After months of attack ads, Ohio voters today will decide the Republican pick for the November U.S. Senate race to face Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November. Also up for grabs: seats in several congressional districts and the Ohio House and Ohio Senate. Plus, some communities have school levies and other issues on the ballot. Of course, the highest-profile race is the Republican and Democratic presidential primary elections, although former Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden have clinched their respective parties’ nominations. In Cuyahoga County, the biggest race is the Democratic primary for the county prosecutor. A health and human services tax levy also is up for renewal. If you have any trouble voting, please let me know at [email protected]. — Laura |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
Cavs at Indiana Pacers: Cavs earn critical playoff tiebreaker with gutsy 108-103 win over Indiana Pacers Northeast Ohio weather forecast: Cloudy and windy |
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| Elections officials are not expecting a particularly high voter turnout today given that Joe Biden and Donald Trump already have clinched their respective party’s nominations. (cleveland.com file photo) |
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Election improvements: Cuyahoga County Board of Elections is rolling out new practices it says will streamline voting, reports Lucas Daprile. Elections officials will not be uploading pictures of ballots on Election Day, which should make elections results available several hours earlier today than in November. The county also printed more ballots than usual for a primary election. Ohio earmarks: A $460 billion spending package that Congress approved earlier this month contains millions of dollars for local projects that Northeast Ohio’s congress members added to the legislation through a controversial process known as “earmarks.” Sabrina Eaton reports the package that President Joe Biden signed into law on March 9 contains more than 6,600 earmarks that cost around $12.7 billion. Congress reinstated earmarks in 2021 after a 10-year ban and they’ve been going strong ever since. Joann bankruptcy: Joann Inc., a national fabrics and crafts retailer headquartered in Hudson, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday morning. Sean McDonnell reports the company also announced a plan that would take it from a publicly traded company to a privately owned firm, handing over ownership to “lenders and industry parties.” Today in Ohio: At least 36 complaints have been filed against Petland with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office since 2019, including that the retailer sold sick and dying dogs to consumers. We’re talking about pet owners being sad and angry because of “puppy mill” dogs who were the victim of filthy and poor upbringings on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast. |
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Senate race: While Bernie Moreno and Frank LaRose jockeyed for Donald Trump’s endorsement, Matt Dolan has run a more traditional Republican campaign for U.S. Senate that touts his legislative experience and keeps Trump at a relative arm’s length. Andrew Tobias reports that polls now a show a neck-and-neck race between Moreno and Dolan – who each have spent millions of dollars of their own money. Pretrial request: A Summit County judge said Mike Dowling, a FirstEnergy lobbyist charged with a sweep of bribery-related crimes, cannot take a two-week trip to South Carolina to celebrate Easter. Jake Zuckerman reports Dowling last week asked Common Pleas Judge Susan Baker Ross for leave from terms of his pre-trial bond, which require him to stay in Ohio, to travel by car to his second home in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, from March 23 to April 4. He said he has aging family there who cannot travel and other extended family will be in town as well. PFAS: For decades, Ohio firefighters have put out gasoline and other hydrocarbon fires with a foam containing a substance that puts them at increased risk of cancer and other significant health problems. But it’s proven difficult for fire departments to safely get rid of the foam containing the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), nicknamed “forever chemicals” because of how hard they are to break down. Jeremy Pelzer reports the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is offering the state’s nearly 1,200 fire departments a safer option: picking up their foam so that a subsidiary of Battelle can destroy the PFAS using a new process that turns the “forever chemicals” into harmless carbon dioxide and inert salt. |
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Motorcycle crashes: In 2023, 19 motorcyclists died in Cuyahoga County. That’s an increase of nearly 50% since 2019 and Cuyahoga County sees more accidents than any other county in the state, reports Molly Walsh. As warmer weather arrives, the crashes will mount. Since 2019, the county has had 1,790 accidents involving motorcycles. Lead law: Cleveland is “re-tooling” its approach to the city’s 2019 landmark lead-safety law because few landlords are complying, reports Courtney Astolfi. The announcement comes alongside new data that shows first-time lead-safe certifications during the last three months of 2023 dropped to just 345 -- the lowest level yet since early 2021. The drop caps off a year-and-a-half-long pattern of declines in the number of landlords complying with the law by registering their pre-1978 rental homes as lead-safe. Eclipse eye safety: During the two-plus hour duration of the solar eclipse, unprotected exposure to the sun’s ultraviolent radiation can damage the eyes, resulting in blurry vision, blind spots, decreased acuity and more. Julie Washington reports that while astronomy experts have said viewing the eclipse during the brief few minutes of totality can be done without special glasses, local health experts advise otherwise. |
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Fatty liver: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval of a drug that experts say marks a landmark shift in treatment for the most common form of liver disease, reports Gretchen Cuda Kroen. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, a small pharmaceutical company in Pennsylvania, was granted approval for its one and only drug: Rezdiffra (resmetirom), the first and only approved drug for the treatment of a serious form of fatty liver disease in adults. Top stocks: Stock prices for nine major Ohio companies increased by at least 1% last week, reports Zachary Smith. This was led by manufacturing company Marathon Petroleum Corp., headquartered in Findlay, which increased 8%, or $14.29 a share. This was followed by Progressive, which increased 3.3%, or $6.47. |
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Life in prison: The Cleveland mother who left her 16-month-old daughter home alone for 10 days while she vacationed in Puerto Rico and Michigan was sentenced Monday to spend the rest of her life in prison. Cory Shaffer reports Kristel Candelario posed for photographs on the beach and at a club with her friends while Jailyn slowly starved to death within the walls of a playpen in her home. Police chase: Euclid police are preparing to provide details on a police chase that ended with the death a Cleveland woman on St. Patrick’s Day. Michelle Wall, 44, died after her vehicle was hit by the suspects' car near Calcutta Avenue and East 156th Street in Cleveland, Molly Walsh reports. Capitol sentence: A combat-trained U.S. Marine veteran was sentenced Monday to more than two years in prison for attacking seven police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, reports Adam Ferrise. Michael Mackrell, 42, of Wellington, tackled several officers, threw one to the ground and punched another, according to prosecutors. Police shooting: Authorities have identified the woman fatally wounded in a Cleveland police shooting early Sunday. Antwoina Carter, 26, of Cleveland, died after she was shot on Garfield Avenue near Parkwood Avenue, Olivia Mitchell reports. Puppy theft: An 18-year-old Cleveland man accused of stealing an Olde English bulldog valued at $7,000 is in custody, but the whereabouts of the puppy named Hazel remain unknown, Cliff Pinckard reports. |
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Ask Lucas: Someone writes that they mowed an area of grass and/or weeds owned by a neighbor, thinking they were doing a favor because it would be difficult for the neighbor to get his mower across a ditch to mow it himself. Instead, the neighbor comes over and yells. Lucas Daprile offers what he thinks is an "obvious" solution. 'Jeopardy!' competitor: If you’ve been watching "Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions," you’ve seen Troy Meyer compete against Ben Chan and Yogesh Raut. What you might not know is that Meyer, a music executive from Tampa, Fla., is originally from Northeast Ohio and grew up in Brecksville. Joey Morona reports Meyer mentioned his hometown during an episode last week. Rock Hall no-shows: We’ve only just begun the voting process after the Feb. 10 announcement of this year’s 15 nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But already a couple of the nominees, including Cher, have signaled that if elected they will not serve, reports Malcolm X Abram. |
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Cleveland man slain in city’s South Collinwood neighborhood; woman in custody Read more University Square sale agreement reached; Mayor Brennan says redevelopment project now ready to move forward Read more Solon council approves site plan for new distribution center for Swagelok Co. Read more Akron Public Schools, Brecksville-Broadview Heights robotics teams advance to world championship Read more 14 places in Akron to view April 8 solar eclipse for free Read more Kids feeling anxious? Lakewood City Schools offering ‘Too Much Tension’ parent session Read more Moody’s boosts Brunswick credit rating Read more |
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