Two decades ago, Garfield Heights planned to turn trash into treasure, building a destination shopping center on top of a former landfill off I-480. The innovative City View Center flopped as a retail hub, but now the suburb in the center of Cuyahoga County is focusing on a new future of development – transit-oriented. The city – which added a 3.2% increase in population between 2010 and 2020 -- envisions turning Turneytown, a typical 1960s shopping center dominated by asphalt into a walkable, street-friendly town center with a new interior street grid and public spaces framed by retail shops or restaurants topped by apartments. The city's new master plan could be a model for Cuyahoga County’s 57 municipalities, with more people-friendly streetscapes and trail connections to the Cleveland Metroparks Garfield Park Reservation and the Towpath Trail in the nearby Cuyahoga Valley. I hope it works. - Laura |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
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Garfield Heights is ground zero for debate on rezoning for transit-oriented development. (Steven Litt, cleveland.com) |
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Transit development: Turneytown shopping center could become a test case for a big idea now being explored by the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission in a yearlong study nearing completion. Steven Litt reports the study focuses on rezoning some 85 square miles of land along 22 commercial corridors in Cleveland and 25 suburbs to encourage dense, walkable, transit-oriented development. Issues 1 & 2: Both abortion rights and recreational marijuana are on the ballot this year, creating a natural experiment that could reveal some of the frenetic overlap and repulsion between the two disparate and controversial political touchpoints. Those voters exist in a space untethered to the partisanship that mires American politics, reports Jake Zuckerman. Marijuana test: When it comes to enforcing drunken driving laws, police have a battery of tools at their disposal. But marijuana’s unique metabolism makes the question of intoxication – on the road or in the workplace - more complicated, reports Gretchen Cuda Kroen. Tests for drug levels in the blood only tell us whether someone used marijuana in the last several days or even weeks, not whether they are under the influence at the time. Check-kiting: Najeeb Khan faces 10 and 12 years in prison for bank fraud and attempted tax evasion in a check-kiting scheme that left three banks on the hook for about $150 million and 175 or so businesses out of about $30 million. Adam Ferrise reports that a bankruptcy trustee wrote in court records that Khan orchestrated “what may be the largest and longest-running check-kiting scheme in U.S. history.” With millions, he bought Wayne Gretzky’s 2006 Ford GT Heritage, an Aston Martin DB-5, the model that James Bond made famous, and a 1920 Locomobile featured in the movie “Chaplin." Today in Ohio: Issue 1 proponents raised $28.7 million, to pass an abortion rights amendment in November, while opponents raised $9.9 million. The spending is much lighter for Issue 2, to legalize recreational marijuana. We’re talking campaign finance on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast. |
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Football prices: Two Ohio House Republicans announced a new bill Friday aimed at making high school football playoff games more affordable for students. Laura Hancock reports HB 311 would require that student tickets to athletic playoff games be priced lower than adult tickets, and will be the same price whether they are purchased online or with cash. Rob Portman: A new academic center former Republican Sen. Rob Portman founded with the University of Cincinnati will study ranked-choice voting and other changes to the primary voting system as a potential way to reduce political polarization. Advocates say the system helps advance candidates with broad support, rather than those who cater to the political extremes, Andrew Tobias reports. What Issue 2 doesn’t do: A talking point in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in Ohio says it will end arrests, court dates, jail sentences and fines for low-level marijuana possession and cultivation of the plant. But unlike every other state that has legalized adult-use marijuana since 2018, Ohio's statute includes no criminal justice reform, reports Laura Hancock. Issue 1 fundraising: Cash from national liberal dark money groups that had been missing in the last several election cycles continued their 2023 return to Ohio in support of the abortion rights amendment on the November ballot, new campaign finance reports show. The amendment’s backers, Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, raised $28.7 million. Opponents, Protect Women Ohio, raised $9.9 million, Laura Hancock reports. Maureen O’Connor: While America’s commitment to democracy is a beacon to the world, it has historical and modern shortfalls that we can’t be blind to, according to the Ohio Supreme Court’s former Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor. O’Connor spoke to a crowd at Cleveland State University’s law school on Friday, reports Jake Zuckerman. |
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Waterfront development: The City of Cleveland on Friday evening announced the official launch of the North Coast Waterfront Development Corporation, a not-for-profit entity designed to plan, finance and manage a large-scale redevelopment of the city’s downtown lakefront. Steven Litt reports the corporation is intended to provide long-term oversight of Cleveland lakefront redevelopment that transcends election cycles and City Hall administrations. |
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Wind turbines: Canvus, a Rocky River company with a manufacturing facility in Avon, is taking decommissioned wind turbine blades and upcycling them into benches, picnic tables and planters to use in public places. Sean McDonnell reports that each one of the curvy and often colorful pieces is slightly different, and they’ve already been shipped to 30 different public spaces — including in Cleveland and Avon. Bereavement photography: Akron Children’s Hospital medical photographer Ted Stevens specializes in bereavement photography. He captures some of the only photos families have of their children, reports Julie Washington. His compelling, sensitive images are treasured by bereaved families desperate for mementoes of their loved one. Medicare webinar: It’s important for everyone 65 and over — even those who already have a Medicare plan — to use the Medicare enrollment period to review their options and get up-to-date with new rules. That piece of advice was one of many that Medicare experts shared in “The Guide to Medicare and Golden Retirement” webinar, hosted by Julie Washington. Mortgage rates: Interest rates on mortgages got even higher this week, with 15-year loans now above 7% and 30-year loans inching closer toward 8%, reports Sean McDonnell. |
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Police porn: An FBI agent testified on Friday that a Cleveland police officer admitted to downloading more than 500 videos and images of child pornography, reports Adam Ferrise. Patrol officer Brandon Crites, 32, specifically sought images and videos of men with teen girls about 13 or 14 years old. |
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Sober curious: The idea behind Verbena in Hingetown is to provide a space for people to access non-alcoholic products, many of which were not available in Cleveland before. Alex Darus reports the café-bar provides a social setting for those abstaining from drinking for one reason or another to connect with like-minded folks. Lopez: Restaurateur Brad Friedlander is reviving Lopez, his old Mexican restaurant in the Cedar-Lee district, this time at 506 E. Washington St. in Chagrin Falls. The address had been home to several restaurants in the recent past and is next to a Burntwood Tavern, reports Marc Bona. Five faves: Meteorologist Mackenzie Bart of WJW-TV FOX 8 gushes about being back in Cleveland. You can almost feel the delight coming through the phone like rays of sunshine breaking through clouds. She shares with Peter Chakerian her favorite Cleveland food finds. Dessert stop: North Olmsted’s latest dessert shop CREPEscape is looking to give back to its hometown with freshly made crepes, waffles, waffle sticks, and beyond, reports Alex Darus. LeBron anniversary: Twenty years ago, when the Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings opened the 2003 season, teenager LeBron James started and led all scorers with 25 points. Marc Bona recounts the first NBA points for a kid from Akron, whose career has wound through three teams in the NBA and will end up in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. House of the Week: Situated at the end of a long driveway in the woods on a picturesque pond in Richfield, a stunning home is priced at $3,995,000. Joey Morona reports the home was built in 1989 on 14 pristine acres and offers six bedrooms, 11 bathrooms (eight full) plus an indoor pool within its, gulp, 23,000 square feet of living space. |
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Cleveland Police investigating after pedestrian struck, taken to hospital Read more Cleveland firefighters battle house fire in Glenville Read more Man doing yardwork for mom injured in rottweiler attack in Berea Read more Cleveland man fatally shot at gas station in city’s Glenville neighborhood Read more Akron pursues $12 million plan to demolish blighted buildings Read more Canton firefighters respond to second fatal apartment fire this week Read more Lorain County collects 4,000 pounds of medications on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Read more Mansfield police: 2 teens killed, 4 teens injured following shooting at party Read more |
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