The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage is preparing an opportunity for visitors to interact with an artificial intelligence version of the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr. (Photo Courtesy of Maltz Museum)

BEACHWOOD, Ohio -- The public is invited to become beta testers for the newest addition to the Maltz Museum’s permanent collection.

Using state-of-the-art technology, the museum has partnered with StoryFile to capture the life story of Cleveland icon and civil rights activist the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr. as an Interactive Conversational Biography.

An artificial intelligence (AI) version of Moss will have the capability of answering audience questions in real time, mimicking an actual conversation.

The beta test is currently under way. To make the technology as effective as possible, audiences are needed to ask questions at a rate of approximately 150 per week. Visitors who want to participate in the beta testing phase can attend at no cost, from Sept. 1 through Oct. 22.

The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, 2929 Richmond Road in Beachwood.

Date and time slot options are available on the museum’s website. To register for your free visit and to be part of making history as a beta tester, call 216-593-0575 or visit maltzmuseum.org/moss.

From Pittsburgh to Beachwood: The Beachwood Arts Council will present a free special concert with The Giambelli String Quartet of Pittsburgh from 2 to 3 p.m. Oct. 16 at the Beachwood Community Center, 25225 Fairmount Blvd.

The Giambelli String Quartet of Pittsburgh, which features Tami Osborne Pederson, Katie Wickesberg, Louise Farbman and Kathleen Melucci, has for more than 20 years performed before audiences in Pittsburgh and throughout Western Pennsylvania.

In addition to the quartet, their experience includes the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Ballet Orchestra, the Civic Light Opera Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

The Giambelli String Quartet (Photo Courtesy of Beachwood Arts Council)

The Beachwood concert will include a diverse group of music by W.A. Mozart, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Stephan Konez, Rhiannon Giddens, Ritchie Valens and Lady Gaga.

Masks will be required. The concert is sponsored by grants from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and the Ohio Arts Council.

Not this year: The City of Cleveland Heights had planned to resurface Coventry Road in 2022, but, unfortunately, received no submissions when it placed the project out for bid. The city plans to rebid the project with the intention of completing it in 2023.

Give your thoughts: The City of Cleveland Heights is asking that residents submit questions and comments about a couple of upcoming road projects.

One of those projects will have the city upgrading six traffic signals located at intersections along Monticello Boulevard. They include those at Monticello Boulevard and Lee Road; Monticello and Forest Hills boulevards; Monticello Boulevard and North Taylor Road; Monticello Boulevard and Yellowstone Road; Monticello Boulevard and Noble Road; and Monticello and Belvoir boulevards.

This project will also include the removal of two unwarranted traffic signals at Monticello Boulevard and Quarry Drive and at Forest Hills and Mount Vernon boulevards.

Construction is currently scheduled to begin in 2023.

The other project will include asphalt resurfacing of Lee Road from Mayfield Road to Superior Road. The project will include upgrades to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) curb ramps, pavement repairs, curb replacement and pavement markings.

Construction is currently scheduled to begin in early 2023.

Questions and comments about both projects may address, but are not limited to, the effect of the project on local residents, air quality, the local economy, floodplains and historic or cultural resources.

At this stage, the city cannot provide specific information about potential real estate acquisitions for either project. If necessary, a representative working for the city will contact owners whose properties may need to be acquired to discuss the right-of-way needs, the acquisition process and their rights under that process.

You can submit comments or questions to Joe Kickel, assistant director of public works for Cleveland Heights, by calling 216-291-2470 or by sending an email to jkickel@clevelandheights.gov.

Meals on Wheels Challenge: Meals on Wheels Shaker will host later this month its second annual Miles for Meals Challenge, a virtual 5K.

If you participate, you can pick virtually anything you’d like to do to show support on Sept.17 or 18. That includes running, swimming, walking with a stroller or some other favorite activity.

To get involved, visit here for more information. Meals on Wheels Shaker is an independent community service agency whose volunteers deliver affordable, nutritious meals of superior quality to residents of Shaker Heights, Beachwood and University Heights.

Heights Heritage Home & Garden Tour: The 43rd Heights Heritage Home & Garden Tour, presented by Heights Community Congress, will be back from noon to 6 p.m. Sept. 18.

Tickets are $20, but after Labor Day, the cost increases to $25. Tickets can be purchased in person at Appletree Books, at Cedar Road and Fairmount Boulevard; Heinen’s, on South Green Road; Tommy’s Restaurant, on Coventry Road; Bremec on the Heights, on Cedar Road; The Stove Oven, on Lee Road; and Zagara’s Marketplace, on Lee Road.

For more information about the tour, visit heightscongress.org. All proceeds will benefit the Heights Community Congress.

Heights Music Hop returns: The Heights Music Hop, an initiative of FutureHeights, is an annual multi-venue event using music as the vehicle to help build a sense of community among Heights residents and raise awareness of the Heights as a destination for those living outside the community.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 10, during the Noble Gardeners Market, at Noble/Roanoke Park, 2549 Noble Road, and from 5 to 11 p.m. in the Cedar Lee District.

More information about the event is available at heightsmusichop.com.

College news: Students at the University of Findlay recently received a crisp, white lab coat at the College of Pharmacy’s White Coat Ceremony. Among those 42 students was Corrin Flowers of University Heights.

Among the 477 students who graduated in May from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, was Shaker Heights High School graduate Wilder Geier.

Heights Libraries happenings: The Heights Libraries invites you to bring the whole family to Turtle Park, on Euclid Heights Boulevard and Overlook Road in Cleveland Heights, for special turtle story time.

Come and hear the Libraries’ favorite turtle stories, learn its favorite turtle facts, hear its favorite turtle songs and meet a special turtle guest. The event will be held, weather permitting, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sept. 20.

-- The Lee Road branch, 2345 Lee Road in Cleveland Heights, will host “Literary Cleveland: Developing a Writing Habit,” from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 20.

In this two-hour lecture and workshop, the discussion will center on strategies for getting you into your seat, how to combine playfulness with discipline and the three components necessary for a writing career. Then, they’ll cover the basics of a process guaranteed to get you started generating raw material.

All genres welcome. Register here.

-- “Banned Book Trivia Night” will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Sept. 20 at the Noble Neighborhood branch, 2800 Noble Road in Cleveland Heights.

In celebration of Banned Book week, you’re invited to come compete with your friends and learn why books have been censored, banned, burned and otherwise detested.

This event will likely be outside of the library. Registration begins Sept. 6. To register, visit here.

War in Ukraine and the Jewish community: Park Synagogue will present, via Zoom, “The War in Ukraine & the Fate of Its Jewish Community” at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 14, featuring professor David Fishman of New York City’s Jewish Theological Seminary.

Fishman will discuss the war, how the Ukrainian Jewish community has fared and its prospects for the future.

Fishman is also the director of Project Judaica, JTS’ program in Ukraine, which is based in the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy University.

The program is free and open to the community. Participants need to register through the Park Synagogue website at parksynagogue.org to receive the Zoom link.

Direct questions you may have to Ellen Petler at epetler@parksyn.org or 216-371-2244, extension 122.

Co-sponsors of the program are B’nai Jeshurun, Park Synagogue, Congregation Tifereth Israel of Columbus and Congregation B’nai Israel of Toledo.

Third public ARPA meeting: The city of Cleveland Heights will hold its third public meeting during which residents can comment and suggest how the city should spend its federal American Rescue Plan Act money.

The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Cleveland Heights Community Center, 1 Monticello Blvd. To learn more about the city’s ARPA funding process, visit here.

Train to make medical devices: Cuyahoga Community College, aka Tri-C, has partnered with Norman Noble Inc. (NNI), a medical device contract manufacturer, to create an on-ramp training program for new hires.

Training begins next month at the college’s Eastern Campus in Highland Hills.

The fast-track training opportunity prepares individuals for careers in medical device manufacturing. Trainees will learn how to operate laser, electro-polishing and CNC Swiss-type machining in a clean environment tailored to company needs.

New hires will receive two-and-a-half weeks of no-cost technical training at Tri-C, followed by three weeks of paid training at NNI. Individuals who successfully complete the program will receive a job offer with benefits.

Topics will include working in a regulated environment, manufacturing excellence, documentation and quality, blueprints and tools, lean and continuous improvement, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.

Applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent and score a Level 4 or higher on the ACT WorkKeys assessment. A current resume and background check/drug test are also required.

Established more than 75 years ago, NNI is a family-owned and -operated company. The company is known for its ability to micromachine nitinol implants and to achieve subminiature precision beyond the reach of most manufacturers.

Norman Noble is a supplier to most of the well-known names in the medical device industry.

Visit tri-c.edu/on-ramp to learn more and apply. For more information, contact program manager Stephen Smereczynsky at 216-987-3040 or stephen.smereczynsky@tri-c.edu.

Homecoming Parade to return: After a three-year hiatus, the Cleveland Heights High School Homecoming Parade will return at 5 p.m. Sept. 16. The parade will proceed north along Lee Road, from Fairfax Elementary School, to Tullamore Road. At the parade’s conclusion, at 7 p.m., the Heights Tigers football team will take on Lorain High School.

At the Beachwood Library: The Beachwood Library, 25501 Shaker Blvd., has upcoming classes titled “Arts for Wellness: Pendant Jewelry,” from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 4 and Oct. 18.

In these classes, participants will, according to the library, “capture a memory by collaging a glass pendant and a resin tray pendant necklace.”

This is a two-part workshop and participants must be able to attend both sessions.

Registration is required. To do so, call Barbara DiScenna at 216-844-1211.

Also, “Other Brown Girl + Other Jewish Girl: A Conversation,” will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 13. In this one, Jing Lauengco and Brandi Larsen will start the discussion and invite audience members to consider the truths about their own stories.

Registration is required and can be accomplished by calling 216-831-6868.

If you would like to see an item included in Press Run, send me an email, at least 14 days prior to an event, at jeff.piorkowski@att.net.

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