“Report shows voter fraud is rare” Columbus Dispatch editorial 3/5/2017

Columbus Dispatch editorial:
The link is here
“Report shows voter fraud is rare”

Less than one in a million.

Those are the chances a noncitizen will be found guilty of illegally voting in a statewide election in Ohio. It’s not because authorities aren’t doing all they can to detect and prosecute voter fraud. It’s because votes cast by noncitizens are extremely rare. And, nearly all result from honest mistakes, not fraud.

Once again, Secretary of State Jon Husted has performed a valuable public service by reporting on efforts to identify cases of potential voter fraud and referring them for possible prosecution.

Husted reported that 82 noncitizens voted in 2016. They were among 385 noncitizens improperly registered to vote. Combined with the numbers from the 2012 and 2014 elections, there have been 821 improper registrations and 126 improperly cast ballots. In those three elections, nearly 14.4 million Ohioans went to the polls.

So, for starters, over three statewide elections, a noncitizen cast an improper ballot for every 114,285 voters going to the polls. And, if Husted’s 2016 referrals follow the same pattern as those for 2012 and 2014, prosecutors will find that fewer than 1 in 5 deserve to be charged, and fewer still will be found guilty.

Following the 2012 and 2014 elections, Husted’s efforts resulted in a total of 44 cases of potential fraud being referred. After prosecutors examined the evidence, eight people were charged. Five were convicted. One went to a diversion program. The other two cases were sealed.

Bottom line: Even if all eight of those prosecuted had been convicted, they represent less than one voter in a million. In the 2012 and 2014 elections, nearly 8.8 million Ohioans went to the polls.

Why are noncitizens referred for investigation and possible prosecution so rarely charged? And so rarely found guilty? According to spokesmen for Husted and Attorney General Mike DeWine, prosecutors are much more likely to find honest mistakes than criminal intent. And those honest mistakes are not always the fault of the noncitizen voter; they sometimes are the mistakes of those who register voters and process voting rolls.

Since 1995, federal law — the so-called Motor Voter Law — has required motor vehicle registrars to offer customers the opportunity to register or re-register to vote.

From 2012 through 2016, Ohio’s deputy registrars have registered 896,601 new voters. Given such volume, it’s not rare for a noncitizen — oftentimes with limited English proficiency — to have a voter registration form placed in front of him. And for a mistake to happen.

Prosecutors frequently determine that a noncitizen who registered to vote never intended to register, said DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney. “Sometimes they fill it out truthfully and it still gets through the system,” he said.

Given the rarity of voter fraud in Ohio, some have criticized Husted for devoting so much time and effort to track and report on it.

The Dispatch believes otherwise. The secretary of state is morally and legally obligated to protect the sanctity of the vote. A periodic examination educates the public, puts citizens and noncitizens on notice, and serves as a deterrent.

Voting rights advocates should welcome the vivid illustration of the rarity of voter fraud in Ohio. The plain facts disprove the wearisome claims about rampant voter fraud, made to justify efforts to enact tougher voter ID laws and other restrictions.

Voter fraud is likely at an all-time low in Ohio. That’s something to cheer.

News Aggregator Archives: FEATURE area 2017

News Aggregator Archives: FEATURE area 2017

Untouchables: The Making of the Memoir That Reclaimed a Prohibition-Era Legend (12/27/2017) Vanity Fair

In the sales pitch to Amazon, a reimagined downtown Detroit (12/20/2017) Crain’s Detroit Business

What’s really behind GCRTA’s falling ridership levels (12/17/2017) Tim Kovach

The Cosgrove era comes to a close (12/11/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

How a Cleveland City Council Campaign Fund Rewards Allies and Stifles Dissent (12/6/2017) Cleveland Scene

In Today’s Ohio, ‘Home Rule’ Is Not About Cities Being Self-Governed; It’s Cover For State Officials Moving Economic Growth To The Exurbs by Tom Bier (12/5/2017) Belt

Ohio is watching a “transit death spiral” unfold (12/4/2017) Mark Lefkowitz Green City Blue Lake

Cleveland’s Outer Neighborhoods Could Be The Key To The Future (12/4/2017) Cleveland Magazine

Leonor’s Choice (11/20/2017) Cleveland Magazine

Video from the “2018 Ohio Political Crystal Ball” forum (11/17/2017)

The Man Dead Set On Building an Offshore Wind Farm on Lake Erie (11/17/2017) Smithsonian

A historic look at Cleveland’s settlement houses (11/16/2017) Cleveland.com

From Desegregation to School Choice: How the Civil Rights Era Influenced the Cleveland Schools of Today (11/15/2017) Ideastream

Innovations from Cleveland’s urban farms are taking root around the world (11/9/2017) FreshWater

43 photos honoring the 50th anniversary of Carl Stokes election as Mayor of Cleveland (11/9/2017) Cleveland.com

The 50 Year Policy Legacy of Mayor Carl B. Stokes-video (11/3/2017) City Club of Cleveland

Video from “Nuts and Bolts of Ohio Campaign Finance” forum 10/26/2017

Taking On the Man Four Women Vying for Seats on a Male-Dominated Cleveland City Council (10/25/2017) Cleveland Scene

Doing urban history in Cleveland-a personal reflection: Todd Michney (10/19/2017) The Metropole

Video from “Home Rule” forum at Lakewood Library (10/17/2017)

Redistricting ‘reform’ brought to you by Ohio GOP leaders scared of a ballot issue: editorial (10/11/2017) Cleveland.com

Why Ohio’s recent effort to update its constitution fell short: Steven H. Steinglass (10/8/2017) Cleveland.com

“People were saying nice things about Cleveland again”: reflecting on Carl Stokes and city image by J. Mark Souther (10/5/2017) Metropole

Housing Dynamics in Northeast Ohio: Setting the Stage for Resurgence by Thomas Bier (September 2017) Cleveland State

Video from “Race and infant mortality in NE Ohio: why are black babies dying more and what can be done” forum (9/27/2017)

Why a Cleveland Church Group Challenged Big Stadium Money by Daniel J. McGraw (9/26/2017) Next City

Why the Midwest can’t afford new cuts to immigration (9/26/2017) Chicago Business

Video from “Ohio Board of Education” forum (9/25/2017)

Shock swept nation when My Lai massacre photos first published by The Plain Dealer (9/24/207) Plain Dealer

Video from “Ohio Drug Price Act-Issue 2” forum (9/19/2017)

How to Save a Dying Suburb (9/19/2017) CityLab

On the 40th anniversary of “Black Monday 9/19/1977-an oral history by Vince Guerrieri (9/19/2017) Belt

Community Discussion – Politics, Facts and Compromise: Will It Happen? (9/17/2017) Video from 1st Unitarian Church

Reconsidering Dennis Kucinich 40 years after his Cleveland mayoral run: Richard M. Perloff (9/17/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland’s rich industrial past inspired the arts: PD 175 (9/17/2017) Plain Dealer

Capturing the next economy: Pittsburgh’s rise as a global innovation city (9/13/2017) Brookings

Nonprofits dominate Pittsburgh’s economy, development and government (9/11/17) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

How the Group Plan of 1903 molded Cleveland (9/7/2017) Plain Dealer

Cleveland’s obsession with gentrification is worryingly premature by Alex Baca (9/5/2017) Cleveland Magazine

National City Bank to Marble Room: A visual history of Cleveland’s storied bank building (9/5/2017) Cleveland.com

Video from the Cleveland Mayoral Candidate Forum (8/30/2017) Cleveland Public Library

Video from “The Election for Mayor: A discussion about the future of Cleveland” forum (8/29/2017)

There’s Something the Matter With Ohio Too (8/29/2017) Bloomberg

The case for raising the minimum wage in Ohio by Michael Curtin (8/26/2017) Columbus Alive

Tape from Cleveland Mayoral forum (8/25/2017) City Club of Cleveland and others

West Shoreway $100M re-do brings benefits, but falls short of original vision: Steven Litt (8/23/2017) Plain Dealer

How Redlining Segregated Chicago, and America (8/22/2017) Chicago Magazine

Harnessing the wind: Ohio ranks among top 10 for distributed wind energy (8/19/17) Lima.com

Eight is enough. The 2018 Ohio governor’s race (8/15/2017) Columbus Monthly

Kids of King Kennedy are trapped by a brick ceiling: Mark Naymik (8/13/2017) Cleveland.com

Burning river reborn: How Cleveland saved the Cuyahoga – and itself (8/8/2017) Christian Science Monitor

105th and Euclid: The Winston Willis Story (8/3/2017) Medium

What the History of One Cleveland Neighborhood Can Teach Us About Race and Housing Inequality (8/2/2017) Cleveland Scene

What the Cuyahoga River means to Cleveland (8/1/2017) Cleveland Magazine

Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells is Reining in the Rain (8/1/2017) Cleveland Magazine

Moses Cleaveland trees: How many centuries-old trees are left today? (7/26/2017) Cleveland.com

The history of Cleveland Day

Meet William Stinchcomb, the visionary behind creating the Cleveland Metroparks-Video (7/20/2017) Cleveland.com

The unforgettable Judge Jean Murrell Capers: editorial (7/20/2017) Cleveland.com

How the Cleveland Clinic grows healthier while its neighbors stay sick (7/17/2017) Politico

Report urges overhaul of troubled (PA) State System universities (7/13/2017) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Carl Stokes-Promises Now Sadly Faded (July 10, 2017) Roldo Bartimole

Pittsburgh’s Latino community is small, diverse, growing — and anxious. (7/10/2017) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Record Rendezvous: Cleveland cradle of rock ‘n’ roll sits empty, awaits new life (7/9/2017) Cleveland.com

John Spenzer, Cleveland’s first forensic scientist, loomed large 100 years ago (7/9/2017) Cleveland.com

There’s work to do to streamline Ohio Constitution (7/9/2017) Columbus Dispatch

How these wealthy Cleveland-area families acquired their fortunes (7/6/2017) Cleveland.com

The Time Cleveland Released 1.5 Million Balloons to Disastrous Effects (7/3/2017) Cleveland Scene

 

In Cleveland, climate change isn’t about rising seas. It’s about jobs and health (6/29/2017) PRI

Many small colleges face big enrollment drops. Here’s one survival strategy in Ohio (6/29/2017) Washington Post

2018 Ohio gubernatorial scramble revs up after next week’s budget signing: Thomas Suddes (6/24/2017) Cleveland.com

How to Combat Food Insecurity in Ohio-Video (6/23/2107) City Club

Results from Irish Town Bend forum and link to proposal (6/22/2017) Plain Dealer

One Ohio Town’s Immigration Clash, Down in the Actual Muck (6/18/2017) New York Times

Dan Egan, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter and author of The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, delivers the annual State of the Great Lakes address. (6/9/2017) City Club of Cleveland

Cleveland’s maritime muscle: Vintage photos of the city’s docks and port (6/6/2017) Cleveland.com

Beyond “white flight”: what the history of one Cleveland neighborhood can teach us about race and housing inequality By Todd M. Michney (5/31/2017) Belt Magazine

Cleveland girl’s spelling victory created racial controversy, national headlines in 1908 (5/30/2017) Cleveland.com

Nor Any Drop to Drink?: Why the Great Lakes Face a Murky Future (5/23/2017) New York Times

How food is bringing the rust belt out of its decades-long recession (5/17/2017) Thrillist

Why is Cleveland different than Cincinnati? It all comes down to history (5/17/2017) Cleveland.com

Fracking and the Impact of the Utica Shale on Ohio (5/16/2107) video

Dreaming up Western Reserve — the 51st state? (5/15/2017) a series from Cleveland.com

Cleveland’s legendary Leo’s Casino made music history, transcended race (5/14/2017) Cleveland.com

From Outhwaite to Advocate – Public Housing & the Stokes Legacy (video) May 2017 Ideastream

Historical chat w/Fred Samsel on his early #CuyahogaRiver clean-up efforts (5/11/2017) FreshWater

Video from East Side Development forum May 9, 2017 moderated by Terry Schwarz

From a Maine tribe, a message for the Cleveland Indians: Enough is enough (5/9/2017) Boston Globe

From 1930s redlining to now: Terry Schwarz panel to discuss why East Side development lags (5/6/2017) Cleveland.com

One City in Pennsylvania is Poised to Crush the 21st Century (4/29/2017) BizPhilly

Cleveland’s sports history filled with highs, lows, villains and heroes: PD 175th (vintage photos) (4/29/2017) Plain Dealer

The Future of Offshore Wind in Northeast Ohio Panel-Video 4.28.2017 (City Club of Cleveland)

The Battle for the Right to Vote in Ohio-Video (April 2017) Western Reserve PBS

In Cleveland, co-op model finds hope in employers rooted in the city (4/27/2017) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Our costly addiction to healthcare jobs (4/22/2017) New York Times

Video from “Foster Care in Northeast Ohio forum (April 18, 2017)

NFL revenue gap could drive more relocation (April 18, 2017) USA Today

CLE classic: Viktor Schreckengost combined form, function and beauty (April 2017) Freshwater

When Larry Doby broke the American League color barrier in Cleveland: Nicolaus Mills (4/12/2017) Cleveland.com

Built on Steel, Pittsburgh Now Thrives on Culture (4/12/2017) New York Times

The Preston model: UK takes lessons in recovery from rust-belt Cleveland (4/11/2017) The Guardian

Cleveland Clinic co-founder George Crile helped meet medical challenge of World War I – part three of series (4/4/2017) Plain Dealer

Thousands of Ohio soldiers fought and died ‘over there’ in World War I -part two of series (4/3/2017) Plain Dealer

100 years ago, U.S. entry into bloody World War I changed everything (4/2/2017) Plain Dealer

Building the bridges of Cuyahoga County (vintage photos) (3/30/2017)

Take a tour of Cuyahoga County’s 109 historical markers (3/24/2017) Cleveland.com

The Impact of Ohio Budget Cuts on NE Ohio Communities, including Preview, Summary and Video 3/21/2017

A brief history of fights, feuds and a coup at Cleveland City Hall (3/16/2017) Cleveland.com

The History of Irish Town Bend-Video (3/15/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland was the First City of Light. A call for a “Festival of Lights” in Cleveland by Chris Ronayne (3/15/2017) Cleveland Magazine

The Great Lakes are sicker than we think (3/9/2017) Belt

Reissuing a special 1961 magazine celebrating Cleveland’s first 165 years (3/7/2017) Cleveland.com

Transit alone cannot solve the systemic problems behind job inaccessibility (3/7/2017) a two part essay by Tim Kovach  Part 2 is here

Report Shows Voter Fraud is Rare in Ohio: editorial (3/5/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Cleveland’s dividing lines over race issues come to light under Trump (3/3/2017) The Guardian

Women’s History Month: Cleveland suffragettes, protests and parades since 1869 (3/2/2017) Cleveland.com

Today, March 1, is the anniversary of Ohio Statehood (Video) History.com

Catching up with Jane Campbell (2/10/2017) Cleveland Magazine

WATCH: Lake Shore Power Plant smoke stack comes crashing down (2/24/2017) Fox8

Edwins Restaurant in Cleveland Offers Ex-Offenders a New Start (2/22/2017) Paste

Why Ohio Is The Best State In America To Launch A Start-Up (2/20.2017) Forbes

The most historic place in each of Ohio’s 88 counties (2/17/2017) Cleveland.com

John D. Rockefeller Was the Richest Person To Ever Live. Period (January 2017) Smithsonian

Opioid overdose crisis plagues Cleveland (2/9/2017) CBS

Northeast Ohio agencies prepare for booming ‘silver tsunami’ (2/9/17) Freshwater

The legend of Moore (2/7/2017) St. Ignatius Enews

Akron Has a New Plan to Boost Its Shrinking Population (2/7/2017) NextCity

Ohio energy sources 1) Coal Mining 2) Natural Gas (February 2017) Westlake/Bay Village Observer

Ohio County was a poster child of voter fraud (2/3/2017) by Michael F. Curtin

“Proposed Merger of Cleveland and East Cleveland” forum video (1/31/17)

Ohio Was A Bellwether After All (1/25/2017) FiveThirtyEight

Transportation’s Role in the Economic Restructuring of Cleveland (1/2017) Cleveland State University

What should be done about East Cleveland? (1/19/17) Cleveland.com

When Martin Luther King Jr. Brought His Fight to Cleveland (1/16/2017) Ideastream

Where Educated Millennials Are Moving (1/13/17) Forbes

The Symbol of the City – The Cleveland Flag (1/9/17) Tom Horsman

175 years of telling Cleveland’s story-special anniversary issue (1/8/17) Plain Dealer

Decision on fate of pedestrian bridge needs grounding in stronger lakefront vision (1/5/2017) Cleveland.com

Lead in Cleveland: Confronting a Silent Killer (1/5/2017) Freshwater

A Year That Can Never Be Taken From Cleveland (1/1/2017) New York Times

A brief history of the Ohio income tax by Michael F. Curtin February 15, 2017


 

A brief history of the Ohio income tax
by Michael F. Curtin

Gov. John Kasich keeps swinging his ax at Ohio’s state income tax.

When he launched his 2010 campaign, Kasich revealed a dream of abolishing the tax. He won’t accomplish that, but his fourth and final budget proposal represents his fourth consecutive whack at it.

“We’ll march over time to destroy that income tax that has sucked vitality out of this state,” Kasich declared at his 2010 campaign kickoff.

The nexus between Ohio’s income tax and its economic fortunes is questionable. Forty-three states have income taxes. As of 2014, Ohio’s per-capita income-tax burden ranked 34th, says the conservative Tax Foundation.

In the modern era, conservatives argue the tax punishes initiative and slows economic growth. Progressives defend graduated income taxes as essential for reducing the average Joe’s overall tax burden.

This ideological fault line didn’t always exist. In the early 1900s, as the Progressive Era gained steam, federal and state leaders — Democrats and Republicans — simultaneously took interest in the idea of taxing incomes.

In September 1906, Republican Gov. Andrew L. Harris appointed a five-man tax commission “to investigate the tax laws of this state and to make recommendations for their improvement.”

In June 1909, President William Howard Taft, a Republican, proposed a constitutional amendment giving Congress the power to levy income taxes; the amendment was ratified in 1913.

The work of Ohio’s tax commission prompted delegates to the state’s 1912 constitutional convention to consider a state income tax. The question was put to Ohio voters that September. By a 52-48 vote, Ohioans authorized the General Assembly to consider income taxes, with uniform or graduated rates.

The General Assembly was not quick to use this authority. As the 20th century unfolded, the state looked elsewhere for revenues. In response to needs created by the Great Depression, in 1934 Ohio enacted a statewide sales tax of 3 percent. In 1967, it was raised to 4 percent.

However, pressures for an income-tax increased throughout the 1960s. In 1962, Tax Commissioner Stanley J. Bowers predicted Ohio would need an income tax within five years, primarily to relieve excessive burdens placed on real estate and personal property.

In 1968, a tax-study committee led by state Rep. Albert H. Sealy, R-Dayton, held 24 hearings across the state. Business interests, led by the Ohio Farm Bureau, the Ohio Contractors Association and the Ohio Hardware Association, voiced support for an income tax to offset the hated personal-property tax, which bore no relation to profitability.

In December 1971, after a half-century of buildup, Democratic Gov. John J. Gilligan and a Republican legislature adopted a state income tax, with rates ranging from 0.5 to 3.5 percent. The Republican game plan was to give Gilligan just enough votes to pass the tax, then clobber him with it in 1974.

When conservatives led by state Rep. Robert Netzley qualified a repeal for the November 1972 ballot, Ohio Republican Chairman John Andrews worked behind the scenes in opposition. The Ohio GOP platform that year remained silent on the issue. The repeal failed by more than 2 to 1. There were many reasons for Gilligan’s subsequent defeat, but the GOP tax strategy was pivotal.

The 1981-82 recession prompted Republican Gov. James Rhodes — a master of the “temporary tax” — to win approval of a 50 percent increase in the income tax. His successor, Democrat Richard Celeste, solidified it, adding another 40 percent over pre-1982 levels.

Those increases prompted another repeal effort, this time led by conservative state Sen. Thomas Van Meter. The repeal failed, 56-44.In 1984, for the first time, state income-tax collections surpassed sales-tax collections. By 2005, income-tax revenues accounted for nearly half of all state revenues, far outpacing the sales tax.Since then, the tide has run in the other direction. Under Govs. Bob Taft (1999-2007) and Kasich (2011-present), state income-tax rates have been slashed 30 percent. Sales-tax collections now far outpace income-tax revenues.

Kasich hopes to accelerate that trend, proposing a 17 percent reduction in income taxes, offset by increasing the sales tax to 6.25 percent, from 5.75 percent.

But even with Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate, Kasich might find a shortage of fellow ax wielders. Over time, the income tax comes in handy.

This piece originally ran in the Columbus Dispatch on Wednesday February 15, 2017

Columbus native Michael F. Curtin was formerly a Democratic Representative (2012-2016) from the 17th Ohio House District (west and south sides of Columbus). He had a 38-year journalism career with the Columbus Dispatch, most devoted to coverage of local and state government and politics. Mr. Curtin is author of The Ohio Politics Almanac, first and second editions (KSU Press). Finally, he is a licensed umpire, Ohio High School Athletic Association (baseball and fastpitch softball).

 

“Is Northeast Ohio a Sanctuary Region?” a forum on Jan 17, 2018

League of Women Voters Cleveland Hts/Univ Hts Chapter and Heights Public Library Present:

Is Northeast Ohio a Sanctuary Region? 
Laws and policies: Where does our region stand on immigration?

The Cleveland.com preview for the forum is here

Video from forum

Wednesday January 17, 2018
From: 7:00-8:30pm
Heights Library Main Branch
2345 Lee Road Cleveland Hts 44118

This panel will take an informed perspective on current Cleveland Hts, Cuyahoga County, Ohio and U.S. immigration policies and laws.

Panelists:
Kahlil Seren, Councilperson, City of Cleveland Heights

Farhad Sethna Esq., Immigration-America

Lynn Tramonte, Deputy Director, America’s Voice

Moderated by Elizabeth Knowles Esq, Immigration & Human Rights Law Clinic, University of Akron

Free and open to the public

 

How metro Cleveland and Akron stack up against Buffalo, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit and Pittsburgh – 9/15/2017 Cleveland.com

How metro Cleveland and Akron stack up against Buffalo, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit and Pittsburgh
9/15/2017  Cleveland.com
by Rich Exner
The link is here

News Aggregator Archives 2017

News Aggregator Archives 2017

MetroHealth’s new facilities give preview of what’s ahead for huge campus transformation (12/31/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

Ohio poised to wrap 2017 with improved finances (12/29/2017) Toledo Blade

East Cleveland Budgets Within Recovery Plan, State Commission Say (12/29/2017) Ideastream

2017 In Review: What Ohio’s Legislature Did This Year (12/27/2017) WOSU

Charter school graduation rates way behind Ohio’s urban districts (12/26/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Cleveland reaches tipping point in 2017, planning a greener, healthier public realm (12/25/2017) Plain Dealer

Ohio Is At the Center of a National Debate Over Drawing Political lines (12/22/2017) WKSU

Opioid Crisis Exploding Numbers And Costs Of Foster Care In Ohio (12/21/2017) Ideastream

Census: Ohio gained more people in 2017 than other Midwest states (12/20/2017) Crain’s Detroit Business

Testing would have a smaller role in Ohio teacher evaluations under new bill (12/20/2017) Plain Dealer

Report: Ohio cities facing fiscal stress despite improving economy (12/19/2017) Dayton Daily News

75 Public Square in downtown Cleveland wins tax credits for revamp; Terminal Tower misses out (12/19/2017) Plain Dealer

Why Ohio health care startups saw a 206% funding increase in 2017 (12/18/2017) Venture Beat

Concerns raised over 2020 census accuracy, funding At stake: Ohio’s federally funded programs, clout in Washington (12/17/2017) Dayton Daily News

Who Uses the Great Lakes’ Water? (12/15/2017) Ideastream

Northeast Ohio house prices up 12.3 percent in November; sales jump (12/14/2017) Plain Dealer

Sales tax or property tax increase may be required to keep RTA viable, report says (12/13/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio’s test score graduation requirements could be eased for classes of 2019 and 2020 (12/12/2017) Plain Dealer

Graduation rates rise again; Ohio ranks low for black students (12/12/2017) Dayton Daily News

Ohio DREAMers Face Uncertain Futures As DACA Permits Set To Expire (12/12/2017) WOSU

Nearly three months after Hurricane Maria, hundreds of Puerto Rican families continue to pour into Northeast Ohio, looking to escape the wreckage they left behind. (12/11/2017) Ideastream

Ohio schools dish out suspensions, other discipline at wildly different rates (12/10/2017) Plain Dealer

Public transit sputters as state funding falls short (12/9/2017) Crain’s Cleveland business

Projects to create protected bike lanes in Cleveland received a major boost Friday (12/8/2017) Plain Dealer

Education Advocacy Groups Want To Simplify Ohio School Report Cards (12/7/2017) WOSU

New supermarket coalition aims to improve access to healthy food in Cuyahoga County (12/6/2017) Plain Dealer

Gender wage gap in Ohio: ‘We have to do better’ (12/4/2017) Dayton Daily News

With driver’s license suspensions soaring, Ohio lawmakers seek solutions (12/2/2017) Dayton Daily News

County Council Considering Fixes For Cleveland Public Transit (12/1/2017) Ideastream

Cuyahoga County could owe millions of dollars to employees whose work week was increased under new charter government (11/30/2017) Cleveland.com

Plan to expand tuition vouchers for private schools gaining new life in Ohio House (11/30/2017) Plain Dealer

Puerto Rican Enrollment Up In Ohio Schools Following Hurricane Maria (11/29/2017) WOSU

Cleveland-area house prices up 5.4 percent, Case-Shiller reports (11/28/2017) Plain Dealer

Ohio might not have enough money to pay unemployed workers by 2021 even without a recession (11/27/2017) Cincinnati Enquirer

As downtown Cleveland grows, condos are in short supply (11/26/2017) Plain Dealer

Critics: Ohio’s plan to cut Lake Erie algae lacks direction (11/25/2017) AP

State Report Shows Increased Crashes, Fatalities on Ohio Highways With 70 MPH Speed Limits (11/24/2017) Cleveland Scene

The Right To Not Vote: Larry Harmon’s Supreme Court Case Against Ohio (11/24/2017) WOSU

Route Reductions And A Fare Increase Looming For Cleveland’s Public Transit (11/23/2017) Ideastream

What hospital consolidation means for Ohio communities (11/23/2017) Plain Dealer

Federal judge to hear why Cleveland fails to properly handle citizen complaints against police (11/21/2017) Cleveland.com

Report Highlights Trends Both Encouraging—And Concerning—For NEO Economy (11/20/2017) Ideastream

Poverty, health care, housing in Cleveland’s wards remain key issues, report shows (11/20/2017) Cleveland.com

Joyce, Kaptur sponsoring bill for algal bloom research (11/20/2017) News-Herald

Will Say Yes to Education scholarship program boost Cleveland’s economy? (11/19/2017) Plain Dealer

The Clark Freeway Fight Offered A Lesson On What It Takes To Protect A Neighborhood (11/17/2017) Ideastream

With status of federal historic tax credit unclear, Ohio advocates fear “devastating” blow (11/17/2017) Plain Dealer

Ohio unemployment rate 5.1% in October; state gained 4,300 jobs (11/17/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio’s political future in 2018: Experts weigh in on governor, U.S. Senate races (11/16/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland Plan for schools gets mixed review from State Superintendent Paolo DeMaria (11/17/2017) Plain Dealer

Algae flourishes despite vast sums spent to prevent it (11/16/2017) Detroit News

Ohio behind national average for educated workers (11/15/2017) Dayton Daily News

Ohio Senate passes Down syndrome abortion ban (11/15/2017) Cleveland.com

Teacher education in Ohio to include instruction on preventing opioid abuse (11/15/2017) Cleveland.com

Art museum, sewer district launching $5M Doan Brook project that blends art, environment (11/14/2017) Plain Dealer

Controversial license-plate scanners to go up in Cleveland, 18 suburbs (11/14/2017) Cleveland.com

Candidates Agree Campaign Financing Reform Is Needed In Ohio But Disagree On The Solution (11/14/2017) Statehouse News

Ohio School Board Members Skeptical Of Kasich’s Message (11/14/2017) WOSU

Health, wealth, housing disparities evident in Cuyahoga County Council districts, report shows (11/13/2017) Cleveland.com

36,000 suspensions for Ohio third graders and younger could prompt ban on harsh punishments (11/12/2017) Plain Dealer

Euclid close to building lakefront trail that could set a precedent in Great Lakes (11/12/2017) Plain Dealer

State Medicaid cuts could run deep in Northeast Ohio (11/12/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

What to expect from Frank Jackson’s fourth term (11/12/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

12 Ohio counties vote to raise taxes in fight against opioid crisis (11/10/2017) Cleveland.com

Unofficial Election Results from 11/7/17 Election Cuyahoga County Board of Elections

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson Wins Fourth Term (11/8/2017) Ideastream

3 long-serving incumbent mayors — in Beachwood, Brook Park, University Heights — ousted in Cuyahoga County (11/8/2017) Cleveland.com

Lake Erie algal bloom of 2017 severe; third largest ever (11/7/2017) Plain Dealer

Cuyahoga County Council will review budget for demolition, opioid crisis, public defender (11/7/2017) Cleveland.com

Tuesday is Election Day: Here’s what you need to know (11/6/2017) Cleveland.com

Initiated statutes like Issue 2 don’t have a great success rate at the polls (11/6/2017) Cleveland.com

Port authority, NOACA seek $11.5 million federal grant for Irishtown Bend (11/6/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

Ohio legislators say gerrymandering needs to be fixed, but will they act? (11/2/2017) Cleveland.com

November 2017 General Election Guide (11/2/2017) Ideastream

New strategic plan for Cleveland Museum of Art sets big goals: $1 billion in art, $1.25 billion endowment (11/1/2017) Plain Dealer

Cleveland-area house-price gains accelerate, Case-Shiller report shows (10/31/2017) Plain Dealer

Despite Complaints Medicaid Expansion Funding Approved By Ohio Panel (10/31/2017) WOSU

Amazon Fulfillment Centers May Bring the Reverse Mass Transit Commute to Northeast Ohio (10/31/2017) WKSU

Amazon lands estimated $3.9 million Ohio tax credit tied to Euclid fulfillment center jobs (10/30/2017) Plain Dealer

Ohio’s Public Transit Systems Continue to Look for a $238 Million Solution (10/30/2017) WKSU

Cleveland ‘lead safe’ advocates recommend 3 next steps (10/29/2017) Plain Dealer

Dredged sediment from Lake Erie ports has value, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is discovering (10/29/2017) Plain Dealer

Citizens tell Ohio lawmakers to fix gerrymandering (10/26/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland to test online system it says will make it easier to get public records (10/26/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland failing to meet its goal of demolishing hundreds of vacant homes near schools this year (10/26/2017) Channel 5 News

Pretrial Justice Institute highlights need and willingness to reform bail practices in Cuyahoga County (10/25/2017) Cleveland.com

Cheap, efficient bike lane additions to Detroit-Superior Bridge show sea change in city policy (10/24/2017) Plain Dealer

Cleveland Clinic CEO sees ‘total restructuring’ ahead for health care business (10/24/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

Ohio’s Shale-Drilling Shows Signs of a Re-Boom Though Not to Everyone’s Delight (10/24/2017) WKSU

He Didn’t Vote in a Few Elections. In the Next One, Ohio Said He Couldn’t. (10/23/2017) New York Times

Cleveland lead poisoning 2 year progress report (10/22/2017)

Global innovation firm Plug and Play to partner with Cleveland Clinic, JumpStart on health innovation (10/22/2017) Plain Dealer

First Look: Newly installed Towpath Mounds bring landscape art to trail (10/21/2017) Plain Dealer

Mayor Frank Jackson, challenger Zack Reed spar in contentious Cleveland mayoral debate at the City Club (10/19/2017) Cleveland,com

Cleveland Mayoral debate between Mayor Frank Jackson and Councilman Zach Reed (10/19/2017) City Club of Cleveland Video

Red, blue political split widens between Ohio’s urban, rural areas (10/18/2017) Cleveland.com

A Highway Runs Through It. The demolition of the FirstEnergy plant presents Cleveland a unique opportunity to return neglected Gordon Park to its glory days, but a few obstacles stand in the way (10/18/2017) Cleveland Scene

Cuyahoga Arts and Culture To Cut Grant Funding 20 Percent (10/17/2017) Ideastream

Will Ohio Voters Enshrine Crime Victims’ Rights in State Constitution? (10/17/2017) Governing

Ohio’s high school graduation “crisis” has eased – some (10/17/2017) Plain Dealer

State’s largest pension system considers benefit cuts (10/16/2017) Dayton Daily News

BioEnterprise to oversee struggling Global Center for Health Innovation (10/16/2017) Cleveland.com

High-school partnerships help Ohio’s community colleges grow enrollment (10/15/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Cleveland hospitals gauging effect of Trump ending insurance subsidies (10/13/2017) Plain Dealer

Mayor Jackson’s bid to block low-scoring charter schools from city is denied by state (10/14/2017) Cleveland.com

Putting a renewed focus on mental health in Cleveland (10/12/2017) Plain Dealer

Budget prognosticators stymied over Ohio drug issue #2 (10/11/2017) Toledo Blade

Cleveland’s One University Circle apartment tower already is landing some lofty tenants (10/11/2017) Plain Dealer

Ohio’s 100 top high schools ranked for 2017 (10/11/2017) Cleveland.com

How Cuyahoga County is balancing its 2018-2019 budget (10/10/2017) Cleveland.com

Groups urge faster action to reduce algae in Lake Erie (10/10/2017) Toledo Blade

Plastic Bag Fee Proposed in Cuyahoga County (10/9/2017) Cleveland Scene

Numbers indicate that Ohio is actually making money on Medicaid expansion (10/9/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Infant deaths increased in Ohio in 2016 for second consecutive year (10/6/2017) Plain Dealer

CWRU Study Aims to Find New Ways to Tackle Cleveland Food Deserts (10/5/2017) Ideastream

Why is Lake Erie covered in 700 square miles of green slime? (10/4/2017) Dayton Daily News

State control could be coming for East Cleveland, Warrensville Heights schools (10/3/2017) Plain Dealer

Free bus passes for workers: Columbus’s big idea to relieve a congested downtown (10/3/2017) The Guardian

Ohio EPA, Army Corps of Engineers collaborate to prevent future Cuyahoga River dredging face-offs (10/2/2017) Cleveland.com

Greater Cleveland attracted 18 million visitors in 2016, another record (10/2/2017) Plain Dealer

Cleveland is growing from inside out, with room to add 130,000 on East Side: CSU report (10/2/2017) Plain Dealer

Ohio education officials losing faith in report cards for schools, districts (10/1/2017) Plain Dealer

A Shrinking Field: Fewer High Schoolers Playing Football In Ohio (9/29/2017) WOSU

Amazon confirms plans for Euclid fulfillment center, replacing another dead mall (9/28/2017) Plain Dealer

Spread of Lake Erie algae raises alarm across region (9/28/2017) Detroit News

Are Ohio’s Statehouse leaders offering new hope to fix gerrymandering this time? (9/28/2017) Cleveland.com

The prize for winning these down-ticket Ohio races: Seats at the redistricting table (9/27/2017) Cleveland.com

Proposal to boost compensation to counties and transit systems would fall short (9/26/2017) Plain Dealer

As retail changes, jobs opportunities shift in Ohio (9/25/2017) Dayton Daily News

Cleveland police headquarters to stay in Justice Center for at least two years under deal with Cuyahoga County (9/25/2017) Cleveland.com

Why do poor poor black kids continue to do worse on Ohio’s standardized tests? (9/24/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Wind farms sow discord in Ohio (9/24/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Cleveland pursues Amazon HQ2: Can the city compete? (9/24/2107) Plain Dealer

20 years after DeRolph decision, some school districts gained, some lost (9/22/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Ohio House Still Considering Medicaid Expansion Freeze (9/21/2017) WOSU

How would the Senate’s latest Obamacare repeal plan affect Ohio? (9/21/2017) Cleveland.com

New Campus International School has opened at Cleveland State University (9/20/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland Seeks To Lower Unsolved Homicide Cases (9/19/2017) Ideastream

Some Ohio legislator(s) are blocking broadcasts of State Board of Education meetings and who they are has not been made public (9/19/2017) Plain Dealer

Issue 2 fact check: Are all of the VA’s prices public record? (9/18/2017) Cleveland.com

See how closely Ohio school report card grades trend with district income (9/18/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio lawmakers chip away at public records access (9/17/2017) Columbus Dispatch

State Report Cards Released, With Mixed Grades For Traditional Schools And Bad Ones For Charters (9/16/2017) Ideastream

How metro Cleveland and Akron stack up against Buffalo, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit and Pittsburgh (9/15/2017) Cleveland.com

Poverty down in Ohio, but state still struggling, census finds (9/15/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Election results from 9.12.2017 primary from Cuyahoga County Board of Elections

Frank Jackson wins Cleveland mayoral primary, Zack Reed out duels field of challengers to finish second (9/13/2017) Cleveland.com

State report card chaos should ease when grades for your district, school come out Thursday (9/13/2017) Plain Dealer

Cleveland gains “high quality” preschool seats, still has many fewer seats than kids (9/12/2017) Plain Dealer

Congress may save medical research from Trump cuts, sparing a bright spot in Cleveland’s economy (9/12/2017) Cleveland.com

Digital divide in Cleveland among worst in the country (9/8/2017) WEWS-TV

Possible Mandel-Brown Race Would Be Just Second Senate Rematch In Ohio History (9/8/2017) WOSU

Cleveland Police Plan to Cut Citizen Complaint Backlog in Half by End of the Year (9/7/2017) Ideastream

Cleveland Cavs announce Quicken Loans transformation will go forward (9/6/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio premiums for Obamacare policies to rise by 34 percent on average, state says (9/6/2017) Cleveland.com

Northeast Ohio woodlands are under attack; from beetles, aphids, viruses and fungi (9/5/2017) Plain Dealer

Outside experts assess Ohio’s ballot issue on prescription-drug prices (9/4/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Conceptual plans for park at Irishtown Bend win city planning approval (9/1/2017) Plain Dealer

The Q Deal is Alive and Well — How GCC Compromised to Resuscitate It (8/31/2017) Cleveland Scene

Deal reached that may save Quicken Loans Arena transformation (8/31/2017) Cleveland.com

At candidate forum, mayoral challengers united in opposition to canceled Q deal (8/30/2017) Cleveland.com

Harmful algal blooms continue to plague Lake Erie, threatening drinking water, fish, pets (8/30/2017) Plain Dealer

Issue 2 backers revise drug-savings estimate; foes challenge data (8/30/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Election has become a referendum on Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson’s performance, panel says (8/29/2017) Cleveland.com

Bill Would Change Free Speech Policies On Campuses Of Ohio’s State-Owned Universities (8/29/2017) WCPN

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert kills deal to renovate Quicken Loans Arena (8/28/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland State enrolls 2,000 freshmen for first time (8/28/2017) Cleveland.com

Feds OK gas pipeline project from Ohio to Michigan (8/27/2017) Detroit News

Cleveland’s mayoral candidates campaigning: What they’re saying (8/27/2017) Cleveland.com

New Irishtown Bend plan blends active and quiet areas to serve city, region (8/26/2017) Plain Dealer

Mayor Frank Jackson gives fiery close to City Club candidate debate (8/25/2017) Cleveland.com

Toledo’s Water Quality Dashboard moved to ‘watch’ (8/25/2017) Toledo Blade

Amazon commits to North Randall fulfillment center, with 2,000-plus jobs on former mall site (8/25/2017) Plain Dealer

Study: Ohio has most failed charter schools, which close less often (8/24/2017) Akron Beacon Journal

New pro-Issue 2 analysis projects $536 million in prescription drug savings (8/24/2017) Columbus Dispatch

How a bad census count could cost Ohioans (8/24/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio’s support for public colleges down 15% since 2008, report says (8/23/2017) Cleveland.com

Summary of Cleveland.com Mayoral endorsement interviews (8/22/2017) Cleveland Scene

Ohio Senate overrides six of Gov. John Kasich’s budget vetoes (8/22/2017) Cleveland.com

Would Ohio’s public retirees be affected by Issue 2? It’s an open question (8/21/2017) Cleveland.com

In Northeast Ohio air pollution finds its way to the lungs (8/21/2017) WOSU

Drug-price ballot failure in California could mean bad prognosis in Ohio (8/20/2017) Toledo Blade

MetroHealth turns to community for growth of health system, plans to open 2 suburban hospitals (8/20/2017) Plain Dealer

Fishing said to be great in Lake Erie, despite opposite perception (8/19/2017) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Robots are affecting jobs in Ohio — and maybe politics, too (8/18/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio Hopes Facebook Data Center, And Tax Breaks, Will Lure More Tech Companies (8/17/2017) WOSU

Schools districts – now including Parma – start school earlier and earlier (8/16/2017) Cleveland.com

Facebook to build new $750 million data center in Columbus suburb (8/15/2017) Cleveland.com

How Ohio is trying to keep Asian Carp out of Lake Erie (8/15/2017) Cleveland.com

The 2018 Ohio Gubernatorial Lineup: 4 Democrats and 4 Republicans join the race (8/15/2017) Columbus Underground

How is climate change affecting the Great Lakes? (8/14/2017) Cleveland.com

Detroit’s revival supported by immigrant entrepreneurs (8/14/2017) Detroit News

Ohio cities continue to fight with state over tax collections (8/13/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

ODOT’s new Towpath Trail segment below Inner Belt bridges heals urban scar (8/13/2107) Plain Dealer

Failed drug tests keep Ohio jobs unfilled (8/13/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Small wind turbines in Ohio are the next big thing, says Department of Energy (8/11/2017) Plain Dealer

Ohio Supreme Court rules Cleveland must accept referendum petitions on upgrades at The Q (8/10/2017) Cleveland.com

Check out the Cuyahoga County schools, cities asking for new money this November (8/9/17) Plain Dealer

NuCLEus project draws a few questions, little debate from Cleveland school board (8/9/2017) Plain Dealer

Army Corps study on keeping Asian Carp from Great Lakes suggests noise system, stunning barrier (8/7/2017) Cleveland.com

New Ohio Bill Prevents Schools from Suspending or Expelling Truant Students (8/7/2017) Cleveland Scene

Ohio tax revenues in July meet new lowered targets (8/4/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio Is Building The Country’s Longest Driverless Car Ready Highway (8/4/2017) Jalopnik Mag.

Obamacare premiums will rise steeply in Ohio in 2018, filings show (8/2/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland Metropolitan School District Considering Funding New Skyscraper Development (8/1/2017) Ideastream

Insurers will make sure nearly every Ohio county has an Obamacare carrier (7/31/2017) Cleveland.com

A rare Ohio home-rule victory in high court ruling on traffic cameras: Thomas Suddes (7/29/2017) Cleveland.com

Lake Erie an “outstanding” drinking water source, but toxins remain, report finds (7/29/2017) Cleveland.com

6 things you might not know about NASA Glenn (7/28/2017) Cleveland.com

University Hospitals joins Medical Mutual of Ohio’s SuperMed network; first time in more than 20 years (7/27/2017) Plain Dealer

Ohio’s restrictions on red-light, speed cameras unconstitutional, Ohio Supreme Court rules (7/26/2017) Cleveland.com

Here’s What You Missed at Last Night’s Packed Forum on Shaker Square’s Future (7/26/2017) Cleveland Scene

4 years in, Global Center for Health Innovation is 20% vacant and has no leader (7/25/2017) Cleveland.com

Opposing Sides Lay Out Q Deal Arguments Before Ohio Supreme Court (7/24/2017) Cleveland Scene

What’s the future of Shaker Square? Free forum Tuesday at Shaker Library will tackle the question (7/23/2017) Plain Dealer

Softening vehicle sales, rising automation halt growth in Ohio’s auto jobs (7/23/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Property tax deal proposed for NuCLEus project (7/22/2017) Fox8

10-year committee to streamline Ohio constitution ends work 4 years early; critics say there’s little to show (7/21/2017) Cleveland.com

Vacant Randall Park Mall to be transformed into Amazon Fulfillment Center (7/20/2017) Fox8

Northeast Ohio home sales post slim June gains; prices keep on climbing (7/20/2017) Plain Dealer

Cuyahoga County to hire consultant to help determine future of Justice Center (7/19/2017) Cleveland.com

Why are so many running for Cleveland City Council and can any challengers win? (7/18/2017) Cleveland.com

Easing of Ohio high school graduation rules is now law – but questions remain (7/18/2017) Plain Dealer

How urban agriculture swept through Greater Cleveland (7/17/2017) Cleveland.com

How Cleveland is digging deep to block billions of gallons of sewage from Lake Erie (7/16/2017) Plain Dealer

Lake Erie water quality has improved, but much more can be done, experts say (7/15/2017) Lorain Morning Journal

Cleveland school board will consider unusual property-tax deal for nuCLEus project (7/14/2017) Cleveland.com

Third-largest harmful algal bloom could potentially grow in Lake Erie this summer, forecasters say (7/13/2017) Cleveland.com

What you need to know about Ohio’s new graduation changes (7/12/2017) Dayton Daily News

Groups opposed to Quicken Loans Arena deal allowed into court challenge, Ohio Supreme Court says (7/12/2017) Cleveland.com

House budgeters defy Trump by allotting $300 million for Great Lakes cleanup (7/11/2017) Cleveland.com

South Euclid talking with other cities about forming regional building department (7/11/2017) Cleveland.com

ODOT says Opportunity Corridor boulevard construction is delayed beyond 2020 by lawsuit fallout (7/10/2017) Plain Dealer

Where Ohio ranks for taxes, and other trends identified in new study (7/10/2017) Cleveland.com

How Trump, Russia and purging voters is shaping the race for Ohio’s next elections chief (7/9/2017) Akron Beacon Journal

Kasich ok’s consolidating Lake Erie algae efforts (7/8/2017) AP/WBNS-10TV

Faith organizations breaking away from Quicken Loans Arena deal opponents (7/7/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

Governor at odds with lawmakers over Ohio teacher certification program (7/7/2017) News5

Gov. John Kasich’s Medicaid freeze veto survives House session, 11 other vetoes overturned (7/6/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio bill gives state EPA more teeth in regulating landfills, Lake Erie dredging (7/6/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio House passes bill to decriminalize concealed handguns in schools, other gun-free zones (7/6/2017) Cleveland.com

Toxic algae season arrives in Lake Erie; first bloom of 2017 reported (7/5/2017) Buffalo News

A Look at How Ohio’s 2018 Statewide Elections Are Shaping Up (7/4/2017) US News & World Report

Cleveland to roll out Opportunity Corridor plans showing how neighborhoods could benefit (7/2/2017) Plain Dealer

How can cities keep sewage out of Great Lakes? Dig. (7/2/2017) WRVO

The General Assembly flubs Ohio budget tests on Medicaid, wind energy: Thomas Suddes (7/1/2017) Cleveland.com

How the new Ohio state budget will impact you (7/1/2017) Dayton Daily News

 

Ohio Gov. John Kasich vetoes Medicaid freeze, signs state budget bill (6/30/2017) Cleveland.com

Eight Cleveland Mayoral Challengers Filed Nominating Petitions by Yesterday’s Deadline (6/29/2017) Cleveland Scene

Every Cleveland City Council member could face a challenge for re-election (6/29/2017) Cleveland.com

Westlake Finance Director claims victory in Cleveland Water Department lawsuit (6/29/2017) Cleveland.com

Natural Gas Jobs Could Continue Climbing in Ohio, West Virginia Report Says Nearly 2 Million Jobs Expected by 2040 (6/28/2017) Wheeling News-Register

Invasive Asian carp (the kind that jump) found beyond barrier to Great Lakes (6/23/2017) Cleveland.com

K&D Group closes financing package for Halle Building’s redo (6/23/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

Senate GOP health care plan guts Ohio Medicaid expansion (6/22/2017) Canton Repository

Energy Transfer Partners Ltd is struggling with its $4.2 billion pipeline in Ohio (6/22/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

Great Lakes aren’t doing so great, says new government study (6/20/2017) Cleveland.com

High school graduation requirements would be eased under Senate proposal (6/20/2017) Plain Dealer

Cleveland State University President Ronald Berkman to retire in 2018 (6/20/2017) Cleveland.com

All Cleveland City Council elections shaping up as contested races, with several primary contests possible (6/19/2017) Cleveland.com

Northeast Ohio air getting better, but don’t breathe easy just yet (6/19/2017) Plain Dealer

How do you retrofit an old industrial waterfront? Cleveland is finding out (6/16/2017) KUAR

Small Business Tax Cut Getting Much Attention As Shortfall Approaches A Billion Dollars (6/16/2017) Ohio Statehouse News

Cleveland Indians & MLB fail in efforts to dismiss lawsuit in Canada involving use of Chief Wahoo logo “as racist” (6/15/2017) Cincinnati.com

Cleveland banks raise prime lending rates to 4% to 4.25% range following Fed’s interest rate hike (6/15/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

Cleveland Clinic joint venture to offer individual insurance in five Northeast Ohio counties (6/15/2017) Plain Dealer

Cleveland police reform struggles to keep pace after two years (6/13/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland places 50% more kids in strong preschools, but falls short of goals (6/12/2017) Plain Dealer

State superintendent proposes cuts in Ohio’s state tests (6/12/2017) Plain Dealer

Cleveland and other cities have too many stores, and they’re still building (6/12/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

How NW Ohio farmers are trying to shrink Lake Erie toxic algal blooms  (6/11/2017) Plain Dealer

Playhouse Square plans 34-story apartment tower in downtown Cleveland’s theater district (6/9/2017) Plain Dealer

General Electric planning to sell GE Lighting, no immediate plans for Nela Park known (6/8/2017) Plain Dealer

Lots of legal arguments over Q arena deal, but no slam-dunk answers (6/7/2017) Cleveland.com

What you need to know about the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County jail agreement (6/6/2017) Cleveland.com

Major insurer Anthem to withdraw from Ohio health care exchange (6/6/2017) Cincinnati.com

Cleveland to take Q referendum issue to Ohio Supreme Court (6/5/2017) Cleveland.com

How Cleveland’s vacant homes, violent crimes and lead poisoning are linked: CWRU report (6/5/2017) Plain Dealer

Congressional Redistricting Reform On The Way In Ohio? (6/4/2017) WVXU

Campaign over Ohio ballot issue to cap drug prices heats up (6/3/2017) Associated Press

Effort to change how Ohio draws districts for Congress underway (6/1/2017) Dayton Daily News

Quicken Loans Arena transformation bonds delayed by petition fight (6/1/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio sues five drug companies over opioid crisis (5/31/2017) Reuters

Lorain City Schools eye chronic absenteeism at 24.2 percent (5/31/2017) Lorain Morning Journal

Oberlin adopts ‘Sanctuary City’ policies, just not the name (5/31/2017) Cleveland.com

Supreme Court to hear Ohio voter purge case (5/30/2017) The Hill

ECOT trying to delay vote on repaying $60 million to state, says it would be “death spiral”  for online school (5/30/2017) Columbus Dispatch

State oversight of Youngstown schools still a battle, far from the partnership Lorain seeks (5/30/2017) Plain Dealer

Big Algae Bloom Predicted this Summer in Lake Erie (5/29/2017) Ideastream

Lead poisoning lawsuit highlights Cleveland family’s plight to find safe, affordable housing (5/28/2017) Plain Dealer

Overdose deaths continue to soar in Ohio (5/28/2017) Columbus Dispatch

State control of Lorain schools aims to be partnership, not a “hijack” (5/27/2017) Plain Dealer

Groups opposed to Q deal threaten to sue if petitions aren’t accepted (5/26/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland Metroparks to buy Astorhurst Country Club for $3.1 million (5/26/2017) Cleveland.com

Will Cleveland City Council be cut to 15 members after the 2020 census? (5/26/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio wind law crippling wind development, $4.2 billion boost to Ohio economy (5/24/2017) Plain Dealer

Traditional retailers’ woes are starting to hit local governments hard (5/24/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

Ohio schools may regain paper option for standardized tests (5/24/2017) Columbus Dispatch

U.S. won’t force Ohio to label Lake Erie ‘impaired’ (5/23/2017) Toledo Blade

Ohio’s small business tax break costs nearly $1 billion a year (5/22/2017) Cleveland.com

City refuses to accept petitions on Quicken Loans Arena referendum (5/22/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio attorney general certifies congressional redistricting reform amendment (5/22/2017) Cleveland.com

Big cities struggling to connect with Great Lakes (5/22/2017) Great Lakes Today

Ohio drug-price ballot issue likely to be costly, contentious (5/22/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Cleveland port’s dredging solution uses innovative, environmentally friendly interceptor (5/21/2017) Plain Dealer

Cuyahoga County heroin, fentanyl overdose deaths on pace to far exceed last year’s total (5/19/2017) Cleveland.com

Legal Aid Society sues Cleveland on behalf of toddler, asks court to make city follow lead poisoning laws (5/18/2017) Cleveland.com

Cuyahoga County’s bond rating downgraded because of rising debt as it plans to issue bonds for Q transformation (5/17/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland schools, Say Yes to Education ramp up planning to offer free college to all (5/17/2017) Cleveland.com

What’s wrong with Ohio’s economy, in five charts (5/16/2017) Cincinnati Enquirer

A “new normal” for home construction ricochets through Michigan (5/16/2017) Detroit Free Press

More than 2,000 Cuyahoga children in foster care, highest since 2011, thanks to opioid crisis (5/152017) Cleveland.com

Federal Immigration Policies Taking Toll on Cleveland Families, Neighborhoods (5/15/2017) Cleveland Scene

FirstEnergy Solutions facing risky future (5/15/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

So Why Is Everybody Running For Ohio Governor And Not The Other Four Offices? (5/13/2017) WKSU

Despite redlining and foreclosure, Cleveland’s East Side could grow with smart investment: panel (5/11/2017) Plain Dealer

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson outlines $65 million neighborhood revitalization program (5/10/2017) Cleveland.com

MetroHealth prices bonds at $946 million for campus transformation (5/10/2017) Plain Dealer

Nuclear subsidies distort markets, hurt business, say FirstEnergy opponents (5/10/2017) Plain Dealer

Max Hayes surprise: 1950s shortcut buried some Cleveland history under school (5/8/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland’s western rim embarks on development boom (5/6/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

Network Bonds for Quicken Loans Arena delayed until referendum issue resolved (5/5/2017) Cleveland.com

UH Bikes expanding as Clevelanders embrace bike sharing, even in winter (5/4/2017) Cleveland.com

Fight over Ohio Drug Price Relief Act ballot issue could set spending record (5/3/2017) Cleveland.com

$63.7 billion state budget bill clears Ohio House (5/2/2107) Cleveland.com

Environmental Groups sue federal agencies over possible fracking in Wayne National Forest, Ohio’s only national forest (5/2/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove announces plans to step down (5/1/2017) Cleveland.com

Budget deal funds Great Lakes cleanup through September (May 1, 2017) Columbus Dispatch

 

Coal-rich, but job-hungry, Appalachia waits for Donald Trump to deliver (4/30/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland ignores state law requiring warning signs on homes with unaddressed lead hazards (4/29/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio’s largest 100 employers in 2017; Walmart tops the list (4/27/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio School Funding Unequal 20 Years After Supreme Court Case (4/27/2017) WYSO

Opponents of The Q renovation deal launch referendum effort (4/26/2017) Cleveland.com

Designers “blown away” by potential of Irishtown Bend park as planning begins (4/25/2017) Plain Dealer

No high school graduation fix comes from Ohio House (4/25/2017) Cleveland.com

About 2 million gallons of drilling fluid spilled into two separate wetlands earlier this month, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency says (4/24/2017) Detroit Free Press/Associated Press

Stage 3 of the Towpath Trail in Cleveland will mix nature, industry and great views (4/23/2017)

March for Science in Cleveland packs Public Square (4/22/2017) Cleveland.com

Project 29 Joining Westside’s High-End Apartment Boom, Stoking Neighborhood ‘Growing Pains’ (4/21/2017) Cleveland Scene

Study On Public Sector Retirement Funds Brings Mixed News For Ohio (4/21/2017) WOSU

Retired Ohio teachers to lose cost of living increase (4/20/2017) Dayton Daily News

As middle class shrinks, Columbus must find ways to share prosperity urbanist warns (4/20/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Armond Budish Delivers State of the County, Defends Quicken Loans Arena Deal (4/19/2017) Cleveland Scene

Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish announces new initiatives in State of the County address (4/19/2017) Cleveland.com

New urban trail: 1.9 miles breaks ground in Tremont (4/19/2017) FreshWater

Cleveland council’s vote delay suggests lobbying for The Q continues (4/18/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio’s state income tax bill is a bargain, regionally speaking (4/18/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio elementary schools struggle to get students vaccinated (4/16/2017) NBC/Associated Press

Ohio looks to change teacher evaluation system; may move away from test focus (4/13/2017) Dayton Daily News

Lawmakers Scrutinize Kasich’s Proposed Tax Cuts As Ohio’s Revenue Miss Mark Again (4/11/2017) WOSU

Akron prepares to launch city-wide residential tax abatement this summer (4/10/2017) Cleveland.com

Cuyahoga County infant mortality data reveals big hurdles (4/9/2017) Cleveland.com

Some Ohio Republicans still seethe over Kasich’s Medicaid expansion (4/9/2017) Columbus Dispatch

FirstEnergy Corp. gets introduction of the nuclear bailout bill it sought (4/7/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

GE could be getting out of the lighting business; Nela Park’s future not clear (4/6/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio’s economic recovery lags nation, experts testify (4/5/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio tax revenues fell 33 percent short of estimates in March (4/5/2017) Cleveland.com

Kasich discusses economy, technology, opioids in State of State (4/4/2017) Toledo Blade

Text of Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s State of the State address (4/4/2017) Associated Press

Pittsburgh’s growth hampered by death rate, ’empty generation’ (4/3/2017) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Researchers ponder whether low ice coverage is the Great Lakes’ new normal (4/2/2017) Chicago Tribune

Before Kasich’s speech, what is Ohio’s true ‘state of the state’? (4/2/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Turnpike travelers will see semi-autonomous trucks on the road this spring (4/1/2107) Plain Dealer

Ohio Teacher Evaluation System May Change Again (3/31/2017) Ideastream

FirstEnergy lakefront site could host parks, housing, gardens and more, planner says (3/29/2017) Plain Dealer

Doctor shortage could hurt Ohio rural areas (3/29/2017) Dayton Daily News

Pension cuts looming for Ohio teachers and retirees (3/28/2017) Dayton Daily News

Cleveland City Council OKs spending plan that bolsters safety forces, enhances city services (3/28/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio considers joining call for constitutional convention (3/26/2017) Toledo Blade

Has the Flats deflated? Not quite (3/25/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

The fight is on to preserve federal funds for the Great Lakes (3/24/2017) USA Today Network

Ten things that happened this week at Ohio Statehouse (3/24/2017) Capital Bureau News

Some Ohio educators question fairness of computer-required testing (3/24/2017) Massillon Independent

2016 Census Data for Northeast Ohio (3/23/2017)

14 of 17 Cleveland City Council Races to be contested (3/22/2017) Cleveland.com

Public forum on state budget cuts highlights local government frustration (3/22/2017) Cleveland.com

EPA cuts would threaten Lake Erie and our drinking water 3/22/2017) Michigan NPR

Cleveland City Council introduces legislation to commit $88M to Quicken Loans Arena improvements (3/21/2017) Cleveland.com

Changes to Ohio concealed carry law take effect today (3/21/2017) Cincinnati Enquirer

Cleveland Metroparks will offer fireworks & music spectacular at Edgewater Park Sat July 22 marking “eve” of 100th anniversary (3/20/2017) Fox 8

Ohio nursing homes among the nation’s lowest rated in quality of care (3/19/2017) Cleveland.com

Income Inequality: Despite thriving economy, many in central Ohio struggle in low-wage jobs (3/19/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Gov. John Kasich among 4 GOP governors who propose Medicaid fix for GOP health care reform (3/17/2017) Cleveland.com

More Cleveland school graduates ready for college but fewer enrolling, according to annual report (3/16/2017) Cleveland.com

Lake Erie programs suffer millions of dollars in losses from Trump budget proposals (3/16/2017) Cleveland.com

Job growth stagnant in Ohio, but many positions still unfilled. Ohio lost about 2,100 jobs last year (3/16/2017) WKBN-TV

Complaints to get Ohio to review amount of testing in schools (3/14/2017) Columbus Dispatch

NE Ohio Retail vacancy rises, but so does the rent. 2016 v 2015 Comparisons (3/13/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

Almost all of Ohio’s voucher cash goes to religious schools (3/12/2017) Cleveland.com

Cuyahoga County will back MetroHealth System’s transformation bonds, saving Metro up to $160 million (3/11/2017) Cleveland.com

Greater Cleveland RTA ridership dips to record low; annual ridership, 1976-2016 (3/9/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland teachers pass new contract killing most of merit pay plan (3/9/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio’s proposed transportation budget doesn’t do enough for transit, some lawmakers say (3/8/2017) Cleveland.com

How gerrymandered Ohio congressional districts limit the influence of Ohio voters (3/7/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio lags in providing need-based grants for college students (3/6/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio’s payday problem. Critics say the short-term lending industry preys on the poor, but lawmakers aren’t scrambling for a fix (3/4/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

Kasich K-12 Budget Means a Loss for Many Districts (3/3/2017) Ideastream

Ohio job growth worst last year since 2009 (3/3/2017) Dayton Daily News

Report: Pittsburgh’s economy ‘prosperous’ but leaving some behind (3/2/2017) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Congressional redistricting plan would leave Ohio lawmakers in charge (3/1/2017) Cleveland.com

What Privacy Do Students Have? Ohio Supreme Court Hears Backpack Seizure Case (3/1/2017) WOSU

Record number of concealed carry gun permits issued in Ohio in 2016 (3/1/2017) Cleveland.com

Cuyahoga County Council questions financing plan for Quicken Loans Arena renovations (2/28/2017)  Cleveland.com

Ohio reviews since 2011 find 126 non-citizens have voted  Voter fraud is rare, state secretary says (2/27/2017) Associated Press/Cincinnati.com

Pittsburgh’s black middle class has learned to navigate a city that is still segregated in many respects (2/26/2017) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Cleveland, state, JobsOhio reach deal that clears way for Opportunity Corridor (2/24/2017) Cleveland.com

In One Glenville Neighborhood, Residents See Looming Gentrification (2/24/2017) Ideastream

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is favorite to win a 4th term – for now: Brent Larkin (2/23/17) Cleveland.com

Seven projects that will change the face of Cleveland (2/23/2017) Freshwater

FirstEnergy talks bankruptcy and need for bailout of its nuclear plants (2/22/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

Cleveland to “phase out,” but not close, eight schools after turnaround efforts flounder (2/21/2017) Cleveland.com

Northeast Ohio ranks fourth in Midwest biomedical investments (2/20/2017) Cleveland.com

Who’s running for mayor in Cleveland? Frank Jackson faces a crowded field for re-election (2/20/17) Cleveland.com

Cities reap benefits of downtown bus hubs (2/19/2017) Toledo Blade

Ohio’s tuition vouchers could soon give more money to more middle class, suburban students (2/17/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland would lose $2 million under Kasich’s proposal for local aid; 51 other Ohio cities would also lose out (2/16/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio City park plan, at Irishtown Bend, gets Clean Ohio grant to buy, clear land (2/16/2017) Plain Dealer

Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove reports rough financial year for hospital in 2016 (2/15/2017) Plain Dealer

Who’s running for Cleveland City Council? Here’s a look at potential candidates who have pulled petitions (2/15/2017) Cleveland.com

Opponents, some supporters, of Q renovation plan pack Cuyahoga County Council meeting (2/14/2017) Cleveland.com

How young is too young? 36,000 elementary school suspensions in Ohio (2/14/2017) WKYC

Detroit’s big city lifestyle attracts young suburbanites (2/12/2017) Detroit Free Press

Cuyahoga County demolition fund puts dent in housing-market distress (2/12/2017) Plain Dealer

Ohio EPA releases plan for curbing nutrient pollution in Lake Erie (2/9/2017) Sandusky Register

Ohio 45th of 50 states in college affordability: study (2/9/2017) Dayton Daily News

Port hires design team to envision transformation of Irishtown Bend (2/9/2017) Cleveland.com

Push underway for automatic voter registration in Ohio (2/9/17) Dayton Daily News

Ohio hopes to “streamline” student testing, says State Superintendent Paolo DeMaria (2/8/2017) Cleveland.com

Akron wants to grow from 198,000 residents to 250,000 by 2050: Here’s how (2/6/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland’s Public Square debate enters the national spotlight (2/4/2017) Plain Dealer

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson’s three terms in office (analysis) (2/4/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland, other local governments could get less state money under Gov. John Kasich’s budget (2/2/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson to seek unprecedented fourth 4-year term (2/1/2017) Cleveland.com

2018 Ohio U.S. Senate candidates gearing up for another expensive race (2/1/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio could ban schools from expelling youngest students (1/31/2017) Dayton Daily News

Gov. John Kasich Releases Budget; Includes Sales Tax Increase (1/30/2017) Cleveland.com

Ohio may change the way congressional lines are drawn (1/29/2017) Springfield News Sun

Ohio tax cuts have starved schools, libraries, drug treatment, critics say (1/29/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Nursing in Northeast Ohio is in critical condition (1/28/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

Small Ohio cities continue to struggle (1/27/2017) Zanesville Times Recorder

Ohio hospitals, Medicaid providers concerned about Trump administration’s block grant plans (1/26/2017) Cleveland.com

U.S., Canada slow to tackle Great Lakes chemical pollution, says report (1/26/17) Michigan Live

The future of school funding (1/25/2017) Columbus Underground

Jobs doubled along Euclid Avenue after completion of HealthLine: CSU study (1/24/2017) Plain Dealer

Children Services Agencies Say Kids, Social Workers Are Suffering In Opioid Epidemic (1/23/2017) WOSU

Women’s March on Cleveland draws large, passionate crowd (1/21/2017) Cleveland.com

What local changes will a Trump administration bring? (1/21/17) Channel 19 News

Ohio economy ends ’16 on upswing (1/20/2017) Toledo Blade

Why aren’t more non-Browns events held at FirstEnergy Stadium?(1/19/2017) Cleveland.com

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture aims to improve equity in access to the arts  (1/19/2017) Plain Dealer

Lake Erie quality deteriorating, needs Canadian and American mandatory standards, report says (1/18/2017) London Ont Free Press

Ohio schools ranked exactly average nationally (1/17/2017) Dayton Daily News

Cleveland’s major hospitals warn of harm from Obamacare repeal (1/15/2017) Cleveland.com

How Ohio is adjusting the Common Core for Ohio classrooms (1/13/2017) Cleveland.com

Cleveland’s among a group of cities outperforming their outlying suburban areas in attracting ‘educated millennials’ (1/13/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

In a changing Pittsburgh, some fear the hidden costs of progress (1/12/2017) Penn Live

‘Appalling’ state of Cleveland police complaint investigators must be fixed, monitor says (1/10/2017) Cleveland.com

Breakthrough charter school network splits up over speed of expansion plans (1/10/2017) Cleveland.com

Columbus semi-finalist for futuristic, high-speed transportation system (1/10/2017) Columbus Dispatch

Donald Trump gets revenge by dismantling Gov. John Kasich’s Ohio Republican Party machine: Analysis (1/7/2017) Cleveland.com

Gov. John Kasich to include congressional redistricting reform in budget (1/5/2017) Cleveland.com

20% of Global Center for Health Innovation remains vacant (1/3/2017) Cleveland.com

Dozens of new laws take effect in Ohio — here are some that may impact you (1/2/2017) Fox8

Federal agency demands RTA repay $12 million for Public Square closure, threatens to withhold federal funding (1/1/2017) Plain Dealer

Investors ‘putting down roots’ on Lorain (1/1/2017) Crain’s Cleveland Business

The Arts in Northeast Ohio aggregation

1 Utility Versus Innovation: A Polemic on Art, Architecture and Cultural Conservatism in Cleveland by Steven Litt
2 Architecture in Cleveland
3 Music in Cleveland
4 Dance in Cleveland
5 Art in Cleveland
6 The Cleveland School – Watercolor and Clay by William Robinson
6 Theater in Cleveland (through the 1980s)
8 The Rise of the Cleveland Museum of Art by Andrea Volpe Belt Magazine 11.4.2014
9 “Artistic Choice” WVIZ Video about Cleveland’s Artistic Legacy
10 Cleveland Art and History Curriculum Website
11 Cigarette tax for arts and culture has generated $65 million at halfway point (Plain Dealer 11/5/11)
12 Elegant Cleveland from the Plain Dealer

From Desegregation to School Choice: How the Civil Rights Era Influenced the Cleveland Schools of Today Ideastream 11/15/2017

From Desegregation to School Choice: How the Civil Rights Era Influenced the Cleveland Schools of Today- Ideastream 11/15/2017

The link is here

For millions of children across the country, where they go to school is largely determined by where they live. Public school districts have historically assigned students to schools located in or near their neighborhoods.

Cleveland is trying a different approach by integrating school choice into its district model, but you could say the city’s school choice movement began in the 1960s, a time of racial tension that led to the Cleveland school system we see today.

Cleveland Leadership in the 1960s

George Forbes is one of the most prominent names in modern Cleveland history. Elected to city council in 1963, Forbes was one of several black politicians who led Cleveland through the nation’s Civil Rights Era, and through the fall out of desegregation in the city’s schools.

“I hadn’t been in office, but three or four months and we were confronted with this big issue of equality in schools,” Forbes said.

At the time, there were nearly 135,000 students in the district. Black schools throughout the city were overcrowded, but instead of integrating school populations, the district chose to build new ones – keeping black children isolated.

“The Board of Education had taken the position that they were going to build new schools and decided that Stephen E. Howe was one of the places they were going to build schools,” Forbes explained.

During its construction, Stephen E. Howe Elementary School, in the Glenville neighborhood that Forbes represented, became the site of protests led by civil rights activists.

On April 7, 1964, 27-year-old white protestor Rev. Bruce Klunder was killed as he and others laid themselves in front of and behind the tracks of a bulldozer at the construction site.

Klunder’s death slowed the school’s completion, but it didn’t stop it, and racial tensions grew, Forbes said, as African Americans protested and boycotted more black schools.

“It came from people, the groundswell,” he said. “We don’t want the school. We’re not going to go there.”

More than a decade later, a federal court ordered Cleveland to bus kids into other neighborhoods to achieve racial balance in the schools.

School Choice Comes to Cleveland

Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Eric Gordon said the decision resulted in the first instance of school choice in the city: white flight and wealth flight from the district into the surrounding suburbs.

“It was a tough form, right?” Gordon said. “I had to make a choice as a parent whether I would send my child to the assigned school across the city for integration purposes, or whether I would choose to pay for a parochial or private school, or whether I would choose to move out of the city.”

“It was absolutely a form of choice,” he added.

The exodus of white, middle income families led to a massive decline in enrollment in Cleveland schools. Between 1980 and 1990, CMSD went from 92,000 to 69,000 students. That decline strained resources and concentrated poverty in the district.

After years of mismanagement and financial turmoil, legislation in the mid-90s led to the introduction of school vouchers in Cleveland—one of the first cities in the country to incorporate the form of choice that give children public funds to attend a private school.

Then came charters, which Gordon said led to the departure of another 10,000 kids from the district.

“All while the school district was saying we will assign you to xyz school,” Gordon said. “You don’t have any choice inside the district.”

Then Comes ‘The Cleveland Plan’

Gordon’s tenure as CEO and the implementation of a new education reform plan—known as The Cleveland Plan—marked a change in that culture.

Implemented five years ago, The Cleveland Plan allowed parents to send their children to any school in the district, including CMSD-sponsored charters.

District enrollment is up for the first time in 40 years, Gordon said, to 39,000 students and achievement is starting to follow.

“Families were choosing. They had been choosing for decades. The only place they weren’t choosing was CMSD because we were saying you shouldn’t be allowed to choose and we were saying we will assign you where you will go to school, very much like traditional school districts across the country have always done,” Gordon said.

“Our notion was, if families are choosing, let’s get into the choice game, let’s compete, let’s be part of the choice,” he added.

Does Choice Lead to Academic Success?

In the majority minority district, CMSD’s scores on state report cards are up, but its overall grade is an F.

The four-year graduation rate has increased and so has the number of K through 3rd grade students reading at grade level, but when you break down the scores by race, the numbers tell a different story.

A quarter of African American students in the district are meeting English Language Arts learning goals compared to about half of their white peers. The rates are almost identical when it comes to math, and only marginally better for the district’s Hispanic population.

Dr. William Sampson of DePaul University does not believe choice leads to academic success for minority students. Nationwide, Sampson said vouchers, charters, and other forms of choice have resulted in a new surge of segregation in the education system that’s fueled poor academic outcomes.

White, middle-income parents have the means to take advantage of options, he added, leaving minority and low-income students behind, students who need more resources to succeed.

“It’s not that the presence of white kids has some sort of magic power over the quality of education,” Sampson explained. “Unfortunately, white folks aren’t that great.”

“It’s that the resources typically follow white kids, whether they be financial resources, [or] student support services.”

Choice and Competition in the Classroom

But it’s not just the loss of resources that Sampson said hurts minority students in this era of school choice. It’s the loss of opportunity for a child to compete, Sampson said, and overcome the racism and the inferiority they’re taught by society.

“When you grow up next door to a kid, or in the next classroom or the next row in a classroom, and you’re a black kid and you’re doing better in class than that white kid, then you start to question whether or not you are inherently inferior,” Sampson explained.

“You realize that you can do just as well as this white kid,” he said. “That dispels that self-hatred, and that’s critical in our society.”

That’s what black Clevelanders wanted in the 1960s, Forbes said, a mixing of races in schools that would help all children learn they were more alike than different.

But Forbes said the city’s first experience with school choice—the white flight of the Civil Rights era– is still evident in Cleveland public schools today.

Did Integration Work?

The current state of the district makes it difficult for Forbes to believe that minority students are any better off than they were when he attended a segregated Memphis school during his youth, either because of the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown versus Board of Education decision that ended legal segregation in public schools, or the fight he helped lead for integration.

“It didn’t work,” Forbes said of Cleveland’s desegregation struggle. “If I had to do it again, I would not have done it.”

“But this was part of the times,” he went on. “It was happening all over the country. Education was at an apex and that was what black folks demanded, but we did not get…we got the Supreme Court decisions. We got those things, but when you look back at it, it is what it is.”

Gordon disagreed with both Sampson and Forbes. With Sampson on the outcomes Cleveland children are achieving, and with Forbes on the success of the city’s Civil Rights struggles.

“Have we achieved the outcome yet that we desire for every kid? No,” he said. “I would say that the system that I’m running is not yet what I want for every child, a black child, a white child, a Hispanic child.”

“But,” he added, “we are actively working on it because of the really tough decisions that George Forbes and his peers made decades ago.”

Gordon said choice works for Cleveland, but the legacy of segregation, of inequity in the school system is a battle the district could face for years to come.

News Aggregator Archives: FEATURE area 2016

 

Can’t You Hear the 1948 Whistle Blowin’ 10.27.16 (New York Times)

 

Cleveland Indians in 1948: A Story of Integration 10.24.16 (New York Times)

 

Everything You Want to Know About Swing State Ohio, But Were Afraid to Ask 10.20.16 (Fortune)

 

“Heart of Steel” Series from Plain Dealer About Steel Industry in Cleveland 10.16.16 (Plain Dealer)

 

Video from the “Marijuana Legalization in Ohio” Forum w/Moderator Jackie Borchardt, Cleveland.com 10.13.16

 

Confessions of a Rust Belt Orphan (or how I learned to stop worrying and love Akron) by Jason Segedy 10.12.16 (Cleveland Scene)

 

The Importance of “Ground Game” in Ohio President Campaigns 10.9.16 (Bloomberg)

 

Collinwood 1908: Bringing a Fire Back into History 10.6.16 (Belt)

 

So Now We Know For Sure: Mansfield Frazier 10.2.16 (Cool Cleveland) 

 

“Voter Registration in Ohio” a Short History by Michael Curtin 9.25.16

 

Video from Eastside Candidate Forum at Brush High School 9.22.16

 

Midwest Lawschools and Their Students Adapt to New Realities 9.21.16 (Cleveland Scene)

 

Video from “Hough: A Short Look to the Past, a Long Look to the Future” 9.19.16 (City Club)

 

Video from “Lake Erie and Cuyahoga River Water Quality” Forum on 9.15.16

 

“Presidents and Health: How James A. Garfield’s Death Changed American Medicine  9.14.16 (Cleveland.com)

 

The Rise and Fall of Geauga Lake Park”-video 9.9.16 (Cleveland.com)

 

 

Louis Stokes Autobiography “The Gentleman from Ohio” Part 1 is here  Part 2 is here

 

“Redistricting and Voting Rights in Ohio” Forum (Video) 8.25.16

 

Cleveland Metro Economic Performance is Mixed, According Cleveland Federal Reserve 8.25.16

 

On the Cusp: Cleveland’s Larchmere Neighborhood 8.24.16 (Belt)

 

How Milwaukee Shook Off the Rust 8.23.16 (Politico)

 

Cleaving the Crooked Mirror: What’s Really Behind the East and West Side Rivalry in Cleveland 8.17.16 (Thrillist)

 

Morgan Street Cemetary in Ohio City Steeped in History, Architecture 8.3.16 (Cleveland.com)

 

Great Lakes Exposition: A World’s Fair to Remember Opened 80 Years Ago This summer: photos 7.28.16 (Cleveland.com)

 

It’s Time to Retire Tired Talk About the “Rust Belt” 7.27.16 (CBS Marketwatch)

 

In Cleveland’s Public Square, Rights are Exercised. Loudly 7.26.16 (New York Times)

 

Cleveland was the Original Motor City (Ringer) 7.18.16

 

A Visual History of Streetcars and Trolleys in Cleveland 7.14.16 (Cleveland.com)

 

Cleveland Rising? by Alex Baca 7.14.16 (American Conservative)

 

The Forgotten Fastest Man by Daniel McGraw 7.12.16 (theundefeated)

 

Hough: Before and Beyond. A Series on Cleveland’s Hough Neighborhood 50 Years After the 1966 Riots (Ideastream)

 

When Cleveland Became a “Convention City” 7.11.16 (Belt)

The Challenge of Keeping Black Families From Leaving the Midwest 7.5.16 (Atlantic)

Chasing the Ghosts of Coventry Village by Brad Masi 6.30.16 (Belt)

“Cleveland and the Great War” by Kevin Naughton June, 2016 (Pressure Life)

Public Square Renovation, From Beginning to End (Cleveland.com)

“Titles and Tears” an essay by Joe Posnanski 6.20.16 (NBC)

David Morgenthaler, “Cleveland’s Quiet Business Visionary” Dies 6.17.16 Read More

How Cincinnati Salvaged the Nation’s Most Dangerous Neighborhood 6.16.16 (Politico) 

The Preacher Who Took on the Police. Cop shootings Have Torn Apart Cleveland. Jawanza Colvin is Trying to Root Out Racism from Legal System 6.16.16 (Politico) 

George Voinovich, Former Cleveland Mayor, Ohio Governor, U.S. Senator Dies 6.12.16 (Cleveland.com)

Teaching Cleveland Digital Interview with Senator George Voinovich (2014)  

The Ingredients of George Voinovich’s Success as Ohio’s Governor: Tom Suddes (Cleveland.com)

George Voinovich, Former Cleveland Mayor, Ohio Governor, U.S. Senator Dies 6.12.16 (Cleveland.com) 

A Photo History of University Circle 6.8.16 (Cleveland.com)

Springfield Ohio Middle Class, Incomes Hardest Hit in U.S., Study Finds 6.5.16 (Dayton Daily News) 

A Visual History of the Detroit Superior Bridge 6.1.16 (Cleveland.com) 

 

Opinion Essay on Northeast Ohio Regionalism Written by a Student at St. Ignatius High School 5.29.16 Cleveland.com

 

A Photo History of Cleveland’s Playhouse Square; Rise, Decline and Rebirth 5.27.16 Cleveland.com

 

Oberlin College: The Big Uneasy: What’s Roiling the Liberal Arts College 5.23.16 New York Magazine

 

Video from “Republican National Convention: What’s in it for Cleveland” forum 5.17.18

 

Video from “Cleveland’s Radio Superstars” 5.16.16

 

University Hospitals Marks 150 in 2016; a Historical Photo Essay 5.13.16

 

Learn More About Republican National Convention’s Impact on Cleveland Cleveland.com 5.11.16

 

Go Hug a Tree. You Just Might Live Longer. Once Upon a Time, Cleveland was the Forest City. -Tim Kovach 4.30.16

 

Regional Alignment Not Competition: How Greater Milwaukee is Remaking Economic Development (Brookings)

 

Playhouse Square Founding Father, David O. Frazier is Honored, Remembered 4.28.2016 (Cleveland.com)

 

Revisiting Hough: Manfield Frazier 4.27.16 (Cool Cleveland)

 

Cleveland’s Public Square: Two Centuries of Transformation by Mark Souther April 2016 (Cleveland State University)

 

Two “Unlikely” Blockbuster Empressarios’ from Cleveland Energe as the “Future of Hollywood” 4.25.16 (Crain’s Cleveland Business) 

 

Video from “Van Aken Project” Forum 4.21.16

 

Will the Shaker Van Aken Project Succeed? Preview of Thursday 4/21 Free Forum: Steven Litt (Cleveland.com)

 

Ohio Won’t Save NE Ohio Public Transit, So Let’s Tax Parking to Fund it Instead: Tim Kovach (opinion) 4.8.16

 

Sculpted Landscapes: Art and Place in Cleveland’s Cultural Gardens (1916-2006) by Prof Mark Tebeau (CSU)

 

Coldest Opening Day Since 1907 4.19.1907 (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Jim Rokakis Talks about NE Ohio Housing, Tree Canopy and Other Issues at 1st Unitarian Church 4.3.16 (Video) 

Metro Cleveland Population Loss Dampens Growth 3.30.16 (Cleveland Federal Reserve)

A Contested Republican Convention in Cleveland? What You Need to Know 3.29.16 (Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com) 

No New Confirmed Aquatic Invasive Species in Great Lakes for 10 Years 3.29.16 (Duluth News Tribune)

Labor Markets are Getting Close to Maximum Employment in Many Parts of Our Region 3.28.16 (Cleveland Fed) 

Your City is Not the Next Silicon Valley by Richey Piiparinen 3.9.16 (Cleveland State University)

Greater Cleveland Employment Trends: 2014 and 2015  -March 2016 (Cleveland State University) 

“Viktor Schreckengost-The Exchange of Art with the Everyday” – winner of the 2016 Teaching Cleveland website award at History Day 3.5.16

2016 Ohio Primary Discussion with Brent Larkin and Mark Naymik 3.2.16 (Video)

Video of Three Ohio Democratic Senate Candidates at Cleveland.com Endorsement Meeting released 3.1.16 (Cleveland.com)

New Images Reveal True Impact of Freeways on Cleveland’s Neighborhoods 2.25.16 (Freshwater)

A Walk Through North Collinwood 2.24.16 (Belt) 

Candidates for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Debate at the Cleveland City Club: Timothy McGinty v. Michael O’Malley: Video 2.23.16 (City Club)

 

Is Waterfront Development Paying Off? Nine Takeaways From LWV Forum: Steven Litt 2.15.16 (Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com)

 

How Local Media Coverage is Forcing Cleveland to Finally Fix Its Lead Problem 2.9.16 (Columbia Journalism Review)

 

Roundwood Manor: Poignant Legacy of the Van Sweringens; What to do With it Now? Steven Litt 2.4.16 (Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com)

 

Once Famous for Beer, Milwaukee Now Bets on Water 1.26.16 (Marketplace)

 

The Striking Similarities of the Browns’ Move to Baltimore and the Rams Move to L.A. 1.16.16 (Baltimore Sun)

 

5 Facts About Brokered Presidential Conventions: Could We Have One in Cleveland This Summer? 1.8.16 (Dayton Daily News)

 

What Would it Take to Fix Cleveland’s Roads?: Angie Schmidt 1.4.16 (City Club)

 

Correcting For Bias: Mansfield Frazier 1.2.16 (Cool Cleveland)

 

Republican Lawyer Details Three Scenerios for 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Two of them are in “Uncharted Territory” 12.29.15 (Politico)

 

Cleveland Puts More Kids in Strong Preschools, Thousands Still Shut Out 12.20.15 (Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com)

 

The Coldest Darn Place in the World: The Great Lakes Bowl 12.16.15 (Belt)

 

Will Cleveland 2016 Be 1968 Chicago? 12.14.15 (Next City)

 

You Green Boy: An Essay on the Flats: Lee Chilcote 12.5.15 (Cleveland Scene)

 

What Would Dr. King Do?: Mansfield Frazier 11.23.15 (Cool Cleveland)

 

The Cleveland Mafia: The End of an Era and Demise of a Don Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com (11.23.15)

 

Vacant Houses, Blighted Buildings Still Plague Cleveland, But Problem is Shrinking Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com (11.21.15)

 

Video From the “Housing Crisis” Forum Moderated by Brent Larkin (10.7.15)

 

Toxic Neglect: Curing Cleveland’s Legacy of Lead Poisoning Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com (10.20.15)

 

Video From the “How to Become An Education Activist in Northeast Ohio” Forum Moderated by Jill Miller Zimon (8.19.15)

 

Video From the “Land Use in Cuyahoga County” Forum Moderated by Steven Litt (7.29.15)

 

Video From the Regionalism Forum with County Executive Armond Budish, Regional Coordinator Eddy Kraus and Moderator Tom Beres (6.17.15)

 

Regionalism in Northeast Ohio-Material on the Subject From the Past 10+ Years

A Website Devoted to John D. Rockefeller and winner of the 2015 Teaching Cleveland “History Day” Website Award, Created by Victor Pan, Birchwood School

Teaching Cleveland Digital