Cleveland was colder on Thursday, the third day of spring, than it was for much of this winter. That’s not an exaggeration. Zachary Smith analyzed the weather data. This past winter was the warmest in more than 80 years by all marks. Thanks, El Nino. (And climate change.) The average high temperature was 45.9 degrees and the average low temperature was 31.5 degrees. This beats out the previous winter record holder of 2019 - 2020, which had a high of 45.1 degrees and a low of 30.3 degrees. And if we hadn’t gotten snow Sunday, we’d have the least-snowy winter in the past 50 years. Boston Mills ski resort managed to stay open until St. Patrick’s Day, thanks to snowblowers and a several-day January cold snap. But now that the hills are closed and spring break is on the horizon, Mother Nature can turn up the heat. — Laura |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
Northeast Ohio weather forecast: Wintry mix followed by sunshine |
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Cleveland didn't have a bit of snow on the ground in mid-February during a mild winter. (John Pana, cleveland.com file photo) |
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Winter recap: The decades have been steadily getting warmer since the 1960s, when the average low temperature was 20 degrees and the average high was 34.6 degrees, reports Zachary Smith. Gambling future: What is the “future” of gaming in Ohio? A special legislative committee was created to draft a report to state lawmakers documenting what this future entails, reports Jake Zuckerman. On Tuesday, the Ohio Lottery said it’s time the state allows residents to buy tickets for Mega Millions and similar games on their phones instead of just from physical retailers. Today in Ohio: Campbell Soup Co. was sued twice Wednesday, including a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, over accusations that its canning facility in Northwest Ohio pollutes Lake Erie. We’re talking about discharging phosphorous, E. coli bacteria, oil and grease into the Maumee River on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast. |
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Jim Jordan: The “Weaponization of the Federal Government” subcommittee headed by Champaign County Republican Jim Jordan is opening an inquiry into the Internal Revenue Service’s use of artificial intelligence to surveil Americans’ financial information, reports Sabrina Eaton. Jordan and Wyoming GOP Rep. Harriet Hageman are asking for more information on the IRS and the Department of Justice using an AI-powered system to actively monitor millions of Americans’ private transactions, bank accounts, and related financial information without any legal process. Redistricting: The opposition to a redistricting reform amendment that’s expected to appear on the November ballot hasn’t yet officially formed. But when it does, it could attract national Republican money reminiscent of a high-stakes candidate campaign due to its potential ramifications for which party controls the U.S. House, Andrew Tobias reports. Yost sued: Citizens behind an effort to abolish “qualified immunity” – a legal doctrine that can shield police from liability amid accusations of excessive use of force – are suing Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, alleging he’s illegally blocking them from moving toward placing the issue on the ballot, Jake Zuckerman reports. Utility vehicle: The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the case of a driver who injured two people in a drunken crash in a utility vehicle. The court held that the small four-wheeler does not meet the definition of a motor vehicle under the Ohio Revised Code and upheld a lower court’s decision that a Sandusky County farmer was wrongly convicted of aggravated vehicular assault for flipping the vehicle in 2020. |
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Illegal dump: A Garfield Heights recycling center accused of running an illegal dump has agreed to pay up to $1.5 million to end a protracted legal battle with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office that began in 2019. Cory Shaffer reports Baumann’s Recycling Center Inc. and owner Bill Baumann signed a consent order that Yost’s office filed Thursday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in which they agreed to continue removing debris from the 40-acre yard in a ravine off of Broadway Avenue, just east of the Garfield Park Reservation. Housing contracts: Cleveland-based Millennia Housing Management has been barred from receiving new federal housing contracts following a slew of controversy, Megan Sims reports. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development accused Millennia of financial mismanagement of tenant security deposit accounts and taxpayer funds that provide housing assistance, along with not maintaining property conditions. Downtown TIF: During the only public hearing to date on Cleveland's proposed TIF district, members of City Council’s development committee and the think-tank Policy Matters Ohio had a list of questions for Mayor Justin Bibb. Courtney Astolfi explains some of the questions and the city’s answers. HHS tax: Tuesday was a decidedly successful day for supporters of Issue 26, Cuyahoga County’s Health and Human Services levy, reports Lucas Daprile. More than 123,949 voters, 71.1%, cast their ballots for Issue 26 in the March 2024 Primary Election. That’s a higher percentage of “yes” votes than in any Cuyahoga County Health and Human Services election since at least 1984, the earliest time for which records were readily available. Kindland: Clevelander Jacob Cramer founded a nonprofit called Love For Our Elders in 2013. The organization strives to combat loneliness across the senior community in Cleveland, “one handwritten letter at a time.” Peter Chakerian reports that mission to combat senior loneliness now includes a team of more than 50,000 volunteers across 70 countries — all “working together to fight loneliness with love.” |
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Eclipse photos: When the solar eclipse comes on April 8, it’s a safe bet that millions of smartphones will be held up in the air trying to snap photos. That bet led a Maple Heights company to develop a new product — the SafeShot. The SafeShot is a small, rectangular device designed to protect both your eyes and your smartphone camera, reports Sean McDonnell. Drug-resistant fungi: Scientists at Case Western Reserve University say a dangerous wave of drug-resistant fungi is sweeping the globe and it’s time for the medical community to take them seriously, reports Gretchen Cuda Kroen. Thomas McCormick and Mahmoud Ghannoum, professors of dermatology at the CWRU School of Medicine and affiliated with University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, explain in a recent study published in Pathogens and Immunity how rising antifungal resistance is worsening the problem of invasive fungal infections. TB case: A suspected case of tuberculosis has been identified at a middle school in Ashtabula County, reports Gretchen Cuda Kroen. The Ashtabula County health commissioner said the suspected case was found at Geneva Middle School. COVID cases: The number of new COVID-19 cases in Ohio continued falling, sliding from 3,235 last week to 2,719 this week and giving the state its fifth consecutive weekly decrease, reports Julie Washington. The last time that new case numbers were lower was in early August, when the count was 2,666. A year ago at this same time, the new case count was 7,016. |
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Genocide suspect: Federal authorities on Thursday arrested a Uniontown man who investigators say raped and killed during the genocide in Rwanda in the 1990s. Adam Ferrise reports that federal agents said witnesses described Eric Tabaro Nshimiye as one of the most “vicious” members of a youth militia in the Central African country when he killed men, women and children in 1994 by beating them in the head with a nail-studded club and hacking people to death with a machete. Chase shooting: Authorities say Cleveland police officers did not fatally shoot a woman who was wounded during a chase last weekend. Olivia Mitchell reports Antoina Carter, 26, of Cleveland, was shot about 5:20 a.m. Sunday on Garfield Avenue. On Thursday, the county’s medical examiner, Thomas Gilson, said in a statement that the officers did not shoot Carter. FedEx lawsuit: The family of an Akron man who died after a FedEx truck hit him while he was outside his car on Interstate 76 has sued the shipping company. Adam Ferrise reports Yusuf Evans Sr.’s family members filed the wrongful death lawsuit, accusing FedEx of negligent hiring and supervision of the driver of the tractor-trailer who hit Evans, 50, as he stood on the side of the highway after his car caught fire. Former chief sentenced: East Cleveland’s former police chief avoided prison Thursday for failing to pay more than $200,000 in sales taxes on his private security business, reports Cory Shaffer. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Saffold said Scott Gardner operated a yearslong scam in which he pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars and sought unconvincingly to chalk it up as sloppy bookkeeping. |
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Classic CLE: Cleveland has boasted two long-running champions in the mustard world — Bertman’s Original Ball Park Mustard and Authentic Stadium Mustard. Peter Chakerian writes that the condiments are culinary gems — with a tangy, vinegary goodness and hearty bite that’s every bit as important to our fair city as baseball and football is. Ask Yadi: Today’s reader question: Is it OK, in a pinch, to park in designated pickup spots? Yadi Rodriguez writes that as tempting as it might be, especially when the weather is bad, you shouldn’t just pull into one of these spots to run in the store, even if it is just for one item. Best burgers: Your gold medalist in cleveland.com’s “Best of Cleveland” readers’ poll for the region’s best burgers have been open less than a year. You could drive by the place a dozen times and miss it entirely. DineDrinkCLE: On the latest episode of “DineDrinkCLE: The Podcast,” hosts Josh Duke and Alex Darus are ready to talk about the latest food news that’s sprouting up in Greater Cleveland this spring. Carry-on rules: You can pack ice skates in your carry-on. Tennis rackets, too, and umbrellas, football helmets, bowling balls and boxing gloves. Here’s something you can’t pack in your carry-on: Hiking poles. Susan Glaser learned that lesson the hard way. Cosmic photos: Growing up in frequently cloudy Northeast Ohio hasn’t discouraged photographer Barbara Bosworth from making the light of the heavens the leitmotif of her work. Steven Litt reports that the Boston-based photographer has trained her large-format, 8-by-10-inch camera skyward to make images of the sun, moon and stars, currently on exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Things to do: Whatever the weather, you can rely on a slew of Northeast Ohio events to stay entertained. From drag performances to hockey games, there is no shortage of things to do in Greater Cleveland this weekend and beyond. Alex Darus has15 ideas for fun events in Northeast Ohio to provide some inspiration. |
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Wrong-way vehicle ends up driving on rims on Ohio 8 during police pursuit Read more Road work planned for Highland Heights this summer; city budget projects $1.8 million deficit Read more Medina school officials look at next steps following levy failure Read more Cedar Point resumes testing Top Thrill 2 roller coaster opening in May (video) Read more Brunswick City Schools react to renewal levy failure Read more Parma City Council approves 2024 budget with police department receiving new tasers, cameras Read more Medina police chief urges caution following pedestrian accident in square Read more |
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