MICHAEL McINTYRE'S TIPOFF

Cleveland political views & commentary

Tipoff features offbeat takes on the news, including the story of Cleveland Comedy Festival organizer J.D. Sidley's courageous -- and sometimes comedic -- battle with cancer. Full story »

Some familair names lost at the polls Tuesday, including several who had been part of the bold face gallery of Tipoff over the years. And Crooks retained a seat on Independence City Council. Full story »

The piece, a woman carrying a water vessel, was created in Paris in 1931 by Egyptian sculptor Mahmoud Mokhtar, known as the father of modern Egyptian art for whom a museum is dedicated in Cairo. Full story »

Kids in Rocky River will be missing a holiday fixture, and Bob Lintz feels much the same way after selling his Ecto-1. "It's just not going to be the same," he said. Full story »

Amid much fanfare, Cleveland dignitaries assembled last week to unveil a new addition to the downtown entertainment scene in the shadow of The Q. It was . . . drum roll, please . . . a new recycling container in a downtown parking lot! (Is that trumpets heralding the news, or just the sound of a garbage truck in reverse?)  Full story »

The scene at Taste of Tremont turned suddenly frantic Sunday as a toddler stopped breathing and turned blue. A crowd gathered as several people took turns trying to dislodge the pretzel they thought the child must be choking on. One man held him upside down to whack his back. A woman held him over her knee. Luckily, MetroHealth Medical Center... Full story »

Attempting to cross Euclid Avenue at East 93rd Street near the front door of the Cleveland Clinic has become so dangerous that the Clinic has assigned two police officers -- full-fledged cops from the hospital's own force, not security guards or Boy Scouts -- to help people cross the street 12 hours a day, five days a week. A... Full story »

Even the Cleveland Indians' biggest fan is on the injured reserve list. Sister Mary Assumpta, the cookie-baking nun who makes a habit of rooting for the Tribe, just had rotator-cuff surgery. Rotator-cuff problems have befallen pitchers Joe Smith and Rafael Betancourt and now Sister Assumpta.  Full story »

The house owned by Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo, raided by the feds last year in a corruption probe, has been sold. The auditor's Web site lists the Wilson Mills Road property in Mayfield -- with its five bedrooms, quartz countertops and in-ground pool -- as transferring last month from Russo to Carl P. Einstein, who is listed as a... Full story »

The most compelling narative in the newspaper this week wasn't about public corruption, budget cuts or the death of a pop star. It did not make the front page. Under "Death Notices," (Nancy) Lee Hixson, a "teetotaling mother and indifferent housekeeper," wrote her own last words. Born in Cleveland in 1944, she died June 30 of lymphoma. She built... Full story »

CLEVELAND -- The "tomayto-tomahto" debate over how to pronounce "Cuyahoga" went national last week thanks to the 40th anniversary of the Cuyahoaga River fire. That's right. Tipoff uses the long "o." So? New York native Dan Bobkoff, a reporter from WCPN FM/90.3 in Cleveland, filed a story for National Public Radio about how much cleaner the Cuyahawga is. The... Full story »

Parma's communications director, former TV anchor Jack Marschall, recently sent out a detailed report about how the city's unions voted on a proposal for unpaid furloughs to bridge a $2.4 million budget gap. He wasn't available to answer questions, though. "Please call Mayor DePiero's office at Parma City Hall if you have any questions," he wrote. "I am on furlough... Full story »

Gov. Ted Strickland issued a rah-rah statement after the Cleveland Cavaliers traded for Shaquille O'Neal, welcoming the future Hall of Famer to Cleveland while giving the team and the city some love. "With some of the best fans in the country and a pool of talented players, Cleveland is one of the nation's premier sports cities," the governor said.... Full story »

Vincent Quinones, the man who sued Berea Municipal Court over excessive fees after his 2005 DUI conviction, has found another way to beat the system. Charged again with DUI on April 2, he convinced a jury of his innocence last week. In the 2005 case, Quinones filed suit because the court charged separate fees for every offense he was convicted... Full story »

The cover of this year's Shaker Heights High School yearbook is a creative interpretation of a crowd of "Red Raider" mascots drawn by an artistically gifted student. But when administrators discovered a farewell message containing an F-bomb hidden in the artwork, it was their faces that must have turned red. Principal Michael Griffith wrote a letter last week to... Full story »