Students protesting against the Israel-Hamas war on campuses here and across the state and nation are forcing universities to grapple with protecting the right to peaceful demonstration.
In Cleveland, students set up an encampment at Case Western Reserve University. A similar demonstration took place in Oberlin and Ohio State University---where students there peacefully dispersed Wednesday. It was a far different ending than last week at Ohio State when dozens of protesters were arrested. President Joe Biden spoke to the nation briefly Thursday morning to re-iterate the right of students to peacefully protest. But he also reminded students and protesters that vandalism, trespassing and violence were not protected.
The Cleveland Browns ownership is looking at two possibilities for the team going forward: either a massive renovation of the existing stadium or a new domed stadium that would be built in Brook Park. In either case, the team would want the public, including the state, county and local governments to pony up half the cost. The estimated price tag on the existing stadium renovation is $1 billion. The cost for a new domed stadium is projected to be $2.4 billion.
The civil rights attorney who represented the family of George Floyd has taken up the case of Frank Tyson, who died while in police custody after being handcuffed on April 18. Police video of the incident shows police pinned the 53-year-old to the ground and handcuffed him while an officer pressed his knee on his back. Officers handcuffed Tyson inside a veterans' hall after he left the scene of a near-by car accident.
Cuyahoga Arts and Culture is moving toward increasing the county's tax on packs of cigarettes. Money from the tax goes toward supporting artists and arts organizations including Ideastream. The organization is proposing increasing the tax from 30 cents to 70 cents per pack.
A Cincinnati-area Republican lawmaker has proposed raising Ohio's minimum wage to $15. State Sen. Bill Blessing's proposal would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by Jan. 1 of 2028. A similar proposal is being prepared for a possible ballot measure.
Trillions of cicadas are beginning to emerge in parts of the Midwest and Southeast. It's an event that hasn't happened in more than two centuries. Cicadas won't be an issue in Ohio this summer, but litter bugs will. The Ohio Department of Transportation says so far it has bagged nearly 90,000 bags of trash this year. It's all litter left along our state routes and highways. That litter clean-up adds up costing ODOT $10 million a year.
Guests:
-Conor Morris, Education Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Taylor Wizner, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV