After 11-year-old Aiden Clark died in a bus crash on the first day of school in Clark County, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine convened a task force to study bus safety. Because when you send your children off to school, waving from the stop as the big yellow bus drives away, you want to know the kids are protected. The group’s report released Wednesday lists 17 recommendations, including that the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce develop a bus driver training program offered to school districts at no cost. Other recommendations include professional development and wellness support for bus drivers, school zone and bus route safety audits, and enhanced penalties for drivers who violate traffic laws in school zones or around school buses. One thing it didn’t recommend? Mandating seat belts. That’s up to individual districts. — Laura |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
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Gov. Mike DeWine is not recommending that seat belts be required on school buses. (NJ Advance Media file photo) |
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Bus safety: Gov. Mike DeWine is backing new measures he says will improve school bus safety, including over a dozen high- and not-so-high-tech safety features that can be added onto the vehicles – from external cameras and collision avoidance systems to reflective chevron markings on rear of the buses, reports Laura Hancock. Redistricting campaign finance: A group working to place a redistricting reform amendment on the November 2024 ballot raised more than $3 million last year, much of it from some of the same deep-pocketed liberal groups that bankrolled campaigns leading to Ohio’s abortion-rights amendment. Andrew Tobias reports two liberal dark-money groups based in the Washington, D.C., area — the Sixteen Thirty Fund and Article IV — each gave $550,000, while four more left-leaning groups — the national ACLU, the Ohio Progressive Collaborative, the Ohio Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers — each gave $500,000. Legal gambling: Ohio’s sportsbooks took in more than $7.7 billion worth of bets during the state’s first year of legal sports gambling, creating $935 million in revenue for the online and in-person betting operations. Sean McDonnell reports the year wrapped up with $831 million of bets in December across mobile apps, in-person apps and betting kiosks. Today in Ohio: State Sen. Jerry Cirino is calling the leaders of Ohio’s 14 universities to the Ohio Senate to account for their budget requests – as well as to detail spending on diversity, equity and inclusion – in a bill that pays for state government building construction and local projects. We’re talking about his quote -- “this isn’t any kind of witch hunt” – on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast. |
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Biden in Ohio: President Joe Biden will mark the one-year anniversary of a train derailment that spilled hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, with a visit this month to the embattled community, reports Sabrina Eaton. During the visit, Biden will meet with residents affected by the Feb. 3, 2023, chemical release and assess his administration’s progress in working with state and local leaders to protect the community and hold the railroad accountable. Larry Householder: Even as he spent the back half of 2023 incarcerated, ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder’s vestigial political campaign spent $112,000 in donor funds on his legal bills. Jake Zuckerman reports the Ohio Elections Commission has long held that political campaigns cannot use campaign funds to pay criminal defense attorneys. Execution legislation: Newly unveiled legislation to allow executions to resume in Ohio using nitrogen gas also would threaten up to a month in jail for anyone who publicly identifies just about anyone involved with carrying out a death sentence. Jeremy Pelzer reports the Ohio House legislation would make it a fourth-degree misdemeanor to reveal any information -- including names, addresses, phone numbers, and other personal details -- about anyone who “manufactures, compounds, imports, transports, distributes, prescribes, prepares, administers, or otherwise supplies” any lethal-injection drugs or nitrogen gas to be used in executions. Husted fundraising: Lt. Gov. Jon Husted leads the pack among the Ohio Republicans seeking to run for governor in 2026, according to new state campaign finance reports. Husted has $3.3 million in his campaign bank account after raising $1.7 million last year, a remarkable amount considering the election is years away, Andrew Tobias reports. |
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Cuyahoga budget: The city of Cleveland’s new Tax Increment Financing plan will negatively impact the county’s budget, but exactly how much remains unclear, reports Lucas Daprile. Cleveland plans to use this TIF to catalyze private investment downtown and improve the city’s waterfronts. Nonprofits: The area’s healthcare centers, a university and a foundation have the highest-paid employees among nonprofits in Greater Cleveland, with 57 workers topping $1 million in the most recent tax filings covering nonprofits across the area, reports Zachary Smith. Pay toppedout at more than $7 million. Innerbelt funding: The Ohio Department of Transportation has included developmental funding of $15 million for the Cleveland Innerbelt in a draft list of projects to receive money for upcoming years. Molly Walsh reports ODOT’s list includes $127.3 million in new funding commitments for 18 projects over the next four years, including two projects in Cuyahoga County. Tiger cubs: Dozens of lucky guests were on hand as a pair of baby Amur tiger cubs, also known as Siberian tigers, made their public debut on Wednesday morning at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Dave Petkiewicz has photos. Kindland: Before the Super Bowl, a bigger game kicks off featuring 266 NFL-backed “teams,” 79,000 students from 27 states and counting, reports Peter Chakerian. That’s when Values-in-Action Foundation (through its Kindland initiatives) will launch Kindland’s “Kindness Games” nationwide school competition. Black History Month: Black History Month is important to Clevelanders. That’s why The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com are celebrating all February by shining a spotlight on some of Northeast Ohio’s top Black community leaders. Starting today, readers will be introduced to 10 remarkable Black community leaders from across the region,all nominated by readers, Julie Washington reports. |
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New stores: Pinecrest is adding a boba bar, jewelry store and clothing boutique. All three are planning to open within the first half of the year in the lifestyle-dining shopping center, reports Marc Bona. Cardinal Health: Ohio’s largest publicly traded company by revenue, Cardinal Health, will buy Cleveland-based Specialty Networks for $1.2 billion, reports Sean McDonnell. Alcohol study: An Ohio State University studyfound that a group of measures designed to curb alcohol abuse paid big dividends for kids, even years later. Gretchen Cuda Kroen reports the results showed that after implementing community-based measures to reduce alcohol abuse, the rates of child abuse and neglect decreased in those same communities. Black food businesses: From bakeries to bars and everything in between, Greater Cleveland has a growing number of Black-owned food businesses. Alex Darus lists 67 Black-owned restaurants and food businesses in Northeast Ohio. CLE Mayo: Cleveland Mayonnaise has debuted at Meister Foods in the West Side Market and is hitting major grocery shelves throughout Northeast Ohio in February, joining Cleveland Ketchup and Cleveland Mustard, both made in Ohio by the same company. The newest product comes in regular, dill and chipotle flavors, reports Paris Wolfe. |
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Insanity verdict: A Hudson High School teacher Tuesday was found not guilty by reason of insanity involving his arrest in August. Anthony Schupp, 35, faced charges of criminal trespassing and inducing panic after trying to enter the school while on administrative leave, reports Molly Walsh. Reporter lawsuit: A NewsNation reporter arrested during a news conference in the wake of the East Palestine train derailment has settled his lawsuit against the city and Columbiana County for $80,000. Adam Ferrise reports the settlement included an additional $33,000 in fees for the attorneys representing Evan Lambert. Appeals ruling: An appeals court found a Cuyahoga County judge violated the Ohio victims’ rights laws when he failed to tell a woman that he was ending probation early for the man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting her at his Bratenahl home, Cory Shaffer reports. Gun stores: Three suspects broke into Lorain County gun stores overnight and fled the businesses before officers arrived, reports Molly Walsh. Police said they did not steal anything. |
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Ask Lucas: If your husband keeps grouching about Taylor Swift being shown during NFL games, how can you get him to knock it off for the Super Bowl? Lucas Daprile muses about the question of the moment: What has Taylor done that’s so different than any other pop musician? Go on tour? Date a famous guy? Be on the cover of a magazine? Best cuisine: The doldrums can be hard to shake. That’s why cleveland.com’s Best Of team partnered with Stacker to find the highest-rated restaurants for eight different cuisines – Greek Indian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Vietnamese and good ol’ American fare – in Greater Cleveland. Painting evolution: A winner of the prestigious MacArthur “genius grant,” Shahzia Sikander is known for reinterpreting traditional Mughal painting, reports Steven Litt. Next year, she’ll be exhibiting a selection of her own works alongside Mughal paintings from the Cleveland Museum of Art's permanent collection in an exhibition designed to show South Asian painting as a living, evolving tradition. Sunseeker: The first thing you’ll likely notice about Southwest Florida’s new Sunseeker Resort is its size – 785 guestrooms, 20 restaurants and bars, five pools, seven shops,two ballrooms, a spa and golf course. Susan Glaser reports one fellow guest likened it to a cruise ship on land. Madonna: It’s been more than a decade since Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Madonna Louise Ciccone graced a stage at a Cleveland venue, but that unfortunate streak will end when her new “Celebration Tour” hits Cleveland beginning at 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, reports Malcolm X Abram. Will she start on time? |
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‘Badly decomposed’ body found in embankment near Willoughby restaurant Read more Woman convicted a 2nd time for role in 2012 murder of husband’s ex-girlfriend Read more Police chase ends when driver crashes into home in Cleveland’s South Broadway neighborhood Read more Fire at Geauga County mobile home park seriously injures 1 person Read more ODOT opens 1 lane of Ohio 8 north ramp to I-271 north following tanker crash Read more Beachwood hotel employee saves boy, 5, from drowning in pool Read more Ohio Turnpike announces lane closures in Erie County Read more |
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