Here are your morning headlines for Monday, March 4:
- Ohio charter schools ask for more funding;
- Cleveland Museum of Art receives $3M;
- Police union files appeal to overturn firing of officer who shot Tamir Rice;
- Trial set to begin to determine whether Ohio's congressional map is consitutional;
- Ohio House members deliberate on DeWine's proposed gas tax hike;
- Damaged historic church in Akron could find new life;
Ohio charter schools ask for more funding
Charter schools across Ohio are asking the state for increased funding. Cleveland.com reports charters in Cleveland’s Breakthrough Schools, as well as charters in Columbus and Dayton are among the schools asking the state for another $2,000 per student per year in the upcoming state budget. The request comes a year after the state shut down Ohio’s largest online chartet the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow over an attendance and enrollment fight.
Police union files appeal to overturn firing of officer who shot Tamir Rice
A police union has filed an appeal to overturn the firing of the white Cleveland police officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice. Timothy Loehmann was cleared in Rice's death in 2014 but was fired in 2017 for failing to disclose to Cleveland Police that he’d been previously forced out by another department. The city's arbitrator upheld Loehmann's firing in 2018. Officials for the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association filed the appeal in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Friday. The Rice family attorney said it's "unfortunate" the union "continues to embrace lawlessness in law enforcement."
Trial set to begin to determine whether Ohio's congressional map is consitutional
A federal trial set to begin in Cincinnati will examine whether Ohio's congressional map is constitutional. Voter rights groups who sued the state said Republicans used a "partisan gerrymander" to ensure a 12-4 majority in Ohio's congressional delegation. A three-judge panel is scheduled to hear arguments beginning Monday. The trial is expected to last more than two weeks. The suit states the district maps violate voters' rights to democratically select their representatives. The state contends that the 2020 Census will lead to a redistricting anyway.
Ohio House want answers before voting on DeWine's proposed gas tax hike
Members of the Ohio House are weighing options before voting on Gov. DeWine's proposed gas tax hike. The Beacon Journal reports House Republican leaders have been meeting behind closed doors going over the proposed 18-cents-per gallon gas tax hike. Republicans are reportedly debating whether or not the hike should be phased in or whether it should also include automatic increases based on inflation. The proposed addition to Ohio's current 28-cents-per-gallon gas tax would fill a $1 billion shortfall in the state's transportation budget. Democratic lawmakers are proposing an increase in public transit funding from DeWine's proposed $40 million per year to $185 million per year.
Cleveland Museum of Art receives $3M
A retired businessman and his wife have donated $3 million to endow the position overseeing American art at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Retired former president and CEO of Westlake-based Nordson Corp. William Madar and his wife Amanda made the donation that permanently endows the position currently held by Mark Cole at the museum. Cleveland.com reports William Madar is a longtime museum trustee and Amanda Madar has volunteered in the museum's Ingalls Library and served as an honorary member of the Women's Council. The museum plans to endow all 18 curatorial posts as part of the museum's 2017 strategic plan.
Damaged historic church in Akron could find new life
A historic church in Akron severely damaged by a fire last year could find new life if the University of Akron (UA) can pass ownership to a preservation group. The Beacon Journal reports UA officials are trying to gain state approval to transfer ownership of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church to a group that can preserve the building portions of which date back to the late 1800s. Exterior steel beams have been erected to stabilize several walls of the building, which has portions of the roof exposed. The group Progress Through Preservation has expressed interest in taking over the property. The cause of the fire that damaged much of the church last spring is still unknown, according to the Akron Fire Department.
