? Marx To Be Appointed Ward 4 Representative + Fake Pills Death Link

Hello, everybody. It’s me, Carla Varner, your host of the Lakewood Daily — back in your inbox with all the most important things happening locally. Here goes…

First, today’s weather:

Warm with clouds and sun. High: 82 Low: 78.

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Here are the top three stories in Lakewood today:

1. The Lakewood City Council is expected to appoint Cindy Marx as Ward 4 representative at its Jun. 21 meeting. Marx will replace former City Council President Dan O’Malley and serve the rest of his term which expires at the end of 2023. Marx previously served on the City Council from 2013 to 2017. (cleveland.com)
2. Ohio health officials are warning that the state’s high rate of overdose deaths is linked to the availability of counterfeit pills traced with fentanyl, a potent and lethal synthetic drug. Shabbir Imber Safdar, executive director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, said fake pills are being sold as prescription painkillers like Adderall, OxyContin, and Xanax. “There’s a lot of young people who take Adderall, and they’re not particularly careful about where they get their pills,” Safdar stated. (Cleveland Scene)
3. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner identified two of the three victims of last Saturday’s house explosion as 37-year-old Cassandra Bateman and 57-year-old Gerald Bateman, both of Garfield Heights. The explosion, which took place in the 4900 block of E. 81st Street, is still under investigation. The identity of the third victim has not yet been released. (Cleveland 19 News)

Today in and around Lakewood:

• Drop-In & Play Mornings At Cove Park (10:00 AM)
• Community Health Needs Assessment Open House – Virtual (6:30 PM)
• Luca Mundaca At Bay Village Branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library (6:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• Scroll through and see which companies are hiring in the Lakewood area. View positions, job descriptions, and salaries, then click on the link to apply. (Lakewood Patch)
• Come out to the opening of Pioneer, a new wood-fired sports bar, at Intro in Ohio City today. The restaurant that captures the spirit of the outdoors features a 20-foot-long, live-fire grill. (Cleveland Scene)
• American jazz fusion band Spyro Gyra is playing at the Cain Park Evans Amphitheater in nearby Cleveland Heights on Saturday, Jun. 18 at 5:00 p.m. The band’s music combines jazz, R&B, funk, and pop music. (etix.com)