Regional Features: Archive by Date

August 2001

Police Manhunt Ends Empty-Handed
Posted Friday, August 31
A convenience store robbery led to a full-blown manhunt in mid-town Cleveland yesterday. 90.3 WCPN's Karen Schaefer was on the scene.

Kirk Middle School Debate
Posted Tuesday, August 28
An East Cleveland School slated to open this week will be closed until further notice. School officials voted last night to close Kirk Middle School because of lingering problems with black mold and asbestos in the auditorium. The school is finding itself in the middle of a nationwide debate over aging schools. Historic preservationists treasure many of these older buildings, claiming they could become national landmarks, but many school officials say new buildings are cheaper and more practical. Is Kirk Middle School an historic wonder that should be restored to glory, or a dilapidated eye sore? 90.3 WCPN's Janet Babin has the story.

They Call Me Momma:  Relatives Raising Children:  Solidarity and Support
Posted Tuesday, August 28
Thousands of older Clevelanders are finding themselves with unexpected lifestyle changes and new responsibilities. They include a myriad of physical, personal and emotional challenges - an outgrowth of having to become a parent all over again. Kinship care is on the rise, and as 90.3 WCPN's Renita Jablonski tells us in our continuing, in-depth series "They Call Me Momma: Relatives Raising Children," grandparents are looking for solidarity and support.

An Environmental Agenda for Cleveland’s New Mayor
Posted Wednesday, August 22
Tomorrow is the filing deadline for the mayor's race in Cleveland. This year's slate of candidates will have to deal with an extensive agenda of pressing issues, not the least of which is the environment. While not everyone will agree that environmental concerns are the most urgent ones facing the city's new chief executive officer, there are many who believe that a clean and healthy environment is key to the city's ability to attract new jobs and encourage economic growth. 90.3 WCPN's Karen Schaefer has this report on an environmental agenda for the next mayor of Cleveland.

Community Concerns In Ward 3 Race
Posted Tuesday, August 21
Despite a drop in crime and efforts to revitalize the community, Ward 3, Cleveland's Mount Pleasant neighborhood, continues to struggle with it's image. And with the council race just a few months away, residents who find themselves alienated are looking for a leader to help restore that sense of pride. With just a couple of days before the filing deadline, nine people have thrown their hats into the ring. Among them are two names familiar with most residents in the ward - incumbent councilman Zachary Reed and Cordell Stokes, son of the city's former mayor. But as 90.3 WCPN's Tarice Sims reports, although name recognition might help, the people of Mount Pleasant say they are more concerned about who can get the job done.

Welfare Reform Hits Home
Posted Monday, August 20
Welfare reform efforts in Cuyahoga County have taken a big hit since the new state budget went into effect. Earlier this summer the legislature axed more than $65 million from the last budget's allotment to the county for welfare-to-work programs. That nearly 65% cut is being felt right now as local community organizations trim or suspend their programs. 90.3 WCPN's Bill Rice reports.

Police and Fire Unions Ask Council for Help
Posted Friday, August 17
Safety activists were pleased this week (August 15, 2001) to see City Council override a mayoral veto, and support a resolution on the city's fireboat crews. Council wants to see fireboats in the Flats staffed full-time; City Hall says on-call staff would meet safety needs along the Cuyahoga - and cost taxpayers less. This week's vote was not binding, but council members believe it will send a strong message to Cleveland's next mayor that fire safety should be a priority. Some safety advocates were disappointed, however at what was not on Council's agenda this week. Officials representing police and firefighters hoped council would vote to strengthen their position in negotiating city contracts. The controversial proposal has pitted union against union, and may provide fodder for opponents of sitting council members. 90.3 WCPN's April Baer reports.

African American Women’s Agenda For Next Mayor
Posted Friday, August 10
More than 240,000 African Americans live in the city of Cleveland and over half are women. Recently a group of these women organized to try to translate the sheer numbers into political power. With the changeover in the mayoral office a given this election, these women are saying now is the time to propose their agenda ultimately offering a choice to potential candidates: meet our needs or lose our vote. 90.3 WCPN's Tarice Sims reports.

Sheriden Cave Revisited
Posted Thursday, August 9
Earlier this summer, we heard a report about one of the richest North American discoveries of fossils from Ice Age mammals found right here in Ohio. Sheriden Cave near Findlay, Ohio has yielded not only the bones of these extinct animals, but a cache of ancient hunting tools left by one of the first groups of people to cross the Bering Land Bridge to the New World. Archaeologists and paleontologists are still working to interpret these finds and their significance in the massive extinctions that took place at the end of the last glacial period. But now the question is how to preserve and interpret this site for future generations. From Sheriden Cave, 90.3 WCPN's Karen Schaefer reports.

Brook Park IX Center Vote Passes
Posted Wednesday, August 8
After almost 11 years in the making, Brookpark residents sealed the deal on a land swap that will allow the expansion of Hopkins Airport to take off. Under the plan, penned by Cleveland Mayor Mike White and Brookpark Mayor Tom Coyne, Cleveland will buy the IX Center, as well as 135 acres of undeveloped land, and nearly 500 Brookpark homes, making room for a new runway. In exchange, Brookpark gets the NASA Glenn Research Center and ten years of IX Center taxes. 90.3's Renita Jablonski has more on the story.

Protecting Ohio’s Isolated Wetlands
Posted Tuesday, August 7
Ohio has a new law that protects wetlands, but environmentalists aren't happy with it. In January of this year, a federal court in California overturned the U.S. EPA's authority to oversee isolated wetlands - those that don't connect directly with lakes and streams. Since then, states have been scrambling to enact their own laws. In July, Governor Taft signed a piece of legislation backers claim will protect thousands of acres of wetlands in the state. But environmentalists say the new law favors developers and will only increase the rate of destruction. 90.3 WCPN's Karen Schaefer reports from an isolated wetland in Lorain County called Camden Bog.

Local Residents Steer Clear of Lake Erie
Posted Monday, August 6
It's always nice to take a dip on a scorching summer day. You can go any number of pools scattered throughout Northeast Ohio communities, or take a jaunt out to one of Lake Erie's beaches. So which will it be? The pool? Or the lake? For some area residents, it's a clear choice. 90.3 WCPN's Bill Rice reports. Special thanks to 90.3 WCPN Intern Maya Sequiera for her part in writing and producing this story.

Brook Park IX Center Vote Set
Posted Friday, August 3
Brook Park residents will vote next week on a controversial land swap deal penned by Mayors Mike White and Tom Coyne. If it's approved, the IX Center settlement would end a legal battle between the two cities that started nearly 11 years ago, costing both sides at least $11 million. The plan would allow Cleveland to construct a new runway at Hopkins International Airport by 2016. Brook Park voters have been lobbied by campaign committees with different agendas, but it's unclear which side is winning. Some are calling Brook Park's Issue 1 too close to call. 90.3 WCPN's Janet Babin reports.

Health Issues for 2001 Mayoral Race
Posted Thursday, August 2
The campaigning has begun for this fall's mayoral race in Cleveland. When voters cast their ballots this fall, one issue they may be keeping in mind is the health of the city. During the past 12 years of Mayor Mike White's term, City Hall has taken on an entirely new role in public health. The person who succeeds him will inherit a set of responsibilities and expectations that are unlike any in recent history. 90.3 WCPN's April Baer reports.

Shaker Heights Condo Concern
Posted Wednesday, August 1
Since 1990, Cuyahoga County has lost over 40,000 of its residents due to urban sprawl. Those communities that took the biggest hit lie in the inner ring suburbs. Shaker Heights is looking at a way to combat the problem. Buying into the phrase "If you build it, they will come" - community leaders announced recently they are developing new town-homes and condos to "woo" empty nesters and single professionals back. But as 90.3 WCPN's Tarice Sims reports, not everyone is buying into this new housing alternative.