Enrollment at Lakeland Community College peaked at about 9,400 students in 2012, two years after U.S. college enrollment peaked. At Lakeland, in Kirtland, enrollment dropped to about 5,000 students this year. Yet, according to a state audit, “Staffing has not been significantly reduced, new facilities have been acquired, and courses are being held with minimal enrollment.” In the past two months alone, we’ve reported: Baldwin Wallace University announced 23 job cuts, an extended hiring freeze and plans to eliminate nine academic programs as it looks to cut $17 million from its operational budget. Notre Dame College announced that it will close at the end of the spring semester. Cleveland State University will offer buyouts to faculty and staff as it tries to reconcile a projected $34 million budget deficit. We’ll be digging more into the crisis facing colleges as birthrates decline and families question the high cost of higher education. — Laura |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
Cavs vs. Orlando Magic: Cavs smother overmatched Orlando Magic, take commanding 2-0 series lead Northeast Ohio weather forecast: Showers return |
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Administrators at Lakeland Community College in Lake County will have to make difficult decisions related to workforce, classes and programs and buildings to remain in operation, a 110-page audit concludes. (cleveland.com file photo) |
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Lakeland crisis: The Ohio auditor found that Lakeland Community College is overstaffed and burdened with debt because of declining student enrollment, putting the school close to fiscal crisis, reports Laura Hancock. Earth Day: Cleveland is known as the Forest City, but by 2020 its tree canopy had diminished to 18%, less than half of the urban average cross the U.S., reports Steven Litt. Numerous studies have shown that the lack of shade trees in cities creates “heat islands’' that can have deadly consequences during heat waves. Low-income, redlined neighborhoods are most heavily affected in Cleveland, where the urban core looks gray in satellite photos. DeWine gifts: FirstEnergy Corp. made $2.5 million in secret payments to a dark money nonprofit that backed Republican Mike DeWine’s 2018 gubernatorial run as the company was executing what would become the biggest public corruption scheme in state history. Jake Zuckerman reports that the money adds a significant line item on top of its already prolific spending to elect DeWine. Today in Ohio: Injection wells were allowed to operate for more than six months after a state regulator deemed them an “imminent danger” to Athens County. On Earth Day, we’re talking on Today in Ohio about the Ohio Oil & Gas Commission appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine and the potentially toxic waste regularly pumped into our earth. |
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Huffman donation: At the height of its sweeping Statehouse bribery scheme, FirstEnergy secretly paid $300,000 over five checks to a dark money nonprofit its lobbyist explicitly associated with now-Senate President Matt Huffman, reports Jake Zuckerman. New documents show that in May 2019, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit FirstEnergy funded and controlled wrote the first of its checks to a fellow dark-money group called Liberty Ohio, a group FirstEnergy lobbyist Ty Pine referred to in an email as “the Huffman C4.” Turnpike tolls: After eight years of work and nearly $250 million spent, the Ohio Turnpike’s new toll collection system is finally up and running, reports Jeremy Pelzer. For the first time, drivers with E-ZPass accounts can drive through toll plazas without needing to stop. The turnpike also moved to a more complicated system of calculating tolls along the 241-mile-long highway, with varying effects on motorists’ wallets depending on their route. Social Security office: The Social Security Administration’s office in Warrensville Heights has cut back its services due to high staff attrition and will shut down for 90 days beginning in May, with its future reopening in question, reports Sabrina Eaton. Transgender block: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Monday asked the Ohio Supreme Court to review a lower court judge’s temporary block on the state’s law banning minors from obtaining gender-affirming health care, arguing that the order is too broad. Laura Hancock reports that Yost filed his motion to the GOP-controlled Ohio Supreme Court as an emergency request. ATF raid: Saying that a fatal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives raid in Little Rock, Arkansas, “raises serious questions about the weaponization of the agency against Americans,” House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan is asking ATF Director Steve Dettelbach for “documents and information” on the case, reports Sabrina Eaton. |
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Tamia Chappman: The family of Tamia Chappman agreed to settle its lawsuit against Cleveland for $4.8 million over a high-speed police chase that ended in the 13-year-old girl’s death. Adam Ferrise and Olivia Mitchell report the settlement ends years of legal fights and investigations over the December 2019 high-speed chase in which Cleveland police pursued a robbery suspect from Cleveland’s West Side into East Cleveland. The 15-year-old suspect’s car careened off the road and hit Tamia, who was walking from school to the library. Special district: University Circle in 2025 will implement a special improvement district aimed at stabilizing funding for the University Circle Police Department and other public services. Megan Sims reports creation of the district is expected to raise $3.9 million in the first year, increasing to $4.4 million by 2029 through special assessments on private property owners in the designated area, University Circle Inc. estimates. Hulett factories: An immense vacant factory in Cleveland’s Central neighborhood, where massive Hulett ore unloading cranes were made more than a century ago, will have a new shot at economic life as the first major acquisition of the city’s $50 million Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund. Steven Litt reports the city announced Monday that the site readiness fund closed on an $845,000 deal to acquire the triangular, 10-acre property at 7000 Central Ave. on Cleveland’s East Side that includes the 183,000-square-foot Wellman-Seaver-Morgan factory. |
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Concussion treatment: A study led by Akron Children’s Hospital researchers suggests that cooling the head and neck after mild brain injuries reduces concussion symptoms. Julie Washington reports the study was recently published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. It is one of the first concussion treatment studies of this population and one of the largest single concussion therapy trials known to date. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Ohio will become the first state in the nation to begin screening all newborn babies for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, reports Gretchen Cuda Kroen. DMD is characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. It is not typically diagnosed until symptoms become apparent in early childhood, usually between ages 2 and 3. Gas prices: Fuel prices rose across Cleveland this past week, but analysts say rising costs at the pump might start to level over the next few weeks. Sean McDonnell reports the average price for a gallon of gasoline in Cleveland rose 21 cents, going from $3.43 a week ago to $3.64 Monday. Two Bucks: Two Bucks has closed four of its locations in Northeast Ohio, with only two restaurants remaining open. Alex Darus reports the restaurant chain announced it closed its locations in Lakewood, Middleburg Heights, North Olmsted and Parma. |
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Court monitor: A court-appointed monitor reports that instead of pushing toward court-ordered police reform, Cleveland officials over a six-month span last year chose “delay and legal squabbles” that hindered efforts to better the department, reports Adam Ferrise. Karl Racine leads the consent-decree monitoring team that oversees the city’s progress under a 2015 agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to reform policing. Catholic Charities: A lawyer representing the family of a 4-year-old boy whose body was found buried in his mother’s backyard in 2017 asked jurors on Monday to order Catholic Charities to pay $81 million for its failure to supervise an employee who lied about conducting in-person visits to the boy’s home in the months before his death. Cory Shaffer reports Jordan Rodriguez was starving and he had broken bones in his arm and ribcage in the final weeks of his life. Akron teenager shot: The teenager who was shot by an Akron police officer this month has been charged with carrying a fake gun at the time of the shooting. Tavion Koonce-Williams, 15, is accused of possessing a facsimile firearm, a first-degree misdemeanor, reports Molly Walsh. |
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Ask Lucas: What if your brother taught your parrot to say swear words? To get even, Lucas Daprile suggests you rescue a parrot for him (or just steal a pigeon off the street and paint it orange) and train his new bird friend to use his Alexa or Google home to make annoying requests. Julia’s 1902: After 20 months of historical preservation interior design, Julia’s 1902 opens to the public on Thursday. The restaurant is the entire first floor of the lovingly restored Willoughby House (Van Gorder Mansion) on the western edge of downtown Willoughby, reports Paris Wolfe. Film fest: Now in its 15th year, the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival ushered in the next chapter of its existence, opening a new multi-purpose, retail and screening space in the Chagrin Falls historic Triangle district. Joey Morona reports the storefront is the culmination of a two-year, $1.2 million capital campaign. Kids cooking: Edwins Leadership and Restaurant Institute is holding Cleveland’s Best Kids Cook competition. Marc Bona reports young chefs will compete across three age groups: 6 to 9, 10 to 12, and 13 to 16. |
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Beachwood starts residential food scrap composting program; Hunt chosen as law director Read more Medina council honors Friends of the Cemetery for National Park designation Read more ODOT’s Adopt-A-Highway groups out in force to clean up litter along roads Read more Medina high school seniors lead park cleanup Read more Polaris Career Center to offer adult LPN training program in 2024-25 Read more North Olmsted focuses on first responder mental health Read more Parma Heights to convene charter review commission Read more Brooklyn City Council to vote on anti-racism commission Read more |
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