Thousands of people ticketed for parking illegally in Cleveland, as far back as the year 2000, recently received notices from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office demanding payment. More than 98% of those tickets were for less than $100 – which violated an agreement between Attorney General Dave Yost and Cleveland Clerk of Courts Earle Turner, which said they’d only collect on tickets above that threshold. Cleveland.com wrote about the practice. Now we’re getting action. Yost’s office is backing out, saying the clerk's office was supposed to verify that the 100,000 unpaid tickets it sought to collect complied with the agreement: “It is your mistake, so it must be your cure.” Bad news, though, if you already paid an old ticket. The clerk’s office so far has collected $268,000, and it doesn’t plan to issue refunds. - Laura |
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Cavs vs. New York Knicks: Cavs bullied by New York Knicks in 106-95 Game 5 loss that ends season and caps disappointing playoff run Guardians vs. Colorado Rockies: Tanner Bibee brilliant in Guardians debut, strikes out 8 Rockies in 4-1 win Northeast Ohio weather forecast: Sunshine with warmer weather |
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The Cleveland Clerk of Court's office is headed “back to the drawing board” on finding ways to collect on parking tickets in a way that doesn’t cost more than the ticket is worth. (David I. Andersen, Plain Dealer file photo) |
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Parking tickets: The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has canceled a debt collection partnership with the Cleveland Clerk of Courts after cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer revealed the clerk’s office had violated an agreement that permitted the state to collect unpaid parking tickets from 20-plus years ago, Lucas Daprile reports. Constitutional amendment: The Ohio House is quietly debating a critical detail amid Republicans’ quest to ask voters to make it harder to amend the state constitution: How many lawmakers’ votes do they need to get it done? An interpretation from the Ohio House clerk could blow up political strategists’ consensus and lower by one the number of votes Republicans need to curb the ability of citizens to amend the state constitution, report Jake Zuckerman and Jeremy Pelzer. The gap is small, but could make all the difference in what is expected to be a tight vote. Today in Ohio: The Ohio House has scrapped a proposal from Gov. Mike DeWine that would allow police officers to pull over drivers for failing to wear a seat belt or properly buckle in their child. We’re talking about whether the law would give police another excuse to pull over drivers on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily news podcast.
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Budget passes: The Ohio House passed a two-year, $88 billion state budget plan on Wednesday that would provide hundreds of millions in middle-class income-tax cuts, offer pay raises for teachers, and expand school-voucher eligibility, among a litany of other things, Jeremy Pelzer reports. Power charge: The Ohio House passed legislation Wednesday that would block power companies from charging their customers to build new electric vehicle charging stations, reports Jake Zuckerman. The plan passed as part of the state budget bill prevents electric distribution utilities – including FirstEnergy, American Electric Power, Duke Energy or AES Ohio – from owning or operating publicly available electric vehicle charging stations unless they work through an unregulated affiliate. Solar panels: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a longtime foe of trade policies that he believes subsidize other countries at U.S. expense, announced Wednesday that he’ll vote to overturn the Biden administration’s suspension of tariffs on Chinese solar products that go through other countries, Sabrina Eaton reports. ATF: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on Tuesday accused the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives of overstepping its authority by imposing new regulations on “stabilizing braces” that help disabled shooters control their weapons. Sabrina Eaton reports the Republican slammed ATF Director Steve Dettelbach at a committee hearing, where Jordan claimed the new policy “turns law-abiding gun owners into felons as a result of unelected bureaucrats simply enacting a new regulation.” Facial recognition: After stopping the use of facial-recognition software for more than a year amid civil-liberties concerns, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office is now using it again with the help of a private vendor that has faced multiple lawsuits over claims it stockpiles massive amounts of photos without permission, reports Jeremy Pelzer. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation signed a year-long, $8,994 contract with New York-based Clearview AI to allow designated officials to conduct facial-recognition searches using the company’s database, which includes billions of photos obtained from publicly available sources such as news media, mugshots, and public social media accounts. State salaries: At least 319 Ohio state employees made more money than Gov. Mike DeWine in 2022. DeWine was paid $167,986.79, with a listed pay rate of $80.82 an hour, reports Zachary Smith. The only elected officials making more than DeWine were in the judicial branch. Fentanyl fight: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown introduced a bipartisan bill this week that aims to use financial sanctions to cut off the flow of drugs, reports Sabrina Eaton. The Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act would direct the Treasury Department to target, sanction and block the financial assets of transnational criminal organizations and those that launder money to facilitate illicit opioid trafficking. Farm technology: The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday approved legislation by Bowling Green Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Latta that would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to examine how it can facilitate using satellites that orbit the earth for precision agriculture, Sabrina Eaton reports. |
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Cleveland reinvigoration: Details are coming into focus around two of Mayor Justin Bibb’s big spending plans for federal aid that aim to reverse decades of job loss in Cleveland and reinvigorate parts of the city that need it most. Courtney Astolfi reports the city has a $50 million plan to clean up and assemble land to help attract employers back to the city, and a $15 million investment in the southeast neighborhoods of Lee-Harvard, Mount Pleasant and Union-Miles. CLEANR: A Cleveland-based startup working on filtration technology that would keep plastic microfibers from being discharged into sewer systems during the laundry cycle has announced a step forward in its product development, reports Peter Krouse. County payments: Cuyahoga County routinely has been late paying its bills, forcing some companies that operate the women’s homeless shelter or provide mental health support to youth to dip into their savings to stay afloat while they wait for hundreds of thousands of dollars in backpay. Kaitlin Durbin reports the problem especially impacts health and human service contracts that end Dec. 31 of one calendar year but aren’t renewed until months later, leaving organizations operating the first several months of the new year without pay. School CEO: Cleveland schools CEO candidates Warren Morgan and Ricardo “Rocky” Torres spent hours Monday fielding questions from CMSD students and caregivers, who invited the candidates to share their thoughts on school nutrition, curriculum, transportation and funding. But time and again, no matter the topic, the students on the panel found a way to bring the conversation back to one of their most pressing concerns -- school safety, reports Hannah Drown. Custody battle: Cuyahoga County wants to prevent a Common Pleas judge from obtaining custody of her grandchildren. The case stems from the conviction of Judge Cassandra Collier-Williams’ son, the children’s father, who killed his wife, the kids’ mother, in 2021. Cory Shaffer reports Collier-Williams is now at the center of a trial in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court over whether custody of the two children, who are both under 10, should go to her, their aunt in Botswana or to the county to be put up for adoption. Fire injuries: Two firefighters fell through a collapsed floor during a fire in East Cleveland on Wednesday morning, Molly Walsh reports. One of the trapped firefighters was transported to University Hospitals for a knee injury, while a resident of the home was taken to the hospital for heat and smoke inhalation. |
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Tow truck shooting: A Lakewood man has been charged with felonious assault after police say he aimed a gun through the passenger side of a moving car and fired several bullets at a tow truck he was pursuing. The truck belonged to a company that repossessed a car belonging to the shooter’s girlfriend, reports John Tucker. East CLE lawsuit: A man shot last year by an East Cleveland police officer filed a lawsuit against the city and the officer, alleging a violation of his civil rights. Robert Banks Jr.’s lawsuit accuses East Cleveland police officer Andrew Majercik of shooting Banks “without provocation” during a traffic stop, reports Adam Ferrise. |
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Mexican food: Orale! at the West Side Market makes prepping a Cinco de Mayo party easy, with from-scratch items like empanadas, chili rellenos and tamales. Side dishes include cactus salad, guacamole and more, reports Paris Wolfe. Rock Hall: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its Rock Hall Live Summer Concert Series lineup and it will include 2007 inductee and pioneering DJ Grandmaster Flash, along with The Breeders, Lita Ford, Fitz and the Tantrums and more. Malcolm X Abram reports regional acts will also play on Thursday nights beginning July 6. Charcuterie competition: If you make a great cheese and charcuterie board, prove it at the “Say Cheese +Wine! Show Us Your Charcuterie! Competition” at the 2023 Ohio State Fair. To keep things, um, fair, the contest has both amateur and professional categories, reports Paris Wolfe. |
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