Together With Worts & Wards

Worts & Wards: Local. Sustainable. Spiritual 📍 W. 25th

At Worts & Wards, sustainability and community care are at the heart of what we do. We prioritize carrying products from local artists, herbalists, makers, and small businesses whenever possible, alongside other ethically sourced and environmentally conscious goods.

From handmade candles and herbal products to artwork, teas, body care, and ritual tools, many of the items throughout our shop are created in small batches by local vendors or crafted in-house. We believe supporting local makers, reducing unnecessary waste, and building strong community connections are vital values to create a more intentional customer experience.

Here, shopping small doesn’t just mean supporting one business. It helps sustain dozens of artists, creators, and like-minded makers in our community and beyond.

Follow @WortsandWards for vendor spotlights and new arrivals.

Visit Worts & Wards online or wander in at 2525 Market Ave., Cleveland

^{_{*Sponsored Content. To keep TWB fun and no-cost to you, we partner with local businesses}}

Community Blend

“The grid is very old and needs replacing” 📍 Lakewood

We've all tried to save some money by patching instead of fixing. Duct tape, caulk — “Yeah, I bet that’ll hold.” FirstEnergy has been doing this in Lakewood for years. Last week they finally said out loud what we’ve all been thinking.

Councilman Tom Bullock cornered FirstEnergy CEO Brian Tierney at a Crain's breakfast forum and asked about the outages. Bullock says the answer was "blunt": the grid is very old and needs replacing. Hundreds of millions. Seven to nine years for the biggest projects.

And note when the lights go out: not storms. Heat waves, when every AC on the street kicks on.

• What FirstEnergy says: the lines here are among the oldest in its territory, modernization is the priority, and investments have already started.

• What Lakewood says: PUCO proposed more than $3 million in penalties this month over likely violations here. "We have already paid for the grid updates that we don't have," Bullock said.

The city is asking residents to document every outage and file a complaint with PUCO. That paper trail is the whole case.

We're not rooting against anybody, and thank goodness for community organizations like LakewoodAlive when things go wrong. But a city that pays its bills on time shouldn't need a backup plan every time it hits 90.

The person who’s been doing shotty work finally admitted the whole thing has to be replaced.

🗞️ Short Takes

This week’s Short Takes is stuffed with Westside news. Read the full column here ⬇️
—Julie Short

Avon

Season ending: Don’t let summer slip by without heading to the ballpark. The Lake Erie Crushers are ending the 2026 season with a weekend to honor fans with BOGO Fan Finale Weekend, courtesy of Pepsi, Sept. 4-6 (Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.).

The final two fireworks shows of the season are Friday and Saturday night. All weekend fans can also enjoy bottomless popcorn and other special concessions and drink specials. More details

‍Tree Commission opening: The Avon Tree Commission has an opening for a Tree Commission member. An application is available on the city’s website. The deadline to submit is Sept. 4. The commission meets at 7:30 p.m. the second Wednesday of the month at the old City Hall building, 36080 Chester Road.

Avon Lake

‍Perfection: Congratulations to Avon Lake High School senior Jack Erdmann for scoring a perfect composite 36 out of 36 on the ACT exam earlier this summer.

After hours: Element LABS — Love, Art, Beauty, Science, 33465 Lake Road, recently  introduced a new way for women to gather, celebrate and enjoy a night out together with the launch of Boutique Takeovers at Element LABS, a private, after-hours experience that transforms the boutique into an exclusive destination for birthdays, girls’ nights and special occasions.

Each Boutique Takeover includes:

• Exclusive after-hours access to Element LABS for the hostess and her guests

• A complimentary mocktail bar provided by Element LABS

• Private access to shop the boutique’s full collection of handcrafted bath and body products

• The option for guests to bring their own snacks, charcuterie or celebration cake

• A hostess reward equal to 10% of the evening’s total sales in an Element LABS gift card, up to $100

Details about Boutique Takeovers

Bay Village

‍Outstanding administrator: Congratulations to Bay Village City School District's Director of Student Services Lindsey Holeman for receiving the Outstanding Administrator for the Northeast Region of the Ohio School Board Association (OSBA).

North Ridgeville

New benches: Kudos to North Ridgeville High School student Tyler James for recently completing his Eagle Scout project for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. He constructed six benches that were recently installed along the Heart & Sole trail at the Shady Drive Complex.

Rocky River

Feedback needed: The city’s Recreation Department is embarking on a Strategic Plan project. This planning effort will help identify future priorities for parks, recreation facilities, programs, events, and community spaces throughout Rocky River.

Additional details are available online.

Westlake

‍‍Fitness room: City officials recently hosted a Healthy Aging and Longevity Starts Here program, featuring MDVIP affiliated physician Dr. Kurtis Dornan at Westlake Community Services. Dr. Dornan discussed the science behind aging, how much of it residents can actually influence, and took questions from the audience afterward.

After the presentation, city officials recognized Dornan's new sponsorship of the Community Services fitness room.

‍Hall of Fame honors: Congratulations to the eight new members of the Westlake City Schools Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. The Westlake Alumni Association will celebrate the Class of 2026 Oct. 1 at The LaCentre Banquet Facility. This year’s class includes four Athletic inductees, three Distinguished inductees and one Honorary inductee.

‍Colton Buffington (Class of 2012), ‍Joe Craven (Class of 2011), Jack Laraway (Class of 1978), ‍Kati Wise Pederson (Class of 2000), Michelle Colley Girard (Class of 1983), ‍Dan Berkheimer (Class of 1981), Jim Leitch (Class of 1976).

See why each outstanding alumni deserved a Hall of Fame distinction here.

The Westside Pour Over

💻 Westlake - In an all-Westside business deal, Hyland Software acquired Strongsville-based Computer Systems Company, a sign of continuing consolidation in Ohio’s IT services and software industry.

💦 Strongsville - Bodybar Pilates is opening its high-energy studio in the SouthPark Mall campus at 17893 Southpark Center. Congratulations to local franchise owner Christine Garcia as she looks forward to the August 31 grand opening.

🏡 North Olmsted - Three old intermediate schools, three future neighborhoods. The city bought the properties to help with the housing crunch, and it's now shopping for developers.

Real Estate

Housing affordability is one of the biggest stressors for the modern family. Luckily, a Cleveland nonprofit is cutting a deal with Westside families who need some help.

CHN Housing Partners is building homes on vacant lots in the Clark-Fulton and Stockyards neighborhoods that the land bank has held for years.

Better yet, CHN will help these families not only afford to move in, but they will have the opportunity to own the homes through the CHM’s Lease Purchase Program. Here are the details:

• The terms: households at or below 60% of area median income, 15 years of rent plus coaching, then ownership.

• Going up: 57 three-bedroom two-stories, eight accessible, breaking ground fall 2027. It works: 1,800 families have finished.

The bigger picture: half of American renters, 22.6 million, spend over 30% of their income on housing. Third straight record year, per Harvard.

Fifteen years, one house at a time. That’s the CHN’s mission.

Buzz Morning Outing

Love Coffee Roasters 📍 Avon Lake

The last time a guy stood in front of us holding a stopwatch, we were in 6th grade gym class and somebody was about to make us run a mile.

This perfect morning, the stopwatch turned out to be a much better sign.

We spent Saturday morning looking to get our early morning buzz on. (Coffee. Not beer.) So we made the trek out to Love Coffee Roasters in Avon Lake.

One of our favorite things about trying a new place is getting a feel for the people who make it run. The friendly gent behind the counter definitely knew his beans. I was craving something more exotic than my usual black drip, and he steered me toward a pour-over. Right move.

It's basically tableside coffee's answer to Bananas Foster. Chris brought out a contraption holding precisely ground beans in a cone, a filter, and yes, a stopwatch. Cue the PE flashbacks. I snapped out of it once I realized he was using it to time his pours.

What was left at the end was the smoothest cup of coffee I have ever tasted. This man knows his stuff.

The longer we talked to Chris, the better the story got. He and his wife started with a mobile coffee cart and grew it into this standalone building, which now works equally well for a long chat with friends or a quick in-and-out.

He got interested in coffee while serving in the U.S. Army. He hopes the hobby-turned-profession does for his community what it did for him on his way out of the service.

So if you're on the Westside, want to support an Army veteran, and would like an expertly crafted cup of coffee, make the trip.

Love Coffee Roasters — 33473 Lake Rd, Avon Lake, OH 44012. Give them some love on social —> @lovecoffeeroastingco