willfully violating the law.

The Foilies are our attempt to call out these violations each year during Sunshine Week, an annual event (March 10-16 this year) when advocacy groups, news

organizations and citizen watchdogs combine efforts to highlight the importance of government transparency laws. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and MuckRock, in partnership with the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, compile the year’s worst and most ridiculous responses to public records requests and other attempts to thwart public access to information, including through increasing attempts to gut the laws guaranteeing this access— and we issue these agencies and officials tongue-in-cheek “awards” for their failures.

Sometimes, these awards actually make a difference. Last year, Mendocino County in California repealed its policy of charging illegal public records fees after local journalists and activists used The Foilies’ “The Transparency Tax Award” in their advocacy against the rule.

This year marks our 10th annual accounting of ridiculous redactions, outrageous copying fees, and retaliatory attacks on requesters—and we have some doozies for the ages.

The Not-So-Magic Word Award: Augusta County Sheriff’s Office, Va.

Public records laws exist in no small part because corruption, inefficiency and other malfeasance happen, regardless of the size of the government. The public’s right to hold these entities accountable through transparency can prevent waste and fraud.

Of course, this kind of oversight can be very inconvenient to those who would like a bit of secrecy. Employees in Virginia’s Augusta County thought they’d found a neat trick for foiling Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act.

Consider: “NO FOIA”

In an attempt to withhold a bunch of emails they wanted to hide from the public eye, employees in Augusta County began tagging their messages with “NO FOIA,” as an apparent incantation staff believed could ward off transparency. Of course, there are no magical

words that allow officials to evade transparency laws; the laws assume all government records are public, so agencies can’t just say they don’t want records released.

Fortunately, at least one county employee thought that breaking the law must be a little more complicated than that, and this person went to Breaking Through News to blow the whistle.

Breaking Through News sent a FOIA request for those “NO FOIA” emails. The outlet received just 140 emails of the 1,212 that the county indicated were responsive, and those released records highlighted the county’s highly suspect approach to withholding public records. Among the released records were materials like the wages for the Sheriff Office employees (clearly a public record), the overtime rates (clearly a public record) and a letter from the sheriff deriding the competitive wages being offered at other county departments (embarrassing but still clearly a public record).

Other clearly public records, according to a local court, included recordings of executive sessions that the commissioners had entered illegally, which Breaking Through News learned about through the released records. They teamed up with the Augusta Free Press to sue for access to

the recordings, a suit they won last month. They still haven’t received the awarded records, and it’s possible that Augusta County will appeal. Still, it turned out that, thanks to the efforts of local journalists, their misguided attempt to conjure a culture of “No FOIA” in August County actually brought them more scrutiny and accountability.

The Poop and Pasta Award: Richlands, Va.

In 2020, Laura Mollo of Richlands, Va., discovered that the county 911 center could not dispatch Richlands residents’ emergency calls: While the center dispatched all other county 911 calls, calls from Richlands had to be transferred to the Richlands Police Department to be handled. After the Richlands Town Council dismissed Mollo’s concerns, she began requesting records under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The records showed that Richlands residents faced lengthy delays in connecting with local emergency services. On one call, a woman pleaded for help for her husband, only to be told that county dispatch couldn’t do anything—and her husband died during the delay. Other records Mollo obtained showed that

Government officials retaliated against a public records requester by filling her mailbox with noodles. | Hannah Diaz

Richlands appeared to be misusing its resources.

You would hope that public officials would be grateful that Mollo uncovered the town’s inadequate emergency response system and budget mismanagement. Well, not exactly: Mollo endured a campaign of intimidation and harassment for holding the government accountable. Mollo describes how her mailbox was stuffed with cow manure on one occasion, and spaghetti on another (which Mollo understood to be an insult to her husband’s Italian heritage). A town contractor harassed her at her home; police pulled her over; and Richlands officials even had a special prosecutor investigate her.

But this story has a happy ending: In November 2022, Mollo was elected to the Richlands Town Council. The records she uncovered led Richlands to change over to the county 911 center, which now dispatches Richlands residents’ calls. And in 2023, the Virginia Coalition for Open Government recognized Mollo by awarding her the Laurence E. Richardson Citizen Award for Open Government. Mollo’s recognition is well-deserved. Our communities are indebted to people like her who vindicate our right to public records, especially when they face such inexcusable harassment for their efforts.

The Error 404 Transparency Not Found Award: FOIAonline

In 2012, FOIAonline was launched with much fanfare as a way to bring federal transparency into the late 20th century. No longer would requesters have to mail or fax requests. Instead, FOIAonline was a consolidated starting point, managed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that let you file Freedom of Information Act requests with numerous federal entities from within a single digital interface.

Even better, the results of requests would be available online, meaning that if someone else asked for interesting information, it would be available to everyone, potentially reducing the number of duplicate requests. It was a good idea—but it was marred from the beginning by uneven uptake, agency infighting, and inscrutable design decisions that created endless headaches. In its latter years, FOIAonline would go down for days or weeks at a time without explanation. The portal saw agency after agency ditch the platform in favor of either homegrown solutions or third-party vendors.

Last year, the EPA announced that the grand experiment was being shuttered, leaving thousands of requesters uncertain about how and where to follow up on their open requests, and unceremoniously deleting millions of documents from public access without any indication of whether they would be made available again.

In a very on-brand twist of the knife, the decision to sunset FOIAonline was actually made two years prior, after an EPA office reported in a presentation that the service was likely to enter a “financial death spiral” of rising costs and reduced agency usage. Meanwhile, civil-society organizations such as MuckRock, the Project on Government Oversight, and the Internet Archive have worked to resuscitate and make available at least some of the documents the site used to host.

The Literary Judicial Thrashing of the Year Award: Pennridge, Penn., School District

Sometimes when you’re caught breaking the law, the judge will throw the book at you. In the case of Pennridge School District in Bucks County, Penn. Judge Jordan B. Yeager catapulted an entire shelf of banned books at administrators for violating the state’s Right-toKnow Law.

The case begins with Darren Laustsen, a local parent who was alarmed by a new policy to restrict access to books that deal with “sexualized content,” seemingly in lockstep with book-censorship laws happening around the country. Searching the school library’s catalog, he came across a strange trend: Certain controversial books that appeared on other challengedbook lists had been checked out for a year or more. Since students are only allowed to check out books for a week, he (correctly) suspected that library staff were checking them out themselves to block access.

So he filed a public records request for all books checked out by non-students. Now, it’s generally important for library patrons to have their privacy protected when it comes to the books they read— but it’s a different story if public employees are checking out books as part of their official duties and effectively enabling censorship. The district withheld the records, provided incomplete information, and even went so far as to return books and re-check them out under a

student’s account in order to obscure the truth. And so Laustsen sued.

The judge issued a scathing and literarily robust ruling: “In short, the district altered the records that were the subject of the request, thwarted public access to public information, and effectuated a cover-up of faculty, administrators, and other non-students’ removal of books from Pennridge High School’s library shelves.” The opinion was peppered with witty quotes from historically banned books, including Nineteen Eighty-Four, Alice in Wonderland, The Art of Racing in the Rain and To Kill a Mockingbird. After enumerating the district’s claims that later proved to be inaccurate, he cited Kurt Vonnegut’s infamous catchphrase from Slaughterhouse-Five: “So it goes.”

The Photographic Recall Award: Los Angeles Police Department

Police agencies seem to love nothing more than trumpeting an arrest with an accompanying mugshot— but when the tables are turned, and it’s the cops’ headshots being disclosed, they seem to lose their minds and all sense of the First Amendment.

This unconstitutional escapade began (and is still going) after a reporter and police watchdog published headshots of Los Angeles Police Department officers, which they lawfully obtained via a public records lawsuit. LAPD cops and their union were furious. The city then sued the reporter, Ben Camacho, and the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, demanding that they remove the headshots from the internet and return the records to LAPD.

You read that right: After a settlement in a public records lawsuit required the city to disclose the headshots, officials turned around and sued the requester for, uh, disclosing those same records, because the city claimed it accidentally released pictures of undercover cops.

But it gets worse: Last fall, a trial court denied a motion to throw out the city’s case seeking to claw back the images; Camacho and the coalition have appealed that decision and have not taken the images offline. And in February, the LAPD sought to hold Camacho and the coalition liable for damages it may face in a separate lawsuit brought against it by hundreds of police officers whose headshots were disclosed.

We’re short on space, but we’ll try explain the myriad ways in

which all of the above is flagrantly unconstitutional: The First Amendment protects Camacho and the coalition’s ability to publish public records they lawfully obtained, prohibits courts from entering prior restraints that stop protected speech, and limits the LAPD’s ability to make them pay for any mistakes the city made in disclosing the headshots. Los Angeles officials should be ashamed of themselves—but their conduct shows that they apparently have no shame.

The Cops Anonymous Award: Chesterfield County Police Department, Va.

The Chesterfield County Police Department in Virginia refused to disclose the names of hundreds of police officers to a public records requester on this theory: Because the cops might at some point go undercover, the public could never learn their identities. It’s not at all dystopian to claim that a public law enforcement agency needs to have secret police!

Other police agencies throughout the state seem to deploy similar secrecy tactics, too.

The Keep Your Opinions to Yourself Award: Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita

In March 2023, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita sent a letter to medical providers across the state demanding information about the types of gender-affirming care they may provide to young Hoosiers. But this was no unbiased probe: Rokita made his position very clear when he publicly blasted these health services as “the sterilization of vulnerable children” that “could legitimately be considered child abuse.” He made claims to the media that the clinics’ main goals weren’t to support vulnerable youth, but to rake in cash.

Yet as loud as he was about his views in the press, Rokita was suddenly tight-lipped once the nonprofit organization American Oversight filed a public records request asking for all the research, analyses and other documentation that he used to support his claims. Although his agency located 85 documents that were relevant to their request, Rokita refused to release a single page, citing a legal exception that allows him to withhold deliberative documents that are “expressions of opinion or are of a speculative nature.”

Perhaps if Rokita’s opinions on

gender-affirming care weren’t based on facts, he should’ve kept those opinions and speculations to himself in the first place.

The Failed Sunshine State Award: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Florida’s Sunshine Law is known as one of the strongest in the nation, but Gov. Ron DeSantis spent much of 2023 working, pretty successfully, to undermine its superlative status with a slew of bills designed to weaken public transparency and journalism.

In March, DeSantis was happy to sign a bill to withhold all records related to travel done by the governor and a whole cast of characters. The law went into effect just more than a week before the governor announced his presidential bid. In addition, DeSantis has asserted his “executive privilege” to block the release of public records in a move that, according to experts like media law professor Catherine Cameron, is unprecedented in Florida’s history of transparency.

DeSantis suspended his presidential campaign in January. That may affect how many trips he’ll be taking out-of-state in the coming months, but it won’t undo the damage of his Sunshine-slashing policies.

Multiple active lawsuits are challenging DeSantis over his handling of Sunshine Law requests. In one, The Washington Post is challenging the constitutionality of withholding the governor’s travel records. In that case, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement official last month claimed the governor had delayed the release of his travel records. Nonprofit watchdog group American Oversight filed a lawsuit in February, challenging “the unjustified and unlawful delay” in responding to requests, citing a dozen records requests to the governor’s office that have been pending for one to three years.

“It’s stunning, the amount of material that has been taken off the table from a state that many have considered to be the most transparent,” Michael Barfield, director of public access for the Florida Center for Government Accountability (FCGA), told NBC News. The FCGA is now suing the governor’s office for records on flights of migrants to Massachusetts. “We’ve quickly become one of the least transparent in the space of four years.”

The Self-Serving Special Session Award: Arkansas Gov.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders

By design, FOIA laws exist to help the people who pay taxes hold the people who spend those taxes accountable. In Arkansas, as in many states, taxpayer money funds most government functions: daily office operations, schools, travel, dinners, security, etc. As Arkansas’ governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders has flown all over the country, accompanied by members of her family and the Arkansas State Police. For the ASP alone, the people of Arkansas paid $1.4 million in the last half of last year.

Last year, Sanders seemed to tire of the scrutiny being paid to her office and her spending. Sanders cited her family’s safety as she tried to shutter any attempts to see her travel records, taking the unusual step of calling a special session of the state Legislature to protect herself from the menace of transparency.

Notably, the governor had also recently been implicated in an Arkansas Freedom of Information Act case for these kinds of records.

The attempt to gut the law included a laundry list of carve-outs unrelated to safety, such as walking back the ability of public-records plaintiffs to recover attorney’s fees when they win their case. Other attempts to scale back Arkansas’ FOIA earlier in the year had not passed, and the state attorney general’s office was already working to study what improvements could be made to the law. Fortunately, the people of Arkansas came out to support the principle of government transparency, even as their governor decided she shouldn’t need to deal with it anymore. Over a tense few days, dozens of Arkansans lined up to testify in defense of the state FOIA and the value of holding elected officials, like Sanders, accountable to the people.

By the time the session wound down, the state Legislature had gone through multiple revisions. The sponsors walked back most of the extreme asks and added a requirement for the Arkansas State Police to provide quarterly reports on some of the governor’s travel costs. However, other details of that travel, like companions and the size of the security team, ultimately became exempt. Sanders managed to twist the whole fiasco into a win, though it would be a great surprise if the Legislature didn’t reconvene this year with some fresh attempts

to take a bite out of FOIA.

While such a blatant attempt to bash public transparency is certainly a loser move, it clearly earns Sanders a win in the FOILIES—and the distinction of being one of the least transparent government officials this year.

The Doobie-ous Redaction

Award: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Drug Enforcement Administration

Bloomberg reporters got a major scoop when they wrote about a Health and Human Services memo detailing how health officials were considering major changes to the federal restrictions on marijuana, recommending reclassifying it from a Schedule I substance to Schedule III.

Currently, the Schedule I classification for marijuana puts it in the same league as heroin and LSD, while Schedule III classification would indicate lower potential for harm and addiction along with valid medical applications.

Since Bloomberg viewed but didn’t publish the memo itself, reporters from the Cannabis Business Times filed a FOIA request to get the document into the public record. Their request was met with limited success: HHS provided a copy of the letter, but redacted virtually the entire document

besides the salutation and contact information. When pressed further by CBT reporters, the DEA and HHS would only confirm what the redacted documents had already revealed—virtually nothing.

HHS handed over the full, 250-page review several months later, after a lawsuit was filed by an attorney in Texas. The crucial information the agencies had fought so hard to protect: “Based on my review of the evidence and the FDA’s recommendation, it is my recommendation as the Assistant Secretary for Health that marijuana should be placed in Schedule III of the CSA.”

The “Clearly Releasable,” Clearly Nonsense Award: U.S. Air Force

Increasingly, federal and state government agencies require public records requesters to submit their requests through online portals. It’s not uncommon for these portals to be quite lacking. For example, some portals fail to provide space to include information crucial to requests.

But the Air Force deserves special recognition for the changes it made to its submission portal, which asked requesters if they would agree to limit their requests to information that the Air Force deemed “clearly releasable.” You might think, “surely the Air

The feds heavily redacted an email about reclassifying cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance. | Hannah Diaz

Force defined this vague ‘clearly releasable’ information.” Alas, you’d be wrong: The form stated only that requesters would “agree to accept any information that will be withheld in compliance with the principles of FOIA exemptions as a full release.” In other words, the Air Force asked requesters to give up the fight over information before it even began, and to accept the Air Force’s redactions and rejections as non-negotiable.

Following criticism, the Air Force jettisoned the update to its portal to undo these changes. Moving forward, it’s “clear” that it should aim higher when it comes to transparency.

The Scrubbed Scrubs Award: Ontario Ministry of Health, Canada

Upon taking office in 2018, Ontario Premier Doug Ford was determined to shake up the Canadian province’s healthcare system. His administration has been a bit more tight-lipped, however, about the results of that invasive procedure. Under Ford, Ontario’s Ministry of Health is fighting the release of information on how understaffed the province’s medical system is, citing “economic and other interests.” The government’s own report, partially released to Global News, details high attrition as well as “chronic shortages” of nurses.

The reporters’ attempts to find out exactly how understaffed the system is, however, were met with black-bar redactions. The government claims that releasing the information would negatively impact “negotiating contracts with health-care workers.” However, the refusal to release the information hasn’t helped solve the problem; instead, it’s left the public in the dark about the extent of the issue and what it would actually cost to address it.

Global News has appealed the withholdings. That process has dragged on for over a year, but a decision is expected soon.

The Judicial Blindfold Award: Mississippi Justice Courts

Courts are usually transparent by default. People can walk in to watch hearings and trials, and can get access to court records online or at the court clerk’s office. And there are often court rules or state laws that ensure courts are public.

Apparently, the majority of Mississippi Justice Courts don’t feel like following those rules. An investigation by ProPublica and the

Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal found that nearly two-thirds of these county-level courts obstructed public access to basic information about law enforcement’s execution of search warrants. This blockade not only appeared to violate state rules on court access; it frustrated the public’s ability to scrutinize when police officers raid someone’s home without knocking and announcing themselves.

The good news is that the Daily Journal is pushing back. It filed suit in the justice court in Union County, Miss., and asked for an end to the practice of never making searchwarrant materials public.

Mississippi courts are unfortunately not alone in their efforts to keep search warrant records secret. The San Bernardino Superior Court of California sought to keep secret search warrants used to engage in invasive digital surveillance, only disclosing most of them after the EFF sued.

It’s My Party and I Can Hide Records If I Want to Award: Wyoming Department of Education

Does the public really have a right to know if their tax dollars pay for a private political event?

Former Superintendent of Public Instruction Brian Schroeder and Chief Communications Officer

Linda Finnerty in the Wyoming Department of Education didn’t seem to think so, according to Laramie County Judge Steven Sharpe.

Sharpe, in his order requiring disclosure of the records, wrote that the two were more concerned with “covering the agency’s tracks” and acted in “bad faith” in complying with Wyoming’s state open records law.

The lawsuit proved that Schroeder originally used public money for a “Stop the Sexualization of Our Children” event and provided misleading statements to the plaintiffs about the source of funding for the private, pro-bookbanning event.

The former superintendent had also failed to provide texts and emails sent via personal devices that were related to the planning of the event, ignoring the advice of the state’s attorneys. Instead, Schroeder decided to “shop around” for legal advice and listen to a friend, private attorney Drake Hill, who told him to not provide his cell phone for inspection.

Meanwhile, Finnerty and the Wyoming Department of Education “did not attempt to locate financial documents responsive to plaintiffs’ request, even though Finnerty knew

or certainly should have known such records existed.”

Transparency won this round with the disclosure of more than 1,500 text messages and emails—and according to Sharpe, the incident established a legal precedent on Wyoming public records access.

The Fee-l the Burn Award: Baltimore Police Department

In 2020, Open Justice Baltimore sued the Baltimore Police Department over the agency’s demand that the nonprofit watchdog group pay more than $1 million to obtain copies of use-of-force investigation files.

The police department had decreased their assessment to $245,000 by the time of the lawsuit, but it rejected the nonprofit’s fee waiver, questioning the public interest in the records and where they would change the public’s understanding of the issue. The agency also claimed that fulfilling the request would be costly and burdensome for its short-staffed police department.

In 2023, Maryland’s Supreme Court issued a sizzling decision criticizing the BPD’s $245,000 fee assessment and its refusal to waive

that fee in the name of public interest. The Supreme Court found that the public interest in how the department polices itself was clear and that the department should have considered how a denial of the fee waiver would “exacerbate the public controversy” and further “the perception that BPD has something to hide.”

The Supreme Court called BPD’s fee assessment “arbitrary and capricious” and remanded the case back to the police department, which must now reconsider the fee waiver. The unanimous decision from the state’s highest court did not mince its words on the cost of public records, either: “While an official custodian’s discretion in these matters is broad,” the opinion reads, “it is not boundless.”

The Continuing Failure Award: United States Citizenship and \ Immigration Services

Alien registration files, also commonly known as “A-Files,” contain crucial information about a non-citizen’s interaction with immigration agencies, and are central to determining eligibility for immigration benefits.

However, U.S. immigration agencies have routinely failed to release alien files within the statutory time limit for responding, according to Nightingale et al v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services et al, a class-action lawsuit by a group of immigration attorneys and individual requesters.

The attorneys filed suit in 2019 against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In 2020, Judge William H. Orrick ruled that the agencies must respond to FOIA requests within 20 business days, and provide the court and class counsel with quarterly compliance reports. The case remains open.

With U.S. immigration courts containing a backlog of more than 2 million cases as of October of last year, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the path to citizenship is bogged down for many applicants. The failure of immigration agencies to comply with statutory deadlines for requests only makes navigating the immigration system even more challenging. There is reason for hope for applicants, however. In 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland made it federal policy to not require FOIA requests for copies of immigration proceedings, instead encouraging agencies to make

records more readily accessible through other means.

Even the A-File backlog itself is improving. In the last status report, filed by the Department of Justice, they wrote that “of the approximately 119,140 new A-File requests received in the current reporting period, approximately 82,582 were completed, and approximately 81,980 were timely completed.”

The Creative Invoicing Award: Richmond, Va., Police Department

OpenOversightVA requested copies of general procedures— the basic outline of how police departments run—from localities across Virginia. While many departments either publicly posted them or provided them at no charge, Richmond Police responded with a $7,873.14 invoice. That’s $52.14 an hour to spend one hour on “review, and, if necessary, redaction” on each of the department’s 151 procedures.

This Foilies “winner” was chosen because of the wide gap between how available the information should be, and the staggering cost to bring it out of the file cabinet.

As MuckRock’s agency tracking shows, this is hardly an aberration for the agency. But this estimated invoice came not long after the department’s tear-gassing of protesters in 2020 cost the city almost $700,000. At a time when other departments are opening their most basic rulebooks (in California, for example, every law enforcement agency is required to post these policy manuals online), Richmond has been caught attempting to use a simple FOIA request as a cash cow.

The Foilies (Creative Commons Attribution License) were compiled by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (Director of Investigations Dave Maass, Senior Staff Attorney Aaron Mackey, Legal Fellow Brendan Gilligan, Investigative Researcher Beryl Lipton) and MuckRock (Co-Founder Michael Morisy, Data Reporter Dillon Bergin, Engagement Journalist Kelly Kauffman, and Contributor Tom Nash), with further review and editing by Shawn Musgrave. Illustrations are by EFF Designer Hannah Diaz. The Foilies are published in partnership with the Association of Alternative Newsmedia.

scene@clevescene.com

GET OUT Everything to do in Cleveland for the next two weeks

WED 03/27

The Merry Wives of Windsor Mistress Ford and Mistress Page devise a scheme of their own to teach Sir John Falstaff a well-deserved lesson in this Shakespeare play. Great Lakes Theatre presents the classic comedy tonight at 7:30 at the Hanna Theatre, where performances continue through April 7. 2067 East 14th St., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

THU 03/28

Baldwin Wallace Musical Theater — Junior Class

A new generation of talent courtesy of Baldwin Wallace College’s Musical Theatre hits the stage tonight at 7:30 at Market Garden Brewery. Tickets cost $20. 1947 West 25th St., 216-621-4000, marketgardenbrewery.com.

FRI 03/29

Beyond Borders

CIA’s Latinx Club’s first-ever exhibition features art from a variety of artists and a range of majors, the show aims to portray Latino artists as multifaceted individuals who “not only promote the rich history of their culture but also explore interests beyond their cultural identity,” as it’s put in a press release. A closing reception for the exhibit takes place today from 5 to 7 p.m. in CIA’s Alan Lipson Gallery. 11610 Euclid Ave., 216-421-7461, cia.edu.

Cavaliers vs. Philadelphia 76ers

With reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid on the injured list, the Philadelphia 76ers aren’t the force they were at the season’s start. Still, after making a trade to acquire guard Buddy Hield, they’ve remained a playoff contender. They come to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse tonight to take on the Cavs. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. One Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.

Yannis Pappas

Co-founder of the comedy production company Ditch Films, standup comic Yannis Pappas is best known for the personas he creates. In his shows, he alternates between Mr. Panos, a Greek man with a thick accent, and Maurica, a pre-operative Puerto Rican transsexual. Both are very funny and suggest Pappas’s acting abilities. He performs at 7 and 9:45 tonight and tomorrow night at Hilarities. 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.

Rickey Smiley

Known for his hilarious prank calls, this comedian, actor and TV host comes to MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage tonight at 8. 10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, mgmnorthfieldpark. mgmresorts.com/en.html.

SAT 03/30

Monsters vs. Rochester Americans

Today at 3:15 p.m. at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the Monsters take on the Rochester Americans. And because it’s what the Monsters are calling a Total Solar Eclipse Game, all fnas will receive a special T-shirt and eclipse glasses. One Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.

MON 04/01

Dyngus Day

This year’s indoor-outdoor celebration of Dyngus Day, the annual Polish holiday that falls the day after Easter, will return to the streets for the first time since Covid. People can polka their way along Detroit Ave. from West 54th through West 58th Street, which will be temporarily closed off. This year’s day-long celebration will have an expanded footprint and will feature polka dancing, a pierogi eating contest, the crowning of Ms. Dyngus Day and live entertainment. DJ Kishka will return as the host. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. clevelandyngus.com.

TUE 04/02

Lyrical Rhythms Open Mic and Chill

This long-running open mic night at the B Side allows some of the city’s best rappers and poets to strut their stuff. The

event begins at 8 with a comedy session dubbed 2 Drinks & a Joke with host Ant Morrow. The open mic performances begin at 10 p.m. Tickets cost $5 in advance, $10 at the door.

2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-932-1966, bsideliquorlounge.com.

WED 04/03

CIFF 48 Opening Night

The 48th iteration of the Cleveland International Film Festival will kick off its in-person, 11-day run at Playhouse Square tonight at 7 with a screening of Thelma, a film about a woman who sets out to confront the scammers who bilked her out of thousands of dollars. 1501 Euclid Ave, 216-241-6000, clevelandfilm.org.

Dyngus Day returns to the Gordon Square Arts District. See: Monday, April 1.| Dyngus Day Cleveland

The Aliens

Two New England thirty-somethings who regularly meet at a coffee shop to discuss poetry and music in this play, one of Annie Baker’s three Vermont Plays. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7 at the Helen, where performances continue through April 14.

1407 Euclid Ave, 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

City Noir

Tonight at 7:30 at Mandel Concert Hall, the Cleveland Orchestra takes on Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and John Adams’s City Noir, a piece inspired by 1940s and ’50s film noir. The concert repeats on Saturday. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.

Think & Drink with the Extinct: Lights Out

At this special eclipse edition of the Museum of Natural History’s Think & Drink with the Extinct event, there will be special shows in the Nathan and Fannye Shafran planetarium, meet-and-greets with museum scientists and live music. Expect space-themed foods as well. The event starts at 7 p.m.

1 Wade Oval Dr., 216-231-4600, cmnh.org.

FRI 04/05

2024 Women’s Basketball Final Four

As if the Solar Eclipse weren’t bringing enough people into town, the Final Four also goes down this weekend at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Four teams play tonight at 7, and the winners square off at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

One Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.

Jitney

Jimmie Woody directs August Wilson’s Jitney, a play about influence of generations of jitney drivers on their communities. Tonight’s performance at Beck Center for the Arts takes place at 7:30, and performances continue through May 5.

17801 Detroit Ave, Lakewood, 2165212540.

Out of This World

The Cleveland Orchestra will play music from Star Wars and Holst’s The Planets at this special concert that takes place tonight at 7:30 at Mandel Concert Hall. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.

SolarFest: Come for the Sun, Stay for the Stars!

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s SolarFest: Come for the Sun, Stay for the Stars! fourday celebration runs from today through Monday. Located in the path of totality for the solar eclipse, the Rock Hall will

offer its most expanded operating hours in history. It’ll be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily during the event weekend, and will feature live music, album and special playlist listening parties.

1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., 216-515-8444, rockhall.com.

SAT 04/06

Amadeus

Peter Shaffer’s award-winning parable about the famous composer comes to the Outcalt Theatre, where performances continue through April 28. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30. 1407 Euclid Ave, 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

SolarFest: Eclipse Family Fun Days

Beginning at 11 a.m. today and tomorrow, the Museum of Natural History hosts SolarFest, an event featuring hands-on STEM activities and discussions with museum experts. It’s included with general admission and it’s free for all museum members. 1 Wade Oval Dr., 216-231-4600, cmnh. org.

SUN 04/07

Total Eclipse Fest 2024

Today at 1:30 p.m. at the Great Lakes Science Center, the Cleveland Orchestra will perform an “Out of this World” concert program of galactic proportions featuring Mozart’s Fourth Movement from Symphony No. 41 (“Jupiter”), Missy Mazzoli’s Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres), Debussy’s Clair de lune from Suite Bergamasque (orchestrated by André Caplet) and Beethoven’s First Movement from Symphony No. 5. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.

MON 04/08

Guardians vs. Chicago White Sox

Always a day-long celebration of epic proportions, the Guardians’ home opener takes place today at 5:10 p.m. at Progressive Field. The Guards will take on the Chicago White Sox, a team that, like the Guards, is coming off a subpar season.

2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, mlb. com/guardians.

FIVE STAR

Decadence is matched by service at Tutto Carne in Little Italy

By Douglas Trattner

MY THEORY IS THAT WE are now so far removed from traditional fine dining that when we do encounter it, all that care and attention can seem stifling. But in the hands of well-trained pros, like those gliding through the rooms of Tutto Carne in Little Italy, acts like pouring wine, swapping old silver for new, and de-crumbing the table between courses occur discreetly, reflexively.

Fine dining is alive and well at this new Italian-themed steakhouse from Zachary Ladner and Carl Quagliata, the chef-owners behind Giovanni’s, Paloma and Cuoco Bello. I wasn’t around when this squat brick building at the corner of Murray Hill and Cornell was home to a hardware store, but I was alive when the sign out front read Salvatore’s, Tutto Giorno, Il Bacio and Nora. In fact, I dined at every single one of those restaurants over the years.

Compared to its present state, those prior establishments might as well have been hardware stores. Completely reimagined, the 45-seat jewel box of a restaurant is clubby, stylish and graceful. Everything but the four walls has been reworked, including the bar, which has been relocated and rebuilt into a sevenseat quartz-topped beauty. Plush velvet-wrapped armchairs cradle diners in first-class comfort.

Straight away, a linen-lined basket of focaccia lands on the table alongside a dish of whipped butter garnished with crispy bits of toasted garlic. It’s just enough food to tide one over until the cocktails arrive. With names like Flux Capacitor ($16), Cat’s Meow ($14) and Girl with the Obstructed Vieux Tattoo ($16), the drinks are gentle riffs on classics. The wine-by-the-glass list is more than generous, with two dozen sparklers, whites and reds.

Ladner joined the current trend of employing mix-and-match tableware, but he doesn’t go overboard into

kitsch. The cocktail and wine glasses have the ring of fine crystal, and the vintage plates add welcome pops of color here and there.

Tutto Carne is billed as a steakhouse, but it’s so much more. What Ladner gets right that so many other chophouse cooks get wrong is the rest of the menu. Having worked in the kitchens of Giovanni’s since 2010, the chef has a deep well of culinary wisdom from which to draw. Veal sweetbreads ($18) – an anachronistic treat – marry an exceptionally crisp exterior with a firm but creamy core. The golden brown nuggets are served with tender potatoes and seasonal veggies in a lemony sauce. Coquilles St. Jacques ($24), another dish plucked from the annals, is a decadent starter of scallops bathed in cream, capped with an herbed breading, and broiled in the shell until just cooked through.

Freshly shucked oysters ($20) arrive on a bed of crushed ice with eye droppers filled with mignonette and housemade hot sauce. Steak tartare ($18) has a Cinderella texture that lands between too coarse and too fine and pasty. The rosy-red meat is gilded with an egg yolk and served

TUTTO CARNE

with a bright, crunchy giardinieralike relish. Garlic toasts serve as the delivery vehicle. Diners can order steaks for one the typical way, with cuts like filets, strips and bone-in ribeyes. But guests are encouraged to go big by ordering off the board, in a process not unlike choosing a lobster from the tank. Largeformat cuts are offered in various weights and sold by the ounce, with portions appropriate for two, four or more. The meats all hail from sister establishment Village Butcher in Mayfield, where they are hand trimmed and dry aged. Our “3-finger thick” bistecca alla Fiorentina ($185) is a weighty bone-in porterhouse that’s expertly grilled, sliced and presented on the proverbial silver platter. In a defiant act of excess, we tacked on an order of roasted bone marrow ($18). Other “share me” cuts include center-cut filet mignon and tomahawk ribeyes.

One could avoid steak altogether and still dine like a king thanks to

appealing pasta and seafood dishes, many with throughlines straight to Giovanni’s. Housemade seasonal raviolis join entrees starring scallops, halibut and a 3-bone pork chop. Lobster fra diavlo ($65) lacks the signature heat but it doesn’t skimp on seafood, which is the least a diner can ask with that pricetag. Chicken Parm ($32), served in a long-handled skillet, features two large, butter-soft pieces of meat that are lightly breaded, crowned with melted provolone and served atop heaps of al dente pasta marinara.

Yes, all this luxury, immoderation and pampering comes at a pretty steep price, but there is a magic key that unlocks big savings: happy hour. On Wednesdays, every appetizer is half price all day and from every seat in the house. There also are deals on wines, cocktails and select entrees.

Doug Trattner

BITES

First Look: Proof Barbecue, now open in Ohio City

By Douglas Trattner

AFTER A YEAR AND A HALF of work, Proof Barbecue (4116 Lorain Ave.) welcomed its first public guests at its new home last week. The space, which had been home to a diner since the 1940s, bears little resemblance to its former occupant.

Proof opened in Tremont a month before Covid landed. It closed in December 2022, after owners Michael Griffin and Dave Ferrante announced that they had purchased the Nick’s Diner property in Ohio City.

“Despite the challenges that Covid threw at us as we opened at the outset of a pandemic, it is gratifying to see the original Proof concept that was the brainchild of Michael Griffin, owner of Crust Pizza, begin its next evolution,” Ferrante explains. “It’s been an incredible challenge to renovate the former Nick’s diner location, but the work was definitely worth the effort.”

The restaurant can accommodate 36 guests in the dining room, 15 in a rear private dining room, and another 35 on a rear patio.

Under chef Brandon Lassiter and GM Jay Casey, the menu has remained mostly consistent with the original format save for a few new items such as a burger.

Casey says that he’s been fielding a lot of questions about one item in particular.

“We’ve been inundated on social media about when people can again get their burnt ends fix, so we’re happy to say that wait is nearly over,” said Casey.

In addition to those burnt ends, the kitchen prepares smoked wings, fried green tomatoes and “Mile High Nachos” topped with pulled pork, cheese and salsa. Barbecue items like brisket, pulled pork, ribs and chicken thighs are smoked out back in a Southern Pride pit and served with a variety of sauces and sides. Those meats can also be enjoyed as tacos.

The kitchen will serve food until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Free parking will be available at the nearby May Dugan Center.

Toast in Gordon Square to Close on April 3

Toast (1365 W. 65th St., 216-8628974) in Gordon Square will close after service on April 3. Owner Jillian Davis announced today that she will be closing her wine bar after nearly 11 years in business.

“It’s not bitter sweet — it’s bitter mostly,” Davis said when reached for comment. “Operating a full-service restaurant is not as fun as it used to be.”

The neighborhood wine bar and restaurant was beloved for its downto-earth vibe, personal service, unique wines and seasonal small plates and entrees.

Davis mentioned staffing challenges and changing dining habits as some of the reasons behind her decision to close.

“It’s been a wonderful ride and we couldn’t have made it this far without you,” Davis posted on social media.

Toast will be open on Dyngus Day Davis and business partner Karen Small still are planning to find a new home for Pearl Street Wine Market & Cafe, which is slated to close in Ohio City at the end of March.

Now Open: Agave & Rye at Eton Chagrin Blvd.

On Wednesday, March 20th, Agave & Rye (28601 Chagrin Blvd., 216-493-8226) opened its second Cleveland location at Eton Chagrin Blvd. in Woodmere.

The Covington, Kentucky-based company announced last fall that it was taking over the former home of Paladar Latin Kitchen, which closed in September after 16 years. Agave & Rye opened its first Cleveland restaurant in 2022 in the former Bar Louie (1352 W. 6th St.) space in the Warehouse District.

Agave & Rye is billed as a modern tequila and bourbon hall that serves

“epic tacos.” The restaurant is known for its double-shelled tacos, which feature crunchy corn and soft flour shells sandwiched together by beans, queso, pimento or guacamole. Fillings and combinations range from the Plain Jane, stuffed with ground beef, shredded lettuce, white cheddar and diced tomato on up to the Crown Jewel starring butter-and-garlic lobster, shiitake mushrooms and truffle mac and cheese. Others feature kangaroo meat, Nathan’s hot dogs, carne asada and tater tots.

The bar stocks one of the largest bourbon and tequila selections around, which wind up in punches, slushies and margaritas that can be purchased by the glass, mug or pitcher.

Like the other locations, Eton will feature the brand’s characteristic “urban grunge” decor that straddles the line between street art and fine art.

Since opening its first location, the gourmet taco and spirits concept has exploded to 17 locations throughout Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and Alabama.

Scooter’s Dawg House in Mentor Opens for the Season on Saturday, March 30th

Just as many look to the buzzards’ annual return to Hinckley as the official harbinger of spring,

others circle the date in late March or early April when Scooter’s Dawg House (9600 Blackbrook Rd., 440-354-8480) reopens the doors following its regular winter break. On Saturday, March 30, this popular hot dog shop in Mentor will officially kick off its 24th season.

Located two miles south of Headlands Beach, the perennially busy shop attracts a steady stream of beachgoers, who come for the dawgs and stay for the fries. The menu features nearly two dozen signature dogs, each available in multiple sizes. The top-seller is the Chicago Dawg, which is loaded with mustard, tomato, dill pickle, relish, onion and celery salt.

After the franks, the next most popular menu items are the french fries. The restaurant flies through 1,000 pounds of spuds per day, selling them in the form of fresh-cut fries in sizes that still flabbergast regulars. The “small” is more than enough for three people, while the “family” could satisfy an entire neighborhood. A couple years back, Scooter’s debuted a new size of fry, the “Tiny,” which of course is not, but still.

The dog and fries are joined by burgers, hard and soft-serve ice cream, milkshakes and floats.

Photo by Doug Trattner

4.12

4.13

4.14

4.17

4.18

4.19

4.19

4.22

DOWNER•BIG BLISS

4.23 TILLERS•CORY GRINDER & ANTHONY PAPALEO

4.24 IV AND THE STRANGE BAND

4.25 ANGELA PERLEY + HANDSOME JACK

4.27 NEW! BRANDON HARDESTY

4.28 GRAHAME LESH & THE NORTH

4.30 RICHSHAW BILLIE’S BURGER PATROL

5.1 THE ARCADIAN WILD

5.2 WALLACE COLEMAN BAND 5.3 NEW! VIBE IN COLOR 7

5.4 NEW! HELLO! 3D

5.4 STAR WARS BURLESQUE

5.6 VARIETOPIA W/PAUL F. TOMPKINS

5.7 BAD BAD HATS 5.8 TWRP•NELWARD•TREY MAGNIFIQUE

5.8 NEW! PUPPY ANGST•TEAMONADE 5.9 ILLITERATE LIGHT•SLAG GENIE 5.9 LOS STRAITJACKETS•TELEVISIONARIES

5.10 R.A.P. FERREIRA•CAVALIER

5.11 OUR DAY WILL COME

5.12 SATSANG

5.13 CHEST FEVER TRIBUTE TO THE BAND

5.14 THE FURIOUS BONGOS FRANK ZAPPA TRIBUTE

5.17 PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS LOW TICKETS

5.18 OLDE WRESTLING

5.18 SURELY TEMPO•TONY JUPITER

5.19 MARK LETTIERI GROUP

MUSIC

FROM THE FRONTLINES

Adam Ant talks about how punk rock has inspired his decades-long career

By Jeff Niesel

BRITISH PUNK/NEW WAVE

singer-songwriter Adam Ant says that when he first launched his musical career, which stretches back to the mid-1970s, he had no idea it would still be going strong after nearly 50 years. But Ant, who’s currently at work on a new studio album, has steadily kept at it.

“No, you just can’t imagine [a long career] because punk was such a young art form,” he says via Zoom from London. He performs with the English Beat at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 30, at the Goodyear Theater in Akron. “It’s taken this long to see what we’re capable of. I think we’re just discovering that now. I’m just pleased to be still doing it, really.”

The mid-’70s in the UK were a unique time period. Ant was at the forefront of the punk explosion that arguably began with the Sex Pistols first show in 1975. He attended that concert.

“A friend of mine was in a band, and he was their drummer, and we went to the gig that night,” says Ant, who played in the pub rock band Bazooka Joe at the time. “I watched their show and was very impressed and left the band I was in that night. I thought there was something exciting going on, and I wanted to be a part of it. And it just happened to be punk rock. That was it. It was a real catalyst.”

Ant says the simplicity of the music contributed to its impact and appealed to him.

“[The punk approach] was very straightforward,” he says. “They weren’t particularly interested in the applause from the audience. It’s almost as if they were using the audience as a test trial. The songs were very simple. From what I remember, they played ‘(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone’ by the Monkees and ‘Substitute’ by the Who — very simple songs that hit home. It was good.”

Adam and the Ants held their first practice in 1977 and released their debut, Dirk Wears White Sox, in 1979.

“It just felt a sense of freedom,” Ant says of those early days. “I was starting from a new place with a blank page. I had done some writing in Bazooka Joe but was focused on the Ants and starting a new catalog. I started writing all the time. We practiced and played anytime and anyplace we could play. Dirk Wears White Sox wasn’t particularly enamored by the established press at the time. But that was nothing new. If anything, it made us work harder. I changed the lineup and three of the members went off with [manager] Malcolm McLaren, and I formed Adam and the Ants, part two. I did the Top of the Pops show and [the single] ‘Dog Eat Dog’ went to No. 3. It was hard work after that.”

After the Ants split in 1982, Ant started a solo career and struck gold with “Goody Two Shoes,” a catchy New Wave tune that benefited from a colorful music video that got airplay on MTV.

“MTV enormously helped me as it did all British bands” says Ant. “I had studied in filmmaking and could not only write the music and lyrics with [guitarist and so-songwriter] Marco [Pirroni] but could do the storyboard for the video. I extended that to the vision for the music. When it came to making the video, it was more personalized and had a historic theme with the costumes. It paid off in the end.”

Ant took a break from touring in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s but went back on the road in 1993 and has steadily toured ever since.

“I got out of music when I felt like I had exhausted it,” he explains. “I had my daughter Lily, and I needed a break. I really missed it. I came back to it for the right reasons. I found out that I could still move and still do the singing and could work on being a bit better.”

Ant released a new studio album, Adam Ant is the Blueback Hussar in Marrying the Gunnar’s Daughter, in 2013. He toured briefly behind it and was set to return to the States in 2020, but COVID wiped out those plans. As a result, he says he’s particularly excited for the upcoming tour that brings him to Akron. It marks his first U.S. trek in five years.

“After the pandemic and all the kicking the world has taken recently, I think everyone has had a bad time, I want to play my music and celebrate the catalog and some of the songs I haven’t played in a long time or at all,” he says. “There will be some new tracks on [the setlist]. It’s a good show, and I’ll be playing the hits that I hope people can still groove to.”

ADAM ANT, THE ENGLISH BEAT.

8 P.M. SATURDAY, MARCH 30, GOODYEAR THEATER, 1201 E. MARKET ST., AKRON, 330-659-7118. TICKETS: $55-$75, GOODYEARTHEATER.COM.

Steven Scouller

LIVEWIRE Real music in the real world

THU 03/28

Benefit for the Family of Lachlan MacKinnon Local acts Mourning [A] BLKstar, Wrong Places, Whatever, OONGOW!!! and Hello! 3D will perform at this benefit concert for the family of Lachlan MacKinnon, the local rocker who played in the local act Chargers Street Gang and once worked at the Beachland. MacKinnon tragically passed away earlier this year. The concert begins at 8 p.m. Admission is a $20 suggested donation.

15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.

Celtic Woman 20th Anniversary Tour

Originally, this Irish act formed for a one-time event that was held in Dublin. After the concert aired repeatedly on PBS, the group became a sensation and has continued to tour and record ever since. The group brings its 20th anniversary tour to the State Theatre tonight at 7. 1519 Euclid Avenue, 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

A Flock of Seagulls

As the story goes, A Flock of Seagulls band leader Mike Score was a hairdresser when he formed this British synth-pop group in 1979. Thanks to some heavy exposure via MTV, the tune “I Ran (So Far Away)” became a big hit, and the group has milked that success ever since. It comes to House of Blues tonight at 7. Strangelove: The Depeche Mode Experience opens the show. 308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.

FRI 03/29

Blackberry Smoke

Southern rock act Blackberry Smoke put out its debut in 2003 and since that debut, the band has independently released several full-length records and has toured relentlessly, building a strong and loyal community of fans. The group performs tonight at 8 at TempleLIve at the Cleveland Masonic. 3615 Euclid Ave., 216-881-6350, masoniccleveland.com.

JJ Grey & Mofro

The 11 songs on Olustee, the latest offering from blues-rock act JJ Grey & Mofro songs range from the raucous Wonderland” to “Sitting on Top of the World,” a song driven by woozy horns. It’s an ambitious effort, and the uptempo

songs should translate well to the stage. The blues-rock act comes to the Agora tonight at 6:30. Judith Hill opens.

5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com.

Colin Hay

The Aussie singer-songwriter best known as the frontman of ‘80s act Men at Work returns to the Kent Stage tonight at 6:30. He’s touring behind a new solo album, Now and the Evermore, a collection of mid-tempo rock/pop tunes that he recorded in his adopted L.A. hometown.

175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.

SAT 03/30

Adam Ant

Adam & the Ants’ 1979 debut “channeled the sexy swagger of glam through the provocations of punk, creating a dark, sexy, and vital sound,” as a press release state. The sound would later influence the likes of Nine Inch Nails, who covered the Adam & the Ants song “You’re So Physical.” Still relevant after all these years, Ant brings his ANTMUSIC Tour to the Goodyear Theater in Akron tonight at 8. 1201 East Market St., Akron, goodyeartheater.com.

MON 04/01

Beach Fossils

The indie group act out of New York comes to town tonight in support of last year’s Bunny. Catchy lo-fi songs such as the album opener, “Sleeping on My Own,” feature Strokes-like guitars and lackadaisical vocals. Nation of Language opens. The show begins tonight at 7 at House of Blues. 308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.

THU 04/04

Kitchen Dwellers

For its latest album, Seven Devils, this folk-rock group took inspiration from a literary classic. The songs allude to Dante’s epic voyage through the Nine Circles of Hell. Of course, with twangy guitars and banjos, the tunes get a bluegrass/alt-country makeover. The band performs tonight at 8 at the Beachland Ballroom. Cris Jacobs opens. He’s touring support of the forthcoming One of These Days, his first album in five years.

15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.

James McMurtry

Veteran singer-songwriter James McMurtry started playing cover tunes at a college hangout in Tucson. Produced by John Mellencamp, his 1989 debut, Too Long in the Wasteland, announced that McMurtry, the son of writer Larry McMurtry, had a good knack for words. Tonight at 7:30, he plays Music Box Supper Club. 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.

Jeff Rosenstock

Known for his other indie/punk bands Bomb the Music Industry! and the Arrogant Sons of Bitches, this indie rocker comes to the Roxy at Mahall’s 20 Lanes in Lakewood tonight as part of a tour supporting his new album, Hellmode. It finds him balancing his noisier impulses with some catchy harmonies, as album opener “Will U Still U,” demonstrates. The show starts at 7. Sidney Gish and Gladie open the show. 13200 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216521-3280, mahalls20lanes.com.

FRI 04/05

Steve Forbert

Singer-songwriter Steve Forbert comes to the Beachland Tavern tonight in support of his acclaimed album, Moving Through America. A cancer survivor, he’s been on major labels and indies and had his songs covered by people like Rosanne Cash and Keith Urban. He survived being labeled the “new Dylan” and once famously passed on being on the cover of Rolling Stone. Filled with character portraits and quirky insights, the album “unfolds like a mosaic of modern-day American life delivered by someone who’s been crisscrossing the country for nearly half a century,” as it’s put in a press release. The show starts at 7 p.m. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.

Sean Jones: Dizzy Spellz

Native Clevelander Sean Jones returns to Northeast Ohio with this project that combines tap dancing and vocals with the music of Dizzy Gillespie. Teaming up with choreographer Brinae Ali, Jones will fuse elements of jazz, tap, hip-hop and bebop to “articulate the social vernacular language of the African American experience,” as it’s put in a press release. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Tri-C Metropolitan Campus Auditorium. 2900 Community College Ave. tri-c.edu.

SAT 04/06

Darkside of the Moon – Solar Eclipse Concert

With the solar eclipse right around the corner, the Pink Floyd tribute act Dark Side of the Moon performs tonight at 6:30 at the Kent Stage.

175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.

Adam Paddock

Drawing inspiration from singersongwriters such as of Jeremy Zucker and Ben Platt, Adam Paddock brings his Sweet Ohio Light tour to the Beachland Tavern tonight. The show starts at 8:30. The Meatball Mob, Flavor Wave and Emma Bieniewicz open. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.

SUN 04/07

The Brad “Scarface” Jordan: Behind the Desk Experience

Inspired by an appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts in December of last year, the Houston-bred rapper brings his Behind the Desk Experience to town tonight. Expect to hear songs from both his solo catalog and his time with the Geto Boys. The show begins at 7 at the Agora.

5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com.

Scarface comes to the Agora. See: Sunday, April 7.

Emanuel Wallace

SAVAGE LOVE

WHAT COUNTS

By Dan Savage

I’m involved with a guy who’s married and, yes, I’m a cliché and I know it. I don’t want him to leave his wife. I don’t even want to be involved with him physically and we aren’t doing anything physical. We’ve both been good about maintaining that boundary. But we are very involved emotionally. We like to tell ourselves that we’re not cheating but it’s definitely an emotional affair. I honestly do not want to have sex with him. I look at pictures of him and his wife and kids to remind myself that he has a family, and I don’t want to break up his family. Not that I could just by having sex with him, but you know what I mean. I don’t want to be “the other woman.” My question: Am I endangering his family just by talking to him so much, about absolutely everything (including sexual fantasies we will never act on), and treating each other as soulmates? Perhaps I’m just naïve, but I’ve convinced myself that so long as we abstain from anything physical, we’re OK.

Can’t Have Unavailable Male Partner

I’ve answered a lot of questions like CHUMP’s lately, I realize, but there’s a larger point I’ve been wanting to make, and CHUMP’s question is a good jumping off point. But my apologies to regular readers who are annoyed to find another question in the column this week — yet another one from a woman who’s fucking or about to fuck a married man.

Here’s the larger point I wanna make: I believe couples should define sex as broadly as possible and cheating as narrowly as possible. Because when a couple defines sex broadly — when more things count (not just PIV/PIA) — the more sex that couple winds up having and the more varied, interesting, and satisfying their sex life winds up being. But the fewer things that same couple counts as cheating — the more narrowly that couple defines cheating — the less likely they are to cheat on each other and, consequently, the less likely they are to break up over an infidelity. To summarize…

Define sex broadly: more and better sex.

Define cheating narrowly: more resilient relationships.

Now, I realize these ideas are in conflict. I think sexting with a partner should count as sex but sexting with someone else — in the context of, say, an online flirtation that was never going to lead to anything physical shouldn’t count as cheating. But I would argue that the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and function is not just the sign of a first-rate intelligence, as the F. Scott Fitzgerald said, but also the sign of the kind of emotional intelligence required to have a successful relationship. (Please note: successful ≠ perfect.)

I do have an agenda: I want imperfectbut-good relationships to survive — none are perfect, come are good — and the more sex the average couple has, the better the average couple’s relationship tends to be. And since the average couple defines cheating as unforgivable, the fewer things that count as cheating, the less likely the average couple is to break up over cheating. Which is why I’ve been on a lonely, one-man crusade against the people — the fucking idiots — out there pushing the “micro-cheating” concept on us. Instead of making relationships more resilient by defining cheating narrowly, these fucking idiots are destroying relationships by adding more things to the list. Staying in touch with an ex? Cheating! Confiding in a friend? Cheating! Following a few thotties or himbos on Instagram? Cheating!

These idiots listing examples of “microcheating” and “micro-infidelities” to their socials — most claiming to be relationship experts (there’s no bar exam for “relationship expert”) — are not helping and no one should listen to them. Because instead of encouraging people to define cheating as narrowly as possible and thereby making relationships more resilient, they’re encouraging people to define cheating so broadly that no relationship could ever survive.

Emotional affairs — very broadly defined always appear on the “micro-cheating” lists pushed by these homewreckers. And while I hate to concede even an inch to these “micro” idiots, CHUMP, you leave me no choice: You are, indeed, having an emotional affair with this man. If this man and his wife haven’t redefined their relationship as companionate and he isn’t allowed to seek this kind of attention from other women, together you’re cheating his wife out of what’s rightfully hers. And since you’re investing time in this man that you could be investing in finding a guy who isn’t married, wants to fuck you, and you feel good about fucking, CHUMP, you’re cheating yourself out of the kind of relationship you want and deserve. So, if you don’t want to blow up this man’s marriage — if you don’t want to graduate from emotional affair to affair affair — stop talking to him, stop texting with him, and stop sharing sexual fantasies with him. Just because you haven’t fucked him yet doesn’t mean you won’t succumb to the temptation. The longer someone plays in traffic, the likelier that person is to get run over. The longer you keep talking with this man and sharing sexual fantasies with this man, the likelier you are to get run through. If you don’t wanna get run over, don’t play in traffic. If you don’t wanna fuck this married man, CHUMP, stop flirting with him.

I’m a straight cis male. When I’m having sex with my current or past monogamous partners, it will feel really good for a while, but then I’ll plateau. In order to come, I need to call up mental images of me fucking a specific past casual sex partner. (In no way is this past partner someone I’d rather be with.) It just works and works reliably. I’ve tried NOT to do this many times. I’ve tried

the obvious being in the moment and connecting with my partner and on a few occasions I’ve been able to come without relying on my go-to, but those times are rare. Side note: I do watch porn, not excessively or compulsively, and I am able to come doing so. And sometimes I masturbate about other past experiences that don’t involve this former partner and I am able to come without calling up their mental image. I know there’s nothing wrong with this, but it does feel like a problematic fixation because it’s so specific — and because, at least for a few minutes, I’m disengaged and not present for my current partner. My shame about this issue has gotten better over the years, but it still haunts me. I’ve tried sharing this with a monogamous partner in the past when they could sense I was somewhere else, and this was DEFINITELY a bad idea. But the alternative is being stuck in this secret headspace. Please help me out! I surely am not the first listener with this issue.

casual than that. I thought we had agreed to keep the evening free for each other, and I figured we’d sort out the specifics later. But he made other plans —dinner with someone else — and told me it was because he didn’t hear from me in time. Now, I thought I’d been clear that I would be in touch after I got home from work on the day we agreed to keep clear with each other. What’s the protocol? Shouldn’t he have said something like, “Hey, I haven’t heard from you, if I don’t hear from you by X time, I’m going to make other plans,” versus just him going and making other plans?

Suddenly Unmade Plans

Can’t Understand My Situation

Is this a problem, CUMS, or is it a superpower? Since you need to access these mental images in order climax — since you’re not completely in the thrall of whatever physical/emotional sensations you’re experiencing in the moment — that means you’re able to last exactly as long as your current partner would like you to last. You never come to soon, CUMS, and you never take too long. You’re in charge of when you call up these mental images of this particular past partner, which means you never hit the point of orgasmic inevitability before you want and, perhaps more importantly, before your partner wants you to. So, maybe instead of feeling bad about this “problem” and trying to fix it on your own or — even worse — informing your current partners of this “problem,” you should 1. accept that this is how your dick works and 2. recognize how beneficial it is for current partners.

I was supposed to see someone. I thought we had a date. We didn’t set a specific meeting place or time; it was more

Do you wanna fuck this guy, SUP? If so, give him the benefit of the doubt, chalk this one missed date a misunderstanding, and make plans for another night. Because it’s possible — it’s plausible even — that he was waiting to hear from you and/or thought your plans were tentative and/or didn’t register that you said you’d call him when you got home from work that night. So, make firm, specific, and unambiguous plans for another night — ideally, SUP, the kind of plans you could describe to an advice columnist without using, “I thought,” or, “I figured,” or, “I supposed,” or all of the above. If he blows you off again, no third chance, no additional benefits of additional doubts.

HUMP! 2024 Part One is now touring the country! To find out when HUMP! is coming to a city near you, go to www.humpfilmfest. com!

Got problems? Yes, you do. Send your question to mailbox@savage.love! Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love

mail@savagelove.net

t@fakedansavage

www.savagelovecast.com

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