Stand outside Tower City and look south over the Cuyahoga River and you’re sure to see the soaring Eagle Avenue Bridge, which when built in 1931 was the first vertical-lift bridge in Cleveland but now stands dormant. When operational, it connected Ontario Street and the Scranton Peninsula. City leaders want to demolish the iconic bridge because of how badly it has deteriorated. Officials considered other options -- including stabilizing the bridge, making it operational and repurposing it and moving it somewhere else -- but found the alternatives cost prohibitive. Because it’s a historic structure, a specific public comment process is in place through July 14. The city says demolishing the bridge would cost $3.1 million. By comparison, making the Eagle Avenue Bridge functional again would cost $58.9 million and wouldn’t preserve the historic structure. The cost differential is staggering. -- Kristen Davis |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
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The Eagle Avenue lift bridge in Cleveland is slated for demolition. (Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com) |
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Bridge demolition: Cleveland is seeking public comment on plans to demolish the Eagle Avenue Bridge in the Flats. Sean McDonnell reports the iconic structure could be demolished next summer because of the amount of deterioration it has suffered. An online presentation from the city said other options were considered, but the cost of the alternatives was too high. Ohio jobs: While there are more jobs in Ohio today than there were before the COVID-19 pandemic, some industries are still far from recovery, according to state and federal data. Sean McDonnell reports that some industries, like manufacturing, are very close to their pre-pandemic total. Others, like retail, restaurants and education, have not come back yet. Stimulus Watch: Cleveland has canceled plans for $2 million in ARPA funding for a local nonprofit that provides health services to low-income residents. Lucas Daprile reports that the city sent a letter to the CEO of Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services (NEON) citing the end of the public health emergency as a reason for why the money will not be released. Today in Ohio: All three branches of government in Ohio are colluding to undermine democracy in the state, says Brent Larkin, columnist for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. It’s a state of affairs unlike anything he has seen in his career. We’re talking about the runaway train of partisanship in government, how it’s infecting public policy and seeking to deprive Ohio of representative government on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast. |
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Vape tax: Ohio could reverse course on a potential Cuyahoga County vape tax and allow a higher tax on cigarettes, writes Jeremy Pelzer. The budget item would repeal part of Senate Bill 164, signed into law last January, that allows Cuyahoga County to create, with voters’ permission, a tax on vaping products that mirrored the county’s existing tax on cigarettes. Larry Householder: Next week, a U.S. district will sentence Larry Householder, who twice served atop Ohio politics as speaker of the Ohio House, for his role at the helm of a $60 million bribery scheme. Jake Zuckerman reports prosecutors asked for a sentence of 16-20 years while Householder has asked for 12-18 months. |
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Mentor Marsh: A $500,000 grant from the state will assist the Mentor Marsh with its continuing comeback. Peter Krouse reports the funds will be used to help remove invasive plants and restore native species in the 801-acre wetland. Market plan: The third and final phase of the West Side Market’s revitalization masterplan will be shared at a public meeting on Thursday, reports Paris Wolfe. The presentation is the fifth in an eight-part Community Speaker Series about a potential future for the 113-year-old market. Parma Schools: A week after Parma City Schools received a taxpayer demand letter to prevent the demolition of Parma Senior High School, the district responded that they will be moving ahead with plans. John Benson reports that residents are threatening legal action regarding the proposed demolition later this year of the 70-year-old building. Property taxes: Property tax bills for the second half of 2023 have been mailed out to more than 300,000 Cuyahoga County residents. Kaitlin Durbin reports that there are multiple ways residents can pay their bills, including by mail, online and over the phone. |
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Amazon investment: Amazon Web Services is planning to spend $7.8 billion in the next seven years to build new data centers in central Ohio. Jeremy Pelzer reports the project could create 230 full-time data-center jobs and 1,000 secondary support jobs. Employee disciplined: Julie Washington reports that a MetroHealth System employee has been disciplined for inappropriately accessing patient medical records since 2008. The hospital system did not say how many patients were affected. New jobs: A pair of Northeast Ohio companies are planning to expand. Sean McDonnell reports that Solar FlexRack and Sweep America Intermediate Holdings have won tax credits tied to creating 117 new jobs in the Northeast Ohio. Top Workplaces: Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer are honoring 214 companies, nonprofits, schools and organizations in the 2023 Top Workplaces rankings. See the full list and stories on the winners. |
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Cleveland mom indicted: A woman who was accused of leaving her 1-year-old home alone for 10 days while she went on vacation is now facing murder charges. Olivia Mitchell reports that Kristel Candelario, 31, has been charged with aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and endangering children. The prosecutor’s office might seek additional charges that would make Candelario eligible for the death penalty. Sexual abuse: Ohio State University has failed in an attempt to have lawsuits filed by more than 100 victims of former university doctor Richard Strauss thrown out. Adam Ferrise reports that the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up the request, leaving intact an appeals court decision that allowed the lawsuits to move forward. Capitol riots: An Aurora man was arrested by authorities on Monday after being accused of leading a group toward a violent fight between rioters and police during the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Adam Ferrise reports that Trevor Cain is charged in federal court with obstruction of an official proceeding, entering and remaining in a restricted building, parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol and two counts of disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building. Embezzlement: A former top official at Geis Cos. was sentenced Monday to more than three years in prison for embezzling $1 million from the company and laundering the stolen money, Adam Ferrise reports. Michael Harman, 46, of Ravenna, began stealing from the well-known real-estate and development company shortly after the Streetsboro business hired him in 2016. He later laundered the money through a variety of shell companies. Fatal shooting: A Cleveland man was robbed and fatally shot in the city’s Detroit Shoreway neighborhood Friday night. Officers administered aid to Robert Carlile until paramedics arrived and took him to MetroHealth Medical Center, where he later died. No arrests have yet been made, reports Olivia Mitchell. Missing suspect: Cleveland police are searching for a woman who fatally ran over her children’s father Sunday afternoon in the city’s Lee Miles neighborhood. Olivia Mitchell reports that the victim has been identified as Jamale Thompson, 35, of Cleveland. |
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Best breakfast: ABC’s “Good Morning America” will broadcast today live from Cleveland, reports Paris Wolfe. Two local restaurants, Grumpy’s Café and Martha on the Fly, are competing as part of the show’s “United States of Breakfast” series. Summer food trends: Summer has finally arrived and the folks at Yelp Cleveland gave us the scoop on an eclectic mix of food and drink trends taking over Cleveland, including Watermelon cocktails, asparagus salad, Filipino food & more. RV Life: On this week’s episode of “Rocking the RV Life,” the Kinzbachs share a list of some of the best whacky places they’ve been to, or plan to go to in the future. Mike Rose reports that the list includes a musical highway, a pair of interesting houses, a bed-and-breakfast shaped like a dog and much more. |
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