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What you need to know Friday, July 30, 2021 WEATHER
Forecasters are calling for mostly sunny skies today, but it will be noticeably cooler, with highs around 70 degrees. It also will be windy, with gusts around 25 mph. Highs will reach the mid-70s Saturday with mostly sunny skies, but chances of showers and thunderstorms return Sunday. Highs will be in the mid-70s. Read more. OVERNIGHT
Coronavirus: A recent spike in COVID-19 infections driven by the more-transmissible delta variant has pushed Ohio above the benchmark Gov. Mike DeWine set earlier this year for determining when he might lift the state’s coronavirus health orders. Evan MacDonald reports Ohio has averaged 77.4 new COVID-19 infections per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks. The previous week’s update showed the state averaged only 46 new infections per 100,000 residents.
Stimulus Watch: Cleveland has launched a website to solicit ideas from residents for how it should spend $511.7 million from the American Rescue Plan, and community organizers are asking that some funds be allocated through a democratized process called “participatory budgeting,” reports Robin Goist. Meanwhile, cleveland.com readers have their own ideas of how to spend stimulus money.
Unemployment help: Many Ohioans have had trouble getting jobless benefits from the state’s overwhelmed unemployment system. But some have found help in their state lawmakers, reports Jeremy Pelzer. For more than a year, Ohio state senators and representatives – and, to an even greater degree, their office staff – have notified the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services about constituents’ issues with unemployment benefits and pushed them to quickly fix the problems. Laura Hancock lists how you can contact your legislator.
This Week in the CLE: Ohio’s Jim Jordan said Tuesday he spoke with then-President Donald Trump on the day of the U.S. Capitol invasion. We’re talking about what Jordan would say if he testifies before a newly established House of Representatives subcommittee probing the riot on This Week in the CLE, cleveland.com's daily news podcast. Voter suppression: Democratic leaders in Congress on Thursday pledged to move forward with federal legislation that would crack down on efforts by Republican-led state legislatures that they say would suppress voting. Sabrina Eaton reports Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes of Akron joined legislators from Michigan and Georgia in a news conference to call for passage of legislation to counter state efforts they said “erode our most fundamental freedom, and that is our freedom to vote.”
Roe v. Wade: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost joined 23 other state attorneys general in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision in a case over a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks. If the court agrees with the attorney generals and Mississippi, it could overturn the landmark 1973 Roe decision, which would leave abortion regulations to the states, Laura Hancock reports. Ohio, with a Republican supermajority in the General Assembly, would almost certainly outlaw abortion in the state.
Kenneth Johnson: Federal prosecutors used closing arguments Thursday to describe Cleveland City Councilman Kenneth Johnson as a thief who used the vulnerable to steal city money and cheat the IRS. John Caniglia reports that defense lawyer Myron Watson scoffed at the allegations. He acknowledged that Johnson relied on others to handle taxes and provide receipts for his donations to a community center named after him, but he said Johnson cared for people in his ward, especially children.
Public out of meetings: The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority on Thursday aimed to justify its decision to bar the public from attending board meetings in person, even though the Ohio Attorney General’s Office says the public must be allowed into the board room. Courtney Astolfi reports RTA is “exploring alternative options that would allow the ‘public’ to physically attend Board meetings.”
JobsOhio: A Mentor company’s $21 million contract to provide JobsOhio with masks and other personal protective equipment last year is the subject of an ongoing Cuyahoga County lawsuit filed by Bobby Ina, a local political consultant who says he’s owed a cut of the deal. Andrew Tobias reports that Ina says that RB Sigma has failed to pay him a 15% fee on the contract, but the company says state law bars anyone from getting paid a percentage of a state contract they lobbied on.
Super PAC: A super PAC aligned with former President Donald Trump is pumping money into the race for Ohio’s 15th Congressional District seat, backing Trump’s endorsed candidate, Mike Carey. Andrew Tobias reports Make America Great Again Action Inc. is spending almost $350,000 on targeted text messages, and digital and TV ads.
Economic committee: The first meeting of a new bipartisan Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth was undermined Monday by a GOP boycott, but Democratic members of the committee, including Toledo’s Marcy Kaptur, pressed forward with an inquiry they hope will help fight a national crisis of income and wealth disparity. Sabrina Eaton reports on the details.
Interview dispute: The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has released a trove of reports, videos and other evidence in the police shooting death of 19-year-old Arthur Keith that seems to contradict a claim from a Keith family attorney that law enforcement did not reach out to a potentially crucial witness to the Nov. 13 shooting outside the King Kennedy public housing complex, Olivia Mitchell and Adam Ferrise report.
Go-arounds: A go-around, like what happened at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on Tuesday when a plane nears its landing and then flies up in the air again, is something pilots train for. Cameron Fields reports the FAA doesn’t track how often pilots are required to pull off the maneuver because it’s not an emergency.
Kent State: Kent State University on Wednesday announced it “strongly recommends” both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals wear face coverings while interacting with others indoors on campus. Megan Becka reports the campus does not have a mask mandate.
Isabel Wilkerson: The Cleveland Foundation has tapped Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson, author of “Caste: The Origins of our Discontents,” as a keynote speaker in its weeklong 2021 annual meeting. Kaylee Remington reports Wilkerson will deliver the Robert D. Grief keynote lecture at 7 p.m. on Aug. 23.
Hospital partnership: MetroHealth and Case Western Reserve University announced Thursday that they have extended their century-old affiliation through 2031. The agreement extends for another decade an education and research partnership that has been in place since the 1910s, reports Evan MacDonald.
Dementia: Could a skin sample or a nasal swab hold the key to identifying a certain type of dementia? Researchers from University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University are trying to find out in a five-year clinical study on Lewy body dementia, the second-most-common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, reports Evan MacDonald.
St. Ed’s coach: A judge on Thursday sentenced a former part-time St. Edward High School wrestling coach and Cleveland firefighter to at least five years in prison for sexually abusing two former players. Daniel Gonsor, now 32, preyed upon both boys when they were 15, Cory Shaffer reports.
'Jeopardy!': Matt Amodio has been crushing it on “Jeopardy!”, winning six straight games and earning more than $190,000 in prize money so far. Joey Morona reports the 30-year-old Medina native was the valedictorian of his class at Medina High School in 2009 before going on to earn a degree in actuarial math four years later from Ohio State University. He’s now working toward a doctorate in computer science at Yale University but has been at home in Medina since the start of the pandemic.
Shot to Fly: Getting vaccinated has done a lot more than protect one Cleveland resident from the coronavirus -- it's given him free air travel for a year. Robert Simicak is one of five grand prize winners of United Airlines “Your Shot to Fly” sweepstakes, reports Cliff Pinckard.
E-sports: Cedar Fair is planning to develop a 1,500-seat e-sports arena in Sandusky, adjacent to the Cedar Point Sports Center on U.S. 6, reports Susan Glaser. The $28 million facility, designed to tap into the growing popularity of competitive electronic gaming, could also be used for concerts and other programming.
Under a microscope: A subway pole, a turnstile, a seat ... what kinds of bacteria and microbes live on these surfaces? Dr. Christopher Mason and his team swabbed every subway station in New York City and many around the globe to come up with the answers in this video from cleveland.com’s sister site, Wired.
Tom Hanks: When the Cleveland Indians unveiled the historic news of the Guardians name change, Tom Hanks’ voice played over stirring images of seasons past and was underscored by the rock stylings of Akron’s The Black Keys. The video gave the moment a sense of gravitas unrivaled by any such announcement in Cleveland sports lore. Joe Noga reports how it happened. Federal agents arrest 3 suspects wanted in violent crimes in Cleveland Read more
Man shot dead at Elyria bar, police say Read more
Crash in Summit County kills 22-year-old driver Read more
Face mask mandate likely to continue for K-6 students in Chagrin Falls Schools Read more
Chagrin Falls school board sets special meeting Aug. 2 to discuss diversity initiative Read more
Woman beats up younger woman, runs down man with car outside Speedway in Berea Read more
Affair on the Square Craft and Vintage Fair returns to Medina Aug. 8 Read more
Independence school board looks forward while still confronting coronavirus concerns Read more
Pepper Pike’s Gates Mills Boulevard path survey ends Aug. 1 Read more
Ice cream trucks welcomed back to Olmsted Falls Read more
We Are Parma Proud’s Picnic in the Park returns Aug. 7 Read more
Columbia Gas set to begin Sprague Road gas line replacement project in Parma and North Royalton Read more
Parma Heights awaits National Park Service assessment results on Nathan Hale Park retention basin Read more
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