Here are your morning headlines for Monday, June 7th:
- COVID cases lowest since March 2020
- Wolstein Center mass vaccine site closes
- New openings, closures in Route 8 project
- Ohio prison system to pilot body-worn cameras for guards
- School district agrees to pay $3M in bullied child's suicide
- Akron relaunches Recycle Right program
COVID cases lowest since March 2020
Ohio on Sunday reported just 268 COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day total since March of last year. Gov. Mike DeWine’s office also announced Saturday that the two-week statewide average of cases per 100,000 residents is at 49.5. DeWine had originally set the metric to lift health restrictions at 50 cases per 100,000 residents. Those restrictions were lifted last week. The state says another roughly 10,000 vaccines were started over the weekend, bringing the total to just over 46% of Ohio’s population.
Wolstein Center mass vaccine site closes
The mass vaccination clinic at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center will administer its final doses Monday. The Pfizer vaccine will be administered to anyone 12 years and older through 8 p.m. Since it opened March 16, the downtown arena administered 260,000 doses. Anyone who gets a shot there Monday will get information to get their second dose at a local Discount Drug Mart location.
New openings, closures in Route 8 project
The State Route 8 construction project moves into a new phase today in northern Summit County. Access to and from Route 8 south from Route 303 will reopen, however, Route 8 south to Seasons Road in Stow will close, along with the off-ramp to Graham Road. Detours through Steels Corner Road are posted. The $58 million re-paving project is expected to be complete in July 2022.
Ohio prison system to pilot body-worn cameras for guards
The Ohio prison system is piloting the use of body-worn cameras by guards and parole officers. The agency is currently seeking proposals for cameras for guards at Chillicothe Correctional Institution in southern Ohio and the supermax Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown. It's also piloting the cameras' use for adult parole officers in Cleveland and Dayton. Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction director Annette Chambers-Smith says she believes the cameras will reduce assaults on staff and improve staff accountability.
School district agrees to pay $3M in bullied child's suicide
The parents of an 8-year-old boy who killed himself after being bullied repeatedly at his Cincinnati school have reached a tentative $3 million settlement with the district. The school board will consider the agreement tonight in the Gabriel Taye case that dates to 2017. The schools also agreed to actions to prevent a repeat of such bullying with training and supervising all staff on anti-bullying reforms and to work to identify repeat offenders, victims, and locations. There will be two years of oversight of the district’s anti-bullying plan.
Akron relaunches Recycle Right program
The city of Akron is relaunching a recycling awareness campaign. Employees will inspect recycling bins on trash days today through August. Bins with non-recyclable items like glass, clothing, and yard waste will be tagged with information about how to recycle properly. Before the Recycle Right campaign was launched in 2019, the contamination rate was nearly 40%, which cost the city more than $200,000. The city says a recent audit showed that the rate is now at around 21% percent. The goal this year is to get it to 15% or less.
