MyFriendCleveland

It Takes a Man from Cleveland to Fight for Sex Offenders
Defense lawyer Ian Friedman has been fighting for sex offenders to get a fair trial, something he has obviously been taking a lot of shit for. He even graced the screen on right-wing shouting shows like the O’Reilly Factor to state his cause. Seems Friendman [...]

Good Music From Cleveland… Surely You Jest
The unrelenting staff over at Pitchfork have reviewed a track off of Blake Miller’s album. For all of you not in the know, Blake’s album came out on Exit Stencil Recordings, a record label based out of Cleveland’s newest DIY space Parish Hall. There are two things pleasantly surprising: [...]

Pet People Are Weird
Trust Fund Baby has a whole new slant now that Columbus passed a law allowing people to set up trust funds for their pets. I don’t even have health insurance but some cat is going to be set for life when his owner goes out like a chump. Something just isn’t right [...]

The Office Party Just Got Nuts
This year 86% of office parties will offer alcohol, up from 75% the year before. Either a lot of people are developing drinking problems, or a lot of people like to laugh at awkward dancing and even more awkward flirting. We here at MyFriendCleveland, where alcohol is required for any office related [...]

What Would You Use Counterfeit Money On? Chocolate Milk and Funnel Cake?
Two computer-savvy teens from Middleburg Heights were printing $20 bills on a PC for months. The crime was going smoothly because they were only making small purchases to obtain cash in change, it wasn’t until some other kids - among them Suzie Tattletale - found out about [...]

What are You in for? Coins, Baby, Coins
“He teed off with the governor, dined on gourmet meals and wore tailored suits. Today, Tom Noe passes the day with predators, eats processed meatloaf patties and wears a prison jumpsuit.”
Looks like The Plain Dealer now has the staff of America’s Most Wanted writing for them. Tom Noe, [...]

Free Food!
I remember fondly how those words always drew me to events in college, and now they are drawing people to jobs. The Plain Dealer searches out companies in the Cleveland area that let employees enjoy their products free of charge. There is ice cream, pastries, and chocolate to be had, but Malone Advertising in [...]

Levert Info
So we haven’t mentioned the death of R&B singer Gerald Levert once yet, probably because sarcasm doesn’t go very well with the loss of a life. To make up for our lack of coverage we’ve got this article about the private services held for him yesterday (Bobby Brown was in attendance, so you can make [...]

Mo Patents, Mo Money
Ohio’s economic woes can now be linked to something new; number of patents. Research has found that the states that produce the most patents also have the highest income. Ohio’s patents numbers have risen A LOT in the past decade or so, but still do not match stats from the 1930s. So [...]

Hey Kids, Want to Know How the Government Works?
It’s easy, one party proposes something, and the other one tries to shoot it down. Or, as is the case with the current rules for high school graduation debate in Ohio, shoot it down until the guy from your party takes over.
“Democrats called the timing a goodbye [...]

Minimum Wage is Quite the Tricky Bastard
The recent elections yielded an increase to minimum wage, something a lot of small businesses can’t afford. So looks like the man’s efforts to help Blue Collar Billy actually might get him fired. Was that crass? Childish? Or, even worse, too similar to the writing style of Plain Dealer [...]

Smokers Cannot Catch a Break
The elections provided a one, two punch to the gut of smokers in Cleveland, banning smoking in public places and adding a new tax. Well now comes word that people who try to buy cigarettes online will still be taxed. The Ohio Department of Taxation is being provided with names, addresses, [...]

The Boys Are Back in Town
So yeah, you all know by now about the return of the Dems to power in congress, and the big Dem wins in Ohio, but this shit is a little more significant than you may think. The last time Dems had this much power in Ohio The Toadies were still relevant, you [...]

The Art of Reiteration
It’s a good thing we have Sam Fulwood. In a strikingly informative column today Sam blows minds with two pieces of information. First, he spends half the column letting us know who won in Tuesday’s election. Holy shit! Strickland beat Blackwell!!! Second, he explains how the US has a two party system of [...]

ELECTION BREAKDOWN
That’s right people, get set to drop some change and two-step to the breakdown. I would call it brutal, just to stay with the hardcore theme here, but honestly, it’s just The Plain Dealer. Here’s what we got on the menu…
Strickland, Brown, Ohio tips country again, and the new smoking band. If you want more, [...]