Here are your morning headlines for Monday, June 11:
- Cleveland to issue recycling fines;
- Cleveland natives dominate 72nd annual Tony Awards;
- Painesville Township to decide between pot dispensary or rehab facility;
- Prison system employees accounted for over half of overtime pay in Ohio;
- Lorain County community members raise money for injured Amherst officer;
- Ohio Democratic attorney general candidate faces possible conflict of interest in the opioid crisis lawsuit;
- A Cleveland house explosion kills one and injures another;
- People call for antioverdose medicine for those who are prescribed painkillers;
- Former Vice President Joe Biden to make an appearance at Sen. Sherrod Brown's re-election campaign;
- Ohio set to roll out new driver's licenses to comply with federal security regulations;
- Floodwaters kill a woman in Tuscarawas County;
- FirstEnergy Solutions billed $4 million in legal fees;
Cleveland to issue recycling fines
The city of Cleveland is done giving out warnings to residents for mixing plastic with trash. Beginning August 1, violators will receive a $100 fine for improper curbside waste and recycling. For the past two years, residents would receive warnings along with information on how to recycle properly if the city found trash in their blue bins. Cleveland did this before, in May 2016, and residents complained about the confusion of curbside trash laws. Since then, the council has been trying to educate the city, but it wants to increase the recycling participation among residents, which currently sits at around 13 percent.
Cleveland natives dominate 72nd annual Tony Awards
Cleveland was a big winner at the annual Tony Awards last night. "The Band's Visit" created by Cleveland Heights native Orin Wolf took home the award for Best Musical. Nominated in 11 different categories, it tells the story of an Egyptian police band that got stranded in a small Israeli town, and used music to bridge cultural and political divides. Meanwhile, SpongeBob Squarepants The Musical was produced by Cleveland's the Araca Group, Hank Unger and brothers Matthew and Michael Rego. It earned 12 nominations but took home one win: Best Scenic Design of a Musical for David Zinn.
Painesville Township to decide between pot dispensary or rehab facility
A Lake County township is hearing from residents about the future of a property that will either be a for-profit medical marijuana dispensary, or a non-profit opioid addiction treatment center. The state and local board of zoning appeals has approved the dispensary in Painesville Township, but the possibility of a treatment center seems ambiguous since trustees rejected a proposal in the past. If the three township trustees take a vote at its meetings tomorrow, the challenge will be whether or not the treatment center will be eligible to operate.
Prison system employees accounted for over half of overtime pay in Ohio
Overtime increased in all Ohio departments since 2012, from $102 million to $123 million. Prison systems are a unique department in the state; Cleveland.com reports prison employees are required to work three different shifts in a day, but all 27 state prisons are lacking in staff. Prison system employees made up less than a quarter of all state workers last year, but earned more than half the overtime. Nurses in the state prison system were nine of the 15 top overtime earners, going from $2.9 million in 2012 to $4.6 million in 2017.
Lorain County community members raise money for injured Amherst officer
Residents in Lorain County have come together to help an officer injured in a standoff last month. Amherst police officer Eugene Ptacek remains hospitalized after being shot multiple times. 11-year-old Timothy Rowe and 7-year-olds Trista Rowe and Natalie Brown joined forces to create a lemonade stand and bake sale outside the Sheffield Police Station. People all over Northeast Ohio and other police stations came out for the cause, raising $7,500. The money was given to the Lorain County Blue Foundation on Saturday, and will soon be given to the Ptachek’s family.
Ohio Democratic attorney general candidate faces possible conflict of interest in opioid crisis lawsuit
Ohio's Democratic attorney general candidate is facing a potential conflict of interest that could affect his ability to prosecute the pharmaceutical industry in the state's lawsuit over the opioid crisis if he is elected. Former U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach has professional ties to a lawyer for one of five pharmaceutical companies sued by the state. An Associated Press review found Attorney Carole Rendon served as Dettelbach's first assistant U.S. Attorney and briefly succeeded him when he resigned as U.S. Attorney in Cleveland.
He later recruited her to his team at BakerHostetler, a law firm where health care industry cases are among his specialties. Rendon represents Endo Pharmaceuticals in the lawsuit that Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine brought last year against five drugmakers. The suit alleges the drug companies were complicit in causing Ohio's addictions epidemic by intentionally misleading patients about the dangers of painkillers and promoting benefits of the drugs not backed by science.
A Cleveland house explosion kills one and injures another
Cleveland firefighters say one person has been killed and another critically injured in a house explosion. The blast happened Sunday afternoon near the Cleveland-East Cleveland border. A woman died and a man was injured in the explosion that damaged several neighboring houses. A 30-year-old woman described as a person of interest has been located by police, according to reports.
People call for antioverdose medicine for those who are prescribed painkillers
Many people responding to proposed rules regulating painkillers for patients suffering chronic pain say those patients should automatically be given prescriptions for anti-overdose drugs. Comments on the rules proposed by Gov. John Kasich say having physicians simply offer the anti-overdose drug to patients doesn't go far enough. They want to require that doctors provide the overdose antidote prescription. The medical board is proposing to tighten rules for chronic pain prescribing, such as requiring that patients meet with a pain management specialist when drugs hit higher doses. The Associated Press obtained public comments to the medical board on the rules through a records request.
Former Vice President Joe Biden to make an appearance at Sen. Sherrod Brown's re-election campaign
Former Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Cleveland later this month for Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown's re-election campaign. Cleveland.com reports Biden will headline a reception at the Intercontinental Hotel followed by a dinner on June 29. The reception will be hosted by the several area organizations including the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party and the Northeast Ohio Black Democrats.
Ohio rolls out new driver's licenses to comply with federal security regulations
Ohio will start offering driver's licenses on July 2 that comply with new federal security regulations. That's because beginning in October 2020, the current Ohio driver's license won't be enough to go through security on commercial flights in the U.S. The state's Bureau of Motor Vehicles says Ohio residents should get their new IDs soon so that they can avoid long lines as the deadline approaches. Those who go to the license bureau will have new and renewed licenses and ID cards mailed within 10 days, and they'll receive a temporary identification card.
Floodwaters kill a woman in Tuscarawas County
An elderly Tuscarawas County woman has died after she was swept away in floodwaters. Doris Jenkins, 82, of Roswell went outside to her backyard to check on her goats when she apparently got caught in the high water. She was found dead in a field a day later by neighbors about 100 yards from her home. A neighbor discovered Jenkins was missing when she noticed the door to her home was open. Reports say up to 5 inches of rain fell Friday night in the New Philadelphia area.
FirstEnergy Solutions billed $4 million in legal fees
FirstEnergy Solutions' bankruptcy case has been billed nearly $4 million in legal fees in one month. Cleveland.com reports New York and Washington, D.C. lawyers for the Akron utility subsidiary billed the company $3.7 million for work from March 30 to April 30. That includes more than $313,000 charged in connection with lobbying state and federal officials. In April, First Energy Solutions filed for bankruptcy and officially announced it would close its nuclear plants within two years unless it receives government help.
