Every July 4, fireworks draw thousands of Northeast Ohioans to parks to spread their blankets over the grass, unpack their coolers and sit shoulder-to-shoulder to watch a spectacle in the sky. From Bay Village to Mentor, communities are preparing not just for crowds, but for any possibility of violence after fights broke out at community festivals and dozens of shots were fired as the sun set on a June Saturday at Edgewater Beach. In Lakewood, anyone who enters Lakewood Park for their fireworks celebration Thursday is subject to being searched by police. The children’s playground will be closed all day, and the pool and parking lot will close at 5 p.m. In Mentor, where 25,000 people are expected in Civic Center Park, the city’s safety forces say they have extensive experience handling large crowds. Here’s to safe, satisfying fireworks shows and a happy holiday week.
— Laura
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Overnight Scores and Weather |
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Cities across Northeast Ohio will host fireworks celebrations after a spate of violence at community events and public gatherings across the region. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com file photo) |
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July 4 events: Communities across Northeast Ohio are preparing to host tens of thousands of people at their Fourth of July parades and fireworks shows during a spring and summer that has been marred by outbursts of violence at several community events. Cory Shaffer reports officials in several cities say the recent incidents that rocked Cleveland and several of its suburbs are troubling, but they are confident in their security plans that have been in place for years to provide safe Independence Day celebrations. Holiday traffic: Traveling this holiday week? If traffic backs up, where will it be? Google traffic mapping provides some insight to this summer’s worst chokepoints, reports Zachary Smith. Dirt bike injury: An Ashtabula man was arrested and a Cleveland police officer was hurt Monday after several dirt-bike riders careened through a West Side intersection, clogging traffic and scaring residents. Olivia Mitchell reports the officer has been treated and released from a hospital. Today in Ohio: Ohio is one step closer to having a high-stakes redistricting reform amendment on the November ballot after backers submitted hundreds of thousands of voter signatures Monday to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office. We’re talking about the future of our government on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast. |
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Brown and Biden: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and other down-ballot Democrats could be imperiled this November if President Joe Biden doesn’t step aside. That’s according to two Democrats who ran statewide in 2022: Tim Ryan, the party’s U.S. Senate nominee that year, and John Cranley, a former Cincinnati mayor who lost in the party’s primary, Andrew Tobias reports. Illegal texting: It’s up to Ohio drivers accused of violating the state’s new texting-while-driving law to prove at least one of the many exceptions to the law applies to their case, a state appeals court has ruled. Jeremy Pelzer reports that Ohio’s stricter anti-texting rules, which took effect last year, allow police to pull over drivers they see using their phones behind the wheel. But there’s a lengthy list of exemptions to the ban. Polymer hub: Akron’s Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub is getting a $51 million infusion of CHIPS and Science Act funding from the Department of Commerce. Sabrina Eaton reports the Biden-Harris administration announced funding for 12 hubs, including Akron’s, after Northeast Ohio Congress members lobbied the Biden administration to fund it. Fire funds: The state’s liberalization of its fireworks laws has pumped out a cool $3 million for firefighter training, reports Jake Zuckerman. A state board is scheduled next week to authorize transfer of the money, funded via 4% tax of gross receipts of fireworks sales, to the state Fire Marshal’s Office. Libertarian Party: The Libertarian Party of Ohio filed paperwork Tuesday to become the state’s first recognized third party in four years, reports Jeremy Pelzer. Ohio Libertarians turned in more than 88,000 petition signatures, including signatures from all 88 counties, to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office to regain their status as a recognized minor party, state Libertarian Party Chair Dustin Nanna said. American flags: As communities across Ohio this week celebrate U.S. independence by flying Old Glory, those flags are almost universally made in America. Some Ohio lawmakers want to make it a state law. Laura Hancock reports that House Bill 87 would prohibit the state and local governments from purchasing an Ohio or U.S. flag that is not made in the USA. |
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Public comment: Cuyahoga County Council is seeking to start limiting public comment following several meetings in which nearly 70 people have taken to the podium, stretching meetings three or four hours long. Kaitlin Durbin reports council will introduce a resolution to amend its rules, limiting public comment to 20 speakers. Safety director: Former Cleveland police Chief Dornat “Wayne” Drummond has been permanently appointed as the city’s chief safety director. Courtney Astolfi reports Mayor Justin Bibb swore in Drummond during a Monday ceremony and announced the move on Tuesday morning. 'Superman' closures: The Detroit-Superior Bridge will be closed for five days and multiple downtown Cleveland streets also will be affected for the ongoing filming of the “Superman” movie. Marc Bona has a list of closures. Algal blooms: If Sandusky Bay has been looking a little green lately it’s not your imagination. Peter Krouse reports that the Sandusky Bay blooms are not the same - and likely not as harmful - as the seasonal blue-green algae that has become such a concern in the western basin of Lake Erie over the past two decades. Top sale: In May, Cuyahoga County saw another home sell for over $2 million, this time in Moreland Hills. Zachary Smith reports that nine additional homes sold for at least $1.3 million in May. Three are located in Pepper Pike, two in Bay Village, and the rest in Brecksville, Shaker Heights, Solon and Westlake. Planting perennials: Perennial growth is a little like building a house, where first the basement is excavated, then the foundation is built and finally the house is framed. So it is with perennials, writes Susan Brownstein. While the plants are “sleeping” and “creeping” above ground, the roots are growing deep underground to provide the foundation for the plant growth. |
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Mulch dye: There’s a dye made specifically for recoloring faded mulch. You mix concentrate with water in a pump sprayer, spritz it over your flower beds and poof — fresh mulch. It seems like a no-brainer. But Sean McDonnell reports this process can become a nightmare. Sports betting: May meant more bets for Ohio’s sports betting industry. But while the industry is heating up, it’s also losing competition. Ohio’s betting apps, in-person betting lounges and kiosks brought in a combined $613 million in bets, up from just $448 million in May 2023, reports Sean McDonnell. Car sales: Many of Greater Cleveland’s dealerships had to resort to using pen and paper in June amid a nationwide cyberattack and it showed in June’s sales figures, reports Sean McDonnell. Dealerships in and around Cleveland sold 16,438 new vehicles in June, down 16% compared to the 19,401 sold in June 2023. Airbnbs: Airbnb is highlighting its measures to reduce “disruptive and unauthorized” parties over the Fourth of July weekend, as it did during Memorial Day weekend, reports Megan Sims. The effortis designed to limit the amount of one-night and two-night stays at entire homes during these holiday weekends. MediCLE: Playing sports as a kid affects the mental health of adults, Cincinnati takes on the research and treatment of blood cancers, and researchers at Case Western Reserve investigate “silent hypoxia” in this week's MediCLE newsletter. 56 Social: 56 Social Café & Catering is opening in Shaker Heights this fall. The restaurant will take over the space formerly occupied by J. Pistone Market & Gathering Place, reports Paris Wolfe. J. Pistone closed in June after 24 years of operation. Gunselman’s: Gunselman’s Steakhouse & Bar is slated to open next week. The restaurant in the former Olmsted Falls library is billed as a blend of polished-casual dining on the main level with cozy ambiance of an open-air pub on the lower level, reports Marc Bona. |
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Settlement: Cuyahoga County has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit with a former jail inmate who was punched and pepper-sprayed while strapped to a chair. Cuyahoga County Council was expected to approve the settlement Tuesday night, Adam Ferrise reports. Reckless driving: A Cleveland man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that his reckless driving caused a crash that killed two people in the city’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood last month. John Tucker reports Darnell Williams, 27, was indicted Friday on two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide. |
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Ask Yadi: When selling or buying items online, is it OK to give out your address? Yadi Rodriguez writes that concern for safety is understandable. And if your loved ones are using their addresses for sales, they will take those concerns to heart and rethink giving out that information. Strawberry gin: Watershed Distillery’s Four Peel Strawberry Gin should be added to your list, reports Paris Wolfe. The Columbus distillery uses its traditional gin recipe and infuses it with in-season, vine-ripened Ohio strawberries. The 2024 vintage is finished and is expected to sell out as this year’s strawberry season was weak. West Side Market: The West Side Market is feeding its YouTube channel with a new series of cooking videos featuring local chefs, reports Paris Wolfe. The collection of eight to 12-minute videos debuts today with a virtual cooking class led by Chef Jeremy Umansky of Larder in Cleveland’s Hingetown neighborhood. |
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Lyndhurst police investigate armed robbery at IMG Jewelers Read more Naked man believed to have escaped to Metroparks in fear for his life Read more U.S. EPA steps in on Shaker’s problematic Lynnfield-Lomond sewer -- with a lot of money Read more New McDonald’s restaurant at West 130th & Bennett in North Royalton receives preliminary approval Read more Cleveland Heights officials work toward keeping American Rescue Plan Act funds on track Read more |
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