On July 21, 2020, federal investigators swarmed the farm of Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, launching the news of the $60 million bribery scheme behind the $1 billion FirstEnergy bailout. Five men were arrested. Cleveland.com dove in, publishing 20 stories on the first day, to report the news, analyze it and give you plenty of perspective. The pace was breathless in those early days. Ohioans were mired in the first summer spike of the coronavirus pandemic. And the details of state government corruption stunned us. Now, two and a half years later, Householder is on trial, and we can’t wait to learn exactly how it all went down. - Laura |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
Northeast Ohio Tuesday weather forecast: Slight chance of snow |
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Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, center, walks into Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse with his attorneys, Mark Marein, left, and Steven Bradley, right, in Cincinnati. (Joshua A. Bickel, Associated Press) |
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Householder trial: Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder’s racketeering trial opened Monday as prosecutors accused him of using bribes to help elect enough members of the Ohio House to secure the speaker’s gavel, before the “enterprise” eventually turned its attention to preserving House Bill 6. Prosecutors say Householder “ripped off” the entire state and his alleged conspirator Matt Borges got rich helping him do it. Jake Zuckerman and Andrew Tobias follow the trial, providing breaking news updates. Hopkins passengers: Cleveland Hopkins International Airport welcomed nearly 8.7 million passengers in 2022, still down significantly from the more than 10 million who traveled through the facility in the year before the pandemic, reports Susan Glaser. Nationwide, through October, the number of passengers who boarded commercial airplanes in the U.S. in 2022 is down approximately 12% from record levels in 2019. Today in Ohio: A decade ago, only one city in Cuyahoga County was permitted by the state to use sharpshooters to kill deer and now the number is up to 12. We’re talking about deer culling vs. sterilization on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast. |
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Sherrod Brown: Sen. Sherrod Brown has hired a former communications aide to manage his 2024 reelection campaign, a major formal step toward preparing for what’s expected to be one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races. Rachel Petri, who served as a media spokesperson for Brown’s successful 2018 reelection campaign, will be Brown’s campaign manager for next year’s race, reports Andrew Tobias. |
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Property tax payments: As the deadline for property taxes nears, Cuyahoga County is assuring residents that their payments are being received and credited, even if they’re not immediately reflected on the website. Cuyahoga County Treasurer Chris Murray said the third-party vendor that confirms payments and shares that information with the county has been having issues, delaying some payments from showing up on the website, reports Kaitlin Durbin. But as long as taxpayers have received confirmation of payment from their bank, they can rest assured that their bill is paid. SNAP cuts: About 212,000 Cuyahoga County residents will potentially face food storages when the extra federal emergency allotment ends in March, cutting $23 million in additional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Kaitlin Durbin reports the cuts will range from $95 per month to hundreds of dollars, depending on family size and income. Budgeting debate: Cleveland City Council on Monday did not approve a proposal supported by Mayor Justin Bibb and some of council’s progressive wing to embrace a process known as participatory budgeting, Lucas Daprile reports. Participatory budgeting gives residents of a given community within a city the ability to vote on how some public money should be spent. Casino revenue: Tensions rose Monday during a meeting between Cleveland City Council members and Mayor Justin Bibb’s finance chief over a council proposal that would allow council, rather than the mayor, to decide how to spend millions in casino tax revenues, Courtney Astolfi reports. Library lawsuit: Cleveland Public Library’s former director of its inclusion and leadership education department is suing the library system, accusing officials of racial discrimination. Twyla Turner accused library officials of failing to comply with laws that allow a person to take medical leave if deemed necessary by a doctor, reports Adam Ferrise. |
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Hotel occupancy: Hotels in Greater Cleveland continue to recover from the downturn caused by the pandemic, although occupancy still lags compared to 2019, reports Susan Glaser. Occupancy – which measures the percentage of hotel rooms that are full – was 58.4% in the six-county Greater Cleveland region last year, up from 52% in 2021, but still down from 61.3% in 2019. Clinic sued: A prominent advocate for the deaf is suing the Cleveland Clinic over accusations that the hospital failed to provide sign language interpreters during his doctor’s appointments and hospital stays. Charles Williams, 91, of Cleveland Heights, wants a judge to order the hospital system to ensure it provides sign language interpreters for deaf patients and a slew of policy changes to ensure that backups, like virtual interpreting sessions, are readily available, and employees are properly trained, Adam Ferrise reports. Maternal care: The Ohio Department of Medicaid launched Comprehensive Maternal Care, a community-based, statewide program aimed at improving the health and well-being of moms, infants and families. Laura Hancock reports Ohio’s maternal mortality rate shows disparities among women: although 13.2% of Ohio women are Black, 34% of the deaths in the nine-year span were of Black women. |
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Hazing settlement: The family of a Bowling Green State University student who died in a hazing incident has reached a $2.9 million settlement with the university, report Molly Walsh and Jeremy Pelzer. The parents of Stone Foltz and their attorney, Rex Elliott, spoke Monday at the Cooper Elliott law office in Columbus to announce the settlement with the university — the largest payout by a public university in a hazing case in Ohio history. Anonymous critics: A national advocacy group has sought to join the legal fight over the city of Beachwood’s attempt to use a defamation lawsuit to identify anonymous online critics of its police chief. Cory Shaffer reports that Public Citizen, a think tank based in Washington, D.C., seeks to put the brakes on Beachwood’s efforts to subpoena Facebook and the email provider Proton for data identifying the users of accounts who made critical statements about Chief Katherine McLaughlin. CVS robbery: A Euclid woman has been charged with aggravated robbery after police say she robbed a CVS in Cleveland's Buckeye-Shaker Square neighborhood last week. Jamie Pickett, 36, was arraigned Friday and held on a $25,000 bond as her case was transferred to the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, John Tucker reports. |
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The Judith: The Judith, a French-inspired café at 5222 Lorain Ave., will open on Feb. 10. It is the second business opened by wife-husband team Jennie Doran and Andrew Worm, who operate lifestyle boutique Room Service, reports Paris Wolfe. RV Rocking: "Rocking the RV Life" podcast hosts Jeff and Patti Kinzbach uncover great tips about the RV Life, with bestselling author guests Marc and Julie Bennett of RV Love. To>Go: Gunselman’s To>Go’s grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony is Wednesday in Rocky River, reports Marc Bona. The longtime Fairview Park restaurant’s menu has been reinvented for carryout and delivery. For the grand opening, Gunselman’s will offer 86-cent cheeseburgers (normally $10) with a limit of four per person while supplies last to mark the eatery’s 86th anniversary. Nickelback: Canadian quartet Nickelback will bring its “Get Rollin’” tour to Blossom Music Center on Aug. 9, reports Malcolm X Abram. Nickelback, the Hanna, Alberta-bred hard-rock band that sold 50 million albums despite never being considered “cool” by tastemakers, is touring behind their 10th and latest album, 2022′s “Get Rollin’,” which made the Top 30 on the Billboard 200 and Top 5 on the Rock Albums charts, respectively. |
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Viral video of man’s arrest during traffic stop by Cleveland Heights police raises questions Read more Main Street Medina recaps the past year Read more Parent implores Solon school board to consider seat belts in school buses Read more Medina County Arts Council is accepting applications for grant funding Read more City details plans for reconstruction of West Smith Road in Medina Read more Bay Village Schools committee begins strategic vision planning process Read more Bay Village Cub Scout has can-do attitude about cleaning up litter Read more North Royalton Schools hires Akron architect to design all future infrastructure improvements Read more Refresh of classrooms at Orange High School expected to begin this summer Read more |
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