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| What you need to know Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021 WEATHER
A gray and chilly day is in the forecast. Expect mostly cloudy skies and highs in the upper 20s. Winds will calm to about 8-10 mph. Overnight temps will be in the low 20s and there is a 30 percent chance of snow showers. Read more.
Local scores: Milwaukee Bucks 112, Cavs 104 OVERNIGHT
Unvaccinated: The Ohio Department of Health still doesn’t release the number of positive coronavirus cases among vaccinated Ohioans, reports Laura Hancock. The state doesn’t plan to release breakthrough case data beyond cases that result in hospitalizations and deaths that it currently updates on Thursdays. Since Jan. 1, Ohio experienced 2,289 hospital admissions among vaccinated patients compared to 40,227 unvaccinated hospitalizations, and 594 deaths among the vaccinated compared to 12,372 deaths of the unvaccinated.
Energy subsidizing: While Ohio electricity customers are paying money under the scandal-ridden House Bill 6 to subsidize two aging coal power plants in Ohio and Indiana, they aren’t the only ratepayers getting billed to support the plants. Jeremy Pelzer reports that several states have attempted to push back against ratepayer costs involving the coal plants operated by the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation, a Piketon-based company owned jointly by more than a dozen Midwestern utilities.
Shaker Square: Shaker Square opened more than 90 years ago as an elite shopping site and gateway to a new suburb. While that role has changed over time, it remains an iconic part of Cleveland’s East Side, even as its future has grown murky with the owner of the property, The Coral Co., facing foreclosure. Robert Higgs recounts the history of the shopping center.
TODAY IN OHIO An Ohio Republican Party Central Committee meeting ended abruptly Friday after raucous opponents of Gov. Mike DeWine in the audience refused to leave even after party officials brought in sheriff’s deputies. We’re talking about heckling and heated debate on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour podcast. STATEHOUSE & POLITICS Anti-vax: Anti-vaccine activists are targeting the ballot box, kicking off a process that could end in a statewide vote in their latest effort to change state law to ban vaccine mandates. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office is reviewing a proposal for what’s called an initiated statute that would ban all vaccine mandates -- including coronavirus vaccines, reports Jeremy Pelzer.
Redistricting lawsuit: Ohio has been sued again over its new political maps, this time with a federal lawsuit from a pair of Black Youngstown-area voters who say the maps are racially discriminatory. Andrew Tobias reports the Rev. Kenneth L. Simon and Helen Youngblood accuse state officials of violating the federal Voting Rights Act by drawing congressional and state legislative district maps that deprive Black voters in the Mahoning Valley of the opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice.
Safety funding: Ohio lawmakers said Monday they plan to move this week to approve the use of $250 million in federal coronavirus aid to provide grants to police and other first responders, Jeremy Pelzer reports. During a Statehouse news conference with law-enforcement officials, lawmakers, and local officials, Gov. Mike DeWine outlined and touted the plan, saying the money would help law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, and other first responders recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, recruit new members, and help police more effectively fight crime.
Casket sales: Ohio cemeteries are spooked that the funeral home industry is trying to exclude them from the sale of pre-planned funeral caskets with a new bill that could add regulations on the graveyards. Cemetery owners say the sale of caskets helps pay for the overall operations of burial grounds, including those run by religious organizations, and Senate Bill 224 makes 18 changes to laws that govern funeral homes, Laura Hancock reports.
METRO Stimulus funding: Despite one week earlier declining to pass outgoing Mayor Frank Jackson’s omnibus plan for spending the first half of the city’s federal stimulus money, Cleveland City Council voted in favor Monday of four community and economic development projects that were part of Jackson’s original proposal, Robin Goist reports. Council also approved $2 million of the city’s American Rescue Plan windfall for the financially troubled NEON Health Services nonprofit agency.
Kevin Kelley: Outgoing Cleveland Council President Kevin Kelley presided over his final council meeting Monday, closing out eight years as the body’s president and 16 years as Old Brooklyn’s representative. Kelley, a former social worker, gave up his council seat in an unsuccessful bid to replace Frank Jackson as mayor, Courtney Astolfi reports. He first won the Ward 13 seat representing Old Brooklyn in 2005 and ascended to the presidency in 2014.
Special events: Cleveland City Council on Monday approved outgoing Mayor Frank Jackson’s plan to establish a city division to coordinate special events, overseen by a new commissioner who would retain the job once the mayor leaves office in a few weeks. Courtney Astolfi reports the Division of Special Events and Marketing is intended to streamline the city’s bureaucratic hoops when event planners are looking to host everything from routine block parties and wedding receptions to national events, such as the NBA All-Star Game that is coming to Cleveland in February.
NOPEC: If you’re one of 490,000 people who got a letter from NOPEC recently, you might be automatically enrolled as one of its natural gas customers – unless you take action by Dec. 13. The letters from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council may seem strange, even off-putting to some – having to say no to a product instead of yes – but government aggregations work this way because of an Ohio law passed about 20 years ago, reports Sean McDonnell.
County exec: Maple Heights Mayor Annette Blackwell is entering the race for Cuyahoga County executive, reports Kaitlin Durbin. Though she has not officially announced her candidacy, a campaign website in her name indicates she intends to be the third person to vie for the position, joining fellow Democrat Chris Ronayne and Republican Lee Weingart.
Whistleblower lawsuit: Cuyahoga County agreed to pay $550,000 to settle a whistleblower lawsuit filed by former county budget director Maggie Keenan, who said officials fired her for repeatedly raising concerns about safety issues at the county jail and other misconduct. Adam Ferrise reports Keenan sent emails to top county officials in April 2018, warning them of nursing shortages at the jail, according to her lawsuit. Within months, the first of nine inmates died during an 11-month span.
COVID-19 Hospital visitation: Starting today, the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals will add new restrictions on patient visitation to cope with the rising number of COVID-19 patients. Julie Washington reports one adult visitor will be allowed and visitors to inpatients can only enter Clinic buildings once each day. UH is changing its visitor policy from one designated visitor per day to one designated visitor per stay.
Case numbers: Ohio on Monday reported 4,922 new cases of COVID-19, the lowest daily number since late November, reports Julie Washington.
Geauga health commissioner: Former longtime Geauga County health commissioner Robert “Bob” Weisdack died last week of complications from COVID-19. He was 70 years old, reports Olivia Mitchell.
BUSINESS Breeze Airways: Breeze Airways will start flying from the Akron-Canton Airport to West Palm Beach, Florida, in February, the carrier’s fourth destination from Northeast Ohio. To start, the flight will run once per week, on Saturdays, beginning Feb. 19, reports Susan Glaser.
Xhibition: Xhibition, the Cleveland-based luxury streetwear and sneaker retailer, will open a new store at Tower City early next year. The location, described in a news release as a “special-event energy space,” is expected to open in the stately, wood-paneled Oak Room ahead of the 2022 NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 20, reports Joey Morona.
Job awards: Ohio on Monday announced just over $1 million in tax credits that could bring 133 jobs to Northeast Ohio. Sean McDonnell reports Cohen & Company and LG Chem America Inc. were two of 10 projects that received incentives from the Ohio Tax Credit Authority. A total of $4,710,000 in credits are supposed to create $296 million in investments and 946 new jobs across the state.
CRIME Chase fatality: An 85-year-old woman died late Friday after a car being chased by Solon police crashed into two other cars, police said. Sally Schultz of Chagrin Falls died in the crash, Adam Ferrise reports. Schultz was a passenger in one of the cars struck by the fleeing car, police said. Police arrested a 19-year-old man and a 20-year-old man, but formal charges have not yet been filed.
School threats: Police in two Lorain County cities on Sunday traced online threats to students at different schools, officials said. The Lorain County Sheriff’s Office arrested a student on suspicion of posting a threat to Westwood Middle School in Elyria, reports Adam Ferrise. Lorain school officials posted on Facebook that Lorain police tracked an unspecific threat to a student in that city.
Police lawsuit: The father of a 22-year-old man fatally shot by an off-duty Cleveland police officer filed a lawsuit Monday against the officer. Adam Ferrise reports the wrongful-death lawsuit filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court accuses Cleveland police officer Jose Garcia of violating Desmond Franklin’s civil rights when Garcia shot Franklin on April 19, 2020.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Halle Berry: Halle Berry takes us through her iconic career, including her roles in "Living Dolls," "Jungle Fever," "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," "X-Men," "Monster's Ball," "Die Another Day," and "Catwoman" for cleveland.com’s sister site Vanity Fair.
Yelp trends: As Yelp Cleveland’s community director, Lauren Kotmel is at the helm of a vibrant, buzzing community of locals who drink, shop and play their way through the city via peer recommendations on Yelp. Winter is here, and she has the scoop on the food and drink trends taking over Cleveland this season. OTHER HEADLINES Latter-day Saints missionary from Ohio wounded in Alabama church shooting Read more
Ohio man stops thief from stealing 87-year-old woman’s purse Read more
Troopers arrest suspect in hit-and-run death of 13-year-old boy in Richland County Read more
Robbers continue to target dollar stores in Akron Read more
East Cleveland police investigating woman’s death as homicide after body found in park Read more
University Heights council approves of conditions for home-based Aleksander shul Read more
Solon council passes sign ordinance after more than a year of discussion Read more
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