Fraudulent House Flipper to be Sentenced Thursday

Blaine Murphy illegally “flipped” 235 houses in Cuyahoga County, including homes in Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights, by filing forged deeds

A Florida man who illegally "flipped" 235 houses in Cuyahoga County -- including homes in Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights -- will discover his fate this week. Blaine Murphy, 44, will be sentenced 9:30 a.m. Thursday at  Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Murphy pleaded guilty to 11 criminal counts of fraud and tampering in April. As part of his plea agreement he agreed to pay $1 million in restitution. Murphy was the key participant in a nationwide scam from 2005 through 2010 that included the purchase and sale of real estate in many states with the most activity occurring in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Texas, according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office. READ MORE HERE

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Police Capture Cleveland Heights Attempted Murderer

Anthony Dowell, 30, was caught after a five-month investigation by the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.

A man wanted by Shaker Heights police for attempted homicide is in custody. The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) arrested Anthony Dowell, 30, of Cleveland Heights around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night, ending a five-month manhunt, according to a press release. Police believe that on Oct. 28, 2012, Dowell shot his friend near Kemper Rd. and Larchmere Rd. in Shaker Heights. After the victim was shot, the report said Dowell ran to a RTA bus and tried to get on but the driver refused. Dowell then fled the area. The NOVFTF found Dowell in a home near the 3200 block of E. 130th Street in Cleveland. He was transported to Shaker Heights Police Department. “This is another great example of how our task force member’s hard work and …

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LOOK and SHARE: Shaker Lakes and Doan Brook in the Fall

Browse the fall photos above, and share your own autumn pictures here to help create a gallery.

Did you shoot a gorgeous photo of the changing leaves in the Heights? Then add your photo to the shots above to help create a fall photo gallery. Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights are known for an abundance of vegetation, and we know autumn is extra special here. Residents don't need to go to Shaker Lakes to see the beauty of fall, either. Colorful leaves are everywhere in the cities. I chose to take a few photos on a perfect fall day near my favorite spots, Shaker Lakes and Doan Brook. Please contribute, too! Make sure you’ve signed up to be a registered user on Patch, and click on the "Upload Photos & Videos" button above. Our Facebook friends saw these photos first, and viewed the full gallery. Click here to "like" Cleveland Heights …

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CureSearch Walk Empowers Cleveland Heights Couple, Helps Them Cope

Cynthia Van Lenten and Steve Crowley lost their daughter in 2005 after she battled cancer for three years. But they haven't stopped fighting, and have organized an event to raise money into research.

Cynthia Van Lenten and Stephen Crowley say there are two ways of dealing with tragedy. The Cleveland Heights couple’s 10-year-old daughter, Olivia, lost a three-year battle with cancer in 2005. The family saw specialists in Cleveland and as far as New York and Memphis, searching for the best care for their little girl. “You don’t necessarily want to get back into the world of childhood cancer because it’s so frustrating and such a bad memory, and I think people who have children who survive probably want to get as far away from it as possible,” Van Lenten said. “And you can understand why people who’ve lost a child don’t want to go back there and want to move on.” That was one way they could have coped, and no one would blame them. “One …

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Cleveland Heights Among Suburbs to Receive Money to Raze Blighted Homes

Cleveland Heights is among 12 suburbs that received a total of $1 million to tackle problem buildings.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason announced Aug. 1 that Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights received $100,000 each to demolish blighted properties, and are part of a group of 12 cities that received a total of $1 million.  On June 7, the prosecutor's office announced it was devoting $5 million to help raze dilapidated homes. East Cleveland and Cleveland received $1 million apiece, and another $1 million was divided between 12 cities.  Each community received between $50,000 and $100,000 to use for demolition. Nicole DiSanto, public information coordinator for the prosecutor's office, said cities sent applications for a share of the pot. Those applications were reviewed by a committee that included members of the Cuyahoga County Land …

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Shaker Heights Native Joshua Radin To Perform at Cain Park

The 38-year-old singer/songwriter will make a stop in his hometown during his summer tour.

Joshua Radin picked up a guitar for the first time about a decade ago. The 38-year-old Shaker Heights native didn't spend his high school years jamming with friends in their parents’ garages, and he never took guitar lessons. He taught himself to play, and used the instrument to soothe his nerves, especially when he was frustrated while writing screenplays in New York City. He wrote six films, two of which were bought but never made it to the big screen. “I had no aspirations to become a professional musician by any means,” Radin said, who also taught art to middle school students in Chicago and majored in painting and drawing at Northwestern University. “I found that I would pick up a guitar and it would calm me.” Little did he know the …

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Shaker Heights Native to Face Serena Williams

Shaker Heights native and Stanford University student-athlete Nicole Gibbs will take on Wimbledon champion Serena Williams on Wednesday in the second round of the Bank of the West Classic

Editor's Note: Belmont, CA Patch contributed this article on a former Hathaway Brown student who will face Serena Williams today in the Bank of West Classic. When Shaker Heights native Nicole Gibbs won her match Tuesday over Noppawan Lertcheewakarn of Thailand at the Bank of the West Classic, she set herself up as the very next opponent that Serena Williams will face coming off her Wimbledon singles and doubles championship in London last week. "I haven't processed that yet," said Gibbs at a press conference on Tuesday morning. Gibbs faces Williams during the event's day session. The match will not begin before 6 p.m. EST, according to the Bank of the West Classic website. "Serena was one of my idols growing up and I'm in awe of her," …

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Patch Preview: Shaker Heights News

Logo Creator Faces Shaker Lawsuit

The city wants the leader of a group in opposition of the income-tax increase to stop using a parody of Shaker Heights' logo.

Editor's note: Shaker Heights Patch will launch very soon, but we are so excited to be in the new town, we thought, why wait to start making your lives ridiculously easy? We'll be featuring occasional Shaker Heights news on neighboring sites until we launch the new site in early June, when you can add ShakerHeights.Patch.com to your browser's bookmarks! Mark Zetzer will likely change the logo for his Shaker Heights Taxpayers Union, but it won't be easy. The city has threatened legal action if Zetzer, a graphic artist, doesn't do so. All of the free advice lawyers have given the resident indicates a fight for the logo — which replaces two of the four Shaker leaves with dollar signs — isn't worth attorney fees. Still, Zetzer doesn't want his…

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Shaker Heights to Consider Income Tax Increase

Shaker Heights City Council passed legislation that places the income tax increase in an Aug. 7 special election.

Editor's note: Shaker Heights Patch will launch very soon, but we are so excited to be in the new town, we thought, why wait to start making your lives ridiculously easy? We'll be featuring occasional Shaker Heights news on neighboring sites until we launch the new site in early June, when you can add ShakerHeights.Patch.com to your browser's bookmarks! Whether to raise Shaker Heights’ city income tax now lies in the hands of voters. A unanimous City Council, saying an increase is critical to the city’s financial health, agreed Monday to call a special election on the measure. If voters approve Aug. 7, the tax rate would rise to 2.25 percent from 1.75 percent, bringing in an additional $6 million a year. Without an increase, council …

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Photo Gallery: Heights High Beats Shaker 93-68

A packed house witnesses a Tiger victory in one of the last league games between two old rivals

The Tiger nation roared on Saturday when an estimated 1,250 people watched the Heights High varsity boys' basketball team defeat Shaker 93-68 at the James Cappelletti Gym at the high school. Cappelletti, who served almost 40 years as the head coach for the boys' basketball team, attended the game. He's now an assistant coach at Shaker. Fans also came to cheer Tyree Gaiter. The point guard scored 26 points on Saturday and more than 1,000 during his career.

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