Here are your morning headlines for Wednesday, Nov. 13:
- Canton gets $18M for stalled Rt. 30 expansion;
- One dead in snow-related crashes;
- Lawmakers try to block plastic bag restrictions;
- Cleveland officer who detained sister of Tamir Rice may be disciplined;
- State rejects Greater Cleveland RTA $60M request;
- County to buy trauma kits for mass shootings, other violence;
- Nurses' hearings set over drug doses for patients who died;
Canton gets $18M for stalled Rt. 30 expansion
Stark County is receiving an $18 million infusion from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help fund the long-delayed extension of Rt. 30. The money will go toward the effort to turn the two-lane section from Trump Road to East Canton into a freeway. Attempts to secure funding for the once-estimated $85 million project have been unsuccessful over the years.
One dead in snow-related crashes
One person was killed in a 16-vehicle crash on the Ohio Turnpike in Richfield during heavy snowfall Tuesday morning. Cleveland.com reports Ciearra Brown, 21, of Medina was pronounced dead at the scene. Others were taken to nearby hospitals. More than 80 vehicles were involved in snow-related accidents Tuesday on Route 8 between Route 303 and Seasons Road in Hudson. In March, 19 people were hurt after more than 100 vehicles crashed on the same stretch of Route 8 in Hudson.
Lawmakers try to block plastic bag restrictions
Ohio lawmakers are seeking to block restrictions on plastic bags passed by a Columbus suburb and Cuyahoga County. The Columbus Dispatch reports that bills in both the House and Senate would block local governments from imposing a fee on plastic bags and boxes. The town of Bexley passed its ban on plastic bags earlier this year — a similar ban was approved in Cuyahoga County. It’s set to take effect in January. The GOP-dominated legislature is arguing that such bans should only be enacted on the state level. Bexley is fighting the preemption bills saying lawmakers are violating Ohio cities’ right to home rule.
Cleveland officer who detained sister of Tamir Rice may be disciplined
Cleveland's Civilian Police Review Board is recommending discipline for a police supervisor who detained 12-year-old Tamir Rice's sister the day the boy was fatally shot by a police officer while playing with a pellet gun. Cleveland.com reports the board recommended Sgt. Janell Rutherford receive a 6- to 10-day suspension for keeping Rice's 14-year-old sister in the back of a police cruiser for over an hour after Tamir was shot in November 2014. Police Chief Calvin Williams will decide what if any discipline Rutherford will face.
State rejects Greater Cleveland RTA $60M request
The state rejected a $60 million request from the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority to help replace its aging rail cars. Cleveland.com reports state officials said the request wasn't eligible for the funding that's largely reserved for road construction projects. Instead, RTA applied for and was awarded more than $15 million from the state's transportation budget. The RTA said it needs $240 million total to replace its aging fleets. RTA, meanwhile, says it expects a 4% drop in revenue from passenger fares, in line with a continuing decline in ridership. But more than three quarters of the general budget comes from sales taxes, and that income is expected to grow slightly in the next few years.
County to buy trauma kits for mass shootings, other violence
An Ohio county's commissioners have approved a $350,000 contract to purchase kits meant to help civilians handle injuries from mass shootings or other violent attacks. Franklin County Emergency Management and Homeland Security plans to purchase 900 to 1,000 trauma bags from citizenAID North America to distribute to emergency responders in 15 central Ohio counties. The bags are being covered by a state grant that follows the Aug. 4 mass shooting in Dayton that left nine dead, and more than two dozen injured. Each trauma bag includes six kits that will contain gauze, pressure dressings and other supplies.
Nurses' hearings set over drug doses for patients who died
Administrative hearings have been set for the 25 Ohio nurses accused of giving excessive painkillers to patients who died and not questioning the medication ordered by a doctor now charged with murder. Those nurses from the Mount Carmel Health System in Columbus aren't being criminally prosecuted but face possible discipline by the Ohio Board of Nursing. The board said each nurse was entitled to request a hearing before any action is taken, and all of them did so. The first hearing is scheduled in February, and the last in March 2021. For now, their licenses remain active. Mount Carmel won't comment on individuals' employment status but has said it fired some of the nurses involved. The doctor, William Husel, has pleaded not guilty to 25 counts of murder.
