Cleveland leaders have been working for years to eradicate lead-based paint and protect children from the dangers of lead exposure, which includes impairment of cognitive functions. A new report from the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development suggests the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority has a lot of work left to do.
The report says CMHA failed to report 10 confirmed cases of resident children with elevated levels of lead in their blood. The report said CMHA, one of the largest public housing agencies in the country, needs to do a better job inspecting its units for lead-based paint and informing tenants of exposure.
We will discuss the report and its ramification to begin Friday’s “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable.”
Also on the show, the Ohio Highway Patrol will be deployed to East Cleveland after Mayor Brandon King called for help due to the city's depleted police force.
King said in a letter to the governor that he had "grave concerns" about the department's ability to respond to the community's needs in a timely manner due to the lack of officers. The city has about 30 officers in its department to patrol and police a city of 14,000. The city has seen the departure of several officers due to corruption investigations.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol and local police are cracking down on drivers on an 8-mile stretch of Interstate 90 from Cleveland to Euclid. The section of highway is the state's first "speed and seat belt safety corridor.”
Senator JD Vance of Ohio, former President Donald Trump's pick for vice president, laid out his “Hillbilly Elegy” origin story to the nation at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week. Vance shied away from some of the more pointed rhetoric he's used as a Trump surrogate before being taped as Trump's running mate.
We will discuss these stories and more on this week's Roundtable.
Guests:
-Matt Richmond, Criminal Justice Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Abigail Bottar, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV