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| What you need to know Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021 WEATHER
Strong winds and rain showers will put a damper on the day. Highs will be around 60 degrees, but temps will dip to around freezing overnight. Wind gusts will be around 50 mph in Cleveland and on the West Side. Winds will remain strong overnight, with gusts near 30 mph. Read more.
Local scores: Cavs 124, Houston Rockets 89 OVERNIGHT
Sports betting: It could be well into next year’s Cleveland Browns season before Ohioans can legally bet on a game, even though the legislature passed a bill legalizing sports gaming last week, reports Andrew Tobias. Staff at the Ohio Casino Control Commission said Wednesday they don’t plan to accept applications from would-be sports-betting operators until summer or fall of 2022 and approving rules will take at least five to six months from start to finish.
Property values: The Ohio Senate passed a bill along party lines that would hamstring school districts from challenging property values at county boards of revision. The bill now heads back to the House for a concurrence vote, though the House isn’t likely to meet again until early next year. Laura Hancock reports the districts would be barred from initiating complaints at the county boards of revision and prohibits school districts from appealing boards of revision decisions to the Ohio Board of Tax appeals.
TODAY IN OHIO Mayor Frank Jackson in February hired a consultant to study ways to improve the city-owned West Side Market amid calls to hand over management to an independent operator, but he blocked the consultant from recommending outside management as a solution to the market’s woes. We’re asking why on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.
STATEHOUSE & POLITICS Abortion bill: The Ohio Senate sent a bill to Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday afternoon that could end all abortion access in Southeast Ohio. The Senate had no debate on the bill, which requires physicians to provide lifesaving care to babies who survive failed abortions, Laura Hancock reports. But it also could close Women’s Med Center in the Dayton area and Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio in Cincinnati. Marijuana bill: Just five weeks after it was introduced, the Ohio Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would expand medical marijuana conditions to migraines, autism spectrum disorder, opioid use disorder and any condition that could “reasonably be expected to be relieved” from the drug. Laura Hancock reports Senate Bill 261 passed 26 to 5 in the last bill of the Senate’s calendar year and now heads to the Ohio House.
Election audit: Cuyahoga County Board of Elections officials completed a routine audit of the 2021 municipal elections, finding no discrepancies in the hand-counted sample of ballots. Seth Richardson reports the audit affirms the results of the Nov. 2 election, which saw voters elect Justin Bibb the next Cleveland mayor, Shontel Brown the next member of Congress and approve a charter amendment that creates a citizen review board for police misconduct. Those were also the three elections the board selected for audits, which are open to the public.
Concealed firearms: The Ohio Senate on Wednesday passed legislation to allow people to carry a concealed handgun without a permit and no longer require them to notify law enforcement during proactively traffic stops that they’re armed, Jeremy Pelzer reports. Senate Bill 215, approve by the Senate 23-8, now heads to the Ohio House, which passed a similar but separate conceal-carry bill last month.
FirstEnergy: The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on Wednesday ordered the expansion of an audit into FirstEnergy Corp. to investigate whether the Akron-based utility broke state law by not disclosing it was paying ex-PUCO Chair Sam Randazzo millions in consulting fees, Jeremy Pelzer reports. Meanwhile, Pelzer reports PUCO staff received an extra month to release an audit probing whether FirstEnergy customer charges were misused in connection with the House Bill 6 scandal because the utility dragged its feet in providing critical information to the auditors.
METRO New chief: Mayor-elect Justin Bibb on Tuesday named Cleveland police Deputy Chief Wayne Drummond as the department’s interim chief starting next month. Courtney Astolfi reports that Drummond will temporarily replace outgoing Chief Calvin Williams, who will retire effective Jan. 3 -- the same day Bibb will be sworn in to replace outgoing Mayor Frank Jackson.
New jail: As Cuyahoga County makes a last appeal to property owners for ideas of where to build a new jail, an exiting Cleveland city councilman is trying to kibosh a proposed site in his district that has become the apparent frontrunner in the search. Kaitlin Durbin reports that Ward 12 Councilman Anthony Brancatelli issued an emergency resolution Tuesday objecting to using an Ohio Job Ready site at Fleet and Pershing avenues, known as the Cuyahoga Valley Industrial Center.
Hopkins Airport: Cleveland Hopkins International Airport will get $11,276,768 in federal money over the next five years as part of the bipartisan infrastructure deal, the largest share of nearly $254 million that will help nearly 100 airports across the state, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman announced Wednesday. Akron-Canton Regional airport will get $3,382,933, Burke Lakefront and Cuyahoga County airports will each get $763,000, Sabrina Eaton reports.
Hilliard Road Bridge: Cuyahoga County is ready for a second round of public input to determine whether to move forward with the structure selected to replace the nearly century-old Hilliard Road bridge over Rocky River, Kaitlin Durbin reports.
Library honors: For the 12th consecutive year, the Cuyahoga County Public Library earned the highest overall score among its nationwide peers in Library Journal’s annual rankings. The Cleveland Public Library also earned five stars and jumped to the fourth-highest overall ranking after finishing fifth last year, reports Alexis Oatman.
Clean energy: The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy recently ranked Cleveland 38th out of 100 peer cities when it comes to advancing clean-energy goals. Peter Krouse reports that’s nine spots lower than where Cleveland ranked last year, while Columbus improved one spot to 28th and Cincinnati dropped seven spots to 43rd.
Spying: An Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has fired its top leader, alleging that he spied on the group for years and passed confidential information to an anti-Muslim group. John Caniglia reports the move has upset and worried Muslims across the state, including those who have said they have faced countless obstacles in the post-Sept. 11 world.
COVID-19 Hospitalizations: The Cleveland Clinic is seeing the highest hospitalizations since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — despite the fact that one year ago this week, the first COVID-19 vaccines became available. Julie Washington reports the Clinic has about 800 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in its Ohio health system, with more than 200 of those in the ICU. The vast majority (more than 80%) of hospitalized patients are unvaccinated.
Trailer morgue: Cleveland Clinic Akron General Hospital is using a refrigerated trailer to handle the overflow from its morgue. Julie Washington reports the trailer has been on site since early December and can hold 25 remains, while Akron General’s morgue can hold 11.
New cases: The state of Ohio on Wednesday reported 10,588 new cases of COVID-19, but the health department said the update was artificially inflated due to the delayed reporting of 840 cases from earlier in the year. Julie Washington reports that even without the additional cases, the state on Wednesday still would have reported 9,748 cases - the most since 10,251 cases were reported on Jan. 7.
Tigers ill: Five tigers have tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo announced Wednesday. Cliff Pinckard reports the zoo says workers responsible for caring for the tigers noticed Sunday that three were showing mild symptoms, with coughing and sneezing. It’s unknown how the tigers became infected.
BUSINESS Business concerns: A KeyBank survey found that the COVID-19 pandemic remains the top concern of executives worried about the economy over the next 12 months, but inflation, including raw material costs, also are big concerns. Sean McDonnell reports that KeyBank surveyed 400 owners and executives of mid-sized businesses, who were less optimistic in October than in the middle of 2021, but still feel better than they did in January.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Ice Fest: Ice Fest, a wintertime celebration at Cleveland’s North Coast Harbor, is set for Jan. 17 as a part of the city’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations. Anne Nickoloff reports the free fest, which this year has a Harry Potter theme, features live ice-carving demonstrations, character meet-and-greets, free hot cocoa and crafts.
Onion dip: French onion dip was created by an unknown cook in California in 1954 who mixed dehydrated French onion soup mix with a tub of sour cream. Brenda Cain and Yadi Rodriguez rank the best you can buy. OTHER HEADLINES Urban Meyer out as Jacksonville Jaguars coach before end of tumultuous first season Read more
Valuable artifacts considered stolen being returned to Italy, including items from Cleveland Museum of Art Read more
Lake County school district cancels classes for Thursday because of threat Read more
Woman grazed in neck as same Akron street has 2 shootings in under 30 minutes Read more
Theft of 58-foot-long bridge doesn’t go over well with Akron police Read more
Investigation determines alleged threat at Orange High School was not credible Read more
Akron Zoo announces death of female snow leopard Shanti Read more
Humane Society of Summit County seeks adopters for 50 cats, dogs from recent hoarding case Read more
Summit County Land Bank to offer $150M in funding for residential, commercial demolition projects Read more
Summit Metro Parks to celebrate 100 years with Dec. 31 anniversary event Read more
Over the objections of school district, Richmond Heights council approves Belle Oaks abatement legislation Read more
Parent of deaf child claims Solon Schools failed to provide language access Read more
North Olmsted Recreation Center dealing with lifeguard and skate guard shortages Read more
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