Copyright cleveland.com
Rotunda Rumblings Gold rush: Ohio lawmakers want to create a way for residents to pay for things with gold and silver. Under the proposal, people would buy precious metals through the state treasurer and use a debit card or phone app to make purchases backed by that value. Anna Staver reports the bill’s Republican sponsors say it would give Ohioans an alternative to the U.S. dollar during times of inflation or economic uncertainty. Plot twist: U.S. Rep. Dave Taylor, a Clermont County Republican, has been getting widespread media attention after a U.S. flag with a swastika was seen behind one of his staffers during a video call. But as Jeremy Pelzer reports, Taylor now says the flag was a “ruse” from an unidentified group that sent the flags with hidden Nazi hate symbols to numerous congressional offices. The flags looked like a normal American flag to the naked eye, he says, but the swastika appeared when on camera. Not on the same wavelength: Dozens of protesters gathered Friday to demonstrate Cleveland State University’s decision to hand operations of the student radio station to Ideastream Public Media. Students and community members said there are fewer opportunities for students under Ideastream, which turned the station to 24/7 jazz from an eclectic multi-genre and talk format, and they felt indignant about the way the transition occurred without much notice given to station workers and the public, Mary Frances McGowan and Laura Hancock report. Court order: A federal judge in Youngstown halted the government from fast tracking the deportation of two Haitian women who legally entered the United States under a humanitarian aid program, Adam Ferrise reports. U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson also barred the government from moving them into out-of-state detention and ordered medical treatment for the women. Wiggle room: The Browns want to open the 2029 NFL season in their new indoor suburban stadium, but the deal struck with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb provides some fudge room if the Brook Park stadium isn’t done in time. Under written terms of the agreement released by City Hall on Friday, the Browns could exercise options to stay on the lakefront through the 2030 season. That was the biggest piece of new information not previously disclosed when the settlement agreement was jointly announced Monday by Bibb and Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam, Rich Exner reports. Arrested: Cleveland police and state agents arrested 16 people and seized 11 illegal guns last week in what they described as a crackdown on violent crime, David Gambino reports. The state has periodically helped the city since 2023, when Bibb asked Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for assistance as violence spiked in the city. Arming teachers: The Cuyahoga Falls City School District is set to become the first public school district in Summit County to arm an employee, the Akron Beacon-Journal’s Kelli Weir reports. The school district authorized one staff member to carry a gun on school grounds after completing state training and additional district requirements. The unnamed staff member is expected to complete the requirements by January. Food fight: Ohio was one of 27 states that sent sensitive information about federal food assistance recipients to Washington. Information sent by states includes names, dates of birth, home addresses, Social Security numbers and benefit amounts going back to 2020. Ohio sent data for 3.1 million recipients, NPR’s Jude Joffe-Block reports. The Trump administration asked for the data, according to Democratic states that have refused to share the information, for purposes including immigration enforcement. Campus clash: Ohio University removed a professor from the class he was teaching this semester, after he left his students to join a flotilla that was trying to deliver food and medicine to Gazans. Tom Hayes was detained by Israel and sent to a prison in the Negev Desert. Hayes believes OU wants to limit his interaction with students. OU says he needed to be available to his students, the Dispatch’s Nathan Hart reports. Read more Ohio politics stories Electric bills doubled for many Ohioans — and they’re furious: The Readers Write A mayoralty of youth and energy - Justin Bibb’s first four years did not disappoint: editorial Would a National Guard deployment help with crime in Cleveland? Editorial Board Roundtable Lobbying Lineup Five organizations that are registered to lobby on state House Bill 97, which would require public schools to provide meals and related services to students. Cleveland Metropolitan School District Ohio Association of School Business Officials Ohio Organizing Collaborative Olentangy Local School District Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators On the Move Jim Obergefell, the Sandusky native who was lead plaintiff in the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, has endorsed twin proposed state constitutional amendments: one to establish equal rights protections based on factors like race, religion, and sexual orientation, and another to erase the Ohio Constitution’s ban on gay marriage. Birthdays Jett Facemyer, director of government relations for Intralot Cole Weidman, researcher, Ohio Department of Health Straight from the Source “I don’t think Ukraine is our war to fight or our war to fund. I wish the Ukrainian people well. Their sovereignty has been attacked by Russia. But it’s also been undermined by the United States and European Union. I mean, they’re being pulled in every which way and their country is being destroyed. I hope in their own interest they find a way to reach a peace.” -U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, a suburban Dayton Republican who is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on CNN last week.
