ELECTION
Congressional races: U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown of Warrensville Heights won in her Democratic primary rematch against former Ohio Sen. Nina Turner, Sabrina Eaton reports. In the race for the Republican nomination, former East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer defeated Cleveland Heights home remodeler James Hemphill. Former Donald Trump White House aide Max Miller won a four-way Republican primary in Ohio’s redrawn 7th congressional district, and U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce won his race against a pair of Republican primary challengers in the newly reconfigured 14th congressional district. Democrat Craig Stephen Swartz was projected to win the chance to take on Bowling Green GOP Rep. Bob Latta, and North Canton lawyer Madison Gesiotto Gilbert won a crowded GOP primary in the reconfigured 13th district and will take on former Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes of Akron.
Secretary of State: Frank LaRose beat Republican challenger John Adams in the Republican secretary of state race, Laura Hancock reports. LaRose, a former state senator, is seeking a second term to the office. He previously was a state senator. LaRose faces Democrat Chelsea Clark on Nov. 8.
County executive: Chris Ronayne on Tuesday decisively led the Democratic primary in the Cuyahoga County executive election, with 66% of the vote. With 759 out of 818 scanners counted, Tariq K. Shabazz, a 28-year-old Navy veteran, had 34% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. Former University Circle Inc. President Ronayne, 53, will face Republican Lee Weingart in the general election Nov. 8.
More results: Cleveland.com has complete results from Northeast Ohio counties on local issues and races.
STATEHOUSE & POLITICS
Huffman out: Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, a Republican who’s played a central role in directing the GOP’s redistricting strategy, is opting out of attending this week’s Ohio Redistricting Commission meeting and sending a top lieutenant instead. Andrew Tobias reports that Sen. Rob McColley, a Napoleon Republican, will replace Huffman on the panel when it meets at 2 p.m. today, two days before a Friday deadline imposed by the Ohio Supreme Court.
Abortion opinion: Jim Obergefell, a Sandusky resident who was a lead plaintiff in the 2015 landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that affirmed same-sex marriage nationwide, said Tuesday after a Supreme Court abortion draft decision was leaked that he is concerned about the future of abortion and gay rights. The opinion shows a majority of the court deciding a Mississippi abortion clinic case by halting abortion rights that the court had previously said were guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution in the cases of Roe v. Wade in 1973 and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992. Laura Hancock reports the draft decision mentions the case of Obergefell v. Hodges by name -- twice.
Gubernatorial elections: Gov. Mike DeWine this year is trying to become the fourth straight Republican Ohio governor to successfully win re-election. Rich Exner has a database of Ohio gubernatorial election results since 1867 and the vote by county for each election since 1990.
Tax lawsuit: The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the state to respond to a lawsuit filed by two Northeast Ohio taxpayers seeking to stop a state tax policy that they claim results in the double-taxation of thousands of taxpayers without W-2 forms. Robert Higgs reports that James Palm of Akron and Sara Pearson of Ravenna sued state Tax Commissioner Jeff McClain and Treasurer Robert Sprague last August, claiming that when taxpayers are unable to provide W-2 information on their state tax returns, the state instructs them to list on their tax filing that no state income tax was withheld by their employers.
METRO
Budish investigation: Cuyahoga County’s inspector general has concluded that there is no way to determine if Executive Armond Budish intentionally tried to deceive council when he recommended labor leader Dave Wondolowski for a prominent county board seat while Wondolowski also held an incompatible office. Kaitlin Durbin reports Budish in a statement accused Council President Pernel Jones of only requesting the investigation because Budish refused to withdraw Wondolowski's nomination.
College graduation: South Russell resident Carter Kilby is graduating from the University of Akron this weekend — two weeks before he graduates from Chagrin Falls High School. Kilby, 18, is about to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in computer information systems without having to take academic classes at his high school thanks to Ohio’s College Credit Plus program, reports Megan Becka.
Garden soil: Like salad dressing, you have options for your raised garden bed soil, ranging from prepackaged options to do-it-yourself concoctions. A raised-bed garden mixture is a blend of compost, filler material and a generous dash of grit, writes Susan Brownstein in her weekly gardening column.
COVID-19 & HEALTHCARE
Domestic violence: Witnessing domestic violence as a child can raise the risk of depression and other mental health problems in adulthood, reports Julie Washington. Among Canadian adults who were exposed to chronic parental domestic violence as children, 22.5% had major depression at some point in their life, 15% had an anxiety disorder and nearly 27% had a substance abuse disorder.
BUSINESS
Car sales: Greater Cleveland dealerships don’t have enough vehicles to keep up with demand, and sales are below 2021 and even pre-pandemic figures. Sean McDonnell reports new vehicle sales were down 34% in April. Dealerships have sold 67,020 new vehicles in the first four months of 2022, down from 86,609 at this time in 2021.
CRIME
Meth cook: A top methamphetamine cook for Mexican drug dealers who used warehouses in two wealthy suburbs to churn out high-grade crystal meth was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison, Adam Ferrise reports.
Cardiologists: Two Moreland Hills cardiologists had been accused of ordering unnecessary medical procedures for patients to obtain payouts from insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid. Dr. Ashis Rakhit and Dr. Jayati Gupta Rakhit, who are married, agreed to pay $600,000 in exchange for federal prosecutors dropping charges against them, months after a jury found them not guilty of dozens of charges and deadlocked on others, Adam Ferrise reports.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
'Jeopardy!': Angela Kissner, an educational consultant and tutor from Akron, tried Tuesday to defeat Mattea Roach on "Jeopardy!," reports Joey Morona.
Fripp Island: There are no grocery stores on Fripp, a 6.5-square-mile private resort off the coast of Beaufort, between Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Georgia. Laura Johnston reports on a Hilton Head, S.C., alternative where there are no outlet malls, no hotels, no mini golf and no crowds – at least when she rented a house with friends for spring break.
Polka convention: Four days of polka music will arrive in Independence for Memorial Day weekend when the United States Polka Association hosts its 53rd annual festival and convention, reports Annie Nickoloff. At the convention, Polish music takes center stage, with performances by 14 bands.
