Here are your morning headlines for Monday, March 7:
- Man accused of starting small fires in the Akron Art Museum
- Ohio's new congressional district map faces another legal challenge
- New report shows outside home investors tripled in Cleveland'
- Akron's former Chapel Hill Mall lands another big tenant
- Akron Beacon Journal ceases Monday paper printing
- Cavs beat Toronto in 104-96 win, Allen sidelined indefinitely
Man accused of starting small fires in the Akron Art Museum
(Akron Beacon Journal) -- Akron police have arrested a man accused of breaking into the Akron Art Museum and starting some small trash fires in the building. The Akron Beacon Journal reports museum security called the fire department around 4pm Sunday to report the smell of smoke coming from a loading dock. The museum was open at the time, but no injuries were reported. A fire department spokesperson did not have details on the extent of damage nor charges that had been filed against the individual accused of starting the fires.
Ohio's new congressional district map faces another legal challenge
(Statehouse News Bureau) -- Ohio's new congressional district map faces another legal challenge. A national Democratic group is accusing the Republican-drawn map of not following the anti-gerrymandering requirements in the state constitution. The National Redistricting Action Fund says Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission still fail to comply with the constitution when drawing a second attempt at a congressional district map. The map creates 10 Republican districts, three Democratic districts and two competitive districts that lean Democratic. The plaintiffs say the map unduly favors Republicans, which is unconstitutional.
New report shows outside home investors tripled in Cleveland
(Cleveland.com) -- Housing advocates in Cleveland say a new report confirms what they’ve been worried about when it comes to who’s buying up residential properties. The report from the Vacant and Abandoned Property Council that the percentage of homes bought by companies outside the area tripled over a 15-year period. According to Cleveland.com, the report confirms concerns of community development groups about investors buying up properties at a higher rate. The fear is that owners who are not local will not keep up the properties as rentals. One community development leader tells Cleveland.com that the buyers should not be called investors. She says these buyers get “everything they can get out of the house” and walk away.
Akron's Chapel Hill lands another big tenant
(Crain's Cleveland Business) -- The former Chapel Hill Mall in Akron has picked up another tenant. Crain's Cleveland Business reports the owner of the property, now renamed Chapel Hill Business Park has signed a deal with Akron’s Driverge Vehicle Innovations which makes wheelchair accessible vans. The company which will occupy about a quarter of the space at Chapel Hill will move its employees there around the middle of the year. Driverge says the new space will give them room to grow in the future.
Akron Beacon ceases Monday paper printing
(WKSU) -- If you get home delivery of the Akron Beacon Journal, you won't find it in your mailbox this morning. Today represents the first day of the paper shifting to a six-day-a-week print schedule. The Beacon Journal says subscribers on Mondays will still have access to the latest news online through its electronic edition and website. Many Gannett papers in Northeast Ohio announced earlier this year that they would switch to a six-day schedule, dropping their print editions either on Mondays or Saturdays.
Cavs beat Toronto in 104-96 win, Allen sidelined indefinitely
(AP) -- Rookie Evan Mobley had 20 points and 17 rebounds, Lauri Markkanen scored 22 and the Cavs widened their lead on Toronto in the Eastern Conference standings with a 104-96 win over the Raptors. However, the win may have been costly as All-Star Jarrett Allen reportedly suffered a fractured finger and will be out indefinitely. Allen also suffered a bruised quadriceps. Darius Garland had 17 points and 10 assists, Cedi Osman added 17 points, and Kevin Love 15 as Cleveland improved to 3-0 against Toronto.
