Delete WardMaking a Public Comment
Council welcomes public comment before regular council meetings. Fill out the online form below for your chance to make a public comment at the next regular Monday Council meeting. Please read the revised rules and procedures.
Registrations can also be submitted:
* In person at Cleveland City Hall, Room 220, 601 Lakeside Ave. NE. Paper forms are available to register.
* If you don't want to fill out the online form below, you can download this form and fill it out, and email it to publiccomment@clevelandcitycouncil.gov or drop it off at Council offices. (Parking at City Hall on the upper lot is free on Mondays after 5 pm when Council is meeting.) If you need assistance, language, or disability, go here to make a request (at least 3 days in advance.)
Make a Comment in Person
Registrations to speak up to 3 minutes at a regular council meeting can be submitted between noon Wednesday and 2 pm on the Monday before a regular 7 pm council meeting. (Early, incomplete and false registrations are not accepted.) Only the first 10 are accepted.
Make a Comment Online
If you don't want to speak at a Council meeting, please submit your written comments below.
Public Comments
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Turning the airwaves of WCSB over to Ideastream to be run as a pre-programmed jazz station is a terrible idea. I can’t imagine that those involved really thought it through before going ahead with this deal, or that they knew what they were doing. I understand that Ideastream seems to just want to take over as many FM radio stations as it can get its hands on, without regard to the impact on the local community. But this is not serving the public interest. And what is the long-term goal, here? WCSB as a student and community-run station has built up an incredibly loyal listening base over these 50 years. Have Ideastream and CSU thought about how long the Jazz-Neo station will run? How much of the community will be served? Will this station still be running in 50 years? Or even 20 years? While there may be a segment of the public who will listen to a pre-programmed jazz station, I can guarantee that no one will love this new station, no one will be passionate about it, and it will never have the life-changing impact on anyone that the real WCSB has had on so many people over the years.
I support the Cleveland City Council Resolution to urge CSU and Ideastream to return radio station WCSB to the students and communities that have built and run it for the past 50 years, to support the station so that it can continue in its mission of serving our diverse communities, and I would like to see a pledge in place that CSU will never again make a decision for the station that leaves the station members out of the process. I look forward to the next 50 years of our beloved WCSB!
I did not grow up in Cleveland, but upon moving here for school, the very first thing that genuinely made me feel at home was WRUW, and soon after, Cleveland’s deeply-rooted college radio community. As I dug deeper into WRUW, I quickly grew to understand WCSB, and not to count out WJCU, as the friendliest rivals I’ve known in my life. Tuning in to these stations and bouncing around became a part of my daily routine, one that continued until earlier this month. The sheer amount of thrilling music I would likely have never heard otherwise were it not for WCSB was, frankly, among life’s reliant joys, and I’m proud to consider many of the programmers behind the airplay to be among the most brilliant, creative friends and peers I’ve known. And in my travels throughout the U.S. and abroad, Cleveland’s now-once-flourishing and historic college radio scene was one of my foremost points of pride when discussing my adopted hometown.
Beyond the personal anecdotes, as members of council have made mention, WCSB was a vital resource of local and regional community engagement, far beyond the campus of Cleveland State and provided a voice for countless ethnic groups in Cleveland for decades. The sheer history evades my comprehension, as a good amount of it happened before I was born. For all of it to evaporate overnight, for students to be perp walked out by campus police, for nobody on the ground to have notice or deliberation in the process, is insulting, sickening, disturbing, and dangerous. As the leery details of the ordeal continue to emerge, more salt gets dumped callously in the open, untreated wounds of those who volunteered themselves to freeform radio.
I am grateful to see members of council willing to speak out and take action on this matter. I demand full transparency from Cleveland State University and Ideastream, the immediate return of the 89.3-FM frequency to WCSB, and the reopening of its station to its staff and students.
As free speech is actively under fire on the national level, and as we continue to see endless institutions cow-tow in the name of shady financial interests, the sudden silencing of one of Cleveland’s - and the U.S. in general’s - truest outlets for free thought sets a dangerous precedent in dangerous times. I can at least write with confidence that history will continue to find favor in free speech, American college radio, and WCSB.
After nearly three decades of Cleveland taxpayers financing the existing stadium, plus the $33 million the city owes, not to mention the interest, we deserve better. If the Browns can offer a player $250 million, why couldn't the mayor and his team negotiate a more favorable agreement? Furthermore, it's concerning that council was largely excluded from the negotiations. I urge council members to hold out for a better deal that truly benefits the city and its residents.
If the Browns don’t need the stadium after 2029, the city can move forward with redevelopment and the Browns can move forward with providing its first winning season in Brookpark.