WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2023 |
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Trees aren’t just pretty. They improve air quality, soak up storm runoff, prevent erosion and conserve energy. They increase property values and can reduce blood pressure and stress hormones.
Without trees, we create urban “heat islands,” where violence jumps.
Yet we keep losing tree cover.
In the early 1900s, the tree canopy covered 94% of Cleveland. Today, it covers 18%, the lowest it has ever been. In Cuyahoga County as a whole, we’re about 35%.
Local governments and nonprofits are working together to grow more trees, at a cost of about $500 a tree. But anyone with a yard can plant a tree.
-Laura |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
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Ebonie Randle-Joiner created the Shalom & Tranquility Community Garden as an outdoor oasis for a neighborhood that has seen an increase in violence and drug abuse. At the same time, the neighborhood has seen a drop in green space. (cleveland.com) |
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Tree canopy: Cleveland loses about 75 acres of tree cover a year. And the areas with lower tree canopy rates often have higher rates of gun violence, reports Molly Walsh.
Train bridges: Cleveland leaders want railroad operators to answer for crumbling bridges, rusting support beams, and hazardous, eyesore conditions throughout the city. Courtney Astolfi reports the problem drew a spotlight last week during a special City Council hearing, when local leaders aired long-standing grievances with railroads, who, they say, ignore or drag their feet on requests for repairs. Josh Gunter has a gallery of photos.
Broadway series: For the 2023-24 KeyBank Broadway Series, Playhouse Square is sending theatergoers back to the future, with its seven-show lineup. Joey Morona reports the seris boasts a mix of new musicals and revivals of classic shows, none of which have ever been part of the series, including the North American touring debut of “Back to the Future: The Musical."
Today in Ohio: Ohio has been cutting income taxes for the better part of 20 years. Have the cuts have benefitted Ohioans? We’re talking about the lack of any evidence that cuts have helped the economy on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast. |
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Death penalty: While a bipartisan group of state lawmakers is looking to abolish Ohio’s death penalty after years of trying, two leaders who will determine the bill’s fate appear lukewarm at best about supporting it. But now the state’s largest anti-abortion group is considering throwing their weight behind a repeal bill, reports Jeremy Pelzer.
HB6: A former Ohio House speaker was convicted earlier this month of a racketeering conspiracy, predicated in part on bribery and money laundering, to pass House Bill 6 in 2019, reports Jake Zuckerman. The new man with the gavel, current House speaker and Kitts Hill Republican state Rep. Jason Stephens, said Tuesday he’s not planning any effort to repeal the vestiges of HB6 – including a bailout of coal plants in Ohio and Indiana funded via an estimated $700 million charged to all Ohio electric customers on their monthly bills through 2030. One of those two plants sits in Stephens’ district.
Bank regulation: Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland Democrat who chairs the U.S. Senate committee that oversees the nation’s banks, called for a review of bank regulators supervisory practices after a Tuesday hearing where regulators said they knew of problems at Silicon Valley Bank for years before it collapsed earlier this month. Federal Reserve board of governors vice-chairman Michael S. Barr told Brown the California institution failed because it did not effectively manage its interest rate and liquidity risk despite being warned of problems by regulators, reports Sabrina Eaton.
Governor’s race: A year after Republican Joe Blystone’s gubernatorial campaign attracted a large amount of grassroots support in his bid to spoil Gov. Mike DeWine’s reelection, one of his running mates announced he will run for governor in 2026. Jeremy Pelzer reports Jeremiah Workman, a retired U.S. Marine staff sergeant from Union County, announced he will join what’s likely to be a crowded 2026 GOP primary for governor, running on a conservative platform similar to Blystone’s.
East Palestine: Cleanup of water and soil that was contaminated by a Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine should be completed within the next two months if the current pace of removal continues, reports Sabrina Eaton. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency told a Congressional committee on Tuesday that while soil awaits departure from East Palestine, extensive measures are taken to prevent it from contaminating the town. Special Elections: Despite saying that he supported a bill last yeat that would end August elections in order to prevent municipalities, local school districts, local sewer districts and others schedule them “to have a sneaky levy when nobody’s paying attention," Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, the state’s chief elections officer, isn’t objecting an August special election that would make it harder to amend the Ohio Constitution and possibly scuttle a statewide vote in November on a proposed constitutional amendment enshrining abortion rights, reports Laura Hancock. |
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Stimulus Watch: Cuyahoga County Council aims to spend $2.3 million of its federal COVID stimulus dollars helping fund infrastructure and recreation projects, reports Lucas Daprile. Proposed projects include infrastructure, such as repaving roughly a quarter mile of Cochran Road in Glenwillow. Others are environmental, such as $250,000 for Chagrin Falls to make improvements to its wastewater treatment plant, with the goal of reducing raw sewage overflow into the Chagrin River.
Hospital in a park: When the MetroHealth board fired Dr. Akram Boutros as its CEO last November over a salary dispute, it raised questions about whether the health system would follow through on the partially realized $1 billion campus transformation conceived and partially realized on his watch. Steven Litt reports new president and CEO, Airica Steed supports the idea of turning the 52-acre main campus into a hospital in park, but needs to conduct her own due diligence to make sure the plans are up to date with MetroHealth’s current needs. |
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Flights: Frontier Airlines announced a major expansion at Cleveland Hopkins airport this summer, with new nonstop flights to San Diego, San Francisco, Dallas and Charlotte. Susan Glaser reports that additions bring Frontier’s total number of nonstop destinations from Cleveland to 17 – more than any other carrier.
Creator expo: A lot of content you see on the internet — whether it’s a podcast about civil engineering or a blog about creative marketing using postcards — are made by what Joe Pulizzi calls “content entrepreneurs.” Those people, Pulizzi said, are the “middle class” of content creators. And it’s exactly who his new event — the Creator Economy Expo — is made for, reports Sean McDonnell.
Diabetes drug: The diabetes drug metformin promises to be an effective treatment option for COVID-19, reports Gretchen Cuda Kroen. If given during the initial phase of the infection, metformin reduced the number of hospitalizations, emergency room visits and deaths, as well as prevented long COVID-19 in 42% of patients compared to those receiving a placebo.
Candytopia: Candytopia is opening its traveling candy fantasyland in Legacy Village on April 14 with 14 sweet, interactive environments in a 19,000-square-foot retail space. Paris Wolfe reports guests will walk through a series of vignettes including an art gallery featuring one-of-a-kind hand-crafted candy sculptures, a confetti room complete with “confetti-farting pigs” and a marshmallow pit filled with a quarter-million faux marshmallows.
Alzheimer’s treatment: With the Food and Drug Administration recently granting accelerated approval of the drug lecanemab, Americans now have a second treatment available for people with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. Julie Washington reports a world-wide study is testing the possibility of whether the drug could slow the earliest brain damage at sites across the globe, including at three medical centers in Ohio - the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University and Ohio State University. |
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East Cleveland police: Ten current or former East Cleveland police officers appeared in court on Tuesday to answer to more than 50 criminal charges accusing them of violating the civil rights of multiple people over a two-year period, reports Cory Shaffer. The officers pleaded not guilty through their attorneys to charges that include felonious assault, interfering with civil rights, dereliction of duty, tampering with records, theft in office and telecommunications fraud.
Hit man: A 58-year-old man who mistakenly left a voicemail seeking a hitman to kill his adult son with a suburban dumpster rental company was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in prison. Cory Shaffer reports Desmen Ramsey, who used a cane and struggled to walk into Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge David Matia’s courtroom, broke down in sobs as sheriff’s deputies led him from the courtroom in handcuffs after the hearing.
Body found: Demolition clean-up crews found a woman’s dead body amid the rubble of a building being torn down as part of a $100 million revitalization of Irishtown Bend, reports Olivia Mitchell.
Cleveland teacher: A former Cleveland teacher, who served a recent prison term for sending sexually explicit messages to a federal agent posing as a minor, is now accused of molesting a 12-year-old student in 2019. John Tucker reports Gregory Kinat, who taught music at Our Lady of Angels Catholic School in the city’s Kamm’s Corners neighborhood, was arrested Monday.
Car thefts: Have Kia and Hyundai thefts been worse here than elsewhere? Zachary Smith reports the short answer is yes, but not the worst overall. In December 2022, 66.5% of cars stolen in Cleveland were a Kia or a Hyundai, the second highest share for these brands among 62 cities in data collected by USAFacts.
Supreme Court: The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a request by East Cleveland city officials to reconsider a previously decided case awarding $12 million to two people struck by a police cruiser during a 2008 chase, reports Laura Hancock. The denial was just one sentence, signed by Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy.
Jayland Walker: The Akron Police Department will host a question and answer session to share information about its policies for use of force, investigations and how the grand jury process works on Wednesday, March 29. Megan Becka reports the event is part of the police department’s Community Conversation Series, which seeks to provide community members with information ahead of the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s report about the police shooting of Jayland Walker. Judge Removal: Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy on Tuesday removed a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge from presiding over the case of a man whose 2002 murder conviction was overturned, reports Cory Schaffer. |
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Cassata cake: When cleveland.com put out the word that we would be seeking the bakery that turns out the best cassata cake in Greater Cleveland – and would name a reader’s choice award winner – our poll was quickly overwhelmed by votes for the tiny family-run shop -- located in Maple Heights. Brenda Cain, Yadi Rodriguez and Paris Wolfe report that Baraona’s finished with more than 49 percent of more than 5,000 votes cast making it the People’s Choice cassata cake award winner
RV Rocking: Jeff and Patti Kinzbach have discovered many times that, at great destinations the nearby small towns can offer huge amounts of fun and history. Take Jerome, Arizona, an old mining town 5,000 feet up in the hills overlooking the Verde Valley. It’s known as a ghost town with many great shops, galleries and a mine museum. |
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Here’s how you can see five planets and the moon aligned across the Tuesday evening sky Read more Joelle Magyar takes base-pay cut in move to Avon Lake Schools Read more Outgoing Cleveland Heights City Administrator named Erie County economic development director Read more |
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