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CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Rockbridge Network is a secretive, close-knit network of wealthy Republican donors, with Vice President JD Vance at its core. We’re talking about one of the most influential forces in GOP politics, aiming for an aristocracy that will steer the party and equip MAGA to outlive President Trump. Listen online here. Editor Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with editorial board member Lisa Garvin, impact editor Leila Atassi and content director Laura Johnston. You’ve been sending Chris lots of thoughts and suggestions on our from-the-newsroom text account, in which he shares what we’re thinking about at cleveland.com. You can sign up here: https://joinsubtext.com/chrisquinn. Here’s what we’re asking about today: We start today not with one of our stories but a story from the Washington Post with a big focus on JD Vance. It’s a frightening piece about how a few wealthy people are working to create an oligarchy to rule over America, and they are the people behind JD Vance. What’s the story say? In a year when people are furious about their property tax bills, a bunch of tax increases on the ballot actually passed. How does that compare to last year, and what do we think it means? And let’s remember how our Republican legislators attacked our libraries with their budget, ending the funding formula that made them healthy. We know people love their libraries. How much, according to voting Tuesday? Kaitlin Durbin has been doing fantastic work dissecting Cuyahoga County’s budget woes, and her latest story about the sheriff’s budget raises big questions about what County Executive Chris Ronayne portrays as a budget that is balanced. What’s wrong with this picture? While man Democrats bemoan the way Ohio Republicans blackmailed their way into the most gerrymandered Congressional map we’ve ever seen in the state, one congresswoman sees opportunity. How can that be? With Ohio having adopted State Sen. Jerry Cirino’s ridiculous higher education bill, which aims to turn state campuses into right-wing training centers, we expect out of state colleges will do serious recruiting here. The latest to do so, though, is less focusd on the philosophy on the Cirino bill and more on the programming. What’s the out-of-state school’s pitch? Jeremy Pelzer analyzed Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s continued to fight to deprive Ohioans of extra unemployment benefits that the federal government offered during the pandemic. It’s hard to understand why he’s still fighting this. What did Jeremy find? We should have talked about this before Halloween, but it still has relevance heading toward Christmas. What is going on with chocolate prices? We are coming up on the 50th anniversary of the Cleveland International Film Festival, and organizers are doing something sure to please those who were around for the early years. What is it? Lastly, Cedar Point is done for the season, but two of our podcast hosts squeezed in visits in the final days. Were things running smoothly, or did you see some cracks in the veneer? More Today in Ohio Big Tech vs. GOP: Will Ohio Republicans cave to AI money? Special treatment for the wealthy in FirstEnergy bribery case: Why are execs’ pleadings secret? “He should be in prison:” How restaurateur Bobby George admitted violent abuse and walked away We have an Apple podcasts channel exclusively for this podcast. Subscribe here. Do you get your podcasts on Spotify? Find us here. RadioPublic is another popular podcast vehicle, and we are here. On PodParadise, find us here. And on PlayerFM, we are here. Read the automated transcript below. Because it’s a computer-generated transcript, it contains many errors and misspellings. Chris Quinn (00:00.984) We’re not talking about this one today. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. But wow, the Cleveland schools made a dramatic announcement about just how many schools they need to close and which ones so that they can get their budget in shape. So did a dropping population. But I suspect we’re going to have quite a bit of politics over the next month as city council members fight like crazy to preserve the closing schools. It’s Today in Ohio. It’s the news podcast discussion from cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. I’m Chris Quinn here with Layla Atassi, Courtney Astolfi and Laura Johnston. And Laura, we’re going to start today, not with one of our stories, but a story from the Washington Post with a big focus on our very own JD Vance. It’s a frightening piece about how a few wealthy people believe they should be the ones that dictate What happens in America basically creating an oligarchy that replaces democracy and they are the people who put JD Vance into power. What’s this story say? Laura (01:09.235) This is a fascinating read from the Washington Post and it’s about the Rockbridge Network, which I had never heard of and that’s on purpose because it is this secretive close-knit network of businessmen turned donors that started with Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel and JD Vance. This started in 2019. They gathered a small group of right-wing donors and a resort outside the 100 person town of Rockbridge, Ohio. I had never heard of this town. I looked it up. area of Hocking Hills and there’s a state nature preserve there, so maybe we’re drilling under it already. But this group has since established itself as one of the most influential forces in Republican politics. They’re credited with help fuel Trump’s election and propelling Vance to the vice president. See, now they want him in that gilded Oval Office. They have no website, no public-facing entity, but they’ve got pollsters, data crunchers, online advertisers. even a documentary film arm and a part just for young people. So this is a rapidly growing group of very rich people who want to direct government, elections, and policy. Chris Quinn (02:20.342) Yeah, it’s much more dangerous than that. This this group is basically saying you the people listening to this podcast, us, the people making this podcast are too stupid to determine our fate. And the country can only survive if a very elite group of filthy rich oligarchs make the decisions. And they’re the ones that put JD Vance in the power. JD Vance was at the meeting. He’s part of the group that says America. Laura (02:43.069) Mm-hmm. Chris Quinn (02:48.108) Democracy doesn’t work. You are too dumb to be in charge. You need to have masters to dictate our fate. It’s one of the most frightening things you can see, but it is the evidence, all the evidence you need about where the Republican Party wants to take this country. look, I give huge points to the Washington Post for ferreting this out because they do not want people to know they’re doing this. But that’s what this is. This is junk our government. Laura (03:12.104) Right. Chris Quinn (03:16.02) and have masters like they have in Russia telling us what is good for us. And people need to wake up to this. This is frightening because one of the chief architects is a heartbeat away from the top position in the country. Laura (03:21.447) Right. Laura (03:30.952) Right, so this all came under some Arizona insurance entrepreneur named Chris Buskirk. I’d never heard of him before, but he believes that the aristocracy should rule basically and that they can take care of everyone and everyone prospers. They call it patriotic capitalism, which doesn’t that like just bring up a gag reflex in you? This aristopopulism that they think should have control over everything. And it is scary how much power they have because they have accumulated so much data. They’ve got a database with deep profiles of potential voters through non-political memberships that they kind of funnel people in, including on social media, outdoor groups and churches, and then they get them to the polls. Like, they are the puppet masters here. And that is really frightening when you have a whole lot of people who think that Trump and the like are doing good for them, but really it’s the very rich people and the Silicon Valley types at the top. who are just controlling the strings and saying, this is all for our benefit. Chris Quinn (04:33.688) And what we need to do is put the spotlight on it. Look, anybody that’s read Ayn Rand, this is right out of her belief that the business community is the way forward and the elected government is just a bunch of clowns and bureaucracy will fail. And this has come up before. They’re not the first rich guys to think they should run everything. And the way you show it is put the spotlight on it. They’re not doing this for the good of the country. Do you think they’re going to worry about SNAP benefits? Not a chance. They don’t care that people go hungry. They don’t care about the state of employment. This is all just so rich people can get richer and live well. And JD Vance is part of that. Ohio’s JD Vance, that’s what he is. He wrote that book to make it look like he’s just an Appalachian guy who came from nothing and is trying to find his way. That’s not who he is. This is who he is. Laura (05:04.316) No. Chris Quinn (05:30.38) the puppet and he’s now vice president of the United States. We posted the story on our site. You should look it up and read it or the Washington Post site. It’s very much worth your time. Frightening state and you are listening to Today in Ohio. In a year when people are furious about their property tax bills, a bunch of tax increases on the ballot actually passed. Courtney, how does that compare to last year and what do we think this means? Courtney (05:58.103) Ohio voters this week approved 66 % of school tax issues that were on the ballot. And this was surprisingly a sharp jump over last year’s approval rate, which was just 51%. So the Ohio School Boards Association is touting this as a big signal that people are supportive of their local schools, even amidst this property tax anxiety. This 15 point jump says that, you know, communities are willing. to support their schools against this backdrop. That’s what the association said. Among the types of levies, we saw that renewal levies did best and that’s kind of commonplace. know, 55 out of 60 that were on the ballot passed, but new money levies, those are usually up against tougher odds. 33 % of those new money levies passed up from 25 % a year ago. So even when folks are being asked to dig deeper into their pockets, they’re saying, Yes, more so than they were last year. I’m curious how these numbers relate to, know, I know at least locally, a lot of school districts were trying to get the different levy types on the ballot this year before the new rules go into effect next year that limit which kind of levies they can put forth. So that makes sense to me as far as why we saw perhaps more on the ballot this year, but the approval rate, what is striking? What is striking takeaway from election night? Chris Quinn (07:22.358) Yeah, I’m having a hard time reconciling it though. We know there’s rage about property taxes. We see it all over the place, but maybe it’s regional. Maybe Northeast Ohio, which has ridiculously high taxes, is where the rage is. It’s certainly where the ballot measure originated. And maybe in most of the state, they don’t feel that way. I don’t know. I’m just thrown, and I think this requires more analysis, geographically, maybe by economic strata of where these districts are, where they were so successful, try and figure out how did this get done. You might be right. They may be trying to get this approved while they still can because the legislature has taken away the ability to do some of this. But I don’t know that we understand what drove this. Courtney (08:09.23) I’m also curious too, if parents and community members don’t want to pay higher taxes, they’re getting pummeled because of the housing increases in the last couple of years. if they’re looking at the school that their kid’s going to go to and they want to make sure their kid’s taken okay, maybe that factors into their calculus differently. Like how folks disapprove of Congress in general, but like their Congress member, they want to take care of the home front, perhaps. Chris Quinn (08:37.91) I suspect our expert education reporter Laura Hancock will continue to explore this to try and figure out what’s going on. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Let’s remember how our Republican lawmakers attacked our libraries with their budget, ending the funding formula that made the libraries healthy and putting in clear portents that they plan to savage them. We know people love their libraries. Courtney, how much according to voting on Tuesday? Courtney (09:07.448) We saw a similar pattern here. There was a lot of support for local libraries this week. Voters across the state approved 18 out of 20 library levies that were on the ballot. And this includes 13 renewals, but three replacements, which is a tax hike, an additional levy, also a tax hike, and a bond issue. And, you know, I wonder how much of this is just that general support for local libraries, and then how much is it? folks looking at what the General Assembly did when it scrapped that formula and replaced it with a more limited year to year appropriation. could really go belly up at any time depending on the whims of lawmakers. I wonder how much that factored into voters’ logic on Tuesday. Chris Quinn (09:53.464) Look, I think the power engorged Republicans in the legislature just don’t get what a political force the libraries can be. People love them. We know they love them. They almost always support them. And when the library is under attack, people get upset about it. And I’m just not sure the Republicans get that. They think because they’ve gerrymandered this state to a ridiculous level, they can do whatever they want. But there are real danger zones for them and one is messing with the libraries. They should look at these votes and stop messing with the libraries because they could become a political force next year and the governor’s race and the various legislative races, if they feel threatened and the patrons feel threatened, what might they do to change that picture? Courtney (10:41.528) Yeah, because here in the near term, you know, they’re losing collectively $10 million annually from the state as part of these changes. But, you know, we heard from the Ohio Library Council, quote, voters clearly recognize their local libraries deliver exceptional value. Folks, folks love their libraries. I wouldn’t mess with them. Chris Quinn (11:02.978) You know what’s gross though? Mike DeWineke’s putting out press releases about the Dolly Parton book reading program and acting like he’s all behind it. He signed that, but he could have vetoed what they did to the libraries and he didn’t. So on the one hand, he’s trying to show, I care about reading, but he signed the plan that will savage libraries. It’s the height of hypocrisy. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Caitlin Durbin has been doing fantastic work dissecting Cuyahoga County’s budget woes. It’s just story after story about how the cuts will affect the neediest among us. Her latest story though about the sheriff’s budget raises big questions about what County Executive Chris Ronane portrays as a budget that is balanced. Lela, what’s wrong with this picture? Leila (11:51.778) Yeah, the so-called balanced plan is resting on what seems to be pretty shaky math. Ronane’s budget assumes the Sheriff’s Office will suddenly rein in its runaway overtime costs, but history doesn’t really back that up. Sheriff Harold Pretel says he’s making changes to reduce overtime, things like hiring janitorial crews so corrections officers don’t have to mop floors anymore, switching to longer shifts and tightening attendance rules. He insists that those changes will save money, but his own fiscal officers, the people who actually track the numbers, say that it’s unlikely. They’re warning county council that overtime costs are on track to hit $23 million this year and could reach $25 million next year, but Ronane’s budget only sets aside $18 million. That’s a $13 million hole before 2026 even begins. One of the sheriff’s budget managers actually said, Something is underfunded here in these numbers. Council members are really skeptical too. They’ve seen it before. Overtime is under budgeted, money runs out, and the county has to dip into reserves to keep it all running. And that’s not sustainable, especially with the county already cutting human services programs to balance the books. Chris Quinn (13:09.57) Too bad they can’t get that five million back from the Huntington building that’s falling apart. What I appreciated in this story is that the sheriff’s folks, even though they answer up to Chris Ronane, spoke openly and honestly that they doubt his numbers. You don’t often see that in county government. They’re kind of required to tow the company line, but they went in and very flatly said, yeah, this is not going to work. If we look at the historical pattern, it’s not going down. Leila (13:14.307) Mmm. Leila (13:22.658) Yeah. Chris Quinn (13:38.922) It’s going up. Leila (13:40.28) Yeah, well, and I find it, for that reason, I think it’s kind of insulting to counsel for the sheriff to call this budget functional when his own fiscal officers are warning that it’s millions short. He’s been around long enough to know those numbers won’t hold. To present them with a straight face as if counsel wouldn’t notice that the math doesn’t add up is ridiculous. Chris Quinn (14:03.586) Well, go ahead Courtney. Courtney (14:03.622) Can I? I just want to throw out there this this OT OT debate and the budgeting, the under budgeting for it. It’s a perennial debate on city council. And I just find it funny that ex Cleveland police officer, Harry Patel now sheriff. These are these are these are the same city tactics we see play out now they’re over at the county building to Leila (14:13.644) Yeah. Chris Quinn (14:26.316) Look, though, this has grave implications. If in the middle of next year, the county budget is deep, deep in the red, that will play into probably not the county executives race. I doubt he’ll have much of an opponent, but if there is a measure on the ballot to abolish the charter and go back to the county commission form, this could be a factor in that. I just don’t know why Ronane would put forth the budget that is based on such a fallacy. Get it right. Leila (14:54.881) Right. Chris Quinn (14:55.88) Figure it out if you have to cut more do the pain but get the budget balanced because What happens if we’re 20 million in the red? Leila (15:05.687) Right. And I think council members are recognizing that and pointing to that and saying, let’s budget for what we need. Also, I think the county needs to realize that it’s such bad management strategy to rely on overtime like this. I get it that it’s difficult to hire and retain enough deputies and corrections officers, but That’s what really needs to happen. It’s the only sustainable way to stabilize the sheriff’s budget. Otherwise, the county keeps paying time and a half to plug holes and that could be filled by fully staffed shifts. Chris Quinn (15:42.392) It’s an ugly picture. I, again, I appreciate the honesty that they had because I, want your public officials to speak the truth when they’re in the hot seat and many don’t, they lie. These guys, I’m sure they’re catching hell for saying what they did, but that’s public service. They served us well in giving us a clear picture. So kudos to them. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. While many Democrats bemoan the way Ohio Republicans blackmailed their way into the most gerrymandered congressional map we’ve ever seen in this state, one Congresswoman sees opportunity for the Democrats. Laura, how can that be? Laura (16:25.287) This is Amelia Sykes and she says they can still get five congressional seats under the newly redrawn map from redistricting. And she says her party’s got a strong chance of taking control of the House of Representatives next year. A lot of this is based on how they feel about President Trump. And if you look at the election results on Tuesday, there was a democratic wave. And she says that presidential administrations brought lots of chaos into the lives of American public. They’ve done nothing to lower costs in the first 10 months they’ve controlled the White House and both houses of Congress and people are going to be fed up with that. So she’s talking about tariffs, rising costs, inflation, cuts to programs like Medicaid, the government shutdown. You have to think that people are going to be feeling it and thinking we need a switch. you hope the Democrats will be taking advantage of this feeling. Chris Quinn (17:16.812) Well, it did work. mean, Trump got into office with his 2025 plan and immediately started sticking it to the poor people. He convinced all these people on the lower end of the income spectrum that I’ll save you. And instead he came in and it’s just rich friend party time. I mean, they even had a great Gatsby themed party in the middle of the government shutdown. mean, they’re clowns. They don’t understand what America thinks. Meanwhile, well, Laura (17:23.367) Mm-hmm. Laura (17:37.905) No, for Halloween. Laura (17:43.175) I don’t think they care. I don’t think they care. Chris Quinn (17:45.654) They’re going to care if they get the midterms cost them Congress. Meanwhile, these candidates get it. They get that our pocketbooks are drained every time you go to the store, your jaw hits the floor because prices keep going up. And they played that. It’s that that I’m here to try and help you get out of this economic failure. And it worked in every case. Well, I don’t see how the Republicans can fix it now. They’ve doomed us with tariffs and all the things they’ve done that are raising prices. So they’re in big trouble. Sykes might be right. If the Democrats run well, Amy Acton at the top of the ticket really pounding that I’m here for you, which is what she’s saying, I’m going to change the trajectory in Ohio, it could make a difference. The Republicans, look, they got in and they carried this false premise that it was a mandate, even though more people actually voted against Trump than for him. There was no mandate. Laura (18:18.333) Right. Laura (18:39.507) Mm-hmm. Chris Quinn (18:45.156) at all, but they were so power drunk, they just went down their road. this week, the price was paid. I think it’ll be paid again next year. So Amelia Sykes just might be correct. Laura (18:56.979) I mean, there are some easy things for Democrats to grab hold to, like energy prices, right? Like that is what the new governor of New Jersey campaigned on, that she’s going to put in this emergency freeze and get everybody to the table to talk about electricity. If we have someone in Ohio who’s saying that, I think that would be really popular. People are at their wits end for that. So all you have to do is funnel this anger that people feel, the frustration of paying for their daily life. And I think they’ve got a huge you know, head start. Chris Quinn (19:29.27) I’ve never seen electric bills like I’ve seen in last few months. I it is, is stunning how much higher they are than just six months ago. And if I feel that way, everybody feels that way. can’t imagine having an all electric house. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. With Ohio having adopted state Senator Jerry Serino’s ridiculous higher education bill, which aims to turn our state campuses into right-wing training centers. We expect that out-of-state colleges will do serious recruiting here. The latest to do so, though, is less focused on the philosophy of the Sereno bill and more on the programming that’s resulted. Courtney, what’s the latest out-of-state schools pitch? Courtney (20:13.846) Yeah, we’re talking about Point Park University in Pittsburgh that’s doing something kind of creative here. It’s offering a lifeline to Ohio students whose degree programs were cut under SB 1. So it’s rolled out a new they’re calling it the Buckeye Fresh Start Scholarship. And this promises 16 to 22 grand a year in merit aid, plus an extra five grand annually for students who transfer from affected Ohio colleges. And this private university in Pittsburgh says it’s also going to expedite credit transfers, assign personal advisors, and help students finish on time. This is all part of its effort to capture those who are caught up in this SB1 shakeup. And the school says the goal is to give these students stability and, you know, a path to graduation. Chris Quinn (21:04.856) I think it’s going to work. think the out-of-state schools are going to have a field day taking the best and brightest out of Ohio because of what Sereno’s bill did and what Mike DeWine did by signing it. The idea that they’re going after it for the programming is not something I’d considered. So that’s a new vulnerability that we have because of their ridiculous culture-worm mentality in the state house. Courtney (21:28.822) Yeah, because SB1 made Ohio universities, you know, cut low enrollment programs. If a certain number of students hadn’t moved through those programs, they had to hit the chopping block. And we saw that, I mean, hit Ohio University, Toledo, Cleveland State, Tri-C. And maybe these are smaller programs, but some students want them. And this Pittsburgh University isn’t the only one kind of hopping on this train. Eastern Michigan University has also launched ads aimed at Ohioan. that while it doesn’t quite target the same low enrollment programs, it’s saying, hey, come get educated here. Chris Quinn (22:05.388) Yeah, where we have open minds. Look, we’ve been saying it from the beginning. Mike DeWine should have helped with this college crisis. And he could have gotten the higher education institutions together and said, hey, let’s consolidate. So one of you gets this low interest program, but if you’re the only one that has it, you’ll have enough students to make it viable. And then the other ones would share the others. Instead, it became a free for all where they all just had a fend for themselves. They’ve all been cutting. There’s been no organization to it. And the out-of-state schools will have a field day. There’s not enough students to go around. We know that colleges are going to keep closing because the number of students has shrunk and we have positioned ourselves in Ohio to lose many of them. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. Jeremy Pelzer analyzed Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s continued fight to deprive Ohioans of extra unemployment benefits that the federal government offered during the pandemic. Leila, it’s hard to understand why he’s still fighting this. What did Jeremy find? Leila (23:12.067) So we’re talking about nearly $900 million in total that would have gone to about 320,000 people who lost jobs during COVID. And DeWine’s argument, which his administration just laid out again to the Ohio Supreme Court, is that those $300 a week in federal payments were bad for the economy. He insisted they kept people from going back to work, tightened the labor market, and hurt the employers who were already struggling to find workers. The state solicitor general even said the payments might have forced businesses to close or move to states with more favorable labor conditions. But the lower courts have not bought that logic. They’ve ruled that Ohio law actually requires the governor to seek all available federal funds and that cutting them off violated that duty. The plaintiffs argue that the money could have been a lifeline for families still recovering from pandemic losses. and the US Department of Labor has said it would still consider Ohio’s retroactive request if DeWine just asked. So here we are all these years later and DeWine is still spending our money to make sure that Ohioans don’t get relief that Washington had approved for them. Chris Quinn (24:28.472) Look, we said at the time we thought he was cruel and he was protecting employers at the expense of Ohioans. It was terrible. But say you buy the BS argument that he made back then, five years later, it’s a completely different situation. People are hurting, man. We are losing money left and right. We talked about all the money that’s being cut from programs in Cuyahoga County. The Katelyn has been... Leila (24:31.116) us. Chris Quinn (24:55.488) describing in story after story. So people could use that money now, probably more than they could use it then. If he dropped his fight now, those people could get that money today. And the argument that DeWine used then no longer applies. We don’t have lots of jobs that are unfilled. We have rising unemployment. So help people out. I think this is ridiculous. He doesn’t have a defense here for why he’s standing on principle now. on issues that no longer apply. Leila (25:28.387) Well, and not only that, Chris, but his whole justification for cutting off that aid didn’t hold up under scrutiny back then. Because an analysis, if you remember this, we talked about this last week on the podcast, there was an analysis that showed that Ohio’s job growth actually lagged behind the national average after DeWine ended the extra benefits. So in other words, taking away that $300 a week didn’t suddenly send people rushing back to work. It just took money out of struggling families’ pockets and out of the state’s economy, all for an outcome that never materialized. Yes. Chris Quinn (26:04.62) And it’s cruel. mean, what he’s doing today is cruel. He could end it right now saying, you know what? I’m ending my objections. Let’s get the money. Let’s help these people out. And by continuing to do this, the only people he’s hurting are Ohioans. It makes no sense. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. We should have talked about this before Halloween, but I guess it still has relevance heading toward Christmas. Laura, what is going on with chocolate prices? And it matters in Cleveland because we got a big chocolate maker. Laura (26:32.915) We do and people in Cleveland like chocolate. Gotta say I was floored by the cost of trick-or-treat candy this year and it’s all because of bad weather in West Africa. That’s where most of the world’s cocoa beans are grown. And so these prices have spiked sharply after over the last year and they’re not expected to settle until at least 2027. And this all of this bad weather is probably rooted in climate change that’s disrupted the growing seasons cause extreme weather in these cocoa producing regions. So We are feeling it this year because like you said, yes, Halloween was bad. I had a friend who had to run to CVS in the middle of trick or treat to get more candy. And he said, how much do you think three bags of candy costs? And I was like, I don’t know. 68 bucks on trick or treat night, which is insane. Chris Quinn (27:18.36) Yeah. Yeah, was looking through my granddaughter’s candy bag and it was a lot of Sour Patch Kids and other things that were not chocolatey. Cause I think that’s what people turn to once they saw the prices of the chocolate. Laura (27:34.408) And little kids do like those gummy, fruity candies. I’m not a fan. I would much rather have the chocolate. they talked, Paris Wolf did the story and she talked to Discount Drug Mart. They have 79 stores and they said everything is up 25 to 40 % in the prices that they’re passing on to customers. like a Hershey bar, which in my head still should be 50 cents because that’s what it was when I was a kid. Chris Quinn (27:58.121) Hahaha. Laura (28:00.604) is now $1.79. That’s up 40 cents recently. And folks who make chocolate for a living, they’re trying to deal with this. Sweet Bean Chocolate Studio in Cleveland, they said their hand-painted bonbons now have more fruit filling so they can rely less on chocolate. But if you’re filling your kids’ Christmas stocking or doing the Jewish Geld for Hanukkah or anything, you’re going to be paying a lot more. And you’re going to Mali’s, you’re going to be paying a lot. Chris Quinn (28:30.552) 50 cents for a checkup bar. you what, Laura, I’ll give you a dime. You can go to a payphone and you can call Hershey’s and complain. Laura (28:36.903) did see a payphone this past weekend, by the way. I like pulled my daughter over. It was at Hawkins School, which I did not expect. And I was like, this, this is a payphone. Chris Quinn (28:44.824) You’re listening to Today in Ohio. We’re coming up on the 50th anniversary of the Cleveland International Film Festival. Leila and organizers doing something sure to please those who are around for those early years. What is it? Leila (28:59.683) Well, they’re heading back to where it all began, which was the Cedar Lee Theater in Cleveland Heights. That’s where the festival launched back in 1977. And it stayed there for more than a decade before it moved to Tower City Cinemas, then to Playhouse Square in 2022. So for this big milestone year, there will be split screenings among the Cedar Lee, Playhouse Square, and then a new venue, the Cleveland State University School of Film and Media Arts. executive director Hermione Malone said returning to the festival’s birthplace was kind of a no-brainer and a way to honor founder John Foreman, who owns the Cedar Lee. But it’s also not just nostalgia. They’re also rep responding to audience feedback. The film festival is bringing back second screenings for every film, which fans have really missed. And the entire programming team is now made up of Clevelanders. So the 50th festival will be running April 9th through the 18th. It’s part homecoming, part reinvention, and it’s celebrating a half century of global film right where it all started. Chris Quinn (30:07.146) I remember when I moved here and it had already moved to Tower City by then. It wasn’t near the Cedar Lee, which is close to where I live. And people were still moaning about how they missed it being at Cedar Lee. Cool that they’re taking this step. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. You’re listening to Today in Ohio. We’re to do one more. Stick with us. Cedar Point is done for the season, but two of our podcast hosts squeezed in visits in the final days. Lara, Layla, were things running smoothly or did you see some cracks in the veneer? Let’s start with Lara and then go to Layla. Laura (30:40.243) So we were in line for the wild mouse ride, which is like a kiddie coaster, which seems to always have really long lines. And they had to evacuate the ride. So we watched that. We thought maybe we’ll come back later. Maybe people don’t want to get on a ride that has been evacuated, especially with small children. But no, still an hour late, wait later that day. Also got pulled off of the Ocean Motion, which during Halloween weekends goes by Ocean Potion, which is one of those boats that just go back and forth. Got pulled off of that. I I guess if you go to the amusement park regularly, you know this happens, but the rides were shutting down. The place looked beautiful though. mean, it did have all of the pumpkins and all of the mums and it was a lovely day. Chris Quinn (31:25.611) Labor? Leila (31:26.915) See, I have a different take on the pumpkins and the mums. I thought that the floral and pumpkin displays were a little less eye-popping than usual. I normally come home from Cedar Point with more photos of the flowers and pumpkins than my kids. So this year, I felt like the displays were a little meh. But, you know, we went the day after Halloween and I kind of felt like maybe a lot of the seasonal workers had already headed home for the year because it felt like there were, I mean, Millennium Forest was down. Laura (31:33.701) Okay. Okay. Laura (31:39.721) hahahaha Leila (31:54.84) Some of the other, a lot of thrill rides were down too, which is the only stuff that my five-year-old is tall enough to ride, so she was kind of bummed. But, Halloween’s, that the section of the park back in the back, I thought they absolutely delivered, even in that second to last night. The scare actors were amazing, they were totally committed to their roles. My little daughter had on one of those little no-boo necklaces that they charge you million dollars for just so that they don’t jump out at you. And while we were sitting there for about an hour waiting for her dad and siblings to get off the Maverick, we were just sitting on a bench and we watched the chaos unfold. It was so fun. And the actors were really sweet to her. They’d come over and chat. Some of them had little trinkets or stickers that they would give her. So even with the staffing issues and the ride closures, we still ended up having a really great time. you know, shout out to those Halloween weekend actors who were darling to my kid. Laura (32:49.886) Your five-year-old is so much braver than me. I’m like, we are leaving before it is even close to dark. I do not want to be scared. No, thank you. No, I don’t want to pay like 50 bucks. Leila (32:56.887) You gotta get one of those necklaces. It’s like immunity. Chris Quinn (33:00.952) But the idea that rides are down, it’s not cheap to get in there. I get it that you have passes, but it’s not a cheap event to go to. And to have that many rides down is disconcerting because you’re paying for the full experience and you’re not getting it. Leila (33:09.612) No. Laura (33:18.353) Yeah, and I did see Lake Erie, the new one, the creepy one that the siren run, right? That was running empty for a while. So that had to be down. And that line when it was running, though, was out of its ride and down the midway. So people don’t care. It shuts down. Leila (33:18.499) I was wondering... Chris Quinn (33:35.128) Well, I think they care. What are you going to say, Leila? Leila (33:38.867) I was going to say, didn’t the State House pass a bill this past summer that would require... It didn’t pass? That’s the most no-brainer bill! God! Ugh. Laura (33:44.647) I don’t think it passed. I don’t think so. Chris Quinn (33:46.792) No. This is the bill that they would have to publicize beyond the park borders what’s closed. So before people go, they could know whether they’re going to get their money’s worth. I don’t believe it did pass. I think it’s still on the books. I don’t think it got rejected. I just don’t think they’ve passed it yet. Leila (33:57.76) Right! Leila (34:04.621) hammer. Laura (34:05.255) Yeah. Leila (34:10.083) Do your jobs, Columbus. Chris Quinn (34:11.96) OK, you’re listening to today in Ohio. Sorry for going long. Thanks, Leila. Thanks Courtney. Thanks Laura. Thank you for being here. Will return Friday to wrap up the week of news.
