Excited to announce a new partnership with @ClevelandMag Each month the Magazine will highlight a few of the wonderful people of the city that have been kind enough to share their stories with me.

Mayans Latin Night Club. 9613 Madison Ave. Cleveland. - August 23, 2026.

Great seeing Dan P. Cotter at Ingenuity. An Akron native now living in Tremont, Dan recently visited England in memory of a close friend. He finally made a trip he’d long wanted to take, had a wonderful time and is ready for more traveling. Thanks Dan for the time & photo.

Great meeting Hollie Strano at the Club Soda Club party in the Flats. After more than 22 years at WKYC, she’s now chief meteorologist at Cleveland 13 News. I admire her openness about sobriety & recovery. A great event celebrating alcohol free community. s://hollieannstrano.com/

Ohio City Provisions. 3208 Lorain Ave. Cleveland. - October 4, 2026.

Great to meet Jackie Hunter, Grants Director for Impact100 Cleveland, at its inaugural Big Give! Her enthusiasm for all five nonprofit finalists was clear. The Reid Wiley Charitable Foundation received $70,000, made possible by 70 women contributing $1,000 each.

Loved seeing Diane Dever back at the Market, delivering food to her old crew. Retired from Irene Dever Dairy since Aug. 1, she misses her customers but is enjoying life after years of early mornings. Glad the stand is in good hands with mew owner Mary Miklosovic.

Great meeting Howard Kimmel at Impact100 Cleveland’s Big Give. The Brooklyn native and Shaker Heights resident runs Capture Style Photography in Lakewood. I loved hearing about his path from podiatry to headshot photography. capturestyle.photos

Happy 70th birthday to Kenneth Scott, a new Clevelander I met outside Main Library! He’s proud to be two years clean, and stronger family relationships mean everything to him. He asked me to share his story to help others: it’s never too late to get it together.

Great meeting Joe “PogieJoe” Kowalski at LEKKO coffee shop and hearing how his dad’s music inspired him. His documentary Micronations premiered at Tribeca! Catch it at Cleveland Cinematheque Saturday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m., with Joe there for a Q&A. cinematheque.cia.edu/movies/…

Photographed Cleveland artist Leigh Brooklyn at work on a statue at the Federal Reserve in Downtown Cleveland. Tools in hand and wearing a Wonder Woman shirt, she was helping care for one of our city's most famous statues. More in Skrtic’s Pics: clevelandmagazine.com/articl…

#RIP Bob ‘Hoolihan’ Wells

Great seeing Austin Love cheering on the Guardians at Progressive Field. From WKYC to CRESCO, he keeps sharing his enthusiasm for Cleveland’s people, businesses and future. Check out the properties he’s working with: crescorealestate.com/our-tea…

Great meeting Robert Louis Brandon Edwards at Cleveland’s Greyhound Terminal. A Columbia doctoral candidate, Robert is researching travelers during the Jim Crow era and hopes to establish a Great Migration museum in Cleveland. Read more in Skrtic’s Pics: clevelandmagazine.com/articl…

OISHI CAFE. 1541 E. 38th St. Cleveland. - June 27, 2026.

La Cave Du Vin. 710 Jefferson Ave. Tremont. - May 24, 2026.

Great meeting Lakewood musician and projection wizard Kelsey Etter at IngenuityFest. His visual work began with a video synthesizer connected to his record player. Loved watching him play with Mic Fox at Joey Varanese’s Crystal Palace.

Great spending time with photographer Francesco Lanza. He started as a janitor at Happy Dog before photographing its bands. Now back in Cleveland, he’s building a headshot business and developing a book "From Sicily to Cleveland". More in Skrtic’s Pics: clevelandmagazine.com/articl…

Great meeting baristas Jenna Mastrodonato, a photographer, and Wynn Spellhaus, a musician, at Goodkind Coffee in Lakewood. Loved sharing staff photos I’ve taken over the years and adding their portrait to my archive of local people. Thanks to both for the kindness and photo.

Great meeting Ebonie Randle, founder of Shalom & Tranquility Community Garden in Cleveland’s Brooklyn Centre. She and her volunteers bring neighbors together through fresh food, shared meals and activities for children and adults. More in Skrtic’s Pics: clevelandmagazine.com/articl…

Great meeting Colin O’Toole at Anthology Cask House during a Guardians playoff game. Originally from Lakewood and now living in Tremont, he shared his brewing career at Fat Head’s and Immigrant Son, where he created Pump School VIPA. Loved hearing his story.