Scene November 16, 2022

REWIND: 1972

50 years ago the Akron Rubber Bowl had one helluva summer concert lineup, and Scene was in the front row for all the action.

UPFRONT

BRIAN MOONEY DIDN’T RUN MUCH OF A CAMPAIGN AGAINST JOAN SYNENBERG, BUT COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY SUPPORT CARRIED HIM TO VICTORY

WARD 11 CLEVELAND CITY

councilman Brian Mooney, in what qualified as a shocker, beat wellrespected incumbent Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Joan Synenberg in last Tuesday’s election by 732 votes, according to unofficial results from the board of elections.

The councilman in January announced, just months after winning re-election, that he’d be seeking the seat, driven by a desire to see a Democrat challenge the Republican, who had been on the bench for 16 years in all, instead of letting her run unopposed.

“It wasn’t a planned-out decision,” Mooney told Scene. “I had just won council, and when I saw no other Democrat had the courage to run — that they’d all prefer to run against each other, and that’s the truth — I said, I’m going to do it.”

Between then and this week, however, residents of Cuyahoga County wouldn’t have been remiss in thinking that he wasn’t running much of a campaign at all. No signs, no campaign stops, no fundraisers, no radio ads.

The “he didn’t campaign” thing is a bit of a misnomer, he said.

“I self-funded $20,000,” he said. “Because I was running against an incumbent who had support, I decided to fund myself instead of hitting up my friends and family. It’s hard to fundraise as a judicial candidate. I used $20,000 on direct mail pieces. That was my budget.”

But he also didn’t participate in Cleveland.com/Plain Dealer’s endorsement interview process. (The PD endorsed Synenberg, which the editorial board noted was not simply because Mooney declined to talk.)

And he didn’t participate in surveys conducted by various lawyer groups and bar associations that are compiled into ratings and recommendations by Judge4Yourself.

“You make choices when you seek endorsements,” he told Scene. “Just because they have one doesn’t mean you have to or should go after it, because every endorsement process involves a lot of time. Some of these

endorsements involved six or 10 pages, it’s a lot of work to seek it, and some of these groups want to empower themselves. To me, the most important group I want to empower is the Democratic party...

I don’t know that residents care what lawyers think about other lawyers. I did care and seek out the endorsement of the Stonewall Democrats, because in today’s society, the LGBTQ society are the bogeyman for the Republicans, and they’re an important core segment of Democrat party.”

Mooney also told Scene he takes his job on city council very seriously, a job that entails more than 40 hours a week, he said, and that job was his priority this year, with campaigning

for the judicial seat a secondary concern.

“I didn’t want this campaign, one way or the other, to take away from the time I spend serving my residents,” he said. “I might have considered participating in some endorsements had it not been a long document that would have taken me eight or nine hours to fill out, when to me, I have a very demanding job and I didn’t want to take one minute away from it. I had my council job, I wasn’t losing it, so the first priority was my residents. I had limited time.”

The lack of public action, in addition to Synenberg’s record and campaign spending, made last night’s victory all the more

improbable.

But what Mooney did have was the endorsement and support of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, which included him as the preferred candidate in the race on more than 100,000 sample ballots distributed in the leadup to the election. That sample ballot, both he and party officials say, was essential in driving the Democratic clean sweep of nine county judicial races, especially with no party affiliations listed on the ballot.

Without it, he wouldn’t have won, he said.

“The party had gone away from them, for whatever reasons, but I have to credit Dave Brock and the whole team,” Mooney said. “The

PHOTO COURTESY CLEVELAND CITY COUNCIL

proof was there — the sweep of all the races, but particularly my race. I was grossly outspent. I didn’t have the endorsement of the PD or labor or any of the lawyer groups. It really showed yesterday. The Democratic Party and its sample ballot, that’s the key to the block.”

For his part, newly crowned Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Chair Dave Brock, who ran on a campaign of increased voter engagement and widescale party visibility across the county, agreed, citing the sample ballot as a huge success, as well as canvassing efforts by volunteers and the launch of a texting program and robocalls.

While disappointed with turnout, specifically in the city of Cleveland itself, Brock pointed to what he felt were some bright spots.

“The key thing we’re preparing for is how do we get people plugged in so they can do good things,” he told Scene. They had good buy-in with canvassers, and the sample ballot program more than paid dividends in the judicial races.

“It’s a testament to what we did,” he said, generally about the slate but specifically with respect to Mooney’s race. “Had we done nothing, had we not had the ballot program, I suspect he might not have won, and I suspect he feels the same.”

Mooney said that while he was clearly the underdog, he was a known commodity in public office with years of experience with the city and county prosecutor offices as well as in the Ohio Attorney General’s office, but credits the Democratic party push with the sample ballot in carrying him to victory.

“Every judge up there likes to think they’re elected because they’re smart or a good judge,” he said. “But a lot of it has to do with name recognition, most of it has to do with whether or not you’re a Democrat. But there are qualified Democrats and qualified Republicans in every race, and it comes down to which party is able to better push their candidates, and judges sometimes forget that.”

Since Mooney will vacate his council seat before two years of his new term have elapsed, it will be filled via a special election, as opposed to by appointment.

– Vince Grzegorek

Yes, There Is a Rat Problem on Public Square. Yes, Officials Are Aware of and Working on It

It may feel like they’re more

inconspicuous and camera-shy here than in the subways of New York, for example, but rats most definitely roam the streets and subterranean world of Cleveland.

But as some Clevelanders have noticed, the rodents have this year been more prevalent, and far more visible, in and around Public Square.

(Real ones, not the giant inflatable versions deployed recently by Teamsters Local 507 and Laborers Union 860 in a recent demonstration over stalled negotiations between City Hall and some 400 city workers.)

“The City Health Department has been working diligently to eliminate the problem over the last few months, but it is apparent that there continues to be an issue,” he said. “We continue to communicate directly with the Commissioner of Public Health so they may increase their efforts to remediate and eliminate this issue within the Square.”

The Cleveland Department of Public Health is indeed on the case, though results, given the scope of the problem, are a work in progress.

“We are working with the Cleveland Group Plan on the issue,” a CDPH spokesperson told Scene, noting that Sherwin’s Big Dig is indeed the suspected culprit.

Work now includes baiting, identifying areas where the rats are living, and eliminating food sources such as litter. – Vince Grzegorek

Ohio Disciplinary Counsel Files Complaint Against Geauga County Judge Timothy Grendell Accusing Him of Misconduct in Office

An attorney with the Ohio Supreme Court Office of Disciplinary Counsel last Thursday filed a complaint with the Ohio Board of Professional Counsel accusing Geauga County probate and juvenile court judge Timothy Grendell of misconduct in various cases and issues.

The 61-page filing largely centers on Grendell’s actions and orders in 2019 involving two teenage boys who he sent to juvenile detention for refusing to visit their estranged father, who the boys had accused of abuse. The case drew nationwide attention and condemnation, including from local officials.

A Lieutenant in the Geauga County Sheriff’s Department, for example, was so discomfited at the time that he penned a memo to his staff advising that in the future, verbal orders from the judge would be insufficient justification for

dragging kids to jail.

“The only times we should be taking juveniles into custody or to Portage is when we have had direct involvement with a juvenile via an unruly or delinquent issue and have [probable cause] for a charge and we contact the Judge directly for placement and he orders the juvenile into custody, we have an arrest warrant or written court order in hand...” the memo read. “In this above-mentioned incident, we had no charges and no [probable cause] for the lock up, simply the judge’s verbal order, which is not enough.”

Thursday’s complaint also takes Grendell to task for a case that also drew nationwide headlines: In 2020, he issued an order expressly preventing two children from being tested for Covid-19, alleging that the mother in the case was using Covid as an excuse to avoid abiding by an order allowing visitation rights to the father.

Referring, in a hearing in the case, to the coronavirus as the “COVID-19 panic-demic,” the judge said: “Pardon me for being a little skeptical when I’ve got 15 or more women coming in here, some guys, saying that they shouldn’t go see their other parent because of COVID-19.”

He ordered his constable to physically take the children, one of whom was at Akron Children’s Hospital, and deliver them to their father.

The disciplinary counsel’s third issue with Grendell comes from his long and bitter dispute with Geauga County Auditor Chuck Walder, who last year roundly beat Grendell’s wife, Ohio State Rep. Diane Grendell, in a primary race for the office.

While Grendell’s history of beefs with the Auditor’s Office is too lengthy to detail here, the ODC accused the judge of improper behavior by intervening in the investigation of two of his employees on trespassing charges by threatening the police chief and by talking about the then-ongoing case at a Tea Party event in which he accused Walder and others of various crimes and coverups.

Rounding out the complaint, the ODC alleges Grendell abused his position by volunteering to speak in 2020 at a statehouse hearing for House Bill 624, introduced by his wife, which accused Ohio officials of blowing the pandemic out of proportion. His participation violated

a judicial conduct rule that bars judges from voluntarily appearing at a public hearing of an executive or legislative body and one that says a judge shall not “abuse the prestige of judicial office to advance the personal or economic interests of the judge or others.”

Grendell has until Nov. 30 to respond to the complaint and could face punishment by a panel appointed by the Ohio Supreme Court that reviews disciplinary cases.

For his part, Grendell strenuously denied the allegations in a statement issued yesterday.

“The Complaint is without legal merit, reflects a lack of understanding of Ohio juvenile law and procedures, and contains many factually incorrect allegations that are 2 years old and older,” it read in part. “Judge Timothy Grendell followed the law, protected children, spoke truthfully, and exercised his constitutionally protected free speech rights, especially as they pertain to protecting public confidence in the court. Judge Grendell violated no ethic rules and looks forward to the opportunity to prove that ALL of his actions were proper and ethical.”

– Vince Grzegorek

DIGIT

million Asking price for Ravencrest, the Hunting Valley estate of the late Scott Wolstein which is the largest and most expensive house in the region. ? – Asking price of the Christmas Story House in Tremont, which also hit the market. The owner said he’s looking for the right offer, so take your shot.

Votes by which East Cleveland mayor Brandon King survived a recall effort in the November election.

Portion of the Metroparks annual budget funded by the levy, a 10-year renewal of which was passed with overwhelming support.

Deshawn Maines stood in a courtroom inside the Cuyahoga County Justice Center on Nov. 7, 2018, awaiting his sentence.

Six months earlier, he had Ubered to a home on Lakeview Road around midday, kicked in the door, and stolen two televisions and a laptop. One of the homeowners, away at work, got an alert from their home security system and called 9-1-1 while Maines was still inside. When police arrived they found the looted goods stashed in a nearby vacant house and Maines, who was then 49, hiding across the street behind a parked SUV, one of the TV remotes still in his pocket.

A court-ordered sanity assessment concluded Maines “was suffering from a severe mental disease” at the time of the crime — his attorney would say later that Maines has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. The crime, however, was far from his first. At the sentencing hearing, an assistant county prosecutor detailed Maines’ “lengthy, lengthy, lengthy” criminal record dating back more than three decades.

“Two thefts from ‘93, two (receiving stolen property) ‘93,” prosecutor Andrea Isabella rattled off to the court. “I’m sorry. Three thefts in ‘93, another theft in ‘95, another theft in ‘96, burglary in 2000…”

Like Maines, the vast majority of defendants who appear in Cuyahoga County courtrooms are not there for the first time. A new analysis by The Marshall Project found that almost 70% of the county’s nearly 70,000 criminal court cases from 2016 through the end of 2021 featured a defendant with at least one prior charge on their record. Nearly a third of the county’s court cases involve defendants with at least five prior criminal cases — and Maines has had more than 30 cases since the early 1990s.

By

The analysis shows that many of these defendants are not hardened, violent crimi nals. Police and prosecutors warn that judging defendants just on the crimes they’ve been convicted of can understate their dangerousness, given how many people take plea deals for lesser crimes than the ones they were originally charged with. Still, in either case, most of these defendants are not being accused of committing serious violent crimes that would result in lengthy sentences. Instead, they cycle through the courts every year or two to face the types of charges that earn them probation or brief stints in prison. They serve their time and are released, then wind up back in court again on similar criminal charges.

Derisively referred to by police and in the press as “career criminals,” these defendants represent the collision of two societal forces: the desire of many to reduce the nearly unmatched levels of incarceration in the U.S., and a fresh wave of concern among many Americans about public safety. While there is broad support for efforts to free those wrongfully convicted and to find alternatives to incarcerating people for “nonviolent drug” and “first-time” offenses, there remains less sympathy both inside and outside the system for those who’ve amassed records of multiple criminal offenses.

Yet prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and legal experts agree that addressing either concern — mass incarceration or rising crime — will require grappling with this universe of people who cycle repeatedly through the courts. That is no easy task, requiring a remedy to the decades-long failures to combat the addiction, mental illness and poverty driving crime in Cleveland and across the country.

This examination of repeat defendants is part of “Testify,” an ongoing project in which

The Marshall Project has scraped public court dockets to illuminate what happens inside Cuyahoga County courtrooms. The analysis shows that these defendants first encounter the court system as teenagers or young adults — the vast majority of them first faced criminal charges before the age of 25 — typically for crimes such as drug possession, petty theft, burglary, breaking and entering, or receiving stolen property. In many cases, their entire criminal records contain only these types of infractions, committed repeatedly between stints of incarceration.

Less than a third of these cases involved a guilty verdict for an “offense of violence,” defined by Ohio as crimes such as domestic violence, escape, improper discharging of a firearm, murder, or arson. The Cleveland Division of Police and County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley declined to comment on the findings.

“A vast number of people who we sweep into the criminal system are not actually ‘criminal’ in any meaningful sense,” said Alexandra Natapoff, a Harvard law professor and former federal public defender who has extensively studied low-level criminal offenses. “They are not scary, they are not dangerous. They do things we don’t want them to do, but the American habit of labeling people criminals and then throwing them under the societal bus is very particular and very American.”

These cases also reveal the current limitations of the county’s “specialty dockets” — side courts that take up some mental health and drug addiction cases. While most repeat defendant cases reviewed by The Marshall Project included someone who cited drug addiction, mental illness, or both as a factor in their crimes, almost none of them meet the strict eligibility requirements that have been in place for a case to be handled by Cuyahoga County’s specialty courts.

“We understand that prison has not proven to be the solution for stopping repeat offenders,’’ said Brendan J. Sheehan, Cuyahoga County’s administrative judge, in response to the findings. “At the same time, we have to find more innovative solutions to better protect our communities.”

He cited the specialty courts as among “the more proactive steps we have taken, engaging the communities we work in, learning by listening to people in those communities and the defendants we see in court.”

The coming months will see the county’s most direct effort to work with many of these de fendants when the court launches a “high-risk” drug court that will provide services to addicted defendants with lengthy criminal records, even those accused of violent crimes. Court officials say the high-risk docket, in the works for several years, is slated to launch in November.

“Where we can really see some change is if we focus on those repeat offenders, those people who have mental health issues, substance abuse issues, that lack of opportunity, that lack of job training,” said Jennifer O’Donnell, a candidate for the Court of Common Pleas who, if elected in November, would become the only former Cuyahoga County public defender among the county’s 34 judges.

But too often, rather than be rehabilitated, these defendants cycle in and out of prison, often

committing crimes of escalating severity. That escalation, prosecutors and defense attorneys agree, comes in part because even a single conviction or stint behind bars — much less a series of them — makes it that much harder to secure housing, income and consistent healthcare and much more likely someone will recidivate.

One former prosecutor compared the result to the lesson of Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables”: once you’re in the system, it’s impossible to escape. “Once you have one felony conviction on your record,” said Cullen Sweeney, the county’s chief public defender, “everything is harder for you.”

By and large, these repeat defendants come from Cuyahoga County’s poorest ZIP codes. They are almost exclusively male, even more likely to be Black than defendants facing their first charge, and more likely to hail from the city than the suburbs.

In many cases, the most serious criminal charge faced by these repeat defendants is the most recent one on their rap sheet. In other words, the average repeat defendant is someone like Deshawn Maines.

“The system is not built to help,” Maines said during a recent phone call from the Richland Correctional Institution in Mansfield. “It hinders.”

BEEN NEARLY A

quarter-century since the court system in Greater Cleveland took its first, begrudging, step toward reducing the number of people with mental illness and drug addiction cycling in and out of county courtrooms and Ohio prisons each year.

At the time, then-county prosecutor Stephanie Tubbs-Jones had secured federal grant money for a specialty drug court, but the county judges voted against taking the cash — arguing that such a program was just a means of coddling dangerous criminals. So Tubbs-Jones took the proposal to the city’s municipal court, which in 1998 set up the Greater Cleveland Drug Court.

For its first decade, the court was run by Judge Larry Jones, a Black former prosecutor (no relation to Tubbs-Jones), who was known to cite a quote from Thurgood Marshall as his judicial philosophy: “You do what you think is right and let the law catch up.” Jones’ leadership of the drug court fit that ideology — at the time, he faced ongoing opposition from prosecutors, lawmakers and even other judges themselves, according to those involved in the court’s creation. As a result, the drug court was structured specifically to serve the small sliver of defendants who carried almost no risk of future violence, even as the daily court docket made clear much of the county’s crime was being driven by unaddressed social ills.

Cuyahoga County voters have routinely approved tax levies increasing health and human services funding. Yet practitio ners within the public health system point out the yawning gulf between the scope of the problem they are tasked with addressing and the resources available to them. As is the case across the country, Greater Cleveland’s single largest mental health facility is the county jail.

“The criminal justice system is the only place, quite frankly, where we pay attention to this population,” said Robert Triozzi, a former judge, prosecutor and city law director who was involved in the efforts to set up the drug court and mental health dockets. “It was never built to be a component of the behavioral health system, yet that is what the folks who are in the system are being called upon to do.”

In Cuyahoga County, someone charged with a crime can petition through their attorney to have their case considered for drug court, mental health court, or one of the county’s other specialty dockets. If they qualify for drug court, the defendant is offered a structured recovery program, often instead of jail time. If completed, their guilty plea can be wiped from the record.

In total, putting a defendant through the program costs taxpayers about $3,000, compared to the $14,000 average cost of incarcerating someone for six months. Citing the success of the city program, it was expanded at the county level as well in 2008.

Despite their success, city and county drug courts have not been available until now to most of those cycling through the system. The drug court program is voluntary, meaning that some who would be otherwise eligible opt out. But the structure of the court itself also excludes many cases in which drug addiction is likely a factor.

Has the defendant ever committed a violent crime? Then they are ineligible. Previously pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking charge? Ineligible. Been cycling through the system for decades, amassing tons of drug convictions? Ineligible for drug court.

With restrictive criteria, the city and county drug courts can only intervene in a small number of cases.

Administrative Judge Sheehan noted that drug rehabilitation services are available to criminal defendants even if they are not eligible for drug court, and that cases in which those services have been offered may not show up in court docket entries.

“People who are not eligible for one of our spe cialty dockets or who do not want to participate still may receive needed treatment or help,” he said. “Defendants ineligible for our drug court, for example, often receive treatment based on sub stance use disorder assessments. Because these individuals are not referred into the drug courts by a journal entry, they are not captured in our court docket data — their referral to treatment comes as part of their probation experience.”

Still, at a time when fatal overdoses are surging across Cuyahoga County — 2022 is on

pace to have close to 800, the most of any year in recent history — the vast majority of criminal defendants with drug addictions have been excluded from the court program established to rehabilitate drug-addicted criminal defendants.

These are people like Eugene Groce, who has spent decades in Ohio prisons and Cuyahoga County courtrooms.

Groce, a 57-year-old Black man, was first arrested in 1980 as a 17-year-old after a friend of his, he said, snatched a woman’s purse while the two of them were waiting at a Cleveland bus stop. Raised by a single mother at East 93rd and Aetna Road, Groce said that by the time of his first arrest he was addicted to drugs and alcohol, having begun drinking heavily at 12. After being released from the juvenile facility, he began using and selling both powder and crack cocaine.

For the next 30 years, he cycled in and out of Ohio prisons on charges of theft, burglary and receiving stolen property. His most recent conviction came in 2018, when he pleaded guilty to burglary and criminal damaging. All of his offenses, Groce said, were committed in pursuit of his addiction.

“I’m not a violent person. I just have a drug problem,” Groce said in a phone interview.

Groce said that over the years he has checked himself into at least half a dozen treatment and detox programs, but at no point has he been to drug treatment as part of his various criminal convictions. In recent years, he said he has sought out treatment for both schizophrenia and PTSD.

During his current stint in prison, Groce said he enrolled in and completed the prison’s eight-month drug treatment program, as well as getting his certificate from barber school. He’s hopeful that he’ll be able to stay sober, and out of prison, after he is released next year.

“I’ve never gotten treatment through the courts. I always go to jail, jail, jail. I never get treatment,” he said. “The system is not designed to help you. You’ve got to help yourself.”

Jim Joyner, who has spent 50 years as a drug counselor in Northeastern Ohio, said those responsible for expanding access to specialized drug courts — elected prosecutors and judges — are often “well-intentioned people who don’t know their hind end from a hole in the ground” when it comes to understanding how addiction intersects with crime. Even those who do get it, he said, are beholden to voters who largely view addiction as a personal failing and not a chronic health condition to which someone can be biologically predisposed. The Marshall Project’s data analysis earlier showed that Cuyahoga County’s voting patterns have resulted in mostly White judges deciding the fate of the county’s mostly Black criminal defendants.

Prosecutors, defense attorneys and medical advocates praised the individual judges currently working the specialty court dockets, but noted that the reason these services have remained so narrow is a decision made by the county’s slate of judges as a whole. “It’s self-protection,” said Timothy J. McGinty, a former county prosecutor and himself a longtime judge. The judges, he said, are “politically vulnerable, and they know it.”

Still, McGinty and others said, attempts to provide more expansive rehabilitation options have to balance the rights and considerations of victims — especially when considering defen-

dants accused of committing acts of violence.

“Chronic violent repeat offenders cause a disproportionate amount of harm … they are the ones who the criminal justice system should focus on,” said McGinty. He noted that the public has little patience following highprofile cases of violence committed by someone with a lengthy criminal record, especially if it includes violent offenses.

That was the case earlier this year, after the shooting death of Cleveland police Officer Shane Bartek.

Bartek, 25, who is White, was ambushed on New Year’s Eve as he walked to his car to drive to a Cavaliers game, in an attempted carjacking by 18-year-old Tamara McLoyd, a Black woman from Garfield Heights. According to police and prosecutors, McLoyd demanded Bartek’s keys. A struggle ensued when the off-duty officer attempted to take McLoyd’s gun from her. Ultimately, she shot Bartek twice and drove off in his car. McLoyd later admitted to the shooting, but claimed it was an accident and pleaded not guilty in court. In August, a jury found her guilty of aggravated murder. The shooting horrified the city.

At the time of the shooting, McLoyd was on probation stemming from a robbery conviction in Lorain County Juvenile Court. She was accused of setting up the armed robbery of a 37-year-old man she met on a dating website, and there were at least two active warrants out for her arrest. Records released later would show that McLoyd had at least 12 juvenile court cases and several pending adult cases at the time of Bartek’s killing. In court, her attorneys and family noted that unresolved mental health issues contributed to her crimes. Neither McLoyd nor her attorneys could be reached for comment.

Cases like Bartek’s murder — featuring a defendant accused of multiple violent offenses — often dominate public discourse, prompting calls for more “tough-on-crime” policies and backlash to bail reform and other attempts at making the criminal legal system less punitive. Such fights

Law enforcement officials note that most violence stems from people who commit more than one violent crime. Yet The Marshall Project’s analysis shows that, in greater Cleveland, such people make up a small portion of the overall universe of repeat criminal defendants. Of the roughly 17,000 criminal cases involving defen dants with five or more cases, about 30% included a defendant with a conviction for a violent offense. (Because most of her prior offenses occurred in juvenile court, McLoyd was not one of the defen dants whose cases were included in the analysis).

Former county and federal prosecutor Duane Deskins compared violence to a raging fire engulfing Cleveland and creating a two-fold challenge: extinguishing the flames and rebuilding the city.

“Putting the fire out is the first step. Govern ments and societies are set up to protect people, that’s why the criminal justice system exists,” said Deskins. He said law enforcement and court efforts should focus most heavily on the small handful of people committing the most violence, while community groups focus on educational, employment and post-incarceration opportunities so that people do not cycle in and out of the system. He credited such a strategy, buoyed by federal funding, with helping the city reduce homicides for a stretch of years during the early 2000s.

“If you want fewer victims, then you have to have fewer perpetrators,” said Deskins, who led the city’s youth violence prevention efforts from 2016 to 2018. “Get the bad people off of the streets so there are fewer victims, and then do the work that you need to so that there are fewer people being funneled into criminal conduct.”

BEFORE THE END OF

the year, the Cuyahoga County court system will launch the new, more expansive drug court without strict eligibility requirements. It’s the

have played out across the country in cities like New York and San Francisco in recent years.

county’s most aggressive effort to address the repeat defendants whose crimes are driven by addiction and whose stints of incarceration failed to rehabilitate them.

Officials had hoped to get the new court operational sooner, but the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a years-long delay. Preparations are now in place, and criminal defendants long excluded from the county drug court can choose to have their case heard by a specialty judge as soon as this November.

“What we’re trying to do is open up our drug court to people who may have otherwise been ineligible and give them a little bit more hands-on attention,” said Judge William T. McGinty, who will run the new drug court. “If we could get 25% of our indictments every year sober, just think about what our community would look like in five to six years.”

The new court will accept people who commit violent crimes, including felonious assault, aggra vated assault, and domestic violence, the judge said. The only defendants not eligible for the new drug court will be those with prior convic tions for sexual assault and arson. According to McGinty, the drug treatment and mental health facilities the court partners with often cannot serve such people due to their insurance policies.

The high-risk drug court comes as welcome news to Christopher Harvath, who has spent 30 years oscillating in and out of Ohio prisons — even if the court is being established too late to apply to his most recent case, which landed him a lengthy prison sentence.

“People don’t realize how much addiction plays a part in people’s actions,” Harvath, 44, said in a phone interview from Ohio State Penitentiary, the Youngstown supermax prison where he has been since 2019. Prosecutors and judges “think that when a person tells them that, it’s just them trying to get out of jail time. A lot of times it is. But a lot of times it ain’t.”

Harvath, who is White, grew up at East 61st and St. Clair. His parents, he said, struggled with addiction and his mother was largely out of the picture. So he and his siblings were raised by an aging grandmother who he said did her best, but wasn’t equipped for the challenge. Most days he went to school with holes in his shoes. At 12, Harvath had his first encounter with police; at 16, he was sent to a juvenile facility after being caught stealing a car with a group of friends. He’s cycled in and out of courtrooms and prison cells in the three decades since.

“It might sound stupid, but I wish that when I first got locked up I would have gotten beaten up real bad so that I would have thought twice about ever going back to jail,” Harvath said, adding that his early brushes with the system normalized incarceration. “It doesn’t prepare you to go home. It doesn’t prepare you for the streets. It prepares you to come back.”

Harvath now attributes much of his early misbehavior to mental illness — he has since been diagnosed with intermittent explosive disorder, which can result in outbursts of impulsive behavior and violence. He describes himself as an adrenaline junkie. And his fix of choice, dating

back to his teen years, has been stealing cars.

It wasn’t until he was 27 that Harvath ever tried hard drugs. He was serving a four-year bid at the maximum security prison in Lucasville — locked up on a burglary conviction after he was caught stealing cars from a parking garage — when he first tried ecstasy after seeing fellow inmates getting high as a means of escape. Harvath recalled thinking that getting high was, in a sense, “a way to get out of prison.”

By the time he was released, Harvath had developed a full-blown drug dependency that would soon expand to include cocaine, heroin, crack and OxyContin. He’d been sent to Lucasville, ostensibly, to be rehabilitated. Instead, he emerged in 2004 hooked on drugs.

Drugs had not been a factor in any of his convictions to that point, Harvath said, but were a driving component in the ones that followed. “My whole life after that has been the addiction,” he said. The city and county drug courts weren’t established until a decade later. Even if they existed, Harvath’s prior convictions and the types of charges he routinely faced, like burglary and grand theft auto, would have made him ineligible before the creation of the high risk drug court.

In the years since, the longest he’s been out of prison is 11 months. And that was atypical. Usually he has only been home for a few weeks at a time — 32 days, 27 days, 52 days — before getting arrested and sent back to prison. He pleaded guilty to charges including breaking and entering, attempted grand theft, grand theft and grand theft auto, possession of criminal tools, vandalism, receiving stolen property, burglary, and aggravated theft. He said that at no point during his more than 10 stints in Ohio prisons has he ever been provided with drug treatment or mental health services. His most recent arrest and conviction, his most serious yet, came in late 2018, just 78 days after he’d been released from prison.

According to prosecutors, in late 2018, Harvath, his brother Joseph, and a third man named Carl Deditch began burglarizing apartment complexes across the county. Among the items they stole were cars, TVs, power tools, license plates and Christmas trees.

Harvarth was caught after the workers at a software company in Westlake confronted him and his brother as they tried to steal the plates off of an employee’s car and put them on another car, which the brothers had stolen. Harvarth sped off in the stolen car and led police on a chase that ended in a five-car crash. He and two other people were seriously injured.

In November 2019, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison, the longest sentence he’s ever received. “I wouldn’t have caught this much time,” Harvath said. “Except … I put other lives in danger.” In a press release at the time, county prosecutor O’Malley celebrated that “career criminals” like Harvath and his brother would “no longer be able to wreak havoc in our communities.”

“I’m not receiving drug or mental health treat ment,” Harvath wrote in an email from prison. Still, Harvath said he is determined to stay sober and out of trouble upon his next release, slated for 2032, even if he is frustrated by how little support he’s received while incarcerated by the state’s “rehabilitation” department.

“I’m definitely not coming back,” Harvath wrote. “I will be 53 years-old, and I am so so so so sick and tired of being sick and tired. I am ready to live my life and enjoy my freedom while I have the chance!”

AFTER DESHAWN MAINES

was arrested, his case was moved to the mental health docket and landed in the courtroom of Judge Hollie Gallagher. A court-ordered review concluded that while Maines was severely mentally ill, he understood that his actions were wrong at the time of his crime and thus could be held criminally culpable.

Over two days of hearings, Gallagher spoke with Maines to make sure that he understood the legal proceedings, and that she understood this case and his history. From 1991 to 2017, court records show, Maines had been suspected of more than 55 theft-related offenses.

“I didn’t come from a bad life. My mother is a doctor. I just ended up on the wrong track,” Maines said during a brief phone interview, in which he declined to discuss the details of his case. Details of his most recent criminal case were acquired via public records and an inter view with his attorney. Maines said he’d long had trouble receiving the correct mental health and drug treatment. “Of course the outcome would have changed for me…if someone would have came and aided me or listened to my family.”

Maines told the judge that for most of his life, he’d been getting in trouble for crimes that he had committed to support a drug habit. But this time, the 2018 burglary, wasn’t about addiction — he said that had been clean. Instead, there had been an issue with his insurance and so, on the day of the burglary, Maines had been off his medication for two weeks.

“Every time I come to this court or jail it’s for trying to support drugs and stealing out of stores, I’ve been stealing out of stores to support a habit forever,” Maines told the judge, growing so upset that she had him pause to take a few deep breaths, according to a transcript of the proceedings.

“I have been messing up for so many years,” Maines continued. “My mother died and I was in prison. I was so disappointed, I was so hurt because I let my mother leave here seeing me be a failure. And when I came home I tried, and I was succeeding. And I was … (then) the incident happened, and I didn’t make the right choice.”

Maines agreed to plead guilty to one count of burglary and one count of receiving stolen

property. Prosecutors agreed to drop an addition al theft charge, reducing the amount of prison time he was facing from nine years to eight. Still, Maines assumed he’d end up getting probation or, at most, a year or two in prison — the types of sentences he’d received many times in the past.

At a sentencing hearing two months later, prosecutors put on a full presentation. After running through Maines’ criminal history, as sistant county prosecutor Andrea Isabella told the court, “It’s clearly gotten out of control, and it’s harming people.”

Isabella played the home surveillance footage, which showed Maines first attempting to break into the victim’s car and pausing to make sure he was not seen by the neighbors before entering the house. She next had the two homeowners testify, as well as the detective who had investigated the case. Each of them urged the judge to give Maines as much prison time as possible.

“I don’t know if you have ever had your house or anything broken into or stolen from you, but I feel like he basically violated my space,” one of the victims told the judge. “I want him to go to jail. I want him to stay in jail, I want him to get the maximum time possible … He took away my peace of mind, and I don’t think that’s fair.”

Maines’ attorney, Michael Marein, begged the judge for leniency, saying that his client had been physically and sexually abused as a child and been addicted to drugs. He noted that frequent prison sentences had not made a difference. Even now, Marein said he remains deeply upset by prosecutors’ dismissiveness toward his client’s clear mental illness. (Isabella, now a federal pros ecutor, did not respond to requests for comment).

Marein said that he believes his client was hal lucinating when he committed the crime. “There is no doubt in my mind that he thought these people stole from him,” Marein said. “His reality is distorted.”

Maines was facing a maximum sentence of eight years in prison. Prosecutors asked that he be given at least five. Judge Hollie Gallagher decided to sentence him to six. “Your mental illness is not an excuse. It’s not. And your record is so unbelievably long with similar types of incidents. Unbelievably long. I can’t put you on probation. You are going to serve a prison sentence,” Gallagher, who did not respond to requests for comment, declared from the bench.

“The doctors say the biggest predictor of future behavior is past behavior. So if I was going to predict what you would do on probation, my prediction would be that you would victimize another person...” she continued. “Sometimes mental illness is a mitigating factor, and sometimes it’s a dangerous factor. So with your record I have to say if you’re blaming this on your mental illness then your mental illness makes you more dangerous.”

Maines appealed his sentence, noting that during the plea deal negotiations he had been told that the judge was “still considering” probation, and that had influenced his decision to admit to the charges. The panel of three appeals court judges upheld his sentence — noting that Gallagh er’s decision had fallen within her judicial discre tion and complied with her legal obligations — but one of them issued a separate opinion.

Judge Patricia Ann Blackmon, a former prosecutor for the city of Cleveland, concurred that

there were no legal grounds to overturn Maines’ conviction, but said she was concerned about the state of the “mental health prison complex.” Blackmon became the first Black woman elected as an appeals court judge in Ohio when she first ascended to the bench in 1991.

The deinstitutionalization of those with mental health problems, she wrote, had funneled scores of people into a criminal legal system unequipped and unwilling to navigate their illness. And while the police, prosecutors, jurors and judges often believe defendants like Maines know right from wrong, Blackmon wrote, too often that conclusion ignores advances in brain science that show how mental illness and drug use damage executive function.

“The court system has known for decades that Maines is in need of mental health treatment. However, the system has opted to continue jailing him with hopes that society will be safe from him for at least six years,” Blackmon wrote. “The police detective and many others believe very strongly that he knows the difference between right and wrong. Maybe he does, but that is not the issue. Putting him in jail without properly addressing his mental health care is unbelievable.”

This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system.

scene@clevescene.com @clevelandscene

GET OUT Everything to do in Cleveland for the next two weeks

It’s the time of the season for Crocker Park’s Annual Tree Lighting. See: Saturday, Nov. 19.

WED 11/16

Cats

Featuring new sound design, direction and choreography, a revamped version of the musical Cats remains in town this month for an extended run at the State Theatre. Tickets start at $20. Check the Playhouse Square website for show times and more info. Performances continue through Sunday.

1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

The Great Leap

Tonight at the Outcalt Theatre, the Cleveland Play House presents The Great Leap, a play about an American college basketball team travels from San Francisco to Beijing for a “friendship game” against a Chinese squad. Performances continue through Sunday. Check the Playhouse Square website for times and ticket prices.

1407 Euclid Ave, 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

THU 11/17

El Niño

For his oratorio El Niño, famous

American composer John Adams imagines a modern-day miracle, retelling the story of the Messiah through a “constellation of refer ences from medieval chant to con temporary Latin American poetry.” Adams comes into town tonight to conduct the Cleveland Orchestra as it plays the piece at 7:30 at Mandel Concert Hall. Performances also take place tomorrow night and Saturday night.

11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.

FRI 11/18

Capone

Comedian Derrick “Capone” Lee served nine months in jail in the early ‘90s. He successfully left that life behind, however, when he turned to comedy. He performed for the first time ever at Columbia University and hasn’t looked back. His material often centers on subjects such as racism and social inequality. Capone has shared the stage with big-name comics such as Mike Epps and Tracey Morgan. He performs at 7:30 and 10 tonight and at 6:30 and 9 tomorrow night at the Improv.

1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com.

Phoo: Stark Enterprises

Friday Night Lights!

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History stays open until 8 tonight to feature special programming, including current science presentations, gallery talks, up-close looks at the museum’s animals, in-depth conversations with curators and special guests, and access to the Ralph Mueller Observatory, weather permitting. The events are free for members. For nonmembers, normal admission rates apply, and guests who purchase a ticket at any time on Friday are welcome to stay past 5 p.m. at no additional cost.

1 Wade Oval Dr., 216-231-4600, cmnh.org.

SAT 11/19

Crocker Park’s Annual Tree Lighting: A Grinchmas Party with Santa

A whole cast of holiday characters will take the stage at 7 tonight at Crocker Park to perform an hourlong Grinchmas show. The group will then welcome Santa to help light a giant Christmas tree. Leading up to the big performance and lighting, Crocker Park’s holiday attractions, including the Real-Ice Skating Rink, Santa’s Village and Gift Shop, a holiday market with local vendors and a Selfie Station on Santa’s Sleigh will all open at noon. Admission is free. 189 Crocker Park Blvd., Westlake, crockerpark.com.

SUN 11/20

Nemr

Critics credit Nemr, a Lebanese/ American standup comedian, with establishing the standup comedy scene throughout the Middle East. Nemr actually grew up in San Diego but then moved back to Lebanon with his family, where he sought to “break down barriers.” He performs tonight at 7 at Hilarities. Check the club’s website for ticket prices. 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.

MON 11/21

Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks promise to be a playoff contender this year, and they come to town for the first time this season to take on the Cavs at 7 p.m. at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The

Cavs are off to a terrific start thanks to the stellar play of newly acquired guitar Donovan Mitchell, so this is a game they should win.

1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.

TUE 11/22

Lyrical Rhythms Open Mic and Chill

This long-running open mic night at the B Side allows some of the city’s best rappers and poets to strut their stuff. The event begins at 8 with a comedy session dubbed 2 Drinks & a Joke with host Ant Morrow. The open mic performances begin at 10 p.m. Tickets cost $5 in advance, $10 at the door., $5.

2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-932-1966, bsideliquorlounge.com.

WED 11/23

Kerwin Claiborne

Alter egos such as Ms. Mary, Uncle Leroy and Miss Keisha have made comedian Kerwin Claiborne into an internet sensation. He brings his live show to the Improv tonight at 7. Check the Improv website for more info. 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com.

THU 11/24

Magic of LIghts

A drive-through holiday lights experience featuring holiday scenes and characters of the season using the latest LED technology and digital animations, Magic of Lights returns to the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds this holiday season. Hours are 5:30 through 10 p.m. daily through Jan. 1. Check the website for ticket prices and more info. 19201 East Bagley Rd., Middleburg Heights, 440- 243-0090, magicoflights. com/events/northeastohio/.

FRI 11/25

A Christmas Carol

The Great Lakes Theater production of Charles Dickens’ classic never fails to engage and delight. This annual tribute to knee-jerk liberal sentiments, like compassion for the downtrodden, is always a must-see, whether you’ve seen it before or not. Tonight’s performance takes place at

7:30 at the Ohio Theatre, where performances continue through Dec. 23. 1501 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

Brendan Eyre

Comedian Brendan Eyre likes to joke that he grew up fighting his brother when he was young and picked up some habits that didn’t translate so well into the real world. “I would lock myself in the bathroom until my mom came home from work,” he says in one routine. Eyre, who’s appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Comedy Central, and Gotham Comedy Live, became a New Face of Comedy at Montreal’s prestigious Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. He performs tonight at 7 and tomorrow night at 9:30 at Hilarities. Check the Hilarities website for ticket prices. 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.

SAT 11/26

Music & Friends Garage Sale Holiday Edition

Vendors at this event will sell concert photography, vinyl, music memora bilia, biographies, vintage concert tees, music icon fridge magnets, cassettes, tour programs, concert posters and 45s. Photographers Janet Macoska, Joe Kleon, and Anastasia Pantsios will be on hand as will local authors. It all goes down from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Music Box Supper Club. This year’s sale will help those in the music community with a suggested one dollar donation at the door. Proceeds will go to the 10,000 Watts of Holy Light Foundation (part of the Cleveland Foundation). 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.

Tomáseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas

Now in its 27th season of touring nationally, Tomáseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas aims to recreates the joy and innocence of a night before Christmas in a remote farmhouse in the parish of Teampall an Ghleann táin in the west of Ireland in the 1950s. The performance features Grammy-winning guitarist William Coulter, All-Ireland champion singer and fiddle player Eimear Arkins, Champion Irish dancer Marcus Donnelly, Cleveland native uilleann piper Brian Bigley and native Irish storyteller Tomáseen Foley. The per formance takes place tonight at 7:30

at the Hanna Theatre.

2067 East 14th St., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

SUN 11/27

Browns vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Browns take on the Buccaneers, a team known for its stingy defense and for having one of the greatest quarter backs of all time in Tom Brady, today at 1 p.m. at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Browns need a win to stay in conten tion for the playoffs, so you can expect this game to be a tight one.

100 Alfred Lerner Way, 440-891-5000, clevelandbrowns.com.

Cleveland Pops Holiday Spectacular!

Cleveland Pops Orchestra and Pops Chorus team up for today’s holiday concert that takes place at 2 p.m. at Connor Palace. There will be holiday music and magic during intermission. Expect visits with adoptable puppies and kittens from local shelters and family photos with Santa Claus. The City Mission will accept donations of new toys and games. 1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, p layhousesquare.org.

Genghis Con

This small press and independent comic convention brings together cartoonists, zinesters, printmakers, authors, illustrators, small press publishers, educators and advocates. They’ll exhibit their work, talk about their processes and celebrate the independent print community. The event takes place today from noon to 5 p.m. at the Pivot Arts Center. 2937 W 25th St., genghisconcleveland.com/.

TUE 11/29

Tootsie

Part of the Broadway in Akron series with performances at E.J. Thomas Hall on the campus of the University of Akron, Tootsie tells the story of a talented actor who struggles to find work until he finds “the role of a lifetime.” Performances take place at 7:30 tonight and tomorrow night at E.J. Thomas Hall in Akron.

198 Hill St., Akron, 330-972-7570, ejthomashall.com.

scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene

SETTING SAIL ON THE WEST SIDE

Salty Mary’s is a seafood snacker’s delight in Westlake

By Douglas Trattner

IF YOU DON’T LIVE ON THE far west side, you probably have never made it to Hail Mary’s, an unassuming tavern in Westlake. Going on five years, the pub has earned a devoted following thanks to its intimate vibe, scratch-made bar food and warm service. But while the namesake football pass leaves everything to chance, the owners of Hail Mary’s know precisely what they’re doing.

Between the pair, Wil and Julie Novak have more combined restaurant experience than the entire staff of a typical restaurant. Both spent ages with Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, with Wil working alongside Mitchell himself as he opened one multi-milliondollar restaurant after another. After three decades spent working for other operators, the couple finally said enough is enough.

“We looked at each other and we were like, this is crazy, why aren’t we doing this for ourselves,” Wil explains.

Building off the success of Hail Mary’s, the Novaks recently opened Salty Mary’s Oyster Bar, also in Westlake. Just as their mentor had done a million times, the couple scoured the landscape for a concept they felt was lacking in their neck of the woods. That brainchild turned out to be a casual seafood restaurant.

“Simple done right,” says Wil. “Let the product speak for itself. I was in fine dining for many, many years and it’s too hoity-toity. I just want people to be able to come into a bar or restaurant in jeans and a t-shirt and be completely fine.”

R&D trips to Maryland, Delaware, South Carolina and New Orleans have netted a menu that offers a tantalizing mix of regional seafood gems combined with some creative originals. Diners kick back to the soothing sounds of yacht rock, snuggle up to the real wood fire, and knock back oysters done every which way. We enjoyed delicately fried oysters ($11) with roasted jalapeno aioli and garlicky broiled oysters ($11), both presented in their shells, but the restaurant also offers them raw, as shooters in

mini Bloody Marys, and Rockefellerstyle with spinach, bacon and blue cheese.

Salty Mary’s is a seafood snacker’s paradise. Even without touching an entrée a guest can put together a glorious spread of coastal delights. Options include steamed clams, Old Bay-steamed shrimp, tuna crudo with avocado, and house-cured

seasoned potatoes, and they make an appearance at Salty Mary’s as well. The blackened walleye sandwich ($16) is well seasoned, perfectly cooked and served in a soft bun with slaw and remoulade. The Novaks did their homework when crafting the New Orleans-style BBQ shrimp recipe ($22). Like the best Creole versions, the plump, tail-on shrimp

dormant Friendly’s and, after completely gutting the property, gave it a bright and beachy makeover. There’s generous counter-bar seating that offers views into the open kitchen. It’s a great spot to enjoy happy hour drinks and discounted snacks. A passed ballot measure in this most recent election grants Salty Mary’s a Sunday pass. Now, Game Day can include Bloody Marys garnished with Old Bay shrimp and pickled peppers.

Arctic Char served lox-style with diced onion, egg, capers, cornichon and crostini. Our table sipped William Fèvre sauvignon blanc ($58) while munching on golden brown fried clams ($15), buttery wine-steamed mussels ($14) and a spreadable Dirty Martini dip ($8) made with blue cheese, cream cheese, green olives and vermouth.

The beer-battered fish and chips ($24) stars pristine fresh cod, which flakes off into lush white planks. Hail Mary’s customers have grown to love the house “flat fries,” which are thin, wide, crisp and perfectly

are tossed in smoky spices and sauteed in buckets of butter. While typical versions come with French bread for dipping, here the kitchen ditches moderation and serves them atop creamy cheddar grits.

Not everyone in the group loves seafood, the Novaks know, so they offer appetizers like deviled eggs and hushpuppy spoon bread, thoughtfully composed salads like the superb chopped ($10) in Green Goddess, and a burger and hangar steak that I can only assume are equally well prepared.

The owners took over a long-

Although they didn’t draw up the play this way, soon after opening Salty Mary’s, the Novaks opened Smokin’ Mary’s BBQ Pit and Saloon a little farther down Center Ridge in North Ridgeville. It’s a BBQ joint with Tex-Mex flair. A quick glance at the menu reveals a distinctive take on a classic Texas roadhouse that demands a visit.

Don’t think for a moment that the Novaks are running short on bright ideas. Like their former employer, the entrepreneurs have been bit good and hard by the bug.

“We have a couple different concepts in mind,” Wil teases.

Courtesy Photo

BITES

Parallax in Tremont is now closed, and may or may not reopen

By Douglas Trattner

ON FRIDAY, NOV. 4, THE head chef at Parallax walked out of the restaurant, an event which, combined with long-lingering issues, triggered a total collapse of the business.

The 18-year-old restaurant in Tremont has been closed ever since – and its future is anything but certain.

General Manager Zack Steffas says that the situation had been brewing for some time. He cites an insufficiently staffed kitchen and absentee owners as a large cause of the problem. It took two months for a basement water leak to get resolved, for example. Two weeks ago, the hoods in the kitchen stopped working so the staff pivoted to sushi-only service. A quick look online reveals declining reviews from longtime fans, who have been witnessing – and recounting – erratic behavior in the kitchen.

“We used to call it dinner and a show,” Steffas says of the kitchen crew’s unpredictable conduct.

Steffas, who is now out of a job, says that he alerted owners Zack and Julian Bruell to the volatile state of affairs at the restaurant. His opinion is that another operator might have had better contingency plans to deal with predictable obstacles like a departing chef.

“One man shouldn’t crumple an empire,” he says. “You as a business owner should have something in place for a situation like this.”

Zack Bruell opened Parallax in 2004. It was his first restaurant after leaving Ken Stewart Restaurants, where he worked for nearly a decade. Since opening that Tremont jewel, Bruell went on to build a culinary empire of nine restaurants and 500 employees. But Covid, restaurant closures and a partnership split have whittled all that down to two restaurants and about 100 staffers.

For his part, Bruell says that the employment nightmare that began in 2020 has not abated. To alleviate some of that pressure, he personally has been clocking 80-hour weeks in the kitchen at L’Albatros. He wishes that he had a deep bench of professionals that he could call on to replace the outgoing chef at Parallax,

but that is not the case.

“A no-show has a ripple effect,” Bruell says. “A walk-out screws the entire business and his fellow employees.”

It’s no secret that Bruell is a perfectionist who does not suffer apathy or laziness. He’s an oldschool chef that looks upon the hospitality industry as a true profession that demands excellence and is worthy of respect. He says it’s getting harder and harder to find people who still think that way.

“I have been operating at the highest levels and I will not compromise,” Bruell says.

One person who does fit Zack’s mold is Julian Bruell, who left a job at a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York to join his father in the family business. As director of service, Bruell aims to offer guests a level of service commensurate with the best restaurants in the world. He says that has been a struggle of late.

“I think people don’t view this as a profession at this moment, partially because of the pandemic,” he says. “Some people like it a little bit easier and relaxed instead of a place that demands excellence, which is okay; everyone has a different view of what they want to achieve in life. But we are not going to change the way we do things. We want to provide the best food and service that we can every day. It’s pretty simple, I just want people who have a passion for this business.”

The situation at Parallax is more complicated than “simply” hiring a new chef. It’s clear from speaking with Zack that he wants a completely new arrangement, one that likely will require a chefpartner to step in and accept the lion’s share of responsibility.

“I can’t do it alone,” he says.

For now, the future of Parallax is in limbo, but Bruell isn’t ready to call it quits.

“That was my baby, that was my comeback restaurant,” he says. “I don’t want to have to walk away from it.”

Julian is looking for the silver lining.

“I think it’s an opportunity to rebrand, an opportunity to maybe

do something more modern, an opportunity to change and grow,” he says. “Eighteen years is a long time.”

For the former GM, however, labor issues and high standards don’t explain everything.

“Everybody always wants to blame the staff,” says Steffas, who was at Parallax for five months, “but the real situation comes down to Zack, who has been neglecting this restaurant for who knows how long.”

Balaton Hungarian Restaurant Has Found a New Home in Bainbridge

As promised, the closure of Balaton restaurant was only temporary. When the restaurant closed its doors at Shaker Square earlier this year, owner Krisztina Ponti pledged to find a new home for the beloved Hungarian restaurant.

“It’s an extremely emotional time for us,” Krisztina stated. “It is not the end, but it is the end over here on Shaker Square.”

We are thrilled to report that Krisztina and George Ponti indeed have secured a new east-side location. This latest iteration will land in Bainbridge, specifically at the corner of Rt. 306 and E. Washington. The goal is to be open sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas, they say.

This will be the fourth location for Balaton since Therezia Olah launched the restaurant on Buckeye Road in the early 1960s.

We’ll announce opening day when we know it.

Lakewood, the city where his pie and quiche business began. But soon after signing the first lease another piece of property caught his eye: the corner space at Madison and Brown (14201 Madison Ave.) that has been home to Chow Chow Kitchen, Smokin’ Thyme Kitchen and recently Primoz Pizza.

“I’ve had my eye on this shop for like 10 years because it’s turnkey, but people keep beating me to it,” Schlott says.

In the main space, Schlott will open Pizza Vendetta, which will focus almost entirely on Detroit-style pizza, which has been available by the slice at Gray House for a few years.

“I’ve been passionate about pizza forever and learning different styles, but I’ve been really hung up on Detroit-style for the past five years,” he explains. “So when that space became available I said this is perfect.”

Unlike those over-the-counter slices at Gray House, Pizza Vendetta will sell whole pan pizzas in two traditional sizes, 8 x 10 and 10 x 14. “We’re going to do it the right way,” he says. “Other places claim to do Detroit-style, but they aren’t doing it the proper way.”

Gray House Pies Owner to Open Detroit-Style Pizza and British Handpie Shop in Lakewood

Last month, we shared the news that Gray House Pies owner Joe Schlott was making a return to

Schlott has been selling savory British handpies for years at Gray House. With U.K. Pies and Fries he’ll offer traditional fillings like pork pie, steak and kidney pie and Cornish pasties, along with nontraditional fillings that will change with the seasons. Instead of the classic “pie, mash and gravy,” the shop will serve pie, fries and gravy. And since he’ll be selling fries and gravy, Schlott says customers can expect poutine. The gravy will be available in beef, chicken and vegan versions.

Look for Pizza Vendetta and U.K. Pies and Fries to open in the next month or so.

Photo by Doug Trattner

DEATHCORE AND MORE

Lorna Shore drummer talks about the band’s remarkable rise to fame

By Jeff Niesel

DRUMMER AUSTIN ARCHEY recalls seeing the New Jersey-based death metal band Lorna Shore in the 2010s before he officially joined the group. While the group would eventually develop its deathcore sound to become the potent force that it now is, Archey knew the band was onto something even then.

“You could tell back then that the band was kind of different and ahead of everyone,” he says via phone from his New Jersey home. Lorna Shore performs on Thursday, Nov. 17, at House of Blues.

Archey became friends with former lead singer Tom Barber and was even sitting in the car with him when the group’s original drummer called to tell him he was quitting the band. Barber asked Archey to join the band on the spot, and he readily agreed to jump on board.

The band turned a corner when singer Will Ramos (Moment of a Memory, A Wake in Providence) joined the fold. A Wake in Providence had played some shows with Lorna Shore, so the Lorna Shore guys were aware of Ramos’s skills. When he sent a few demos to the band, he sealed the deal.

“We just knew he was this dude who looks super-young,” says Archey of Ramos. “But when we lost our old vocalist, I reached out to him. I didn’t know if he’d be interested. He was all in. Seven years into a career, it’s hard to find someone with that dedication. He was very prepared. I think he prepared his whole life for this. His first long tour with us was a two-week stretch. He hadn’t done anything like that. It was remarkable to see him step up from the ashes and become bigger than all of us.”

After the pandemic cut Lorna Shore’s 2020 European tour short, band members continued to keep in touch via group texts and managed to write and record an EP.

“[The European tour] was Will’s final tryout,” says Archey. “After that, we wanted to know if we could write songs with him and then finally realized at that time that he was the man for the job.”

In the process of working on the EP, the band cut “To the Hellfire,” a tune that would become its signature track.

“I had no idea for what our threshold was like,” says Archey

when asked about the track. “When we recorded it, we thought maybe it was too much, but it just felt right. We were angry, and it’s an aggressive song that wholeheartedly displays Will’s abilities. It’s like, ‘Here’s exactly what he sounds like.’ It’s probably the craziest song the band has written. I knew it would shake the music industry, but I didn’t know it would be outside the genre. It exceeded all expectations.”

Almost a year after the sessions for the EP concluded, the band began working on its latest album, Pain Remains. Finishing the album proved to be a challenge since the band’s popularity put some pressure on the group to deliver something that would live up to the hype. The resulting album

is an epic affair that clocks in at just over an hour and commences with the riveting “Welcome Back, O’ Sleeping Dreamer,” a tune that begins with an orchestral flourish before howling vocals and deafening drums take over.

“We were forced to go on tour and take time away from writing, and it threw us for a bit of a loop and created some pressure,” admits Archey. “Going into the studio to work on the album, we knew we had to top ourselves.”

The band recorded at Michigan’s Random Awesome Studios with producer Josh Schroeder in the fall of 2021.

“It’s essentially a one-man operation,” says Archey when asked about the studio. “It’s in the basement of his house. If you walk in the studio, the coffee is already being made. There’s probably cookies or something out that Josh’s wife baked for everyone. It’s a homelike environment and the most comfortable environment you could be in. It’s great. You don’t have to be in some recording studio sleeping on the floor. We make ourselves miserable and crazy with our own vices, so we don’t need any more discomfort. That grounds us a bit.”

Archey says that after years of opening for other acts, band members are excited to not only headline but also select the openers.

“It’s first one where we’re doing the most with in terms of how long the set is and the support bands,” he says. “We wanted this package. Supporting tours are great but to put together a tour has a whole different meaning. Production-wise, I don’t want to let too much out. We’ve invested in ourselves a lot. We want to blow the doors off every venue. It’s the craziest show the band has ever put on, but this is our big moment. I think we have all come together over the years to master our craft and put on a good visual show. Will is screaming and running around. It’s very impressive that he can move and engage crowd while barking out those crazy vocals.”

Photo: Breaking the Law PR

Lorna Shore.

OUT OF DARKNESS

Singer-songwriter Kendell Marvel wrote a hopeful album during the height of the pandemic

By Jeff Niesel

FOR MANY SINGER-SONGwriters, moving to Nashville with the hopes of becoming successful just doesn’t pan out. While it certainly hasn’t been easy for Kendell Marvel, he received a stroke of good luck during his very first writing session in the Music City. On that first day, he teamed up with Casey Beathard to write “Right Where I Need to Be,” a tune that would become a big hit for Gary Allan.

“[Moving to Nashville] was a little like going from a big fish in a little pond to a little fish in a big pond,” he says via phone from Mexico Beach, a small Florida city where he owns a vacation home.

Kendell Marvel performs on Friday, Nov. 18, at the Winchester Music Tavern in Lakewood. “After I wrote [‘Right Where I Need to Be’], I thought it was easy. But then, it would take me a couple of years to get into the groove.”

And even if the songs didn’t come as easily after Marvel cranked out “Right Where I Need To Be,” he says the Nashville music scene proved to be inspiring nonetheless.

“I caught the tail end of the ’90s when there was a lot of good music still around before the pop-country crap took over and ruined it for all of us,” he says. “I was just in the right place at the right time writing with the right guy and working with the right publisher. We really wanted Marc Chesnutt to record that song. Fortunately for us, Marc passed on it and they gave it to Gary Allen. It helped change his career.”

In 2004, Marvel caught another big break when his publisher introduced him to Chris Stapleton, who was a little-known songwriter at the time.

“We just hit it off,” says Marvel when asked about that first meeting. “At that time, we were just writing songs for other people. Chris was a lot younger than me. The moment I met him and heard him sing, I thought, ‘Where has this guy been my whole career?’ He’s the best singer I ever heard and a great songwriter on top of it.”

Marvel says he began writing the tunes for his latest effort, Come on Sunshine, during the height of the pandemic. It explores the wide range of Marvel’s influences and features a slew of musical guests, including Stapleton (vocals, electric guitar, songwriter), Dean Alexander (songwriter, background vocals), Al Anderson (songwriter), Dan Auerbach (songwriter), Nick Bockrath (electric guitar), Kolby Cooper (songwriter), Dan Dyer (background vocals), Devon Gilfillian (songwriter, background vocals), Josh Morningstar (songwriter), Waylon Payne (songwriter) Mickey Raphael (harmonica) and Dee White (songwriter).

“We wanted to get some hopeful songs out there and that’s what a song like ‘Come on Sunshine’ is about,” Marvel says. “We were locked in our houses, and everyone was so depressed, and we wanted to make a hopeful album.”

As Marvel contemplated who would produce the album, he discovered Beau Bedford by way of singer-songwriter Leah Blevins.

“I had heard Leah Blevins’s record and loved the way it sounded,” he says. “[Bedford] produced it. I had met him once or twice in the Texas Gentlemen. I called him up and sent him the songs. He immediately called me and said he loved and that he knew just the band to use in Texas. We flew down to Texas and I worked with these guys I had never met in my life, and magic happened. We just got to work. Everyone was having so much fun that no one wanted to quit. We recorded 12 songs, and it was a great week of camaraderie and country music.”

The first single, “Don’t Tell Me How to Drink,” a tune Marvel

wrote with Stapleton, finds Marvel adopting an outlaw attitude as he virtually growls on the hard-rocking tune that features a ripping electric guitar solo.

“We was writing and said, ‘Let’s write what sounds like an old Hank Jr. song,’” he says. “My kids are grown. They both work for me, and we went to a bar where they card everyone. They gave them a hard time. I always just tell people that they are my children, and that they shouldn’t hassle them. We were talking about that. I think [Stapleton] had the title, and we knew we had a song.”

Marvel wrote “Hell Bent on Hard Times,” another highlight, with songwriter Dean Alexander.

“We wrote that over a Zoom call,” says Marvel when asked about the track. “We hadn’t written any songs together. He had that verse, and it was a little faster. I had that title, and I thought it would work. We wrote that damn thing in 45 minutes to an hour. It just fell out.

It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written.

The HBO comedy The Righteous Gemstones inspired “Put It in the Plate,” a tune that marries rock and gospel.

“We got the handclaps and made it feel greasy and rock ‘n’ roll,” Marvel says of the songs. “I got to hand it to Beau [Bedford]; he’s the genius behind that.”

Marvel says he’ll take a “lean and mean” approach for the show that brings him to the Winchester next month.

“It’s me and three other guys,” he says. “My guitar player also plays steel, so he can play steel on ‘Hell Bent on Hard Times.’ We do a few ballads but it’s an up-tempo show of my shows, and I’ll do three or four things I’ve written for other people. It’s a unique show in that sense. I get to cover songs that I wrote.”

KENDELL MARVEL, BRIT TAYLOR, 8 P.M. FRIDAY, NOV. 18, WINCHESTER MUSIC TAVERN, 12112 MADISON AVE., LAKEWOOD, 216-600-5338. TICKETS: $15 ADV, $20 DOS, THEWINCHESTERMUSICTAVERN.COM.

Photo: Laura E. Partain

Kendell Marvel.

ELYRIA-BASED RAPPER

and producer Will Lampley, who performs and records as Will Cherry, says that growing up in Elyria was “pretty inspiring” because of the city’s “communal vibe.” Cherry, who just released his latest LP, Ultraviolet, has picked up some momentum and has finally received some welldeserved national attention after years of working under the radar.

“Everybody knows everybody in Elyria, and everybody there knows I make music,” he says via phone. “I have friendships and relationships and support. There are some great artists here, and there was a venue called Blank Slate that is no longer operating after COVID. They used to throw a lot of shows. That was when we really had a scene.”

Growing up, Lampley was as much a fan of the production and sound of music as much as he was of the lyrics.

“I started picking production up around middle school and started making beats then,” he says. “I was writing lyrics as well, but over the last three years, I feel like I’m become more of a well-rounded artist as well. I have always loved music. My mother used to be a radio personality on a radio station out here in Elyria. She met my father there, and he was a singer. I’ve always been around music. Prince is a big influence. I know it’s not the best thing to say now, but Kanye

CHERRY ON TOP

By Jeff Niesel

West is an influence and so is D’Angelo and Marvin Gaye. They all produced their own music and were super hands-on with the process.”

Lampley’s first release as Will Cherry was the 2020 tune “PSA.” It spoke the unrest that was happening at the time.

“That was a protest song in 2020 at the height of the police murders of black people,” he says.

His first album, Burgundy, came out shortly after the single, and Lampley says the songs on Ultraviolet came together over the past four years; he worked on at the same time he worked on Burgundy.

The Ultraviolet songs, however, more accurately represent his abilities as a producer and rapper.

“These songs just feel more current,” he says of Ultraviolet. “A lot of the songs are from this year and last year and show my current experiences and current level of skill. Whenever I went on a trip, I would bring songs with me and work on them, so they reflect the different places I’ve been.”

On the tune “Ice,” a track that features ratcheting percussion and aggressive vocals, Will Cherry teams up with Sango, who’s produced tracks for Frank Ocean and Bryson

Tiller. The song’s sonic density distinguishes it.

“I made ‘Ice’ off something he started,” says Lampley when asked about working with Sango. “It was a cool process. It’s now become biggest song ever. It has a lot of different sounds. It has layers of guitars and samples. I tried to make it sound big.”

Dom Sarfo (producer for Fivio Foreign and KayCyy) also contributed to the album.

“Like me, he’s an artist and producer and engineer,” says Lampley when asked about Sarfo. “I’ve been working with him for years. He’s a real talented dude. I had this song ‘Monster’ that I already started. I told him that I could hear his voice on it. He jumped on that song and gave it a whole other perspective. He was on my first album too and did production on that album. We have some other stuff I’ve written with him as well.”

Pigeons & Planes x Hornitos Take Your Shot competition recently highlighted Will Cherry, and his track “Worst of Me” was featured on MTV. Will Cherry also recently headlined a sold-out Sofar Sounds show in Cleveland.

Will Cherry will play his first-ever show outside of Northeast Ohio when he performs on Dec. 10 in Chicago.

Will Cherry

Photo: David MacCluskie

THU 11/17

Chloe Moriondo

This Detroit native started out by just plucking away on the ukulele and guitar in YouTube videos filmed in a bedroom. Thanks to appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Late Show with James Corden, Moriondo’s profile has risen. The artist’s latest effort, Suckerpunch, includes jittery synthpop numbers like “Fruity” and “Celebrity.” The singer-songwriter performs at 8 tonight at the Beachland Ballroom. Dreamer Isioma opens.

15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.

FRI 11/18

Sorry

This indie rock band worked with Portishead’s Adrian Utley to complete its latest album, Anywhere but Here, an attempt to merge the sound of classic ‘70s songwriters while addressing feelings of anxiety and isolation. Songs such as the title feature angular guitars that speak to the uncertainty of the past two-and-a-half years. The group performs tonight at 7 at Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Tickets cost $13.

13200 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216521-3280, mahalls20lanes.com.

SAT 11/19

Ryan “Dr. F.” Farrell Recital

When the pandemic shut down touring, Mushroomhead’s Ryan “Dr. F.” Farrell went back to college to finish his Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition at Cleveland State University. After finishing his Bachelor’s, Farrell decided to get his Master’s degree as well and “capitalize on the COVID downtime.” Having finished his degree, his recital in composition for the Master of Music degree takes place at 7:30 tonight at Waetjen Auditorium on the CSU campus. Admission is free, and it’s open to the public.

2121 Euclid Ave., 216-687-5018, csu.edu.

The Lemonheads

Evan Dando brings his alt-rock act the Lemonheads to the Grog Shop tonight to perform their album It’s a Shame About Ray in its entirety.

Real music in the real world

Released way back in 1992, that album included radio hits such as the title track and a spirited cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson.” Public Squares and the Tufted Puffins open at 8:30. 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.

Tim Mirth’s Guitar Band

Inspired by both John Coltrane and Jimi Hendrix, local guitarist Tim Mirth recently released a live album featuring tunes by his former band Stellar Regions. The release even received a nice write-up in nice write-up in Psychedelic Baby magazine. Though that group has since dissolved, Mirth has recently formed a new group simply dubbed Tim Mirth’s Guitar Band. The group performs tonight at 8 at the Bop Stop, and Mirth says a few Stellar Regions tunes will make their way into the set. 2920 Detroit Ave., 216-771-6551, themusicsettlement.org.

Vola

This Danish-Swedish band blends electronic and progressive poptinged metal on its album Witness, a synth-heavy release that compares favorably to the like-minded Gothic rock act Evanescence. The band makes its debut in North America with this tour that brings it to the Foundry tonight at 8. 11729 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, 216-555-6669, facebook.com/ foundrycleveland.

SUN 11/20

Mat Kearney

Singer-songwriter Mat Kearney began his music career after taking a trip to Nashville. He started just covering songs but discovered his real talent was writing and performing his own. He brings his acoustic tour to the Kent Stage tonight at 8. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.

Steve Swell and Friends

Trombonist Steve Swell moved to New York in the mid-’70s to begin his illustrious career that includes tours and recordings with the likes of Tim Berne, Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor, John Zorn, Dave Burrell, Elliott Sharp, Rob Mazurek, Perry Robinson and Ken Vandermark. Swell brings a talented troupe of jazz musicians from

Norway to the Beachland Tavern tonight for a show that begins at 8. Tickets cost $20. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

This year’s Trans-Siberian Orchestra tour will feature an updated presentation of Ghosts of Christmas Eve for the show’s first set. The second set will feature an assortment of other TSO hits. Expect the usual quotient of lasers and pyro during the highly theatrical performance. The veteran prog-rock act performs at 3 and 8 p.m. today at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown. 229 East Front St., Youngstown, 330746-5600, covellicentre.com.

WED 11/23

Charley Crockett

“I’m Just a Clown,” a single from The Man from Waco, the latest effort from alt-country singer-songwriter Charley Crockett, finds Crockett backed by spirited horns as he talks his way through the swinging tune. Expect to hear it and other tracks that draw from America’s rich folk and country traditions when Crockett performs tonight at 7 at House of Blues.

308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.

FRI 11/25

An Evening with Harry Connick Jr.

The popular singer, pianist and actor brings his Holiday Celebration tour to town tonight. Expect to hear his take on Christmas tunes such as “(It

Must’ve Been Ol’) Santa Claus” and “When My Heart Finds Christmas” when he performs tonight at 8 at the State Theatre.

1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

Papadosio

Ohio natives Papadosio have carved out a reputable niche in the jamtronica scene, and their arrival in Northeast Ohio is always welcome. These shows at the Masonic will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of To End the Illusion of Separation (commonly referred to as T.E.T.I.O.S.). Expect the band to play the album, which the band has just reissued on vinyl, from start to finish when it performs at 7 tonight and tomorrow night at the Masonic. Aqueous and Vibe & Direct open tonight’s show; Daily Bread and Barefuzz open tomorrow night’s show. Two-night passes are available. 3615 Euclid Ave., 216-881-6350, masoniccleveland.com.

MON 11/28

Ali Gatie

Iraqi–Canadian singer Ali Gatie, who effortlessly fuses R&B and pop, secured a record deal with a major label in 2018 after releasing a series of successful singles. Gatie recently rereleased his early singles on Who Hurt You?, a 23-song collection that shows his musical evolution. He performs tonight at 7 at House of Blues.

308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.

Photo: Bobby Cochran

Charley Crockett performs at House of Blues. See: Wednesday, Nov. 23.

SAVAGE LOVE

ACE CASE

By Dan Savage

Hey Dan: My ex-girlfriend and I had a good relationship, but the sex was bad. When we had sex, it would eventually become clear that nobody was going to climax, or that she was tired or bored, and we would stop. I decided to let her take the lead and stopped initiating. I began to feel like not even my emotional needs were being met and that’s when she revealed what felt to her like the mother of all secrets: she may be asexual. She said she felt a lot of shame and confusion about it and had been withdrawing for that reason.

We agreed to explore her sexual identity together and try new things that could potentially work for both of us. The first time we tried it went horribly. I felt insecure and uncomfortable, and I ended things early, as she had so often done. She started initiating trying things when we went to bed and I kept it to cuddling, then went to the bathroom to “finish myself off” after she fell asleep. She heard me come back to bed, asked what I was doing, and I told her the truth. She got out of bed, sad and angry, and I tried to apologize but we never got past this.

Several months later, I’m still confused. I feel guilty for rejecting her. At the same time, I don’t understand how what I did became such a deal breaker. I was raised in a religious home and spent a decade freeing myself from sexual shame and I feel like some of that work was undone here. Through the course of the relationship — and particularly that fateful evening — I felt ashamed of my sexual desire for her, which was clearly much more intense than hers towards me. She’s an athlete with a perfect body, while I had been stress eating my way through the pandemic, which contributed to my feeling undesirable. I would like to move past my feelings of guilt but I’m not sure how.

Healing Eludes Lesbian Pondering Messy End

“I don’t think HELPME should blame herself for this relationship ending,” said Ela Przybylo, “and she definitely shouldn’t think the breakup was the result of going to finish off in the bathroom that one night.”

Przybylo, who is an Assistant Professor of English, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Illinois State University, has identified

at various points along the asexual spectrum over the last 15 years. The label that best fits her now, she says, is gray asexual. (Gray asexuality is both a point along the asexuality spectrum and a spectrum unto itself, but to put it simply, a gray asexual is someone who rarely experiences sexual desire.)

So, if you’re not to blame, HELPME, and slipping away to rub one out after your ex-girlfriend fell asleep isn’t to blame, that would seem to leave us with just one other blamable option: your ex-girlfriend. Or maybe larger [forces] are to blame.

“Being asexual, or ‘ace,’ can be very confusing because we live in a culture where sex is presented as compulsory, necessary to intimacy and central to romantic relationships,” said Przybylo. “And while it’s hard to hear, it’s possible HELPME’s partner never wanted to have sex but did it because she either thought she had to in order to maintain a relationship, or because of societal pressure, or both.”

It’s also possible your ex-girlfriend believed she wanted to have sex, HELPME. Being taught from an early age that sex isn’t just normal, but universal, and that all human beings have sex, no exceptions, can put a huge zap on someone’s head. Just as it used to be relatively common for homosexuals to enter into heterosexual relationships before realizing they were gay, asexuals sometimes enter into relationships with allosexuals (nonasexuals) before realizing they’re ace. And just as some gay men go through the heterosexual motions in a desperate attempt to make their straight marriages work (which can be confusing and hurtful for their wives), some asexuals go through the sexual motions to make their relationships with allosexuals work (which can be confusing and hurtful for their allo girlfriends).

“While a person’s sexuality is about them and their journey, it can and does affect others,” said Przybylo. “In this sense, HELPME’s ex probably didn’t intend to make her feel any which way. She was doing her best in a situation that was probably confusing and overwhelming and anxietyproducing for her too.”

If there was more awareness of the existence and legitimacy of asexuality, HELPME, your exgirlfriend may have realized who she was sooner. And if she’d known she was ace before you met, she might have chosen to be your friend instead of your romantic partner. Or if she wanted a romantic relationship, you could’ve decided together whether that was something you both wanted.

As for that awful night, HELPME, it sounds like your ex-girlfriend may have felt bad about being asexual, which was why this relationship ultimately couldn’t work, but instead of owning up to the reason this relationship wasn’t going to work — she’s ace, you’re allo — she seized an opportunity to pin the blame on you.

Przybylo thinks you should concentrate a little less on what didn’t work — what couldn’t work — and more on what did.

“HELPME should hold on to the joyous elements of the relationship and forgive her ex and herself for the sex not being what she wanted or imagined she wanted,” said Przybylo. And it will be easier for you to make that pivot, HELPME, if you “recognize asexuality is a sexual orientation and that her ex’s asexuality has nothing to do with HELPME or whether she’s desirable.”

Finally, HELPME, telling yourself you’re not desirable because your asexual ex-girlfriend didn’t wanna fuck you… is just as crazy as it sounds. You shouldn’t have to get out there and fuck a few allos to feel desirable again, but it might do you some good.

Hey Dan: Young straight dude here. Recently I have come across a ton of articles online about why women shouldn’t shave their armpits. These articles argue that armpit shaving is based on deeply patriarchal antifeminist notions of female beauty. This leaves me feeling conflicted. I find women’s shaved armpits extremely erotic, if I’m attracted to the person. I find shaved underarms irresistibly smooth and supple. I love the sensation. Plus, I love the warmth of the area, and how the underarms are right next to the shoulders, neck, and breasts — sort of a nexus point. Even visually, I find

them off-the-rails sexually arousing. When women grow their armpit hair, it turns off what is for me one of the most sexually attractive parts of a woman’s body. Reading these articles has left me asking: Is it wrong to be so sexually attracted to something if it’s supposedly based on patriarchal beauty standards? Almost all the info I find online — shaving product advertisements aside — seems to be about why women shouldn’t shave their armpits and how a woman shaving her armpits is gender oppression. It’s really left me wondering: Why is this such an issue for some feminists?

Are Reflexive Male Psychosexual Interests That Stupid?

If you were smart enough to come up with that signoff, ARMPITS, you’re smart enough to hold these two not-quite-conflicting ideas in your mind without stroking out from the cognitive dissonance: You like what you like and you’ve been conditioned to like what you like. Sometimes with a little thought and effort, we can learn to like more than we were conditioned to like, which is a favor we do ourselves, not others. But it’s not always possible for a person to learn to like more than they’ve been conditioned to like. So, what should a person do then?

A person can and should… shut the fuck up.

A person can remind himself that beauty standards evolve, as do gendered norms, and if those standards are evolving away from something he’s been conditioned to think is desirable — something like hairless armpits — he can do his level best not to interfere with that evolution. You can seek out people you do find attractive without shitting all over people you don’t find attractive. Don’t post “no hairy pits” on dating apps, don’t post puke emojis all over Instagram when a woman shares a photo that shows armpit hair, and politely pass on potential sex partners who have armpit hair without feeling the need to inform them why you’re passing on them.

questions@savagelove.net t@fakedansavage www.savage.love