STATEHOUSE & POLITICS
Executive order: President Joe Biden on Friday blasted Ohio’s abortion restrictions as he signed an executive order aimed at protecting reproductive healthcare services such as abortion and contraception in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing states to outlaw abortion. Sabrina Eaton reports Biden cited the case of a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim who had to travel to Indiana for an abortion because of the state’s ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.
METRO
Children’s services: Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish has not publicly addressed reports of unsafe conditions for youth and staff at the children services office. However, staff are skeptical of changes they say he’s promising behind the scenes. Kaitlin Durbin reports Budish met with Division of Children and Family Services employees at the Jane Edna Hunter Social Services Center on Friday to outline how the county plans to address reports of children harming themselves and others, including human trafficking and rape.
Slush funds: The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office has formally given County Council members a green light to continue distributing $66 million in stimulus money to projects in their districts, determining the spending does not violate the county charter. Kaitlin Durbin reports the formal opinion came in response to concerns from Lee Weingart, the Republican candidate for county executive, who criticized the spending.
COVID-19 & HEALTHCARE
CDC map: All Northeast Ohio counties — including Cuyahoga — are green, or designated as having low COVID-19 transmission, on the latest CDC COVID-19 map. Last week, Cuyahoga County and most of Northeast Ohio was yellow, or designated as having medium COVID-19 transmission, reports Julie Washington.
BUSINESS
Leadership Cleveland: Leaders across Greater Cleveland from public, private and nonprofit organizations will come together for a 10-month program designed to help them advance the region. Sean McDonnell reports on the 65 people who will join the class.
Home prices: Home prices are up this year across most of Cuyahoga County, with the median rising 8.2% in comparison to the first six months of 2021. Zachary Smith found the median price of single-family homes and condos in the county was $227,500 from January through June, up from $210,250. Highland Heights, Pepper Pike and Bedford Heights had the biggest increases.
Average rent: Rents in the Cleveland area have increased but remain almost $1,000 below the national average, according to rental tracking website Dwellsy. Megan Sims reports that the average rent nationally now tops $2,000.
CRIME
Fatal shooting: A 4-year-old girl and a 40-year-old man were killed after someone fired shots into a celebratory gathering Friday night in the 700 block of Princeton Street in Akron. The office of the Summit County Medical Examiner identified Journei Tolbert and Johnny Gaiter as the victims, Megan Sims reports.
NAACP demands: The Akron chapter of the NAACP on Saturday unveiled a series of demands for the city and its police department stemming from the police shooting of Jayland Walker, reports Megan Sims.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Asian lanterns: Get ready for another season of amazing lanterns and lighting displays at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo during its annual summer Asian Lantern Festival. A new 100-foot, four-story palace is one of the new main attractions for 2022, as well as a handful of walk-through lanterns and sprawling Chinese gardens along Waterfowl Lake, reports Dave Petkiewicz.
WonderStruck: WonderStruck music festival wrapped up on Sunday night, finishing off its second year at Lakeland Community College with a variety of performances and boundless energy, Annie Nickoloff reports. The Lumineers were the headliner Saturday, while Vampire Weekend, both a critical darling and certifiable crowd-pleaser, was the top act Sunday. But there were plenty of other fun acts, too.
House of the week: The privately gated home on Lake Road in Bay Village combines a classic cottage look with a contemporary style, luxurious amenities and an unbeatable view. Joey Morona reports the 12,000-square-foot home offers six bedrooms and seven bathrooms (four full) and is priced at $2.95 million.
