Here are your morning headlines for Friday, October 29:
- Ohio COVID transmission rate drops again
- Two state school board members to resign
- Audit finds more details of unemployment fraud, overpayment
- Cleveland police mental health referral policy questioned
- Congressional map-making in Ohio kicked down the road again
- Longtime radio host Trivisonno dies
- Cleveland adds nonstop flights to Seattle
Ohio COVID transmission rate drops again
(WKSU) -- Ohio’s COVID-19 transmission rate has dropped again to 359 cases per 100,000 people. That’s down from just over 419 cases last week. The CDC says rates above 100 cases per 100,000 means a community has high transmission. The county with the highest spread is Guernsey, while the lowest is Hamilton. Ohio reported just over 4,000 new COVID cases Thursday, which is slightly above the three-week average. There are currently around 2,300 Ohioans hospitalized with COVID.
Two state school board members to resign
(Statehouse News Bureau) -- Two appointed members of the Ohio Board of Education are off the panel, and it appears an anti-racism resolution passed last summer and rescinded earlier this month is involved. President Laura Kohler and member Eric Poklar were among those who supported the resolution emphasizing equity and opportunity for students of color. They also voted against rescinding it this month. Senate President Matt Huffman hinted at a change when he talked to reporters about the Senate’s approval of fellow Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s appointments. But he said there were other issues, including school choice and geographic diversity. He says too many appointees are from central Ohio. Three of the eight appointees are from the Columbus area.
Audit finds more details of unemployment fraud, overpayment
(Statehouse News Bureau) -- A new report from the state auditor sheds more light on the extent of unemployment fraud during the pandemic. Keith Faber on Thursday said the state overpaid nearly $4 billion from the beginning of the pandemic up until the middle of this year. There were nearly 86,000 potential payments to someone in prison and 141,000 potential instances of money going to someone who's dead. The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services has since entered into a private-public partnership to cut down on fraud, streamline services, and seek out scammers. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims returned to pre-pandemic levels for the first time, with just over 7,000 Ohioans filing last week.
Cleveland police mental health referral policy questioned
(AP) — Advocates are questioning a Cleveland police policy on referring non-violent crime suspects to a county diversion center only after receiving permission from victims. Cleveland.com reports advocates say the policy is preventing people from receiving the immediate help they need. Cleveland has cited Marsy's Law, which the Ohio Legislature approved in 2017 to expand the rights of crime victims. Bill Mason, a former county prosecutor and current chief of staff for Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish, says Marsy's Law doesn't require victim notification to place people in pre-arrest diversion programs. Mason says the center, which opened in May, already notifies victims when suspects are sent there.
Congressional map-making in Ohio kicked down the road again
(AP) — The new Ohio Redistricting Commission is poised to miss another deadline. Republican House Speaker Bob Cupp, commission chair, said Thursday’s meeting would be the panel’s last before its initial deadline Sunday for passing a bipartisan congressional map. No vote was planned, prompting a protest rally. Congressional maps are reconfigured every 10 years to reflect new census figures, which in 2020 cost Ohio one U.S. House seat. Legislative leaders blame missed deadlines on census delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Missing Sunday's deadline sends the congressional map-making process back to state lawmakers, who have until Nov. 30 to approve a map.
Longtime radio host Trivisonno dies
(WKSU) -- Local AM radio personality Mike Trivisonno has died. The announcement was made by WTAM program director Ray Davies shortly before 74-year-old Trivisonno’s show was to start. Trivisonno had been on the Cleveland airwaves for more than three decades honing a trademark blend of sports and politics. He began his career at WNCX and WWWE.
Cleveland adds nonstop flights to Seattle
(WKSU) -- Nonstop flights to Seattle are coming to Cleveland. Starting next June, Alaska Airlines will provide daily flights between Seattle-Tacoma and Cleveland Hopkins. The deal was facilitated by the state’s private, non-profit economic development entity, JobsOhio, under a program launched during the pandemic last year. The Air Service Restoration Program provides as much as $1.5 million in revenue guarantees to airlines for the first year of new Ohio routes.
