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What you need to know Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021 WEATHER
Plenty of sunshine is in the forecast for today but it will be chillier, with highs in the mid-30s. Winds will be much calmer. Overnight lows will be in the mid-20s with partly cloudy skies. Read more.
Local scores: Cavs 112, Houston Rockets 96 OVERNIGHT
Hopkins costs: The cost to airlines operating at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport skyrocketed last year after the pandemic cratered passenger numbers. The airport has big debt, and the loss of revenue in parking, food and beverage, retail and other non-aeronautical areas has to be made up somewhere, reports Susan Glaser. The airport’s budget – projected to be $151.5 million in 2021 – must be balanced without any city tax dollars.
New terminal? Cleveland Hopkins International Airport officials are gearing up to unveil a plan for a nearly new terminal to be constructed in phases in the years ahead, at a cost of more than $1 billion. Susan Glaser reports the preferred design is likely to include rebuilt, wider concourses; an expanded ticketing area; a relocated rental car facility; centralized Transportation Security Administration screening; a new, centrally located Customs facility; and redesigned roadways. Once a plan is finalized, the city will negotiate with the carriers to help pay for it.
This Week in the CLE: Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said he would allow more than one ballot drop box per county, if the courts allowed that. Then he changed his mind. We’re talking about LaRose’s decision to limit drop boxes in the May primary election on This Week in the CLE, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.
Centralized sign-up: Ohio is spending at least $3.6 million on a privately developed centralized vaccine signup system because the website created for the federal government had significant operational issues, according to Gov. Mike DeWine’s office. Laura Hancock reports the state originally planned to go with a coronavirus vaccine system developed for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by contractor Deloitte. But in December the state decided to request bids. The state signed a six-month contract with Accenture on Jan. 14. New numbers: Seventy-seven more coronavirus deaths pushed Ohio past the 17,000 mark Wednesday, Laura Hancock reports. Most of the new deaths reported Wednesday didn’t occur in the past 24 hours, but months ago. The state now totals 17,045 deaths, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Ohio also added 1,842 new cases, bringing the total to 959,995.
May 30 protest: A team monitoring Cleveland police reform since 2015 says authorities gave inappropriate dispersal orders to a crowd of protesters gathered outside the Justice Center during the May 30 protests. They also questioned use-of-force reports in a 123-page report, the first examination law enforcement’s response to the demonstration by a body other than the Cleveland Division of Police. Cory Shaffer details the report, which takes a critical look at the department’s actions before, during, and after the demonstrations and found several issues that the monitor team said the department needs to correct.
Chief's response: Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams acknowledged in federal court Wednesday that his department was deficient in reporting and reviewing cases where officers used force during the May 30 demonstrations over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Williams said the department has set up a committee to review the department’s policy to address the issue, Cory Shaffer reports.
Post office: It took seven weeks for a 10-by-12 envelope mailed in Cleveland on Jan. 5 to arrive at its destination in Columbus and five weeks for the U.S. Postal Service to deliver a letter between the communities of Navarre and Massillon, five miles apart. Holmes County GOP Rep. Bob Gibbs got the opportunity Wednesday to ask Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to explain long delivery delays around the country. Sabrina Eaton reports the delays were attributed to factors caused by the coronavirus, including reduced capacity to send mail on airplanes because of canceled flights, and unprecedented demand to mail parcels at a time when absences were high because of the pandemic.
Recycling: A consultant has recommended that Cleveland develop an opt-in system for recycling to reduce the amount of materials lost due to contamination and to improve efficiency. Robert Higgs reports the recommendation is one of several that GT Environmental made as part of its review of Cleveland’s waste collection and recycling programs. Detailed strategies for implementing those changes still must be developed.
Renewable energy: New GOP-sponsored Ohio Senate legislation would indefinitely continue the state’s solar and other renewable-energy standards for utilities, which are set to end in a few years due to the scandal-ridden House Bill 6. Jeremy Pelzer reports Senate Bill 89, sponsored by state Rep. Matt Dolan, a Chagrin Falls Republican, marks the latest attempt by state lawmakers to tear away at parts of HB6, the 2019 energy law that authorities say that ex-House Speaker Larry Householder passed with $60 million in FirstEnergy Corp. bribe money.
Campaign chair: Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday threw his support behind his former Ohio campaign chairman as the next chairman of the state Republican Party days before the party is scheduled to vote to pick a new leader. Andrew Tobias reports that Trump said Bob Paduchik has his “full and complete endorsement” to replace Jane Timken, who resigned as chairman of the Ohio Republican Party earlier this month to focus on her run for the U.S. Senate.
Economic boost: President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order launching a review of U.S. supply chains and directing federal agencies to identify ways to secure them against a wide range of risks and vulnerabilities, Sabrina Eaton reports. The move came after Biden discussed the matter with a bipartisan group of U.S. Congress members including U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican.
Vaccine acceptance: An Ohio University study that surveyed more than 2,300 Ohio adults in January found that younger Ohioans, Black and Hispanic residents and residents of rural areas are not as likely to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Cameron Fields reports the survey also saw differences depending on where people live.
Free masks: The Greater Cleveland Food Bank will distribute 60,000 free cloth masks as part of President Joe Biden’s plan to give 25 million masks to Americans, Alexis Oatman reports. Food Bank spokeswoman Karen Pozna says the masks will be distributed through their partner agencies’ network and during weekly food distributions at the Muni Lot.
Clinic centennial: In February 1921, four Cleveland physicians unveiled a hospital like nothing else in the city. Dr. George Crile Sr., Dr. Frank Bunts, Dr. William Lower and Dr. John Phillips built on their experiences caring for the wounded during World War I to create the Cleveland Clinic as a multidiscipline group practice with many specialists in one building. Julie Washington reports the Clinic’s decision to employ doctors and pay them a set salary was so radical that the local medical community branded the Clinic founders as communists.
Clinic patient: Dorinda Jones was born with a heart condition that left her too exhausted to walk from the bus to her classroom. She’s received treatment at the Cleveland Clinic since 1956, Julie Washington reports.
COVID trick: Ohio State University scientists have developed a unique approach to fighting COVID-19: “tricking” the coronavirus into thinking it’s causing an infection by designing protein fragments, called peptides, that mimic the receptors the coronavirus uses to cause an infection. Evan MacDonald reports scientists are still studying the technology but believe it could be useful in nasal sprays and disinfectants.
Social services: Advocates for the poor say an Ohio Senate bill that seeks to catch fraud among people applying for and receiving social services will result in increased work for county case workers, as well as fewer low-income people obtaining food aid, Medicaid and unemployment benefits. Laura Hancock reports that Senate Bill 17 requires case workers to cross-check applicants and enrollees against state data such as new hire records, wage records, lottery winnings and death records.
Judge affiliation: November 2022 ballots for Ohio Supreme Court candidates and other state judicial races could include partisan affiliation if a bill introduced this week by state lawmakers were to become law. Andrew Tobias reports that Republican-sponsored bills were introduced this week in the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate that also would apply to candidates for county and municipal judgeships as well as state courts of appeals. Similar legislation got preliminary approval from a House committee in December, but expired at the end of the year.
Gas prices: The average price for a gallon of gasoline jumped 22.8 cents this week in Ohio, marking the sharpest increase during a winter month since February 2013. The weekly average for Ohio reported Monday by the U.S. Energy Administration was $2.64 a gallon, up from $2.42 a gallon a week earlier and up nearly a half-dollar from $2.17 a gallon on Jan. 4, reports Rich Exner.
RTA: RTA suspended a police officer without pay in an investigation into an incident where he shoved a man and slammed him to the ground at a rapid station. Adam Ferrise reports that officer Mark Sloboda is on unpaid “crisis suspension” for the incident that happened on Jan. 14 at the West Boulevard-Cudell rapid station.
Solon principal: The Solon school district placed Solon High School Principal Erin Short on paid administrative leave while it investigates a decade-old claim against her, Kaylee Remington reports.
Sheriff’s deputy: A judge on Wednesday dismissed charges against a former Summit County Sheriff’s deputy who was accused of misusing a police database, agreeing with the deputy’s claims that he was selectively prosecuted because he is Black. Robin Goist reports that Antonio Williamson, 50, had faced 10 counts of improperly using a law-enforcement database by engaging in behaviors which his attorneys argued – and Common Pleas Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands agreed – were exhibited by white deputies who were not prosecuted.
First Amendment: Case Western Reserve University will launch a First Amendment Clinic, which will offer experience for third-year law students and free legal services for individuals and institutions. The clinic, and a fellowship for early-career attorneys, is funded by a more than $1 million commitment from the Stanton Foundation, reports Emily Bamforth.
Sunshine: Temperatures climbed to 55 degrees -- with sun! -- Wednesday morning. Is it a sign winter is finally winding down? Cameron Fields reports that above-normal temperatures and near-normal precipitation are forecast through mid-March.
Oaks Estate: A video from cleveland.com’s sister site, Architectural Digest, brings you to Tampa to tour The Oaks Estate, one of the most magnificent homes to be built in Florida in recent memory. Situated on Lake Thonotosassa, this $17.5 million French Normandy-style eight-bedroom mansion goes all out with amenities.
Keep the Change: Ben Bebenroth, who formerly owned the acclaimed Spice Kitchen + Bar in Cleveland’s Detroit Shoreway neighborhood, believes a restaurant should have a sense of responsibility. His Keep The Change Kitchen Collective is billed as a “virtual food hall” offering online ordering, seamless curbside pickup and delivery options, reports Marc Bona. Mayfield woman discharged from UH Parma Medical Center after 76-day COVID-19 battle Read more
Akron shooting leaves 1 man dead, police say Read more
Cleveland records 61 new confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus cases, 18 new deaths: Wednesday update Read more
‘The road ahead is bright,’ Solon mayor says in State of the City address Read more
Lakewood City Council considers expansion of renters’ rights regarding evictions during a pandemic Read more
Olmsted Falls City Schools purchases plexiglass desk shields, returns to all-in instruction Read more
Fairview Hospital promotes colonoscopies during Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month Read more
Medina County residents can tune in to virtual COVID vaccine Q&A March 10 Read more
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