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📢 Local Events from Mentor & the Area: MentorLocalBuzz.com/Events!

📰 Local News: 🛣️ Why One of Northeast Ohio’s Busiest Highways Feels Like It’s Falling Apart

💥 Mentor Police Report Serious Injury in Reynolds Road Bridge Crash

📚 Mentor Public Library Launches Summer Reading Program, Prizes for All Ages

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Homeowner Tuesday - Smart Moves for Mentor Homes: 🧱 Which Cracks in Your Home Are Normal — and Which Ones Deserve Attention?

🏀 Sports: 🏀 Cavs Routed at Home as New York Punches Ticket to NBA Finals

⚾ Guardians Fall Early as Nationals Power Their Way to 10-2 Win

🤔 Trivia Question

🤣 Something Funny

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MENTOR, Ohio — If you drive I-90 through Lake County regularly, you already know the routine.

Dodging rough pavement. Hitting patched sections that barely last through another winter. Wondering how one of Northeast Ohio’s busiest interstate corridors ended up feeling this worn down.

Now, state officials are confirming what many drivers have suspected for years: the road needs far more than another round of temporary repairs.

The Ohio Department of Transportation plans a major rehabilitation project along a six-mile stretch of I-90 between the Kirtland Road and Morley Road overpasses through Mentor, Willoughby, Kirtland Hills, and Concord Township.

This isn’t a simple resurfacing job. ODOT’s proposal includes full-depth pavement replacement, interchange ramp reconstruction at SR-306 and SR-615, bridge rehabilitation, drainage upgrades, lighting improvements, and new pavement markings.

According to ODOT, the corridor carries more than 65,000 vehicles per day and much of the roadway dates back to the 1960s and 1970s.

The problem for many local drivers is the timeline.

Construction is currently expected to begin in 2027 and continue into 2032 with an estimated cost of $98 million.

At the same time, ODOT has also approved funding for improvements to the SR-615/I-90 interchange in Mentor, including wider ramps and an additional lane across the bridge over I-90.

For residents who drive the corridor daily, the reaction has largely been the same: relief that a full rebuild is finally planned — and frustration that it may still be years away.

👉🏻 The full story goes beyond potholes — and raises bigger questions about how one of Northeast Ohio’s busiest interstate corridors reached this point in the first place.

MENTOR, Ohio — Traffic is moving again on the Reynolds Road bridge over state Route 2 after a Monday morning crash temporarily shut down the southbound lanes in Mentor.

According to a crash report filed by the Mentor Police Department with the Ohio Department of Public Safety, a northbound vehicle on Reynolds Road (state Route 306) crossed out of its lane and struck a southbound vehicle head-on.

Both vehicles suffered disabling damage, according to the report.

Police said the crash was reported at 9:56 a.m., and the City of Mentor announced the southbound lane closure around 10:21 a.m. The closure lasted about 90 minutes before traffic resumed.

The report noted that a serious injury was suspected, though additional information has not been released.

The Reynolds Road bridge is a major commuter connection over Route 2, and the closure caused delays for drivers during the late morning hours.

MENTOR, Ohio — Mentor Public Library’s Summer Reading program returns May 28 with prize raffles, reading challenges, and family events for all ages.

Children entering sixth grade or younger can earn raffle tickets for every hour they read or are read to. Kids who complete at least 20 hours will receive a golden ticket for a chance to win $50 gift cards and other prizes.

Teens and adults can track books and audiobooks through Beanstack to earn raffle entries throughout the summer.

The program runs through July 25 and features this year’s “America 250” theme, celebrating the nation’s upcoming semiquincentennial with local and national history programs.

Summer Reading officially kicks off with an Americana Picnic at noon May 30 outside the Main Branch on Mentor Avenue. The event will include patriotic music from the Snowbelt Brass Quintet, hot dogs, and family activities. Registration is required.

See the library’s event calendar at www.mentorpl.org.

Few things make homeowners uneasy faster than spotting a new crack somewhere around the house.

But across Mentor and Northeast Ohio, some cracking is actually very common. Homes here constantly expand, contract, and settle slightly because of freeze-thaw cycles, shifting moisture, humid summers, and older clay-heavy soil conditions.

The challenge is figuring out which cracks are mostly cosmetic — and which ones may signal something developing underneath the surface.

Hairline drywall cracks above doors or windows are often normal, especially in older homes. Small driveway or sidewalk cracks also tend to happen naturally over time after years of winter weather.

Where concern increases is when cracks begin changing shape, widening, or appearing alongside other warning signs.

Stair-step cracks in brick or block walls can sometimes point to settling or drainage issues. Horizontal basement wall cracks deserve closer attention because they may indicate pressure building against the foundation.

But some of the biggest warning signs are easy to overlook entirely:

One simple trick homeowners use is marking the ends of a crack lightly with pencil and checking it again several months later. Growth over time often matters more than the crack itself.

Most cracks are not emergencies. But paying attention early can help homeowners catch moisture or foundation issues before repairs become much more expensive.

👉 In the full website version, we break down the specific crack patterns Northeast Ohio homeowners should monitor most closely, why water and drainage problems often cause hidden foundation stress in Mentor homes, and the subtle warning signs many people miss after heavy rain or harsh winters.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ season came to a painful end Monday night as the New York Knicks rolled to a 130-93 win at Rocket Arena, completing a four-game sweep of the Eastern Conference finals.

For Cleveland fans, the disappointment wasn’t just the loss — it was how quickly the game got away. After an early 8-2 start behind Donovan Mitchell, the Cavaliers struggled to keep pace once New York’s offense caught fire.

Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while OG Anunoby added 17. Landry Shamet gave New York a huge boost off the bench with 16 points, continuing a red-hot shooting stretch during the series.

Mitchell scored 31 for Cleveland, but the Cavs couldn’t recover from a brutal second-quarter stretch where the Knicks ripped off a 20-0 run. New York led by 19 at halftime and eventually by as many as 45 in the fourth quarter.

The Knicks advance to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999 and just their third since winning the franchise’s last championship in 1973.

For Cleveland, the loss marks the team’s first postseason sweep since the 2018 NBA Finals against Golden State. What began as one of the NBA’s most promising playoff runs ended with a difficult final chapter on the home floor.

See the Highlights at espn.com

The Guardians had one of those nights you mostly just file away and move on from.

Washington jumped on Cleveland early Monday at Progressive Field, hitting six home runs in a 10-2 win over the Guardians. Curtis Mead led the Nationals with two homers, the first multi-homer game of his career, while James Wood, Jacob Young, Luis García Jr. and CJ Abrams also went deep.

The trouble started immediately. Wood opened the game with a 412-foot leadoff homer, and Mead followed two batters later to give Washington a 3-0 lead before Cleveland recorded an out. By the end of the third inning, the Nationals were up 7-1.

Tanner Bibee had a difficult start, allowing eight hits, seven runs and five home runs over three innings. The loss dropped him to 0-7 on the season.

Cleveland’s offense was limited to a Rhys Hoskins solo homer in the second and an RBI double from Angel Martínez.

The Guardians will try to reset Tuesday, when left-hander Joey Cantillo is scheduled to face Nationals right-hander Cade Cavalli in the second game of the series.

See the Highlights at espn.com

Baseball fun. Which one is your favorite?