The iOpener: Ohio House Leader Critical of Shift of School Money; Weird Events Lead to Missing Girl

Good morning, iOpeners. It's Thursday, June 13, 2019. 

Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is criticizing his GOP colleagues in the Senate for their proposal to provide $37.6 million more in state aid to growing, well-off suburban school districts. He said he saw it as a “rob from the poor and give to the rich kind of thing.” Senate Republicans said they had an obligation to help growing districts. Senate Finance Chairman Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls) said it had nothing to do with some richer districts’ threat last month to sue if the state didn’t lift their aid caps.

Ohio’s Medical Board has delayed its decision on whether to add anxiety and autism to the list of conditions approved for medical marijuana treatment. It rejected doctors’ petitions to add depression, insomnia and opioid use. An advisory panel had recommended including autism and anxiety. A spokeswoman said the 12-member board tabled the vote on those conditions because members wanted more time to consider the change.

In Cleveland, a missing girl was found following a bizarre series of events that started with a person firing gunshots out of a moving vehicle on Cleveland’s East Side. The car crashed into a parked vehicle, which crashed into another parked vehicle. Police say that, of the five people in the car, three males fled while two females remained on the scene. One of them was a missing juvenile.    

The FBI is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to arrests in the murders of a man and woman in Cleveland Metroparks’ Rocky River Reservation. Carnell Sledge and Katherine Brown were found shot to death in the head. Parks police chief Katherine Dolan said “all available resources” are being used.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have hired former California women’s coach Lindsay Gottlieb as an assistant on John Beilein’s staff. Gottleib has lead the Golden Bears to seven NCAA Tournament appearances. She’s the first female assistant coach in the NBA to go from head college coach to a pro bench.

The Cincinnati Reds beat the Indians, 7-2. Rookie Zach Plesac had an uneven start. He gave up three homers, including back-to-backs to Nick Senzel and Joey Votto in the first inning but also struck out 13 in a row. 

Weather forecast: Showers this morning, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 11 a.m. High 68. Tonight, the rain continues and the winds pick up.  West wind 14 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 37 mph.  Low 55. Tomorrow, sunny, with strong breezes gusting up to 30 mph.  High 73.