Here are your morning headlines for Wednesday, July 14:
- State funding may be part of Progressive Field lease deal
- Ohio to unveil 2nd COVID vaccination incentive program
- Firm gets more time to explain bills for bailout legislation
- Hopkins, CAK airports get federal funding
State funding may be part of Progressive Field lease deal
(AP) -- Gov. Mike DeWine expressed optimism that Cleveland’s baseball team will sign a long-term lease extension for Progressive Field with the city. The team’s current lease is set to expire in 2023. On Tuesday, DeWine said he plans to ask for state funding to renovate the 27-year-old downtown ballpark, which opened in 1994 and is owned by Cuyahoga County. DeWine did not say how much money the state would allocate for upgrades and any renovations. DeWine believes the team is “moving toward” a 15-year extension.
Ohio to unveil 2nd COVID vaccination incentive program
(AP) — Gov. Mike DeWine says the state plans to unveil a new coronavirus vaccination incentive program. He says the announcement will come within the next week, hinting it could involve smaller amounts of money to increase the odds of more people winning. DeWine said Tuesday he's worried about parts of the state with continued low vaccination rates, adding that anyone not vaccinated is “very vulnerable” because of the delta variant.
Firm gets more time to explain bills for bailout legislation
(AP) — A federal bankruptcy judge has given law firm employees another three months to explain in detail the millions of dollars they billed in support of a now-tainted Ohio energy bill. Judge Alan Koschik on Tuesday told three partners and a senior policy adviser at the national firm Akin Gump they have until Oct. 12 to submit documentation. The men submitted $3.3 million in bills for their work from 2018 until February 2020 in support of FirstEnergy Solutions' bankruptcy and lobbying for a $1 billion bailout for two nuclear plants operated at the time by the FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiary. FirstEnergy Corp. and former top executives have been implicated by federal authorities in a $60 million bribery scheme.
Hopkins, CAK airports get federal funding
(WKSU) -- Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is getting more than $32 million in federal aid to help cover the costs of managing the pandemic. The money from the FAA will go toward things like cleaning, sanitization, janitorial services, debt service payments, and combating the spread of pathogens including the coronavirus. The Akron-Canton Airport is receiving about $7.7 million to buy snow removal equipment and other improvements.
