More than 200,000 people are still without power after violent thunderstorms on Tuesday spawned tornadoes and knocked down trees and power lines. FirstEnergy says it could be the middle of next week before everyone has power restored.
Additional utility line crews are being brought into Northeast Ohio to help. FirstEnergy says the damage and power outages are historic. The company says it has not had to handle storm damage of this magnitude in Ohio since 1993.
The National Weather Service has so far confirmed four tornadoes touched down. A wind gust of 86 miles per hour was recorded at Burke Lakefront Airport.
We’re going to begin Friday’s “Reporters Roundtable” discussing the storm damage and effort to restore power across Northeast Ohio.
We will also discuss the rest of the week’s top news.
That includes the approaching Monday deadline that the city of Cleveland has given to the Haslam Sports Group on its incentive package to keep the Browns downtown at its current lakefront stadium. The offer made public last week by Mayor Justin Bibb, totals $461 million toward a renovation of the existing site. The Browns ownership is also looking at building a new domed stadium in Brook Park and released renderings of that site this week.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio has filed an appeal over a Franklin County judge's ruling that upheld House Bill 68. The law bans gender transition treatments for minors and prohibits transgender athletes from competing in girls and women's sports.
Ohio began its recreational marijuana sales this week. On Tuesday, 98 dispensaries previously granted operating licenses to sell marijuana products for medical use were allowed to begin selling to recreational customers. Voters in Ohio overwhelmingly approved an initiated statute last November that allows adults to grown and buy marijuana for personal recreational use.
Guests:
-Abbey Marshall, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Taylor Wizner, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV