Republicans in the Ohio Senate passed a series of new restrictions on legal recreational marijuana sales this week, saying adjustments were needed to protect the health and safety of the public.
Democrats who opposed the changes said legislators opposed to legal pot were undoing the will of the voters, who approved recreational marijuana in 2023 — though sales did not begin until last August. Senate Bill 56 now goes to the Ohio House.
We will begin the “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable” with a discussion of the changes approved by the state Senate as we focus on the top stories of the week.
A cyber threat shuttered Cleveland Municipal Court this week, and it will remain closed until further notice. Officials won't offer any details, which was the same story when Cleveland City Hall got hit with a ransomware attack last summer that closed much of city government for more than a week. There are still no details on that one, either.
This week, the Akron City Council rejected a proposal to hire a national firm to review the police department's use-of-force policy. Mayor Shammas Malik had sought council approval to hire investigators from the law firm Paul, Weiss headed by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the consulting group 21 CP Solutions.
Ohio lawmakers want to create civil penalties for protesters who vandalize buildings or other structures. Those would be in addition to any criminal penalties that protesters could face on charges such as rioting.
Sewing enthusiasts, scrapbookers and knitters — not to mention thousands of employees and the city of Hudson — are mourning the announcement that Hudson-based JOANN will be closing all of its stores and holding going-out-of-business sales. The company was bought at auction on Saturday, following a second bankruptcy filing in a year.
Guests:
-Abbey Marshall, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Matt Richmond, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
