CLEVELAND, Ohio – Tesla Motors is opening an electric showroom in Lyndhurst, Olmsted Township is threatening to close its fire department one day a week if voters don't approve a tax increase and South Euclid hasn't increased its safety budget since voters approved a safety tax increase last year.
Big news in Northeast Ohio communities last week, and you can catch up on the best here.
Akron: Firefighters in a 10-year-old discrimination lawsuit asked a federal judge to keep the city from negotiating an age-and-experience-based promotion system, John Harper reports. The city has not held an official promotional test since 2004, and the number of lieutenants, district and deputy fire chiefs has dwindled to dangerously low levels.
Lyndhurst: Tesla Motors, an electric car company specializing in custom-made vehicles, is moving into the former Infiniti dealership on Mayfield Road, Sara Dorn reports. Silicon Valley-based Tesla is spending $150,000 to renovate the showroom, the largest of three in Ohio, and plans to open in November.
North Royalton: North Royalton schools are asking voters to pay for a $28.4 million bond issue and 1-mill tax to repair schools. Bob Sandrick has a photo gallery of the schools' current conditions.
Olmsted Township: If voters reject a 4-mill operating levy next month, Olmsted Township could shut down its fire department one day a week and even cease to exist, trustees said Wednesday. Bruce Geiselman was at the meeting. (Residential streets may not get plowed much either.)
Orange: Orange School Superintendent Edwin Holland plans to retire next year and be rehired again in the same position — a practice referred to as double-dipping, DiAngelea Millar reports. Holland, 54, who makes $145,000 a year, could receive a pension of more than $90,000.
Parma Heights: The former Church in the Woods could be transformed into a four-story senior living facility if council approves a rezoning request, Maura Zurick reports. Mayor Mike Byrne said the $10 million West Ridgewood Drive facility would be an economic boost. But about a dozen residents who want the neighborhood to remain as is are protesting.
Solon: Sears is closing in early December, Millar reports. The liquidation sale has already started.
South Euclid: A year after South Euclid residents passed a safety levy, police and fire budgets are nearly static, Dorn reports. Instead of beefing up safety forces, the city instead has used the influx to offset the cost of projects such as Cedar Center and the pool.
University Heights: Some City Council members have said the Planning Commission should have approved plans to transform Wiley school into a home for Cleveland Heights High School, while hashing out a security plan. Other members agree with the committee's decision to hold off, Chanda Neely reports.
Westlake: Westlake residents met Tuesday to suggest ideas for a recreation master plan, including improving the outdoor pool and upgrading soccer and baseball fields, Barb Galbincea reports.