Commuters on Cleveland's West Side had better have a mug of patience in the cupholder beside them: A $173 million dollar construction project starts Aug. 4 and will impact traffic on Interstate 90 through October of 2028. Earlier this week on that stretch of highway, commuters may have needed a pontoon. I-90 in Lakewood and Rocky River was under water after a deluge. The construction project aims to fix the flooding.
It's one of many highway projects already underway around the region. So, how have those orange barrels been for you? Weigh in via email SOI@ideastream.org. We will begin Friday’s “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable” discussing the I-90 project.
You know who deals with road construction more than anyone? Truckers. And all that driving can make them tired. Gov. Mike DeWine announced plans this week to build 1,400 new long-term truck parking spaces on state-owned lands, double what already exists. The goal is to improve highway safety for everyone using the roads.
Young adults in Ohio are now required to take driver's education training before obtaining their first license. It used to be if you were over 18, you could just go ace the test and get a license. But the state budget expanded driver's education to 18 to 20 years olds, including 24 hours in the classroom and 8 hours of on-the-road instruction. But meeting that mandate may be difficult, because there's not a ton of driver's ed availability. And it'll be expensive.
Local nonprofit leaders gathered at a public hearing Wednesday to weigh in on what a new foundation created by the sale of Summa Health to the for-profit Health Assurance Transformation Corporation or HATCo should focus on.
Thousands of mourners paid tribute Wednesday to Lorain Police Officer Philip Wagner, who died last week after being shot in an ambush while he ate lunch with a fellow officer. Two other officers were wounded, and the gunman was shot dead by police.
According to an analysis of crime data by CBS News, Wagner is the 50th law enforcement officer to die in an ambush-style shooting this year. According to CBS, these types of attack have been increasing nationwide since 2023. And the head of the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police said it is another example of what he called a "war on police."
As Northeast Ohio law enforcement dealt with the deadly ambush shooting of Officer Wagner, Vice President JD Vance arrived in Ohio to tout President Trump’s budget bill, which includes all kinds of provisions paving the way for the administration's domestic agenda. During a stop at Metallus Steel near Canton, Vance decried what he called "lawlessness" in cities such as Akron, Canton and Columbus, claiming policing is lax and crime is rampant—two positions that leaders in Akron disputed.
August brings the start of a new school year for students and that means a lot of shopping for school supplies and clothes.
Ohio will once again offer a "sales tax holiday" to help cut costs on many back-to-school items. It begins Aug. 1 and will last a full two weeks, up from 10 days last year and three days at its inception.
It's been the Summer of Superman in Cleveland - and the celebration of the Man of Steel continues this weekend.
On Aug. 2, the Superman Tribute Plaza — a privately funded $2.2 million monument honoring the superhero and his Cleveland creators -- will be unveiled outside the Huntington Convention Center downtown.
Guests:
-Andrew Meyer, Depty Editor of News, Ideastream Public Media
-Abigail Bottar, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
