Here are your morning headlines for Friday, April 2:
- Ohio climbs to 167 cases per 100K people
- Ohio to begin vaccinating students on college campuses
- CSU planning for "normal" fall semester
- UA to offer free tuition for Pell-eligible students
- Ohio AG to probe allegations against Columbus Zoo ex-execs
- New unemployment claims fall, fraud cases dip
- Stan Hywet reopens, marks $6M restoration
Ohio climbs to 167 cases per 100K people
It’s becoming clear that the recent rise in new coronavirus cases is more than a blip. Thursday saw nearly 2,500 new cases, the third spike in seven days, and well above the average for most of March. Gov. Mike DeWine had set the goal of a transmission rate of 50 cases per 100,000 people over two weeks as the benchmark needed to lift all health restrictions. Ohio’s rate now stands at 167 cases per 100,000, a 13% jump from early March. Fifty-one Ohio counties remain on red alert Level 3 on the state’s COVID-19 alert map, including most of Northeast Ohio.
Ohio to begin vaccinating students on college campuses
Gov. Mike DeWine says beginning next week, college campuses in Ohio will begin offering vaccinations to students before they break for the summer by May 1. Kent State says it expects to receive its first allotment of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to arrive sometime early next week and will begin to distribute them immediately, likely at the Ice Arena or at the Field House. The University of Akron says it’s looking for faculty, staff, and contract professional volunteers to facilitate a series of vaccination clinics for students on Thursday. Meanwhile, Gov. DeWine announced that businesses will be allowed to open up private clinics beginning April 12 to vaccinate their staff.
CSU planning for "normal" fall semester
Cleveland State University says it’s planning for a “normal” fall semester, welcoming all students back to campus. CSU says it will require all students living on campus to be vaccinated, and that most classes and labs will be in-person. CSU expects that by late August, all faculty, staff, and students will be vaccinated and ready to return.
UA to offer free tuition for Pell-eligible students
The University of Akron says tuition will be free for low- and moderate-income students through a new scholarship program. The scholarship will be automatically given to any new, first-year, full-time student who is eligible for the federal Pell Grant program and lives in Cuyahoga, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, or Wayne counties. The program would last eight semesters. Students must maintain a 2.0 GPA and remain eligible for the Pell Grant.
Ohio AG to probe allegations against Columbus Zoo ex-execs
Ohio’s top law enforcer placed one of the nation’s largest zoos under investigation Thursday after a newspaper reported misuse of assets by two top executives who later resigned. Republican Attorney General Dave Yost's review followed a Columbus Dispatch investigation that uncovered that the then-president and CEO of the nonprofit Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and the then-CFO allowed relatives to live in houses owned or controlled by the zoo and sought tickets for family members to zoo entertainment events. Both resigned Monday. The zoo's board chair said it welcomes Yost's involvement. Columbus' is the second-largest animal population among U.S. zoos.
New unemployment claims fall, fraud cases dip
New unemployment claims fell in Ohio this week, as did the number of those flagged for fraud. There were 54,000 new claims filed last week and roughly 5,400 so far are suspected to be from scammers. The state has brought in the private sector to try to tamp down on the fake claims that were as many as 147,000 in early February.
Stan Hywet reopens, marks $6M restoration
Akron’s Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens is marking several milestones this week. The estate announced Thursday that it has completed a six-year, $6 million project to renovate 16 rooms and restore it to how it looked when the Seiberling family first moved in more than 100 years ago. The historical site also reopened to the public on Thursday for self-guided tours.
