Here are your morning headlines for Friday, Sept. 16:
- FirstEnergy CEO abruptly announces retirement after less than 2 years on the job
- Northeast Ohio schools show some recovery from pandemic in annual state report cards
- Cleveland State president recommends name change for Marshall College of Law
- Cleveland Metroparks seeks property tax increase
- Cuyahoga Falls abortion clinic back to full operation for now
- Ohio Board of Education to consider resolution on LGBTQ discrimination and school lunch funding
- Lake Metroparks rescues two orphaned bobcat kittens
- The Chicago White Sox pounded five home runs in 8-2 drubbing of the Cleveland Guardians
- Your weather forecast: Mostly sunny. High 82
FirstEnergy CEO abruptly announces retirement after less than 2 years on the job
FirstEnergy CEO Steve Strah took over when the company’s board of directors fired the previous CEO following an internal investigation into the federal racketeering case surrounding the House Bill 6 nuclear bailout law. According to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Strah announced on Thursday he would retire the next day. He’s also resigned from the board of directors. He won’t receive a severance package but will receive other retirement compensation. [Statehouse News Bureau]
Northeast Ohio schools show some recovery from pandemic in annual state report cards
The two biggest districts in Northeast Ohio – Cleveland and Akron – both saw improvements in spring test scores this year compared to 2021. But both still earned low marks – one star out of five under the state’s new scoring method – for graduation rates and early literacy, although those measures both have improved since the pandemic hit. Statewide, an Ohio Department of Education assessment of students’ spring test scores shows a major increase in English and math proficiency in 2021-2022 over the previous academic year, but, across all student groups on average, those proficiency levels are still below pre-pandemic levels. [Ideastream Public Media]
Cleveland State president recommends name change for Marshall College of Law
An ad hoc committee convened by Cleveland State University President Laura Bloomberg said Thursday that it has submitted to the school's board of trustees a recommendation to change the name of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. At issue is Chief Justice John Marshall’s history as a slave owner. The Board of Trustees will take up the matter in November. [Ideastream Public Media]
Cleveland Metroparks seeks property tax increase
The Cleveland Metroparks is asking voters for a tax increase this November to fund an expansion at the zoo and investments in green space on the city’s East Side. The 2.7-mill replacement levy would increase property taxes by about $27 for every $100,000 of home valuation. The levy would raise an additional $12 million to $14 million in revenue for the parks, according to Metroparks CFO Wade Steen. [Ideastream Public Media]
Cuyahoga Falls abortion clinic back to full operation for now
The Northeast Ohio Women’s center resumed service Thursday after a Hamilton County judge set a 14 day pause on Ohio’s so-called “heartbeat law.” Dr. David Burkons, who runs the Cuyahoga Falls clinic, estimates that abortions fell 50-60% in recent months, forcing the clinic to slash operating hours. Burkons said they plan to return to "full volume" in the next few days. [Akron Beacon Journal]
Ohio state school board to consider resolution on LGBTQ discrimination and school lunch funding
The Ohio Board of Education will vote next week on a four-page resolution against a new federal rule which requires schools to investigate claims of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or risk losing their school breakfast and lunch funding. The resolution, proposed by board member Brendan Shea — a financial business owner who has five homeschooled children — states that sex is “an unchangeable fact," and it says "[d]enying the reality of biological sex destroys foundational truths upon which education rests and irreparably damages children." [Statehouse News Bureau]
Lake Metroparks has rescued two orphaned bobcat kittens
Lake Metroparks rescued a male and female kitten from Scioto and Jackson counties Thursday afternoon. The kittens are being kept in an enclosure at a wildlife center while they grow and develop. The park system plans to release them back into their original counties in the spring of 2023. Lake Metroparks has a 24-hour live webcam of the bobcat kittens. [WEWS]
The Chicago White Sox pounded five home runs in 8-2 drubbing of the Cleveland Guardians
The loss halted the Guardians’ winning streak at six and cut the team’s division lead over Chicago to three. The Guardians will play nine straight games against the White Sox and Minnesota Twins, the club’s two closest pursuers in one of Major League Baseball’s only close division races. [AP]
Your weather forecast
Mostly sunny today and through the weekend. High in the 80s [National Weather Service]
