🌱 Fatal Shooting In Cleveland Parking Lot + Art Center Receives $95K

Hey, friends. Sean Peek here with your Thursday edition of the Lakewood Patch newsletter. Keep reading to find out everything that's fit to print about what's happening in the community.

But first, today's weather:

Increasingly windy. High: 60 Low: 25.

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Here are the top three stories in Lakewood today:

1. A man was shot and killed in a parking lot near the Starbucks on Clifton Boulevard after getting into a verbal altercation with his girlfriend at a nearby bar. Preliminary reports indicate the victim and his girlfriend parked in the Starbucks parking lot, where the altercation continued; at that time, another man started shooting, hitting the victim and his vehicle. Lakewood police were on the scene to provide aid; the victim was then taken to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The woman in the other car hit by gunfire was not injured. No arrests have been made as of Wednesday evening. (FOX 8)
2. The Lakewood City Council has allocated $95,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to the Beck Center for the Arts to cover half of the repair costs for the Music and Creative Arts Therapies Building, which has unexpected foundation issues. Ward 1 City Councilman Kyle G. Baker said the allocation would assist with repairs as the arts and culture sector was struck by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Creative Arts Therapies building offers unique therapeutic benefits for people with developmental disabilities. (Subscription: cleveland.com)
3. The Cleveland Metropolitan School District has partnered with the Cleveland Police Department, giving police 24/7 access to some of the district's security cameras to combat increased violence around schools. The Cleveland Teachers Union president, Shari Obrenski, hopes that the cameras will deter crime and assist in finding those who commit them, but also hopes that they will not invade privacy or target certain groups. Several other districts, including Lakewood, Mason, and Ravenna, have also been cooperating with police and their security cameras. (Spectrum News 1)

Today in Lakewood:

• Drop In And Play At Lakewood Family Room At Cove Community Center (9:00 AM)
• Lakewood Youth Council Meeting At Lakewood City Hall (6:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• The 30th anniversary of H2O, a program that empowers young people to volunteer and engage in their community, was celebrated at the "H2O Tributary Bash: A Seat at the Table" fundraising event. The event featured auctions, games, a paddle raise, and a wine pull, and raised around $59,000 to support the ongoing programming of H2O, which has seen thousands of Lakewood students contribute more than 100,000 hours of volunteer work to their community. (Patch)
• On Tuesday, the Lakewood City School District Board of Education recognized the new football coach Mike Polevacik, who came to the district after seven years at Padua Franciscan, and Neil Crawford, who was awarded a Horace Mann star student for being a hard-working leader. Congratulations to both! (Lakewood City Schools via Facebook)
• The City of Lakewood is reminding residents of winter fire prevention tips. You can read the complete list of tips at the link. (City of Lakewood, Ohio - Municipal Government via Facebook)

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• History on Tap | A Celebration of Black Culture (February 23)
• St. James Fabulous Fish Fry (February 24)
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Alrighty, you're all caught up for today. I'll see you soon!

— Sean Peek

About me: Sean Peek is a writer and entrepreneur with a degree in English Literature from Weber State University. Over the years, he has worked as a copywriter, editor, SEO specialist, and marketing director for various digital media companies. He currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.