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What you need to know on Monday, Dec. 7, 2020 WEATHER
Snow showers are possible this morning, with a rain-snow mix during the afternoon. Highs will stay in the mid-30s. It will be cloudy overnight with temperatures in the upper 20s. Read more.
Local scores: Browns 41, Tennessee Titans 35
OVERNIGHT
Sam Randazzo: Gov. Mike DeWine soon will consider a replacement for the state’s most powerful utility regulator, a man whose share of public attention increased dramatically after the FBI searched his home last month. Andrew Tobias profiles Sam Randazzo, a longtime fixture on Ohio’s energy law scene and native of Cuyahoga Falls.
MetroHealth facilities: The MetroHealth System is temporarily closing some of its hospital facilities through the end of the year because of staffing shortages caused by the coronavirus. Kaylee Remington reports MetroHealth had about 100 employees out sick last week and the temporary closings are in anticipation of a continued increase in COVID-19 cases.
This Week in the CLE: Will Republican Ohio legislators appease anti-maskers and strip Gov. Mike DeWine of his powers to enact pandemic health orders? We’re talking about DeWine’s veto and the possibility of overriding it on This Week in the CLE, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.
New numbers: Ohio reported an additional 10,114 coronavirus cases on Friday, as well as 129 new deaths, Andrew Tobias reports. On Saturday, Kaylee Remington reports the state had 10,469 new coronavirus cases, while on Sunday, there were 7,592 new coronavirus cases and 13 additional deaths, Adam Ferrise reports. Hospitalizations: In a rare positive trend during the fall spike in Ohio coronavirus cases, the number of COVID-19 patients in Ohio hospitals was reported down Friday for the third consecutive day. Rich Exner reports that though still at near-record levels of more than 5,000 patients, the recent trend marks the first consecutive days of drops in patient counts since the number fell for five straight days to 563 on Sept. 20.
Vaccines: Ohio could receive more than 659,000 doses of two coronavirus vaccines before the end of the year, with the first shipments distributed to high-risk health-care workers, first responders and group living facilities. Evan MacDonald reports Ohio expects to begin receiving doses of vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna around Dec. 15, and will then distribute them throughout the state. Gov. Mike DeWine outlined the state’s strategy for first delivering the coronavirus vaccine to the most vulnerable, including frontline healthcare workers and EMS responders, Julie Washington reports.
ICU: The number of occupied beds in intensive-care units at hospitals in Cuyahoga County has surged to its highest level since the pandemic began, with 87% of ICU beds filled as of Thursday, Courtney Astolfi reports. Local positivity rates have also hit a record high. Of the tests administered by MetroHealth, Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals between Nov. 22 and Nov. 28, 24.9% were positive, up from 21.4% the week prior. During the last week in October, the positivity rate was 6.7%.
More actions: As coronavirus cases continue to surge, Gov. Mike DeWine warned Friday that the state will have to take further action to mitigate its spread. Seth Richardson reports that DeWine said that even though the state has seen progress in compliance with mask wearing and people limiting movement, it hasn’t been enough to stop the increase in cases and hospitalizations that threaten the health-care infrastructure of Ohio.
Refrigerated unit: The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office plans to request refrigerated units from the state to serve as makeshift morgues in preparation for anticipated increase in deaths due to COVID-19, Courtney Astolfi reports. Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Gilson said the request is a “proactive measure” and existing storage space for corpses has yet to be overwhelmed.
Purple alert: Cuyahoga County for the past two weeks has met criteria that would ordinarily land a county on the highest level of purple alert in the state’s coronavirus warning system. But Cuyahoga is only on “watch” for purple. Rich Exner reports that the data has been revised, but the state says it won’t retroactively make Cuyahoga purple – even though Franklin went purple in a similar situation.
Cleveland numbers: City officials reported 403 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, the highest single-day total since the pandemic began, Adam Ferrise reports. The city reported no additional deaths from the virus. The new cases bring Cleveland’s total confirmed cases to 13,308.
Dispatcher fired: A Cleveland police dispatcher was fired Friday after investigators learned he spoke with Cuyahoga County Jail inmates while on the clock and repeatedly disrespected his boss. Cleveland Safety director Karrie Howard fired Charles McGeever after a police internal affairs investigation, city officials said in a statement issues late Friday, Adam Ferrise reports.
55 Public Square: The once-flourishing Cleveland property venture tied to a Ukrainian oligarch under FBI investigation has been rattled by more financial problems, John Caniglia reports. Optima 55 Public Square LLC defaulted on an $18.5 million loan, owing its lender, 55 Bridge Lending of Cleveland, more than $14.5 million in principal, interest and property taxes on the 22-floor downtown tower, according to records filed this week in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
Highway sprawl: Sprawl enabled by interstate highways has been central to Northeast Ohio’s history for decades. Pick any issue from white flight to racial segregation, entrenched urban poverty, or rising economic inequality, and suburban sprawl is a major, if not primary cause. The question is whether the region can tap the brakes on outward growth and focus instead on redeveloping areas already built up. Steven Litt writes that the answer may depend on the success of a new policy drafted by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, the region’s transportation planning agency, on how it should evaluate requests for adding new interchanges to the highway system.
NASA: Astronomers in Hawaii who scan the heavens for asteroids that could catastrophically crash into Earth spotted a mysterious new object in the sky this September. Sabrina Eaton reports that NASA hypothesizes the object scientists dubbed “2020 SO” was actually a Centaur upper-stage rocket booster from the ill-fated Surveyor 2 unmanned mission to explore the lunar surface, which was launched in 1966.
Jail death: Shone Trawick loved to surprise his grandchildren by swooping in, picking them out of the blue and spoiling them the rest of the day. Since Trawick was beaten to death Nov. 9 in a Cuyahoga County Jail cell by his cellmate, many of his grandchildren, some too young to understand the gravity of what happened, wonder where he is, his wife Dionne Brooks said in an interview with Adam Ferrise.
Restaurant help: Locally owned restaurants affected by the coronavirus pandemic can expect another financial boost from Cuyahoga County’s Small Business Stabilization Fund with a grant-application process, Marc Bona reports. Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish said an additional $1.2 million has been designated from the county’s CARES Act Funding. The grants - up to $10,000 each – are intended to help restaurants with unpaid rent, utilities and Covid-19 safety-related costs.
Schools: Why isn’t Gov. Mike DeWine shutting down schools during the coronavirus’ latest record-breaking surge in Ohio? Emily Bamforth asked four public health and policy experts to weigh in on a key issue surrounding school closures: Whether the decision should be left in the hands of superintendents and boards of education, or whether the state needs to set hard rules for which learning model to use. Experts say a blend of state measures and local control in school decision-making is most helpful.
Supreme Court: A divided Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that a 13-year-old boy’s confession to a Cuyahoga County official in a rape case did not violate the child’s rights. In a 4-3 decision, the court said an investigator from the county’s Children and Family Services did not need to give the boy his Miranda warnings before interviewing him in 2015, John Caniglia reports.
Republican call: Gov. Mike DeWine heaped praise on President Donald Trump during a virtual meeting with top Ohio Republican Party officials on Friday, particularly applauding Trump for his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Andrew Tobias reports Ohio Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken praised Trump’s and DeWine’s leadership while also emphasizing the importance of party unity as she announced plans to seek a second four-year term as state party leader.
Decriminalizing marijuana: The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed sweeping legislation that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. Sabrina Eaton reports the bill would also set up a process to expunge past federal convictions for marijuana violations, keep federal public benefits from being denied to people because of cannabis-related conduct, and authorize resources to address the needs of communities seriously impacted by drug prosecutions.
Fatal shooting: A 33-year-old man is charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a man who was later dropped off in front of MetroHealth and died shortly after. Jose Trinidad of Cleveland is charged in the Nov. 27 fatal shooting of Bryan Serrano. warrant was issued Wednesday for Trinidad's arrest, Adam Ferrise reports.
Teacher robbed: A 32-year-old Lake County teacher is thankful things didn’t go more south when a man broke into her Cleveland home, held her at knifepoint and robbed her. Kaylee Remington interviewed the Kirtland Local Schools teacher, who was teaching one of her special needs students at about 11 a.m. through Zoom when she heard a commotion downstairs of her Baltic Road home. She got up to check it out and saw the man, later identified as 43-year-old Cleveland resident Charles Derosett, at the bottom landing of her stairs. Cleveland police said he broke a window to get in.
Police chase: Two East Cleveland police officers are recovering after they each broke a hand during a police chase with a suspect accused of threatening to shoot a woman. Kaylee Remington reports the chase happened Friday night when officers engaged in a pursuit with the domestic violence suspect who had a loaded gun in the car.
Bloody argument: A MetroHealth doctor’s assistant who works at the Cuyahoga County Jail and is infected with HIV is accused of wiping blood on a Cleveland police officer during an argument with his boyfriend. Adam Ferrise reports Robert Bell was hired in October 2019 by the hospital system to work as an emergency doctor in the jail.
Tom Sullivan: Tom Sullivan, the business giant who for decades led coatings company RPM International while also earning a reputation as a major philanthropist in Cleveland, died last week. Eric Heisig reports Sullivan made his mark through his decades in the ever-growing Medina-based company – which owns subsidiaries that make and market high-performance coatings, sealants and specialty chemicals – by helping acquire dozens of businesses. His reputation outside the company grew thanks to the charitable work performed by both he and his late wife, Sandy.
Fall Brawl: Steven Mitchell Daugherty skipped the turkey on Thanksgiving to fish in the 10th annual Lake Erie Fall Brawl. Laura Johnston reports he won the grand prize, a Warrior boat, by catching a 12.85-pound, 30.75-inch fish that afternoon by the Avon Lake Power Plant.
Basheer Jones: At a time when Cleveland remains under a stay-at-home advisory and health experts suggest people even limit their trips to the grocery store out of concern about the coronavirus pandemic, Cleveland Councilman Basheer Jones is traveling in Egypt, Bob Higgs reports.
Homegrown Hero: Medina resident Sam Livingston is a former Cleveland firefighter, a business coach and real estate agent who owns Marathon Real Estate Group. He’s also a community volunteer, helping lead Feeding Medina County’s annual turkey drive and cleaning gutters, trimming hedges and doing other home improvement at veterans’ homes. Cameron Fields profiles Livingston, cleveland.com's Homegrown Hero for November.
Winter RiverFest: If you have to social distance this season, why not do it in a heated Igloo, while watching the sun set on the Cuyahoga River, surrounded by twinkling lights and enjoying Christmas tunes? If that sounds better than self isolation, then consider checking out Cleveland Metroparks’ Winter RiverFest at Rivergate Park and Merwin’s Wharf. Joshua Gunter has photos.
Joel McHale: Card Sharks host Joel McHale answers the internet's most searched questions about himself for cleveland.com’s sister site, Wired.
House of the Week: The William H. Ford House at 4201 Franklin Blvd. is regarded by Ohio City residents as perhaps the most intact original Victorian home in the historic neighborhood. The fully restored, 3,167-square-foot home boasts four bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and a new detached two-car garage. It's for sale for $569,900, Joey Morona reports.
Mostly white protesters clash with family of Black Akron councilwoman during protest in front of her home Read more
Man tried to kill co-defendant in armed robbery case in Cleveland, police say Read more
Man arrested in shootout with Cleveland police as he jumped into stolen car, crashed into police cruiser Read more
Cleveland police asking for public’s help in identifying suspect who killed motorcyclist in hit-and-run Read more
Man shoots wife to death before turning gun on himself at their Akron home, police say Read more
Cuyahoga County officially earmarks $1.2 million in CARES Act money for struggling local restaurants Read more
Dennis Kucinich files paperwork to raise money for potential Cleveland mayoral run in 2021 Read more
Akron accepting bids for conserving Theiss Road property in Merriman Valley Read more
Medina County District Libraries close doors again due to pandemic Read more
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