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The 92-year-old Juvenile Court building has sat vacant since 2011, when Cuyahoga County moved to the new juvenile justice center on Quincy Avenue.
The county has tried to interest private developers in adaptively reusing the building, but found no takers. Last year, the nonprofit Campus District Inc. proposed tearing the building down to make way for a more generously proportioned bridge over Interstate 90.
The existing bridge over the Innerbelt at East 22nd Street has been narrow and inhospitable to pedestrians, making it difficult to walk to Cleveland State University or the Metro campus of Cuyahoga Community College.
Creating a wide, welcoming bridge over the Innerbelt would connect parts of the Central neighborhood.
No word on the cost yet.
– Laura
Guardians at Chicago White Sox: White Sox club three more homers, down Guardians 7-2
Northeast Ohio weather forecast: Frosty morning, sunny day
Capping the Innerbelt: Cuyahoga County has agreed to demolish the long-vacant Juvenile Court Building overlooking the Innerbelt freeway trench at East 22nd Street, reports Steven Litt. The county’s move will make possible the construction of a wide, surface-level highway “cap’’ over the highway trench with generous spaces for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit.
FieldHouse upgrades: The Cavaliers are seeking more than $28 million to make upgrades at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, reports Kaitlin Durbin. The team needs $9.8 million to replace the 29-year-old elevators and escalators and $18.4 million to buy new broadcasting equipment running on spare parts sourced from eBay. “That means that someone – city, county, state, whoever – is going to have to come up with a new funding source, not identified previously, to cover the cost of this,” said the Gateway board president.
60% campaign: With less than two months before early voting begins in an August election to make it harder to change the Ohio constitution, groups on both sides of the issue are scrambling to assemble campaigns. Andrew Tobias reports that involves taking steps to raise money, hire staff, assemble supporters and, not least of all, decide how closely they will tie the measure to the hot-button topic of abortion when they try to sell it to voters.
Today in Ohio: Lt. Gov. Jon Husted was paid $21,600 for a side gig to serve on Heartland Bank’s board. We’re talking about ethics issues with working for a bank while serving as lieutenant governor on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.
Pat DeWine: Ohio Supreme Court Justice Patrick DeWine’s refusal to recuse himself from a trio of redistricting lawsuits, in which his father — Gov. Mike DeWine — is a defendant who will testify as a witness, might be unprecedented, Cory Shaffer reports. Meanwhile, Justice Joe Deters on Wednesday recused himself from a case stemming from a major political corruption scandal that led to the criminal conviction of Ohio’s House speaker, Jake Zuckerman reports.
Bias bill: The Ohio Senate passed a bill to tamp down on perceived liberal bias at state colleges and universities by forcing them to add to their mission statements that they don’t favor or disfavor any political, social or religious beliefs; outlawing the ability of faculty and staff to strike; banning mandated diversity training; and requiring for annual faculty performance evaluations and post-tenure reviews, Laura Hancock reports.
Speedy trial: A teen charged with murder and aggravated murder argued to the Ohio Supreme Court that he lost his right to a speedy trial when prosecutors and the court failed to prioritize his case during the pandemic, reports Laura Hancock. As a result of this error, defense attorneys argue prosecutors shouldn’t be allowed to seek a Serious Youth Offender designation on the case, which would allow for a blended sentence that could include adult prison if he doesn’t make satisfactory progress in the juvenile system, his attorneys said.
Norfolk Southern: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s demand letter to Norfolk Southern about its crumbling bridge in Cleveland’s Edgewater neighborhood managed to get from the railroad giant something that often eludes local leaders: a response. Courtney Astolfi reports Brown is far from satisfied with the answers he received from Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw about conditions at the Lake Avenue bridge, where residents say chunks of concrete routinely fall on the street below.
U.S. 20: The nation’s longest road – U.S. Route 20 – would be designated the “National Medal of Honor Highway” if U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur and veterans organizations get their way, reports Sabrina Eaton. The Toledo Democrat is among a bipartisan group of U.S. Senate and House of Representatives legislators who introduced legislation this month that would honor those who have won the nation’s highest award for valor by renaming the 3,365-mile-long highway.
Waterfront renderings: Exciting proposals for redeveloping Cleveland’s downtown waterfronts have failed time and again to gain traction in recent decades. Steven Litt writes that with a wave of seductive and computer-generated renderings depicting beautiful public spaces, we’re in the midst of one of the busiest seasons of waterfront planning in the city’s recent history.
Holden gardens: Holden Forests & Gardens has hired Edward Moydell, head of the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island in Greater Seattle, to be Holden’s new president and CEO. Peter Krouse reports Moydell will take charge at Holden, which comprises the Holden Arboretum in Kirtland and the Cleveland Botanical Garden in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, on Sept. 1.
AFL-CIO: Dan O’Malley, the leader of Greater Cleveland’s largest labor organization, has been fired by the North Shore AFL-CIO’s board, reports Sean McDonnell. Shari Obrenski, chair of the board and president of the Cleveland teachers union, did not reveal many details in a statement to cleveland.com. She confirmed that O’Malley was “removed from office” after the board met on April 12.
Junk genes: A mere 1% of our DNA codes for the proteins that make up the machinery of our cells. The question of just what the other 99% of our genetic material is doing has perplexed scientists for decades. Finally, researchers at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have uncovered some answers, reports Gretchen Cuda Kroen. A new study found that some of these so-called non-coding sections of genetic material may be important signaling molecules in cancers of the esophagus.
West Side Market: As Cleveland City Council debated how to finance structural repairs to the city-owned West Side Market, a panel of food justice advocates gathered Tuesday to talk about how the market could be an asset to both the East and West sides of the city, reports Paris Wolfe.
Car thefts: Eleven men are charged with racketeering after prosecutors say they broke into dozens of dealerships and stole 86 cars worth more than $5 million. The group ripped off 26 businesses in 32 incidents, including hitting the same showroom three times, reports Cory Shaffer. One of the stolen vehicles belonged to Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, whose Dodge Ram was at Mercedes-Benz of North Olmsted in January to be serviced.
Carjacking: An East Side resident pistol-whipped a victim during a carjacking and left behind evidence in the stolen vehicle that led authorities to him, reports John Tucker. An arrest warrant is out for Josh Rice, 23, of Cleveland. He was charged with aggravated robbery Monday in Cleveland Municipal Court. He is not in custody.
Lizzo and La Plaza: Grammy-winning singer and queen of body positivity Lizzo is driving business for La Plaza Taqueria in Lakewood. Last week, when she was in town for a concert, she ordered vegan tacos — with cactus filling — as well as black beans, Mexican rice and a Jarritos’ tamarind soda. She then posted a TikTok video sampling the tacos, reports Paris Wolfe.
Tennis in the Land: Tennis in the Land is consolidating its courts for its annual women’s tournament in Cleveland’s Flats West Bank, adding pickleball to its programming and changing its seating structure. Marc Bona reports that organizers are consolidating the venue, putting the courts together and allowing non-paying public in for the fan fest.
LeBron dogs: The ASPCA Pet Health Insurance program is teaming with the Humane Society of Summit County to name three dogs after LeBron James – LeBron, Chosen One and James. Marc Bona reports that if the Los Angeles Lakers win the NBA championship, the dogs’ adoption fees will be covered. And for every assist James is credited with, adoption fees will be covered for as many as 40 pets.
Asian Festiva: This year’s Cleveland’s Asian Festival will take on a greener hue when it returns to AsiaTown this Saturday and Sunday, reports Brenda Cain. Festival organizers have a lofty goal of making the annual cultural celebration a “near zero waste” festival. It starts this year with volunteer-manned stations to teach festival-goers about proper recycling, composting and what can be shipped to the landfill.
Mount Granita: Diners in Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood have one more dessert choice starting Friday when Mount Granita opens on Murray Hill Road. Paris Wolfe reports that street-cart vendors of small batch, fresh-fruit Sicilian granitas will now have a storefront.
Lakeside: After 150 years, Lakeside, about 80 miles west of Cleveland on Lake Erie, still holds fast to what it calls its four pillars, adopted from the Chautauqua Movement that launched at about the same time in western New York: education, recreation, cultural arts and religion. Susan Glaser reports the community remains a vacation with a purpose.
Don’t forget, you can always find the latest Cleveland news by visiting cleveland.com. If you value the hard work of Cleveland journalists, consider becoming an cleveland.com subscriber.
— Curated by Laura Johnston with contributions by Cliff Pinckard
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