• Colin McEwenPatch Staff Verified Patch Staff Badge

  • Lakewood, OH

I am the editor of Lakewood Patch and a local news enthusiast.

I joined Patch because the company is at the forefront of the future of journalism — and I am deeply committed to this changing media landscape. And, I love Lakewood.

I have delivered, printed, packed, stacked, written for, edited and, of course, read newspapers. My first reporting gig came in the fourth grade when Mrs. Williams ordered – since I talked so much — that I report news and weather to begin the class each day. No sweat.

So, the kid with soda-pop-bottle eyeglasses began his career, sharing the latest news and weather forecasts with a room full of confounded classmates. 

Since then, I have worked in different media environments, and worn several different hats. I have picked up a camera; learned to handle video equipment and edited my own work. I have kept a blog. I have taped interviews and posted them to the Web. These are a few of the skills that I have acquired in an ever-changing media environment. 

After stints in Chicago and Southern California, I returned to home to Northeast Ohio to attend the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent State University. I held a reporting internship at the Record Publishing Co. by day and worked in the Akron Beacon Journal production department by night, stacking newspapers.

I later worked as a reporter and wire editor at the Record-Courier and received several awards for news and sports reporting. 

In my freelance work, most notably for hiVelocity, I have followed the changing economic landscape in Ohio. I have identified start-up bio-tech and biomedical companies as they sprout up around the fertile health-care industry, with area institutions of higher education propping them up. The state's economy is changing.

Not unlike my own industry.

I live in Lakewood with my wife, Kelly Flamos, and our children, Ruby and Clyde.

Kelly co-owns and operates Mahalls 20 Lanes with my brother-in-law, Joe Pavlick.

... In case you're curious, that will never affect my ability to report news professionally and fairly in this city that I love.

Posting Activity

Lakewood|News|

Giant Eagle Renovations in the Works?

Representatives from the grocer have not responded to requests for comment. However, a renovation is still in the works, according to sources.

Giant Eagle Renovations in the Works?
Lakewood|News|

Same-Sex Benefits a Reminder of Skeletons From Lakewood’s Closet

On Jan. 18, 2000, dozens of residents packed into the auditorium at city hall to oppose legislation that would have allowed same-sex — and domestic — partners employed at city hall to enjoy health benefits. Public opinion has shifted since then.

Same-Sex Benefits a Reminder of Skeletons From Lakewood’s Closet
Lakewood|News|

Pesky Raccoon Keeps Woman From Her Car

Check out our interactive map of police incidents around Lakewood. Click on each marker to see the details.

Pesky Raccoon Keeps Woman From Her Car
Lakewood|News|

‘33 Variations’ Opens at Beck Center

A “music-filled, life-affirming theatrical” event — by the author of The Laramie Project — comes to Lakewood.

‘33 Variations’ Opens at Beck Center