Lakewood's goal, Healthiest city in America? Get real!

[Lori Allen _]

I just read on onelakewood another puff piece by Colin about the city of Lakewood's goal to become the healthiest city in America. I believe I counted at least five E-cig stores, with one being next door to Garfield Middle School. Yesterday at the polls I saw a women with a sign advocating for Angelo's to become yet another establishment to sell alcohol starting at 10:00am on Sundays. I believe we are up to approximately 90 establishments in Lakewood now that serve alcohol. Let us also not forget that Summers, Council, and three members of our School Board, (Bebe, Shaunessy, and Einhouse), allowing a brewery to go in across the street from Harrison Elementary. Rumor has it that since they could not take the house next to the brewery by eminent domain for parking, they are thinking of making the streets in the area one way to allow for more parking.

I must say that Drew Siley has done a GREAT job with economic development. Bars, Bars, and more bars.

Since drinking appears to be a favorite pastime of some of our leaders, I believe we need to keep our hospital. They just might need it someday! FWIW

[Corey Rossen]

Events like this help the entire community!

[cameron karslake]

How about having a chance to dunk mayor Summers? Where do I sign up? Talk about enhancing the turn out.

"Healthiest city in America" is such BS! It's a marketing ploy for a terrible deal where we all lose, unless you are part
of the mayor's inner circle of course.

(And I don't mean this as a slam to the Fitness Fits event...the more events like this one in Lakewood the better!)

[Bridget Conant]

The "Healthiest City in America" is one of those fuzzy, feel-good phrases that is absolutely MEANINGLESS.
As Cameron notes, it's all marketing buzz words.

Tell me how do you define "healthy?" How do you measure it? How do you measure INCREASES in health in your population? How do you know if your actions are actually increasing the health of your population?

This is nothing more than a marketing campaign to sell people on the idea that we will be as well served by a "health center" as by a full service hospital.

We all know it's just not equivalent.

It's a shame that people have been hoodwinked into thinking that a health center is as good as a hospital.

[Lori Allen _]

Bridget,
Let's all not forget Mary Louise Madigan's favorite catch phrase, "with an emergency room". What she should be saying is a six to nine bed urgi care where, if needed, you will be carted off to a CCF facility. That is, if you don't die while they piss around for a few hours trying to figure out what to do with you!!!

[Valerie Molinski]

Now granted I am shuffling around with a few extra lbs as of late, but I blame that on middle age and portion control issues... but beer is great. It is bread in a glass. Bread is carbs. Carbs are good. Beer is delicious.

(Craft) beer powered me through to three full marathons and countless other running races. My blood pressure and resting heart rate is very low, and my blood oxygen levels are consistently in the mid 90's. So, yeah, in my experience, beer is pretty damn healthy. Big part of my training regimen.

Do you like ice cream? Would you have the same disdain if you replaced all of the alcohol palaces with soft serve? Ice cream is also delicious, but only a 'sometimes food.' So if the tables were turned, and there were 99 places in Lakewood to get ice cream, it doesn't mean that Lakewood would not have healthy people among it... but it would be better if we didn't over indulge and maybe rode our bikes or ran to the establishment instead of driving.

[Bridget Conant]

I don't think Lori is complaining about beer.

[Valerie Molinski]

I don't think Lori is complaining about beer.

TBH, not really sure of the point of the complaining to begin with... "we have a lot of bars here...therefore we need hospital." Sounds like a bit of a stretch to me is all. Having a bunch of bars or a vape store doesn't inherently make a city unhealthy merely by their presence.

Again, sub out 'alcohol' with 'ice cream' and you can see why it upsets me to see beer becoming a scapegoat like this. It's not right.

[Amy Martin]

Okay, this is getting out of hand . . what Lori is saying that if we want to become America's Healthiest City, how does our reputation as a "bar town" live up to that slogan?

I wish you would all just quit with the nitpicking. Sound like a bunch of catty old broads.

[Valerie Molinski]

Oh! Ok. Got it now. Seems slightly less nonsensical when you explain it that way.

Sound like a bunch of catty old broads.

Speak for yourself. Don't want to be referred to as in the "old" demographic just quite yet. Thank you.

[Lori Allen _]

Hi Valerie,

I would agree that having e-cigarette stores and bars does not inherently make a city unhealthy. However, I certainly do not think they help.

In regards to e-cigarettes, studies have shown that the number of teens and tweens using these products doubled between 2011 and 2012. Regardless of how safe these products are marketed to be, they still contain Nicotine, which studies show can be detrimental to brain development in children and teens. Some companies are even manufacturing candy-flavored e-cigarettes, probably in an attempt to appeal to children. I am not against smoking, as I myself am an ex-smoker. However, I do care about the well-being of our children and I don't believe that two Vapormate stores belong on children's walks to and from Garfield Middle School.

Almost every weekend, the sheriff's department, the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the highway patrol are in our city helping our police with drug and alcohol problems. Since January, there have been 187 OVI arrests in Lakewood. 20% of these arrests were made by the highway patrol. If we need outside help to handle these OVI cases, then Lakewood must have a problem. That is by no means an insult to our police. They are great men and women that do their job. However, if we have 91 liquor establishments, there is no way they can be everywhere with current staffing levels. I am not against drinking. However, not everyone drinks responsibly which often leads to injury and death. A man was hit and killed by a drunk driver on Cook last July 4th. He only ended up getting two years in prison, I believe. While we cannot end all drunk driving in our city, having 91 liquor establishments does not help at all. I feel that we could at least be safer and possibly healthier if we did not have so many bars.

To wrap up, I am not trying to insult our current planning director, however, I feel in order to better serve the citizens of Lakewood, we should be looking for someone that perhaps has more expertise in the field that could expand local businesses beyond vapor stores, bars, burner cell phone stores, and "unlock stolen phones and computers" stores.

FWIW.

[Valerie Molinski]

That's not at all what I got from your original post. It was more of a teetotal vibe (not that there is anything wrong with that,) but that's a bit unrealistic. I digress.

All of the referenced store types (bars, vape, cell phone, etc...) exist in Avon Lake, Avon, Westlake. Their kids seem ok. FWIW.

[Lori Allen _]

Valerie,

Can you please list the locations of these stores that are in the communities you mentioned? Could you also list or give me the websites to look at statistics showing that their kids are not affected? Seeing as WEB MD states that there is not enough data collected on E-cigarettes to show long term effects, I really would like to see your evidence. I believe you would think differently if your child were smoking E-cigarettes or if they were run over by a drunk driver. I mean no disrespect to you, however, I believe I have shown you evidence that your comments are unsubstantiated. If you can show me evidence, I would love to converse with you again. Otherwise, I rest my case. Have a great rest of your day.

[Valerie Molinski]

Valerie,

Can you please list the locations of these stores that are in the communities you mentioned? Could you also list or give me the websites to look at statistics showing that their kids are not affected? Seeing as WEB MD states that there is not enough data collected on E-cigarettes to show long term effects, I really would like to see your evidence. I believe you would think differently if your child were smoking E-cigarettes or if they were run over by a drunk driver. I mean no disrespect to you, however, I believe I have shown you evidence that your comments are unsubstantiated. If you can show me evidence, I would love to converse with you again. Otherwise, I rest my case. Have a great rest of your day.

Lori:

I swear that before my last post, I was honestly curious if other nearby communities had these same businesses, so I googled. They indeed exist. I promise I will post up some maps after I've made dinner and had a beer. The pro/con that Lakewood has that they don't is density, which is why you cite that Lakewood kids are walking by TWO! vape stores. I only know of one near Garfield, though. My point is, that last time I checked, these are all legal businesses. And Westlake, Avon, Avon Lake are still desirable places to live according to many in this area.

I've seen the statistics on smoking and drinking. My kid is in DARE so trust me when I tell you that I've heard all of it.Walking by a vape store or two in their daily lives is not going to cause my kids to smoke. You know what might? Lack of education (covered), peer groups, and their parents not paying attention. Do you know what also helps? Me telling them about my father who smoked for 35 years and hearing him hack up a lung every morning. Them seeing their grandfather having trouble breathing and getting sick because he has COPD. That is way more powerful than keeping them from walking by a vape store.

Let's see...What else works? trying to keep them healthy and active, and modeling the same behavior. And it is very easy in Lakewood, where we have a ton of safe sidewalks, parks, and there are a ton of kids walking or riding bikes to school. I see way more kids in Lakewood doing this than other suburbs. Near relatives in Avon and Westlake, many neighborhoods are too spread out or don't even have sidewalks, especially on busy streets. Kids are bussed instead. In that way, Lakewood is very healthy because we have so many opportunities due to our city's density.

If we are that concerned about legislating businesses because of their health effects, I can think of at least 6 opportunities to buy slushies or other junk food on the way to school. Weight, diabetes, heart disease is way more of an issue than the above. Why are we not concerned with those in your original and subsequent posts? So, you can't legislate good health habits, really, imo.

Though, I will say honestly, I wish it worked like that. If it did, I would be sending my kids past Cleveland Vegan ten times a day. Which brings up another point, none of these establishments exist in a vacuum.

So... this post has taken a turn. Is it about beer, hospitals, city planning or children's health? I haven't figured out how to tie in burner cell phone stores on this one, though.

[Brian Essi]

Beer is good!