Cleveland lost two council seats this year as prescribed by the city’s charter and based on population numbers from the decennial census. Ward maps were redrawn to accommodate the reduction in the council’s size. That process means that a third of Cleveland’s voters will have to cast their ballots at a new polling location in the upcoming May primary.
The potential for confusion has raised concerns that new wards combined with new polling locations will mean more voters will skip the process driving down Cleveland’s dismal voter turnout numbers.
We will talk about the new polling locations to begin the “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable” on Friday.
Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff announced late Wednesday the state is dealing with an outbreak of measles in Ashtabula County. Vanderhoff says there are 10 measles cases in the county—nine of them with ties to an adult unvaccinated male who was the state's first measles case of 2025. That case was confirmed last week.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has made cuts to programs that supply food banks.
The cuts mean that the Greater Cleveland Food Bank will lose 553,000 pounds in food deliveries that were expected between April and July. President and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank Kristin Warzocha said on the “Sound of Ideas” on Wednesday that those shipments were high-protein quality foods such as meat and eggs that will be hard to replace through other means.
The Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank says it will also lose a million pounds of food.
Food bank leaders say the federal cuts and possible reductions in the state budget may make it difficult to get food for all those who need it.
Cuyahoga County Council agreed this week to join the special taxing district known as Downtown Cleveland Inc. It was formerly the Downtown Cleveland Alliance. This is the first time the county has agreed to join Downtown Cleveland Inc. The move means county council will get have a say in how money raised from the district will be spent.
Republicans added an amendment to the state budget that accommodates the Cleveland Browns request for a $600 million bond package to cover the state's portion of a new domed stadium in Brook Park. Our Statehouse News Bureau team obtained the 18-page amendment over the weekend. The county and city, though, haven't changed their stances that local public financing for this move is a bad bet.
Participatory budgeting is making a second run in Cleveland. A citywide ballot effort failed in 2023, but now the idea of a "peoples budget is back." This is the idea that a portion of a budget is set aside for people to spend on projects important to them.
Cuyahoga County recently launched a new live music and entertainment task force aimed at supporting local artists and venues. Cuyahoga LIVE! will focus on workforce development, artist support, and making Northeast Ohio a prime destination for live performances.
Guests:
-Taylor Wizner, Health Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Phil Trexler, Editor-in-Chief, The Marshall Project-Cleveland
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
