August 18th is a landmark day here at WJCU because it marks the launch of Heights Now, a weekly community news segment produced in partnership with HeightsObserver.org, a non-profit citizen-driven print and online news publication serving the cities of Cleveland Heights and University Heights.

Each week, Heights Now will present a look at a story or issue of interest to the Heights community, drawing on the citizen reporting resources of HeightsObserver.org, and produced for broadcast/podcast by JCU alum Nate Marinchick. Those of you that listen to commercial radio in Cleveland may recognize Nate from his day job, but may not know that he served with distinction as a WJCU student director over eight years ago, and we’re delighted to have him rejoin the ranks as executive producer of Heights Now.

Each weekly installment of Heights Now will be presented once daily Monday through Friday during The Heights 88.7. But better still, each segment will be archived and available as a podcast, both on wjcu.org and the HeightsObserver.org website - which we strongly recommend visiting!

We at WJCU believe that Heights Now is just the first step in building a new relationship with our community. Let us know what you think at wjcuinfo(@)gmail.com.

Heights Now Air Schedule

In our first episode, we’ll introduce you to The Heights Observer, give you an idea of what this program will strive to accomplish, and how you can look forward to finding out what is going on in our community every week.

 Heights Now - Episode 1 (Welcome to Heights Now) [2:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The 2008 Waterloo Arts Festival continues to grow and WJCU is proud to be part of this great community event. At this year’s festival our outstanding veteran crew made up of DJs Greg Priddy, Uncle Fred, and John Roddy teamed up with youngins Joe Madigan, Ashley Ortiz, Danielle Sills, and Gene Natale. The WJCU team manned our 88.7FM tent, caught up with event organizers and notable people with roving interviews heard throughout the day, and kicked back and relaxed enjoying the festival with 88.7FM listeners.

WJCU is proud of the community we serve and will continue to help out great local events like the Waterloo Arts Festival. Keep listening!

Breaking 88.7FM News! Now you can check out our staff bios for all your favorite Heights DJs by clicking here.

Win your free tickets to see OAR featuring Ozomatli at the Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City here on WJCU 88.7! Get ready for the Cleveland leg of this nationwide tour on Saturday August 16th, starting at 7:00 pm. We’ve got 10 free pairs of tickets to give away and you can win them just by listening and calling in when the DJ says “CALL NOW!”

The Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City is located at 351 Canal Road in downtown Cleveland. Call the amphitheater at 1.216.522.4822 or check their website here for more details.

The talented singer-songwriter Matt Costa who is smack dab in the middle of his North American tour across Canada and the US took a brief timeout here in our University Heights Studios on Thursday August, 7th. Matt joined DJ Sills and sang live on air, getting ready for his Cleveland tour stop at the Beachland Ballroom in Collinwood.

Join WJCU’s Uncle Fred, Greg Priddy, John “Rocket” Roddy, Ashley, and Heights DJ Danielle at the 6th annual “Waterloo Rd. Arts Fest” on Saturday, August 2nd. We’ll be hanging out at the WJCU tent, located near the Arts Collinwood gallery on North Waterloo road.

For those of you unacquainted with the event, the Waterloo Rd. Arts Fest is an arts-centric festival with lots to see, do, taste, and experience! Presented by the non-profit community group Arts Collinwood, and taking place along the core of the Waterloo Arts & Entertainment District, this grassroots, family-friendly Fest has something for everyone, including visiting arts vendors, 3 galleries, and special historical, educational, and environmental exhibits and activities. A wide range of PERFORMANCES will take place in the street and on 3 stages. With live music, poets, street performers, buskers, skateboard demos, and more, performances will be happening just about everywhere! And don’t miss the rock and roll flea market at the Beachland Ballroom, located right in the middle of the fest area.

So come out and enjoy! And don’t forget to stop by our tent for a chat and some giveaway goodies.

In case you hadn’t heard, the New American Music Union festival slated for August 8-9th at the SouthSide Works area of Pittsburgh, PA. Is sold out - which isn’t surprising when you look at the artist lineup: On Friday 8/8 it’ll be the Tiny Masters of Today, nasa, The Black Keys and the Roots. And Saturday promises to be a real standout with the Duke Spirit, Black Mountain, Gnarls Barkley, Spoon, The Raconteur’s and Bob Dylan and his band.

But WAIT - there’s more. Also on Saturday, the fest will feature a separate stage for 15 of the nations top college bands, led by Northeastern Ohio’s (um, Kent actually) “Bears” This band’s a favorite of WJCU Program Director Mark Ryan, and if you’ve heard them, you know why.

So why are we telling you this if the show is sold out? Are we just trying to show our sadistic side?

Nope…WJCU has 2 pairs of tickets for Friday the 8th and another 2 pair for Saturday the 9th performances, and we”l be GIVING AWAY ONE PAIR EACH DAY on the Heights, beginning on Tuesday July 29th and continuing on thru Friday August 1st.

So be listening each day between 6 AM to 6 PM for your chance to win ‘em.

Click here for performance schedules and more information for the “New American Music Union festival ”