  What you need to know Monday, March 21, 2022  WEATHER
Highs will be in 50s today with increasing cloud coverage. Showers are likely Tuesday and will continue Wednesday and possible further into the week. Temps will be in the mid-50s until Friday, when temps may drop into the 40s. Read more. OVERNIGHT
Free transit: For years Cuyahoga County has floated the possibility of offering free public transit for all, but Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s top official said she doesn’t think it’s likely to happen. No transit agency of similar size has yet figured out a way to successfully sustain a free-fare environment while navigating all of the potential unintended consequences, reports Kaitlin Durbin. One analysis estimated it would cost RTA at least $40 million annually to eliminate fares.
Pleading the fifth: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wants permission to proceed with his lawsuit against FirstEnergy and key players in the House Bill 6 scandal. Robert Higgs asks why, when so many witnesses would likely exercise their Fifth Amendment right and decline to answer questions that could be self-incriminating? Experts say Yost may want to preserve evidence, press for settlement of the case or ensure reelection.
Fracking: How much has Ohio’s fracking industry contributed to the state economy? Eric Heisig reports that with operations spread out across the eastern side of the state to cash in on shale drilling’s economic potential, many numbers are in. But they are fuzzy and tell different stories from different viewpoints.
Redistricting: Ohio officials on Saturday headed back to the drawing board -- for a fourth time -- on drawing new state legislative lines. The Ohio Redistricting Commission charted a path during their first meeting since the Ohio Supreme Court rejected the latest Republican state legislative map plan on Wednesday as illegally gerrymandered in favor of the GOP. Andrew Tobias reports the commission voted to hire a pair of outside mapmakers and a mediator to resolve disputes, and scheduled meetings for this week.
TODAY IN OHIO Gov. Mike DeWine said he’s taking the lead on a fourth Ohio legislative map, after the Ohio Supreme Court rejected the third. DeWine is finally suggesting having Democratic and GOP mapmakers “work together,” following the Supreme Court’s instructions. We’re talking about his promises on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.
STATEHOUSE & POLITICS Election delay: The U.S. Department of Defense has signed off on Ohio’s request to allow elections officials to mail military ballots as late as April 5 with expedited postage, reports Jeremy Pelzer. The Defense Department’s approval of the changes came just in time, as Friday had been the deadline for military ballots to be sent out. However, state lawmakers passed legislation moving that deadline back because of the Republicans’ ongoing battle with the Ohio Supreme Court over redistricting. Great Lakes Authority: U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur has introduced legislation that would establish a new federal entity called the “Great Lakes Authority” that would promote regional development in Great Lakes states much as the Tennessee Valley Authority was founded as part of the New Deal. Sabrina Eaton reports that Kaptur says new efforts are needed to catalyze the region’s revitalization after decades of bad trade deals that outsourced-living-wage jobs and let industry atrophy.
High-speed internet: State officials announced Friday that an estimated 227,000 Ohioans will get access to affordable, high-speed Internet service within the next two years thanks to dozens of projects paid for with a combined $480 million in state and private-sector money, reports Jeremy Pelzer.
Prosthetic research: A Case Western Reserve University bioengineering professor who has spearheaded technologies that let people with prosthetic hands experience the sense of touch met for an hour Friday with President Joe Biden and former National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins to showcase his research and provide advice on how to set up a new NIH agency to fund cutting-edge medical research. Sabrina Eaton reports a $1.5 trillion spending bill that Congress approved last week contained $1 billion to set up a new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.
METRO Bachelor’s degree: In 11 Ohio cities, at least 70% of the residents aged 25 years and older have a bachelor’s degree or above, well above the statewide share of 29.6%, reports Zachary Smith. Tops for bachelor’s degrees or above is the wealthy Cincinnati suburb of Indian Hill, at 80.3%, the only city to break 80%. Pepper Pike leads the Greater Cleveland area at 76.9%.
Police reform: A federal judge on Friday approved changes to Cleveland’s 2015 police reform agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to incorporate a new system of police accountability that voters approved last year. Adam Ferrise reports that Senior U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver approved the changes to Cleveland’s consent decree, which clears the way for city officials to begin implementing the changes brought on by the passage of Issue 24.
Trolley fleet: Fueling issues for buses that run on compressed natural gas have temporarily forced the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority to put its largely unused trolley fleet back into commission on some routes. The trolleys are currently being used as needed on four routes usually serviced by buses, reports Kaitlin Durbin.
Menlo Park: The National Labor Relations Board scheduled an election for teachers at a Cleveland charter school that specializes in educating gifted children. About 50 Menlo Park Academy teachers, social workers, counselors, intervention specialists, instructional assistants and aides are scheduled March 30 to vote by secret ballot in the school gym about whether they want to be represented by the Cleveland Alliance of Charter Teachers & Staff, reports Laura Hancock.
Deshaun Watson: The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center issued a statement Saturday after receiving more than 1,000 donations in wake of the Cleveland Brown’s trade for Houston Texan quarterback Deshaun Watson Friday, reports Kaylee Remington. Houston attorney Rusty Hardin, who is representing Watson, previously defended an executive in the fraud investigation of Browns owner Jimmy Haslam’s company, Pilot Flying J.
Spring planting: The cold, muddy weeks between Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day can be a dreary time that is only worsened by the longer days. Susan Brownstein writes her first gardening column about planting seeds, including San Marzano tomatoes this year.
Rowing the Cuyahoga: Ted Diadiun spent the last 22 years of participating in the Western Reserve Rowing Association’s summer league. He writes about the exhilarating sport, and by the blend of joy, hard physical exercise, camaraderie, discipline, teamwork, and just a hint of danger it provides, in the first in a periodic series of stories introducing Clevelanders to recreational pursuits in the region.
Lorain intersections: John F. Kennedy Memorial Parkway in Elyria is among the most dangerous stretches in Elyria, making four appearances among Lorain County’s 10 most dangerous intersections. Kaylee Remington reports intersections in Avon, Lorain, Sheffield and Amherst are also on the list.
Ukrainian trip: When Russia invaded Ukraine, Trevor Littleton, the pastor at First Church of Christ in Painesville, made it his mission to save his daughters and get them to safety. Littleton -- who has nine children, five from Ukraine -- traveled last week to save Dasha, 20, and Nastya, 26. But Kaylee Remington reports Nastya is now missing.
COVID-19 & HEALTH Second booster: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said people will need a fourth vaccine dose to ward off another variant wave, Marc Bona reports in his weekly roundup of coronavirus news.
BUSINESS Russian business: Eaton, Vitamix, Lincoln Electric and Squire Patton Boggs all are hitting pause on doing business in Russia, if not pulling out entirely, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Union projectionists: After being accused of locking union projectionists out during the Cleveland International Film Festival, the parties have come to an agreement. The North Shore AFL-CIO and International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 160 say they've reached an agreement with Playhouse Square, reports Jane Morice.
CRIME Police shooting: An East Cleveland officer shot a man early Thursday after responding to a loud music complaint and discovering the car had been reported stolen. Kaylee Remington reports the man suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
2-year-old’s death: Police are investigating the death of a 2-year-old boy Friday in Euclid, reports Olivia Mitchell. The boy died following an incident at a home in the 26000 block of Shoreview Avenue.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Browns fans: Quarterback Deshaun Watson’s arrival on the Cleveland sports scene is matched only by LeBron James becoming a Cleveland Cavalier in 2003. But Watson’s personal behavior is the last straw for some fans, writes Doug Lesmerises.
Alberto Giacometti: It’s tempting to view great art through the prism of contemporary events, and that’s especially true in the case of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s big spring exhibition on the work of Alberto Giacometti. Steven Litt reports the Swiss modernist who spent much of his career in 20th-century Paris is known chiefly for sculptures of gaunt, shell-shocked human figures.
Play House director: Cleveland Play House artistic director Laura Kepley is stepping down from the position. In its announcement on Friday, the venerable cultural institution said she would stay on through June while the search for an interim artistic director is underway, reports Joey Morona.
Breakfast plans: Two and a half years ago, Karen Small first got the keys for Juneberry Table, a new breakfast concept set to take over the former Jack Flaps space in Ohio City. Anne Nickoloff reports the pandemic halted the plans of the chef and owner of The Flying Fig. It wasn’t until she decided to rework The Flying Fig in Ohio City that she decided to stick with the breakfast shop
Beatles: The Rock Hall has dedicated a tremendous amount of space to the Fab Four beginning Friday with the opening of “The Beatles: Get Back to Let It Be,” an immersive new exhibit that serves as a complement to director Peter Jackson’s popular Disney+ documentary, reports Troy Smith.
House of the Week: A stone’s throw where the Rocky River meets Lake Erie, there is a home with a modern interior that belies its classic storybook-style exterior. Built in 1930 in the Beachcliff neighborhood, 44 Buckingham Drive offers more than 3,800 square feet, with a price tag of $925,000.
OTHER HEADLINES
East Cleveland police officer shoots man after responding to loud music complaint, finding stolen car Read more
Middleburg Heights committee gets regional sewer overview, detention basins update Read more
Mayfield Village gets grant to reforest property cleared in 1925 for wastewater plant Read more
Ivory-billed woodpecker gets top billing as birds in UA collection get student makeovers Read more
Parma invites public to Ridgewood Golf Course clubhouse demolition event Read more
Lawyer expresses support of House Bill 327 to Chagrin Falls school board Read more
Berea flooding committee mulls regional sewer study results Read more
South Euclid’s 2022 budget includes several new recreation amenities, road resurfacing Read more
Medina native communicating with food through ‘soulful’ project Read more
Orange High School robotics team qualifies for world championship Read more
North Olmsted City Council President raising epilepsy awareness after daughter’s death Read more
Lyndhurst’s Ward says city’s financial outlook for 2022, despite world’s economic upheavals, is ‘stable’ Read more
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