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This residential carriage-type fixture has an exposed bulb which is fine when the replacement bulb is 800 lumens with a warm color temperature of 2700K. A brighter, bluer light may annoy your neighbors and drivers. Photo by Will Krause

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Advances in lighting technology have dramatically changed how we illuminate our homes, businesses and streets. LEDs are extremely energy efficient and consume up to 90 percent less power than incandescent bulbs. Since they use only a fraction of the energy of an incandescent light bulb there is a dramatic decrease in energy costs. This new technology has made the regulation of lighting more complex and challenging.

To confront the issues wrought by LEDs, the City of Westlake adopted a new lighting ordinance in 2018 for commercial exterior lighting – including apartment and townhouse complexes, churches and other institutions in residential districts; and retail, office and all other commercial properties. Lighting contractors were put on notice a year ago about the requirements of the new lighting code.

Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections

Hear stories about the biggest party that Cleveland has ever seen.

The Great Lakes Exposition of 1936-1937 drew millions to the city as residents celebrated the centennial of Cleveland’s incorporation as a city.

Doug Kusak, historical interpreter for the Cleveland Metroparks, is the featured speaker at the Thursday, Feb. 21, Bay Village Historical Society potluck dinner and program at the Bay Village Community House. He will provide attendees with details about the history of the exposition, and its highlights and attractions.

The City of Westlake Fire Department has teamed up with St. John Medical Center and University Hospitals Community Outreach to offer free CPR training for local community members. These classes are open to adults but not limited to Westlake residents.

Participants will learn HeartSaver CPR/AED for adult, child and infant. The certification from the American Heart Association will be sent as an e-card to those who complete the class.

“Becoming trained in CPR can mean the difference between life and death in certain medical emergencies,” said Rich Mecklenburg, an instructor for University Hospitals.

Come see the new stage in action when Bay Village Community Theater presents a reading of Susan Glaspell’s “Suppressed Desires,” as part of its “All the World’s a Stage[d Reading]” series.

Written in 1914, “Suppressed Desires” is a highly amusing travesty about misapplied psychology when Henrietta’s obsession with psychoanalysis leads to a completely off-the-wall interpretation of a dream that very nearly leads to divorce before the absurdity of the situation is realized.

To wrap up this series on using your new digital-world tool such as a tablet or a smartphone that you may have received over the holidays, I want to tie up loose ends.

Although many things, including “apps” you use on your new device, are promoted as being free, we should recognize that there is no such thing as a free lunch in the digital world either.

You may have heard the phrase “if you are not paying for the product, you are the product” used often in reference to the free products such as apps and services like email in recent years. Frankly, I thought it was such an appropriate phrase born to describe the utility of internet but a student in our program for seniors reminded me that it was first used in the early 1970s to describe the efficacy of television advertisements. To this day, for example, you can imagine why advertisers will pay millions of dollars for a 30-second advertising spot during the Super Bowl game!

The Friends of Porter Public Library will present Frank Sinatra tribute artist Michael Sonata at the library on Sunday, Feb. 17, from 2-3 p.m. Sonata’s performance is part of the “Sunday Sounds” series, and will be cabaret-style with a free luncheon served.

Sonata is one of the most sought-after Sinatra tribute artists in the country. His vocal styling and presence is second only to the legend himself. From concert halls to corporate events, Sonata brings the sights, sounds and simple sophistication of “Old Blue Eyes” live to the stage.

Seating for the luncheon will begin at 1:30. Seating is limited, so please register by calling 440-871-2600 or visiting westlakelibrary.evanced.info.

Wednesdays, Feb. 6 and 13 (10:15 & 11 a.m.) Let’s Sing and Dance! – Sing and move to the music with Miss Nancy! For children ages 2-6 with a caregiver. Please arrive early to receive a ticket.

Wednesday, Feb. 6 (1-2:30 p.m.) Cuyahoga West Genealogy Society Help Session – Join the genealogy group for an informal walk-in help session.

Wednesdays, Feb. 6 and 13 (4-5:30 p.m.) and Thursdays, Feb. 7 and 14 (6:30-8 p.m.) Bow Wow Books – Stop by Youth Services to sign up for a 10-minute reading time with a reading therapy dog. Registration begins each Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. and Thursday at 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 6 (6:30-8:30 p.m.) Horror Film Club – Calling all horror film fans: Join us for another creepy classic from the vault ... if you dare! New members are always welcome; children under 13 should be accompanied by an adult. Please register.

Wednesday, Feb. 6-Sunday, Feb. 10 – Friends of the Library’s Annual Book Sale – Three rooms filled with thousands of great books, DVDs, CDs and audiobooks!

• Dates and Times:
• Feb. 6 (4-7 p.m.) Friends’ Preview Night – Only for members of the Friends of Porter Public Library. Memberships will be available at the door.
• Feb. 7 (9:30 a.m.-8 p.m.)
• Feb. 8 (9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.)
• Feb. 9 (9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.) – Half-price sale
• Feb. 10 (1:15-4 p.m.) – $2 Bag Sale

Thursday, Feb. 7 (10-11:30 a.m.) Beginning Coding for Adults – Learn the basics of coding through self-paced online modules. An instructor will be on hand to help get you started and to facilitate lessons. Please register.

Thursdays, Feb. 7 and 14 (4-5 p.m.) Code Club! – Learn how to build an app, design a video game, and change the world through code! Grades 3-4. Registration begins one week before each session.

Thursday, Feb. 7 (6-8 p.m.) Harry Potter Book Night – Celebrate the magic and wonder of the 5th annual Harry Potter Book Night! Enjoy games, crafts, contests and other wizarding activities.

Friday, Feb. 8 (10-10:45 a.m.) Come Play With Me! – Open playtime with age-appropriate toys. For children ages 2-5 with a caring adult. Siblings welcome.

CHILDREN

Weekly Storytimes:

• Mondays (10 a.m.) Toddler Storytime – ages 19-35 months
• Tuesdays (10 a.m.) Toddler Storytime – ages 19-35 months
• Tuesdays (6:45 p.m.) Family Storytime – for all ages
• Wednesdays (10 a.m.) Baby and Me Storytime – ages birth-18 months
• Thursdays (10 a.m.) Preschool Storytime – ages 3-5 (not yet in kindergarten)
• Fridays (10 a.m. and 11 a.m.) Family Storytime – for all ages

Monday, Feb. 18 (7 p.m.) STEAM On: Chain Reactions – Grades 3-4: Join us for a hands-on STEAM program. Build a chain and see what happens.

Wednesday, Feb. 20 (3:15 p.m.) Stuffed Animal Sleepover – Ages 2-5: Join us for a stuffed animal sleepover party for stories, crafts and activities when you pick up your favorite stuffed friend. One stuffed animal per child.

Thursday, Feb. 21 (4 p.m.) American Girl: Julie – Learn about the times and cultures represented by the dolls. Feel free to bring your doll to the program if you have one.

TEEN

Wednesdays, Feb. 6, 13 and 20 (3 p.m.) Teen Zone – Grades 5 & up: Hang out with something fun to do after school – gaming, art, movies, technology and more! 

Thursday, Feb. 7(3 p.m.) Write On! – Grades 5-8: Join us for fun, quirky and challenging writing exercises and activities to get your creativity flowing.

Saturday, Feb. 16 (9:30 a.m.) SAT Practice Test – Grades 8-12: Take a timed SAT practice test administered by Sylvan Learning Center of Westlake. Teens should bring three No. 2 pencils and a non-phone graphing calculator. Receive your results on Tuesday, Feb. 19, and discuss the exam. Registration required.

ADULT

Friday, Feb. 8 (10 a.m.) BAYarts Book Discussion – Join friends, neighbors and library staff for this monthly book discussion on the BAYarts campus. This month's title, "An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones, is available at the library and BAYarts.

Wednesday, Feb. 20 (7 p.m.) Six Deadly Scandals at Versailles: Louis & Marie Antoinette – Hear the scandals that put the final nails in the coffin of the French empire. Be the judge and jury in the infamous Diamond Necklace Affair. Guilty or not? 

Please register to attend the featured programs online at cuyahogalibrary.org, call us at 440-871-6392, or stop in to the library at 502 Cahoon Road and register with a librarian.

Bertie, 47, went for a regular checkup. Her gynecologist, who’d known her for 18 years and delivered her two kids, walked her to the mammography suite after the visit.

“No appointments. Took me in right away. Such personal care,” she said cheerfully.

I had questions for my good friend. But first, does Bertie get a say in this?

To most of us, breast cancer has a face – friends, family, colleagues, ourselves. An estimated 41,400 people (40,920 women and 480 men) will die from breast cancer this year. Every pink ribbon renders a wrenching story.

Last April, Northern Ohio got its own chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. The Surfrider Foundation is “dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network.”

The chair of our local chapter is Christy Gray. Including Christy, there are seven members on the board and they have adapted the mission of the national chapter to include the Great Lakes. The chapter hosts meetings and local beach/river cleanups. In 2018, they collected over 1,600 pounds (mainly plastics) from local beach and river cleanups.

Ray Trevor Passon, pictured in the 1944 Bay Blue Book.

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I had great, positive feedback from Eleanor Seitz McIlvied’s Columbia Road memories. I heard about how you love to read about life “back in the day.” Here is another story of growing up in the village and attending Parkview School by Ray Trevor Passon, class of 1944. Enjoy!

Our family moved to Bay Village from the “big city” in 1939. My parents bought their first home near the east end of Oakland Road. It was new, cost about $6,000, and had a half-acre of woods stretching back to the railroad tracks. (The Old Nickel Plate RR flattened a few pennies for me, too.) I had a pretty long walk to the seventh-grade at Parkview High; my brother David, a much shorter walk to Forestview School. There was a pond over near Clague Road and the tracks where I caught sunfish in the summer and ice-skated in the winter. Today it’s somewhere under Interstate 90.

Bay turned out to be a wonderful place to grow up.

Little snow flakes
Drift lazily
From the sky.

Like ballerinas they
Twirl and dance,
Jump and fly.

With perfect execution
They pirouette and
Pas de deux, a show

Outside my window,
Encore, encore
What a view.

Then the tears flow
As I look back on
My dancing years.

So long ago,
So young,
So fair.

An arthritic grandma
Washing dishes
With greying hair.

St. Ladislas will host a panel discussion on fostering healthy relationships titled, "Finding Joy: Creating strong, thriving, healthful relationships with others and God," on Sunday, Feb. 10, 7-8:30 p.m., at St. Ladislas Church on 2345 Bassett Road in Westlake

All educators, counselors, managers and religious leaders agree positive relationships lead to improved mental, physical and spiritual health.

Great Lakes Theater: Classics on Tour will visit Clague Playhouse on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m. to present "Treasure Island" by Eric Schmiedl, based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson.

What is the price of adventure? Venture out on the high seas with young Jim Hawkins as he searches for the lost treasure of Captain Flint. A brave band of actors embrace clowning, slapstick, puppetry and music in the greatest pirate story ever told!

Recommended for ages 6 and up. Join us for this free presentation followed by light refreshments. Clague Playhouse is located at 1371 Clague Road in Westlake.

Enjoy some brews and help provide the “boards” on which the actors will tread at a fundraiser benefiting Bay Village Community Theater on Saturday, March 9, 7-10 p.m., at Sibling Revelry Brewery, 29305 Clemens Road, Westlake. Each $30 ticket includes two drink tickets (good for beer, hard seltzer or soft drinks) and a buffet featuring wings, pizza and more.

You will be entertained by a performance of Susan Glaspell’s hilarious one-act comedy, “Suppressed Desires,” and a preview of our spring mainstage production of Michael Brady’s romantic drama, “To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday.” In between performances, sideboards and a Chinese basket raffle featuring local goodies and gift cards will capture your attention.

"Hidden Tower" by Patty Flauto, whose work will be in the Sullivan Family Gallery at BAYarts this February, along with Tina Elkins' pieces. 

New to the BAYarts galleries this February are two exhibitions that feature five different artists. 

In the Sullivan Family Gallery is Tina Elkins and Patty Flauto with "Intuitions," a showing of abstracted, dreamy landscapes. Their description is as follows: "There is a long, close relationship between landscape and abstraction in modern painting. Landscape can be simultaneously intellectual and formal as well as intuitive and emotional."

They continue on to talk about how the elements in nature can all become interpreted and blurred away from the more traditional, realistic rendering. "Land, sky, and water all lend themselves easily to the visual language of abstraction whether through a systematic exploration of composition, or an emotional expression of color and surface. Tina Elkins and Patty Flauto use landscape as a metaphor for other ideas."

The Westshore Campus of Cuyahoga Community College will host a visitation day for prospective students on Presidents Day (Monday, Feb. 18), with sessions starting at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The day provides an opportunity to discuss academic programs with faculty and counselors; learn more about enrollment, financial aid and scholarships; discover the variety of student services available; and explore the buildings.

The Rocky River Chamber Music Society continues its gala 60th concert series on Feb. 25 with "Late Romanticism in Transition," an evening of art songs featuring soprano Amelia D’Arcy and pianist Hyunsoon Whang. The first work to be performed, "Arabeske" by Early Romantic composer Robert Schumann, will set the scene for works of such Late Romantic composers as Richard Strauss, Charles Ives, George Gershwin and Francis Poulenc.

The Bay Village Foundation wants to remind organizations that our 2019 Community Grant Application Program is ending soon. Grants of up to $5,000 can be awarded.

We encourage organizations to gather and submit application information for the 2019 program as the deadline for acceptance of applications is Feb. 28.

The Bay Village Foundation is interested in and works to support capital projects and programs that truly improve the quality of community life here in Bay Village. An eligible organization must be located in or provide services to residents within Bay Village. Only tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations or programs that have an IRS tax-exempt fiscal agent will qualify for grant awards.

Are you interested in starting your own business but don’t know how to take your idea from concept to reality? Find out in a five-part series, "Simple Steps for Starting Your Business," at Westlake Porter Public Library. This comprehensive workshop series will help you test your new business idea and get started on the right path.

The two-hour hands-on workshops are scheduled on five consecutive Monday evenings starting on Feb. 11 at 6 p.m., and cover Start-up Basics, Business Concept, Marketing Plan, Financial Projections, and Funding Sources. Commit to all five workshops to bring your business idea to fruition.

To register, call 440-871-2600 or visit westlakelibrary.evanced.info.

After many months hidden behind tall grass and dead branches, a beautiful brick building got a new lifeline. In 2017 the Westlake Laser Wash, at the corner of Center Ridge and Bradley roads (behind the beverage store) started accumulating garbage in its cans and showing lack of soap quality in its washes.

It wasn’t long after that the city cleaned up the garbage, cut the grass and closed off the apron with orange barrels. The reality was that the owner had sadly passed away.

This past summer, a neighboring Westlake resident, Michael Boukzam, became determined to bring life back to the property. After a long process with the courts, the transfer occurred on Dec. 26, 2018; it was a nice Christmas. Since then, the equipment went through an overhaul and all of the previous products were replaced with the best available.