Portage County has become the latest flashpoint in the heated national debate over immigration. Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski posted on his Facebook page that people write down the addresses of those supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid for the presidency. The sheriff said that way, when immigrants here illegally come to the county, they will know where to resettle the arrivals. The sheriff referred to immigrants as illegal human “locusts“ in the post.
The comments drew complaints about voter intimidation to the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and other agencies. But the sheriff also received support from the Portage County Republican Party, which said he was making a point about elections having consequences.
The story begins this week’s discussion of news on the “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable.”
Also in this week’s discussion, the city of Springfield, between Dayton and Columbus, endured another week of bomb threats at schools and other locations. The Ohio State Highway Patrol was planning daily bomb sweeps of the school buildings and put up additional cameras for surveillance.
The city has been inundated with threats after former President Trump and his running mate JD Vance helped amplify claims that Haitian immigrants, who came to Springfield legally, were eating pets. City leaders have repeatedly said those claims are false. The Haitian immigrants are in Springfield—and other Ohio cities—under a Homeland Security program that gives them temporary protected status and were sought by the community to fill open jobs. Their arrival in such large numbers so quickly is taxing services, like education.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb released numbers this week on summer crime in the city. Bibb says crime was down 13% compared to the last three summers, crediting a push to tamp down seasonal crime. But the mayor said there is more work to do.
The Ohio Ballot Board tweaked the language voters will see when they cast ballots on state Issue 1 in November, but most of it remains unchanged. Issue 1 is the anti-gerrymandering amendment that would remove politicians from the state's political district map making process. Citizens Not Politicians, the group that is behind Issue 1, sued over the original language approved by the Ballot Board saying it was biased and unfair.
Two reports released this week detail the potential economic advantages for the city of Cleveland should it pursue closing Burke Lakefront Airport and redeveloping the prime lakefront land into either housing, retail, park lands or a combination of uses. Mayor Justin Bibb signaled an early willingness to study the feasibility of closing Burke and these studies are pointing toward feasible.
Guests:
-Conor Morris, Education Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Abigail Bottar, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
