Last summer, Cleveland was grappling with an unprecedented crime wave.
July saw a mass shooting downtown, while the Kia Boyz and other car thieves have run rampant. Homicides were up 22%, armed robberies 15% and car thefts 200%.
Mayor Justin Bibb asked for help, and Gov. Mike DeWine delivered. Within weeks, violence plummeted. With federal and state support, police had made 138 felony arrests and seized 63 firearms. Some of the guns were traced to at least 23 other crimes.
Bibb wants to continue to deter crime, as temperatures rise.
City officials said police will increase the emphasis on traffic enforcement and look to partner with state and federal agencies to seek out the most violent offenders. It also will increase its use of technology, from drones to computer analysis, in fighting crime.
Analyzing crime trends have allowed officials to target seven hotspot areas, where safety officials will place greater focus, all part of “Operation Heat Wave.”
-Laura
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Overnight Scores and Weather |
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Menthol cigarettes on display in a store in San Francisco in 2018. Cleveland is in position to continue pursuing Mayor Justin Bibb's proposal to ban flavored tobacco products - at least for now - after a Franklin County judge struck down a new state law preempting cities from passing their own tobacco regulations. (Olivia Mitchell) |
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Summer safety: Mayor Justin Bibb said Tuesday that Cleveland is focused on keeping neighborhoods safe this summer and continuing the city’s downward crime trends, Olivia Mitchell reports. Bird protection: To keep birds from crashing into the glass atrium at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, officials will spend $850,000 in taxpayer money to install a thin film that presents a pattern that birds tend to avoid, reports Peter Krouse. Biden ballot: If President Joe Biden is going to make it on the ballot in Ohio, it won’t be because of the Republican-controlled state legislature, reports Andrew Tobias. House Speaker Jason Stephens said the push to fix the state law that’s posing a barrier for the Democratic president has stalled out, even though Republican leaders in both the House and Senate, where the GOP holds a supermajority, ostensibly have said they’ve wanted to pass something. Today in Ohio: Cleveland can continue pursuing Mayor Justin Bibb’s proposal to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products and to more heavily enforce an under-21 sales ban after a judge in Columbus on Friday blocked a state law that preempts cities from setting their own tobacco regulations. We’re talking about how the judge said the law violates cities’ home rule powers granted in the state constitution on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast. |
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Marijuana citations: The number of arrests or citations for marijuana paraphernalia possession significantly decreased in the 29 days after Ohio’s recreational cannabis law took effect – but not immediately after the law was passed, reports Laura Hancock. Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law studied Ohio State Highway Patrol citations and arrests for violating the drug paraphernalia law and found a median of four incidents a day before the election, four incidents a day after the election but before the law was effective and 0 incidents a day in the 29-days after it was effective. Brown v. Board of Ed: Seventy years ago this month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its milestone Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas ruling that declared racially segregated public schools were unconstitutional and rejected the “separate but equal” doctrine set by its 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. Sabrina Eaton reports that ex-Cleveland Mayor Harold Hitz Burton was one of the eight Justices who concurred in the unanimous May 17, 1954, decision authored by Chief Justice Earl Warren. VA toxins: Nearly two years after Congress passed legislation named after an Ohio veteran that guarantees Veterans Administration health care to veterans suffering from toxins they were exposed to in the military, reports Sabrina Eaton. The legislation was named the “Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022″ after an Ohio National Guard soldier from Pickerington who died in 2020 at age 39 from diseases caused by burn pit exposure. |
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Airbnbs: Cleveland City Council members are looking to add regulations for short-term rentals through Airbnb, VRBO and similar services, including a new licensing requirement and possible fines for owners who don’t comply. Courtney Astolfi reports other newly proposed regulations would cap the number of short-term rentals allowed in a given area and require owners to obtain liability insurance. Notre Dame: Lake Erie College will be the institution of record for Notre Dame College alum, reports Megan Sims. Notre Dame, which closed at the end of the spring semester, announced Tuesday it had reached an agreement with Lake Erie College, located in Painesville, to house its many organizational records. Mosquito money: It’s mosquito season and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is doling out money to help counties rid their communities of the potentially disease-carrying insects. Peter Krouse reports 58 health departments in 47 counties are getting more than $1 million in grants to fight mosquitoes capable of spreading viruses such as West Nile, La Crosse encephalitis and eastern equine encephalitis. Grow Not Mow: Shaker Heights is transforming two public grass parcels into sustainable wilderness full of native plants and animals, reports Susan Brownstein. Volunteers planted loads of trees and donated plants in a practice that saves the city money, while also providing important ecological benefits. Delinquent: As a Bible school volunteer and statewide representative for her church, Mariah, 17, preaches peace, respect and kindness. But when a girl jumped her at school in a fight over a boy, Mariah reverted to her mother’s teaching to defend herself, and punched back. The other girl started seizing. She was charged with assault, John Tucker and Kaitlin Durbin write in their Delinquent series. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office referred to a program for kids accused of low-level, non-violent offenses and little to no court history. The idea is to stop crime at the first sign of misbehavior.
Delinquent response: An Ohio collaborative on youth justice, which is composed of prominent organizations including Case Western Reserve University, has launched a video campaign to highlight Delinquent: Our System, Our Kids. John Tucker reports they’re posting weekly reaction videos, challenging viewers with calls to action, like sharing the series with family and friends. Akron schools: Akron Public Schools voted to eliminate 285 jobs, which will save the district approximately $24 million, Monday night during a board meeting that spanned more than four hours. Megan Becka reports that of the jobs to be cut, 121.5 will be absorbed through attrition. Fifty-two current teachers will lose their jobs, along with eight administrators and additional staff. County jail operations: The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office needs nearly $27 million to provide medical services for inmates in the jail through January 2025 and is projected to need another $13 million by the end of the year to cover other operational costs, particularly in overtime, reports Kaitlin Durbin. |
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Tipping wages: An April online survey of nearly 1,000 Ohio servers, bartenders and other tipped employees suggests the current wage and tipping system should stay in place, reports Paris Wolfe. The Ohio Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance’s research is pointedly aimed at One Fair Wage, a national organization working on a ballot initiative that would require restaurant employers to pay a $15 minimum wage with tips on top. Cleveland-Cliffs: After months of jabs from Cleveland-Cliffs, U.S. Steel is now responding and has accused the Cleveland-based steel company of a “long-running misinformation campaign” meant to derail the sale to Nippon Steel. Sean McDonnell reports Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel said in a letter published Tuesday that Cliffs has been “sowing misinformation to our stakeholders in a relentless and unbridled effort to derail the transaction.” Business pitch: Cleveland Chain Reaction is once again looking for contestants as the business pitch competition enters its seventh season, reports Sean McDonnell. This year’s first place prize is $40,000, with second place taking $20,000 and third getting $10,000. The competition is run each year by COSE, the small business arm of the Greater Cleveland Partnership. MediCLE: Artificial joints may soon be not-so-artificial, and shoppers prefer a chatbot that doesn’t judge you, Gretchen Cuda Kroen and Julie Washington found in their latest roundup of Ohio medical studies. |
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Family Dollar greeter: A self-purported greeter for a Cleveland Family Dollar was arrested after he shot a customer who failed to present a receipt while leaving the store, reports John Tucker. Alonzo Perkins, 41, was charged on Saturday with felonious assault following the shooting incident in Cleveland’s Cudell neighborhood. Body found: The office of the Cuyahoga County medical examiner on Tuesday released the identity of the man found dead behind a former funeral home in East Cleveland. Olivia Mitchell reports the badly decayed body of Dwayne Hundley, 53, of Garfield Heights was located Sunday behind the former E.F. Boyd & Son Funeral Home. Grandmother shot: A 61-year-old Cleveland man who police say walked up to a woman sitting on a park bench and shot her in the head earlier this month is being held without bond, reports Cory Shaffer. Marvin Rachells pleaded not guilty at his Tuesday arraignment in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. He is accused of aggravated murder, murder and felonious assault in the death of 58-year-old Lisa Alexander Brownlee. Motorcycle crash: William Wolosyn, 28, was driving a 2008 Honda Shadow northbound on State Road at about 1 a.m. when he struck a utility pole in the 6600 block and was thrown from the bike, reports Molly Walsh. The motorcycle caught fire but was extinguished by officers who arrived on scene. |
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Ask Yadi: Are you paranoid in thinking that you’re being watched in the doctor’s office? Yadi Rodriguez understands the fear of cameras. She says to trust that your doctor was being honest with you that the cameras aren’t turned on. Phoenix: Phoenix Theatres at Great Northern Mall is scheduled to open Thursday, June 13, reports Marc Bona. Juneberry: Juneberry Table, Karen Small’s buzz-worthy restaurant in Ohio City tha opened after she closed the Flying Fig, will begin offering dinner service starting next month, reports Alex Darus. |
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Cleveland Heights looks to ‘Amplify’ medical marijuana dispensary to recreational as well Read more Downtown Akron Partnership offers free summer programs at Cascade Plaza Read more ‘Summer on Shaker Square’ resumes May 30 and every other Thursday with live bands, family fun Read more |
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