Reliable, high-speed internet is necessary infrastructure in the modern U.S. economy, but 35% of Clevelanders lack at-home broadband services, according to the U.S. Census. Cleveland finally has a solution to allow all of its residents access to online healthcare, education, jobs and more. Within 18 months, all 170,000 Cleveland households should have access to fiber-optic network at $18 a month, under a city deal with nonprofit DigitalC. The city is spending $20 million in stimulus grants, another $20 million is coming from the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Foundation and the David and Inez Myers Foundation, and DigitalC also is using its own reserves. Another initiative could take five years, but no public money: SiFi Networks is expected to privately invest over $400 million to build its fiber network in Cleveland in a first for Ohio. The infrastructure could be a boon for economic development. -- Laura |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
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The city of Cleveland is looking to roll out two citywide internet services: an affordable option through nonprofit DigitalC and a fiber network built by SiFi Networks. (Wilson Ring, Associated Press file photo) |
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Broadband: The city of Cleveland is poised to gain two citywide internet services under plans unveiled Friday by Mayor Justin Bibb, reports Courtney Astolfi. One option would provide an affordable $18-a-month broadband plan through local nonprofit DigitalC, which uses fixed wireless technology to offer high-speed connectivity. The second option would come through a proposed agreement with SiFi Networks, which would build fiber-optic lines across the city. Childcare: The Canadian province of Quebec has had universal childcare since 1997, costing families a mere $8 per day (just under $6 in U.S. dollars), and after 25 years of scrutiny, economists say the system not only pays for itself, it actually makes money. Gretchen Cuda Kroen reports that now Canada is expanding the program, divvying up C$30 billion in initial funding amongst its provinces with the goal of creating 250,000 new childcare spaces that will cost parents only C$10 a day by March 2026. Affordable housing: A looming clash between top Ohio Republicans is threatening to torpedo a $500 million state investment aimed at helping Ohioans who can barely afford to pay their rent. Both GOP Gov. Mike DeWine and the House advanced budgets proposing spending between $150 million and $500 million in tax credits over the next 10 years on new units for low-income renters or owners, reports Jake Zuckerman. But Senate President Matt Huffman says the Senate budget will instead focus on helping current homeowners fund renovation projects. Today in Ohio: A federal judge in Toledo approved a consent decree Thursday to limit the flow of phosphorus in Lake Erie to decrease the annual scourge of harmful algal blooms. We’re talking about how, for years, the Ohio government has failed to cut phosphorus as it promised, on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.
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Lottery director: Pat McDonald resigned last month as director of the Ohio Lottery Commission after being confronted by Gov. Mike DeWine administration officials about allegations of unwanted touching and suggestive text messages sent to employees, reports Jeremy Pelzer. State officials also said Friday they are reassigning the Lottery’s assistant director, Sean Webster, to a lower-ranking job in a different state agency after the report found the official knew of McDonald’s inappropriate behavior but didn’t take appropriate action. TurboTax: More than 170,000 lower-income Ohioans tricked by TurboTax into paying for tax services will soon get a check under an agreement reached between the company and all 50 states, reports Jeremy Pelzer. Intuit, the maker of the popular tax-filing product, offered free tax filing via the IRS’ Free File Program, which allowed members of the military and taxpayers earning $34,000 or less to file their income-tax returns for free with TurboTax, but steered customers to its “Free Edition,” which has much stricter eligibility requirements and led some users to pay more than $200. Republican Party: The Ohio Republican Party officially has backed holding an August election to ask voters to make it harder to amend the state’s constitution, ahead of an expected ballot measure in November asking voters to guarantee legal protections for abortions in Ohio, reports Andrew Tobias. |
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RTA railcars: The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority celebrated Friday that it finally has the funding needed to complete most of its railcar replacement transformation, updating one of the oldest fleets in the nation. Kaitlin Durbin reports the agency was awarded $130 million in federal assistance it had been waiting for to close its funding gap and be able to order its first batch of 24 cars for the Red Line, a heavy-rail line service between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, downtown Cleveland, and the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere in East Cleveland. Lakefront plan: The latest studies for a potential downtown lakefront “land bridge” in Cleveland unveiled Saturday show it would be possible to build such a structure across the Ohio 2 Shoreway without severing its connection to the Main Avenue Bridge. Steven Litt reports that was one of the main takeaways at the first of three public forums updating residents on the progress of a $5 million feasibility study for the downtown lakefront connector, a major priority of Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb. Nick Gilbert: Known as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ “good luck charm,” Nick Gilbert, son of Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, died Saturday. He was 26. Cause of death was not announced, but it was widely known that he lived with neurofibromatosis since being diagnosed at 15 months old, Megan Sims reports. The Cavaliers are encouraging donations to fight neurofibromatosis, Marc Bona reports. Olympic monument: Ted Theodore, 94, wants to memorialize all athletes from Northeast Ohio who have represented the United States in the Olympic Games. His vision is to have what he calls an Olympic Plaza that will have statues of Cleveland’s two best-known Olympians, Harrison Dillard and Jesse Owens, and also a monument that will include the names of the 100 Olympic participants from Northeast Ohio. Killed in Ukraine: Cooper Andrews’ friends and family say his compassion for others led him to help the people of Ukraine. Molly Walsh reports that Andrews, 26, a former U.S. Marine from Cleveland Heights, was struck and killed by a mortar outside Bakhmut on the “Road of Life,” an access artery into the eastern Ukraine city used to evacuate civilians and resupply the Ukrainian military. Lakefront plans: Mayor Justin Bibb wants to speed up the glacial pace of progress in opening up public access to Cleveland’s waterfronts, especially on the city’s underserved East Side, reports Steven Litt. The city’s planning commission voted to approve a major chunk of the mayor’s proposal to spend $21 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money to accelerate nine projects in the early stages of planning or development, from the Cuyahoga River to Cleveland Metroparks’ Euclid Creek Reservation, 10 miles to the east. |
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COVID map: Cuyahoga County, along with 87 of Ohio’s 88 counties, were designated green for low COVID-19 spread on the latest U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention map, reports Julie Washington. |
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Drugs in jail: The Cuyahoga County jail last year recorded 229 drug seizures, more than double the 111 incidents logged in 2021, reports John Tucker. That spike followed a 105% increase from the previous year. Using corrections officers as mules has become a common way to shuttle drugs into jails. Since 2020, four corrections officers have been charged with drug-related crimes. |
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BBQ: It’s been a while since we crowned a Northeast Ohio Barbecue Champ. So let’s do it again. Brenda Cain and Yadi Rodriguez are looking specifically for the BBQ restaurant that serves the best ribs. Prime rib: As part of our Best of Cleveland poll search for the best prime rib, Brenda Cain and Yadi Rodridguez visited three restaurants. The beef may be the star but the setting, side dishes, and service matter. Each place we visited had a distinctive vibe, varied side dishes and proprietary cooking methods. House of the Week: A Pepper Pike house built in 2009 and designed to represent an idealized version of a Shaker Heights manor is listed at $1,875,000. Situated on just over an acre of land, the home features a timeless stone and cedar exterior, reports Joey Morona. |
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Woman seriously injured in assault in Akron home, police say Read more Former ER doctor pleads guilty to sexually assaulting co-worker Read more Three workers fight over alleged preferential treatment at Amber’s Cabaret in Brook Park Read more Small plane crashes in field in Sandusky County, injuring pilot Read more Body found in Lake Erie identified as ‘missing and endangered’ Solon man Read more Brunswick Hills Fire Department to add new tanker, staff following levy passage Read more Brunswick’s new fire station expected by 2025 Read more Middleburg Heights observes Arbor Day at school tree planting Read more |
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