The iOpener: Feds Say Cleveland Area Hit by 4.0 Quake; Ex-Browns Star Convicted of Rape

Good morning, iOpeners. It's Tuesday, June 11, 2019.

Federal geologists say an earthquake of an estimated magnitude of 4.0 hit the Cleveland area. The U.S. Geological Survey said its epicenter was in Lake Erie, about 2.5 miles north-northwest of Eastlake, and about three miles underground. State seismologists had a different figure. Jeff Fox with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said its final estimate was magnitude 4.2. "The USGS uses kind of a blanket Eastern U.S. veolocity model to calculate," he told us. He said ODNR's records show nearly 150 earthquakes in Northeast Ohio, especially Lake and Ashtabula counties, dating back to the 1800s.

A gun safety group has started a petition drive to change Ohio’s law to require background checks on virtually all gun sales, including private ones. If Ohioans for Gun Safety collects enough signatures, its petition would go to lawmakers for enactment. If the legislature doesn’t act, the group would need to collect additional signatures to put the issue on the ballot. 

Former Cleveland Browns star tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. has been convicted of raping a homeless woman last year in his beach community just north of San Diego. The jury will continue deliberating on two more counts of rape involving a hitchhiker and an unconscious teenage girl in 2003. Winslow, who also played for Tampa Bay, New England and the New York Jets, faces up to life in prison if convicted on all counts.

Franklin County health officials say 15 people have now been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease in the outbreak at Mount Carmel’s new Grove City hospital near Columbus. That’s up from 13 patients last week. One person, a 75-year-old woman, has died. Health officials have not determined what caused her death.

In Cleveland, members of the first graduating class out of Lincoln-West School of Science and Health have all been accepted to college. Twenty seniors will graduate next week. Students and staff celebrated on the last day of class Monday. The school is located in MetroHealth System’s main campus, and its medical professionals serve as mentors.  The school is believed to be the first in the country based in a hospital.

The Indians host the Cincinnati Reds for the first game of their interleague Battle of Ohio series. The winner will claim the Ohio Cup. First pitch, 7:10 p.m.

Weather forecast: Sunny, high 71.  Tonight, mostly clear skies, low 57. Tomorrow, mostly sunny and warmer, high 77.