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What you need to know Friday, Dec. 18, 2020 WEATHER
The light snow showers will continue today as highs stay in the mid-30s. Temps will climb to the upper 30s Saturday with mostly cloudy skies. Rain and snow showers are possible Sunday as highs approach 40 degrees. Read more.
NFL: Browns at New York Giants, 8:20 p.m. Sunday, MetLife Stadium. TV: WKYC Channel 3. Radio: WKRK FM/92.3, WNCX FM/98.5, WKNR AM/850. OVERNIGHT
Still not done: Ohio lawmakers are extending their lame-duck session after they failed on Thursday to wrap up business for the year on issues ranging from a $2.5 billion capital budget to rolling back the scandal-ridden House Bill 6 nuclear bailout law, Jeremy Pelzer reports. Despite a marathon session that lasted into the wee hours this morning, lawmakers didn’t hold final votes on a number of high-profile bills that appear ready for passage, including a revised version of the capital budget, K-12 coronavirus measures, a criminal justice reform bill, and a “stand your ground” bill changing when force can be used in self-defense.
Coping through COVID: Mental health experts worry depression and anxiety caused by the coronavirus could last even longer than the pandemic itself. Evan MacDonald and Julie Washington launch the Coping with COVID series to tackle mental health issues caused by isolation and jarring changes to our routines.
This Week in the CLE: Why is the Cleveland Post Office such a disaster with delays during the holiday shipping season? And why won’t they respond to questions? We’re talking about Clevelanders’ frustration on This Week in the CLE, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.
New numbers: The Ohio Department of Health reported 11,412 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the state's total to 596,178. Peter Krouse reports there were also 117 new deaths, bringing that total to 7,894. 'Stand your ground': The Ohio House passed a controversial “stand your ground” measure on Thursday that would eliminate any “duty to retreat” before using force in self-defense, Jeremy Pelzer reports. Senate Bill 175, which now must clear another Senate vote before heading to Gov. Mike DeWine, is the latest attempt by legislative Republicans to make Ohio the 36th state to no longer require a duty to retreat before using force.
Telemedicine abortion: Legislation to ban the use of telemedicine for medication abortions is headed to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk after clearing a final legislative vote late Thursday night, Jeremy Pelzer reports. Senate Bill 260 would prohibit doctors from using telemedicine to assist patients with taking two prescription drugs that induce an abortion. DeWine is expected to sign the bill.
Justice reform: The Ohio Senate passed a bill Thursday evening that urges more drug treatment and makes it easier for people to have their criminal records sealed. But a broader criminal justice reform measure that reclassifies many smaller-level drug possession felonies to misdemeanors and requires addicts get treatment looks like it will die in these final days of the 133rd Ohio General Assembly, Laura Hancock reports.
Executions: The Ohio General Assembly has given final approval to legislation prohibiting executions of killers who have a “serious mental illness” such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Jeremy Pelzer reports House Bill 136, which cleared a final Ohio House vote Thursday, now heads to the desk of Gov. Mike DeWine, who has imposed what he calls an “unofficial moratorium” on all executions in Ohio because of the state’s ongoing problems with finding lethal-injection drugs.
Instant bingo: The Ohio House has amended and passed an elections bill so it now also includes language that will allow fraternal halls and other charitable organizations to legally set up slot machine-like “electronic instant bingo” machines. Andrew Tobias reports Senate Bill 194 originally aimed to strengthen standards for third-party vendors that provide voter registration software and added a cybersecurity official to the state panel that certifies voting machines. But the new version incorporates House Bill 282, which allows charitable organizations to offer “instant electronic bingo."
County fairs: Ohio lawmakers gave final approval to legislation to override a state health order from Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration banning most county fair activities because of the coronavirus crisis. Senate Bill 375 is the latest move by the Republican-dominated Ohio General Assembly to rein in the governor’s coronavirus policies, Jeremy Pelzer reports. DeWine hasn't indicated if he will veto the bill.
Frontline workers: No one from the state is keeping an eye on hospitals and the order they are choosing to administer the coronavirus vaccine to. Ohio hospitals began receiving the Pfizer vaccine this week, with the aim to vaccinate front-line workers, who work directly with COVID-19 patients. But Peter Krouse reports the state is not checking up on exactly which employees are in line.
Additional vaccine: MetroHealth and the Cleveland Clinic have more doses of a coronavirus vaccine than they anticipated, which will allow both health systems to to immunize more frontline caregivers with the first shipment, Evan MacDonald reports. Each vial of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and the German biotech company BioNTech was expected to contain five doses, but both health systems are finding they contain around six.
Red alert: Nearly all of Ohio is on red alert over concern of the coronavirus spread this week, as Medina, Summit, Portage and Stark counties were removed from the highest alert level of purple, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday. Just four counties are listed as the lower Level 2, orange, reports Rich Exner.
Student cases: Ohio reported a weekly increase of 2,801 student coronavirus cases and 1,908 staff cases for Dec. 6 through Dec. 13, slightly above last week’s numbers, Emily Bamforth reports. As of Dec. 17, 27.9% of Ohio students are in-person and 45.2% are fully remote. About 26.1% are in hybrid.
Stay-at-home: The Cuyahoga County Board of Health today will provide an update on its stay-at-home advisory, which expired Thursday, Courtney Astolfi reports.
Infant mortality: Black infants in Ohio are 2.8 times more likely to die before their first birthday than white infants, according to the Ohio Department of Health’s 2019 Infant Mortality Report. Ohio had 356 Black infant deaths in 2019 -- an increase of 17 from 2018, Alexis Oatman reports. Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday announced a new task force, Eliminating Racial Disparities in Infant Mortality, to combat the issue and protect babies’ lives.
D.C. data: Washington, D.C., health data has brought some insight, and some questions, about the risk of contracting COVID-19 while dining in restaurants. A study showed that 16.1% of people who later tested positive for COVID-19 dined out in the two-week period prior to their positive test or first symptom. Marc Bona and Anne Nickoloff report the data doesn’t differentiate between bars, nightclubs or types of restaurants.
Election challenge: Rep. Jim Jordan plans to participate in Jan. 6 efforts on the House of Representatives floor to question the propriety of Democrat Joe Biden’s election as president, Sabrina Eaton reports. In a Wednesday interview on Newsmax, Jordan described Jan. 6 as the “ultimate date of significance” in the election, and argued a floor debate over the election results would be both “good” and “healthy.
Amazon incidents: Two men hijacked an Amazon delivery truck in Cleveland Heights on Sunday, marking the fourth time in recent weeks that robbers targeted the popular delivery service, Kaylee Remington reports. The latest Amazon delivery truck robbery joins the Nov. 25 armed robberies of two trucks in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood and the Dec. 10 robbery at East 154th Street near Glendale Avenue.
Historic preservation: Ohio on Thursday awarded nearly $4.5 million in historic preservation tax credits for a project that involves a Brecksville-based mortgage lender redeveloping several buildings in Cleveland’s Superior Arts District to build the company’s new home. Eric Heisig reports CrossCountry Mortgage plans to provide workspace for 500 people in the six-acre site in the 2100 block of Superior Avenue, with room to add employees if the company grows.
CWRU: Case Western Reserve University is launching a training program to promote diversity in university administration, focused on arts and humanities. The university received a $2,028,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to form the Humanities in Leadership Learning Series, including 24 faculty and post-doctoral fellows and 24 graduate students, Emily Bamforth reports.
Unemployment: New unemployment claims in Ohio last week continued to hit levels not seen since last spring, rising by exactly 2,000 filings over the previous week to 38,327 claims, Jeremy Pelzer reports. Ongoing jobless claims also rose by 3,140 claims – about a 1% increase – over the previous week.
Death sentence overturned: The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the death sentence of a Ravenna man convicted of fatally shooting a Kent State University student during a February 2016 robbery. The court upheld the conviction of 23-year-old Damantae Graham, but found the death penalty to be “disproportionate and excessive” due to other factors, including Graham’s young age, background, mental health and substance abuse, Robin Goist reports.
Lake Health: Lake Health is joining University Hospitals in an agreement that comes nine months after Lake Health announced it was seeking a partnership to improve access for patients and better position the health system for the long term. Lake Health’s board of trustees and University Hospitals’ board of directors approved the agreement Wednesday, Evan MacDonald reports.
That’s Rich: Take a short break from buying holiday gifts to do a few things to put a little extra cash in your pocket now or in the long run. Rich Exner has seven ideas, including making use of new tax brackets and picking what to pay on student loans.
Top Workplaces: The 12th annual Top Workplaces contest to recognize Northeast Ohio’s best employers is offering an extension until Jan. 29. Alexis Oatman reports that Energage, a culture technology firm that specializes in employee engagement and workplace improvement research, works with cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer on the much-anticipated annual rankings.
Culturally speaking: Cleveland.com’s sister site, Conde Nast Traveler, asked a panel of 50 people from 50 different states to name a word or phrase their neighbors tend to pronounce differently from the rest of the nation.
Things to do: It’s the last weekend before Christmas, and that means there is plenty of holiday fun to enjoy around Northeast Ohio. Anne Nickoloff has 18 things to do, both virtual and in-person, from a Trans-Siberian Orchestra show to Scuba Claus at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium. Lorain police: Speed, reckless driving, factors in crash that killed 15-year-old boy, 13-year-old girl Read more
Man charged with murder in death of 22-year-old Euclid woman, police say Read more
Ashtabula County man accused of 2017 rape, murder of toddler now facing charges in 2004 rape Read more
One of two emergency utility aid funds in Cuyahoga County runs dry Read more
Lorain Schools hybrid learning town hall disrupted by ‘Zoom bomb’ Read more
2nd COVID-19 vaccine set for OK in U.S. with panel endorsement Read more
35-year-old man fatally shot in Garfield Heights early Thursday morning Read more
Solon cartoonist chronicles ‘year everybody wants to forget’ in new book Read more
Orange school board approves contract for air purification system Read more
Lakewood City Schools hoping partial return to classrooms can begin Jan. 4 Read more
North Ridgeville home puts on holiday lighting spectacular; Santa arrives this Saturday Read more
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