Semiconductor legislation: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Friday called on both houses of Congress to approve long-delayed CHIPS legislation that would provide $52 billion in subsidies to the semiconductor industry. Sabrina Eaton reports that the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives will vote next week on a compromise package that hammers out differences between separate bills the different legislative bodies approved to help U.S. technology companies compete with rivals like China. Senate race: Ohio’s race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Rob Portman is widely seen as Republican J.D. Vance’s to lose. But Andrew Tobias reports that Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan’s early cash advantage, revealed Friday through new federal filings, is raising the concern level for some Ohio Republicans while offering a glimmer of hope for Democrats. Opioid settlement: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Friday that the state of Ohio has disbursed its first installment of payments from the OneOhio settlement with opioid manufacturers to local governments - an amount that totals more than $8.6 million. Sabrina Eaton reports that DeWine’s office said local governments will decide how they can best use the money to fight the opioid epidemic, as they receive settlement payments for the next 18 years. METRO Subpoena: An FBI grand jury subpoena sent to Cleveland City Hall shows investigators are looking at former Councilman Basheer Jones’ dealings with nonprofit groups and others who are closely tied to the one-term councilman. Adam Ferrise reports the subpoena shows investigators sought information connected to the Famicos Foundation, which is the CDC in the ward Jones used to represent, and Lexington Bell. Mentor March: Mentor Marsh began dying in 1966 after a contractor dumped more than 200,000 tons of waste salt into a feeder stream called Blackbrook Creek. It was one of the worst ecological disasters to befall Northeast Ohio and it has nothing to do with the infamous Cuyahoga River, reports Peter Krouse. Now that the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Ohio EPA have intervened, remediation of the so-called “salt fill site” should finally stop the leaching of salt and other caustic materials into the marsh so that it can heal. Median salary: From 2019 to 2021, the five-county Cleveland-Elyria area led all Ohio metro areas for wage growth, with the median salary going up 7.9% over two years, reports Zachary Smith. The increase raised the median pay to $6,061 per month in the Cleveland area, or about $72,732 per year. Dry summer: The U.S. Drought Monitor shows that every county in Greater Cleveland now has some areas classified as being abnormally dry and at risk of drought, reports Zachary Smith. This is an increase from five counties on June 30, when only parts of Cuyahoga, Lake, and Summit counties have received the classification, as well as all of Geauga and Portage counties. Tamir memorial: Family and friends of Tamir Rice gathered on Saturday morning to celebrate the opening of The Rice Butterfly Memorial in Cudell Park, the park where 12-year-old Tamir was shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer on November 22, 2014. David Petkiewicz has photos of the garden, planted at the former location of the gazebo where Tamir, who would have turned 20 on June 25, was playing with a toy gun when approached by two Cleveland officers in a police car. Parma threats: Parma schools have canceled summer school activities including athletics and band practices after two unrelated threats this week, Kaylee Remington reports. Parma police said that a threat was directed toward Parma High School on Thursday and a man from Parma threatened an unspecified elementary school on Wednesday night. Home builder: We never knew who built our house in 1913, until a reader knocked on Laura Johnston’s door, bearing information, a wedding photo and postcards from 1923. COVID-19 & HEALTHCARE Transmission map: The latest CDC map shows five Northeast Ohio counties have worsened from green to yellow, or designated as having medium COVID-19 transmission. Julie Washington reports Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Lorain counties are designated yellow on the map. Novavax: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorization for the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted for people 18 and older. Gretchen Cuda Kroen reports the vaccine, which is administered as a two-dose series, differs from mRNA vaccines already on the market in that it contains SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and Matrix-M adjuvant. Contraceptive Clinic: The Cleveland Clinic is offering Saturday contraceptive clinics beginning July 23 at several Clinic locations, Julie Washington reports. The clinics are meant to provide contraceptive options to women, and increase access and remove barriers to contraception. BUSINESS NASA telescope: Today kids and adults alike are being inspired the next generation of space images from the James Webb Space Telescope, thanks in part to work done by Mayfield Heights-based Materion. NASA lists hundreds of contributors, including five others in Ohio. Among NASA’s list are at least two other Northeast Ohio connections, reports Sean McDonnell. MakerGear: A homegrown company is now looking for a buyer, saying a rollercoaster of tariffs, a pandemic and historically high inflation has been hurting the business. Sean McDonnell reports MakerGear, a Beachwood-based company that builds 3D printers for commercial and home use, is looking to be acquired. CRIME Jayland Walker: An autopsy shows Jayland Walker, the unarmed man shot last month by eight Akron police officers, suffered 41 gunshot entry wounds and five graze wounds. The Summit County medical examiner could not say for certain how many times Walker was shot because one bullet can cause multiple entrance or graze wounds, reports John Tucker. Social justice: The city of Akron on Friday published a document that shares which Racial Equity and Social Justice Taskforce recommendations have been implemented and which ones the city is working on putting into place next, reports Megan Becka. Akron curfew: The mayor of Akron on Sunday morning lifted a downtown curfew, following days of protests in the wake of the Jayland Walker shooting, reports Megan Sims. Contract lawsuit: A Cleveland-area political consultant has settled his lawsuit against a local company in connection to a $21 million contract JobsOhio awarded for personal protective equipment during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Lawyers for both RB Sigma, a Mentor-based manufacturer, and Bobby Ina, whom RB Sigma hired in February 2020 to help the company land the JobsOhio contract, said they couldn’t discuss the terms, reports Andrew Tobias. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Federal Reserve: The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is reopening its interactive and informative all-ages Learning Center and Money Museum, which has been shut down through the pandemic. Marc Bona reports it’s really a smart mashup of American history and accessible economics. House of the week: Situated on seven wooded acres, a Chagrin Falls home offers four bedrooms and five bathrooms (two full) in 3,130 sq. ft. plus a three-car garage. Joey Morona reports that the $1.395 million, the 1929-built home blends old-world charm with modern amenities. | 