The home stadium of the Cleveland Browns will no longer carry the FirstEnergy name. The Browns and the utility announced Thursday they reached a deal to end the naming rights partnership. The change will revert the name back to Cleveland Browns Stadium.
The name change comes about a month after a federal jury convicted former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder on a charge of racketeering for scheming to put himself back in power, pass House Bill 6 which included a nuclear bailout, and defend the law against a referendum. That scheme ran, prosecutors said, on millions of dollars in bribes supplied by FirstEnergy through a dark money group.
A special grand jury began its work this week, reviewing the investigation by the state’s crime lab into the Akron police’s fatal shooting of Jayland Walker last June.
The city and businesses have pre-emptively boarded up buildings, a choice that has garnered criticism. The city also says beginning Friday, public access to city hall and the justice center will be restricted. Churches and community groups have been holding vigil this week as well in preparation of the grand jury's decision and have described the mood of the city as "on edge."
The special grand jury's decision will come down in the final weeks of the Akron mayoral primary race. Seven Democrats are running to succeed Mayor Dan Horrigan. No Republicans made the primary ballot. The winner on May 2 is most likely the next mayor barring any independent getting into the race. This week the seven Democrats met in a second "Akron Decides" debate put together by the Akron Beacon Journal, the Akron Press Club, the Ohio Debate Commission and Ideastream Public Media.
The Ohio State Board of Education passed a resolution this week opposing bills in the statehouse that seek to strip away board members’ power and overhaul control of public education in the state. Senate Bill 1 would give the state board’s authority over curriculum over to a cabinet appointee of the governor. The bill is a priority in the Ohio Senate as is Ohio House Bill 12—a similar measure in that chamber.
Guests:
-Abbey Marshall, Cleveland Government Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Gabriel Kramer, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
