After a few days of relative inactivity at Anthony Sowell's Imperial Avenue house, police homicide detectives and cadaver dogs are back on the scene. Two cadaver dogs went into an abandoned school building on East 125th and Abell Street about a block and a half from Imperial Ave. at around 12:30pm Monday. Neighbors say that the school building has been abandoned for about twenty years.

So far, a total of eleven victims have been found in Sowell's home and backyard, but police had also searched the areas around his home for more potential victims and evidence.

The Cuyahoga County Coroner says that eight victims were strangled, and seven of them still had something around their neck. One victim was manually strangled, and the other two were killed by homicidal violence. The cause of death of the last victim is undetermined.

FBI profilers were also in town over the weekend, meeting with police about Sowell. Currently, they are putting together a timeline of all of the places he lived. The FBI has offered to assist the Cleveland Police in following up on any leads on unsolved crimes outside of the Cleveland area.

After 11 bodies were found at the home of Anthony Sowell on Imperial Ave. in Cleveland, Sowell's face was plastered over the country's television news broadcasts and newspapers. It has thus far been determined that all of his victims were black women, and most were caught up in drugs and prostitution. Some were not even reported missing by their families because of the lifestyles they led. And as police in Cleveland uncovering the bodies, detectives from other cities began to wonder if Sowell might be responsible for some of their unsolved murders. Police in East Cleveland, OH; Coronado, California, and North Carolina are now investigating Sowell's possible links to crimes in those areas.

In East Cleveland, police are looking to see whether he could have been involved in the "Strawberry Murders" of the late 1980's. Sowell is suspected because he lived in East Cleveland at the time, and once he was incarcerated in 1990 on rape charges, the murders stopped.

A woman from Coronado, California, upon seeing Sowell's face on TV, called up the Coronado Police and identified him as the man who had brutally raped her in the late 1970's. A former member of the US Marines, Sowell was stationed in the area on and off during his 8-year-military career.

WKYC reported on it's 6 O'Clock news that ultra popular brewer Great Lakes Brewing Company had an electrical fire this afternoon. Eye witness reports on Twitter reported the news two hours ago when Alex Null wrote:

Great Lakes is on Fire ... Might be the saddest day of my life

He added another tweet that read:

I kid you not there are 8 fire trucks at Great Lakes ...

Halls Twitter account, which goes by the screen name nullster, also snapped the photographs on this story to verify his eye-witness reporting.

There were no injuries reported at the scene. Interestingly, Cleveland labor newspaper The Cleveland Citizen has had Greats Lake Brewing Company on their boycott list for using non-union staff such as electricians and carpenters at the bar/brewery located in Ohio City.

Could the pathetic condition of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party give us a Republican for the first County executive? Is the Pee Dee already pushing a Republican, the out-of-county son of Cleveland Indians’ owner Larry Dolan for the top spot?

Ohio Rep. Matthew Dolan, it has been reported, who will have move into Cuyahoga County from Geauga County to run would enjoy at least a $1 million campaign fund to bring new leadership to us corrupt Cuyahoga County people. Read the News Herald story on Dolan’s power grab: http://news herald.com/articles/2009/11/07/news/nh1664674.txt

He sounds just the right ticket for Cleveland’s corporate elite who will not leave the city even more to its decay – except for downtown, of course.

The Pee Dee, playing out its role in trying to Republicanize Democratic Cuyahoga County, ran photos of 10 Democratic present and former officeholders plus a labor leader, asking in a headline: “What do these Democrats HAVE IN COMMON?” Easy question to answer: They’re not Republicans.

OK Go played at the Grog Shop in Cleveland this past Friday, November 6th. The band has come to Cleveland many times in the past but this was my first opportunity to see them peform. I heard rumors that they put on an awesome show and found out that the rumors were true.

No matter where you stand in the Grog Shop you feel like you are close to the band. It's a great venue for a concert. OK Go was full of energy from the time they stepped on the stage until the last song.

The band opened the show with a new song titled, "Shoot the Moon". Immediately following were a couple of their popular hits, "Get Over it" and " A Million Ways". Damien Kulash (vocals/guitar) addressed the crowd in between just about every song. One time he asked the fans if they felt Cleveland deserved the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. He then stated that he thought Cleveland was an odd place to put the Rock Hall. After fans shouted for a few moments the topic died quickly but I'm not sure why that was brought up in the first place.

The economy still sucks, and instead of supporting the large department and big box stores or mall chains with your holiday shopping this year, why not shop local? By buying local you're helping to support your local economy and the people who live in it, not to mention it also gives you that warm fuzzy feeling of sticking it to the man. Unfortunately, local wares aren't always that easy to come by, but this year we've found the perfect solution for you - Made in the 216 Holiday Shoppe.

Located right next to newly renovated Capitol Theatre, the Made in the 216 Holiday Shoppe features the works of 15 new Cleveland-based designers, as well as some of your old favorites. It is presented by Room Service, a local store just across the street from Made in the 216. The store will be open from 5-9pm Monday-Thursday, Fridays 5-11pm, Saturdays 5-11pm, and 12-7pm Sundays from November 6th to 29th.

Every Friday (Nov. 13, 20, and 27) Made in the 216 will stay open until 11pm, and will host BYOB parties and live music in the store's basement.

The Made in the 216 Holiday Shoppe features 50 Cleveland Based designers offering jewelry, handbags, apparel, t-shirts, knits, candles, stationary, kids items, photography, wall prints, home goods and more!

On Tuesday, November 10, the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center will host a community forum at 6pm for people directly or indirectly impacted by the Anthony Sowell case. The forum is designed to answer questions about rape and assault, and advocates from the Center will share information about resources available to rape survivors and their loved ones.

Megan O'Bryan, CEO of the CRCC, said:

"We recognize that the Sowell case and the corresponding media attention can have an adverse impact on all survivors of sexual violence. By hosting this forum, we hope to give survivors and their loved ones information and resources that can help them heal,"

The community forum will be held at the Mount Pleasant Branch of the Cleveland Public Library, located at 14000 Kinsman Road.

The CRCC is dedicated to serving survivors of sexual violence and those who support them. They also operate a crisis hotline available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That number is 216-619-6192. For more information visit clevelandrapecrisis.org.

The Medical Mart plan that was shoved down our throats as the potential savior of Cleveland's economy seems to be going the way that just about every other project in this city has before, and that's not a good thing. It looks like the project will go over its budget by tens of millions of dollars, if not more, and the site that MMPI, the firm in charge of the project, planned to use may not work out after all.

MMPI now says that the cost of renovating Public Auditorium is $60 to $100 million more than expected. Oil heating, plumbing and mechanical systems were much more pricey than anticipated. In addition, they've been unable to close deals on several parcels of land on St. Clair Ave.

Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones says that what this means is that the site of the Medical Mart will now most likely be the northern part of the mall, between Cleveland City Hall and the old County Courthouse. However, a number of nearby sites are also still an option.

Peter Lawson Jones says that the change would make it possible for more money to be put into the building and provide a lakefront view which would enhance the project. He says that the relocation will not change the overall timeline for getting the project built, but there are some other issues that could complicate matters.

A fourth victim of Cleveland serial killer Anthony Sowell has been identified as 43-year-old Nancy Cobbs. Cobbs was last seen in April and her family had filed a missing persons report to the police in June. Cobbs was a mother of 4 children.

In other news on the case, Sowell stated that he wanted the death penalty after being caught by police this weekend. And in a strange twist, Mayor Frank Jackson's niece said that she had a relationship with Sowell and even asked questions about the repugnent odor at the Imperial Ave residence. Sowell told her that the smell was from the sausage factory that the house was next door to.

As if the Cleveland police don’t have enough on their hands. Now they have another missing person: Mayor Frank Jackson.

Where is Frank Jackson?

I’ve covered a lot of mayors going back to Ralph Locher. I don’t know one of them that would not have had a strong public presence in a situation as the one where 11 women have been murdered. And where so much evidence points to an embarrassing lack of policy, execution and service from the city and its bureaucracy.

I don’t know any of the Mayors for more than 40 years who would not be very visible, trying to guide the city, calm the city and give it some assurance of action. I don’t know any of them who wouldn’t be consoling the residents, trying to reassure them in every way, every day that the Mayor has concerned for them, for what has happened and for a just resolution.

This Mayor is absent without leave. He can’t hide behind, “What is, is.”

It won’t fly. Not this time.

The city’s police department has been seen as embarrassingly inept or worse, seriously unconcerned. This is his police department. They represent him.

The absence of the mayor is unforgivable.