Protesters have been taking to the streets of Akron this week following a special grand jury’s decision not to indict the police officers who shot and killed Jayland Walker last summer after a car and foot chase.
The special grand jury convened to hear the case against the officers returned a no-bill decision on Monday. It means the special grand jury determined the shooting was legally justified.
Attorneys from the office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost presented the case to the special grand jury. The case had been investigated by the state’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation or BCI.
Republicans in the statehouse are moving closer to putting an issue on an August special election ballot that would make it harder for voters to pass amendments to the state’s constitution.
Supporters want to raise the threshold for passing amendments to 60% from the current 50% plus one vote.
If successful at the ballot box, the 60% threshold would be in place for November when voters will decide a reproductive rights amendment.
The Ohio House Republicans are working on their version of the state’s budget. As expected it made several tweaks to Governor DeWine’s original budget proposal, adding in and dropping some items. The $86 billion budget covers two-years of spending.
Ohio House lawmakers have also added into their budget proposal funding for a “land bridge” to connect the downtown mall to the lakefront and Browns Stadium.
The “land bridge” would go over the Shoreway and the railroad tracks that currently separate the lakefront from downtown.
The development of the lake and river fronts in Cleveland formed a component of Mayor Justin Bibb’s second state of the city speech.
Bibb delivered the speech at East Tech High School and said public safety was his biggest priority moving forward.
Guests:
-Marlene Harris-Taylor, Director, Engaged Journalism, Ideastream Public Media
-Andrew Meyer, Deputy Editor for News, Ideastream Public Media
-Abbey Marshall, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
