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| What you need to know Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021 WEATHER
Clouds, a 50% chance of rain and strong winds will spoil another mild day, with highs expected to reach the mid-50s. Wind gust will be around 30 mph. Overnight temps will stay around 50 degrees and it will remain cloudy and windy, with gusts increasing to 37 mph. Read more. OVERNIGHT
Redistricting lawsuits: The American Civil Liberties Union and a group of voting-rights advocates successfully used the federal court system to get Ohio’s congressional map thrown out – at least temporarily. But with a lone exception, the legal battle during Ohio’s ongoing redistricting season has been waged in state courts, reports Andrew Tobias. A landmark ruling on a North Carolina case the U.S. Supreme Court issued later in 2019 set a new national standard while restoring Ohio’s congressional map for the 2020 election.
TODAY IN OHIO The Ohio Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Conduct has recommended that justices strip Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Carr of her seat and bar her from practicing law for two years for what it called an “unprecedented” amount of misconduct. We’re talking about the scathing 58-page recommendation on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.
STATEHOUSE & POLITICS Online documents: State lawmakers on Tuesday said they’ll soon introduce legislation to allow Ohioans to get state tax documents online and make other changes to remove outdated and burdensome regulations from state law identified by an artificial intelligence tool. Proponents say the legislation could save the state $4.4 million and 5,800 work hours per year, reports Jeremy Pelzer.
Federal overcharges: A federal report found that Cleveland-based TransDigm Group Inc. overcharged the Department of Defense $21 million from January 2017 through June 2019, reports Sean McDonnell. TransDigm, which sells spare parts for aircraft and airframes, had $568.6 million in contracts with the DOD during that year and a half. Concealed firearms: The Ohio Senate could vote as soon as today on legislation to allow people to carry a concealed handgun without a permit and no longer require them to notify law enforcement during proactively traffic stops that they’re armed. Senate Bill 215 cleared a Senate committee on Tuesday after hours of testimony, mostly in opposition to the measure, Jeremy Pelzer reports.
Contempt vote: The U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday to hold a former colleague, Mark Meadows, in criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to testify in front of the committee probing the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, Sabrina Eaton reports. Meadow's close friend, Ohio Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, protested that his colleagues were “destroying executive privilege” by refusing to respect Meadows’ invocation of the principle when Meadows declined to testify before the committee after giving it thousands of documents.
METRO Tax credits: The Ohio Development Department on Tuesday announced the award of a $5 million tax credit to help developers turn the vacant former home of Ohio Bell into a downtown Cleveland apartment building. Eric Heisig reports the state awarded Historic Preservation Tax Credits to the renovations set for 45 Erieview Plaza. The $102 million plan is to add 368 apartments and amenities, including a gym and an outdoor pool.
Hopkins grant: Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is getting a $4,193,133 U.S. Department of Transportation grant to help it offset rent and other revenue it lost from concessionaires during the coronavirus pandemic, reports Sabrina Eaton. The American Rescue Plan provided approximately $8 billion to help airports prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including relief from rent and minimum annual guarantees for eligible airport concessions.
West Side Market: Mayor Frank Jackson in February hired a consultant to study ways to improve the city-owned West Side Market amid calls to hand over management to an independent operator. But Jackson, according to a city councilman, then blocked the consultant from recommending outside management as a solution to the market’s woes, Courtney Astolfi reports.
White House meeting: Cleveland Mayor-elect Justin Bibb and a group of nine other newly elected big-city mayors visited the nation’s capital on Tuesday to discuss federal investments in urban America with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and a variety of cabinet secretaries. Bibb tells Sabrina Eaton the group discussed “the importance of having a sense of urgency” in deploying federal money from the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that Biden signed last month and upcoming spending bills.
Guns traced: Guns that were recovered and traced in Ohio in 2020 came from some of the state’s largest and most populous cities, reports Olivia Mitchell. Columbus topped the list with 2,752 firearms traced and recovered. Next was Cincinnati with 2,284, followed by Cleveland with 1,693.
COVID-19 Vaccine mandates: Gov. Mike DeWine will have his veto pen ready if the legislature sends him a bill that would prohibit employers and schools from mandating the COVID-19 vaccine, Laura Hancock reports. House Bill 218, in addition to prohibiting mandates on vaccines not fully approved by the federal government, would provide wide exemptions for fully approved vaccines.
New cases: The state of Ohio on Tuesday reported 9,922 new cases of COVID-19, but the health department said Tuesday’s update was artificially inflated due to the delayed reporting of 1,725 cases from earlier in the year. A total of 7,699 cases will be added to the totals this week, from Tuesday through Thursday, reports Julie Washington.
Kid vaccines: Only about 16% of Ohio’s children ages 5 to 11 have started receiving COVID-19 vaccines, but the rates vary widely, ranging in Northeast Ohio from 8.7% in Ashtabula County to 22.3% in Summit County. Ashtabula County also ranks last among eight Northeast Ohio counties for the percentage of youth 12-17 who have received their first COVID-19 shot (34.9%), reports Julie Washington.
CRIME Financial ring: A Mexican national has admitted to coordinating a financial ring that funneled tens of thousands of dollars in drug profits from Cleveland to Mexican banks. John Caniglia reports Susana Ramirez Orozco pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit money laundering in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
O’Jays member: Human remains found in 1982 have been identified as Frank “Frankie” Miller Jr., a guitarist and songwriter for the R&B group The O’Jays, reports Kaylee Remington. Genealogical research by the DNA Doe Project led to the identification.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT '137 shots': The 2012 police shooting of Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell is the subject of a new Netflix documentary titled “137 Shots,” which premieres today on the streaming service. Troy Smith reports the film, directed by Michael Milano, features interviews with Samaria Rice, mother of Tamir Rice, former prosecutor Timothy McGinty and former Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association President Steve Loomis, among others.
Toys for Tots: Former Cleveland City council member Zack Reed will host his 25th annual Toys-For-Tots party on Thursday, with the aim of gathering toys for Northeast Ohio children, reports Anne Nickoloff.
Natural History: The Cleveland Museum of Natural History started more than 100 years ago in a small, wooden building located on Public Square. Now it continues to change as an ongoing large-scale renovation project reworks the building on Wade Oval. Anne Nickoloff reports the museum’s history, current work and future are all captured in CMNH’s new exhibit, “100 Years of Discovery.” OTHER HEADLINES Former Ohio deputy gets more than 3 years in prison for using excessive force Read more
Arranged sale of shoes ends with 2 men being robbed of vehicle Read more
Kent man arrested on child-pornography charges Read more
Brecksville Planning Commission: Voters should decide if architect can relocate into former church/mosque Read more
‘People for the Park’ still needs 526 signatures for Cleveland Heights ballot initiative Read more
Cleveland Heights could wrap up year with development agreement for Desota Avenue infill housing Read more
Strongsville Councilman Jim Carbone temporarily resigns, plans to rejoin council in January Read more
Westlake couple recognized for more than four decades of community participation Read more
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