During the past year, Ohio legislators have suggested a wish list of expensive policy proposals, including expanding state-funded vouchers for private schools, addressing the state’s childcare crisis, creating more affordable housing and phasing out the state’s income tax entirely over the next few years. The ideas came after years of prosperity, as Ohio was flooded with billions in federal COVID relief funding and better-than-expected tax revenues. Now, though, the easy days appear to be over. The state has taken in a total of nearly $487 million less than expected in income taxes between July 2023 and the end of May, largely because of state income tax cuts and a 2022 law allowing pass-through entities to withhold more in taxes. It doesn’t help that Ohio’s economic growth has slowed. The state may have tough decisions to make.
— Laura
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Guardians at Miami Marlins: Guardians play the waiting game to beat struggling Marlins, 6-3 Northeast Ohio weather forecast: Clearing skies and cool |
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Since July 2023, state tax revenue has been nearly $430 million less than expected. (cleveland.com file photo) |
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State revenues: Officials and analysts say the state is still in decent financial shape right now, thanks to better-than-expected revenue from state investments and a drop in spending. But Jeremy Pelzer reports on what comes next. Foreign contributions: Republican state lawmakers had the November election – and a specific major funder of liberal politics nationwide – in mind when they passed a new law earlier this month expanding the state’s existing ban on political contributions by foreigners. But Jeremy Pelzer and Andrew Tobias report that how that law will shake out is unknown. Will it stop the liberal dark money group, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, from writing more multi-million dollar checks to state ballot campaigns? Or will it broadly discourage all anonymous political spending in Ohio? Cigarette tax: The last time Cuyahoga voters approved a cigarette tax to fund the arts, leaders vowed to come up with a more palatable funding mechanism. But come November, they’re asking for an increase in the tax, which falls most heavily on low-income minority communities. Steven Litt reports the arts community is finding getting authority from the state for any new tax is extremely difficult. Clinic PTO: When Cleveland Clinic employees receive a raise or promotion, the hospital system reduces their banked hours of paid time off. Gretchen Cuda Kroen reports the Clinic assigns a dollar value to its employees’ PTO bank equal to the employee’s hourly pay rate multiplied by the number of PTO hours they have earned, and that total value doesn’t change. Today in Ohio: Ohio opened its 76th state park, Great Council StatePark, where members of the Shawnee tribe founded a village near modern-day Xenia, built a council house and traded with settlers. We’re talking about the park and Gov. Mike DeWine’s allowance to frack state parks on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast. |
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Marijuana applications: State regulators published applications online Friday for medical marijuana dispensaries to become dual-use retailers that also serve recreational customers aged 21 and older, reports Laura Hancock. The applications also explain how cultivators and processors – businesses that extract oils from marijuana plants to create vape cartridges, edibles and other manufactured products – become dual-use licensees, among other recreational dispensary applications. Coal bailout: Legislation from 2019 that a federal jury found passed as part of a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme has cost Ohioans $307 million through 2023 to bail out coal-fired power plants here and in Indiana, reports Jake Zuckerman. By the end of this year, projections say that will reach nearly $500 million, paid through add-on charges to monthly electric bills. |
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Julian Wood: Hundreds of people, wearing green and many carrying toy dinosaurs, lined the funeral procession route Saturday to show their love and support for the family of Julian Wood, the North Olmsted 3-year-old stabbed to death in the city’s Giant Eagle parking lot, Kaylee Remington reports. Cyber incident: Cleveland City Hall will be closed Monday as the the city investigates a “cyber incident” affecting some of the city’s computer systems, Cliff Pinckard reports. The nature and scope of the cyber incident remains unknown, “but we are taking this incident seriously," city officials say. Drag story hour: Cuyahoga County Council members have approved $35,000 in one-time stimulus money to improve safety and security at the Near West Theatre Inc. so it can continue to host Drag Story Hour and other LGBTQ events that have been postponed since a bomb threat earlier in the year, reports Kaitlin Durbin. Speed tables: The city of Cleveland has begun installing speed tables on roads across the city as part of efforts to slow down traffic and prevent vehicle-related injuries and deaths, reports Courtney Astolfi. City Hall plans to install 100 asphalt tables this summer, mostly on local streets that see between 1,000 and 4,000 vehicles pass through every day. Delinquent: Devonté’s family didn’t fault him for seeking out weapons. Everyone his age carries a gun, they say, and their neighborhood had become so unsafe that his mom won’t even take out the garbage without her sidearm. Guns are part of inner-city living, they justify. He was shot 16 times, John Tucker and Kaitlin Durbin report in the final installment of their Delinquent series. West Side Market: While the non-profit Cleveland Public Market Corp. is raising money to implement revitalization plans outlined in a West Side Market master plan, small changes are moving forward at the Ohio City landmark. Market management is adding a temporary patio dining space, regular popup vendors and a new digital newsletter. Paris Wolfe reports that hungry shoppers will appreciate the new patio and dining space, to be located between the produce arcade and Market Hall. The market also has changed its parking system. Rates are higher and gates are gone. Now shoppers have one hour free, then pay $1.50 every hour thereafter to a maximum of $12. Power outage: The West Side Market was part of an areawide power outage from West 45th Street to the Flats on Friday morning. The power went down at 10:35 a.m. and was restored at 11:43 a.m., reports Paris Wolfe. NOACA: The board of directors of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency voted unanimously Friday to extend the employment contract of Executive Director Grace Gallucci for six months under existing terms starting July 1. Steven Litt reports. Our Best Life: In the summer, Laura Johnston’s reading wish list explodes. She wants to read all the books with summer in the title, or a beach on the cover, or a setting in a vacation destination. Bonus points if the plot involves rich families squabbling. |
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CEO pay: Last week, 10 Greater Cleveland companies were listed on the Fortune 500 list. Sean McDonnell lists their CEOs' reported compensation, which includes their base salary, stock awards, incentives plans and what’s called “other compensation,” like use of a company’s vehicles. UH travel: Four University Hospitals physicians have been collectively awarded more than $400,000 over three years to travel internationally to share their expertise and gain new medical knowledge. Julie Washington reports the physicians will combat health disparities, perform research, focus on prevention and share state-of-the-art techniques and therapies through hands-on programs, lectures and research in Kenya, Brazil, Senegal and other countries. Starbucks: Yet another group of Starbucks baristas in the Cleveland area is looking to unionize and has filed for an official union election, reports Sean McDonnell. Workers at the Starbucks on Howe Avenue, near Cuyahoga Falls’ and Akron’s border, filed to form a bargaining unit. |
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Festival chaos: Four youths were arrested Saturday night when crowds overwhelmed officers at the St. Gabriel Festival in Concord Township, forcing the church to close the event. The Lake County Sheriff's Office says the “numerous altercations and the unruly crowds that accompanied them created an increasingly volatile atmosphere.” Hammer attack: A Brook Park man, 28, was badly injured at about 2 a.m. after a Cleveland woman, 38, attacked him and his car with a knife and hammer at his Smith Road home, reports Bob Sandrick. Elyria raid: Investigators cleared Elyria police for the raid in which officers stormed the wrong house, a search that terrified the tenants and sent a small child to the hospital, reports Molly Walsh. Lorain County sheriff’s deputies found officers had probable cause to enter 331 Parmely Ave. to look for a gun that they believed a 12-year-old boy had helped steal. Discrimination lawsuit: A Sheffield trucking company agreed to pay $65,000 to settle a religious and racial discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Adam Ferrise reports Wheeler Trucking agreed to pay former employee Charles Lynch III $40,000 in backpay and $25,000 in damages for emotional distress. Body burned: A Cuyahoga County grand jury has charged a Cleveland man in the death of a 50-year-old victim whose body was found burned in a vacant field nearly a week after he went missing. Cory Shaffer reports Conley Conway Jr., 47, is charged with murder, felonious assault, gross abuse of a corpse and arson in the killing of Dawayne Brown. |
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DineDrink: In the latest episode of “DineDrinkCLE: The Podcast,” hosts Josh Duke and Alex Darus talk about a few notable LGBTQ+-owned and allied restaurants and bars in Northeast Ohio. From dance clubs to upscale bistros, there are plenty of ways to support LGBTQ+ folks during the month of June while dining and drinking out. House of the Week: A Moreland Hills home gives adult treehouse vibes, reports Joey Morona. Built in 2016, the home encompasses over 4,600 square feet and has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, a walk-out lower level and a two-car garage. The price is $1,895,000. |
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Cleveland.com announces 2024 High School Standouts Awards winners Read more Victim, 20, killed in Akron shooting Saturday Read more Woman charged for leaving baby alone in hot car in Cleveland Heights lot Read more Cow gets loose on interstate in Akron after falling from trailer Read more Art by the Falls brings out a colorful, unique experience for local residents Read more |
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