Here are your morning headlines for Monday, Feb. 5:
- Burke Lakefront airport closes after plane skids off runway;
- Hoover Co. headquarters cited for code violations;
- IX Center to turn Boeing aircraft into restaurant;
- Cuyahoga Falls holds parade opening Front Street to traffic;
- Ohio State fraternities cleared to resume activities;
- Ohio to discontinue panels regulating wild animal ownership;
- Young Akron girl dies after being left in the cold;
- Trump to promote tax law in Cincinnati;
- High school students help rebuild Cleveland police cruiser;
- Public school employees sue state retirement system over cost-of-living freeze;
- Ohio Republicans ask Trump to restore President McKinley's name to Alaska mountain;
- Ohio hires NJ company to provide medical marijuana help line;
Burke Lakefront airport closes after plane skids off runway
Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront airport has closed while officials investigate what caused an airplane to slide off the runway. WKYC-TV reports the plane left the runway 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. Officials say four passengers were on board. No injuries were reported. An investigation is ongoing.
Hoover Co. headquarters cited for code violations
The city of North Canton is citing the former Hoover Co. headquarters for housing and fire code violations. A notice sent to the developers of the Hoover complex gives them 30 days to bring the headquarters into compliance. Maple Street Commerce acquired the complex in 2007. It’s converting the factory into apartments and retail space. The developer settled a federal lawsuit in 2016 over funding for the project.
IX Center to turn Boeing aircraft into restaurant
The IX Center is planning to refurbish an old Boeing aircraft as a restaurant. The expo center last year acquired a Boeing Stratofreighter that was used during the Cold War to refuel military planes. The aircraft was used by the Ohio Air National Guard in the ‘60s. The project to turn the aircraft into a 50-seat restaurant and lounge is expected to cost just over $1 million.
Cuyahoga Falls holds parade opening Front Street to traffic
Front Street in downtown Cuyahoga Falls is open to traffic for the first time in 40 years. The Beacon Journal reports about 200 people gathered on Saturday for a soft opening and a parade. The revamped main drag will feature more than 200,000 square feet for retail, housing and restaurants. The redevelopment project is part of the city’s Downtown Transformation. Front Street was closed off to traffic in the late ‘70s, which the city says led to underutilization. The official grand opening will take place on June 2.
Ohio State fraternities cleared to resume activities
Nearly all the Ohio State University fraternities whose activities were suspended in November have been cleared to resume recruitment events and, in many cases, also social events. To resume activities, each chapter was required to have school-approved plans for conducting activities safely, including committing to hazing prevention efforts and alcohol-free recruitment.
Ohio to discontinue panels regulating wild animal ownership
Ohio is eliminating two state panels created to help regulate ownership of dangerous wild animals. The Dangerous and Restricted Animals Advisory Board and the Dangerous Wild Animals State Emergency Response Commission will be discontinued Feb. 20. The panels were implemented as part of the state's Dangerous Wild Animal Act passed in 2012. The law followed national outcry over a police decision to kill 49 animals that Terry Thompson, 62, released from his Zanesville farm before taking his own life. The number of permits and related animals decreased from 64 in 2014 to 40 permits today.
Young Akron girl dies after being left in the cold
Akron police are investigating how a 2-year-old girl died after she was found unresponsive by her mother on the front porch of an apartment in freezing weather. The Beacon Journalreports the toddler was found Friday afternoon and was taken to Akron Children's Hospital, where she died. The Summit County Medical Examiner's Office will determine how the child died. Temperatures in Akron on Friday ranged between 12 and 19 degrees. Police have not identified the girl or her mother.
Trump to promote tax law in Cincinnati
President Donald Trump heads to Ohio today to make Cincinnati-area stops focusing on the new tax overhaul, though some in a state with one of the nation's highest overdose rates would rather hear more about his plans for the drug crisis. In Newtown, outside Cincinnati, Police Chief Tom Synan said he found Trump's comments on opioids in his State of the Union address to be "much of the same.” Synan wrote a column recently for The Cincinnati Enquirer calling for more urgency in the national response. Trump's declaration of a public health emergency in October, he wrote, hasn't been backed by more federal funding.
High school students help rebuild Cleveland police cruiser
Students in a high school auto repair program have returned a rebuilt Cleveland police cruiser destroyed during the celebration of the Cavs' NBA championship in 2016. WJW-TV reports city officials listed the cruiser as a total loss after over-exuberant fans jumped on the roof of the cruiser. A teacher at Max Hayes High School approached the city about allowing students to rebuild it. Cleveland's commissioner for vehicle maintenance says the students' work saved the city around $10,000. The city had planned to scrap the cruiser for parts, but it will be returned to service instead.
Public school employees sue state retirement system over cost-of-living freeze
An Ohio union's lawsuit aims to block a planned freeze on costs-of-living increases that would affect nearly 80,000 retired school workers. The Ohio Association of Public School Employees has filed its lawsuit against the School Employees Retirement System. The union criticized the system's investment decisions in the lawsuit, saying it overpaid financial managers and investment consultants. The SERS board imposed the three-year freeze that goes into effect next month. SERS officials say the freeze is legal, prudent and in the best interest of the retirement system's members.
Ohio Republicans ask Trump to restore President McKinley's name to Alaska mountain
Ohio's Republican congressional delegation is using former President William McKinley's 175th birthday to remind President Donald Trump about his campaign promise to restore the name of Alaska's Mount McKinley. 11 members of Congress have sent a letter to Trump calling the mountain's name change "disrespectful to Ohioans" and the 25th president's memory. McKinley served as an Ohio congressman and governor and was first elected president in 1896. The mountain officially carried the president's name from 1917 until 2015 when President Barack Obama restored the traditional indigenous name of Denali. While Trump previously said he would reverse the change, his interior secretary said last year the peak should remain Denali.
Ohio hires NJ company to provide medical marijuana help line
Ohio has issued a $1 million contract to a New Jersey company to operate a toll-free help line for medical marijuana patients, caregivers and physicians. The help line will be operated by Extra Step Assurance from a call center in Bellefontaine in central Ohio. The company is a subsidiary of Direct Success Inc., which has been operating a national marijuana help line there since February 2017. The contract amount covers a three-year period.
