The Observation Deck

I have no idea what or if there is a hidden and separate agenda with the group you are referring to Jim, but absolutely transparency in this day and age are 100% crucial. In Cuyahoga County there was a group of dirtbags willing to profit off of stolen taxpayer money with the audacity to build half million-million dollar homes as if no one would notice! Watching our city go down the drain day after day and stealing money!!!!!! Cleveland Metro head stealing money?????????????????????????
Parma school board president stealing money and making dirty deals in a town barely holding on as another inner ring suburb? That city will NEVER pass a levy now and those students and families are hurting, losing bussing, sports, everything.

For anyone NOT to assume that hidden agendas DO exist behind CLOSED doors is naive and we can't afford to take that chance with our schools or our town. It is so beyond unfair to the kids and to the people who dedicate volunteer hours and to the taxpayers. If you talk to Franklin parents, they will all say there was a hidden agenda they knew nothing about while they fought and spent energy and time "saving" Franklin, only for it to be an illusion. They felt betrayed and defeated. And they they were split up to different schools.

I do think "cult" is misleading and not the appropriate word, but I also think people shouldn't be put down or name-called because they feel a hidden agenda my determine huge decisions in a town they put everything into. And those people do it as volunteers, in addition to their taxes They matter. They are the glue in this town. the heart and soul. They matter.

Justine if you look at the definition that Jim put up, 3 out of 4 of the criteria fit.

Jim there is a need for a fight because if we sit by, passively and wait for them to be accountable, we're screwed. I think this thread is part of the peasant having a revolt.

ENOUGH ALREADY, KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OUR KIDS FUTURES.

I would never start a fight but if a fight has begun and it has to do with the welfare of children and/or our community I will not back down.

Justine Cooper wrote:I do think "cult" is misleading and not the appropriate word, but I also think people shouldn't be put down or name-called because they feel a hidden agenda my determine huge decisions in a town they put everything into. And those people do it as volunteers, in addition to their taxes They matter. They are the glue in this town. the heart and soul. They matter.

Justine

The word cult was used for affect, an honest description for sure,and according to the
dictionary,not misleading. BUT was used by me for affect.

I had just been told that the children could not listen to the president speak to them
about staying in school, and work hard,as they were being brainwashed. However a
group that was "dedicated to the educating the residents of Lakewood to the need for
economic development in Lakewood" is allowed to place their lessons in the backpack
of our children, with no say from the parents!

No,let's be honest. These were K-6 kids that were given "coloring pages" to color, and
take to a location with their parents to pay money to further the groups financial future
and further their cause of changing the community in the plans of a few. What if the
parents did not like regionalism, or living next to malls? What if the parents followed
the teachings of the great Urban/Social Planners like Jane Jacobs,as opposed to the
teachings of those from the 40s and 50s that taught sprawl, and malls.

When discussion muddle around in the middle, it is hard to see the light for the gray.
Better to move it to the edges, where the definitions are clearer.

Haven't even asked who paid for the printing, who printed it, and who paid our union
teachers to take a break from their lessons of the three Rs to further regionalism,
malls and THE NEED for economic development?

FWIW

.

Justine Cooper wrote:I do think "cult" is misleading and not the appropriate word, but I also think people shouldn't be put down or name-called because they feel a hidden agenda my determine huge decisions in a town they put everything into. And those people do it as volunteers, in addition to their taxes They matter. They are the glue in this town. the heart and soul. They matter.

Justine

A short observation on the history of the "cult" known as LakewoodAlive.

"Cult" would refer to LakewoodAlive's single-minded idea that ANY development outside
of their own neighborhood (NIMBY) is great for their lifestyle, could advance their
vision of the city, and might even save them a couple tax dollars. That malls are
certainly more important than schools. Unless of course they went to them, or their
children now go to them, which is rare as many LA board members prefer private schools.

The night the WestEnd strip mall was voted down and the residents said no to bad planning and lies and the divisive labeling of neighborhoods as blighted simply so one group could steal other people's property for their own dreams of strip malls, one victory party had hundreds of residents gathered to thank the city, and prepared to go back to living their lives, in their homes. Now safe from those that came in the night to throw them out of their homes for a cheesecake factory, they felt good as they had fought the good, honest, clean fight.

Meanwhile 20 blocks away was a small group gathered around a purple cake with gold icing that would never be cut in celebration. While some thought "well, we tried," two people turned to each other and said something to the effect of, "We will form a PAC (Political Action Committee) and educate these fools about the NEED for economic development and bring this back again and again until we push this through."

So the march to educate us poor misguided fools on the need for ANY development was started. Never mind that most that fought against the WestEnd were actually fighting FOR honesty, openness and the end of back room deals that put hard working people's lives in jeopardy for the comforts of a small group. So LakewoodAlive was formed as was their PAC, a Political Action Committee, in order to start a massive political move to take control of the city by any and all means.*see below

In their own words
Q: What are the implications of LakewoodAlive (a PAC) merging with LCPI

So LakewoodAlive launched a series of public meetings with the single purpose of "educating" Lakewood about the NEED for economic development. I suppose they never realized that the city was not against economic development but preferred "responsible economic development." In other words, not development just for the sake of development, but development that added to the city: well thought-out change that the residents could understand, and agree to.

The first meeting was packed, and was hosted by LakewoodAlive's actual director for life. It was about improving housing stock by tearing down old and building new. On the panel were people responsible for the successful Play House Square resurrection, the not so successful Public Square project, Kenneth Warren, and Mike Summers. While the downtown panel members brought little applause, Mike Summers speaking of the "Grow Lakewood Committee" brought some smiles with the mention that "retail is a dead end, commercial office space is the future." He spun a tale about how bad retail is and how reconfigurable office buildings are Lakewood's new development dujour. Which drew some interest.

Then Ken Warren spoke about the need to respect our housing stock, fix it up, rebuild what we have and prepare for the tough days ahead. This would be four years before the crash! Ken's words got people excited, cheering, and excited about the future. Of course this was not the message LakewoodAlive needed to get out. Their only goal at the time was to get back to the WestEnd, as we would learn later, the obvious reason, family members had bought heavily in the area, and needed the project to make money. 1,500 people to be forced out of their homes, so that we could get a strip mall and the Foran Group could make money on the Cliffs! Nice. And this would set the tone for many of the LakewoodAlive plans. Harvest the city for their personal goals and financial rewards.

The first LA meeting had over 500 people in attendance, the last public meeting for Lakewood Hospital had less than 50 and all but 7 of those attending had direct involvement with the city, the Hospital, and/or LA directly . The
LakewoodAlive problem was HOW to stop the massive fall-off in support? So, going back to Spiral Dynamics and cult mentality, they broadened their horizons, parties, social events, even dog walks that they soon realized could put more money in their pockets than the pockets of any charities with the exception of their own.(See below) Of course that was fine with them, after all, as in all cults, the survival of the cult, and the cult leaders is paramount to anything else. Smile, say nice things, and always act to others like you are interested in them and their needs and causes.

In their own words

Q: What are the implications of LakewoodAlive (a PAC) merging with LCPI (a 501-c3 organization)?

A: There are no implications. The pre-merger LakewoodAlive organization (a PAC) has been dissolved and all funds held by that organization have been either expended or donated directly to the NEW LakewoodAlive organization prior to the dissolution. Upon receipt, the NEW LakewoodAlive Board of Trustees will determine the most appropriate use of donated funds. As the NEW LakewoodAlive is a 501c (3) organization, future donations to LakewoodAlive will be fully tax deductible.

So today the PAC (Political Action Committee) is dissolved (?) and merged with
LCPI? Now LA has the advantage of receiving donations, and city/state/federal monies (our tax dollars) from the very people they had worked so hard to get into office. So they dissolved LakewoodAlive, keeping their name, and all of the same people, with the founder staying mostly in the shadows.Donating to themselves their own money! This practice of giving to themselves would be followed often with awards, press, kudos,etc. Always using one of many names and connections to give themselves awards for their great success in co-opting other people's success. After all, in CULTS, everything goes for the common good of the group leaders.

Now added to their repertoire is the desperate need to educate Lakewoodites on our need to be regionalized, how odd now that the true leader of LA now works for a company that makes its money selling regional snake oil. He fought regionalization of the schools and the library, but since being hired by Team Neo now sees the need for selling out the city to the regional dream. You know, the dream that makes Lakewood just like Cleveland, East Cleveland-- any inner ring suburb that allows itself to be gutted by developers and outsiders for $$$$$$.

Our tax dollars fund this CULT/PAC/CDC so that they can continue their practices which brought us to the last civil war in Lakewood. Displacing 1,500 residents for a strip mall that would now be as empty as its sister in Rocky River, a tax black hole bankrupting the city, instead of adding to the city. So while it is very distressing to be a city on the verge of many civil wars again, it is not surprising. Throughout history, problems start when a few see themselves as "gifted" and decide that they alone can lead humans out of the darkness; that they alone are the chosen people to do this work, for the good of all. It just makes people nervous, untrusting, and unpredictable.

So while the term cult is strong, it is not misleading. Well, certainly not as misleading as LakewoodAlive acting like they care about students, the city, anything south of Lake Road, the small businesses in town, people staying in their homes, animals, charities, or anything outside of themselves and their very, very narrow agenda. Which is: build out everything south of Lake Road so they do not have to drive too far, or pay more taxes. Only a cult can get people to go against their own self-interest to serve the cult leader. Can a leopard change its spots just because he says he is now a chameleon?

IMHO

In the end, the city belongs to everyone that lives here. All of us.



.

So just to make sure they have a lock on FREE printing, distribution and the enslavement
of child labor LakewoodAlive signs the Superintendent to their Board, and proceeds to
take full advantage of the power they have borrowed with free printing and distribution
of PAC/CDC materials with your children.

So it would seem that neither the Board nor the Superintendent is willing to follow their
rules or the state rules. Could this because as one school board member put it, "They
have too much political capital in this town to go against"?! Is this why they are closing
the one school that LA has told people would be great space to develop? While the school
their children attend is left standing? Well those that are not in charter schools.

Let our children go.

9700 - RELATIONS WITH SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
Any request from civic institutions, charitable organizations, or special interest groups which involve such activities as patriotic functions, contests, exhibits, sales of products to and by students, sending promotional materials home with students, graduation prizes, fund raising, and free teaching materials must be carefully reviewed to ensure that such activities promote student interests.

It is the policy of the Board of Education that students, staff members, and District facilities not be used for promoting the interests of any nonschool agency or organization, public or private, without the approval of the Board or its designee; and any such approval, granted for whatever cause or group, shall not be construed as an endorsement of said cause or group by this Board.

A.
Political Interests
All materials or activities proposed by outside political sources for student or staff use or participation shall be reviewed by the Superintendent or designee on the basis of their educational contribution to part or all of the school program and/or benefit to students, and no such approval shall have the primary purpose of advancing the special interest of the proposing group.

The Board shall permit the use of educational materials, programs, and equipment which contains commercial messages providing the content of such messages and the manner of presentation has been approved by the Superintendent or designee and is in compliance with the District's administrative guidelines.

In addition, the Board shall permit school organizations and/or school-affiliated groups to sell space in District facilities, on District property, or in District publications for the express purpose of advertising the products or services of a commercial organization, providing the content of such advertisements and the manner of their presentation has been approved by the Superintendent and is in compliance with the District's administrative guidelines.

B.
Contests/Exhibits
The Board recognizes that contests, exhibits, and the like may benefit individual students or the District as a whole, but participation in such special activities may not:

1.
have the primary effect of advancing a special product, group, or company;

2.
make unreasonable demands upon the time and energies of staff or students or upon the resources of the District;

3.
involve any direct cost to the District;

4.
interrupt the regular school program.

C.
Distribution/Posting of Literature

No outside organization or staff member or student representing an outside organization may distribute or post literature on that organization's behalf on District property either during or after school hours without the permission and prior review of the Superintendent or designee.

The Superintendent shall establish administrative guidelines which ensure that:

1.
criteria established in Policy <http://www.neola.com/lakewood-oh/search/policies/po5722.htm>5722 - Student Publications and Productions - are used to make a decision regarding materials that students seek to post or distribute;

2.
the District or the school mail system is not used by the community, students or staff for distribution of nonschool-related materials unless authorized by the Superintendent;

3.
no materials from any profit-making organization are distributed for students to take home to their parents unless authorized by the Superintendent.

D.
Solicitation of Funds

Any outside organization or staff member representing an outside organization desiring to solicit funds on school property must receive permission to do so from the Superintendent.

E.
Prizes/Scholarship

The Board of Education is appreciative of the generosity of organizations which offer scholarships or prizes to deserving students in this District. But, in accepting the offer of such scholarships or prizes, the Board directs that this guideline be observed:

No information, either academic or personal, shall be released from the student's record for the purpose of selecting a scholarship or prize winner without the permission of the student who is eighteen (18), or the parents of a student who is younger in accordance with the Board's policy on student records.

F.
Sale of School Supplies

In determining the appropriateness of the sale of school supplies by organizations other than the School District, the Board requires that:

1.
the organization have a purpose which will benefit the School District and its students;

2.
the organization's planned activities are clearly in the best interest of the School District and its students.

All funds generated by the sale of such school supplies shall be kept separate from other activity funds or other transactions of the Board.

G.
Surveys and Questionnaires

Neither District-related nor nondistrict-related organizations shall be allowed to administer a survey or questionnaire to students or staff unless the instrument and the proposed plan is submitted, in advance, to the Superintendent. If approved, a copy of the results and the proposed manner of their communication are to be provided to him/her for review and approval before they are released.

Students shall not be required to complete surveys to provide marketing information to vendors, or distribute to vendors any personal information of students, including but not limited to names, addresses, and telephone numbers, except as may be required by law. In addition, the District shall not enter into any contract for products or services, including electronic media services, where personal information will be collected from the students by the providers of the services.

See also Policy <http://www.neola.com/lakewood-oh/search/policies/po2416.htm>2416 and AG 2416.

R.C. 3313.75-.78
Revised 12/3/07

Jim,
Enough with the lies and spreading of rumors. The Light Up Lakewood fliers you are speaking of are not printed by the schools. (you should know you were a sponsor last year)

The flier lets the kids and their parents know of the time, date, and locations of such activites as: Santa and friends at Lakewood Public Library, school choir and band performances, lolly the trolly rides, etc.

The telling of lies and spreading of rumor is just as bad if it is done in the back of a coffee shop or bar as it is on an internet forum.

Mike Davis wrote:Jim,
Enough with the lies and spreading of rumors. The Light Up Lakewood fliers you are speaking of are not printed by the schools. (you should know you were a sponsor last year)

The flier lets the kids and their parents know of the time, date, and locations of such activites as: Santa and friends at Lakewood Public Library, school choir and band performances, lolly the trolly rides, etc.

The telling of lies and spreading of rumor is just as bad if it is done in the back of a coffee shop or bar as it is on an internet forum.

Mike

Thanks for the note. Sorry ,thought it was the same practices used before. I was not the
sponsor, the Lakewood Observer was. The LO has been one of the largest supporters of
LakewoodAlive, Mainstreet, DowntowN, and of course Light Up Lakewood.

But being one of the largest sponsors/supporters does not mean I have to turn a blind eye
to practices that would seem to be bending rules to the edge of abuse. I am not a win at
all cost, not matter what kind of person.

Lies, are bad anywhere. This is why I prefer the discussions in the open, so that when something is wrong, it can be corrected quickly.

Mike my complaint is not about the event, the planners, the volunteers, etc. It is about
the constant abuse from the self appointed directors of the Political Action Group er, CDC.

I am glad to hear a Lakewood printer got the job.

Thanks for the note.


.

Oh but the Spooky Pooch Parade was okay. As a matter of fact, anything by LakewoodAlive is just fine.

sharon kinsella wrote:If someone were to put together an alternative Doggie Do Right Parade I would be willing to volunteer my humble, stupid self, inferior self.

Sharon

I understand Mike's point of view on this event for a couple reasons. We must not confuse
the work of people like Katy on this year's Light Up Lakewood, and the policy maker's. We
should not consider not attending LUL just because of LA using the schools for marketing.

This is one reason I never mentioned the event. I do hope this year's version of LUL has
much success and am very happy that Katy volunteered to take this on. The LO is running
a special guide this year as always at no cost, as always, I believe. So while not listed as
an "official sponsor" the LO is still doing our share, and everything we were asked to do.


Ahmie
What we really need is a clean break from the Political Action days, clean house. Mikelann
Rensel is a very talented person coming out of the Cleveland CDC directorship, give her
complete control, and some accountability.


.

Could this because as one school board member put it, "They
have too much political capital in this town to go against"?! Is this why they are closing
the one school that LA has told people would be great space to develop?

By Jim O'Bryan

Does that mean I should start fighting to save to BOE now instead of later?
It is one of the most historic buildings in Lakewood.
Could it be in jeopardy?

Jim,
To those of us who still don't understand the funding, etc. of the group, WHAT political power, with WHOM do they have, and WHY would they hold such power? I don't mean to sound naive but a small group that formed not long ago (I think a few years ago but could be wrong on that) would accumulate power how? And I think asked in another thread, where does the funding come from? Is there city tax-payer funds or independently financed supplemented with grants?

I did read that over a million dollars was given to the group to improve housing but don't know if that is accurate and/or why the money was allocated to the group instead of the city?

I did receive a mailing yesterday asking for donations for Lakewood Alive and listing all their accomplishments. I know housing was listed, but no mention that grant money came in for it, which makes it look like they funded it. I would love to know the truth.

What concerns me deeply on a related topic is that hundreds (thousands?) of mailers are going out to solicit donations for this "non-profit" group with the "love of Lakewood" theme in mind. Working in a non-profit agency, I just heard up to 50 people could be laid off, all in a therapy department, which also means children and families will be cut off from therapy and help desperately needed. This is because donations to United Way and such agencies that strive to help the neediest individuals, are down.

The consequences to this and similar situations are horrific. So for an agency that receives a LOT of money to do business, why are they asking tax-paying citizens to donate? Will donations be publicly posted as to where they are going? And if monies are already allocated to lower income for insulation this year (stimulus money) and fixing up housing, where will the public donations go?

I didn't see any credit to any group listed on the flyer, from Rhonda's Spooky Parade, to LIA's and Ruth's Bandgroup and political clout and WHY? THis is not rhetorical and if Mike is associated maybe he can answer any of these questions, but things just don't make sense.

Jimmy - I don't care about Mike or Katie - but I guess YAY them.

It's still smarmy that the Spooky Pooch Parade (an event that was stolen) had fliers distributed through schoolchildren. Do other non-profits have the same access?

Don't presume to preach down to me Jimmy unless you are addressing my remarks. This is where you and I get into it.

sharon kinsella wrote:fliers distributed through schoolchildren. Do other non-profits have the same access?

I don't want mix topics here but Grant PTA asked permission to distribute notices through school about the recent Phase III Work Session and was turned down.

I don't want mix topics here but Grant PTA asked permission to distribute notices through school about the recent Phase III Work Session and was turned down.

Now THAT is concerning. It was clearly a topic of concern to parents and directly related to the schools and they refused to distribute?

I am not a conspiracy theorist, but if anything would push me over to that side, this would be it.

Who made the decision that the PTA could not send that info home?