Community leaders from the Dameni informal settlement in George say if their cries to the municipality to have taps installed had been heard, the fire that destroyed more than 20 shacks on December 10 could have been avoided.
Posted By Sam Allard on Mon, Jan 11, 2021 at 11:08 AM click to enlarge Courtesy Rebecca Maurer Cleveland attorney Rebecca Maurer has been hankering to make public comments at City Council meetings for years. In 2017, when former councilman Jeff Johnson was trying to get a lead safe ordinance off the ground, (ultimately to no avail), she wanted to speak on its behalf, to tell a story of her own street in Slavic Village which made the lead issue more urgent and personal for her. In 2019, she wanted to offer comment on the same topic, this time as a leader with Cleveland Lead Advocates for Safe Housing (CLASH), whose work forced the city to revive and strengthen Johnson s 2017 bill. In early 2020, she watched in dismay as local minister George Hrbek had to noisily interrupt a council mee